Little Laycee Bug

    A while ago, Laycee found a doll on Jaye's bed, and adopted it. She has been OBSESSED with dolls ever since. It amazes me that a 14 month old innately knows how to nuture a little baby. She loves to put her baby in a stroller and push her around, she loves to wrap it up in a blanket and snuggle it. I tried to give her an adorable stuffed animal to play with and she kind of squawked at me angrily and then insisted I get her a doll instead.

    I think it's so funny. The other day we were at Walmart and Laycee just started freaking out while we were in the toy aisle, so I got her out of the cart to look at stuff. (I'm a brave Mom, I know.) And she went right over to the wall and started whacking this box that she could reach until it finally fell on the floor. Satisfied, she just carried the box around and looked at the twin dollies inside.  Kids definitely come with their own personality, because Jaye could care less about dolls.

Here are a few pictures as proof:

This is Laycee first thing in morning

 Here she is in the afternoon with her baby. (Did I mention she loves to wear hats and necklaces too?)

 She was quiet forever in her room so we went to check on her, expecting to see marker on the wall or something shocking, but she was just sitting quietly, playing with Jaye's barbies, putting them into the stroller.
 Such a sweetheart!

BOO!

Where has the time gone?! My little JJ has turned THREE!!! So of course it was time to party!!!

Jaye wanted to have a Halloween party, but since it was the beginning of the month, I didn't want to stress out parents by getting a costume in order. So we had a "Halloween Hat party" and invited everyone to wear their crazy hats. In retrospect, it wasn't that great of an idea, because five minutes into the party, no one was wearing their hat anymore. BUT, as my mother taught me, a party has to have a theme, so the Hat idea was it.

So the families arrived and we had a haunted dinner, with a veggie pumpkin tray, Hot dog mummies, and apple monster mouths (not pictured). The kids and I also cut out Halloween shapes in tortillas and made tortilla chips with dip. It turned out pretty yummy!

 So then on to the games. (SHOUT OUT TO MY MOM for some fun ideas!) We gave all the kids a sheet of stickers and then had them race to see who could get all their stickers on the other players the fastest. This was a GREAT game for little kids! And for my husband too apparently.

Then we did a Witch race. The kids had to ride their brooms to the line and then throw hoops (glow stick necklaces) over a pumpkin (orange soda with pumpkin faces drawn on).

 Pinatas are a TRADITION with our family, but I didn't have time to make one, so we played an alternative game I found online. We hung a candy bucket from the basketball hoop and gave each kid a few pieces of candy and then they raced to see who could toss their pieces in the fastest. This turned out to be a great game for little kids too. After everyone got their candy in, we just gave them their goodie bags and dumped out the candy just like a pinata.

NEXT: Presents! Jaye was pretty spoiled by her Mema! But we loved all the gifts given and are so grateful for our friends! (And for all the birthday cards and money from family... THANK YOU!)

                          Jaye wanted her cake to say "BOO" instead of "Happy Birthday"

 And here's our little three year old after the party. Hatless. I didn't get a single picture of her wearing her tiara. Oh well. It was a Huge Success and so much fun! I'm sad there won't be another birthday party until April. :P



Sorry Jaye

I had company over nearly every day last week. Which, in my book means: AHHH! NO TIME to do laundry! Hide it all in Jaye’s room!


And we did. And we enjoyed all the company that came over to our "clean" house. Then Sunday hit, and Jaye had an accident in her LAST pair of clean panties.

All I could think to do was put her in a pair of Grayson’s. So I did.

I never realized how much Jaye enjoys hoisting up her dress and parading around for the whole world to see. But the whole world, or at least EVERYONE at the church fireside got to see her blue Sponge Bob briefs.

She got a lot of looks. And I felt the need to explain to anyone and everyone that Monday was a BIG laundry day at our house.

I’ve said it before… but maybe someday I’ll know the satisfaction of GOOD homemaking skills.

Go Jaye, Go!

We have owned this seat for over a year, and I just now read the print. What a strange message to put on a toilet seat....

         But I guess it's true, because some magic has been made at our house! Jaye is officially potty-trained... again! She was potty-trained for a few weeks last year, but changed her mind, I guess. But since she turns three next month, and the price of pull-ups went up exponentially a few weeks ago, we decided to really lay down the law.

    Jaye was already using the facilities about 50% of the time, so I decided to kind of try that "potty train in a day" kind of thing. When she woke up, I told her "today is a big day!" We stayed at home and I set the alarm to go off every twenty minutes. Every time it beeped, Grayson and I would march behind Jaye shouting, "Go Jaye, Go!" And we did a victory dance every time she did her business. Then Jaye would receive a prize of four chocolate chips.

     By the end of the day, I was getting pretty burnt out by the 20 minute thing, but Jaye absolutely loved it! Grayson's cheering died after a few hours and by 4 in the afternoon, I just told Jaye to go by herself. Every time though, I heard her sitting on the toilet cheering, "Go Jaye, Go!"

     So the next day, we did the timer for 30 minutes early in the day, and then lengthened it to 45 by the end. And the rest is history! She has had only ONE accident in two weeks and it was only because she didn't get out of the car fast enough.

So..... HOOOOOORAY!!!!!! Just one kid in diapers!!!! Hooray, for saving money! 

                                      Hooray for making magic!!!

Grrr...

    This season, Barry is coaching Grayson’s little soccer team of five boys. “The Ice Bats,” as the boys so named themselves. Today, we were scrambling to get the whole fam in the car for our nine o’clock game. We were all buckled in and pulling out of our apartment parking lot, when Grayson started freaking out that he forgot something.

    We pulled back in, and Grayson begged his Daddy to go get the pages he colored. Really? Turns out, instead of going to bed last night, he stayed up and colored a picture for each of the boys on his team. A little obnoxious… but how cute, sweet, and adorable is that?!?!

     Even though we were running behind after retrieving the random Christmas Bear coloring pages, we were the first ones on the field. Whenever a teammate showed up, Grayson excitedly ran up to the kid and thrust a hand-signed picture in their arms. The last little five year old kept telling him his Mom wasn’t there to hold the picture so he wouldn’t accept it. (Uhhh... Where's your family?) 

     At the end of the game (we lost by one point), Grayson once again handed his picture to the kid… and how did the ungrateful little stinker respond? “I don’t like this and don’t want it,” and gave it back to my aspiring artist. Grayson came up to me heartbroken, crying. (He might have been a little more dramatic than usual from staying up waaaaay too late last night.)  

    A fellow Ice Bat mother overheard his lament and saved the day. She told Grayson that her three year old daughter really wanted one of Grayson’s pictures, after gushing about how great a job he did. Gray proudly handed over the page and all was well.

   I was really glad, however, for this brush with disappointment. It reassured my decision to wait one more year before Grayson starts kindergarten. He has a mid-August birthday and could’ve started this year… but now I’m glad he didn’t. This mama’s not ready to see my child have to deal with any punk kids. Not yet, anyway.

For now, he can stay young and innocent and color his little heart out.

It's ALL true!

Someone posted this on facebook yesterday. I laughed when I read it-

MURPHY’S LAW FOR MOMS

1. If you wear black, they will have runny noses

2. If you wear white, they will have muddy hands

3. If you change their diaper, they will immediately poop in the new one

4. If you mop the floor, they will spill something

5. If you put on fresh socks, you will immediately step in what they spilled

6. If it is perfect, they will fix that for you

7. If you say it, they will repeat it

8. If it’s important, they will forget it

9. If you’re tired, they will not be

10. If you love them, you will see the beauty in it all

                  But I laughed even more when I saw myself in the mirror after reading it.

My girls have colds.  Murphy's Mom law # 1 is sooooooooooo true.

"Hole"y Moley!

     I read this murder mystery recently, and the main character said, “People underestimate the satisfaction of good homemaking skills.” I love that quote! In a world that downplays housewives, I try so hard to enjoy and appreciate all the house work, but this was the THIRD time, while doing the dishes, that I held up a strainer and used the sprayer to wash it out. Naturally, water shot through all the tiny holes, all over my kitchen. THIRD TIME!!!!


     Maybe someday I’ll know the satisfaction of good homemaking skills.