Hannah is growing up

I was talking to Hannah today in the car after school and out of curiosity I asked her if there was any boys in class that she liked - better than the others. Now this question comes about because my friends daughter Kayla (also 5) has been talking about her boyfriend. And I hadn't heard Hannah make any mention of having these kinds of attachments, so I was curiouse. And before I could even get the sentenced finished Hannah said "yes, Mac. I like him more than the other boys. But I just don't know how to tell him I love him." My jaw dropped, she is growing up so fast. And she was so cute about it. I told her to just be herself and the boys will notice. And she said "okay." And then I asked her why she likes Mac more than the other boys and she said "because he makes the best silly faces and he is funnier than the other boys" Awww, there is my kids again. I missed her for the 2.5 seconds that she was growing up and being all girly :) Watch out world - Here comes Hannah.

Make that two loose teeth

Hannah now has two loose teeth on the bottom. She is getting very excited about them falling out. We have a special little tooth fairy pillow that was given to her when she was born and she is very excited to put her tooth in it and to see what the tooth fairy is going to leave her, I think the tooth fairy should start low and work her way up as the teeth fall out.

Holding a snake and a loose tooth

I forgot to post this in yesterdays blog. We went over to a friends house on Sunday and she had a corn snake. The girls and I were fascinated by it in the glass aquarium and then Suzanne (our friend) asked if we wanted to hold the snake. I thought the girls would say no and walk away, but to my surprise they both held out there hands and couldn't wait to hold it. I was very impressed with both of them, such brave girls. I even took a turn and had fun with the snake slithering all over my arms.

So Hannah got up this morning and said "mom my tooth hurts", I just assumed that she had sucked her fingers funny during the night and hurt her front teeth. So when I asked how if felt and she said loose I was stunned. No not my baby, not her teeth, they can't be loose yet she is only 5. But sure enough her bottom left tooth is loose. I remember with great emotion when that tooth came in and now its about to fall out, wow does time go by fast. I'll keep everyone posted on the big "falling out" day.

WOW what a weekend

Greg had his yearly guys weekend this weekend so it was just me and the girls from Thursday pm to Sunday. We had a great time and the girls where really good to me all weekend (it really could have gone either way). We hung out allot, went to the gym, played outside (the weather was 60 on Friday - crazy). We also went to a friends birthday on Saturday. Kayla Rose turned 5 and she had her birthday at an ice skating rink near by. It was a blast. The girls did okay. Both Hannah and Kate tried it out on their own but couldn't really get the hang of it and kept falling, which really upset Hannah. I think it scarred her more than hurt her. So being the great mom that I am I put some skates on and went out on the ice with them. I was terrified I was going to fall, and I have a much further fall than the girls. And all I could think was if I fall and throw my back out Greg is going to kill me. He would have to come home early from his weekend. But I did not fall and all went great. And Greg got home today and all went great. Hope everyone else had as much fun as we did this weekend.

What an amazing day to be an American

This post will be short and sweet because I have a headache the size of Texas. But I just wanted to make a short post about what an honor it is to be an American today. Watching the ceremony of the inauguration today was just amazing. Whether you voted for Obama or not it is still a historic point in our lives. Hannah watched the swearing in with me and I was impressed that she new the name of our old president and the new one. And then she asked all kinds of questions like how long will he have the job and how long did President Bush have the job. She enjoyed watching President Bush fly away in the helicopter and watching all the American flags flying. Its always fun to see the world through a kids eyes.

Kate was running around the house as normal. She would stop when she heard singing or cheering and then was off and running again.

I'm off to take some heavy dose of Tylenol and go to bed.

Martin Luther King day and reincarnation

Yes those two things go together, kinda. So today is Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday and the girls wanted to know when they are going to his birthday party. So I explained to them that for one he doesn't live near us and two he is no longer alive. Well this set Kate off, she was very upset that he died and she wanted to know who she could tell that she loved him very much, so I told her that we could make a card for him and send it to his family (not really sure where to send it but it worked to calm her down.) And Hannah just wanted to know why he died and oh yeah mom, who is Martin Luther King??? So I dug deep and recalled my high school history lesson and gave them what I thought was a really good down to their level description of the wonderful things Martin Luther King did for our country. I was pretty proud of myself and I think they learned a few things. Hannah took all the info in and asked a few more questions, but Kate started back in with the death and dieing and how much she loved him and didn't want him dead. And from there I'm not really sure how reincarnation came in but we started talking about how some people (me included just to let you know) believe that people and animals come back in other forms. And that maybe Kate was so upset about Dr. King because she had some deep connection to him in a past life (yeah I know I'm getting deep with the kids but they really enjoyed thinking about this). Hannah took to this theory quickly and liked the idea of people and animals coming back as other things. She quickly talked about our neighbors dog and wondered what he came back as - very sweet. But Kate did not like this idea at all, she would have non of it and was very upset that Dr. King died, such my sensitive souls.

The lost key and the broken washer

So all was going well on Saturday morning. I got to sleep in and came down stairs around 10a. I then scooped the kids up and took them to the gym so Greg could get some down time. Had a great workout and the kids had fun in the kid zone. When I got home Greg said that our neighbors had called and their heat went out so they where going to head to a friends house out of town and asked us to watch their dogs. Greg said no problem, we have their spare key and watch the dogs all the time, its an easy gig. So we go on with our day and around 5p ish Greg said he was going to head next door to feed the dogs and let them out. He then went to the laundry room where we keep the spare keys and our neighbors key is gone, so he starts to look in a few other places but still no key. We kinda start to panic now, what did we do with the key and how are we going to let the poor dogs out if we can't find it. We tore the house apart and still no key. So we call our neighbors cell and they are in MD and no one else in town has a key. So the poor dogs had to hold it for 24hours until they got home, and believe it or not there was not one pee or poop in the house - I'm impressed. Although they did throw up, but I'll take that over poop any day.

And in the middle of searching for the neighbors key I was doing some laundry, which I'm always doing. After folding the clothes out of the dryer I opened the washer to empty it into the dryer and it was full of water, hmmmm, what is wrong with this picture. I close the lid and try to start it back up - nothing. I unplug it and plug it into another outlet - nothing. I try another cycle - nothing. I knew this day was coming I just wasn't prepared for it. So on Sunday we go off to buy a new washer. We ended up at Sears and got a very nice new washer - and it will be here on Monday morning, I can't wait. I really need to get a life.

Why are some days harder than others

Today was one of those days that just started bad. Not for any real reason it just did. I don't know who was off first but somehow we all started snapping at each other. And that just never starts the day out right. Kate was having a hard morning and not really wanting to get along with anyone which always gets me wound up and frustrated. And then Hannah starts to nit pick at Kate and that send Kate even further into a tissy. So today was just a bad day. But I have found that no matter how hard the day is or how crazy we are its still fun being at home with them. Sure I would trade places with Greg from time to time but over all its good to be with them. I just hope tomorrow is a little better - oh wait they are both in school alllll day tomorrow, so it has to be better.

The "big" school question

Where will Hannah go to Kindergarten next year???? I wish I knew, it would make my life so much easier. We're in the City of Richmond and the public schools are good and bad depending on where you live, well we happen to live where our neighborhood school is just not great, for many reasons. So we have to apply to another neighborhood school and in doing that we have to go into a lottery system. I wish it was easier just to move, but its not unfortunately and we really love our neighborhood so I would hate to leave now. So we're going to sit and wait for the school system to do their job and send us a lotto number. I just sent in the application today and the lottery will be drawn on Feb. 20th, so sometime after that we should know what number we have and what chance we might have to get into the better schools in Richmond. I'm sure I'll post my ranting and raving about the situation in blogs to come.

Wish us luck.

No more pull ups for Hannah

Hannah is 100% out of pull ups at night. She stayed dry for 5 nights in a row so no more pull ups for her. As of about a week ago she was still wet at night so she has worked really hard this week to stay dry and she is very proud of herself as are her dad and I. We knew she could do it she was just very hesitant to try, but with some encouragement she did great.

Kate is still Kate. Full of energy and life. She has been even more active the last week or so, I think she is finally feeling better from all the winter colds we had a few weeks ago. As I'm writing she is running around up stairs giving her dad a run for his money on bed time - hang in there Greg :)

UPDATE - CPSIA came to its senses

Here is a press release from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. I like to think that my letters helped :) And hopefully they will amend a few other parts of the law so it will help small toy makers, especially handmade toys.

Subject: CPSC Press Release

The CPSC has issued a press release which states that sellers of used children’s products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new toy standards.

However, it must be noted that "However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate the products being sold have less than the new limit. Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties."

Its gotten personal - the new CPSIA law

You think it doesn't affect you, think again. The new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is going to affect everyone. I didn't think much about this law when I first heard about it, I was actually very happy with it, why wouldn't I want more saftly and regulations for my childrens toys and clothing. These seem like good things to have stronger restrictions on so we don't have as many recalls as we did in 2007 (remember all the Chinese made toys that had large amounts of lead??). But then as I started reading more into this law I started to realize that this will not just affect the toys that are being imported from China, this will affect all toys and clothing made by anyone from this date on. So just to give you an example, the wonderful hand carved wooden trains that a retired guy makes and sells will be illegal to purchase unless he pays upto $500.00 per toy to be tested and then stamped with the CPSIA stamp of approvel. And here is the big kicker that got me all wound up. I'm a stay at home mom, one of the ways I'm able to be a stay at home mom is because I sell my childrens used clothes and toys and purchase used items. This keeps my cost down and helps out with the budget. If this law stays the way it is I will no longer be legal able to buy or sell used clothing/toys. Can you imagine, it will actually be illegal to buy or sell used clothing/toys unless I have each item tested - again at $500.00 a pop.

Now I can go on and on about this but I would like you to read it for yourself and do what you think you need to do with the information. I have written my congressman and senator already to express my feelings on this law. The law was poorly written and it just needs some amendments put into place so small bussiness, handmade toys and used clothing stores don't go out of bussiness.

Here are some links that I found helpful:
http://www.rescuemarketing.com/blog/2008/12/15/cpsia-and-homemade-toys/

Write a letter to your representative:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/alert/?alertid=12389726&content_dir=ua_congressorg

Back to school - hip hip hooray

Love my children, yes I do... need a break from them, yes it's true.

School started back up today. We started the morning bright and early and got a good breakfast in us and sent Kate off to school with her friend Addison. Not one tear from Kate, I was very surprised since she was having such trouble before the winter break, but I think she was just as ready to go back to school as I was. Hannah and I headed off to the gym and then back home for some hang time before I had to take her to school.

I dropped Hannah off at 1130a and picked up Kate and Addison at 1145a, yes I had 15 min. to myself in the car - and loved every minute of it. Kate and I hung around the house today, did some coloring, did some cleaning, watched some TV, nothing great just a normal day. Then picked up Hannah and came back home, did some more coloring, played a few card games - which by the way they are loving go fish and crazy eights - so fun. They actually played go fish by themselves this afternoon - so cute. And then dad got home and it was dinner and bed - awwww the day is done.

The secret places of Richmond

Whenever Greg takes the girls out of the house on the weekends he always finds great spots to take them. And unlike me he leaves the house with no plans and just wings it, but somehow he always finds these great little secret places. And the girls where very excited today when we went out as a family to see these great places. Our first stop was the flood wall down town. Richmond put up a flood was many years ago to make sure the bottom (an area of Richmond with shops and restaurants) does not flood again, although it has but it wasn't from the River it was from a drain pipe back up, but that is another story. The girls loved showing me all the sites of downtown and I played along with them and acted like I had never seen the city before - it was so fun. Our next stop was the Reedy Creek entrance off River Rd. Its known for its bike paths, dog walking and running kids around :) We walked to the James River and had a ton of fun throwing rocks into the water. Greg even showed the girls how to skip stones on the water - cool moment. We then headed home for some well needed down time. It was a fun day. And tomorrow the girls are back in school - yippee! I've had a great winter break with them but I am sooo ready to get back to a normal routine.

Pictures from out adventures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013459&l=c9451&id=1122309468

Quotes from today

Okay, I spent the day going through Mom and Len's storage unit with Jordan so Greg had the girls most of the day. They went to the mall and ran around and then we met up at Toys-R-us to pick up a few things. The girls had a great day with dad and some very memorable quotes came out of today.

Kate was eating pizza for lunch and it was hot and this is what she said, "this pizza is so hot it almost burned me right out of the family". Silly kid.

For all of you that know about Kate's stinky blanky and how gross it is this one will make you shudder. Kate was in the car and she was thirsty and she said, "if I only had my blanket because it has water in it". Oh yuck is all I can say.

Hannah made buck-eye the other day at the Hall's house and after dinner tonight she was able to have one and this is what she said, "mom look I made a doubler so I can have two and you think its only one". So smart, and I love the word doubler. So the next time you make buck-eyes put two peanut butter balls together and cover in chocolate, they are called doublers and apparently your mom wont know that your eating two.

Its fun having kids.

The first day of 2009

What a great way to start out a new year. We all had a wonderful day full of fun and family. Greg started the day off with a hike around Maymont with the girls, they came home with great stories of frozen koi fish in the pond and sticks that slid across the frozen water, all very fun things to kids. I then took the girls down to a neighbors house (the same one that had us over for ginger bread house making) and we baked cookies and played with trains and race cars, it was very fun.

And the big kid news from today is Hannah is wearing underwear to bed tonight - yes you heard me - underwear. We'll see how it goes. She is very nervous but I know she will do fine. She has been in pull ups until now and its about 50/50 if they are wet in the morning. But we've found that most of the time they are wet because she doesn't actually feel like getting up first thing in the morning so she'll just pee in the pull up, soooo when I heard that I nixed the pull up and she's on her own :) I'm sure we'll have the night time oops here and there but that will be fine. She is a very sound sleeper so we'll see how it goes. I'm still not sure if she can do it yet. It might be that she has a wet pull up in the am but then peed again on top of it, so I wont really know until we try this out - wish us luck. And give her an encouragement call anytime - she would love to hear from you.

Happy New year to one and all.