I can make your van look better. $150

After my last post yesterday, I had to share this because it was too funny :) The girls and I went back to the van after story time and lunch with friends today, only to find this stuck in my window.

Some random stuff on EC's special day!

On the way to EC's birthday lunch, we had to turn back around because one of her toys rolled under the van before we left. I couldn't reach it after she dropped it, so I told her I would pick it up after we backed the van out. In the commotion that all of us out the door, I forgot to pick up the toy. She remembered. We turned around. As I tried to swing into the garage to be in a good position to back out again, but to also be able to get the toy, I swiped the side of the van on the garage opening :(

By no means did I let this dampen the birthday celebratory mood, but it was a bummer. EC went to grab her toy and I check out the damage. Luckily, I think it will mostly buff out and my brother in law does body work, so I will let him handle it. We are going up to see them on Tuesday anyway, since the girls were asked to be models for a photographer in Athens! I'm super excited! I feel in love with Fairyography, thanks to a friend who posted her daughter's pictures on facebook. I started budgeting to have the girls' pictures done next fall, but Heather was looking for a little girl with a Shirley Temple kind of look and she offered to do a free session with our girls! Woohoo! She provides the outfits, we just show up. And the best part is that she will be doing them at the Botanical Gardens where Bo and I got married. Have I told you I'm excited?!?!

So we made it to lunch with daddy today. At first EC said she wanted to go to Moe's. 

Can y'all believe that CFA was not even mentioned? Could she finally be tired of CFA? 

Anyway, I asked if she wanted to go into the city to have Willy's with daddy and at first she said, "No, because its too far away." But she thought about it for a while and I guess the temptation to see daddy was too great, because she came up to me after breakfast and said, "Okay, we can go to Willy's. Do we have to get on the interstate? Can we go a different way?" Yes, she still "doesn't like the interstate". To me she sounds like an old woman sometimes :) Here are some pictures, post our SUPER long 26 mile drive to lunch ;) 

After lunch, she used some of her birthday money to buy a couple toys from the store. This is the first time we have let her do this. I told her she had $25 to spend. She picked out a new doctor kit, a toiletry kit, and thank you cards "to tell [her] friends she really liked her birthday gifts". She still had $5 left and decided to "save it"!

I have really been thinking about chores for the girls lately and "commission" (as Dave Ramsey calls it) for doing their chores. I'm just not sure which chores I want to pay them for and how much. I do want them to have money to save up, give, and spend, so they can learn about money early. EC and AB already help with things in the kitchen like loading and unloading the dish washer, wiping down the kid table, putting away groceries, and EC feeds her fish. EC is responsible for putting her clothes in her hamper, making her bed, and putting away clean clothes. They both help clean up toys through out the day. Those are all things that we feel like they should just do as their part of living here. So I'm not sure what that leaves as far as being paid to do. Dusting maybe? I don't trust them to really sweep or mop yet. Any ideas from you seasoned parents? Or memories of what your parents paid you to do and how much? 

Happy hump day everyone!

Emma Catherine birthday questions, age 4 (for Kimber)

Emma Catherine Lane, Age 4

1. What is your favorite color? pink
2. What is your favorite toy? balloons
3. What is your favorite fruit? strawberries
4. What is your favorite tv show? Dinosaur Train
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? soup, chicken noodle soup
6. What is your favorite outfit? a skirt and a shirt
7. What is your favorite game? Shoots and Ladders
8. What is your favorite snack? fruit snacks
9. What is your favorite animal? giraffe
10. What is your favorite song? Dinosaur Train at the end, We sing Hosannah to Annabelle
11. What is your favorite book? Dora
12. Who is your best friend? Kirsten
13. What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play games, like tag you’re it
15. What is your favorite drink? sweet tea
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? a toy giraffe
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? cheerios
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? mac n cheese
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a doctor

EC's 4th Birthday Party!

My heart is so full right now. AB started feeling much better towards the end of last week (HOORAY!!!) and I finally had some time to prep for EC's princess, flower tea party! We started with decorating. I used all of our normal birthday decor and then EC asked me to tie a ribbon on the back of her chair. Then she decided all of her friends needed ribbons for their chairs. We finished decorating the room Thursday. She woke up Friday and the first thing she said was, "Mommy, My tea party room looks SO beautiful!" 

Friday we spent the afternoon baking. EC was a big helper! And AB was a big taste tester :) After the first layers came out of the oven, EC walked in and said, "Mommy, It smells so delicious!" And the compliments just continued! She was so so sweet. Four is an awesome age!

EC had much more involvement in this party than any before. She helped make invitations, planned the menu, and helped decorate the room. We had some help from Mrs. Holly too! She had hats, gloves, and purses on hand that they did not use for Kirsten's birthday party. She gave them to us when she found out we were doing a tea party. So the girls had hats that they decorated, candy necklaces, bracelets, and gloves to wear for tea. Then they had purses we filled with party favors for the them to take home.

The girls were absolutely precious! I think they really enjoyed making the hats and then the gloves were a big hit when it came time to have tea and snacks! They really looked like the little princesses they are :)

EC was very much into gifts this year too! I would say more so then any holiday yet. She plowed through those gifts at lightening speed, even at my best attempts to slow her down by reading the cards. Ha! Also, she was exhausted by that point at the party. She hasn't taken regular naps since she turned three. She will have quiet time, but very seldom does she fall asleep. That does not necessarily mean she wouldn't benefit from a nap some days! And birthday party day is definitely one of those days! She had been so excited for so long. The morning of the party she woke up extra early and immediately woke me up saying, "Mom, I'm so excited! Today is my tea party day!" It was very similar to that Christmas morning feeling :) She was precious!! 

At the end of the day I asked what her favorite part of the party was and she replied, "Dressing up in beautiful dresses with all of my friends!" 

Special thanks to Holly and Elizabeth for helping the girls glue flowers and butterflies to their hats. To Mary and Mike for cooking sausage balls for like the entire party :) and helping with all the other odds and ends. To my mom for bringing the tea set and trusting the girls not to break it :) And especially to Kimber for bringing Lily to play with AB while she took fantastic pictures of the party! Y'all rock!! 

I will post pictures as soon as I get them! 

EC's 4th Birthday Prep

So the prep for EC's birthday party is off to a slow start after yesterday. It shouldn't be too hard to throw  a princess, flower tea party for six little girls should it?

We have started decorating, but if someone would like to come over and clean our house, that would be fantastic!

I am planning to do a few extra things for EC this year since her party is not on the same day as her actual birthday.  This post is kind of a list for me, so I don't forget ;) Thank you Pinterest and fellow pinners for the following ideas!

Waking up to balloon all over your room. Sure hoping Bo will help me out with this on her birthday since he gets up before the sun.

Tearing through crepe paper on the way to breakfast! 

And of course, we have to ask her the list of favorites questions for the year!

I'm a little sad I only started doing this for her last year. She really could have done it when she was two, because she spoke so clearly and in complete sentences, even back then. Oh well! If you can think of other fun things for us to do or traditions your family loves, please pass some ideas our way! I love making birthdays feel extra special :)

A messy mommy day

There's that moment when you are a mom. A moment of desperation. Where you actually consider pulling over on the side of the road to give your toddler a glycerin suppository.

Yep.

How do you get to this moment? Slowly.

Before you realize it, your toddler is trying her best to straighten her entire body that is strapped down in a car seat. Her cheeks are red, she is grunting, and little tears are streaming down her face. Pitiful. Heart wrenching mommy moment. Then the screams begin again.

AB has had a little issue lately. She weaned a few weeks ago. Did you know coming off breast milk can contribute to constipation? Never had this problem with EC, so I was clueless.

AB doesn't like cow's milk, almond milk, soy milk, goats milk. Nope. Just momma milk. She likes juice sometimes and water almost never. So you can see how our problem just started building little by little.

AB is equally as picky about food. Some days she will eat yogurt, other days not so much. Some days she will eat fruit, other days not so much. We have a lot of waste around here if big sister doesn't eat it her leftovers.

This weekend was the longest AB has gone in between "messy diapers", that's what we will call it for the sake of everyone's gag reflex. After the grunting, groaning, and straining had become much more frequent this morning, I called the pediatrician AGAIN. We were on day four of this struggle, which wouldn't normally be a big deal, but you could tell she was uncomfortable and not eating well. I'll spare you the other gag worthy, painful details.

The nurse finally called back at 2:30. We finally saw the doctor around 4:30, her appointment was at 3:30. I am grateful they fit her in, don't get me wrong. She discussed diet and reassured me we were doing everything we could. Awesome. Apparently toddle constipation is common. She recommended miralax, glycerin suppositories, and told me to watch one swollen area over the next few days to make sure it did not become a hemorrhoid. I practically ran out of there with my rigid, grunting toddler to find the nearest store. She cried and screamed 90% of the way. 

At Publix, I checked the pharmacy over and over. No luck finding the children's suppositories. We asked at the pharmacy. Meanwhile, AB found a shelf to lean her forehead on as she grunted, groaned, strained, and wept while trying to go potty. The pharmacist sent me to the baby isle at the other end of the store.

On isle three there was still no luck and only more screaming, but at least AB let me pick her up and hug her.

Going potty is a very hands off, private kind of thing for toddlers - just fyi. They like to find their own little corner of the world. Do not look at them, do not dare talk to them as you might throw off their concentration. They will cry/scream "mommy" when they are ready for your comfort.

Off we went to customer service. My patience was gone, so I reached out for help. They called an associate. We waited. This "quick" Publix trip felt like it was dragging on FOREVER. Back to isle 3. Then back to the pharmacy. Then up to the pharmacist's counter for them to finally "find" it behind the counter.

I'm sure there were daggers coming out of my eyes at this point. I kept my mouth tightly shut. The associate walked me to the front of the customer service line to check me out. Maybe he was just tired of hearing my toddler scream. Either way, brownie points for that associate.

I practically sprinted to the van and coaxed AB back into her carseat by offering snuggles, bath, food, tv shows, sleeping in mommy's bed until she is 18, and millions of dollars as soon as we arrived home. Of course, she again had the urge to go potty as soon as we were on the road fighting rush hour traffic. She screamed, grunted, groaned. Her body was as straight as she can get it in her carseat. Feet were pushing firmly against the passenger chair in front of her. I convinced her to bite on her pacifier instead of her hand that was quickly becoming raw from the afternoon of constant struggle. How did it get so bad without me realizing it sooner?

We barely made it home with my emotions still intact. I left the keys in the ignition and climbed to the back with the medicine. I freed her from the chair and hugged her rigid body all the way inside. I tried to get her to drink the miralax. That did not go over AT ALL, so on to the suppository. There was a battle, but it was over quickly and she laid their clinging to my legs.

She eventually drank the miralax and juice combination, then promptly asked for "dordor and boo" aka Dora and boots.

A few hours later the poor girl finally got some relief. I cleaned her up and she said, "I eat."

First Trimester, You know you are pregnant when:

It is amazing that I am pregnant for a forth time and still find the first trimester taking me by surprise, again. Yes, it has been different each time. My pregnancy with EC was definitely the most challenging by this point, in all aspects. It is true, after pregnancy there are things that you tend to block out and eventually forget. Did y'all know that I had issues with my heart racing and fainting during my pregnancy with EC? I saw a cardiologist, had an echo done, and even wore a heart monitor for a month. You don't remember? Neither did I!! Anyway, here is a little bit of my first trimester joy with the newest baby lane!

You know you are pregnant when:

You feel like you could drink all the water in the county and not quite quench your thirst for the day.

You wake up with dry mouth every morning.

You have an insatiable hunger for any and all food for weeks. Then, out of no where, (around week 8) thinking about food makes you nauseated. Suddenly, planning meals for the week becomes the most torturous task on earth and you wish your eating out budget could quadruple for at least the next three months.

Halfway through your chick fil a biscuit one morning, you just cannot bare to take another bite because it suddenly tastes disgusting.

Giving four viles of blood at the OB feels like they sucked the life out of you. You desperately needed that blood to survive, you just didn't realize it until you stood up. Immediately all the lights in the world dimmed a little and it felt like you had been riding a merry-go-round instead of giving blood.

Thinking about your favorite food while shopping at the grocery store makes you vomit a little in your mouth.

The muscle you worked so hard for (after baby one and two) slowly turns to mush because working out is not an option. Right now keeping food down is workout enough.

You suddenly wish for those days in the office when you could hide behind your desk and focus on keeping your breakfast down instead of chasing after two little cuties.

You are only 10 weeks out and are already considering bringing Crabby back.

Okay, yes, some of this was dramatized a little. We are filled with joy at the thought of adding another little one to our family. And nothing compares to seeing that little heart beating strong on a sonogram machine!