Sunday, April 28, 2013

Finally getting this 3 yr old party started...

And if by started I mean planned. We are doing a week early but E's bday is Mother's Day weekend and one of the two friends that she wanted to come {aka I am letting her invite} could not make it. Panic! We have bday party and BBQ the weekend after Mother's Day. Party planned in 12 hours for 168 hour later. Whew.

HT came through on the cake. Or is going to. Apparently Little Mermaid is not popular anymore so I had to buy some figurines and say 'have at it' to the cake decorator. I have full faith and confidence. Last year the Tinkerbell cake was super cute and well decorated but they had a pattern to follow.

Party City for the plates and napkins and take home cups and princess tiaras. CHECK-O. Now it just needs to get here... ON TIME.

One small little detail.. The balloon. E loves balloons. I don't like the ones that pop so I spring for A Mylar one. HOWEVER Party City is out of stock of the Ariel balloon... And my other option is $15 balloon bouquet. Emmm... Negative.

Amazon... I have two options. The round one which is my second choice round - $3 - because the first choice round is again... out of stock. Then there is massive Ariel but it is $5.




Which one should I go with? I need to decide in the next few hours so that it will be here in time...  HELP!



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Saturday, April 27, 2013

Overheard at Breakfast



E - Where's John Chrysostom?
Me - In heaven.
E - Where are the chickens?
Me - On the farm
E - I never seen those before... Where's Papa?
Me - Mowing the grass.

{I promise I am not making this up!}



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Friday, April 26, 2013

7 QTs




--- 1 ---
"If you were looking for some sort of Casanova, Chicky, you found the wrong guy" - quote of the year : ) 

--- 2 ---
I probably should give a bit of background to said previous quote... One of the 2.5 shows that Lee and I watch together is 19 Kids and Counting... Next week the parents are giving a marriage retreat or something and then Lee and I decided we should do marriage retreats - because you know we've been married for almost 5 years now and have tons of life experience, right? Yeah I think our retreating days will have to wait for at least another 5 years... But all future time without kids we are dubbing 'Marriage Retreats' : )
--- 3 ---
So we had a little 'Marriage Retreat' earlier this week courtesy of On the Square in Tarboro made possible by Jibbe. Let's here it for the grandparents. It was a dinner meal wine tasting. We were seated with three doctors and their wives - who were super nice. The food was good - not great. There was ENTIRELY too much food and the dessert - which did not have any chocolate associated with it whatsoever - was Banana Pudding and the bananas were not ripe aka green. Don't get me wrong the food was tasty just a bit on the heavy side for me - Lee does not agree with my assessment of said food. Now the winemaker was AWESOME Mac McDonald of Vision Cellars. Oh my goodness. He has a great story and came in overalls. One of the topics of conversation with the people at the table was babysitting/helping out with grandkids. One woman said that she loves going to watch her grandkids and that she comes home super tired... I told her  "Thank the Lord for grandparents and everything you do!" - Ain't that the truth...

--- 4 ---
Tomorrow the girls and I are heading up and out to pick strawberries. Lee is convinced they are not ready yet... We'll see how R will fair without being able to walk. I envision crawling through the strawberries and crushing all that is in her path : ) Pics to follow... I promise!

--- 5 ---
Me - Did you have a nice sleep
E - Yes. Did you have any dreams?
Me - Yes. I dreamed about Nani. Did you have any dreams?
E - I dreamed about R. Did R have any dreams?
Me - I don't know you will have to ask her.
E - Papa dreamed about the pigs

{I have NO idea where she gets these things}

--- 6 ---
E - Do we have a hop-o-lin?
Me - What is that?
E - When you jump
Me - You mean a trampoline?


--- 7 ---
R is still not walking... yet. This kid WILL walk!

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Overheard...

In the car on the way home...
E - It rained for 40 nights and 40 years, did you know that?
Me - Mmm... No. Who told you that?
E - Ms. Debbie


While jumping off her big girl bed one morning {which I do not support}
E - KYRIE ELEISON, KYRIE ELEISON, KYRIE ELEISON!!!

When Papa came inside...
E - What were you doing out there?
Papa - Yard work
E - I do seat work in Ms. Debbie's class


While looking out the window and eating breakfast
E - When are we going to go smoke?
Me - {Blankly stares back} You mean burn the leaf pile?
E - Yes burn the leaves

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Saturday, April 20, 2013

Saturday Reflections...


A. Where did my 70 degree weather go?

B. We had a super productive day of house work - inside and outside. I vacuumed, did laundry, cleaned a few windows, went to the grocery store (hit up the 2.50/ gallon milk - thanks HT). Lee cooked eggs and bacon for breakfast, went to Wally's, cleaned the front porch and back patio.

C. Here is my running list of laundry loads that are or need to be done today:

1. Sheets
2. Girls sheets
3. Girls clothes
4. Papa's work clothes
5. Whites - normal soil
6. Bath mats
7. Girls bath mats
8. Towels
9. Lights
10. Darks
11. Whites - heavy soil, insane stain cycle aka Papa's work socks

To be done...
12. Delicates - will add girls clothes from today
13. Handwashables
14. Kitchen towels
15. Puff vest - that I have been waiting since 2011 to wash because I needed tennis balls to dry - Lee came through
16. Bathing suits from the sprinklers

D. E brought me some flowers in this afternoon! A girl at the office got flowers yesterday from her hubby and I was slightly jealous... E totally made up for it!

                                 


Ni Hao Yall



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Papa - Daughter Date

E and Papa went to Chik Fil A last night on their first official dinner. E thought it was great she was 'going to dinner'.

My dad and I used to go to Char Grill and play paper football and I bet if we went tomorrow we still would.

Anyone else have good daddy - daughter traditions???

Friday, April 19, 2013

Quick Take-os



--- 1 ---
Ahhh... another successful week. Soccer, sprinklers, friends over for dinner to be finished off with some fireworks tonight at the baseball game. E is super excited. R is sitting this one out : ) Sorry little one.... Maybe next time.

--- 2 ---
Tomorrow is going to be a work day inside and outside the house. Definitely need to get a clean / spring clean done... a while ago but better late than never. Papa is going to be leveling the backyard so I am sure E and R will get a kick out the digger.
--- 3 ---
Some friends of ours are getting married in Chicago this week. Definitely bummed to not be able to go... The girls have stayed (been dumped - that is my phrase not Grammys) with my parents the past two weekends due to a wedding and Catholic conference. I have serious mom guilt over leaving my kids with people whom I am not paying because I know how difficult they have the potential to be. Lee and pretty much everyone else say I need to get over it and let grandparents be grandparents - let's just say I am not there yet.

--- 4 ---
I think I should do a whole post on grandparents. They are pretty much awesome and you know I think they have a pretty sweet role too. AND I am secretly a little jealous of E and R because they have been able to see their grandparents so much more than I ever will/did. They will have special little relationships with them and due to where we lived in relation to my grandparents - for Uncle Kev and I we saw / see our grandparents once a year maybe? E and R are fortunate little girlies and I will not let them forget it... Grandparents post to come




--- 5 ---
Now about this Catholic conference... the kid policy is 'only nursing children' or over the age of 10. I heard some years it was enforced strictly and this year it was not... I am glad the girls did not come because they would have been bored BUT hello!!! Next year let's get a kids area set up with high school/college volunteers who need volunteer hours and parents and have a little coloring/craft area.  Everyone person I talked to about it at the conference thinks it is insane. COME ON PEOPLE, NOT ALLOWING KIDS IS ALMOST CONTRADICTORY TO THE CHURCH'S TEACHING ON CHILDBEARING / CHILDREARING... How do you expect a family who has a bunch of kids to come to the conference if they cannot bring their kids? Okay rant over... seeking to change policy soon.

--- 6 ---
Lee and I went out for dinner Saturday night after R was in bed and E was well on her way. This little Tacos and Tequila place up the street from my parents was really cool. The Mount does NOT have restaurants like this. Anyways, the service was quick, there was a trumpeter randomly walking around, there was some human statue woman who randomly moved - I think they said it was a Colombian custom. It was nice. I think we talked about the girls at least 50% of the conversation.

--- 7 ---
Maybe R will start walk next week? I think she can do it... She just needs a drop of courage and she'll be running with E


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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Afternoon Madness : ) During Holy Week - a few weeks late but better late than never and there is a connection!


We've had some highs and lows over the past two afternoons so enjoy...

Tuesday afternoon we had a playdate... I cut off naps 30 mins early. Generally not the best idea but you know. We get over for play time (fortunately not at our house because I like playing outside at our house inside is loud and stressful... but I will give in and host playdates.... fear not) and E is not totally out of the nap zone. Anyways she warms up. R eats a few rice cakes. Screams from the big girls... general toddler bickering silly stuff. Little sisters hit the floors. Big sisters decide to jump from the window sills upstairs. No one injured. Jumping stops.

Then my mama friend/playdate partner in crime says yall should stay for dinner. Both papas were working through dinner... Who likes dinner time solo Mama? Not these mamas. Ahhhh glorious idea. We have decided we'll be having these dinner times at least once a week. Seriously. Next time bringing pajamas for bath time.

Mama happy. Big sisters happy. Little sisters happy. Dinner. Clean up. Give E her '5 minutes'. She and J are too quiet for comfort upstairs and the kitchen mess was in relevantly good shape so it turns out they were 'conditioning' their hair with lotion. NICE. Fortunately E has much less in her hair than J. Too great of an evening to get upset.

These are from before the lotion...








Have a tearful load up but with the promise of playing and dining at our house. Did I mention this was awesome. Girls played. Moms talked. Everyone ate. Can you ask for much more? Oh and we were not that horribly off on the bedtimes? Pretty darn great.

Get home. Girls in bed. Go to Nani's. More mama talking. I am so glad that Nani and I live 2.5 secs apart instead of 20 minutes... Seriously it was bad before.

Flash forward to Wednesday afternoon... Presanctified with Anointing. Leave time 1 hr into naptime. Try and whisk the girls from naps to car and magically not wake them up... Emmmm... that did not really go as planned and neither when back to sleep.

As we are getting on the highway it sets in... E shoes were forgotten. AGH! E does not freak out about anything, right? Papa said to just let her wear socks. Yeah okay. Well when E came to her senses and realized we were going to church she said, "You have my shoes"... "No E we forgot them" Insert lip quivering, tear-fest with screams.

After dropping Papa off at church and Googling the closest shoe store - thank you smartphones - we traipsed over to the closest shopping center. Dear Cary... you are confusing and traffic patterns stink... Grab E. Grab R carry both in. Find clearance section. Not so clearance prices! Okay E loves Crocs and legitimately is growing out of her current pair slash she is wearing them out by scraping them while riding her little cycle.

Well it took some thinking to decide on the Crocs (wish I had the Target knock offs) R had unloaded my wallet that I gave her so stacks and stacks of shoes would not be destroyed. Argue with E over the color of Crocs. Quickly proceed to checkout. Crocs on so I don't have to carry E. Look out door. Note that both side doors of the van are wide open. NICE.

Run to car hoping that none of the good citizens of Cary took the two smartphones that were in the car. Breath sigh of relief.

Get to church 5 minutes late thanks to the crazy Cary traffic patterns but hey I could have bigger problems right?

Happy Holy Week.

+++

So that was a post from Holy Week clearly which who knows why I actually didn't post it... But we had another playdate turned dinner date at our house today. The big girls ran through sprinklers and the little girls watched from the sidelines in the little red car.

Evenings like these are way less stressful. I mean I actually cooked a meal - well kinda because I had to... It was was easy... Tacos + cheese + lettuce + salsa + tomatoes + olives + hot sauce + pinto beans. It was quite empowering. You know... I could actually do this making dinner thing (and should) and plan our meals every week so that when we come home in the afternoon I don't decide then... I even didn't forget anything... it took two trips to the grocery store (first time I managed to write down EVERYTHING for tacos... except tacos shells were mysteriously not on the list). AND most satisfying of all things... Lee ate some when he got home. S-H-O-C-K-I-N-G... I know. Anyways, so we got the girls cleaned up the laundry sink - yeah I have a sweet laundry room - and the girls messed around in the play kitchen and made a 'disaster area' according to E. Finally got them to sit for a hot minute. Water cups went flying. R started melting down. The big girls played dress up princesses. But you know what, not STRESSFUL. It was kind of like okay whatever it will get cleaned but we are going to eat and sit and talk while the kids do their kid thing and everything will be okay.

Cannot even tell you how much I need a neighbor who I can do this with once a week. It is nice on the flipside too because you load up the kids and get home and it does not have dinner mess to clean up. But even I did not have too much dinner mess to clean up because it was a joint clean up effort. Was the house spotless? No. Was it spotless to start? Ehhh... do you know me? Do I really care if my house is spotless on most evenings? Haha...

Will my house be spotless for E's party in a few weeks? Yes. Has a date been set? Negative ghostwriter... Does it looking like we are punting on the playset for this year? Yep. Am I okay with it? Yes sir. Is E okay with it? She never knew we were thinking about one...

Happy Wednesday night!!!

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Swingset Conundrum

Swingset are like a right of passage... for kids and now I am starting to believe for parents too. Growing up EVERYONE in our neighborhood had a swing set. All were different all were put to good afternoon imagination use.

So the time has come... or at least we think... to get a swingset for the Kibbe backyard. Here is where the right of passage thing comes in as parents - we have to decide which one to get. Seriously I think we have been in discussion about a swingset for almost a year. I have not seen too many swingsets recently but honestly the ones I have seen have not be overly impressive as I question they might not stand the test of time (or last more than 3 or 4 summers). Sams Club, Wally's, Lowes all have interesting/fun looking swingsets complete with multiple swings, that double horsey thing, slides, climbing walls... the works. All in the reasonable $500-$800 range. However, E was on one before we moved and it was a little on the creaky and shaky side after 2.5 years - not lying.



Also the boys up the street got one put up over the weekend and the directions for installation state '20-24 hours for assembly'! Ha! If you know my hubby at all you would no that anything like that is now officially not going in our backyard.

So I looked at this Leonard Play Fort. It is small and about $500 but cannot have anything added to it AND those crazy people will not call me back about the climbing wall versus the stairs!



Then there is the plastic option which WILL stand up for longer than the wood - or at least I think - still $500 for something E will only be interested in for a couple more years. There is a plastic and a large wooden set at church and her overwhelming preference is the wooden set so I think she has axed that one.



So now it comes down to this - or at least in my mind - why spend $600 on something you know will last for 3-4 years and might even need to be replaced (because swingsets are used up until 8-10 range, right) when you can save your $$$ and buy something with a Lifetime Limited Warranty - that comes assembled?  Well the answer is we would likely have to wait out another summer to save up some pennies for a pricier one BUT I cannot justify spending money on something less than good quality to satisfy 'in the mean time'. Am I totally over thinking this? I happen to think not but I know its entirely possible.



Oh and we have looked on Craigslist... Anything that has to be A. Disassembled and B. Reassembled is pretty much a no brainer out of the questioner....


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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Silent Protest...

No idea why the big girl bed is being shunned....

Fireflies Roll...

To first we-don't-keep-score victory (but coaches can in their heads, right?)...
Game Face


Excited about the game


I know you all have been overly interested in the Fireflies most recent (and only contest). Let just say the Fireflies totally rocked out the Sharks out of the water! Well we did not really play by the exact rules/guidelines... We played everyone on the field so we had 5 and they had 6. We also did not stop at the allotted whistles to take a break because how do you stop 3 yr olds soccer action? Well you don't...

Seriously... seriously way proud of those kiddos. I think everyone on the team scored a goal except E who was content in her pointing and looking and me picking her up and running her closer to the ball. Some of the kids were way into though : ) Did I mention is the glaringly obviously she is not quite 3? Anyway E thought it was fantastic... and Papa and Jibbe and R were there to cheer her on. 

Also I think one of the kids favorite parts of soccer is going into a circle and shouting... one, two, three FIREFLIES! I think we must have done that 4 or 5 times in a 45 minute span... Whatever it takes but today the fireflies got the job done!

Monday, April 15, 2013

Images from the Afternoon - R's First Popsicle

R loves popsicles despite her silly 'oh my that is crazy cold' faces! She would have loved to have eaten the entire thing!












I told the boys (you know our neighbors up the street that I am soooo glad they live 2.5 secs away and have those super cute heart stopping-ly wild boys - at least for me : ) mama that she is going to have the house in the neighborhood that ALL the kids want to play at. All the cool toys and best food! Power wheels, scooters, sprinklers, jungle-gyms and now popsicles... I have to step up my game! 

Overheard... Russian Salad

Russian Salad is a dish that Lee makes on Pascha for the meal after church. It has beets and dills and other things that I am not a huge fan of... nor is E

E - "Are we have Russian salad for dinner"
Me - "No"
E - "Why"
Me - "It is a Pascha food"
E - "Do you like Russian salad"
Me - "No, I don't really like the flavors"
E - "Me too and Mrs. K... [pause] Russian salad might have stomach bugs"

My thoughts exactly...

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Friday, April 12, 2013

7 QT's... Rapid/Random Fire


--- 1 ---

A few minutes ago I just did something random... And semi-expensive... But I think I got a good deal... if I actually follow through on it and now that I have $65 invested in it I guess I will definitely have to get myself in gear...


I signed up for a .5 marathon... its in a year but still it sounds fun and hopefully I won't regret it


--- 2 ---
Have you ever colored with your toddler? I think it is very soothing... E and I colored for about 30 minutes before bed... It was a nice way to wind down and spend time with her and do something that she wanted to do on her terms.

--- 3 ---
Sprinkler time has been all the rave this week. I think E thinks that it is going to be a permanent part of outside time... Papa come on let's get those sandboxes filled up. I am tired of pulling up weeds. Ahhhh... my grass has so many dang weeds in it.

--- 4 ---
Speaking of sandboxes and yard... Our backyard has some timeline complications. I told Papa E's birthday cannot be discussed until I know when 1. the 20x20 leaf pile will be burned. 2. The stump and massive mosquito water haven will be no longer a mini-lagoon 3. When the pig cooker and pit will be moved into the back corner of the yard. Don't worry I have a back up plan but he'll have to foot the bill for it : )

--- 5 ---
Speaking of Papa... and the summer laundry. Oh summer laundry. I have At least two additional weekly loads of laundry during the summer. The crazy dirty work clothes that have to be on the heavy soil, presoak, extra rinse, stain cycle with Tide pods and double detergent and double the fabric softener AND the white socks load (in addition to the regular to be bleached whites - undershirts, towels, and normal dirty socks). The white socks that Papa brings home is a testament to the hard work he does and the variety of tasks that he does... Red clay - typical dirt but very hard to get out, Blue glue - for pipes that is straight up impossible to remove, white tacky silicon glue can be picked off but who has time to do that, and finally E's favorite - concrete... yah about that.

--- 6 ---
Monday is our first Fireflies soccer game... I'm adding a soccer rule for this kiddos... Listening ears!

--- 7 ---
Oh man I am so glad this Friday almost out of time. Today and this week have been an interesting one with E. We are at the non-compliance part of obeying/listening whatever. I realize she is only almost 3 BUT she will look at me, hear me ask her to do something (not horribly outlandish - brush teeth, put shoes on etc) sooo.... come on super moms what do you do? We are currently working through - gently reprimanding, raised voice reprimanding, time out in room, taking privileges away etc AND most importantly PRAISING immediately when compliance is done when first asked and done fully.


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Thursday, April 11, 2013

Sprinklers and Sewing adventures...



Yesterday I jerry-rigged a sprinkler for E. We don't actually have a fun little rotating sprinkler head because this yard and are previous yard are/were MASSIVE and basically not worth watering. So.... enter sprayer on porch rail plus electric cord (not plugged in) to anchor... BAM sprinkler. The boys up the street have a sprinkler so maybe we can race up there today but I hate to intrude in their play every day... E would not mind. They have cooler outside toys you know.

Oh and in other jerry-rigging insanity. I have it in my mind that I am going to sew E and R a dress or two this summer. Yes please keep the giggles to a minimum. So basically there are a bunch of Facebook groups or Esty pages that have super cute dresses like this. Well these super cute dresses are in the $40 range. So $80 for two... errrr... negative ghost rider. Well fortunately I have some uber crafty office mates. Did I mention I have a great job and work with some pretty great gals ? The guys are okay too I guess : ) 


Well last night one of my partners in crime and I ventured to get a pattern, fabric, backing, thread and appliqués... Most of the appliques were not even remotely large enough like these so we settled for a few smaller ones. I also wanted a bright green  fabric but we could not find a really great one... so we got something else.

ANYWAYS... next week there will be a D-Day and we will convene for dress making. I will keep you updated. HOWEVER if anyone has any advice about large appliques let me a comment. I know most appliques are just programed into the sewing machine but I clearly am not ready for such things. Any place to get a sew on large appliqué?

Monday, April 8, 2013

Recent Ponderings...


1. I have a profound respect for E's 2 yr old teachers... Today's practice with 3 yr olds was pretty comical. I think before the end of practice every kid has stood in the goal and started gnawing on the net... Excellent

2. The Fireflies uniforms are super cute. I wonder how next week's game will play out. Now onto searching out end of season trophies.

3. I have it in my head that I am going to sew E and R a dress (or two). Seriously there are some way cute A-Line dresses with appliques that I have seen on FB that are $40! Hello... for two girls that is $80... Not going to happen. Kriss and Nani have my back and we are going to get crafty/domestic!

4. Speaking of crafty... Papa's stocking. Seriously this pattern has 1000000 quarter stitches which is a major problem on really tight/new cloth... problems.

5. Why does our front yard have so many weeds? Because I find pulling weeds therapeutic? Yeah I know its weird.

6. Father-daughter dances that involve 2 yr old girls should be banned. Seriously. Such unnecessary, un-controlable waterworks is so crazy!!! E ADORES her Papa... and to see them together... ahhhh my heart melts down into nothing. All the unnecessary frustration with her/the girls makes it all 1000 times worth it to see them together. I think when E and R actually do get married I am not going to be able to be at the reception while that dance is going on : )


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A week in iPhone pics

Sorry I have been a bit MIA...

Last Tuesday kicked off the pool season and E was there to supervise


DIGGER!



School was out for Spring Break! AHHHHH!!!! My beloved schedule... Fortunately had a babysitter come to the house for the week. I perpetuated the madness by going to see Papa and the digger at lunch time. R fell asleep in the car. Then we had lunch with Papa which was a real treat! Totally worth the unscheduled madness


Then off to Wilson (why did we not move there again) to visit a Lamaze buddy and check out an awesome park and eat dinner. Dinner is much less stressful when someone else is there to talk to you. I had this pleasurable experience Wednesday (more on that in a different post)


Anyway the Wilson park was awesome and the weather was just a great!

Later in the week I pulled a ton of weeds in the yard. R helped/discovered dirt and just how fun it can be.


Mini hole. Courtesy of R


E was way interested in coloring her Easter egg. Those tights have still not recovered.
E did this thing last week where she took F-O-R-E-V-E-R to eat. One dinner time she was in her seat for an hour because she wanted to earn her dessert. One this occasion she was eating Nerds - one at a time!


This morning... reading and rosary and beads...