Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Five Favs... about the birthday guy



Here's to the man of the day... Five Favs - it was kinda hard to pick but you'll get the idea.

1. He is a fantastic hubby


Cannot believe November is going to be our 5 yr anniversary. He has completely changed the direction of my life in such a good way. He is so loving {and all the other mushy lovey adjectives you want to insert here}. He is an EXCELLENT cook - and I am not and he still loves me through that.

2. He is a wonderful father



He adores his children and they adore him. He loves them and watching him with them is something really incredible.

3. He is a man dedicated to God



Even though he was skeptical of my nudging/encouraging him to start the diaconate classes 5+ years ago, I could not be prouder to be his wife. He spent many {some frustrating} hours mulling over papers and book lists and now homilies; it is a true joy to see how far he has come and to watch him continue to grow.

4. He is super handy



No job too big or too small. Sometimes he does need his wifey to come up with brilliant ideas like putting the infant tub under the ceiling as he cuts through it to find the leak. He has repaired many things. He moved our family of three when I was 36 weeks pregnant with R and single handily packed up everything. When there is illness he is the one manning the washer/dryer at 2:45 in the morning. While his not the first to jump up and change a diaper, he's a keeper.

5. He is an avid reader. 

The number of books this guy has read in the past year - let alone 5 years is INCREDIBLE. Sometimes I am jealous of his love for reading {not all the time though}. While I have been known to grumble over the number of books he has and at least once a weekly packages that flow into our house from Amazon {UPS man DON'T RING THE BELL}


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Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Behind the Scenes - Sisters on the Swing set



We recently had a swing set put up in the backyard. Normally both girls want to be pushed on the 'wings' {according to R}. Sometimes, though, E want to be big and push her sister. It is so sweet watching them together. If I am pushing R is never looks behind to see me but when E is 'pushing' her R is totally interested in what E is doing. E gives commentary on how hard it is to push or how high R is going. 

The only downside to the pushing is that E has unfortunately learned the hard way about gravity and what swings up will swing down. Fortunately E has only gotten in the crossfire of the swinging R once - but once was enough to have her make a wide arch around the swing when it is swinging. 

I cannot wait to see these girls grow up together!



crystalstine.me

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Monday, July 29, 2013

Chalk, Snakes and Showers - Our Afternoon Adventures

Let's forget about crisis E had over the destruction of the princess puzzle AND the crisis over her umbrella being put on probation from this morning. This afternoon is SO much more interesting. E decided to not nap during her rest time and R greeted me with the fragrant aroma of a stinky diaper 25 minutes before rest was over.

Rest was declared over earlier than intended. I still had work emails to send so this is what I was greeted by:



No problem... so long as it is put away. Except after asking and multiple warnings, 95% of the toys won't be seen for a week. I will not beg... Its not my style so instead there are consequences for inactions.

Box of taken away toys

E was way mad. R didn't seem to mind. On to the next thing. The walk was relatively uneventful. I remain perplexed as to why the September edition of High Five arrives in July but that was the least of my problems.

I got the sprinkler going in the back - in grass - again another crisis that really nominal comparatively. Since you are dying to know the backstory, Papa would not allow the sprinkler on the driveway yesterday which was a MAJOR point of controversy and ultimately you can guess who won - the person whose age is NOT in the single digits.

Sandboxes open. Race inside to get the burrito stuffing on the stove and tomato and lettuce chopped BECAUSE I realize our demise is eminent since naps were less than good. The girls were very well occupied between the empty bubble bottles, sandboxes, sprinkler (E only), shouting at Lukie-Luke (the dog next door), and chalk which E dragged out of the garage to color on the back patio.

I helicoptered around the windows and doors trying to keep an eye on what was going on. I knew the end was near after I caught R consuming hunks of chalk. Reprimand by trying to get as much chalk out as possible... made easier by R's screams of protest. Run back inside. Burrito stuffing not burning... Excellent. R consuming more chalk. Remove chalk bits. Huddle her over to E and the sandboxes. Run back inside and get cheese and sour cream and salsa out. Girls in blind spot so I cannot see anything from either window or door.



Find them playing in the dirt spot where a sandbox was. Shovels and all. E said they were in "flower class". R must have been way hungry...




Because chalk and dirt make a perfect combo! {I promise I am a good mom!}




With that non-food consumption going on, outside time was whistled over. We were running a mere 30 minutes ahead of normal dinner time schedule.  I was way on top of things! I even had the clothes I was bleaching out of the laundry room sink so hands and feet washed and cleaned {enough}.

E was overly excited about 'burritas' and sour cream. Expiration on the sour cream was errrr... today. So stirred it up and bam. Did not taste great but its sour cream so what should it taste like? Not willing to run the risk of expired dairy... again so X'ed that one. E was not totally heartbroken. R ate the filling (Nani's recipe} and E devoured a whole burrita. As I was up and down, up and down. I noticed this thing that was out of place in the backyard.

Snake close to the afternoon chalk work


I have a mild freak out session. Hello my girls were playing out there less than 10 minutes ago!?!?!?! Call Lee who is on is way home. Okay who's next on the chopping block to get a call. The boys papa up the street? Negative straight to voicemail.

NANI! Mi vecina! Well actually her hubby! {So glad we moved to be a stones throw from their house - well maybe not that close but its not a 25 minute ride!}



The snake made good forward progress as I waited for my snake chopper. I kept the girls occupied at the table with cantaloupe and figs. I had to keep my eye on the thing! E kept on asking where the snake was and if it was the bird and a bunch of other stuff... But I was slightly preoccupied.

The guys finally showed up and declared that it was 'just a bitty thing'. Hmm.... let's discuss just how NOT bitty that snake was. Lee showed up to join the snake killing party.


Really large black snake!

Death of the black snake
Can we discuss how violated I feel by this snake's presence in my backyard? Okay no because its on to bath and shower. Get R in tub. E and Papa come back inside after seeing our snake killers off. Check on R who has settled into the tub and toys.

Rush to get E in the shower before Papa but not without her commentary on R's bath.

Me - To the shower
E - R's bath water is REALLY dirty
Me - I know she got into the dirt

Turn corner to bathroom... Note that dirt does not normally smell like that. FANTASTIC!

Does chalk and dirt contain some sort of insta-laxative? {No time to ponder such things}

Grab R. Shout for reinforcements. Get our shower going - yes another traumatic shower experience for the girl - second in a week. Rinse her off. Get soap going. E refuses to get in shower. Repeatedly asks about the situation going on in the kids bathroom. I assure her it was jut an accident amidst R's shrieks. Rush the clean R out of the shower and get her Elmo. Silence. Diaper on. PJs on. E in shower. Second set of PJs on.

Bath tub and toys clean courtesy of Papa.

E - That's my Elmo!
Papa - R likes Elmo
E - But she's wearing frogs!
Mama - You are wearing princesses
E - ...
Mama - Can you please share Elmo with R. She deserves it, she was way brave {not} in the shower..
E - Here's my Elmo!

All before R really realized that Elmo had been swiped and put back in her arms.

Prayers. Bed for one. Puzzle for the other. Bed again. Hair tie color not right. Potty. Hitting hand on wall on way back to room. Demands for snuggles. Cannot reason with an overtired 3 yr old.

Silence

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Overheard... These will never get old

E - I had a yogurt popsicle
Jibbe - You did!
E - I did.
Jibbe - What flavor was it?
E - It was YOGURT!
Jibbe - No what flavor was it?
E - Ummm... it did not have a flavor

Jibbe - Where do you want to go for lunch tomorrow?
E - I want to go through the drive thru with R and you need to bring the van
Jibbe - Okay I'll drive the van
E - And I want a juice box and chicken nuggets and R wants a milkshake and I want chocolate milk

E - R keeps on ttacking me! She tacks me!
Me - Its okay. She loves you
E - But mama she always ttacks me

{at the spray park where everyone where a wrist band}
E - Mama take this off its killin me! Its killin me Papa!
Me - If you take it off you have to leave and its pretty loose
E - Its killin me!

{While working on her puzzle}

E - Where's Grandpa Joe live?
Me - In Raleigh
E - He eats ALL the figs {Fig Newtons - yeah I am one of those parents who counts Fig Newtons as cookies and uses them for dessert}
Me - He does?
E - YES HE EATS ALL THE FIGS
Me - Grammy can get more.
E - We have figs too. He can eat our figs because WE HAVE A WHOLE NEW PACKAGE! {bouncing up and down} A WHOLE NEW PACKAGE! A WHOLE NEW PACKAGE!!!!

{resumes and completes 100 piece puzzle; minus the border which I did but I did not put a single middle piece in the puzzle. There was direction given on twisting the pieces to fit but once she settled into her calmed, semi-focused puzzle state - she was good. Those last seven pieces were painful to watch... I just wanted to pick them up and put them in the right spot - yeah my OCD tried to rear its ugly head but I kept it at bay so E could say she did it!}



Me - Do you want to where Elmo to bed?
R - Elbow? Elbow! ELBOW!!!!







{She even commandeered E's Elmo for bedtime purposes. E is demanding Elmo be returned by the time her bedtime roll around}


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Saturday, July 27, 2013

Ice Cream Party + Spray Park = Insanely Obedient 3 yr old

So I got the hankering for an ice party from Margaret when I saw her pics the other day.


After Lee's work appointment this morning he graciously patronized Wally's so I would not have to. Reese's shell was on the list - he had no idea what that is so he got two Reese's items that were not Reese's shell. Those Reese's minis are pretty horrible and I would not recommend them to anyone fantastic and there maybe be some left tomorrow.

Since we were graced with Papa's presence for most of the day - and there were not a zillion things to do and he was not working - he ordered a family activity. He originally voted for Pullen Park - its an hour away in Raleigh-world and Hurricane Kibbe crashed into Grammy and Grandpa Joe's last weekend + Grammy was on girl duty on Monday, that option was slashed. Not driving to and from Raleigh Saturday and Sunday, now.

Rocky Mount Spray Park


My vote was Jibbe's pool + grill out. I was not married to the idea and Papa wanted to go to a park so he vetoed the pool - shocker - and RMT Spray Park it was. Now what do you get when you have a Spray Park date + an ice cream party... well let me tell you.

Me - You need to eat your taco meat for lunch
E - I don't like it
Me - Well don't eat it, but you cannot come to our ice cream party after dinner
E - Mama! {meat consumed}

Me - You made a massive mess of your taco meat under your chair
E - {grin}
Me - Please clean it up and wash your hands and go take a rest
E - Mama! I don't want to
Me - If you want to go to the spray park you will do it
E - {15 minutes later and most of the larger pieces cleaned up... silence}


We really don't do park trips or planned out ice cream parties and in the same day... unheard of.  But the girls were troopers this morning. I vacuumed and did laundry and walked for about 2.5 miles!!! Papa got the grass mowed because he is trying to win the neighborhood - "Who has the most manicured grass award" : )


We got to the spray park and Papa and the girls rode the train. R was way mad. E was more interested in the spray park. They also up-ed the admission to the train to $2 which is a total scam and spray park is a nominal $3. Seriously $2 for the train? I think Pullen is still $1 and the ride is nicer and the train is way cooler but don't tell Papa and E that!


R sat the spray park out because she hates spraying water. Yesterday E lured her into the sprinkler and R got way mad and pitched a fit. E was not getting into the spray and I was kind of getting perturbed but said situation. We made the effort to get out of the house... now you need to take advantage. I was thinking I totally should have VETOED the Jibbe pool idea but then she finally got in  - 7 minutes before we had to leave. R was again way mad and shouted "cup, cup, cup and nack nack nack" for a good portion of the spray park time.... Whoops!



Lee cooked bbq chicken and corn and cabbage on the grill. The girls successfully managed to dump not one, or two or three BUT FOUR bottles of bubbles in the span of 5 minutes. I am still not sure how E managed to open them. I am pretty sure our house has been drained of its bubble supply. R still had a good time with the wand, meticulously standing up each empty bottle, putting the wand in, taking it out and blowing on it/dragging it on the ground/licking it.


We hit up the swingset after said parties realized there was no bubble juice left. Why is it that the first thing E does while swinging - after demanding to be pushed - is go into a Alleluia interlude? Whatever? Jibbe came over and I was able to sneak inside and get out of the heat. Everyone else was comfortable but I have been hot all day.

R faded quickly and she could not make it to our ice cream party : ( In fact it was bath night and it was late so she got a shower - which she HATED. Remember she does not like spraying water? Hopefully she'll enjoy the spray park by the time she's 15. She screamed the ENTIRE 90 seconds the shower took. As soon as she was out she treated me to a liquid present... and I totally deserved it.

Enter ice cream party

1. Vanilla ice cream
2. Reese's mini cups
3. Reese's pieces
4. Mini M&Ms
5. Sprinkles from Grammy
6. Neon sprinkles
7. Wet Walnuts (the one thing Lee can trust me not to eat)
8. Whipped Cream





E put everything except wet walnuts. See I have taught her something!

E's ice cream party bowl


Papa wins the prettiest ice cream award



Jibbe convinced him to sit with us and not be anti-social in his my recliner.

Jibbe's ice cream


My bowl. Why do I need ice cream?




Overall we got alot of stuff done today and everyone is going to bed on a sugar high. I think we need to institute monthly family ice cream parties. 

This makes me want to do a load of laundry everyday!

Stains that will not come out even after stain remover is applied! The white shirts have been through the wash three times the yellow and blue stain are from today's laundry cycle. Think I will put the whites in with my bleach load today and see how they turn out!

Friday, July 26, 2013

7 Quick Takes - Did you really just say that to me? Edition



--- 1 ---

{Here's to Papa the random dude on the elevator...}



{At a plant fertilizer and nutrients conference; this is crucial background info to the awkwardness of this conversation}

Random Guy in Elevator - I see you've had enough fertilization.
Me - Yep
Guy - I can't believe I just said that
Me - Yep
Guy - You gotta admit, it was funny
Me - ...


--- 2 ---

Dear Feet - Let's be friends again. Those shoes from Monday were totally rocking and could possibly be my new favorite shoe because they were insanely on sale from Aldo and they are super cute and way comfortable and I can rock them preggo-style no problem-o BUT this is contingent on the fact that the blisters on the back of my heels toughen up and get with the program!




--- 3 ---
Ignorance on the airplane... Seriously this woman stood in line for the restroom (that was empty) for a solid 5 minutes. Also, what is the deal with people who do not listen to the announcement "Please turn off all electronic device..." and CONTINUE TO read your e-reader or work on the laptop. Finally, I think that airlines should make people take out earbuds/earphones during take off and landing because those people totally are listening to music.

--- 4 ---
Glad to be Home - I am not a great traveler when it comes to freaking out about stuff. I get overly nervous about life. I am not afraid of flying or anything I'm just a hot mess for about a week before leaving. But fear not, I am back and better!

Enjoying the walk home


--- 5 ---
Another Rental - ??? We are thinking about another rental house sometime in the next year. Kinda not into the stock market so we need to find somewhere to invest. We'll shall see about that!

--- 6 ---
How about I go to check and see why R is still not asleep after 45 minutes of jabbering and chattering in bed... The girl does not even see me because she has got her head between her legs getting ready to somersault. Yeah... she is AWESOME!

--- 7 ---

E- I'm gonna learn how to swim
Me - And swim on the swim team like Mama?
E - Yes and wear a fancy bathing suit.
Me - Great!
E - Where's you fancy bathing suit?
Me - I can't wear it anymore
E - Well Uncle Kevin wears fancy undies...



{I promise I did NOT tell her that the weanie-bikinis were 'fancy undies'. It was either Grammy or she concocted the term all on her own. I guess now Jammers have replaced the weanie-bikinis}


Jammers



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Thursday, July 25, 2013

Happy Anniversary!




To this short little document written in 1968. We read several books and Humanae Vitae as part of our marriage prep. This was by far the shortest and most pointed reading requirement we had. Now I don't want to give anything away, since I hope you'll take the 10 minutes to read it, but it blows my mind that couples in Catholic marriage prep programs are not required to read it.

Well actually I do know why because it contains Truth that is easier left undiscussed. I am not here to get into a discussion or pass judgement upon those who have or have not read it. So if you can spare 10 minutes on a not-so-old church document check it out.

Lee and I will probably do a re-read of it together on this day : )



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Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Five Favs - Volume - What should we get Papa for his birthday?



{These gems courtesy of E}

1. A blue baby - errr... yeah. I don't think Papa wants a baby doll. I think Papa would be thrilled with a live baby boy but we won't put our eggs in that basket

2. A Nini - a blue Nini. Papa already has a Nini and it is brown and orange and green.

3. Bubbles and a butterfly bubbler and bubble gun. Turns out E really wants a bubble gun for HER birthday.

4. Minnie, Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Pluto. While I am sure Papa would love a trip to Disney that won't happen and I think we are set with our 1 Mickey, 1 Pluto, 2 Minnie and 2 Goofys.

5. If you have any legitimate birthday present suggestions for a soon to be 36 (gasp) year-old that does not involve books or cookware. Hit me up with some fresh ideas. (Man I am glad to not even be in my 30s yet. Sorry Lee you are t-minus 4 yrs til over the hill)


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Consignment Shop Finds

We met up with some friends for a little consignment shop action. I got some pretty good deals. No shoes though. I really do scour the shoes section since E in particular is SO ROUGH on her shoes. No luck there. Does the start of the school year warrant a brand new pair of shoes? Errr... maybe so. Thoughts?

BUT I got a Hanna outfit and this cute watermelon dress - among other things. Remember when I said I wanted to sew the girls dresses? Well I found my cute dress and I did not have to figure out how a sewing machine works.



Well I still have to sew dresses because I dropped more than a dime on the pattern and fabric but I am slightly less motivated to get it done this summer - like that was going to happen anyways!