Our Wounded Crib

Last night after we put the kids to bed, we heard a loud bang from upstairs followed by Jordan's voice "the side of the crib fell off". Mike went upstairs, propped the side of the crib back up (I know, it's not very safe), and the kids went back to sleep. Well, this morning when I went up to the kids' room and saw the crib, it made me think back to when we first bought that crib...

Before Jordan was born, I was so excited to buy all the "baby stuff". We didn't have very much money (actually we didn't have any money), but we tried to get the best we could for what we had. We got our stroller, carseat and all the other things we needed. When it came time to buy the crib, we had a hard time. All the cribs were so expensive--and we had to buy the mattress too?! When we thought about our little girl who was on the way, we wanted her to have the best, but we really couldn't afford it. Finally, I let my logically-minded husband talk me into getting the cheapest crib we could find. So instead of the $500 sleigh crib that I longed for, we ended up getting the floor model of the cheapest crib possible for only $80. Once we got it home and put the bedding in it, I thought it was alright. Now this crib has been through three babies!

Well, Tyson is almost 2yrs old now, and we are not about to buy a new crib, but I am not about to put him in a big-kid bed either. So, I guess we'll pull out the duct tape and make this crib last a few more months. Isn't it funny how your perspective changes??

Too Scared

We, as parents, made a fatal mistake.

A few weeks ago Jordan came home from school and said she read a really great book. The title of the book was Jumanji. Later that same day, we were at Walmart and saw the movie Jumanji on sale for $5. Jordan was very excited and begged to buy it. I had never seen the movie and Mike had seen it long ago. Since our kids have never really been scared of anything they had watched on TV, we decided to get it. Mike and the girls started watching it. They didn't get more than 45 min. into the movie before it was bedtime. Well about 2 days later, Jordan was scared to go anywhere by herself. Finally, she told me it was because of the movie--Jumanji. I felt so bad--we never should have let her watch it!! Now, she is scared to be anywhere by herself, she gets Kya to turn the lights on in the bathroom before she'll go near it, she needs her lamp on at bedtime, and she needs to watch Barney before bed to make her think happy thoughts. It is so frustrating to us because Jordan has been so independant for so long and now she needs someone with her constantly. It is also so sad though, because I remember being scared and having bad dreams when I was a kid. What can we do? I don't want to encourage her irrational behavior, but I want to comfort her if she is scared. My poor little girl.

Embarrassing Moments

When I was younger it seemed like I was always asked "What's your most embarrassing moment" and I could never think of anything. Now that I have kids, I have hundreds of embarrassing moments. Whether it's a baby loudly filling their diaper in the middle of church or a child trying to say "space ship" only using a "t" instead of a "p" in ship--these moments are hilarious and plentiful. So here's a couple recent moments worth mentioning:

1) The Transvestite at Walmart--Okay, we were going through the checkout at Walmart and our teller was a Pat--well actually a "Cameron". This guy/girl was wearing a skirt, but I swear it was a man. Anyways, Kya said to me loudly "Is that a boy or a girl??" What was I supposed to say??? I kind of looked at the teller in confusion and then said "Well she's wearing a skirt, so it must be a girl", then the teller spoke and his/her voice was very manly. Kya then said with a giggle "No, Mom, it's a boy not a girl!" I was mortified.

2) Pantsless in Taco Bell--I was in line to order food at Taco Bell. The kids were playing in one of those photo booths with the curtain. Next thing I knew one of the customers sitting eating her food said "I think your son has no pants on". I looked into the photo booth and there was Tyson with no pants on AND NO DIAPER!!! Oh my gosh!!

How boring would life be without these little ones?!

My Little Kya Bear

Kya has been so sweet and silly lately, that I just had to dedicate a post to her.

When we were at the park on Friday, Kya was introducing herself before she went down the slide. This is what she said "Introducing Kya "the cold" (instead of Kya "Nicole"). Then when it was Tyson's turn she said "Introducing Tyson "the cold."

Kya is 4 years old now and she has learned that sometimes 4 is too little and sometimes its pretty grown up. She has learned to use this to her advantage. For example, when she can't quite make it to the potty in time she says "But I'm just a little girl" or if she is asked to help clean up "But, that's for big kids and I'm just little". But if she wants to stay up late we hear "But I'm a big girl" or when she wants to tag along with Jordan to a sleepover, she tries this one "But, I'm grown up now, Mom, I'm 4." It's hard to ignore such persuasive arguments.

Kya has always been interested in what is going on in the car. One time when I passed a vehicle that was driving slow she said "Those other cars won't stop us!" It was so cute. Now she has started chanting "Go Mama Go", whenever she sees a car beside us. She chants over and over until we pass the car.

A couple days ago, I came into the living room to find Kya in Tyson's Halloween costume (which arrived in the mail and is way too big for him--grrr, but I can't exchange it because they are all sold out--grr again). I said "Hi Firefighter Kya" and she replied "Don't call me firefighter Kya because it's just a costume, I am still just Kya."

Nothing is funnier than watching Kya's dance moves. I don't know if you can call it dancing, it's more like running and kicking. So funny!

Even though Kya is "daddy's" girl, she is always ready for a good snuggle from Mom or Dad. She loves to nestle right in close to watch TV or just to talk. I love that about my little Kya bear--sometines a good snuggle is just what I need.

Time to Purge

Getting ready for the communtiy-wide garage sale (which we didn't end up participating in because I was in bed sick as a dog), really made me realize how much STUFF we have accumulated over the past few years. It is time for some "fall cleaning" or more like "fall chucking" (that doesn't sound so good). I am starting to feel so cluttered and with Christmas and birthdays coming up, I am not holding back. If we haven't used it in the last year--it's going in the garbage!! I just finished cleaning out my laundry room cupboards and filled two bags with garbage. So let the festivities begin...

Fall Festivities

Fall has arrived! Now that it's mid-september I can start breaking open my "fall box". I have already picked out and ordered--that's right ordered all the kids' Halloween costumes. I am so excited. It is so much fun that Jordan and Kya can pick out what they want to be! Tyson was a tough one ( I couldn't find a curious george costume that I liked). Here are the costumes the kids picked out:

Any guesses who is going to be what??

My next goal is to set up an apple picking trip (hopefully I'm not too late) and pick up a few new fall decorations. I also want to visit the corn maze, pumpkin patch, make popcorn balls, go for a hayride...and possibly a trip to Canada (we'll see--I just can't seem to stay away).

As you can tell, I am very excited about a new and exciting reason to celebrate. We also have Tyson's second birthday coming up next month--wow!!

Lost and NOT Found

Oh my gosh, can I tell you about how I am the worst mom EVER?! Most of you already know we went to Disneyland this past weekend. Well, Jordan got the privilage of taking her 1st Grade class bear (Jada Bear) with her on the trip. I bet you can tell where this story is going. Anyways we took Jada around meeting all the princesses and riding all the rides--and taking lots of pictures. About an hour after a bathroom trip, we realized we didn't have Jada Bear anymore! We retraced our steps (pretty sure we left her in the bathroom) but found nothing. We went to the lost and found over and over, until the last day of our trip (we even called after we got home to see if anything turned up)--nothing. The sad thing is Jordan just felt horrible. She cried and cried--I felt like crying too. I just felt like the worst mom in the world. We totally could have prevented this!!

When we got back home, we searched for a bear that looked like Jada, but found nothing. This morning I took Jordan to school and told Mrs. Glenn what had happend--not exactly the reaction I was expecting. She just laughed and said "I guess she just wanted to stay at Disneyland because she was having so much fun". When I thought about it, that really was the answer of a 1st grade teacher. She made me feel better, and I am sure she made Jordan feel better too.

So if anyone goes to Disneyland and sees a light brown bear with a pink ballet dress on, call me!!

The Happiest Place on Earth

Okay, so we took a last minute trip to Disneyland this weekend. Here is a little about out trip:

1) We saw the princesses: After standing in line for about an hour to meet what we thought was all the princesses--we found out that we were only going to meet one or two of them. Luckily the two that were there were Sleeping Beauty (Jordan's favorite) and Snow White (Kya's favorite). Later we just happened to walk by Ariel, so the girls stopped to meet her too. We also watched a princess show where Jasmine, Belle, and Sleeping Beauty all danced with the girls. It was really cute.

2) We went on some rides: I think we scared the girls by taking them on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and The Matterhorn. They didn't want to go on any other scary rides. The favorites were; Jumping Jelly Fish, Toontown Roller Coaster, and that stupid sun farris wheel--I think that's it's official name (which made me absolutely sick to my stomach). Mom liked "It's a small world" because it put Tyson right to sleep.

3) We got wet: The girls loved playing in the water in A Bug's Life. Jordan seriously could have stayed there all day. Tyson wasn't a fan.

4) We got tired: Two days in a row at Disneyland/California Adventure was a bit much with three little ones. Five minutes after we got there on the second day Kya was asking for a break. We had a lot of fun, but kids can only walk around so long--especially when Dad's such a cheap skate and won't let us buy any food. Next time I think we'll take a rest day in between ;)

Two Videos and a Picture

There is a reason why they say:

Sugar and spice and everything nice
That's what little girls are made of.

Snakes, snales and puppy dog tails
That's what little boys are made of.

Enjoy two sweet videos of my girls and a not-so-sweet picture of my boy.