Go Fish!

I've never been a huge fan of Goldfish, but my kids seem to like them. Then we discovered new Flavor-Blasted Goldfish, and boy are those tasty! So, the last time I saw them on sale at Target, I decided we should try out several of the different flavors. My pantry is stocked with 3 packages, only one of which was opened. The other day, Ashley brought me an unopened (green) package of Ranch-flavored Goldfish and wanted some for a snack. Not wanting to have 3 opened packages at one time, I went in search of the already-opened package which was nowhere to be found.

Me: "Chris, did you finish off the Mozzarella Goldfish?"
Chris: "No. Did YOU finish off the Mozzarella Goldfish?!"
Me: "No. I just wondered why they're missing all of a sudden if nobody has eaten them."

Ashley was sitting at the table when Chris, strangely inspired, opened the trash can and pulled out the half-full (golden-colored) package of Mozzarella Goldfish.

Chris: "You mean THESE?!"
Ashley: "NOOOOOO! I WANT GREEN!"

Hmmmm....I just WONDER how THOSE got THERE!?

I Can See How She Might Be a Little Confused...

My dad has developed an interest in woodworking and also likes whimsical characters, so I think that's why my mom bought this statuette for him last Christmas. Right now, it sits on a small table in their living room for all to see. Ashley (age 2 1/2) saw it one day and asked, "Whistle?" My mom corrected her and said, "That's a flute!" And with all the innocence of a little child, Ashley asked, "Heavenly Father plays the flute?!"

*Not that it changes the point of the story, but I found out today that this is NOT an exact replica of the statue on display in my parents' home. The one they have is definitely more stylish...as stylish as a gnome statue can be, anyway.*

Meet My Kids: "Crash and Burn" and "Sick and Twisted"

We had quite an eventful weekend at our house, and since I have been neglecting my blog again, I figured you all (all 2 of you?) would want to read about it. I don't have any pictures this time, but maybe that's why I'm not putting it off like I usually do. So here goes!

Chris spent all of Saturday at school putting in his hours for Law Review after discovering, Friday night, that his project deadline was this weekend and not next weekend. Fortunately (fortunately?) the kids and I were all suffering from colds last week, so we didn't have any plans we were intent on keeping. Though Zachary and Ashley didn't seem to be lacking in energy, I certainly was, so spending the day at home and recuperating was fine by me. I really don't know what I did all day other than try to keep up with them, do a little cleaning around the house, and, in general, move at a snail's pace.

I had no idea when Chris was planning on getting home, but as the day grew longer, I was feeling a little better and was itching to get out of the house. I decided to make a trip to Target to pick up a couple of things. I just needed to summon my inner Executive Director in charge of Ever Accomplishing Anything to get my body moving...and I needed to feed the kids dinner. So, I put a pot of water on the stove with plans for something quick, easy, and gourmet: good ol' mac & cheese. Well, I disappeared for a few minutes to check some email or do something else equally necessary, and in those few short minutes I was neglecting my children, Ashley decides to advance her education in the field of What Happens When I Touch the Hot Stove? This was the first time either of my kids had ever had a burn (Zachary was more of a scholar in the field of Testing the Effects of Gravity on Various Parts of the Body as you might recall.)

Having been inexperienced in childhood burns up to this point, I went in search of my trusty little book full of helpful advice and written by our very own pediatrician, Toddler 411. That might as well be the doctor's name, since all of her expert medical advice is contained therein. It sure comes in handy when I don't really want to pay for an after-hours call or actually have to make an unnecessary appointment. During this time, Zachary was being a great big brother and announced, "Hold on, Ashley, I'm going to go find out about burns! Zachary to the rescue!!!" He was in the computer room, so I half expected him to google it. After leafing through the book, I still wasn't sure what I needed to do. She had burned just her fingertip (perhaps 4 fingertips, but only one was obvious.) The skin was red with a layer on top that appeared a powdery white. (Toddler 411, p. 346: [Third degree] burns may look white.) Was this a third degree burn?!? I was almost convinced it was...but only because it was my kid and I had to be a little paranoid because of that.

Remembering that the doctor's office had recently extended its hours, I made the call. It was closed after all, and I was instructed to either call 911 (if it were a real emergency) or call the nurses at the hospital and pay a $12 surcharge. No way I'm going to pay $12 bucks to talk to a nurse! Those people should be happy to have someone like me to entertain them with my (OCCASIONAL) motherly cluelessness! That is why it's great to have a nurse in the family. I called my sister in Boston to find out if Ashley was going to need a skin graft, or if perhaps she was going to succumb to this macaroni & cheese burn. It took awhile to get a response after being put on hold for what seemed like forever. It was so exciting--like talking to a real nurse! (Insert big smiley face here just for you, Wendy!) My sister had to first consult the internet and then my cousin who works in radiology (both experts in the field of stove-top stuff, I'm sure.) It was nice just to have the moral support on their end, but my sister finally recommended that I just pay the $12 to be told that, no, Ashley did not need to be rushed to the ER where the charges for talking to triage nurses skyrockets from $12 to about $112.

I can see the ridiculousness of my plight now, but it seemed serious at the time. I watched Ashley practically begging me to amputate the burned appendage to ease the pain. Oddly, she was slapping the effected hand with the other. She wanted the pain to go away that badly. I did run the finger under some cool water for about 5 seconds until I decided she didn't like that. My sister convinced me to get a backbone and get that finger back under the cold water. I was glad I took her advice, because it seemed like some relief came the second time around. While she might not be as experienced in critical pediatric finger burns, she is a great cardiac nurse and, over the phone, mind you, single-handedly saved me from having my very own little heart attack. How can I ever repay her? (Feel free to humor me by sending suggestions to my comment box.)

After Ashley had had enough of the cold water, she was still pretty upset. Somewhere between touching the stove and this point in the story, she had also managed to trip over my leg and fall on her face...on the wood floor. Hence the name: Crash and Burn. Blood was coming from some inconspicuous part of her mouth, as I learned only after cleaning up a previously unidentified spot in the bathroom. She'd had a hard night. I held her in my arms and rocked her until she fell asleep and I could no longer leave to go to Target.

Around 8:30, Chris finally got home. Ashley was so fast asleep, I noticed, that she had rolled off of the bed and onto the floor and went right back to sleep. I took the opportunity to take Zachary out for some special one-on-one time with me at Target. What is so special about that, you ask? For one, it occurred when he normally should have been in bed. For two, I made up my mind that I was going to let him walk instead of ride in the basket, and for three, I wasn't going to yell at him for touching things. I was going to let him just enjoy being a kid with a fun mom instead of a grouchy one this time. (In my defense, I think I AM a fun mom usually, but shopping with kids?... Need I say more?) For, like, the ONE thing I really needed to get (which, by the way, I didn't end up buying), we stayed until closing time. He got to peruse the toy aisles almost to his little heart's content. When I was ready to move on and he didn't follow, I didn't have a cow. I stayed fairly nearby so I could hear him when he called out for me, "Mommmmmmy, I'm lost!" This happened quite a few times, so I figured as long as I was within earshot, it was time for him to learn how it feels to be separated from me in a store. All kids need to experience that once or twice before they can genuinely appreciate not being lost.

After our shopping adventure was over, we made a late-night run to Sonic on the way home. That was at Zachary's request, and I knew that, to him, it would mean the difference between a fun time with mom and a truly special time with mom. There are so many things that make this special for him: 1) getting to push the call button, 2) getting to sit in the front seat with me, 3) getting to order just what he wanted (a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blast this time), and 4) getting to throw our trash away all by himself like a big boy. Seriously, he jumped at the chance to do that for me. That aside, Zachary really is a special boy, and I enjoyed every moment I got to spend with him that night.

Fast forward to Sunday. Except for oversleeping by about 45 minutes, everything seemed completely normal. Thanks to Chris who always gets the kids ready for church, we actually still made it there on time. The kids were even a little better-behaved in Sacrament Meeting than they most often are. They didn't really fight over snacks or get upset about who had which book. (The key, I learned, is just to forget to pack any at all.) Afterward, they went to their classes and I went to Sunday School. Halfway through, Zachary's Primary teacher came and told me that Zachary was not acting like himself. He wanted her to hold him during Sharing Time, and he was crying a little and saying his ear hurt. He didn't want to leave Primary, so I sat with his class and held him on my lap. Otherwise, he really didn't want to participate. When it was time to go to his class, I gave him the option of coming with me to Young Womens or going by himself to class. He ended up choosing his own class, but there was a period of musical classes where Zachary went to Chris, who brought him to me, and back to Sunbeams when he got sick of YW after about 2 minutes.

As we were driving home, it occurred to me that I could take Zachary in to see the doctor that same day instead of waiting until Monday morning. He was really looking miserable, and after having been out late the night before, he was also sleepy. I called and we got an appointment for 2:00. I had to wake him when it was time to leave, and he was not happy about me taking him to the doctor. I packed him into his carseat along with a blanket and his favorite stuffed bunny for comfort. About halfway there, he started throwing up in the backseat. I might have been pulled over for wreckless driving, but I had a pretty good explanation ready just in case. Luckily, it wasn't "bad"...well, not nearly as bad as it could have been anyway. We made it to the doctor's office and I got one of my "green" grocery bags out of the trunk and put his blanket in it. So handy! I left the bag there so he could use it if he needed to on the way back. (He did.)

Zachary was so upset about having to go to the doctor. He isn't always that resistant, but this time he was especially so. While we waited to go back, he was crying and pleading with me to take him home. "But, Mommy, I want to go home. I'm scaaaaaared!" On and on with that one for a minute. Seeing that it wasn't working, he changed his tactics. "I want to go hoooooooome. This place is BORING!!!!" On and on that went for another minute. I couldn't keep myself from laughing. When that didn't work, either, he tried to tell me that the office was closed so we had to leave. (I'm afraid my boy is getting pretty good at manipulation.) Alternating between tears and wails about being scared or bored, Zachary reluctantly followed when the nurse took us back to a room. We waited and waited. We waited until we BOTH fell asleep. After almost an hour, Zachary was finally seen by the PNP. Sure enough, he has a bad ear infection. Luckily, this is only his second ear infection (and Ashley hasn't yet had one.) So, yes, I really AM lucky and so are they.

I took Zachary home so he could sleep while I went back out to fill his prescription. When I returned, Chris woke him to give him his first dose. That's always torture...for parents and kid alike. It took forever to get the medicine in him, and no more than a few minutes later, he threw it up all over his bed. Ugh. Time to start a load of laundry. Time for Chris to take a shower because a little barf touched his foot. :) While all this was going on, Zachary burst into laughter and repeatedly announced, "Barfing on my bed is FUNNY! Barfing on my bed is FUNNY!" Hence the name: Sick and Twisted. Delirium, you think?

After soaking in a warm bath for awhile and put in fresh pajamas, he slept the entire rest of the day. He slept until 4 a.m. and then woke me just for a drink of water. He seemed to be feeling better and is happier today. After a huge struggle, I got him to take his medicine. The next 10 days of this will be so fun! :)

Happy Monday! (If you aren't happy it's Monday, just be happy for me, because I'm glad this weekend is over!!!)

Quick Change

Ashley has surprised us by learning a new trick. Last night, when I went in to make sure the kids' CD player was turned off before we went to bed, I discovered a peculiar present left on the floor. No, not THAT kind of present. Well, not exactly anyway. There, in the middle of the floor, was her (slightly wet) diaper...just sitting there waiting to be disposed of properly. Expecting to find her pants-less in the crib with wet sheets, I was merely annoyed by Ashley's initiative. But to find that she had removed her wet diaper and then REPLACED her pants all by herself while staying DRY...well, I couldn't have been more proud of this "first" for her. And, now, I guess she's mastered this new skill overnight because I made the same discovery this morning. Funny girl! (Let's just hope that she likes the dirty ones enough to keep them on!)

Superbug

I got the call back from the doctor's office this morning, and Ashley's culture came back positive for MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.) It is a skin infection that is caused by a type of staph bacteria that has become resistant to many types of antibiotics similar to penicillin. It's pretty serious stuff actually, so we were very fortunate to catch this when we did. Had this gone on for awhile without treatment, the infection could have become much more serious. Because the test results take several days to come back, doctors will prescribe MRSA-fighting antibiotics if they suspect it, and that's exactly what ours did. So, Ashley just has to continue taking the same stuff this week and hopefully that will completely take care of the infection. I am so thankful that she seems to be feeling better this week and that the sore on her foot looks like it is healing.

Infected

Ashley has been suffering from a nasty cold for several days now and has had a mild rash on her face to go along with it. For the past 2 days, she has been unusually fussy, and last night, I caught her touching her hands to her ears and immediately I began to be paranoid that she might have an ear infection. Since Zachary has only had one ear infection so far and Ashley hasn't had one at all yet, I'm always afraid that if my kids had one, I would miss it.

My mom suggested I might take Ashley to the doctor to have her checked out, but I'm always hesitant. I hate the thought of spending money on an unnecessary doctor visit when there is really nothing that can be done. But, of course, I don't hate that any more than I hate having to watch my kids suffer. Sometimes it is better to go ahead and make the call or take them in even if only for a little peace of mind.

We were at Zachary's swimming lesson yesterday and Ashley was very cranky, and while I normally take her to the park and push her on the swings during that half-hour, today she wasn't enjoying it like she normally does. We went to sit in the air-conditioned car for the remainder of the lesson, and she looked and was acting just miserable. I decided I'd better make the call.

Just as I was dialing the number to the office, I noticed something about Ashley's foot. A couple of weeks ago, she got sores on each of her feet from wearing water socks all day at Schlitterbahn. The tags inside the water socks rubbed the skin off, creating some painful-looking sores, but both seemed to be healing just fine, or so I thought. It was right then that I noticed that one of the sores had developed a slight bit of an infection. One more thing to ask about, I thought, but I was sure that it was no big deal. If it weren't for Ashley being sick, I wouldn't have given it a second thought. I certainly wouldn't have given it a second thought if it was on MY foot.

I finally called, and as I thought, there was no reason to bring her in over this cold and rash, but for the foot, she had to be seen. I thought that was sort of ironic. Here she's had this horrible cold and is MISERABLE and I need to take her in for the FOOT!?? Totally unexpected.

We went to the appointment, and the nurse had to hold Ashley's foot still so the doctor could puncture the skin with a needle and squeeze out some liquid to take a culture for testing. Of course, you can imagine how well Ashley liked that. She was on my lap and I really had to restrain her to keep her from hurling herself out the door. After it was over, the doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics that she has to be on for the next 10 days, and that's just until they know what sort of bacteria it is. We will know in 3 days, and presumably they will give her another prescription for something to fight the specific strain causing the infection. While we were there, I had the doctor check her ears, and she said both looked good. Whew!

I thanked the doctor as she was about to leave. Neither she nor I expected what happened next. Ashley, too, said, "Dankooo!" It was a proud moment for me that my daughter would thank the doctor after causing her so much pain. Of course, she could have just been mimicking me, but she said it with such sincerity. Maybe she really was just thankful that the doctor was going to leave her alone. I don't know, but she was so cute about it. Later, in the car, she kept saying, "Bye doctors!" over and over again. She seems to be doing better and has been resting, but we'll see how cooperative she is when she starts those antibiotics in the morning!

Out at the Old Ball Game

The law firm where Chris worked the first half of this summer hosted a family day at the Dell Diamond where our minor league team, the Round Rock Express, played against the Memphis Reds on June 13. It was our first time to take the kids to a game, and it was also my first time to see the Express play. It was very nice to get to meet Chris' colleagues (also for the first time.) What a great group of people he got to work with!

Lucky for all of us, it was a breezy summer night, otherwise, it would have been pretty hot. On the downside of that, the wind was blowing pretty hard, so food and plates and cups were flying. The kids were getting restless, so we visited the playscape which was conveniently located inside the ballpark on the lower level. Zachary and Ashley didn't mind that the place was crawling with kids and quickly lost sight of me. (I see how they are!)

We really didn't get to see much of the game, but we did visit quite a bit with the other families there. Probably the most memorable part of the night for me was when Ashley, who was being ornery and trying to run away from our party, heard the organ suddenly start playing "If You're Happy and You Know It" and she stopped dead in her tracks to go through all the motions. Everyone who was watching her got a kick out of that. In the end, the home team won, so that made for a great ending to an already fun night!

The Wonderful World of Make Believe (Only in Real Life!)

Today, we took the kids to see Horton Hears a Who at the dollar theater, and I was totally impressed! I wasn't expecting that outcome for a lot of reasons. First of all, I am not a Dr. Seuss fan. Chris grew up with those stories being favorites, and I guess I just didn't. I've never been able to get very much into that whimsical, nonsensical Land of Make Believe stuff. I didn't really enjoy The Grinch Who Stole Christmas or The Cat in the Hat, so when Chris suggested we go today, I was all about going just for the experience of taking the kids and doing something fun together as a family, though I wasn't at all excited about seeing the film itself. Second, I usually think of Jim Carrey and Carol Burnett and cringe. To be fair, I guess it could just be some of their ROLES that I find obnoxious and not them. My other hesitation came from the thought of taking a 2 and a 3 year-old to the movies again. I've done that only once before (last fall, with my parents) and it didn't end very well. I missed quite a bit of Ratatouille (which, I suppose, I really didn't feel I missed) and ended up dealing with an unhappy child outside. I warned Chris ahead of time that if Ashley started having one of her fits, I would be leaving, taking the car, and going to do the grocery shopping and would pick him and Zachary up after the show ended. I was fully expecting that to happen...if I were living in Real Life.

Well, it turns out I really enjoyed the movie! I think it was the best of all the Dr. Seuss films made so far, and I didn't find myself wishing it would hurry up and end even once. And that says a lot coming from someone who almost would rather stay home and clean house than go to a movie these days. I feel so unproductive when I go to a movie unless it's one I really want to see, and I am probably the last person who knows what movies are coming out, so I generally have no thoughts about any of them. Me and the movies--probably a blog topic for another day. But this was a great experience that actually made me MORE interested in going back more frequently to the movies, even with the kids. Loved it!

Most of all, I was shocked and amazed that Ashley was a DOLL and I got to stay in the theater for the whole movie!!! We made sure to take her blankie (oh, the power of that blankie!) and she sat in my lap almost the entire time and just let me cuddle her for nearly 2 hours. There wasn't a single moment of distress for either of us. (Can somebody please pinch me?!) I love, love, LOVE that she was so easy today! That, to me, was like living in a fantasy world!

Drama A La Mode

My little brother, Steven, and his wife, Amanda, came into town today for the 3-day Memorial Day weekend. It was sort of a surprise to me, since I just found out last night that they were coming. So when family gets together, that's always an excuse to eat in, eat out, eat, eat, eat... Of course, it's not until we're inside of a restaurant and I'm struggling to get my kids to sit down and be pleasant that I am reminded that it's probably time I learn my lesson and keep my children away from restaurants as much as possible (the feisty girl-child anyway.) But it's just so hard when you want to share their cuteness (such cuteness) with the relatives who miss out on that regularly as well as the rest of the general public.

As dinner was winding down, Ashley's patience was winding down a little faster, so I took her outside to wait for everyone else to follow behind us. She was running up and down the sidewalks, giggling and enjoying the fresh air as I sat and watched her from a bench nearby. A few minutes later, the inevitable happened and she fell right on her face and ended up with a huge knot on her forehead...the kind that scares every parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, stranger. (I had to reassure the man standing outside the restaurant that, no, she wasn't born with a purple golf ball protruding from her head.) After my dad went back for a bag of ice to apply to the battle wound (I can call it that since just about everything's a battle with a 2 year-old these days), we decided that a screaming, wailing child doesn't do much for welcoming diners looking for a way to relax on a warm and breezy Saturday night. Ahhh, the joys of motherhood!

Back at my parents' house, we were supposed to be gathering for dessert while I spent the next half hour or so consoling Ashley and looking for any sign of a more serious injury. (She wanted Mommy and not Grandma. You know there's something wrong when that happens!) I had Chris look up "concussion" for me...just in case I couldn't remember what the signs and symptoms might be since I have never had a concussion myself. Lethargy, dizziness, confusion, irritability...all typical characteristics of normal 2 year-olds who run around all day making themselves dazed, confused, tired and temperamental. Oh, but the unconsciousness and vomiting are also the tell-tale signs which we've managed to avoid, so it's all good. We can all breathe a sigh of relief.

After giving us a nice little scare, Ashley seems to be doing fine now. There's nothing a little cake and ice cream (and Dora fruit snacks, apparently) cannot cure. Content in her crib now with her favorite blankie, she is drifting off to sleep while her nocturnal brother lurks quietly nearby and life is (almost) peaceful again.

A Berry Happy Birthday To You!

Yesterday, we celebrated Ashley's 2nd birthday with our family here in town. First, we took the kids to Ready, Set, Play, which ended up being a lot of fun. It was something special for Ashley's big day, and we were not disappointed.



At first, Ashley was afraid to play in anything. I took her up to the top of this big, soft slide, and she did NOT want to go! She was kicking and trying to get away, but I knew (because I'm the mom) that if she just tried it, she would like it.


It took a couple times, but after that, she wanted to go over and over again, taking various family members with her at first. (She still did not want to go down alone.)



By the end, she was climbing up to the top all by herself and dodging the older kids that did not seem to pay any attention to her. She is a tough girl!




Afterwards, we came back home and had hot dogs for lunch. Uncle Matt came to join us, and Grandma and Grandpa brought a big bouquet of balloons for Ashley. I did some simple decorations, and while in the middle of putting up some streamers, Zachary asked me what I was doing. When I told him I was decorating, Ashley started saying, "I dec'ate! I dec'ate!" She was really into the colorful crepe paper.



After lunch, we tried to get Ashley to open her birthday presents, but I had a feeling it wouldn't go as planned. A present was handed to her, and she looked at it, and then, instead of opening it, she laid her little head down on it. It was past naptime, and by her own choice, she took a break from the party to rest up for the remainder of the festivities. The rest of us played Taboo and Bananagrams during the intermission. After an hour or so, we got Ashley up and expedited the eating of the cake (angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream) and she did finally open her presents.



Since one of her favorite things these days is Strawberry Shortcake, that was sort of the "theme" for her party, I guess you could say. (I really didn't exactly plan anything until a day or 2 before.) Anyway, almost everything she got had Strawberry Shortcake on it.




My brother, Matt, is 23 and thought the excess of strawberry-scented gifts was some sort of joke. He made me laugh so hard yesterday that I literally cried. One day, maybe he will get married and have kids and then he will know why parents would do such a thing for their kids. (OK, I admit...Grandma and I were 100% responsible for the explosion of fruitiness that rocked our house yesterday.) It was a blast!

2 Many Things 2 Love About My 2 Year-Old!

I love her natural curls. God knows I have a hard time doing my own hair but I can (sort of) handle a bow.

I love how persistent she is when she wants something. At times that can make her a real challenge, but underneath it all, I admire that quality in her.

I love that she loves animals, even though they also seem to scare her to death.

I love that she sometimes pushes aside her dolls and girly stuff in favor of rolling cars and trucks around on her hands and knees.

I love that she'll bring her socks and shoes to me out of the blue when she has decided it's time to go somewhere.

I love how she'll get a full bottle of juice out of the refrigerator and try, with all her might, to carry it through the house until she find me so she can ask for some "ap-ple joosh."

I love how bedtime has never been a battle with her...at least it hasn't been one yet.

I love how she says, "Mommy, I 'tuck! I 'tuck, Mommy!" when she realizes she can't get out of her crib. Yes, that's the point I'm trying to make. :)

I love the way she (almost) always does what I ask her to do or at least flat-out tells me "nope!" She never really ignores me when I'm talking to her, because that soooo annoys me.

I love when she sometimes scolds Zachary for not minding me. :)

I love that she LOVES broccoli...and often finishes it before touching anything else on her plate.

I love when she spontaneously blurts out "Happy!" and how she only does that whenever she really means it.

I love how she eagerly nods her head while asking for something...as if she knows that somehow it'll make me say "yes!"

I love how she is always happy to see me in the morning.

I love that she gives "kisses" by clicking her tongue next to my cheek.

I love that she laughs so hard when I cross my eyes at her. She acts like that's the funniest thing she has ever seen.

I love when she puts on a pair of glasses upside-down and thinks she is impersonating Grandma.

I love when I catch her singing along with or mimicking the characters on the shows that she's never too bored to watch over and over again.

I love that she still takes her nap every day. (Zachary gave his up before 2.)

I love how she adores her big brother. I hope that never changes.

I love how she brings her blankie into the bathroom while I'm fixing my hair just to be close to me.

I love how she waves and tells me "byyye!" before shutting herself in the bathroom closet and then gets scared and needs me to let back her out...only to repeat about every 30 seconds.

I love the way she makes herself "pre-tty!" by applying Daddy's deodorant to her cheekbones. HA!

Happy Birthday 2 You, Ashley!

Dressing Up and Dressing Down--Fashion Faux Pas When Your Mama Dresses You Funny

Whenever I buy new clothes or shoes for the kids, I usually try to buy things big so they won't outgrow them too quickly. I like to think that I am stretching our dollars further that way, and I just figure that all budget-conscious parents do the same.

So, I recently bought these cute shoes for Ashley, who has been wearing a size 5 for quite some time now. Knowing that she's bound to outgrow them any day now, I opt not to buy these new shoes in a size 6 but in a size 7. She should be able to wear these at least through the summer, I'm guessing. I made the mistake of showing them to her when I got home, and already displaying signs of a shoe fetish, she demands I let her wear them immediately. I slip them on her feet, and yes, she looks and walks like she's got on a pair of mommy's shoes, but because they have a nice little strap to hold her feet in, she shuffles around in them a bit but the shoes don't fall off. Well, because they have this floral pattern on them in colors she hasn't before worn, I went in search for a couple of outfits to match making a mental note to buy some that will not only fit her now but that she will be able to wear for as long as she can wear the shoes. I was successful in my search, or so I thought.

This morning, for church, I put Ashley in one of these new outfits, thinking she'll be so happy to get to wear her pretty new shoes. She is happy enough to also let me put on the new outfit as well. (Sometimes we have power struggles over her fashion sense vs. mine.) The clothes are big, but not too big. Except the little skirt, I discover. Yes, the skirt's too big, but we're going to be late, so I grab a safety pin and pin it at the waist. Voila! Works like magic. She's dressed, she's happy, and we're off to church.

The kids behaved during Sacrament, even if they did get restless and needed to be taken out near the end. There were no issues while dropping Ashley off at Nursery, and Zachary, as always, went willingly to Primary. The next 2 hours go by smoothly and I'm feeling so pleased that I had such a great day even though I had to do this all while Chris was out of town. That's a feat in and of itself, since he helps me so much with the kids on Sunday mornings. After classes were over, I picked up the kids and started heading toward the car but stopped to chat with someone for a moment. The next thing I know, Ashley is walking down the hall in a shirt and a diaper. OK, so she is not quite 2, but I am still as easily embarrassed by this as if it were my own skirt that is missing. I scramble to put it back on without making it obvious that my daughter has just lost her bottoms. Meanwhile, I'm blocking the hall, so I hurry to move out of the way just as Ashley's Nursery leader's husband comes walking by and announces, "Oh yeah, she was just pulling that thing off ALL DAY!"

Oh, to be 2 and to drop your clothes wherever you like without a care in the world. Someday, she'll have nightmares about this sort of thing just like I do.