Humbled/HairCut

Tonight Abby and I went to watch Daddy play softball. It all started out fine.

Then Abby wanted to go to the playground, so we went. She got pushed down by some older kids running around. I told them to watch out and we left.

We watched Daddy for a bit, Abby fell down the bleachers. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Then a sweet little girl tried to befriend Abby. It was awkward to watch. Abby was so nervous, but after about 10-15 minutes they were BFF.

Then they wanted to go back to the playground. I told them OK and followed from a distance.

Abby veered off one way and the other little girl (Girl #1) another way.

Meanwhile a second little girl tried to follow them (#2).

#2 asks if she can play too. Abby says "No".

#1 ran back to get Abby and tried to drag her the way she went. Kinda bear hug like.

#2 asks again if she can go play with them.

Before I can do anything, Abby pushes #1 off her. #1 starts crying.

Abby turns on #2 and says "I am not playing with you". #2 starts crying.

Both of these girls were about 3 1/2 years old and Abby has managed to make them both cry in 2 minutes.

I was m.o.r.t.i.f.i.e.d.

The only thing I can think of to do is grab my child, apologize to both little girls and take off.

The entire way to the car and on the ride home, I explain to Abby about how we always play nice and never push or yell at other children. She just sniffles and won't talk to me.

We get home and I am putting her to bed. I tell her how much I love her and no matter what she does I will always love her. She looks at me through her tears and says, "But she pushed me, Mommy."

Heartbreaking.

I said, "I know, but that doesn't mean that we push back."

Parenting is just so hard!

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Abby got a haircut on Friday. She was very disappointed that we didn't go to "Teesha's Mommy", but since I didn't need a hair cut (where I go), we just went to a walk-in place.

I loved that the lady said "She just needs to sit over here by herself.". Good luck with that. After 5 minutes of screaming, I sat with her in my lap. She was an angel after that.

We read Us Magazine. It is really hard to find "appropriate" things in this magazine to entertain a 2 year old with :).

But at the end of it, she was one cutie pie (the pics weren't so great as Stu took on his phone).

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Sometimes I get in a blog slump. So my goal this week is to update my blog homepage and then join this challenge. Hopefully you will all get to learn new things about me and I am looking forward to finding new blogs to read!

Baby Shower Decorations

How appropriate that Kelly's Korner SUYL is Baby Shower's!

I just hosted one last weekend at my new house!

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The theme was Nautical. We had the most adorable invites - whales (sorry no picture).

Here is a shot of all the food. We had punch, cheese and crackers, nuts, a cake, and fruit.

Amanda was nice enough to let us borrow some things from the nursery to showcase at the shower. It is hard to see, but I made blanket/onesie cupcakes for her along with put them out as decorations.

I am so not crafty!

Love the cake!!

Party favors!

M'n'M's in baby jars. The labels said "Welcome Baby Spencer" with a whale on them.

Where the presents were to go (obviously before anyone got there). My favorite thing is that giant whale. She can use it for books, stuffed animals, the list just goes on!

Thanks for stopping by and I can't wait to read about other baby showers!!!

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For my "regular viewers", more personal shots will be up next week.

Also.....someone blonde got a haircut tonight!!! Pics soon!

The Other Side of Abby

***Please take this post as joking and know that I love Abs with every fiber of my being.***

Abby is just as sweet as can be. She can be so loving and knows to treat Ali well. She is a talkative little gal and loves to give hugs and kisses.

But....She can also be super head-strong in her ways. And sometimes super creepy.

Here are a few examples.

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She was trying to write on her paper tonight while I was cooking dinner. The overhead fan was on and kept blowing her paper off the coffee table.

This is her screaming at the paper, "Stop moving. Stay there!"

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A few weeks ago, my friends came by. She was highly upset about this and stayed in her room and screamed.

We were in the kitchen and I just happened to glance towards her room. She was standing in the doorway just staring at us.

Totally Children of the Corn. You know, with the super blonde kids.

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Tonight, I glanced outside and there was a sweet little rabbit in the yard. I told Abs to go look at it through the door.

She talked about what a sweet little bunny it was and how she just wanted to tickle it.

Then she started screaming at it and told it to come inside. Needless to say, this terrified bunny took off.

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Girl will turn on you in a second. She loves her Uncle JD and Aunt Jessie.

A few weeks ago, we all went yard sale-ing.

Abby got bored halfway through and demanded that JD and Jessie leave the car immediately.

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Remember the paper. This is what I found.

I recognize that she is doing AWESOME with her writing, but it is still super creepy to see all of this random writing. I just have to wonder what it says......

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Some other random Abby thoughts:

Convo tonight in the car.

Me: We are having tacos for dinner.

Abs: I LOVE tacos. But tacos hurt Daddy.

Me: What? Tacos hurt Daddy?

Abs: Yes, Tacos hurt Daddy.

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EVERY DAY:

Abs: Am I going to Ms. Deborah's house today?

Me: Yes, Mommy has to go to work.

Abby: Ok, I go to Ms Deborah's house, eat tomatoes (Deborah grows them), Mommy goes to work, then she comes back to get me?

Me: Yes, Mommy will come back to get you every day.

Abs: Do I get to see Casey, Reiko and Kensie?

Me: Yep, you will see them all.

Abs: But you will come back?

Me: I will always come back.

So Creative

My sweet little gal can make anything into a play toy.

I was cleaning out the spare room closet tonight when Abby found an air pump.

To say that she loved "pumping" it, is an understatement.

Then she loved vacuuming with it.
Girlfriend was busy!!!

(and is in desperate need of a haircut.....again!)

Sweet When She Wants to Be

Abby currently goes to a lady that watches kiddos out of her house.

Abby is one of the younger ones, but the lady does "school" for the older ones and a version for Abby.

Isn't this little bookmark she made her too cute?

And what about her homework?

Her task was to follow the path from start to finish. She didn't exactly draw a line, just made random tick marks along the path. And then scribbled the whole thing. But I still think it is adorable. It's on the fridge.

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Since Stu has been in night school for the past 8 months, it has definitely been an adjustment having him home. A good one, just different.

Abby refuses to let Daddy help with anything bedtime related.

"I want Mommy to do it!!!"

Tonight, I just walked in the other room after dinner.

Stu was awesome!! He gave her a bath, dressed her, brushed her teeth, and brushed her hair.

Then they got quiet. Too quiet.


This is what I found.

She was reading books to her Daddy!

Stu's response was "She is sweet when she wants to be."

Looking So '80's

I made a run to the Dollar Tree the other day for tweezers (I couldn't imagine who would have lost my pair....) and picked up some super cute headbands.

When Abby first put them on, it was the normal way (uh, in the hair).

Then she decided that they were really sunglasses.

So now, she only wears them over her eyes.


But doesn't she look so 1980's in this picture? The "sweatband" and the leggings.

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We bought that beautiful new coffee table that has 5 drawers in it.


Here is a shot of the inside of one of them. Taken by Abby of course.

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Abby is not impressed with the Minnie panties. Evident by what she did to them this weekend (I will spare you the details). I had a lot going on this past weekend (more on that to come), but this weekend, I will def. be putting more effort into it. Wish me luck!!!

Random Pic

I just found this on facebook and wanted to share.

I LOVE IT!!

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Don't miss the PT update below.....

Minnie in the House!

No success on the potty training front tonight (This totally is not turning into a potty training blog, haha).

But.....we did toss her in a pair of panties. I went to Target to grab a few things and apparently while I was gone, she had an accident. Stu handled it though and I came home to a happy girl in a fresh pair of undies.

While at Target, I snagged a pack of Minnie undies. Figured that might entice her more.

She is so proud of her underwear!

I am hoping once they are washed and ready to go (in the dryer now), it will encourage her more.

In the meantime, try not to squeal with love at those little legs.

And Then the Next Night *Warning Poop Talk*

****Thanks for all the comments, I know potty training sucks. We will get through it! Glad to hear that I am not the only one struggling with this!!****

We get home tonight and I ask to Abby to use the potty. After a few minutes, she screams, "I got poop!"

I went to check on her and she is holding her diaper with poop in it. Lovely.

I grab the diaper, wipe her off and ask her to sit on the potty again.

A few seconds later....she pooped!!! In the Potty!!

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She never did it again, but it is a start!

I just have to let her do it on her own time.

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Promise to have pics soon, enough with the wordy posts!

God, Give Me More Patience!

Yea, so Abby is not potty trained. I truly feel that I might be the only parent dropping off a diaper bag at kindergarten.

If you know or have ever met Abby, you KNOW that she is headstrong and will tell you exactly what she will and will not do.

(No idea where she gets that from ;) )

We talk about it all the time. I ask her if she wants to use the potty like a big girl. She replies, "Yes, like Mommy, Daddy and Kiss-tofer".

But she just won't physically do it.

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So tonight, when she was in the bathtub, she got a funny look on her face. She said, "I need to get out now. I need to poop".

Ok, here's my shot. I got her out and told her that I was not putting a diaper on her, she needed to use the potty. I put her little Princess seat on it. Sat her on it, even got a little step stool for her.

I may or may not have promised her a piece of candy.

After about 10 minutes, nothing.

Oh, there was a lot of "I already did it, Mommy" and "I can't do it".

Side note: Do not ever tell me "Can't". That is not a word. You can do anything.

Finally that little spit-fire jumped off the toilet (nekkid as all get out), threw one hand on her hip and a finger right in my face (I was sitting on the floor), and said....

"GIVE ME THAT CANDY....NOW"

God, Just Give me MORE Patience!

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In case you wonder, she got NO candy.

And I can't stay mad at a voice that asks me every night to sing her a song.

And then sings one to me!

Put a Ring on It!

Abby loves to wear her toy ring "Like Mommy".

Tonight we attempted a picture of us gals with our rings on.

I said, "Hold your hand out like Mommy".

She just held my finger.

Then tried it again.

It is better when she just does it herself!

Some Upgrades!

Our house was looking a little bare, so we ordered a few pieces of furniture last weekend.

They delivered it today!

Here are before and after pictures:

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Bonus Room Before:

Don't you just love the old coffee table with all the systems on top of it?

And the plastic table.

After: A gorgeous entertainment center with sliding doors. I am still working on a piece of fabric to hide the cords.

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Bonus Room Before:

Not much to see. Lots of toys, a lazy boy and yet another plastic table.

After: Great new sectional couch. We used an end table for the coffee table in here. And Abby's toys are still in there, but that is not the first thing that you see.

(Note her lawn chair. Love it)

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Living Room Before:

No coffee table (being used upstairs).

After: New coffee table. I love that it has drawers in it. Pretty sure one is full of beads now. And new end tables that are higher and loving the drawers there as well.

(I did tell Stu that we needed a new couch, ha!)

Bonus Shot: My new artwork over the mantel. We are a very dark furniture kind of family so I have to add pops of color occasionally!

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Hopefully more to come!

Too Tired to Think Straight

Not me, Abby.

Today was the first day that she went to her new day care. It is a lady that lives near my work and watches one of my co-workers kiddos.

For someone (Abby) that normally sleeps until 8:30, 6:15 came pretty early this morning!

We were in her room tonight and I took her pants off and was throwing the diaper away. I turn around and she is gone.

I found her in the bathtub (no water yet, just heating it up).

She knows how to get in by herself, but she was so tired that she got in with her shirt still on!

Needless to say, she was right in bed after the bath and I haven't heard a peep since!

Swinging Around

While Audrey was here, we put the girls on the swing for a photo op.

They were a little shy of course (hence, the fingers in the mouth by Abby).

A little tired from all the fun.

Audrey a little cranky. I imagine Abby saying, "Just pull my finger, it will be fine".

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Loving Abby's curls in the heat/water.

More Water Table Fun!

What a great weekend!

Julie and Audrey are here to visit and it has been non-stop fun.

We brought out the water table tonight, threw the girls in swim suits, and just let them go.


There have been some "moments" between them, but they are doing great with sharing.

Abby even asked if the "baby" could sleep in her bed tonight.

Ali is loving new people to sniff.....

Can't wait to see what fun we will get into tomorrow.

And how cute is this little girl?

So Dramatic

Abby was in the bathroom tonight and I happened to notice that her foot was bleeding.

Apparently one of her new shoes had rubbed a blister on her ankle.

She didn't even notice it until I pointed it out, so I knew she was fine.

But since it was still bleeding, I put a princess band-aid on it.

You would have thought that I cut her foot off.

This is pretty much how she spent the next thirty minutes. On the kitchen floor, screaming to take the band-aid off.

I kept asking if the band-aid was hurting her, but she said no. She just wanted it off!

The girl is so dramatic!

Water Table Fun!

I have been really wanting to get Abby a water table. IMO, I should have gotten her one sooner, but since we didn't have a house, it wasn't happening.

So for the past few weeks, I have been scoping them out online, reading reviews, comparing prices, etc. The basic summary I got was that they weren't reliable and didn't last long. Granted, I'm sure only the upset people left comments, but still.

I still wanted one, but decided that cheap was the way to go. And no sand.

Target (my go to place for EVERYTHING) didn't stock them. I checked Walmart and they did have a few in stock. After consulting MapQuest (yea, I had no idea where Walmart was), we made the drive tonight.

I found a basic one on clearance for $21!!!


Abby thinks it is the most awesome thing ever. It was late and the sky was looking awfully scary so we only played for about 20 minutes.

I did get her to pose and smile for just a second.

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Notice the garden hose snaking in the background? Stu has constructed an elaborate "irrigation" system to water our backyard. It took me 10 minutes and a near death experience with a wasp to get the hose unconnected and able to fill the table.

Also notice the wooden swing? We love it. It came with the house. It is basically as far back as our backyard goes, but we do have a pretty wide lot and hope to expand out and eventually build a larger fence.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• We are busy, busy homeowners. I realize now how small our first house and our apartment were. This house is almost double the square footage of both of them. Lots of room to move around!


• I can do whatever I want to this house. Install a ceiling fan (done), hang shelves (done), remodel the cabinets in the bathroom (soon to come).


• Abby has a yard to run around in. She has already learned not to leave the driveway. We live in a relatively quiet neighborhood, so I am not worried about her getting hit by a car, but you can never be too safe.


• Our neighbors are super friendly.

Cons:

• 
  
  We are busy, busy homeowners. There is ALWAYS something to do. I don't sit down until at least 9ish every night. It is wearing on me and cutting into my blog time ;)


• 
  
  This could happen anywhere, I know, but I walked out on the back porch tonight and almost stepped (it is a step down) on a freaking possum! We had an empty plate that I had fed Ali on sitting out there. Stu was getting in the shower and I screamed bloody murder and made him get dressed (for the neighbors) and come investigate. It was gone, but needless to say, if I have to go back out, all the flood lights are coming on!


• 
  
  Weeds consume my life. 16ish hours later, 90% of the front is done. It is just too hot to stay out there long!

Funny Story

A few nights ago, I woke up to Abby sobbing in her crib. It was about 2:30 AM. Stu and I both went in there to see what was wrong. She looked at both of us with tears in her eyes and said, "I just want some chicken".

We looked at each other, trying not to burst out laughing, and told her she could have some the next day.

She also refers to this house as the "new house". If I tell her that we are going home, she says, "No, I want to go to the new house".