Lemonade Day

The last two times we've gone camping, it's rained overnight. I'm choosing to believe that this last time we stayed dry not because we were in the "better" (albeit smaller) Cabela's tent, but because it was a gentler, steadier, less tsunami-ish rain. At least that's what I'm believing. :) Sassy was pretty upset at the prospect of another storm last weekend so my sister told her that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. (Of course, Hubby says he prefers Ron White's version of using your lemons to find someone whom life gave tequila. . .) It's a lesson that I struggle with, but as I've said before, it's something I want the girls to understand. "Lucky" for me, we got our chance yesterday.

Maybe we had it coming since it was our only Saturday in about eight weeks that we didn't have plans. So what do we do? Make plans. Why not jet down to the local amusement park for a few hours and let the girls ride? So we headed out. And the farther south we drove, the darker and darker it got. By the time we got there, it was maybe 70 degrees and it wasn't IF it would rain, but WHEN. So we headed to an indoor theater at the park for a show, hoping that an hour later, the weather would be better. The good news--it appeared to be holding off. So we rode the tea cups, and got on another ride. We were buckled up, ready to go and Stinkus pulls out the dreaded: "I have to pooooop. . . ." Ugggh. I asked if she could hold it, and she said her tummy hurt. And thankfully, a little voice whispered at me: GO. So I grabbed her and ran. This is where I should state that while I love the park, I've never understood why there are NO restrooms in the kid section. HELLO park engineers! And of course, the elephant ride is at the very END of the section. So I RAN. Not an easy task when you're carrying 35 extra pounds of weight, it's UPHILL, and there's apparently no limit on strollers and scooters. Seriously people, get out of my way! Stinkus said, "Oh no!" as I threw open the first stall and ripped her shorts down. . . right as I realized why my baby's tummy hurt. I'm already blogging about poop so I'm not sparing you the details. It splattered everywhere. Luckily because she's so newly potty trained, I had the good sense to pack an extra pair of shorts and panties. Which were in my backpack. Which was in a cubby at the elephant ride. I started to call R. . . and realized I didn't have my phone either. I had NO clue what to do with her or how to let R know that I needed the backpack. I was this close to wrapping some paper towels around her and heading out. Dear Park Engineers: If you won't build a closer bathroom, it's only fair to install a clothes dispenser. Size 4T please. I finally looked like a crazy woman and asked the moms at the sink if someone had a cell phone I could borrow. And of course, R didn't answer it because he didn't know the number. Luckily he listened to the voicemail, and in a few minutes, Sassy appeared--which scared me too because she's really too little to be sent in by herself, but I was desperate. A few moments later we were out the door, everything all cleaned up and minus a pair of Dora panties and purple shorts.

After just one ride all morning, we headed for home. The girls were disappointed but surprisingly, they were ok. I just couldn't risk it happening again--especially with no extra clothes. R came up with a great new advertising slogan: "Season Passes. . . in case your day is cut short when you poop yourself, you can come back again!" And we laughed SO hard. Then Stinkus got the saddest little look on her face, blinked her big eyelashes and said: "Sassy, I sorry you not get to wide your whoa-wer coaster," which made me cry. (God forbid when my children ever have real hurts--I hate to see them hurt!) But it was ok. We were making lemonade. I wasn't letting it ruin our day.

We stopped at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants on the way home. I got a great fortune: "Your troubles will soon cease and good fortune will smile upon you." It was partially right. My troubles weren't quite over. First, the ice cream machine at the buffet was broken. WHAT?! And apparently, if you run like a maniac through an amusement park carrying something the size of Stinkus, your legs are REALLY sore the next day. But in the true spirit of making lemonade, I needed to tone up a bit, right?

More Firsts and Lasts

I'm finding that life with kiddos means lots of firsts and lasts. This summer has been no exception:

We are still on our last box of diapers! I may have to get some Pull-ups for overnight when these are gone, but she's even doing pretty well with that.

Sassy has now lost her first TWO teeth. And not to steal the spotlight, but I'm pretty darn proud of my role each time. Yours truly who wouldn't dare pull her own teeth (hence the braces later in life. . .) pulled both of Sassy's loose teeth. It was pretty cool. She was SO excited and relieved, AND it helped my "Trust me, it will feel better when it's out" pep talk. I may not be right on much (especially as she gets older), but this time, I was the mom who knew something. I'll take it. :)

Sadly, Stinkus experienced her first funeral (and it was the first one Sassy remembers). We will miss Great Grandma, but we celebrate her 90 years here and the many lives she touched. She lost her husband during the Korean War, never remarried, and raised four kids by herself. It obviously wasn't the best of circumstances, but it was really nice to see so much family, and to see the girls play with R's cousins' kids. The next generation was pretty cute together.

And we're also adding to this generation. . . In June, we got to see cousin B become a big sister for the first time. The girls are in LOVE with Baby E.L. And she's SO pretty! Congrats to my sister and her beautiful family!!!

AND. . . the girls are getting their first cousin on R's side! Congrats to Aunt B and Uncle S! We're so excited to meet "Sonic" in December and know that they'll be wonderful parents.

Sassy had her last day of kindergarten which was surprisingly harder on me than the first. Watching her get on the bus for the last time as a kindergartner really choked me up. I think it's because everyone tells you how fast it goes--and how much faster it goes the older they get. Well, this year FLEW. And I got really upset wondering how on earth it could go any faster. Years from now, when she's pulling away in her own car, this is how I will see the first year of school--little legs and a Hello Kitty backpack. And darn it, I'm getting all teary again!

And we experienced summer school for the first time. She loved it, I made easy money, but I'm seriously bummed that my summer is just four weeks long. Sassy made me feel a little better one day when she said this was the "the most rockin' summer EVER!" I was like, Really? :( And then she went on to say that each weekend felt like a little summer. Oh happy heart. :) I'm reminding myself that it's quality vs. quantity, and that there are few parents who get a month off every summer let alone three. So we're making every minute--and memory--count. :)

One of the memories we made was the girls' first big float trip. We've taken them out in the kayaks and canoe quite a bit, but never for a 7 hour float. Three of my sisters and a boyfriend made the trek down and we hit the river. We had a blast and the girls were rock stars. They're at the age where life is just EASY. No diapers or feedings to mess with, they can hold certain bodily functions until we get to an outfitter on the river, they can shade themselves with umbrellas. It was great. I love that our girls love to camp and be on the water. I see a lot of this in our future summers!

It honestly has been a rockin' summer. I'm trying to forget that I'm back at work in three weeks. Instead, I'm wondering what firsts and lasts these next three weeks will bring--and remembering to cherish every moment.

Potty Mouth

I know that I'm going to sadly forget too many conversations with the girls.  So here's one that just happened in our household:

Me:  Stinkus, come here!
Stinkus:  (from the bathroom) Just a minute, Mom!  I gotta pee!
Me:  Ok.
Stinkus:  Atch-a-wee I gotta poop!
Me:  Ok, let me know when you're done and I'll come help (I'll spare you the details but based on experience, this one doesn't quite have wiping down yet.)
Stinkus:  Tanks, Mom, for giving me my pie-uh-see!
(HAHAHAHA!  A girl's gotta have her privacy!) 
Me:  No problem, Stinkus.
Stinkus:  Cuz my poop gonna stink bad!
Me: Ok, Stinkus. . .
Stinkus:  And it gonna be a-WOT of poop, Big Mama!  (Yes, she's started calling me Big Mama.)

And yes, I just blogged about pooping.  In this world, there really is NO pie-uh-see.  :)    

A Berry Special Six Year Old

I'm probably the only thirty-something mom NOT on Pinterest (but give it time--after all, I used to knock Facebook and blogs. . . )  I'm not an elementary teacher.  I'm not "theme-y."  I'm not crafty.  But for Sassy's birthday, I somehow channeled some Pinterest-worthy ideas.  It all started with her request for a cake--Strawberry Shortcake.  Inwardly, I cringed.  I think I mentioned that I'm over decorating cakes.  I think I've done it because I'm "supposed" to--other moms whip up these beautiful, extravagant cakes, by golly, I can too!  Except I can't. . . .  So I mentally said a few choice words and started figuring out where I could get a Strawberry Shortcake pan.  And then the heavens parted and I heard angels singing:  "No, Mom, REAL strawberry shortcake!  With like strawberries and whipped cream."  Woo hoo!  THAT I can do.  So I went online and found a cake from Pioneer Woman--which HAD to be good.  And good thing it was, because did I do a trial run?  Nah. . . .  let's just get up at 6 am the morning of and hope it works.  Luckily for me, it did.  Eat your heart out, Ree!  It turned out beautifully.  And it was crazy good.  Probably had something to do with the 2+ sticks of real butter, block of cream cheese, sour cream, 1 1/2 lbs of powdered sugar. . . .

So after she decided on a cake, I thought, Why not do a berry theme?  We had SO much fun thinking up ideas.  First, a few trips to Dollar Tree and Party City for party favors.  We found some really cute strawberry-shaped sunglasses and who knew there were so many strawberry-flavored treats out there?  We HAD to buy these.  Perfect for a Sassy party!!!

It was really fun to come up with red, green and/or pink party bag stuff.  Sassy was cracking me up though because sometimes she was a little TOO focused on colors.  "Mom, those are red!"  Yes, yes, they are but I doubt your guests will appreciate toilet brushes. . .  We ended up with some fun loot for their pots. . .  Pots. . . hee hee!  Maybe toilet brushes would have worked after all!

We went to the local park (aka FREE to use and FREE easy entertainment.)  We kept it small--in the past we've done mostly family parties but now that there are seven grandkids on my side and a new cousin due on R's, it's harder to get everyone together.  So she invited her best friends and their siblings. (Though we missed A who was out of town!)   

The girls played, ate pizza, and we even came up with two "berry" fun (groan, I know, sorry. . .) activities.  First, they used Paint Pens to paint their flower pots.  I was initially going to have a real strawberry plant inside for each girl to take home but then I realized this would require keeping it alive until the party plus they were a ton easier to paint empty.  I was shocked at how long they spent at the table.  Girls love crafts!!!

Sassy's finished pot

They also made their own Ziploc ice cream.  It was super yummy and fun, and no bowls required--they could just grab a spoon and eat it straight from the bag.  R helped get it ready the night before (rest assured that we didn't serve anything in the Bud Light cups. . . . just used them to hold the bags while he measured.)  

It was a really fun day.  I'm grateful that Sassy has such great friends (and they're pretty darn cute too!)  

Later that night, the four of us saw Brave in 3-D and Sassy chose Red Robin for dinner (Score! One of our faves too.  Plus Uncle S would be proud!)  It was a great day for our "berry" special six year old.  Happy Birthday, Sassy!

June 23

Six years ago today our lives were about to change forever.  I was in labor with Sassy, but I didn't know that yet either. . .   I had been up numerous times all night, but I didn't know what labor was--and I was a week early.  Plus I had an appointment later the next morning--my doctor was concerned that "Grennan" hadn't dropped so he had ordered pelvic x-rays to see if there was room.  The morning was miserable.  I drove myself over to the appointment (still not knowing that this was the real deal), painfully endured multiple x-rays (staying still while having contractions isn't an easy task!) and then finally, I decided to walk upstairs to see if my doctor would see me.  Sure enough, they strapped me up to a machine and I was in fact having contractions.  The bad news: I wasn't progressing and my doctor said it wasn't active labor.  Seriously?  It's going to get worse?  R then met me over at the prenatal specialist's office who looked at my x-rays and basically said: Baby is big, pelvis is small, looks like a c-section.  And I cried.  There's such a horrible stigma with a c-section.  In fact, we say that someone "HAS" to have one.  And I remember being horribly disappointed that I too HAD to have one.  "Lucky" for me, they told us that my labor wasn't going to do anything other than put me in pain, so they sent us home.

The afternoon is a blur.  I remember putting the bumper on the crib (because he/she HAD to have the bumper on. . . ) and emailing my graduate school professor to say that I wouldn't be finishing comps by the 26th.  :)  We got to the hospital and I just remember hurting--a LOT.  And they couldn't give me anything for the pain until I got my spinal.  One nurse, an absolute God-send, reassured me when I asked if I really had to have a c-section: "No, but you'd probably deliver a baby with a broken collarbone or shoulder. . . "  Wow.  OK, I'm good.  Let's do this.  (The same nurse recommended her own pediatrician to me and again, what a blessing Dr B is!)

It was finally time to go in.  And at that point, I just wanted him/her out.  I remember being really nervous that the spinal wasn't working because YES, I could feel when the anesthesiologist poked my leg and then he poked my arm and OW, Ok I really felt that. . .   Legs are numb after all.  Back in the other room, R had misunderstood and put his scrubs on OVER his clothes.  And consequently had to run back and frantically change--he barely got down in time!  (And unfortunately he forgot our camera. . . thanks to the nurses who gave us some Polaroids!) I didn't even know that they had started until I heard Dr. T and the nurses oohing and aahing over all the dark hair and eyelashes.  The anesthesiologist asked if R wanted to see so he stood up to look over the blue curtain. . .  and then he got to see HER arrive.  He said she looked like a "Sassy" (we had another name picked out too) and before I knew it, he was at my side with the most beautiful little bundle turned to my face.  I couldn't believe how gorgeous she was.  And the dark hair and complexion was shocking (not so much three years later when we got a carbon copy named Stinkus.)  She was just perfect.

And it no longer mattered that I had a c-section.  I suddenly realized how lucky we were.  I didn't have to have a c-section.  I got to.  So that she could be here.  She was safe.  She was healthy. She was perfect.  And we were ready.  I mean, the bumper was on the bed--what more could there be?  :)

Dear Daddy

Despite my best efforts to sort through school papers and divide them into a) a keep pile, b) a "Send to Grandma" pile, and c) a trash (shhhh) pile, I still have way too many papers for just one year of kindergarten and three months of preschool.  Some of my most treasured are the "fill in the blank" sheets.  I love to have a record of things they thought and said, and I KNOW that I will love looking at them years from now.  Things like:

From Sassy:
Having 100 baby sisters could really be a problem.
She (yours truly) likes to watch  Wheel of Fortune.

From Stinkus:
If I were President, I would play outside.  (Her good buddy C completed his with "play with Stinkus."  Awww. . . .)
I would wish for:  my teeth.  (???)

Anyway, I was feeling bad that Father's Day fell during the summer (no Father's Day projects from school) so I decided to do my own little fill-in-the-blank letters for R.  I asked the girls questions separately and it was pretty sweet to see what they said.  Here are some of my favorite answers:

1.  What does Daddy do while you're at school?
Sassy:  Work on people's feet (Correct)
Stinkus:  Work at dog store (Not correct)

2.  What is Daddy's #1 rule?
Sassy: Take care of our stuff
Stinkus:  Get off my chair (She likes to hang on the arms and it drives him crazy!)

3.  I love my daddy because:
Sassy: He gives piggybacks.
Stinkus:  He da best daddy in me whole world.

4.  What makes your daddy laugh?
Sassy:  Funny jokes
Stinkus: Me when I do dis (Puts index fingers in corners of her mouth and sticks out her tongue)

5.  What food does Dad make best?
Both: Waffles

6.  Daddy always makes me:
Both: Happy

Funny how something so simple can make a daddy so happy too!  

Father's Day

When I realized we had a completely free weekend for Father's Day, I started planning a camping trip for R.  We recently found a "new" lake a lot closer than our usual spots and we figured we could get up there Friday night and actually spend all weekend--rather than just one night.

I'm a planner.  I make lists, I cross stuff off (I think I've mentioned that I add things I've already done just for the satisfaction of crossing them off. . . ), in my mind, I've figured out how it's "supposed" to go.  So I packed sand toys, bubbles, bikes, and sidewalk chalk for the girls--they were going to frolic happily in the great outdoors.  I grabbed not one, not two, but THREE books for me--there would be lots of lazy, summer sitting soaking up the rays and reading.  I figured out what we would cook--LOVE eating at camp--and we packed up a "new-to-us" tent that had tons of room, our kayaks, beach umbrella, and coolers.  I was beyond excited to get away.

View from campsite--Not bad!

Then reality set in.  R got home late from work and the hour drive that I had planned involved three stops.  Gas/bathroom, another (false alarm--thanks Stinkus) bathroom break, and dinner.  It was dark by the time we got there--which isn't a fun time to set up camp.  By 10 am on Saturday, we had already endured:

• 1 6 am wake-up call:  "Wook!  It morning time!"  (Despite telling children that it's still "night-time,"  for some reason a tent is bright VERY early. . .)
• three Stinkus face plants--one involving a nasty scrape on her upper lip (not sure how you scrape your upper lip, but she found a way.)
• two runaway screenhouse incidents and one plate of French toast (Crazy wind. . . I guess that's why this lake is so popular for sailboating. . .)
• 8 million trips to the bathhouse. . . We were not-so-pleasantly surprised to find that the facility was a pit-toilet.  Bleh.  We had several "Never mind, I don't have to go" moments only to walk back to camp, change our minds, then hike BACK.  Though I will say, the girls were troopers.  It was nasty but they quickly became masters of the "Don't breathe or look and just let er go" technique.     
• way too many "What can we do nows?" because apparently I didn't pack enough entertainment. 

I was about ready to call it a day.  But then things started to look up.  We headed to the swim beach and ran into some gals I work with.  The girls LOVED the beach--it made me really excited to hit the "real" one next summer.  :)

Beach babe!

Hot sand!

Of course, there was sand everywhere, fights over sand toys, and sunblock protests--but I won and I'm happy to say no one got burned.  We had been telling the girls it was "ok" to pee in the lake and what does Stinkus do?  Squats at the water's edge so that a visible stream is running out of her suit, and THEN looks upside down between her legs at said visible stream running out.  Even better: she then runs full speed back to our umbrella yelling, "I peed, Mommy!  I peed!"  Yep, pretty sure everyone already knows. . . Later, she let it go again after napping ON Daddy's cot.  And gave us absolutely no warning other than, "I just peed."  Thanks for that, Stinkus.

We watched the lightning all evening and thought surely it was all north.  Then the wind woke me at 3 am.  It was whipping our tent around like CRAZY.  I truly thought the whole thing was going to get sucked up.  And then the rain started.  And not just any rain--crazy, hard BUCKETS of rain.  Mind you, we're in a different tent, one R just knew would leak because it was a Wal-mart brand.  And I will admit the fabric isn't nearly as thick and durable as our Cabela's one.  I was just totally in love with all the extra room we had.  Although, ironically enough, we soon got all kinds of cozy. . .   Sassy was awake by now and nervous about the storm, but to her credit, she never once cried (I meanwhile was trying not to!)  Stinkus, on the other hand, slept the whole time.  ha!  I actually had to wake her because not too long after the rain started, sure enough, water was coming in on the far side near their air mattress.  So I scooped her up and put her on my cot, and Sassy climbed onto Daddy's.  Two and half hours later, the lightning woke me.  It was that scary, cracking, hitting-way-too-close-to-us lightning and all I could think was we were REALLY close to the lake and under a big tree. . . .   Then suddenly I felt water on my face and well, the rain fly FLEW.  R yelled that it was off and we grabbed the girls and what bedding we could and made a mad dash for the truck.  The rain finally stopped about two hours later and of course, all I could think was: Worst. Camping.Trip. Ever.

It wasn't at all what I had envisioned or planned.  I think I may have read three pages all weekend, let alone three books.  Everything was absolutely drenched.  We didn't even take the kayaks out because today we just wanted to get home.  But there were some pretty sweet moments in the middle of all the chaos.  There we were on a Saturday morning at 6 am watching a crane right outside our window walk up and down the shore--that we would have missed had a certain someone not been wide awake at such an ungodly hour.  I got two and half hours of cuddle time with a little girl who won't fit on my cot much longer and until the rain fly went MIA, it was pretty cozy to sleep through the storm with her sweet little head tucked in under my chin.  We got some great swimming in at the beach and right off our shore--I love that the girls love the water.  We discovered an awesome new way to grill corn, and dinner last night was AMAZING.  And there were no plate casualties this time.  :)  This morning, amid all the clean-up, and trying to find missing stakes, and picking up other campers' things, a sweet little voice screeched through the whole campground when she remembered what day it was:  "Happy Fodder's Day, Daddy!!!!!"  

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

One of the things I really need to work on is realizing that life seldom goes as planned.  Things happen.  Like rain.  And I want the girls to handle it better than I do.  I want them to see by example that you can roll with the punches and not sweat the small stuff.  So on the way home, when we stopped at Sonic for some food, there was only one thing to do when I heard a little voice (strapped in her car seat) say, "I just peed."  Laugh.  Hard.