Visit from Tio Adam

On Monday my brother had a 9 hour layover right here in my very city ;-). I picked him up and we were able to spend a few hours together.  I was pretty much exhausted for a good part of his visit but the girls were ripped and ready to go...lucky Adam.  I don't think they let him sit for the first 3 hours he was here.  It was a short but nice visit, especially for them because Adam is one big kid.  At one point they found his 2 fedora style hats and took turns trying them on.  Kayla has been doing this thing lately where she doesn't look at the camera and does some crazy thing with her mouth instead of smiling, so we'll keep those pics in the vault. But here's a cute one of Elyse.

 

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Every time my kids say something random or insightful I always think of that show with Bill Cosby. It's such a simple saying but so incredibly true.
Yesterday Elyse, who is only 2 was playing with her toys and talking to herself. Don't know what happened but I know what I heard...She said "O damnit, f$%k." When I said "HEY!!! That's a bad word, you don't say that!" she responded, "uhmmmm, O man" So not only did she use the words, she obviously knows what they mean. Effin AWESOME!

I just may win mother of the year award this year.

Things that make me laugh

Conversation with my brother:

Me: Kayla is so dramatic. She was crying before bedtime because she doesn't like her new bed. She said she can't jump on it like her other bed.

My brother: Well they do say "save the drama for your mama"

Harharhar, he's hysterical.

Closet Re-model

The last pain-in-the ass project for the girls room was the closet.  I thought it would be a simple project but of course I had a pregnancy moment measuring the length wrong, and then I had a few moments of momsanity.  I measured the closet at 60 inches wide and knew that was 5 ft but for some reason when I went to Home Depot my brain computed that 60 inches to 6 ft and that is what I bought.  The shelf stayed in a corner of the living room for 2 weeks until the last day of my mom's visit.  Of course when I went to put it up with her I realized what a mistake I had made.  We took a trip to Home Depot to have them cut it down to size but while there I decided a whole closet kit with different size shelves would be better.  There were only 2 kits and both were open. One was obviously missing half of the kit and the other, after me, my mother, and the clerk, checked the box, seemed to have everything I needed.  I never understand how people get things at a discount because it's broken, missing, floor sample, etc.  I asked if I could get a discount because the box was open and I couldn't be sure everything was there.  I got a plain and simple N to the O. After all this I was ready to exchange the shelf for the kit and my receipt was nowhere to be found.  I looked in the kit box, I looked in the bags I had come in with, I checked and double checked my purse-I even checked the garbage at the register.  I was seriously ready to just cry. The clerk was able to pull up my receipt on her computer so it was all ok in the end.  I still have yet to find that receipt. I am convinced I gave it to the clerk and she forgot.
Anyway, I didn't get to put up the shelves until the next day. It was very tedious. It involved a lot of measuring, marking on the walls, leveling, hole drilling, and nail hammering.  I was almost at the end when my husband had to leave to work.  Luckily all the heavy lifting and such was done already. Just when I thought I was done...I was in fact missing a piece from the kit.  The side brackets that anchor the fronts of each shelf were missing.  I had to wait until the weekend was over to contact customer service, then I had to wait 5 days for it to be delivered.  Everything is a story...that's why I have so much to blog about ;-) So after about a week and a half I finally put the finishing touches on the closet and organized it. I am happy to say that the girls now share one closet and everything has a place.  Each girl has one whole row and a small half row for everything I could possibly think of.  I am also equally happy that there are no more PROJECTS to do for their room...best part of it all!!!

Closet before

Closet after :-)

Finally done

I am finally done with the girls' room and all the projects I wanted to do for it. Now I can focus on redoing the glider...something that is probably going to require a lot of focus and time.  Here are the pics I already posted of the room when we got the bunk beds and moved all the toys in there. You can see them bigger here http://momentsofmomsanity.blogspot.com/2011/02/big-girl-room.html

Soooo, here are the pics of my handy-work and adventures after that.
First thing I did was re-vamp the curtains that were in the room.  The curtains were the first thing I made when I bought my sewing machine. I made them into tab curtains by sewing different colored ribbon on the top to match the colors in Kayla's comforter.

Next I put up a shelf above the toy bins.  Of course, I decided to put up the shelf at the most inconvenient time, 1 hour before bedtime, and when I was all alone.  I just wouldn't be me if I had the patience to wait until the morning when my husband was home to help. It was quite an adventure, let me tell you...I cursed myself a few times for my impatience.  First I had to drill holes in the shelf to attach the brackets. Naturally I attached them all the way on the edges.  Then I started drilling holes in the wall to put up the shelf.  Long story short, there are about 10 holes in the wall due to the fact that I have a crooked eye and I happened to be trying to drill into a wall that is part of the outside of the house and is reinforced with steel.  I finally had to redo the brackets on the shelf in order to avoid the steel beams.  Then I couldn't figure out how the hell I was going to put one side up and then get the other side up all by my pregnant self.  I wasn't willing to admit defeat and wait until the morning for my husband to come home...mostly because he would have freaked out when he saw all the holes.  So this is what I devised...

See the holes in the top right?

That is a very light book shelf, placed on top of the toy bin, and the only other sturdy thing I have 2 of in the house...sterilite storage bins. After I did all that it took less than five minutes to complete the project and I seriously wished I could have smacked myself for not thinking of it an hour earlier. I'd like to add that this whole hour I had the girls running circles around me, trying to touch the drill, the hammer, sitting on the shelf, and asking 50 million questions about what I was doing. But it came out great and level so I guess it was worth it...kinda.

Luckily I KNOW my husband will never touch anything on this shelf so I have time to eventually cover up the holes. He of course said I did a good job putting it up, right after he said "O, more holes in the wall."  The rest of my projects (except the closet, which I'll post separately) weren't as complicated. I made a toy bag for random homeless stuffed animals, a hamper for behind the door since there really isn't any other place for a hamper and these kids need to put their dirty clothes somewhere, and new basket liners. Overall, I'm happy with the end results, especially because it gave me something to do after the kids went to bed.

The other side of the bag is the aqua color of the hamper

Before and after: baby girl to big girl

Pinkalicious Cupcakes

Kayla loves the book Pinkalicious by Victoria and Elizabeth Kahn.  It's not the greatest, most heart-warming story, but I think it appeals to her girly nature.  My mother read it to her once and she memorized the whole book.  Since then she has been asking me to make her some Pinkalicious Cupcakes.  Today I made her very happy and finally did it.  When I told her my plans she immediately asked me if I knew how to make Pinkalicious Cupcakes.  She even bought me the book so I would know what to do.  She was so excited she didn't even care that we didn't have cherries.  I'm sure any disappointment she had was erased when I told her we would be using pink marshmallows instead.  I had her and Elyse help me mix the ingredients and then I put them in pink cupcake liners. I tried to decorate them as close to the book as possible, given the fact that I am no professional baker and the cupcakes in the book are almost as big as the little girl's head...no wonder why she turns pink in the story.

Even before I had them in the oven Elyse was asking "Are the cupcakes ready?" She asked me that about every five minutes until they were done, throughout dinner, and even when she finally got to eat one...I'm starting to think that she just likes to be redundant for no reason.  Either way, they really enjoyed their Pinkalicious Cupcakes.

Sunday Randomness

Every morning Kayla comes into my room and within 5 minutes asks me if she can check on her restaurant on the itouch.  Every single morning.  Today Elyse woke up first and asked to play with the itouch. Considering that when she first wakes up she is very energetic and talkative, I said sure.  When Kayla came in she asked for her turn.  After giving Elyse some more time, I made her turn it over to Kayla.  Elyse then cried for about 5 minutes because...well, because that's how she is.  In the midst of her tears she tells me, "Mommy, I'm not a baby anymore." Uhm...yea, well that was a very long and clear sentence but you're still crying because you don't know how to take turns sooooo, not so sure you're right buddy. When Kayla's turn was over I sent them downstairs to get their juice cups out of the fridge.  Kayla found the new Yoplait Princess yogurt I bought yesterday and bought me more time in bed :-)  After, she came in my room and told me, "I love you and Papi because when you work together, you make the best family."  Awe, she's the best <3 A few minutes later Elyse comes in my room with a pair of panties in her hand and nothing on.  She insisted she didn't pee on herself and just wanted different panties...ok.  At this point I have to get out of bed.  After investigating I determined she didn't pee anywhere; have no idea why she felt the need for a wardrobe change. I went to find her in the guest room to put on some sweatpants and this is what I found...

Yes, that is a cracked egg on top of the dresser.  Apparently I was a bit premature in thinking Elyse could be trusted to go into the fridge unsupervised.

Sleep Interrupted

I may never get a decent night's sleep again.  The really depresses me.  I don't even know what a decent nights sleep feels like anymore.  My teenage cousin is always complaining about being tired after school...I want to slap her every time. I want to wake up in a good mood for once and not be this cranky sleep-deprived mother.  Even when I try to get to sleep early something always happens. Two night ago I was actually woken up at 2:30am by the child in my womb.  I think she was trying to escape...I'm serious. She was kicking and punching me so hard and frequent that it actually woke me up.  Then last night I went to bed at 8pm because I was so exhausted. At 8:45 my phone rang 4x.  I ignored it because it was my brother-in-law. Then it rang again-it was my husband wondering why I wasn't picking up his brother's calls. REALLY? Then at 1am I had to pee.  Getting out of bed and getting to the bathroom at this stage of my pregnancy is an ordeal in itself.  By the time I was done it was probably 1:30am. Then at 5am I was awakened by the sound of both kids crying.  Kayla had a nightmare and her crying woke up Elyse. I soothed them both and got back in bed. I then spent the next hour trying to keep Elyse out of my bed. She finally stopped trying but they were both up and ready to start the day at 7:45. I'm tired just thinking about it all over again....

Happy 3rd Birthday Jacob!

Sunday, my godson Jacob turned 3. His little celebration was in the middle of nap time which meant to get there on time I had to leave during lunchtime. So I had to do what I usually hate doing and get fast-food. I ordered a chicken sandwich and they forgot the tomato and cheese...chicken, lettuce and mayo-yum. So worth 8 bucks...not.
We got there before the birthday boy but once he showed up it was a nice little event.

Cheese!! lol

Of course my "I want to act potty trained when I feel like it" child peed on herself. And of course her, "I am extra prepared for all the wrong things" mother, myself, only had extra panties. I later asked myself what good I thought that would do because if something happened where I would need extra panties, it should have been common sense that I would have needed extra bottoms too. There is now an entire outfit in my car for the next emergency. Luckily for me, my bff is always prepared and lent me Jacob's shorts that she had in her car. For the rest of the party, instead of Elyse cutely matching Kayla in a dark blue skirt and white shirt, Elyse looked like a little linebacker with shorts past her knees.
On the way home Elyse was so tired she fell asleep with a lollipop hanging out of her mouth. When I went to take a picture of it at the next red light, it had fallen out and was stuck to her shirt.

Nothing like a little party and cake to wear them out ;-)

Random Kayla Quote

After drying off from the shower I took off my towel and went to the bathroom to brush my hair. Kayla, right behind me says, "Mommy, your butt shakes when you walk." Then proceeds to play the drums on my butt. Ahhh, motherhood.

Alone at Last

Thursday I was on my way out to drop something off at my bff's job for my god-son's bday party at daycare when my husband says, "Wait, help me get the kids dressed. I'm going to take them to the park." Elyse is almost 3 years old and he has never taken them anywhere except to friends houses by himself. Sooo, of course I helped him get them dressed. I must admit I wasted some of my free time wandering around the $ store and when I came home I started dinner. But I was able to talk on the phone without any interruptions, whining, crying, screaming, or fighting. It was just QUIET. Then while dinner was cooking I sat down and ate a bowl of Cheetos. Mostly because I knew I could do it while the sun was still out and no one would ask me for any. Best Cheetos EVER.

When Ricky got home with the girls 2 hours later. I was in a very relaxed mood. Best part of the day...after being alone with Papi for a few hours all the girls wanted was PAPI! WoooHoooo!!! Even the dog wanted his attention and it started frustrating him because he couldn't do anything without them finding him and demanding his attention. HAHAHA! Welcome to my world. All in all, very satisfying day ;-)