Candy Land

My girls are extremely lucky to have so many wonderful people in their lives who spoil them rotten. Back in December one of my co-workers (who will remain nameless to protect her indentity) gave Anastasia and Ainsley a candy ring maker. It had icing and lots of little sprinkles involved. I wanted to shake her silly! But of course my girls thought she was the coolest adult ever.

In the holiday hubub I was able to hide the candy maker at the back of a cabinet in the kitchen. In my maternal idiocy I thought they would forget. They of course did not, and I finally relented and let them make the candy rings. While the kitchen table was coated in icing and the tiniest little dang sprinkles I've ever seen, I will admit the rings were pretty cute. The girls had a blast creating their edible jewelry. The kit was designed to make a total of ten rings. We made all ten in less than 24 hours. I'm still finding sprinkles on the floor!

Snowy Situation

It's been hotter than....well, you know.....lately. We've been in the 90's every day for well over a week. Rain has been hard to come by and pretty much everyone complains about the heat all day.

I was sorting some pictures over the weekend and came across this one, taken a few days before Christmas when we got that big snow. It's a nice reminder that summer can't last forever.

X Marks the Spot

Ainsley took a tumble over the weekend, missing the last few steps to the den. She did one of those hysterical, nothing-coming-out-of-her-open-mouth kind of cries so we knew she was really hurt. Yesterday she walked with a bit of a limp and she was really favoring the injured foot today. In between work meetings, breast pumping sessions and entertaining Anastasia at the office, I maanged to find time to run Ainsley to the doctor. Fortunately the x-ray showed no serious problems. Doctor said it was pretty deeply bruised. We'll ice it some after dinner. If we can get her to sit still long enough.

Like Halley's Comet...Only Less Frequent

Some things in life only come around every now and then. Take Halley's Comet for example. It only passes our way once every 75 years or so. We had a similar occurrence this weekend at our house. I had to take a picture just to prove it actually happened since it probably won't happen for another 80 years or something.

See that? It's the floor of the playroom. I was actually beginning to wonder if there was still carpet under there. I kinda figured it had disappeared and the kids were actually playing on a dirt floor like Little House on the Prairie. I know it won't last very long, but it sure does look nice.

While I was cleaning in there I came across many unusual things. But this really takes the cake.

It's an animal x-ray of some poor furry thing that swallowed a sock. I love that you can see the sock, but no bones. Perhaps it is an amoeba. I believe the x-ray came with animal doctor Barbie. Or maybe Sea World trainer Barbie. Either way, it was a funny find on my quest to see the playroom floor.

Soccer Commentary

World Cup fever has hit the Lamar house. We're watching the USA take on Ghana this afternoon. The score is tied and Jamie was explaining what will happen if it remains tied. He told her the game would go into Sudden Death. She looked at him with her big blue eyes and replied, "Sudden death sounds horrible!" Indeed it does.

Still Healing

It's been three months since someone broke into our house. The door was fixed right away and we've slowly been replacing what was lost over the last 90 days, but I'm still on edge. I still sleep with the lights on. I still pull into the driveway every afternoon with a sense of uneasiness. I look at both the front door and back door as we pull in the driveway for signs of a break-in. Something I failed to do that afternoon in March. I'm suspicious of every car I see in my neighborhood that looks like it doesn't belong. I flipped out when the people renting the house next door came onto our property and deposited their trash in our trashcan. It wasn't so much the fact that we became their trash receptacle, but rather the invasion of them being on my property when I wasn't home. I don't know how long it will take to feel safe again, and perhaps that feeling will never return. I'm careful of how I act around the girls because it is long forgotten in their minds. I don't want them to be scared to be in their own home. It's been a slow healing process for me and one that is most likely to continue for quite some time.

Flying Saucer

From the moment someone finds out you are expecting a baby, the conversation begins. "Oh, I've got an old ______ (stroller, car seat, box of clothes, etc.) you can have." You have two categories of people. Those who say, "Oh thank you," and then donate all the hand-me-down stuff to Goodwill so they can by brand new stuff for their impending offspring. Then there's the camp who loves it. I'm one of those parents who loves hand-me-downs. Don't get me wrong, I loved buying new things for my girls, but considering how quickly babies and toddlers grow through toys and clothes, hand-me-downs are a blessing.

When I was pregnant with Anastasia, my aunt was also pregnant. She had my cousin Olivia just 7 months before Anastasia was born. That poised us to be on the receiving end of some pretty darn fine leftovers! We've gotten all kinds of things over the years, but nothing has stood the test of time better than the trusty exersaucer.

Here's Anastasia in it circa spring 2004.

Ainsley got her turn in it the summer of 2006.

Now, four years later Allie is having her own fun in it.

The cool thing is I'm pretty sure Olivia and her older sister, Sydney both used it before it came to our house. Then between Ainsley and Allie one of my co-workers used it for his son. It might be heading to Goodwill after this round unless I can find someone who needs it!

Food, Glorious Food

Allie must be going through a growth spurt. She is suddenly very interested in food. REAL food. She got a small taste on pancakes on Father's Day and then we let her have a real banana. None of that Gerber junk in a jar. She had pears last night and then tonight she ate most of the carrots on my plate. And then got REALLY mad when they were all gone. Her sisters want to share everything on their plates so we've had to be clear that she can't have everything just yet. It's fun watching her experience new foods. I hope she'll be my foodie. Or at the very least, I hope she won't freak out when I make chicken casserole.

A wreck of my very own

I am a huge fan of the Cake Wrecks blog. Sometimes it's the balm for a stressful day, the laughter in the midst of chaos and sometimes a good reminder that I'm not the only one who makes mistakes. I've seen all kinds of wrecks on the blog, but last week I found a wreck in my very own grocery store!

At first glance you see a cute watermelon cake....but then you realize it's a cupcake cake (or CCC as Cake Wrecks calls them). Strike one. Secondly you notice the plastic fork sticking out of said CCC, as if someone has already been eating on it. Strike two. Then I took one look at the price....$15.95. For a fake watermelon? Really? Do you know how many REAL watermelons I could buy for that? Strike three.

So there you have it. My very own wreck. I sent it to Cake Wrecks, but I doubt they'll use it. I just felt the need to share with them. ; )

Out to Lunch

Usually my lunch breaks consist of me running all over town, tackling errands I can't seem to get done any other time during the week. I will often end up at Target, buying toilet paper and razors. But today I decided to do something a little different. I called daycare to find out if Allie was awake. They said she was so I loaded up and drove over. I hit the traffic lights correctly and was there in four minutes.

She was incredibly excited to see me. She clapped her hands and waved at me. We had such a great visit. We played and I even fed her a bottle which is such a surreal experience. I think I've only ever fed her one other bottle. She kept looking at me like, "This isn't how we usually do this!" The other babies crawled over to have a look. They were jealous. I could see it in their eyes. They wished their mom was as cool as Allie's.

It was nice to not only play with Allie in the middle of the day but also to talk with her teachers. Usually our communication is short telegraphs on the way in and out each day. Today we talked at length and caught each other up on Allie's comings and goings.

Today's visit was exactly what I needed. I've really struggled with not being at home with Allie, perhaps more than I struggled with leaving her sisters. Although that may be attributed to the fact that hers is a fresh wound, while time has healed the wounds of leaving her sisters at daycare as young children. Speaking of her sisters, I didn't see Anastasia or Ainsley on my lunchtime rendezvous. They were having far too much fun for me to interrupt their day. Plus I think they're both reaching the stage where mom stopping by to give them a kiss isn't very cool. They have an image to maintain after all.

Movie Time

Allie recenttly saw her first flick on the big screen. We all five took in Toy Story 3 on Sunday. She fell asleep during the previews....of which there were about 60. Jamie claims it was only 20 minutes worth, but I think there were far more than that. She slept through most of the movie and then I fed her for the last little bit. Anastasia and Ainsley LOVED the movie...almost as much as Jamie and I did. It's been a long time since I've seen a movie that well-written and that fun. It was such a wonderful family outing.

Bunk Mates

Over the weekend Jamie and I finally made good on our promise to get the girls bunk beds.

It only took 13 easy steps!

Three and a half hours later.......

BUNK BEDS!

The girls are in heaven and just love them. It's given them so much more room to play and they love the novelty of it all. Bedtime has been a snap since they are so excited about sleeping in their new beds.

Happy Father's Day

We've had a busy weekend. There's so much to blog about. But for now, just a picture of my girls and their amazing daddy!

9 month check-up

Allie went in for her nine month check-up this morning. Ainsley was running a fever so Jamie was at home with her. Since Allie's appointment was at 8 a.m. I didn't have time to get Anastasia to school before the doctor so she had to come with me. After this visit it is obvious a career in healthcare isn't really on Anastasia's horizon. The first words to the nurse were, "Is she getting shots today?" She was relieved to find no shots on today's agenda, but did ask to step out into the hall when Allie had her toe pricked.

Allie did fine with the toe prick. Her face crumpled like it does when she's about to let loose a wail, but she calmed quickly and settled for giving the nurse a nasty look for hurting her so. It was our favorite doctor this morning. I might as well have not even been present as Anastasia did most of the conversing with the doctor. He looked at me over her head with knowing eyes. She prattled on about Allie's skills and eating habits. It was pretty comical.

All in all the appointment went well. Her ears continue to improve. She weighs 17 pounds 13 ounces and is 27 inches long. The doctor was impressed with her babbling and her clapping skills. He must own stock in Cheerios or something because he really wants us to start table foods. We're taking it nice and slow and letting Allie lead the way. She'll let us know when she's ready for something off our plates. The blood test revealed perfect iron levels and all other sorts of healthy stuff so we are set until 12 months. Hopefully.....HOPEFULLY.....we can avoid the doctor until then.

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly

Allie is mobile and perhaps more dangerous than her mobility is her curiosity. She is into everything. Having two older sisters means there is plenty of everything for her to be into. Last week I picked her up from school and I asked how her day went as I always do. Ms. Nita looked at me and said, "Well, Allie tried to eat a spider today." Say what!?!?!? Apparently Ms. Nita looked over and saw Allie playing with "some brown thread." Turns out...it wasn't thread at all! She had the thing going towards her mouth before Nita intervened. Maybe I need to up the protein content in her diet!

Some things are better left in the memory box

Check out this beauty! It's a picture of Anna and I from our childhood. I'm not sure when it was taken but wow, what a shot! Mom has been cleaning out some things at home and she came across this and thought my girls should see it. They got plenty of laughs from seeing their mom and their aunt "way back when." They haven't seen the half of it!

Fountain of Youth

It's been hotter than heck out there lately. I feel like we've skipped June and July all together and gone straight to those dog days of late August. That being said, we're looking for ways to cool off. Since we don't know anyone with a pool, we decided to take the kids to the fountains at World's Fair Park after church on Sunday. It was crowded but they still managed to have fun. It was good, clean fun! (And cheap too!)

Thinking Outside the Box

One of my online mommy pals recently sent us a huge box of clothing her daughters had outgrown. I am incredibly grateful for these shipments as I'm all about reusing clothes when possible. Not only is it cheaper, but it is better for the environment as well. The clothes came in a large cardboard box. Over the weekend all three girls managed to find new ways to use it. Now that they've had their fun with it, the box will be hauled off to the recycling center. I love how something as simple as a box can provide them with hours of entertainment!

9 months old

Allie is nine months old today! She's been quite busy in the last month. She had tubes placed in her ears on May 11. Yesterday we saw the ENT for a follow-up and he said she is doing very well. Her hearing test revealed a huge improvement over our last visit. A few days after her surgery she started crawling and hasn't slowed down since.

She can clap and do the sign language for "more." She loves and I mean LOVES Gerber Puffs and will let you know if you are not feeding them to her fast enough. She's all about water and very much enjoyed being in the pool on our trip to Florida. She proved to be an amazing traveler, handling 12+ hours in a car seat like a pro. Allie met everyone from Mickey Mouse to Buzz Light Year and seemed delighted by them all. She's such a happy baby. She's still sleeping well at night. I feed her around 9 p.m. and then she's out for the entire night. She usually gets up around 6 a.m., ready to eat and start her day.

She could play with a spoon for hours. She's fascinated by mouths and teeth. We bought her a little Bullseye and Jessie at Magic Kingdom and she loves playing with them. She likes books, but mostly just eating them. I could go on and on about Allie. We are so blessed to have her in our lives. Happy 9 months!

A Stitch in Time

Ainsley recently got a new nightgown. It is a treasured article of clothing, so you can imagine her distress when one of the pockets came unstitched, leaving a hole. I promised to repair it but in true busy mom fashion, I finally got around to it a couple of days later. I got out my needle and even managed to find thread the color of the nightgown. I sat down to get started and Anastasia said, "Do you even know how to sew?"

Thanks for the vote of confidence kids!

Summer Fun

Ainsley and Anastasia are having a good summer so far. Each day at school is a special activity. Everything from puppet shows to kite making is helping them get excited about the summer. Recently they celebrated with Mismatched Clothing Day. Here's how Ainsley went to school that day!

A Sign of the Times

We've been working on some basic sign language with Allie in the last few weeks. We're doing the words "eat" and "more." On Sunday she signed "more" back to us. She did it to get more Gerber Puffs which are her favorite things on the planet. She'd eat a whole container in one sitting if we'd let her.

Here she is in her swing. Check out all those chompers! She's got four now.

Farm Fresh

In accordance with my pledge to eat more local this year, the girls and I have been hitting up our local Farmer's Market. So far we've managed to enjoy some of the best blueberries I've ever tasted, plenty of homegrown tomatoes and beautiful bunches of flowers. We bought two bundles from girls not too much older than my girls. It's fun doing the farmer's market thing with them. It's a math lesson, agricultural lesson and environmental lesson all rolled into one. And while I've been enjoying all the things to eat, I'm really just holding out for the corn. It won't be long!

Family Vacation-Day 7

On Friday we drove over to the coast (no, not that coast...the one not covered in oil....) for the day. We found a spot in Cocoa Beach and plopped down our towels and beach umbrellas. The beach wasn't crowded at all. Allie seemed to like the sand but wasn't fond of the cool water when it washed over her legs. I'm not sure we will ever get all the sand out of her hair, armpits, neck folds, etc. Or the van for that matter!

Anastasia and Ainsley were in heaven. They jumped in the waves for hours and wanted to go deeper into the ocean. They built sand castles and looked for shells. We ate a picnic on the beach and got far too much sun despite our SPF 50. All three girls slept their way back to Orlando. After a stop at Wal-Mart to buy some aloe lotion we spent the rest of the evening relaxing and doing laundry. It was great to be able to do some of the trip laundry before we got home. Speaking of home....we packed up and drove home on Saturday. We hadn't planned to go all the way, but we were all ready for our own beds. Well, that and the place we stopped wanted 85 bucks for a room.

It was a wonderful trip. The kids were so well-behaved and all three were amazing travelers. It's not easy to spend 12+ hours in a car with your family, but they handled it quite well. I'm sorry vacation has come to an end for another year, but I am incredibly grateful for 8 days of family time. It was so hard to send them all back to daycare on Tuesday. I just want to spend my days with them. But it's back to work and school for us all. Since summer has arrived we're going to try and do some fun "mini trips" to the zoo, baseball games, the fountains downtown and other little stuff. And of course....I'm already planning our next trip. Who knows where it will take us!

Family Vacation-Day 6

On Thursday morning we got up and drove over to Sea World. We met Ryann at the gate so we could get our tickets. Allie needed to eat so Jamie and the girls checked out the penguins while I fed her. Sea World actually has designated rooms for breastfeeding. How awesome is that?!? We caught the sea lion and sea otter show before Jamie and Anastasia rode Atlantis. Ainsley, Allie and I checked out an aquarium in the gift shop while they rode.

We ate our lunch while we waited for the Shamu show to start. The trainers aren't getting in the water with the whales anymore, but it still was an impressive show. The girls really seemed to enjoy it. After Shamu they changed into swimsuits and splashed around in Shamu's Happy Harbor. They climbed the big net thing with Jamie and then rode the Shamu Roller Coaster. We were all hot and tired so we went back to the condo to rest for a while.

For dinner we went to T-Rex. It is a dinosaur-themed restaurant than was right up Ainsley's alley. We had a fun dinner and ordered a killer dessert called Chocolate Extinction. Let's just say it involved chocolate, caramel, ice cream, Butterfinger bits and dry ice! We did some shopping/playing at Downtown Disney and then called it a day.

Up next: Beach Blanket Bingo!

Family Vacation-Day 5

Wednesday brought an end to our Bay Lake Tower stay (BOO!). Before we left though we rode the monorail over to the Polynesian Resort and ate breakfast at Ohana. We all got leis and ate a bountiful breakfast with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto. The food was great and we really enjoyed getting to poke around at a new resort. After breakfast we took the kids out to see the pool and the beach at Polynesian.

We packed up and checked out of the hotel around 10 and then drove to our condo in Kissimmee. We made the kids nap (gasp!) and then took them swimming. Jamie made a yummy dinner in our room so we had a nice evening of relaxing. It was kind of fun to let go of the Clipboard of Fun and just veg out.

Up next: Sea World and dinosaurs!

Family Vacation-Day 4

Despite a very late night for Jamie, we got up and got cracking on Tuesday. Everyone had their breakfast and we were out the door by 15 after 8. The Magic Kingdom was a short (and I mean short) walk from our resort so we didn't have to fool with buses or monorails to get to Magic Kingdom. We got our tickets and met up with Anna and Chris and Beau and Meagan just inside the gates. They all took off for Dumbo while I made a stop on Main Street. I took our vacation to the next (some may say tacky...) level by purchasing the five of us coordinating Disney World shirts. I met back up with the group who had stopped to have a picture with the Stepmother and Stepsisters from Cinderella. They jumped in line for Dumbo while I fed Allie. Basically....they did all the work and I hopped in line once Allie was done eating. She conked out and slept for an hour! After Dumbo we did the carousel and Peter Pan, followed by It's A Small World once Allie woke up. We did the Tea Cups, the Barnstormer and then got our family picture with Mickey. During a monsoon we stood in line to meet Tinkerbell and the other fairies and managed to see Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Ariel before meeting back up with Anna and the gang.

Jamie joined the "big kids" for a ride on Space Mountain while Anna, the girls and I took an ice cream break and rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Chris got to meet Chip and Dale (his favorites!) and then I stayed with Allie while they all rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. We said goodbye to Tomorrowland and high-tailed it to Adventureland where we did the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Tiki Room, and Aladdin's Magic Carpet. Ainsley, Allie, Jamie and I headed for the Jungle Cruise while the rest of the group went off to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It was closed so they rode Haunted Mansion instead. Anna showed Anastasia Splah Mountain to see if it was something she wanted to ride. She watched one boat plummet off the edge and said . "Doin' it!" They fast passed it so they could ride after dinner. Ainsley and I did the Hall of Presidents which was awesome. She really enjoyed it and was sort of blown away that a girl had never been president.

We all had dinner at Pinnochio's Village Haus, one of our favorite haunts at Magic Kingdom. Ainsley, Allie and I rode the carousel again and did some shopping while everyone else rode Splash Mountain. We finally headed back to the hotel around 7. I let the girls swim again while Jamie and Allie rested in the room. Truth be told....I just wanted another trip down the water slide. That thing was awesome! We made bead necklaces in the community room and then showered before watching the fireworks again. It was such a long day, but we had a blast. The kids were great! Allie is such a trooper and managed to cut a tooth while we were dragging her from theme park to theme park.

Here is one of my favorite pictures from the day. I have no idea where she gets her sense of adventure....certainly not from me!

Up next: Breakfast in the islands and some relaxation.

Family Vacation-Day 3

Despite Jamie's absence on Monday, I was determined to have a good time with the girls. We saw no need for vacation to come to a grinding halt just because a wrench was thrown into our plans. The girls and I had breakfast in our room and then packed up and headed to Hollywood Studios. No, you do not need your eyes checked....I took three kids to a Disney theme park...by myself...and lived to tell the tale.

Getting on the bus was a bit of a challenge, but we made it and got to the park just as it opened. Minnie Mouse was standing right there and I asked the girls if they wanted their picture made with her. "Nah, we see her on TV. Let's get to the playground." The playground in question is the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground. It's one of their favorite parts of Walt Disney World. It was time for Allie to eat so I pulled out my nursing cover, plopped on the ground and fed her while they ran around the playground. They were in heaven. It was practically deserted so they had run of the place. After an hour we left and met Buzz Lightyear and Woody from Toy Story. Allie REALLY liked them. We met Gran, Pop, Ryann, Scott and Isabelle for about an hour. We saw the Playhouse Disney show and had a family picture made with Mickey before they left for Magic Kingdom. We stayed on at Hollywood Studios and met Sully from Monster's Inc. before having lunch at Pizza Planet. We did the Little Mermaid Show, walked through the Walt Disney Museum where the girls got to see one of the costumes from Mary Poppins and then rode the Great Movie Ride. Allie was SO fussy during the ride and one of my contacts got stuck in the corner of my eye. Ack! It was a little nuts there for a bit, but we recovered and then got to ride Toy Story. I had just fed Allie peas so all I could think the whole time was, "Please don't puke up all those peas!"

After Toy Story we headed back for the bus. One came right away and we were on our way back to the resort. Anna, Chris, Beau and Meagan met us around 4 and we all went swimming. A huge storm blew in after about 30 minutes though and the lightening sent us scrambling for cover. We all went to the community room (I swear we were on a first name basis by the time we checked out) where we colored, made buttons, and played video games. Anna, Chris, Beau and Meagan left for dinner but the girls and I ate in the room and then rode the monorail around for a while. They were worn out and went to bed without a fuss. I watched the fireworks again and made sure Jamie made his final connection in Charlotte. He got in just before 1 a.m. Whew!

Up next: Magic Kingdom!!!

Family Vacation-Day 2

On Sunday Allie woke up early but then fell back asleep after I fed her. I went out on the balcony just to enjoy the quiet of early morning. Anastasia was the first one up and we watched the sunrise over the lake together. After breakfast they relaxed in the room with Jamie while I went to work out. It was nice to go for a run, even if it was on a treadmill. After a quick shower we hit the road for Isabelle's party. It was such a fun celebration! I still can't believe she's already one. We had a great lunch and did the whole cake and presents thing. The girls had a blast playing with her (and her new toys).

Jamie's boss wouldn't allow him to have Monday, the 21 off (long story....please don't ask me to go there) so he had to fly back home on Sunday evening. Pop took him to the airport and the girls and I headed back to the hotel. We did dinner in our room and then went out for Girls Night Out. We headed up to the Top of the World Lounge and ordered drinks. I had a Pink Bikini Martini and the girls had Pink Lemonade Punch with Fairies Cups and a light-up Tinkerbell on it. The place was deserted so we had it all to ourselves. SO much fun. We did more activities in the community room before turning in for the night. They fell into bed and I crashed too. I was too pooped to even stay up for the fireworks.

Up next: Hollywood Studios and Swimming!