five on friday

1. I loved this article that's been going around facebook.  I am not the best housekeeper (there are many many many things I'd rather do than scrub my kitchen floor) but this made me want to be better.

2. TOTW (Tricks of the Week) - Mattie has mastered clapping and Jilly is finally successful at dressing herself (though clothes are frequently on backwards.)  This has increased Jilly's daily outfit changes by tenfold.  She was so, so proud to surprise me with her full Cinderella ensemble- dress, purse, and glass slippers.

3. Late on Tuesday afternoon I sat down to start our 2013 Family Photo Book.  On Shutterfly I saw that there was a 50% off books deal that ended that day.  So, I spent the entire evening putting our book together and ordered it at 11:58pm.  Phew.

4. Mattie learning to stand up has thrown quite the wrench into our sleeping routine.  Nearly every time I put her in bed she immediately pulls herself up and cries and cries to be let out.  Once when I went to get her she looked right at me and said "ma ma ma" and I melted and swore never to put her back in that cell (. . .until it was time for her next nap.)

"saaaaave me!"

5. Our Chick-fil-A was doing free breakfast this whole week and we went twice.  We probably would have gone more if I had found out about it before Wednesday afternoon.  Ridiculous? Maybe. Delicious? Absolutely.

Wanted to leave you with a happier picture of Mattie.  Happy Weekend!!

five fact friday

1. Mattie is Jilly's little shadow these days.  She loved getting to "ride" (we never actually turn them on) the train with her sissy, and then she pulled this hilarious face.

2.  I think I've mentioned this recipe before, but last night I made Indian Butter Chicken and it is the bomb.  I love it because it's quick to make- only takes 30 minutes (if you subtract time used to appease little girls.)  Also, it tastes delicious.  Last night when everyone else was eating cookies for dessert I instead opted for cold leftovers.  That happens exactly never, so you know this stuff is golden.

3. At preschool this week we played Don't Eat Pete!  It had absolutely nothing to do with our letter of the week, but was fun.  The kids semi-understood the game, except 90% of the time someone gave away who Pete was so the person who was "it" usually got to eat all the marshmallows before getting to Pete.  When Bryan came home we played again, but this time with m&ms so it was even better.  (You can find instructions and a game board here)

4. Bryan ordered a cord online for his computer and asks me every.single.day. if it came in the mail.  And the answer is always no.  Then last night he finally told me that it only cost ¢99 and is coming from China.  So I'm pretty sure I'll be answering the "has it come yet" question til 2015.

5.  This morning in her most somber and pleading voice (and, to her credit, not at all whiny) Jilly said, "Mommy, I just can't wait for Christmas.  Can I pleeeeease open a present?"  Apparently the Christmas season is a little too long for three year olds.

five things

1. On Monday I noticed Baby Jesus was missing from our nativity.  When I asked her about it Jilly said she hid him from the "scary guys" (wisemen.)  I thought perhaps this was a good time to remind her of the true Nativity story.  I delegated to Bryan and he pulled out all the stops.  I'm sure Mary and Joseph were quite grateful when Snow White offered them the stable behind her pink palace.

2.  The Sound of Music is my favoritefavoritefavorite movie ever so I was excited for last night's live version.  Bryan, no doubt, appreciated me singing along and noting every single discrepancy from the original.  (At one point he asked, "did you do anything else as a child besides watch this movie?")  I enjoyed it, but even though Carrie Underwood has an amazing voice, she's no Julie Andrews. 

3. Jilly was bald until she turned one so I'm at a loss with Mattie's baby hair.  It keeps growing long in random places and I don't have the heart to cut it.  For example: see long wispy above her left ear.  Someone please stage an intervention.

4. Speaking of Mattie, on a scale of 1-10 how lame is it for us to just give her batteries for Christmas so she can make full use of Jilly's old toys?

5. It is suddenly freezing cold here.  We may even get some snow on Saturday (slight slight slight chance but we'll take it.)  And, of course my California girl wouldn't dream of covering her outfits with a coat; she'd rather get frostbite.

Happy Weekend!

Friday Five

1. Can we talk about 3-year-old tantrums?  Everyone warned me 3 was worse than 2 but I thought there was no way.  I stand corrected.  It's like the moment she turned 3 Jilly's tantrums escalated into full-out screaming, kicking, crying, total meltdowns.  Too many treats, not enough sleep, and a lingering cold are definitely part of the problem, but if this lasts all year we may not make it.  My wise mother who survived 6 three-year-olds suggested making a happy chart so we're trying it out.  Here's hoping.

2. While making Jell-o Jigglers this week for preschool (betcha can't guess what letter we did) I burned my hand.  I was stirring my first batch and left the burner on to heat up the water for the second batch. I moved the pan to a different burner but the handle was over the hot burner and when I grabbed that handle yowza!!!  I had to sleep with an ice pack in my hand and have little blisters on some of my fingers and palm.

3. My friend gave us an exersaucer that her kids had grown out of (there are few things more exciting to me than hand-me-downs.)  We never had one with Jilly and I'm wondering how we ever survived.  Mattie loves her new toy, and of course I do too.

4.  Some things we've been loving lately: Target cartwheel app, playing game after game after game of Uno, these banana pumpkin muffins, Christmas music, Duck Dynasty, playing with leftover birthday balloons, Insurgent (equally as good as Divergent), Mattie sitting up, tissues (there has been at least one runny nose in our house at all times for the past 3 weeks), and glitter (working on Christmas projects!)

5. Even though Thanksgiving is super late this year, it totally snuck up on me.  We are heading down to AZ and are so lucky to get to see both sides of our family.  We'll get to meet our sweet new nephew Knox and see his family, and spend time with all of my family (hooray!)

five

1. This happened this week and I was most definitely the most excited about it.  Better luck with tandem swinging next time.

2. Against my better judgment I bought Jilly a box of princess band-aids.  By now there are only a handful left as the invisible mortal wound on her foot has required bandage changing at least four times a day.

3. A funny light came on in my dashboard so I sent Bryan a picture.  He clearly is very concerned.

4. Annnnnd we have a tooth coming in.  Not quite sure how I feel about this new development in my baby's life.

5. Bryan is taking his birthday day off today so technically our weekend started last night with ice cream and a family trip to the mall.  We're thrilled to have an extra day with Daddy this week.

Happy Weekend Y'all!

five on friday

one

Mattie's had a big week.  She can now sit up for a few seconds, but pillows are needed to cushion her inevitable fall.  She also can say "da da da"which is not an unexpected first word.  I'm sure she'll learn "mama" about six months from now just like her sister (stinkers.)  She also has decided she loves rice cereal; I cannot get the spoon to her mouth fast enough.

two

Sunday mornings are not my fave.  Bryan is in meetings most of the morning, and Jilly begs every 1.2 seconds to go to church (which starts at 1pm.)  Also, she insists on putting her dress on very first thing just because she enjoys watching me stress all morning about her staying clean.  This Sunday I finally convinced her to paint in the bath which provided a lovely distraction for our looong morning.

three

After our fun weekend we all came down with colds.  Jilly and I were lucky and got better quickly, but poor Bryan and Mattie have been suffering.  We're ready to say adios to the coughs, runny noses, and lack of sleep.

four

We had an unexpectedly awesome Halloween.  I hadn't really planned anything since we were recovering from colds and we'd already had a great weekend celebrating Halloween.  But first my friend invited us to go to the park, which was so fun.  After the park I had to run in the library to get a book that was on hold.  While there we found out they were about to start Afternoon Story Time (who knew??)  Jilly begged to stay and I couldn't say no.  It was Halloween themed and there were only three other little girls there so it was perfect.  We went to Jamba for free kids smoothies and came away with two- one for Jilly and one for Mattie/me.  Then we decided to go trick-or-treating with some friends who knew the ultimate place to go.  This neighborhood was filled with trick-or-treaters and there were lots of houses that were all decked out.  We had a blast.

five

And now it's November, which is quite possibly my very favorite month.  We get to celebrate birthdays of three of my very favorite people- my mom, Bryan, and Jilly.  We'll get a new nephew, take a road trip, celebrate half a year with sweet Mattie, and enjoy Thanksgiving with family.  Doesn't get much better than that.

five things

1- It's been a busybusy week filled with friends, family activities, church assignments, projects, and housework.  I can't believe it's already Friday, but I'm not complaining.  We are very excited to celebrate Halloweekend.

2- A certain almost-three-year-old I know has been struggling with obedience.  But as soon as Bryan made this chart and threatened the Aurora dress she shaped up quickly. 

 3- We gave Mattie solids for the first time this week and if the end goal is a mess, she's doing excellently.  

4- I know you like to stay apprised of our tv situation- Prime has redeemed itself this week as we've been busy watching Season One of Under the Dome.  It kind of reminds us of Lost and we like it quite a lot.  

 

5- Mattie has really started to love toys and don't you dare take something she wants to play with away from her.  That sweet smile is replaced with kicking legs, flailing arms, and a mean grunt.

friday five

Mission Accomplished-  We took away (she gave up?) Jilly's pacifier this week.  It hasn't been as terrible awful as it could be, but at night she especially misses it.  Sleep has felt like a long lost besty-best friend.  And, her saddest quote of the week- "Being a big girl is hard."  But, she did get her Aurora dress and boy oh boy she loves it.

Baby Miles-  The girls and I headed down to San Jose for the day to meet Sweet Baby Miles.  We all love him so much, and had a great day hanging out with his mom and big brother too.

Swinger- We put Mattie in the swing for the first time this week and she seemed to be a big fan.

Divergent- I've finally gotten out of my reading slump!  I had heard lots of good things about Divergent by Veronica Roth but was hesitant to start another dystopian trilogy.  But I got it to listen to on my drive and loved it so, so much.  It's kind of a mix between Hunger Games and Matched, and it definitely has the best love story of the three.  I miss listening to it (the narrator is excellent) and am dying that I have to wait on the hold list for the next book. 

Fall- I realize I'm the first person ever to say this, but I am totally in love with fall.  The weather is perfect, the leaves are beautiful, and there are so many fun things to do.  I kind of don't want this month to ever end.

friday five

If you come to our house Jilly will make sure the first thing you do is admire our pumpkin.

Up until now Mattie has worn mostly new clothes since all of Jilly's 0-3 month clothes were for winter.  But now that it's fall and we're into 6 month clothes she can wear Jilly's hand-me-downs and it's so fun to get them out and reminisce.

Jilly is clearly an up-and-comer in the cupcake business

We made our first pumpkin patch visit of the season.  We had so much fun playing that we never even made it to the pumpkins.  We'll be back soon.  (Yes, that is a box of corn kernels- best idea ever.)

We got rid of Netflix and switched to Amazon Prime, but so far have not been overly impressed.  Any Prime lovers?  Is there any way to easily access the shows we watch most without having to search every time?  Can someone please convince me this was wise?

five

1- With it being the first week of October I felt that sloppy joes were in order.  I made this recipe and Bryan, the self-proclaimed sloppy joe hater, and Jilly, the picky toddler, scarfed them down.  Chalk one up for Rachel (and Mel.)

2- Mattie got her first little cut this week (we let her hold a straw and she used it to scrape her nose.)  Good thing she has a big sister around to hook her up with a Dora bandaid.  (Someone gave us these pajamas when Jilly was little and she wore them many times.  When I put them on Mattie I realized for the first time that they are definitely "boy pajamas"- nothing gets past me.) 

3- Pigtail braids made an appearance this week and it was love at first sight. (These pictures are at the zoo with Jilly's bestie Kylie)

 

4- Yesterday I heard Mattie on the monitor waking up from the world's shortest nap.  She was making happy noises so I just let her be until Jilly asked if she could go check on her.  Then I heard in the monitor, "YAY!!!  Baby Mattie is awake!  Hooray!"  For the next few minutes I heard Jilly talking and being silly while Mattie laughed so hard.  Sisters are the best best best.

5- This is one of my favorite weekends of the year; we get to stay at home and watch excellent messages from our church leaders.  If you'd like to learn more about what I believe, tune in!

 

friday five

1.  Jillian has now worn pants three times this week.  Leggings to be more exact, jeans are still not permitted on this cute little body.

2.  We got a Halloween Costume advertisement in the mail and I gave it to Jilly to look through.  Now the girl is obsessed.  She spends hours looking through it and picks a new costume every 4.75 seconds.  Help me Rhonda.

3.  I usually make myself wait til October 1st to put up Halloween decorations but this year I suppose I'm feeling extra festive because Jilly and I had a blast decking the halls this week. We made a new bat garland using this tutorial.

4.  Mattie had her four month checkup this week- 50% for weight, 51% for height, and practically perfect in every way.

5. This morning Bryan said "Tonight is pizza night, right?"  I inwardly groaned and told Bryan I didn't think I had the energy to make pizza tonight (busy week has left me with a messsssy house.)  Then he clarified, "No, we can use our Papa John's groupon."  Those eight words have brought me immense amounts of joy all day long.  

Happy Friday!

five things

1. At 5am on Thursday I found Jilly standing next to my bed.  "Mommy, I NEED a Dora bandaid."  This was the seventh time I had been wakened since retiring at midnight and I was not happy.  I stumbled to the hall closet and got a bandaid for the invisible wound then not very nicely said, "I am going to be a very, very mean mom if you do not stay quiet for the next two hours and let me sleep."  It should shock no one that Jilly insisted on getting in bed with us.  I left under the pretense of checking on Mattie and found a safe haven in Jilly's bed where I got my last two peaceful hours of sleep.  (In her defense, Jilly wasn't the only reason for my unrestful night, Mattie and a dying battery in a smoke alarm were also culprits.)

2. When Bryan got home Tuesday night he could tell I needed a little breather (very astute man) so he sent me off to the store alone.  When I came home both girls had freshly painted blue nails.  I think all the girliness in our house is finally getting to him!

3.  We used to go to the grocery store early in the morning with all the other moms and kids.  But Jilly naps later (if at all) now and Mattie likes her beauty rest in the mornings so we often don't make it til closer to noon.  Turns out, this is when all the elderly folks do their shopping which is very advantageous when your two year old likes to gallop down the aisles waving her arms and singing "I'm flapping my wings!"  The kind elderly folks all smile and tell me how cute she is, and I'm sure they're counting their lucky stars that they don't have to take her home with them.

4.  After a lovely fall weekend in Utah I complained to Bryan, "I'm not ready to go back to summer."  But Sacramento surprised me with beautiful fall-ish weather this week that we have been basking in.  Pleasepleaseplease let it be here to stay.

5.  I read this excellent talk this week. I love the idea that we all need daily bread to keep us going.  There's also a video here that has highlights from the talk.

Happy Weekend!  We have an excellent weekend that includes a visit from my Dad!

five on friday

one- If you look up "furrowed brow" in the dictionary I can guarantee that you'll find this picture.

two- We're taking a quicky quick trip to Utah this weekend and I feel like I've become a pro at packing up our girls and our car.  Bryan would disagree, to him pro = less stuff.  To me pro = better at fitting more stuff.

three- Mattie slept through the night on Wednesday.  Cue the choir of heavenly hosts.

four- I framed my favorite picture of Bryan and Jilly for her room but I felt like something was missing.  One sheet of glitter paper later and we had a success.  Bryan has, thus far, remained mute on his feelings about his picture being sparklified.

five- This week I bought the Princess Aurora dress-up that Jilly has been dying to have and I told her she could have it when she gives up her paci.  So, I expect her to maybe get the dress by her 16th birthday.  Wish us luck.