Ruthless is...

...the 2 year old who takes her 3 month old sister's blanket since she didn't bring her own "blankie."

Hitting Close to Home

This commercial cracks Tom up. I think he sees his future in it!





I'll let you know if I see him wearing a tutu.

Spying on my Kids

A couple of years ago, when we were getting ready for Alexis' arrival and transitioning Isabel from the crib to a toddler bed, we started using a video monitor. The house we were living in was old and had some creaky stairs and floors, so we wanted to minimize our trips upstairs to check on where Isabel was in her room with her new ability to leave her bed. Even though it was great, I still felt a little bit guilty, like we had been sucked into the latest gadget trend. (My hubby is a total gadget guy, by the way.) When Alexis was born, we bought a second camera so we could have one on Isabel's bed and one on Alexis' crib. I definitely learned to love the cameras! Not only could we check on the girls, but sometimes I found myself just looking at their angelic faces while they slept. But tonight has topped even that. A couple of weeks ago, we bought a new bed for Alexis and she has actually done pretty well at sleeping through the night in it, with a few exceptions. Tonight, though, despite being tired all day (she took a very short nap) she decided she was not going to go to bed. And for over an hour now, she has joined Isabel in her bed and they are having a little slumber party. Now, there is a part of me that is a little frustrated that they are not asleep in their own beds like they are "supposed" to be. But one of my greatest joys lately, has been watching my daughters play together happily and peacefully. It's as if I can visibly see the love between them. So for now, I will continue to let them have their fun, even if it means I may pay for it tomorrow with tired, cranky kids. And hopefully, I can hold on to this memory years from now, once they become emotional teenagers!

The Eyes Have It

After asking Isabel to put down the makeup brush so that she could brush her teeth, she informed me that,

"I can't, Mom. I have to do my eyes."

It's June...

...and I almost missed it. A nasty bug has done its damage here in our house. It really hit Isabel hard, and then last night, Alexis and I became victims. There was a bath at midnight and a shower at 4am involved. Wonderhubby has been taking care of us. He's doing a great job, although he is not a natural-born nurse. I most appreciate his cleaning efforts. I don't do well in this situation. Tomorrow we're headed to the doctor's office.

Tissue Please

"My nose is run tooing."

If you can decipher that, then you can probably figure out the status of things in our house. Yesterday, Alexis woke up with a runny nose that continued through today. Lucky for us, she had her 1 yr. appointment this afternoon. Then when we got home, WHAM! it hit me. Hard. And now Isabel's eyes and nose are running, hence the above statement. Not great timing, but when is it ever, right?

Mass Happenings

Tom is out of town, so we went to the 9am Mass this morning. I guess I have never done that for a Holy Day during the school year before.

- Young gentleman dressed in business attire holds doors for us as we enter church.

- Entered church, thought it wouldn't be all that full today, so we could sit a little further forward than usual so Isabel could see more. Wondered why so many people were sitting so far back.

- Sat a few pews behind nice young gentleman, hoping he would not be annoyed by small children.

- School children start entering church. Realize why so many people were sitting so far back.

- Wonder if we should move. More school children enter. Nice young gentleman moves.

- Start packing up all of our stuff. More school children enter. Start filling our pew.

- We move. Right behind nice young gentleman.

- During homily, Father asks school children questions about Ascension, Pentecost, etc... Isabel does not understand concept of raising hands to answer questions, thinks children are waving hello to Father. Proceeds to wave hello for duration of homily, waiting for Father to respond.

- Giving up, Isabel begins to practice genuflecting in aisle and entering pew.

- Isabel tells me she has "poot." Realizing this is not a scene I want made with school children nearby to distract, we go change diapers. Am actually relieved because correctly suspected Alexis needed new diaper, too.

- Return to pew. Decide Alexis has had to many Puffs. Take them away and give toy. Good for teething, bad for dropping. Loud. Bounces two pews ahead.

- Accept toy back from pew occupant. Embarrassed.

- Give Alexis Mommy's bracelet. She's more interested in sister's bracelet. Contentedly chews on bracelet. Quietly.

- Isabel understands certain words Father says. Repeats them while imitating arm gestures (he's Italian).

- Smell Isabel. Thankful Mass is over.


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Create Your Own Holy Water Fonts

I found this link over at First Heralds. I think it's such a great idea. I've been looking a little bit at fonts, because I think I want to put them in our new house, and this came along at the perfect time. It's wonderful because I can get Isabel involved. She's pretty aware of the fonts at church, even though some days she doesn't seem as interested.

If you haven't visited First Heralds yet, it's a new blog "helping toddlers and preschoolers learn about the Catholic Faith." They have some wonderful ideas for May. I'm so excited about this blog because I need all of the help I can get.