Snow White

Just a quickie today - I'm off to watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs performed by a group of preschoolers!
Then the rest of the day will be spent getting ready for my Open House tonight to launch my new business!

And the winner is....

Yesterday my oldest daughter announced there was going to be a painting competition today. "Who will be the winner?" she asked. I started to panic - I couldn't possibly choose a winner between my 2 girls!

She kept going on about it and the first thing she said when she woke up was "today's the painting competition - there can only be one winner!"

I reeled off all the reasons there had to be 2 winners - "we'll have an under 3yr and over 3yr winner", "there will be a winner and a runner up" and so on. "No" she insisted "there can only be one winner".

I got them set up with their paints, painting shirts and they were doing a great job of keeping everything on the craft mat. They painted for ages, having lots of fun but I was still panicking wondering how I could award only one winner. Then, as they finished the last of their paper my oldest stood up and announced to her sister "it's you! You're the winner! You won the painting competition!"

Well, her face just lit up into a big smile as she realised she was the winner! I looked over at my oldest girl and she was just beaming at me "I told you there could only be one winner" she said.

I honestly couldn't believe it! I told her she was a winner too as did she see how happy she'd made her little sister? I asked her why she'd made her the winner and she said "my heart told me to" - where does she get this????

They truly are amazing. The little one 'won' a teddy bear and now they've both been rewarded with milkshakes and Nilla cookies and an episode of Dora.

Oh, the picture at the top shows why I have green footprints all over the floor despite them doing so well at keeping all their painting on the craft mat - the little one was kneeling on top of one of her (award winning!) pictures!!!

Uh-oh, tummy bug

My little one came down with a tummy bug. She has only ever vomitted once before in her life and on that occasion she looked so surprised as if to say "what the heck was that?!!"
This time she had a tummy ache and was sick a couple of times but mostly just really hot and lethargic, bless her.
But it gave us a chance to stop rushing around and just have lots of quiet time cuddling on the sofa and reading books. Although I obviously didn't want her to be ill, it did make me realise how easy it is to forget to make time for just snuggling and being together. She is all better now and Ienjoyed some quiet, quality time with my girls.
Mental note to self - remember to take time just to be together instead of always rushing off to the park, school, store, playgroups.
Have a happy and healthy day!

Monday, Monday

Morning,

Monday again and it's raining! How lovely! No seriously I mean it! I miss the rain terribly in this semi-desert climate so every drop is a blessing! It's soooo refreshing.

Talking of refreshed - I am too! I am soooo relaxed after my massage - it was heavenly. I haven't had one for so long and now I've signed up for one a month for the next year!!

I know, it's clever marketing on their behalf to tempt you with the reduced rate if you sign up the minute you walk out of the room but I really think it's worth it. In fact monthly (free) massages should be available to everyone! I'm convinced it would help reduce every countries health costs by reducing stress and dealing with chronic muscle pain issues.

Anyway, while I was relaxing my girls were having a great time! The little one was thrilled she now knows what happens while her sister's at school and my older girl loved showing her little sister where things were and how things were done at school.

My poor husband though - the girls are on at him to let them go every Friday now! I better hurry up and earn some money to help pay for this!

Friday fun

So this is it... I'm taking both girls to Friday Fun....

....then I'm booked in for a (well-deserved if I say so myself!) massage......

Have a great w/e!

Pink Papaya Parties!

It's finally arrived! My Pink Papaya consultant kit! I can officially get started being a Pink Papaya consultant! The house smells delicious already with scents of cranberry orange hand scrub, foot creme with sweet almond oil, grapefruit bergamot body wash.....heavenly!

Can't wait to do my first party - I love organising a good girls night out (or in!) and to be able to facilitate others in having a good time with their friends too sounds like fun!

If you'd like to try PinkPapaya for yourself please feel free to visit my website where you can order all of these lovely products for some well deserved pampering www.pinkpapayaparties.com/lturton

Enjoy............

Recess

The day is fast approaching when I will have a little time on my own. Like a kid waiting for recess I'm getting excited!

I was thinking it would be fall before I had child-free time, then I signed them both up for ballet so thought ok, it''ll happen a little earlier, in the summer. But suddenly, it's going to be on Friday - of this week!

The preschool my oldest goes to offers an optional extra session on Fridays and the teacher has invited my little one to start going along in preparation for her attending preschool there next school year. So suddenly - although I'm not sure I'm prepared to let go of her yet! - I'll have child-free time in just a matter of days!

The other Moms at preschool are excited for me too! They've seen both girls names on the list for Friday and have been stopping me to ask what I'm going to do with my free time! "Don't do housework!" one Mom friend advised. "Don't go grocery shopping" another said. "Go shopping just for yourself - and go to 3 different shops!"

You see they understand how precious time alone can be when you're a Mom. Some are already there, with older children in school and their little one at preschool. Others still have young ones at home and are longing for that day to come for them too.

It seems we have to beg our husbands to look after the children to allow us to do anything on our own and even then it's met with "how long are you going to be?" which immediately puts pressure on us to hurry and get back.

So although I'll be sad to leave them (I really do miss them if I go out without them!?) I can't wait to have 3 whole hours to myself...

I can just browse, not have to answer a million questions in quick succession, get in and out the car within seconds, go to many different shops, try clothes on, try shoes on (I daren't take them to shoe shops - both girls LOVE shoes and want to try on every pair they can reach - including incredibly high stilettos!), stop off for a coffee without an entourage, not have to worry about knowing where the toilets are everywhere I go.

OOOH I can't wait....!!

But, I'm sure I'll be just as happy to see 11.30am roll around so I can collect those little chatterboxes and get 2 great, big, hugs.....

Motherhood is blind

Never mind 'love is blind', for me 'motherhood is blind'!
My little one has a denim skirt that she loves. She's had it a while and this is what she wants to wear all the time.
I do envy my friends who have boys - they don't seem to care what they wear while I have to negotiate every morning with my girls who have very strong opinions about what they want to wear - then they change their outfit several times a day anyway!
She was complaining yesterday about having a sore tummy but insisted she didn't need to use the toilet. Then I noticed she was pulling at the waist band of her favorite denim skirt... a thought occurred to me....
I checked the label......
there it was.....
oh no!!! 9-12 months......
.....she's two and a half!!!!
I didn't realise she'd had it that long!! (I should add in my defense that it was a UK skirt and the sizes there are way more generous than US sizes - and it had an elasticated waist!)
I'm not alone. A friend recently told me about a battle she was having getting her son to put his shoes on. "But they're your favorites" she'd say. But he still resisted. After several days of battles she finally asked him why he didn't want to put his shoes on in the morning "because they hurt me now" was his reply! Uh-oh, one very guilty feeling Mommy and a trip to the shoe store!

The boy did good!

The girls were thrilled to see Daddy arrive home on Friday! He not only got them each a keyring with the statue of liberty on but it also has their name on too so they were doubly delighted!
The snow storm that was threatened didn't arrive but it rained solidly for 3 days (extremely unusual here!)
As a result, the grass has turned from brown to green almost overnight and there are leaves appearing on the trees which seem to have been bare forever. Spring is officially here and my little lambs are going to play in the garden all day long!
Have a great day.

Friday again

Here comes my favorite day!


Waiting for my husband to arrive back from a business trip today. Is it wrong to love it when he's away? (don't tell him!) I just seem to get so much done around the house when I'm not preparing a big meal then spending hours clearing up! I seem to have a whole evening to do things!


The girls are calmer too - they go wild when he comes home from work and stay that way till bedtime. Don't get me wrong - I wouldn't not have him here! It's just nice to do your own thing every now and then.

He's been in New York and the girls are very excited about the Statue of Liberty! They've seen it on Little Einsteins and my youngest wants to "go and see it NOW!"

I hope he can find some Statue of Liberty souvenir at the airport as it'll make their day! They can't wait to see him - but what a difference a webcam makes, they can see him as well as talk to him while he's away.


Before he arrives home I better go and tidy and vacuum and.......get the dinner prepared!

Hide & seek

Don't you just love playing hide & seek with 2 and 4 year olds?


The oldest hides in the wooden toy chest with the lid open and the little one thinks if she lies on the bottom stair and hides her face, you can't see her!


Bless them! Happy days....

Mealtimes

Never leave the room when little ones are eating....


If it's all quiet, that's probably a good sign - it signals eating.


However, if you hear giggling - run back into that room FAST! This is what happened to me the other day. They're happy I thought when I heard all the giggling.

But when I went back to the room - there had been a food fight! There was food all over the windows, wall, floor, table and children!

Needless to say I was NOT happy. But they did do a good job of helping me clear it up so I guess I'll forgive them!

They argue over the funniest things

Oops - life got a bit busy the last couple of days so sorry I didn't get round to posting.

Don't children argue about the funniest things? This morning at breakfast they were going on and on and my little one was getting upset. I eventually stepped in and asked what was wrong. Tearfully she said "She says I'm a dog. I don't want to be a dog, I want to be a duck!"

You gotta laugh!

Where do tangles come from?

My girls have lovely curly hair but getting them ready in the morning can sometimes be a bit traumatic! Where do tangles come from?

I use leave in conditioner, spray detangler on their hair before combing and use a wide toothed comb but still can't easily get the comb through it first thing in the morning!

This usually leads to lots of ouches and even tears. My oldest girl's hair is the worst as it is longer but my little one is starting to have the odd tangle too and gives a loud "ouch" just because she hears her sister do it (she's a little copycat!)

I read one of those funny list things "10 things to never let your Mom do" and one of them was "don't let your Mom brush your hair when she's mad at your Dad!"

OK, I'm taking a deep breath, picking up the detangler spray and I'm off to try and comb their hair....

Watching the sun come up

I've never been a morning person. I would sleep late every chance I got and when I had to get up for school or work I was best left alone as talking was almost impossible and one word answers was all I could manage.

Then I had babies..... and had to became a morning person!

I was lucky though. My girls would wake in the night for a feed then go straight back to sleep - I never had to pace the floor for hours to get them back off to sleep in the night.

The killer was when they woke at 5am. I knew I wouldn't get back to sleep before my husband got up for work and I would often mutter "I'm not ready to start my day yet" while feeding my cuddly bundles.

But a plus to these early mornings was I got to see some amazing sunrises! They are pretty spectacular here in Colorado I must admit.

The sky is usually cloudless and I can see the pink and gold sunrise to the east. To the west are the Rocky mountains which glow pink (especially in the winter with the snow on them!) as the sunrise reflects on them. It's called alpine glow and it's absolutely beautiful. Amazingly every house we've had here provided an fabulous view of the Rockies.

I've learned to appreciate dawn and being awake to experience it helps make sure I don't miss a moment of the day!

Mom, I'm thirsty!

Fine when you hear this in the daytime - just give them a drink. But when you hear it after you've tucked them into bed.....
You have a dilemma. Are they genuinely thirsty or just trying to keep you in their room a bit longer?
Do you get them a drink and risk them trapping you in their room for another 15 minutes while they sip slowly and talk at you? (or if they're like my daughter they gulp it back and keep doing 'pretend gulping' even after the water is long finished!)
Do you say "no darling, go to sleep" then spend the rest of the evening racked with guilt that they are lying in bed absolutely parched?
My little one was a great sleeper as a baby. I'd put her in her crib, she'd roll over and miraculously go to sleep! Then when she was in a toddler bed they shared a room. This was a nightmare as they kept each other awake for hours! We had a rough time for several months after moving house last summer when she went back to having her own room. She would cry for hours and come downstairs repeatedly. Now she's used to having her own room she just wants to climb in to bed at the end of the day, roll over and go to sleep - just like when she was a baby.
My oldest though is a different story. She has always used stalling tactics at bedtime. "lie with me"; "just one more book"; "send Daddy up to say goodnight"; "where's my cuddly toy/doll/blanket...".
Now she's started with the "I'm thirsty" line. I try to make sure she drinks enough in the day and let her have a little drink after brushing her teeth but she really has me with this line. You know yourself how horrible it is to feel thirsty!
So, she usually ends up getting her way. I return to her room in response to "Mom, I'm thirsty!" and end up talking to her, lying with her, finding another toy (to add to all the toys already at the bottom of her bed!), putting the fan on, sending Daddy up, starting her music again.......then collapsing in an exhausted heap and hour later than I meant to!

Growing like weeds

My 'baby' is starting ballet in a few weeks.....how'd that happen?

Her older sister went to a little ballet camp last summer, to prepare her for preschool really as she'd never been away from me before.

I was very proud of how my little one handled it - she understood she was too young to go and never once made a fuss or showed any jealousy. She'd kiss her sister goodbye, we'd go off and have fun together then she'd wait patiently outside class for her sister to come out. I promised that if the class was on again this year that they could both go. So it's time to enroll.....and she's thrilled!!!

"I can go to ballet this year!" she tells anyone who will listen.

Then over breakfast this morning I said to my husband "so they're at ballet in June, in July we go back to the UK then in August they'll both go to preschool" Then it hit me - my little one will be starting preschool - in just a few months!

What did I feel? Panic! Where did my babies go? What will I do without them to talk to? Will they be ok?

They really are growing as fast as weeds (but a whole lot prettier if I say so myself!). I think I need to take a deep breath and vow to make every minute count between now and the first day of school. My oldest girl is doing just great at preschool and I'm sure my little one will too. Meantime, there's a whole lot of fun to be had....!

SAHM becomes WAHM

It's official! This Stay At Home Mommy has become a Work At Home Mommy!
I just signed on to become a consultant for http://www.pinkpapayaparties.com/ I originally wanted to sign up with The Body Shop but sadly a few days after my party L'Oreal (who took them over a couple of years ago) decided to close the 'at home' side and just keep the stores.
I'm very excited to be back in the working world after 4 wonderful years exclusively as a stay at home Mommy. My girls are going to love trying all the new products with me!
A big thank you to my husband who is now going to have to become more hands on with our little ones...more bedtimes, more stories, more playing....it's all good fun though!
I'm going to be very busy as I've also just started a children's writing course - it's high time I got my Mommy brain working again!

Woody Woodpecker

Anyone else have a woodpecker attacking their house?? We do!!!

For a while it was 'drilling' outside our kitchen window and my girls were on woodpecker watch. Anytime they heard it they would run to the window and were allowed to bang the window and shout 'shoo!' This gave them a lot of fun and actually worked - the woodpecker doesn't peck there any more.... it's pecking somewhere else now...

Somewhere we can hear it but can't see it! I fact it's pecking right now and we don't know where! When I walk around the house I can't see where it's damaging the wood. This is incredibly frustrating. Even worse - it seems to know when my husband has left for work as only does it when he's not around! Consequently he doesn't believe it's back!

I'm just off to run round the house with the girls to see if we can find this thing! It's driving us crazy!