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!