Day in the Life of Corbie

Corbie has a lot of things to do in a day.  Here are just a few.

First up, breakfast.  Most important meal of the day, you know.

Next, a little playtime.  I am having a super hard time keeping pants on this little girl since we bought her a bunch of cute "unda-weah" now that she is potty training.  So here is what she runs around in much of the day:

Aaaand, speaking of....(she is doing so good!)

After lunch, (if mom is lucky) is naptime!  A few days ago I found Cora trying out alternative napping places.  Here she is all sacked out behind the chair in her room.  (Yes, that is still a binky in her mouth...I know I am horrible. Heaven help me, but I love that thing almost as much as Corbie.  Its days are numbered though, don't worry).

Finally, Cora has to squeeze in an AWFUL lot of being cute.

I'm Afraid to go Downstairs...

My Daxton has always been an early-bird.  Today he was extra-super early.  Like 5:50 a.m. early.  I put him back in his bed, covered him up with his blankie, sang him a lullaby and hoped for the best.  Unfortunately, he was back in my room climbing into bed with us about 20 minutes later.  I told him he could stay if he agreed to hold still and be quiet because it was still "sleeping time."  He was a little wiggly, but I dropped off to sleep around 6:30 or so.  I woke up about 40 minutes later because I heard Cora talking.  I was going to give myself ONE more minute in bed, then go get her.  After a minute, I sat up, rolled over and found that Dax was no longer in the room.  How long he had been gone, I wasn't sure.  And Cora's voice, which I, in my half-awake state, thought was coming over the baby monitor, was in fact coming from downstairs.

Ruh-roh.

The twibs are downstairs alone, and who knows how long they have been down there.  I am afraid.  I am very afraid.  I know they must be up to something, since their usual morning routine is to come in my room and jump on my bed (and me) and whine until I go downstairs and get them some breakfast.  I know something must be wrong because they are being quiet.

Quiet is sometimes bad.

I gather my courage, and head downstairs.  I find the little stinkers under the kitchen table having "bwekfast."  This memorable meal is sitting directly on the rug, and consists of a giant pile of mini-marshmallows, topped with a dumped-out container of deli turkey.  On top of it all is...(excuse me while I barf in my mouth a little), a bunch of half-eaten COLD hot dogs straight from the package.  I pried one of these cold, slimy things out of Daxton's hand and ran upstairs to ask Preston what diseases lurk in cold hot dogs.  He assured me that hot dogs are okay to eat from the package because they are pre-cooked.  Oh good.  At least they won't die from food poisoning.

I head back downstairs and put the little self-sufficient things in time-out while I start to clean up the mess. The pile of marshmallows were pretty much a whole bag so I was hoping to salvage some of them.  How-EV-er, they are coated with hot-dog slime, so I call the bag is a total loss.  As I clean, I ponder...how does cold hot dogs seem like a good idea, even if you are three and two years old?  They are called HOT dogs for a REASON. 

And a few more random thoughts...

Arden lost ANOTHER tooth yesterday, which makes three total.  And she has a couple more loose ones.  Here is the latest version of the Arden-smile:

She is also starting to sound out words and write them herself, which is endlessly entertaining.  Today's favorite:  Budrflie (Butterfly).  Love it.

I decided to potty train Cora a while ago, but then she was sick and then I was sick so we weren't really trying very hard.  But last week we started for real.  She was having a really hard time going any time we were away from home since she only liked to use her "wittle potty." She was afraid she would fall in when she was using a full size-toilet, and since she is so small I couldn't really blame her.  But after spending about 20 minutes kneeling on the floor of the bathroom at Target, holding her over the potty and pleading with her to PLEASE PLEASE pee PLEASE (ah, the glamorous life of a mom), I was at my wits' end.  Luckily, some friends recommended a fold-up travel potty seat (who knew they even had those?) and it is working like a charm.  She is no longer afraid to go anywhere.  We have been to the Kangaroo Zoo, we have been the movies, and she has had no accidents!  She calls it her "Spesh-oh potty seat."  Ah, the things I get excited about nowadays.

Finally, my little nephew Drake who lives in St. Louis has been in the hospital this week.  He was sick one day, and the next day he was so lethargic that they decided to take him to the ER.  After a zillion tests, they determined he has ADEM, a type of encephalitis.  They don't know the cause, but most likely it is a result of a normal infection gone crazy.  He will probably be in the hospital for 2-4 weeks, and may have a long recovery ahead.  Luckily, chances are good that he will recover fully (we are praying for you, buddy!)  This has reminded me once again how life can turn on a dime, and how incredibly lucky I am to have healthy, if exasperating, kids.

Valentines to Remember!

I remember when I was young, and I would visualize what my Valentines Days would be like when I was grown up.  My husband would buy me dozens and dozens of roses, then sweep me off to a fancy, romantic candlelit dinner for two (in a tuxedo, of course).  There he would present me with diamond jewelry and we would dance the night away until the sun came up. 

Turns out, my Valentines Days are just a teeny bit different.  Here is our fancy dinner (don't be jealous)!

Hey, the pizza is HEART shaped!  Therefore, it is Valentines-y.  And to my three little Valentines, this is the best possible dinner on the planet.  Just look how excited they are!

Actually, those kids are so high on sugar from all the Valentines treats they got from their friends at preschool/kindergarten, they don't even know what is going on.  But they are excited about it!!

Me and Preston were okay with the pizza too.  It was delicious!  In hindsight, maybe I should have lit some candles so it could still have been a candlelight dinner, but oh well.  After dinner we snuggled down to watch the ever-romantic "Jake and the Neverland Pirates."  Ah, yes the glamour! 

Preston (my awesome Valentine who is now down 11.54% in weight in his Biggest Loser contest) did actually get me an awesome present...a Kindle, one of the old-school black and white kind.  I am right in the middle of gigantic book that is printed on paper so I haven't got a chance to use it yet.  I really like to read actual BOOKS, with pages and covers and all that good stuff, so I am not sure yet if I can become an e-reader.  I like the smell and feel of actual books, but apparently they are going the way of the dinosaur (or so they say).   I guess I will try to join the 21st century.  I got Preston the oh-so-romantic gift of fancy new racquetball goggles!  

Arden got us one of my favorite Valentines presents ever...a beautiful Valentines card in which she wrote "Dear Mom and Dad - I love you! From Arden" in her very own kindergarten handwriting.  That is a keeper for sure.  Who needs diamonds when you can have something like that!?

It is funny how sometimes reality turns out to be completely different than how you dream it will be, but somehow it is even better than you imagined.  This Valentines Day was one to remember! 

February Letters

Dear terrible horrible cold -
Please please go away and leave me alone!  I hate you.  You have been the worst cold I have ever ever had and I am DONE with you.  I am tired of having you in my chest, I am tired of having you in my ears, I am tired of having you in my nose.  Get out of my life.  And don't come back.  Thanks. 

Dear Dax and Cora -
Please cut me some slack!  I know you are tired of being cooped up in the house all week while it has been raining and I have been feeling gross, but do you really have to do THIS to the playroom while I am helping your sister with her homework?

If so, I guess you little partners-in-crime will get used to sitting together in toddler jail a.k.a time-out on the stairs:

At least you will have each other for company.


Dear Dax -
How did you get so smart?  Here is a conversation I had with Dax the other day at lunch:

Me:  What did you learn about in preschool today?
Dax: I wearn about the pres-dents.
Me:  Oh yes?  Like who?
Dax:  Wike George Washington. 
Me:  Very good!  He was a president!  Was did you learn about him?
Dax:  Not him!  George Washington is a girl!
Me:  No he wasn't! He was a boy!  Why do you think he's a girl?
Dax:  He has hair wike a girl and a bow in his hair wike a girl!  He's a girl!
Me:  Well, boys used to wear bows in their hair, but I promise he's a boy.  What else did you learn about him?
Dax:  He wears buckles on his shoes.  And buckles on his underwear.
Me:  Hmmm....I didn't know that.  Did you learn about any other presidents?
Dax:  Abraham Win-kin!  (Lincoln)
Me:  Wow!  He was a president too, you are so smart!  What did you learn about him.
Dax:  He watched a play.
Me:  Uh-oh.  Then what happened?
Dax:  He was a good guy, but when he watched a play a bad guy sneaked behind him and SHOT HIM!
Me:  That is true.  A very bad guy did that. 
Dax:  Yeah.  A bad guy SHOT him and he DIED.
Me:  That was very sad.  (wanting to change the subject away from shooting).  Who is the president now?
Dax.  Hmmmm (pulling his "thinking really hard" face).  I know!  ROCK OBAMA!

Dear Springtime:
Are you almost here?  Apparently the groundhogs of the world gave conflicting reports, but I sure hope you are right around the corner!!  I am getting kinda tired of the sky being grey and everything else being brownish-grey.  Who's with me?

Dear Arden -
How cute are you?  Even though you like to tease him sometimes, it melts my heart when you show show your little brother how much you love him.  Like the other day when we were making the most of a grey, grey day by coloring the driveway with chalk, and you drew a dinosaur for Dax and then wrote "ARDEN LOVZ DAX" at the top.  

Dear Cadbury Mini Eggs -

What the heck are you doing in the store ALREADY?  Easter is still like TWO MONTHS AWAY.  I saw you from a distance this week and ran away as fast as I could...but I hear your siren song calling me back.  I know I won't have the strength to be able to resist you for long, as you seem to have some special power over me.  You evil, wonderful things.   

Green stuff

With Preston doing his "Biggest Loser" thing for work (he is down over 20 pounds! Yay!) I have been trying find ways for all of us to eat healthier.  A friend of mine has been raving to me about the "green smoothies" for a while.  For those who don't know what those are (like I didn't), they are just like regular smoothies, only with green, leafy stuff blended in.  I don't know about you, but I am not a huge fan of green, leafy stuff unless it is smothered in blue cheese dressing.  My kids don't even like it then.  Well, Dax actually really likes salad, but mostly the lettuce kind...none of the kids like spinach to get too near them.  I am always looking for ways to shove more veggies into the kids, so I decided to do some research.

I was surprised at how many people out there are green smoothie believers.  There are the crazies who will tell you that if you have a green smoothie every day you will lose weight, your hair will be shinier, you will get smarter, be happier, have more energy, be better looking, grow two inches and automatically know three foreign languages.  I did discover that there are a couple of green smoothies on the menu at Jamba Juice now, so Preston picked some up one day just to make sure they weren't disgusting.  They were actually really good!  So I decided to give it a try at home.

Disclaimer:  You can't make green smoothies if you have a wussy blender unless you want green stringy stuff in your smoothies and your teeth.  I don't.  You don't. 

Anyway, here is the idea...you take some water, or milk or almond milk or whatever.  Add a bunch of green leafy stuff (spinach and kale in this case) or whatever kind of vegetable you are trying to sneak into your body.  Then you add your yummy stuff...in this case bananas, some mango, some mandarin oranges I stole from the kids, and lots of ice.  And, if you are a "newbie" like me, a little bit some sort of sweetener (sugar, honey, agave, whatever floats your boat). 

After you blend it up, you get a little something that looks like this:

Mmmmm...looks like swamp sludge!  Try not to gag, but it actually tastes great!  I even forgot the sweetener one morning and it still tasted good.  If you add berries like blueberries or blackberries the smoothie is more of a purplish color, but truthfully, the green-ness doesn't bother me at all anymore.  We have added pears, bananas, all sorts of berries, apples, mangoes, pineapple, oranges, whatever we have lying around.  Arden and Corbie both suck this green stuff down like crazy.  Dax was never a big smoothie fan, but his favorite color is green so I had high hopes that would win him over.  So far he isn't a fan.  Oh well.  Preston likes them too, so four out of five ain't bad.

So far, after a couple of weeks, I still don't speak Chinese or Italian.  Also, the magical green smoothies didn't stop me from catching the cold that has been going around our house.  But I do feel a little better knowing that me, Preston and at least two out of the three kids have already eaten a bunch of vegetables and it is only 8:30 in the morning.