Fence Painting

That's exactly what the girls did today. They painted the fence (with washable paints of course). I really needed to get quite a few things done before we leave for our trip tomorrow so I needed to come up with something the girls would be self entertained with for a while. So...I decided why not let them paint the fence. My little Picasso's had a lot of fun and got some sun too. At the same time I got all the house work and packing done that I needed to.

"Mommy, Mommy, eyes, eyes"

What a long day! The girls are still not sleeping very well which of course means neither is Mommy. Katy is getting up between 2:00 and 4:00 in the morning nearly every night. Once she is up it takes almost an hour to get her to go back to sleep. She will roll her body all over me and then she will start to whisper, "Mommy, Mommy, eyes, eyes." To translate, this means "Mommy, get up and put your glasses on." If I tell her to go back to sleep she lets out a big sigh and then will take the covers and tuck me in all the way up to my neck and say, "There, that's better." She'll then lay still for a few minutes then she'll sit up and pat me on the back and say, "Perkit." Translation, "Perfect." After that, she goes back to laying still for a minute and then it starts all over again beginning with the "Mommy, Mommy, eyes, eyes." Of course it's as cute as can be but not at the wee hours of the early morning.

As for Brylie, I have still not been giving her a nap in order to get her geared up for Kindergarten. The problem is that by 6:30 at night she is completely wore out and sound asleep in bed. Then each night around 10:30 she gets back up. Since Mitchell and I are usually still awake she comes out and sits on the couch with us and doesn't go back to bed until we do. Last night I couldn't get her to go back to bed until nearly 1:00 in the morning. With Katy waking everyone up in the mornings by 6:30 it makes for a very cranky Brylie during the day. I'm still working extremely hard to stick to our schedule in hopes that it will eventually work on these crazy sleep patterns. Until then I am ONE TIRED MAMMA!

Today we went shopping with Grandma for a new swimsuit and a few other beach items. The girls were amazingly well behaved inside Kohl's. We really had no problems with them. Then in Target they started to get a little restless and by the time we made it to Walmart they were just short of out of control. I guess their shopping quota is met after one store. Oh well, at least I got a really cute swimsuit!

Texas Bluebonnets

Future Gymnast Katy

"Brylie's at Work"

Another wet, rainy day! We did at least conquer naptime today. It was no piece of cake, Katy had one of her new terrible-twos raging fits! I feel so bad for her but I don't want to give in anymore because she really needs her nap. She kicked and scream and threw herself around. I'm telling you it was so bad that if we had a straight jacket and a padded room I would have used it. Finally she caved and was so tired she just couldn't resist anymore. She laid down, asked for her blanket, and then passed out sobbing. I'm really hoping this phase doesn't last too much longer. It is so hard on me when she is that upset.

After naptime we took Brylie to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa so that she could go and stay with them for a couple of days. Boy does Katy miss her! Every 30 minutes or so she asks where Brylie is. At first she kept telling me that Brylie was at work. When I told her where she was she then kept telling me that Brylie was working at Grandma's. Little ones are so cute!

April Showers

What a wet and yucky Saturday! The girls didn’t let it stop them from playing outside! They put their rain boots on and away they went on a puddle-jumping quest.

Today was day 3 with NO NAP for either of the girls. I don’t mind so much with Brylie since I really need to break her before she starts Kindergarten anyway but Katy is nowhere near ready to be nap free. (For her sake and my own!) I finished one of the new books I got on discipline. Supernanny’s “How to Get the Best from Your Children.” It was a really great book full of lots of neat ideas. One of the ideas it talks about is using a “naughty mat”. A child receives 2 warnings for inappropriate behavior and then the third time they sit on the naughty mat. It is basically the same as a time out. The difference is that a naughty mat is a designated space and it also goes with us wherever we go. So today during our naptime battle I tried using it on Katy. The first couple of times she refused to lay down I put her on the naughty mat and then went back to lay down with Brylie. Katy would go and “hide” the mat from me and then come get back in bed. Each time she started to act up I immediately placed her back on the mat. After a few times of this she decided she was going to be in control of her own naughty mat. She crawled out of bed and said, “No night night, Katy go to naughty mat.” She went in and sat on the naughty mat for a couple minutes then came back to the bedroom and said, “Katy be a good girl now.” She would crawl back in bed for a few seconds then start it over again. Finally after many failed attempts I gave up on naptime yet again. I know, I know, I’m not suppose to give up because it lets her know she won…..but Supernanny failed to mention what to do if your child puts themselves on the mat to avoid a naptime. So we will try again tomorrow! Besides, if I reason with myself I figure the girls both end up going to bed around 6:30 and I have the entire night to myself.

Zoo Trip

Well today we went to the zoo. Brylie is so excited that we got memberships so that we can go all year long. (Thanks Nana!) They had so much fun! Katy's favorites were the monkeys and the elephants. She thought the monkeys were stinky though. We took the wagon so that she could ride along and not get tired but much to my amazement she insisted on walking the entire time. We literally walked an average of 2 mph. She had to look at EVERYTHING! At one point she even decided to pick up EVERY leaf that she saw lying on the ground. Brylie's favorite animals were the elephants and the kangaroos. She also really enjoyed the carousel ride and train ride. We were so exhausted by the time we left. Kaytlyn didn't even make it all the way to the highway before she clonked out in the backseat.

This evening after Mitchell got home we took the girls for a bike ride to the snow cone stand down the street. It was Katy's first snow cone and boy did she enjoy it.

Wet Monday

Today we adventured outside for some much needed sunshine. The girls put on their bathing suits and played in the sprinklers. The water was FREEZING! Brylie didn't mind a bit but Kaytlyn got cold rather quickly and decided sun bathing was a lot better. I love how a hot sun and a little water play can make for two very sleepy girls at bedtime. It sure makes our routine run smoother.

A couple of days ago I ordered 4 new books on discipline. I am really trying hard to find what works with Brylie before she goes to Kindergarten. I really don't want to be the parent in the Principal's office every week. It's not that she is that bad of a kid she is just very DRAMATIC, and strong-willed. Once she falls apart she really falls apart. She turns into a complete whinny mess with no return. She is so smart and I really don't want it to affect her in school. I am hoping that one of these books is going to really help me. I got the first one in the mail today, "Setting Limits With Your Strong-Willed Child". The very first chapter describes a strong-willed child as one who tests harder, resists longer, protests louder, uses more drama, and carries things further than one can imagine. Wow! Now I'm thinking that they didn't give the definition of strong-willed, they gave the definition of Brylie! It even mentions that strong-willed is a temperament a child is born with. It talks about the colicky child and how that is one of the first clues of this personality trait. Yep, colicky was definitely something we went through with our little princess. Oh how I remember the nights when she would scream for hours on end. Once she finally screamed herself into a comma Mitchell and I were afraid to even breathe with the risk of waking her up. Hopefully as I continue reading I will pick up some really useful techniques that will work for her.

Kaytlyn so far has not proven to be as "strong-willed" as Brylie. However, my Sweet Kate is so very accident prone. The poor thing just can't catch a break. Bless her heart she is the toughest little girl though. Most of the time she never even cries. The other day the girls were outside playing and she scuffed her toe on the sidewalk. I didn't even notice it until later when I was fixing her shoes and noticed it was bleeding. She had scraped the skin right off. Now if this had happened to Brylie, she wouldn't have been able to walk for at least and hour and wouldn't be able to take a bath for a week. Saturday I pulled Katy out of the bathtub, dried her off, then set her down to get Brylie out. She climbed up on a stool to get some lotion and fell off right on her face. She got her first bloody nose. She wasn't even crying over her nose however, she was crying because she still wanted some lotion. Then Saturday night she scraped her knee at Ammie's house and never even told anyone. I noticed it when we sat down for dinner and saw it was bleeding. Today I accidentally slammed her finger in the door. I stuck my head outside to tell Mitchell something and then shut it before I even knew she was there. I felt so awful. It turned black and purple and swelled up horribly. She only cried for a minute but quit as soon as I put ice on it. To top it off we discovered today that she is allergic to sunscreen. I'm going to have to find some that is hypoallergenic. She broke out in a rash all over where I had put it on. It was even the kind for babies. It is definitely trial and error with what she can use and what she can't.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a much more relaxed day! Just in case it isn't I better go catch up on some sleep!

A Job Well Done

After a lazy start to our morning Grandpa called and said he needed our help to get one of his jobs done. We packed a bag of toys and away we went for a day on the job. Thankfully we were just helping him get a vacant rent house ready so the girls would be able to have full range of the house without really getting in any one's way. I set them up to play in an empty bedroom but that of course didn't last very long. There was way too much going on for them not to be interested in the real job at hand. They worked with us all day scrubbing, caulking, and fixing doors. They really got excited when it was time to paint. We told them there was only one paintbrush hoping to deter them on to something else. It worked for Brylie who just headed out to the backyard to pick flowers, but Katy was determined to help me paint. I turned around just in time to catch her trying to stick Grandpa's broom in the paint bucket. "I wanna paint too" she said. Then the girls found a stack of trim and wood lying in the corner of one bedroom so they began to "build". They probably built a dozen different things. By the time we grabbed a late lunch the girls were both EXHAUSTED. After all they had been hard at work all morning. We decided to call it a day and head home for nap time. Kaytlyn fell asleep right away on the way home. Of course once we got home she had already had her little cat nap and there was no way she was going down for another nap. So the two of us watched Max & Ruby and Caillou while Brylie snoozed. It was definitely an eventful day for two sweet little girls. Poor Katy was so wore out that she fell asleep in her swing outside while we were waiting for Daddy to come home from work. Brylie said she can't wait to help Grandpa again. If only I could get her to help around our own house I'd have it made. Oh well, I guess that's part of being 4....deciding where and when you wanna work.

Happy Easter!

Today was great! We woke up early to get ready for Mitchell's company party at the park. The girls looked so cute in their outfits! (As you see in the pics...notice Katy's haircut as well.) I even had time to make them matching bows using my new gator bite. It made it so much easier! The girls had a blast at the park. Their favorite was swinging. They both kept shouting, "higher, higher". It was so cute. Our 500 Easter egg hunt only lasted the kiddos all of 5 minutes. Next year we are going to have to do a lot more. We brought the ladder ball and washer set so Mitchell had a lot of fun playing with his coworkers. It was nice that the weather was nice and warm and not raining. The humidity was AWFUL but my unruly, curly hair was worth it. This was in fact the first Easter since Brylie was born that it hasn't been freezing, raining, or snowing on Easter. It was a nice change to be able to be outside all day. We are all so exhausted now though.

Remembering what Easter is really about, I am so grateful that our King is risen! His amazing love has saved us from our sin and I cannot wait to spend eternal life in Heaven! It excites me so much that Brylie is slowly starting to understand His love. She is able to tell me the entire story of His crucifixion and being reborn only to save us. I cannot wait for the day that both of the girls come to know Him as their savior.

Salon Day

I took both the girls to get their hair cut yesterday. I really only wanted to get Katy's cut since it has been driving me CRAZY but of course Brylie wanted hers cut too. I tried really hard to talk her out of it, telling her that princesses have beautiful long hair, but she insisted. When I asked her why she wanted it cut she told me that because when she tells me no and shakes her head at me it gets in her face. Ha! How about not telling Mommy no!?! She ended up just getting a little trim. :) Miss Kaytlyn on the other hand got over 3 inches cut off! She now has a cute little, chin length bob. It's a little shorter than I wanted but we were trying to cut most of the "baby" hair off and even the length out. I figure it will grow a lot faster now anyways. I will have to post pics tomorrow.

Today was one heck of a lazy day. The Easter Bunny came early since we have to leave the house first thing in the morning. The girls woke up at 5:00 this morning so we were hunting eggs bright and early. Brylie ran around the house as fast as she could filling her basket. Kaytlyn on the other hand found her first egg and discovered it had candy in it. After that she would walk around, find an egg, then eat the candy before moving on. Other than going grocery shopping we literally just bummed around all day. This morning (after our egg hunt) when I was trying to dry my hair I had both the girls in the bath tub. Kaytlyn was wanting help washing the bubbles off of her Ariel doll so I asked Brylie to please help her. She pleaded that she was too busy playing. After asking her a couple more times to please help I finally resorted to bribery. I told her I guess she didn't want to go to McDonald's and play later. Her response....."Well now you didn't tell me that"......and she helped her sister. She's a mess!

Tomorrow we are going to a company Easter party with Mitchell's work at the park. It should be fun and we can finally put our 500 Easter eggs to use.

Katy's Home & April Fools

Brylie and I went to pick Miss Kaytlyn up today! Nearly 2 weeks without seeing my Sweet Kate was way too long! Brylie was so excited to see her sister. It was so funny on the way there she told me that she was "just really nervous about seeing Katy". When I asked her why she told me, "because, Katy might be like my age now". Boy that little girl is sooo DRAMATIC some times. She cracks me up. When Brylie first got out of the car she ran up to her sister and told her to give her a kiss. Katy told her no then stuck her fingers in her ears and pressed her lips together while spitting. I don't think the feelings of being reunited were very mutual lol. Oh well, we got home and they played as if they were long lost friends. They can be so sweet and yet so vicious at the same.

Today also happened to be April Fools Day. Thanks to Caillou (the cartoon), Brylie was well aware of the purpose of the day. She kept telling me she could'nt wait to trick me. When we got home from picking Katy up I removed a glass of milk from the freezer (I had put it there the night before) and topped it off with unfrozen milk. Of course when Bryie went to drink it she got one little swallow and then nothing but ice. Ha! April Fools Brylie! She thought it was funny. She said, "Man, you got me alright!" Of course then for the next 30 minutes she brought me drinks with "hidden" objects in them. (Goldfish, gummie bears...) She loved the fact that she thought she was really tricking me.

Being her first night back I was really hoping Katy would have possibly forgotten about getting out of bed umpteen times each night at bedtime. I was wrong...in fact tonight was really rough. As soon as I laid her down the first time she began screaming, "Mommy". I stood my ground and walked out and shut the door in an attempt not to cave to her cries. She came running out sobbing and still calling my name. She never really does that. Usually she just comes back out with her blanket, Elmo, and Sally (her doll) all in tow and then stands there staring at me until I get up and put her back in her bed. This of course goes on at least 15 times a night. I have been trying the Super Nanny approach and just continuously put her back in bed without making conversation with her. So far I haven't had much luck with it, although Super Nanny did say it can take up to 2 consecutive weeks before it begins to work. With her going out of town we really haven't given it the "allotted" time so I'm game for continuing to try. Anyways, back to tonight, I just had to give in to her cries...just tonight. I mean after all it was her first night home. I felt so bad for her....she just missed her Mommy....right? I went in and sat down with her on her bed and rocked her in my arms. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. Sadly she had gotten herself so worked up that the poor baby sobbed the entire time I rocked her. I really don't mind rocking her. She is my baby. It is so sweet to rock her and listen to her breathe and smell the sweet scent of freshly washed hair and a soft body wrapped in baby lotion. I know I'm just setting myself up for a bad habit but like I said, she is my baby.

After Katy was in bed, Mitchell, Brylie, and I began to fill and tape together nearly 500 Easter eggs for Mitchell's company party. It was a very tedious process but we got it done. Brylie started out helping me stuff the eggs while Mitchell taped them, but she quickly discovered that throwing them in the big box after they were taped was a lot more fun.

Tomorrow is supposed to make for a rainy, stormy day. Yuck! Not my favorite kind of weather! Brace yourself Mollie, looks like we're in for a day of cuddling and calming each others fears! Until then...Goodnight.....