C is Also For...

California and Carlsbad.

Legoland, here we come!!!

Today's Post is Brought to You by the Letter...

C is for cotton balls and ...





cookies,

Cookie monster (of course),

cupcake,

cry,

cars,

crust,

carrots,

...and CRAZY HAIR DAY!!!

Ian loves his preschool, but I think I'm having more fun. Let's face it, it wasn't his idea to fix his hair like that. This shows more of what he really thought about it...

Toddler Emotions

Toddlers cracks me up...

Paul, Ian, Laurel and I have just finished swimming. We have taken all the boats, styrofoam noodles and squirt guns out of the water. Paul is reconnecting the pool vacuum, while the kids and I put the toys away onto the patio.

At one point, I turn around and catch Laurel sitting at the pool edge, dipping her feet into the water. This is a big no-no, especially since she does not yet know how to swim. She knows better, so I immediately sit her in a chair on the patio for two minutes of time-out.

Oh yes, there are tears. Between sobs, she screams, "I am very angry...and jealous!" Then very softly, she whispers, "And I love my mommy."

Fill One's Socks

As a mother of a preschooler and a toddler, I usually dress quickly in order to save precious seconds. Simply, I wear jean pants, shorts or capris so I easily match my bottoms and tops. As for socks, I have a bountiful drawer of white socks. Easy, right?

That's not always the case. On more than one occasion, I've noticed my socks felt slightly tight, leaving me pondering if they shrank in the wash. Upon further scrutiny, I notice they look a bit different from the norm. Then it dawns on me, "Oh, these are Ian's socks!"

Is it possible that my four year old has feet almost as big as mine? Evidently it's close enough we can almost wear each other's socks. No wonder we're spending a small fortune on footwear for our wee man.



Bigfoot may be out of a job soon.

Back to School Meme

Evidently, my mind is blank about what to blog about, so I need to steal others' ideas. Lauren at Baseballs and Bows did a back to school themed meme. With all my teacher friends heading back to work, and all the wonderful kiddos I know excited about going back to school, I think it is a great idea!

• In kindergarten, I remember each child's chair had a cover over the top of it with a huge pocket on the back of it full of crayons. I even remember the fabric was a bright yellow with pictures of Raggedy Ann and Andy on it.
• In first grade I got to ride in the school float for the city's parade. My mom had sewn a prairie dress that I wore to school, and the teachers thought it would be perfect.
  
• My best friend, Stella, and I were in the same second grade classroom. I really don't remember much about that year or hanging out with her then, but we are still friends after 30 years.
• Third grade was horrible, due to a dragon lady of a teacher. If we were too talkative, she would tape our mouths shut with masking tape. One poor girl got in so much trouble, the teacher put tape on her mouth and around her hair.
  
• In fourth grade I started playing the flute. I loved it, and the piccolo later on, and become a serious band geek. My mom must have been seriously bummed, since I started hating playing the piano, and would only continue piano lessons for two more years. Oh how I regret that decision now. As for the teacher, he was ok, except his punishment for inappropriate behavior was to put some sort of hot pepper flakes in our mouths.
  
• Fifth grade, hmm, another wicked teacher, although she liked having us perform short plays and had us try out for parts. I don't remember any of the plays we did.
• Sixth grade was a lot of fun. Volleyball, softball, basketball, you name it, I loved sports! Slam books were a huge hit. Anyone remember making or filling those in? I remember taking my Merlin game to school, and of course the teacher took it away. Our school had a book character parade, and I dressed in a white jumpsuit like Princess Leia from Star Wars episode V.

Anyone else have some school memories they would like to share? Let me know, I'd love to read them.

Yippee!!!

Laurel is a little happy about her new bed and mermaid bedding.

Unexpected Food Storage Opportunity

It's lunch time. I call out to my little anklebiters, "Lunch time, guys."

Ian comes running to me at Mach five, jumps into his chair and immediately shovels chips into his mouth. Laurel sort of floats in on tippy toes, wearing her blue princess dress. "Ok, Princess Laurel, let's take that off so it won't get food stains," I tell her as I remove her outfit, leaving her to eat wearing just a diaper.

There's lots of crunching going on since the kids usually eat their potato chips first. Laurel suddenly growls, looks out from under furrowed eyebrows and deeply grunts, "I NEED A BIB!"

Her voice is so garbled I can't help but laugh at her. She hates to wear a bib, so I must inquire, "Laurel, why do you want a bib?"

Still growling, she replies, "Chips are all over me!"

Curious, I investigate. I pull her booster chair away from the table and notice there are indeed chips all over her. As I clean off my dainty little princess, I notice an extraordinarily large collection of crumbs in her bellybutton. Laurel's bellybutton is an innie and quite cavernous, and evidently can hold about a teaspoon's worth of food. My laughter is now uncontrollable, "Laurel, how did you get all those chips in your bellybutton?"

Ian is now laughing at her, too, "Laurel has chips in her bellybutton!"

Laurel again furrows her eyebrows and growls, then joins in the laughter.