G L P and the big E's!: it's 12:30am. you know what that means...

...time to blog! :)

The morning of Parker's actual birthday he must have worn himself out being up and down out of bed the night before because he crashed on my bed around 10am! Later I found out he had either an ear infection or swimmer's ear (doctor had a hard time seeing in there) which is probably the reason for the restless nights.

That was the bad news. The good news is I got to spend the afternoon with only my little man! Usually he naps while the girls are at school, but today we went to the store to pick up his cake. He saw Oreos and since I don't really ever tell him no, I didn't think I should start on his birthday!

My sweet little guy and me!

Then we were off home to get some cleaning done. And no, I didn't exactly put him to work on his birthday. He put himself to work! He likes to help vacuum. :)

The next morning we went to the doctor for his 2-year well child checkup. I've already told you how that went, but I wanted to share these phone pictures as well. He just looks so big hanging out (literally) on this chair.

Silly boy!

After the appointment we went to Sam's for a few things. My kiddos have begged me to allow them to eat at the Sam's cafe for probably a year. I usually never do because it isn't the right time of day and I assumed the food was yuck. Well today was their lucky day because I said yes! We ordered pizza and I will admit that it was delicious! I would seriously buy that pizza if they offered it frozen or refrigerated so I could cook it at home. They may do this, but we didn't stay to check. I have no idea what G & L are doing with their faces here!

That night I made up for the pizza lunch by fixing myself cocktail shrimp and cheese fondue with apples for dinner! I've always loved cocktail shrimp. Recently I started making my own cocktail sauce and mmm, it is good! The cheese fondue is made from a base of Sam Adams Boston Lager. I'm not a beer drinker, but I am a beer in cheese fondue eater! All of this was super yummy! I end up making myself dinner a lot after the kids go to bed. When Shaun's home we don't usually do this, but sometimes it is all I can do to keep up with their needs while we eat. Someone always needs more food, a napkin, more drink, drops a fork/spoon/drink, etc. If I want to enjoy my food, I better do it once my littles are in bed.

Pic out of order...before bed this night I found Gabby reading to JJ. If you notice, he's all tucked in as well. These girls haven't been mother hens to Parker much in the past and are not really into baby dolls. However, since Shaun has been away, they have made the dogs their own babies and are totally little mommas to P. Every night Lilly tucks Parker in (in her own bed actually) and kisses and loves on him. The sweet boy wants desperately to sleep in there with them. For years I thought the girls would resent P having his own room, but my worries seem silly now. They'd all really prefer if we have a room the size of our master bedroom so they could all sleep together!

This same night I found this note that Gabby left out for me. It says "I love my family." Talk about melt my heart!

Shaun and I sometimes can talk via email late at night (which is one reason I'm usually up later than the rest of the world). He skypes us during the day, but honestly it is so interrupted and the kids are just everywhere. They want to talk to him, then they need help from me, and I'm usually getting dinner ready at the same time. It can be overwhelming. So, some nights I stay up and we talk long after they kiddos are in bed. This night Shaun asked me what I was doing. This is the picture I sent him. LOL! That is my bed covered in laundry. He and I always have "folding parties." We seriously treat them like date nights. We rent a movie, plan on a good dinner, and spend an hour or two folding laundry about once a week. At times, there might even be beer or 'ritas involved! It's weird, but it works for us. I'll be happy to have my folding party buddy back! Sure is quiet at night without him.

I don't think I've shared here yet about G & L's chore chart, but I started a chore chart with them about a month ago. So far, so good. It really is all about me being consistent. Well about two weeks into the chore chart, Lilly made me my own chore chart. Yes she did. My chores are clean the dogs paws, clean the kitchen, clean the laundry, practice my words, pick up the living room, and...I can't remember the last one. She even keeps up with it. She enjoys giving me x's on the things I don't do. One day she said, "Mommy, you need to work harder on getting check marks for cleaning the dogs paws." Right or wrong I looked at her and told her that I'd probably never get a check mark for that. I'm superb at modeling ideal behavior, huh?

Parker one day at lunch...don't let the sweetness fool you!

Between the girls and I we are going to make a writer out of this little one! He is starting to write P's. He pretty much refuses to do it when you ask him, but occasionally the girls can get him to do it. This was written about a week before he turned 2. His preschool called me today to let me know he has a spot to begin class there next fall! I am so excited! I thought I would be sad, but I know he will LOVE it so I'm just very excited for him!

How we roll at the grocery store. Have I mentioned before how much I hate these car driving carts?!? Oh, they are the worst! Worst ever invention aimed at helping mothers, yet falling horribly short of that goal.

Our trip to Disney is booked! I'm starting to make and buy cute little things for our trip. These are one recent purchase. They are hair bows/clippies. They are on alligator clips and are Cinderella and Belle. I can't wait for the girls to see all these fabulous little things their daddy and I are getting together for them! However, please don't mention it to them. We are not telling them until the day we leave for Disney.

Park and I have spent a lot of afternoons lately like this. My little guy has become very used to cuddling with him momma. I know it might be something that is hard to break, but I just can't say no knowing all that he and the girls are feeling with their daddy away right now. Quite frankly I probably enjoy this time with him as much as he does. In many ways, Parker wasn't a baby very long. He seemed to grow up fast, both size wise and in his abilities, always wanting to be like his sisters. However, in one area he is still a baby forsure. He LOVES being rocked at night and sometimes held during naptime. He will wake up after about 30 minutes of napping and fall back asleep with me. I know this won't last forever so I'm soaking it up now.

So G & L earn a quarter for each chore they do. That means they could earn $5 a week. Might seem like a lot, but if I ever want them to have enough money to actually buy something, this is how I need to go about it. I also hope to use this little chore chart/making money business as a way to begin to teach money management. So, after a month the girls had earned about $10 and had $10 from Grama. I told them we could go shopping! They were stoked! They ended up with a Monster High convertible car and two new MH dolls. They are Monster High addicts! And yes, they dress themselves most days. And again, yes, it is really really hard to let go and allow them this freedom. Reeeeally hard, with emphasis on Lilly's shoes...