I am starting off the new year with a few New Year's resolutions. The first and foremost is how I approach this blog. Life is busy. Really busy. So busy that sometimes it is hard for me to keep up with the blog. But I don't want to give it up. After the holidays I made a resolution that I would turn all my blogs into books as keepsakes. So about $200 later, I have the past 4 years compiled neat and tidy into hardback books and they are AWESOME! I have had so much fun reading through them and reliving the past few years (although there were a few moments I would rather not relive). So I made another resolution that I would not quit blogging no matter how time consuming it was becoming. I then made a third resolution that I would try to make blogging easier - so I have decided that over the course of the year I will do 12 blogs - one for each month - and attempt to summarize the important events that occurred over the course of that month. Not sure how it will turn out, but here is a my first attempt. Hey, three resolutions down - not too bad for 2012, huh?
So what has been going on this month? Well, obviously, the most important day of the year - my birthday (cue applause)!!! I turned 33 this year (ouch) and boy, do I ever feel my age - it may be the constant back pain I am in - I mean, honestly, what 33 year old complains about their back? I wish it wasn't me.
I took the day off work for my birthday this year and walked around the mall by myself (yes, alone. without any kids demanding something from me. without a husband either. oh, it was so close heaven - all I needed was money to spend!). I haven't been to the mall in a LONG time. So long that I haven't seen about half the stores that are in there EVER. Stores like Forever 21. I hear so many people talk about how trendy and cheap Forever 21 is - so I (with no money to spend anyway) had to check it out. I walked in and it was instant overload. Everywhere I looked, I saw fashions that were certainly meant for 21 year olds - but not a 33 year old. I felt so OLD. Particularly since the little girl that offered to help me looked about 12. That is less than half my age. Ugh. So I marched my rear end to Ann Taylor where I belonged. Sigh - the money I spent on the credit card somehow just rubbed salt in the wound.
Liv threw me a surprise birthday party of course. She still hasn't learned the concept of surprise. She told me about no less than 5 times. But bless her heart, she so loves to "pretend" to surprise me. Here are a few pictures of the big event.
I had to include the following series of pictures because I think they are hysterical. I still laugh every time I see them. Lilly is a pretty happy little girl - until she is mad. And then she is really mad. I mean REALLY MAD. In this picture, I had just scolded her for trying to rip the baby doll out of Cooper's arms just because she wanted to and it was "her" baby. So how did she respond? By throwing her arms on her hips and yelling "HMMPH." Then "HMMPH" again (just in case we didn't hear her the first time), while she bowed her head in an obvious attempt to control her temper and not "unleash the Lilly fury"....
The next picture is of Cooper holding the baby doll for dear life for fear that Lilly will take it from him. I don't blame him - if you had seen the look on her face, you would have been scared too.
This is me trying to comfort her after she finally gave into her anger and fell apart, crying hysterically. She was NOT happy. I had the hardest time trying not to laugh. I mean, it is SO funny. But then I remind myself what is funny at 2 years old will not be funny at 12 years old. We are going to have to work on that temper...
If you notice, Jeremy isn't in any of the pictures. That is because he was sick. Really, really sick. And I week later, I caught that nasty sickness. And spent a week really, really sick. And now Lilly is sick.
Waiting at Dr. Kanga's to check out our nasty cough...
Coughing, hacking, sniffling, not sleeping, and not eating. We hate being sick. But that has been our past 3 weeks. Just sick. Ugh. Is it spring yet?
This poor girl can't catch a break. Her nose has been running since October. We have managed to recuperate every time, but I am tired of hearing her cough. It sucks. Plus she isn't eating well. Normally this would worry me, but believe it or not, she has gained weight. I am shocked. Lilly weighs 23 pounds now. We are actually moving into 18 month clothes - but still have to wear 12 month shorts and pants because of her scrawny little butt. I think it may be the "tasteless calories" we are adding to her food. Dr. Kanga has encouraged us to add Scandical, a powdery substance that is nothing more than "extra calories" to her food and I think it is helping. I just wish they made a powder that would make calories disappear for me - that would certainly help me reach yet another New Year's resolution a little easier....
Liv was excited this month because she was finally the Star of the Week. What is the Star of the Week? Each week at preschool a child is "featured" for the other kids to learn about - he or she is known as the "Star of the Week." This is a BIG deal. I have heard about it all year. She was supposed to be Star of the Week around Thanksgiving, but because it was a short week we pushed it to January. Then her day came and guess what? I forgot. Her teachers forgot. Liv didn't forget. Whoops. So we made her Star of the Week the next week and lucky for us, her sense of time isn't too stellar. So today she was "Star of the Week" and as "Star of the Week," Liv was able to choose 5 toys and 6 pictures to take into school for "show and tell." These toys and books are supposed to be her "favorites." I asked Liv what "favorite" means and she told me the "ones you love the most." Okay, so she has that concept down, right? Well, maybe not so much. Do you want to know what she picked? Was it Sheppy, the dog she goes nowhere without? No. Was it her American Girl doll, Julie Cannoli, who she hasn't slept without since Christmas? No. Liv picked the following: a Fisher-Price race car with Batman, a Fisher-Price race car with the Joker, two cheap jet planes that we bought at the dollar section in Target last week, a dinosaur, her Perry the Platypus figure, and her Ladybug Girl book (which I made her take). Yep, those are her "favorites." Did I also mention that Liv is a little girl? I know, you wouldn't know it from her stash except for the book that I made her take to read to the class. At least she agreed to take pictures of her family to show her friends...
But that's Liv for you. When I asked her before Christmas if she wanted to take a different Little Gym class, she said yes and picked dance. I was thrilled - something girly to do! But since we have started dance, all I have heard is complaining and begging not to go because she HATES it. It's so BORING. So I decided to compromise (particularly since the Little Gym is so EXPENSIVE) and I have made her make a "good faith effort" for three classes and told her that if she still didn't like it, then we would talk about a different class. This weekend was her fourth class and I was so proud of her because she went to class without complaint, tried really hard, and seemed to be genuinely having a good time. When it was over, she ran over to me, very excited, and said that she had tried really hard, had a really good time, and THAT SHE DIDN'T WANT TO GO BACK. Huh? Apparently, the girl has the memory of an elephant and plans to keep me to my word. Sigh. Looks like we are heading back to sports skills...
Love my girls and their unique (and interesting) personalities.
We rounded out the month with a little baking and experimenting. I have become an avid Pinterest fan, which is an online bulletin board where I can find all sorts of creative DIY projects and recipes. I am trying a few out this winter and the girls have been my partners in crime. They spend much of their time in front of the oven waiting for the desserts to come out. It is pretty cute :) Unfortunately, this is not helping me with that other New Year's resolution...
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