An Enchanted Call

As a member of Disney Movie Rewards I was able to have a Disney Character call Cali tonight for free.  It was so cute!

When the phone rang I told Cali to answer it.  When she picked up she was a little nervous because she didn't know who was on the line.  Then when Sleeping Beauty introduced herself Cali's eyes got as big as saucers.  Sleeping Beauty told Cali it was getting close to her bedtime and she needed to go to sleep so she could dream about dressing up her dolls.

I would like to say that Cali hopped right in her bed afterwards and fell asleep, but she was too excited and had to give me all the details of her one sided telephone conversation.  Right before she fell asleep Cali told me that she wanted Snow White to call her tomorrow night.  (Fat chance at $2.50 per phone call.)

It was really cute though, I would love to be able to able to take the girls to Disney while they still believe!

Overdoing It

I took the girls to Calaway Park with some friends last week.  I think I may have overdone it.  I ate a snow cone, hot dog, slurpee, a bag of popcorn and a bag of cotton candy.  Then of course we did a few rides.  The roller coaster was even better than I remember.

Anyway I paid for it that night...

Speaking of night time trips to the bathroom Cali has been pull-up free for three nights now!  She told me one night that she didn't want to wear them anymore and so far we have been good.  We are so proud of our big girl!

Our Camping Trip

I haven't posted any pictures yet of the camping trip I took the girls on.  So here are a few thanks to my friend who thought to bring her camera.

Cali cooking a hotdog over the fire.  Hers turned out best as she was the most patient.  I tend to just stick mine in the fire and get it over with quick.  Of course I end up with a black hotdog.  But really it there any thing better on a cook out? 

Cali snuggled in her sleeping bag.  She was so wound up, both of my girls were that night that they wouldn't settle.  They kept running around the tent, eventually though they did fall asleep. 

My girls on the beach playing in the sand.  They had such a great time!  Cali was calling the water the ocean, and her friend thought it was the sea.  These poor prairie girls!

Cali taking a dip in the cold water.  She ended up getting soaked by the end and Lexi's diaper was pretty near dragging on the ground.  All and all it was a great trip and Cali keeps asking when we will get to go again.  Hopefully soon Cali-Belle!

Don't let the bug bites bite

I love the way kids talk.  It's sad when they stop saying words in their special way.

The other day Lexi walked into the kitchen:

Lexi: Mommy, are you?

Me: I am over here Lexi.

Lexi: O-tay

And last night when Cali was helping put Lexi to bed she said, 

"Good night, sleep tight, don' t let the bug bites bite".

When Cali asks you something doesn't say "how do you do" something, she says "how don't you do" something.  I am quite used to it but sometimes it catches me off guard.  

Cali: Mommy how don't you do you do the dishes?

Me:  Ummm, I just leave them by sink hoping your Dad will do them.

What was really cute was when Cali couldn't say "knife", she would say "life" instead.  She would say things like:

"Mommy I need a life"

or

"Mommy you need a life for that"

or my favourite

"Lexi can't have a life, she's just a baby!"

Speaking of words, Cali is a big fan of the show "Word Girl" on PBS.  So one day a few months ago she asked me to draw a picture of Word Girl and Captain Huggyface on the chalk board.  I drew my picture and came back later to see that Cali added a little something behind Word Girl.  I started to laugh, take a look...

Cali explained to me that she added air behind Word Girl to make it look like she flying really fast.  That's not what I saw.  What do you see?
  

Cali Turns Four

Way back in May our little three-year-old turned four.  Here is how it went down two months later...

It was a big day here for us.  Cali woke up early in the morning fully aware that this was the day she was no longer three.  We woke up and had waffles, Cali's favourite breakfast.  After breakfast we drove to Costco for a hot dog, Cali's favourite activity.  Then after we got home we had to call everyone Cali could think of to tell them Cali was now four.  Aunt Jean was the first on that list!

That evening Cali had first soccer practice, with her Dad as coach.  While introducing herself she was pleased as punch to say "My name is Cali and I am four".

We went home after and "cheese girl sandwiches" (grilled cheese sandwiches) and french fries.  Cali's favourite meal.  Of course we ice cream for "a-zert" (dessert).

A few days later Cali had an official birthday princess party with five of her friends.  We made crowns, hit a pinata, open presents and ate cake.  All her friends came dressed as princesses.  It was a blast!

Cali getting
ready to blow out four candles.

Cali next to her Barbie pinata that I paid way too much for.

Cali's princess birthday cake.  Which I am so proud of!  I think that it turned out great!

 

Mommy Daughter Date

The other night I took Cali out with me to Wal-mart to buy her a new chair. I found a Princess couch and Cali was quite excited about it, since it folded out and could be used as a bed. She told me that she wanted to moved into her room so she could sleep on it at night. She then agreed to only sleeping on it if she decided to nap during the day. So we put it into the cart and pushed it a little further down the aisle.

I then had the idea that I should let her sit in the couch to tell me if she would actually use it. So I put down in the floor and Cali took a seat. She stood up and then told me that she wanted a couch "without bricks in it". Am I ever glad I decided to try it before we brought it home!

So we didn't end up buying Cali a new chair but we did spent a long time in the Barbie isle. We oohed and awed over Barbie's various outfits and accessories, contemplating which Barbie would be fun to have.

At one point Cali pointed up and exclaimed "Look Mommy!". I looked up and saw a child's set of cleaning supplies. I agreed with her that it looked like a lot of fun and with it she could help me clean the house. She quickly corrected me and directed my attention to what she had pointed at one shelf lower... princess Barbie, and prince Ken with a sparkly horse... Shoot!

We had a great time together just the two of us.

On the way home in the van Cali said "I don't like family dates, I like Mommy and Cali dates."

I love my little girl!

So sick!

I know no posts...

Cali has been super sick.  She has been fevering on and off for three weeks now, sleeping lots, not really eating, no smiles, SUPER cranky...  in the last week she has had a fever non-stop.  So I took her to see the doctor yesterday who put her on some antibiotics.  I am hoping these will turn her back into the the Cali I know and love.

She had her first dose last night and she sleeping still... it is 2:45pm.

On top of that little Tucky has been under the weather too, she just woke up at 1pm.

My poor, poor girls.

In case I do not get the chance...

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS 

AND HAPPY NEW YEAR  

 LOVE, 

ED, MEG, CALI, & LEXI

gasp!

You know how after you get married your spouse points out all kinds of things about you?  Well one of my things is that I gasp, quite often.  I don't even notice it.  I tend to do it the most while I am reading, as I get quite involved in a story.

I remember one incident early in our marriage I was reading "Shopaholic Ties the Knot" by Sophie Kinsella.  At the beginning when Suze throws the bouquet at Becky and when she catches it she realizes that is it a proposal from Luke!!!  GASP!  Ed ran in our room to check if I was okay, as he was often doing during those first few years.

That was a couple of years ago now.  It has become apparent that Ed has grown accustom to my gasping. Last night as I was reading "The Giver" by Lois Lowry, there was a lot gasping going on.  Ed would just glance over and casually ask what happened in the story.

Marriage is great.    

As an aside I love to read and I can't wait for Cali to be able to learn to read books on her own.  I found this great little show when I was Utah a year ago.  It's called "Super Why" each super hero has a "power" that is required to tell a story.  It's great!   I just wanted to share it and I am so glad that Cali loves it as well.

The ABC song

Yesterday the girls and I went grocery shopping.  It was Cali's job to hold the eggs and ensure their safe arrival to the car.  Being a typical 3 year-old she dropped them when something better came by.  Two eggs were cracked when we got home.  Being the smart mom that I am, I took those two eggs out and put them in a small bowl in the fridge to remind myself to use them quickly.

This morning as I was moving things around in the fridge being careful not to spill the glass of milk Cali put in the fridge, I knocked the eggs out.  They landed on the floor and cracked on top of our leapfrog fridge phonics toy.  So I wiped up the mess and and rinsed off the toy. (Note to self: leave cracked eggs in egg carton.)  

Today during lunch the toy started singing the ABC song repeatedly.  The ABC song causes Lexi to dance.  So Lexi is dancing and trying to eat at the same time.  As the song played over and over it became faster and faster, so Lexi was dancing faster and faster in her high chair, much to our amusement.  Finally the song became very high pitched and very fast and died midway through.  By this time I think Lexi was getting a bit tired.  

Anyway I disassembled the toy and it is now drying off on the counter.  Hopefully it will have a second chance because watching Lexi dance to the music is just so cute!       

The Library

I have to admit the library is one of most favourite places.  When I was little girl I remember Mom taking me there and allowing me to choose whatever book I wanted.  I remember taking home Raffi and Anne Murray's "There's a Hippo in my Tub" records.  I even remember one special trip when we got to go into the basement and watch "Mary Poppins" on the big screen.

As I grew older it became a place of escape, within its walls I go anywhere.  Books and videos that I checked out could take to me to far away lands, or tell me local folktales.  I still love the library today for that very reason.

Last Spring when the weather was crumby Cali and I made way to the library.  I picked up a few things I had on hold and Cali got out a movie.  Luckily enough one of our favourite staff members was on.  She asked me how I liked the weather and I told her I didn't mind as long as I had the library to go to.  She laughed telling me that earlier that day someone had come in and tore a strip off her about the weather.  I was shocked.  I suppose I assumed that the library was everyone's "getaway", why would you be cranky there?

When Cali turned two I started taking her to the library weekly for "Story time".  She loves it!  Every week we are introduced to new characters in the books we read and after we get to make a great craft that entertains until the following week.

This past Tuesday was no different.  As we were checking out the Librarian approached a woman and asked if he could speak with her very politely and she in turn was very rude.  Once again I was shocked.  I have always thought that working in the library would be a peaceful, pleasant job.  However I suppose dealing with the public is never 100% pleasant.

Anyway this blog post is dedicated to my librarian and everyone who works or has worked in a library.  Thanks for keeping my getaway open, organized, up to date, and full of great activities.  I did find this video on youtube and now I can understand just how stressful a librarian's job can be.

      

Back in Pink

After about a week of wet sheets Cali is back in pull-ups...

So we will try again in a few months.

However she is removed from her pull-ups  first thing in the morning.

That's It!

She sure is cute, however EXTREMELY lazy!

Cali has been potty trained during the day now since March.  However in the morning she uses her pull-ups for as long as she can.  This morning she used it to poop in while she was playing.  She is LAZY.

Effective immediately Cali will no longer be wearing pull-ups at all.

I will keep you posted on the progress.

What I Found Late One Night...

I know it's been forever.  We got the Mac updated so now I can use it!  So here I am posting again... hurray!   I just have a bunch to catch up on.  So I will do it one day at a time.  Let me begin with a post I wanted to do about a month ago.

So we started a new bedtime approach with Cali.  Fighting with her to go to bed was getting to be tiring and we weren't getting to bed until late.  So we have a rule now that Cali is to be in her room at 8pm for the night.  I don't care what she is doing as long as she is in her room.  It has been going well as a matter of fact but sometimes I am surprized by what I find has gone on in her room.  The other night I walked in and found blankets all over the floor then I realized what was going on.

Cali's purple puppy was nicely tucked in...

...as was her pink puppy...

... elephant...

... Grover...

... Cabbage patch kid...

... and last but not least herself.

   I love my Cali Belle.

Camping it Up Yu Style

If anyone knows Ed they know that he and nature don't get on.  After about half an hour of nature exposure Ed's eyes become swollen, red, and itchy, he goes through a box of kleenex, and has difficulty breathing.  (Not to mention his anaphalatic reaction to bee stings, and how he reacts to mosquitoes.)  So when Ed was told that he had to go to scout camp this summer many people had their doubts.

So for all you doubters here a report of our camping trip "Yu style".

We rented a really cute clean little motel room in Elko.  It had a little kitchette, (complete with dishes) which was great since there wasn't anywhere close by to eat and it also saved us a pile of money.  There wasn't a dishwasher so we had to wash the dishes by hand.  (This made it feel more like camping to me.)

This a picture of Lexi hanging out in the bedroom area.  It was great since there was no carpet I let Lexi crawl all over the place.

Here is Cali testing out the quality of the beds.  I did not receive the best sleep on them, but they were decent.  There was a tv with satellite, however our channels were very limited.  (Ed was pretty choked that he couldn't watch Golf TV... I on the other hand was relieved.)

This was our view out the window.  You can see a few orange picnic tables, those are campsites.  So really we were on a campsite.  One day Cali and I were looking out the window and we saw a couple of horses.  Cali was pretty excited.  Oh did I mention that there a BBQ for us to use?  So we did cook outside, also camping-like.  

There was a beach close by and we spent every afternoon there.  It was so nice as the weather was quite hot.  Ed and Cali had a great time building sand castles, and catching crayfish...

...while I tried to prevent Lexi from eating the sand.

So we survived three days "camping".  I also did wash the clothes by hand, that was also camping-like.  We had a great time and I think we should do it again next year!

Cali's Third Birthday

I am currently visiting my parents and have access to the pictures from Cali's third birthday which we celebrated at Heritage Park with Thomas.  So here are a few photos from that day.

Here is Cali and her friend after their ride on Thomas.

Cali enjoying brunch at the Wainwright Hotel.

Cali's beautiful "Princess" face.

Lexi had her first taste of chocolate that day!

Baby on the Move

Lexi is officially crawling now.  Cali seemed to skip that step, she crawled with one leg straight for about three weeks and then started to walk.  If I had a fully functioning computer I would post a video of it; it was quite funny to watch.

But our Lexi is a crawling baby, up on all fours making her way around and around the island in the kitchen with her big sister chasing after her saying "No, Lexi!  Don't!" as she gets into everything.

It just gets better from here doesn't it?

I got video of Lexi crawling uploaded! Take a look!

Aww, Snap!

This message has been recurring on my screen as I attempt to update my blog.  If anyone else uses Google Chrome you may be familiar with it.  Let me tell you I see it about 5 times plus a day.  It gets quite annoying as my computer crashes shortly after and I have start from sratch.

My brother tells me that it's Windows and I need to put linux on my computer.  However I can't because my CD drive is no longer recognized by my computer and I can't find a usb drive big enough in the house.  Grrrr!

So why aren't I using the Mac?  Well Ed got it from the school and it's so old that it can't use flash.  So I can't update my blog on it.  I am hoping someday to own a new Mac that I could use.

So here I am using this Toshiba laptop circa 2004 that is slowly dying.  Cali told me today that she heard the computer say "I'm dying, I'm dying".  I completely believe her.  Oh if only money grew on trees then I would have  a nice new computer that I could load pictures on so I could really update my blog.

So anyway here's the update.  It turns out that the overflow in the bathroom sink that Cali used to flood house was plugged.  The rubber ring had slipped down and completely blocked it off.  So now I feel better knowing that I hadn't left Cali alone for so long with running water.  I didn't think that it was that long.

The other good news is that we were able to dry out the basement enough that we won't have to any major repairs, just touch up a few places with paint.  Yes I was quite happy about that.

So whenever I get a computer that works I will put up some pictures of Cali's birthday. 

A Flood... in the Bathroom

I feel like things have been piling up on me lately and as a result I have let the household chores slide.  So on Wednesday I thought that I would skip play group and stay home and catch up on some cleaning.  

Cali was playing outside with the sidewalk chalk, then decided to come in to wash the chalk off her shoes.  So I plugged the bathroom sink and put a bit of water in the bottom so she could wash off her shoes.  I then went back to the kitchen to finish my cleaning.  A few minutes later I went back to check on Cali...  

Water was pouring everywhere! I immediately shut off the water and threw towels on the floor to sop up the water.  Then I heard water dripping.  I ran downstairs (our newly finished basement) water was pouring out of the smoke detector.  Luckily there was a box right underneath it on the floor (one advantage of not cleaning up) catching the water.  

Then the smoke detector in the basement went off (not only does it buzz it also talks, who knew?).  Of course it scared Lexi, but that was okay because it was only in the basement.  So I attempted to reset it to no avail.  (I guess the water would cause it to continue alarming.)  Like I said it was only alarming in the basement so as long as everyone was upstairs they were happy. 

So I went back to work sopping up the water, then of course the alarm started going off upstairs.  So both girls began to cry.  I did not know what to do.  If I held the girls I couldn't mop up the water and it would continue to leak into the basement.  If I let them cry it would have been horrible.  So I called Ed in a panic at work asking what I should do.  I kept repeating "I just don't know what to do" over and over until he decided he should come home.  It would still be another half and hour until he would get home.  What should I do?  I did not know.  

So I thought that I would call someone who would know.  So I called the fire department  surely they would tell me what to do.  So I called and told them what happened they said they would send someone over shortly.  The joy of living in a small town... I heard the sirens immediately, hoping they weren't for me.  First the fire chief showed up in his car.  I was relieved to know that they didn't send the big fire truck.  He came in and disconnected the smoke detector for me.  What a relief to my ears.  

Then the big fire truck pulled up in front of my house.  How embarrassing!  My visiting teachers were due to show up at this time and actually followed the fire truck to my house.  Anyway the firemen were very nice  gave me a new smoke detector, and Cali some fire dept. tattoos.

Ed came home shortly after and helped me clean up and air out the basement.  The contractor is coming over tonight to let me know the extent of the damage.  Hopefully it's not too bad.  Just another adventure at our home.         

New Pictures

Last month I got Sarah to take some new pictures of the girls.  Then my CD drive decided to crash on my computer.  So I only have some to share and I am waiting patiently to get a new computer.  There were some really cute ones of Lexi sleeping.  Seriously what's been going on lately?  Everything of mine is crashing!!!

Enjoy.

 

Had a Bad a Day

This was our theme song today. 

I was up late last night with a teething Lexi.
I was woken up early by my Calla Bella Baby.
Cali smeared yogurt all over herself and the floor.  (This was after she was dressed for the day.)
Lexi continued to cry/ scream all morning.
Cali got changed then washed... then peed her pants.
Lexi had a blow-out.
Cali got rewashed and dressed for the third time.
Lexi continued to cry through all of this.
Cali was standing on a chair behind the fridge door drinking milk.
I opened the fridge.
Cali fell off the chair and spilled milk on her baby doll.
I called Ed and I started to cry.
Cali started to cry.
Lexi was still crying.

Half an hour later:

After another half hour I was asleep.

We slept for 4 hours.

Cali wet the bed.