Five Question Friday!

Wow! That was a super fast week! And a great week...I started a bible study on Tuesday. The other ladies are amazing and I'm so excited! But I now have 'homework' every night! (Shh...don't tell, but I haven't done it yet. You know I'm a procrastinator right?! I really do need to start today though.) The girls also had a great time...Cocoa Puff has been singing a song she learned - all week.



Okay, okay, on to the five questions! Here's the drill...you go to Mama M's blog, read the great questions, copy them to your blog, and answer them! And if you're so inclined, you can read other bloggers answers on their blog by clicking on the links at the end of the post.

1. Worst trouble you ever got into as a teenager?

I was pretty good. I didn't really get crazy until college. And the few times I did get crazy, I didn't get caught....okay, well there was this one time. Oh, and that time too. Okay, maybe I do have a few stories....but this is a family blog. I couldn't possibly share. I should, really?

They're really not that bad....I'm just being silly. But since I am participating in 5QF, I will tell you.

I was a senior. I went to a party with my friend M. She met a boy, he was pretty cute. They liked each other...and well, they liked making out. She didn't want to go home. I fell asleep in the back of her car. I was spending the night at her house...oh, her parents were pissed. I think we got back to her house around 3 or 4? Not really sure, but it was late. Her parents had called my parents. I kinda sorta was a bad friend....hindsight, I should have taken the blame for M? But I didn't. I was a little mad that I got in trouble. M and I didn't speak for a few days, weeks...unclear about that part....I think we kinda made up, but it was never the same...Sorry M.

See, that wasn't too bad. I did leave out the part that I had a few alcoholic beverages...hence the falling asleep in the back of M's car.

2. Are you a morning person or a night person?

I am 100% night owl. Always have been, always will be! I also trained my kiddos to not get out of bed until at least 8 o'clock. This morning they slept until a little after 10!

3. Are you a one-handed or a two-handed texter?

What is a texter? Yes, I am kidding, but I really don't like texting. Yet there are certain people (you know who you are) that insist on texting me. Aaargh! So, when I do text it takes me twenty minutes just to say hello.

4. Democrat, Republican, or Independent...or maybe even Green Party (whatever that is).

I am slightly embarrassed by this question. I almost left it out, but then it would be Five question Friday. My high school government teacher, not that I remember her name, would be so ashamed of me....I don't know which party I should call my own. There. I said it. One of these days I am going to research and figure it out, but not today.

5. Are you a pet person?

We have a cat. I am allergic to cats. But it was love at first sight when I saw this tiny little kitten in need of a good home. So, now I am a 'cat person' trapped in a 'dog-lovers' body. One day I will get a great big floppy dog!

That's all Folks! See you next Friday. Have a great weekend!

Here's Your Sign!

Cheerio LOVES to do everything her big sister does. So, when Cocoa Puff goes to the bathroom, Cheerio goes to the bathroom.

"Gross. Yucky. NO!" says Mommy.

But Cheerio being the strong-willed 15 month old that she is, doesn't listen to me...ever.


Today, Cocoa Puff had a suggestion that I think is worth sharing.


Cocoa Puff is finishing up with the potty, flushes and pulls up her pants when in comes a running, okay very fast walking, Cheerio. Cheerio thinks it's hilarious, complete with giggling - so it is pretty darn cute and it gets Cocoa Puff really bent out of shape :) - if she can get to the sink before Cocoa Puff does. Well, the story wouldn't be very funny if Cocoa Puff got to the sink first, now would it? So, you guessed it...Cheerio got to the sink and climbed up the two step stool.


Cocoa Puff asks, "Mom, Cheerio is not supposed to climb on my stool, is she?"


I answer, "No sweetie, she's not, but we're trying to teach her that...so we have to be patient."


With a little frustration in her voice, Cocoa Puff says, "Can you please just put a sign up so she doesn't do it anymore?"


I reply, trying hard not to chuckle, "Cheerio can't read yet sweetie."


"I know that Mom! You could read the sign to her!" my thirteen year old daughter Cocoa Puff says to me...ooops, did I say thirteen? I mean three! Sheesh! The attitude caught me off-guard :)

And since photos make everything more fun, or at least that's what I think, here are some photos. FYI - I was "encouraging" Cheerio to climb up the stool...so she keeps looking back at me like, "Really? You're okay with this?!!! Cool!"

Five Question Friday....Woo Hoo!

I *HEART* Mama M and her Five Question Friday!

Here's how it works...she picks the questions (with a little help from her readers) and then she answers them and invites us to do the same. It's fun, easy, and a great way to share silly things that we probably wouldn't otherwise think to share!

Numero Uno....What's your "Comfort Food"?

Have you seen my blog!?!?!?! Cereal, duh! Well, cereal and ice cream...seperately they are both fantastic, but together....oh, yummy! One of my favorite combinations is Cap'N Crunch with vanilla ice cream. Maybe you should try it...but I won't be held responsible for the addiction that forms...sorry :)

Dos...Do you send "thank-you's" (handwritten or email)?

If I could just change one word...send to write...then I would say YES! But since you just had to ask, "Do you send "thank-you's"?" I have to say...sometimes. You see, I am a procrastinator. It somehow always means that my packages/letters will be late. I have accepted it. I try to correct it, but it seems like with every child I have it gets worse. I know what you're thinking..."Oh, sure blame your sweet, innocent, beautiful, silly girls. How could you?" And I will say to you...I'm not blaming them for the problem...I'm just saying the problem seems to get worse with every addition to my sweet, little family. I could go on and on, and maybe I will another day, but I have things to procrastinate on today! hee hee

Tres...If you had to be trapped in a TV show for a month, which show would you choose?

Hands down....CLEAN HOUSE! Nicey Nash, Trish Surh, Matt Iseman, and Mark Brunetz ( I probably mispelled a name, sorry peeps!) My dream job is to clean out people's houses...not dirty houses really, just cluttered houses, and organize and redesign them. If you've been to my house - you know that I have my fair shar of clutter (I have two munchkins...yes, here I go blaming those sweet girls again :), but I love to move it around and organize it. And there is nothing more satisfying than a garage sale...or garbage sale as my dad calls it :) How fun is it to make money from things that you no longer need. I am totally GREEN! (Can't you just let me think I'm Green?! Please?)

Four...(My spanish runs out at three!)...What is your favorite online recipe source?

Bakerella is fantastic! She has some yummy treats on her blog. Warning....don't go to her blog unless you want to gain the Bakerella fifteen. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Five...If you had to choose: "Friends" or "Seinfeld"?

No competition....Friends. Courtney Cox's character is my favorite. (BTW - have you seen Cougar Town? Seriously funny! Wednesday nights...watch it....you'll thank me.)

So, that's it! Wasn't that fun? Well, I had fun! No need to let me know if you didn't. If you don't have a blog, you can answer the questions in the comments of this post! Happy Friday...have a great weekend.

Sleepless in the South

Cheerio has hit another milestone month....she's now 15 months old! Wow - were does the time go? So, I thought I would write an update post...just to remember what she is doing these days!

• 31 inches tall, 27 pounds 8 ounces
  
  

• size 5 diapers, although I think you'll be potty trained soon :) Obviously I'm just kidding...however I do have a cute story about Cheerio and Cocoa Puff's panties. I was getting the girls dressed but I forgot to get panties for Cocoa Puff. Cocoa Puff went to get some and brought them to me. Then it was Cheerios turn to get dressed. She walked away and before I could go get her...here she comes walking down the hall with a pair of Cocoa Puffs panties! I handed them to me and insisted, well maybe demanded, I put them on her. She is very persuasive, so without further ado, I present Cheerio in "big girl panties."





• You are starting to talk more and more everyday! Words you say everyday are:
• Mama - Mommy when you're upset
• Dada
• E-Ah - for your sister
• up...very handy since you want to be "up" all the time
• Uh-Oh...so cute!
• Apple- you don't really mean apple-we're not sure what you mean yet...maybe food?
• Words you have said, but maybe only once or twice:
• Cat
• Thank you
• More
• No!
• Walking is getter easier and easier...and you're getting faster and faster! When Mommy came home from tutoring today you started running and smiling as soon as you saw me. You almost startled yourself because I don't think you realized you could move that fast. It was the best!


• You are Miss Independent! Well, at least until you need something or want to cuddle. But for the most part you love to do it yourself especially with food.
  

• You are a problem solver! At least that's what the doctor says...I say you make-it-work! For example: You love to climb and be UP. When you can't get UP you get the closest object that will help you get UP! You have gotten a box of wipes, your sister's stool from the bathroom, toys...you name it, you have tried it :) And this is the reason Mommy doesn't allow anything in your bed! hee hee
  
  

• And the reason for the post title "Sleepless in the South" is...you don't like to sleep at night! I have come to the conclusion that it's something I'm doing...because your sister didn't like to sleep either...Oh, I'm leaving out one little bit of information. You both like to sleep and you both will sleep through the night IF you're in Mommy's and Daddy's bed. So, we've been having baby sleep boot camp at our house the last few weeks. Yes, I said weeks. I am a sucker and my girls have my digits! Truth be told, I love having them sleep next to me...SOMETIMES....ON A RARE OCCASION...NOT EVERY NIGHT. So, boot camp continues :) And considering Cocoa Puff is closer to four than three...I predict it will continue for years to come!



• Teeth....maybe one reason you can't sleep in your own bed. You have nine teeth now! Eight front and center and one molar on top...and THREE more coming out very soon.



• You idolize your sister. You try to do everything she does and when you can't, a temper tantrum follows. Yes, the temper tantrums have started and Mommy is not happy about it. When you don't get what you want or someone tells you "no"...watch out! You ball your hands into fists, throw them straight down by your sides, and scream/grunt. More of a grunt than a scream, but definitely loud. Which leads me to "time-outs." Yes, I have put you in time out. It's pretty cute actually. I have to try really hard not to laugh and even harder not to get the camera to document how cute you are when I put you in time-out. One day I'm going to break down and snap a picture. But seriously you are very stubborn.



• You like to eat cat food, play in the trash can, stick your head in the litter box (although you have never actually done this, I see the wheels turning...you are very curious as to where Wes goes), lick your shoes, and many other unsanitary things!

Cheerio - I love you so much!

Surprise, surprise!

I posted several weeks ago that my goal was to have my Christmas cards out on time this year(with a fabulous photo)...so I thought I would update you on how that worked out for me. Do you wanna guess first? Yes, I got them out on time...or No, I did not get them out on time?

Drum roll please...........and the answer is: "No, I did not get them out on time," says me, in a very small, ashamed voice. I'm not ashamed because they were late...I actually look forward to stragglers in my mailbox. Don't you think it's fun to get cards throughout January as well as December? I really have accepted the fact that I AM A PROCRASTINATOR! but, this year, I really wanted to have everything done and shipped out on time. Oh, well, I will get over it..."Maybe next year?!!" says the crazy delusional Fruit Loop.

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December was a little bit of a blur to me this year. It seemed like there was so much to do and no one to do it....what? I should have been the one doing it all? Oh! Now it makes sense :) Every year, I have this riduculously long list of things I want to do before Christmas...you know, to make it special for the girls and my husband and I. This year was no different...really long list - maybe even longer because Cocoa Puff is getting older and understanding more. I accepted the fact it wasn't all going to get done early in the month, but it was still hard to let go. I always want everything to be perfect, but rarely do I live up to my standards.

So, this year, I did enjoy everything we did get to do....numerous trips to see Christmas lights (that I actually posted about), hot chocolate by the fire, cookies made for my favorite girls with my favorite 3 year old, hours spent reading fun Christmas books - some new, some old, and some classics! And I actually paid attention to the girls' reactions to everything we did. Sure we missed out on some of the fun things I wanted to do (going down to the River walk to see all of the lights and Christmas decorations the city put up, go to the "North Pole" to see Santa and all of the fun activities they had for the kiddos, etc), but I appreciated what we did more than I would have if we had done it all! Maybe next year we'll do the things we didn't get to do this year. Here are a few photos from the season! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season...Happy New Year!

Lights!

One of the things I love most about this season is LIGHTS! Cap'N Crunch and I have been making it a point to look at lights every few nights with our girls....they love it and so do we. Cheerio gabs the whole time :)

Here are a few of the spectacular displays we've seen this year:


This is ONE home - just so you know!

The next three pictures are a business - can you guess what business? Okay, I'll tell you. The Electric Company...I really don't know which one specifically. My cereal bunch and I were driving home from a day trip when we saw these brillantly illuminated trees. Cap'N Crunch turned the car around. Both girls were sleeping. We were thinking about waking them up to see. I decided to take picutres instead to show them when we got home. They woke up anyway-at least for a few moments. After we were back on the boring road, they fell asleep again.


We've seen many more light displays, but these two are by far our favorites this year!

Happy Holidays :)

Bah Hum Bug!

Okay, no not really, but...

I have been having a really hard time being festive this year! "Really?" you ask. Well, yes really. And shame on me! I know. I have two amazing excited girlies...well, one is excited about Christmas and the other one is just excited about everything :)

I had originally planned the month of December to be one BIG party for us. Maybe party isn't the right word - but I had something fun and festive planned everyday. I had planned on blogging about our activity everyday. Now, it's almost the middle of December and I haven't blogged once. We also haven't done everything I set out for us to do, but my cereal bunch and I have done a few festive things. I will try to keep it short, but no promises...here goes!

On the first day of December our family got a tree (think 12 Days of Christmas in your head!). It was the first time in eleven years that Captain Crunch and I have been getting a Christmas tree that we bought the FIRST one we looked at. Maybe we should have looked a few more up and down, but it was cold (you know, for the South) and we all really did like the first tree. So, here it is.

We took the tree home, put it up, strung the lights all around, then while Captain Crunch was untangling the red beads I love so much, I decided that our tree would be fabulous and simple this year...just lights and three strands of red beads and no ornaments. GASP! No ornaments?!!? Well, no. You see Cheerio is a very curious little gal and she doesn't listen very well, so instead of constant frustration on both our parts, I decided no ornaments. Brilliant, right? Okay, maybe not brilliant, but it did save a little of my sanity.

I intended on typing more...but it might not get posted until February. So...I'm going to post this and see what happens tomorrow! I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season! Enjoy it. Kiss you kiddos :)