Happy Birthday Danny!

Danny turned three! My baby got a party complete with firends, pizza, cake, over 300 water balloons and lots of fun.
He asked for a Monster Truck cake, but I figured I'll take it easy this time around, forgo elaborate décor or cake carving and just Plopped a Tormator (if you know who I mean raise your hand) on top of the cake.

 

Danny of course, as the Birthday Boy, got to lick the frosting off the beaters, as you can tell by the smudges around his mouth. It was a struggle to keep him from snatching the car off the cake (may the docile look on his face not deceive you), so I just gave up and let him have it after a half hour struggle.

 

We had a balloon and water balloon party. This boy was excited about this poppable delight, though he made sure to yell at anyone who popped one of his balloons. The kid is a yeller. We are trying to combat this habit, but are making a slow progress...for now. Sometimes when you are the youngest it is the easiest way to get noticed around here.

 We had about 300 water balloons and they were gone in 15 minutes. I took me about an hour to fill 150 of them, Andrew did the rest in a half hour, because my awesome friend Nathalie brought us this thing-a-ma-jiger for filling  and tying balloons. The kids had a blast! Danny invited his two friends Rorrie and Adam and of course his best friends and neighbors Jasmine, Aliyah and Caylee. After all  of the water explosives were gone there were water guns. Rorrie was filling them up with the hose (as much as a three-year-old can) and the rest had a shoot out. For some reason I also got soaked a little bit, even though I was an innocent bystander with a water gun.

 

 Here is Danny listening to his Happy Birthday song. I can't believe how off key it all sounds in the video, so I will not torment you with having to listen to it.

 Danny with his pile of goodies.

 Erin was rather upset that I did not take her to a store to choose a present for her brother. After she was done crying and complaining about it she sat down and made him this paper monster truck. He was politely impressed, but I am afraid that by now it is torn and lost.

 I love the look on Danny's face in these two shots. It is a look of gleeful delight! Danny got lots of cars, trucks and other things with wheels and some Skittles. I think Skittles were his favorite gift that day, ha ha.

 

 

Danny trivia

 

1. He still fits in the shorts he fit in when he was 1 (granted then they were "slightly" baggy).

2. Danny is missing a tooth.

3. He loves to be my baking assistant. He gets to operate the KitchenAid.

4. His favorite food is pancakes with maple syrup

5. He is my gardening buddy, who can tell apart his veggies and who does not trample everything on the way to get them.

6. He is a gentleman and carries groceries, garden bag and watering cans (on the days when he feels like being a gentleman). 

7. Being outside is his favorite activity unless he is offered a trip to a dinosaur museum, bounce park or a Zoo.

8. He is silly (the kind that puts an empty trashcan over his head and runs around the house bumping into everything on purpose).

9. He is a TEASER!

10. He can swing for hours!

 

As Erin would put it, Danny makes my heart happy! On those days when I regret ever deciding to become a stay at home mom ( you know, those days when everyone fights, does not want to eat, and has to be put in a timeout for gazillionth time, when you think you should just get back to the office and let someone else deal with it), he puts his tiny arms around my neck (not the chocking kind) and gives me a hug. At that moment all those regrets fly out the window. I am where I am meant to be , with the little people that I love and who love me. Life is good! 

 



 

Ta ta for now!

 



We are back

I am back after taking almost  a year off from blogging. Mostly because at the moment I do not feel like doing dishes, tackling the laundry or picking up any of the kids' messes and I ran out of ideas of what else to browse online in addition to my news sites, facebook, e-mails and reddit. Granted there is pinterest, but I have to tell you that the cutesy creative site disgusts me.  I know, I know, this statements has a smell of blasphemy, but here it is. Pinterest makes me feel inadequate as a seamstress, organizer, bread baker, carpenter, designer, cake, soap and puppet maker. I don't do the cutesy stuff more often than three times a year-Halloween and two kids birthdays. Anyhow, here I am!

Let the chronicles of accomplishments, booboos and funnies begin!

First of here is our updated family portrait taking on Mother's Day weekend, by our neighbor Whitney who turned out to be a darn good photographer. Our old one with Danny missing and Erin just 18 months old was slightly out of date so here you go. Danny is two and Erin is five. Life is good!

Here is a funny from yesterday (before I forget it). Erin being a friendly kid, sometimes too friendly, went over to  the service desk at Maceys' while I was paying for our cereal. An unsuspecting dude was filling some form out and she decided to strike a conversation with him. Soon she was by my side demanding that I bend down for her to communicate a piece of intelligence in whisper. "Mom, I told him I liked his earring , but I did not really. I just wanted to be polite!" I just rolled my eyes and giggled (well, what would you do?) When we passed him on the way out, she repeated her adoration of his earring that turned out to be a lip piercing. The dude was cool about it, laughed and told her not to ask mom for one, ha ha. What a polite child I am raising! I am glad she did not just tell her new friend that the piercing was silly. When we pass smokers she does like to inform them that it is not healthy to smoke. Things just come out of this child's mouth. She is like me  though, first I say and then I think about what just escaped my brain. Sometimes it is awkward.

Erin's kindergarten year ended on a high note. Her grades were perfect (if grades in the kindergarten count for anything) and she loved being in school. She came out reading, doing basic math and singing song about the mother duck who sent her children over the hill. She was sad to part her ways with Mrs. Keddington and some classmates but hopefully some of them will return for the next year.

I could not be happier with Aristotle Academy. It turned out to be a great school for her and  I hope it will continue. 

As of right now Erin's aspiration in life is to become a circus manager and a ballet dancer (after one of the girls during the graduation party mentioned it Erin and every other girl added it to their goals in life).

For the past year since September Erin has been attending Taekwondo studio where she just tested and passed for a white/yellow belt (the last step before a yellow belt).

Can you spot the only girl getting a new belt.

This is her third test and belt since she began. Andrew and I hope that she will stick with Taekwondo. It has really helped her with her behavior an focus. I would like to say that Pooky became very disciplined and determined, but we are not quite there yet. By the way the tiny looking girl on the far left in black dobok, took gold in State sparring, beating up seven boys. This is what I want for my Pooky-being able to beat seven boys. By the way the defeater of the seven boys is competing in Nationals in Chicago this week and I hope she can beat seven boys on National level too. By the way Erin goes to Beyond Sports Taekwondo in Lindon and I love her studio! I'll do a separate post on them sometime.

 

We celebrated Erin's sixth birthday last week by having thirteen kids invade our home to play games, bash a piñata, eat pizza and open presents. This was Erin's cake--pigs in the mud. Can you tell she was excited, ha ha!

 

 





 

 

       



 

The birthday girl loved her party and I can't believe that I am a mom to a 6-year-old! Erin is a hoot, though a very strong headed hoot! She loves to argue and she loves being silly. Her video gaming skills exceed mine and she is good at coming up with excuses. Her favorite food is chicken with bones and bacon. She wants to have a cat and a dog. She loves getting haircuts and going out for ice cream. Her restaurant of choice is Applebee's, they make the best mac 'n cheese according to her. Gardening to Pook is boring, unless there are green peas to pick and eat. Clothes shopping is boring. Her favorite store is Costco, because they have samples. Monkey bars are on the top of her fun list and so are rides at a carnival. Watermelon can be eaten only as a triangle, all other shapes are unacceptable. She also recycles. Super friendliness and talkativeness are her best qualities. I am looking forward to new adventures with this monkey! The other day while waiting for her breakfast she sang to me " O fair lady! Is my bacon ready!" It was. She ate it.

 

I should probably go feed the zoo their lunch, so I will continue later, hopefully a-soon-kind-of-later. 

 

Ta ta for now!

 

PS: I"LL BE BACK (in the Terminator voice)

 

 

 

 

So it begins...The mystery hours

It is time to rock! Erin had her first day of kindergarten on August 21st with Mrs. Keddington at Aristotle Academy. I asked Pooky if she would like me to walk her to class, but my child declined. We got to the school. I got her out of the car and kissed good-bye. Erin put her empty backpack on and bravely marched to the door, where she was greeted by principal Peterson. He shook her hand and then escorted to her class.

Three hours later I returned to collect my student. She loved it there! According to her the teacher's name was Mrs. Cake. Also I could not find out what she learned or did at school, though by the presence of the grass on her socks I am guessing that at least part of the time was spent outside.  Also not one kid in the class had an easily remembered name though two of them were boys.

Of course I do not have a first day of school photo, because I am me and did not think to check the camera battery beforehand. Yes, my camera was indisposed on this very special day. Bah! However here is a photo after Pook's second day of school. She looks happy! This is how she looks at the end of each school day!

Erin's time at school is  a mystery to me. I am not used to not being there to witness every minute of her life. It occurred to me that those days are gone. More and more mystery hours are coming my way and I should hold on tight to the ones I am a participant of at the moment.

After two weeks of school I found out that she has been learning various songs, mastering the art of cutting with scissors, writing her numbers and letters, doing lots of coloring, matching, gluing, having story time and earning stars. Erin made a friend, but does not know her name. Her class number is 7 and she has had a chance or two to be the line leader on the way to class. Her turn to bring a mystery bag to class was last week and she chose a bunny named Allie (I hope she will take Danny's tooth next time). Erin gets a snack at school and also skittles when she fills a row with stars. The most important of course is that she loves going to school in the morning and is happy to come home in the afternoon.

Here is Allie

Danny has been asking about Erin's whereabouts each morning and seems to be satisfied with a reply that his sister is at school. He is always eager to go get her. Ah going to get her and dropping her off... So...having two charter schools on the same street creates a lot of traffic around 8. All the businesses must hate it. All of these folks trying to get to work in timely manner, stuck on 25 miles/hour street among minivans and SUVs, can not be happy with the way things are going, ha ha. I have learned to beat the rush by coming a few minutes before majority does. The school is about 7 minutes from home, 5 miles both ways. Not bad at all.

So far I am happy about everything and have words from Annie buzzing in my head "I think I'm gonna like it here!"

Ta ta for now!

Our tooth troubles

On Tuesday , around 7:30 pm our little man slipped and fell in the bathroom hitting his face on the toilet in the process. One of his front teeth got broken. Poor Danny cried, screamed and bled. We realized that his top right tooth did not look right and after he somewhat calmed down, called his dentist Dr. Howell, who I might add is awesome! At 8:25 Danny was laying on my lap with the doc looking at my boy's little toothie. It was broken, all right. The chomper split in half and had to be pulled. Luckily no damage to his permanent teeth was done. After collecting a prescription for Amoxicillin and being promised a phone call about the tooth extraction the next day we left.

Our little trooper behaved very stoically allowing the tooth examination, though when it came to X-rays he began to voice his objection. If there is any silver lining to this story than it is that to Danny the pain was bearable. For the next few days he resumed his normal activities though had to go without his favorite crackers and kakao. Only soft mushy foods were to enter his mouth and by that we abode. Erin agreed to conceal any candy in her procession. I must add that Erin screamed more than her brother when the injury occurred. Oh how did she cry and even came close to hyperventilating seeing Danny in pain. She tried her best to do her part in aiding us to get Danny to the doctor's office fast. She was first in the car trying to comfort her poor Danny after he got buckled up.

The next day after not hearing from the dentist's office I buzzed to see what was up with the arrangements for the detoothing. I was informed that he was scheduled for the 14th of September. Polite and dumbfounded I hung up and called Andrew. He told me to call back and talk to Dr. Howell 'cause this was too long. That I did not argue with and would have called as soon as the shock of the proposed "two-week-wait-to-get-rid-of-a-very-broken-tooth" would settle in. Anyhow after clearing the confusion Danny was scheduled to appear at the Utah Valley Medical Center (he had to be fully sedated for the event) on Friday at 12. No food after midnight and no liquids after 9. Now that was going to be interesting, but I would definitely rather put up with a cranky screaming toddler than with him ingesting his vomit. So fast my Danny did. He did great!

After he got up, he took a bath, then we went over to play with his friend Adam and then Caylee. We made it to the time we had to get Erin from school, and headed out. At that point Danny began begging for a yogurt, not expecting a denial. Now that was hard....But at least I was denying food not because I had none to give (just a thought).

We picked Erin up, delivered her to my awesome neighbor and friend Nathalie and headed to the hospital picking up Andrew on the way. So glad our Daddy could come! It made all the difference.

After getting admitted our wait began and lasted till three. This delay was expected 'cause everyone knows that hospital time is a few hours off. First we waited for and OR and next for our anesthesiologist to become available. Danny was not very enthusiastic about the place. At first he was curious, but when it came to vitals, getting the hospital jammies on and sitting on the hospital bed Danny began to wail. Then we just watched PBS kids. Fortunately Sesamie Street came on and as long as I held him Danny was somewhat content. I have to say that starving Danny is fairly docile. He weakly attempted asking for crackers and finally gave up. After my boy's last request his eyes filled with tears and bottom lip began to quiver. Gosh it was awful! We tried to kill time by walking outside in circles and finally it was Danny's time to go. Dr. Howell came, the nurse came and Chris-the anesthesiologist (with a monkey name tag clip). Danny did not like any of them, particularly the monkey clip guy and the way he addressed him as "Master Daniel" (I liked him though. To tell the truth the monkey clip did it for me, plus the fact that he has been knocking little people out for over a decade). Danny was given his sleepy meds and carried away. Did not like that! All we could do was wait or wait and eat.

I have been fasting along with Danny, Andrew was pretty starved as well, so we went to the cafeteria. I might add that earlier our nurse brought us three food coupons as a small compensation for extra waiting. Assuming that hospitals are a lot like airlines we intended to blow our newly found wealth on our meal and hope it will be enough. As it turns out hospitals are way more generous (but also expensive) than Delta or United. Each coupon was worth twenty-five buckaroos. So while our Danny was loosing his tooth Andrew and I feasted on grilled chicken sandwiches and other hospital delicacies, ha ha.

We made it back on time to speak with Dr. Howell who assured as that everything went great. the tooth came out clean and without much fighting. Danny was being woken up and should soon be returned to our care. That eventually did happen and we could not have been happier to be reunited. Danny was grumpy and groggy, but you can't blame him for that. He was offered some juice and Popsicle, which he wolfed down in record time. I think if some brave soul would attempt taking his treats from him he would bite them.

When we were leaving Danny's Popsicle leftovers fell on the floor and he cried harder than when his tooth was hurt, fortunately more of the icy goodness has been rushed to him and the tears seized. Then we headed home, where Danny boy gobbled down two bowls of chicken soup, a yogurt, a bowl of apple sauce and a tall glass of milk. The rest of the day was spent trying to catch up on playing with friends and finally sleeping. He had no side affects from anesthesia and when the dentist called late that night I could report that all was well.                         
     
And indeed all is well!

PS: Through this incident our boy acquired an adorable lisp. Without his "footh" he says "fifi" instead of "fishy".

PS: Andrew and I are cheap so for the next couple dates we are having our date night dinners in the hospital cafeteria.

PS: If you are not deterred by gruesome images than here is Danny's tooth in two pieces.

The beauty of freedom!

There is just one week left before Erin's school years commence. She is absolutely ecstatic about starting kindergarten, but of course she does not realize that it means her freedom will be somewhat kaput very soon. However, I am aware of it and am taking advantage of this time we have left filling days with various activities. We had no plans for Tuesday so in the morning I interrogated Erin about what she would like to do that day. Being Erin, my child informed me that she would be delighted to go to a beach.

"Bummer! We do not have an ocean, we only have mountains around here." 
"Than we can go hiking!" was her reply. So hiking we went!

After filling our water backpack and grabbing a few snacks Erin, Danny and I piled into our Bessiemobile and to the mountains we went heading east to the Battle Creek trail. The trail leads to a pretty waterfall and is slightly over a mile long both ways. Even our Little Monkey can manage that distance.

Everything did not go smooth. When we arrived at our destination I discovered that my silly child interpreted "Erin put on your pink shoes" as "Erin put on your pink flip flops!" Yeah! My bad! I ought to have checked before leaving house, but it was too late. At that point a couple hiking ladies came of the trail with their absolutely filthy dogs (No pun intended! Dogs have all the rights to get filthy on dusty trails leading to waterfalls), who looked like experienced kind of folks. Hence being new to this dragging a 5- and a 2-year-old to the hills I asked how long the hike took. After studying my crew and their attire the skeptical looking hiking ladies told me there was no way we would make it to the end, though we could probably get to the brook and splash in it. Challenge accepted, to the end we would go!

Up the trail we started. Erin pranced around like a wild pony and Danny walked kicking every rock in his path. I am not sure how many groups overtook us, but I did not mind. We were in no hurry in our flip flops and  sandals (The skeptical ladies also told me I would ruin my pretty sandals. Ha! They were wrong. I have already ruined them last summer. You can not ruin the same pair of shoes twice!) In about 20 minutes we came to an area covered in finest dirt I have ever seen! Kids were impressed, hence they proceeded stomping around and tossing it in the air creating a dust cloud. They looked like birds taking a dust bath!

After they became sufficiently filthy we moved on in the direction of a brook that became our second stop on this adventure. Danny kept walking, though as soon as he discovered that he could drink out of the backpack hose he insisted on being carried while slurping water out of that hose. The kid is a camel judging by how much he can drink when given the chance.

At the base of the brook Erin and Danny threw rocks into the water which amused them for a good 10 minutes. I have to admit that I myself am partial to tossing rocks in the water.

 

After this stop we continued until the waterfall (that the skeptical ladies did not think we could make to). I helped Erin on the steep hills and carried Danny here and there. I admit that more appropriate footwear would have made it easier, but we made it there even without it. So kudos to us!

Erin was delighted about making it to the top. So was I, particularly after cooling down in the waterfall mist. Can't think what is more refreshing than standing near one. Danny carried on with the rock tossing. By that time he was rather tiered and was happy to sit down. I considered offering the snack, but decided against it. I have nothing against eating with slightly dirty hands, when out in the nature, but Pooky's and Danny's hands stopped being "slightly dirty" at least 30 minutes prior. Snacks had to wait!

After resting a bit we headed back down. The view was stunning! If I were a poet than this would have been a proper moment to stop and pen a verse or two. At that moment, I was mostly a mom holding on to her kids tight so they would not face plant on a steep hill. On the way back Erin kept picking up rocks to take home, oh! and leaves, and acorns. I refused to store those treasures in my backpack (note to self: have her bring her own next time). I was tiered and hot, not a good combination for offering freight carrying services. Erin refused to leave anything behind and kept dropping and picking her load every few steps. Despite that we eventually made it back and were so thrilled to see our old Bessie. After we got home Danny boy went down for a three hour nap. My crew was exhausted, but happy. What else does a mama need!

Ta ta for now!

On the side note. I have so much respect for the pioneers who walked to these frontiers thought mountains and valleys, in cold and heat, with only little warm water to drink and not the tastiest of food to eat. I think about many children of 2- and 5-year-olds who had to make this journey on foot. What an exceptional generation they were!

Eat my dust!

As an early birthday present for her fifth birthday Erin received a bike from Grandma Olia and Grandpa Vova. She's been begging for one for a long time and even learned to ride one without training wheels a couple of weeks earlier. She's been borrowing her friends' bikes the entire month of  May. Her friend Jasmine turned out to be a great teacher!  In just a couple of days Erin went from training wheels to no training wheel and just a little bit wobbly. Going extreemly fast of course!
Finally she does not need to wait for a turn on a frien's bike anymore and is a proud owner of her own set of wheels. The training wheels got removed the next day after the photo was taken. Erin insisted!

By the way after falling off the bike and getting a bump on her forehead, Pook does not argue about wearing her helmet anymore. In fact she came to me after the incident and accused me of not making her wear it. Ha! this four-year-old has a short memory!

Danny adores Erin's new bike and tries to take a spin on it, though those efforts do not go past his attemps to set it upright. After he gives up Littel Moneky jut spins one of the wheels. He is more successful with the trike and the three-wheeled scooter. At this point he is too short to peddle or push hismself, but he surely tries. For now I push him around-he rides like a boss and I get a back ache!

Erin and her friends have races around the block and go way too fast for what should be a legal speed limit for kids their age. Anyhow, biking season is here and is very much enjoyed!

Ta ta for now!

Makeup anyone?

Erin got to my makeup. No need for comments here... The photos are rather self explanatory.

Ta ta for now!