Small Miracles

There weren't any miracles to be had on the basketball court last night. For the remainder of the tournament, we'll be temporary Butler fans.
At least we didn't have to experience the agony alone. Nick's brother, Nate, came to our house to watch the games; and Nick's friend, Ryan, from UW Pharmacy School was in town (he is currently working at Duke University's School of Medicine) so he joined us too.

Duke will be back next year, and we'll hold our breath and hope that Jimmer's game translates to the NBA.

Things weren't all bad for us this week, though.
I cannot remember the last time that Nick and I were able to take the family out to eat without having Reagan throw a tantrum of gigantic proportions.
For that reason, we have either been getting take-out to eat at home, or we get a sitter for Reagan when we dine out.

I was questioning our sanity when we decided to take the girls to the Gateway for dinner. It has been ages since we even dared take Reagan near a restaurant.
We decided to eat at California Pizza Kitchen, so that we could make a hasty exit, with our food, if need be.

I am hoping the evening wasn't an anomaly, because Reagan did very well during the entire meal.

I documented the occasion by taking pictures with my iPhone. Hence, the phenomenal quality.

Good Grief! My child needs to have her bangs trimmed.

As a reward for her exemplary behavior we took her to the Planetarium after dinner.
Reagan was entranced by the giant gumball machine.


She enjoyed the moonscape so much that she wanted spend the night there.



As always Elsa was happy just to be along for the ride.

And we are happy that she is with us on this crazy ride!

Running Me Off My Feet.

I wish the fast-talking "Micro Machines" spokesperson were available to convey this post to everyone, because oh-boy! have we had a busy week.
Deep Breath.
And:

It started off with Elsa bestowing her cold upon Reagan and me. We took both girls in to the pediatrician, Reagan for her Eczema; and Elsa for (what turned out to be) an ear infection, on top of her cold.

The very next day, Reagan started showing signs of pink-eye. The doctor's office was kind enough not to make me bring Reagan in, they just prescribed meds for her. We did a good job of keeping the infection contained, because Nick, Elsa, and I never got it. Icky stuff.

Nick and I celebrated our 6th Wedding Anniversary! Nick had to work on the actual date, so we waited until it was his weekend off, and then we went to dinner at Takashi (HEAVEN!); and stayed the night at The Little America.

We had a giant snowstorm! The following pictures are the beginning of it. The next day, we had a good 8 inches on the ground. And the day after that, it had all melted.

Elsa even made a trip outside, to see the snow.
She was (mostly) wrapped in Nick's jacket.

Nick's good friend, Randy came up from NM for a visit; and brought his three daughters: Camille, Sabrina, and Ashley, with him.

The evening of the first night that they were here we went to Pirate Island (think: Chuck E. Cheese, only with a pirate theme) with the West's. I think the kids loved it. And the pizza was a lot better here, than what they serve at Mr. Cheese's. My camera battery died upon arrival, so I didn't get any pictures.

The second day that the Wallwork's were here we went to the zoo.

This was such a great photo op! If you can't tell... There's a Cougar posing in the background.

Too bad they don't have any Blue Devils at the zoo, otherwise we would have taken a picture with it too.

We love NCAA basketball in March.

Randy runs his own catering business, and on the third day he put his chef skills to work; cooking us a mouthwatering lunch. He prepared Italian Sodas, Chicken Caprese, and the most amazing Fettuccine Alfredo we have ever tasted!

Another day, we took all of our girls to the Treehouse Museum. Nick bought Reagan a 1 year membership (it's about time!).

Finally! I managed to get Nick to take a picture. Sometimes it's nice not to be the primary photographer.

I babysat my handsome nephews the morning after the Treehouse Museum.

Lance is so good with Elsa. He adores her!

That evening, Nick, Randy, and Brian (my brother) went on a "man-date" to Wing Nutz. I stayed home with the girls (all FIVE of them). We watched a movie and ate junk food. I hadn't planned on letting Elsa partake in the calorie fest, but Ashley kindly decided to share her Cheetos with Elsa.

The Wallwork's returned to Albuquerque on Thursday morning. We'll see Randy, and his wife: Stephanie in NYC when we go in May (their trip will overlap ours by one day).

Thursday was St. Patrick's Day. I dressed the girls in their green attire, and thought it'd be delightful to get a picture of them together. As always; Reagan had other plans. I do not understand the child's aversion to having her picture taken?

At least I have one little girl that loves the camera!

Later in the afternoon I took my girls on a play date to Jacki's house. Jacki has been my friend of mine for ages, and she has two handsome little boys. She runs a very successful blog, newly renamed: Mama's On A Dime. If you haven't checked it out yet, you should. It's fab! I have a link to the site on the left side of my blog.

I've been taking a Love and Logic parenting class on Thursday nights, at our local elementary school. Last night after class, I arrived home just in time to kiss Nick goodbye as he headed off to his late-night basketball game. This game was for the regional championship. Nick's team lost by two, in OT. I'm hoping that next year they will schedule his basketball games at earlier times so that I can actually attend.

After all of that, we were pretty well "spent".

Nick has to work this weekend, but we're hoping for a little relaxation next week.

Go(ing) Bue!

Exhilarating basketball season? Check. At least, that is; if you are Duke, or Cougar fan.

Duke Blue Devil flag, flying in front of our house? Check.

Pulling out all of the stops to show my "true blue" support to the teams? Check.

I had the permanent blue hair extensions put in the week that Duke was ranked #1, and BYU was ranked #3. Now that both teams have moved in the rankings, do I regret my decision? NOT A BIT!

I also do not regret agreeing to let Nick name our son (that we will probably never have- and NO this is definitely NOT some sort of announcement- it's all hypothetical.) Jimmer. Nick said that his given name could be "Jimmer", and that he would go by "JJ". Thereby making the fictional kid a shoe-in to be a basketball great, since he'd be named after two phenomenal b-ballers.

My Dad asked Nick who he would cheer for, if Duke and BYU ended up playing against each other? Nick didn't even hesitate, and said: "Duke". I never thought I'd have a "house divided" situation. But if this unlikely match-up did occur??? Well, lets just say that Nick and I would be on different ends of the blue spectrum, so to speak.

Snot(s)

The bulb-suction has been working overtime at our house. Elsa seems to have a never-ending cold, and I find myself constantly using the scary (but efficient) device to clean out her nostrils. Again, funny how different my daughters are. Reagan would start sobbing the SECOND she even saw the bulb-suction. Elsa, however, obviously doesn't enjoy having her nose worked on, but she never cries.

And even, mid-cold, look how happy she is!

She is my angel, with a little snot (at the moment).

Reagan, well.... she is my angel that is a snot (sometimes).

This week (because she can't seem to make it 7 days without getting in to some sort of mischief) she decided to make a sandbox, in my kitchen. But since she didn't have any sand readily available... she used the kool-aid-ish pink lemonade.

Earlier in the week, we met up with my friend Emily, and her son Connor and went to "free day" at Hogle Zoo. The place was jam-packed with other people taking advantage of free admission. And I really think that both Reagan and Connor were more interested in things other than the animals. If it hadn't been free, I would have felt completely "jipped" because Reagan found far more entertainment playing in the snow on the sidewalk, and watching a little stream; than she did looking at any of the animals.

Elsa had a pretty good time too. I think she looked at more of the animals than Reagan did.

The weather has been a little warmer lately, and I've tried to get out, when I can. This morning I needed to drop something off at a neighbors house, so I figured we'd take a walk. I put Elsa in the stroller, and then Reagan informed me that she wanted to ride in the cargo basket.

It's not designed to have a child ride in the basket, and the sides kept falling down. So, I grabbed a tie-down from the truck, and jimmy-rigged the basket so that it would stay up.

I do have a tandem stroller, one that I love; in fact. But Reagan didn't want to ride in that stroller. For the sake of timeliness and efficiency I just did things her way. What do you know? She stayed in the basket for the entire ride and didn't act like a snot.

Review Month Two

Progress!

Both Nick and Reagan's pediatrician said that I ought to give the "potty training push" a rest. Her pediatrician said that we were "locked in a power struggle" over it. Here's my surprised face (for those of you who can't see me, my face is NOT contorted in to a shocked look). Reagan and I have been doing the power struggle thing since the day she was born.
So, I resolved to not mention potty training for a month.
That was on a Monday.
On Wednesday, of that week, I took Miss R. out of the tub in the morning and was letting her run around in her hooded towel. I started doing other things, rather than getting her dressed. And before I knew it, probably an hour later, Reagan came TO ME, and told me that she needed to use the potty.
The weirdest part..... she actually did!
I figured I might be on to something, and so I didn't put her back in a diaper. I knew I was taking a HUGE risk (ie- the possibility that she might pee on my floor), but; for the sake of experimentation I threw caution to the wind.

I am happy to report that Reagan has only had a single "accident" (and that was because she was playing, and told me she needed to go, a little too late. The accident happened on the way to the bathroom :( In the past six days.
Maybe it isn't a fluke? A few days later, I was in the nursery, putting Elsa in her PJ's and I heard Reagan in the bathroom, lifting up the lid on the toilet. I walked in to the bathroom just as Reagan was putting her little potty ring on the toilet. She was taking herself to the bathroom!
I have still been putting her in a diaper during naptime, and at night. The funny thing is, that she has promptly "pooped her pants", the second I put a diaper on her at naptime. Any suggestions from other Mom's out there, as to how I can remedy this?
I'm not brave enough yet, to take her in to public sans diaper. If things keep up this way, though, I may venture out on a short outing next week. Please pray for me!

On the weight loss front... I did better in February. I actually dragged myself out of bed at the unholy hour of 5AM, and went to the aerobics class. But that only happened one time. After my first successful trip, Elsa started waking up at 4:30AM! I cannot function during the day with a 4:30AM wake-up call. I didn't go back to the aerobics class, instead; I went back to bed.
Elsa only performed these antics for a week and a half (thank heavens!).
But I am beginning to think that the child has some adamant desire not to have a skinny Mom?! I mean, my pregnancy with her lead to the deterioration of my thyroid- AND THEN, she starts pulling a weird sleep habit when I get the resolve to work out? Hmmmm?
Nick, wonderful husband that he is, has agreed to get up with Elsa (if she wakes up early) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So that I can run on our treadmill @ 6:30AM (a much more manageable time for me). I did three miles yesterday! I'm not going to disclose my time, because it was seriously scary, and I did not run the entire time. But it's a step (or a stride :) in the right direction.

My spending fast isn't going strong, but at least it is going. For the month of February I only managed to cut our expenses by $157. I bought Nick two pairs of wrinkle-free work slacks (because I hate ironing his existing ones), I bought myself a new pair of corduroy pants, and I went a little crazy one day and ordered a bunch of outfits and swimsuits for the girls to use when we take our trip to Disneyworld in November (because neither of them have "summery" stuff for that time of year).
On the flip side... I refrained from purchasing new hair devices, when my flatiron and hair dryer went out (instead, I used ones that I had on-hand). And, there was a big online sale on Veggie Tales DVD's. I caught myself just in time (I had six of the DVD's in my cart!) rather than completing the transaction, I closed the screen.
Wow. After typing it out, I am amazed at how little resolve I have.

I'm going to buckle-down in March. I don't want to continue sounding like a justification'er (I know that's not a real word, but you know what I mean, right?!)