Monday, June 28, 2010

UPDATE!

The girls did AWESOME their first night together!  At first Alaina was upset because she thought the big bed was put in her room for her.  Oops!  But she got over it.  Paige went right to sleep after a few minutes of Shushing Alaina.  Alaina jabbered for about an hour, then went to sleep.  And the best part. . .we had to wake them up at 8:30 to get them ready to go to Nana and Papa's.  We'll see how it goes in the future, but for now it was a homerun!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Fruit Basket Upset!

Paige's old room, now rearranged

I really wish I had taken "Before" pictures, but, alas, I didn't!  For the last couple nights Alaina has been crawling into bed with Paige after we do our bedtime routine, pulling up the covers and proclaiming, "I sweep here!"  We have been letting them have 10 minutes together, then we go back and take Alaina to her own room and crib.  This has not been fun.  Alaina cries and I am heartbroken.  We have been saying that Daddy and I need to talk about what we are going to do.  We got bunkbeds for the girls last fall and they have been up in Paige's room.  They can be separated into two twin beds and as we are NOT ready to move Alaina from the crib, we thought it best to put one of the beds in with Alaina.  This way the girls can get used to sleeping in the same room, but with Alaina still contained.  We left the other bed in Paige's old room in hopes that if it doesn't go well, we can still have her sleep in another room.  I really didn't have time to redo any decor, we just moved furniture and toys to accomodate the change.  Eventually, we would like to bunk the beds with the girls in the same room, and use the other room as a play room.  Only time will tell, how this all will turn out!
Still Paige's old room.  We plan to hang the star above the bed.  The door is the closet.
One more shot of Paige's room, the closed door goes into the bathroom.
Formally Alaina's room. . .now the shared room.
Pray for us!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Summer Swim Lessons!

This is the 3rd round of private swim lessons for Paige and 2nd round for Alaina.  The girls love it and have learned so much.  It is so exciting to see Paige voluntarily try to swim with her head in the water, when 6 months ago she was like a monkey and wouldn't leave Amy's (her teacher) arms.  I feel like swimming is a life skill that kids have to have.  I want my girls to be confident in the water and they are quickly learning.
Paige learning to float.  She is a very cautious kid and is nervous about trying new things.  I'm sure when she figures it out, she will have it for life.
Alaina patiently, or not so patiently awaiting her lesson.  (Don't mind the drool or crusty nose!)

Alaina get sooooo excited!
Here is Alaina going under.  (Sorry about this pic Amy:) )
After their lesson they get to sit in the hot tub.  I think I may have to join them on Friday!
Paige distracting Alaina.  I love that the girls are friends.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Wordpress?

I'm thinking of switching from Blogger to Wordpress.  Does anyone have any pros or cons to one or the other?  I would love to hear feedback.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

While we were eating. . .

The other night Mark and I went out to the Casino to get his free birthday buffet and $10 to play.  We aren't gamblers and actually only played the money they gave us and came home with $13.  I know. . .Big Spenders.  Anyway, we were there a bit early and went to check out the pool.  There was a line up at the pool and a sign that it closed at 6 for the concert.  Okay!  One of the men in line said to us, "Right now they are doing a sound check, the concert is at 8."  I replied, "Oh good, we just want to look at the pool!" and we walked in.  We did recognize the song playing, but didn't know the band.  Off we went to the buffet.  We were there about 20 minutes when we noticed some guys standing outside the room.  Mark mentioned that they looked like they were in a band.  Then, they were led into the room where we were and seated right behind us, with security.  We still had no clue, so when they got up I mouthed to the ladies by us, who were going ga ga and asked them who they were.  It was. . .are you ready. . .Peter Noone with Herman's Hermits.  I know, that didn't mean anything to us either.  We were seated closest to them, so a couple ladies kept "joining" us for supper to get pictures.  All in all, it was pretty hilarious.  I made Mark go out to the Swagger to get my camera.  I couldn't post this without pics.  I even put a couple of there songs on the playlist, so if you have your speakers on, you are listening to them.  I love Mark's expression in the second picture. 

Thursday, June 3, 2010

R-E-S-P-E-C-T . . .

find out what it means to me!

Here is my problem.  Kids don't respect adults.  What is the deal?  We were at the park the other day and there were some older boys there and by older I mean around 7-10 years old.  (I am also a bad judge of age.)  Alaina was at the top of the slide, several times, when these boys would come over to the slide and proceed to run up it. . .with my 2 year old daughter sitting at the top.  Each time I asked the boys to turn around and come back down so she could come down.  They looked at me and kept right on going.  WHAT?!  Several times they would even say to me that they were just going to the top.  Really?!  I wasn't even all that nice after a while and still they kept it up.  And this isn't the only time I've had this problem with kids.  I LOATHE this behavior.

#1 - I don't think kids should climb backwards up the slide regardless if there is someone at the top or not!

#2 - Even if the kids are allowed to climb up the slide, if an adult asks them not to, shouldn't they stop?

#3 - Where were their parents?

#4 - Why aren't kids being taught to respect adults, no matter who they are?

I've found my biggest pet peeve is when I've asked a child to do or not do something and they totally ignore me.  I seriously can't stand this.  I want my kids to respect people.  All people!  I know that I don't have perfect kids.  I know that first time obedience is severely lacking at home, but I hope and pray that my kids will respect other adults and do what they ask, even if they don't want to.  (I know that there are instances out there where this could be dangerous, but I'm not talking about those situations right now.) 

So, if you are ever around my children and they are acting disrespectful towards you or another adult and I don't see it, please tell me. Respecting others and their property (which is a whole different post) is a life lesson that needs to be taught and learned.  These are just my thoughts for the day. 

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Unexpected Guests!

On Friday morning my Dad called me.   He, my mom (it was her birthday), and my sister were supposed to spend the weekend with my brother James, his wife Jenna, and their baby Olivia.  Well, it turns out James had been sick all week (but was better), Olivia had a cold, and Jenna was sick.  So going to their house for the weekend was in question.  So my parents decided they would like to come to our house, which is only an hour from my brother, in hopes of at least seeing Olivia for a few hours over the weekend. 

So my parents and sister came Friday night and James decided to just bring Olivia up on Saturday to be with us and let Jenna rest at home.  He stayed over Saturday night, too, Olivia's first night away from Mommy.  It went well.  I got up in the night with James to help with Olivia.  I know how it is to be up in the night with a crying baby and just wanting to know you have help.  It took me back and I'm definitely thankful my girls sleep now.  So we ended up with a houseful for the weekend, but it was fun, and we still got to do everything we had wanted to do. . .which wasn't much. 
Papa decided to buy the girls a Slip-n-Slide.  He, Aunt Amber, and Uncle James spent a lot of Saturday afternoon playing with the girls in the water.
Nana spent the afternoon giving James a break and taking care of Olivia.  (I don't think she minded!)  By the way, Paige still wants to keep her!
Off to the races . . .the girls thought this was hilarious.  I was a little nervous they would slip with the girls, but they didn't!
It is hard to see in the picture, but Olivia sucks the same two fingers Nana, Aunt Amber, myself, and Alaina sucked.
Getting tickles from Papa!
Little Miss Spunk decided she hadn't had enough of the water and wanted to go back in.  That is her stubborn, I'm going to do it anyway face!
Paige's favorite pasttime. . .playing chase!  Thank God Uncle James was willing!
Sweet Girls!
Little stinker still playing in the water. . .she was drenched by bedtime!
But you gotta love that face!
Paige had her 1st smore at the campfire Saturday night.
She ended up just eating the chocolate out.
Before Uncle James went home, Nana read all the girls a story!  Thanks for the great weekend everyone!