Random "F"oughts

I've given up trying to post pictures. I thought maybe I could put some on a thumbdrive and load them off the laptop but that didn't work either. It's totally frustrating me.....I can usually figure things out.

We are in the process of having our house painted. It's still going to be white but no more green shutters. They will be blue (oh surprise!) to match the trim on our shed. For those of you who don't know me real well, blue is my favorite color and there are 5 rooms in our house that are blue: the master bedroom/bath, the guest room, the girl's bathroom and the kitchen. The previous owner loved green, thus the green shutters.

The girls continue to keep me on my toes. Renee's behaviour has mellowed a bit this past month. AMEN!! I strongly believe in the power of prayer. I think my reaction to her has changed a lot too. She hasn't had me in tears for several weeks. In fact, I really enjoy my mornings with her while Kaitlyn is in school. She loves to play with playdough and we do that just about every day. She is a mama's girl at bedtime, unless she knows I won't be home. She will ask me, "Do you have a party tonight?" If I do, she is so good about hugging and kissing me goodbye and that's that. Kaitlyn still likes to do the cling-on thing, complete with dramatic tears. "I just love you so much I don't want you to go!"

Kaitlyn continues to love school. Miss Becca is all-knowing and poor Mom is NOT. One day she told me about something she learned at school.
K: Mommy, if you put a t and h together they make the "fa" sound.
B: You mean "th". You have to stick your tongue out a little. It's called a tongue cooler because you're blowing on your tongue. (I was so proud of myself for remembering some of my multi-sensory reading stuff.)
K: No Mom, It makes the "fa" sound. Samanfa has one in her name.
B: No honey, it's SamanTHa.
K: How do you know?
B: Because I taught second grade for 12 years and I know.
K: Well, you've been home for a long time. Miss Becca said it's "fa".

There you have it. I know nofing!!

Kaitlyn Update and Message at Midnight

Kaitlyn had her 5 yr. check-up last week. She gained 4 lbs. in the year too, just like Renee. She's up to 35 lbs. which is the 20th. percentile. She grew 3.5 inches and is in the 64th. percentile for height.

Last night I was indulging in one of my guilty pleasures: blog-stalking. I read a few from family members, friends and aquaintances and a few of complete strangers. One girl just gave birth to quads a month ago. Another is a stay-at-home Cnristian mom to 3. I love reading all the great writing styles. I have never been much of a writer. In fact, I hate to write. I struggled with that as a teacher because I didn't want my students to pick up on my aversion to writing. My father was an English teacher for close to 30 years but I did not inherit any of his ability. All of my siblings got it and there wasn't anything left for me. I am pretty good at the mechanics of writing though. Things like spelling, grammar, etc.

When I went in to tell Kaitlyn goodnight before heading up to my room, she woke up briefly. She stretched out her little arm to touch me. Here's our brief conversation.
K: Hi Mommy. You know what?
B: What Sweetie?
K: I love you. Then she went back to sleep with a smile on her face. Completely made my day!!!!

Look for some pictures soon.

She's on the chart!

Christine finally updated her blog so I better get on it too. Renee had her 3 yr. check-up this week. She was great about getting on the scale and letting them listen to her heart, etc. She weighed in at a whopping 26 lbs!! That's a gain of only 4 lbs. in a year. (I can gain that over Thanksgiving dinner!) But she is now on the weight chart, in the 8th. percentile. Height-wise, she grew 4" and is now in the 67th. percentile.

Kaitlyn absolutely loves school. However, she gets a nasty attitude almost everyday on the way home, complaining how she wants to stay all day. The fighting between them starts almost immediately.......drives me insane! She also started dance lessons and loves that too. There are only 2 kids in her class, counting her. The other little girl is only 3 (much to Renee's displeasure) and comes to class dressed in a little tutu outfit. Kaitlyn is lucky if she has sweats. But I'm sure the other little girl doesn't have the natural ability that Kait has. ☺

Kaitlyn's birthday is next Wed. Dirk has Open House that night so we're not celebrating until the following night. We'll be taking the plunge and going to Chuck-E-Cheese for the games, then to McDonald's and back home for cake. She's invited David and Samantha, her nursery school buddies. When I asked her about inviting Joshua she told me he knew all about Chuck-E-Cheese but she didn't think the other kids did so she wanted to take them instead. Renee is convinced that David and Daniel will be going with her.

I judge each day by how many meltdowns Renee and I have. We have such a rollercoaster relationship. I love when she falls asleep near me and I'm reminded that she can be very affectionate and loving. There are some days she has me in tears more than once. (Those new birth control pills don't help my emotions any!!) When she's by herself, she plays very well. Kaitlyn does too. But the 2 of them together can be dangerous. You never know what will set Renee off on a tantrum or how she will lash out. Pinching, hitting, biting kicking........any or all of the above. I just keep praying that someday (soon please) she'll outgrow this stage and the 2 of them will be best friends.

I have not been able to post any pictures from my mac. Any suggestions?

End of Summer

I have tried several times to post some of my favorite pictures from the summer but for some reason they won't upload. (Is anyone else having trouble upleading pictures??) So you'll have to settle for some cute quotes.

Sunday night at the lake we were heading up to the tabernacle. Dirk was already at the gazeebo on the laptop and the girls were on their bikes. Kaitlyn rode ahead of us so say hi to Dirk. Here's our conversation:
B: Did you say hi to Daddy?
K: Yes. But I'm getting older now so I call him Dad. It's a much older name.

Renee turned 3 on Aug. 25. (Sorry, no pictures. See above comment.) She was excited about opening presents but go all embarrassed when we sahg to her. As I think back to her vocabulary 1 year ago, I'm amazed at how far she's come! Last year she barely said mommy, let along sentences. I love to hear her say things like clothes, closet, driveway, van. Here's how they come out: flothes, floset, riveway, ban.

My children are exposed to Tastefully Simple products all the time. We love the food. Renee even recognizes the logo if it's on a mug or a shirt. I think she's gifted but Dirk says it's just product recognition. I took them bowling last week when Dirk was gone and there was a TS consultant at the bowling center. She recognized her banner. They had fun bowling. Thank goodness for bumpers.......but I should have gotten a few more strikes!

Stop the craziness

I can't believe Labor Day weekend is just around the corner. The summer has gone by quickly, as it always does. We have had a good summer, although there are days I would love to have a few hours to myself!! Some days the girls play wonderfully together. Other days the fighting starts almost immediately. I am looking forward to Kaitlyn starting Pre-K and getting back into a routine.

Screamin' Girls

I have not been good at this blog thing this summer. Sorry. I promise I will try to do better this month or next.

When Dirk and I first moved into our house, the girls across the street were fairly young. They used to be loud and obnoxious when they were playing outside or swimming in their pool. We affectionately called them the screamin' girls. Well, that title has now bitten us back!!! Today I was going to run down to IGA and Renee wanted to go with me. Not a problem, or so I thought. Yes, I was being lazy and was going to take the blue car. She wanted to go in the van and REFUSED to get in the car. So I told her I was going to go without her. She didn't care. She stood by the van and screamed. I wasn't gone very long but....you guessed it. She was still standing by the van when I got home, screaming. I had to carry her into the house, all the while kicking and screaming. She continued screaming in her room for another 15 minutes or so. Tonight at bedtime she screamed for 30 minutes straight!! That girl is one STUBBORN little girl!!

Sometimes Kaitlyn gets into the screaming act. She's much too old to be doing that! Can't wait for school to start. Sorry Becca.

"Daddy said"

Renee has been learning how to play her parents. Whenever she wants to do something, she'll tell me "Daddy said......" For example, when she wanted to have fruit snacks the other day, I told her no, it was too close to dinner. Her response: "Daddy said I could have fruit snacks." Of course, Daddy didn't say anything of the sort. Who taught her that???

The other night she and Kaitlyn were playing in the driveway. They started fighting over the fire truck. Kaitlyn didn't give her a turn quick enough so she took matters into her own hands. Or rather, mouth. Yep......she gave Kaitlyn a big bite on the upper arm. A full mouth imprint!! Luckily it didn't break the surface but it is still bruised 2 days later. Who is teaching her these things???

Kaitlyn and I were running errands the other day and were talking about going to Pre-K in the fall. I told her John wouldn't be able to pick her up like last year. She told me. "I know and I'm very sad about it."