Tidbits

Yesterday Abi lost her 2nd tooth! She came home smiling with pursed lips and I knew something was up. I asked her if she lost her tooth. She unzipped her jacket to show me her 'I lost a tooth' sticker on her shirt. They put her tooth in a little tooth shaped box on a necklace. She was so excited. She told me that she almost cried when it fell out because she was so happy.

Abi came into my room this morning with the Tooth fairy box because she wanted me to be with her when she opened it. I thought that was sweet. When she opened it she exclaimed, "50 cents! I can buy two gumballs!"

Maddy is growing up so fast and starting to say so much. Most of what she says is still gibberish sounding but occasionally a word will come out clear and I love that. Last night as were reading her favorite books, Too Purpley and Polly's Pink Pajamas, she was talking right along with the books saying things like "Polka dotty" and "Nink a namas" (Pink Pajamas). Some of the most recent things she has been saying are, "Nickey, Nickey"= Mickey, Minnie (meaning she sees or wants her dolls), "Aggy"= Raggedy Ann or Andy, "baf"= bath, "Apple", "Reassy"= Really (I asked her about something and when I said, "Really?" She said, "Yesss (with her lisp) Reassy."), and my personal favorite- "Yes siree!"

Maddy's favorite song

Maddy has a favorite song. It is by Owl City and is actually a pretty cheesy song about dentists. She loves it. I finally captured on film how she is just normal listening to the song before it but as soon as her song comes on the head bopping and finger waggling start!

It's kind of funny too because Abi was being silly and you can see how she is kind of annoying Maddy... very typical of our girls.

Apple Picking

Every year we go to a nearby apple orchard to go apple picking. It doesn't really feel like fall until apple picking day!

This year we decided to forgo the caravan over with our friends and just meet up at the orchard. We ended up getting a little late of a start though and when we got there we were stuck in a line to get in forever. Today was opening day for the Honeycrisp apples which are so yummy and once they are in the store are the most expensive. 

We parked near the Honeycrisp area and got out with our bag. Abi wanted to be responsible for carrying the bag...

We had a feeling that we might not see anyone we knew because of the long line we had waited in but right after we got there we noticed the Meadows family. Emma is one of the only other kids from our church that go to Abi's school. She is in first grade but they have recess at the same time so they play together every day. They are also in the same primary class. Abi was so excited to see her!

Maddy had never eaten a whole apple before. She had only had applesauce to this point because I worry so much about kids choking and for some reason she seems so much younger to me than she is sometimes. Doug grabbed an apple off a tree and took a bite so Maddy did too. She loved it!

As usual on apple picking mornings our breakfast was apples!

I have no idea how many apples Maddy ate but she kept taking them off and taking a few bites and then getting another one to hold in her other hand too.

Abi and Emma looking for the perfect apples...

See... Maddy usually had two at a time.

Last year Maddy was just a baby that couldn't even walk yet and this year she was picking her own apples! Time flies so fast!

Abi and Emma

Toward the end it had warmed up a bit so Maddy got to take off her coat...

As usual it was such a fun outing! It is one of our favorite Wisconsin traditions. We ran a few errands afterward and then I sat the girls down for a little fun I had planned. I saw some really cute sticker packets in the dollar section at Target and one of them was apple picking themed. So, I gave them some construction paper and the stickers and let them decorate!

Letting go

I love fall cleaning. I don't love doing it. Many may be surprised to know that I do not enjoy cooking or cleaning. I do them because I do love taking care of my family... otherwise we would eat mac and cheese every meal and live in a messy house. :)
The reason then that I love fall cleaning is because it is such a wonderful feeling to sit back and look at a room you just cleaned and know that not only is it dusted, vacuumed, windexed, and decluttered but that all the fabrics are freshly washed, the walls and baseboard have been washed, the window panes have been cleaned, the vents are cleaned out, there is no dust on the ceiling fan or the tops of furniture, the books have been moved and dusted under, the drawers have been emptied, cleaned and re organized. It makes it feel so much cleaner even if it looks pretty much the same.
I have really purged a lot of stuff this time around. I have only done the two main bathrooms and our master bedroom so far... today I tackle our closet and Maddy's room. Tomorrow will be Abi's room. Then next week I get to do the downstairs.
Yesterday I spent an hour or so going through all of my CD's. I had a period in the late 90's when I bought every CD that had a song I liked on it. And I listened to country music back then. What?!? It's true. I have looked at those CD's so many times thinking I should get rid of them but haven't. They aren't in cases. They were in those black zippered things that hold just the CD and cover. So, yesterday I went through all of them and got rid of so many CD's it is crazy.
I mean really am I ever going to listen to Mariah Carey, P.M Dawn, or Boys 2 Men again? Not likely. I still like some of the songs on the Faith Hill, Shania Twain, and Bryan White CD's but do I ever get them out because I am in the mood to listen to them? Nope. Every CD that went into the pile I thought " If I really want to listen to that song I can look it up on youtube."
Then there were some I really liked but as I looked through the songs in the cover I realized they really weren't appropriate. I like Avril Lavigne. She has been a favorite for years although she has become too much like all the other little pop clones in the past few years. I got out her CD's and contemplated. I decided to keep her first one because I really like it and have listened to it in the last year. The last one though- I got rid of. Why? Every single song except maybe one or two had swear words in it. I realized I would never listen to that entire CD with the girls around and that made me think I shouldn't be listening to it when they aren't around. So, it went in the pile.
Now I have gone from 4 CD holders to 1 1/2.
It felt so good. As I looked at the pile of past country stars, pop stars, and random one hit wonders I felt a weight lifted off of me. I don't know why I had been holding onto those for so long when for the most part I listen to my Mumford and Sons, Taylor Swift, Muse, and Owl City Cd's and every once in a while get out something else. But it did feel so good to look at that pile and know that I didn't need them and I wouldn't miss them.
However, if I had a New Kids on the Block Cd in there I would have totally kept it.

Fall cleaning, Head colds, and power outages shouldn't mix

This has been quite the week around our house!
I am in the midst of my fall cleaning and fighting a bad cold at the same time. But there have been some pretty funny moments mixed in there!
Wednesday morning I was getting a load of clothes washed in preparation for the day. I had visiting teaching to do at 10am and wanted to wash my jeans. I had more fall cleaning to do at Maddy's naptime (I can only deep clean when she is in for rest time so I have designated a room a day) so I wanted to wash a bunch of washrags. That day I would be cleaning our bedroom so I also had our curtains to wash as well as the sheets, duvet cover, and throw blankets.
The sun was starting to come up, the girls were awake, and I was just trying to get done as much as I could before I had to get Maddy out of her room. Abi was already downstairs watching cartoons. I was about to jump in the shower when the power went out.
I looked outside and there were no storms or anything so I figured it would come back on pretty fast. Abi came running upstairs about it and we got Maddy out of her room.
I decided to hold out on the shower until after breakfast hoping the power would come back on.
I mentioned to Abi after breakfast that I had no idea what time it was so I was going to run up and hurry and get my shower so we would all be ready for the bus when it came. She and Maddy were going to play in Maddy's room while I was doing that.
A few minutes into the shower I hear Maddy in my bathroom. I look out and she is holding the pink toothbrush from under the sink. She is just looking at it. This is the toothbrush I use for cleaning toilets. I had just used it the previous two days on both the upstairs bathrooms. I panicked. I have no idea how long she had that thing. I jumped out and got it from her, put it back in with the cleaning stuff, washed her hands, and brushed her teeth just in case.
Then I got in to finish my shower. Upon getting out and finding that the power was still out I knew I wasn't going to be able to blow dry my hair or get dressed since all my nice clothes were in the washer. I put on some yoga style sweats and a tee shirt and decided to look outside to see if any kids were at the bus stop yet. There was one.
I thought, "Oh I better hurry and get Abi ready." Then I realized the one kid at the bus stop had a Hello Kitty backpack. It was Abi.
I ran down the stairs to find the front door wide open. I yelled for Abi to come back inside. She had got dressed and ready and went out afraid she was going to miss the bus. Her outfit was fine but I helped brush through her hair better and then told her to sit on the couch and watch for other kids.
The power was still out.
At this point I was just stressed out. We had a friend of Doug's from high school stopping by while she was going through Wisconsin and I had told her to come by early in the day because Abi would be getting out of school early and I thought Doug could get home early. But he had told me that morning that he had a meeting at that time and wouldn't be able to get home until normal time.
I needed to tell her that but I couldn't get onto my email or facebook to send her a message.
I couldn't call her or Doug to have him do it because our phone is through our internet and therefore was not working.
I have no cell phone since we lost it at Doug's parents house in Utah and no one has found it yet.
I got Abi on the bus and played with Maddy for a while hoping that any minute the power would go back on.
Pretty soon I started worrying about my visiting teaching. I knew it must be getting close to 10 but I wasn't sure. Then I thought about the garage door. I went to see if it would open. Nope. I was stuck. (I know now what to do if I have to open it manually)
I realized I wasn't going to be able to go and they would have no way of knowing why. I couldn't get a hold of them to tell them I wouldn't be there.
Then suddenly the power came back on! I looked at the clock. 9:45!
I rushed upstairs only to realize I had nothing to wear except the sweats I was wearing or shorts. I opted for the shorts even though it was chilly out. I threw Maddy in the car and we rushed out.
Crazy!
I never did find out why the power was out.
I was able to get a hold of everyone I needed to and the day ended nicely. I was exhausted by the end of it but it is one of those days you look back on and just laugh.

Abi loses a tooth!

A few weeks ago I noticed that both of Abi's front bottom teeth were getting loose. One of them had the new tooth growing in behind it. Over the past weeks they have continued to loosen and now both of her new teeth are in behind them. She also has an adult molar growing in on one side. 

I have been bugging her to let me pull out one of them for days now. It has been so loose that it would wiggle back and forth when she laughed. 

Finally yesterday she let me get it out. Here she is showing off her small gap with tooth behind it and her tooth in her hand.

We immediately put the tooth into our tooth fairy box.

I bought a new mini Lalaloopsy a while back and was waiting for a special occasion to give it to her and we decided this was it.

She was so excited and it was so much fun to have our first visit from the Tooth Fairy!

This morning she came running into our room to show me that she got a whole dollar and a note from Flossie, the tooth fairy.

My favorite parts of the Proclamation

"All human beings- male and female- are created in the image of God."

"Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents..."

"...and , as such, has a divine nature and destiny."

"Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose."

"The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally."

"The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife."

"We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God's eternal plan......

'children are an heritage of the Lord' (Psalms 127:3)"

"The family is ordained of God."

"By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families."

"Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children."

"In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."

To read the Proclamation To The World in its entirety click here.

This post is linked up the Family Proclamation blog hop as part of Celebrate Family 2011 here.

Celebrating Family

Have you heard of Celebrate Family 2011? 

Last year I followed one of my favorite blogs as she celebrated the family. This year she is doing it again along with two of my other favorite blogs and one that is new to me. Today is the first day. You can follow along all month. It is going to be fantastic!

http://beinglds.blogspot.com/

http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/

http://www.theredheadedhostess.com

http://rovinroberts.blogspot.com/

Have a Six Flags day

Yesterday we went to the Six Flags close by for the very first time. Well, Doug had been there once a few years ago but the girls and I had never been. I've been wanting to go all summer but we just hadn't got around to it yet and I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend the money when I didn't know if we would like it or not. Then my friend Julie gave us some free passes they got on a stormy day that they didn't need because of having season passes. Doug wanted to try going on Labor day because he didn't think it would be crowded. I thought he was wrong but we decided to give it a shot. 

He was right! 

It wasn't crowded at all.

However it was a bit cold. Were we dressed for it? Nope. But a great time was had by all of us regardless and luckily we handle cold pretty well.

We got there right before opening and Doug got in line for the Superman ride he wanted to try while I took the girls over close to one of the kids sections to wait for opening. I told him just to meet us there. Abi enjoyed bugging Maddy and Maddy enjoyed checking out the map while we waited to go in to the kids section...

We had a great time and rode the rides in here a few times while we waited for Doug. All three of us got to ride in these strawberries that go up in the air and spin....

then we rode the airplanes...

Maddy didn't want to go on the bouncer so we watched Abi do it. She loves these kind of rides..

We rode around in the cars...

Abi rode in the tea cups. Maddy couldn't go on these

the girls played on the little playground for awhile...

then Doug showed up! We rode the airplanes again so he could ride with Abi.

then she wanted him to ride the Bouncer with her.

from there we headed out into the other sections of the park to ride any other rides that Abi could ride or we could all ride. Abi loved this one. She immediately wanted to ride it again and so I had to take a turn after Doug.

I hated that ride. I was so dizzy. I had to just stare at Abi's head so I wouldn't pass out from dizzyness!

Next, we went into the cartoon place and rode the Jetson's roller coaster. Again, she took turns riding with each of us because she liked it so much.

Here is Doug's turn...

Maddy liked watching her go around in this little Flinstone style ferris wheel...

I think these rides were a little boring to her after the roller coasters.

All of us got to ride in the mystery machine together.

Right after that we went on the log ride.Maddy was able to go on with us and there are no seat belts/ harnesses so how bad could it be? We get going and I look over to see the HUGE hill that the other logs are coming down. I will admit I had a few moments of panic. So, we went up a pretty big hill and down a little and went all around. It would have been pretty fun if I hadn't been worried about that last drop. Finally we got to the hill and it was so steep. I scooted up right behind Doug. (Abi was in front of him at the front of the log) I had Maddy in between us and I was holding on to her so tight to try to not only ensure she wouldn't fall out but that she wouldn't get soaked either. Doug was also keeping a tight grip on Abi. We were both (Doug admitted to me after) nervous because this hill was really steep.

We got up to the top and went around a few bends and then had the drop. Oh my word!

It was so big and we got soaked!

Doug and I both commented on how we were surprised they allowed Maddy on it. It was at that point that I said, "They wouldn't even let her on the tea cups." and we had a good laugh through our shivering.

Maddy was so mad at me. She was talking up a grumpy little storm. 

Doug and Abi went on a roller coaster after this and here is a picture of Maddy after she has forgiven me. You can see she is still a bit wet.

Here are Doug and Abi on the roller coaster...

We were all getting pretty hungry at this point and walked around the park to go back over closer to the pirate ship ride Abi wanted to do and the carousel. After looking at all the prices and realizing how much they charge for meals we asked Abi if she would be cool with riding her rides first and then leaving and hitting up McDonalds on the way home. She was all for it.

So, she and I rode the pirate ships. I had no idea I was going to get soaked again. But I did. Abi and I were shivering like crazy after this one.

Starting out..

Doug and Maddy trying to battle it out with us...

Abi firing at them. You can see the water on her!

She opted to skip the carousel... I think she was cold and hungry! We went to lunch and then came home to relax the rest of the day. 

It was so much fun and now we know we definitely want to go back again next summer!