The Tuthillo

Momsviews has another giveaway for a Tuthillo (prounced tooth-illo).

I have no idea when Brie will start to lose her baby teeth, maybe not for another year or two, but I would like to be prepared for whenever it happens. It looks like a great way to hold her teeth until the "tooth fairy" aka me or John comes to collect them.

The contest runs from May 5th - May 16th and a winner will be announced on May 17th.

One of the Reasons I Love Being a Mom

Just before lunch today I went out for a few minutes.

When I returned, Brie said that she had a secret but couldn't tell me.

I didn't really think much of that, as she is often quite secretive.

Actually she is very secretive. Whenever she comes home from preschool or dance we ask her about her time there. Most of her responses are something like "I don't want to tell you about it".

Need I remind you that she is only 4 years old?

She shouldn't be lacking in the communication area.

I think we are in trouble with her in the years to come.

Yikes.

Anyways, back to today...

So we all sit down to eat lunch.

Ella starts talking, like she always does. She is talking in a "whisper" voice for this entire conversation.

Ella: Mom, we're gonna have chocolate!
Me: We are?
Ella: Yes, it's for you!
Me: It is? (WOO HOO!)
Ella: Yes, but it's a secret
(John meanwhile is staring her down, willing her to stop talking)
Me: Oh. (Really, what else was I supposed to say at this point?)
Ella: So don't tell anyone.

What sweet kids I have. Brie knows to keep the secret, but she can't help herself to tell me that there is a secret. Ella, well....she just lets the whole cat out of the bag. It was quite adorable.

I guess I know that I'm getting chocolate for Mother's Day, but I'm okay with it. Part of the joy of kids is watching their joy as they tell someone a secret.

I hope all of you mothers out there can enjoy and appreciate those moments with your kids this weekend too. Happy Mother's Day!

Empty Spaces

I anxiously woke up way too early this morning awaiting its arrival!

I couldn't get back to sleep so I finally gave up and went out to the dining room to see this empty space for the last time.

I ended up pacing back and forth while the clock slowly ticked by.

Eventually the clock struck 11:00 am so I paced some more by the front window.

At 11:10 the phone rang.

I excitedly answered the phone, expecting it to be my delivery.

It was the delivery man.

He had bad news.

His stupid truck lost its starter.

How on earth does a starter get lost? Shouldn't it be attached quite well to the truck?

Now he can't come back until Monday afternoon.

After 22 years of waiting, I now have to wait another 4 days.

I WANT MY PIANO NOW!!!

Dancing Princess

Lately Brianna has been repeating everything I say.
Lately Brianna has been repeating everything I say.

It still makes me kinda giggle.
It still makes me kinda giggle.

But as you can imagine, it gets old pretty quick!
But as you can imagine, it gets old pretty quick!

Oh to be 4 years old again.

This weekend is her dance recital.

Up until this week I have really had no idea the dates or times for the recital. It has been driving me crazy not knowing anything.

I must say that this dance "organization" is certainly not organized! All of us "first time" moms feel so clueless and stressed out because we have absolutely NO IDEA what was going on for anything.

We are thinking of starting a support group for next years "first timers".

Seriously!

It was not fun trying to figure out stuff last minute. Even our group's assigned mom didn't have a clue. She was in charge of costumes and figured that she would go to a meeting or something to find out more info. Nope. Apparently dance is a "throw you to the wolves" type of organization. Yikes.

Well, now we know. The other moms must have been laughing at us...knowing that we were clueless, and that they too, had been there before. Thanks for nothing ladies!

The good thing about this all was watching Brie. At the dress rehearsal last night she was absolutely in awe of the older dancers. Her eyes barely left the stage. When we finally came home (after 2 1/2 hours and they had barely even started!! This is an entirely different complaint) she was twirling and dancing in the dining room for quite a while.

She just loves dancing! I am so glad that we have this activity for her. Usually if you ask her for a favorite of anything (food, book, friend...etc) her answer is always "all of them". She doesn't pick favorites. Except for color, which is red. And dance. She loves to dance.

Her little group of 6 kids carried little shovels and danced to "Hi Ho" from Snow White. It was absolutely adorable. Some were extra energetic and some were looking backstage to see what to do next. I wish I could have brought our camcorder but we have to buy the stupid DVD of the entire recital. It irks me that they sucker you in to buy the whole thing, but really what choice do we have? I want the video of her because it is so cute. Her age group is definitely the crowd favorite.

Now I'm also suckered in for next year. I can't wait to see what she'll be doing then.

Hopefully it won't be so stressful.

Live in Sask? Get a Free Tree!

On May 7 and 8, Sask Power customers can get a Free Eastern Red Cedar seedling by visiting any of their 29 customer service offices.



The Shand Greenhouse seedling programs play a significant role in reinforcing SaskPower’s commitment to encourage conservation as part of the corporation’s efforts to offset the impact of fossil fuel-fired electricity generation.

Vote For Tara

A friend of mine from college is a finalist for a $1000 Mother's Day prize! I love the picture that she entered of her son giving her a hug. It speaks volumes!

Take a second to vote for her! I know she would really appreciate it.

Good and Bad

Bleck! I am sick again.

I was sick earlier this week with horrible stomach cramps and related stuff.

Now I feel like a train wreck with the fevers and runny nose.

Agh! This sucks.

Wasn't it just last month that I dealt with the worst illness ever?

I am a miserable sick person.

Sorry that you have to "listen" to my whining.


Now that this is out of my system, here is some good news!

Last week while we were in Saskatoon I decided to buy some panties for Ella. She first started showing signs of being ready for potty training around 18 months.

I'm not talking about the signs that people from our parent's generation talk about. My mom, bless her, says that all kids can be trained by 18 months. Unfortunately this was back in the day of yucky cloth diapers that didn't absorb anything. Today's diapers are sometimes too good at absorbing so the kids never know or care about it.

Before Christmas, Ella was actually telling us when she had to go. I'm not sure what happened, if we got reliant on her telling us, or what, but we actually did some backsliding.

Yet she often wakes up in the morning completely dry. Very good sign!

The thing that worked best back when we trained Brie was to get rid of the pullups. Let's face it, they are no better than diapers anyways. The only difference is that they "pull up" instead. I remember finally getting to a place where I couldn't take the diapers anymore. So they got pushed into the closet and out came the panties. Best decision ever! She was fully trained in a couple of weeks!

Now I don't expect it to be this easy again with Ella, but it sure would be nice! She is a little more stubborn (okay she is a LOT more stubborn) but she really wants to be a big girl.

We are on day 3 of panties and today was great. We only had one accident the entire day. Very successful I would say. She still isn't telling us when she needs to go, but it will happen soon. And can I just say....without this being interpreted as perverted....that her little bum looks so darling in those tiny pairs of underwear.

Ahhh...I am just imagining our future days of being completely diaper free. What a wonderful time that will be!!