IT"S A PARTY!

Don't mark your calendar or anything, it isn't the kind of party you want to attend... Today marked the start of Chloe's "potty party". Yes, she is not quite 2 and she recently acquired a baby sister, so most would consider this bad timing, but she has been ready for a few months now and I have been the one dragging my feet.

We have been hyping it up since last week - buying cute undies, picking out salty treats and talking about being a "big girl". I don't know that it got Chloe excited, but Morgan was ecstatic! After we bought the undies, he has been asking every day if Chloe is a "big girl" yet. To stop the broken record questioning, I told him that Chloe would have her potty party and become a big girl when he went to preschool next, so this morning when we told him he needed to get ready for school, he turned to Chloe and said, "I am going to school so you can learn to be a big girl and wear underpants!"

Overall, today went pretty well...lots of pee on the floor and a load of pee pee laundry were worth the excitement we all felt when she did pee in the potty - that one time! And the reward of a new lipstick (lip smackers) was pretty exciting for Chloe! I'll keep you updated as we make progress - yay for only one set of diapers to change!

Supermom Central

For any of you fellow moms out there, I thought I'd clue you in to a great mommy resource blog: Supermom Central. They have great ideas for kids of all ages, cute and helpful product finds and giveaways. This week is "Baby's Best" - advice and products for baby, and today the giveaway is a hotsling. Now that I have 3 kids and still ony 2 hands, I really need a sling so I can give Ruth's back to her, but I am having a hard time with the idea of spending $70 on one! So, thanks for letting me post about this to be double entered to win! :)

Pink and Red Day

Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday! While I do enjoy having a special day to celebrate how much I love my hubby and a special excuse to go out on a real date, that isn't the only reason I love this holiday. Really it all comes down to this: I love red and pink and I love them even more when they are together. For this reason, I usually celebrate Valentine's day by wearing pink and/or red outfits the entire 1 week before Valentine's and a week after. (I say usually because this year I do not fit into much of my pink and red attire yet - keep in mind that baby #3 is only 3 weeks old!) So, this year I have been living vicariously through my children. I got a cute little "heart breaker" t-shirt for Morgan from Old Navy and some cute red jeans with heart patches for Chloe (in addition to her existing wardrobe which is pretty much all red and pink), and even Brynnie has a couple of Valentine's day outfits that I have been dressing her in! Last night I even stayed up late making adoreable Valentine's bows for the girls.

And, as if the pink and red color combo weren't enough to make Valentine's day so fantastic, I also love hearts! I love decorating with hearts, I love heart accessories, I love heart shaped cookies and heart shaped sprinkles! Many of my Valentine's decorations stay out year round - just because I love them so much!

So, despite the fact that I don't fit into my regular Valentine's day attire, my V-day decor has only been up for 5 days, and even though my sweet brother and his girlfriend offered to babysit the kids tonight, I still won't be going on a date tonight since Seth is working, Valentine's day has still been great! Seth and I decided to get each other a freezer for the garage (super exciting gift, huh?) and then he surprised me with the new Fray cd (AMAZING!), I am taking him dinner and a fancy chocolate mint indulgence cake (thanks to April for the recipe) to surprise him at work, my kids look utterly adoreable (or at least they did for 5 minutes after getting dressed this morning before they ate anything), I can still wear my Valentine's day accessories, and I got to help Morgan make Valentine's for his preschool class! And, don't worry, there will definitely be a chick flick on at my house tonight - in honor of the love holiday!

Pinch Me

With the dishes washed (by hand) and the house in semi-order from a cleaning spree last night, I braved a morning of errands with three kids today. Granted, we didn’t leave the house until after 11:00 AM, but our very long trip to Target was virtually painless. Everyone stayed in the cart (unless they had permission otherwise), nobody ended up crying or hurt, and I was able to find everything I needed (including the perfect sheets for Chloe’s big girl bed for 3.95 a set – woo hoo!) before our trip was done.

To reward this good behavior, I took the kids to McDonalds – and we ate inside! Morgan and Chloe were ecstatic to have this special reward! When I am on my own with the kids, I never go inside. In fact, the reason we go to McDonalds is because their kids’ meal makes the smallest amount of mess in my car (thanks to apple dippers and the juice box offerings). So in we went - a toddler, a preschooler, an infant, a giant diaper bag purse and me - from the car into the doors and up to the counter to order. To my surprise, there were no kids darting off to the playplace and out of my sight, there was no scrambling in opposite directions or fighting with each other (well, there were, they just weren’t MY kids).

Instead, a very well-behaved boy and girl stood close to Mom and each other as they contemplated which toy they wanted in their happy meals. Then, they stayed very close to mom as we made our way to a table – with a tray full of food added to my load – and sat down. Both kids sat at the table and ate their chicken nuggets and apple dippers before playing with their toys or heading off to play and after I laid their food out for them, I was rewarded with a sweet little, “thank you Mom” first from Chloe and then from Morgan. After finishing their happy meals, they were off to play, politely introducing themselves to new friends, playing nicely and taking turns. Chloe even waited patiently at the top of the slide for a younger kid to stop climbing up the slide before she went down, all the while gently urging him to go up the stairs, not the slide.

Then it was time to go. Uh Oh…this is going to be a nightmare, I thought to myself. “Time to go,” I told them. Without a single complaint, Morgan got his shoes on, Chloe packed up her remaining chicken nugget and apples, and we all walked out to the car without incident.

Hmmm…maybe this errands with 3 kids thing isn’t as bad as I thought. Maybe the addition of a baby has incented Morgan and Chloe to be more helpful. Maybe they can sense that I need to feel like a successful parent for the afternoon. That is possible isn’t it? Quick, someone pinch me. I must be dreaming!

Ode to a Dishwasher

Oh sweet machine...

Though I've taken you for granted many many times before,
today, while you aren't working, I love you more and more.

I barely keep the dishes clean when you are in commission,
but without you to pull the weight, our partnership I'm missin'

The job you do throughout the day is one I really hate,
So know this now, oh sweet machine, YOU, I appreciate!

A soapy sink of dirty mess is not my cup of tea,
so please be easy for Seth to fix in the morning before he leaves.

(My appreciation for all you 21st century women who have lived or are currently living

without a working dishwasher has grown significantly today! You are my heros!)

Daddy is a Girl's Best Friend

I know the song says that diamonds are, but the song is wrong!

Today, I was folding laundry downstairs as Seth and Chloe played in Morgan's room when I heard Seth say, "Cheers! (the sound of clinking plastic glasses) Gulp, gulp, gulp... Chloe, that was so yummy!" I couldn't help peeking in to see what they were doing and sure enough I found Seth sitting on one of the kiddie stools at the little kiddie art table, surrounded by all of the play food dumped out on the floor as Chloe served him tea and cupcakes (She really loves that tea set, Nicole! Thanks again!).

"Having a tea party?" I asked.

"No, this is a party, party," Seth said, "With all sorts of food and treats!"

Who needs teddy bears or immaginary friends when you have a dad like that? Cute cute cute!

The Bachelor

I was just thinking this morning how I needed to post about this season's Bachelor when I saw Staci's comment on the last post requesting my thoughts on the subject. Of course, I am happy to share, so here it is: Jen's take on The Bachelor...

First of all, let me just say that last season from his first date with DeAnna, I was a big fan of Jason. He was just so real and sweet and happy and kind of dorky and such a sweet dad. I still think she was a total dummy for not picking him because he is a catch - in fact, I would say he is almost as awesome as my cute hubby! That said, I was really excited about him being the Bachelor, so I have been tuned in from the start. Then, when the first episode aired, I felt so bad for the guy having to choose from that pool of girls - so many psycho wierdos!

But, I think he has definitely narrowed it down to the best 3 girls of the bunch (I liked Stephanie, but I knew she wasn't a good match for him from the beginning). This is probably the only season where I can say that any of the 3 would be a good fit and I would be happy with his choice (because I am sure he cares what I think). And, when DeAnna comes to New Zeland next week, he better not take her back. She is not nearly as awesome as the 3 girls he has to choose from! I think that it will come down to Jillian and Molly in the end, but I really don't know who he will choose.

So, I am not sure when the finale will be, but I am guessing it will be March 2, and I am totally up for hosting a Bachelor Finale Party if anyone is interested! Leave a comment or send me an email if you are and I will plan it! :) I don't know why it is so fun to watch other people date and fall in love, but it is so let's indulge!

Amidst the Chaos

In the chaos of RSV, I have been failing to post the funny little moments that have been happening around here...

The other day, I told Chloe it was time for her nap, so she went in and put herself to bed...in the baby crib.

When I told Seth to grab the camera, Morgan dutifully grabbed his camera so he could capture the moment too. (P.S. The clutter all over the room is all the stuff Chloe threw out of the crib so she could get into it - I try so hard to keep my house clean and yet this is the background of every picture!)

Morgan is a little bit obsessed with primary songs right now. He loves to sit at the piano with the primary songbook open and "play" the songs while he sings. If he doesn't know a song, he asks us if we know it and has us sing it while he plays. Hopefully this enthusiasm will last through piano lessons in the future!

Of course, Chloe loves to join him and help!

Last night we were able to have my Dad and brothers over for dinner. Chloe was so excited to see everyone - especially after being cooped up all week. I love watching her cuddle with her uncles, and they love every second of it!

Brynnie got plenty of cuddles too. I am amazed at how big she is getting!

After dinner Morgan wanted everyone to play Wii, so they turned on Mario Kart and everyone grabbed a wiimote. Chloe wanted in on the action, so she grabbed a remote and started moving it around like everyone else...close enough, right? (And yes, that is my crazy brother sitting on my other crazy brother...life is so much more exciting with brothers!)