If At First You Don't Succeed....

...Go on Vacation!!

So - we get home to find that our youngest has been successfully potty-trained in our absence. Cheers to Grandmas and Aunties! :) Teeeheeee

TIP: The promise of some grand, sought-after 'prize' for successful completion, will help motivate late-bloomers in their potty-capabilities. Grandma's can be a great help with this piece. 

A QUOTE: “When a child is locked in the bathroom with water running and he says he's doing nothing but the dog is barking, call 911.” Erma Bombeck 

WHIDFML: Researched all of the possibilities... a few projects are in motion!

Maybe Age 3???

For the longest time I could swear that age 2 was my favorite age... So little still, and so innocent - and just figuring out how to hold a conversation and express oneself.... The way they talk at that age - just makes me giggle with welcome regularity :) But - I have to say that age 3 is creeping in on age 2 and JUST might take over! Here are a few of my current favorite words: 

~Hangburger

~Paper Tollow

~Neck-a-lace (3 syllables)

and choice phrases:

~Don't let the bed bites eat you!

~named a stuffed dog "Pooh Pooh Puppy"

~"My want to give you 'gassy kisses'" (blowing air against your cheek!)

These examples are just the icing on the cake! I feel like I'm laughing about it all that much more. Maybe it's because she's really putting words together - and speaking in complete sentences - but still harbors that innocent "baby-accent". Then again, maybe it has to do with the fact that she is growing more and more independent. Potty-trained. Eats her food (usually). Gets dressed by herself. Plays with her sister. These variables could also apply to general increases in overall laughter, I do suppose ;)

TIP: For pickier eaters - try offering 2 choices. Giving them the power to choose seems to make a big difference in how well it is actually consumed. And - you only have to offer what you know is readily available.

A QUOTE: "One way to prevent conversation from being boring is to say the wrong thing."  ~Frank Sheed

WHIDFML: Joel and I devoted some time and energy - and managed to replace all of our old basement windows! Mucho savings... on $$$ for windows + install, as well as on all of that previously wasted heat throughout the winters!!  Bright, beautiful, secure, energy-efficient, and soon - completely maintenance-free!

Clever Little Lady -

Right about the time you've absotively had it up to your brow with the excuses, and all reasons they need to talk to you and say "good night" just one more time... This little bug comes out bearing the big guns.
Adelyn: "Good niiiiiight! Don't let the bed bites eat you!!"
Mom & Dad: "Yes, Addie - now go night-night. See you tomorrow...."
Adelyn: "But my have one more thing to tell you!"
Mom and Dad: "WHAT???"
Adelyn: "My LOOOVE you."
OK - so now how do you possibly recover from that one? ;) With an...
"I love you tooooo!"

TIP: It's not only okay, but good, to share feelings openly. I grew up that way... Hubby did not. But these interactions have opened up a new world to him too :)

A QUOTE: "Where there is love there is life." ~Indira Gandhi

WHIDFML: Shared some art-time with my girls. They are such little art-tiests!

Kid-Speak!

Daddy: "Girls, how many hotdogs do you want?"

Myla: "HOTDOGS?!? I want like, a THOUSAND..."

Daddy: "I don't think you're going to be able to eat a thousand hotdogs..."

Myla: "Okay. Then I'll have 3."

TIP: Trader Joe's sells all natural, organic, non-filler-bearing varieties of foods that are typically considered to be "not the greatest". Hot dogs, pop-tarts, chips to name a few... Dig in & enjoy! ;)

A QUOTE: “I am a zizzer zazzer zuzz as you can plainly see.” ~Dr. Seuss

WHIDFML: Made a cheap, natural, yet crazy at-home concoction for taming the mane - and it worked! Mixed up some Avocado, Mayo, and olive oil... mashed until creamy - saturated hair. Left on (for some time... did things around the house with it all wrapped up in a towel) - rinsed, conditioned, slept overnight without washing - kept in braids, washed and conditioned the next day (also promptly washed the pillow-case!) - and it was all ultra soft and smoovits again. JOY! 

Keepin' the 'Girls' in Check!

Who us??         No wait - not THOSE girls!

You know... 'Da Girlz' - Arrrr, the two attached to the front of me chest! So - I've been needlessly mourning what I had though to be a significant loss - a full cup-size to be precise. Since nursing the little'ns, I couldn't help but notice a change. Turns out - I was just sizin' 'em up all wrong! While gravity is no longer a friend of 'da girlz' - (hence our little mix up in the bra-size department) - the strap just needs to be fitted more securely to the torso for effective lifting & shifting of what does remain. And so begins a new-found sense of gratitude for bras. I guess my hippie instincts were kickin' in for a while. Now, kinda havin' fun with them again! ;) ha!

TIP: If at first you don't succeed, try try again............................................

A QUOTE:  “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” ~Winston Churchill 

WHIDFML: Bought 2 new boulder-holders - with store credit besides! Yippee! 

Took a Sabbatical!

Been on sabbatical from writing, evidently! - But here I am ready to revel in my soul's further development via putting thoughts into words once again.
Been chip, chip, chippin' away at that list for a lust for life - otherwise known as our 'new year's resolutions'... I gotta say - they are still in full effect - and brimming over with success! 

Spent a week alone with my other half - making our way through cities and scenics alike. Spent a few days exploring Vegas (and the more rustic, lesser-known natural outskirts thereof.) Then, jumped in with all our Aces and rented the tremendously fun, bumblebee-yellow Vette Convertible for an 1100+ mile adventure from Vegas, over to the Grand Canyon, down to Sedona, and further south to Peoria, AZ to visit a good friend - then around to Vegas again before catching our flight home. 

Check out the photo-blog chronicles here! LV-AZ Roadies Blog

As my regular readers are aware ~ we are natural-born nature-lovers ~ and only required-'city-dwellers' ~ by career choice, and our desire to remain close to family (both spiritually, as well as by where we fall on the map.) [Though our patch of woods & water make it much more worthwhile.] Now, here we are, ready to jump in with both feet, 'getting away from it all', kidless for a week, serenity lies ahead, endless possibilities - and where do we begin our exploits?? Only the busiest, loudest, most brightly-lit, hub O' hubub known to our continent: the famed Sin-City. A friend even remarked about her surprise & discontent with our desire to venture in this direction. It got me thinking (more deep thought - comin' at ya!) - - While I wish there were (much) less of it, and I certainly wouldn't want to live anywhere near it, I still harbor some element of appreciation for the craziness (and let's just be real here - even stupidity to some regard) that man can conjure up as well. For me, it's like art. I adore art. I'm an artist at heart, and it influences everything I do on some level. While I may be more drawn to certain styles, mediums, or subject matter (nature photography, anyone?) I scan still ogle all of the zany, even 'messy', abstract stuff out there. That came from someone's mind, heart, and soul.... I may even LIKE much (if not most) of what I see... But,  it still doesn't mean I want to take it home with me and hang it on my walls! And so there you have it - your 'nature is to art, as art is to... overpopulated cities?' analogy. Have a sip of wine. It'll make more sense!

The nature-therapy was inexplicably fulfilling. Still reveling in the aftermath (er, new batch of hundreds of surreal, breathtaking depictions of God's handiwork captured on digital 'film' to cherish forever!) Couldn't be happier about our uncanny ability to unconsciously time stellar sunsets with our arrivals to the Canyon, Sedona, and a drive through the mountains, camera in hand all the while!! The entire drive, once outside of Vegas, and once outside of the Phoenix area again, was ever-changing, eye-catching, natural terrain. A-MAZ-ING.
 Talk about happies!

Joel's hooked, and it has been deemed the first of many, many more expeditions to come! We have our second annual 'couple-trip' picked out for next winter, and our summer outing with the girls and camper in tow being mapped out slowly-but-surely as well! We always have to make time for the Gunflint Trail in there. Our home away from home! We literally go through withdrawl when we don't get up there for too long... as there truly is no substitute.

We came home better parents... Renewed, awakened, well-traveled, and well-slept. Breathe deeply with me: Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Mmmmm, hmmmm. Feels nice. Learned more about ourselves, each other, and life.... in just one week! I highly recommend it.

TIP: Parenting is a full-time job - with many perks and benefits, but comes with limited 'breaks'. Make breaks happen. It's necessary for all involved. If you're in a relationship - you need to make time for that person too.

A QUOTE: "By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off.  They are the great vacationless class."  ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

WHIDFML: VA-CA-TION!!

Wishes

Isn't it destiny? I mean, when you are barely on schedule, just keeping up by a split-hair, something hair-splitting is bound to occur.
Today - I have many, many happies to celebrate. I did make it on time to get the girls to their grandparents' house - and on to their kiddo class at the local park. I successfully completed all tasks on my to-do list today - and then some, not the least of which involved the successful receipt of a filling at the dentist - without the use of Novocaine! (Any avoidance of needles or injections is always a welcome pause for celebration!) I am also in the midst of setting up meetings to add to the team at Denise Mack Photography with some stellar folks, and am about to write a proposal on a book idea for future submission! Things are falling into place with grace....
Enter, early-morning-hurried chaos, and BAM! There goes the freshly poured cup of juice, down the table, onto chair, floor, wall, feet of table, the instigating child's prized puppy.... too many places to admit to.
As I'm grumbling, on hands and knees, scrubbing aforementioned surfaces... Myla says to me, "Mommy, it's okay - you can just clean it up faster with a bigger paper-towel!" In reply I breathed, "I wish it were that simple, honey - but we're going to be late..."
Then, the real miracle makes itself known through the innocence of a child, "Mommy, you shouldn't wish about juice... You should wish about things like - - unicorns." Not sure whether my attempt at instilling such values into her has been already rubbing-off, or whether she perhaps intuitively harbors such innate life-skills. Any way you look at it, it was a good reminder to me... I realized then, that I ought to begin my wishing for a painless dental visit, not involving needles or fainting - and stop 'crying over spilled milk'... I have to say - it was truly the only negative in my entire day - and it was very small. Gotta remember to practice what I preach about sweating those mini-diversions found within each day. :)

TIP: Staying calm rubs-off onto tiny humans. :) Then, when you need a little calming - they might be able to help you out!
A QUOTE: "Be as you wish to seem." ~Socrates
WHIDFML: I think I've listed a few above - to hold me over for quite some time ;)