One Word....

CONVENIENCE.

Yes. Yes, that is my not-so-dainty daughter kicking back after carrying her potty into the playroom, plopping it down in front of the tv and pulling her pants down for some relaxation. Too much time with her daddy? That's all I can come up with....

Bedtime Schmedtime

Hallie: "Mommy? 

Me: "Yes, honey?" 

Hallie: "Get me some juice.....(long pause).....MAKE. ME. HAPPY!" (insert furrowed brow and demanding tone)

I think that convo (well, if you can even call it a convo) basically sums up how things have been clicking at bedtime. Or I suppose I should say that's how they haven't been clicking. I was so proud of how well things were chugging along when we first introduced her big girl bed. "Bingo!", I thought. That was the ticket to getting her to fall asleep without putting up a fight. Psssh. Like anything and everything that has to do with parenting, it was only a passing phase....and I'm certain that this phase will be pass soon. (I HOPE!!!) The bedtime train comes to screeching halt every night. The conductors of that train are exhausted by that point. They would like to take off their train conductor hats and kick up their train conductor feet. They certainly don't feel like bargaining, arguing, disciplining the train's tiny passenger. Bathtime goes well. Pajama and teeth brushing time is a huge success as she likes to change pjs five times "brush the yuckies off" at least three times. But that moment we say "time to go to sleep"....well, it's just not good. A clean room quickly turns into a trainwreck with flannel flying and a very difficult stuffed animal selection process that involves tossing the ones that won't make it up into bed with her all around the room. Next comes the part where she asks for her newest addiction: the LeapPad. She's allowed to watch one video, then we read three books, sing two songs and those are the rules. Ba. Ha. Ha. Ha. Rules schmules. At times I terribly miss the crib days where she had no way of escaping her room. We've tried starting the bedtime routine at hour earlier and it always results in her falling asleep at the exact same time. The crazy chic has been staying awake until 10:00 most nights. Stubborn princess. She still uses her usual excuses about crackers and cheesesticks and this and that. She doesn't actually want any of those items nor does she get them. So what does she want?? Well, I'll tell ya. She wants her mom to read 20,483 books and her dad to make her stuffed animals talk and dance. I can't say I blame her....he cracks me up too.... 

Look out for Dora!

Some nights it's a breeze. No shenanigans. No silly excuses. Just a tired sweet girl who falls asleep with her head on her hand. Sigh.....

Other nights it's full of kisses and hugs and thank you's and your welcome's and ooey gooey goodness....

Then there are those nights that involves 100% effort from both parents to force her tired little self to give in and fall asleep. When she looks like she passed out it usually means it was one of those nights.....

It would be wrong to blame all of these bedtime issues on Hal gal. Another very important factor in our nighttime woes is a game Riley and I like to call "bedtime hero." Yes, we are childish and pathetic. But it keeps everyone laughing and smiling. So I know you're just dying to know what ridiculous sort of thing "bedtime hero", right? Well it involves us competing to be the last one to get a kiss/hug/sweet goodnight from Hallie. The last one out of the room is awarded the "bedtime hero" award for the night. No need to tell us...we are aware of how silly this is. But while I'm on the topic....let the record show that I have taken an overwhelming lead over cool dude daddy. It turns out mommy sings the best version of "Tinkle Tinkle." 

I don't really want to end on a "bedtime stinks and gives me a headache every night" note. So here are some sweet, sweet, unforgettable things about our night time routine. One of her favorite books is Llama, Llama, Nighty Night. She has memorized it from front to back and back to front. I don't read it to her anymore...she recites it to me. Hearing a child recite a book?!?! Ahhhh.....I just die. Songs...let's talk about songs. Some nights when I'm super lucky she serenades me with a sweet lullaby....usually rock a bye baby. Row, Row, Row Your Boat is a favorite bedtime song that she likes to sing as well. But my absolute favorite musical moments come when she asks me to sing "You Are My Sunshine" and "pay wif hair." The combo of stroking her pretty hair and my awful voice puts a very, very, very tired Hallie right to sleep. 

Ashley Squared + The Minis

I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that Hallie and I just spent a full weekend with one of my oldest friends and her sweet baby girl. I just can't quite figure out how we have already made it to this point in our lives. At the risk of sounding horrendously cliche, I must say it seems like just yesterday that we were having sleepovers, going to junior high dances, obsessing over Friday night movie theater seating charts, fretting over stupid boys, making up ridiculous dances, passing secret-filled notes between classes in the hallway, oogling over the football players from the sidelines as team managers and sharing anything and everything that was on our minds....because after all, we were the bestest of best friends. With this next statement I'm taking a big risk at sounding cheesy but I really don't mind.....it must've been fate that brought us two Ashleys back together. After years without talking it seemed that timing was on our side for us to reconnect in time to witness eachother's weddings....and as luck would have it we ended up in the same apartment complex as newlyweds....she and her husband moved into the apartment below Riley and I. Might I add that this apartment community was rather ginormous. Fate. That's all I can think to call it. It seemed this weekend as if we'd never skipped a beat. We were still those goofy girls but with little goofy girls of our own now. 

This was attempt #2 at girl's weekend. Attempt #1 ended up turning into this. Hallie and I prepped all day Friday for Ashley and Jaley's arrival. I was in hostess overdrive trying to make sure I'd crossed all my T's and dotted every I. There was nothing "off" about the day off. Hal and I were on the go nearly the entire day doing this and that. After a week that left me huffing and puffing trying to catch my breath, it was wonderful to put work to the side and focus on other things. I utilized her nap time for cleaning and making the enchiladas that we were going to eat that night. Hal napped for a record four hours which allowed me to get quite a bit accomplished. I even snuck in a six miler after Riley got home from work. Ask me how excited I was about that!??!?! ;) Our friends pulled into the drive around 6:30 and we ran out to say "hi" and get Jaley Kay out of her carseat. It sounded like she did great on the long drive and had a lap full of Cheerios to show for it. First things were first: Ash wanted a tour of the house. Hal was excited to show Jaley her bedroom and playroom. The girls got to playing right away. Hal had some problems pronouncing her name....it kept coming out like "Kadie"...which had us laughing....which had her confused. "Kadie" didn't seem to mind her new name though. So "Kadie" she was for the remainder of the weekend. Hal suddenly suggested a trip to the park and some oranges to take along for the ride. So that's just what we did......

Hal showed Jaley the neighborhood park and it was evident right away that they were going to get along just fine....

The park was a short-lived plan when Hal decided to wander back down the hill to her wagon and demand to leave. So we headed back home for what else but more PLAY TIME!!!

The one and only time I met Jaley was when she was a wittle bitty baby. I've watched her grow up on Facebook and admired her sweet face from afar. But let me tell ya, this little gal is just as sweet as she looks...if not sweeter. She wanted to cuddle with me and sit in my lap....unlike Miss Independent....

Grizzo's lap is a lot comfier than momma's I suppose

Dinner was finally ready so we all sat down to chow down. Hallie actually lasted an impressive fifteen minutes at the table seeing as how she had a friend her own size sitting next to her. I was one tired momma by 9:00 and more than ready for Lil Red's bathtime and bedtime. The girls didn't protest a nice long bubble bath, no sirree! They had a blast together!

"What!?! You mean "Kadie" is staying the whole weekend?!"

After bath was spent having one last sip of their cups while checking out the fun that the laundry room had to offer....

Now this is what I'm talkin' about!! Help with laundry!!! Yay!

Bedtime wasn't quite as easy to sell to my munchkin as bathtime was. Jaley and her momma spent some time falling asleep in the playroom while Hal thought of every excuse she could to keep from having to fall asleep. Take for example her strong desire to put on these crocheted socks and pants over her pair of pajamas. She just wanted in on all the fun and didn't want to miss a minute....at least that's my theory....

The girls finally gave in and closed their eyes which meant it was time to bust out the old scrapbooks from the closet. I must say it had been quite a few years since I'd looked through them and wow is all I have to say!! Awkward city!!!! We laughed and laughed while trying to explain to Riley some of our funniest and fondest stories. He was a good sport and listened intently (ha!) as we took a trip down memory lane. We hadn't reached the end of the lane yet but we were both beat and ready for some shut eye around midnight. Our girls were mighty generous and slept in until a little after 8:00. Hallelujah! I was even able to shower and get dressed before Hal got out of bed. I walked into the playroom to find Ashley laughing at Hallie. Apparently she had tiptoed out of bed and ended up at the bathroom door gently tapping on it saying "Cuse me? Cuse me?" I guess she thought one of our guests might be using the bathroom and wanted to be polite. I have no idea where she got that from but it cracked me up and was a humorous way to start the day. I whipped up some pancakes and sausage for everyone that morning and once our bellies were full we wasted no time getting ready to do some shopping. While Ash got ready I was an onlooker as the pajama-clad girls played puzzles and got their color on.....

Hal was sweet and helped Jaley pick out just the right crayons and even took it upon herself to open the puzzles that she had picked out as a gift for her little friend....

Hallie took puzzle playing a tad bit too serious and proclaimed "I WIN!" once she had finished her's. I tried to break it to her gently that puzzling wasn't a race....

"Are you sure about that momma?"

Shoppin' sista

There was nothin' but love flowing through Hal's room. Tons of hugs and kisses going on after plenty of squirming and jumping on the bed.....

Jaley LOOOOOOOVED Lucy!

Ok, I can't take it. Too much. ;)

The four of us made it through one store.....ONE STORE!!! The minis didn't get the memo. But in all seriousness looking back I suppose we should consider that a success. The gals really enjoyed playing chase through the clothes racks and wanted nothing to do with us holding them. They were on the go!  Well, until naptime. I'll let you guess which little lady took a nap and which one messed around for a good two hours.....

On our way to the park with Zombie Hal

The bright-eyed gal on the left took a good one hour snooze while the gal on the right realized on the way to the park that afternoon that she probably should've taken that nap. She had that glazy-eyed look going on but managed to perk up once we pulled into the playground at Boiling Springs. It wasn't the warmest/prettiest day but we made the best of it. These two played their little hearts out and made their mommas happy by posing for a twinkie pic....

Hal braved the big tunnel slide by herself which was clearly a big accomplishment if you would've heard her going on and on about it.....

"Mommy!! I do it by myself!!!" (repeat that statement ten times) ;)

This mommy/daughter combo stayed warm by running/chasing around the playground....

Hal and I were both feeling the effects of a late bedtime and no nap once we finished swinging. The soothing rhythm almost put me to sleep...and her too.....

"Must. Stay. Awake. To. Play."

I figured it was high time to show our guests why Boiling Springs is called Boiling Springs. The girls watched the "boiling" for a bit while Hallie made it clear that she was less than impressed......

Pretty friends

"See ya later dudes!!"

My little gymnast had other things on her mind. Like balancing on anything and everything that had a ledge....

Walking on the "bowance bean"

Jaley and her momma joined in too!

Tellin' me all about it

Here was Miss I Don't Want to Take a Nap by the time we were done.....

On our way home the girls watched a video, Hal fell asleep and we decided to act like kids again. There is a rather interesting dinosaur structure on the main road through Woodward. I've been curious about it for awhile but Ashley was extra curious which ended us up in parking lot reading the "rules". The rules told us to "please sit on the baby dinosaur." So we did of course.....

Once home I tried to talk Hal into a little snooze but we all ended up out in the driveway for some chalking once I was certain that she had no intentions of napping. The girls showed off their artistic skills while I meticulously focused on my own project....

It was most definitely hood weather outdoors so I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when Hallie was in and out, in and out, in and out of the house. She could not decide where she wanted to be....

"Jaley,take me to the park."

We had a relaxing evening eating some spaghetti pie and watching the girls play....

Once the minis had fallen fast asleep (which was very quick I might add) we spent the next couple of hours doing what we do best....remembering hilarious old stories and laughing at how ridiculous we were. Here is the part where I would love to share some embarrassing photos from our teenage years....however....my bangs are just too much to handle. A little too embarrassing. Or the ones where I thought it was cool to wear my retainer even when I didn't have to. Or how about the ones where we thought it was cute to go out in the snow in our bikinis. Ok fine, I'll share some......

The girls packed up and headed out around 8:30 Sunday morning before we left for church. We started missing them before they even had time to pull out of the driveway. Hal was asking "where Kadie?" all day long. I hated telling her that they "live far, far away" and so wish that they didn't. But we'll take what time we can get together. It's hard to describe how blessed I feel to have her back in my life....but this quote basically sums it all up. This is us.....

“It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

P.S.- Mission "make the minis best friends" accomplished!

The Blog About A Blizzard

Once upon a time there was this snow storm that dumped an insane amount of snow on NW Oklahoma and left us snowed in to spend an insane amount of quality family time together until we all came close to going insane. Did I mention the blizzard was insane? It was the best of times....it was the worst of times. ;) Let me tell you 'bout it.......

Sunday afternoon was spent preparing for the possibility of being cooped up under our roof for a couple of days. I read post after post on Facebook about how awful the Walmart crowd was so Hal and I waited around a bit before trying United instead. The lines weren't bad at all and we got in and out pretty quickly. Lil Red organized the coffee carousel ...the most important item we bought while shopping....well important to a certain dad that we know. If he had been without coffee for two days we probably would've thrown him out in the blizzard......

She took this job "vewy sewiouswy" 

Another job she takes seriously???? Detective!!!

Anytime I mention that I can't find something, whether it be a toy, book, piece of clothing, etc, she is on the prowl with her new magnifying glass ready to hunt it down....

Inspector Hal at your service

We went to bed Sunday evening knowing that we wouldn't be going anywhere on Monday. The thought was rather amazing. And so was this view from above sweetie pie's bed.....

More than a week has passed since this big storm which means that my mind is filled with many other things so I will do my best to recall those days. So Monday morning rolled around and we woke up to plenty of snow already on the ground. At that point I could've easily left for work and navigated in town without an awful lot of difficulty. However...and that's a big however....the weathermen were giving Woodward a clear warning to stay inside and off the roads. The real snow hadn't even begun yet. It was about to get ugly. Well, actually in reality it was quite pretty to watch the copious amounts of fluffy white stuff fall from the sky....well, unless you were out in it. Speaking of people out in it....Riley was one of those people. Despite my pleas for him to stay home with us for pancakes and a lazy morning he went into work for a few hours until all of his clinics were officially closed. I was just the slightest bit paranoid that he was going to get stuck up at the hospital in my car based on what I was seeing out the window.....

Here's a picture that depicts exactly how I envisioned spending the snow day indoors.....

Emmi's got the right idea.....

"If you aren't napping with me then leave me alone..."

And this is what really happened.....

Wallpaper city!

And here's a picture of my slavedriver in action....

Granted I'm very thankful to have such an enthusiastic and hardworking husband to keep me on track with home improvement projects, although I do treasure down time quite a bit. So when he suggested (no wait, more like insisted) that we jump right into wallpaper removal that afternoon I was none too thrilled. Do ya blame me?!?! There I was dreaming of blogging, watching movies, snuggling on the couch with Hal and possibly eating cookies all day.....and before I knew it I was ruining my new nail job by picking off layers of decades old wallpaper using our steamer. I love the man....I love the man....but geez he's got way too much energy for me sometimes. By the end of the day we had removed every last bit of ugly paper and we were ready to prep the walls for texture. Go Team Bathroom Remodel!!!

All of that fun stuff happened during Hal's nap. So that left the morning and the afternoon after she woke up to fill with fun memories. But before I jump into our activities, let's check up on the snow at this point....

Where's the driveway?

Hal spotted this squirrel on the fence and was worried about him staying warm

Making breakfast is something I really love to do. Monday presented a great opportunity to make a fun meal for Lil Red. She adored her Mickey Mouse pancakes....

Covered in syrup and not a Mickey ear left, she had a quick pj change and wasn't through with breakfast just quite yet. So strawberries and Capri Sun it was....

To avoid getting early onset cabin fever I sorted through the craft closet for a project that Hallie would enjoy. Paint, ribbon and a blank canvas left us with endless possibilities....

My Picasso painted her little heart out after watching and waiting patiently as I hot glued the ribbon around the edge of her canvas....

She had painted for roughly two seconds before she decided that ribbon and a glue gun were more her speed. The glue gun disappeared much to her dismay and she was left pouting while measuring her ribbon....

She requested more and more colors as she painted along. The creativity was flowing and her brush strokes were flawless. ;) The end result was nothing short of spectacular.....

As she was posing with her painting I guess the urge to drop the wet work of art on the rug was too much for her to handle so she let it faceplant and then gasped in surprise....

The painting fared well....the rug, not so much. She helped me decide where to hang the work of art. It is now hanging on the wall above the couch in her playroom. She reminds me that it's hanging there everytime we walk in the room. 

We made snow ice cream late that afternoon.....

She helped me do the gathering....

And she even did some picture taking while I stirred....

Check it out! Pink! Yep, that's right. White just wouldn't do.....

She had the entire bowl to herself. I wasn't much a fan of the almond extract flavoring we were forced to use since I had run out of vanilla. Someone didn't mind at all though......

I think it's also very important to mention that we stayed in our pajamas ALL. DAY. LONG. 

This clearly made us very happy....

Later that afternoon we realized that it would be a couple of days before we went anywhere. The snow drifts were already almost knee deep.....

Oh yeah, and I can't forget to mention that we built a little fort and talked about all of the people we would allow in our secret place....

We ended the night on the couch reading a pile of books in our third set of pjs....

The snow continued to fall until late that night. Our power flickered at least a dozen times but came right back on every time. We were prepared with food, water and light in the case that it went out but I can't express how thankful I was that we didn't have to go without....mainly because I couldn't imagine the nightmare we would've had putting Hallie to bed without her lamp on. Even with power we still ran into some bedtime woes. Apparently the thought of snow outside her window scared the bejeesus out of her. The mean ol' snow blew and blew and blew until our yard looked like this the next morning....

Sunshine was gladly welcomed come Tuesday. The gray skies were gone and the sun was shining bright. Well actually it was hard to tell if the sun was actually that bright or if it was the blinding white snow everywhere we looked. Our fourth snow day in less than a week was a dandy. The three of us had loads of fun as we bundled up and trekked outside to explore the winter wonderland. A perfect blanket of snow covered every inch of EVERYTHING. For the day, life completely stopped. Well, I guess I should be more specific. The life outside of our little family came to a screeching halt and we were blessed to spend a day making memories together. I was a bad momma (shame on me) and I still hadn't picked up proper snow gear for Hallie. She didn't seem to mind at all when I layered her up with tights, jeans and sweat pants. Well, okay, maybe she minded a bit when she got off the bed to try and walk. She had a little hitch in her get along due to all of the layers. Once we got outside she forgot about her wardrobe......

Riley picked her up and plopped her down in the knee deep snow. Who would've thought that this would be the BEST. GAME. EVER?!?! She plopped and plopped and plopped all over until there were several Hallie shaped holes in the snow.....

The street looked like a war zone with big ruts where a few trucks had driven through. Hal had to scope out the situation....

The powder was perfect and beautiful and so abundant it was almost overwhelming. So what to do with all of the snow?!?!?!

Eat it of course!!!!

Throw snowballs at dad!!!!

Packing it just right

Make snow angels!!!

Here are a few blizzard-y shots from around the street.....

My car was trapped in the garage. Ask me how concerned I was about this....;)

Not going anywhere and loving it!!!

We lost quite a few bushes and had some damage to trees around the house due to the weight of the snow....

Riley decided to dig out and see if he could make his way around the neighborhood....

The doggies were pansies and only took little dainty steps on the outskirts of the snow. Notice their footprints where they did their business on the concrete....

Love this picture of the bird bath 

Hal's playhouse survived but I'd say she had a pretty major snow drift to deal with at the front door ;)

Once we were back inside where it was warm and toasty, I made a big breakfast for the fam and Hallie was a pal and picked up some last minute items I needed at the grocery store.....

Low key is the type of day we had. Lots of Ring around the Rosie, more than my fair share of laps around the couch playing chase, plenty of tickles and giggles and some much needed sitting. Oh how I do love sitting. Did I mention how much better sitting is than shoveling snow??? This is why I'm oh so thankful for our friends, the Vaps, for graciously coming to our rescue with the Skid Steer.....

Jesse and Austin cleared out our driveway in a matter of minutes while Sarah and I stood nearby and watched. Riley gave a big thumbs up once it was cleared. I forget to mention that he had spent two hours that afternoon shoveling snow at his clinics to prepare for the next work day. I am pretty sure shoveling our entire drive have taken three whole days.....

Later that day after Hallie's nap we had the pleasure of spending the evening with Jai and Ryan. I made a BBQ chicken pizza and Jai brought some yummy cookies. 

We ate, we talked, we laughed. Hal used Jai as a jungle gym until it was clear that she needed a bath and bed ASAP. All of those days at home had left her even more spoiled than she was to begin with and in need of structure again. Because Lord knows that we didn't have any structure during blizzard days. I really, really, really, really, really love snow days.....BUT.....BUT....BUT....there's always a price to pay while playing catchup with work. The pretty white snow had turned to dingy brown piles of mess in the way. Speaking of dingy brown piles of snow, there is still one in front of our mailbox a week and a half later that just won't melt. Over the next week as I made my way through huge ruts on the dirt roads to my patients' houses slipping and sliding in the mud I kept repeating "Praise God for the rain....this moisture is good....this is not annoying in any way....I so love blizzards." 

I do love blizzards. I just love them from my couch. ;)