Life in the Castle

Glimpse of the future

2009-02-12T13:03:00.000-05:00

I got a little glimpse of what it will be like in the next 10 years or so. I was running around the house getting everyone ready for school (like I do every morning - can that count as a workout?). Princess was in the bathroom - supposed to be brushing her teeth.
The first time I walked by, she was putting a headband in her hair and making sure everything was perfect.The second time I walked by, she was putting lip gloss on.
Then she came out and asked, "Do I look beautiful mom?"

Quit growing up!

Babies!

2008-06-05T09:03:00.003-04:00

My brother's babies are here! They were born just shy of 34 weeks so they are just little peanuts. They are in NICU right not, but they both seem to be doing good. We hope they can go home in two weeks or less.

Baby M.; 5 lbs 2 oz.; 17 1/2 inches long.

Baby L; 4lbs 5.4oz; 17 inches long

Here is baby L compared to his Daddy's hand.

Play Ball

2008-06-03T21:35:00.002-04:00

Pictures from Princess's T-Ball game this evening.

Here she is in the "ready position".

It is always more fun if you can race one of your teammates for the ball. It adds another level of competition.

Little Miss Attitude.

Grand Slam! Notice the helmet is so big she can't even see the ball.

Dance Recital Pictures

2008-06-03T21:32:00.005-04:00

The princess had her first dance recital last weekend.

Here she is outside our house before dress rehearsal posing for the King. The purple crocks are a nice touch.

My friend Ali had to help out with the hair since I am not capable of making a bun that will stay in longer than 5 minutes. (yes Ali, I COULD have cut you out of the picture...)

The Makeup. Princess loved this part. She wouldn't let us wash the black eyeliner off her eyes for two days.

Lining up!
Can you see she has a future in dance?

Friends from her preschool class. Grandma and Grandpa gave her flowers for her brilliant performance.

The babies are coming!

2008-06-03T09:56:00.003-04:00

Uncle C and his wife are in the hospital now having their twins!

Seperated at last!

2008-05-16T15:45:00.003-04:00

For the past 1+ year the girls have been sleeping together in the same bed. At first I thought it was a good bonding time for them, but as the months passed, I realized it just gave them fuel to stay up and giggle and\or fight until they passed out from exhaustion.

Last weekend we got them separate twin beds (Happy Mother's Day to me). DQ got a purple comforter and Princess got a Pink one of course. They each picked out princess sheets for their new bed.

Notice how DQ's bed basically blends into the wall - we hope to repaint their room this summer.

So far it has been a success - the girls are going to sleep earlier and they are still excited about having their own beds with princess sheets.

Princess curly locks

2008-05-16T09:27:00.002-04:00

Last night:

This morning:

After we took out all of the braids this morning she decided she didn't like the curly hair and wanted the braids back in :( It didn't happen obviously. By the time she got to school she liked her hair again.

Tea Time at the Castle

2008-05-13T12:04:00.004-04:00

Saturday we had a Mother's Day tea party. I have been trying to come up with some clever wording for this post (like write it in the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot"), but obviously the tea party sucked up all my creativity for the month. Anyway...here are some pictures.

We decorated our hats in true Victorian tea party style.

Here is DQ showing how cute she is (this is a rare picture of her - no snot, crazy hair, or tongue sticking out of her mouth):

The princess had to put a tiera on her at so she could be the princess of the tea party.
Yes I got all dressed up for the occasion....Thank god for the hat - my hair actually looked like a drowned rat from standing outside earlier that morning at the princess's softball game.
Such an elegant group...Grandma A, Grandma B and Auntie K all showed up for the party.

Our table was set with fine china and fresh tulips. The centerpiece was made by the girls earlier in the week. We dipped oreo cookies in white chocolates and decorated them to look like flowers (with gumdrops). They were not very tasty - gumdrops and oreos is not a good combination, but the girls were pretty proud of them.

DQ could hardly wait to eat. She really got into the tea party.

Our menu consisted of cucumber sandwiches, PB and Js shaped like crowns, Caesar salad, and flower shaped fruit cups for dessert. We had princess punch and tea for drinks. Notice the princess can't get enough of the princess punch. The bubbles from the punch caused some unscheduled entertainment at the tea party...maybe next time we will do the manners lesson BEFORE the party instead of during it.

Is this the princess or the joker? Maybe coating the rim of their glasses with pink sugar was not such a great idea....

We all had a great time. I hope to do it again next year for Mother's day!

A cup of tea to say thank you
For all the things you've done.
And wishes that the day will bring
You happiness and fun.
HAPPY MOTHER's DAY!!
Love the girls in the castle.

We don't need fancy things

2008-05-01T15:10:00.000-04:00

"Wow!" the princess exclaimed as she saw one of her friend's van magically open the door by itself. "Did you see that?"
I kind of giggled to myself and said "Yes, we don't have a fancy van like that, do we?"
"We don't need a fancy van mommy, we can open the door ourselves, can't we?"
"Yes that is true, we don't need a fancy van"
"Besides, our van is White Lightning"

I admit, I was totally shocked when she said that we don't need a fancy van. We live in a world full of consumerism and trying to beat the Jones'. Even though the princess loves her fancy dress up clothes and everything in her world is pink and sparkly, she still has her head on straight. I must be doing something right.

Hopefully in 5-10 years I can still write this same post.

From the mouth of a princess

2008-04-17T17:13:00.002-04:00

I picked up a few spring outfits for the princess yesterday since she has basically outgrown most of her clothes from last year (everything looks like a cropped top). On the way home last night she was going through the bag of clothes in the van looking at her new duds. This was her comment:

These are lovely mom. Thank you very much.

Warm weather = Skinned knees

2008-04-16T17:24:00.002-04:00

It has finally started to feel like spring this week so the girls and I decided to take our first trip to the park. DQ got a new trike for Easter and has been dying to ride it somewhere else besides our driveway. We found the bike helmets and took off for the park - DQ on her shiny new trike and Princess on her bike. The ride to the park went pretty smooth. The park is at the top of a hill so I had push DQ up it a bit so she could reach the top.

When it was time to leave the girls strapped on their helmets and hopped on their bikes. Princess did a pretty good job controlling her bike down the hill, but DQ wiped out. She has an ailment where when she turns her head, she turns the bike also. Since she was already going at a rapid pace, making a sharp turn just wiped her out.

I ended up carrying her bike and a crying DQ down to the bottom of the hill. I then told her that I was not able to carry both her and her bike back home (thinking she would walk), but she got right back on her bike and rode the rest of the way home. There were several "my knee hurts" whines during the trip, but I was very proud of her for getting right back on.

Of course once we got home the real drama started. I had to carry her around the house because she couldn't walk with a skinned knee. I thought an Elmo band-aid would do the trick, but the whining continued... for 2 straight days.

She is finally better now and the skinned knee is just a red spot. I am sure this will not be the last owie of the season.

Starting to Panic

2008-04-08T12:10:00.001-04:00

It is April 8th. Do you have your taxes completed? Most people probably have their refund back and spent by this point.

My taxes are not done. I have no idea if we are getting a refund or if we will have to pay. There is less than 10 days before the IRS deadline.

We decided to hire an accountant this year for taxes because the King is now self-employed and I don't feel qualified to do them anymore. I gave the accountant our 2007 info about a month ago and I have been waiting ever since. We haven't even heard a word from them. I am starting to get nervous - if I need to do them myself I need to get started ASAP.

I had the King stop by yesterday at the Accountant's office to check on the status. The door was locked. He called me and I started panicking. Did the close up? They have all my W2\tax info - How do I get that back? If I have to do our own taxes, I NEED TO START NOW!

I made him call their phone number and they said the door was locked because they are not taking any walk-ins at this point. They assured him that they will be completed and will give us a call by the end of the week. I realize they are probably very busy, but I still don't feel good about it. They should have been done by now.

Why you don't serve pasta at weddings

2008-04-04T09:42:00.004-04:00

"I didn't know..."

2008-03-31T09:36:00.002-04:00

This morning the girls were doing their normal fighting while getting ready for school. Princess was not sharing the toothpaste and would not let DQ stand on the big stool. The King went in to find out what the fuss was about and asked Princess why she was not sharing. Her response?

Sorry, I didn't even know I had a sister!

Photo shoot time

2008-02-21T20:49:00.003-05:00

We had the photo equipment out this weekend so we thought we might as well get some new pictures of the girls. Here is how DQ's photos turned out.

At first look, we thought this one was OK, however that is not oily skin under her nose. Gross.

The Fairy Tale

2008-02-21T09:42:00.001-05:00

What do you want to be when you grow up? The dance teacher asked Princess.

The princess responded without a pause "Cinderella".

Wouldn't it be great to be 4 again and think life is a fairy tale? Your dad is the king. All headbands are crowns. And of course if you eat all your vegetables, you will become a real princess.

I am sure I should be directing her more towards careers like doctor, lawyer or techer, but what is the fun in that? At some point she will relize life is not a fairy tale. I am not going to be the one that breaks the news to her.

What DQ wants...

2008-02-07T09:10:00.001-05:00

DQ gets.

So this is how she went to school today.

Awesome Potato Skins

2008-02-04T13:07:00.000-05:00

Here is the recipe for the potato skins I made Sunday afternoon. I found the recipe here.

Potato Skins
6 small to medium sized russet baking potatoes
Olive oil
Cooking Spray
salt
Freshly ground pepper
6 strips of bacon
4 ounces grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
2 green onions, thinly sliced, including the greens of the onions

1. Scrub the potatoes clean then bake the potatoes using your favorite method, either oven or microwave. If using an oven, rub with olive oil and bake in a 400°F oven for about an hour until the potatoes are cooked through and give a little when pressed. If using a microwave, rub all over with olive oil and cook on the high setting for about 5 minutes per potato. (obviously I should have microwaved mine...)

2. While the potatoes are cooking, cook the bacon strips in a frying pan on medium low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Let cool. Crumble.

3. Remove the potatoes from the oven and let cool enough to handle. Cut in half horizontally. Use a spoon to carefully scoop out the insides, reserving the scooped potatoes for another use, leaving about 1/4 of an inch of potato on the skin.

4. Increase the heat of the oven to 450°F. Spray cooking spray all over the potato skins, outside and in. Sprinkle with salt. Place on a baking rack in a roasting pan (don't use a cookie sheet, it will warp, use a roasting pan or broiler pan that can take the heat). Cook for 10 minutes on one side, then flip the skins over and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle.

5. Arrange the potato skins skin-side down on the roasting pan or rack. Sprinkle the insides with freshly ground black pepper, cheddar cheese, and crumbled bacon. Return to the oven. Broil for an additional 2 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven. Use tongs to place skins on a serving plate. Add a dollop of sour cream to each skin, sprinkle with green onions.

Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6

More smoke

2008-02-04T11:39:00.000-05:00

Sunday we decided to have our own little Super Bowl party and have junk food for dinner at the castle. I could really care less about the game, but I wanted the party snacks. The menu consisted of nachos, potato skins and whatever the girls wanted to eat.

I found a recipe for potato skins (I will post later - they were awesome!) and started to make them Sunday afternoon. The recipe stated to rub the potatoes with olive oil and bake in the oven for 1 hour. Obviously I was supposed to put the potatoes on a pan first, not just throw them in. The oil started dripping off the potatoes and the next thing I knew, the smoke detectors were going off.

Ugh. You would think I would learn...

Kitchen update:
The new kitchen cabinets are MOSTLY installed. We are using cardboard for a counter top, but that should be installed Wednesday. Once the counters are in we can get the dishwasher and sink installed. I can't wait to stop doing all our dishes by hand!
We had a small problem with measurements when buiding one of the new walls. Now we have to move a load bearing wall to fit the final cabinet and refridgerator in. They keep reassuring me it can be done, but it makes me a little nervous.

Kitchen Tip Tuesday

2008-01-15T12:16:00.000-05:00

Pack your lunch as you clean the table.

The King and I both bring a lunch to work every day. 90% of the time our lunches consist of leftovers. I used to just dish out my lunch in the morning, but now I am finding I don't have time to do this with the normal morning chaos. On top of that the king refuses to dish out his own lunch in the morning. Apparently it is more important to him to watch 30 minutes of golf tv at 6 a.m. than it is to pack a lunch. I used to have the attitude that if he didn't want to make the effort to pack his own lunch then he can starve. However this theory went out the window when I ended up throwing leftovers in the trash because they were never eaten.

Now I pack lunches as I clear the table after dinner. Everything is portioned into individual servings. I also portion out any sides or extras like buns, chips and cut up vegetables. Each "meal" is stacked neatly in the fridge (I even include the stuff that doesn't need refrigeration so everything is in one spot) so all we have to do is grab a stack and go.

Another lunch tip: When making a big batch of soup\chili, freeze the leftovers in individual servings. They will last in the freezer for a long time and are perfect for the days there are no other leftovers in the fridge.

Check out more tips at Kitchen Tip Tuesday!

Using what I have for dinner...

2008-01-14T12:59:00.000-05:00

I have been on a mission the past few weeks to use the food I have at the house and not waste anything. I am trying to shave some $$$ from my grocery budget and this should be the easiest way - quit throwing money in the garbage!

This past weekend I was pretty successful:

French Bread
Thursday I purchased a loaf of french bread at the grocery store to top our French Onion soup. Yes, I could have made the bread a lot cheaper, but I am still not set up to do a lot of baking yet (or to make a huge mess in the kitchen). Friday night I used the bread again for French Bread Pizzas.
Saturday there was still bread left (and very dry) so I cubed it up and made a breakfast casserole for Sunday morning. I was able to also use the leftover green peppers and mushrooms from pizza toppings also. It wasn't a huge casserole, but it was perfect for the king and I. An added bonus: I used up the eggs in my fridge.

Whipped Topping & Milk
I had a container of whipped topping in my fridge. I remember purchasing it two weeks ago, but I don't remember why. We only used a few spoonfuls of it at the time. I also ended up with 3 gallons of milk in my fridge this week - and one of them is approaching the expiration date. I found a box of pudding mix and made "Candy Bar Pudding". Vanilla pudding, whipped topping, heath bar pieces (left over from my holiday baking inventory that never happened) and chopped up chocolate chips. The girls thought I was a culinary genius.

Chipotle peppers
I love these things, but since I normally only use 1-2 peppers per recipe, the rest of the can usually goes to waste. I originally opened the can for Black Bean Soup that I made the weekend before. Saturday I made a crock pot full of baked beans and added a big pepper and some adobe sauce to the mixture (Bonus: I also threw in some leftover chicken meat to the beans). Sunday I made White Chicken Chili and added two peppers to that also. I still have two peppers left in the fridge so I am trying to figure out what I can add them to. This may be a bit of a challenge since most of our meals this week are not really spicy. (Chipotle spaghetti anyone?)

Here are my plans the next few days to use what I have:

I have a little bit of french onion soup left and no bread. I am going to pull out the onions and fry them up and use them as a topping on my French Dip sandwiches on Tuesday.

With the leftover roast from our French Dip sandwiches I am going make a casserole with beef, barley and any other vegetable I can find.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-20T21:33:00.000-05:00

Here is the Christmas card that was never ordered...

Home again... finally

2007-12-20T15:32:00.000-05:00

After living in a hotel for two full weeks we are back at home. It feels great to be at home, but we have a lot of work ahead of us.

All of our belongings are in boxes and bags. We are basically moving back into our house.

We have no kitchen and won't really have a working kitchen until the end of January when our cabinets are in. We set up a table in our basement with a george forman grill and toaster. We are using a dorm size refrigerator for now. The King tried to lighten the situation a little by claiming this is just like tailgating.

Construction in the kitchen is moving ahead. The doorway to our old pantry is now drywalled shut and they are starting to texture the walls. The tile floor will be installed soon. Our appliances should all be here in the next two weeks, but I am not sure we will be using most of them until the cabinets are in.

DQ seems relieved to be home again. Everything has been a battle with her the last few weeks from refusing to putting on her jacket to not sleeping at night. Last night she went right to bed and slept all night. She seemed to be in a much better mood this morning.

We are trying to get in Christmas spirit, but it is kind of hard with plastic sheets covering your Christmas tree and stockings. Luckily I had most of my shopping finished before the fire, otherwise that would be another big stress added to my list.

I keep telling myself this is only temporary and I will have a fabulous kitchen when it is all finished. Maybe someday I will look back at this and laugh..

More drama

2007-12-14T12:33:00.000-05:00

Seriously, can I just get a break?

Last night after work we decided to go out to eat after we picked up the girls from daycare. We have been eating most meals at the hotel since going out to eat with the two monkeys (especially the drama queen) is not fun. DQ was not feeling well - her preschool teacher said she had about 100 degree temperature most of the afternoon, but we decided to go anyway. DQ didn't eat a bite and spent most of of the meal on my lap crying. Trust me - I am not on vacation here.

Obviously I was a little frazzled at this point, but I got the princess excited to go swimming when we got back to the hotel. The King dropped us off and then he went our home to get some work done. The girls and I went upstairs to our room, put in the key and the door would not open. I had my arms full of stuff, so I put everything down and tried again. The green light on the door turned on, but I could only jiggle the door. I gathered my stuff and the kids back up and we went downstairs to the front desk. There is only one person at the counter and another couple was checking in. They must have been the parents of a bride that was having their reception at the hotel this weekend and they are asking a million of questions. My kids get board waiting and start to terrorize the lobby. They knock over the wet floor caution signs, take stuff off the Christmas tree and start jumping down the stairs to see how many steps they can jump without killing themselves. So I step out of line for just a second to get them under control. As I step out of line another person walks into the lobby and gets behind the couple trying to check in. At this point, I am extremely annoyed. Then the princess calls to me:

Mom, DQ pee-ed her pants.

So I am locked out of my room, my two year old now has wet pants, I don't have a cell phone to call the King to come back with clean clothes and someone just got in line in front of me. I gave everyone in the lobby a dirty look, but it didn't do me any good.

I finally get to the counter and explained to the guy what is going on. He reprograms my key and told me to try again. I was pretty sure this would not work, but I went ahead and tried it. I gathered my stuff and kids again and went back upstairs. DQ at this point is walking bull-legged down the hall at an extremely slow pace. I try the key and of course it does not work. We went back downstairs and the clerk decided to try his key to see if he could open it. Again, I tried to explain that it wouldn't work, but he insisted on trying. We all went back upstairs and failed again. He finally called the manager to see what needs to be done. At this point I made him give me his phone to call the king for clothes for DQ since I assumed this was going to be a long process. We sat down in the hallway and waited. Of course everyone who walked down the hall wanted to know why a mom and two young kids were sitting in the hallway of their hotel.

The manager finally came and tried her key. Surprise, surprise... it didn't work. She offered us to go eat at the restaurant while we waited. I told her we had already eaten and my kid had wet her pants because of all the wait. I just need to get into my room! She opened up a room down the hall so we didn't have to sit in the hallway.

The King shows up just as they get the door open (the door was caught on a screw inside the door frame). As he walks by all he sees is that there is someone else in our suite and that we are in a single bed room. He flips out before I have a chance to explain and starts running down to the manager's desk to find out where our stuff is. I did end up catching him before he made a scene.

At this point I was finished for the day. No swimming tonight. I put a movie in for the girls and vegged out on the couch the rest of the night.

Bad luck? Or just cursed?

2007-12-12T11:45:00.000-05:00

They say bad things happen in threes. I disagree...

1. The fire.

2. Friday, someone pulled out in front of the King on his way to work. He swerved to miss the car, but ended up sliding on the slick roads and getting hung up on a rock. He had to call a tow truck to get out. There is minor damage to the car.

3. Tuesday morning I got in my car and noticed there is now a crack going across my entire windshield. The king was the last one to touch my vehicle before this. He claims nothing happened to it when he drove it. All I know is that is wasn't there the day before.

4. They took out the wall behind our old stove to expand our kitchen into that first bedroom that we were using as storage. It sounded like a great idea, however AFTER the wall had been removed it was realized that the window in that room was too low and there was no way to put a kitchen counter or sink under that window. Now we are looking at getting a new window. I don't recommend doing a remodeling project while in crisis mode... bad decisions get made.

5. The king dropped his new cell phone into the toilet. Not only did it get wet, but it fell apart into several pieces. He is now using his old phone that doesn't keep a charge.

So what's next?

On another note, the Princess wants to be involved in the Kitchen remodeling project. She has a vision on what our kitchen should look like - Pink and Purple floor, Orange Stove, Blue cabinets on top, Green cabinets on bottom, Purple ceiling. I guess if things keep going the way they are, maybe we will just purchase a Little Tykes kitchen set instead of a real kitchen and then she will be happy.

Fire!

2007-12-05T11:52:00.000-05:00

Did that get your attention? Well it should have.

We had a small fire on our stove last night. Somebody (I won't name any names since it was an accident, but I just want to make clear it was not me) turned on the wrong burner on the stove when making his hot chocolate last night. The burner that was turned on happened to have a nylon\plastic lunch bag sitting on it. We were both downstairs when the fire started so we didn't get to it right away. By the time we got upstairs all the fire alarms were going off and the house was basically filled with smoke.

The girls were in bed and were obviously freaked out by the alarms.

I ran to stop the alarms and calm the kids while the King went to put out the flames. He got it out pretty quick and we opened the house up. The smoke hadn't reached the bedrooms yet so I closed them off and put blankets under the door just in case.

It could have been much worse - the only "fire" damage we can see is on the stove and a little bit on our kitchen floor. I am sure the stove still works fine - it was just some paint that was burned. However, our house now smells like smoke and we have a black residue on everything in our kitchen, living and dining rooms. The insurance company is sending a professional cleaner this afternoon to get looked at.

I will let you know how things come out.

Daily notes

2007-11-30T11:01:00.000-05:00

Every day when I pick up DQ from school I get a little note from her teacher on how the day went - what they did that day, how well the child ate, and any problems they had. Yesterday this is what my note said:

DQ loves the dress up clothes, especially the princess dresses.

When I dropped her off yesterday she noticed right away the dresses were out. She ran to the dress up clothes and dug out the purple (her favorite color) dress and put it on immediately. She is definitely following in her sister's footsteps - the only difference is the Princess would have picked up the pink dress.

Hot Chocolate Mix

2007-11-28T09:34:00.000-05:00

I made an awesome hot chocolate mix last night. Here is the recipe:

Hot Chocolate Mix
1.5 cups instant nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup white chocolate chips (you could also use milk chocolate chis or semi-sweet)

Place chips in food processor (I suppose a blender would work also) until finely ground. Do not over process - you will get clumps. Add dry milk powder and process until well mixed.
To make the hot chocolate: Add 3 tablespoons in a mug of boiling water. Add marshmallows.

I think next time I will add a candy cane while I am grinding the chips for peppermint hot chocolate.

If you can't trust your family...

2007-11-26T16:56:00.000-05:00

The girls are finally playing well together (most of the time). DQ adores playing with her big sister and is pretty much willing to do almost anything with her. However... this is where the bad decisions happen. Yesterday, Princess had DQ strapped into the doll stroller. DQ obviously completly trusted her sister to push her around the house. The King caught them at the edge of the steps. Princess was telling DQ not to move and had the front wheels of the stroller in the air. She was going for a ride. Thankfully the King caught them in time or we would have another 'owie' to add to DQ's list.

The royal cuties

2007-11-13T22:19:00.000-05:00

Just playing with photoshop...

The reason for my madness...

2007-11-05T17:03:00.000-05:00

I have been called a tightwad, cheapskate, cheap-ass, mooch and any other adjective you could possibly think of. Guess what? It doesn't bother me a bit!

And this is why:

1. Our car loan is now paid off. Granted, I only got it paid off a year early, but that is still 1 less year interest I am going to have to pay.
2. Our gas bill has been lowered from $92 to $59. On top of that, I have a nearly $200 credit on my gas bill so I do not have to pay Alliant again until February 2008. This dramatic decrease does concern me a bit, so I think I will save a little extra just in case I get stuck with big gas bill next year.
3. Our electric and water bill has been lowered from $130 to $115. I am still wondering why this is so dang high. We have insulated our house, installed CFL light bulbs, use an energy star washing machine... Maybe next year I can get it down to under $100 - all we need to do is take less showers and baths, sit in the dark and not use the AC during the summer. Who wants to come over to my house? It will be lots of fun!

The three changes above have added $558 to my monthly budget that I did not have 1 month ago. Unfortunately I can't just use this money willy-nilly because I have other goals for this money, but it is still very cool to finally see results

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T19:23:00.001-05:00

Sibling Love

2007-10-29T13:13:00.000-05:00

Mommy?

Yes princess?

Can we give DQ to somebody else?

No, we have to keep her.

I don't like DQ, I want to have a baby!

Babies eventually turn into DQ.

Well, I still don't like her.

Pumpkins - 2 ways

2007-10-28T19:35:00.000-05:00

The princess way:

and the Drama Queen way:

Potty Training Success!

2007-10-23T11:08:00.001-04:00

DQ had her first accident free day yesterday!

Good job DQ! Mommy is very proud of you.

I'm a fishy!

2007-10-17T17:11:00.000-04:00

I took the girls to swimming lessons last night. Princess is in a preschool-aged class and DQ is in a "parent-child" class. Yes I have to get my butt in a swimsuit twice a week for the next 5 weeks. Yea! And the best part? My ex has a son enrolled in the same class as Princess. Twice a week for the next 5 week I get to put on a swimsuit and face my ex. It doesn't get much better than this... And where the hell is the King when all of this is happening? Good question...

Anyway, back to my blog post. DQ was a swimming animal. I have no idea where this came from. She hated the water when we went to the Dells this spring and she hasn't been in a real pool since. We had a wading pool this summer, but all she did was stand outside of it and water the plants with her buckets. At swimming lessons she was kicking and doing the stroke with her arms while yelling out 'I'm a fishy'. She would stand at the side of the pool and jump into the pool (in my arms of course). The kid had no fear whatsoever. She even tried putting her head under water (there was choking involved with this, but she did try). Her teacher thought she had spent the entire summer at the pool. It was a lot of fun for the both of us.

40 before 40

2007-10-11T17:23:00.000-04:00

My friend over at the green3 hosted a carnival at her blog last week - she asked us to list the 40 things we want to accomplish before we turn 40.

I am a little late, but the list is finally finished.

40 before 40

1. Pay off the car (should be completed next month).
2. Continue to make car payments to myself so we can use cash for our next purchase.
3. Pay off HELOC.
4. Pay off the King's school loan.
5. Open a ROTH 401K.
6. Build emergency fund.
7. Remodel the kitchen - I HATE our kitchen. Do this with cash - not home equity.
8. Get Lasik eye surgery.
9. Continue to follow a budget so all the above can become a reality.
10. Lose 40 lbs.
11. Learn to cook healthier.
12. Become more active.
13. Start wearing makeup again (a.k.a. quit being lazy in the morning).
14. Take a family vacation to Disney while the girls are still into princesses.
15. Get a family picture taken.
16. Go to Pennsylvania to visit my brother and his family.
17. Play with my kids more.
18. Start a food blog. (I know, I can barely keep this blog up)
19. Update the header of this blog.
20. Replace my lost wedding ring.
21. Start dating the king again.
22. Simplify my life - get rid of extra stuff around the house.
23. Learn how to sell the extra stuff on ebay.
24. Figure out how to keep my house picked up.
25. Figure out a system that works for us for all the paper that comes in our house.
26. Quit buying stuff I don't really need.
27. Become more organized.
28. Ditch the land line and get a cell phone.
29. Write a will.
30. Read at least 1 personal fiance book a year.
31. Read at least one health or diet book a year.
32. Read at least one fun book a year.
33. Plan meals ahead - do just a few grocery trips a month.
34. Learn to bake bread from scratch (and I am not talking about banana bread).
35. Potty train DQ. If I don't get this done in the next 7 years we will be in trouble.
36. Get involved with something outside my family\work. I need to break out of my comfort zone.
37. Create family memories and traditions.
38. Spend Christmas morning at our own home while the girls still believe in Santa.
39. Be the best parent I can be.
40. Make goals to hit before I am 50.

Potty Training - update

2007-10-09T12:41:00.001-04:00

Potty training was postponed. The reason was related to DQ eating about a pound of grapes on Friday evening. I will let you fill in the blanks to figure out what happened on Saturday.

She did wear her big girl underwear about half the day Sunday and did pretty good - only 2 accidents. By the time we were ready to go to the library she was ready to wear her diapers again. Maybe next weekend when she goes to grandma's house I will just pack underwear for DQ and see how she does :) (this is a test to see of grandma actually reads the blog).

Training to take over the throne

2007-10-05T17:22:00.000-04:00

I have an exciting weekend planned. I am going to attempt to potty train DQ this weekend. She has been showing the signs of being ready so I am going to give it a try. What is my method? I don't have it figured out yet. Princess was so easy to train once she decided she was ready, I am hoping it will just happen.
She will be wearing underwear, not pull ups. Mostly I am just too cheap to buy pull ups. I don't think they do the child any good anyway. No, I did not take her to the store to buy her own special underwear. She is the second child - she gets hand me downs!

The carpet shampooer is loaded and we are ready to go. I will keep you posted on our progress!

Put it back

2007-10-05T09:52:00.000-04:00

I have been working really hard with the girls on picking up after themselves and putting things back when they are finished. I am not sure if that is where this comment came from, but it cracked me up on the way to work.

MOMMA!!! DQ yells from her car seat on the way to school this morning.
What?
BOOGIE! She states as she is holding out her finger.
You have a booger?
YES! (she yells everything...)
Umm... (I look around the van and I don't see any tissues). Give it to your sister (giggling to myself).
Princess takes a look at it and states "put it back in your nose."

Public Service Announcement

2007-09-28T09:46:00.000-04:00

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog posts for the following public service announcement.

When browsing the Internet and a pop up box asks if you want to download something, DO NOT ANSWER YES!!!! Make sure your spouse is aware of this as well.

This announcement is brought to you by WinAntiVirus Pro.

Our regular scheduled blog posts will return when our PC is back from computer doctor.

Best Friends

2007-09-13T22:13:00.000-04:00

Last week the theme in Princess's classroom was "friends". Since she had just started her new school and didn't know the other kids very well, she decided that DQ was her best friend. Friday they made friendship bracelets at school. Princess made hers with all pink beads (of course) except for one purple bead. She told DQ that that bead was for her since purple was DQs favorite color.

I have noticed that the girls really have bonded the last few weeks. At home they are never apart. In fact they have even started sleeping together in the bed. I just wish they could be 'best friends' all the time. One minute they are playing nicely with their dolls and the next minute they are pulling hair and screaming at each other.

Homework?

2007-09-13T22:09:00.000-04:00

Maybe now I understand why DQ does not want to go to school. She is only two years old and already has homework!

This week we made an "All About Me" poster for her classroom. Let me rephrase that... I had to make an All About Katie poster for her class. She was pretty proud of it.

Note to self: Comb DQs hair before taking any pictures in the morning...

DQ's sleeping problems

2007-09-10T17:11:00.000-04:00

One of the things I like about the girl's new daycare is that their teachers have email and send updates throughout the day if they are having any problems. Here is an email from DQs teacher on Monday:

Hi. I was wondering about DQ's sleeping habits over the weekend. She had a really tough time staying awake this morning. Was she up in the night or taking nap at a different time?

Dear Toddler teacher -
No, I can't figure out why she would be tired. Friday night I let her stay up as late as she wanted. I like to do this on the weekends to ensure I get a little extra sleeping in time in the morning.

Saturday we had a busy day, but she did get a nap in. We went to story time at the book store in the morning and then we went straight to the football stadium and tailgated for over 6 hours. She made herself a bed in a truck tailgate. I am sure she had a good quality nap while her parents and grandparents were drinking and eating.

Sunday we spent the morning at the park and then she took a nap curled up in chair while watching a movie. Again, I am sure she had a really good nap - even though the movie Cars is pretty loud. We then went to the library, shopping for shoes and then out for dinner to celebrate the King's birthday.

At night DQ has been sleeping in the same bed with Princess the past few weeks. She doesn't like to sleep alone. I have found that this also streamlines the 'going to bed' process for me. I only have to read books once and the girls stay in their room the entire night. I seems to be a win-win situation. I am sure the girls play in bed for a while, but this way I get a good 1 1/2 hours of "mommy time" at night.

I am sorry she has been so tired, but I really don't see anything out of the ordinary for other 2 year olds...
Sincerely,The Royal Highness

Last week in review

2007-09-10T17:05:00.000-04:00

Sorry I didn't get anything posted last week - here is a quick review of our exciting lives.

1. We finally got to see our new twin nephews from Pennsylvania. They were so cute that Princess wanted to take one home. Thank god my brother didn't allow it… one child in diapers is enough for this family.

2. Princess and DQ started their new school. They have both had a few rocky days, but I think they will adjust. By Friday, Princess was saying this is the best school ever. I don't think DQ would agree quite yet.

3. Princess also started her new dance class. It is a combination of both tap and ballet. She loves dressing up in her dance clothes and wearing her noisy tap shoes.

4. The glue on DQs scar is falling off and it looks a lot better. She still keeps saying its an "owie" and is very careful with it. I can't tell if she is just trying to get sympathy at this point or if it really does hurt.

5. Saturday we all went to our first tailgate. The girls had a ton of fun eating junk food and playing outside all day. We also went to a story time at the university book store featuring a book about Iowa State. We found out that both girls are still deathly afraid of Cy. DQ would scream and shake in fear if she got within 10 feet of him. Princess was no where to be found during this time. I am pretty sure she was hiding behind some books so Cy wouldn't see her.

Exciting stuff huh?

Putting things into perspective

2007-08-30T15:50:00.001-04:00

DQ's doctor appointment on Monday was more traumatic than the original accident last week. The doctor agreed she probably had an infection on her cut, but wondered if something else was going on to make her eye red. He ordered blood tests from the lab to check her white blood cell count to see if she needed a shot of antibiotics or just a prescription. This test involved taking blood from her arm - not a finger prick - from a 2 year old that is already mad about being there. The first time they tried, she pulled it out of her arm and there was blood squirting out. Thank God the King took her into the lab - I probably would have passed out by this point and ended up with a cut on my head. It took 4 lab techs and about 20 minutes to get her held down in order to take 3 vials of blood. All that time she was screaming at the top of her lungs for her blanket and her mommy. I just sat in the waiting room with my head down. Was this test worth it? Looking back, should I have just requested she get the shot instead of going through all this? What would it have mattered? I think I would rather go through labor - without drugs - than to hear one of my children scream like this again. Once that ordeal was over, we had to go back to her doctor and wait for the results. She was a total mess by this point. She just sat on my lap whimpering and crying. Her white blood count was high so they ended up giving her the antibiotic shot and eye drops. He also tried to drain some pus out of the area that is glued which involved more holding DQ down. He then stated he wanted to see her again the next day. If things were not looking better she would have to go through more blood test and another shot. Luckily she started looking better and we got out Tuesday with just a prescription. Now she is back to her normal spunky self and getting into all sorts of trouble.

DQ after a 4 hour nap Monday afternoon.

As we sat in the waiting room on Monday there was another mom with her baby - I assume the baby was 6 months or so. She was making some small talk with us stating how kids are wonderful, but they really tear at your heart when things go bad. She said her baby had spent several days in the hospital last month and she was worried they were going back again. I didn't ask her any details, mostly because I was focused on my own child and getting her calmed down. Thinking back about that mom now, really puts things into perspective. This event, even as traumatic it has been on both DQ and me, is small stuff. It makes me very aware about how thankful I need to be that my kids are healthy.

I am thankful that the most traumatic thing either my kids have had to go through is are cuts and bruises. Although it totally breaks my heart to see them hurt, at least I have never had to see my kids hooked up to monitors, tubes or in a hospital bed.

I am thankful that I can count on one hand the number of times my kids have seen a doctor outside of their normal checkups. I can probably use the other hand to count the number of days I have had to take off work because one of them have been sick.

I am thankful I have never had a bottle of children's Tylenol get emptied before the expiration date.

I am thankful my kids are strong, both in strength and will. Seeing DQ this past week, I am pretty sure no one is going to be able to push her around.

Deep thoughts from Your Royal Highness...

DQ - Monday Morning update

2007-08-27T09:33:00.000-04:00

(Wow, what a bad picture....sorry!)

We have an appointment late this morning.

DQ update - From bad to worse

2007-08-26T22:57:00.000-04:00

DQ now looks like she was in a fight... and lost. Today her face began to swell up where her injury is. Looks like we will be heading back to the doctor tomorrow.

DQs bad day

2007-08-21T21:41:00.000-04:00

DQ has had the worst day of her life today.

First she had to go for her 2 year checkup at the doctor. She had get one shot and her finger pricked. The entire clinic knew she was not happy about any of this.

Next we stopped by her new preschool she will be going to starting in September. She was enjoying the toys in her new room when all of a sudden she tripped on her own two feet and fell onto a corner of a table. She got a cut right below her eyebrow and we went back to the doctor's office. Instead of stitches they glued her owie shut. I know realize that the past two years of her screaming were only practice for this day. Even the nurse and doctor commented on the strength of her lungs. It took both the nurse and I to hold her still for the doctor to put in the glue.

DQ took a good nap after all this trauma and got up and played with her sister for a few hours. I figured we were in the clear - she was over it. However about 6:00 tonight she started acting really whiny and kept saying OWIE...I tried to give her some Tylenol, but she refused (the bottle expired in 2006, but I am sure it would still work). She went to lay down on the couch instead of eating dinner. Any of you that has seen DQ eat, knows this is EXTREMELY odd for her. I picked her up to put on her PJs and noticed she was burning up. I took her temperature and it was 102.5. Yikes! I am hoping the fever is a side effect of the shot she received today and not some kind of infection setting in. I did finally force some Tylenol down her and she is now sleeping.

The glue actually makes the wound look bigger than it actually is.

The first golf lesson

2007-08-15T22:00:00.000-04:00

Princess is starting to follow in her daddy's footsteps. Today the junior golf clubs I ordered off Ebay were delivered and the King jumped at the chance to take her out on the course. He said she mostly only did putting because she didn't know what to do anywhere else. It looks to me like she is a natural.

When she becomes a pro at age 18 she is going to love this picture of her in front of her daddy's Jack Daniels golf cart with the beer flag.

When I got home from work she ran to the door to tell me what she got today. She was so excited and had to show me her new golf clubs right away. She calls the head covers 'Cozy Covers'. We had to look at each club and where she kept the golf balls. She was so proud. We hope she will keep this excitement about the game. This could be ~~our meal ticket for a early retirement~~ a game she can play for the rest of her life.

Pigtails!

2007-08-15T21:54:00.000-04:00

DQ finally has enough hair for pigtails! Since Princess refuses to let me do anything with her hair, DQ is going to wear these EVERY DAY! She thinks she is pretty cute with them in her hair. I would have to agree with her.

Princess in training

2007-08-09T21:52:00.000-04:00

There is no use fighting it. We will soon have two princesses in this household. I know the King has secretly hoped that DQ would not be as girly as her big sister, but it is going to happen whether we like it or not.

Princess helped DQ get into her dress and showed her how to twirl and dance in her beautiful dress. DQ then asked for her crown. Princess was calling DQ "Anistacia" all evening. For those of you who don't watch Cinderella 2-3 times a week, Anistacia is one of the wicked sisters...

Next stop... the LPGA

2007-08-07T20:46:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was the King's family golf tournament. This is a semi-professional event that involves the some of the best golfers around the state....ok, maybe not the best golfers, but definitely some of the best drinkers in the state.

The tournament is a 4 person best shot and every one is mixed up - you do not golf with your spouse. I had a fantastic team this year and we won the tournament. I am sure those of you who have actually golfed with me in the past are now reading this with your jaw open. Rest assured, I have not improved - it was the other three players on my team that actually won it...On the second hole I topped the ball and it stopped about 15 feet in front of me. Of course this hole was for "Shortest Drive - Woman". I had to sign my name to the paper and steak my position. I figured the King would be so proud of me. I was in the running for this prize for most of the day, but someone finally beat me out in the last few holes. After about 10 more holes and 5 cans of beer I finally warmed up. I whipped out my driver and hit the most beautiful shot that has ever been hit with these clubs. This hole just happened to be the prize for "Longest Drive - Woman". I am not sure where exactly this shot came from... the golfing gods must have been helping me out.

What is more exciting, is that two people hit a hole in one at this tournament. This hole just happened to be sponsored by a local car dealer and these two people won a new car! How exciting is that?

Happy Birthday Drama Queen!

2007-08-07T20:26:00.000-04:00

Today's is DQ's birthday. We had a fun day today just hanging out together. We didn't do anything special, just had mommy and me time.

The Cake!

2007-07-29T22:10:00.000-04:00

We had the big birthday bash for the girls today. Of course we had a princess theme since our household is full of royalty. Here is a quick picture of the cake I made for the party.

I guess all those hours I spend watching Ace of Cakes on Food Network has paid off.

The cake had lots of flaws and the top even tumbled over once, but to the Princess and DQ, the only thing that mattered were the figurines on top of the cake. I could have put them on top of a castle made of mashed potatoes and they would have thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

I will post more pictures of the party later this week.

Happy Birthday Princess!

2007-07-25T21:04:00.000-04:00

The princess turned 4 years old today. Last night before she went to bed she kept saying "I don't want to be 4! I just want to be 3!" I think a part of me agreed with her - I want her to stay little and not be so grown up. However after today's celebration she is already talking about being 5.

Every year, I take the girl's birthday off work and spend the day with just the birthday girl. Today we started off the day by going to the 'bagel store' for a bagel and chocolate milk. After breakfast, we went to story time at the library. We checked out a ton of movies and books to bring home. Then we went to the 'Jelly Bean Store' and picked out her favorite (mostly pink and purple) Jelly Belly jelly beans. We headed to the mall and went to the movie "Meet the Robinson's". Our lunch was jelly beans and popcorn at the theater. After the movie we walked around the mall and spent about 30 minutes in the princess section of Clarie's Boutique trying to figure out what she wanted to buy. It was such a hard decision, but she finally ended up with some Cinderella lip gloss. After all that excitement we went home and painted her fingernails pink. We popped in one of our movies from the library and took a nap. Dinner was at Happy Joe's. Princess about jumped out of her seat when she heard the horn honk when they sang Happy Birthday. Finally after all that excitement Princess was able to open her presents. She was most excited about her new mp3 player. She wore it around her neck and was dancing the evening away to 'Who Let the Dogs Out' and 'I Like to Move It, Move It.'

6 months

2 years old

3 years old

4 years old

Thank You

2007-07-16T12:05:00.000-04:00

Dear Brother –
I just wanted to send you a thank you note for the wonderful birthday dinner you cooked for me yesterday. The food was fabulous and we all had a good time laughing at the fact DQ could eat a cob of sweet corn faster than any adult. After all the years of you not even recognizing I had a birthday, this was a really nice gesture.

It was also very thoughtful that you helped DQ with her present for me. This morning after breakfast, I went downstairs to do a load of laundry. Like usual, she started to follow me down the stairs. About half way down, she said “yuck”. I went to see what she was talking about and saw a brown skid mark with corn kernels going down 3 of the steps. That’s right... She FILLED her diaper with corn and then slid down the stairs leaving a trail for me to clean up. What a great birthday present. The best part is –this was just minutes before I had to leave for work. Needless to say, I was over 15 minutes late because I had to clean the kid and then carpet.

Happy Birthday to me…
Your Royal Highness

An apology letter

2007-07-09T13:43:00.000-04:00

Dear Neighbors -

Please accept my apology for the what you saw in front of our house last Saturday evening. It started out very innocent. It was super hot outside all day so the girls decided to take a dip in the pool to cool off before bed. Princess begged me to put on my swimsuit and swim with them. I reluctantly agreed, thinking I would just sit down in the pool and no one would see me. Like I said - it was hot outside and I thought it would feel good.

The girls started playing with their little squirt guns and shooting the King (who was not in his swim suit). The king got a hold of one of them and started squirting me in the face repeatedly. I was getting a little annoyed so I started splashing him. He finally disappeared and left the girls and I in peace. A few minutes later he appeared with the Super Soaker XXL 5000. I have no idea where he dug this gun out of, but he found it somewhere in our house. Our little baby squirt guns were no match for this beast.

What happened next is when things became out of control. We were all running around the yard ith buckets and squirt guns trying to soak each other. I know we live in a nice neighborhood and no one wants to see an overweight mom run around the house in a swim suit, but it happened. Luckily I finally came to my senses when one of you actually stopped your vehicle in front of our house to watch the show.

Again, I doapologize, but I can't guarantee it won't happen again... We had a lot of fun :)

Sincerely,
The Royal Highness

Pictures from July 4th

2007-07-08T21:38:00.001-04:00

Here are some pictures from Grandma and Grandpa Bs on July 4th. The girls got to swim in their large above the ground pool. They loved it so much we went out this weekend and purchased one just like it!

I will let you figure out what happened in the next few pictures...

And a few pictures of our favorite girl cousin. Isn't she a cutie?

Another milestone

2007-07-08T21:24:00.001-04:00

Our little DQ is growing up. This weekend we converted the crib into a toddler bed. Princess was nice enough to sleep with her the first night to make sure she wouldn't fall out. I could still hear them giggling at 10:00 at night so I don't think there was much sleeping going on.

I am going to miss her yelling "MOMMY" or "DADDY" from her crib when she wakes up in the morning.

Red, White and Black & Blue

2007-07-03T20:14:00.000-04:00

DQ is bursting with American pride this Independence Day. She has decorated her entire body with red, white and blue during the past week. Friday she planted head first into the sidewalk to give her face a nice red accent. She also has bruise on her face from an different incident. Her legs are full of scratches, scrapes and bruises.

Unfortunately for DQ... I think she received her gracefulness from me, and it is not something I have grown out of.

Ice cold milk and an Oreo cookie...

2007-06-27T22:13:00.000-04:00

Two reasons why I cannot have OREOs in the house:

1. I think I could eat an entire bag in one day. I have an oreo addiction.

2. THIS:

Thank God we ate outside tonight.

The Price of Sanity

2007-06-25T21:58:00.000-04:00

Drinks after work with co-workers. No need for a babysitter: $32.00

Going out for lunch and then shopping with the King. No one spilled milk, put partially chewed food on my plate or threw a fit in the middle of the store: $125.00

Regaining my sanity and realizing how amazing my kids are: Priceless.

Thanks for a great weekend Grammy!

What Flavor Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Are You?

2007-06-24T22:18:00.000-04:00

Enter your name at this site and it will tell you what flavor of ice cream you are.

You Are Chunky Monkey Ice Cream

So I guess I am a chunky monkey... how depressing is that? I think I will go eat some ice cream.

What Flavor Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Are You?

Restaurant Meme

2007-06-24T20:26:00.000-04:00

My first meme!

Green3 obviously thought I was going to be bored on my weekend without kids and tagged me for a meme. Here are the rules.

Link to name of person that tagged you.

Include state and country you live in.

List top 5 favorite local restaurants

Tag 5 other people and let them know they've been tagged.

I am from Iowa. If you don't know what country that is in, look it up.

Since Green3 listed a few of my favorite Ames restaurants, I will expand out into the Des Moines area also.

1. Buzzard Billy's. This is the King and I's favorite restaurant. We go there for each of our birthdays. We love spicy food and I don't know anywhere else in the area that you can get cajun food. We always get the armadillo eggs as an appetizer and I get the Chicken Czarina for my meal.

2. Carlos O'Kelly's - I could make a meal on the chips and salsa alone.

3. Pita Pit - When I want to eat healthy and fast, this is my first choice. Tons of veggies and meats stuffed into a pita bread...yum.

4. Great Plains Sauce & Dough Co - Great Plains has the best pizza in Ames. The ultra thick crust is to die for (if the pound of cheese doesn't kill you first). The lunch deal is a bargain at $1.50 a slice.

5. Wallaby's Bar and Grill - This is hands down the best sports bar and grill restaurant in town. I have never had a meal there I didn't like.

So now I am supposed to tag 5 others... unfortunately I have no other blog friends so I am going to skip this. If you are one of the lurkers (a.k.a my family) that read this blog, post your favorites in the comments.

Pink cupcakes

2007-06-14T22:11:00.000-04:00

It is Princess's last day at her preschool tomorrow so I told her we could bring treats. When I asked her what she wanted to bring she replied "Pink Cupcakes." So I looked through my cookbooks and found a recipe for Strawberry Cake.

Strawberry Cake
10 oz package frozen strawberries, thawed
1 package white cake mix
3 oz package strawberry jello
4 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350. Grease cake pans with non-stick spray (or line cupcake pan with liners).

In a mixing bowl beat together all ingredients. Beat for 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Fill prepared pans.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

That's it! How easy is that? They taste pretty good too.

Here is frosting I made. It is a lightened up version of cream cheese frosting.

Light Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz brick of low-fat (Neufchatel) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
8 oz tub of light cool whip, thawed

Mix all together until light and fluffy. Store in fridge.

The frosting is very good on chocolate teddy grahams also (not that I would know...).

Unfortunately I didn't have any food coloring to tint the frosting pink, but she was happy with just the sprinkles. It is a good thing these are just for preschoolers. My decorating\frosting skills need some work.

We have lost control of the castle

2007-06-13T21:18:00.001-04:00

I am seriously changing the name of my blog to Life in the Loony Bin because that is where I am headed.

We have lost total control of our house. The princess is contesting everything we say and will not do as she is told. Yesterday while the King was mowing the lawn the princess went for a bike ride while I pulled DQ in the wagon. We were three blocks from home when she started going down the slightest of incline and it freaked her out. She bailed off the bike and I helped her walk it to the end of the block where it was flat again. She refused to get back on and yelled at the top of her lungs that she was NOT GOING TO GET ON MY BIKE. I tried bribery. I tried threats. I tried speaking softly and reasoning with her. She just kept getting louder and louder. By now we have several residents watching us from their lawns. I finally decide to take control of the situation and picked her up, put her in the wagon and put on the seat belt to lock her in. She screamed the entire way home. Everyone in the neighborhood was watching me pull a wagon in one hand and carrying a bike in the other. I even got a "I've been there" comment from one of the neighbors.

Then tonight didn't start much better. When I picked Princess up at school she fell to the floor screaming I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME! Again, I try to reason, bribe and threaten her to stop and get in the van. Nothing is working. So I pick her up kicking and screaming and leave daycare. I am sure the teachers now think I beat my kids and I will have a visit from social services later this week. After dinner I told Princess that if she cleaned her room we could paint fingernails and toenails. Her favorite thing! She went into her room, but instead of cleaning she started dinking around. I gave her a few pointers on where to start. She did that and then asked what she should do next. I gave her a few more ideas, but by now the fingernail painting reward was just not worth it. So I told her if the toys were not picked up by the time I got back everything on the floor would go to the garbage. She assumed my threats were empty as usual and continued to play. 15 minutes later I went into her room with a garbage bag. She didn't even seem to notice. In fact she left the room to play with DQ. I put the stuffed garbage bags in the kitchen and she finally caught on and started crying. I carried the bags down to the garage and left them. Inside the bags are a few of her prized possessions (Fairy Barbie and Ariel). Will she get them back? Only time will tell.

And DQ? Not much has changed - she has always been on the naughty side. It was just a lot easier to keep sane when I had one princess.

Outdoor fun

2007-06-05T20:53:00.000-04:00

It was a gorgeous evening tonight.

DQ's favorite thing to do outside is to take a walk with her stroller and baby. Tonight each girl had their own little stroller and baby and we walked for about 4 blocks. Now if I can only find a stroller big enough for me to fit in...they can start paying me back for the years of pushing them around.

All the kids in the neighborhood love to ride either their scooter or bike. Princess is anxiously trying to learn how to keep up with them.

Another princess?

2007-05-21T21:53:00.000-04:00

All of a sudden DQ is wanting to wear dresses every day just like her big sister. Will we end up having two princesses in this household?

Even the naughty one can be cute.

A letter to the queen

2007-05-17T22:13:00.000-04:00

Dear Drama Queen,

You know I love you to pieces. You have a crooked little smirk of a smile that just melts my heart. I love it when you get excited over the little things - seeing a dog, swinging, jumping, taking your pants off by yourself... It also makes me so proud you are starting to get interest in potty training. Tonight you pooped in the potty and wore your big girl underpants to the store without an accident! Great job!

But, DQ? You are not even 2 yet, but I feel like we have been going through the "terrible twos" for over a year now. I know you are just advanced for your age, but the screaming and tantrums makes your mommy crazy. So knock it off. I know you get frustrated when you can't do something, but you don't need to throw a fit. Let me help you. And can you work on your listening skills? I know you can understand me when I am talking to you. Please just do what I say and move on to something else. You don't have to say NO all the time. There is no reason to scream and cry every time I leave the room. I know you love me and want to be with me all the time, but sometimes I just want to use the bathroom by myself. I will be right back I promise. You don't do this with daddy. Please don't do it with me either.

Also, please do not fight with your sister. Can you just try to get along? No more hitting or pushing. When you do stuff like that both of you end up crying. Wouldn't you rather just play together?

And while we are talking, let's take a moment to review table manners. When you try something you do not like, please do not take it out of your mouth and put it on my plate. Mommy doesn't want it either. When you finish eating, do not throw you plate on the floor. I don't don't want to sweep the floor every single night. Just leave what you didn't eat on your plate and I will take care of it when I am finished. If you food is too hot, make sure you blow on it to cool it off. Spitting on your food just makes it soggy and it grosses the rest of us out. I am really proud that you are now drinking out of a big girl glass, but please remember to swallow your milk. Do not spit it out of your mouth. I know it feels cool to have milk run down your face, but it is really messy.

One more thing. Please limit the amount of time you spend picking your nose. I understand it is a great way to past the time, but it is not very lady like. If you do pick your nose and dig out a prize, I don't need to see it. I am sure you are proud of your find, but please just keep it to your self. Or wipe it on your daddy, that would be okay also.

We are going on vacation next week and I am worried about these issues while we are away from home. There is going to be a lot to do and lots of people around. Please be on your best behavior. You are going to have a lot of fun. It's okay to take a rest when you get tired. You do not need to keep up with the older kids.

I know we don't spend very much one on one time together and I will try to change that. Maybe we can make a deal. If you scream and cry less, I will be more willing to take you places. Sound good?

Just some things for you to think about.

Love,

The Royal Highness

Tonight's episode of Dancing with the Stars.

2007-05-14T21:54:00.000-04:00

Here is a recap of tonight's episode:

The opening act was a playful number with both finalists.

In Round 1, the princess started out strong with the Salsa.

DQ danced the Fox Trot and got a little carried away with her props, but had a strong ending.

Next up in Round 2, the Princess danced the Quick Step. Her choreography was flawless. Perfect 10s from the judges.

DQ must have gotten a little nervous from the Princess's perfect performance. DQ tried to entice the judges with a strip tease dance.

She was later disqualified.

Mother's Day Bike Ride

2007-05-13T20:45:00.000-04:00

I think the bike ride wiped me out also. I have nothing creative to say.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there!

Dear John...

2007-05-07T22:42:00.000-04:00

Dear Monte,
You have been in my life for almost 9 years. We’ve had a lot of good times and I’ve really enjoyed being with you. However, it is time for me move on. I’m sorry, but I am really needing someone a little more family oriented and I don't think you are going to change. I think it’s time we broke up.

You were my first and you will always have a special place in my heart. At first, your only role was to be eye candy. I didn't expect much from you except good performance. Then you started taking on more duties. I made you carry my bikes. The king made you pull his golf cart. Sometimes, you even carried around both of the girls around at once. Let's be honest, you were just not made to do all this.

I wish you the best of luck. I’m sure I will be seeing you around and I don’t hope it will not make you uncomfortable when I am with my new ride. You just aren’t family material and I need to think about the future. I need to move on to the next phase of my life. My life as a Mini-Van Mom.

Love,
Your Royal Highness

CSI: The Castle

2007-05-03T20:39:00.000-04:00

There has been a crime spree in the castle the past 24 hours. Our investigators have been hot on the case.

Yesterday evening the King's wallet was taken out of our bedroom after the girls were sweetly sleeping in beds. The intruder removed nearly everything from the wallet including credit cards, pictures, punch cards and his drivers license and left the empty wallet in the middle of our hallway. The intruder must have felt sorry for the King and left his $4 in cash. Later we found the the contents of his wallet in the princess's bed. We believe the looter was trying to frame the princess since there was no way she could have have done this since she was asleep at the time of the crime.

Today when the King was home with our little angels alone, vandals came into the house and smeared the King's lotion all over the princess's bedroom. Evidence of the vandelism was everywhere.

The King was beginning to worry that he was the target of all this crime activity. However this evening, shortly after I had cleaned our kitchen floor, a graffiti artist decided that our white floor needed some color.

Our officials have one suspect in custody and are currently questioning a possible accomplice. No motives are known at this time.

Another conversation from the car...

2007-05-03T11:23:00.000-04:00

Momma?
Yes princess?
My boogers match the trees.

Fashion Dos and Don'ts from the Castle

2007-04-24T22:16:00.000-04:00

DO wear monochromatic outfits for a slimming look.

DON'T wear a casual jacket with dressy clothing.

DON'T try to make a statement by wearing common items in a slightly different manner.

DO wear your hair up so it is out of your eyes.

DO wear a dress at all times if you are a princess. Even while exercising.

DO wear tutus if all your dresses are at the cleaners.

But DON'T wear tutus without pants.

Bathroom talk

2007-04-21T22:02:00.000-04:00

Today we went to the VIESHA parade. Of course Princess has to go potty after the parade. The only things around are port-a-pottys. I take the Princess in one and she had no interest in using one of those.

So we went inside one of the campus buildings and found a bathroom. Inside was two Iowa State Cheerleaders standing at the mirror. She goes into one of the stalls and starts doing her business.

Momma?

Yes princess? (I have a feeling nothing good is going to come out of her mouth)

I am going poopies.

Ok Princess.

I apologize to the cheerleaders.

Swimming

2007-04-18T22:25:00.000-04:00

Tonight was the last night of the princess's swimming lessons. She really enjoyed it and told me she wanted to go 5 more times. We will probably sign up for another session this summer.

How to be a lady

2007-04-18T22:04:00.000-04:00

Momma?

Yes princess?

I don't pick my nose because I am a lady. That's what my teacher says.

Spring

2007-04-17T21:25:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we planted seeds in front of our house. The girls thought it was a lot of fun, especially watering the dirt!

Today I was too broke to buy a pop at work

2007-04-17T21:23:00.000-04:00

And this is why:

Almost Perfect

2007-04-17T11:25:00.000-04:00

I took a walk yesterday evening after the girls went to bed. It was almost perfect. These are the kind of walks that make you want to exercise everyday. I was wearing my cute exercise outfit I received from the king from Christmas. The weather was beautiful. The stars were bright. I felt strong and walked at a faster pace than usual. I even jogged a few minutes.

The problem? This song was going through my head during my entire walk:

The wonderful thing about Tiggers
Is Tiggers are wonderful things
Their tops are made out of rubber
Their bottoms are made out of springs
They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy
Fun, fun, fun, fun, FUN!
But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers
Is I'm the only one

AHHHH!!! it is in my head again.

Whole Wheat Monkey Bread

2007-04-15T13:43:00.000-04:00

Here is a recipe we enjoy eating on the weekends. I took a picture of it this morning to add to the blog and it looks like a pile of monkey doo-doo, not a yummy breakfast. Obviously a career as a photo food stylist is not in my future.

Monkey Bread
1 loaf frozen whole wheat bread dough.
1 stick butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Pecans

Thaw out frozen dough according to package directions. In the morning, melt butter, sugar and cinnamon in a sauce pan. Cook until the brown sugar is dissolved.
Butter a loaf sized pan. Break off pieces (bite sized) of the bread dough and place it in the loaf pan. When you have used half of the dough, pour on half of the caramel sauce and nuts. Add another layer of the remaining dough and sauce. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

I gotta wear shades...

2007-04-15T13:28:00.000-04:00

Here are the girls showing off their new Sunglasses from the Easter Bunny.

My morning to sleep in

2007-04-14T09:38:00.000-04:00

Saturday is my morning to sleep in. I look forward to it all week. I love the feeling of sleeping until I want to wake up, no alarm clocks.

Wait... that was before we had kids.

Here is the reality of my "sleeping in"

6:45 - DQ wakes up. She has some sort of internal alarm clock that wakes up every day at exactly this time. The King takes 10 minutes to get out of bed to get her. During that 10 minutes everyone in the house can hear her taking to herself and calling out Mama!

6:55 - DQ is let out of her crib. She goes directly into my bedroom. She acts like she wants to lay in bed with us so the King lets her in and we all lay down together. It sounds great, doesn't it? However, anyone who knows DQ realizes she cannot sit or lay still for any amount of time.

7:00 - The Princess awakes. Most likely from all the commotion going on in our room.

7:05 - Somehow DQ locks herself and the princess in the bathroom. I can hear the princess calling out Daddy... Daddy. The King finally lets them out and I shut my bedroom door. DQ sees me doing this and immediately goes to my door and starts banging on it. The princess lets her in - isn't she a good helper? DQ comes in the room and pushes the radio button. The radio station is not tuned in so I just hear loud static with a beat.

7:15 - The king finally gets them for breakfast. Finally, peace and quiet. I start dozing off again.

7:25 - DQ comes back to the room. Turns on the radio again.

7:30 - King tells DQ that Dora is on. She goes to watch TV

7:35 - Just when I start getting comfy - DQ comes back into my room and is screaming QUACK, QUACK, QUACK... I open my eyes and she is standing there with a duck.

I give up at this point and get up. Maybe next weekend I will get to sleep in.

Welcome to my blog

2007-04-13T23:12:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!
I am starting this blog to keep everyone updated with what is going on with our family. I will try to post a few times a week. Check back often for updates and leave comments!

I got the idea for the blog name from my incredibly intelligent princess. At dinner tonight she asked for some more potatoes. I put some more on her plate and she replied to me:
"thank you Your Highness"
Do I raise smart kids or what? Of course the King claims she said "your hind-ass" but he is not the writer of this blog, is he?