I Can Do it Myself: the MakeUp Edition

The girls like to get into my makeup.  It's a nightmare.  They smear it all over the cabinets, floor, bed.  They mix, dig-out, and dump out everything.  So....we made a deal.  When they want to play with my makeup, they come tell me.  Then I get to help them.  Then it's not so destructive.  So, don't tell Dad, but here's my pretty girls:

Finch applying her eye shadow

Seraph loved the blush best

Angel wanted blue!

she did pretty good for no help.
Her blush was a little low

Finch helped Seraph
and liked the colors

This gives me hope that I'll
be able to do all the girls' hair
before school each morning

Kisses!

Seraph kisses!

Angel kisses
I love this picture!

Rabbit Spies an Angel

What happens when you send a Beautiful Rabbit and Angel outside with a camera?

First they find the flowers!

love the toes!

I love how big sister got her shadow in this one :)

everything is more perfect with flowers!!

Angel

Big Hugs!!  (This is sooooo Angel)

Finch, Seraph, Bear, Angel (left to right)

Seraph has been putting food in her mouth on purpose!  She doesn't like to do it when Mom is nearby......but she'll climb up when everyone is gone and poke food with the back side of a spoon and then taste it.  So far she likes Oreo ice cream (ooops, she's allergic to dairy!) and strawberry jam.  What??  When did she start liking sweet stuff??

Her skills at making HUGE messes with food have really developed this past month.  (This is a big step from  not wanting any food to touch her!)

She's added many new words this month, too.  Yesterday she said: "Mom, I need you to give me drink." When I reminded her to ask for water in her cup. She says, "Mommy" every time she sees me...which I just love!!  She's very loving...and gives us hugs and kisses...and her favorite toys hugs and kisses....and my kids' friends hugs and kisses.

She's getting more used to taking the bus to preschool.  Today she frowned, but didn't cry.  Delightful Finch kept asking, "Mommy, where is my bus?  I want a bus to take me to my class!"  She's out of luck as we live very close to the school she'll be attending next year.

Finch is also having a hard time with Angel's potty training.  Finch doesn't understand why we don't all get candy when *she* goes potty. Beautiful Rabbit (as the oldest child) is very sympathetic of Finch's plight.

First day of Preschool

Angel & Finch playing outside waiting for Seraph to come home.

"Hey, where's Seraph's bus?"

"I think I see it!"

"Seraph!!!!  How was your first day of preschool?"

Seraph didn't stop to give me hugs or even
say hello.  She bee-lined  straight for the water
cup I'd left on the steps. It must've been a
thirsty day because usually ignores her sippy cup.

bye bye, bus!

Honk, Honk

Tells it Like it Is...

Finch and Angel were playing a game. Angel fell down and started crying.  Finch decided the game was over and walked away....
Mom: Finch!  Go see if Angel is ok! [like go give her a hug and ask if she needs anything]
Finch: She is NOT ok. [task completed, walks off]

Sweet Angel

Mom [on phone]: Love you, Sweetie.  b-bye.
Angel: Was that Daddy?
Mom: Yep.
Angel: That's soooo COOL!!

Angel: Mom, I hit your computer.....and I'm so, so, soooo sorry :(
Mom: Awwww...I forgive you, sweetie.
Angel: Yay!  Squeezie hug! [/big hugs]

[Bear, Finch, Angel are all playing in the castle...when Mom enters the room]
Mom: Bear, come here--is your tummy still hungry?
Finch: Mom, we're not in trouble
Bear: We're just playing - we're not doing anything.
Angel: [pokes her head out the castle window] Mom, we're playing Magic Cards!!! [/huge smile]**
Bear: ANGEL!!  Don't say that!!
Finch: [scampers out of the castle] I need to go upstairs now.....

**no magic cards were hurt in the making of this memory.  Thank goodness!

The Slumber Party

Finch and Angel dragged their beds together for a slumber party.

It wasn't long before Seraph was in on the fun:

Cuties! Hope they have fun :)

Seraph Teaches Angel a New Game!!

On!

No, this has nothing to do with certain rival football teams.  Angel really, really, really wanted to wear the red one....and then Seraph wanted one, too.
Seraph has been sticking up for herself more lately.  Angel was drinking from Seraph's sippy cup earlier...and Seraph made a HUGE stink about it.
 She's also tall enough to grab all the spoons out of the drawer and throw them on the floor.  She pretends she doesn't know she's not supposed to do it, but I know better!
I used to avoid putting Seraph in blue at all costs....(it makes her skin look even more purple)...but she loves this jacket and often brings it to me and makes me put it on her.  and I'm a sucker for every bit of effort she puts into communication.

What I did today

• found the what I did today blog
• played make-up with my "dolls"
• "camera me!"
• tickled Bear
• ate sushi
• a little shower/water therapy with Seraph
• listened to that lil stinker (Seraph) empty the spoons out of the drawer ....twice!
• reminded the kids about the "no water out of the tub" rule and made them clean it up.
• walked Bear to the corner for school
• hugs and kisses
• "run for our lives!" (that's what Finch says every time she flushes the toilet....and you just have to run! She grabs her pants on the way out...and comes back to wash hands)
• learned about a heart defect that doesn't affect my life
• opened a late Christmas present that was beautiful (and my favorite color) with a note that make me LOL (thx, M)
• watched the first Yin/Yang episode of Psych w/ Beautiful Rabbit.
• mourned the loss of "Dora Saves the Day" because of a huge scratch......though Dora will always be with us in our hearts.....and also with us because Angel can recite the whole thing start to finish and does so almost every night at bedtime and then again at 4am.
• ran out of room on my camera's memory card!
• enjoyed being happy

Not again!

I have sooo many things crammed into each day.  That doesn't count changing diapers or dealing with icky insurance problems.  So I'm big on multitasking.  But, kids know when they're being multitasked.  They know you're not really comforting them if you're clicking your mouse.....or not really reading them the book if you're folding laundry. You can double up too much and then no one feels like they got any time even though really everyone got all the time.
So, today I did it the other way.  Instead of juggling all the kids, I grabbed the closest one and gave her 10 minutes of all my attention.  It was Angel.
She taught me a new game: you say "not again" with different nuances giving it a slightly different meaning each time you say it.  Clever girl.
Later I gave most of my attention to Finch (while I was preparing meds).
Instead of trying to split my attention fairly, I tried to give it out in bigger/more focused chunks.
Potty training went better.
The girls were happier.
I'm happier.

Go Team!

Watched the Jets with my lil football fan today.  Sexy Haqon watched the game with us - rooting for the wrong team just to spice things up.
The kids also played a game where they stack all the pillows on the floor and then run and jump over the pillows or knock them down.  At one point, they let the twins have a go.  Seraph was crazy happy to be included in the game.  Rabbit dropped her off on the couch afterwards and she couldn't stop jumping.  Angel just ran to jump on the pillows again and again. I love our couch!

Dress up

princesses

The kids played dress up tonight....and then marched downstairs all together to show Dad.  Ooops, guess they forgot Dad worked late and wasn't home yet.  Good thing I got lots of pictures!

The Bedtime Games

Tonight we put the kids to bed.....
and they just kept coming back downstairs.  Finally I put Bear and Finch to bed for the last time.  Under no circumstances where they to get up for any reason.  If they got out of bed again, I'd close the door. (the lightbulb in their room is not working, so closing the door is a big threat.) If I had to come up again after the door was closed, no computer or iPad for either of them tomorrow. Less than a minute later.....I see a rope-like object dangling over the side of the stairs accompanied by giggles.  Unbelievable!!!
Finch hurt her leg running back to bed.
It didn't help that Seraph was outside their bedroom door playing.  Angel slept through all of this.  She's an angel :) [Seraph goes to bed later than the other kids....but that's a story for another day]

Peace

Seraph didn't scream during every second of dinner tonight.  She didn't scream at all.  Not even when I shoved beans and stars in her mouth.  She took it out straight away and played with it!
Her new speech therapist missed our last two appointments.  But, she's assured me that she's coming this week - we have a standing appointment.  To be fair, the first miss was because she was sick...and the second was because she was snowed in!
Excited to see how Seraph acts around the therapist this week.
She's been sneaking sips from her cup instead of dumping all of it on the floor lately. Yay!

Two's

Seraph & Angel 1/2/11

Nope, they're not in a corner for being naughty.  That's where we had our Christmas tree.  The couch is all pushed back funny to make space for it....and now there's just nothing there!  I'm thinking of leaving it because I like funny spaces for playing.

I still have lots of things on my every day this year list...like exercising...and hugging my kids.  I lost the licorice, though. (that's what happens when you pig out on New Years'.

The kids go back to school tomorrow.....

and I still can't find my keys!

wish me luck :)

Happy New Year!!

Seraph & Angel

Things I've done every day in 2011 (so far):

• Played Castle Ravenloft and Castle Panic
• Slept in!
• prayed
• read scriptures
• hugged my kids
• ate licorice
• Exercised
• watched Sexy Haqon make dinner
• watched the kids play with their cousins
• killed half my pet fish then brought them back to life
• read Lee Childs
• watched Psych
• washed dishes
• updated my blog!!

Melts in your Mouth

Seraph is still fed via her gtube....and we're in the process of teaching her how to eat.

Twice a day (it's supposed to be every meal but that never happens), I strap Seraph into her chair and shove three bites of food into her mouth.  Breakfast is apple-cinnamon stars!  They melt in your mouth so I just grind them into her teeth a bit.  The cinnamon is pretty potent for baby food.  Her taste buds are fully in now but she's not used to tasting anything.....so we're working on getting used to tastes.  She HATES it!

I leave a sippy cup in reach.  (Filled with water, but I sometimes add some juice to the water)

The food does NOT go over well. Ever.  But....she often grabs the sippy cup to help get rid of the flavors in her mouth.

When it's over, I have to wait til she's not crying before I can get her down.  I usually hand her the sippy cup or put it down low where she can grab it.  Sometimes I spy her sipping from it later.  Yay!

Today I scooped up Angel and fed her the same way right along-side Seraph.  She was a good helper!  She helped me blow Kix around the table, too.  (Seraph gets a big kick out of blowing the tiny Kix balls across the table...it helps distract her so we can take bites of food more often.)

It's incredibly important to Angel to show everyone that she can do anything her siblings can do -- even her lil sister ;)   So, she LOVES being treated like Seraph....even if it means eating baby food.

Painting with Whipped Cream

Whipped cream painting is like finger painting but the mess isn't as permanent.  We used to do this in preschool.  What better way to trick Seraph into playing with food!!

Finch loved it!!

Seraph was NOT tricked.  Not even for a minute.  It was perfect for Angel, though.

Then I "wised-up" and put Strong Bear's on a plate.  Big mistake.  He barely drew at all!  It went straight in his mouth.

A great holiday (or any day) activity.  Clean up is easy - wipe everything twice with a warm/hot cloth.  Maybe next time we'll try pictionary--naming shapes and letters.