Dinner

Missy decided today to plan dinner. One list was what we would have for dinner, and one list was what we would have for dessert. I already had something else for dinner planned, but she was so excited to be planning a "feast" for us (in her words), that I couldn't say no.

For dinner, we ended up having chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and lemonade. I talked her out of the toast and crasins. For dessert we just had cookies. I explained we didn't want TOO much dessert.

The poor thing didn't get to eat very much of her dinner because of her wiggly tooth. Her top two teeth are very wiggly, and one of them was really bothering her. So, I tried and tried and tried to pull it out. Does anyone else's stomach totally turn as you are trying to yank a tooth from the gums? My stomach was doing flip flops hearing the squishing and popping noises. I'm getting queasy thinking about it again.

After about 15 minutes of pulling, it finally came out. Now the tooth fairy just needs to remember to come. Last time she totally forgot and I had to come up with a good excuse for her.

Benadryl to the Rescue & Math Faces

This morning Little Dude had another allergic reaction to "something". Luckily, it wasn't nearly as bad as it's been in the past, but I'm still trying to figure out what triggered it. It was my turn to teach preschool, and I seem to remember Little Dude talking about being "itchy". Truthfully, I didn't pay much attention, because it's not uncommon for him to say he's itchy. A little later, I look at him, and the left side of his face and arm are red and swollen with hive-like spots all over. I grab him and run upstairs and give him a super dose of Benadryl and cover him with anti-itch cream. And that was it. They immediately went away. He didn't eat anything strange or unusal, and I haven't started any new detergents/creams/etc. Weird. Anyways, poor thing was wiped out for most of the afternoon.

Missy was working on her math homework today. It can be really tricky explaining math and reasoning sometimes! I was playing around with my camera, and got a cute sequence of her getting a little frustrated with her homework.

First Sleep Over

Missy had her first sleep over on Friday at Emma Mavy's house. Luckily, we are great friends with the Mavy's, so we didn't have any problems with her going to a sleep over at their house, they're practically family. Missy had all of her stuff packed and ready to go before I had a chance to help her - talk about excitement.

Jeff went on a Scout camp-out as well this weekend, so Little Dude, Baby Belly and I had a quiet Friday and Saturday together. ( it was strangely quiet around the house). We had a fun night together on Friday with pizza, drinks, ice-cream, and a movie to watch together. On our way home with all of our yummy loot to watch the movie, Little Dude said, "It's not really fair Missy has a sleep over and I don't..... wait...... I guess it is fair, because you and I are having a really special time together - huh mom." I melted, and felt so grateful for sweet moments like these.

Guess who got a new camera?

Yep! Me! I have been wanting a nice camera for a very very long time.....the type of camera that takes beautifully detailed photos. I originally thought I was getting this camera for Christmas. Jeff came home one day and kept saying, "You are going to LOVE your Christmas present". Well, he kept saying it and saying it for weeks, so I kept trying to think of what I would really LOVE for Christmas, until one day, I figured it must be a camera!! Well, not quite. It was an electric blanket, but I am seriously in love with this blanket. It is so nice to get into bed and have it be all toasty warm. But now I have both an awesome camera and a blanket.

I am so excited to start learning how to use it. (Jeff is usually the one that studies up on everything, and then informs me how to use it.... I figure we don't both need to read the directions, and if he wants to, I'll let him :) But with this camera, since it's really for me, he's making me learn how to use it. I guess that's fair, but if anyone else has a Cannon XSi, please feel free to give me pointers! So, watch out for some awesome pictures!! (at least I hope :)

Family Donuts

On Saturday, we surprised the kids with a trip to the donut shop. We only have donuts maybe 2-3 times a year, so it's a big treat. Jeff and I love to "capture" the kids for a surprise. We tell them they have 5 minutes to get ready and get their shoes on, and then we're heading out for a surprise. My parents used to do this to me when I was a kid, and I loved it. The whole time, Missy & Little Dude are trying to guess where they are getting "captured" too. (One of Missy's guesses was Disneyland which made me laugh). Sometimes it's to Chuck E. Cheese, bowling, the movies, but on Saturday, it was to the best donut shop around: Family Donuts.

This place was soooo busy! And it's no wonder, their donuts are the best I've ever had. It's just around the block from where I grew up, so it has tons of memories for me. There are easily over 30 different kinds of donuts, and they are all soooo yummy.

Little Dude picked his donut according to size. He looked for the biggest chocolate covered one, and pointed. It was a Chocolate Covered Cinnamon Butterfly.

Missy picked hers by what she thought she would like the most, and then was a little disappointed that she didn't get a bigger one when she saw Little Dude's.

Jeff and I always get a Chocolate Chip Bar. This has mini chocolate chips all over the top of the donut, and then a chocolate chip center throughout the bar. This has been my favorite since I was 7! For those of you local, Family Donuts is on the corner of San Juan and Fair Oaks Blvd in Fair Oaks. It's definitely worth a trip if you are in the area!

Jeff and I went and saw Valkyrie on Friday, which was a really good movie. I think there are 2 swear words in the whole movie.... it's so nice to find a movie not littered with all of the immoral and trashy stuff these days. I have a new interest to read about WWII as well as all of the assassination attempts on Hitler.

Hair Cut & Bad Chocolate

Missy came home from school yesterday insisting I needed to cut her hair to her chin. Some of her friends got their hair cut over the break, and she wanted to be just like them. I am all for hair cuts, but was nervous to cut off 6 inches as the last time I trimmed her hair, it resulted in tears because I had cut off too much! ( I seriously didn't cut any more than 1/2 inch off). So, we made a compromise and I cut off 3 inches, and told her that if she still wants it shorter in a few days, we could cut off more.

Here is the before,

and the after.

She was estatic, and was prancing around the house saying what a wonderful day she was having. I'm not sure where she learned to strike a pose like that......

On a side note, I made a trip to Target today. I have been avoiding the stores because I can get suckered in by all of the 50%, 75%, and 90% off sales. Anyways, I went down the 90% aisle, and noticed they had a box of Target's chocolates, Choxie, for 90% off. These chocolates have had me so curious since Target has come out with them. First, because they are pretty pricey, (about $1 a piece) and second, they are really pretty and covered with bright colors and designs. I've secretly wanted to try them, but have never brought myself to buy them because of the price.

So, I picked up the box of nine chocolates, which were orginally $10, but now only $1. I didn't even get a picture with all of them in it because I was THAT curious ( ok- excited) about trying them. The result: I wasted $1. Jeff and I tried a milk & dark chocolate one each, and didn't want any more. They reminded me of Palmer's chocolate... the kind you get as a kid at Valentine's & Easter, except I like Palmer's better. So, if you haven't tried these yet, you're not missing anything :)

Christmas in Review

Christmas came and went so quickly. Here is a little of what we were up to:

Opening presents at Nana's & Grandpa's. Most of us got sick with a week-long stomach flu, which seriously stunk, literally.

That didn't stop the World Championship Ping Pong Tournaments, that Tyler always won. Great job Tyler!

We attempted to make sweet Christmas melodies on chimes. This will take much more practice than once a year :)

And we rung in the New Year with friends, food, and of course, Wii games. This was the first year that we let the kids stay up until midnight (actually more like 1am by the time we got home and all settled down). And, they did amazingly well ( and I did amazingly well too!) I was worried I wouldn't have the patience to deal with all of the bickering/arguing/crying due to staying up 4 hours later than they normally do. But I didn't bicker/argue/ or cry at all. Looks like 2009 is off to a great start.