Mommy Date

I was going to just head off to bed but decided I had better get this down in writing... lol

Abby and I had a mommy date this morning. Surprising how much fun that can be with an almost three year old. She really is becoming more and more my little companion. Another issue... she is starting to really really love shopping. I don't know if it's the getting out of the house or the spending time with me... or getting things. But she gets really excited when I tell her we are going shopping. We started off in the mall because I needed to get her some sandals that match her little dress. I decided to have her do a little free photo session at a place here in town, I just wanted to see how she did with another photographer....

But back to shoes. Turned out there was a sale that you could buy one and get the other pair for a dollar. Great for a parent. Well I convinced her on the first pair but couldn't get her to wear the second pair. Why? She wanted the cheap plastic giant purple flower sandals. Did we get those? If they had been anything other than 29 dollars for a pair of cheap plastic giant purple flower sandals. So no... we did not. I got her a cute little pair of white sandals with gems and another brown leather pair (that she still refuses to put on)

We then went looking for bows and wow that was a job. Why don't they sell pony tail bows? (i had her hair in pigtails) Good grief!

But we got the photos in, after a lot of work from mom. The verdict? Cute photos... still convinced I could do better if only I had someone that could be as silly as me and know how to make her smile like I can. (At one point the 'meep monster' was attacking the photographer) Don't know if she appreciated it but at least I got her to smile and laugh instead of cry!!!

So we went out and got ice cream and shared a cheese burger after that. I'm not going to lie, that was the best thing ever. Even Abby told me that "Mommy, I had a lot of fun with you."

What I didn't include in the above story was how hard I we had to work to prevent meltdowns and tears. Ever since she has been sick things have been more difficult for both of us in maintaining a 'neutral level.' But despite all of that, all of the frustration, the looks I got at the shoe place because my three year old is melting down... all worth it as we shared a cheeseburger and icecream. Best 5 dollars ever.

Apples and Pears

If I planted a pear tree it would grow me apples right now..

That's right apples. But at least it's a fruit right?

So at last I come back to this keyboard and put down a bunch of words and phrases and goofy kid quotes with a silly photo tucked in for good measure. Since everything else I have tried to do tonight has gone ridiculously wrong I gave in and decided to blog.

We spent the day with my inlaws, we drove down to visit because a dear person had come to visit from a far far away land. So I packed my cranky three-some into our minivan and caravaned down with all of the crazy semi drivers. The drive was fairly pleasant though I'm sure that the girls are tired of watching Dora Fairy Tale Princess... or you would think so.

Kiley and Kara are on the upswing and for the most part seem to be doing quite well now. They finished their last dose of medication today and head back to the ENT tomorrow afternoon to recheck everything. Good grief I hope we are done with ear stuff for a little while!

They played and played and enjoyed exploring a new territory and digging out all of the toys from the toyroom porch. They even took really good naps and all in all we had an enjoyable day. Two singing bunnies came home with us and have been a source of entertainment (probably more the adults even than K&K lol) There is something so fascinating about them!

Ok... not this type of singing rabbit. But he is so cute I had to include him... look at him!

Kiley loves to walk around and take me by the hand to discover places, Kara on the other hand would much rather explore without me and yell when she needs me to come find her. 

I thought of two other words K&K know: Bumpa (did i mention that one before?) and Hi!

Abby is still not back to 100%.... at this point I would say that she is about 40%

I sure hope that antibiotic kicks nasty illness soon.

I think that if I had a day off, with just Abby, and she were having an out of the world good/awesome day. We would play Barbies. And we would both be happy. (And for some reason that thought makes me tear up)

We have been having a lot of hard days. 

And I have been praying for patience a lot... and a quiet spirit, and a loving spirit. Because I can't do it alone.  

Busy!

Ok I'm making myself write on this darn thing if it kills me. As you all probably know my kids have been sick, I've had a lot of clinical hours and we are getting to the final countdown to graduation. Combine this with a few health annoyances on my own end....

All of this equals one very tired mom.

After 6 days of fever I finally decided enough was enough and brought Abby in... they diagnosed her with Bronchitis and a sinus infection and put her on an antibiotic. Goodness I hope that means the end of this! I cannot handle many more days of sick kids. Thankfully I have had a lot of help from my mother and mother in law. (and the grandpas too... we can't forget them)

I'm starting to watch K&K's verbal development a little more and really trying to push them to use more words. Out of nowhere I suddenly was like... they are 17 months old... and speak like 12 month olds! (where did the time go?!) I know our pediatrician warned me that with the combo of a lot of ear infections and them being part of the multiple club ... they were at a higher risk for it.

Want a complete list of the words they say? Kiley: Baba, Mama, Dada, Ba (Bath), Mum ... and bumpa?
                                                                   Kara: same... with no thrown in
So ... what? Well it's not a (Oh my gosh!) worry type thing. It just means... hey pay attention your girls are not picking up words like they should be on their own and you need to get working with them on this.

Darn them and their twin language lol. They understand what WE are saying with no problem, they comprehend a great deal. It's the SPEAKING part they don't do. They know those words and perhaps a few more... but we probably only here them here and there, and not all in a day. National Speech and Language Assossciation says they should be starting to put two word phrases together and know at least 10-20 works plus names...

From everything developmentally it's not the number... it's the track. Are they doing this, but just slower rate then kids? Nope. I can't remember the last time they picked up a new word.

But anyways. I'll talk to the pediatrician about it, we'll work at it... they'll be fine.
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And then Abby, oh my gosh is that kid learning like crazy! She problem solved today and it was amazing to watch. She took the kite I made her, grabbed a Tupperware container, placed the string in the Tupperware, placed a rock at the end of the string and then dropped the kite over the edge so that it would swing in the breeze. She was so excited.

We also met a little girl in the park today, her and Abby played so well together I thought they were the same age because they both acted similarly. then I found out the other little girl was an entire year younger. Wow.

(funny story: Abby-sitting on the couch near me. I hear little toot sounds and ask: "Abby are you tooting by me?" she replies, "No mommy, my bottom's just making noises")

hahahahahaha

We are enjoying the nicer weather