Morning chit chat

This morning, Stacey had gone to the gym so I was alone in bed with both kids. The conversation went like this...

Ben: Mom, you're supposed to talk to me
Me: Ok, what's your favorite color?
Ben: I'm not really sure.
Chloe: I think it's gray because you love elephants.
Silence for a while...
Ben: My favorite color is blue, mom.

I love the emergence of the thought process in my kids.

Benny's announcement

Saturday we were getting the kids ready for the zoo. Benny was sitting on the couch and as I walked into the living room he declared "Chloe is my best friend mama".

I've said it once, but I'll say it again... I'm so glad my kids are friends.

Rewarded for spelling, no matter the word

On the way home from school, Chloe asked how to spell the word butt. I told her to sound it out and she got it (save for the extra t). Then spelled b-u-t-t. I laughed to myself but didn't say much.

She then says, "mom aren't you going to give me a high five for spelling a word (which is tradition)?"

Cookies in heaven

Tonight, Chloe asked if she could have a cookie after dinner. When informed that we don't have any, she replied, "there are cookies in heaven mom." I countered with, "do you want me to send you there?" "no mom, giggle"

I put in Wall-E for the kids (so I can blog, right? ha ha) and as the Disney intro ran, Chloe informed Ben that when he is bigger we are going there. I've been telling her for two years that we can't go until Ben is older and that is why her friends have gone and she has not.

Chloe is the master of contact

On the way to school, Keith Urban's Til Summer Comes Around was playing on the radio and Chloe was asking me why he was sad. I explained that his friend had left and would not be back until summer.

Always helpful, Chloe says "They should send him a postcard. He'd like that"

Paint the world with ice cream

We took Chloe to Dairy Queen last night for a bribe, err, reward for improving behavior at school.

With a spoonful of ice cream, she informed me she was going to paint the ceiling with ice cream. I told her that would make everything very sticky. She replied that we could just lick it all off. Yum, lickable world!

Chloe has some tattoo suggestions for daddy

This morning Stacey was telling me how he wants to get more tattoo work done.

Chloe piped in with "how about a tiger, Daddy? That would be cool!" She then also suggested he could get a lion, giraffe or a penguin. Very manly, those penguins are.

Racoon mommy

I've started wearing make up again in an attempt to be an adult and a woman... then realized i no longer own makeup remover.

Said chloe this morning: are you going to take that black off your eyes or what?

Undercover storyteller

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon switching over Chloe's closet and having her try on things to see what still fits.

Chloe and Benjamin played in the room and I looked up to find them both under her comforter while she told him stories about Prince Ben, ogres, mommy and daddy and other fun things. At just the right moments, Ben would an an emphatic "YEAH!" to the store.

I took a video of one of these sessions and will try to get it up sometime this week.

Chloe the theologian

Last week Chloe explained the story of Jesus' crucifixion to me at bedtime. I was surprised how much she seemed to get it. Very cool and humbling.

Today we drove by a church and she says to me, "Jesus died on the cross. That's why the cross is up there; so you KNOW". I'm not quite sure what she meant but it made me giggle.

A day off with Chloe

Since Chloe seemed to fare the worst over the weekend, I decided to keep her with me for the day and drop off Benjamin. He actually cried when I dropped him off; I don't think he's used to me leaving with Chloe and not him!

We went back to the house and she played in the class room while I put away laundry and cleaned upstairs. It was really nice. She happily played with stamps, colored and played with playdoh. She put away each thing before moving onto something else and kept herself occupied for over an hour.

When I was done, we went out to get her a haircut (a trim) and for a quick run through the grocery store. Then we went back to the house for some lunch and a nap. I tried to take one with her but I guess having mom there was too exciting because she kept talking so after about 20 minutes I got up and left her to rest.

After that we ran to Target then to pickup Benjamin. I think he was really happy to see her and tried to play with her all night.

I didn't get as much cleaning done as I would've liked, but I'm glad I spent some one-on-one time with her. We both really needed it and I plan to keep her with me at least one day every other week. And next time I'm getting my nap too!

Here comes the sun

We got our first and probably last big snow of the year this week. I think we got about 6 inches total over the two days. Chloe has been itching to get out in it and I'm really looking forward to playing outside with her this weekend. Luckily our backyard is pretty shaded so I think we'll have plenty left by then.

This morning the sun was shining and the snow made everything look clean and bright. It was just one of those great mornings. I took the kids to the new sitter before heading to work. Chloe was singing along to Here Come the 123s (thanks again Amber!) and Benjamin was staring dreamily out the window and smiling. She was excited to see her new friend Cameron (sitter's son) and it seems that getting the kids out of the house has been a good thing.

My work schedule has switched to 9am-6pm but Stacey has really helped out by picking up the kids after work so we at least all seem to land at home at about the same time.

My kids are different morning types

Chloe is much like me in the morning. She needs a few minutes before she's ready to talk, be touched or be civil in general. Once she fully wakes she's her usual active self but it just takes a few minutes for her to get there. However, we call Benjamin pop tart because from the moment he wakes, he sits up and is ready to go. His eyes light up and he puts on his ornery smile. He especially enjoys antagonizing his sister. His favorite activities are whacking her in the head with his hand or a toy and laying right next to her on her blanket so she can't move. He's laughing and she's hollering "Benjamin I need a few minutes; I'm not ready to play!"

Stacey is out of town until Thursday and despite having kept both kids by myself for a year, it seems so much harder now. I didn't get anything done in the house short of a hot meal (and no clean up). I also couldn't convince Chloe that since her Daddy wasn't home she could indeed scoot over in the bed so we weren't all crammed on one half while the other remained open. Had I moved there myself, she simply would've readjusted herself to be crammed next to me on that side. :)

I may be at work, but we're rolling on with the homeschooling

We have been lucky (I won't say that too loud) to have finally found someone who is excited to do some school work with Chloe.

I got this cool CD for $50 and it has an endless supply of ideas, lesson plans, print outs and flash cards. Her site also has tons of free stuff so I encourage you to check it out. It also has recipes and ideas for setting up a home daycare/preschool if you're so inclined.

I printed off a bunch of things thinking it would last at least a week and they did over half of it the first day plus they made Chloe flashcards, did an art project and Chloe did some painting on her new easel from Grandma.

I guess I need to get more materials ready!

Since Jacky started Chloe's behavior in the evening has already improved and it's obvious she's getting much more attention and active play and less TV time than before.

Small reasons why Chloe rocks

Chloe is a great sister. She sings to her brother when he cries, she insists on kissing him goodnight and this morning I found her gently brushing his hair. She shares her snacks with him and is proud to tell others that he's her brother Benjamin.

She has such a great sense of self. She is happy in her skin and loves clothes that are comfortable. When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, she says "ME!" She sings and dances without feeling self-conscious.

Chloe makes sure to give me a piece of fruit everyday on my way to work. I'm munching a crisp apple as we speak.

She is wonderful to buy gifts for. She's grateful, appreciative and never asks for more. When asked about gifts, she request cool things like telescopes and hair ties.

I love the way her brain works. Looking at pictures last night, I asked her to identify one. When shown a picture of a bird, she said "It's a pidgeon". I had to laugh out loud at that one (she was right though).

Maybe Friday the 14th is my unlucky day

We have a showing today so, of course, Stacey is out of town, Benjamin has croup (not serious but he wants to be nursed 24/7) and there are huge piles of laundry everywhere.

I was basically up all night but managed to get up reasonably, get diapers out of the dryer for the sitter, get laundry in the machines and put the dirty stuff in sorted baskets and basically get things together.

Then Chloe melts down regarding an umbrella (it's raining here too) her and I end up in a screaming match and we get out the door. I've forgotten my bag of pump parts so I grab that and we are really off this time. Traffic is bad and I'm actually late to work.

I get to work and realize I've left that same bag o pump parts in the van. Luckily, my sitter ran it back up to me.

Oh, and my right nipple is still acting up and after an night of non-stop nursing, is cracked open again. Luckily, I did remember my new best friend Lansinoh.

I'm not usually one to feel like I'm having an all-out bad day, but I really think today is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Chloe told me some days are like that. :)

Retiring the Monkey Costume

Chloe has a monkey costume that we bought for her first Halloween. It was sized 2-4, but they were out of the infant size so we went with it. It was a bit too big, but it worked.

She has worn the same costume every Halloween since. This year, the legs were barely long enough but she wanted to be the Monkey Costume again.

I was planning to hold it for Benjamin to use, but I think I'm going to put it in Chloe's box (where I keep favorite outfits, cards, etc for each kid). It's just too Chloe and I can't see it being worn by anyone else. Ok, so I might take his picture in it just for laughs.

She already plans to be a witch next year. I'm excited. I think I might dress up too!

A rough morning turns out well

The end of daylight savings has done a number on my house. Kids don't understand time changes so they're up at 5am because it feels like 6. So everyone is tired and starting to wear down and get crabby. Chloe does not do well without enough sleep and even though I put her to bed at 7pm last night, she's still pretty worn out. Stacey had an overnight install so he's out of town as well. All of this adds up to a not so pleasant morning in the Hickman house.

Chloe and I went round and round over cereal, clothes, slamming her brother's fingers in the closet door (an accident and he's fine but I warned her about messing with them) and basically anything else you can think of. There was screaming, more than one tantrum, and both kids were crying a few times. These kind of mornings make me wonder if I really want to quit my job. Ha!

Somehow we managed to pull through and actually left each other on a good note. I fixed Chloe's hair so I could take pictures of bows my friend Jessica made (see her Etsy store, it's good stuff!). She started off grumpy but when I showed her how the picture looked, I think she got it (I swear the kid is wise beyond her years) and perked up so we could take some nice pictures.

All's well that ends well. Now I just need to muster some energy to get through this weekend. I think the guest list for Chloe's party is now up to 27.

Chloe's party has taken on a life of it's own

In our house, birthdays really aren't big deal. We're having a party for Chloe, but it's a no gifts deal where we have people over just to hang out. Heck, we spent less than $40 for Chloe's gifts ourselves and this is the first year we've actually bought her anything for her birthday.

Well, we invited our friends and most of them can come (yeah!). Then Stacey invited some people from work, then I did and now our guest list is up to about 30 people total. I guess I'll need to buy more buns now.

After two weekends of gorgeous 75f weather, this weekend is supposed to be cloudy and under 50f. Oh well, at least it's not supposed to snow (I hope I didn't just jinx myself).

Just for fun, here are some pictures of the last big party we had for Chloe when she turned two.

They hugged!

My kids are awesome. They love each other and for the most part play well together. Chloe is sometime ornery but usually nice to her brother, and he's generally happy to follow her around and is a captive audience for her general silliness. Him chasing her around the dining room table is a favorite activity for both.

Chloe loves to hug and kiss on her brother, especially when he's nursing. This morning was no different but then he insisted I put him down so he could walk over and hug Chloe. Talk about a smile to start your day.

Which reminds me... I've been slacking in the picture department but with Halloween coming tomorrow, I'll be sure to get some great shots. Chloe and Stacey are going to the Blues game tonight and they're going all out for the holiday with games and candy for the kids who are also encouraged to wear their costumes. Chloe will be wearing the infamous monkey costume with a Blues jersey over it.