Brazen hussy

Caution: This post contains partial Barbie nudity. Reader discretion advised.

My very generous friend (Hi, Amanda!) recently donated her old Barbie stuff to Ellie. You can tell my friend was the only girl in her family because the amount of Barbie accessories she had was ridiculous! However, one accessory caught Ellie's eye right away. "Look at this pretty purse, Mommy!"
And then I hear Ellie say, "Ooh, there are panties inside!" I looked up from saving Jack's life for the millionth time to see Ellie sliding some pretty fancy undies on her Barbie.

Next, she pulled out the "shirt."

And then some "socks" to match.

Not pictured: The sexy, purple heels we discovered later. At this point, I knew that I needed to recreate this photographically. Because my little Mormon Barbies never had sexy lingerie! If they did, I am sure Ken and Barbie would have had a much different relationship.

In which I complain...a lot - UPDATED

Jack is in bed and Ellie has been sent to her room indefinitely so I finally have a moment to myself. Tom left the house at 5:30 this morning to go to a track meet and has yet to return home. After today, I am not sure I am going to survive track season. Ellie has always had the attitude of a teenager, but recently she has incorporated screaming tantrums into her act. Not a big fan and they bring out the worst in me. I went into this tirade tonight about how I carried her in my stomach and I feed her and buy her clothes and take care of her. "You wouldn't be able to live if it weren't for me." Yes, I did. I told all of that to my 4 year old. And then sent her to her room. Which isn't a punishment at all since all of her favorite toys and her ginormous dollhouse is in there. I can actually hear her happily playing right now. If only she would show a little remorse. What happened to my little girl who cried every time she thought I was mad at her? Also, where is the appreciation for the woman who woke up at 3 am yesterday to clean her vomit and diarrhea up off her sheets, blankets, and rug? Who stayed home and snuggled with her all day? Seriously, if 4 is this hard, how am I going to handle the teenage years?

And to continue my little pity party...I dropped a full jar of my grandpa's homemade raspberry jam today. Glass and red, sticky jelly were all over my kitchen. It took me a full hour to clean it all up and I am still making everyone wear shoes in there for the next month. I sure have been doing a lot of cleaning this weekend considering the cleaning lady was just here on Tuesday!

UPDATE - Well, don't I feel like a jerk?! After typing this, Ellie and I had a talk and for the rest of the night she was in adorable mode. I put her to bed only to be woken up once again at 3 am by a sad, little voice saying, "Mommy, I threw up all over my bed and floor." Geez, I was yelling at a sick kid! Talk about big serving of mommy guilt. Honestly, she hadn't thrown up since Friday morning and every time I asked her she said she felt fine. This is the weirdest stomach bug. Also, how come it is always the mother's job to clean up the vomit?

Just Dance

Ellie and I have recently gotten hooked on Just Dance 2. Although Ellie is pretty good, she doesn't have my super, smooth moves so I always tell her she is my person on the screen. So, when she tells you she always beats me in our dance offs, don't believe a word of it. The other day we were in a fierce competition when I realized that I needed to start dinner if we were going to eat that night. I convinced Tom to take over for me. Those of you that know Tom, know how funny this is. I knew he wouldn't willingly let me document his dance moves, so I snuck a few pictures from the kitchen. Here are Ellie and Tom rocking it out. Notice the little head in the bottom left corner? That is Jack wearing pajama pants on his head. He thinks he is soooo funny.
In a matter of seconds, Jack is using a basket of books to climb onto the end table.

At this point, I am telling him "no" because I know what happens next. He tries to go from the end table onto the recliner, but the end table inevitably slips out beneath him and he goes crashing to the wood floor.

Which is why there are no more pictures because I am busy saving his life. Tom and Ellie are oblivious to all the drama because they are too busy shaking their booties.

Weekend recap and Jack's first haircut

This weekend was a whirlwind of parties. Most Saturdays you will find the kids and I still in our pajamas, but this Saturday I dropped Ellie and Jack off with my mother-in-law while I went to a bridal shower. Then, I picked them up and took them over to Dianna’s house so my mom could watch them while Tom and I went to a Valentine’s party at Mark and Rosie’s house. It was so fun! We had yummy fajitas, played the Newlywed Game, and finished up with fondue desserts. I thought Tom and I would rock the Newlywed Game since we’ve known each other since we were 15, but we finished up somewhere in the middle. Dan and Sabs won, but I think they practiced in advance…so competitive, those two!

On Sunday, I dressed Ellie in a super cute Valentine’s dress, but failed to take a picture of it (just like I failed to take pictures of any of the weekend activities). After church we went back to Mark and Rosie’s for dinner and to celebrate Dianna’s birthday. So, I scored two delicious meals at Rosie’s house this weekend. After dinner, I was laughing at Jack’s long locks behind his ears. Rosie offered to cut them, so I gave Dianna my phone to document the momentous occasion of his very first haircut.

I could just leave it with the Before and After picture, but that wouldn't reflect what Rosie had to go through just to cut Jack's hair. I bet she regretted volunteering afterwards! It started out properly enough:

But then Jack realized we were trying to make him sit still.

And before we knew it, he was on the floor...

and pinned to my lap.

His hair is more difficult to cut than his fingernails! Let's just hope it grows more slowly.

Jealousy Issues

Ellie has been having some jealousy issues lately. She never takes it out on Jack or is mean to him, but she has been making little comments here and there that are heartbreaking.

Mommy, I wish Jack was still in your tummy.
Mommy, I wish I was a baby.
and the kicker...
Mommy, I think you love Jack more than me.

Tears. I try not to overcompensate when she says these things. I just calmly reassure her how much she is loved and needed and remind her of all the cool things she can do that Jack can't.

She also waits until Jack needs us to demand our attention. If Jack is upset and wants to be held, then suddenly Ellie wants to be in my lap as well. If Jack is hungry and I am getting him a snack, Ellie starts hollering that she needs to be fed immediately. I realize that Jack is demanding a lot more of our attention now that he has to be watched every second, but believe me, Ellie is getting a lot of attention, too. It just seems like no matter how much attention or loves we bestow upon her, it is never enough. I guess when you are an only child for 3 1/2 years, it can be hard to share the spotlight with a high maintenance brother like Jack.

Fun with Video: Part Deaux

Ellie has moved on from Tiffany to Aqua.

As you can see, Jack's major emergency of a cut has healed to the point where it looks like he has one very large eyebrow. Like a crusty caterpillar on his face. It is all I can do to not pick at it. In the few seconds that I was playing back Ellie's video for her, Jack managed to climb up on the computer chair and start banging away on the keyboard. The computer chair is on wheels and I probably should have just moved him off of it instead of video taping. Oh well.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I snapped this picture with my cell phone this morning to capture the kids all bundled up for the "Arctic chill." I use the term "bundled up" loosely since usually we do not need more than light jackets around here. Jack even stuffed his cheeks full of Teddy Grahams to provide sustenance for the 20 minute commute to school. Apparently, he also felt he needed an extra pair of shoes.

This cold front has caused a frenzy amongst my students. Rumors of school cancellation and early release have made concentration near impossible. If it actually starts snowing, then we will really be in trouble. I told Ellie on the way to school this morning that it might snow tomorrow. She informed me that it doesn't snow in Texas. I corrected her and said it doesn't usually snow in Houston, but it might tomorrow and then we could stay home from school. Her response? "But I don't know how to make a snowman!"