The Sweet Tooth Conquers All

We have been trying to get Bella to say I love you for a long time now. It always comes out "I....you!" Lately, we've evolved a little bit. I tell her "I love you, Bella." She replies "I you too Mommy." Getting closer...

And then the other day we introduced something completely new to her: jelly beans. She popped one in her mouth, her eyes got really big and she looked at me and said "I LOVE jelly beans!"

Really?!

You can't say I love you, but you can say I love jelly beans.

I see how it is.

Fountain of Knowledge

A few days ago, Carter and I were sitting on the couch, watching the science channel (a favorite pass time at our house lately). He turned to me and asked, "are there things that you know that you haven't told me yet?" I though for a second, then told him "yes, there are probably things that I know that you don't, but you're still young and you've got lots of time." He considered this for a moment, settled back deeper into the couch and said, "ok, I'm ready. Tell me EVERYTHING you know - especially the stuff about science. Start with what you know about dinosaurs."

He laced his fingers behind his head, put his feet up on the couch and just waited. I told him the great thing about science is you get to discover your own knowledge and he gave me that look that says "nice try. Now start talking." Oh well. Kindergarten, here we come...

Surviving Two

I've sunk to a new low. I'll admit it.

In my attempts to teach Bella a little empathy and break her of this hitting streak, I have been tried many different things.

I have tried being stern, but she usually just parrots me and then breaks into a fit of giggles.

She's even tried to put me in time out a couple of times.

So, yeah. I was desperate. It has been getting to the point where I was hesitant to take the kids on play dates because she always ended up making the other kids cry. Finally I took my cue from her.

One day I was getting after her for one thing or another and she started doing this mock pouting thing. It was almost effective, even. I thought, ok, two can play at this game.

Later that day, I told her to put her toys away and she turned to me and screamed "no no, Mommy! Shoo" and then she gave me "the hand" and started swatting at me. I stuck out my bottom lip and pretended to cry. I knew it was a lame move, but somehow it worked. She came running over and threw her arms around my neck and said "it's ok, Mommy." This was progress. The word sorry is still not present in her vernacular, but the sentiment is there.

Later on, there was a similar situation and I pulled out the pouty face again. This time, she ran over and patted me comfortingly on the shoulder and said "Mommy, I'm two."

Is that an apology or an excuse? Not sure if that's a step forward or back...

Wish me luck. I'll need it.

Bruddah-ly Love

We have been pretty excited about Bella's ever-widening vocabulary as of late, but nothing has brought a smile to our faces more than her finally being able to address Carter as "Bruddah."

Yesterday, Carter crawled into bed with us around 6 and fell back asleep. At around 7, I woke up to the sound of Bella calling from their shared room:

B: Where Bruddah go? Where Bruddah go? (then cupping her hands around her mouth like a megaphone as I'm entering her room) Bruuuuuuuudaaaaaaaaah....

Me: Brother's in my room

B: I want Bruddah (picture her best pouty face, chin resting in her hands, arms propped up on the side of her crib)

I pick her up and carry her into my room where she proceeds to throw herself at Carter.

We were worried when we moved them into the same room that they would fight and get annoyed with each other quickly. But on the contrary, they seem even closer lately. There have been several times when I have been driving down the road and have looked in the rearview mirror to find them holding hands in the back seat. I have a sinking feeling it won't always be like this, but I plan on doing everything I can to document this lovey dovey phase to remind them when they're teenagers :)

Two-Year Old Logic

Tonight Bella was sitting in her high chair biting her fingernails. I told her to stop. She closed her eyes and continued to bite her nails. It took me a second to realize the logic in this: If I close my eyes, I can't see you. Therefore, You can't see me doing the thing you told me not to do.

Brilliant.

I think I should try that next time I get caught doing something I shouldn't be doing. Do you think it would get a person out of a speeding ticket? "I'm sorry officer, but I'm surprised you could even see me. I was speeding with my eyes closed..."

Maybe that only works when you're two. I don't think I'll test it.

Pay it Forward

I got this from my friend Katie's blog and thought it was a neat idea...

Pay it Forward...the first three people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, some homemade goodies from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. Then sit back and anticipate the arrival of your goodies! Please submit in an e-mail or on the comment, your address, if I don't have it already. Remember that only the first three comments will receive a gift from me, so be quick! Have fun!

My watery purple nightmare

Times are tough right now; that's no surprise to anyone. And if you're anything like me, you're trying to find new ways to save some money. Personally, I have been cutting corners all over the place. I make my coffee at home and take it with me most days. I buy generic brand products as much as possible. I've completely cut the term mani/pedi from my vocabulary. I even (*gasp*) have cut down on the wine consumption. Notice I said "cut down" and not "cut out." Times are tough, yes, but a girl's still gotta live.

There are some corners that, quite simply, should not be cut, however. Or at least not to the extent that I have cut them.

Case in point: I have been dealt an unfortunate genetic hand and am forced to color my hair about every 6 weeks or so, lest my prematurely gray hair begins to run rampant. This can be a huge drain on our cash flow, so I stopped having it done professionally and started doing it myself. Just like the good old days. And by "good old days," I mean "college." I realized how much money this was saving us and decided that I could afford to cut back even more. This time when I went to the grocery store, I bought the cheapest bottle I could possibly find. Let's just say, I don't think the whole thing cost me more than $3. And that's after tax.

There can't be that big of a difference, right?

After applying the foul-smelling stuff to my hair and waiting the obligatory amount of time, I decided to just wash it out in the shower. Kill two birds with one stone.

I had my eyes closed so that nothing would accidentally drip in my eyes. Then I opened them.

Purple everywhere. PURPLE. Not medium ash brown. Purple with a capital "P".

I panicked. I was trying frantically to wash the stuff off the walls of the shower, when all of the sudden, I felt a draft and heard the shower door open. I turned around just in time to see Bella climbing into my watery purple nightmare in her diaper and socks.

Perfect.

I'm scrambling to get her out without getting any of the toxic sledge on her. She was mostly spared. Her poor socks were not. A small price to pay, I suppose.

In the meantime, the inky purple water is dripping down my face and it's BURNING.

So, yes, the economy is a mess and we sometimes need to cut corners here and there. A word of caution: you get what you pay for.
And sometimes that can be a little more than you bargained for.