She Doesn't Ask for Much

Tessa was bored yesterday so I told her to make a birthday list on her whiteboard. Here's her list... (Translated)

Baby Doll
Monster High Doll
A Mini TV (for her room)
Tree House (a real one)
My Own Doll House
More Barbies
Big Screen TV
A Fireplace in my Bedroom
(I have no idea what this one is)
More Clothes
Play House (again)

My favorite is the fireplace in her bedroom. No big deal. :)

Tessa Writes

Tessa has been writing more and more these days. Way more than Josie ever did. (I really try hard not to compare the girls, but it is inevitable.) I'm amazed at the things she will get out on paper and fearlessness with which she will spell things. They're rarely right but she tries so hard. I talked with a kindergarden teacher in another school who is a friend of mine and she says she sees that more in second children. First borns are afraid to get it wrong so they only will write what they know. Tessa is the exact opposite.

I bought them white boards and dry erase markers for the car trip down to Florida - best dollar I've ever spent! They got really simple on the trip home. This was a story about a unicorn pooping. She proceeded to illustrate it.

She also makes cards and writes notes. She wrote and illustrated a whole book that my mom gave her for Josie's birthday. 

I frequently come home to messages on the white board that has taken up permanent residence in our living room next to the decorative snow shoes. This was one welcoming the Easter Bunny to our house. (Josie wrote instructions for the different colors for each kid.)

Earlier in the week, I picked them up at the sitter's. Tessa had written a poem. Here it is. I'm so proud. I have no idea why bells stink, but now you know.

{Translation: I stink. I stink. I stink. So bad you wouldn't want to smell me. I smell better than a stinky bell. I stink more than my stinky shoes. I stink more than my stinky feet. I stink more than my stinky toes. I stink more than my stinky socks.}

For good measure, I recorded her saying it on my phone. It really does have a good rhythm to it. Iambic pentameter maybe? I'm totally kidding - I never really "got" poetry.

She and Josie also worked on some "nonsense words," which is a component of their standardized testing they had this week. Here is her list. (I hope this rotates - Photobucket is not cooperating today.)

Then, she proceeded to write a poem about those too. This one isn't quite as goofy as the first. Nor is it as much "poetry."

Maybe we'll have a writer on our hands. Maybe it's a phase. Either way, I'm proud of her for trying, even if it is silly. At least it's not potty humor. This time anyway. 

Random May Mumblings

I have a lot to catch up on so I'm doing it all in one post. Sorry it's so random! 


1. Tessa had her first "friend" birthday party at our house. It was a great time and everyone was able to come even though it was extremely short notice. (Bad mom of the year award - right here). Funny thing - there were FOUR Josie's there! Who knew it would have been such a popular name. (I don't want to post a bunch of photos of the other kids, but here are a few from the party.)

The pink cupcakes

The gift table

Post pinata

 The birthday girl!

They ate out on the back porch - less mess!

2. It's only May 24th and we've already been swimming three times! The girls are getting really good at swimming under water and Tom was teaching Josie to tread water last year. This WILL be the year I get them in swimming lessons. :) Jack is getting more adventurous too! 

3. Tessa definitely reacts poorly to real milk. Over the last weekend, we really didn't pay too much attention to what she was eating. Four horrible fits later, I said to Tom, "Uh, she's had a lot of ice cream lately..." Turns out a little every once in a while doesn't seem to bother her, but two days in a row of ice cream and cheese sticks and she really let loose. We're back to normal now. On a similar note, I did ask the doctor about the whole thing at her five year check up and he said he certainly believes that milk can cause behavior problems even though there haven't been studies to prove it. We just need to make sure she gets enough calcium and Vitamin D. Turns out there's more of both in soy milk than in regular milk! 

4. Josie had a really nice Mother's Day Tea at school. It was actually the morning after the graduation program. I had to hand it to the teacher's for doing such a nice job on both! They were able to show us some of their work and had drawn pictures of their mothers for us to guess. I picked the right one. :) Afterward, the kids went out to recess and Josie showed me that she was able to go across all of the monkey bars - something she's been working on since the beginning of school. Pretty proud girl! 

5. Wholly Guacamole Spicy is about the best thing ever created. I can’t believe I even thought I didn’t like guacamole. One trip to Mexico as an adult changed that. This stuff is delicious and super spicy, but a good spice. I like it with Kashi’s TLC Original 7 Grain Pita Chips. I tell myself they’re not as unhealthy as regular tortilla chips, but they probably are…

Told you it was random!!! But now I feel better having it all documented!

May - It's Tessa's Month!

My eyes are tearing up as I write this...

This month will bring some emotional milestone events for this mama. Josie has her kindergarden graduation on the 10th and then not 6 days later is Tessa's Pre-K Graduation. Tessa also turns five this month (and has her five year check up today). She'll celebrate her birthday at school early too. So, while Josie does have her program, this is Tessa's month and I need to start making some birthday plans!

Tessa's Pre-K Parent/Teacher Conference was yesterday and there were no big surprises. She continues to do an awesome job on her fine motor skills - writing, cutting, etc. I looked back through her signature pages throughout the year and her handwriting was spot on from the beginning and didn't really change too much. She had a few "Needs Improvements" in areas that were not a surprise - listening, playing well with others, etc.

I told Tom last night that I had to grin when we were going over some of those areas. The teachers said, also with just the smallest hint of a smile, that she knows what she wants and that she wants to be in charge, though is also very social. They also mentioned that she is always looking for fun and would probably give us a run for our money.

Yep - that's Tessa. Maybe it's just my optimism and thinking the best of my kids but what I heard was - spirited, convicted, headstrong, knows what she wants and willing to fight for it, natural leadership - these are all very positive things I thought about our little second born. Now, don't get me wrong, she needs to learn a little more about respecting adults and her friends and listening to teachers, but I am learning to love the qualities that come along with a strong-willed child. This is a kid I can picture going really far in life.

She had kindergarden registration last week too and did great. She was thrilled that she got to do her screening with Mrs. Brown, Josie's teacher.

Finally, we have her checkup today. I'm sure that will be fine, but I do want to ask the doctor about this milk thing. I wrote about the milk elimination in another post and we've stuck with it. She drinks plenty of soy milk and I also let her have one or two cheese sticks a day, neither of which really affect her. I really am still amazed at the striking difference in her behavior. While she still has her moments (see previous comments - did I mention she was headstrong?), they are relatively normal 4-year-old moments and she recovers much faster than she used to when drinking real milk.

I'll end with posting a few favorite pictures of our girl. I'm looking forward to celebrating this month with her!

At birth...

Around 3 months...

One Year - Yes, that's a major bump on her head!

18 months... (Look at that hair!!!!!)

Two Year Old Birthday

I think she's about two and half here.

Four Year Birthday

Four & A Half

On a side note, I think we've spent every Memorial Day at the lake since she was born and always celebrated her birthday there since it is May 26th. This year, I think we're staying in Indiana, which I thought I was fine with except now I'm starting to wonder if that's a huge break in tradition. We have a couple of things going on around here over that weekend so we need to stay close, but it's hard to believe this will be a first for her!

Tessa Says

Tessa just got new shoes as a surprise from dad. She hasn't stopped talking about them. She just told me they are awesome-tastic.

She also told Josie today that her preschool (at a church) is more beautifuler than Josie's because it has God on the front.

She's a real piece of work!

Random Thoughts on a Rainy Tuesday

This is a busy week for our family. Meetings, interviews at the office, house plans, parent/teacher conferences, hunting for Tom along with everything else we usually do. I'm getting a little stressed thinking about the pace of life, and with the fact that it is already October 18th! Where is fall going?

So, since life is speeding by, I wanted to take a second (and just a second - no time for more) and capture a few things.

- Josie knows all of her sight words, probably about 12 or so, and also has memorized not only how to read them but remembers them all when we're not doing flash cards. This morning, she was putting them into sentences in the car even though there's probably only one verb (see) and one noun (can - well, could be a noun anyway). She has her dad's photographic memory. I also learned that she knows all of the planets and possibly in order. She claims she saw it on a Space Bubble Guppies show. The kid is a sponge.

- The girls call Pizza Hut the Pizza Parfait, which just cracks me up. We call it the pizza buffet and I think they heard parfait. I don't correct them.

- Josie lets me pick out her outfit in the morning and has told Tom it's just easier. If anyone compliments her on her outfit, she says, "Tell my mom - she picked it out." Tessa is a totally different story.

- Jack is all over the place - climbing on the coffee table, up the bunk bed stairs and just generally getting into trouble. He's also really starting to talk more. His favorite is probably uh-oh and dog, but he also says ball, mama, dada, and a few other things. He gets more adorable every day and probably gets into more trouble everyday. He's also learned to take his pants off which scares me every time I go into get him up from a nap.

That's it for now. I've already spent too much time here. Running late...

Melt Down City

Good night. What does 95 degree heat, lack of sleep and a 6PM gymnastics class do to two kids? Let's just say there is a lot of crying and nonsense going around in our house tonight. Why the girls feel the need to writhe around as if in immense pain when I deliver the bad news of no TV tonight, I have no idea. It must help them express themselves.

Anyway, a few funny comments arose out of the sleep deprived rantings of this evening. First, has nothing to do with any of this. I left the butter out on the counter after fixing Josie's grilled cheese - easily 3/4 stick. I came home to an empty butter dish. I asked Tom, "What in the world did you make that used all that butter?!" "Huh?" he says. Oh great. Trigger, our dog, must have put his front legs on the counter and licked the stinking butter. At closer look, yep, those are tongue marks. Nice. Reminds me of a few years back, right after we got Trigger, and the same conversation occurred after I had laid out chicken breasts to thaw while I jumped in the shower. I got out of the shower and no chicken breasts. I said to Tom, "Did you marinate those already? I'm surprised they were thawed out." To which Tom replies, "Did I marinate what?" Ugh...dogs...

When we were in the car on the way back from gymnastics tonight and Tessa starts crying about not playing soccer. Mind you, we have not had them on a team for over a year. She and Josie start arguing about when they played, their coaches, etc. Finally, I said, Tessa would you actually like to play soccer again? She says, "well, I really want to get a new uniform but not really play in the games." Josie then says, "I really want to play again! But, my favorite part of playing soccer is half-time!"

By the time we get home, I've had enough. For more of a back story, it is steaming hot here and it was hot in the gym too. I tried to get out of the house with the three kids today and only made it through one and half stores (of my planned 5) before I decided this was a lost cause. Both girls are really giving me a run for my money. Then, as I'm checking out at CVS, both girls have run in opposite directions (Tessa is putting a bag of M&M's in her mouth) I get a tap on my shoulder, "uh, ma'am, he's going to fall out." Turn around - Jack is standing up in the cart. Out of his buckle. Mom of the year...right here.

Fast forward to arriving home from gymnastics. I deliver the news about no TV tonight and the writhing ensues. It was really more Josie than Tessa, although she joined in for good measure. At one point, Josie put on her panda ears from VBS, mid-fit, and I couldn't keep a straight face. Where did that come from?! She also screamed (rather sassily) at one point, "Tomorrow we get to watch two shows before bed!" I said, "Josie, you've watched TV all day today. I get to tell you when you can or cannot watch TV." She says back, "But Mom, that's part of our bedtime routine!" It is not, in fact, actually part of the routine, however, perhaps we do that too frequently. :)

Either way, they're all upstairs now. Tom's reading books and I'm having a beer. I deserve it today.

(And, by the way, Jack got another tooth! He got his second middle tooth while we were at the lake - July 4th ish - and his third upper tooth yesterday!)

Lazy Days of Summer

Yesterday marked the first time this summer for a family campfire. Our plan was to put Jack to bed then let the girls roast marshmallows. Then, Tom and I were going to grill burgers and have a relaxing evening. The girls stole the show though and kept us out there until well after 9. They were telling ghost stories and really cracking us up. Here's a short video of Tessa's story. If you listen closely, you can tell Josie is feeding Tessa parts of the story.

Later, after everyone told a story, Tom started a story with one sentence and we went around the fire adding a sentence. We were both surprised at how well they did! They added vampires, werewolves and zombies and did quite a nice job of talking in a spooky voice and using spooky hand motions. Must be all the Scooby Doo. :)

Today, I took the girls to a make-up gymnastics class. Not sure I've mentioned this before, but they're taking lessons at JPAC - Jaycie Phelps Athletic Center. Jaycie was a member of the 1996 US Olympic Team that won gold. Anyway, they go once a week and I'm amazed at how far they have come in the last year. I was able to pay close attention today since I didn't have Jack to wrangle. Josie almost has a cartwheel mastered and Tessa has great pointed toes. Here's Josie going right up into a bridge.



We went to Kohl's to shop for Father's Day and then came home for quiet time. Tom worked on cleaning out the garage while I napped (the kids didn't). We did manage to catch Jack on video taking a few wobbly steps finally. He's starting to really take off. He's still a bit uncertain, but is starting to let go and walk places rather than drop to his hands and knees to crawl.



Finally, I headed out to Walmart to collect things for my 5 Day Inferno Plan on TurboFire. I still haven't decided if I'm starting tomorrow or Monday. I'm leaning toward starting the exercise portion tomorrow and then the diet on Monday. That means Friday I'll just have to stick to the diet and no exercise which will be good since we're traveling. I'm thinking it will be a good way to try out the program and lose a few pounds before vacation. Then, when we get back, I can do the full program (after probably gaining it all back). It is vacation after all!

Tessa's Birthday

Tessa had a great birthday! She's already acting so much older and telling us about how she's trying so hard to be good. It's a nice change from her normal, dramatic self.

We went to the pediatrician for her 4-year check up and he was in agreement with us that she didn't need to be put under for a scope. We're going to try Claritin to see if that clears her up. He did say it would be a long trial period - maybe months. I'm willing to try that though as opposed to putting her under for a couple thousand dollars.

Here are some photos from her birthday weekend.

Another Monday

Here we are on another Monday! Today was special because Tessa got to celebrate her fourth birthday at school. Tom and joined her class to celebrate.

After class, we ran a few errands and picked up lunch. I snuck in a little nap in the afternoon while the girls were watching MegaMind for the millionth time. Gymnastics and dinner routine rounded out the evening with Tom and I both hitting the treadmill. I tackled my procrastination with getting back into a workout routine with trying a 5K. I hit 25:58 which is way better than my previous best of 27:15. I'm thinking of looking into a 5K this summer. We'll see!

Mouths of Babes

So, Tessa has been really testing us with backtalk and copying. I've tried threatening soap and green beans ( somehow that has worked). Today, after gymnastics, she started in again and I said she couldn't have the cookie she wanted. She asked why and I said because girls who say nasty things only get to eat nasty things like green beans. Girls who say sweet things can eat sweet things. She then proceeded to tell me she would chew up the green beans and spit them in my face. Time for something to be done.

We get home and I send her in the bathroom to wait. We don't have any bars of soap so I just got a wash cloth really soapy. I started to scrub her tongue with the cloth could tell that wasn't getting it done. I had to hide a laugh because I could tell it was doing nothing. Then I told her to open her mouth and I shoved the cloth in her mouth and made her bite down on it. That seemed to work a little better.

In any event, she seemed more pleasant after that. I had a meeting tonight but got this text from Tom "Josie asked what tounges are made of. I said some are made from sweet things and others from Nasty things. Tessa said hers was made of boogers. Josie said hers was made of cookies with icing that says "I love you daddy."" I wonder if I made my point? At least with Josie?

Oh and another thing

Tessa filled the toilet with a full roll of toilet paper and didn't flush (thank goodness.) And left the water running before we left for gymnastics. Tom found both surprises when he got home. He made Tessa pick it out with her bare hands. Good punishment.

And, on a related note, Tessa started saying "Stop freakin out" over and over again at gymnastics. Thanks Tangled. The lady behind me offered me soap for her mouth. That actually made her stop.

And, Tessa has taken to copying what you say. It's really starting to irritate Josie (and me).

The final note on the subject of Tessa is her little scratchy voice. She's been that way forever and always sounds like she's just getting over a cold. This weekend, she sounded even a little worse which made Tom and I realize it's time to get her seen by and ear, nose and throat specialist. So, we're doing that next Thursday. Not really sure what to expect or what they'll be able to tell just by looking in her mouth. I guess we'll find out.