December 14 = Haha Day

I'm just going to leave this here:

September 14 = No Pictures Day

Oops.  I didn't take any pictures today.  But I do have these to share:

August 20 = Facebook Picture Day

I have no pictures from today but I do have this one screenshot of a picture I saw on facebook.

May 17 = Help Sister Day

I'm going to start with that because although Liam is three, he's getting close to four and this totally applies.

Today was our last MOPS meeting.  We ate some yummy food and played some games- one of them was "Mingle Bingo" where you have a bingo card and you have to find people that match descriptions in each of the squares.  Some of the descriptions were:

Is a twin
Drives a Prius
Knows how to sew

The only two out of 24 that applied to me was "has a tattoo" and "dislikes tomatoes."  After the games all the moms picked their kids up from Moppets and we all met downstairs in the gym for what was supposed to be a fun "picnic" because it was raining outside.  Part of the meeting was "sharing time" for people to talk about what MOPS means to them.  One girl said she was disappointed she hadn't been able to come very much but that she's looking forward to next year and is really hoping to make some friends.  I can definitely relate so I found her at the picnic afterward and we discussed how hard it is to find friends!  She's super nice and I think we're going to plan some play dates during the summer to keep us busy until MOPS starts back up in the fall!  I had to leave early because Liam was throwing tantrums because I wouldn't let him open the doors off of the gym that opened up into rooms with lots of musical instruments in them.  It wasn't pleasant.

But he had a nap and afterward was feeling a little better.  I asked him to clean his room when I got him up and that involved putting his number puzzle pieces in the right spots and when Malia came in, he started pointing to the spot each of the pieces she was picking up went and it was so cute!  I waited too long to start taking a video so you only see him helping with one piece but it was so, so cute.

 

April 7 = EEG Day

We started today off by taking Liam to the CDC so Malia and I could go to Walter Reed for her EEG.  It's always hard to decide when to leave because traffic is so unpredictable- sometimes there's no traffic at all, sometimes it adds an hour to your trip.  But today it just so happened that we timed it perfectly!  In order to get all the stuff on her head, the EEG technician recommends swaddling.  I say recommends instead of recommended because I happen to know, from experience, that he suggests this every time.  My poor kids and their need for EEGs.  So she did a really great job through most of it.  It took about 20 minutes to get everything in place and for the the first 15 minutes, she was fine.  And then she wasn't.  She was screaming, "ALL DONE," over and over and over again.  All I could do was rub her arm and talk to her but it actually ended up working in our favor because it wore her out.  The perfect EEG happens when the patient is observed awake, sleeping and then wakes up naturally.  Because she was so mad, she eventually fell asleep.  Here's a picture of the little lady, all wrapped up.

And then I took a video- if I had gone a little to the left, you'd be able to see a sign that says "please do not take pictures during testing."  I'm such a rebel.

She woke up on her own and did a pretty good job getting everything removed.  We got chickfila on the way home- it's a tradition.  I called and asked the CDC to keep Liam for an extra hour so we could both get a nap- Malia's nap during the EEG was for twenty minutes- not sufficient.  She got her nap after her bath- all that stuff in her hair- it was tough to get out and she was so sleepy- she was not happy about the bath but we made it.  And then we both passed out.  We got Liam and had a pretty regular evening so I'll close with these two funny things I saw on facebook:

April 1 = New Backyard Day

First I saw this on facebook today and I loved it.  They're simple things that can help us be better moms.  At MOPS the other week, we talked about how it's hard for us to see ourselves as "good moms" and chances are, we all are.  If someone asked me, "Do you think you're a good mom?" the first thoughts that would come to my mind are all the things where I fall short.  The fact that I don't do my preschool routine every day.  The fact that I let my kids watch a little too much tv and play on the iPad too much.  The fact that we might eat chickfila too much.  Sometimes I forget to put their coats in the car.  Sometimes I let them go to bed without brushing their teeth.  Sometimes I sit in the locker room for an extra ten minutes to check my email and facebook and maybe play a game of Sudoku before going to pick up the kids from the gym's kids' club.  But in the grand scheme of things none of that matters.  He'll be in school soon enough... he doesn't need preschool every day.  I can't tell you how much he's learned from watching Caillou and it's hard to believe what all he can do on the ABC Mouse app.  Chicken nuggets and french fries once a week isn't going to kill anyone- in fact, both kids could use some extra calories.  Now the brushing teeth... I really want them to learn to take good care of their teeth.  I gotta work on that one.  The extra ten minutes in the kids' club- they need time with peers.  So why not concentrate on the tons of hugs and kisses I get and give every day?  The fact that they are kind and friendly to other people.  The love they have for each other.  The fact that they feel safe and loved and know when they're hurt or upset or frustrated they can come and sit on my lap and I'll rub their backs and kiss their foreheads and squeeze them until they start laughing and forget whatever made them come to me in the first place.  And I know I'm not the only one. This was a good reminder that it's the little things- things we probably don't even realize we're doing that make us all good moms.

 Speaking of using the iPad too much...

Anyway- what I wanted to talk about in this blog post is our new backyard.  Well it's not new but the "grass" is!  We put these outdoor carpets down today was our first day being able to play outside!

Liam's a fan... of the backyard and still a fan of his bow tie.  

November 18 = Silly Facebook Link Day

I have no pictures from today but I did take a screenshot of this, my most used words on Facebook: Liam, Malia, Zachary and happy.  I like it!