Girlymama

But I’m fairly sure that when your computer tells you that the hard drive is 99% full, that’s probably bad. Just a guess. Looks like a job for Husband!

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We’ve had an interesting day here. I’ve begun pumping Gracie up for potty training, since when people ask her “Are you going to be a big girl and wear panties and go pee pee on the potty?” She looks at them and says “No.”
Soooooo… we’ve been talking all day about the potty and panties and all of her friends who go potty, etc. After her nap, she decided that she was going to use the potty. And she has been on the potty pretty much ever since. She won’t get up. She’s obviously not understanding the concept, since nothing is happening despite sitting there all afternoon. Oh well.
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I’m not feeling well today, which stinks. I’m counting the minutes until bedtime. Husband should get home in the early morning hours. He called me last night from his hotel room. From the Presidential Suite. Which had a table that sat ten. In his hotel room. Poor baby, huh?

I sure hope her preschool teachers are ready for her 🙂

the absence of parenting stories and kid antidotes today. That would be because for the last 24 hours I have not been parenting. Well, I’ve been keeping my kids alive (by which I mean being vaguely aware of them not playing in the middle of the street and feeding them when they get too whiney.) but that’s about it. I have been absorbed in Harry Potter. Oh my goodness. Oh. My. Goodness. Now I don’t want to write about the book, since lots of people haven’t read it yet, but I must say: “Holy cow, that was good.”

And if you’ve never read Harry Potter before, please get off your high horse and read it. I know its technically a childrens’ book. And its about magic. I came into the game late as well, until I finally, finally read one to see what the fuss was all about. They really are brilliant. Go start with Book 1. You will not be disappointed!!

Dear God, Thank you for this food and thank you for this day. Thank you for my family. Thank you for Daddy and Mommy and Ellie and… Have a nice day. Love, Gracie Amen.

I just found this in my inbox:
“We are done reading Harry Potter, if you want to borrow our book until you get the Box set. I’ll be driving by your place later today if you want me to drop it off!”

That there, Internets, is true, true friendship right. So, you probably won’t hear from me from the second this gets dropped off until I finish reading. I am SOOOOO excited!!! Hee hee hee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Especially since they could not even look normal for 1/1,000th of a second to get their passport pictures taken. They weren’t even supposed to smile. They had to do three things:
1) Stand up straight.
2) Look at the camera.
3) Keep their mouths shut.

This was much too complicated for my children. Ellie kept smiling goofy, looking at the ceiling or sticking her tongue out. Grace was crying, clinging to my leg, sucking her thumb and/or sticking her tongue out. I was ready to glue them to that white wall so they could take the #@&% $15 photo.

When they are 13, I dearly hope that they are highly embarrassed by these passport photos. Perhaps they go on a school trip. And all their friends see them. And laugh at their stupid expressions.

I will show them this blog entry and say, “No, you can’t get a new passport. I told you to look normal, didn’t I?”

You know that it might be a rough day when your small children lock you in the bathroom.

I went to open the door of the bathroom and I could only open the door about 2 inches! They had hung a wooden hanger on the outside of the door. (Bet you never thought of that growing up, huh?) I couldn’t open the door enough to stick my hand through and be able to get the hanger off, so I was stuck! I was just standing there is shock, thinking “How did this happen? I didn’t even hear them put that hanger on there. Did they do that on purpose? Are they up to something?” They had scampered away somewhere, so there I was.
Stuck in the bathroom.
While my kids ran around the house eating candy and sticking sharp objects into electrical outlets.

I ended up yelling until they came upstairs. My kids are famously deaf when I am calling them, so this took awhile since I was two floors away. Of course, I couldn’t tell them they had locked me in. That would have given them dangerous ideas. (“Mom’s being annoying.  Where’s that hanger?”)

They came in and took the hanger off the door like I asked and were like, “What?”
“Why did you put that hanger on the door?”
“We were cleaning up! We were helping you!”
Right.

I confess. I hate crocs.

I know they’re incredibly hip, comfortable, blah blah blah. But they are ugly, people. Ugleee. Why on earth would you wear these, when you could wear these? Or these? OOOO – or these?

Anyway, I caved today. Ellie has been dying for a pair, since all her friends have them and they come in pink. And she needs new shoes anyways. We were out and we finally found a pair of pink crocs in Ellie’s size. She is thrilled. I cannot believe I paid $25 for these things.

I suppose this is just the beginning of my buying things that my daughter thinks are super-cool and I think are hideous, right?

update: “Look, Mom! I’m wearing my alligator shoes!”
update #2: Now Grace has a pair. Sigh.

Here is my mission for the week:
I need to figure out what the heck to do with my children.

Seriously. During the school year, we are fairly busy. Between preschool, Bible Study, etc. we’re always thankful when we get to spend a day at home together. But now we’re spending almost every day at home together. And I’m stumped. I have run out of ideas, inspiration or patience. Or perhaps all three.

Right now it is 9:00. We are going to go to Barnes & Noble to return a book and Mommy can indulge in a Starbucks while the kids run around the kiddie section, begging for every book they find with a Disney Princess on it. (They will find approximately 57.) And Mommy will be resisting with all of her might buying Harry Potter. Because she is waiting for the box set. Because she wants all her books to match because she is anal like that. But she is going bonkers because she is dying to read book 7. I am finally praying the price for being so crazy.*

Oh! I also need a new printer cartridge! That will take about 20 minutes!

But after that, it will be around 10:30. Then what? We have about 7 more hours until Daddy comes home. I want to use my time well, but I feel like I’m wasting it. I was doing a bit of preschooling with them at home. I need to start again…

Seriously, what do you people do at home all day with your kids??!?!!?

*To prove I am crazy, let me share the conversation going on in my head: “You could buy it. Its only $18.” “No! I want to whole set.” “You could buy it, read it and return it…” “No! That’s not right. I can’t. I’ll borrow it from someone.” “Come on… You know you want to…”

Gracie: “Mommy, don’t you snap at my daddy!!”

She sure told me.