Burnt Pizza

Okay originally, I thought only Jessica would truly appreciate this story, but maybe it's proof of how fried one's brain can get when trying to do it all, so I thought I'd share it with everyone. The girls went to my mom and dad's last weekend so I could write my research paper for a class I'm taking. I was trying to work on my paper when a I saw a salesman go up to the neighbors house, then a couple minutes later there was a knock on my door. I didn't answer it because I didn't want to waste my time and no one we know ever goes to the front door. I thought a pizza sounded good for lunch so I made one. It needed just a one more minute so I set the timer (Jessica knows that I will forget after one minute and burn my pizza). I checked it. Nope. One more minute. Uuurrgghh! I didn't set the timer the second time and burned the pizza. So I made another one. Same thing! Who burns two pizzas in a row?!?! Not just a little burnt, totally inedible. I gave up. I ordered Gary's.

I started working on my paper again when someone knocked on the front door again. I'm like..."Give it up buddy I don't want whatever you're selling!" So I ignore the knock. He knocks again, so I decided fine, I will tell you face to face to go away so you'll leave me alone. Do you know who it was? The pizza man. Yes, I think I need to see my husband. We are headed to Sioux Falls shortly. The girls and I are driving and Jamie will be flying in there so we will see him before the day is over! Ava is very excited; it has been on her calendar all month and yesterday she told everyone "One more day...then I get to see my Daddy!" Every time Zoe sees a picture of Daddy, she says "dada, dada, dada, dada!"

Last night we called Uncle Justin to wish him a happy birthday and then we went to Space Aliens to have dinner and celebrate Chris and Heather's birthdays. There was a load of tickets and I was cringing at the thought of bringing home the junky toys that would ensue from the tickets. Heather brought some over to her house, but the princess dress-up set did make its way to our house. I keep trying to get the cheap plastic toys out and they keep making there way back in! One thing in the kit was broken upon opening it and I explained to Ava that that's what happens with cheap toys. Ten minutes later, four more pieces had fallen off or broken and I told Ava that we have to be very careful so Zoe doesn't get any of those parts because she still puts things in her mouth. Ava, still thrilled with her princess dress-up set said, "I so thankful for that I got all this cheap stuff!" What could I do...I laughed :)

Yay Zoe!

Yes, I know Zoe is only 14 months. But recently, we pulled out the potty chair again. Since Ava was so interested in the potty from right around her first birthday, we thought we might as well bring it out again and let Zoe explore it. Zoe hasn't been quite as interested as Ava was. She likes her potty and has enjoyed it for many activities…sitting on it, standing up, sitting on it, standing up, sitting on it, standing up…you get the point (I wish I had the energy to do squats like that!). Oh, every once in a while she likes to stand in her potty chair too. Believe me, there is no pressure here. We don't force her on the potty, but if she wants to sit on it, we'd be happy to save a diaper! Anyway like I said, so far there hasn't been much interest in using the potty for its intended purpose until yesterday morning. When Zoe woke up in the morning, her diaper was almost completely dry (a rarity), so I figured she must have a full bladder. I sat her on the potty chair and gave her some milk to drink and…psssss. Zoe went pee on the potty! She was very excited to see something in the potty when she stood up (jaw dropping shock!) and even more excited to flush it down the toilet and wave "bye-bye!" Yay Zoe! After she got dressed, she wanted to wash dishes just like her sister!


Ava has been interested in a St. Patrick's Day book that we recently got. It's about 2 kids who build leprechaun traps in hopes to catch a leprechaun and find his hidden treasure. She decided that we too, should try to catch a leprechaun. On Monday, she and Heather decorated a tissue box, then they placed a tissue over the top of it with some shiny pennies to lure him into the trap and a ladder from her Dora Lego set for him to climb up the box. Well, when we woke up in the morning on Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day, the ladder was knocked down, the box was tipped over and the tissue was inside the box. Ava wondered if there was a leprechaun in there but was a little nervous to check. She wanted Mommy to pull the tissue out so she could see. We pulled it out, and there was nothing in there! Not even our pennies. Ava figured that a leprechaun must have come during the night, took the pennies, and got out of the trap. Then we saw some little bags filled with green soaps and spa gloves sitting on the table next to the trap. Ava suggested that maybe the leprechaun left presents for her and Zoe since he took the pennies. That sounds pretty probable to me! Maybe next year we'll find a pot of hidden gold! We'll have to be even sneakier so he doesn't get away!

Fun in the Snow

It was finally warm enough on Friday to go out and play in the snow! Ava has been out a few times at Grama's house, but Zoe had yet to play in the white fluff. Last year she was too little and this year it has been so unbearably frigid. At first, she didn't really know what to do, but once she saw Ava playing, she got excited and wanted to follow her. I helped her down off the deck and she plopped down on her belly to get an up close look. Ava started playing on the swing set and Zoe, of course, wanted to join her. When she tried to walk around, she got mad…it's not easy walking around in big boots and snow pants through the snow when you've got short legs! Once I helped her over there, she was having a blast again.

We built a snowman, which I nicknamed "Melty the Snowman" knowing that he wouldn't be around for long. Ava was very irritated when I said that and insisted that his name was "Frosty." Frosty's life was a short one. He came to life on Friday afternoon and left this great earth this afternoon leaving only his carrot nose, twig arms, and raisin eyes behind. See you next year Frosty. We are ready for spring.

You know I love a spa day

This morning we hung out at the mall. I grabbed a coffee, we ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and then met Kelly and Addie (from daycare) at the mall play area. Both girls were very excited to see them (it had been a whole week!). After we left, Ava said, "Wasn't that sure nice to see Kelly again?" Imagine how excited she'll be to see Daddy again. :) After picking up a few things at Target, we went down to the pet store to look at all of the animals. Zoe was particularly excited to see the kitties and the fish (ts! ts! ts!). Ava has been yearning to pet a snake, talking about it often, so I asked at the pet store if they let kids do that. Unfortunately, they don't unless you're serious about buying one. Umm, yeah, I don't think I could fake that interest. I am not afraid of snakes, but I certainly don't love them. I am trying my best to fake an interest though so Ava continues her interest in them (one of those motherly duties). I've already terrified her and instilled quite the fear of bugs and mice in her, all thanks to the huge cicadas landing in my hair and on my arms in Chicago two summers ago and the surprise critter in our laundry room sink (in the same week). She now says, "I like bugs" and "I like mice" and "Bats are nice, Mommy." This is all thanks to Daddy, trying to fix the mess I started. :) He is already telling Zoe the same things so I don't freak her out too. Yes, a Daddy's job is never done!

Yesterday while Zoe took her morning nap, Ava and I had a "spa day." We usually do this quite frequently, but hadn't for quite a while, so Ava was very excited and said, "You know I love a spa day mom!" We just soak our feet in a dishpan filled with warm bubbly water, scrub them up, and follow with lotion and often times nail polish. FYI: the dishpan is used exclusively for this purpose--you needn't be afraid to eat off of our dishes!

Spring Break Fun

I'm on spring break this week from work (gotta love working in the schools!), so I get to be home all week! With the snowfall today, it was the perfect day for a movie marathon. Watching movies is one of Ava's passions (as well as dancing, talking about princesses, and wearing every pair of shoes she owns every day). Not a day goes by that she does not ask, "Can we watch a movie?" Obviously she does not get to watch a movie every day, but she was thrilled when I told her that we could watch movies all day long today. And yes, three of the four movies were princess movies! We also baked brownies, made homemade pizza, and read about a dozen books that we checked out from the library.

On Monday, we finger painted and colored in the morning. Ava is proud to squeeze her own paint by herself now and Zoe was excited to get her hands in the paint. I was surprised that she didn't attempt to eat the paint! Zoe also colored with markers for the first time (aside from the time she got into the markers not too long ago that someone left on the floor and bit the tip off of the brown one). Every time she sees the box of markers now she says "cuhlah-cuhlah-cuhlah-cuhlah" and bounces around with excitement at the prospect of getting to color again. Maybe we found one of her passions (along with dancing and wearing purses and any clothing item that fits on her arm like a purse including her sister's princess underwear). In the evening, Heather came over to watch Zoe while Ava and I went to the library to watch Finding Nemo on the big screen.

Watch this video :)

On Sunday we played Barbies and Princesses with our new Barbie treehouse that Daddy helped make before he left for Montana. Zoe had so much fun that she just passed out on the floor for a nap (this never happens!)

"Love you Daddy!"

Jamie left for Montana this morning. He will be working on some homes on the air force base in Great Falls for at least the next couple of months. We are getting our taxes done in Sioux Falls the last weekend of March and Jamie will fly in there, so we will get to see him in three weeks. If you ask Ava where Daddy is, she will tell you, "He went to Hannah Ba-tana." The hotel Jamie is staying in has free wi-fi, so Jamie will be able to check in on us and see photos and videos of the girls. Now I have some motivation to keep up on my blog so we can stay connected as a family. :)