Humor me.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who has a kid who does this when I ask her to do something for me...

Karma's a bitch .. in two acts

ACT I
Reese decides to play King of the Mountain on her duck ...

"Reesey .. get down. I mean it .. you're going to fall. Why aren't you listening to me? You're going to fall. It's going to hurt. I mean it. Ugh. Fine. Don't listen to me. Whatever."




ACT II
Kaelin starts rocking back and forth on the duck now ..
"Kaelin .. seriously? You JUST saw what happened to your sister. You're tempting fate my dear. I mean it .. you're going to fall backwards. Why don't you kids believe me? I know what I'm talking about here! Knock it off. Stop it. Ugh. Fine. See what happens. Whatever."




Ha. So there. Mommy two .. bratty kids zero.


At least when all else fails ... there's karma.

So different ..

The picture above is of an art project the girls did at school. It cracks me up. Ever since the girls picked up their first crayon they have gone about their work soooo differently. Reese always gets close to the paper and makes very deliberate marks. Kaelin, on the other hand, just goes for it .. colors everywhere. Kind of like having Chuck Close and Jackson Pollack creating artwork for our fridge.

The teachers gave them circle stickers and the heart pictures to work on. Reesey did the one on the left .. Kaelin's is on the right.
Need I say more?
Love it.

Arrrgh.

K and R's buddy, Mason, had his third birthday party today. Kaelin is now obsessed with pirates and a pirate song by Relient K.
They had a blast catching up with their friends (which thanks to Reesey and Mommy getting sick for so long, we haven't seen in a while!)

'nuff said


Kaelin's pirate earring


Reesey keeps watch with her telescope...
you can never be too careful when fraternizing with pirates ya know.




~Props to Bella Grace Boutique for K's fab skull dress! Click Here

.

woot.

David has been extremely busy lately creating brilliant things for his clients, so my website has had to take a backseat for now.
Those who know me know that patience is definitely not my forte ...
So ...
I went ahead and listed my stuff on Etsy. If you haven't already been to that site .. ohhhhhh .. it's fabulous. Everything there is unique and handmade. I have bought a bunch of stuff off of the site .. art prints, shoulder bag, clothes for the girlies.
I'm insanely addicted.
The best part .. besides the fact that most are one of a kind pieces, is that the prices are phenominal. I have gotten the most gorgeous stuff for the girls that would have cost an arm and a leg at a local boutique.
I'll warn you though .. once you start browsing through the site, it's easy to lose track of time and lose a good three to four hours of your night. whoops..
If you scroll down the sidebar, you'll see the link to my shop.

I am discussing a custom project with someone at the moment and just yesterday I had the owner of a well known boutique in Roswell express some interest in carrying some of my pieces. I'll meet with her soon and see what happens!

Neighbor Drama

Our neighbor has a son who apparently has aspirations to become a rock star. He has taken up the drums and formed a band. Now, I have to say that as an art major .. I'm all about any form of the arts being enjoyed and pursued. Here's where the "BUT" comes in .. During the day, he bangs on those things in the garage (sometimes with the door open) which is basically right in our back yard. Of course, the time he starts up is always right at nap time. Not a big deal for the girls as their room is on the opposite side of the house and they have a noise machine in there .. but for me .. ugh. That's my quiet time. I NEED that time to relax and regroup. Instead, I'm now treated to the torturous, thumping bass all throughout the house. It's maddening.
David also works from home, so you can imagine how it affects him too. He's just as annoyed as I am.
The big problem is that the kid plays those damn drums at night too. I'm not talking about 6 or 7 pm ... I mean midnight .. 1am .. 2 am ..
No no no.
We sent a very nice email to his mom, voicing our concerns about a week and a half ago and it seemed to drop off for a bit. His mom is NEVER home and we never see her anymore .. and honestly, I would rather go through her considering that I'm not far enough away from my teenage years to have forgotten that complaining to a teenager is basically only begging for two things to happen:
1. Your house to be rolled
or
2. The noise to get even more obnoxious.
We're not sure if the noise stopped for a while because she recieved the email and spoke to him (we never got a reply) or if it was just a coincidence.
Either way .. it's started back up after midnight again.
Grrrrrr ...
I emailed our neighborhood PACT officer asking for some guidance on how to handle the situation and his response was, "call the police".
Um ... aren't YOU the police? *sigh
Anyhoo ...
I hate to call the cops on him .. he's a good kid, extremely nice .. just with a bummer of a hobby.
David emailed his mom a second time the other night letting her know that if it continues, we'll be forced to call the police to issue a warning. (The second visit is a citation)
I swear .. I hear the "thump, bang, crash, thump, bang, crash" even when he's not playing. I can't take anymore.
We were counting on the fact that he's 18 .. or more .. and maybe he would be moving out soon. That doesn't seem like it's going to happen though .. I mean, he would be crazy to move away from a free party house since his mom has gone MIA for the past few months.

The girls and I were playing outside today and the drumming started. I, of course, get all stressed out BUT Kaelin hears the pounding and starts to squeal with joy. Next thing you know, she's dancing all over the yard having a blast. I had to stop her after a few brief minutes so that none of the neighbors would see her enjoying the racket.


Traitor.








~DISCLAIMER ~
To all concerned parties .. I promise to get the poor girl some dance lessons before I set her loose on the general public. My "Mommy love" does not blind me to the fact that ... whoa... someone could lose an eye. I'm on it.

Botanical Gardens

The girls and I joined some friends at The Botanical Gardens today. Mommy spent a lot of time hanging out so we didn't get to see everything, but we'll get back down there again soon. The girls loved it there!

Reesey says Hi to a frog


Kaelin .. all smiles


Reese offering a flower to her buddy, Maddie ... perhaps a peace offering considering that this is the first time that Maddie and Kaelin have played together. Before today, it was always seemed like they had some High School type drama going on .. dirty looks, ignoring each other .. so funny. By the end of the day, they were havng a blast together. Yea!

If you have a twisted sense of humor ..

.. like I do .. check out my new favorite blog.
The Bloggess
Brilliant.
I'm in lurve.

Sneaky little bugger ...

I was washing dishes the other night .. the girls were playing with their water table two feet from me.
Kaelin tugs on my pant leg.
"Mommy?"
"Yeah?"
"Um ... the water table?"
"Yep .. it's fun isn't it? Go play!"

..... long pause .....

"Mommy?"
"Yeah?"
"Reesey .. the water table?"
"Yes, Reesey is playing too."

..... long pause .....

"Mommy?"
"yeah?"

..... long pause ....

"Reesey swimming IN the water table?"

*sigh

Just 'cause they're cute ..

Shhhhhhh ....

... Reesey is hunting Easter Wabbits ..

I deserve a 'Mom of the Year' award for my restraint.

I considered for a brief second turning this photo into a "before" shot. Kid has no clue how close she came to being the subject of a great blog post. Lucky girl.
Hopefully in time she'll learn not to tempt me with things like this ....

Our Easter plans ...

.. didn't work out as planned. That's all I can come up without using some REALLY inappropriate language.

The weekend before Easter was when most of the Easter Egg Hunts were held. We couldn't get out to any of them since Reese and I were sick. I searched and searched for some last weekend and finally found one taking place at a park in Buckhead .. sponsored by Peachtree Presbyterian Church. That really should have tipped me off to a crappy experience considering that's the school where I used to work. I won't bore you with specifics .. but when I quit, I went to the board and had the director fired. Vengence is sweet.
I digress ..

Things were off to a bad start from the beginning. I wake up late due to the fact that my alarm clock was set for PM instead of AM .. brilliant.
Luckily, David's alarm (which is NEVER on) went off at 8:15 ... Reese had been messing with it the night before and thankfully hit all the right buttons to wake me up in time to rush us all together and get out of the house. Smart kid .. she knows her Mommy can't be trusted when it comes to early morning stuff.
Finally we're all showered, dressed, and in the car.
Sweet.

While on the highway I glance in the backseat. Reese isn't wearing her glasses. Great. I ask her where they are and she responds, "In the kitchen." ugh.

I then realize that I left the camera back at the house too. Poo. The girls look adorable .. we're going to an Easter Egg Hunt without Daddy (he was on his way home from his golf trip that day) and he won't be able to see the festivities. Double ugh.

I reach down to take a sip of much needed caffeine ... and end up with coffee all down the side of my leg.
I would have just given up at this point ... turned around and gone home ... but I had two cute kiddos in the back all giddy and talking a mile a minute about the Easter Bunny, Easter Eggs, and their baskets.

We get to Chastain Park and meet my mom. She takes the girls so I can find a place to park ... which seems next to impossible given that all of the parking is on the street surrounding the park and there a thousand people packed in there. I'm sure I'm going to have to walk two miles from the car, missing the entire hunt all together. I go one street up and see a space.
Ah .. things are looking up.

Walk back to the park .. take the girls over to where there is music playing and realize I don't have my wallet. I had my license, keys, credit card, and phone in there. Noooooooo. I had it when I walked down .. so I start retracing my steps and looking all over the ground in a panic. Finally, just at the moment when I almost had an complete breakdown, my mom spots something on the check in table. Yep .. my wallet. Thankfully, someone had seen it and taken it to the organizers.

Okay .. once again .. big sigh .. I compose myself.

We line up and wait for someone to tell everyone to go. The girls are excited .. Kaelin is pointing out all of the eggs to me. Finally, it's time to go and they're off.

Now here's where Mommy almost COMPLETELY loses it.

It doesn't take me long to realize that the brilliant minds at Peachtree Pres. have created an Easter Egg Hunt for ALL ages. Not only that but the egg to kid ratio is ridiculous. About 300 kids with what looked like 200 eggs spread out here and there ....
no.
Kaelin and I walking .. Reesey and Grandma are walking .... while 200 kids 8 and above are running like maniacs. Of course, all of the smaller kids are behind a huge wave of older kids .. no chance of getting anywhere near an egg. The kids are bumping little ones out of the way .. and I had one [insert choice curse word here] Mom actually grab an egg that Kaelin was about 10 inches from. I said a few loud words to Kaelin about etiquette and was flashed a lovely look by the woman. Bring it on woman.

Less than a minute into the hunt ... it's over. Older kids holding baskets full of eggs .. little ones looking around like, "What the hell just happened?"
The girls didn't even get one egg.
not. one. friggin. egg.
Grrr .....

Kaelin looked deflated.
It broke my heart.

I had to keep reminding myself that a church event, bitch slapping the organizer probably isn't the best idea. A passive aggressive letter will be written though. I plan on pointing out the error of their ways and telling them how last year, the BAPTISTS did it MUCH better.
Ha.
So there.


The whole ride home the girls were asking me where the eggs were.

Luckily, I had bought some plastic eggs a few days before .. so when the girls took their nap I filled them with stickers and animal figurines (thank goodness they didn't bust bust Mommy for stealing things from the playroom to put in the eggs!), jellybeans and mini marshmallows. Whatever we had in the house that fit .. it went in the eggs.
I threw them around the yard and when they woke up I waited for them to peek outside and see them.
Kaelin spotted them first and was soooo exicted.

They grabbed their baskets and got to work. So .. not all was a complete loss that day.

I need to shop at Michael's more ...

Laraleigh found something a little strange on her receipt after some Easter shopping. Check out the 6th line down ...


Only $4.00! Quite a deal if you ask me! ha.

Coming Soon

Sorry guys...
I'm having issues with my computer at the moment. Apparently the 10,738 photos I have of the girls in iPhoto have taken up all of my memory on the laptop. Who knew?

Due to that fact, I'm having trouble getting photos from my iPhoto to here. I'm working on it .. so there will be a post about our Easter festivities as soon as I can clear up some space. Sorry for the delay!
Keep checking back! Hopefully tomorrow I can at least delete some of the unusable pics and free up enough space to at least get me up and running for the blog.

eesh. 10,738. I need something else to do with my time.

Poor little Piggy

Soooo ... yesterday was my first day out of bed. I woke up, came downstairs, and was met by Kaelin asking, "Feel better honey?"
Gotta love it.

I felt good .. as good as you can feel while deathly ill anyway ... so I decided to celebrate my new vertical outlook on life with a bowl of Cheerios.
Woot.

I go to the pantry and try and open the door.
Instantly I realize that something is wrong. Not only is the door not opening, but there is a mind numbing pain shooting through my big toe. The crunching sound was a lovely addition too.
Yep .. brainiac here had somehow managed to pull the door open on top of my toe. ouch.
Nothing says, "Welcome back to the world of the living!" quite like a big toe that's turned colors I've only seen on CSI. Brilliant.
It doesn't hurt much today .. but it certainly certainly looks like it should.

It's really a shame to waste such a fabulously grotesque injury by getting it when we're all sick and holed up at home. It's not like David is going to ooh and ahh over it. All I got from him was a snarky comment about how I'm the clumsiest person he knows.
Killjoy.

So ... in all it's glory ... for your viewing pleasure.






There go the pedicure plans ...
Pity me.

Happy Birthday Baby!

Its March 12th .. and everyone knows what that means...

David is OLD!

Send the Matlock DVDs and be careful about breaking his hip when you give him the happy birthday hugs.

The end.

I might be dying.
Well, maybe that's a tad dramatic ..
but I do love a stage.

I gloated for weeks about how we have somehow managed to escape all of the nastiness going around. well, it finally got me. Here's hoping that it stays with me and the girls don't get it too.
Fever, chills, aching joints, and a horrible cough (made worse by the fact that I hurt my back a few days before all of this started .. so every hack and I feel like someone is taking a mallet to my lower back. fun times.)
I've been in bed for two days .. miss my girlies something terrible.

I just heard Reesey singing the Little Einstein's theme song. It's 1:30 a.m. and at the top of her lungs she's singing, "Goin' on a mission ... Start the countdooooooown .. FIVE! FOUR! THREE ..TWO.. ONE!! Everyone to rocket .. Rev it up now ... RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ..."

Good Lord, her poor sister.

Funny .. she sang three rousing renditions of that song and now .. 10 minutes later .. it's completely silent.
So weird.

Reese .. new and improved

About a month ago, I noticed that Reese was starting to cross her eyes a bit when she was staring at things. Luckily, this started as we were due for the girls eye exams. After seeing Dr. Bergman, we learned that she has a condition called Esotropia. Luckily, he said that her condition did not require the surgery that some kids need (surgey on eyeballs!! ICK!) but instead could be corrected with prescription glasses. Her eyes were crossing in order to focus images .. other than that, her vision is perfect. The glasses now do the focusing for her, so no more crossing.
Usually, the condition will get worse as the children age (up to the age of about 8) and they will need stronger prescriptions to help with that. After the worsening of the condition there will usually be a plateau, and then the eyes will kind of work themselves out and get better. Dr. Bergman said that, most likely, she'll be out of glasses by the age of 12 (Right at the time when girls typically get all catty and ruthless .. phew!)
After the Doc told me that she needed glasses, he kind of stared at me for a moment. Then he started talking a little slow. The whole .... "So ... we'll get her... a prescription ... and she'll wear ... glasses .... for a while ...."
oooooookay.
I told him I had (of course) already spent hours online scoping out hip glasses for kids. No coke bottle, Harry Potter glasses for my little fashion plate!
He laughed and said that he just wanted to make sure I unnderstood what he was saying because it has been his experience that when he says, "glasses", Mothers usually break down and sob.
Seriously?!
Glasses = sobbing?!
sheesh.
My girls were born at 29 weeks for crying out loud. We were warned of blindness, developmental delays, cerebral palsy, blah blah blah.
I'll take the glasses with a smile and a thank you.

I want to go hang out at the Thomas Eye Group and listen for the wailing misery of those moms ... then I'll walk in the room ... and smack them.

Anyhoo ... the glasses I was drooling over aren't available for little ones ... check these out!! I'm counting down the days until these will fit her.. click here! (will open in new window)

BUT, I found a pair that aren't too horrendous (not an easy feat for this age group) and we ordered them.
(sidenote ... $250.00 glasses for a 2 year old?! Seriously?! ouch)
Everyone kept saying how hard it was going to be to get her to wear them .. even Dr. Bergman said that it could be a hassle and to call him if we needed any advice on how to keep her in them.
Alas, she loves them. Well, maybe "love" is overstating it a bit. I suppose she tolerates, ignores .. seems rather apathetic about them. The second they were put on her, they stayed on her. Perhaps her sister's squeals of, "My glasses?? Where my glasses?? Glasses for me too??" made her feel a tad superior.
That first day, she had a meltdown when I took them OFF for naptime. Since then, she wears them happily and has only taken them off twice (both times they were fairly dirty, so a quick clean up job and she let me slide them back on)
David and I certainly miss her little face that we have grown accustomed to over the years .. and it's hard not being able to squish her face and smother her with kisses... and I'll be damned if I can get a picture of her without the sky reflecting in the lenses or a huge flash over her eyes. eesh.
We'll live.
In the meantime .. she can see .. has gorgeous straight eyes .. and has proven to be the exception to the "it's next to impossible to get a two year old to wear glasses" rule.
Without further ado ...

Parental supervision

Old pic .. but it makes me laugh. A while back my friend, Laraleigh, and I took the kiddos to Catch Air. They had just installed a new game in a corner which the kids didn't seem to notice until LL and I were into a conversation about who knows what.
Next thing you know .....



Maybe I need to start keeping a better eye on my kids.

Can someone fill me in on this?

These glasses were in the $1 bin at Target. I had to laugh because apparently the appropriate age for beer mug glasses is "8+". I mean .. beer glasses for kids UNDER 8 would just be innappropriate and ridiculous. OVER 8 .. well, you're golden.
So, here's my quandary..
Did they list the age at 8 because 8 year olds can tastefully pull off the beer mug look? Or is it only because they don't exactly fit toddlers?



Hmmmm ...

Autism walk 2008

On Saturday April 12th, some friends and I will be walking in the Georgia Walk for Autism. We are hoping to raise money for all families that have been touched by autism, but more personally, we will be walking for a very special little boy named Dylan (photo below). His mother, Elizabeth, is our team leader and wrote the letter below. We would appreciate any donations and if you could forward the letter to anyone you know who might be willing to help us reach our goal. We would love to have some of you join the team and walk with us!



Dear family and friends,

Again this year, we are proud to be a part of the Atlanta Walk for Autism. But for me, this is more than fundraising, this is life. This is hope. This is for my son, Dylan. If you don’t believe in miracles, let me tell you about the past year for us.

One year ago when Dylan was diagnosed with autism, he was completely non-verbal, couldn’t use a fork and barely played with his toys. Today, after a year of therapy, some diet intervention and lots of love, Dylan sings “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” He knows his colors, his ABCs and can say a six-word sentence. Change is possible.

The numbers are now staggering—1 in 150 children will be diagnosed with autism. But for every one of those numbers, there is a unique child with his or her own special gifts, a bright smile and a loving heart. Behind every number is a mom just like me who lives on the edge every day hoping for a miracle, an answer or a cure.

But we need to know more about the mysteries of autism. It is one of the least researched childhood developmental conditions. That’s why we’re asking for your help. Please support us in the 2008 Autism Walk. Help Autism Speaks and The Marcus Institute make change and miracles happen for more families like ours. We can do this together, and who knows what great things lie ahead for Dylan. Only time will tell so for now we’ll rejoice in his singing, his smile and his open heart.

Last year, our family walked in honor of Dylan and thanks to your generosity raised more than $2,000, This year we have 9 people on our team and have raised our team goal to $10,000. I believe we can do it. It’s easy to donate online, visit http://www.walknowforautism.org/site/c.puIWL9MQJpE/b.3623267/. You can search for our team name: Walking for Hope or my name, Elizabeth Schwartz. Please forward this on to anyone you know who might like to help us reach our goal.

Thank you from a very grateful mom,

Elizabeth


You know you can't resist this face!!!

Spreadin' the love ..

Happy Valentines Day!

We like a good mess around here ..

kaelin and reesey @ the aquarium

Vote for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

Please go to the web site below and vote for Atlanta (Children's Healthcare of Atlanta) to get a new hospital playroom from Colgate.

It's an easy process and would benefit so many of our children that spend there time here at the hospital.

You can vote every day and the last day of voting is February 29
You can vote in the Vote Tally section

http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/CommunityPrograms/show-the-love.cvsp

Kaelin the comedian

Kaelin made up her first joke yesterday.

K: "Mommy ... what's there .. in my diaper?"

(of course .. this makes mommy very nervous!)

Me: "I don't know .. what's in your diaper?"

K: "Look .. There .. What's in my diaper??"
(she reaches her hands back into her jeans and looks confused)

Me: "Let me see ..."
(I look .. thankfully, I don't see anything gross)
"I don't see anything...."

K: "Mommmmyyyyy .. it's my BOOTIE in there!"



Nice one.

PSA to parents

I was looking up discipline strategies online the other night and one site had a question posted about two year old behavior. It hasn't left my mind b/c it illustrates what parents today seem to think is "appropriate" and why so many of our kids are being labeled and put on dangerous, powerful drugs.
I'm incensed.

Here's an excerpt ..
Question: "We're having discipline problems with our two-and-a-half-year-old daughter. When she doesn't get what she wants she throws herself on the floor. She is a sweet, happy little girl as long as we don't tell her "No." I don't know what to do with her. I believe she is ADD/ADHD."

What?! A two year old doesn't like being told "no"?!?
Imagine that!
Goodness .. if that mom thinks that HER kid has issues she should come spend an hour with Kaelin! She's going through a phase of tantrums, hair pulling, pinching, snatching, and throwing. I wonder what labels would be thrown her way....
eesh.

Parents .. kids will be kids..
They are not always nice .. they are not always silent ........... they are not perfect.
They're just trying to find their way.
Let them experiment .. let them experience ..
Let them be KIDS for crying out loud!

FIO360

I'm beside myself.
The new FIO360 school will be opening in Atlantic Station this year. I would give my right arm ... well, maybe my left ... to get the girls into this school.
Of course, all that 'fabulousness' comes with a price. $1,605 per child, per month to be exact. Of course... there's the gratious 10% discount for siblings .. sure, THAT helps out. Ouch.

Where's Ed McMahon knocking on your door when you need him??

http://fio360.com/FIOAnnouncementRelease.pdf


(btw .. if any of our gratious readers would like to fund our little darlings for the next few years .. we're not too proud.....
Just sayin')

The girls seem to understand the concept of genetics ....

.. and it worries them.

You may remember the photo below from last year ..



Well, it seems that Reese has the same concerns that Kaelin did. She was watching a show today and I caught her "stuffing" ...

Maybe no one will notice ....


busted... poor thing looks so defeated. I have a feeling that's a face I'll be seeing again in high school. Sorry kid.