Cleaning Skills

I have really focused this last month or so on helping Millikins learn some basic household skills. She can now fold her own laundry, clean the bathtub, and scoop out the litter-box-with guidance. She has been putting away her clothes and putting the silverware away for quite a bit already, so we added to those skills.

This last week I decided we needed to wash all the windows, in and out. I started doing the inside windows and then both girls had to join in. When I asked Millikins if she wanted to help me clean this was the face I got, a normal reaction to this question. (The girl loves to help and loves to clean, I need to work on keeping that going!)

Lulu is not one to be left out. So, she too had to get in on the cleaning action. Of course, she slept through it. But, she was still a part of it!

I have wonderful, amazing girls and a clean house!

What more could a Mommy ask for?

$1 Thrift Store Fun

We were shopping at the thrift store last week and Millikins found, on her own, these $1 treasure! I couldn't believe they were only a dollar.

This was her first time out on them, helmet was a must!

She had about five spills, not even a scratch from one of them.

She 'walked' on them for about a half an hour then decided she was done. I haven't been able to get her back out on them again. But, that time will come. What's also fabulous about these skates is that they are adjustable in length so she can use them for quite sometime; and hopefully Lulu can use them after Millikins.

Lefse Fun

Lefse is pure yummy goodness...but it sure makes a mess of my kitchen

Flour is EVERYWHERE!

No matter how careful I try to be; I end up with a white kitchen

I didn't get a great picture of Millikins eating her lefse this time around; this photo is from Fall 2008 when I was first learning how to make it

We decided to let Lulu get in on the action this time

She didn't actually get anything down the hatch; but she did get a taste of it. She sucked on it a bit and made chewing motions. In the end, she turned it basically back into mashed potatoes. But, she had fun! And, that's what matters.

Red Head Tendencies

"Blondes are noticed but redheads are never forgotten." - Unknown

"While the rest of the species is descended from apes, redheads are descended from cats." - Mark Twain

"Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead." - Lucille Ball

Researchers at the University of Louisville discovered that, on average, people born with red hair require about 20 percent more anesthesia to obtain satisfactory sedation.

"Nobody who has known a redhead can say that redheads are tame. Even shy redheads have a burning spark of adventure inside them. Opinionated, hotheaded, logical, loyal, friendly, reserved, whatever the redheads' personality, you can bet they'll have SCADS of it!" - Review of The Redhead Encyclopedia

There was never a saint with red hair.

-Russian Tradition-

Blondes are wild, brunettes are true,

but you never know just what a redhead will do! - Unknown

You'd find it easier to be bad than good if you had red hair," said Anne reproachfully. "People who haven't red hair don't know what trouble is."- Anne to Marilla in Anne of Green Gables

"All throughout history, from Reuben to Robbins, redheads have been recognized as a rare breed. Blondes may have more fun, brunettes may be brainier, but when it comes down to raw energy, creativity, and personality ... you just can't beat a redhead well, you can, but beware ... she'll probably beat you back!" - Redheads Unlimited

There once was a girl

with a Strawberry curl

Right in the middle of her forehead

And when she was good

she was very, very good

-but when she was bad she was horrid. - Unknown

Searching for Hemp...liners

We decided to take a trip down to Olympia this last weekend, mainly to look at some hemp liners for our Fuzi Bunz diapers. (I LOVE this store, Simple Cloth in Olympia! The owner is the sales person and she is an endless well of knowledge on cloth diapering, I just love talking to her about it the two times we have visited this store in the past year.)

So, we got to Olympia about three hours before the store opened. So we decided to walk around a bit, we ended up walking another six miles this day. We found a really nice park with a lake that had a path around it, as it went past the Capital building. Such a nice way to waste some time. It helped that the weather was so beautiful too!

We didn't bring the big stroller with us, since it takes up the whole of our trunk. But, it was hard for Dave to push it for long since it's so much shorter than our big stroller. So, Dave and I switched places on the kid front. I missed having Lulu right there on my chest though, it was also kind of nice to have a break. And, as you can see she's enjoying her ride!

Millikins got crayons and had the chance to draw on her menu at the lunch spot. This is her depictions of our family. Daddy is the bottom big circle, then Mommy, than Millikins herself, and little Lulu on the top right. She was drawing in the eyes and mouths with all the dots. By the time the photo was taken it's not quite as clear, but still cute non-the-less.

When we got home we decided to christen the turtle swimming pool. Ok, so these are sold as sand boxes; but they make the best pools. Kids can not collapse the sides when they sit on them. There is a cover so you can leave the water in it to keep warm without the water getting dirty. It's an all around great set up; and I got it for $7 at a garage sale. Sweet!

Funikins Millikins

All kids say 'the darndest things'

Millikins is no exception. Here are three of her latest ones that crack me up to no end.

Otherwise known in our household as a 'hackamer'

Also known as a yellow Ariel

This one is about a year old, and in fact is no longer in use by Millikins but her Daddy has now taken it over and uses it every time he tells me Thank you. It's also known as Thank you-nine. I'm really not sure where this one came from. But, as Millikins was really learning to say thank you this is how she pronounced it.

Contemplations

It's been forever, I know this. We'll see how it goes now that things are starting to get into a rhythm. We'll see how long this rhythm actually stays!

Lulu is teething fiercely again. She is seriously working on 8 teeth! Some had gone down but now they are back in force. My sleep hasn't recovered from the first go around of teeth attacking. I guess I'll just get my sleep back when I'm dead. ;)

Millikins is doing pretty well. Her broken finger is being 'rehealed' in her special glove quite well.
I have to admit that I was skeptical that wearing a brace at night would really do anything to fix a broken knuckle that healed calliwampus. But, I have to eat my opinions now. I am amazed at how much improvement has happened in these short 4 weeks, we have 2 more weeks before we see the Dr again.

Lulu is rolling from front and from her back now; although she forgets how to do both at some points through out the day. She is always so amazed when she rolls over; her face says, 'it's the greatest invention ever and I figured it out! Did you see me!?' Too Cute

Lulu at 4 months

Millikins is at a totally fun stage for me right now. She talks ALL THE TIME, ok sometimes that's not the most fun. But, we have such interesting conversations. She is really into trying to say words fully correct; and when she does conqure a word that has been difficult for her she jumps up in the air and yells 'I got it!' The joy of it is such an amazing thing to watch. Millikins is really trying to figure out this big world around her. I can't believe I get to be her coach and help her through it all, I am truly blessed.

I am surviving! That's the best that can be said at the moment. I have really great days where I am the Mother and Wife I want to be, than other days...hmmm...not so much. I am not the nicest person to be around when I'm tried, and with Lucy's teething and being up all nights nursing and comforting her I haven't gotten the needed sleep. Still, most days I think I'm doing ok.

I've joined Weight Watchers now. I need to feel good about myself. I am also seeing a counselor to deal with some emotional baggage I've carried for FAR too many years. I am feeling lighter, in both physically and emotionally ways. In the past three weeks I've lost 7 pounds! I'm so excited by that number! I hope I can keep it up and not allow myself to become disappointed and lose hope. I think my total goal is going to be around 30 lbs lost. I feel that I can accomplish this. If I stay on the same numbers I have been pulling each week I could be done by mid-August; but I'm giving myself to the end of the year to make this reality my own. I'll keep ya posted.