New Bike!

So Anna is pretty well potty trained now, I know I had an alarmist blog about this recently, it finally came to a head and she learned how to use the head. I will spare you the details. But she got a sweet tricycle out of the deal. I let her pick from a bunch of cool helmets, she picked a shark. So cool.

She rides around our condo parking lot a lot with her friends, kind of a Heck's Angels group; all in pink with some princesses and tassles thrown in.

Chalk Paint

 Have you ever left your sidewalk chalk out in the rain and assumed it's ruined? Well, I tell you it is not. This activity did not exactly come from that kind of experience, but in my pre-mom years I observed that sidewalk chalk was more vibrant and clay-ey when it got wet.

 Step one, find a puddle or create one (with water). Then color it up with your chalk until it looks kind of paint-like. It usually takes us most or all of one piece of normal sidewalk chalk in a small puddle. We go through our chalk pretty fast.

Step Two: Do hand and foot prints everywhere! I haven't experimented with paintbrushes or other means yet.

 Butterfly!

 Anna and her little friend Lily.

So last week we found chalk on sale for 75% off because it's a summer toy; so we got these massive chalks, 7x larger than a normal piece, only $1.50, score! 

 This is kind of what our front walkway looks like right now. rainbowy.

Time Capsule

Anna is playing wedding this afternoon. I helped her put on her biggest white dress (probably a 6T), she put on her ballerina slippers and, while I was on the phone, found a red marker and did her 'makeup' coloring her lips, spots on her cheeks and on her nose.

Now she is gathering all the costume jewelry she can find, including a christmas lights necklace, and asking for a "wedding hood" which I think means a veil.

Somehow this was all brought about by a new Ariel magical cell phone toy that I finally relented to buy her. She promised to play with it all afternoon instead of watching any more shows or movies. I am supposed to be the Prince, but I have suggested a few times that she use a giant penguin instead.

The wedding cake is banana bread. It's a beautiful, peaceful and quiet event.

Guest Editor

These do not relate to any new stories or adventures, they are just nice pictures of these cute girls, so I let Anna do the captioning.

 umm, yeah, that one could be good.  I think it's so silly.

Eliza, I like that one. She's doing this "ptpey777ythhughythgjuj"

Me and Eliza.

ghthngnngjgngnthngnjghj

 

That's her bootie that you made with crochet.

quilt picture

Chevron and zigzag are all the rage these days, in case you didn't know. So I made this quilt out of leftovers from a larger quilt for a cousin who had a baby.

Cute Pictures

 Here is our first cute picture. This was at Eliza's Dr. appt before we moved. One of the best pictures I have of both of them.

 Here is a picture of Eliza with a Kitty face. Just for fun.

This was an ingenious device that I found in the bathroom of a Smith's Marketplace. So you can put your baby down while you are going to the bathroom/taking your 3 year old to the bathroom.

We Did Something FUN!

To begin, I should state that I got this idea off Pinterest and more specifically from this site. And it seemed just easy enough that I could remember all the ingredients and pull it off.

1-Rice   $10 for 20 lbs, more than enough

2- Large Bucket/Rubbermaid Thingy  $8 but you might have one if you check

3- Rubbing Alcohol $2

4- Food Coloring  $5

I was worried about the food coloring because the original blog poster said she used like 2 T of color. That seemed like a lot. I let Anna do the color and did not supervise super well, but we ended up with like half of each bottle, so not too bad.

Here was our set up, I measured the rubbing alcohol into the cup and the rice into the Ziploc (we only used one bag and just went through the colors in order, I didn't see it as a problem, more like a solution!) We also only used one color cup and didn't bother washing it either. This project was right up my alley.

 Anna was my colorist. She did a great job. After I poured in some rubbing alcohol (like 3T ish) she squeezed in the colors that I recommended.

 Here is red. We were doing Orange for our last color but it didn't turn out very orangy, more salmon. We do have more rice so I might try that one again. After we poured the liquid into the bag with the rice we mushed it around until it was all covered, then we poured it in the bucket! (The original blogger recommended spreading it out on a cookie sheet to dry. I did not do this. It is probably a good idea.)

 TA-DA! Isn't that some rainbow awesomeness?

 Eliza was ignored for an entire 20 minutes while we were doing this. She found a crayon and colored the fireplace tiles.

Eliza got to play for it for a minute, but she didn't understand the concept of keeping it in the box. That's like, the only rule. Well, that and not eating it. Two rules.

Anna loves her rainbow rice, she wants me to stop blogging and go play with her some more. that is all.

Painted Lady

I let Anna paint my nails yesterday. She did a pretty great job for a 3 1/2 year old. 

While I was painting hers she asked if it was a brush I was using. She loves painting. She asked if she could do mine, even though she knows I don't really like it. I told her I would like it if she did it.

Rhyming Words

I've been teaching Anna about rhyming words the past 2 days. We think of a word, then come up with words that rhyme with it.
A lot of the time she just adds a Y to the beginning, which usually does not make a word.

Noise - Yoise?

But sometimes she really gets it. She surprised me yesterday rhyming Spoon and Raccoon.

This happened this morning:

Dad - ...i..pad?
Perfect. She got a high five for that.

She really likes this game, so sometimes I have to say "No more rhyming now, I mean it!"

So...

I've been potty training Anna for over a year.

Just wanted to put that out there.

Not making a ton of progress the last...10 months.

I think I waited too long.


Learn from my mistake.

It sure would be great

I sure would like to make one of these, but I'm pretty sure I will not have the skills/time to do it while my kids are still little enough to enjoy it.

Maybe I should just back off the pressure and plan to make one for my grandkids. Yeah, they'll love that. I should just start a file of "Grandkid ideas"

Stuff I Like/Update

We moved to Connecticut 2 days ago and here's an update/the things I like about this place:

• One of Connecticut's nicknames is "The Nutmeg State". On a similar note, I accidentally spilled both cloves and cinnamon in the sink today. It smells like fall already. Like it was some kind of delightful welcoming present to say, "This is what you came here for, New England Autumn". It could have just as easily been cumin and chili powder. 
• Forests everywhere. Our condo is in an official Memorial Forest, which I fully intend to explore, tromping around with my two little munchkins, looking at bugs and scaring chipmunks, trying to    avoid poison oak and ticks.
• Our Condo. It's unfortunate that I assumed that it would be small just because it's a condo. It may be just as large on the inside as our house was, with the bonus of no yard to maintain. My bedroom is definitely bigger. It definitely has a BkE feel to it, as in, built during the same era. Same doors, shelves, outlet covers etc, but it is very clean and updated. Our landlord even put a new dishwasher in just before we moved in.
• Dinner Sofa.
• Pantry.
• GPS.
• Happy baby that takes naps in her own crib.
• 
• Very Randomly Anna noticed a Taco Bell. Then she told us that we need to go to Taco Bell while they have a baby sitter. As in, Ben and I should get a babysitter and go on a date to Taco Bell; and it was her idea, she repeats this every time we see a Taco Bell. And sometimes when we don't see any Taco Bells.
• Hydrangeas. I've gotten very interested in hydrangeas this spring and we just happened to move into a place with Cape Cod Hydrangeas on the front porch. Anna picked some today and they have brightened up our table.  
• 

Anchorite Life

I remember learning in college about Julian of Norwich. She was an extremely pious woman who, after a near-death experience, decided to "anchor" herself to the church, meaning there was built a very small cell onto the side of the church and she lived there. Without a door and only two windows, one into the church and one out to the outside world, she lived there for the rest of her life. She was not the only Anchorite, she was just the most notable because she wrote a book.

Lately, with all the craziness, I've wondered whether I could handle that. Sitting alone, day after day, reading, writing, maybe some small crafts...that sounds pretty nice. I'm not pious enough to do it for religious reasons, and I would have to have a cell with considerably better amenities. Like a bathroom. And air conditioning. Internet?

maybe not. Quiet, calm, stillness. pretty sweet. That's all I need.

Anyway, here is the Wikipedia paragraph that I copied to remember everything, enjoy.

• The anchoritic life became widespread during the early and high Middle Ages. Examples of the dwellings of anchorites and anchoresses survive. They tended to be a simple cell (also called "anchorhold"), built against one of the walls of the local village church.^[3] In the Germanic lands from at least the tenth century it was customary for the bishop to say the office of the dead as the anchorite entered her cell, to signify the anchorite's death to the world and rebirth to a spiritual life of solitary communion with God and the angels. Sometimes, if the anchorite was walled up inside the cell, the bishop would put his seal upon the wall to stamp it with his authority. But some anchorites freely moved between their cell and the adjoining church. ^[4]
• Hearing Mass and receiving Holy Communion was possible through a small, shuttered window in the common wall facing the sanctuary, called a "hagioscope" or "squint". There was also a small window facing the outside world, through which the inhabitant would receive food and other necessities and, in turn, could provide spiritual advice and counsel to visitors, as the anchorites gained a reputation forwisdom. ^[5]
• Anchorites were supposed to remain in their cell in all eventualities. Some were even burned in their cells, which they refused to leave even when pirates or other attackers were looting and burning their towns. ^[6] They ate frugal meals, and spent their days both in contemplative prayer and interceding on behalf of others. Anchorite hymns, such as Ignus Lux Sanctum, praising the sanctity of light in all its forms were the inspiration for Athanasius Kircher's research on optics and magnetism. Their bodily waste was managed by means of a chamber pot.^[7] An idea of their daily routine can be gleaned from an anchoritic Rule known as Ancrene Wisse.^{[citation needed]}
• One very well known medieval anchoress is Julian of Norwich whose writings have left a lasting impression on Christian spirituality.^{[citation needed]} All Saints' Church in King's Lynn, Norfolk, still has its original 12th century Anchorhold, intact and still very much in use during the daily worship of the church.^[8]

Stress

I don't think I know how to deal with stress.
I think stress is not having control over things that you think you should. But I typically look at a situation, if I can do anything about it, I try to do something. If there is nothing I can do about it, I just don't. I continue along in life until I see something I can do to improve or end the situation. Otherwise, life as usual, you know? My body however, is not quite as in sync with my brain. I get a skin irritation whenever my body senses stress (it's been almost continual since I graduated from high school). This is what makes me think I don't know how to deal with stress. Like, what is a stress reliever? I always figured a stress reliever was like, not procrastinating or finishing projects on time. But that is my active "I can do something about this situation" stress reliever. What about when there is nothing that can be done? How can I convince my body that it just needs to chill out?

For example: I am moving across the country starting like, tomorrow. Ben is already out there working. Companies have been paid to do all the packing and moving and car-moving for us. So what am I supposed to do? Compound that with a very fevery, teething baby and a 3 year old who can't seem to find the toilet or cook her own food. There is a lot of crying going on over here.
My body has moved beyond a little itchiness, when that little warning did nothing to affect me, my body pulled out some bigger guns. Now I am having intense allergic reactions to - it seems - everything. I took an allergy pill finally last night, now my lungs and throat are congested too. Plus the fogginess from the drugs. I am at a loss.
I know a lot of people have the same kind of thing, I have a friend who swears her tongue goes numb when she's stressed out.
I am practical to a fault, thus if I can't foresee the benefit to something, I'm sure it won't help, and am generally unwilling to attempt it. I need active problem solving. Someone to tell me to "clean this" and "move that" would be great, but I can't figure those out for myself either. It's a good thing I married a type A guy who can take charge of a situation. I just sit and wait to be given instruction.

In any case I can take comfort in the fact that a month from now this will all hopefully be a distant memory.

Just a little bit of earth

Dear Birds,
My yard is basically a banquet of slugs, spiders, potato bugs and centipedes. What's holding you up? Start cleaning this place up. I won't hurt you.
Signed,
Smorgasbord

Dear Slugs,
Why don't you try eating the weeds you are colonizing under instead of my tender little flowers?
Signed,
Disappointed

Dear Ants,
Just because I pull up the weeds and dirt in and around your home I am not inviting you to climb up my legs. Please get off my feet.
Signed,
Annoyed and itchy

Dear Weeds,
Please stop growing.
Signed,
Exhausted

Dear Garbage Can
You are doing a great job holding all these weeds in, keep it up. And if you happen to clear up a little space before Thursday, that would be great also.
Signed,
Just a few more days

The Eyelash

Once upon a time I told Anna I couldn't help her wash her hands because I had an eyelash in my eye. Next thing I knew she was singing this song. I couldn't get it on video at that second because - well, I had an eyelash in my eye. But I sat her down right away and got it on video to show the world.

Backstory: This is a song from one of the hippy records my parents had that we listened to all the time. It's from Henry Gibson and the Grass Menagerie, the lyrics are as follows:

The Eyelash

The eyelash is a friend to man, 

It lives to serve the eye.

It fights the dirt and dust and grime

And keeps the eyeball dry.

Flick Flick, Flick Flick

It's busy as a bee.

Flick Flick, Flick Flick

It's helpin' you and me.

Then Henry Gibson ends it by saying, "That was an original folk song that I wrote originally, for my folks."

This Girl.

Here are a few updates on Anna's rapidly expanding brain.

• Where she used to have trouble with question words, i.e. mixing up "who" and "what" and "where", she now has "after" and "before" confused. "We can go before I put my shoes on" "I will go swing after we go inside"
• She is trying hard to understand time and dates. Yesterday and Tomorrow mean very little to her. Same with Day, Month, Year. We used to categorize things as "Last day" or "Next day" but really that could mean any time in the past or future. Now she adds any measurement of time "5 years ago we went to the zoo" It really just means 'sometime in the past'. It's interesting to see her try to incorporate these things correctly.
• She is intensely interested in family relations. It is rare that we go a day without discussing who is married to whom or who my or ben's brothers and sisters are. Marriage, especially, is extremely interesting to her. She asks us about weddings and honeymoons and all that quite often. Still, I took her to a friends reception a few weeks ago but I don't think she understood the connection somehow.
• She has recently become quite skeptical about Eliza's name. Today she asked me why we named her Eliza. Sometimes if you ask her about her baby sister she will say "my mom calls her Eliza". When pressed she states that she prefers the name "Ellie", which is fine with me, but she never actually calls her that.
•  She likes to build houses and nests with pillows (but who doesn't?).
• She woke me up this morning demanding that I go downstairs and do my exercises. She's my own little personal trainer and if I don't want to do it, she has tantrums. I guess it's part of our morning routine. After I work out, she gets to watch a show. But that doesn't mean that if I don't work out, she doesn't get to watch a show anyway.
• We made Jell-o today at her request. She was enthralled, and even more so when we ate it at dinner. She loved the Jell-o

And here's a picture of Eliza.

What's left of Hawaii pictures

Here is a selected history of our trip to Hawaii. - based on the pictures I had on my ipod.

This was my first favorite part of the trip. The airplane from SLC to LAX, Anna lay on the floor watching a show and Eliza napped the whole 2 hours on Anna's seat. The flight from LAX to LIH was not terrible, Anna slept most of the way (on the ground) but Eliza slept not at all during the 5 hour flight. Luckily we were on the last row, next to the bathrooms. Which actually was a good thing, as long as she had new people to flirt with all the time, she acted pretty happy.

We drove up (and up and up) the mountains to see the Waimea Canyon. At the top there were wild Hydrangea bushes, we picked some for Anna's hair. Putting flowers in our hair became habit while we were there. We would pick up beautiful plumeria flowers from the ground and tuck them behind our ears several times a day. Even Eliza got into it. I wish I had that picture.

Here are the kids on a hammock at the resort. They had a great time playing together all week. We stayed in separate condo's and Anna quickly learned that she could open our door as soon as she woke up and walk down to their condo (without informing us). She also learned how to go on an elevator by herself (once without informing us).

Here's Jan and some of the girls.

Clarkie and Eva enjoying the Grampa Bus Bed.

While it was not hot there (and it rained almost every day), the humidity was strong. This is a picture of Anna approximately 30 seconds after we gave her a tiny kit kat. I didn't think there was that much chocolate on the candy in the first place.

This is a pretty mural at the airport and Anna crossing her legs most suspiciously.

I should mention that the reason I didn't have pictures is because of our adventure kayaking. Gramma and Grampa watched all the kids while the 'big kids' went up the river. We all stopped at a rope swing, Ben and I did not want to get wet so I suggested we just paddle our kayak around the sand bar and watch them jump in the pool. Unfortunately the current in our chosen path was just strong enough to turn our kayak and dump us out. We had a dry bag with our camera, my phone and the car keys, which unfortunately did not stay dry. So our camera doesn't turn on and the microphone in my phone is spotty, at best. It works but you won't be able to hear me. I'm due for an upgrade, or so Ben tells me so it won't be long before it is resolved.

ALOHA!

Capfull of Beef

I'm going to skip our trip to Hawaii - I don't want you to get too jealous. Also I don't have any pictures.

Here is a video that Anna made about our trip to Capfull of Beef aka Capitol Reef. She explains (and exclaims) it all in the video.

A Letter to Graduates

Parenting Graduates, i.e. To the Experienced Mothers-

What do I do about a preschooler who sneaks food when I'm not around?

I left Anna upstairs with my ipod while I did a workout downstairs, it was great for me to be able to focus on one thing for a change, but I did hear the scampering of footsteps, sliding of chairs and, a bit later, the slamming of the garbage can lid. Based on how often I heard the garbage can, she snuck 3 fruit snacks while I was downstairs. This is not a one time offense. I asked Ben to put away the cupcakes we made yesterday, he stuck them in the oven so she wouldn't get them.
What should my reaction be? I know I did the same thing as a kid. I don't want her to think that the only way to get food she likes is to wait until i'm not around, but I would also like her to ingest a substance other than sugar.
Should I explain that I have to take them away if we want them for potty treats? A natural consequence -
Should I stop buying them or storing them where she can get to them (with the help of a chair)?
Should I just give in and allow myself an hour of quiet?

Just looking for some sage advice.