OOPS....

My T-T-A post is after the Brian Regan video and not before. I did actually write the post this morning and not yesterday, but with trying to fix things I acutually messed it up. So you can either watch the video clip before or after the post. I thought it would be easier doing this than rewriting my post. Anyway, sorry for any confusion. I just didn't want my other post to get missed.

Brian Regan on Letterman Oct 2006

T-T-A Tuesday Tell All

Todays T-T-A question is:

What makes you Laugh?

The first thing that came to mind was my kids. They say some of the funniest things. For example last Friday our family went to my parents house and as we were leaving my cousin Davey and his wife Mary stopped by. We talked to them for a little bit and then we left. As we were driving away Emma said "Why does Mindy look different?" I guess she thought that Mary was my sister Mindy. Dave and I had a pretty good laugh over that one. Another funny thing that happened recently is this. Last Saturday was a very busy day. So busy in fact that Reagan was in her pajamas all day long. At one point she had just woken up for a nap and I believe it was around 5:00 p.m. I said to her "Reagan have you been in your pajamas all day long?" To which she matter of factly replied "Yep." It was as clear as a bell. I just had to laugh. Then I asked her, "Should we just keep you in your pajamas at this point?" To which she again responded "Yep." Later that night we were eating dinner and I asked Reagan if she liked staying in her pajamas all day. I was trying to get her to say yes by shaking my head yes and Dave was trying to get her to say no by shaking his head no. This went on for about 10 minutes and Dave won. Reagan eventually shook her head no and seemed to have fun doing it.

The other thing that makes me laugh is Brian Regan. If I need a good laugh I put in one of my 2 Brian Regan DVD's and laugh out loud the whole time. I think that he is a funny comedian and he is very clean. That is a hard combo to find these days. Anyway, I am still trying to figure out the Youtube clip to get it on my actual post, but I do have a clip on there. So watch it after you read this and get a good laugh for the day.

Anyway those are just a few things that make me laugh.

Make Chores More Fun

Today an article on MSN caught my eye. It was entitled "How to make chores more fun for kids." My first thought was "I need to read this because all my kids do is complain and say I don't like to clean." Anything to make chores more fun is worth reading. The article listed 9 ways to Make Chores More Fun. They look like really good ideas and I am excited to try some of these ideas in my own home. Anyway here they are:

1. Hide treats, stickers, or pennies in, on or under knickknacks, then ask your child to dust. She gets the reward only when everything is dusted.
2. Post individual lists of chores kids can do (one for each child in your family). Whenever your child accomplishes a task, have her mark it with a sticker. Whoever has the most stickers at the end of the week gets the "Helper of the Week" award.
3. Play "Go Fish" with a basket of clean socks. Divide the socks among the players, leaving a pile to draw from. Each player, in turn, holds up a sock and asks another if he has the mate. If not, the asking player must take a sock from the top of the draw pile. When finished, the player with the most pairs wins.
4. Turn any socks that stay single into child-friendly dust mitts. Insert childs hand in dampened sock and use to remove dust from houseplants and furniture.
5. Have a scavenger hunt. Make a list of everyday items (newspapers, magazines, shoes, etc). Set a timer for 5 minutes, then have kids collect stray items throughout the house. The winner is the child who picks up the most (and returns to their rightful spots).
6. After dinner, do a "10-minute Tidy." Set a timer and have the family members scatter through the house putting away the clutter.
7. Appoint someone to be Inpector D. Clutter. Armed with a laundry basket and plastic police badge from the dress-up box, this person roams the house and puts stray belongings into clutter "jail" (the basket). To set an item free, its owner (Mom and Dad included) must do a chore.
8. Turn a bucket into a personalized cleaning caddy. Use permanent marker to write your childs name on it and have him decorate it with other drawings. Store supplies such as sponges, dustrag, and a roll of paper towels, etc.
9. Show them the money? Some experts believe allowance should be reserved for teenagers. School-aged children will easily get behind the idea that chores are something you do as a member of the family--not for money. They'll be excited just to show off their skill at completing a task.

There is also a website that you can go to to find age appropriate chores. You can link to that website by clicking here

I am so excited to try out some of these ideas. Hopefully I won't hear so much complaining when it comes to chores!

T-T-A Tuesday Tell All

I recently discovered a blog thanks to Monica's sister Erica called Tuesday Tell All. Every Friday they post a question and then on Tuesday you post your answer to that question. You can be put on their list also. Anyway today's question is:
For what activity would you want professional lessons?
I couldn't just think of one thing I though of three. The first one is because I am a big fan of "Dancing with the Stars" although this season I haven't seen a whole lot of it. I would love to learn how to ballroom dance. I really think it would be fun to take lessons from a professional and learn that form of dancing.

The second activity I would like professional lessons for would be country dancing. I do know some line dances and I kind of know the swing but I would love to take lessons so that I could be better. I love country dancing. I think it is so much fun.

The last thing I would love professional lessons for I don't know if it is really considered an activity but thought I would put it in anyway. That is learning to play the harp. I love the harp and I love it when I hear it being played. I think that it is very beautiful. One of my dreams for the last several years is to learn how to play the harp. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to afford one and then I can start taking lessons.

Anyway that's it. I will be doing this every week so watch for the new posts on Tuesday and I will post other things on other days!

Health Updates

Yesterday Emma had her 4 year doctor appointment and Reagan had her 18 month appointment. Emma had to get 4 shots and Reagan had to get 1. Emma tried to be brave because as she said "I am 4 years old so shots don't hurt me anymore." Dave held her on his lap while she got 2 shots in each arm. He covered her eyes so she couldn't watch the needles going in. However, she still did cry but only for a minute or so. Then she was able to get a prize and a sticker. I held Reagan while she got her one shot and she cried a lot longer than Emma. However, Emma complained of her arms hurting for a couple hours after and Reagan seemed to recover quickly. The doctor recommended that we have Emma see a Speech Pathologist and call the Elementary School to set up an appointment. They also said they could recommend a preschool, possibly one that would help her with her speech before she starts Kindergarten. Anyway here are their stats:

Emma

Height: 39 1/2 inches (50%)

Weight: 35 lb. (50%)

Reagan

Height: 31 inches (50%)

Weight: 20 lb. 2 oz. (5%)

Head is in the 95% range. I don't know exact measurement because the papers are in the car.

The exciting thing is that now Reagan can sit in a forward facing carseat. We need to go and buy one this weekend. I think it's about time. Here is a cute picture of my 2 girls.

Emma's Princess Birthday Party

A few weeks ago when I asked Emma what kind of party she wanted for her birthday this year, she responded by saying "A Princess Party." I went to work looking on the internet and getting ideas to do for her Princess party. I wanted to make my own invitations and I found a really cute stamp on a website here. It wasn't scheduled to arrive until March 31st. Anyway then about a week ago I found another stamp set on a different website here. I took my chances and ordered it. Luckily it came by postal service and not UPS and I got it in the mail last Saturday and worked hard to get the invitations done by Sunday. I was up until 2:00 in the morning on Sunday working on them so I could get them passed out. Dave helped me out by cutting. Despite some problems printing the inside we got them done in time to pass out. Here is the outside of the invitation:

And here is the inside of the invitation:

On April 2nd, Emma's 4th birthday we took her to Cookie Cutters to get her hair done in a updo. I didn't have anything in mind for Emma's hair. We just said that she wanted to look like Cinderella. I think that the stylist did a really good job. Here is a picture of her in the process of getting her hair done and the finished product.

The party was held at my parents house. We bought some red plastic at the party store and had it leading up to the doors as the red carpet. At her party we started out by having the kids do a craft. I had cut out some crowns and the kids were able to decorate them with stickers. They were also given a coloring page of a castle and a princess to color. The kids had a lot of fun making the crowns and coloring.

Of course we had to get a picture of all of the kids wearing their finished crowns.

When the kids were finished with their craft and coloring, it was time to eat dinner. Dinner consisted of Chicken Croissant Sandwiches, chips, fruit salad, meatballs, and a spinach dip that was put into a bread bowl that was made to look like a carriage pulled by horses.

After dinner the kids played a game of Pin the kiss on the Frog Prince. Then Emma opened her presents. She opened them so fast and then threw what she opened she threw aside. She threw aside everything she opened but thisShe is pretty excited to go to Toys R Us to buy something with her $10. I guess she is a true girl and loves to shop.

For dessert we had Sherbet that was made by mixing Pineapple Sherbet with raspberries and bananas. We put the sherbet in a cup that was made by lining foil cupcake liners with melted white chocolate chips. We also had Rice Krispies cut into heart or star shapes.

All the kids were sent home with party favors. The girls had things like princess stickers, a mirror, a ring, bubbles, notebook and pencil, barbie fruit snacks, and some other things. The boys had Shrek stickers, Shrek ring pop, bubbles, Nemo fruit snacks, bubbles and other things. The kids really enjoyed the party favors.

All in all it was a really fun party. Here are some more pictures of the fun party.