Sick Days

For most people, sick days are quiet and calm so you can rest and get better. Not for us. Our kids never act sick. It's hard to explain because people think you are exaggerating. I kid you not, it's exhausting to watch. They run around and play, despite me explaining that their little bodies need to rest, and they never complain. The only time they act unlike themselves is when the Tylenol and Motrin wear off and a fever returns, other than that you never that they're sick. It makes it hard to know when they need to see the doctor.
Oh and when one of them gets sick, it's a matter of minutes and hours until the other two get sick.

Lilly found a good place to color for the day.

So a week and a half ago Ruby came down with something. We don't know what it was but it was a stomachache and I'm sure you don't want to know what else that entailed. Sadie and Lilly had a little bit but Ruby had it for a week. Poor thing was so uncomfortable.

Sadie looking at a book and then the decorated Ruby's notebook with stickers.

Steven and I debated whether or not Lilly should go to school one day because she had a stomachache the night before.She said she felt fine, so we told her if she started to feel bad again to go to the school nurse. She was at school all of 45 minutes before I got the call to come pick her up. She only had a low grade fever of 99.7 but I was told that that was too much for her to stay at school. When I got to the school, I waited in the office for her, and I heard her loud talking and skipping down the hallway. I could only laugh, it just seemed ridiculous to me that I was there to pick up my "sick" child and her she was skipping down the hallway.

Ruby took a pillow and camped out under the princess table and made sure to stay well hydrated!

When we got home, Ruby was feeling better so we attempted to relax and turn on a movie. I was hoping the movie would get them to at least sit still for awhile. I was wrong. The pictures show how their day went. And I'm positive that if I hadn't told you they were sick, you would have thought it was weekend and they were feeling great. My kids are one of a kind. There isn't another kid out there like these 3, and I kinda like it that way :)


-K

The Library

We've been taking the girls to the library since Lilly was 6 months old. They love Story Time and they love being able to pick out and take home books of their choosing. We read a lot around here, at least a lot of kid books. I love reading but their isn't much time for me to read around here. Plus, if you met my kids you'd understand, they are LOUD. Ridiculously loud. All. The. Time. Even when they're sick. But that's a-whole-other story for another day.
Every week we get a bagful or two of books and we read some every night. Lilly has a sheet for school for all the books we've read. It keeps tally of all the books we've read with her. At the end of the month if you've read a certain amount she gets a small treat from her teachers. Lilly's very competitive so she is really into making sure we mark down all the books.

The first thing they do when we get to the library is start pulling books from the shelves, take out a cushion, and find a good spot to sit down. They'll look at the ones they took out and decide which ones they want to take home. While they do that, I look for books that I think they'll like, especially seasonal ones. The children's book at our library are shelved by topic instead of alphabetically. It 's a good system for holiday/seasonal books but a pain in the butt if you're looking for a book by author. I at least try to get a good mix of books, but the girls have their favorites, so sometimes it's a lot of the same kind. One day at Story Time, I told Sadie she could pick out some books to bring home. She came back with a stack of Fancy Nancy books, and only Fancy Nancy books.

Some books that we are enjoying these days are:
Fancy Nancy
Amelia Bedelia
Eloise
Clifford the Big Red Dog

We could spend hours at our small library. I hope where ever we live next, they have a nice, big library. I'm sure the girls would love it not matter how big. We're really happy they like to read.

My failed attempt to get a nice photo of all 3 of them.

And speaking of reading, Lilly has been doing great at school. She is learning sight words and has really picked up sounding out words. She's thrilled, we're thrilled, and Sadie and Ruby are thrilled that soon Lilly will be able to read to them. We also like to give them books as gifts and rewards. They have so many toys as it is and we'd rather not buy them anymore, and we're grateful they love books just as much toys. And I'm pretty sure Santa is going to bring more books than toys :)

-k

I Heart Faces- People’s Choice

I love this picture of Ruby Lane. It shows so much of her personality. The focus is a little off on her face because she is, literally, always on the go. She is like a tornado, hurricane, typhoon, and an earthquake all rolled into one. I kid you not, she is a force to be reckon with. She’s almost always smiling, loving on her family, and playing passionately. She doesn’t do anything without putting everything she has into it. We just love her so much!




Check out some more beautiful faces at I ♥ Faces.
                                                                                                 
-k

Sadie Starts Preschool

I've decided that since Sadie is going to preschool we needed to start working on some "school" activities so that when she starts pre-k or kindergarten she isn't step behind. Thanks to the internet and google, I was able to find and print dozens of activities for her to do while Lilly is at school. She really loves it, so much so that she has Lilly wanting to do more when she gets home from school.
We honestly think Sadie is smarter than she lets on. We'll ask her questions and she'll say she doesn't know the answer, but if it's on her terms she knows the answer to the question we asked. Her only weakness is her fine motor skills. I made her a notebook with activities, paper, and folders so that all her work is in one place. My only problem with it is that I can't find my 3-hole punch, ha! Other than that it's working well.

She is ambidextrous, which is so apparent from starting the "schoolwork". Instead of being able to focus on one hand and improving on it, she does twice the work. When she's working, she'll start with one hand and then she'll switch. You can even see it in the photos- she uses both hands.
The only thing she doesn't like is coloring. I know! What kid doesn't like coloring? Apparently mine. Lilly loves coloring, always has, Sadie not so much. She'll pick an activity to work on and ask my what she needs to do. The second I say color she goes and finds another one until she finds one that doesn't say color.

We're really happy that all 3 kiddos want to learn as much as they can. It's been pretty easy teaching them. Almost makes me want to homeschool. Ha! Almost. Ruby has wanted to be involved to, but she mostly wants to color on top of what Sadie or Lilly is doing. You can usually find her trying to eat the crayons though. Gross! Hopefully she grows out of this stage fast.

Lilly has been enjoying school. She's often tired from it but she pushes through it. She was so excited to actually have homework. She comes home with homework Monday through Thursday but it is so beneath her. A few nights she has come home with papers to write her name. She's been writing her name for over a year now so not impressed with the homework. I know some of the other kids in her class are probably not where she is, but I do not want to hold her back any. I'm in the process of putting a notebook together for her so that she do some work that is a little challenging. I know it is still the beginning of the year, so they are starting slow. But I figure I can do more with her when she comes home from school, she likes a it and it'll be on her terms. If she wants to relax instead, that's fine. Whatever keeps her in a good mood :)
But so far so good. I'll just have to keep up with them and find some more things for to do. I'll keep you updated :)

-K

I Heart Faces- A Touch of Sun

This week's challenge is A Touch of Sun. You can join in the fun or view other entries at I Heart Faces.

-k

Kids Say the Darndest Things

We try to use kid friendly cleaners around the house because the kids and the pets put everything in their mouths. We usually make a vinegar/water spray and use it to clean tables and the counters. Sadie walked into the dining room and Sadie, "Hey! It smells like chips in here! I want some chips now." Can you tell one their favorite kind of chips are salt and vinegar? It must be because they're English ;)

One of the things we brought home from the states are some old American Girl dolls that we got when I was like 8. Steven and my dad searched high and low in the basement for them and all their accessories. And since the day they got them, they have played and dressed at least once a day. Sadie was sitting on the couch trying to dress her Felicity doll into a hospital gown, and asked me for help. Since I try not to get sucked into dressing their dolls because it's a never-ending cycle of taking one outfit off to put on another one, just to take that one off 2 minutes later. I told her, "I'll give you a hint. The arms go into the arm holes." And she perks up, "Oh! That's what you have to do! I think I can do that, put the arms in the arm holes."

When Steven arrived in the states in July, the girls had a plethora of things and stories to tell him. These things ranged from what we did without him to random crazies to how much they missed him. Well one night Lilly, out of nowhere, says "Dad, you know sometimes you screw yourself." And Steven who is learning patience with them and to ask what they are talking about before punishing her, looked at me half laughing/half mad and says, " What do you mean Lilly?" And she explains, "You know when you are hanging stuff on the wall and you put the screw in your finger instead of into the wall, you screw yourself in the finger." One word- PRICELESS.

We got rid of Ruby's binky as soon as she was over the croup. The only reason she kept it over the summer was that we wanted her to have it for the flight to and from the states. It was just easier on everyone involved that she keep for the long flights. We didn't have any problem getting rid of it at all, we just did the same as we did for the other two. We threw them all way and told her that little babies needed it because she's a big girl now. Now she doesn't stop talking. The worst part is that she parrots everyone, all the time. She follows movies and stories and understands what's going on. When she sees vehicles she shouts, "Drive, drive, drive!" But when she sees cats, she goes NUTS. She screams "kiddies!" at the top of her lungs and when the cat is bad she screams, "Kiddie! Bad kiddies. Kiddie bad!" over and over and over and over and over and over again. It drives me bonkers! I love that she's talking a lot more now but man I wish you could install a filter on her.

We went to the BX after school one day and noticed the Halloween costumes were out. For those of you who don't know, when there is something at the BX who want, need, or even think you may need you have to buy it right there on the spot. If you don't and you go back even just later in the day, it more than likely won't be there anymore.
Small base + Overseas = Not a lot of stuff. The girls picked out the princesses costumes obviously :) Lilly will be Ariel, Sadie will be Belle, and Ruby will be Cinderella. Ruby went to her new go to word of the day, cute. She just kept screaming, "Cute! Cute! Cute!" Lilly asked Daddy what he wanted to be and he said nothing the costumes were for them. Ruby says, "But cute!" meaning but Daddy you'll be cute. Her talking is getting better and better everyday.

We were looking around the toy section and we stopped at the puzzles. They have been pretty much obsessed with them since Yiayia got them some to do over the summer. They found some Disney ones that were 300 pieces and they were amazed by all the pieces. Lilly picks one up and says, "Oh Momma! What kind is this one?" I told her it was a Diary of a Wimpy Kid puzzle and she says, "Oh a Diarrhea of a Wimpy Kid puzzle! Cool!"

Maybe Ruby is going through a growth spurt or I don't know what, but every time Steven or I go into or even near the kitchen Ruby starts screaming, "Eat! Eat! Eat!" and runs to her seat at the table. Sometimes she actually eats other times she just plays or tries to feed the dog.

We've been watching "Only in America with Larry the Cable" and the girls like Larry is just awesome. They figured out that he's the voice of Tow Mater and now they think he's hillarious. They had the DVD of the show at the BX and Sadie screams out, "Hey Mom! They have that Cable Guy here!!!"

The weekends here have been about sitting with/on Daddy. They love the days he's home with them!


-K

Cindy's House

After the Air Force museum we headed to Auntie Ninny's house! Cindy lives about 15 minutes from Dover so it was great to head down there afterwards. We got to see some baby piglets and a huge garden. They do pig roasts every summer so they raise their own pigs and a couple mommy pigs had liters this summer. The last set had only been born a few days before so we only got a small glimpse of them. The girls love animals so they were ecstatic. A few years ago they renovated part of their big house and made an apartment out of it. They have some really nice tenants and one is a gardener. At the beginning of the summer, Jose planted a plethora of fruits and vegetables. They grew big and produce so many great veggies and some huge watermelon. We had a lot of fun picking things to bring home. Poor Sadie was sitting inside watching a movie because she was so tired. She wasn't very happy about leaving the couch when it was time to go. We were sad to go. The girls were really going to miss her, as was I. So we turned the car around and went back and brought her to Pennsylvania with us! We love you Aunty Ninny!

-k