This week...

I can't believe it's only Thursday. I feel like we've done two weeks worth of stuff this week.

Whew.

Mike has been a slave to his 4 inch thick NATOPS manual. He has the killer oral exam today in which anything in the 900+ page textbook is fair game to ask. Then, he has his flight. He's very nervous but has been working his tail off. The kids have been lucky to get 5 minutes with him everyday and I certainly hope that sacrifice pays off. He deserves it.

We've done some major rearranging around here. No surprises there. I love to rearrange. However, Mike was all on board this time. I needed a new way to store all my kids art supplies. The plastic drawers in the kitchen were such an eye sore. I didn't really want a bookcase because there's so much pressure to keep it perfectly tidy and that's tough to do with construction paper, and coloring books. So, I came up with moving the kids together into one dresser and using Emma's dresser as the new fabulous storage unit in the kitchen. Now, is it just me or is this so cute in here? I'm not sure why a dresser looks so cute in the kitchen but it really does! Now I just need something super cute to hang on the wall above it....

We totally reorganized the playroom and the kids seem to have noticed. They are spending a lot more time entertaining themselves in there. Mike and I pretty proud of the organization in there. It reminds us of our favorite page from Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room with the new organized room. The room every kid thought looked awesome. We might be living vicariously through our children a little here...maybe.

Andrew can either be found pushing his trains around the train table or sliding cars down his slide.

Emma has found a new love of pounding the balls in this ball tower. It must be good stress relief because she plays the game about 250 times in a row and then she is in such a good giggly mood.

In a moment of quiet I was sure my kiddies were up to mischief in their room since I could hear no noise. I crept quietly....and they surprised by laying sweetly together on Emma's bed amidst all the stuffed animals.


Other happenings this week:
I took the kids to a free class at Gymboree. Mike got home after 2 in the morning and I wanted to keep the kids busy so he could sleep. (I know, I really am such a good wife). So, anyway I knew they would love a Gymboree class. They really did have so much fun. They ran around, sang the songs, popped bubbles, played in the parachute. It was wonderful. Half hour once a week- they would love that. The "trial" class was free so I didn't pay anything that day. When I left the teacher gave me the brochure so I could think about signing them up. I knew I probably wouldn't sign them up but I wanted to look at it because they did love it so much. Plus, if you take a class you can play in the gym for "open gym" for free which they would also love.

So I read.

The class is $69 a month PER CHILD! $140 a MONTH? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? (I know one of my New Years Resolutions was to stop saying freaking so much but that was only in front of my kids. I can still say it here) If I had $140 extra a month I'd probably have a gym membership for myself (no offense kids). Pa-lease! Those Gymboree people must be out of their minds. And, yet the class I was in had about 8 other mommies and their kids in it. Crazy ladies! I'll take my kids to the mall to play on the indoor playground and I'll sign Emma up for gymnastics with the city for $45 for 6 weeks of 1 hour classes.

Geesh.

Speaking of Emma. I was asking her if she would like to take gymnastics. She told me she wants to take a "ballet-erina" class but I've decided to wait on that one since you have to buy leotards, ballet and tap shoes for the class. I'm not spending all that money on a three year old dance class. Not just yet. So, I told her about gymnastics class. I told her "but I can't come with you you have to go with the gym teacher and all the other kids." She thought a minute and said "okay mommy you can wait for me outside." I just thought it was funny that she thought about it and came to her own conclusion. Growing up...

But, not all the way. She laid a DOOZIE on us the other day.

During "nap time" which she doesn't nap but lays on our bed for an hour talking to whatever stuffed animal she takes with her (most of the time her baby giraffe) she backslid about a year and a half.

She pooped her pants. So, first off instead of A) calling me and telling me she had to go or B) using our bathroom she decided it was easier just to go in her pants. THEN of course that's not comfortable so she took the pants off- let me sum up the rest of the afternoon like this: POOP EVERYWHERE. Ugly.

On the other hand I had this great experience yesterday. Andrew came to me with a pair of underpants to put on. He does this all the time so it was no surprise. Then he said "pee pee." Also something he says all the time and then he loves to sit on the potty. So, I took his diaper off and he ran his skinny body in the bathroom and about 5 seconds later I hear him- peeing in the potty! Emma was jumping and cheering. We were so proud. He acted like it was no big deal.....

I guess that means it's time to potty train my boy. Good stuff.

I also took Emma to the dentist for the first time this week. I am wondering what the point of this is since the dentist came in and counted her teeth with his little pick thing (I can count her teeth and I know she's got all 20). Then, he said "she's got a narrow arch but we won't worry about fixing something like that until after puberty." So, then they told me not to feed her fruit snacks and gave her a toothbrush and told me to bring her back in 6 months. When IF she would let them they would clean her teeth.

On my way out they gave me a copy of the bill they would submit to my dental insurance for me (thank GOODNESS for dental insurance). $68! I can't imagine what it would be when they actually x-ray and clean her teeth. Emma did great though so I despite it being a basically pointless appointment I am glad she went because she was SO proud of herself for going to the dentist "just like Little Critter." Love that Little Critter.

Wow, this is a long post....and probably pretty boring to everyone but me.