Sewing Bits

Now that my sewing machine is fixed, I've worked on a couple of projects lately. I had a couple of yards of coordinating fabric  that I was going to use for a car seat cover. Then I  decided that I  hate those things, so I put that fabric to  good use. I made two little pet pouches to hold the girls' stuffed animals! One is pictured here, and  the other is like unto  it. . . .just a pink, teal, and yellow birdie  fabric.

I have also been working on  Baby  Sam's quilt. I finished a couple dozen pinwheel blocks, which will make half of the quilt top design. They look  like this. 

Hooray for some fun projects!

The Little Memories I Want to Remember Forever

Sometimes when Laura is hungry, she says, "Dinnertime!" So I said, "Yeah, we should probably have lunch, soon, huh?"

So she goes to the fridge and brings me the tupperware of leftover cookie dough. "I need cookie dough, Mommy! Eat cookie dough?" Well, she's obviously seen us do it before, and with the sweetness overload (of the cookie dough and the cute kid), I couldn't say no.

We snuggled on the chair picking out and eating cookie dough with our hands. Laura grabbed a toddler-size fistful and said, "Big bite Mommy!" and stuffed it all in her mouth. And then for no reason at all we both started giggling with our mouths full of cookie dough. Here we are a pair of dirty ragamuffins (both overdue for a shower/bath) snuggling, eating cookie dough and laughing like little miscreants.

Another funny thing-on Sunday, she was playing with her little go-car thing, and she said out of the blue, "I go to Bethlehem!"

Recently she likes to ask, "What (someone's name) doing?" Or "Where (someone)?" She had a whole series of "Where Stephen? Where Charlotte? Where Kyle?" questions. I usually answer those, "At Stephen's house," etc. She asked a whole series of those questions and ended with, "Where's Heavenly Father?" Ahh . ..what a sweet moment! Now she knows that Heavenly Father is in heaven. =)

I love being a mom. =)

Giggles and Grins

Often I feel like I talk about Laura more because she's older and more active, vocal and physical. But this post is about my little chubby baby girl who captures my heart every day.

Have I mentioned how much I LOOOVEE Lucy's giggle and grin? She has the chubbiest, roundest cheeks, a mouthful of teeth, and the cutest dimples and little roundy nose .. .aaahhh! I just can't get over how cute she is! (I really should post pictures since just talking about her doesn't do her justice)

Right now, she's in her high chair just giggling away. 'Course, she did just have lots of food for lunch . ..including juice and some cookie dough for dessert. =)

She's really good at clapping (often when other people are), and pointing to her nose. I say, "Point to your nose!" and she puts her finger and thumb in a gun pose and points to her teeth. Sometimes she'll just rub the side of her head with her palm. Bah! Cuteness overload. And she still has the out of control arms sometimes that like to bang on things or just wave.

Somehow she's learned to get one arm out of her bib, so she usually has a bib half on at mealtimes. I love when she laughs at silly things .. .like a movie or her sister's antics or something random. She actually loves being tickled on her bare belly. And she loves to watch videos of herself .. .she just laughs and laughs at herself because she thinks she's so funny.

This is one of my favorite videos of the girls--mostly because Lucy is giggling like none other, and she's super duper happy. And because Laura is doing what she does best--playing with non-toys with her little flair for movement and drama.

Dr Seuss

As we were leaving Storytime at the library today, the librarian said that next week, we'd be learning about Dr. Seuss. I mentioned that to Laura later and she said,

"I listen to your heartbeat. I a doctor. I use a stethoscope."

It took me a moment to realize that she thought Dr Seuss was a real doctor. Then I explained that Dr Seuss isn't a real doctor. He writes books for kids. Like the Foot Book and The Cat in the Hat.

"What Dr. Seuss do Mommy? Daddy is Dr Seuss?"

Man, I love this kid.

Plus also, she earned a million stars today for helping me unload the groceries! She went back and forth to the trunk with me, brought a bag in and placed it on the table and followed me out for another bag. Then she helped me put stuff away, She was so cute at the store today. She got a cookie from the bakery-one of those sugar cookies with thick yummy yellow frosting on top. The rest of the time we were shopping and checking out, she picked off the sprinkles one at a time and would take tiny licks of the frosting. She still had almost an entire cookie in her hand when I put her in the car. Then, when we got home, her cookie was gone. It took her less than 5 blocks to eat her entire cookie! =)

The Little Things

Today was a fun day with my kiddos. We went to Toddler Time at the library. Laura was so excited to go, she was running to fast and slipped and skinned her knee on the way in. When I offered her a band-aid, she said no. Which is funny, considering she woke up this morning sobbing and crying for a band-aid for a non-existent injury. Normally at Toddler Time, they read a few stories and then have a bunch of different toys/blocks and stuff out for the kids to play with. The regular librarian was out sick today, so it was just play time today. But, oh boy, there were a TON of kids there today! Laura ended up finding a corner to be alone with her bus so that she wouldn't have to share. Lucy found her anyway. =)

Then we went to Daddy's school so Mommy could practice piano with his choir. Then we bought and ate lunch at Smith's Marketplace. Lunchables and free produce from the produce box. =) Lucy again ate more than Laura. I bought a bag of chips for us to share. . ..it was easily gone before dinnertime. =)

Once again at home, we all took naps. Laura woke me up because she was likely rocking a hole in the wall with her big fat head. =) Laura has been pretty good today about going potty and playing with her sister. Oh, I guess she did have a poopy accident this morning. I guess I already forgot about it.  They have this set of blocks, and for a while this is how they played. Lucy would pull one out of the box and hand it to Laura. Laura would then run it over (with dog-panting) to the table and set it on the table, then she'd come back and get another block from Lucy. It was cute.

Lucy had a cute moment today. She had a chip in one hand, and I handed her the sippy cup. Normally she has to grab it with both hands, but she couldn't figure out how to do it with a chip in her hand. =)

Laura also liked to pretend to go to school today. She'd grab a ball, a book, and her bag of blocks and say, "I go to school!" "Oh, who's your teacher?" "Um .. .Michelle!!" Then she'd dump all that stuff at Lucy's feet and say, "You go to school now, Lucy?"

Also this morning, Laura's favorite word has been "Dangit." Oops . ..I guess I'd better watch my language more! I keep trying to convince her to say "Donuts!" instead. "No, Laura, we don't say that word. We say 'donuts,' remember?" I think she kind of learned--while we were Facetiming with Lisa, she kept saying a word over and over. I couldn't figure out what she was saying until I realized she was saying DONUTS! Yay! It kind of worked! =)

Plus, during nap-time I got to listen to one of my Hypnobabies tracks. It seems like with the rarity of both girls napping at the same time, the only time I have to listen to that is when I'm going to bed. And then I just fall asleep within the first 5 minutes anyway, so I'm not getting much out of it. Today, it helped me feel so relaxed and rested. Ahh . ..'twas rill nice. =)

So, you know. Not all days in the Bahr household are crazy.

Something Fun for Mommy!

Well, it was one of those mornings.
Laura got time out 4 times for the exact same thing. All before noon.
I admit, I got a little frustrated.

But, it's Monday, so she gets to (has to?) take a nap so that she's not super duper cranky at her dance class at 6pm. So, miraculously both girls were napping AT THE SAME TIME!

Aaaannnddd. . .I just got my sewing machine back from the fabric store, all fixed and good as new (well, as new as this trusty old model can be). So I got to start on my quilt today!! Hooray!! Lucy woke up halfway through, but I put her in her high chair with some food and she was content. Later Laura woke up, but she was in the Pack-N-Play, so she was content just rockin' away.

And me? I did something for me today and it felt AWESOME!
Here's a sneak peak of the pattern. Sorry it's a really really bad picture, but you get the idea.  I actually hate the scrappy look of the sample, so I'm doing a more straight forward color scheme. Won't it just be bee-u-tiful for my little baby boy?! =)

A Day in the Life

Years from now, when I look back on what it was like to be a mom with young kids at home, I may forget some of these little things. I imagine I'll look through these experiences with rose-colored glasses thinking everything was just so wonderful and fun.

To be honest? Every day is a challenge in one way or another! It really is a roller coaster with high and low points of every. single. day.

Here's an example from today. Laura has a sticker chart, mostly for potty training, but sometimes we use the stickers as part of her consequences for her actions. If she has a pee-pee accident, she gets a sticker taken off, but she also gets a sticker taken off for hurting Lucy or for screaming (both of which she does every day at least once). She can earn stickers by going pee-pee or poo-poo on the potty, but she can also earn stickers for doing nice things like helping with the laundry or helping me change Lucy's diaper or something.

In the last hour, she's lost 6 stickers. Argh! Come on child. ..when do you learn?!

And, she locked herself in the bathroom. Again. I don't really know how she managed that, since the child lock rubber grippy thing is on the inside of the door. How did she reach in there to turn the knob?

Sigh. Ok, so being a mom has some rough points, but there's also other things she does that just melt my heart. In the last couple of days, she's learned how to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (which comes out Tinkle Tinkle). She has also learned to ask the question, "Are you happy, Mommy?" And even if I'm frustrated at her or something, it's really hard to say no to the question when your darling, innocent, smiley-faced two-year old wants you to say yes. =) I love watching and listening to her play or sing on her own or even with Lucy (when she's nice to her).

One of her favorite song videos to watch is this one:

Not only is the video so sweet, but when Laura sings along, it melts my heart and almost brings me to tears every time. (She even says the words "Who are you? And so are you!" when they are on the screen) 

It's so refreshing for me to make a little blog post when I feel frustrated. It takes me just a few minutes to get all the frustration out, and then I usually am back to my normal self again. I just need to remind myself that it's no big deal and that life goes on. 

Mommy Fail

To be honest, sometimes I feel like I do a pretty awful job as a mom. The house constantly looks like a tornado ran through it, dishes are eternally piled in the sink, and dirty clothes (especially little girl socks) end up everywhere.

I think my biggest worry is that I don't do enough for my kids. I get frustrated easily with certain things. . .like how Lucy is constantly hanging onto my pant legs. But, she's still little, so I can handle most of that.

What worries me the most are certain behaviors that Laura does. We have yet to find successful discipline techniques to get her to stop bullying her sister. Unfortunately, this aggressive streak spills over to other kids. The bishop has specifically asked for one of us to be with Laura in nursery for the next several weeks because she hits and scratches the other kids. Yup, my kid is THAT kid that makes nursery a horror experience.

She pushes or kicks Lucy all the time, and it seems like no matter what we try to do to discipline her, she STILL does it. Every. day. A million times a day! Things like time out and taking away special books have had progressively little effect.

She gets into stuff ALL THE TIME. ..the computer, things in the bathroom, things in the kitchen or the fridge. She colors on things that aren't paper-her sister, the iPad, walls and furniture. And lately her favorite thing to do when she's frustrated is scream.

Potty training is getting worse before it gets better. For every time she goes on the potty, the next time is almost always an accident. This is its own ballpark because it's more of a physical skill, but seriously .. .I am so tired of cleaning up accidents. She can't seem to get past four stickers on her chart because I take one off every time she has an accident.

Oh, and the frosting on the cake? How about this. I got out of the shower and went to check on what she was doing (often it's something she shouldn't), and I didn't see her. No less than 30 seconds later, just when I'm wondering if maybe she left the apartment, I get a knock at the door. It's a couple of maintenance guys from the complex asking if I'm missing my little girl. Sure enough she had got out of the apartment, wandered over to the next building. . .in just a shirt and shoes. (Needless to say she had just had an accident and I didn't bother putting panties or pants back on her.) A nice neighbor mom had found her and put some pants and a coat on her, and another lady from the front office came by to convince Laura to come back. I had no idea she would even leave the apartment like that! Yeah, she can open doors, but she's never opened the front door on her own and just left! Argh!!

When did being a mom of a toddler become so hard? I know I need to start making some changes now. ..especially since we'll have another kid soon. We really like the idea of homeschooling our kiddos, but I have no idea how I can do that without going crazy. I mean .. .how can I even be a mom without going crazy? Sometimes I wonder what Heavenly Father was thinking when he let us be parents. Somehow I need some encouragement that I am doing at least something right with my kiddos. .. because today feels like an epic Mommy Fail.

What does she LEARN that?!?

Here are some incredibly hilarious things that Laura has said or done lately that make me ask myself. . .Where are you learning this, kid?!

-She likes to play with Daddy's gangster hat. She puts it on and says, "I am a boy!"

How fitting that she's wearing her dance costume with this hat! =)

-She likes to play with blankets. She wrapped one over her head and said, "I am Mary." The next day she was playing with a bunch of "Marys" and draping them over the posts on her bed frame. =)

-She begged for a fork from the dish rack when it wasn't even meal-time, and she threw a fit when I wouldn't give her a fork. "I NEED A FOOORRRKK!!" (But then I started making fun of her little fit and got her laughing. Mom win. =)

-She stinkin' colored on the iPad screen and cover. She KNOWS that pen only goes on paper, and she still did it! Grrr .. . .

-She told me an entire paragraph narrative the other day when we had hot dogs for lunch. "I eat hot dogs at Gramma's house. I hit Lucy. Lucy fall down and bleed. I get time out." (All of which is a true account) She then told me the same story when I put her in time-out later that same day.

-Sometimes she says things, and I'm like .. .did you just say that? So I ask her, "Did you say . . .?" And of course, she always repeats what I said whether or not it's what she actually said. Here's a couple of those instances:

-Look, a ninja!
-I cut off your head!

A the library, she likes to find a specific type of book and hoard all of them. She grabbed a bunch of Dora the Explorer books and carried the whole stack of them around everywhere. Then, when I sat down with her to read one, she got super bored and ran off. Go figure. We also read a book about animals, and I was surprised that she knew what a seal and a peacock were. When did she learn that?

Some other things, she's able to put into context super well. For instance, she knows the shape of a circle is "roundy roundy roundy" (Thank you Sesame Street!), so the other day she picked up a frisbee and said, "Roundy roundy roundy!!"

I read a book with her where there's a picture of two kids and their giant tower of blocks. I asked her what happens on that page, and she said, "They build a castle!" (That's what she always "does" with her blocks.)

Bedtime Stories

Laura often asks me for bedtime stories. If I don't happen to have a book with me, she wants me to make up a story. I am TERRIBLE at making up stories, but I've tried to somewhat follow an outline of stories that my mom used to tell us when we were kiddos. We called them Draggie stories because they were about a dragon who lived far far far across the sea. He had green skin and blue eyes, but unlike other dragons, Draggie was a nice dragon. So then after that lovely intro, you make up a story about how Draggie helps those in need and saves the day.

I have very limited creativity when it comes to making up stories. Last night, Laura woke up in the middle of the night, and even when Daddy came to calm her down, she insisted on having Mommy come. So, I crawled out of bed (probably the fourth time I had woken up in the middle of the night last night), and crawled into Laura's bed to tell her a story. Since I have limited creativity, I let her choose some elements of the story. "Will this story be about a boy, an elephant or a train?"

Anyway, I attempted a Draggie story while giving Laura choices, and we ended up with a story about a brown-skinned, pink-eyed dragon who lived in the library. He went to help a little girl named Laurie because her mom was busy changing her baby's diaper (Laura insisted on telling me it was a poopy diaper). Draggie helped the girl choose a book about doggies and he read it to her, and they were happy.

I think I tried telling her another story, but I fell asleep mid-story. I love that it's only at bedtime that she wants me to tell her stories, and she will consistently ask for "More stories, more stories?!" I hope I can get more creative in telling her stories, because I know this stage of begging for made-up stories won't last forever. =)