Warning: Gold Bikini=Choking Hazard

So yesterday, the girls were playing with the super amazing polly pocket sets their Uncle Aaron bought them. Except that they aren't Polly-- they are Princess Leia and Queen Amidala dolls with the smallest little outfits you can imagine. The sets were complete with little framed pictures of Han Solo and Anakin Skywalker--the detail was amazing. I warned the girls that they had left some pieces too near their baby sister. The newbie and I went downstairs to workout and I noticed her chewing quite a bit and drooling. She gagged, so I did the finger sweep and sure enough there was a teeny tiny outfit piece in her mouth. For our family, though, it couldn't just be any old piece....nooo, it was the top to Princess Leia's gold bikini. Yes, that's right, my daughter could have choked on the smallest gold bikini top ever.

The bikini top was ruined, and the grownups girls were punished with no tv for two whole days.

Then, today, Dan brings the newbie up from the basement. She kept him company while he took a shower in the downstairs bathroom. I take her and notice that she is chewing something. I do the mouth sweep, and sure enough it is one of those little dry cleaning tags. Nice work Dad! Of course, the Doodle told Dan that he couldn't watch tv for two days, either.

She's not even mobile yet, so I hesitate to think about what she'll find next.

Newbie Gets Served - Readoption

In our state for the re-adoption you have a court date with an appearance, then your adoption agency social worker files a report and THEN the judge makes a final determination six weeks later (and no court appearance). Last Monday was our first court date. Part of the excitement was that since the Newbie was the defendant, she needed to be served papers by the Deputy Sheriff. Everyone at court was super nice and all three girls received Sheriff's badges.

These photos are from court, the Newbie being served, etc. Since there are no photos allowed in the court, no pictures from the courtroom. We got lucky, though and met our judge in the hallway. The woman with the glasses in the picture with the Newbie and I is the judge.

Hair for All Three Girls

I took Doodle today to get her second hair cut. If this doesn't stop the sucking, I don't know what will. Then, I decided to do my second hair attempt on the Newbie. This time, things worked a lot better, not perfect, but at least she didn't cry the whole time. I'll be posting more about hair issues later- more the pressure than the actual hair doing.

While I was doing the Newbie's hair, the Moo was a great distraction. Then she wanted her hair done, too. Not too bad if I do say so myself.

She's doing it again aka the power struggle

Apparently, the hair cut wasn't short enough. Last night and this morning Doodle had wet hair. I wanted to lose it. She had a calm naughty chair this morning. I bitched about it the whole way to work (among other frustrating things).

She has a 10 a.m. appt tomorrow for a shorter 'do. This is going to be the most expensive haircut ever-- at least $50 for two cuts, not including tip, just to stick to my guns. But if it works, I don't care. Really. I can't stand those crispy ends. Blech.

Before and After- not the best pictures, but you get the idea

Surprisingly, Mary Poppins reported no problems with the haircut. Doodle was apparently pleasant the whole time. Who would have thought? I actually like the short 'do better.

Bye Bye Hair

So there are three bad habits of the Doodle's that I would love to change before she goes to kindergarten and becomes an outcast. 1) Picking her nose and eating it. She's started to slow down on this one, but even the naughty chair hasn't dissuaded her. Not even my lecture about germs. 2) Crying at the drop of a hat. Short of a personality transplant, not much I can do about this one. She cries when she gets a paper cut, when someone hurts her feelings, when she feels like it. 3) Putting her hair in her mouth and sucking on it. We had a deal. She could keep her hair long if she didn't put it it in her mouth. This worked for a while, but she is back to her old tricks. After four or five or, I don't know, 3700 warnings, I have to follow through. Today she is getting her hair cut short enough that she can't fit it into her mouth. Of course this is the week the girls' hair person is going to Vegas. I feel like the consequence has to happen close to the behaviour, so I took the last two appointments she had (Moo's getting a trim). Unfortunately, they were in the afternoon so Mary Poppins is going to witness the meltdown. Seriously, Doodle cried last time when they washed her hair. Who doesn't like getting their hair washed???

Doodle would love it if I took her back to the kids hair cutting place where they don't wash hair and they sprinkle "fairy dust" in their hair that takes weeks to get out. However, those folks (and I've tried two places and different hairstylists) don't know how to cut curly hair like Moo's and she ends up with some weird poodle like 'do in the back.

So we are going to our lovely Deena who will hopefully work some magic today. I'll post before and after photos as soon as I can.

By the way, this hair cutting is driving my mother CRAZY! She can't get over the fact that I would let Doodle have an inferior haircut. She thinks Doodle's hair looks MUCH better long. She even suggested I put pepper in Doodle's hair to discourage the sucking. I just can't get that worked up about it--and to me, breaking the habit is superior to the style. I'd rather have clean not as cute hair, than hair that looks better but is crispy on the ends from spit and other grossness.

This is not a surprise since I delegate all hair issues to my hair guy, Duc (pronounced Duke, not Duck). He does what he wants. Seriously. Free reign with color and cut. I trust him. Some cuts I like better than others, but all look good and are technically great. I figure I don't tell a mechanic what is wrong with my car, why tell Duc how to do my hair? It's a relief not to have to worry about it. It's not that I don't care...I do. I am vain enough to cover my greys and go to an expensive guy who know what he is doing. I just don't care about length or style too much. I also think that even if you find a style you like, you should change it up from time to time.

If only my mother and Doodle would agree with me.

So there, my treatise on hair, part one.

Ahoy Mateys and Princesses!

This year was our first year for a kids' birthday party. The girls wanted a princess party but since there aren't many girls in their classes, we had a pirate and princess theme. Even though Moo agreed to the combined party, 4 days before the party she had a total meltdown and said she wanted her own party. She got over it pretty quickly. Ironically, due to illness, vacations and morning meltdowns, only one boy made it to the party after all. I'm only including a few photos, because I don't like posting other kids photos without parent permission.

We had Mary Poppins there to help and most of the moms stayed. I hope they stayed because they were having fun, and not because we looked like complete incompetent idiots. I really wanted to offer them alcohol, but worried that it would be over the top at 11:30 a.m.

The one thing that was a big hit was that I filled the sandbox and the defunct baby pool with sand and "treasures" (aka plastic crap). The kids loved it and spent most of their time digging for jewels, gold coins, etc.

I was pressured to give out my cake secret, so I'll share it here. On ebay there are lots of folks who can create edible images. I think most of them are on very thin rice paper. They will customize and ship the image to you. It is really easy to slap the image on a cake, or have your local costco do it for you. This is how last year I was able to secure a cake with both Darth Vader and Princess Leia on it. This is not a combination found in nature, so this nice woman on ebay really helped me out.

Oh, and the other thing that worked out nicely was to tell our guests, "no gifts, please." We told the girls they could pick out something they really wanted for their birthday and that mom and dad would buy it for them, rather than getting lots of smaller gifts. We were going to ask for donations of books for Ethiopia Reads in lieu of gifts, but the girls weren't really old enough to understand that concept. Next year, I think.

I was so tired after the party, I took a nap. The girls were on a sugar high, but I was wiped out. I think these parties may be an every-other year phenomenon. Between the planning and my nerves (lots of people didn't rsvp until the last minute) this was a stressful event.

Happy Birthday America!

We had a great, busy Fourth of July Weekend. I treasure these pictures because after being excited that I bought matchy-matchy 4th of July dresses, the morning of Doodle refused to wear hers. I got her to take a few photos, then she changed into the second of the five outfits she would wear that day. Note also the Darth Vader trick-or-treat bucket MooBear insisted on bringing to our local parade to catch candy.

Check out the slide show for pictures from Buddy's visit and his dip in the pool, MooBear and Buddy sharing crab meat poolside, pictures from the Ethiopian soccer tournament in Chicago, our visit with our friends from Minnesota, and 4th of July and some random shots of daily life (chilling on the couch in the morning, coloring, etc.).

She Wants That for Her Birthday?????

I just ordered a product from an infomercial. I spent the low, low price of $19.99 plus shipping and handling and got a free sonic toothbrush. I did it under duress. See, as the girls grow up, they are starting to watch shows with commercials in them. Sometimes, I fast forward through the commercials. However, sometimes Dan and I just want to watch the news or Meet the Press without interruption, so we set them up with their DVR'd shows on the other TV. The result? The main thing that Doodle wants for her birthday other than a scooter, is a Touch and Brush.

It makes a bit of sense. She and the MooBear have difficulty squeezing the last bits of toothpaste out of their SpongeBob and Fairies toothpaste. Do I really think it will work as advertised, dispensing toothpast with vacuum power with a gentle touch? Will it eliminate the sticky mess of toothpaste in their bathroom? No, but this is a life lesson and a birthday wish all in one. If it works, great. If it doesn't, it's a lesson for the Doodle in infomercials. Either way, it's going to be the gift she opens with delight, squealing when she realizes I listened and remembered.

What's next you ask? My SIL is threatening to get her the Sham-wow for her birthday. Hey, I'm open to other suggestions. This is a lot easier than tracking down the one toy she is interested in that is out of stock. Moobear wants a Tinkerbell tiny kitchen set (similar to a Polly Pocket Playset) that is gone everywhere and is now going for $80 on ebay. Not gonna happen.

Yes, it is weird but whatever. She comes from good hardy nerd stock, so I would expect nothing less. I'll let you know how it works.