Is my 2 year old super clean for the right reasons? :)

Andy is 2. That should say it all, right? In just weeks, he has turned into a 2 year old toddler testing his limits. Do not get me wrong, he is sweet, compassionate, hilarious, super smart and a complete lover! We can all count on numerous hugs and kisses throughout the day, we can count on him to do a ton of funny stuff throughout the day, count on him saying the funniest things already in funny voices. We can count on him being a good boy, and doing exactly what you ask him to do, he is the first to say Please & Thank you, the first to ask you if you are okay when you get a boo-boo, the first to say bless you when he hears you sneeze.

And then there is the age appropriate part of him ~ I say age appropriate because all the books say all the things he is doing...all the things Chris did when he was 2 are totally normal. The 2 year old who says no, the 2 year old who does exactly what you told him not to do or say. The 2 year old who has learned to unlock and open the front door and run right for the street. The 2 year old who messes every room behind you as you just cleaned them. The 2 year old who now chooses what foods he likes or dislikes on any given day. The 2 year old who wants to be held & carried only at the times when you are busy cooking near a hot stove and does not want to be held when you need to hold him like at a crowded place.

So at the end of a long day of caring for a 2 year old (& 3 other children) and bedtime is still 30 or 45 minutes away and I am just ohhh sooo tired...and my 2 year old is really getting into everything..... you will hear me say "Andy, want to take a bath?". Sure he may have had a bath that morning, or if we had a super busy morning, that afternoon. But that bath was for cleaning...this bath will be to occupy a 2 year old. This bath will last the 30 or 45 minutes until bedtime!  Am I a bad mother to use the bath as entertainment for my 2 year old? Nah...I am a tired and totally overworked mom of 4 kids...and that is my creative way of coping!

Trixie, Dixie & Winn-Dixie...

 Meet Trixie, Dixie & Winn-Dixie, the 3 baby ducks that have been keeping our family of 6 very busy for the last few weeks. Let me go into the story of how we came to get these little cute ducks.

As many of you know, I am a family photographer. This year, I decided to use a "prop" for the annual "4 Little Ones Photography 2011 Spring Mini Photo Sessions". I had made arrangements to "borrow" an Angora Bunny Rabbit for the days of my shoots. The night before I was expected to pick the bunny up at 6AM, I received a call from the owner advising that she & her husband had changed their mind & I could no longer pick this bunny up. PANIC....I had already hinted to clients that I had a special treat for the kiddies!

So, the next morning, I take 3 of the kids with me to the local Pet & Feed store. We come home with 3 absolutely adorable yellow baby ducks, about 4 inches big, along with an enormous bag of hay and duck food. I promise the kids, that we can keep them until Easter so they can learn to take care of them, but then we will give them to a farmer we know. 

So, the kids each pick out a duck, they discuss names while holding them the entire way home. For the next 2 hours, they study & play with these ducks & could tell them apart. I bring them to my 7 shoots and they are a hit with most of the children...everyone ooh'g and ahh'g over them like little babies!   Cute...right?

These ducks are lucky enough to come with us to our 2 Girl Scout meetings & also to the kids school classrooms for a little visit, the kids sit in a big circle so the ducks can walk around in the middle, allowing each student the chance to pet & feel them. We let them see how they migrate to each other when placed apart from one another & how they eat /drink. The kids all giggle and smile. Cute, right?


Here they are a few days later...already inches bigger...we start introducing them to bathtime so they can start learning to swim. The kids get sooo much enjoyment watching this as they dunk their heads in and try to run fast so it looks as if they are trying to just take off into a swim....cute right?

Few days later...OH MY...they are really getting big now!!! No longer can they take their bath in the big kitchen sink, they are graduating to the tub (with me bleaching it afterwards). They run in circles along the perimeter of the tub. the kids squeal in delight to see their little duckies trying to swim. They dunk their heads, then shake off. They poop...then eat it...the kids yell "Eww Gross...they just ate their own poop" They laugh!


They outgrow their box (this was just their transport box...but the earlier photo showed them all side-by-side, now only 2 could fit side by side), then used a large, rectangular laundry basket and put them in the upstairs bathroom which we were in the middle of renovating. They get constant attention and cuddles.

Dave & I go away for 2 days, the kids go to Grandma & Papa's. My sister & nephew agree it will be fun to take the ducks and care for them for the days we will be gone. We come home...in 2.5 days...they double in size! Swear! The have learned how to jump out of the basket and everything! Ahhh...what should I do? (The farmer has not called me back about when I can bring them to his farm.)


So...a few days ago, I built them an outside pen, with a feeder and a bath, and a plastic igloo that they can go inside to "nest and cuddle with each other". They love it! They spent the day outside all day, bathing, walking, stretching, eating, sleeping.  In 2 days...they grew out of their igloo and the paint trays that were recommended for "bathing". 

PS...this was a few days ago, they are inches bigger already! This paint tray is the X-Large size...they now ue it for drinking as they all can not swim in it together!!!


Umm...Farmer...where are you? Anyone wants a few ducks who like people?

Calories on Menus...a good thing right?

Ok...so we should all be watching our caloric intake, right? But what about those times when we want to go out and not think about calories...but can't avoid seeing them?  The story behind today's post (which was supposed to be written a week ago!!!!)

So, I am lucky enough to enjoy  a little "mommies night out" about once a month. Not a lets go out clubbing, dancing and drinking sort of thing. Just a few really great friends, where we grab some light food, and drink or 2, and either some shopping or a movie. A few hours to gab about all things mom-related, wife-related, chore-related, etc. All the things we need to share, laugh and even cry about! These nights...as seldom as they are...make us better moms...and better wives (right ladies?)

Anyway, last Thursday, 2 awesome ladies and I headed to the mall for a little retail therapy all while sharing some great stories and ideas. We then wanted to grab dinner, since this was planned and none of us had eaten (now almost 10PM). California Pizza kitchen was now closing so we walked next door to The Cheesecake Factory.

The cheescake Factory has a HUGE menu with just tooooo many choices, so you know when you enter, that (especially if you are a Virgo and totally indecisive) you are going to have a hard time choosing what you want. I already knew I wanted a salad, but there are like 15 salad choices alone!!! So, we open the menus and what do we see....CALORIES!!!! They pop out at you...before you even see the food item name or the price. You see just CALORIES!!! AHHH...there is hardly anything on that menu under 1000 calories, and most items are over 1500 calories!  We tried not looking, but it is like they call you..."Melissa, look how many calories I am...how many hours at the gym will you need to stay to burn me off?"

We were lucky, that we were able to decide on 500 calorie salads, have the "skinny" version made for our drink choices, and take 1/2 of our salads home ensuring that we consumed under 500 calories...but that was work! Then the waitress comes over, "I know you all are watching your calories...BUT, we do have a low carb cheesecake" (really...ok....this low carb cheesecake still had 900 calories!). She continues: ", it will make you feel good knowing that with every slice you order, The Cheesecake Factory donates a proceed to Feeding America". I look into this on the cheesecake menu pages...yeah, they donate like .95 cents for each slice ordered...well here is our $1 donation...no 900 cheesecake eating required!

All in all it was another fantastic night spent with great friends!

A few days later...Dave & I stop at a fast food place for a quick snack, it was impossible to order anything as all I saw were the calories...not the item itself or the price. I think this is sooo funny and wander if it changing the way people order food while dining out? (It certainly changed my order...Dave...not at all! LOL)

Wonder if I can do this in my house, put really big calorie tags on everything in the fridge and cabinets!

My Hubby's B-Day...

It was Dave's Birthday on Sunday. Dave & I do not make a big deal of our birthdays (all about the kids now anyway, right?). I think the 2 of us only celebrate our birthdays becuase the kids like birthdays (& birthday cake) so very much!
Anyway, Dave's birthday weekend was pretty great! On Saturday, he took Chris to his 1st little league baseball practice which Chris & Dave really enjoyed.
While they were there, I took the girls & Andrew over to our local pet feed store to purchase some baby ducks (post about these guys to follow). Then I was off for a full day of 2011 Spring Mini Photo Shoots (Sneak peeks here...) The weather was warm and sunny & the kids enjoyed riding their bikes and chalking up the driveway with their cousin, Jacob.  Dave spent the day with his brother , sister'n'law, sister and all the kiddies. He enjoyed much beer and all sorts of meets on the BBQ (I couldn't complain that I came home to a cooked BBQ dinner and our 3 month old neice...who I stole immediately to cuddle with!)

On Sunday, Dave's actual birthday, we dropped the kids off at Grandma & Papa's house and enjoyed a quiet bruch at Danfords in Port Jeff Village. (Quiet, as in no kids; Dave & I enjoyed 1.5 hours of uninterrupted conversation!). We then walked around the Village followed by a nice drive to Cedar Beach.  So after our 4 hours of alone time  :), we spent a few hours at Grandma & Papa's and then enjoyed dinner out (yup...did not cook a meal all day!). Had no choice but to pick up a store made cake (what...we were out all day & I could not bake his favorite at 7:30pm on a school night). The kids sang Happy Birthday to Daddy who was such a sport to have a birthday so the kids could enjoy cake. Sadly, he made that favorite yellow recipe cake last night while I was at swim with the girls! Ha!

Anyway, great weekend to a great husband and father! Love you, Dave!