Joy's of Living In Apartments

I realized that as a blogger the majority of my posts have consisted of lengthy rants, and pictures of the girls. Today I want to hear from you.

As an apartment dweller there are many frustrations and rejoicings that can be expressed about our living situation.

For example:

Frustration - loud, random noises above our heads and/or right by our front door that drive this mother of two small children, who are in bed long before 9:56pm, up the wall, with a sudden urge to find the noise and do whatever it takes to stop it.

Rejoicing - hearing the sounds of a familiar worship song being sung in Korean by at least 7 or 8 people who have gathered together below my feet to praise our Father above.

What about you? If you have ever lived in close proximity to others, what frustrations and rejoicings do you recall?

1001

I'm 1001 days old today! Which translates to 2 years 271 days and expressing myself as any good 2 year old girl would, with defiance, testiness and smiles in between.
Have a great day!

Love
Lizzie

I am not 1001 days old, but I am trying to be.
Love
Ellie

Thanks Sarah Krussow for the wonderful dress-up clothes. They are so much fun!

You Know You're a Mom of Smaller Kiddos When

So as I sat down to lunch with the girls I realized that I was wearing the same outfit for the third day in a row. Yes, I had changed my clothing at various points each of the three days, but always ended up back in this one. Why, you ask? Because it was cleaner than the clothes I had been wearing and it was matching, and I didn't have to go to the trouble of looking in the closet, because, yes indeed, it was on floor before me.

This little revelation led me to think of other things in my life that have changed with having children. Here is a very incomplete and overly generalized list that I came up with in the short time I have had to sit and type:

YOU KNOW YOU ARE THE MOTHER OF SMALL CHILDREN WHEN YOU--

*Wear the same outfit over and over because it is "clean"
*Can make mac and cheese in your sleep
*Consider it a generous offer when you are offered partially chewed on food, even if you must decline
*Can't remember what day of the week it is much less the date, but you do know how long until naptime/bedtime
*Hear a small voice say, "BooBees" and instead of scolding the child, you head to the refrigerator to get blueberries
*Find yourself saying the words poop, potty, icky and bye-bye more than you care to admit
*Know exactly what your children are up to purely based off the sounds they are making
*Have to chose between having a floor you can walk on or taking a nap
*Are able to write a list like this, but it takes 30 minutes because you spend 29 taking care of your children

I am sure there are many many more, but I think I am choosing the nap and I need part the toys like the red sea, to get to my bed :-)

Praises

We all wanted to say thank you to those that have prayed for Ma (Allen's mom) and her surgery yesterday. She is home recovering and has said that although it was a little more complex than the doctor had originally thought it still went well.
Get lots of rest Ma, and we will keep praying for your recovery!
We love you.

We Finally Found It

Over a year ago Lizzie received this pink Dora chair for Christmas. It has held up well, and she loves sitting in it, but of course so does Ellie. So, I decided with some money from our tax return this year we would buy Ellie one and end the fighting.

Unfortunately the task proved much more difficult that I had originally thought and I had all but given up until I found this purple chair at Walmart. The zipper seemed broken, but desperate times call for desperate measures so I bought it anyway.

Once home I became discourage after trying again and again to get the zipper to stay zipped. I gave up and put the chair away to be returned to the store at a later date, then I came home the other day to find that my wonderful husband had fixed it!

Hooray!!!

So, without further ado, the new purple Dora chair (being modeled by Ellie next to her fellow model in the pink chair :-) )

Hooded

With the cold weather still hanging on fast we have had to find some very inventive ways of entertaining the girls (and ourselves subsequently).

This one lasted for a few minutes, though not long enough to get Ellie in her ET-like state. (Hint: She is gray mound on the right)

Ellie was in this picture until she fell over trying to pull off the hoodie.

Memories From Long Ago

When I was little I took a sheet of stickers. You know, the kind you must lick first, but were free in the mail so my mom gave them to me to keep me busy...it worked, but in memory of that moment we have created a reenactment of the time long ago.

Take One

Take Two

Take Three (Note, we changed the coloring of this one to show you more closely what my childhood pictures looked like)

(Nana, I hope you enjoyed taking a walk into the past :-) )

A Poop Story

WARNING:
Some images in this post may not be suitable for general audiences and may induce a need to vomit if studied with any kind of understanding regarding the disgusting situation of the event.


With all the poop stories we have supplied to our readers the past couple of years, there has always been one question we have been asked over and over again.

So, for those that either
a) wanted proof
or
b) wanted to be totally grossed out while you laugh at our expense

here you go.

The latest poop story event:

Much

Lizzie's new favorite phrase is: "Thank you much!"

Potty Training Status Update

3 days now with no accidents. Yesterday included a trip to the store in big girl undies. Then right before bed last night, #2 on the big girl toilet.


Yeah for Lizzie! We're proud of you!

Back from PT

*pun intended*

Just returned from Physical Therapy. The words she used were "turned the corner."

She gave me a whole regimen of Core Strengthening Exercises (to strengthen my stomach and back, not just stretch out my back).

And given the fact that I'm down to one Vicodin a day, I'm liking progress.

Giraffe

Just now, Lizzie was playing with the giraffe from this toy zoo train. She put the giraffe on the floor and tried to sit on top of it to "ride it." She was actually just squatting on it really. After make a few bouncy motions and a few riding noises, Lizzie stood up and started to walk away.

Daddy: "Did you have fun, Lizzie, riding the giraffe?"

Lizzie: "No, my bum hurts."

Who Do You Think I am?

The Johari Window has existed for many many years and is still very interesting to try out today. Allen and I have done windows in the past, but with our recent move cross country and addition of so many new friends, we thought it would be kind of fun to see the results of our new Johari windows.

Just click on the link(s) below and you will be prompted to select a few adjectives from a list that you think describe us. It is fun to see who knows what side of the person.

Allen's Window

Steph's Window

Lizzie's Window (Mommy guessed what Lizzie thinks of herself)

Ellie's Window (Again, Mommy guessed what Ellie thinks of herself)


When you are done, try filling out your own Window so that we can have the joy of telling you a little more about you!

Oh, and leave us a comment to let us know what you thought of it, and how we can get to your window!