Wacky Birdie

Another wacky outfit from Birdie today...

She very proudly told me "I dressed Wacky today!"  Yes, Birdie, you did!

A Reading SuperStar

I've been noticing Laurie reading words here and there, so while we were sitting at the Dr. office yesterday I started to write down words to see if she could read them.   I wrote and had her read (not in this order) -

Hot, Hat, Goat, Mat, Bat, Man, Pet, Pig, Wig, Boat, Food, Star, Pine, Pie, Popcorn, Boat, Bear, Pin, Pill, Pull, Pot, Put, Bar, Bare, Bad, Car, Care, Good, Bake, Take, Banana, Apple, Grape, Paper, Lost, Park, Bark, Target and Hobby Lobby. 

Some she knew right away, and others she had to sound out or be reminded about the silent "e" rule.  But she read each one.  I was stunned.  She's not even 4 1/2 yet.  

Last night I sat down and gave her easy reader books to see how she did.  We started with Hop! Hop! Hop!, which was one of the first books Ashley read at 5.  Would you believe she got most of it? Certain words gave her trouble like - he, around, clunk, splash, plunk, squish, stump, then.  But she read it.  

I then gave her Ducks in Muck, which was one of the first books Daniel read.  I think she only had to be helped with - what, unstuck and yuck.  

I kept thinking maybe one of the other kids has been reading it to her so she memorized it.  Like the famous story of how when I was 4, I showed my Granny Merr that I could "read" with my eyes closed!

Watching her read these two books, I'm pretty convinced she was actually reading the words.  It was very exciting!  And Birdie was sure proud of herself!

Back to see Dr. D.

Laurie made it 18 days into the new year before needing a sick visit to Dr. D.  Over the MLK weekend at the ranch, Birdie started sniffling and getting congested.  She got really upset with us because we wouldn't let her out in the cold damp weather with the other kids.  By Monday, she was really green, snotty and running a low grade fever.  The green goo oozing out of her eyes is what convinced me she had to go to the pediatrician.  Thinking it was a bad cold, I made the appointment yesterday morning.  On our way there, she told me her throat hurt because she needed a drink.  

While discussing her symptoms with nurse Kristie, I mentioned her throat.  After a rapid strep test, Dr. D came in to tell us Laurie tested positive for strep. (Her chest was clear.)  I was not expecting that.  But, at least it is easy to treat.  Course, as I left the office, I wondered about Ashley, Daniel, Brian and I.  And all our friends and their kids who were just with us at the ranch.  Many phone calls and text messages followed to let everyone know they were exposed to strep. 

Since Laurie still shows an aversion to going to the Dr. office, I treated her to new tennis shoes (and flip flops since it was a BOGO) at Payless and told her to choose a place for lunch.  She chose getting a large soft pretzel at Target instead of any fast food.  That worked for me, I love Target.  We picked up a few new leggings and tunic shirts for her (since that is all she ever wants to wear) and a Starbucks coffee for me.  Then it was over to Hobby Lobby to look for a few things, drop off the prescription, and over to the new Goodwill store to browse.  We rounded off our day with a quick stop at HEB to pick up something for dinner before jumping in the carpool line for the big kids.  Obviously she wasn't feeling all that bad.  In fact, before her Dr. appointment she helped me finish getting the Christmas tree down, in the box and out to the garage.  (Yes, my Christmas tree was still standing naked in my living room on the 18th of January).  

Wanna Laugh?

Wanna laugh?  Check out my son dancing while at the ranch after Christmas!  Who knew he was interested in break dancing?



The best has to be the booty shake at the end.  And to a Miley Cyrus song to boot.

Gotta love what happens when we're sitting around at the ranch with nothing to do.

Jekyll & Hyde

I have a child that is a little like Jekyll and Hyde.  Monday, she was helpful and loving.  Did what I told her and followed directions well. She was even given back one of her Barbies (her room was cleaned out of all the toys last week for throwing a fit and refusing to clean up). No problems - it was a great day.  Thinking we had turned a corner, I was excited for Tuesday morning.  YIKES!  

Picture a blond little 4 year old lying on the floor kicking, screaming and crying when I asked her to get her clothes on for preschool.  For almost an hour, I reminded her to get dressed, gave her the choice of getting dressed & going to school or staying in her pajamas and staying home.  I did have to decide if I really meant it, when I said she would stay home.  Yes I decided, it was worth it to me to follow through and make her stay home if she didn't comply.  

Actually, you don't have to picture it, because I TOOK PICTURES of her!

Finally, about the time Aunt Leah should have been here to pick her up, Birdie decided she needed to go to the bathroom.  When she was done, I gently reminded her that if she wanted to go to school, she could just take her PJ pants off now and put on her jeans.  For some crazy reason, she complied.  After 55 minutes of crying and screaming, she stopped and got her clothes on.  I was pleased, but seething inside that she had to go through all the drama first.  

Thankfully, Aunt Leah was late getting to our house.  So Laurie was dressed, teeth brushed and hair sort of brushed by the time their car pulled up in front of the house.  

Days like this, behavior like this makes me wonder how she is feeling, if she is getting sick again. She seems ok, but she spent most of December and Christmas break sick, so who really knows.  She doesn't look good in the picture because her face was a little swollen from crying so hard for so long.

This morning, we avoided drama (for the most part) and got her out the door with minimal fussing.  Course it might have had something to do with it being Wacky Day!

Notice in the pictures of her pajamas that she actually is wearing 3 pairs of pajamas.  First, a nightgown, then a pink set of pajamas, then her Christmas pajamas (she'd taken off the green shirt because she got breakfast on it).  You have to love our crazy dresser.

Yes, We love her to pieces, but could do without all the drama!

Wacky Wednesday

It is Wacky Wednesday again at the preschool.  Some friends would say that Laurie dresses Wacky every day with bright conflicting patterns on her clothes, jackets and coats.  It goes against every fiber of my being to let her wear some of the combinations she comes up with to wear, but I'm trying to embrace her individuality.  

I'm beginning to think she is just a non-conformist rather than a crazy dresser because she wasn't too thrilled about getting to dress wacky today when everyone else does to.  She did resist a little at first.  Maybe she just was confused because I for once, was encouraging it rather than "discussing" her clothing choices before letting her out the door.

She did allow me to assist her in getting her dressed as wacky as possible.  First, we picked out her favorite leggings and skort and put them on together.  Then found two of her favorite shirts and put those on.  To top it off, she chose Halloween socks and a Christmas hair scrunchie.  Overall, this might be even wackier than last year! See for yourself.

Boy was she a happy camper wearing all these patterns together. 

As she walked out the door to school, I realized her leopard coat just threw it totally over the top.

Kids Cooking Creations

I was busy Saturday working on something and left the kids alone to play.  Ashley came and asked if they could play cooking show and make food.  Thinking it was a great way to keep them busy while I got my stuff done, I said sure.  As long as they didn't use the stove or oven.  They were busy for almost two hours getting their dishes ready for judging.  Guess who was lucky enough to be the judge?  Me!

Since they described their own dishes better than I ever could, I made sure to get it all on video.  

Birdie and her creations

Lots of "Goodness"!

Happy, Happy Girl

Daniel & his Creations

What a spread!

You want a taste, don't you!

Ashley's selection

The popcorn was really tasty

The kids did such a marvelous job that I actually did taste most of it.  There were a few things I just couldn't bring myself to taste.  The kids wanted me to choose a winner, but as their mom, I ruled them all winners!!  The truth is, they all had something I liked and something that made my stomach churn. 

I most of all loved their enthusiasm.  I hope you can tell in their videos above.  They just love cooking and creating!  

Massive Jigsaw Puzzle

Packed away in all of our Christmas stuff is a Santa jigsaw puzzle of 1,000 pieces.  I think Brian's parents gave it to us one year, but we've never opened it.  This year, the kids saw it and wanted to try it.  So, we found a big board to put it on (our magnetic board Daniel & I made) and worked on it.  

The first few days, whenever we walked by it, we had to put a piece in it.  One day, the kids and I sat for well over an hour and worked together on it together.  It was frustratingly fun.  As the days got closer to Christmas we became busier with other things and never finished it.  

I took a picture of it before I put it back in the box so we have a record of how far we got with it. We didn't do to bad!   Maybe this next Christmas we will finish it!