Weekend

We were supposed to have a nice quiet weekend at home this week. Our friends were going out of town so we offered to watch their dogs. Sophie came over Thursday night, no problems. Landree loves her and calls her Fifi. On Friday, we got Tucker the 8 week old Lab puppy. I have now renamed him Tucker the Terrible. This dog beats all I have ever seen. He was here almost 6 hours before he fell asleep. What 8 week puppy stays up this much. He pees like nobodys business. He was confined to the kitchen for an hour and peed three times and pooed once. Are you serious! Well it was going to be okay because between Brian and I we should be able to handle it.

Then Brian got a call to go dove hunting Saturday morning with Jim. Okay, so now I have 2 kids and 3 dogs by myself Saturday morning. I cheated and gave the girls bags of Cheerios and cups of milk for breakfast and let them watch TV. That was all fine and good until Tucker stole Landree's bag of Cheerios- twice. Here are the little darlings cleaning it up. I then put Tucker in the kitchen and put up the baby gate. Next thing you know, I hear Landree screaming. She stuck her hand through the baby gate and couldn't get it out and Tucker was chewing on it with those sharp little baby teeth. Crisis was solved and everyone was happy until Tucker got her baby doll. The girls do like loving on him when he cooperates.

Brian finally got home a little after 11:30 and we all ate lunch. Work then called at 2:30 and he stayed on the phone until about 5:30 when he came down and said he was off the call and I thought wonderful, it's your turn to manage the zoo. Next thing he says, "I have to go in to work." Well great! He didn't get home until 3:30 this morning so of course now he has to sleep late so I get the zoo again. This time I put everybody at the table for breakfast so Tucker can't get it. Well now he likes chewing on Peyton and Landree's feet. I throw him outside and I'm sure my neighbors loved listening to him howl like a banshee. Buddy is so stinkin' tired he is sometimes going upstairs and getting in his kennel. Brian was afraid the girls would want a puppy after all of this- over my cold dead body.

Here are the three angels:

Peyton's Field Trip

Don't know why this didn't post on Friday. It was in my list of drafts but never posted for some reason.


Today Peyton had her first field trip of the year. A city bus is coming to school and Peyton's class is going to get on the bus, watch a video, and then take a drive around the neighborhood. Parents and siblings were welcome. Peyton quickly informed me she didn't want me to go. She told me she was a big girl and that she didn't need me. I told her that Landree might want to ride and Peyton said that was fine, she could sit next to her and hold her hand. I told her that Landree couldn't ride without me and she told me that she guessed Landree wasn't riding. I decided to let her have control today, it really isn't that big of a field trip. However, she was informed that I would be going on the rest of her field trips and she agreed. If this is four, what will fourteen be like. Needless to say she had a great time and was a little upset that they didn't wear seatbelts

We pulled out the aquadoodle today and the girls loved it but there was a space issue. Landree only wanted to draw on the same space Peyton was drawing on or had already drawn on. Peyton informed me that I needed to put an aquadoodle on Landree's christmas list because she needed her own. This is probably the only time that played well together on it.

Landree's First ER Trip

We had a really great weekend. My mom came in on Friday night and we let Peyton stay up to see her. We were all happy when Landree remembered Nana and called her by name Saturday morning. We did some shopping on Saturday and Brian fixed ribs. Sunday, Mom and I went shopping and I decided I don't need to go to Nordstroms again once I saw a little black dress for $1145.00. We went to a meeting at the Church we are thinking about joining and the girls stayed with Nana. Mom and Peyton made Baked Alaska. I know, she's only 4 but they saw it on Paula's Party and Nana thought she would love it. She was right and she did but then she said she didn't like the coverup they put on it (meringue). Mom and I talked about how different Peyton and Landree were and that we saw Landree having lots of accidents in her future. Well we shouldn't have said it.

This morning Landree wanted on our bed and Peyton decided to help her up. I was in the bathroom and heard a huge bonk and did what all parents do, pause and wait for the sound and it came, the scream. Before I could get to her I hear Peyton say, I'm so sorry Mama, there's blood on her face. Landree had a cut on her eyebrow and had blood streaming down her face. I tried to clean her up but couldn't get the blood to stop. I tried to take a picture with my camera phone to get Dr. Aunt Melanie's opinion. I even measured it with a ruler. The pediatrician's office recommended she come in but then didn't have any openings and told me to go to the ER. So I called Peyton's school and they told me that I could bring her early for lunch bunch. I got everyone dressed and into the car, ran by McDonalds, got Peyton to school and made it to the ER. I was surprised when we got there and they had a separate ER waiting room and section for children. We got back after about 15 minutes. The nurse cleaned her up and the doctor came in and decided that glue would work best since we would have to sedate her for stitches. They irrigated it with betadine and saline- she wasn't impressed at all. The nurse put fingers on either side and stretched it until it was closed and the doctor put the glue on it and held it for 45 seconds and we were done. They had us wait five minutes and then said we could go. I put Landree down so I could get our things and she headed straight for the door and didn't want me to pick her up. She grabbed her bunny and away we went. She held her bunny with one hand and my hand with the other and we walked all the way to the parking garage. What a big girl. We were in and out of there in 1 hour 15 minutes. I was shocked how quickly it went and was really impressed with the setup they had. It was definately a better experience than when Peyton had stitches at about the same age. Landree acts like it doesn't bother her much and played this evening. When she sucks her thumb, she uses the other fingers to pick at it some. Here are some pictures of her. Bless her heart, Peyton keeps telling me how sorry she is.

Gymnastics

Well the much awaited second gymnastics class was today. Peyton told me she was a little bit nervous and she wanted to take Coach Vlady something. We agreed on an apple and she was ready when I picked her up from school. She ran in the gym and Coach Vlady immediately said, "Hi, Peyton." I thought oh crap he remembers her. She gave him the apple and he made a huge deal about it. I walked up to the observation deck and got Landree and I settled. And people, you would never known there was a problem. She did everything she was supposed to do. Oh thank goodness. I was able to sit with the other moms and chat and it was wonderful. She came out of that gym in a sweat. By the way, that gym smells like a big ol' dirty dog ooohhweeeh it stinks. So we have had a successful day!

Brian

Well, Brian had his long awaited appointment for his sleep study yesterday. He ended up leaving the office with a machine before he ever did the sleep study. You know when you look in someone's throat you can normally see that little hangy thing in the back (uvula something like that)? Well you can't see Brians because his airway is so small. So the doctor said he didn't even need the sleep study results, he knew that Brian needed one now. So we'll see which is easier for me, being lulled to sleep by snoring or the hum of a machine. He even has a chin strap for it. For the right incentive, I could even be persuaded to take a picture.

The three of us went to Weight Watchers last night. Instead of AA, fat people have to go to WW, maybe we'll get someone to take our picture on the way out so we can be like celebrities being chased down by the papparazzi. So far we've all lost, of course Brian being the most. We tried a different leader last night. Oh my goodness, that had to have been the loudest woman I have ever met in my life. I think Haley developed a tick. We did like her after we got a little acclimated and she meets the requirements of being a former fat ass but Haley and I decided we would need valium before we went in every week. I'm sure her people loose weight or you would be too scared to go back in there.

So Brian had to wake up on his birthday at the sleep clinic. Peyton was ticked. She threw open my door this morning and immediately was upset over her daddy not being there because she wanted to wish him Happy Birthday. I couldn't believe she woke up remembering. We went to lunch with Brian and people from work. Jeff set it up at Rudys BBQ known for having the worst BBQ in Texas- I'm not kidding thats their motto. It was good but still not BareBones and the girls had a great time getting lots of attention. We gave him his present of pictures of the girls. Last week, I took the girls and got their pictures taken- that is 2 1/2 hours I will never get back. No more picture surprises because that is a two-person job. Peyton and I baked him cupcakes this afternoon with Scooby Doo heads on them (Peyton picked of course). News Bulletin- Landree can have Duncan Hines Devils Food Cake mixed with a diet soda and their frosting- Whoohooo! It's Brian's birthday but I know my audience and I'm pretty sure they would want to see pictures of one of the girls. So here is Landree eating her first chocolate cupcake.

As you can tell she needed a bath after the cupcake.

For those of you that have been following the saga- hopefully I will have good news after gymnastics tomorrow afternoon. Please pray for Peyton to have the strength to get over her stubbornness and for me not to beat her if she doesn't.

First Day of School and Gymnastics

Well Peyton had her first day of school yesterday and she was very nervous. We had her bucket filled and started to school. She was prepared for her classroom and the teacher but was not prepared for her classmates. She had been going this summer and I think she didn't realize that the students would be different. She went in and put her chapel money in the basket, put her bucket on the shelf, and found her seat with her name on it. There were mirrors there and she was supposed to draw a picture of herself. She started and Landree and I left.

After school she was supposed to have her first day of gymnastics. I picked Abby and Kacy up from their daycare- very cool and high tech. We waited with the other moms and here came a line of Pre-Kers with buckets. Peyton was very excited to have a green smiley face in her bucket. It was a great day. . . . and then we went to gymnastics.

We should have just stopped there, we had had a successful day and I shouldn't have pushed my luck. The girls were excited to go and Abby and Kacy ended up having their neighbors in their class. The place was huge and had an observation deck up top for parents. I put up everyone's hair and got the girls ready to go in. I'm introduced to Peyton's teacher, Coach Vlady. Are you kidding me, this is an Olympic 4-time gold Champion and he is going to be teaching my 4 year old. Well of course you know I was excited and Landree and I went up to the observation room and I pulled up two chairs and got a snack out for Landree and was all set. I realized then that there were only 6 kids in her class and was surprised at the small class size. I look over and see my other two girls and decided this was going to be great. Then the four year old threw a kink in my plans. They spread out on ovals for their stretching, everyone is stretching but Peyton. Coach Vlady goes to talk to her- nothing. Everyone gets down on the floor to keep stretching- but Peyton. Coach Vlady goes to talk to her- nothing. Another teacher notices and goes to talk to her- nothing. She looks up at me and I point down for her to sit- nothing. She is standing there with her head bowed and hands by her side. She keeps looking up at me- I keep pointing- nothing. Then one of the other moms asks if that is my child in the stars. Of course she is my child but who wanted to claim her, I was tempted to say oh no those two little brunettes over in the red (Abby & Kacy) are my two children, that one in the stars is the neighbor's kids. But of course I have to say yes and then all the moms tried to diagnose her problem. I then decide to scoot my chair out of her site and end up falling out of my chair- oh heavens is this day going to get any better. Then I watch as they start moving to their rotations to start the balance beam and I think ok here we go because Peyton loved the balance beam at her old gym and this will get her out of it. But noooo, not my child, she doesn't move and jerks her arm away when Coach Vlady touches her. One of the moms offers to watch Landree and I went downstairs. You all know I watch Landree like a hawk so you know how bad it must be for me to leave her with a stranger. I get down there and Peyton bursts into tears and tells me she doesn't like this kind of gymnastics and wants a girl teacher. Are you kidding me- you have the most talented person in the whole room and you would rather have someone else. So I do the normal talking to her and she wants to leave. People, I resorted to bribes which I don't know that I have ever done and nothing. The lady that runs the place came over and tried to talk to her. She had stopped crying and was now just being stubborn. You could see she wanted to go do it but wouldn't swallow her pride. I refused to let her leave the gym so I went back upstairs and got Landree and we sat at the edge while Peyton sat and watched her class. Needless to say, Daddy was not empressed when he got there. After class Brian met the coach and he said that Peyton just needed time and he would see her next week. Well I'll just tell you, I have never seen Brian so upset. I think it has something to do with his whole sports background. It was not a pretty night at my house and Peyton had the nerve to ask for dessert after dinner. Wouldn't you like to go back to being four and clueless. At least it gave me a good laugh with Mama later. Here my child has an opportunity that other parents would love and she did NOTHING. It was today that I learned that no matter how much I would like to, I can't make a four year old do something she doesn't want to do. Be looking for an update next week for Gymnastics, Part 2.

I couldn't help myself and had to include pictures of Landree at supper last night. As you can tell, she was oblivious to the tension in the room. She loved the chicken leg and as clean as her bone was, she had to have eaten things off that leg that she was not supposed to eat.

Short Week

This has been a pretty short week. On Wednesday, we went and met Peyton's teacher at Open House. Peyton got a blue bucket to use instead of a backpack and is very excited about getting to carry this bucket and has shown everyone who walked into this house her blue bucket. Look for pictures next week.

Brian and I spend most of our time with Peyton trying to hide our smiles. The other night, we were driving home and she told us that Miley Cyrus was coming to town and that she wanted to go and that Tanner said that it cost a lot of money. I asked her who was going to buy her tickets and she said we were and then I asked her where she was going to get the money. She said she would get it from the bank. We then had to explain that you have to put money in the bank to get money out of the bank. She seemed to understand it and then told us that she wasn't ever going to get pregnant and have babies. We asked her why not. She told us that hospitals cost a lot of money and that she didn't want to have to get surgery to have a baby because she was scared of hospitals. Also was God pregnant with all those babies and is that how he keeps all the babies in heaven. She and her husband would go see Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana when she was a grown up and oh they would go to Disney World too by themselves. All of this in the less than 10 minute ride home from the Willards. It took all we had to not start laughing.

Today we went shopping for Peyton's leotards for gymnastics. Whoohooo I had a 25% off coupon and away we went. Picture the scene, a shop called DanceGear and the four of us in it. Peyton was so excited and thought that every leotard with the number 4 on it would fit. Landree was in heaven and wanted everything in her hands. Brian just meandered through and caught Landree every so often. Peyton was surprisingly not a size 4-6 but needed a 6x-7. I think it must just be the brand because that same size in one of Abby's is huge on Peyton. She has modeled these two suits all over the house. Poor Landree tried taking off her clothes to put one on after we got home. Peyton got two suits today, the American one as she calls it and a pink one. You can't see the front of the pink one because somehow she has gotten confused and thinks twirling is a part of gymnastics.

We did have a food discovery today, Lunchables. I didn't say a healthy food discovery. Peyton always likes to get them when we go to the grocery store. Every once and awhile I will let her have one. Today at the grocery store was no different. She started in for one and I started reading the labels, you know it takes me twice the time to shop because of label reading. Landree could have the mini tacos lunchable as long as I took the cheese packet out. Well of course I bought them each one for lunch. Landree loved it and she acted like she knew it was something special. We were shocked when she knew how to drink a Capri-Sun. That is probably more sugar than she has ever had before. As they were eating them, Peyton pulled out her dessert, Airheads and asked if her head would float to the ceiling like in the commercial. We had to break the news to her that it wouldn't. She was outraged and told us that we needed to call the president and tell him they were lying. She was serious and then proceeded to tell us how serious she was about calling the president because they were liars. She then said something and used air quotes. Air quotes, she's four people. She then asked Brian what air quotes were and I'll tell you watching Brian try to explain that was worth getting out of bed this morning.