Tales From A Three Year Old

My three year old is a story teller, a fibber and a tad bit of a white liar . . . minus the tad bit and white.

I've never really cared what people have thought of me, either you like me, or you don't . . . then, my oldest daughter turned three (now almost four) and suddenly I have become a little self conscious. I'm certainly not perfect, I've never claimed to be perfect and I never will, however, her story telling has me 100% convinced that I will win the weirdo mom of the year award.

Story Number 1 . . . I don't feed my kids food.

It goes back to about six months ago when she came home from school with a backpack filled with paintings. She immediately grabbed two easel sized drawings that were smothered in brown paint and handed one to her sister and kept one for herself. I told her that her paintings were beautiful, and praised her for sharing. As I walked away I heard her say, "Here Charlotte, I painted you this nice big piece of steak." I turned around and told her that it was very creative that she painted some steak and this is what she said next , "Yes, I told my teachers that you don't feed us, so I needed to make some food for me and my sister to eat." What?! I feed you! On top of feeding you, I bribe you with ice cream cones and jello snack packs if you actually eat a decent meal! To set the record straight, I can assure you I give my kids food.

Story Number 2 . . . I have a baby in my belly.

One day I was dropping my oldest off at preschool when I realized she had stuffed a figurine of Peppa Pig's little brother George in her Pocket. As we got out of the car I reminded her that bringing toys from home was not a good idea, so I stuffed George in the front pocket of my hooded sweatshirt. Now this was when she was going through a really big Peppa Pig phase, she actually spoke with a British accent introduced herself to strangers as Peppa. Thankfully, that has stopped, but not before she told me that she said to her teachers that I was "keeping her little brother safe and warm in my belly." I mean I guess that wasn't entirely a lie because I did walk around with a pig figurine that she referred to as her little brother in my pocket for one day, but I can assure you that there a no real live babies in there. It was one day, and we're talking about a plastic pig.

Story Number 3 . . . I sleep in the parking lot of her preschool while she's inside.

Just the other day I picked her up from school, and as always I was eager to hear about her day. Before I could even ask about it she said to me, "Mommy, do you miss me while I'm in school, or do you have fun sleeping in your car while you wait for me to come out?" I responded, "Of course I miss you Lanie, but I don't sleep in my car!" Her reply, "Oh, well I told my teachers you do. We all had fun looking out the window for you." Awesome.

AND THE WEIRDO MOM OF THE
YEAR GOES TO . . .

(It's only by default, I swear.)

The Quirky Confessions: Days in the Life of a Stay at Home Mom

Become a backer of the project today and get some great rewards!

Mother's Little Helper

No, I'm not referring to The Rolling Stones hit from the 60's, I'm referring to my kids. Some of you may have them . . . the kids who always want to "help" out. Nine out of ten times if you're not paying close attention to their help tactics, this can lead to disaster.

First off, let me state that I'm very grateful to have kids that are so willing to "help" me out. It's a nice alternative to kids that plop themselves on the couch all day and demand watching that bald, little brat Caillou on Nick Jr. (Although, sometimes I secretly wish that they were more of the TV watching type.) This leads me to:

Disaster Number 1 - Cooking

A few weeks back my kids "helped" me make meatballs and sauce to put in the crock-pot for dinner that night. Their help during this fun filled, cooking activity lead to everyone needing immediate baths, and a kitchen ceiling coated with red sauce. Don't ask. After cleaning everyone up, and attempting to clean spaghetti sauce off our ceiling, I clearly needed a shower myself. I thought that I could put a movie on to keep them occupied during my three minute shower sprint. As I left the room I heard my oldest whisper to my youngest "As soon as Mommy gets in the shower we can make something that we want to eat for dinner instead."  Obviously this prompted me to hold off on my shower sprint and see what they were up to. I left the room and stood by the door. I witnessed them gather their magnetic letters off of my dishwasher and attempt to put them in the crock pot to make "alphabet soup". Thankfully, I was able to stop them in their tracks. I did not fit a shower in, and that's okay. I didn't need anymore disasters . . . the kitchen ceiling was enough for one day.

Disaster number 2 - Laundry

What's better than laundry helpers? They can gather clothes, load and attempt to fold. They can even match your socks for you! They can also let a disposable diaper get past you and into the washing machine in the blink of an eye. I really thought my mom skills were right on track that day. . . I was able to feed my kids, dress them and had even timed my "helping hand" laundry cycle perfectly so that I could switch the clothes over to the dryer before we left to go to an animal adventure show at my oldest daughter's preschool. Well, not the case. I told my kids, "as soon as the washing machine beeps, we'll switch the stuff over to the dryer and we can go." I even had enough time to grab a coffee on the way. No, no I didn't. I had enough time to deal with the reality that I had a shredded wet diaper all over our clean clothes. I did not have time to clean that up, despite having my very ready and will helping hands, and still get to the school on time. (Even though I tried.) I left the big mess, skipped out on my coffee, but arrived just in time for the big boa constrictors to be released from their crates. Fun! Note to self: Don't wear a black sweater when attempting to clean a wet shredded diaper out of your washer and off of your clothes. Otherwise, you may end up at animal day with sticky, white diaper particles all over yourself resembling jumbo sized dandruff flakes. Fail.

Update: I'm happy to report that my kids have recently shown a sudden interest in the kid's TV show, Blues Clues. This has been my savior when it comes to taking showers. This also took a turn for the worst today while I was doing a load of laundry without my little helpers. (This was immediately following my shower and they were engaged in the show, so I did not interrupt them for help. . . I should have.) While I was in the bathroom gathering clothes, they took the laundry baskets and used them as make shift stools to get on the counter and get their hands on some cherry flavored Chapstick. During the 45 seconds that I was out of the room, they coated their hands with it and slapped chap-sticky hand prints all over our stainless steel fridge while yelling "PAW PRINT CLUES!" Sigh. At least they helped me clean it off.

The Quirky Confessions: Days in the Life of a Stay at Home Mom

Become a backer of the project today and get some great rewards!

The Quirky Confessions #Kickstarter Campaign has Launched!

We are so happy to announce that our Kickstarter campaign has "kicked" off!

Our goal is to raise funds to print and bind our book, "The Quirky Confessions: Days in the Life of a Stay at Home Mom". We have been working on it for over a year now.

Please visit our kickstarter page to read the full story about what we have been up to.

There are several levels of cool, quirky rewards when you make a donation, including the printed book. And . . . you will receive your rewards before Mother's Day - great for gift giving!

Check them out!

Please share!

Thank you!

Enjoy the blog? Please take a second to vote for

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My Picky Eaters

Let me start by saying I didn't always have picky eaters. My first born would pretty much eat everything that was given to her from a young age on. Both baby food and mealtimes were quick favorites. From the moment I noticed her first tooth, I couldn't shovel enough food into her. It started with Cheerios, and we quickly moved onto fruits, veggies and meats. You name it, she ate it.

My second born was a little more challenging. The mush on the spoon, pretend airplane approach never really worked with her. I don't ever recall getting a drop of baby food in her mouth, but things took a turn when we moved onto solid foods. She was more apt to try stuff, and not like it. I never worried too much though, just like her big sister she has always been labeled as "healthy", and has ranged in the 90th percentiles for both height and weight.

I'd say age two has been the turning point for both of my girls. While my youngest (age 2) has attempted to try and like more foods, my oldest (3 1/2) has pretty much given up on trying anything. For the past year and a half she has been living off of grilled cheese sandwiches, milk, fruit and everything that makes up the chocolate food group. My youngest lives off all of those as well, but with her you can add some meats and a few other things into the mix. Just the other morning she really disgusted her big sister by saying she wanted "more chickens" for breakfast. She was referring to scrambled eggs. (The reason she knows that scrambled eggs come from chickens is because my oldest said this to her a few weeks back, "Yuck. I can't believe you are eating baby chicks." Thankfully, the true reality did not phase my two year old.) This is exactly why my oldest is a picky eater. . .

The very day that she associated some of the foods she ate as being animals, was the day she stopped eating them.

Example: 

If you tell this kid we are having chicken for dinner, you will get this response, "You cannot make me eat birds!" The same goes for Turkey. It got really bad when she learned that chickens lay eggs, and figured out that those scrambled or fried eggs on her plate are "baby chicks". She will NOT eat baby chicks. She will not eat steak, because she knows it's a cow, I'm not sure who told her, but it wasn't me. However, she will eat cheeseburgers. As a matter of fact,  she ate one the other day when I gave myself a break from cooking and took my kids to Burger King. (My husband had been gone for all of two hours into a four day business trip, and I caved and brought them to a fast food joint for lunch.) She happily sat and ate her burger (which I'm not even 100% sure if it's real cow) with a huge smile. The real kicker was when we were leaving and I informed my kids that this was a special treat, and that I would indeed be cooking for the rest of the week . . . My oldest said this to my youngest, "Charlotte, put these into your pocket. We'll just have them for dinner."  These = ketchup packets.

So a tip for all the parents out there with picky eaters . . . you can always smother the crap out of everything ketchup packets.

Bon appétit!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Surviving Sickness with the Kids

The past week has been H -E - double hockey sticks. It all started when my youngest got the sniffles. Those sniffles led to a bad cough, which then led to a fever and three back to back sleepless nights for my husband and I. Alright, I may be exaggerating a tad bit... I think we got a half hour of sleep here and there, although, it's not always easy to catch Z's when you have a restless toddler who finds comfort by sprawling herself across your king sized bed and digging her feet into your ribs. Having a cat that decides to plop himself on your back while all of this is going on doesn't really help the the situation either. I wasn't moving an inch though. I was not going to risk disrupting a sick/unhappy child who was finally comfortable and asleep for the night. Luckily, her fever/cold was short-lived, and that following night I was excited to be back on the track of her getting a full night's sleep in her own room, and me hopefully getting a full night's sleep without her footy pajamas in my face. That thought quickly turned to panic when I heard my older daughter hacking like an 85 year old, male smoker the following morning at four AM. Those three nights of cramped up ribs and footy pajamas in my face was nothing compared to what was coming. It was merely just a trial run to get me back in the swing of life with a newborn, except without a newborn. Instead, with a three year old diagnosed with pneumonia.

Let me start by saying, my three year old is the happiest sick kid ever. I would have never known she was ill if it hadn't have been for that old man smoker's cough, which progressively got worse, and the temperature of 104 the following night made it a dead giveaway. As I'm sitting there at three AM on the couch with her, counting down the hours until her doctors office opens, she's happily singing songs, shooting Advil and indulging in sticky grape popsicles. She was in heaven, and I was exhausted and in panic mode. The only time she got upset was when I told her that she was going to have to stay home from preschool because she was sick. I take that back, she did get upset before I took her temperature and I said, "Oh my gosh, you're on fire!" (meaning she had a fever). Note to self: that was dumb, considering she is three, and understandably takes everything literally. She yelled really loud and exclaimed firmly to me that she was not on fire. She forgave me when I said that I meant she definitely had a fever, and we'd have to make an appointment with her doctor as soon as the sun came up.

A few hours later, after refusing to go back to bed, she was still dancing around in circles, thrilled that she had an appointment with her pediatrician. (She loves any and all appointments.) The Advil had done its job and brought her fever way down, and she and her sister were practically doing cartwheels in the doctor's office waiting room. I'm sure the receptionist thought I was crazy for insisting that I had a very sick child that needed to be seen as soon as possible. However, my instincts were dead on, and despite being as happy she was, she was indeed sick. Her pneumonia required a couple different prescriptions which resulted in a trip to two different pharmacies because they both weren't in stock at the pharmacy we usually go to. (Of course.) So picture it: two grouchy kids, one has been up since three AM, the other since five AM, and it's beyond lunchtime by this point. Now throw one very tired mother, who now feels like crap too, and has probably gotten a total of six hours of sleep in five nights. Bad scenario, real bad.

While my kids are sick, hungry and tired, I'm dragging them to two different drug stores to get the meds that are of course not ready for pick up. As I'm handing over my insurance card, my kids are getting their arms stuck in the blood pressure testing machine that they should not even be playing with in the first place. F@*K!  I know people are looking at me and probably thinking 'control your kids', but all I'm thinking about is getting these meds and getting my kids home where they belong. Just cut me some slack, please. We made it home where the lack of sleep caught up to everyone. Tantrums were being dropped like they were hot, and I just wanted to curl up on the living room floor right there with my kids and throw a fit too, but I didn't have time to do that. I needed to make them lunch. That night my oldest ate her first meal in two days, pizza! She had also drank tons of Gatorade which I was happy about, because she had not been eating or drinking much of anything over the past few days. I was thrilled about it, until she went to bed and had a major coughing fit and puked pizza and Gatorade everywhere. I remained 100% sympathetic and genuinely felt so bad for her, but at the same time I just wanted to curl up in my bed and cry. Tired was an understatement.

The following day was a turn around. The medications were finally kicking in for Lanie, and I had gotten a little more sleep. I was beyond thrilled to leave the house for a dentist appointment. Unlike my kids, I'm not a huge fan of appointments... but I'll be honest, having a cleaning and a couple of cavities filled felt like a mini vacation. Thanks for making my dentist appointment not so bad, kids. I owe ya one.

I'm happy to report that everyone is on the mend at our house. I'm also happy to report that I have gotten a full 16 hours of sleep over the past two nights. Up all night, up all day is no longer a trend in our house. Hallef'nlujah!  ;)

Enjoy the blog? Please take a second to vote for us.

The Day We Played Hooky

With the Northeast in the midst of its biggest snow storm of the season thus far, I had a decision to make . . . ship my kid off to preschool, or keep her home for the day? First off, pretty much every other town or city canceled school for the day except for ours. Actually, most schools were canceling for the next two days. Secondly, we pay good money to send her there for the two days a week that she attends so, the thought of her missing school when she doesn't have to kind of makes me cringe. Actually, we literally scrape through our pennies each month to be able to pay her tuition. I'll add in that it's worth every penny though! Thirdly, I don't like making decisions. I wish our town would have called it off and made that decision for me.

There is something about watching the news reports and seeing the school closing list scroll at the bottom of the screen that brings excitement to my eyes. It always has, and always will. Perhaps it's the teacher in me, or the thrill of snow days that I had as a kid that have never seemed to fade away. I started watching the news as those closings rolled by on my screen. My town was not listed. Bummer. I woke up the next morning early, real early and patiently waited to see my town pop up. It never did. To be honest, I was shocked. Some people dread the thought of a snow day for their kids, especially immediately following an almost two week long winter break . . . not me! Bring it. 

So there I was, six AM in the morning, faced with the decision of waking my kids (who are usually awake at that time) and doing the whole crazy morning routine during the beginning stages of a major storm. After talking to my husband, and calling my mother for moral support . . . you know, because of that nagging question, am I a bad parent for letting my three year old play hooky? Well, I opted not to take her. My kids slept until 7:30, we played dress up, jumped on the bed, (shh, don't tell daddy) baked peanut butter cookies, made loom bracelets, had a dance party and made a blanket fort. Best decision ever. I love snow days, even if I'm the one who declared it!

Enjoy the blog? Please take a second to vote for us.

The Christmas Miracles

The past few days have been go go go. I'm actually surprised I'm finding the time to sit down and write about it, or the time to breathe for that matter. The hustle and bustle of the holidays always seems to stress me out. I feel as if Thanksgiving to Christmas is an entire month straight of pure craziness. If you asked me a week ago, that's exactly how I'd tell you I felt - crazy, stressed, anxious, how am I ever going to get all the stuff that needs to get done, done? Not today though. This past week has not only been productive, but fun!

It started when I broke my promise of never taking my kids shopping by myself again. My oldest was desperate for some new shoes for the holidays, so I ventured out on a rainy day, a day that I just didn't want to be cooped up indoors. This shopping trip was phenomenal. Not only did we get new shoes, but we left the store with zero temper tantrums, from either kid. Amazing! I was so impressed by their good behavior that I told them that if they each took a good rest during nap time that I'd take them to visit Santa that afternoon. That's just what we did. I picked up my mom and we went to visit the best mall Santa around. One that usually comes with a long line of hyped up kiddos. Not the case that late afternoon. We only had to wait behind four other families! Again, amazing! My girls were very excited to see the big guy in red, and happily smiled as they sat with him. We were able to get a great picture! (One that did not include me like last years Santa's pic.) Last year they were a few seconds away from nervous breakdowns and I had to jump in the photo at the last minute. Needless to say, I was beyond pleased that I missed out on this photo op.

Speaking of pictures, I declared one day this week to be holiday card photo shoot day. My kids were not thrilled but the candy canes I gave them first thing that morning definitely helped. The sugar high later was a bit of a different story, but all and all I had a few decent shots. My mother-in-law designed a great card for me, and I got those bad boys printed Friday and spent the night addressing lots and lots of Christmas Cards. That tedious task is done! Did I mention, I even found time to bake two dozen cookies with my kids and eat a whole dozen of them? (I shared the other dozen with my husband and girls.)

Over the weekend we spent a day with my dad and step mom. We got our Christmas tree, and my kids got spoiled. A nice lunch, a trip to a toy store, and $48 trip to the candy store. Pricey, I know, but that was only because my husband said that he really liked the look of some dark chocolate turtle candies that my father insisted on buying. We brought them home and I secretly had them for breakfast the next morning. We spent the rest of the day putting up our tree and decorating the outside of our house. The biggest miracle of all was when I dug out our Christmas lights and all of them worked! I didn't even have to spend the usual two hours trying to untangle them. The only thing that's left on my list is a few more presents to buy, and to lose the extra five pounds I've packed on from eating cookies, candies and chocolate Santa's.

I got this . . . bring it Santa!

Enjoy the blog? Please take a second to vote for us.

The Punishment, Terrible Two's and Tantrums

Warning:
This blog contains jaw dropping material . . .
teeth grinding, hair pulling, it's 5 o'clock somewhere content.

Reader discretion is advised.

My goal by writing this is to, 
A. Attempt to relieve my own stress, and
B. Let other parents know that if you are dealing with hard times with your kids that you are not alone.

For the first time ever, both of my kids were faced with consequences that they did not like due to their actions.  Don't get me wrong, they've certainly dealt with consequences in the past due to misbehaving, they've just never dealt with so many all at once.

This morning's adventure out led to coming home early and the kids spending 45 minutes in their rooms. This was followed by no iPad, and no TV for the rest of the day. Just so we are all clear, I don't plop my kids in front of the TV, or let them play Candy Crush all day. They are allowed a little time each day to watch a favorite show, or play an educational game. That's why these times are a big deal. Some may think that a 45 minute time out in a room for an almost two and a three year old seems like a long time, but seriously, that's how long it took my husband and I to recover from this adventure out.

The morning started off fine. They slept well, (for them) and ate a good breakfast. My husband and I decided to run an errand at Target to get some things we needed for our upcoming birthday party for Charlotte. Oh yes, terrible two's! I remember them well since it seems like just yesterday that Lanie was two.

As we parked the car, the usual fuss about riding in the shopping cart started. This is not a huge deal for me. Both of them are typically good when it comes to holding your hand, and with my husband being there it usually makes shopping with them a little easier. It leaves me a free hand to work with. I mean how hard can it be to pick up a card and a stupid paper tablecloth for a birthday party? I said it before and I'll say it again . . . shopping with your kids is NEVER easy. As a matter of fact, I've decided I'm not doing it again until my kids are 12 and 13. I figure in about 10 years or so, it may be a little more manageable. Most likely by then I'll be dealing with a new set of challenges, and I'll have forgotten about all the tantrums they pull now.

When we got in the store my husband went off with my youngest, while Lanie and I searched for the perfect birthday card. That 25 second search turned into my oldest ripping cards off the shelf and throwing them on the floor. When I got down at her level and told her to pick up the cards she lost it saying, "NO, don't you tell me to pick them up. I'm not doing it." Really?! I sense a massive meltdown coming because that crap does not fly well with me. "Lanie, I'm going to ask you again nicely to pick up the cards. Someone worked really hard to put all these cards on the shelves. We need to put them back where they belong." Her response, "NO!" Really?! (a WTF moment). "Lanie, if you don't pick up the cards, I will bring you out to the car." Not only did I get a big fat "NO", I also got a slap in my leg. You bet that shit didn't fly well. My husband saw this and instantly scooped her up, kicking and screaming and brought her out to the car. One down.

Now I'm left with Charlotte and I'm thinking that I'll get my items and get out of there quick. Nope, not the case. Another meltdown, or more like five meltdowns. One in the toy isle that she ran to, one in the clothing department, one by the hair accessory shelf, one at the checkout, and the massive one as I struggled to carry her out of the store kicking and screaming all while attempting to maneuver the shopping cart that she refused to sit in. I could sense lots of onlookers staring, and I was so embarrassed that I could not make eye contact with anyone . . . until I had to. A woman in a caravan pulled up beside me and said "Hang in there. You're doing a good job." A big shout out to that woman. Thank you! At that point I desperately needed a kind vibe. 

Enjoy the blog? Please take a second to vote for us.

<< Click to vote once a day!

The Fun of Fall with the Kids

Well it's official! The heat was turned on and the cool, crisp air has made it's way to Massachusetts. There is something about replacing short sleeves with hooded sweatshirts, and trading in my summer iced coffee for a warm cup, or in my case pot of coffee, that I find very comforting. I love the aromas of Fall too. Warm apple crisp, apple pies, pumpkin seeds and all different kinds of cookies baking just to name a few.

I was never one to bake. I can thank my kids for that. Their love for baking has challenged me to give it my all, and not be so scared of the kitchen. I've done good . . . It's been months since I've set off a smoke detector. The upside to baking with your kids is that 1. It's fun for them, and 2. If a stray eggshell ends up here or there you can says things like, "That's what happens when you bake with small children." For the record: I don't let my kids touch the eggs, but nobody needs to know that.

When I think of Fall, I think of things like Halloween and Thanksgiving. I think of school and the fact that Charlotte, my baby, is turning two! Though I'm thankful for everyday with my kids, Fall brings out the subtle reminders of the little things. For instance, the leaves changing colors and falling from the trees. Though I know the colors are changing right before my eyes, my kids often remind me to stop for a minute and take a look at how beautiful they are. They're right, they are beautiful. For some reason the stresses of that dreaded fall clean up don't always seem so bad when you have little ones. Taking a break to watch the excitement in their faces as they jump in a pile of leaves, or stop to count acorns always makes it just a little easier.

I'm thankful for Lanie's preschool, and all the fun she has there. The look in her eyes when I come to pick her up each day is priceless. She is always eager to show me all the artwork she has stuffed in her backpack, and it's beyond clear that she thoroughly enjoys herself while she's there. I'm thankful for those two mornings a week when Lanie is in school. It gives me one on one time with Charlotte which is rare, and it's really nice.

My kids often remind me to take a step back and enjoy the little things. I thank them for that. As a matter of fact they both took a nap the other day at the same time. I think that has happened maybe three times total. Instead of catching up on housework, I cracked into the Halloween candy stash, sat on the couch with my feet up and ate three mini snickers bars. I'm thankful that Halloween only happens once a year and I don't have pounds of candy hidden in my cabinets. However, I am thankful for that moment. I've dreamt of that stay at home mom, kicked back on the couch, eating chocolate image for so long. It really happened!

Enjoy the blog? Please take a second to vote for us.

<< Click to vote once a day!

Kids Halloween Costumes . . .

Is it really necessary to make

kids Halloween costumes resemble

something a streetwalker would wear?

Sorry kids, NO . . .

you can't be Slutberry Shortcake or

The Wicked Witch of the Combat Zone,

EVER!

Enjoy the blog? Please take a second to vote for us.

<< Click to vote once a day!

A Weeks Worth of Kid Quirks

Boy have I got some quirky stories for you. This past week has been full of them. It all stems from my kids' obsession with Peppa Pig. Specifically, my three year old's. My (almost) two year old joins in on the quirkiness as she likes to follow her big sisters lead, or perhaps it's a payback since my oldest now refers to her younger sister as her "little brother Georgie"(Peppa's pig sibling). For those unfamiliar with "Peppa", she's a pig who speaks with a British accent and has a head which resembles an over-sized, 1970's style, pink blow dryer. It's a half hour cartoon which runs back to back from 5 to 6 pm. It really could not come on at a better time. My kids sit glued to the TV, allowing me time to start dinner without dealing with any serious casualties.

Recently, let's just say, I've developed a love/hate relationship with this silly Peppa Pig show. I LOVE that my kids will sit down on the couch without moving for a full hour. I HATE that my oldest now refers to me as "Mommy Pig", to my husband as "Daddy Pig", and that she'll often introduce herself to strangers by saying "Hi I'm Peppa pig, and this is my Mommy pig, my Daddy pig, and my little brother Georgie." I'm not sure if these so called strangers think that we are visiting from overseas since she now speaks with a British accent, but we're not. Also, my youngest is clearly a girl, and my husband and I are real live people, not pigs.

The other day during the car ride to preschool, my oldest busted out with a really loud "HI, I'M PEPPA PIG" followed by an equally loud pig snort. My youngest chimed in with a "NO! I'M PEPPA PIG", followed by more pig snorts. My oldest was floored by this and yelled "NO, YOU'RE MY LITTLE BROTHER GEORGIE!" This resulted in a very loud, dueling snort match for what is normally a very short car ride to school. That short car ride very well may have been the longest five minutes of my life.

On this same day, my oldest came home from school with two paintings she made. She was so excited to show them off and handed one over to my youngest. It was a nice break from the bickering over Peppa pig. This is what she said "Here Charlotte, I made this for you." My heart literally melted as she sat by our fireplace explaining to her younger sister that she made this extra picture to share with her. Then she said, "It's a giant steak. I made an extra one for you to eat since Mommy and Daddy don't feed us. That's what I said to my teachers at school." Just for the record: I feed my kids food.

On tommorow's breakfast menu: BACON

Enjoy the blog? Please take a second to vote for us.

<< Click to vote once a day!