It's Halloween!

Today is Halloween! YAY! I am so excited. Kailee is now at the age (going on 4) where she is also excited about saying "Trick or Treat" and "getting treats" from people.

Sophia's costume was a piece of cake -- I inadvertently found it while shopping around one of my favorite stores (Marshall's). She is the world's cutest ladybug. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all of the tulle! Results are in -- She is just the cutest ladybug you have ever seen??

Kailee, on the other hand, is at the age where she knows what she wants to be. So, a month or so ago I asked her what she wanted to be for Halloween and this is how the conversation proceeded to happen:



Kailee: "I want to be a scary monster." pause "I don't care if I scare Sophia."
Me: "That's not very nice. You don't want to scare your sister."
Kailee: "Well, OK. I just want to be a nice monster."

She is growing up so quickly!

I soon realized that I'm not very creative and I didn't have a clue where I could find an age-appropriate, non-scary monster costume for a 3 1/2 year old. hmmm...So, I did what most mothers would do. I convinced her that she wanted to be something else. :) Her next suggestions was "I wanna be a pirate! AARRRGGGHHH!" I love my 3 year old.

Now, this I could do. I checked local costume shops and looked online. I couldn't believe that most of the pirate costumes for 3 year olds were laden with skulls & crossbones. Seriously? That DEFINITELY isn't age-appropriate -- or appropriate at all, in my opinions. After scouring the internet, I FINALLY found one. It is actually a buccaneer costume and it was so cute.

The results are in -- I have the cutest kids in the world! I have been so blessed...and I cannot wait to trick-or-treat with them in just a couple hours!

One of THOSE days...

Wow! Has it ever been a long day? I am asking myself, once again, why I am still up. Sheesh...

The day started off great! My friend, Catherine, called me to ask if I wanted to drive up to the outlet mall with her in Gilroy. I have put our family on a VERY STRICT budget for the next few weeks but I thought it would be fun to go up and hang out for a while. The girls were great, I had a nice time chatting with Catherine, and we got to eat at In & Out Burger!! Woo Hoo! I had never had their food and it was amazing! I definitely recommend you go there sometime if you get the opportunity. You can find their "location finder" here.

Again, let me stress how good the girls were today. We had a great time...We got home and I put Sophia down for a nap (she only slept about 30 minutes in the car) and Kailee and I started to lay down together. Then I realized that Seth had a meeting at 4:00 (Catherine had told me about this in passing -- her husband and Seth are in the same company at DLI) and I didn't get the usual call from Seth requesting a ride from one side of post to the others o I decided to call him. It was 8 minutes til 4 and his response was "Oh crap!" Great! He had forgotten about his meeting. I rush out to the car, put in the car seats (I rode with Catherine to Gilroy this morning), get the girls back up and head out the door. Whew!

We pick up Seth and drop him off on the other side of post making him only about 10 minutes late instead of 30 or 40 minutes late. Now, I was determined to get the girls down for a nap and maybe sneak in a little shut-eye myself; only to realize that it just wasn't in the cards today. Sophia (who usually sleeps REALLY well) just wouldn't go to sleep, she kept crying. Ugh. So, after about 20 minutes of listening to her cry I decided to go ahead to Wal-mart to try to return a few things and to Marshall's to see if they have the costume Kailee wants for Halloween. It went straight down hill from here!

Let's just say that we never made it in Marshall's, they wouldn't take my broken merchandise back at Wal-mart (who knew Wal-mart had a 90 day return policy-- I guess I'll be sticking with Target after all), and Kailee about drove me over the edge! It was insane. She just wouldn't listen! I don't know what got into her! I swear she was taken over...it was a BATTLE even getting back home. Thank God Seth decided not to stay late tonight (like he usually does on Wednesdays) or else I may have lost my mind! Ok, so, not really but I sure felt like it!

By the end of the night I felt like I was going to pull my hair out. Seth had a little studying to do so I went to Seattle's Best and got a hot chocolate (THE BEST IN THE WORLD!!) and proceeded to Marshall's and Target to look for Kailee's Halloween costume. It is amazing how hard it is to find a pirate costume for a 3 year old that doesn't have skulls and crossbones all over it. I never did find a costume but I had a nice relaxing time out.

As I went in a few minutes ago to check on the girls, I felt this overpowering wave of guilt come over me. I spent so much time "yelling" at Kailee and punishing her the last 1/2 of the day; and I was so upset at her...What is wrong with me?? She is my baby girl!? I knelt beside her bed tonight as she slept and I ran my fingers through her hair telling her "I'm sorry" all the while praying for God to give me patience and a gentle reminder that these girls are only on "loan" to me. He has entrusted them into my care and I need to cherish that. Does that mean that Kailee will not be disciplined any more? No, definitely not! But it does mean that I am going to try to look at her rock instead of the computer screen when she asks (even though I have already seen it 1/2 dozen times!), I will read Sophia the book she has been toting around asking me to read (in her own special "I can only say two words at a time" way) to her instead of folding the laundry, errr...I mean sweeping the floors. (the same laundry has been on the back of the couch for 2 days. Whoops!) I love my girls. They are my life! I need to remember to slow down and enjoy them -- not see them as a burden or a headache. I don' t do this enough!

So, I have learned my lesson for this day and I REALLY am holding back the urge to pick Kailee up (my little girl who is growing so quickly) and rock her for a while...Remember that a day isn't something to get through, it is something to be LIVED!

Good night world! I will continue to pray that tomorrow will be better. I am not perfect but I can definitely be a good mother to my children -- with the help and love of Christ.

Growing Up Girls

I just can't believe how long it has been since I last posted a blog!! Time really gets away from me sometimes. It's crazy!

Things are going really well around here. Seth is still taking Farsi classes at DLI. I can't believe how much he studies and how much he knows!! He took the practice DLPT (military language exam) today and Monday; he doesn't feel very good about the "listening" portion of the exam. I am really praying he did well. He studies so hard and puts everything into this -- it would be great to see him get some sort of validation from all of it.

Sophia turns 2 next month!!! It's crazy. Every day it is something new with her. She is definitely coming into the "terrible 2's", that's for sure. Just today I put her in my bed for a nap (since my room was cooler) and she started banging on the bedroom door (she can't quite get the hang of opening the doors). When I went in to check on her she handed me a 1/2 open container of deodorant. Ewwww....I took the top of the rest of the way to see teeth marks in the top. YUCK! Upon further inspection, there was deodorant caked on her pacifier. When I asked her if she had eaten any she started making a horrible face and opening her mouth -- her tongue was white and pasty. Really?? Of course, I cleaned her up, tossed the bed sheets in the washer, had her drink a cup full of water (which she was happy to do...), and put her back to bed. Whew. Another day in the life of the mother of a (almost) 2 year old. She is also starting to climb out of her crib! I guess she watched Kailee climb in and out of it (to play with Sophia in the mornings before mommy rolls out of bed) and decided to try it herself. Imagine our surprise when, on Saturday morning, Sophia came strolling into our room with her blanket and "pac". hahaha. Gone are my days of laying in bed for an additional 1/2 hour while Kailee and Sophia play in the crib. :(

They are growing up so quickly.

I looked at Kailee the other day, really looked at her, and I couldn't believe what I saw - my toddler was not a toddler any more. On one hand it makes me happy -- more freedom for us as a family to do things together-- but on the other hand I was/am sad. Where has the time gone!!?? Kailee is so tall. We have been marking her height on the side of the refrigerator (very civil, I know) and she has grown every time we mark it (every couple of weeks). Her little round belly is gone and has been replaced with the scrawny little girl that is so sure of herself most of the time. Then you have those times when she just wants to cling to her mommy and daddy. She has gotten into the habit lately of, when she gets in trouble, repeatedly saying over and over: "I WAAANNNTTTT DDAAADDDDYYYYY!!!" I guess "saying" isn't quite appropriate; it is more like "wailing". I wonder what would happen if I decided to do it back to her? Maybe I'll give it a try next time. :) I'll be sure to post the results.

Sometimes I just can't believe how much God has blessed me and my life. What did I do to deserve such an amazing family, a roof over my head, food, etc? I will praise Him all the days of my life!

I will go for now. There is so much I want to say but it is already getting late. I am going to try to post more tomorrow -- get everyone caught up on what is going on in the Middleton household. :)

Until then...