Potty Mouth

"Poop!"

*giggles*

"Peepee!"

*snicker*

"Bottom!"

*hysterical laughter*

Had I known that toilet humor was so amusing to a three year old, I never would have given her words to use for potty functions. I just would have called everything "using the restroom"  or "results from the restroom." Somehow I don't think that would have quite the same effect on her when she gleefully shouted it at the grocery store.

But, I didn't. 

So when we go to the store or even just at home, when Caitlyn gets in a silly mood, I know that it won't be long before she is talking about poop. Or peepee. Or bottoms and vaginas. It seems to go like this:

Me: "Caitlyn, what do you want for dinner?"

Caitlyn: "Poop spaghetti!" (running away and choking on her giggles)

Me: "Caitlyn, please don't use potty words unless you are in the bathroom" ( A brilliant rule, if it actually worked). "So, Caitlyn, what do you want for dinner?"

Caitlyn: (runs down the hallway to the bathroom) "I want bottom water and poopsicles! Did you hear me? *giggles* I'm in the bathroom, so I can talk about poop. *more giggles*"

I give up. 

Visit with Chris

If it seems like I am not writing much lately, it is because I have a new man in my life. Well, actually, he is not new- I just haven't seen him in a few months. We talk on the phone, I send him gifts, but now, thankfully, he is here and I get to see him everyday. And don't worry about how Jason feels about this man- if possible, he loves him even more than I do!

Chris is Jason's son, a bright, funny, calculating young man of nearly 7. He has had a place in my heart since I first met him at two, when he was obsessed with ceiling fans, the Wiggles, guitars and shaking his hair. We have been buddies from the start, and I've enjoyed watching him mature and grow. 

Chris really enjoys visiting our home, and we love to watch him interact with his sisters, both of whom are totally enthralled with their big brother. Caitlyn and Chris have A LOT in common, and it is nearly impossible to tell who has the upper hand in the relationship- they keep each other hopping. Chris is very gentle with Lorelei, and he knows just how to transform her tiny little face into a huge grin. 

Our kitty, Nermal, seems to be equally taken in by Chris. While he spends large amounts of time frantically darting away from the kids, Nermal is good-natured enough to allow Chris to lug him around on a regular basis. The two of them like to sit on the deck and watch the birds.

Because we want Chris's visits to be filled with normal family activities, we strive to keep our schedule much the same as it is at any other time of the year. We plan special outings, but no more than we normally undertake when we are just a family of four. Good thing we like to do a lot every day of the year! 

Each day, Caitlyn has a bit of school time, so I planned some lessons for Chris to do as well. He has really enjoyed learning all about space and doing science experiments. He is a very smart kid, and sadly (long story) he was put into an extended, two year long first grade program. However, he easily completes the 2nd and 3rd grade level lessons we have been doing, which is no surprise to Jason and I.

Some of the highlights of his visit here have been:

Celebrating his August birthday a bit early with a Wolverine cake:

Playing with his sisters:

Dressing up (a longtime favorite!):

Playing basketball:

Celebrating Lorelei's 1st birthday:

Having fun at Busch Gardens:

Playing at the park:

To be continued with pictures from our Great Wolf Lodge vacation!

Lorelei's First Birthday

Just one year ago, she was tiny and brand new and only minutes on the Earth. Just one year ago, she could only cry or sigh or stay quiet to let us know how she was feeling. Just one year ago, she fit inside my body, and I was her sole source of nourishment. Just one year ago, we didn't really know her, and our family of four was a new experience.

Just one year ago.

And now, she is bigger every day and an entire year old. Now she can cry, giggle, scream, talk, laugh, grunt, squeal, babble, and pout to let us know how she is feeling. Now she weighs 16 pounds, fits only in my arms, and loves to experience and try all the tasty things the world has to offer. Now our family of four feels natural and content, and we don't know what we would do without our sweet cuddle bug, Lorelei. Now, we know every little thing about her personality, and we continue to learn about her as she learns about herself.

Now. 

What a difference a year makes. What an amazing journey- we love you, sweet girl!

How do we do it?

I am often asked how we manage to cram in so much travel with a family the size of ours- usually people want to know two things: 1. how we afford it; and 2. how we manage it with little kids. I think I've talked a lot about how we manage the kids- we have really high expectations, we plan extensively, we set rules, etc.

The bigger question, for most people, is how we manage to finance all of our travel, especially since I am a stay at home mom. Without going into too many details, here is the answer:

First, I budget pretty tightly- Jason likes to brag that I squeeze the most out of every penny. I was raised with my mom's attitude towards money, and that means I only spend on a credit card what I can afford to pay off that month. We try very hard to keep our "luxuries" realistic. We drive newer, nice cars, but nothing excessive or over the top. We have average cell phone, cable and internet plans, but we don't overdo it- no HBO, no internet plans on the phones. (Who wants to be that in touch, anyway??) Also, we only have one television in our house. We don't watch tv all the time, and we are perfectly happy not having a tv in the bedroom!

Hmm, what else?? I like to cook, and I plan our meals to minimize little trips to the grocery store. In fact, I only spend $350 a month on groceries. I try to watch sales, and I end up getting lots of free things by using coupons. I save a lot on clothes by watching clearance sales and shopping for the next year at the end of the season. For example, I just bought a ton of gymboree clothes for the girls for $3-5 per item. We like to go out to eat, but we don't do it all the time. When we do, Jason and I often share an appetizer and an entree since portion sizes these days are enormous. We budget amounts for lessons for the kids, preschool for Caitlyn, entertainment for all of us, and we try to stick to those amounts. We really like to have nice things and be able to do fun activities, but that doesn't mean that we have to pay a lot to do so!

The result of all of this is that we have enough left over each month to sock away into the vacation fund. Of course, then we are also careful with how much we actually spend to travel!

We watch airline sales, which is how we were able to score $30 flights to Boston for this fall. I also keep an eye on hotel specials- this netted us a cheap hotel at Disney World (40% off!), as well as a great deal on a couple of extra days at a non-Disney hotel that included breakfast and dinner each day. Websites like priceline and hotwire are full of amazing deals, if you know how to make them work for you.

If I know we are taking a trip, I keep an eye out for souvenirs related to what we will be doing. The kids are all still young enough that if I buy a Mickey shirt from the Disney Outlet and give it to them on the trip, they don't realize it didn't come from the gift shop. That allows us to get them a couple of gifts AND spring for something from the overpriced gift shop- what lucky kids!

Another trick that has saved us a lot, while also allowing us to do and see a lot, is to buy family memberships to zoos and museums. Our National Zoo membership gives us free parking in Washington, DC, but also allows us to go to the VA Zoo, the Houston Zoo, and many others for free. Our Living Museum membership gets us discounts to lots of other places, and our Busch Gardens season passes get us discount tickets to other parks, like Sea World.

When we travel, we try to really be able to see the spirit of the city. There are so many free things to do in every city, many of which are unique to that locale and give you a true feel of where you are- we try to take full advantage of those sorts of things. We don't travel to spend time in a shopping mall.

This mentality is paying off for us- with the economy in the tank right now, we are able to take advantage of so many great deals and opportunities. I figure that the more I save in our daily lives and on our trip just adds up to more money we can spend on yet another trip!

Granola mom?

Like at least half of the planet, I am a Facebook addict. Since I am terrible at keeping in touch with people, it is perfect for me- I get to see pictures, updates, news and random tidbits from people I care about, but just don't have the time or energy to call after a long day with two little girls.

Plus, Facebook has all sorts of quizzes that tell me interesting things about myself. For example, I am most like Monica from Friends (obviously), the quote that represents my life is "Knowledge is power," and my purpose in life is as an angel in human form.  Oh yeah, and apparently I am a crunchy mom.

For whatever reason, I don't really like that label, probably because it brings to mind an unshaven woman who lives in a tent commune, but having been "forced" by Facebook to examine my parenting choices, I guess I do have to acknowledge I am pretty crunchy.

Let's see, I've used cloth diapers on both of the girls. Neither of the girls has ever had even a single drop of formula- I've breastfed both of them, and I let them wean themselves. In fact, Lorelei has never even taken a bottle. I waited until both girls were at least 6 months old to start solid food, and even then I made almost all of their food myself.  I still have 6 of the 8 jars of baby food I bought for Lorelei to be used on hectic nights- she hated it.

What else? We selectively vaccinate the girls, although there are only a couple of shots that they probably won't get at all. For the most part, this means that we spread out their shots over a longer period of time.  Lorelei will be a year old this month, and she has only gotten 5 types of shots (rotavirus, pc, hib, polio and DTaP). We got some grief when she was born because we did not consent to the Hep B shot at birth, but I personally think it is more odd than not to give a shot for a sexually transmitted disease to a newborn who is only hours old.

Hmm, we also use a variety of baby carriers, most of which can't be found at Babies R Us. Both of the girls co-slept with us for about 6 months, particularly useful since they were nursing.  I could easily see us homeschooling if we lived in an area with poor schools.

I guess we are pretty crunchy, albeit no tent communes here. : )

Dos Suenos

If I could figure out how to add the tilde over the letter n, then that would read "two dreams" in Spanish. While I've given up on that, I have figured out that is a perfect metaphor for Jason and I.

We are literally two dreams who have come together to live out our lives. Jason grew up in a highly dysfunctional family in California, while I grew up in more typical American fashion (i.e. with parents who divorced and remarried) near Houston, Texas. He grew up to be very successful in school, in spite of his crazy upbringing, and I grew up to be very successful in school because of my upbringing, where education was prized. We both wanted to have a family, see the world and work in meaningful jobs. We both wanted to find a special person we could relate to.

In what is becoming a tradition for the 21st century, we each had a so-called "starter marriage" to people who were totally wrong for us- unfortunate, but at least we learned a lot about what was important to each of us in a partner. 

Now, here we are. We have gone through some of the best and worst times of our lives together. We have supported each other in life-altering decisions, created a strong, united partnership that places our relationship as the top priority for each of us. When I have a wonderful day, I know that I get to share it with my best friend. When Jason has a hard day, he knows that I will be there, waiting to hold his hand and see it through. 

We have the beautiful family each of us so desired. We have so many opportunities for success in the workplace and in life. We are traveling to see the world together. We have blended our two dreams into one, while still honoring the desires of each of our hearts. We have found true love, and more than that, we have found someone in each other who is work working for, worth sacrificing for, worth all it takes to make a marriage last.

I honestly think we have it all.

Day Camp

Caitlyn has been attending day camp through the city recreation center. She goes from 8:30-11:30 each day, and she has really enjoyed it. On her first day, I was a bit nervous because there are only a couple of 3 year olds (and they are old 3s, at that!), and all of the other kids are 5. 

I needn't have worried. Miss Social Butterfly jumped right in, playing and dancing and jabbering away with the other kids.  She barely even waved as I left, causing me to feel both pride and sadness. I'm proud that she is so confident and independent, but at the same time, it makes me just a bit sad to see her skip away without so much as a backward glance. 

When I arrived to pick her up, her teacher came over to me and said, "That girl is something! She is always either talking or doing or both!"  

My response? "Yep. And THAT is why she is here!"