"A Marker Just Fell on My American Girl!"

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My sweet, emotional, caring, empathetic, compassionate girl, Maddie, is very tender hearted (as you can imagine by the descriptors I've used here). I'm trying to make sure she isn't afraid to tell me anything and everything.

But I guess that worry about getting in trouble is an inherent worry for all little kids.

My darling daughter was playing with her American Girl doll and her Target-brand Our Generation dolls in her room after school today. She yelled down to me: "Mama, can we dye my American Girl's hair?" Um, no, no we can't.

So after another half hour . . . she came downstairs crying. "Mama, I need to tell you something. There was an accident."

My first thought was she had somehow hurt herself or one of her brothers, but no, in her world this was something far worse.

"Mama, I was playing with my American Girl doll . . .and a marker fell on her head! . . . and now, she has orange hair." Tears, and more tears.

I said to her: "Mad, it's OK, but I'm wondering if a marker REALLY 'fell' on your doll . . . or if perhaps you tried to dye her hair . . ."

You decide . . .

We had a talk about being honest, and that I would rather her make a mistake and tell me the truth about it. She seemed to get it. We'll see the next time her American Girl needs a makeover!

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In other news . . . Natey took a tumble in the driveway this morning. It's a sloped driveway, and he just couldn't quite manage it. Poor little man!

He cried when he fell, but was over it so quickly and back to his happy self. Love him!

Some Pictures . . .

This is my second attempt to add some pictures . . .not sure where in cyberspace my first attempt landed. Hm . . .

Oh My!

Oh my! That just about sums up my week: oh my!

Trying to get a six-year-old to agree to keep her eyes open while you put eye drops in is an exercise in futility. Seriously. She is going to have pink eye for the rest of her life.

Trying to get a three-year-old to not push his baby brother over every.single.time he approaches him is another exercise in futility. There is no stopping him. He is going to be a linebacker, and I (and his baby brother) will be able to tell him "we knew you when."

Trying to get a 15-month-old to understand that standing up in the bathtub is not a good idea is, yep, you guessed it, an exercise in futility . . .at least until he gets a bit older. He's lucky he's super cute.

Oh my! Now we just have to get through Friday . . .and onto another week. Hoping for healthy kiddos for next week! We need a break from the sickies.

Oh my, indeed!

A Second Article - Homemade Baby Foods

I forgot to post my second article for Suite 101. Check it out (although you probably already have -- and I thank you for that!).

I've made a whopping $.28 so far. (And yes, that's cents, not dollars!) So I'm not going to get rich from these articles, but it's nice to have something published.

Working on two more articles, but it's slow going. I need to publish 10 articles by mid-April, so send me your article ideas!! I need some new ideas.

Anyhoo . . .here's the link to the second article on homemade baby foods:

http://infantstoddlers.suite101.com/article.cfm/homemade-baby-foods-made-simple

A Birthday, Valentine's Day, and Pink Eye

I turned 36 last week. Why is it that I feel like I'm 12, but when I look in the mirror the gray hair and wrinkles tell me that yep, I'm 36.

Had a terrible birthday. Just a sucky kind of day where you know it's going to be sucky from the moment you get up in the morning. I got through the day though, and the next day was much easier.

My kiddos were delighted by some Valentine's Day cards and presents from me and Daddy/Chris (my sweet hubby) -- sweetly purchased by Daddy. Maddie got two books, Alex got a Yo Gabba Gabba video, and Natey got a Baby Einstein DVD. And Chris got roses for me. Lovely! I got gum for him . . . he's doing P90X and following the diet, so gum was about the only thing that would work (and keep us on budget).

And to top off the crappy birthday/sweet Valetine's Day . . . Alex (our 3-year-old) got pink eye. Took him the doc to discover that he also had a terrible ear infection. Terrible, truly terrible, ear infection. That would explain his possessed-like behavior at the doc office that morning.

And then today . . . yep, looks like Maddie (our 6-year-old) has pink eye too.

Hey, at least my kids share!

It's the Simple Things

I haven't been feeling very well. Natey is sick with a sinus infection and strep throat, and I may have a touch of that. So today was a mediocre day . . . full of the typical stresses with the addition of a sore throat, aches, fever, etc.

Sometimes though it's just the simple things that can make the day seem a little bit better . . .

Maddie's drawing of a horse -- wow! Just wow! That girl can draw.

Alex playing Little Big Planet like the world depends upon his success in this game. "But Mama, I NEED to fly up and catch that . . ."

Natey . . .nearly falling as he ran toward the back of my legs and grabbed on . . .with big giggles as he clutched at the back of my knees.

It's really amazing how the simple things can fill up this Mama's heart.

A Good Night's Sleep Does Wonders . . .

Natey slept nine hours last night! Meaning: I got to sleep SEVEN hours STRAIGHT!! It was heaven.

I feel well rested today . . .and I haven't felt this way in a long, long time. It's a nice, nice feeling. ;)

Sleep, oh how I miss thee!

I love to sleep. I could sleep 10-12 hours and be very happy about it. Unfortunately, my children take after their Daddy and don't need much sleep to function happily.

It's funny, but lack of sleep is one of the toughest things for me about being a parent . . .especially a parent of a baby/toddler.

Nate (my 14-month-old) is still not sleeping through the night. Maddie and Alex were sleeping through the night by this age -- maybe up early for the day, but still sleeping through the night.

He was up twice last night -- both times to nurse (because, yes, while we've started weaning, we're still doing the middle of the night/early morning and bedtime nursing sessions). And he eats, he really eats both times. It's not like he's using me a pacifier -- unless I'm just an idiot -- he nurses for about 20 minutes each time.

And while I don't mind nursing my sweet boy, I often feel frustrated because I'm so exhausted. But I read a really moving story yesterday that reminded me once again of how blessed and lucky I am -- so I'm trying to cherish each and every moment I have with my children . . . even the middle of the night moments.

So sleep may be elusive for a bit longer, but that's OK . . . I'm going to cherish that time with my baby before he grows up and doesn't need me in quite the same way.