*Sigh*

Amelia woke up with a fever again today and I knew we were headed to the doctor.  Of course it's tax season, so Drew couldn't help out with Maddox.  *Sigh*...I so dreaded the next couple of hours.  They fought all the way there, mostly because Maddox wanted to play and Amelia wanted to be left alone.  Once we got to the doctor's office, Maddox refused to be carried and walked.... I mean, splashed, in every puddle in the parking lot.  Soaking wet, we approached the door where I knew another fight was coming.  They both reached for the handicap door opener button thing.  Amelia got there first and Maddox punched her.  Before I could even check in at the front desk, Maddox was doing a timeout....a very loud timeout, at that.  They called us back after about 10 minutes.  Doesn't sound like we had a long wait until you think about what all Maddox did in those 10 minutes.  He managed to completely empty the waiting room of every ounce of hand sanitizer.  He soaked himself even more with the water fountain and I swear, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him lick a chair.  I forgot to mention that he was also constipated so every 5 minutes or so he would run to me screaming.  He would put both of his hands on my arms, bend over and scream.  Lovely. While we sat in our room, I thought I had both kids distracted with some crayons and coloring books.  Then I remembered Maddox had learned to open "handle" doors.  He left the room while I was holding sick little Amelia.  He seemed quiet out there so I didn't panic.  Two minutes later, he came back to the room with about 10 suckers and 5 stickers.  I asked him several times to take them back and he refused.  Somewhere in there, he hit me and did another VERY loud timeout.  So loud, that I was embarrassed and sweating!  After his timeout, he went to return his loot.  I would have followed him to make sure he was on the right track, but the doctor was starting to test Amelia for strep and the flu.  She went crazy.  She hates anything down her throat or in her nose.  I looked up and both  kids were screaming.  Amelia had a q-tip so far up her nose, I was actually worried and Maddox had a hand full of tongue depressors from....well, I have no idea where he got them.  I'm assuming he fell on the way back from his "treasure hunt" and that's why he was crying.  I decided there was nothing left for me to do but to call Drew.  I didn't want to yell or scream at him, I just wanted him to hear exactly how my day was going.  Both tests came back negative, tongue depressors replaced, stickers and suckers put back in the basket and off we went.  I feel certain the entire office erupted in applause at the sight of our Saturn leaving the parking lot. *Sigh*  The afternoon has been better.  It's amazing what lunch, a nap, and a good poop will do....Anyway, I think this picture pretty much sums up this yucky Wednesday.

Martin Luther King Jr...Amelia style

Had to write this down while it was still fresh in my head.  At dinner tonight, Amelia informed us that she heard a very sad story at school.  We asked her what it was about and this is what she said.  "Mrs. Scott told us a story today about a man named John King.  He was a white man who wanted to be like his father but someone killed him.  He had a dream and it was boring."  Close enough?

And while I'm thinking about it....This is THE best time with Maddox.  He is so kissy and huggy and I LOVE it.  He can be completely into his cars or blocks or Toy Story stuff and I can say, "Maddox, can Mommy have a kiss," and he comes running.  I know this won't last long so I'm soaking up every minute of it!!

"Just Like You"

My sweet Amelia is going through a stage where she wants to dress like me, act like me, and look like me.  It all started a couple of nights ago when she saw me wearing a new pajama set.  They weren't anything special...just a flannel shirt and matching pants.  But she fussed and fussed over them. So while I was out shopping yesterday, I picked her up a similar pair.  We made plans to have a "girls only" night.  This special occasion would include baths (separate, of course;), new pjs, an episode of Good Luck Charlie, and snuggling in my bed.  She was so excited.  As soon as she put her pajamas on, she looked me up and down.  She insisted I take her hair bow out so her ponytail would look just like mine.  She placed her adorable little size 10 house shoes right beside mine and climbed into the bed the exact same way as I did.  We were both lying on our blankets when I could feel her staring at me.  She said,"Mom, I want to be just like you."  What a precious moment!  Just as we were starting our show, she said, "Mom, now I only need green eyes like you, glasses like you, and yellow teeth.  Thanks Amelia.  I love you, too!

Thanks, Matt.

It's like a toy store in this house these days and the kids are having a blast.  We had such a great Christmas with my family and am so happy to have had that time to spend with them.  Family is all gone home so the only thing left to do is to try out every new toy.  Tonight was beauty shop night.  Amelia had told her uncle Matt on the phone that she wanted an Ooh La La salon for Christmas.  She loves it.  It really is adorable but it has a water bottle.  So if you are lucky enough to have Amelia do your hair, prepare to be soaked.  What a fun time we had!

I looked like a clown but had the best 30 minutes of my break.  Thanks, Matt!

Our 25 Days of Christmas

Amelia and Maddox are so excited about Christmas this year.  I knew I needed a way to count down and keep them entertained.  I had Amelia help me make a calendar for the month of December.  Then we picked out 25 different activities we could do as a family every night leading up to Christmas Eve.



 Here are just a couple of Christmas crafts we have done over the last couple of days.

Rudolph

Decorated the Playhouse

Frosty



We also sat down and wrote letters to Santa.  So sweet!

And by far, my most favorite thing to do is to hide Crystal, our elf.  Just a couple of her hiding places.....

I LOVE Christmas!!  To be continued......



Just 5 minutes

I don't think I ask alot from my kids....use good manners, be respectful, clean up after yourself.  So I did not feel one bit guilty today asking them for 5 minutes.  I needed this time to close 2 jewelry shows that have been hanging over my head.  I gathered them both over and we had a conversation that went something like this.  "Mommy has to get a little bit of work done before we can go to Grand Nana's tomorrow.  I don't want any screaming, fighting, or crying.  It will only take 5 minutes.  If you behave while I'm working, we will do something special together afterwards."  They agreed and off they went.  It was great, really.  I was able to get my computer out and start my work.  I heard no crying or yelling, just laughter.  Lots and lots of laughter.  It soon turned into squealing and shrieking so I just kept typing.  After all, I heard no crying.  Every mom knows that game.  You hear a loud bang....wait for the tears...if there are none, you continue what you were doing.  So I did.  After about 5 minutes I finished, just like I promised.  I yelled for the kids and well, the rest....
there are just no words.

Yes, you are seeing this correctly.  It is a black marker mohawk.  Some of Amelia's best work, I might add.  How about a different view?

Not to be outdone, Maddox did some fabulous work on his legs.

And the artist herself....

Let's just say bath time was an event.  But hey...it washes right off, they had a blast and I got my work done!

Time is just a flyin by....

October 11th, really??  It's hard to believe that I'm busier now that Amelia is in Kindergarten than I was when she was home with me all day.  September went by like a flash.  Somewhere between pumpkin patches, bronchitis, and Amelia's birthday, fall arrived.  Amelia has been in school 7 weeks and I thought it would be appropriate to share everything she has learned at school.  It's amazing how much they learn when they are young.  She is speaking Japanese perfectly.  (I mean I assume she is....I can't understand a thing she says.)  She has learned the National Anthem and a ton of other fun songs they use for reading.  Speaking of reading, it is so awesome to cook dinner and listen to Amelia read books to Maddox.  Her writing has improved so much and she can count to 100.  She does it at least 10 times a day.   And her proudest school moment to date is when she was named "Top Dog" for the Kindergarten class.

Along with the great stuff she has learned, she has brought home some other information that I could do without.  For example, Isabel had to sit in time out for wiping boogers on Jackson's face.  Really?
Oh, and she found out another word for passing gas...I'm so not fond of that F word.  And by far the best lunch time conversation she had was finding out that Breanna's mom had to call the "cops" to make someone leave her house.  Holy cannoli!!  Overall, she digs school.  It's just so sad to see how much she has grown up since starting Kindergarten.  Don't get me wrong, she still wants to snuggle, she still needs me to kiss her ouchies, and most of all, she still thinks I know everything.  Hope this lasts a little longer because it will break my heart when she doesn't "need" me.

And Maddox.....well let's just say God really knows what He's doing.  If Maddox were my first child, I'm afraid he would be my only.  He's a mess...full of life and trouble.  I simply do not have enoung time in this post to fill you in on him....It deserves much more of my time.  And if he will leave me alone for 10 minutes, I may be able to write about him soon;)  Until then......