The end of my insanely cheap pampering routine

My Aunt Marilyn has been going to esthetician school for almost a year now and my mom & I have been her guinea pig that entire time. It's been so fun because we've gotten facials, waxing, peels, and microdermabrasions all for 75% off for being a "case study". Last night was her last night to do treatments and my mom & I went in together. I was going to get my arms waxed, underarms, and brows, in addition to getting a peel/facial. We skipped the eyebrow waxing since it would have been a bit much with the peel she was doing. I got a bikini wax instead. The funniest part of the evening is when my mom & her were talking about waxing the inside of their noses and how it's the greatest thing ever. I watched both of them do it and was slightly horrified. My mom said, "It really doesn't hurt". That's all it took and next thing I know there's a gob of wax and a popsicle stick up my nose. She was right, it really didn't hurt that bad, but I don't think I'll be doing it again anytime soon. I think we're supposed to have hairs in our nose for a reason. My skin looks great today, all shiny and tight, and I feel kind of like a hairless rat. I'll really miss going to her school and getting loads of treatments for $35.

I'm a teenage girl

I am totally obsessed with the Twilight saga right now. It's so silly, but I can't break away from the books right now and it shows when you look around the house. The laundry is piling up, the toys are scattered abound, and I don't really care because I all want to do is read my books. I read before I go to bed, in the morning when no one else is awake, at the gym. Seriously obsessed. I dragged Cory to the movie on Friday night and he was more than willing to go along because he thought it was a movie about vampires. He liked it, but said "That was much more of a love story instead of a vampire story". He's such a trooper! I just finished the 3rd book last night (at 1am), so in a few days our life will be back to normal. (They are all about 500 pages & I'm reading each book in about 3 days) Until then, I'm a reading freak that's cracked out on the Twilight saga and dying to talk about it w/ anyone that will listen.

Tea time

We've gotten a few tea sets in the past 2 years and the girls just started really playing with them. It's fun to watch their imaginations work and come up with pretend scenarios. Ry kept bringing my tea and told me to blow on it. She says "like dis Mommy" and then shows me by blowing on it. So cute.

The end of my sanity

We have pretty much given up naps at the Whyte house. It's not so bad, but I find myself missing that short bit of alone time I had every day. The trade off is bedtime at 6:30 instead of 8:30. These are a few shots of us playing outside during what would be naptime. Like I said, it's not so bad.

Ree the pilot

Ry riding her trike--she can't reach the pedals all the way, so she rides it like a ride on toy.

Lounging on the floor. Very tired, but fighting the much needed nap.

Playdate

We have lots of estrogen going on at our house, so it's always fun to visit the Allan household where they dish out a healthy dose of testosterone. Misty is outnumbered with her boys, but she loves it. Trucks, BBQ grills, dinosaurs, horses, construction equipment--you name it, the Allan house has it. We had a playdate yesterday and the #s were even--4 boys and 4 girls and it was so much fun. R&R love their boyfriend Zackary and Baby Lane, or Baby Yane, as they like to call him. It was a great day for us!

I need a helmet

It's amazing how quickly language develops and we've been seeing the girls make huge progress everyday. The sentences have started completely flowing out and we just laugh at some of the funny things that are being said by R&R. Today, my mom & I took the girls to the mall and we walked right by Cactus Bike. I couldn't resist the shiny bikes inside and we wandered in. The girls were immediately squirming to get out of their stroller, so I obliged and they started playing with the tricycles. It was so cute and Ry immediately climbed on and yelled out "I need a helmet!". My mom and I just started cracking up. It was so funny because it was clear as a bell the way she said it and also because she hasn't had to wear a helmet for anything yet, so we wondered where she got the idea from. After they were done w/ the trikes they moved onto the bikes w/ training wheels. They liked the boy bikes that were flourescent yellow and orange. Daddy would be so happy. No princess bikes w/ streamers :)

A day at the park

 

We went to Tumbleweed yesterday afternoon and it was crazy busy.  MLK day and everyone was out of school.  The girls had lots of fun on the swings,

 

driving the fire truck,

 

riding the race cars, and 

 

going down the slides.

Storytime

Sometimes bedtime can be a production at our house, but we try to stick to the usual routine of bath, books, lights out. We have a library of about 20 Dora books and they get read every night among other books. I am so tired of the Dora books, so I decided I would make up a Dora story to tell instead. Tonight's story was all about potty training. It went something like this: R&R are starting out on an adventure with Dora & Boots. They need to get to potty forest to get the shiny new potty, but first they have to sail down pee river, climb up panty mountain, and then get to the potty forest so they could use their brand new potty. Seriously, this was my story and they were loving it, at least for awhile. Ryan fell asleep before the story was over and Reese said "more potty forest Mommy". At least I have one fan at storytime.

I had a glimpse

of what life would be like with 4 kids. Romelo & Haley came over this morning and we've been going non-stop since they arrived. It started around 10am and they just left at 5pm. We went to the park, played out front, ate lunch, played out back, took baths, played some more. I'm exhausted. Cory got home at the tail end of it and kept telling me, "See, two is great". It was a lot of work today, but SO much fun!

Our favorite snacks

spinach smoothies (banana, frozen tropical fruit, spinach, yogurt)

Raisins, bananas, & granola (don't the raisins look like rabbit turds?)

Baby fever??

Every day I think about having another baby and when will be the right time. There are days where I'm totally ready for #3 and then there's days like today, where I think "two kids is just fine". We had a morning of tantrums and so much drama. Reese tends to overreact to the slightest little problems and today was no exception. She threw a fit when it was time to get dressed (it took almost an hour), another fit to get shoes on (didn't get them on until we got to our destination), another fit that I wouldn't let her play w/ the motorized coin bank. Then she pooped her pants and was totally devastated. Meanwhile, Ryan put her shoes on the wrong feet and when I tried to take the shoes off, she got soooo upset and was rolling around on the floor crying. This all happened before 10am. So, today is a day where I'm happy to be taking my pack of pills, but tomorrow the thought of #3 will creep into my thoughts again. I really hope that we can get pregnant this summer for a spring baby in 2010. Of course, nothing ever turns out the way you plan it, but that's my hope and desire.

Our new favorite trick

We are raising monkeys instead of children. The latest and greatest at our house is moving furniture around to get to anything and everything they want/need. They push barstools up to the counter top to climb up. These pictures were taken this morning while I was making a bowl of oatmeal. I had taken it out of the microwave and was letting it cool off before eating it. I heard the barstools being pushed across the kitchen and came to find the 2 of them hovering over the bowl and taking bites with my giant spoon. They both took turns eating with the gargantuan spoon while causing all kinds of mischief.

Tired Puppies

We went to a birthday party today in Phoenix that was loads of fun. The girls ran around and played for 2 hours with friends. Even though they took a nap today, we wore them out again chasing each other and playing monsters. It's only 7pm and we're winding down for bed. It doesn't happen very often where they sit still like this. I seized the opportunity and took a sleepy face photo.

I'm fairly certain...

this is not what Little Tykes had in mind when they designed the Cozy Coupe for toddler play time. Of course, our monkeys have found another way to play with their toy. Look at their faces--they know they're up to no good!

I love you too

Today I laid down with R&R at nap time and I was lying in between them on the bed. We were all starting to drift off and I said "I love you Ry, I love you Ree." Ryan rolled over, gave me a kiss, and said "I love you too, Mommy. Weesie, I love you". Ree replied, "I love you." It was the sweetest little lovefest. Then, as we all drifted off to sleep, Ry rubbed the palm of her hand up and down my cheek. Ahhhhh!

Another haircut

Ry didn't really want to get her hair cut.

Still resisting.

The finished product.

She's very happy to be back on the couch with her blanket.

Ree said no to the haircut.

We were only able to style her hair w/ a bow.

I've decided that Ry will have bangs and Ree will grow hers out. It will be the easiest way for others to tell them apart

8th floor window party

 I love this picture.  Cory took it the day we were leaving San Diego.  Mimi & Papa's condo is on the 8th floor and the master bedroom overlooks Seaport Village and the San Diego bay.  This is Ry standing in the window sill with the city view in the background.  I think it looks like she was superimposed into the photo.  They both loved standing in the window watching the world go by.

Welcome to 2009!

We had a wonderful week in San Diego at Mimi & Papa's downtown condo. It was a great way to round out 2008. This has been an amazing year for us with R&R and I can't wait to see what 2009 will bring. I'm sure it will be pure joy & excitement. There were so many funny things that happened this week and as we're driving home now, I'm trying to remember them all.
Since my parent's condo is in the downtown area we saw our fair share of homeless people bumming around. As we were walking towards 5th Ave, Ree saw a homeless man with a white beard and yelled out "Santa, Mommy, Ho Ho Ho". It was so innocent and sweet, and the guy did kind of look like Santa with his long white beard.

On the evening of New Year's day, we took a drive to Coronado Island trying to see what was left of Christmas lights and decorations. The Hotel Del had taken their Christmas lights down, but the big pine trees that lined the downtown area were still lit up. Ry yelled out "Christmas Tree! Another Christmas Tree!!" She did this every time she saw a tree, which was every 10 feet it seemed.

The condo is near a SD trolley station and also the railroad line. I love the noise and hearing the trains go by. So do the girls. They would stand in the window sill and scream "Hi Choo Choo!! Mommy Train, Baby Train!!" Baby Train was the trolley and Mommy Train was the railroad train.

2008 was such a wonderful year for us and we continue to be blessed in every way. We look forward to all the wonderful things that this year will hold in store for our family.