40" Rapunzel

We went to Costco today and it was one of those trips where you are there for hours and you walk out scratching your head, wondering what you just bought for the obscene amount of money you spent.

The girls found a life size Rapunzel doll in the toy aisle and Cory and I both said, "No way, we are not buying that".  1) It's way too close to Christmas AND your birthday. 2) The doll is slightly creepy (we didn't mention this to them but it is. 3) It's has 3 feet of doll hair that is going to get tangled in 2.5 seconds and she will look like White Trash Rapunzel as soon as she's out of the box. 4)  She cost $50! We never spend that much on dolls or toys.

We walked out of there without buying her but it was big time meltdown mode for both of them.  I told them they had money in their piggy bank and they could come up with the money to buy her.  They literally raced into the house, opened their piggy banks, put all their money together, and called Mimi to go right back to Costco.  I made my mom swear that she would NOT buy it with her money and make them use their own.  I was kind of sick about it but it was their money and they've never really spent any of it.

So now Rapunzel lives with us. They dress her up in their clothes and play with her.  I come around the corner sometimes and she freaks me out.  The other day I walked out in the garage and she was standing up against a bike.  I screamed. Loud.

And I was right about her hair.  She's WT Rapunzel now and my secret name for her is RaChucky.

I guess if the girls are happy that's all that matters.  

Tooth #4 for Reese

The tooth was dangling but she needed A LOT of convincing to pull it.  Cory is really good at that stuff.  I tend to get squeamish and want to rip it out quick so it's over with.  Here he is analyzing the situation.

 It truly just popped out and there was barely any blood, so you know that sucker was ready to come out.

Here she is showing off the gap to all of us.

  I've been trying to take photos at night, indoors without using my flash.  It's tricky because the ISO has to go way up but then the quality of the photo gets compromised.  I'm still working on it but this was one I took without using the flash and it turned out OK.  I adore all their sweet smiles!  Ryan is holding up the tooth fairy pillow I used when I was a kid.  They each have their own but prefer to use this 'vintage' one of mine

After that we assumed the usual position for bedtime stories!

Reese got a really special treat from the tooth fairy--gum and a $1 bill.  We never chew gum in this house and she's been begging for it lately.  The tooth fairy must have heard her pleas and decided she was responsible enough to chew a piece once in awhile and then brush her teeth right after.  We'll see.

12 in 2012

1) A trip for Cory and that consists of getting on an airplane and spending 3 days away.  We've been talking about it for awhile and I want to plan something soon.  I think Seattle would be a fun place to go.  Or San Francisco.

2) Save up a significant chunk of change in the next 4 months.  We have plans for our house and we're working hard on socking the money away that we need.

3) More one on one time with each kid.  We started doing some date nights with our kids but it was hard to be consistent with Cory's soccer schedule and my obligation to the twins club.  My term is ending soon and we should have more free time to spend with each kid.  The goal is one date night a month for Cory and I with each kid.

4) Learning my camera & Photoshop.  I have ordered my new camera and it's coming soon.  There was a Groupon that just came up for a class and I've signed up for March 4th.  I'm really excited.  After that I'm planning on doing the Photoshop class.

5) This one is a rollover from last year, but I want to visit somewhere new in AZ that we haven't been before.  Ryder was a doozy in his car seat last year when we took road trips, so we were NOT jumping at the bit to hop in the car for extended periods of time.  He's gotten much better so we'll add this one back to the list.  I'd like to check out Tubac, Bisbee, & Grand Canyon.  Maybe not all this year, but that's the list I've got.

6) This one can tie in with #2 but I would like to spiff up the house with either a new coat of paint on the inside and redo the carpet in our living room.  It's time for a few updates, but the money plays a big role in making this happen.

7) Stick with my gym schedule of going MWF to the gym at 5:15am. I've been doing really good but got a bit derailed with the holidays.  I'm back on track, but I have to be diligent about staying with it because it's easy to get off track.

8) Take a new parenting class.  There is a speaker that came to our twins club last year to talk about parenting based on the premise of 'Love & Logic'.  It was great stuff and I would love to take a 6 week class for a refresher.

9) Do a couples Bible study with Cory.  We just started going to a new church and we've been pretty happy so far.  I want to get more involved and one of my goals for 2012 is to take a class that we can do together.

10)  Get 2 new real estate designations this year.   Before the girls were born I was on the fast track to getting my CRS designation.  It's kind of like getting a master's degree in the world of real estate.  I'm about halfway finished and I really want to receive that designation in the next year.  The only challenge is that classes aren't offered very often.  I also want to try to obtain my ABR (Accredited Buyer's Representative).

11) This one may seem so trivial and I feel kind of silly writing it down, but I want to try to not buy anything new until I absolutely run out of the current product or item.  Example is shampoo, face products, makeup stuff, etc.  I have SO much of this and when something new goes on sale I find myself digging up a coupon and making up an excuse of why I need it.  Our bathroom is overflowing with crap that is begging to be used up.  I also feel this way about clothes in the closet.  I've received some awesome hand-me-downs from my dear friends and I'm not buying anything new for at least 6 months, maybe even the entire year.

12) SLOW down and smell the roses.  A cliche, I know.  But I tend to go about 90 miles an hour and I really want our family time to be #1 priority.  We only have about 6 months before the girls go to Kindergarten and are gone all day.  I have a bit of anxiety about this but I know they will be ready when the time comes.  I just want to soak up this time with them and enjoy every moment together. 

Tiger mother

I dowloaded this book on my Ipad late Friday night and finished it in a few hours yesterday.

I found it fascinating and somewhat horrifying all at the same time.  It's not the way I would ever raise our kids but I was mesmerized by it.  I think it was such a great read for me because her parenting style is SO different from mine and she is a great storyteller.  The book is so honest and I found it to be endearing and funny at times.  Her daughters are turning out to be brilliant, talented, gracious, and well adjusted girls so maybe there's something to be said for her style of Chinese parenting.  As I said, this parenting style will never happen in our world but it's nice to see the other side of the coin and helped open my eyes to maybe making some more structured choices for our family.

Boy or girl?

We’re taking guesses.  Does it look like a girl or a boy?  It looks WAY better than when we had a 3-D ultrasound of the girls.  We laugh that they looked like squished fish because they were so crowded.  This baby looks pretty adorable.  Can't wait to meet him/her.

Fireball

Reese has been a fireball this week when it comes to sleeping in the crib.  She has been avoiding bed time and always wants to be where the action is.  Last night I got her to sleep by crawling in the crib and laying with her.  The three nights before that she slept in our bed with us because it was impossible to get her down to sleep.  Ryan is our little sleeper and she goes down without any fuss.  We think Reese is just going through a phase, but we'll have to see how the next week goes.  I'm not doing well with the 'cry it out' method because I think it's going to emotionally scar her.