Tiny Talk Tuesday

I don't exactly have any cute sayings to share this week, but I do have a funny scenario that's worth sharing. Here's how it goes...

Last Friday we decided to go out to eat with some good friends of ours. This couple has 3 kids, and their little girl is close to Kyra's age. They were having a great time hammin it up at the table and being able to sit together. Well, one of them finally had to go to the "little lady's room." And of course if one has to go, you know the other one spontaneously has to go also. So we took them to the bathroom. Kyra's friend went first. When it came to Kyra's turn, the only stall left was the small one. And although I still usually go in with her (in case she can't reach the toilet paper), I figured she would be fine on her own (after all, her friend just did it). Not even moments after she locked the door, she began to scream with all her might. I frantically asked her what was wrong, but I couldn't understand through her sobs. My guess was that she had fallen into the toilet! Of course since she locked the door, I couldn't open it to help her. And I certainly didn't think I could crawl under the stall. Quickly, her friend volunteered her services and whipped under the stall and unlocked the door. All this time, Kyra is still frantic and crying. I finally run in the stall only to find everything looks....normal. I attempted to ask her one more time what the problem was. And under her distressed voice, she whimpered that there was a spider on the floor! A spider! All this panic was over a spider. I found the spider, stomped on it, and we were on our way. Of course it took Kyra a good 5 minutes to recover after the incident, and us adults had a good chuckle at the other end of the table. I guess her friend saved the day!

If you want to read more tiny talk, just visit Marys.

Christmas Lists

One of my favorite things to do as a child at Christmas time was to go through the S*ears or JC*Penny catalogue and find all the new and great toys of the year that I wanted to put on my Christmas list. My sister and I would scour through the catalogue trying to find the greatest and latest things. Then we would start numbering our papers. Of course my sister would always be the winner. I think one year she came up with 102 items on her list! Needless to say, I don't think she was ever a trouble to shop for. Perhaps it was one of my Mom's way to keep us occupied for awhile so we wouldn't say those dreaded words..."I'm bored Mom, what can I do?" In fact I'm sure that's one of the main reasons she had us write out our lists, because know I'm in the same spot she was in oh so many years ago.

So, when Kyra asked me what she could do the other day, I thought why not make a list? I know she isn't quite old enough to write everything down, but she could cut and paste. So I showed her what to do, and she was hooked. I thought she would make one list, but not her... she made six lists! Of course to her defense, two of them she made for "Katie's list," but I'm not sure she even consulted Katie on that one. I think she would have pasted the whole catalogue if she could have. Of course I think the true attraction was just cutting and pasting (a new favorite since pre-school). So if you come over to our house in the near future, you will see list galore on the fridge (let's just say the fridge is covered in a lot of pink!).

Zoo Adventures

Now that we have had snow flurries for the last 4 consecutive days, I thought it a good time to share some pics we took a couple weeks ago when we were having record 70 degree weather (here it is only two weeks into "winter" and I am already longing for the warmer temps...this is going to be a long winter). The first week of November was simply put a beautiful week. The fall colors were still vibrant and yet it was warm enough to go outside without a coat. My sister in-law and I decided to take advantage of the weather and take the kids to the zoo. I only wish I had planned ahead more, because when we arrived there, the trees were so colorful and mesmerizing, it would have been nice to have the kids in coordinating outfits so I could have taken their picture (for Christmas cards?). Oh well. It was truly lovely though watching the leaves slowly trickle down to the ground, as they lay to rest for the season.

What a great day to go to the zoo! Because it was off-peak season, we paid half price and the crowds were minimal. Even the animals seemed to be a little more active. Kyra's main goal was to see the lions. The whole trip, she kept asking when we were going to see the lions. I think she must have asked me at least 20 times. I didn't even know if the zoo had lions! Fortunately, she finally got her request. We reached the end of the zoo, climbed 3 flights of stairs, and saw 1 lion, and 2 lioness'. At first they did nothing but lay there and sleep, but just as we were about to leave, the 2 females got up and began to play. They even went as far as to splash in the little ravine that was in there home. After nearly 15 minutes of watching, I literally had to drag my girls away from the plexiglass. I'm not sure what the sudden fascination in those animals were, but both girls loved them. I only wish I got some pictures of their playful activity. I had left my camera at the bottom of the stairs and wasn't about to drag 2 little girls down and up again to retrieve it. Now, nearly two weeks later Kyra is still playing "lion" and running after Katie while roaring in her loudest roar. It was truly a nice outing.

Pizza Lovers

I thought I would join the bandwagon and add my picture to the 5 Minutes for Mom Fun with Food Photo Contest. This was a picture taken when Kyra was just over 2 years old. She has always loved helping her Dad and me in the kitchen. Here she had the opportunity of fixing a pizza with Grandma. She was so careful too, to do it just right (still is). What a great duo.

Here is another picture just for fun on a Friday (but not for the contest). As long as we're on the subject of food, I thought I would add a picture of Katie with taco salad. She was 1 1/2 in this picture. And sadly enough she's still about as messy as she was then! Oh well, makes life interesting.

November Giveaways

I just learned that the women at 5 Minutes for Mom is doing a MONTH of Christmas giveaways during November (thanks Jenni)! They will be having tons of giveaways over the next three weeks. I know I certainly love giveaways. They also have information about a great program called Under the Tree. So go on over and take a peek!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

I only captured one of my kid's captions for the week, but it was worth sharing. Here's what Kyra had to say:

While watching daddy try to get the combine unstuck from all the mud:
Me: Well, we've got to get going. I hope you and your brother can get it out.
Daddy: If you didn't have the girls with you, I'd ask you to just drive the tractor and you could try pulling me out.
Me: Unfortunately, I don't know HOW to drive a tractor, remember?
Daddy: Right.
Kyra: Mommy, in the morning when it's light outside I could show you how to drive a tractor. I know how. My daddy showed me how to drive the combine and the tractor. Don't worry, I'll teach ya!
(Love the confidence of that girl. Unfortuately she doesn't know Daddy just taught her how to steer....driving is well...a little different!)

If you'd like to read any other cute kid talk, just visit Mary's.

Halloween

This year we certainly got our use out of the Halloween costumes. Not wanting to buy new costumes (although I suppose I could have put something together from things around the house, which so many resourceful people seem to be doing these days), I borrowed the girls costumes this year. I asked Kyra what she wanted to be, and she answered "a princess." Of course, I should have known. Fortunately a friend of hers let her borrow one of her dress ups. Then another friend said she had a ladybug costume she thought would fit Katie (and another for Kyra just in case she changed her mind). Perfect! Everything was set. We picked up the two costumes and prepared for the special day.

Well, wouldn't you know, when we went to visit my parents in Chicago, Kyra changed her mind. She now wanted to be the Lion. That was fine, because at least I had the costume in tow. They looked cute together, and that was that. Then, came Kyra's Halloween party at school. I thought she wanted to be the Lion again, but she said this time she wanted to be something different. I got out the princess costume, but in the end she decided to be an M&M (which is what she was last year). She said it's perfect, "I was the lion last week, I'll be an M&M today, and for Halloween I'll be a princess!" This is what happens when you give a girl too many choices....they want to be it all. Oh well. I was just glad we had everything. She came back from her party that afternoon and couldn't chat enough over the party. She said all the kids were chasing her, yelling they were going to eat her because she looked so yummy! I thought that maybe it scared her, but in turn she liked it (and I think liked the attention too).

Finally, it came time to head to some good friend's house to go trick or treating. I told her to grab the Princess costume and let's go. "But I am an M&M today mom!" I know, but you said you wanted to wear the Princess costume for Halloween. "For another Halloween Mom, I can only be one thing a day" she said. What logic! Whatever girl, let's go.

So, we went trick or treating on one of the nicest evenings I've ever trick or treated on. The kids didn't have to wear jackets, and because of daylight saving time being so late this year, we were able to go while it was still light out. And the funny thing was that at every door Katie said "twick or tweating!" every time. We couldn't get her to just say trick or treat. Too cute. After finally seeming to get enough candy went home, sat down and traded their loot, while making fun little spider cracker treats after all the excitement. Yes, this Halloween was a lot better than last year!