Vote for the Kids!

As you'll see to the left, I entered the kids in the Gap Kids casting call. Just for fun. I went online initially to vote for my very cute neighbor, Owen, and decided to enter our kids too (I'm sure I was just procrastinating from doing some household chore). All 3 kids are available for voting now! You should be able to click on the link to the left to see her picture and vote. (Ok, seems you'll have to register with your email address and a password before you can vote- sorry for the confusion!) You can even vote once a day through November 17th!

It's Cookie Time!

Back in the 1920s, Girl Scouts were required to bake their own cookies to sell. I'm thanking modern technology that that's not the case today, but thought it'd be fun to share the original recipe!

The Original Girl Scout Cookie Recipe

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp. milk

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add well beaten eggs, then milk, vanilla, salt, flour, and baking powder. Chill. Roll thinly, cut out and bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle sugar on top. This recipe makes 6 or 7 dozen cookies. Enjoy!

Girls Scouts

Casey is embarking on a new adventure this year- Girl Scouts! Technically speaking, she's a Brownie, which are Girl Scouts in grades 2 and 3. She talked her BFF, Isabel, into checking out a Brownie meeting and both girls loved it. Right now, it's a small troop, about 5 girls, with a few more hopefuls coming at the next meeting.

During her first meeting, she learned about the American Flag (she loves patriotic stuff) to earn her first Try-It (a triangular badge for her vest). She practiced reciting the Girl Scout Promise and Law, played games, baked (what else?) brownies, and had an all-around good time.

Her first Brownie adventure was Sunday early afternoon (thank goodness the Ravens played at 4:15!). The troop gathered at Bear Branch Nature Center for their annual Monarch Madness festival. Emma tagged along and had a great time as well. They made butterfly and caterpillar crafts, learned about the life cycle of the monarch, saw monarchs in their various life stages, watched monarchs get tagged and released (monarchs from this part of the country fly all the way to Mexico at this time of year!), and even had one land on them. I believe she'll get some sort of butterfly badge for her vest as well.

We'll see where this new adventure takes us. The Brownie troop meets three times a month (siblings not welcome, unfortunately) and has many weekend outings. Not to mention: Girl Scout Cookies sales!

The Language of Emma

hanitizer

translation: hand sanitizer

re-memory

remember + memory (can be used in place of either word)

No, I amn't!

translation: No, I'm not!

Follow Your Dreams...

I came across this very inspiration Thai commercial for Pantene shampoo. It's very long compared to US commercials and I'm not entirely sure what it has to do with shampoo, although the girl does have beautiful hair.

I'm a tiny bit embarrassed to say that it actually made be tear up. It's a story of a girl who beat the odds and came out on top. Who doesn't love that story?

I like the message that it sends. Never give up. It doesn't matter what other people think. Follow your dreams. Casey is always worried what other people will think of what she does, what she wears, what she says, etc., etc. In one respect, it makes her a very well-behaved child and a good student. On the other hand, it takes away a little of the "Casey" in her when she is always trying to please everyone else instead of just being herself. We tell her that she can do what she wants, think what she wants to think, wear what she likes, and she shouldn't worry what anyone else thinks about it. I guess that's easier said than done with a child, but we're working on it.

Flu Shot Fun

Each year, we choose to get our family vaccinated for the seasonal flu. We do this for a number of reasons, including the fact that 36,000 people in the US die annually from the seasonal flu and over 200,000 are hospitalized with flu-related complications. Vaccines have all but eradicated certain diseases (polio, measles, mumps, etc.) in our country and have decreased deaths from other diseases substantially.

And while all of that is well and good, it is still no fun getting shots. Definitely not for the kids. Jacob had his 18-month check-up yesterday and got his shot at that time- much to his displeasure. Today, our pediatrician's office was trying a new procedure for administering flu vaccines- a walk-in flu clinic.

Now, Emma watched Jacob get his shots yesterday and immediately started crying that she did not want to get a shot. Despite my best efforts to distract her from the topic, she cried all the way home and at home as well. Jacob didn't cry as much- and he got two shots!

Fast forward to this morning....Both girls wake up anxious about getting their shots. Chris and I are rock/paper/scissoring to see who has to take them (I lost). I bake cinnamon rolls to help ease into the AM and both girls, at this point, are assuring us that they are going to be brave.

Expecting a long line at the "clinic" at the pediatrician's office, we get there about 10 minutes before it starts (thankfully we got there early- the line was outside and around the building 25 minutes later when we left). When registering, the woman tells me that Emma would be able to get the FluMist insted of the shot. The FluMist gets "squirted" into the nose. Much to her disappointment, Casey is not eligible to receive the FluMist because she has asthma. I break the good news to Emma- that she won't have to get a shot after all. Expecting relief and excitement from her, I was surprised when she started crying and saying she wanted to get the shot. I thought she'd clearly come to her senses when I explained it to her again. She did not. She insisted she wanted the shot so that she could be brave.

The appropriate paperwork is filled out and, thankfully, our wonderful Dr. Chung calls the girls back. He's so good with them and they adore him. Emma volunteers to go first but continues to cry to Dr. Chung and tells him she wants the shot, not the mist. We both raise our eyebrows and shrug our shoulders at this unusual request, and he goes to exchange her mist for the shot. Sure enough, she hugged me, got the shot with a little nose crinkle, and was done. Emma definitely knows what she wants and it's wise to choose your battles with her. If it's a shot she wanted, a shot she would get. (I hope she's still feeling brave next month when she has to get her 4-year-old booster vaccines at her check-up.)

Casey...another story. She started crying as soon as Em was done. I felt so bad for her. She wouldn't come near the exam table. It was worse than trying to catch our cats to put them in their carriers...mostly because my heart was just breaking for her. She moved from one corner of the room to the other while crying- at one point threatening to bolt through the door, until we could finally corrall her and coax her onto the table. Once up there, she continued to sob and kept her hand over her arm - I couldn't even pry it off. Eventually she relented and, as soon as she felt the shot, she stopped crying and said, "Oh, that was it?" and smiled.

I have a feeling it was a long morning for the doctors and nurses at Carroll Children's Center today!

The Weekend...

After a dreary and rainy Saturday morning and afternoon of getting done some necessary chores and playing some games, Casey and I had a fun big girl's night out. Casey loves bingo so I took her to a Vera Bradley/Longaberger basket bingo that benefited a local 4-H horse club. She was so tickled and had a great time. We had some fun snacks and Casey played all of her bingo cards like a pro! And, our luck was on! I won a cute VB bag with lots of scented lotions and soaps inside. Casey won a VB bag too- she was so tickled to yell bingo! Inside was a gift certificate for a free horseback riding lesson at a local farm so she was doubly excited. (Of course, the free lesson will probably lead to more expensive lessons, but, oh well. She's convinced that one day we'll let her have a horse in our back yard.) We both won door prizes too! She was so excited to come home and tell her dad all about her fun big girl time! It was so neat that such a simple treat made her so happy.

Today, the kids and I had PURPLE FEVER! Ravens opening day, of course. Chris was rooting in spirit while taking care of those who had the unfortunate luck of having to be in the ER (luckily he was home in time to enjoy the later games). After church, we donned our jerseys and headed across the street to have a football play date with our friend Jodi and her adorable son, Owen. We shared good food, good conversation, fun play time, and loud cheering for the Ravens who, by the way, pulled out a win! Their 1-0 record is leading the league!

I couldn't decide which of these 3 pictures to put on the blog because I like the smile of one kid in each one. So, I figured that since I'm the boss of my blog...I'll put all 3 in. So there! (Thanks to Jodi for taking the pics for us.)

The Toddler Contract

Dear Mom and Dad,
Thank you for your interest in remaining my parents. Below is a list of my demands.

The Toddler Contract

I. Food

1. For breakfast, there will be only milk from my sippy cup while I'm watching television (see section II).

2. From breakfast until what you probably call lunch, I will be provided with an unending supply of cookies. No arguments.

3. For lunch I will eat yogurt. Anything containing fruit on the bottom will make me pick out the fruit and throw it on the ground or else throw it up on your carpet.

a. So, no fruit on the bottom.

4. From lunch until dinner I will enjoy having something to lick. Why not a lollipop? Why not seven?

a. Between licks, I may place the lollipop on your grandmother's Turkish rug. This will be okay by you.

5. For dinner I will have macaroni and cheese. Any attempts to give me vegetables in addition to the macaroni and cheese will result in tears.

a. And don't you dare hide anything in the cheese sauce, because how you will rue the day.

6. After dinner, you may provide me with ice cream.

a. No frozen yogurt. Trust me, I know the difference.

II. Television

1. The TV will be on all the time, unless I say differently. You are to sit by my side, quietly, hands folded in lap, while I watch my shows.

a. You may arise to fetch me a snack.

2. No diaper changing or pleas to engage in physical activity will be tolerated during watching of television.

3. Turning off the television will result in much kicking and screaming.

III. Toys

1. There will be many.

a. They will always be strewn about the house so that I may simply reach down and pick up a toy, no matter where I am.

b. They will be loud, uncomplicated, and contain many small pieces. I enjoy shooting noises that go w-shooooop! or zim zim zim.

c. Nothing that results in any type of learning, please.

IV. Friends

1. They should be available whenever I'm in the mood to use someone else's toys or ingest someone else's cookies.

a. These friends may not ever so much as look at my toys or cookie supply.

b. Ever, ever, ever.

V. Sleep

1. Is when I say, where I say, and how I say. If I want to sleep upside down with my legs locked around your neck, then that's how it will be.

a. And you will enjoy it.

VI. Affection

1. Occaionally, I enjoy being hugged and kissed. I stress occasionally.

2. I will not be pelted with wet-mouthed assaults on an hourly basis. Should you feel the need to hug or kiss, you must provide me with a written request.

a. And then wait for me to offer my pudgy cheeks.

Signed: _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note: I posted this because I thought this was cute and something most parents can relate to in some way... certainly not because I think this is how we should raise our kids!

A Tribute...

...to all of those who lost their lives, their family members, or their innocence on September 11, 2001. And to all of those who've fought in the wars that resulted from the unprovoked attacks on that day. I still remember exactly where I was (at work learning about a new wheelchair), who I was with (Joy, another PT, and Cody, the wheelchair guy), and how I felt when I saw the plane hit the second tower (anguish and horror). I'll never forget.

That Hair!

Emma has the most beautiful hair! Today, she was laying on the kitchen floor (of all places) and looked so cute with her hair all swirled around her head...

Pinkalicious

Today, when Jacob was napping, the girls and I read Pinkalicious, by Victoria Kann & Elizabeth Kann. It's an adorable book with fantastic illustrations. It's about a little girl who, on a rainy day, makes pink cupcakes with her mom. She proceeds to eat and eat them until, the next day, she wakes up and is PINK! She loves it and wants to be called Pinkerbelle or Pinkerella- complete with her pink priness dress and tiara. The mom takes her to the doctor who says she's to eat no more pink foods (no pink cupcakes, bubble gum, or cotton candy). To return to normal, she needed to eat a steady diet of green foods (yuck). As you might imagine, she sneaks some more pink cupcakes until finally giving in and eating her greens to get back to her normal self. At one point, during a temper tantrum for another cupcake, her mom uses a line I love and have whipped out, on occasion, with the girls- "You get what you get, and you don't get upset!"

After the cute story was over, I surprised the girls with their own fun time of making pink cupcakes- strawberry cake mix with pink frosting! They had a great time, minus the bickering over who gets to lick what at the end. It was hard for me to give up control of the decorating, but... I did it!

And, the girls are tucked soundly away in their beds. Emma fell sleep wondering what her teacher will say if she shows up pink tomorrow. No one is pink yet, but we'll see in the morning!

Labor Day Weekend

Happiness is... learning how to pick your own crab! Casey was schooled in the art of picking crabs (and not wasting a tiny bit of meat at $49 a dozen!) and peeling steamed shrimp by me and Kristen on Saturday. Chris isn't a fan of seafood, so Kristen and I usually get crabs at least once a summer. Casey's gone from "ewww", to "maybe I'll have a taste", to eating a third of what we brought home! They were steamed, Old Bay style, to perfection.To round out our taste of summer weekend, we also enjoyed a dinner grilled by Chris, sweet Baugher's watermelon, locally grown sweet corn, and snowballs on Sunday. Mix in some juicy tomatoes grown in our own backyard and- YUM! Oh yeah, and the coconut custard pie, homemade at Baugher's, that is hidden in the back of my fridge- double YUM!

The kids enjoyed the nice weekend weather by playing on the playset and riding their bikes. Casey got a "new" Schwinn bike that I found at a local consignment sale. It's much bigger than her little princess one where her knees practically hit the handle bars with each pedal (but not as big as the Trek one waiting for her to grow a few inches).

Chris returned to work today, after having last week off with the exception of a few meetings. Given the dreary/rainy weather, the kids and I entertained ourselves by making English muffin pizzas, playing with Barbies (in their fantastic new castle- built by Daddy), Bingo, and some Pinkalicious fun!

Awwww.....

...how cute! Welcome to our family, Braydon Kai Neiswenter!

Rub-a-Dub-Dub...

...3 kids in the tub!

First Days of School

Last Tuesday, August 25th, was Casey's first day of 2nd grade. She approached the day with nervous anticipation. She had met her new teacher at Open House and saw the names of the kids in her class. I was a little disappointed that there were only 5 girls in her class- and 13 boys- and that none of the girls were from her 1st grade class (including her best friend, Isabel). Oh well, she took it in stride. Off to the bus she nervously went with her new shirt (which is much cuter in person than in the picture!), new backpack (filled with lots of supplies), new shoes, and new 2nd grade attitude!

She was very tired on her return home at 4:15 that day. Casey always needs a period of adjustment when starting something new. But, now, she's already back in the school routine. She was also very excited that a new little girl, Molly, entered her class on the first day. Molly is new to the area and sits next to Casey in class. I met Molly when I popped in to have lunch with Casey one day and the two have become fast friends. Should be a fun year!

Fastforward one week to today- Emma's first day of "3's" preschool. Mrs. Hawkins is her teacher so I know it's sure to be a good year. Casey had Mrs. Hawkins for two years in preschool and she couldn't be more wonderful. Emma enjoyed her preschool Open House last week and had a chance to play with the class doll house and train table and venture out to the "big kids" playground. There are only 3 boys and 3 girls in her class this year, so she's sure to have a good time and learn lots of fun stuff! She seemed a tad nervous today, asking if I was sure I couldn't come in with her, but, all in all, she did really well. No tears (her, not me)! Afterward, she told me she played playdough, painted (2 of her favorite things), played with the dollhouse, had a goldfish and water snack, peed in the potty, and learned about God. Not bad for a day's work (2.5 hour day, that is). When I asked her what she learned about God, she said, "that he loves us!"

Oh, and she learned the little prayer that Casey also learned in preschool. The kids always look so cute with their "prayer hands" up by their mouths, their eyes closed, deep in concentration:

Dear Jesus,

In all I do and all I say, please be with me all the day. Amen.