Lots of kid stories and some bling!

So today started out as kind of a boring day. I was feeling lazy and unproductive (probably just crashing from too much activity the past few days). Erick worked 6am-2pm. McKenna didn't have school so we played in the backyard a lot but I was just feeling kind of unmotivated to do any housework or even to work out. Then Erick came home and he didn't want to be bored hanging around the house so he took us to the mall. We ate at Key West Express which is sooo good. Much better than the normal crap they serve in the food court. Stuff like a Salmon Avocado Melt and Lobster Tacos. Yum! We also stopped at Naartjie (one of my favorite kid clothing stores! They're so bohemian stylish but very comfortable so they can wear them to the park and be able to play.) We got Kyla a couple of these woven tank tops to layer and a little Poplin hat. We got McKenna a pink & white layered dress to go over some jeans and this pink headscarf to go with it. Cute, cute stuff.

And then!!!!!! We made the final payment on my ring! They'll have it sized and ready for me tomorrow! I'm so excited! And I'm so glad we did lay-a-way and didn't take out a line of credit to pay for it. I may have had to wait a few months to get the ring BUT last night Erick checked our credit score and we are now officially in the good credit category!! Woohoo! Totally worth it! So tomorrow (since I still have a gift certificate from my Dad and Erick's parents gave me some birthday money) I'm gonna have a couple of hours of "Mommy time" at the mall to do a little shopping and then I'm gonna pick up my ring! I can't wait!

Ok, so I've been saving a bunch of kid stories that I wanted to record so I don't forget these silly things as the girls get older. So if you're bored by kid stories then this is your stop. If you're entertained by the anecdotes of a 3 1/2 and 1 1/2 year old then read on.

KID BITS!
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McKenna likes to play restaurant and will "take our order" with a little pad and paper. Our recent conversation:

McKenna: "Ok, what can I get you for dinner?"
Mommy: "Let's see.....we would like some sushi."
McKenna: "I don't have sushi. I just have ham."
Mommy: "Oh. Ok then we'll have ham."
McKenna: "Great. And how about some water for the baby?"
Mommy: "Sure. That sounds good."
McKenna: "And what else?"
Mommy: "Let's see. How about a salad."
McKenna: "Salad. Ok, what else?"
Mommy: "I'd also like some green beans."
McKenna: "Ok, and what kind of treat do you want for dessert?"
Mommy (trying to instill a little health consciousness): "I'd like some peaches please."
McKenna: "No. Peaches are not a candy. You'll have ice cream."

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I've been practicing my driving a lot lately and this has been a challenge when McKenna is in the car. Being the typical talkative 3-year old, she's always full of questions and since I'm usually the passenger, most of the questions get directed to me. So even when I'm driving, she's used to asking me what she wants to know. And she decides now is the time to pull out the BIG question....

"Mom, how did Jesus become not dead on the cross?"

Ok....no pressure right? I know I have an answer for this but I need to put it into terms that a 3-year old can understand and my mind cannot do this and concentrate on driving on the same time (not yet anyhow). So I said to her "You know what McKenna....Mommy is driving so I'll have to talk to you about this later."

And SHE says (with the most disappointed voice I have ever heard from her) "Oh. So that means you don't know." GASP! What a stinker! Thankfully we had a red light so I got a second to gather my thoughts so I could explain to her about the Holy Spirit.

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McKenna came home from school the other day with red marker in her hair.

"McKenna...why is your hair red?"
"Well, I'm just sorry."
"Why are you sorry?"
"Because I put red marker in my hair."
"And why did you do that?"
"Well, I just wanted to look like Ariel."

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She's very into playing baseball in the backyard. Here are things you can overhear her say as she plays:

"Aaaaaaw YEAH!"

"Let's go baby!"

"YES! I am SO funky fresh!"

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You can tell that I'VE been dealing with the DST forums too much lately. I told McKenna "Ok, it's time for you to get ready for bed." To which she yelled at me "NO! I HATE BED!" I said "Well, you're entitled to your opinion however I think you should work on the presentation of your opinion as you could have said that much nicer."

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You can also tell that McKenna listens to me mutter under my breath as I watch the gardeners with their weed killer. Because this afternoon I saw her looking out the window and saying in a menacing tone "Don't you spray my dill. You stay away from there!"

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Kyla calls EVERYONE Daddy. She KNOWS that I'm Mommy because she'll say it when she REALLY wants something good from me. But other than that, whenever she needs anything (whether Erick is home or not) she calls out "Daaaaadddeeeeeee!"

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She's learned stop and go! And she uses them at the right times! When she feels the car start to slow down she yells "STOP!" and when we start to accelerate again she yells "GO!"

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She likes to "work" with Mommy. She pushes her little chair up to my desk and stands on it right next to me. She writes on a little pad of paper with a pen and every couple of minutes she leans over to give me a sweet little kiss. : )

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She has three reactions to being caught doing something naughty:

* Either she keeps her head down and freezes in her tracks. I call this her "playing possom" tactic. She thinks if she doesn't move a muscle then maybe we won't see her.

* She will jump a mile when we say "Kyla Elizabeth!!" and then she instantly starts babbling away as quickly as she can. You just KNOW that in baby talk, she is giving us an excuse! I call this the "Nervous and Guilty" response. You know how when some people get caught they immediately try to weasel their way out with too much false information?

* She will get MAD that she's been caught and will walk away from her trouble zone and walk over to our printer and start opening and slamming the paper tray, all the while yelling in angry babble. I call this her "teenage girl" reaction and it won't be long before she's slamming her bedroom door and telling us "I hate you! You're so unfair!"

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The sit 'n spin that we got the girls for Easter has been a big hit. McKenna sits on it and sings along to the Dora the Explorer song and giggles and spins and spins. Kyla will sit on it with her back towards the steering wheel and she'll just sway back and forth and sing. I believe she thinks this thing is just a glorified place to sit and sing.

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EASTER PHOTOS

Since we had already done professional photos of the girls in their Easter dresses and since Easter morning was so cold and I knew they'd be playing outside all day, we decided to just dress them in casual, comfortable clothes. So the four of us just went casual for the day.

We had brunch at my sister's and it was very relaxing (for me at least, I didn't have to cook or clean so it was quite nice!) The kids were all really well-behaved (save for a few sneaky moments from Kyla who likes to steal things when we're not looking)and got tons of goodies and treats (when did Easter become a gift-giving holiday? When I was a kid we just got candy in a basket and that was that.)

Then we came home for naps and after that had dinner at my in-laws. I think it was one of my MIL's best meals ever! Baked salmon, honey-glazed ham, carrots baked with maple syrup, candied yams, stir-fry asparagus, green beans w/bacon, cheesy scalloped potatoes, warm rolls....it was sooooo delicious. Cooked carrots is a dish I never thought I'd like but drizzle it with a little maple syrup and WOW! Now you're talkin'!

Here are some pics that my Mom took from the brunch at my sister's. I hope everyone had a happy Easter! I'm gonna settle in with some new scrap supplies, a bowl of Jamocha Almond Fudge ice cream and You, Me and Dupree. A good night.