Knock Knock

My kids don't fully understand the concept of knock knock jokes yet, but occasionally their creativity makes sense.

Apani knocking twice on the window.
Me: Who's there??
A: Bug
Me: Bug who??
A: Bug you!

Kids say the darndest things

Or should I say Disturbing...

At what point do I start to worry? There are no problems at school, but at home, it's another story.

These are a handful of quotes from Apani, in just the past few days.

"I don't want to live with my family anymore."
"I hope that I'll be happy when I grow up."
"You don't care about me!"
"Let's talk about all the things you don't like about me."
"I want to cut you up and make you bleed."
"I hate everybody."
"I know you want to cut me up so I can die because you don't care about me and don't love me."

A conversation.
"I wish I could have some candy too"
"I bet you do, but you've been yelling and calling Kaitlyn names the entire ride home."
"I also called my family idiots!!"

Where in the world does a 4-year-old come up with this stuff?

The hateful things come up when she's punished...so I imagine she says it because she's upset. She has to punish me, I guess. However, do these things have to be so disturbing?

~~~

On a good note ...
Maddy is talking up a storm. She's like a little sponge and every day she is picking up more. So I started a list of all the things she can say and it's quite extensive...I think, anyway. How many words can a 20 month old say?

It's made things a lot easier when she wants something, however, when I don't understand her, it makes her tantrums much worse.

Here's a list, mainly for my amusement, when I can't remember these days.

apple
Abby
again
boo
book
bug
bumble Bee
ba-ba
baby
Bart
bed
*bean (as in jelly bean)
Bert
banana
backpack
blue
boo boo
bath
blankie
bubble
bye
broccoli
broom
boom
butt
caillou
celery
clean up
chapstick
cheese
cow
cup
*chips
*candy
*chocolate
*cookie
*cracker
cold
cuddle
cereal
down
daddy
duck
eat
ewww
eyes
flower
Freshtown
french fries
grandma
grandpa
gabba gabba
hat
hot
help
hi
home
here ya go
here it is
hello
hide
hug
ice
*ice cream
juice
jump
jammies
Kaity
kitty
kiss
moo
meow
mine
mommy (I'm no longer mama)
milk
move
me
more
no
naptime
nose
night night
ouch
outside
phone
pretty
pee pee
purple
pop
pen
pillow
poop
punch
pop tart
puppy
pants
quack
remote
sheep
shop
simpsons
spoon
stinky
spongebob (I have no idea how she knows who he is. They aren't allowed to watch it...at least not with me.)
tv
truck
two
teeth
up
uh oh
unicorn
vacuum
woof woof
weee
wet
woah
water
yay
yucky
yummy
yup
you

*she's got all the important stuff down pat

What do you speak?

Kaitlyn's teacher had a story about Kaity for me.

"Kaitlyn, do you speak English? You speak English, right? What did you speak in Brooklyn?"
To which she replied, "In Brooklyn, we speak American."

I'm a GLEEK...and so are my kids!

El bought me the Glee soundtrack. So between that, watching Glee and American Idol, Maddy has become quite the little singer. As soon as we get in the car, she has requests!

I don't know if these are as funny as I think they are, but I just can't stop laughing!! Try not to mind the mess. This is what happens when Maddy refuses to nap at home several days in a row. Laundry sits in the basket waiting to be folded, while another pile accumulates to be washed. And toys, there will always be toys on the floor if the kids are awake!



Watch how into it she gets in this one. Apani was getting jealous though, so I had to tape her too.

Dinner, is it really that time already??

Of all the housework that needs to be done, there's only one thing we can count on happening pretty much daily...dinner.

I hate cooking. No, I don't hate cooking. The hardest part is figuring out what to make...the rest is easy. Lately, I've been feeling so full at the end of the day and I shouldn't. We eat early! The problem is, my meals are too heavy. I like cream cheese. Really, I feel like my cooking repertoire is too limited:

You can count on:
steamed broccoli or green beans
corn or peas

Then:
potatoes, pasta, egg noodles, or rice

And of course:
Meat of some sort, usually seasoned similarly. ... I don't do fish.

I just didn't have the energy to think this week. Tell me what to cook and I'll make it. But El never gives me any ideas. The kids, just want cereal. I could totally do that, especially in warm weather. Thus, my ambition to cook is more than lacking. El, on the other hand needs his meat.

So, rather ambitiously, before I wrote my usual grocery list, I pulled out a cookbook. It was a Christmas gift from my mother a few years back, but had become a fixture and was only collecting dust. It's time to put it to good use. I picked out 5 recipes for meat and 5 for veggies.

My menu this week is

Garlic Lime Chicken
Beet and Orange Salad

Roast Pork with Raspberry Sauce
Sweet Potato Casserole

Chicken Supreme
Old Fashioned Baked Beans

Meatballs in Cream Sauce with Linguini and Sauteed Asparagus ( I know, pasta)

Spinach Stuffed Beef Tenderloin w/carrot mashed potatoes (Yup and more potatoes, but hey, I'm trying really hard!)
Lemony Acorn Squash

So check my food blog more often, especially if you want one of these recipes. With the new recipes, I'll have to share the successes and failures!

The Spring Concert

Tonight was the girls' Spring Concert at school. Apani was so nervous. Every night leading up to it she told me she didn't want to go. Thankfully she has such a great big sister!



It was so cute. I'm so glad we went. When I first found out about it, I was upset because it was mandatory but scheduled after their normal bedtime. I was also nervous about Maddy being cranky but we left her home...she actually wanted to go to bed early. Could that be any more perfect? So it was just the girls, El and I and it was adorable!

We made it there early enough to find seats in FRONT! I couldn't have planned it any better. Except that a little girl with a huge flower in her hair stood right in front of Apani. Ugh!



Sorry the video isn't steady. Apani was cracking me up. And then the look on Kaity's face as she turned to her for a moment...priceless!

Potty Training

Maddy has been ready since January. I have not. She was doing so well. Peeing all the time. But I was lazy. I didn't want to deal with it just yet. It's hard to bend over, my tummy is huge. I'm exhausted and oh-so-tired all the time. Though I told myself if she would poop on the potty I would become strict and actively pursue potty training.

Well, a few days ago, Maddy pooped on the potty!! Yay Maddy!!! It was time to pull out the panties, move the potty to the living room and pretty much stay home bound for a few days. I was all ready. I had my bribing candy (lollipops and jelly beans, both of which she says very well.) However, since then, she wants nothing to do with the potty. She won't even pee anymore. Ugh!

I was starting to give up when in Nursery today, I saw some struggling. I asked if she wanted to go to the potty. Of course she said no. I was not going to give up, tho. This child is ready to be trained and I had gummy bears! So after informing her of this special and new-to-her treat, she walked to the restroom. She picked her stall and after a little hesitation, success! As she ate her bears, she peed in her diaper. Bummer. But maybe this week will be more successful.