Double Digits

Little turkey is 10 years old today. TEN. YEARS. OLD. 

Due the day after Thanksgiving, the Monday of that week they decided very suddenly it was time to arrive while we were watching Monday night football, and 6-7 hours later we had a baby!   

2015 debut

The year flew by then on 2016 she turned 1 on thanksgiving day  

2016 smash cake!

She turned 2 in 2017 and was a quintessential toddler. 

2017 Santa train

She became a threenager in 2018. 

Becoming a big sister earlier that year, she became a 'kid' to me by comparison to the baby. But there's still that sweet softness to her face and later the tantrums of a toddler. 

Turning four in 2019, we threw her fist friends party at the movies.     

A very happy birthday girl and her (honestly very happy to do all this) mommy

And 2020 was...2020. But she still turned 5, just no* one had birthday parties that year 

 *except dr Soc, we threw him a 40th in February right before the world shut down

In 2021 she started kindergarten and invited her whole class to her 6th birthday.  

The special guest made it the talk of the class! Still very young, but becoming a kid more and more.

For her 7th birthday in 2022 we went to Bounce U. The party started at 6pm, so by 8pm when we were eating most of the kids were so exhausted they were lying on the table as they ate!   

She's lost a few teeth and the baby softness of her face by then. Solid kid age. And her Lego prowess was on point.   

For her 8th birthday in 2023 (I pushed) for another movie birthday (because so easy!) party.

No biggie, just an 18+ | 1540 pcs Disney Villain Lego set for my 8 year old. She did 95% of this awesomeness by herself, and the only reason it wasn’t 100% was because I kept asking if I could “help”

 

In 2024 we went to the Monroe Science Center for her party 

Then Cajun Yard Dog for dinner (we made her share the cake!) 

Which brings us to now, 2025, and yup, we saw this! 

The movie for her party. She and I saw the play a month ago and had a wonderful night out. 

Oh beautiful girl, you made me and your dad parents and irrevocably changed our lives. Happy birthday Little Turkey!

Group Costume

Since Girl 1 could partake in trick-or-treating (i.e. walk on her own because I am not carrying her throughout the neighborhood*) we have themed the Halloween costumes. So the kids don't know anything else and dr soc and I will never tell them otherwise. 

*I did not apply the same logic in 2018 and carried 3 month old Girl 2 like a fool but almost 3 year old Girl 1 still walked when we were My Little Pony

This year we were Mario World:

Rosalina, *Power-up, Peach and Luigi
*people asked if they could punch dr soc a lot and he said yes if he could punch them back

One of my favorite Halloween *group costume stories of all time is from my early 20's and I wasn't even a part of the costume.

*favorite group costume in my early 20's was the sins. Yours truly strutted around the party in lingerie* as lust and totally got the boy I wanted.

*once again: early 20's     

Anyway, favorite story: I was getting drinks with some friends who had gotten married in September (I had been a bridesmaid btw). 

Newlywed girl (dreamy sappy voice of smug newlywed): It's our first married Halloween! We have to do something together! 

Newlywed boy (enthusiastically): Let's go as a horse!

Me and everyone else: (laughs)

Newlywed girl: (purses lips, glares at all of us)

They aren't married to each other anymore 🤷

Bones

Back in May, Girl 1 fell off her scooter on afternoon (wearing a helmet - a nonnegotiable) and cried and cried and cried right after it happened. We put some ice on it, propped her wrist and hand on a pillow, but she could move it and it wasn't swollen. So dr soc and I thought she was just being extra with all her 'life is over' and she 'was never going to have any fun again,' over and over that I rolled my eyes and told my sister it was a bit much. 

But because she really was going on and on about the pain, I told her if it still hurt that bad after dinner we would go to urgent care. When I asked if she still wanted to go, she nodded her head. Considering how much she fights me on most health things this should have tipped me off that something was wrong, but we still didn't think it was broken. We get to urgent care, tell them what happened, and the PA does some looking and feeling around, and says we need an X-ray. And then I look at her wrists and when you compare them yeah you can see one was swollen. Shit.

We get the X-ray and go back to the exam room to wait. I hear someone say 'it's broken' out in the hall, and I made an educated guess they were referring to us due to the fact there we were one of the only two patients there and the only one who just got an X-ray. And yup, a few minutes later they come in and tell us "it's broken' just like I heard in the hall. 

My girl broke down in tears along with my heart. She started to apologize which we quickly told her she had nothing to apologize for, it was an accident and it was not her fault in any way. I text dr soc with the results and we both feel like such assholes for thinking she was being a drama queen. Urgent care wraps her wrist in a temporary cast and we come home both emotionally worn down. 

We give her a little treat and some Tylenol for the pain, and then start getting her ready for bed. By now it's more than an hour past bedtime, not that Girl 2 was even trying to sleep. She escaped her room for her nightly avoid bedtime drink of water and to give Girl 1 to give a kiss goodnight.  Girl 2 adores her big sister, so when she saw this: 

temporary cast from urgent care

 She did this:

toilet paper roll

to match. 

A few days later Girl 1 got her purple cast and we had a truly lovely day together just her and me. And the break was clean and small so she only had to have it the cast on for 5 weeks too.  

some of our shenanigans

So yeah, the initial event that started it all sucked and mom and dad felt like assholes, but at least there was some cute news in there too. 

Life doings

So. My last mommy blog (okay, last blog in general tbh) in while was when girl 2 turned 3...almost a year ago now. So. Girl 1 has had a 21-22 year! She

Started kindergarten. First day!

Y'all I blinked! (no tears (from both of us) either!) 

Turned 6 with a princess party.

Thanks to our surprise guest Arial for making her princess party the talk of her class 

Broke her wrist. She fell off her scooter onto the sidewalk mid-May. Stay tuned for another blog on why dr soc and I are assholes. 

The cast came off in June so no more summer cast

And 'graduated' kindergarten and is first grade bound!

Y'all I blinked again!
(mom tears at this one, no lie)

Not to mention made new friends, started (and finished) gymnastics (the broken wrist put the kibosh on that), she's reading out loud to us now, went to a princess concert, and wants to be a ballerina when she grows up, amongst other life doings. She loves wearing dresses and is our little fashionista too. Physically she's small for her age just like her mom was, but she's healthy and growing on her curve.  She drives me crazy at times, but she is also one of the most sweet, most empathetic little human I've even met. And as cliché as it is, she really is growing up so incredible fast! 

SURPRISE!

For my parents' 10 year anniversary, my dad gave my mom a pearl necklace and showed it to my sister and I beforehand and told us "don't tell mommy."

My sister just flat out snitched, "it's a necklace." 
But I did not tell. I just dropped very subtle hints. Like, "you're gonna like it!" "It's really pretty!" And the most cryptic clue of them all "you wear it here," and patted my collarbone. 

Somehow my mom figured something was up. *shrugs* 

In my defense, this was 1987 and I was five (a young one at that). And, my mom didn't know it was a pearl necklace, so she was still surprised. And then 25 years later she let me borrow that necklace for my wedding, so it all worked out.  

Now lets fast forward to 2022, and my 10 year anniversary with dr soc was coming up. As you can see from yesterday's post he got me some bling bling* and I loves it. Beforehand he enlisted girl 1's help and she took her duty incredibly serious and as enthusiastically as she could. Girl 1 is 6. 

*yes I know I'm dating myself with that vernacular term

And so, the 2022 scene played like this:   

dr soc: yeah, my (wedding) ring is a bit tight and I may get it resized, but I don't remember what size I am

6: mommy, I need a tracing of your hand. 

me: yeah I had to get remeasured when I got my (wedding) ring resized last year. 

dr soc: ah-

6: mommy, what I really need a tracing of the finger you wear your rings 

dr soc: -

me: oh okay after dinner-

6: no lets do it now, here let me get a piece of paper and a pen for you. 

--7 seconds later ---

6: here, put your hand here (points to the paper she had slapped in front of me), and trace like this (starts tracing my hand) no spread your fingers out .

dr soc: rubs the bridge of his nose

6: okay that looks good I'm just going to cut this out. 

me: that's great honey -

6: now I can always have a high five from you! 

dr soc: sigh

me: That makes perfect sense kiddo.

--- 3 minutes later ---

6: daddy! -whispers- I got it! (slips him the cutout of my hand in front of me and giggles hard core* proud of the mission accomplished)

*also dating myself with this term and I don't care  

Somehow I figured something was up. *shrugs* But hey, at least she didn't flat out snitch!   

 

 

Introducing...

Ryder!

His full name is Ryder, Sir Snuggles of Our Silly Named St, The House Sociology, First of his Name, Protector of Small Loud Humans, Sweeper of the Crumbs and All Around Good Boy.

 

Also known as our 11 month Boston Terrier/lab mix (mutt!) from the Boston Terrier Rescue Group of NC (link below).

All of us with full vocabularies got some part of what we wanted:

Girl 1 wanted another Boston: 

Boston (mix aka mutt) ✔

Dr Soc wanted a puppy:

11 months < year = puppy ✔

And I was adamant* we rescue or adopt

 * I was also adamant I would never get another puppy yet here we are so... 

I loves him! Thanks BTRNC ✔

89% of me loves him so so much

1% will always miss the girls over the rainbow bridge  

and 10% of me can't believe I got suckered into another puppy! 

Oh well! Welcome to the family Ryder!

Face your fears

God I hate that trope. Because my 5 year old is fearful of pretty much everything and will face absolutely nothing. It's not this cute little aww she's just shy sort of thing. It's a full force whiney cry and inability to function fear of...whatever it is. In the blink of an eye she has gone from 0 to 100 and once she's in that state there isn't a damn thing anyone can do to get her off that ledge.

The worst panic tantrums are always health/body related. Brushing her teeth. Trimming her talons nails. Performing basic body functions of going to the bathroom. When I start looking for Neosporin and or a band aid for her. Any medicine. Telling her we have to remove a splinter that she has said "it hurts!"      

Yes these are real fears to her and I want to respect that so she can work through them. I do. But sometimes we don't have time (or energy) to work through something, or there aren't any other options to give. It's very frustrating when whatever fear has been carrying on for a while and absolutely no effort has been made, especially if there isn't an alternative. And tbh once she's on that ledge her only option is complete obstinance so any amount of time or alternative is a moot point. 

For example, she'd rather let a gaping wound heal 'on it's own' but down the road that gaping wound leaves a scar she's distraught over that. And yes we told her she could have a scar but that won't change her mind in her fear tantrum. Or when she had an ear infection and she had to take medicine, and because there are no other options we had to force her to take it which we know isn't the right way but it had to be the way at that moment because we are not going to let your ear rot and fall off simple because she is too chicken shit to take the yummy medicine.

Yeah a part of me feels not great talking smack about my kid, but when she's being a jerk can we call a spade a spade here? But also I don't want her to miss out on things because she was to scared to even try. At a birthday party everyone ran across the room for something and she refused for some reason. So the rest of the party moved on without her, and she broke down in tears because she was hurt. And yeah it sucked to see her upset, but at the same time she has to learn sometimes the world is not going to wait.  

What it comes down to is that I'm just frustrated and I wish I knew the answer like before I had children.   

Salty Bedtime

The past month bedtime with the girls has been...challenging. Bedtime routine is supposed to go:
- 7pm -

- Nighttime potty (Girl 1) /nighttime diaper* change (Girl 2)
- Vitamin
- Brush teeth
- Stories
- Kisses/hugs, go to rooms
- Sleep: around 7:30pm 

*We** are also trying to potty train at this time

**mom and dad are, Girl 2 is nope.    

Here's how bedtime routine actually goes:
- 7pm-7:30ish Shit it's bedtime -

- Nighttime potty (Girl 1) /nighttime diaper change (Girl 2)

1: Cajole into performing basic body function of going to the bathroom 

- Vitamin
- Brush teeth

fight over step stool, put toothpastes on tooth brushes. 1: whine/cry "I need help" because bodily function. 2: run giggling with the toothbrush in mouth  

- Stories
- Kisses/hugs, go to rooms

1: You need to go to your bed in your room. No you do not get another story. No it's not time to play with us. What do you want to show me? Yes you can play/listen to your music in your room but do so quietly. Shhh! Shhhh! (nothing is louder than girl 1 trying to be quiet)

- This part has been ALL ME the past month -  

2: Snuggle/rock. Exhaust. Lullaby. Put in bed. Put in bed. Put in bed... Eventually lay down in bed with mommy is snuggling.* Freak out/cry run if mommy inches** away.***  

*uncomfortably laying on the floor and toddler bed

**lay on floor next to bed trying to work out neck kink.

***literally scoot inch by inch towards the door while fighting all the lingering mommy exhaustion from the past month

- Sleep: 10pm or later

Tuesdays I get home from work around 8:30 so it's 100% dr soc/daddy bedtime. Last night went like:  

- 7pm

- Nighttime potty/diaper change

- Vitamin

- Brush teeth

- Stories

- Kisses/hugs, go to rooms

1: Plays fairly quietly in room until I come home and check on her. Thump. Thump. Thump. Honey, you need to whisper and and be still to be quiet. Thump. Thump. Thump. Repeat 17 times (give or take)

2: put in bed and fall asleep in 5 fucking minutes!!!!  

- Sleep: 1 no idea, late and mommy shushed as usual: 2: 7:fucking 30pm. 

I am thrilled all my work and rigmarole got girl 2 to sleep in 5 fucking minutes. But I am also salty as hell she fell asleep in 5 fucking minutes for dr soc.  So glad I made that part of parenting easier for my husband.  So yes, happy overall. But also incredibly salty because fucking hell 5 minutes with no snuggling, rocking, exhausting, parental yoga moves, inching away! What the hell kid?!

Cap and Gown

Childless-20-something-year-old me: yeah little kids are cute in those graduation caps but the gown seems a bit extra for a preschool/kindergarten graduation. But whatever, to each their (overkill) own I suppose.

Two kids 38-year-old me with her first kid graduating preschool: OMG look how fucking cute she is in that pint sized cap and gown! I'm taking a vacation day, we're going to go out for lunch after the ceremony and she gets to pick dinner that night. Maybe we should get a cake and balloons and invite the grandparents and lets do...

Kindergarten bound! One extra mom right here!

   

Yup, that's ________

dr soc: I was trying to leave and girl 2 peed in the pull-up. Now is naked and playing in waterless tub

me: Yup that's girl 2

dr soc: Girl 1 partially being helpful and partially driving me crazy

me: Yup that's girl 1

dr soc: Tug of war match over toy

me: Yup that's sisters

dr soc: Just look for me later rocking in a chair hugging myself all day

me: Yup that's parenting! 

Happy Mother's day!

Irony 2.0

The irony of  Girl 1 fighting me tooth and nail on her teeth* and nails is not lost on me.

*you may recall the teeth fight of 2020. Currently that war is at a lull but her checkup in December involved crying so her upcoming June appointment I don't know.

Now that she is a mature 5 year old the irony is this: The hill my child will die on is anything health related. 

• She will not take medicine, topical or internal. 
• She will not listen to her body for the bathroom.
• She will not blow her nose despite being unable to breath due to snot blockage or a river flowing from her nose 
• Refuses band aids and screams about any blood getting on anything and everything from refusing to cover it
• When she found out she had to go to the doctor because she mentioned to daddy her ear hurt, she said "I wish I hadn't said anything."*
• *This one actually worries me because I know she had to be hurting long and hard enough for her to even mentioned it. I don't want her to be afraid to say anything, ever. 
• Going to the doctor or dentist with her requires an iron will, Olympic sized bribes that never ever work which result to physically restraining her*
• *because that doesn't traumatize her at all and won't lead directly to the aforementioned fear of her being afraid to tell me anything.*
• *and that leads me to sobbing into my drink because OMG I hate that struggle so much and I do not know what to do so I cope by drinking and sobbing and questioning my entire ability of being a mom.

Uhhh, yeah. The irony here is that my child is willing to literally die on the health hill. Yeah.      

Extremes

Get this: parenting is HARD. Like, soul crushing questioning your entire being day drinking hard. And the pandemic has made that...obvious. And with the girls...there is no middle ground. It’s seems I can only reach the extremes of the emotional spectrum with them. Yes I love them more than than I ever thought possible, so much that my heart will burst. Then 12 minutes (give or take) later, be exasperated with them more than I ever thought was humanly possible.

For example, when Dr Soc has his laser* eyes** put in.

*I am always disappointed laser is not lazer 

**permanent contacts. Not lasik, lazer eyes sound cooler.

Girl 1 was so incredibly empathetic I welled up a bit. She was determined to serve daddy dinner in bed, but since we were having soup she asked him if he wanted me to carry it up on a tray or if he wanted to come downstairs (he chose the latter). So she claimed the last cookie for him. Then when she went to use the bathroom she told him to not look in that direction and when she was turning the lights on/off because he was so sensitive to light (they dilated the fuck out of him and he was hilariously all pupil for 2 days). That entire evening she was incredibly helpful and so gentle and just a great little human. Then the next morning we went to the dentist and she wouldn’t open her mouth and if I hadn’t been getting my own teeth cleaned at the time I would have spit nails.

And girl 2 is...TWO. Adamant in what she wants but can’t articulate it, morphing into a flailing banshee trying to communicate ratcheting my anxiety to an 11. But then she snuggles and cuddles you with pure affection and we’re all laughing with joy.

I know they are both just acting their age and doing the best they can with some BIG emotions. As the grown up I’m the safe space for them to recognize whatever feelings they have and figure out how to cope so they don’t become emotionally stunted adults. It’s just...so, so, so sooooooooooooo...hard

Talk Bubbles

To the surprise of no one, my girls are talkers. Ironically when they were born they both were so quiet the medical staff was concerned, even though they were perfectly healthy. Yeah, it was odd...

But after that, as soon as they figured out they could vocalize in some way they did. Girl 1 makes articulate affirmations (e.g. mischief, actually, memorized all said clear as a bell and used correctly) and Girl 2 has entire conversations and spouts platitudes in babble. 

And they are both savage AF. 

4.5: Mommy have you shrunk yet?

me: umm, no. I'm not that old* just yet.

4.5: Has daddy? Because he's kind old.*

*Chinese ladies are ageless forever and -poof- look 120 and start shrinking. True fact.

*He turned 40 in February and hehehehe. 

And also:

-sees pregnant mannequin at the store and says very loudly-

4.5: Mommy! That belly is really big - like yours!

me: no honey, there's supposed to be a baby i-

4.5: just like yours!  

SAVAGE.

As for girl 2, I don't know what my 2 year old was actually trying to say, but that had to be the cutest little "bitch bitch bitch" I've ever heard!

 

Dentist Drama Season Finale

So. The drama continued and concluded the following way:

- Stayed home from the babysitter all week and fell asleep on the bathroom floor for 3 nights, waiting us me out on the mouthwash. So we I conceded that loss. Then cried over my failure while simultaneously impressed at her ferocity. 

- Called our dentist (the one who discovered the cavities) and asked if they would sedate her. The answer: no, they only sedate adults. 

- Took her to a third (in network pediatric) dentist, who confirmed she had cavities, but, surprise! in obstinate 4 year old fashion wouldn't let the dentist actually do anything in their really* cool office. So we made plans to sedate - because it had to get done. In 3 weeks because that's the fist appointment we could get at the dental surgery center.

*I mean for fuck's sake they had a tv mounted on the ceiling and you could pick what tv show you wanted to watch! What the hell kid? This place is awesome!

- Rearranged my work schedule. Again. 

- Continued no treats (except special occasions like mommy's birthday cake).

- Took her to the pediatrician* to get her cleared to have general anesthesia.

*not sure if I'm slightly ashamed or proud that I impressed the pediatrician with my 4 year old wrangling/hog tying skills...  

- And this morning: we sedated. She managed to spit* out the relaxation syrup (yeah, sedation to sedate her) twice.

*once again unsure if  I should be impressed or ashamed 

But when they wheeled her bed back to anesthesiology and I couldn't go with her...my tiny, beautiful girl, I just...mom worry. But less than an hour later she was done and I could see her. She was cranky when she woke up from the anesthesia, but also, that's just my girl. At least now her cavities are fixed! We came home, watched tv, and got panera lunch. We're done! 

- Right. Not done. Because tonight she didn't want to brush those damn teeth causing all this drama because they felt funny but also refused to take any pain medicine for that. So I noped it and walked away. Because no. Just no. I'm done with this drama. Tonight at least. 

And this concludes our 2020 cavity drama theater.  

Dentist Drama

The excitement of Girl 1's first no crying successful* dentist visit was quickly tempered by the discovery of cavities. So a week later we go back to fill them and...nope. Reverted right back to the shrinking/wailing/terrified kid that we had to be referred to a pediatric** dentist. And when we went to that dentist she was even more terrified and screamed even worse, so the only treatment she received was a heavy fluoride treatment and was told to start using a mouthwash. When we go back to the not in network pediatric dentist in 3 months we have to hope that stopped them from growing, otherwise we have to put her under to treat her. All for teeth that she's going to lose eventually anyway. *cries*    

*Both visits prior she shrank into herself (and she's already pretty small) and wailed so much the dentist couldn't do anything in order not to traumatize her. 

**That's not in network. Of course not.

At least the mouthwash would be an easy enough stopgap measure right? *cackle* Fuck NO. The rigmarole at the dentists pales to the tantrums we've endured the past 3 weeks. My daughter fought me tooth and nail on her teeth...and nails* when she was a toddler and it's so. much. worse now.

*yeah, I know. The irony is not lost on me.

We have tried everything: No treats. No screen time. No puzzle with Grandma. We'll get her a Frozen II bed. No berry picking. Bribes. Go out for ice cream. Promises of Panera. Hugs. Kisses. Soothing tones. Screaming. Offering to do it with her. No Stories. Extra Stories. Walking away. And the one we thought would do it: No going to the babysitter's.  

Sunday night I sorta hog tied her with one arm and threw the mouthwash in her mouth while she thrashes and screamed with my other arm. Which went as well as it sounds. Monday night I told her she couldn't leave the bathroom until she did the mouthwash. She was begging to go to her bed (an entirely different battle for another blog for another day) and held on for an hour and a half before falling asleep on the bathroom floor. I was equal parts highly impressed at her ferocious tenacity and completely mortified she was asleep on the bathroom floor. 

 

So I don't know what to do. I don't know how to motivate her. I don't know her it seems. I never say the right things. I can't calm her down. I want to be a positive parent rather than a punitive one. I want to know what to do to help my girl. And I know this takes work but I wish it wasn't so fucking hard. This gargantuan effort it's taking to connect to my daughter makes me feel that I'm failing her. I'm not the parent I want to be and that hurts. And tonight the saga continues. Stay tuned.

Four-nado!

Ahem. 

On November 24, this little lady:

turned FOUR!

We threw her a Frozen II birthday party at the movie theater and I sanctimommied it UP. Not only did we see the movie, there was:

- the Frozen II theme -

- a craft/activity -

- a homemade ombre cake (inside and out!) - 

- individual ice cream in party muffin wrappers - 

-and- 

- I used my one party trick of cutting the cake with floss -

You may observe my momming prowess here: 

A very happy birthday girl and her (honestly very happy to do all this) mommy 

Everyone had a wonderful time and the party was a huge success. Then after the very successful party/movie we went out to dinner, where the birthday girl threw a mild tantrum and the baby had french fries and oreos for dinner.  

A carb and sugar filled baby

It's all about the balance I suppose. Whatever.

Happy Birthday Little Turkey!

Hard Day

Today is the 4th anniversary of my dad's death, but this year it's weighing on me a lot since having to explain that to my 3 year old.

I was telling her that Grandma C (my mom) lives in Kentucky. She asked if Grandpa Steve lived there too, because Grandma S and Papa live together in Ohio. I told her he used to live there, but now he's in heaven. And because she's 3-
3: Can he come visit us?
me: No honey, he can't. And we won't see him right now, at least for a while.
3: Can we see him?
me: No sweetheart. No, not for a long time.
3: Why?
me: Well, um, he died a few years ago, before you were born.
3: Why did he die?
me: -deep breath- he was very, very sick.
3: Did he take any medicine?
me: He did, but he was so sick medicine couldn't help.
3: Why?
me: Sometimes people get so sick medicine won't work anymore.
3: Oh. Will he come back? Will he wake up?
me: No honey, that's not how death is. When someone dies, their spirit is gone.
3: What's that?
me: umm, a spirit is... Well, you know how you can see and hear things? And you talk, breath, and laugh? All those things?
3: yes!
me: well, all that together, that's a spirit. So my daddy's spirit is...is...it's gone sweetie.
3: oh.

By then I was pretty drained and I was starting to well up, so dr soc quickly changed the conversation and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

--later that night as we were tucking her into bed--

3: Mommy? Were you sad when your daddy died?
me: Yes sweetie. Very very sad. 

I still am. Miss you daddy.

Girls

As much as I love being a girl and the color pink, I really don't like to gender my girls that much with trying to smash patriarchy and all that. What do we want? Usable pockets! Equal Pay! Autonomy over our own bodies! When do we want it? Two hundred years ago!

Right. So. A few days ago I had my hands on the highchair tray playing with girl 2, and she develops those fine motor skills by gripping onto my engagement ring and squealing. And yesterday girl 1 had a big potty training accident at the sitter's so that even her shoes got wet. So on the way home it was "mommy I need new shoes! Lets go shopping for shoes!"

So I said to dr soc: we have one girl squealing over diamonds and the other wants to go shoe shopping. We have girls!

Secrets

Dr soc took Little Turkey shopping with him for my Christmas gift, and reminded her don't tell mommy which she took to heart. She was well aware this was a secret. They get home from shopping and she is so excited. While daddy gets things out of the car she comes right over to me with her little hands covering the biggest smile on her face. She leans in and very emphatically whispers:

girl 1: Mommy! We didn't get you ponies!* --pause--
(dr soc walks in the house) 
girl 1: We got you a mug! 
dr soc: (face palm, laughing hysterically) Little Turkey! I just told you that was a secret! 
me: (laughing hysterically) That's why she whispered!

We were both laughing so hard that she actually started to look a little unsure that maybe she hadn't  done the right thing. I felt bad about that, so still giggling I beckoned her over and stage whispered if she wanted to know what we got daddy for Christmas. She nodded eagerly.
me: okay! We got him a pineapple! But shh! It's a secret!
girl 1: Okay! (turns around to face dr soc and whispers emphatically with hands over her mouth again) Daddy! We got you a pineapple!   

*Her gift suggestion. Also her suggestion for what we should get daddy, what the baby wanted and what she asked Santa Claus for. Got to hand it to her, she covered all her bases so that one way or another she was going to get those ponies.

Threenager

AAAAANNND....
She's 3!

Happy Birthday my Darling Girl!