Cabin Fever Fun

The kids and I have been having fun staying inside. Here are a few pics of what we've been doing.


"Cereal Picnic"- aka the kids opening the corner pantry, taking the cereal containers to the front welcome mat, and then helping themselves.... What's funny is that I am feet away from them, on the computer- and they still choose this spot!


"Wooden Food Picnic with Mr. Bear"- notice that Mr. Bear has fish, a piece of bread, and an orange- glad he's being healthy!

Eating and sharing waffles for breakfast. They feed each other and think it's hysterical!

SNOW! We got a covering during naptime, but by the time the kids got up, it was mostly melted.

Visiting Daddy at Lowes- this is where he does most of his paperwork.

2 Other Addie Stories

I knew I was forgetting something in that last post! Here are 2 additional stories about Addie....

Last night as we were walking up the stairs to go to bed, she turned around and asked Al for Dottie and her daughter.
Al: Aren't Dottie and Becca Baby both your daughters?
Addie: No. Jus' Becca Baby is my daughter. Dottie isn't.
And as if on cue, she snapped opened her princess cell phone.
Addie: Hello? How are ya? Whatcha up to? Oh.... ok.- snaps phone shut.
Me: Who was that?
Addie: Dottie's Mommy. She's running late. Dottie needs to sleep here.
Al: What's Dottie's Mommy's name?
Addie: (slight pause) Ja-Jew.
Me: What's her Daddy's name?
Addie: Ja-Jew 2
Guess we know who she thinks it Top Dog!!

A few days ago, we were walking to our friend and neighbors house.
Me: Aren't you excited to go play with Anna and Baby Madelyn?
Addie: Yes! Anna gots lots of toys from Santa.
Me: Yes she did! She must have been really good. Aren't you glad that she always shares them with you?
Addie: Mommy, why was Madelyn so bad?
Me: What? Madelyn is the cutest, sweetest baby! What makes you think she was bad?
Addie: Santa didn't bring her any presents. She must have been realllllly bad.
I then try to explain that baby Madelyn (2 mo old) wasn't bad, but that the gifts that Santa brought her were probably in her room. Anna brought her toys downstairs to share- but since Addie and Alden weren't babies, Madelyn didn't need to share her toys so they stayed in her room....
Addie: Oh! So Madelyn DID get toys from Santa and she WAS good!?! I so happy for Baby Madelyn!

A 3 Year Olds Perspective

Addie keeps us laughing these days.... Here are a few reasons why.

Tonight at dinner- this is the conversation we had:
Alden: Grrrrrrrrrrrrr
Addie: Al-gen, stop growling.
Al: Why can't Alden growl?
Addie: He's a baby. Only free (3)year olds can growl.
Al: Really? Says who?
Addie: God.
Well, you can't argue with that....

Another God conversation....
It was really foggy in the morning, and she was thinking about it later that night.
Addie: Who moves the clouds?
Al: God.
Addie: I don't see him.
Al: He's far away (not wanting to get into a deep theological conversation with a 3 yr old)
Addie: Ok. We can use the car to go see him then.
Guess we've been taking too many long trips....

It's 4am- Addie is crying hysterically in her room- I rush in, thinking something must be wrong because she doesn't do this very often....
Me: What's wrong sweetie?
Addie: Dottie pee-ed out. She needs new diaper and new clothes!
Me: Are you friggin kidding me? (Sorry, at 4am, being awoken out of a deep sleep because a DOLL "pee-ed out" doesn't bring out the best in me)
Addie: No, Mommy, I'm not friggen kiddin' you. Dottie isn't comfortable. She needs to change. She needs her flower shirt, acorn pants and pink diaper.
I guess I should be glad that she obeyed me by staying in her bed..... And yes, I did change the doll, diaper and all. I'm still shocked at how clearly she can think when awaken by pretend pee!

She is also proving to be a picky eater. When presented with any food, her first response is always "I can't like it, Mommy!" Thankfully we have been reading the "How Does A Dinosaur..." series, so after asking her "What does a good little dinosaur do?" She will happily quip "Try 2 bites!" and then scarf down 2 bites. It's a strange little routine, but it at least gets 2 bites of food in her!

Good-bye MiMi

When Addie turned 3, we decided that she was a Big Girl and no longer needed her MiMim (pacifier). After 1 failed attempt at having her "buy" a baby doll with it (giving her MiMi's to Mommy and having Mommy hand over a baby doll), we decided to not try again until after our Christmas travels.

On the way home from the airport, we stopped at a Build-A-Bear, so Addie could pick out a new lovie to replace her beloved MiMi in. This way she could feel it but not get to it. I cannot take credit for the idea- it's from my friend Megan!

As you can see from the pictures, Addie wasn't too sure about the whole thing.... In the end, she left with a cute dog she named Kiley and whose left leg is surly going to be her favorite!


Getting 1 final suck before she puts her MiMi into Kiley.

And the MiMi goes in.

Watching her put the MiMi in the left foot.

NOT liking the machine that puts the fluff into Kiley

All smiles now that the loud noise is over. She chose a Santa dress for Kiley to wear.

The first night went surprisingly smoothly- I think she was just too exhausted from getting up at 5:30am and only have a 30 min nap on the plane. That was part of the reasoning behind getting the stuffed dog when we did! Still, I will continue to be optimistic that our MiMi days are behind us. Now I just need to tackle Alden's paci obsession....

Christmas in Kansas City

For Christmas, the kids and I headed to Kansas City to spend the holiday with my family. As per my other post, getting TO Kansas City was an adventure. Once there, we had a marvelous time!

My brother, Uncle Ian, was fantastic- his quirky sense of humor made him a favorite with the kids. My Dad's Donald Duck voice when his nose was touched, was an instant hit with the kids- and that's actually what Addie first told Al about her PopPop Old! Young was loving and compassionate as usual. Annie, my brother's fiancee, was super sweet and taught Addie how to wink. The cousins had a great time playing together- Anesu, who is 6 months younger then Alden, is the same size as him! Addie and Kuda enjoyed playing and eating together (the slide show will show you that!)

We spent many hours building with the old wooden blocks that I played with as a kid. My Dad is working as a Ski Patrol for a local Ski Resort, so we went skiing for an afternoon- and the conditions were perfect! The kids had fun playing with the designated Uncle/Grandma/Grandpa while I was free to ski! Marki, the cat, was always a hit when he showed his face- he was smart and stayed out of range most of the time. While there, we experienced temps from the teens to the mid-60's (yes, it was bizarre!). I was even able to squeeze in a visit with a family that I teach!

It was a wonderful trip- and thankfully I can report on a totally boring flight home! Delta might be rude, but they are punctual and didn't cancel any of my flights.

There were too many pictures to choose from, so enjoy this slide show!

Christmas at Home

Since our family was going 2 different directions for Christmas, we decided to celebrate our own Christmas a few days early. The kids had a blast opening gifts and then playing with their new toys.

All decked out and ready to start opening!!


Alden looking serious about opening his gifts.

Serious Addie...

Alden LOVES his new toy!

Addie showing off her new chef hat and apron- modeling Mommy's new rolling pin from Grandpa Garrett!

Christmas Eve Adventure

In true Lisa fashion, what should have been an uneventful trip to Kansas City was far from it....

Getting up and to the airport went smoothly- as smoothly as it can when you wake up at 5am and then wake-up kids at 5:50am....

There weren't any lines at BWI, so I decided to save a few bucks and check my suitcase inside. Al offered to park the car and help me- but I assured him that I could handle the suitcase, car seat, large duffel bag, stroller and 2 kids- all by myself. He drove off, on to NY to surprise his Grandparents and to celebrate with them.

I got in line to check my bag when I hear those words you never want to hear from the lady behind the United Airlines counter- "Flight 641 has been canceled. If you were on flight 641, please move to THIS line to get rebooked." We were on flight 641- it had just been canceled due to foul weather in Chicago. After standing in the super slow line- in which I changed the kids out of their pj's and into festive outfits, all while juggling my ridiculous amount of luggage- I got to the counter. There the lady cheerfully informed me that I could be rebooked for a flight at 8am Christmas Day. WHAT?!?

After a brief conversation, I let the lady know that 1)I lived 1.5 hrs away, 2)my husband had just dropped us off and would not be able to be reached for another 4-5 hrs & 3)I really didn't care HOW I got to KC, but I needed to get to KC TODAY. If I was going to have to wait until tomorrow, I would appreciate either hotel room, or even a rental car so I could drive to another airport that could get me to KC. When Addie heard the words "tomorrow" she burst into tears "I wanna see my PopPop Old for Merry Christmas!" This, I think, moved the lady- who then gave me a voucher for a taxi to National Airport, where she had rebooked me on a flight to Chicago at 1pm, then finally landing in KC at 7pm. Not what I wanted- I was originally to land at 1pm so I would have all day with my Dad and would be able to attend the Christmas Eve service. Seeing that all the other people around me were being only offered flights for the next day, I took it! I saw it as a gift from God!

We rode in a taxi to DC- Alden in the 1 car seat I had with me, Addie with a regular seat belt. Evidently seat belt laws don't apply to taxis.... We arrived at National Airport in record time, were greeted at the door by a United Agent, who whisked my suitcase away! I tried to show him my voucher that I had paid for my suitcase, but he just waved me off.... So much for paying ahead of time! After making our way to our gate, we enjoyed some chocolate icecream and then boarded our flight. The kids were happy and sweet during all of this- this I attribute to all the prayers that were being offered up for us at this time!!

On this leg of the journey, we had been given the bulkhead- which was fantastic with 2 small kids! Alden slept the entire way to Chicago, and Addie fell asleep for about 30 min. Even though Addie's name was on the ticket, I put Alden in the carseat in that seat- he needed to be restrained more then her!

Once in Chicago, we relaxed and had some fun- we had almost 4 hrs there! Addie had fun "petting" a large dinosaur there, we had a McDonald's picnic, walked on the walking sidewalks, watched lots of "hair pains" (airplanes), and had a nice time! During this entire time, the kids were angels- happy, playing, singing, etc.

When it was time to board the flight to KC, I couldn't locate on the boarding pass, which Boarding Zone we were on, so I asked flight attendant. You can imagine my shock when he told me that I didn't have a "Boarding Zone" because I was in 1st class. I had him repeat it once more as I wasn't sure I would ever hear those words again, "Ma'am, you're in first class." Evidently, when you are rebooked due to a canceled flight, United often tries to put you in 1st class!! I was SO excited!! There I was, with a car seat, sitting in 1st class, sipping my Diet Coke in a REAL class- not a plastic one!! Getting off the plane, I had 1 of the pilots and a flight attendant help me get all my stuff together and to my Dad who was waiting for us.

It was a smooth and enjoyable trip. Up to this point, United Airlines has totally impressed me with all that they did to help me. It wasn't the trip I envisioned when I booked it 2 months ago- but at least we ended up at my Dad's house and were able to spend a great day with family today!! I just hope and pray that the trip home will be more uneventful..... When I return home, I have some great pics of this eventful Christmas Eve that I'll post!!