naptime prayer

Ava's prayer at naptime today -

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for this beautiful day.  Thank you that I got to have one piece of candy.  Teach me how to like olives. 

Amen

Lunch today was leftover hamburger and black olive pizza.  I was a mean mom and said everyone had to eat the olives if they wanted Halloween candy for dessert, even the two kids who think they don't like them.  I smiled at her prayer after lunch.

meet dorothy

Ava has been thumb-free for over two weeks!  I can hardly believe it!  Her reward was a new fish.  She named it Dorothy and she absolutely loves it.

She plays with it and gives it kisses.

And big hugs too.  The best part is that she says she's never, ever going to suck her thumb again!

said by elle today....

'Mom, I want to get my hair cut into a kabob.'

So cute! :)

conversations with ava

Some of my favorite conversations with Ava are when I cuddle her for a few minutes before her nap. She always tells me she needs 'alotta cuddles' while holding up all her fingers.

When we got the mail today there were several catalogs, so we each picked one and looked at it while we ate our sandwiches at lunch. Of course, that led to talking about what the kids want for Christmas. Ava continued this conversation at naptime. She said she wants something 'nice, special and shiny.' She suggested a baby toy.....for when she's a baby again. :)

We then started talking about best friends and how much she loves all of her best friends. I asked her who they are and she said 'Muffin, Leila, Maggie, & um......, um.......... Mom.' Muffin, Leila and Maggie are all dogs. I guess I'm just happy I made the list! She said that she couldn't tell me the rest of her best friends. The girl cracks me up!


I took this picture a few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon. She fell asleep while we were watching Food Network together. She still loves Giada and Ina. :)

reading to bitty baby

never a dull moment in this house

Except during Ava's naptime!

This is what Ava did to entertain herself while I was in the shower this morning. After she spent some time sitting on her bed for awhile she came up to me, took my face in her little hands and said, 'I'm sorry. That was not a great idea.'

i can't make this stuff up

Tonight while I was getting a snack ready for the kids Ava kept saying 'I want some! I want some!' Wanting her to say please I said, 'What's the magic word?' Her answer - 'Hocus Pocus!'

That girl is hilarious! She recently watched an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse where Goofy was a magician, so she really thought that Hocus Pocus was the magic word I was looking for.

baby in a basket

While Ava was playing this morning she must've decided that she needed a little cuddle time with her puppy. She emptied out her basket of toys and got inside and covered up with her blanket, then in went the thumb. She stayed in there for about 10 minutes before she decided to start playing again.

Wondering what she's wearing under there? Yesterday we went through the clothes that Elle has outgrown to see what we can pull out for Ava and found a fancy Easter dress and the much loved pink sparkly shoes! She hasn't wanted to take them off since! I'm sure they'll show up in a post of their own sometime.

hello, my name is honey

Today Ava was sitting on the side of the bathtub watching me put my make up on and chatting with me. Here is a snippet of our conversation -

Ava - 'I know my daddy's name. It's Scott!'
Me - 'You're right! What's your mommy's name?'
Ava - 'Honey'

Too cute!

more funnies

A few more funnies I forgot to mention....

I've been to Target way too many times this month. I'm hoping to only walk foot in that store a time or two next month! Anyway, we were in the checkout line and the cashier was chatting with Ava as she was scanning my items. When they ran out of things to say Ava decided to stick her finger up her nose and say, 'I pick my boogers.' The cashier didn't quite know how to respond to that one!

Yesterday at Target, again, Ava asked if we could go look at the kitchen in the toy aisle that she wants really bad. We had time so I decided that we'd go take a look at it. (One of them will be hers next week!) When we were done in the toy aisles I suggested that we go look at the Christmas stuff. She didn't want to though and said, 'I don't like Christmas!' When Elle and I were looking at the ornaments Ava said, 'I want to go away.'

And without fail, every time we run errands she takes off her socks and shoes at least once between stores. She doesn't care that it's freezing cold. Check out that hair too! She been sporting some pretty wild hat hair for the past few weeks. I guess it matches her personality!

funnies

My kids have said some really funny stuff lately -

Last night I made an Italian Wedding Soup for dinner that had wilted spinach in it. Everyone liked it except Ava and Thomas but he managed to choke it down so that he could have a cookie. There was plenty of leftovers for lunch and while Elle was eating her bowl of it she said, very seriously, 'Mom, you should call this Swamp Soup.' I started to laugh and she didn't understand what was so funny. She explained how the spinach looks swampy but I just laughed harder. I made a note of it in my cookbook to always remember. Also, when I walked over to get Ava's bowl from the table I stepped in something squishy and wet. When I looked down there was all of the spinach from her soup!

A couple of nights ago when it was time for the kids to get ready for bed Scott asked Ava if she was ready to go get her teeth brushed so that they are nice and shiny. That's when Elle piped up and said, 'Sometimes I wish my teeth really would sparkle.'

I overheard Elle call Ava 'Sweetheart' the other day. It was really precious until Ava said, 'I not Sweetheart, I Ava!'

While walking through the parking lot at the Y to get to swimming lessons Ava said, 'Mommy, it's snowing in my eyes!'

sleepy girl

This afternoon while Thomas was at swim team practice and Elle was at a friend's house, Ava and I did our grocery shopping for the week. She was so very tired and we forgot to bring her puppy. After fussing and crying she finally gave up and just decided to cuddle the sleeve of her sweater and fall asleep.

I was so glad that I had my camera in my bag! She made a lot of people smile at the store and didn't even know it!

girly girls

Last night while I was making dinner Elle decided to paint her nails. Painting the right hand is always so tricky!

Ava saw her and wanted her nails painted too. Elle was happy to do it for her.


Of course then you have to blow on them to help them dry quicker.

Beautiful! Ava still sucks her thumb so we have to leave them unpainted.

naptime

Ava is still taking a nap every afternoon. I took this picture last week when she had actually laid down all on her own. Usually her naptime routine consists of me laying down and cuddling with her for awhile. She always says 'Sing couple songs, K?' Her favorites are Jesus Loves Me, God is So Good, This is the Day, You are So Beautiful and You are My Sunshine. She knows most of the words and sings along a lot of the time. Her little voice is so sweet. Then she snuggles with Puppy, puts her thumb in her mouth and drifts off to sleep.

At bedtime, she does the same thing with Elle. Even though they each have their own bed they prefer to share one. It's sweet to hear them singing together and cuddled up when we check on them once they are sound asleep.

meatballs: the perfect air freshener

Yesterday when Scott got home from work he took Thomas with him to the driving range for awhile. While they were gone I made the meatballs that we were going to have for dinner and put them in the oven to bake. When Thomas came home he kept telling me how good they smelled and then said, 'Your meatballs should be an air freshener!' :)

If he thinks they are that good I guess I should share the recipe with all of you! They are great as a main course or even as an appetizer.

Party Time Meatballs

Meatballs:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound ground pork
2 eggs
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cups dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

Sauce:
1 cup apricot preserves
1 cup prepared barbeque sauce of your choice (I usually use Cattleman's or Famous Daves.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking pan with foil; coat lightly with non-stick vegetable spray.

In a large bowl, combine beef, pork, eggs, and onion. In a smaller bowl, combine bread crumbs, parsley, salt, pepper, and thyme; mix thoroughly. Add the bread crumb mixture to the meat and egg mixture; mix lightly to combine all ingredients. Shape into balls (a 1 1/2-inch scoop works well to achieve even-sized portions).

Place meatballs on foil-lined pan. For the topping, combine preserves and barbeque sauce; spoon over meatballs. Bake 30-40 minutes or until meatballs are brown and firm. Serve warm.

Recipe source: Cooking with Confidence

ava funnies

A few things that Ava has said recently that crack me up -

Last night when I told her it was time to go to sleep she said, 'No, don't wike sweeping.'

When I asked her what she wanted for dinner last night she said, 'Hot corn'. She didn't mean popcorn. So I steamed her up some 'hot corn' and she was a happy camper. I'm surprised she didn't ask for soup. That's her other favorite food.

This morning I was holding her on my lap facing me and she pointed at my chin and said, 'Mommy's zip'. Yes Ava, that's Mommy's zit. Thank you for pointing that out. I guess it's time for me to go put some cover-up on it now before we go to town.

treasures

These are my Mother's Day treasures. Sweet notes from the kids, drawings, craft projects, a little potted flower made in Sunday School, coupons for 'hair itches' (head massages) complete with bar codes, and a couple of dark chocolate bars and tootsie rolls from Thomas that he saved special for me from the birthday party he went to on Saturday. They enjoyed making the day special for me. I love being their mom.

storytime

Elle is such a good big sister. She was patient enough to read the same book 3 times in a row to Ava. Each time she finished Ava said 'Read book again.'

my little list-maker

Mini-Me, I mean Elle, sat down with a pen and paper this morning and wrote out her to-do list for the day. Here is what it says -

Things To Do:

Work:
- Fix Hair
- Get Dressed
- Eat Breakfast
- Watch Ava

Play:
- Skateboard
- Play Outside
- Play with Doll
- Computer
- TV
- XBox 360

Daily Extras:
- Do School
- Have Vitamins

I didn't realize that doing her schoolwork was just an 'extra' thing to do. :) I especially like the 'Play' category.

more kid cuteness

Things that the kids have said that have made me smile....

- Thomas at Easter dinner...."Mom, this food is really good! Now we have to eat ham for every meal don't we?" He knows me well! :)

- I overheard Elle say to Ava...."Ava stop eating lotion. It's not food."

- "Hone!" Ava says this everytime she hears Scott's phone beep for a new email message.....and that's a lot of beeps let me tell ya!

- Ava often calls Scott 'Honey' now since she hears me call him that all the time. When she hears the garage door open she'll say "Honey!" and run to meet him.