Deep Thoughts

Ella: What if we had carpet outside and grass inside?
Mommy: That would be different.
Ella: Yeah, then Daddy would have to vacuum and you would have to mow.

Day Out With Thomas

Today was the day of the much anticipated ride on Thomas the Tank Engine. Ella and Daddy drove about 45 minutes north to a town called Boone for the ride. Ella said it was great, but she was a little disappointed that Thomas didn't talk. In addition to the train ride, Ella got to jump in a bounce house and eat a hot dog and an ice cream sandwich. Now that's livin'!!

Divine Indulgence

Today at Target I bought a bag of miniature York Peppermint Patties. Ella LOVES them and they were on sale. I couldn't resist. Ella had one patty after her lunch and I told her she could maybe have one later. I put them away in the "secret" candy hiding spot and then Caroline woke up. I went to get her out of the crib, leaving Ella (and the Peppermint Patties) downstairs. I took my time getting Caroline up and changing her diaper. When Caroline and I came downstairs I noticed that Ella was just finishing another piece of candy. I was surprised because the candy was hidden (I thought) and I didn't think Ella could open the little bags that they are wrapped in. I asked Ella, "How did you get that candy and open it?" Ella responded quickly and as casually as can be, "God helped me." I replied, "That was nice." To which she said, "Amen." Amen indeed.

The Skwiggee

Lately, I've been noticing little acts of vandalism in our yard. Last week it was one of the melons that we're growing plucked from the vine and chewed up in our river rock. This week it's been half eaten cherry tomatoes and smashed crabapples laying around. Then today some of the dirt in one of our potted plants was scattered all over the porch. I knew something was going on. At about 3:30 I heard the girls shrieking with delight at the front door. Ella is yelling, "Mommy!! Look at the Skwiggee!!" I go and I see the Skwiggee eating the heads off my cute purple vincas and digging the dirt out of another pot. I thought for sure that 3 people, two of whom were screaming, would scare Skwiggee the chipmunk away, but no, the little pest actually scratched at the window next to the front door. And as he looked in the window I could swear he was laughing at me, as if to say, "I'm so cute, you know you'll never do anything to me". And Skwiggee you'd be right.

Under the Weather

The weather this week in Iowa has been very rainy. All day long just a steady dripping from thick gray clouds. This is perfect for us because we have all been sick. Ella missed school on Tuesday because she woke up and immediately threw up. And now Caroline and myself have been infected. It is truly miserable. I won't gross anyone out with details, but if you know the girls, you know why I've nicknamed them the "Princesses of Puke". So between our trip to Philly and being sick, our posts have been a little sparse. Hopefully everyone will be back in good health next week.

Sister's Day

Friday, September 5th was the midpoint between Caroline and Ella's birthdays, so I decided that it would be "Sisters' Day". Having a holiday to celebrate helped to keep the girls' minds off of the fact that Mommy and Daddy had left for Philadelphia. The girls wore their cute sister shirts, made cupcakes and gave each other new sippy cups. Mommy and Daddy gave them a sweet little book about sisters. Ella was so excited to open her present from Caroline that she was pushing us out the door!! She also informed me that next year they will be getting matching sister nighties to celebrate Sisters' Day.

Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

When I picked up Ella from preschool on Tuesday I asked her how it went. She immediately replied, "Great!". I asked her lots of other questions like what they did, did she make any friends, etc.. She told me everything was fun and she couldn't wait to go back. Later, while we were eating lunch, Ella tells me that, "something bad happened at school". And, of course, I go straight into mother bear mode, ready to tear apart anyone who even looked at my child the wrong way. She goes on to tell me this elaborate story about how she was twirling around and she bumped into a little boy named Jackson and then he hit her in the face and both of her teachers put him on time out. My brain goes into a tizzy.....why didn't her teachers tell me about this, who is this Jackson kid, maybe she shouln't even go to preschool.......

Later Ella tells me she had a hot dog for snack at school. I know for a fact that she had Club Crackers. It occurs to me that perhaps Ella had made up her little story about "something bad". So, I ask her if the story was true and she says, "No. I just made it up. I'm so silly." Yeah Ella, you're hilarious, you little liar!! I then had to explain to Little Miss that it isn't nice to make up stories, but I'm not sure that she was convinced that she shouldn't do it again. Just to verify that she did in fact make up the story, I asked Ella's teachers this morning if anything happened and nothing did. There isn't even a Jackson in her class!

They did tell me though that she refused to drink her milk because it was in a Spongebob Squarepants Dixie Cup and that she told them, "my mommy said I can't ever look at Spongebob." And she wasn't lying then, I really did say that.

And She's Off!!

Ella is off at preschool now. You can see in the pictures how excited she was. The only person crying after we dropped her off was Caroline who was sobbing, "Sissy! Sissy!" Ella even has a little friend at school, a girl that she met in gymnastics this summer. So now Caroline and I are sitting here, not quite sure what to do without Miss Ella around to tell us what to do.