RIP Carson Pawmer Carman

We had to put Carson down tonight. He became so lifeless today that I didn't have a choice. It was horrible timing, but how do you control this. Jim was out of town, Jordan was at her mom's and it was church activities night. When I realized I needed help, I called my parents and they came to the rescue.

Mom took care of the girls - got them fed and to their activities.
Dad came to help me take Carson to the vet.

It was flat out horrible.

I will miss my boy terribly.

Why can't they live forever?

She BIT me!

What the heck! Today was our first day of Spring Break. This morning, we got up and decided to be a bit lazy. Reagan and Maddy workout with me on the weekends - Maddy does Pump with me and Reagan walks on the treadmill or rides the bike to her favorite program. Anyway, after my workout, we were relaxing on the couch. Then one thing started and someone got tickled. Then the other one. Then the three of us were in the middle of a tickle fight.

It was lot of fun until Maddy pretended to bite me. I quickly reminded her that it would not be a great idea to bite me. Within a few seconds of her warning, she flat out chomped on my forearm. Luckily I had on a thick sweatshirt for my cool down period or I might have had broken skin. She made my skin turn purple and red right away and bubble up like a pimple.

It's taken about 12 hours for it not to hurt to the touch. Sigh. She did tell me that she had just decided she didn't want to be tickled anymore.

She's reading

For the past three weeks, Maddy's been sounding out all of her words. Today, at school, her teacher brought a book out when I showed up and she read to us. It was awesome. Her trick - tell her to sing it. Wow! What an awesome thing.

Little Devious

Tonight, Jim was putting Reagan to bed and he watched her sneak her iPad upstairs. He didn't say anything at all to her. But she walked it upstairs behind her back and watched her put it in the bonus room under a pillow.
So after reading some books and saying prayers, he said "so is your plan after we read and snuggle and pray and snuggle to fake sleeping and wait until I think you're asleep and then go into the bonus room and get your iPad to play on it?"

Busted!! Her face was priceless.

Love her.

Loves Arnav

Maddy can't stop talking about Arnov. Apparently she really enjoys him. She wants to do playdates with him all the time and even wants to do a sleep over. How funny is that? She told us today that Arnov was her first boyfriend and that she had a middle and a third boyfriend too, but they weren't as important. I'm so glad she has her priorities :)

Really cool thing

Part way through the day today, we got an email from the girls school about Reagan. She had been helping (teaching) one of the kindergarteners and had been doing very well. She apparently does great job explaining works and how to use them. Such a proud moment. I love seeing how good she is with other kids and helping.

Headstrong

My oldest is quite headstrong. She has very specific ideas about how things are supposed to be. It's fun to watch but can be hard to handle sometimes. Tonight, she worked hard to get her bricks set up. Maddy hit one of them by mistake and she had a complete meltdown. It was so hard to watch. Her emotions are right on the edge at all times. She is getting better, but sometimes we all need a little break. She usually can take some time in her room and then come out refreshed. Tonight, she actually let us take her baby rail off of her bed. When we got it off, she said "wow it makes my bed look so different." Yes it does. I'm so proud of her for trying. Love her.

Little Gymnast

Maddy is obsessed with wearing her gymnastics leotards. It cracks me up. Today, she put on Reagan's old one and played all day. She decided today she would make envelopes and crafts for her friends at school. She has two boyfriends apparently - Chase and Arnov. Arnov is always first though. :)  Later today, we hung out in the basement. Her Barbies decided they were going to the zoo. The zoo was made up of cardboard blocks that she had set up near her toy box. I think she had every doll she owns lined up and "playing" in the zoo area. It was sweet to watch her - so precise and particular about how things were set up. She even had full conversations that were fun to listen to.

Gymnastics girls

Reagan loves her gymnastics. She had her second lesson today and came home smiling. She was able to ring the bell because she mastered something. She was able to get her hands down onto the balance beam for the first time on one leg. So proud of her.

While Reagan is in classes (Maddy has to wait). Maddy loves to practice at home. She has been putting on her leotard for weeks and wanting to workout with me daily. She gets on the mat and will do all sorts of summersaults and fun stuff - her exercises. :) Love watching her have fun.

Catching butterflies

The girls have such an imagination. They both grabbed their bug nets tonight and proceeded to catch butterflies in our living room. I don't recall seeing any in the house, but ya know... it happens. I had a cage for them with two doors. They ran around screaming until they caught one. They'd then show it to me and then keep going. Sometimes they were too big for me to keep. They'd have to put those back.
So cute and fun... and loud.

Lost another tooth - really?

Tonight, the girls and I were hanging out in the basement. Reagan walked into the bathroom and walked back out with a weird look on her face. "Mom, should I have lost another tooth already?" and handed me a tooth.  What the heck?

Lost another tooth and spitting

Oh geez. This kid loves to mess with her teeth. I noticed that it was loosened, but she was playing with it. A lot. Within two days of me asking her to quit playing with it, it was out. I picked her up today from school and she was beaming with pride - it was gone.
She was so happy the whole way home.

In contrast, this was the day that Maddy got in trouble at school for the first time. She was a little frustrated and threw some things on the floor. When she was confronted, she spit on her teacher. Geez really? When I got there, she was fine until I confronted her. She started freaking out and crying. She took a long time to settle down. Once she did, we had to talk about why. She didn't have any answer except she was upset. Sigh.

So following up with the tooth - I totally forgot the tooth fairy. We woke up the next morning and had totally forgotten to put money in her pillow.

Rosie Revere

Reagan came home with her first invention from her Destination Imagination team - a cup with an extended straw. I'm not 100% sure what it does or why it is the way it is, but it was hers. And it was cool. I giggled out loud when I watched her stick it in her juice and start drinking. I couldn't help it. We all did. But she loved her little invention.

First night alone

My girls had a sleepover at my parent last night. They were so excited. They packed up half of their rooms and gladly took a bath before going on their adventure. When I called to check in, they were happily playing Princess Pop-up - a game they had gotten for Christmas.

It was a strange evening for us. When we got home from the movie, we had no kids to worry about. Just us.

This morning is even stranger. No fighting at the breakfast table. No begging to get dressed. Just silence. While it is nice, I do miss it.

New Years Day 2015

This year has started off quiet for us. I welcomed that of course. Life always seems to be hectic and I am thankful for the quiet days with my little family. Today we all slept in. It was wonderful. Reagan came downstairs into our room after midnight after a bad dream. She snuggled in the middle of us and went right back to sleep.
While I woke up at 8:00 am, the rest of my world slept in past 9:00 am - some until 9:30 am. Maddy was immediately ready to workout with me - a real one. She had gotten her ballet leotard and tights on and was expressing the need to workout in the backroom immediately. I smiled.
We got dressed and went downstairs to hang out. We played barbies and played around for a bit. I didn't want to turn on the DVDs - they might wake up the others. So we waited and played.
After everyone else woke up, we quickly went into the backroom and got ready to get our sweat on. :)  Maddy got into her square and Reagan got into hers. We all did Les Mils Pump together. Nice.
Once I got going, the girls bailed and went into the other room to watch TV and eat their breakfast.
We had a nice day of playing board games and relaxing. Maddy napped for the first time in over a week. She needed it.  She still loves to snuggle on me to go to sleep. She lays in the crook of my arm and snuggles with her slicky blanky. I love that.
Reagan and I played mouse trap and a few other games before it was time for us all to take a nap - quiet time. Once we got moving again, we broke out the Disney Infinity game. Reagan got into it pretty quickly. She got into it much easier than me and informed of this as well. Maddy couldn't quite get it, but still seemed to love it all the same.
My girls are like oil and water. They can be on and really get along - be belly-laughing together and playing wonderfully. The next minute it can turn into an all out war. It doesn't help that Reagan has a bit of a mean streak. She is very loving, but can strike out quickly. Maddy likes to deal with things physically. I think it's the little sister thing. I've heard it a lot from other parents. It's nothing new. It makes me breathe easier at times.
I just pray that they are super closer when they get older.

No more Santa

Well, we've been wondering when it would happen. It did. Reagan finally asked the question "is there a Santa". Jim didn't lie to Jordan when she asked. He didn't lie to Reagan.

So now, we have a huge family secret that we must keep from Maddy. I'm kinda sad a bit. It is great she knows the meaning of Christmas. I love that. But it's the passing of time and that she's growing up. Sniff sniff.

My baby.

Parent Teacher conferences

Halloween 2014

Well my girls went out as Elsa and Anna - big shocker for everyone out there.  They were perfectly set for this combo tonight. Reagan is the oldest and a blonde. Maddy is the younger one and a brunette. Perfect. They walked around together.

They were both super excited. Jim and Papa took them around. Maddy and Papa apparently were running from house to house. Jim stuck with Reagan. Maddy made it all the way down the street and back and called it a night. She was done. She walked in the house, found Mimi and called it quits. Wow

Reagan wanted to keep going. She and Jim took off while the rest of us handed out candy and watched some Halloween spooky shows. Reagan made it almost 90 minutes before she decided she was cold enough. I was pretty impressed. She actually came inside and said "I want to go back out when I get warm". I just smiled. She had enough candy and it was time to settle down.

Both of them were tuckered out from the full day. It was a successful fun time, as always.

Dresses

Maddy is obsessed with dresses and the dressy ones. I got all of her fall clothes - or shall I say dresses - and she won't wear any of them. She still wants to wear the sundresses. Today she had on her princess dress and yes she wore it to school. It's funny. She did this last year too. I had forgotten a bit, but she really hates dressing warm. But once she gets really cold, she'll give in. :)

Air quotes with a rhetorical question

Reagan has started using air quotes officially. I have no idea where she gets this from, but at least she uses them right. She's really cracking me up all the stuff she comes home with too - little sayings that kids start to learn (nothing bad) and just starting to be a little more grown up.

Oh and the rhetorical question is official. She's used it three times in the right way. That means it can get documented as something she knows. :) And yes, she uses it in the right way and only at funny times. I said something to Jim tonight and he answered. I wasn't really looking for an answer, but he answered the obvious answer. She said "dad, I think that was a rhetorical question" with her look of "duh" that she has perfected so well.

Love her.