Sleeping Beauty

I love my girls, but at the end of the day, there are times I CAN'T wait until bedtime. The caos, the nonstop chatter and noise, the messes, and all the work of the day comes to an end once the girls are in bed. At the end of the night, when we retire to the bedroom to watch TV, we tuck the girls in, turning night lights off, etc, and it always makes me smile to see how stinkin cute my girls are when they are asleep. No matter what the caos, or battles were endured through the day, seeing them like this, makes it all okay..... ...... until the next day begins and the chatter, noise, and messes start over again. LOL

Rachel: The Destroyer

Some kids are gentle with things. Some kids are rough. Hannah never once did she break anything as a toddler (I think with the exception of an antique plate at my parents house). Rachel, is totally a different story. She has broken more things than you would believe.

It started at a young age. Which should have been a red light then, but it wasn't. LOL. She pulled a basin and pitcher off a table in our bedroom, breaking the basin in half. It wasn't until the last six months I found a new basin to replace the broken one.

There's been other little things along the way. But lately there have been some pretty major ones worth mentioning.

Last week, during a day in which it was a battle of the wills, and I was going to win by her taking a nap, Rachel pulled the curtains off of her wall, leaving about a dime size tear in the drywall. I now need to purchase a new curtain rod and patch the hole. I didn't realize how much I liked her curtains, until they've been down for a week.

Yesterday afternoon while I was vaccuming Hannah's room, I shut the door to vaccum behind the door and discovered a hole in the door about the size of a dime. The hole had been made as a result of the door being slammed into the door stopper over and over and over again...with force. The hole hasn't been there long, because it wasn't there a week ago when Steven measured and charted Hannah's height on her growth chart. I didn't get mad. I didn't let it stress me out. I'm not saying it didn't bother me, but what good is it to get so upset over something I can't fix?? I was thankful the hole is on the back of the door! I kinda had to laugh about it...because, that's our Rachel.

Carlsbad Beach

After our time at the Carlsbad Flower Fields, we drove across the highway to the beach. I'm not sure how much or even if she remembers our vacation at Pismo Beach last year, but Rachel sure loved being on the beach today. Although she still doesn't like the feel of sandy hands. LOL.

We strolled the beach for about half a mile. The girls picking up rocks and sea shells with Uncle Bart. Rachel thinking it was funny when the incoming waves just missed her. LOL. After our time at the beach, we went back to Uncle Bart's condo and looked at all the pictures we'd taken today. We went to dinner and then back to Uncle Bart's place.

On trips when I don't know how late we'll be out, I always throw the girls' pajamas in the car, that way when they fall asleep in the car on the way home, they can be easily put to bed and not have to be awakened to put jammies on. After a wonderful afternoon and evening, it was time to head for home. I did a diaper change and got the girls into their jammies, refilled sippie cups, and annoucned it was time to leave. Rachel started crying, she didn't want to leave Uncle Bart. She thought because I put her jammies on, it meant she was spending the night with him. LOL. However, once in the car it didn't take long before the girls were fast asleep. They were worn out from all the walking we did and fresh air we were exposed to.

Carlsbad Flower Fields

Today we made the drive and spent most of the day with Uncle Bart, someone Rachel has become very attached to in the last several months. He's her buddy and she loves to see him.

After stopping off to see Uncle Bart's condo, we made our way to lunch, and then to the Carlsbad Flower Fields. We did a lot of walking and Rachel for the most part did great. She was pretty cute, stopping to smell the flowers on a few occassions. One of the cool things to do at the Flower Fields was the Sweet Pea Maze. The Sweet Pea hedge was about five feet high. Rachel just kept going and going, laughing most of the way because she kept running into the same people over and over because they were lost too.Another thing to do, which I'm not sure what it had to do with fields of flowers, was this gem minning station. The kids got to pick a pail, and then they showed the kids how to shake thier tray back and forth in the water. Rachel actually had gold in her bucket!! In addition the gold nugget, she had a nice little bag of pretty stones to keep.

Clotheless Adventures with Rachel

I post these adventures because I know it'll bring laughter to some. Perhaps sympathy from others. Hopeful for notes of encouragement from fellow mothers experiencing or having experienced the same adventures with their children. And most importantly this blog acts as a journal, Rachel's online babybook.

Rachel has this fascination for not wearing clothes, or a pull up for that matter. Everyday I must dress that kid at least three times. One day last week, knowing that she had gone outback to play, I went to check on her. And how did I find Rachel you might wonder?? She was swinging on the swingset, with not a single article of clothing on...nor was she wearing her pull up. Her clothes and pull up were spewed about the backyard. She just kept on swinging with a huge smile from ear to ear.

Last Saturday we hosted a birthday party for Hannah. Having rented a bounce house to entertain the coming kids, we took full advantage of the bounce house late in the afternoon once the party was over. Sitting on the patio, enjoying the peace and quiet, I look up to see Rachel in the bounce house, bouncing, celebrating the day...in her BIRTHday suit. Grrrr.

The other day, as I was sitting at my desktop computer, importing pictures, Rachel came to into the office. Again, wearing absolutely nothing, except for a purple ribbon wrapped around her chest, she says "I'm Ariel". That one made Steven laugh so hard he about fell out of his chair.

Besides taking every piece of clothing off several times throughout the day, she can't stand to have shoes on. We'll be in the car running errands and at every single stop, I have to put her socks and shoes back on. I can't tell you how frustrating this one is. It actually makes me pretty mad about the third stop.

I am seriously hoping that Rachel outgrows this fascination for a lack of clothing come September when she goes to preschool. That's one call I would not want "Hello, Mrs. F*****, Rachel took her clothes off in class today and hid them and we can't find them".

A Trip to Our Happy Place

Upon waking up this morning, I decided it was a great day for a trip to Disneyland. So I packed the backpack, Rachel and I dawned our Mickey Mouse shirts, and grabbed my camera. Listening to the news as we pulled out of the driveway warned of the potentially high winds we could see today. And said that the winds were so bad at Disneyland yesterday that a palm tree frond fell on a guest waiting in line for the Jungle Cruise, sending her to the hospital. Ummm....okay, to be honest, that was kinda freaky, I'm in the car, already having told Rachel we were heading to see Mickey and we hear this news story. Do I go, or do I stay home?? LOL. I decided to go ahead and make the trip. The winds haven't been kicking up until mid to late afternoon anyways, and I would need to be back by mid afternoon to get Hannah from school. So there was a chance we wouldn't be affected by the winds, however, if by chance if there were high winds, we'd make the best of our trip by seeing some of indoor shows and doing some window shopping and then heading home. But on a happy note, we were blessed with a very beautiful day...no wind, bright and shinning sun, and temps near the 80s. Simply beautiful.

Rachel has reached the first height requirement for some of the more 'wilder' rides. She is tall enough for the Matterhorn Bobsleds, and for Gadgets Go Coaster. Today she went on Gadgets Go Coaster and had a great time! One of my most favorite places to eat at Disneyland, not necessarily for the food, but for the atmosphere, is the Hungry Bear Restaraunt back in Critter Country. The upstairs dinning deck overlooks the Rivers of America and provides for a relaxing area to sit and enjoy your lunch while watching the Mark Twain Steamboat, the Sailing Ship Columbia, and the canoes make their way around the River. It was such a beautiful day that Rachel and I ate lunch here and enjoyed the view and she enjoyed watching the ducks. I love the trips that Rachel and I have had, just the two of us. It's especially a lot of fun now that Rachel has developed her own likes and dislikes and her own little agenda for our day. :)

Clownin Around

We went to the circus today. Rachel's wearing her 'freshly picked nose'. :)

Bouncing Rachel

Having a bounce house in her own backyard was heaven for Rachel. It gave her a place to bounce and jump and do her tricks that she normally does on the couch and on beds.

I think she thought the bounce house was a new addition to our backyard and was here to stay because she cried when the man came to take it away. LOL.

Haircut for the Girlie

This afternoon, after school I took Hannah to get her hair cut. While Hannah was in the chair, Rachel asked to get her hair cut. How can you deny a girl a haircut when she uses her words?? LOL. Rachel did such a great job at sitting still and doing what the lady asked of her. Her hair looked cute enough, but then the lady added a couple of braids to the sides, making her look even more cute!

Easter at Gramma and Papa's

Gramma and Papa's house was the place to be for Easter Dinner this year. Gramma made a delicious meal that brought the whole family together. It was a great afternoon and evening of just hanging out with the family and Rachel and Hannah playing with their cousins. They especially had a great time doing an egg hunt in Gramma and Papa's back yard, searching for lots of eggs loaded with candy.

Uncle Bart brought each of the girls a giant chocolate bunny.
Officially a pro at egg hunting now.

Being silly with the cousins.
Gramma filled cute Easter tins for each of the girls.
Here, Rachel is adding to her stash from the eggs she found.

Easter Morning

Easter for our family isn't about the Easter Bunny, or the baskets, dying eggs, or egg hunts, although egg hunts and dying eggs are a lot of fun. Easter is about Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins and then rose from the dead 3 days later.

With that said, I was once again very excited about the Easter activities that followed our sunrise church service. It was the same as last years activities, with a couple more things added. It's called Holyland Adventures: The Jerusalem Marketplace. There were 14 stations all centred around what it would have been like to live during Jesus' last days. Most of the stations had something for the kids to make and take home to remember their experience. This year, Rachel participated and had a blast doing so! Last year, she just sat in the stroller, this time she walked from booth to booth. I for one missed having the stroller to hold all the stuff they were acquiring. LOL.
Decorating a cross.
Checking out the empty tomb.
Rachel loved waving the palm branch and singing "Hosana". Decorating her crown. She's a Princess in the Lord's eyes. Learning what it's like to be a carpenter, like Jesus was.Grinding up spices and herbs like the ones they used in Jesus' day.Rachel had so much fun being able to particpate in these activities. As she gets older, it's my hope and prayer that she understand what's being taught. It's defianately a great way to kick off the Easter day.

Easter Egg Hunt

The day before Easter means a massive egg hunt in our neck of the woods. In years past, it's been an egg hunt to span almost all the front yards of our Cul de Sac, involving 10-12 kids, and egg counts as high as 300. However, our street has gone through some changes over the last year, and a lot of the kids living on the street don't get a long with one another, so we decided to do a massive egg hunt of our own, in our backyard, with just our girls and the three girls next door. It'll was still a massive hunt...there are 150 eggs to be found!

Because this year's hunt was on a much smaller scale as far as the amount of kids go, I was able to try something that I had read in a magazine a couple years ago and assinged each kid a color. Rachel and Gracie, because they aren't real good on their colors yet, were able to pick up green and yellow eggs.

Both the little girls had a blast, both going after eggs, collecting them in their baskets, and then...Gracie dropped one and it broke in two, and she discovered the eggs actually had candy in them! That was it, her search was over, she was happy with the candy she'd found. LOL. That's the way to get the egg atop the slide, grab it, slide down,
and trust your friend isn't going to take off with your basket .
"This isn't my basket, but I bet they wouldn't mind sharing what's in it".
Rachel has discovered a new love...RingPops!It was so much fun to watch Rachel hunt for eggs this year. She was having so much fun and understands what 'candy' is this year. Which is the reason she was the one who kept sneaking into the house this afternoon, climbing atop the kitchen counter, and sneaking candy. LOL. I'm sure she'll do just fine tomorrow when we do another massive egg hunt at Gramma and Papa's house. Only this time it'll be even more fun because Haylee and McKenzie will be there hunting too!

Coloring Easter Eggs

This evening after dinner, Rachel joined Hannah and her friend next door in coloring Easter eggs! I was a little leary at first, but I had it down to a system of the girls needing to ask for me to move a cup of colored dye to avoid any spills. I figured I'd let Rachel give it a try and she was excited to get the chance to do so.

Big girls color Easter eggs.
Proud of the egg that has her name on it.
Proud of her colored eggs!

Naptime Solution?? Perhaps!

Today, my mom and I went to her church's Good Friday noon service. They offered no child care for the hour long service, so I was prepared with a bag of snacks and a notepad to keep Rachel occupied. Rachel was sitting so nicely, she was quietly eating her pretzels and then about a quarter of the way through the service, she leaned onto my arm, and fell asleep!!

I think I've found a solution to my naptime struggles with Rachel...I either need to find a mid day service to go to everyday of the week, or as my mom suggested, download the Pastors messages onto my iPod and have Rachel listen to them everyday. LOL.

Spring Parade

This morning, Rachel, Gramma, and I went to see McKenzie in her Spring Parade at the preschool. Rachel was very excited to be visiting what will be 'her school' come September, as well as very excited to get to see her cousins. This large bunny is usually a bean bag toss.
Today, it served as face holes for Rachel and Haylee. The cute lil bunny we all came to see.

Celebrating Uncle Bart's Birthday

Today we went to Disneyland. About a month ago, Uncle Bart mentioned wanting the family to meet for breakfast at Disneyland and then spend the day together for his birthday. He was able to get Gramma and Papa tickets into the park on the Military Base, which was nice because they've not been since their annual passes expired last year.

Uncle Bart is always saying how he'd like to
work at Disneyland if he could be Tigger. The breakfast in which we went to was a character breakfast where the characters come to your table to interact, sign autographs, and take pictures. This was Rachel's first character dinning experience and I think she really enjoyed it. She wore her Minnie Mouse (it was actually Hannah's dress) dress today and was so adorable if I say so myself. This is the first time she's dressed up for going to Disneyland. Rachel was very excited to see Minnie Mouse across the dinning room. She was even more excited when Minnie came to our table. Eeyore came to our table...a LOT. After breakfast we headed out to hit some rides. Rachel and Gramma got to spend some quite a lot of time together since Rachel doesn't meet the height requirements on the 'good rides'. While the big people were in line for the Matterhorn, Rachel, Gramma, and Hannah were greeted by Alice in Wonderland and stopped to pose for a picture with the girls. "Go Faster Gramma, Go Faster"The afternoon included more rides, enjoying some seats in the shade, and snacks. Daddy had to head home to serve in his evening church ministry, and we got a ride home with Gramma and Papa and stayed into the evening. We also watched the parade. Here the girls are using Papa in order to see the parade. Disneyland was extremely crowded today. Lines were long. But the day was a beautiful spring day and we managed to ride a lot of rides and a have a great day!