Am I Right for the Job?

So, lately, okay not lately. Mealtimes at my house have always been a battle. Mainly, my 4 year old. She is the most picky eater EVER! Rebecca won't try anything new and sometimes won't even eat something she has always loved. I don't get it and it is totally getting on my nerves. Sometimes I even ask her what she wants to eat. I usually give her a choice between two things and then sometimes I don't give her a choice at all, she just eats what I made for dinner. Which usually doesn't go over well.

Today, she wanted lunch, she saw some Ritz crackers on the counter and said she wanted some of those for lunch. Okay, so I thought she can have cheese, crackers, pepperoni (that she loved a couple of days ago), and some baby carrots. She only ate the crackers. She was done. I told her if she was not going to eat at lunchtime she can go clean her room instead. She gladly went to her room and picked up a couple of things. However, when I did that, Annie, who was eating okay decided she was done also. Annie did manage to eat all her crackers, cheese, and some pepperoni. Since Annie is only 2 1/2, I put her down for a nap instead.

Rebecca came out of her room and said she was hungry. I told her that her food was still on the table and she could go eat it. Rebecca ate a some cheese and was done. That was her last chance, I was not playing her game anymore. She went back to her room to finish cleaning. I later found her asleep. I have decided that I did not win that round.

About 4pm, Rebecca tells me she is hungry. Okay, I will give them an early dinner and surely, they will eat everything I give them no matter what it is. Since I was not ready to cook dinner for all of us, I gave them some chicken nuggets and mixed veggies. Of course they ate the chicken nuggets. An hour later I am still trying to get them to eat their veggies.

Even when they do eat, it takes them forever. They goof off and talk constantly. I will be sitting their monitoring them too. I don't get why they can't just eat and then go play. Tonight, when Rebecca was eating her dinner she kept talking and goofing even after she was asked to stop. She was nearly done with her plate, but she kept on and on. Then she would look up at me and smile and say she was sorry. Really? She was totally pushing my buttons and she knew it. I was so mad. A 4 year old got me and she is teaching my 2 year old how to do it.

Any suggestions or tricks would gladly be appreciated. I have taken privileges, toys, and other things away and it doesn't work. I am willing to try anything.

So, It's Been a While......

Yeah, I know, it's been a while. The month of December was pretty crazy for me and it lead straight in to January. And before I knew it, I hadn't blogged in nearly 2 months. So, I guess I will tell you what we have been up to.

Early December was spent Christmas shopping and getting my house ready for our company. I tried to do most of my shopping online so I wouldn't have to get out in the traffic congested mall area. I did make it to the mall and a few other places without too much trouble but did manage to find some really good deals online for the niece and nephews. I was really excited about the free shipping to two different addresses that Toys R Us had going.


So, like I said I had to get my house prepared for our company. I needed to make sure I had enough pillows, sheets and blankets. I realized that I had never had house guests in the cold winter months and needed more blankets. Walmart fixed that problem with these really plush blankets. They had the same ones at Target, but for double the price. It was obvious where I would be buying the blankets. Then I just had to maintain a clean house with my two girls messing it up an hour later. I would sweep and mop the floor and at dinner it never failed, one of the girls would spill their milk. So, I would have to do it again. Anyway, I managed to have a spotless house before my guests came.


Our house guests started arriving on December 18th. My brother-in-law, Travis, sister-in-law, Sigi, and niece, Olivia from England. And then the best mother-in-law ever, Brenda came out from California. I had a house full with everyone on the 18th, but was expecting more on the 21st. My mom and dad came in on the 21st. I have a three bedroom, two bathroom house and 10 people in my house. Well, obviously, I didn't have enough room to house that many people, so my best friend and neighbor, Leah and her husband offered up their guest room. That was so generous of them and really convenient for us to be right next door. So, it worked out.


While everyone was here visiting we went on the North Pole Express. It was a spin off of the movie Polar Express. We thought it would be fun for the kids. It was nice. The girls liked it, but I thought it was a little pricey for what they had going. It is probably something that we won't be doing in the future. I did get pictures of the girls with Santa. They turned out great. No tears this year.

I thought these turned out so cute. I am kind of sad that Annie won't remember sitting with Santa because she was asleep. Before we went on the train we went in and saw Santa taking pictures. Annie was waving from a distance to Santa. It was so cute. We would have had the pictures taken before the train ride, but thought we needed to get in line for the train. Anyway, the train ride wore her out. Oh, and I forgot to mention, it was so cold that day. It didn't get above freezing and the wind was blowing. That did not stop us from getting out and about, but it sure was nice coming home for a heater and a fire. Oh and Sigi made some wonderful mulled wine. It is warm wine and some other stuff. It is yummy. Helped take the chill of the day off.

The next day we went Gaylord Texan. This place is so awesome. I kept telling my dear husband that would be a nice get away for the two of us. It was a pretty fancy place that we could never slap that much money down for a night away. But it was fun to imagine that we could. This place is a duplicate of the San Antonio River walk. On a smaller scale. It has hotels, shops, and restaurants. We went to this place because they have an ICE! exhibit there. The ICE! exhibit is huge ice sculptures. They had an ice train, slide, reindeer, elves, etc. It was pretty cool. I have some pictures on my camera of this place but can't find my camera to download them. This place is so cold to keep the sculptures from melting. It was 7 degrees inside. They provided us with parkas that we wore over our own jackets. Poor Annie was so little that her jacket was so big she couldn't move. We didn't make her wear it the whole time because she just cried. The exhibit was pretty amazing that we would do it again.

The rest of the Christmas week was pretty uneventful. We just had our Christmas here at the house. We all opened presents and the girls of course got way too much for Christmas. I don't know how may Disney Princess Barbies we ended up with, I think about six between my girls. Everyone enjoyed the day. We had a wonderful spread for our dinner. We had ham, tri-tip, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, and cranberries. I might be missing something in there but I don't remember. Oh and we had three different pies. They were good.

My parents left the day after Christmas. I was sad to have them go so soon, but they were off to visit my aunt and uncle in North Carolina. My uncle was throwing a surprise birthday party for my aunt and thought it wouldn't be the same if her sister (my mom) wasn't there to spend it with her. So, they were off to NC for a couple of days and then they would be flying home to California to get back to work. I am hoping that my mom will come out in the spring or summer this year.

The day after Christmas, we went to Granbury, Texas to go visit with Uncle Willis and Aunt Linda. It was a nice visit. Uncle Willis just had shoulder replacement surgery and was up and around and doing wonderful. We got in a little walk to visit the horses that are on the neighboring property. Then we all came in a played a game of Phase 10. If you don't know what Phase 10 is, get in your car and go to Walmart and get Phase 10. It is a card game that is so much fun.

Travis, Sigi and Olivia were headed off to Austin to visit some friends of theirs. They left from Granbury and would spend almost a week in Austin. So, while they were gone it we only had Matt's mom staying with us. It was nice to have the house a little bit back to normal. At least the girls didn't have to sleep on the floor in our room anymore.

On December 29th, Matt and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. It is supposed to be the year of the itch, so I've heard, but all is well and we are still happily married. Since we had a built in babysitter (Brenda) we took advantage and went to dinner. We went to Razzoo's, which is a Cajun place. It was good. Then we came home. We played Phase 10 with Brenda and then went to bed.

I ended up getting so sick that night and I thought I had food poisoning. The next day I just laid around not feeling good and was so tired. This bug hit me so hard and really fast. The next day was New Year's Eve and I still wasn't feeling good. I had started running a fever, so obviously it was not the food. My throat was killing me too. I called my doctor to see if I could get in and they were booked. So, I went to a Care Now and found out I had strep throat. I was so sick. Got on some antibiotics and went on my way.

My neighbor, Leah, was having a party for New Year's Eve and insisted that I come. I had started my antibiotic and had been able to control my fever and thought I can make it. So, I did. I just sat there on the couch, but had a lot of fun watching other people. Travis and Sigi got back that evening and came over as well. If you go to You Tube and type in Footloose you may see our little party. I haven't gotten a chance to look yet but it was pretty funny while I was sitting on the couch. Anyway, we stayed up until midnight and I went home shortly after that. I was exhausted.

I felt a little better the next day. The antibiotics were kicking in. For the rest of that week we didn't do a whole lot. We had the most wonderful weather. It was in the 80's. It was so nice. We took the girls to the park to feed the ducks and play around. It was nice to get out and get some fresh air. Rebecca, Olivia and Annie got along really well and it was fun to see them play together.

Matt's mom left on Monday, January 5th. I hated to see her go but she had to get back to work. Matt's dad (Don) and step-mom (Daryln) came in on the 5th as well. It was good to see them again. It had been a year since we saw Don and at least two years since we had seen Daryln. We would stay up late talking and then have to get up early when the kids would wake up. You would think they would have slept in for us, but no.

On Wednesday, we went to the Fort Worth Zoo. It was such a beautiful day. It got into the 70's. The zoo wasn't packed like I had seen it before and it was just an all around great day. We got see baby monkeys, baby lion cubs and baby orange tigers. The lion cubs were the most entertaining. They were chasing each other and then the mom would get after them. It was so cute to watch them. The girls went into the bird section. They have all these small colorful birds and you walk through their area and you can feed them. Matt and I don't care for this section so we sent the girls in with the grandparents and they looked like they were having so much fun. They have gotten some bird seed on a stick and the birds would come over and land on their stick. Annie and Rebecca didn't know what to think they got scared and tried to shake the birds off. It was so funny. The birds would also land on there arms. I am still cracking up. That was a fun day.

On Thursday, Sigi, Daryln and I went to the mall. Daryln wanted to get the girls an outfit. We found some really good deals at Gymboree. It was a nice day. We had lunch at the mall. It was nice to have a little girls day without the little girls. Then when we got home we talked Matt and Travis into taking Sigi and I to the movies and dinner. Since we did have the grandparents as babysitters. It was so nice. We saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. That was a good movie a little weird but good. Then we went to Red Robin for dinner. It was good. Then we came back home.

On Friday, we went to Cleburne State Park. It was another wonderful day. We had a picnic in the park and the girls played on the playground for a while. Then we took a little hike by the lake that was there. The girls had so much fun. That night we went out to dinner for Travis and Sigi's last night here. We went to a BBQ place that was really good. I definitely would go back.

On Saturday, Travis, Sigi, and Olivia left to go home. They had a long flight ahead of them. They had so much luggage between them. They had a total of six bags and a couple of carry-ons. Earlier in the visit Kohl's was having these awesome sales and we had 30% off coupons and Sigi bought bedding, bath towels and clothes for all of them. So, that is why all the luggage. I am sure she is very pleased with her purchases. Travis did mention that when they were unpacking their bags, it was like Christmas all over again. It was such a nice visit and I look forward to doing it again. We really enjoyed their company.

On Monday the 12th, Don and Daryln left to go home. It was nice to see them. It was also nice to get back to a normal routine. Rebecca was to go back to her pre-K class at the rec center. She woke up with the lump on her neck by her ear that was really sore. I gave her some Ibuprofen and she was fine. I didn't think it was weird that she has this lump and no other symptoms so I made an appointment with her doctor later that day. Good thing I did, because when I picked her up from school she was not well at all. She was running a fever. Her doctor told me that she had lymphnotitus. Which is an infection in the lymphnode. Never heard of that before, but would explain the pain and swollen lymphnode. We got her on antibiotics and went on our way.

On Thursday, Rebecca's doctor's office called and told me that the culture they sent off came back and she had strep throat. They tested her in the office and that test came back negative. I had no idea that they were sending off a specimen. Anyway, I was a little ticked that her doctor told me she was not contagious and I could send her to school. Strep throat is highly contagious. I just hope that none of her classmates get it. On a good note, both Annie and Matt have been infected twice and they have not gotten it.....yet. I am hoping that we will be strep free in this household.

Anyway, that is what I have been up to. I just didn't have time to blog during these last couple of months. You can see why. Anyway, all is good here and back to normal. I am glad to get back into a routine with the girls. I will try to get out a blog sooner than later. I don't know that many people keep up on this blog anyway and actually missed it. If there are any lurkers out there leave a message, de-lurk yourself.