We're all adjusting to the new school year over here in our house.
(Not included in this statement: missing the bus the third day of school, forgetting both girls nametags on the first day, forgetting Gracie's folder...)
The girls are exhausted, but the one having the hardest time in Colin.
He is walking around the house crying, "cee-ceeeeesss!" ("sissies!") He doesn't want to play, just sit in their room. We have to drop Gracie off at school after lunch and walk her in to the school. Where we usually see Ellie sitting in the cafeteria eating her lunch. So you can understand why he gets so sad.
Tuesday, he brought his little lunchbox into the school with him. I didn't notice until we were in the school and he was pointing at Ellie. He wanted to go eat lunch with her! He cried the whole way out "Mama! Wunchbox! WUNCHBOX!" It was so heartbreaking!
Every day he cries the whole way home... Its hard to be the littlest one.
The other night, my husband was working late so we had leftovers for dinner. I let my kids choose what they wanted: leftover Chinese food, leftover grilled chicken and cous cous or hot dogs.
Yes, I realize that was my first mistake with a two year old.
My oldest picked a hot dog, so I - very innocently - went to reheat it in the microwave. Colin promptly threw himself on the floor and began screaming "NO HOT DOG! NO HOT DOG!" I tried to explain that it was for his sister... no dice. Fit continues. I got the hot dog all ready "Mustard only, please. I'm not Gracie." (She always says that. Apparently her not being Gracie explains her choice of hot dog condiments.)
Then I begin heating up Chinese for my middle daughter. Then - I'm sure you'll be shocked by this turn of events - Colin threw himself on the floor and began screaming "NO NOODLES! NO NOODLES!!" I explained that this was for his sister, but - as you might have guessed - it made no difference. I decide to ignore him and let him calm down.
So his sisters were sitting down at the table eating their meals and Colin notices that he's missing out of food. (CLEARLY he takes the food very seriously.) He climbs up into a chair, looks at me and sweetly says, "Hot dog, peeze, Mama!"
And his newest thing? "Don't want to."
"Colin, eat your lunch." "Don't want to."
"Colin, its 3am. Go to sleep." "Don't want to."
"Colin, tell your sister you're sorry for hitting her."
"Don't want to." "You hurt her. You need to say that you are sorry." "Don't want to." "It doesn't matter if you want to. You need to." "Nope. Don't want to."
Saturday morning, we piled the kids into the car bright and early and headed out to Lancaster. It's so close, but I'm sad to say that we don't make it out there nearly enough. It was a fantastic weekend! I think the pictures will tell the story far better than I can:
We started out at the famous Shady Maple Smorgasbord. Our kids love breakfast, so we get our money's worth at places like this. I'm surprised we don't have our picture next to the cash register or something.
Gracie had a terribly healthy breakfast, consisting mostly of sugar. Note the M&M pancake the size of her head and the donut (with frosting and sprinkles). She topped it all off later on with an Icee. Yes, an Icee. This is what happens when you send one of your kids out into a smorgasbord with your husband. And, of course, she chowed down on the breakfast meats. We eat our money's worth at these places in bacon alone. The rest of us had healthier fare. My only complaint about Shady Maple was the bacon thief that kept showing up at our table... Then we headed off to Strasburg Railroad. We pulled into the parking lot and Colin basically started screaming "CHOO CHOO!! MAMA! DADDY! CHOO-CHOO!!" and trying to get out of his car seat.
He was a little excited.
So we climbed aboard (some of us practically jumped) and settled into our seats to enjoy a ride through Lancaster County farmlands in a gorgeously restored coach car.
Actually, I think this picture pretty much sums up how Colin felt about the Railroad:
After our ride, we enjoyed exploring all around the Strasburg Railroad,
including introducing our kids to one of our childhood favorites -
those little candy dots that come on a long piece of paper. Remember those? So fun! And, just so you know, eating these little candies takes
great concentration when you are two years old and will keep a child quite busy
and quiet for an extended period if time. If you were looking for such
a thing... not that we were.
Ahem.
Anyway, we piled pack into the car and headed over to what several friends told me was a 'must see' in Lancaster, the Choo Choo Barn, which is a 1,700 square foot model train that takes you through everything from famous Lancaster landmarks to a fully animated circus!
Its THOMAS! "Tommeee, Tommeee!!"
And we topped off our visit to the Thomas' Trackside Station. Where Colin pretty much went insane with joy.
We dragged him out after spending surprisingly little (he fell in love with a ball that was only $2.50. Nice.) We headed over to spend the night in our amazing hotel, the DoubleTree Resort Lancaster/Willow Valley, which even had a water park inside! It was a super fun day, but we were all asleep by 9pm - including Mommy and Daddy! We made it home this morning, where Colin and Daddy promptly made the must humongous train track ever in Colin's room. I'm not sure he's left it all day!
I can't believe we hadn't made it out to Strasburg yet, but I am so glad that we did. I can't wait to take Colin back for the Thomas Train (where he'll probably just about pass out from excitement) and wouldn't that train ride be gorgeous in the fall? Dinner aboard the train would be such a neat date if you were going out to Lancaster for a little romantic getaway.
disclosure: we were provided with tickets to strasburg railroad and choo choo barn free of charge. as always, all opinions are our own.
Look at that gorgeous long hair! Hair with amazing highlights and just a bit of curl to it. Hair that was so incredibly beautiful, that she has been getting her compliments from strangers her whole life. Hair that we put in ponytails, pigtails and braids...
Gone.
My daughter just aged about 3 years in one afternoon. Hold me.
*giveaway is now closed. congratulations to comment #34 - stephanie!*
Having two girls that are rapidly growing up, I've been confronted lately with how I can raise them to look beyond outward appearances. Even at the young age of seven, my daughter is becoming aware of her looks: becoming opinionated about her clothes and worrying about her hair, asking me if the outfit she picked out looks cool. It worries me. She wants to cut her hair because "no one has very long hair like me" and worries "Does this match? Is this shirt okay, Mom?" I want to tell her everyday how beautiful she is... but I don't want to have her thinking that is what is most important.
But this is our society. Our daughters are bombarded by artificial beauty - airbrushed, surgically enhanced, dangerously thin people dominate television, movies and magazines. Rather than celebrating differences, we accept a standard of beautiful (that is unrealistic) and mercilessly compare ourselves to it. Does anyone feel they are beautiful enough? Or thin enough?
I'm not judging - Heaven knows I struggle with this myself and I should be old enough to know better. What can I possibly do for my daughters? The only way I can think to combat this in my daughters is to fill them with Truth.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Prov 31:30
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 1 Peter 3:3-4
So this is why I loved the newest VeggieTales movie called Sweetpea Beauty: A Girl After God's Own Heart. Its a fabulous movie that teaches girls the real value of true beauty and that God loves them just as He made them. The exact message I've been trying to embed into my little ones! I loved this video and so did my little girls. They thought it was so wonderful and they hardly noticed that they were learning such an important lessons. Honestly, I was practically in tears during this one - it was just such a fabulous message that I want to instill in my little girls. Every little girl should watch this!
Check out the trailer here. Trust me, you will not be disappointed. I cannot recommend this one enough!
VeggieTales is giving one lucky Girlymama reader a copy of Sweetpea Beauty! Here’s how to enter: Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment sharing how you encourage the children in your life to see their inner beauty. Extra Entry #1: Leave a SEPARATE comment telling me you subscribed to Girlymama's feed by email or in a reader. Extra Entry #2: Leave another comment telling me in what way you promoted this contest (i.e., posting about it on your blog or Facebook, or Tweeting about it.
Contest ends Friday, August 13th. Entries such as "Enter me" or "I want to win" will NOT be counted. Winners will be selected by Random.org, announced back here on this post, and notified via email with further instructions. If I don't hear from the winner in 48 hours, I will be choosing a new winner.
Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of Sweetpea Beauty for review purposes. I was not compensated financially for this post. As always all opinions are mine.
The highlight of the Zhuniverse Tour was by FAR the kid's hamster wheel:
Zhu Zhu Pets, you may be on to something here. I would totally buy this.
Then we went inside the museum and had a blast showing one of our favorite places to Daddy. For some reason, he's never gone with us! The place was practically empty, which was awesome. Colin's favorite part is the water exhibit.
I'm sure you've never mailed your oil bill to the garbage company and mailed your garbage bill to the oil company.
I'm sure you've never forgotten your kids swimming lessons or ballet lessons.
I'm sure you've never gone to the store to get milk and walked out $30 dollars later... with no milk.
I'm sure you never get stuck out with an extremely stinky baby and no diapers or wipes.
I'm doubly sure you've never had that happen at home, and you end up searching through old purses and your car trying to find an extra diaper.
And I'm sure you never got to the store at 2:00 in the afternoon and, as your kids were getting out of the car, realized that one of them was still wearing their pajamas.
**This giveaway is now closed! Congratulations to the 5 winners, Katrina, Beth, Donna, Christina and Allyson! Hope Eggo helps your mornings be a little more sane!**
I am not a morning person. But my kids are. OH BOY are they. They hit the ground running at full speed (and volume) at ridiculously early hours of the morning. (For several months, my son was waking up at five am. FIVE. AM!) So after becoming a mom, I quickly learned I needed to learn how to cope with this morning thing that has the nerve to come around every single day.
I do everything I can the night before. Make lunches, pack up backpacks, lay out outfits, set up the coffeemaker to greet me when I come downstairs, and prepare as much as breakfast as I can.
I make an effort to be up before the kids. Its so tempting to sneak in more sleep, but mornings go much smoother when I have a head start. I get up, have a cup of coffee and read for a bit before the kids decend.
I plan. And have a back-up plan. Mondays we have pancakes, Tuesdays we have cereal, Wednesdays we have muffins and yogurt, etc. And my back-up plan is frozen waffles. Its one of the fwe things that everyone likes. When the morning is totally crazy and chaotic and we're running late, I can throw frozen waffles in the toaster and (if need be) they can be eaten in the car.
Now, to add another weapon to my crazy morning arsenal, the Eggo Real Fruit Pizza. I popped them in the microwave this morning and 2 minutes later, breakfast was served. All three of my kids loved them and declared them "VERY YUMMY." I have to confess, I was skeptical, but they were actually really good! Not too sweet, great flavor and more filling than a waffle.
Would you like to a sane(r) morning? Eggo and The Motherhood want you to share your tips for getting through the morning and you an win one of (5), ohyes that’s right FIVE – Eggo® Real Fruit Pizzas Sampler Sets. Here’s how to enter:
Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment sharing how you make your mornings sane(r)! Extra Entry #1: Leave a SEPARATE comment telling me you subscribed to Girlymama's feed by email or in a reader. Extra Entry #2: Leave another comment telling me in what way you promoted this contest (i.e., posting about it on your blog or Facebook, or Tweeting about it.
Contest ends Friday, July 20th. Entries such as "Enter me" or "I want to win" will NOT be counted. Winners will be selected by Random.org,
announced back here on this post, and notified via email with
further instructions. If I don't hear from the winner in 48 hours, I
will be choosing a new winner.
Disclosure: I was provided with items for review purposes by Eggo and TheMotherhoodand was compensated for my time in writing this post and running this giveaway. As always all opinions are mine.
***This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to comment #28, Deena! I know you and your family are going to just love the V.Reader as much as we do!***
We have been fans of Family Reading Night for awhile in our house.
In the wintertime, we love to have what the kids call “Family Fire Night.” We light a fire in the fireplace, pop some popcorn and all curl up in the living room, snuggling together to read books, maybe playing a board game, and just enjoying some unplugged time together.
When my husband is traveling for work, the kids and I will often go to the library in the afternoon or after dinner, then come home and read the night away with all of our new books. It’s such a great quiet evening when Mama is a little fried after being with loud, energetic kids all day!
During the summer – especially on summer vacation – we love to read even more. Tonight we’re in Virginia Beach and, after spending an exhausting day on the beach and at the hotel pool, we’re having a Family Reading Night at the hotel: My husband reading on his Nook, my 7-year-old reading a chapter book, me reading picture books to my 2-year-old and my 5-year-old reading a book on her V.Reader. It is unbelievably peaceful.
Well, peaceful for having 5 people in a small room. My Gracie is so proud that she is reading on the V.Reader by herself. Ellie is getting annoyed at her because Gracie is reading aloud so we can all hear that she’s reading. (Just keepin’ it real.) She’s been reading it all vacation and I’m already seeing amazing progress with her. She can even complete the reading comprehension game – which is all reading! I’m so proud of her and I’m so excited to get her a new book.
Do you ever have a Family Reading Night?
VTech and TheMotherhood are giving one lucky Girlymama reader a V.Reader and game cartridge to help with your Family Reading Night! Here’s how to enter:
Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment sharing how you encourage your family to read and if you've tried a Family Reading Night. Extra Entry #1: Leave a SEPARATE comment telling me you subscribed to Girlymama's feed by email or in a reader. Extra Entry #2: Leave another comment telling me in what way you promoted this contest (i.e., posting about it on your blog or Facebook, or Tweeting about it.
Contest ends Friday, June 16th. Entries such as "Enter me" or "I want to win" will NOT be counted. Winners will be selected by Random.org,
announced back here on this post, and notified via email with
further instructions. If I don't hear from the winner in 48 hours, I
will be choosing a new winner.
Disclosure: I was provided with a V.Reader for review purposes by VTech and TheMotherhood and was compensated for my time in writing this post and running this giveaway. As always all opinions are mine.
: A Girl After God's Own Heart. Its a fabulous movie that teaches girls 
