Katie has "preferences" when it comes to pizza. Jake too, I guess.

It's kind of sad when your kid is old enough to have a preference about her pizza toppings and the preference doesn't include mushrooms or pineapple... which happen to be your* favorites.  Your two favorite  toppings that you usually only order when you don't have to pay a million dollars extra for them... (Plug for Papa Johns... we've been milking this deal for all it's worth!)

* And by "your" I mean "mine."

Soo, I placed my usual order a few weeks ago; pepperoni, pineapple, mushroom, extra cheese.  Yum, right?

Pizza arrived, we're seated and ready to dig in, Katie takes her first bite and... her face scrunches up. 

I thought she bit her lip or something, but no.  She got a bite of pineapple.  She informs me that she does not like pineapple.

I removed all pineapple from her pizza before she would continue to eat. 

Next bite, again with the face scrunch.  She asks what "those dark things are".  I inform her that those are yummy mushrooms (in my excited, happy mommy voice). 

She informs me that she does not like mushroom. 

I inform her that there is no way I can remove the mushroom... the teeny, tiny baby pieces of mushroom.  So she ate it but she didn't like it.

I ordered pizza again a couple of weeks ago.  Again with my faves.  But I ordered half mushroom, half pineapple thinking that she could eat from the mushroom half. 

Forgetting that both were on her "ick" list because she did eat the mushrooms last time.  I distinctly remembered that she hated the pineapple (because I spent time picking each piece off), but really?  Mushrooms?  They're so small I could hardly taste them!  Luckily, they were so small she could barely see them.  She ate the pizza and I sighed a sigh of relief.

Now, last night (and yes, I know we order pizza a lot but it's good for two meals... when we order on Friday night, we eat leftovers for lunch on Saturday afternoon) I ordered from a different place (John wanted a change) and went to pick it up. 

(We've had it delivered before from this place but it occurred to me last night that they're located less than 5 minutes away so I could save on the delivery fee and tip by getting in the car in the freezing cold and picking it up.  Money saved is money spent on our next pizza order.  Duh.)

I pulled into the parking lot and saw a Chinese restaurant just two doors down and it was as if my legs wouldn't listen to my brain. 

I was telling myself "pick up pizza... must. pick. up. pizza." but my legs must have wanted some cream cheese won tons.  Which I purchased.  And debated opening the bag for a taste, as I walked the long stretch of sidewalk to the pizza place two doors down.  I didn't open them (I waited till I was in the car because I knew that once I started eating, I wouldn't want to stop eating and it would have been way too hard to juggle the open bag plus the pizza). 

So, I paid for the pizza and headed for the car.  Enjoyed a won ton (or two) and the peace and quiet in the car, sighed a deep breath, and headed home.

I was super excited because I had gotten half mushroom and half pineapple (half and half because at this place, extra toppings were not free).  When I opened the box I was surprised to see huge mushrooms the size of the peperoni slices.  I did not expect that.  I hoped I could fly these under the Katie "radar" like last time.  And I tried.  And Katie took a bite and asked what those dark things were. 

She did not like them.  She would not eat them.

She did like daddy's pizza.  Thin crust with pepperoni and ... onions.

But the drama is not over... oh no.  Jake took a bite of his pizza... a piece with delicious pineapple. 

And he promptly spit it into his hand.  Then dropped it on the floor. 

Arg. 

The pineapple strikes again.

Oh, Noisy Night

Katie is playing with daddy and Jake. Daddy is supposed to chase Katie and Jake but when Katie comes by me she's "safe". And she's safe when she goes next to the Christmas tree with the picture of Jesus, too. And pretty much wherever else she decides is "safe".

Running is accompanied by screaming and giggling. It' not quiet.

Then when she's ready to run again, she says, "are you ready Freddy?" Then daddy says, "ready" and then they run around the house.

Last time around, she shared a poem with us. It went a little something like this,

Roses are red
Violets are blue
I had a dream
I went to the zoo

Now they're done running and Katie wants us to "oooooohhh" at the tree.

The kids are getting a little wound up (understatement) but they're having fun.

Now Katie and daddy are playing the "I'm going to repeat everything you say" game. The password to stop playing is "706". Katie picked that one out. And she changed the password... now it's our address. Ummm, maybe because she forgot the first password.

Okay, gotta go. Jake's pushing a book into my face. He's being a little rough and he's probably going to start throwing it any minute.

(I'm typing this on my cell, so try to ignore the typos. Also, I've had a few interruptions so the "flow" might be a little choppy...)

Wordful Wednesday Post - Smile!

A few smiley moments...

Katie burried under stuffed animals. 

She's got plenty of stuffed animals so we just let these visit her in the cart...  and anyway, they weren't in our budget* so we didn't buy them.

 *The budget thing is probably the best idea I've come up with.  Katie gets it, and she makes me stick with it.  That's why I no longer share my shopping list with her.  You know, just in case something jumps into my cart and beggs to be taken with us... It's hard to hear your 4 year old tell you in a sing-song teacher voice, "Mommyyyyy, we didn't budget for that." It's a bummer when I hear that and see her stern look which is coincedentally kind of similar to mine.  I know I've got to put it away to set a good example.  Ugh.

Here's Jake playing with Paigey's toys... he loved the Little People set.

Katie had a great time at Lego Land and Jake?  He made a bit of a mess with the legos that are out for kids to play with and then tried to pull them out of the color specific cubbies built into a huge wall that are *not* out for kids to play with.  (I know it was a kid-friendly space but the color arrangement in the cubbies was so... perfect... I didn't think he should be allowed within 5 feet of the wall.  But he had fun anyway.)

Jake.  Playing with my pots and pans.  He loves to do this still, to this day!  And sometimes he'll put them away.  (Sometimes he'll bring them to the living room too, and that's okay.  I usually only need one.)

Jake in Texas.  Just around the time he was learning to walk.  So sweet... and a little wobbly!  He tried to run away but just had to stop and look to see if I would follow him.

Oh, the guy in the background on roller skates totally took a tumble a little after this picture was taken.  Super funny, or so I hear.  I was too busy trying to catch Jake to watch the action.

I am participating in the Invisalign Teen Bright Smiles Holiday Photo Contest with Dumb Mom.  Because she told me to, and because I might win something.  Plus, I like sharing old pictures of the kids being cute!



Legos are fun... when I'm not stepping on them in my living room.

Super fun day yesterday. I left work early to go with John for a "consultation"... you know... to make sure that we don't grow into a family of SIX in a couple of years, instead of the family of five we'll become in June... ahem.

So, I was pretty much giddy that I was just an observer and that I wasn't the one being poked and prodded... or listening to crying at one of the kids' appointments (shots=crying and the fear of shots also?=crying) and John may have thought I was a little too happy/excited but really? I needed this. I'm calling us even for my pregnancies, labors, and deliveries. John? Well, he was kind of quiet during the consult.

No pictures from our appointment (John would have objected) but do I have some from our trip to the Mall of America.

Mom needed to pick something up from the good ol' MOA (where we've been like twice in the past 10 years - both of those times were in the same week when family was visiting from Texas) and she invited me and the kiddos to come!

We ate dinner at Ruby Tuesday, did some looking around in the American Girl store (Katie was loving it) and I bought two (maternity) tops and a pair of pants (such a strange phrase... they don't sell'em as a two pack) on clearance.

Something that made my night? Oh sure, I'll share!

I was getting a belly band (to keep my pants up because the rubber bands thru the belt loop were prone to unexpected breakage... just ask me how I know this...) and I mom asked the lady if the size 0 was right. She said "oh sure. That's the regular one size fits all." And then she said...

"And your definately NOT a plus size."

I couldn't believe it. It made my week! And I wasn't even wearing my skinny jeans! (And by skinny I mean that I feel skinny when I wear them... not the skinny that cuts off circulation in your legs if you're larger around than a toothpick.)

Then we went home. And I'm still basking in the compliment glow. <happy sigh>

And that's my excitement.

And baby makes three... *gulp*

Three.

Threeeee

Threeeee kids...

We're still trying to wrap our minds around that news even after the ultrasound where we saw the baby's heartbeat.  Even after nausea became my (unwanted) pal.  Even after waking up at least 3 times each night for a bathroom break.  Even after noticing my pants getting just a little bit tighter....

      Even after thinking we were perfectly happy with

                  one boy

                          and

                              one girl.

Yep, we're still trying to wrap our minds around having a baby.

We're excited though.  I mean, after we got over the whole "wow" factor (where we repeated that one word every time we thought about the baby), after we processed the whole thing and the shock wore off and it really hit us that we were going to be parents again... we were more excited.

And here I thought I had put away my wistful* thoughts of going through pregnancy again, of feeling the little flutters, of waiting to see how this new little person would grow up, and my dreams of being able to snuggle with a tiny baby (who can't push mommy away because he or she is too busy playin') but now, with this news, they're back in full force. 

*Sure, I was thinking more in a "wouldn't it be nice but nope, we're good where we are" way but what's that old saying?

Oh, and in case you're wondering... things I'm not looking forward to would include (but aren't limited to) sleepless nights, baby vomit, buying formula, and changing 50 diapers in a day.

So I'm due in June.  With number 3. 

Here's an ultrasound pic showing the baby at about 8 weeks.


And this one will be our last. 

(Really.  I know we said that after Jake, but this time it's absolutely, definitely, positively FOR SURE.)