Thanksgiving In Review!

I know I am a little late posting my Thanksgiving run-down! We went up to Santa Barbara for the weekend to stay with Mr. Mustard's mom, and what can I say...the days got away from me!



We decided to "do Thanksgiving" a day late- on Friday- so that we could drive up on Thursday. We missed a lot of traffic because we drove while everyone else was eating Thanksgiving dinner!

It was a great idea. We had a very leisurely time up in Santa Barbara. We got there on Thursday and stayed until Sunday night!



Paprika had a wonderful time. Ginger wanted to go home to her own bed and spent most of the weekend reminding us that she would have rather been at home! ;-) What can I say, she's 17 months old and isn't a fan of travel...yet!



The girls had a great time turing the house upside down each day! What's new, right?! :-)



On Friday and Saturday night, TBS showed "The Wizard of Oz" on TV, so we let the girls watch it...both nights. (They had never seen it before).



They were entranced! That movie never gets old.



We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast. Pat outdid herself (as usual)! It was the 9th Thanksgiving I have spent at her house. It would be 10 Thanksgivings, but we missed 2005 when Mr. Mustard and I went to Paris for Thanksgiving.



We had a peaceful time up there, and missed out on all the Black Friday frenzy. I think we had a better time eating good food, laying around, going to the park, and catching up with old friends. Sales come and go, but memories last forever.

Cozy and Thankful!

Today was a beautiful day. We were cozy inside, and just enjoyed being together, being mellow. We were going to go to the Aquarium but we didn't feel like fighting any holiday traffic. Because we would have had to get on the 405, and goodness knows there ain't nothin' like traffic on the 405 the day before Thanksgiving!



We did fun stuff like play outside, draw pictures, and read lots of books.



The girls are very into reading books by the Christmas tree. Devon gave me the idea to read a Christmas book to the girls every day during the month of December. We didn't have enough Christmas books to do that, so I won a lot of 25 used Christmas books off of Ebay ($19 for 25 books, not too shabby!)



Tomorrow (well, I guess technically today) is Thanksgiving. There are many many things I am grateful and thankful for...and I give thanks for them every day. Truly.



I give thanks for the obvious things. Our family and friends. The wonderful blessings of our children. The time we get to spend with them.



I am grateful for beautiful, warm California sunshine on a late November day. Having a yard to get lost in and imagine away the day. A year ago we didn't have a yard, just sayin'!




Simple things, too. Like getting to make pancakes together for breakfast.



Or teaching Paprika to fix the computer (nevermind that it's broken!)



Even tonight as I was scrubbing the toilet, I thought to myself, "I am so grateful to have a toilet to scrub." You know, not everyone can say that they have a toilet.



Every night when I put Paprika to bed, I ask her what her favorite part of the day was. Sometimes I get a funny answer, or something I never would expect. Tonight when I tucked her in, she said, "When I picked the flowers from the garden for you, mama."

And that was my favorite part of the day, too. She picked me four purple roses from our yard, and to me they were so symbolic. Symbolic of our four children. One in full bloom, one just starting to blossom, and two who will forever be tiny rosebuds. And for them, all of them, I am thankful.

Tick Tock!

I am counting down the minutes to the Dancing With The Stars Finale tonight! Ha! As of tonight after the show airs, Mr. Mustard will be on vacation for a month- a whole month, and I am soooo excited. Well, he has one week of work he's going to squeeze in on a side project, but other than that....it's vay-kay time!!!!

Right now Paprika has a friend over and Ginger is napping. I have a moment to myself. Ahhhhhhhhhh! One thing I think that would have been great about raising twins is having a built-in playmate. Paprika and her friend have so much fun, and it's almost easier for me when she has her friends over to play.

Paprika is feeling fine now. No fever since Sunday, and she is back to her old self. Yay! She got a little over-saturated on watching videos (because she was stuck in bed sick) and now that I've pulled the plug on that, she's going through a little bit of withdrawl. Hopefully she got enough video watching in her system to last her a long time!

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving. It's Mr. Mustard's favorite holiday. My favorite holiday is Christmas! So, between the two of us, the next month will be fun.

Let's Look Back and Laugh!

You know how everyone says that you'll look back and laugh about this? I'm hoping that's what will happen with this weekend.

As Paprika told me all weekend, it was miserabled (yes, with a D at the end!)

She also kept saying: I would rather be at Disneyland eating popcorn.

To make herself feel better, she dressed up in her Minnie Mouse costume and asked to watch Mickey Mouse cartoons in bed. We have the original cartoons from the 1930s on dvd, and they are her favorite.

So, I guess that made her a little less miserabled...which was a good thing! There was no way I was going to let her eat popcorn, though...because that would have just been cruel if it had come back up. ;-)

Ginger was a good little cheerleader for Paprika and tried to make her feel better.



Ginger and I have been hanging out together while Paprika lays in bed. I have been reading Ginger a lot of books. She points to the letters and goes "Oooo, Aaaa, Eeeee, Oooo, Eeeeee"- she is trying to tell me the letters, or trick me into thinking she knows the letters. I can't figure out which one.



It rained all weekend, but this morning the sun peeked out and so I took Ginger outside to run off some steam. She was getting cabin fever. We all are! We haven't been able to set foot out of the house since...oh, last Thursday! (Since Paprika has been too sick to go anywhere and the weather has been too bad to go outside).

She was so excited for the sunshine! I was, too!



The whole weekend had me almost nostalgic for our trip we took to the Aquarium two weeks ago (we went on Veteran's Day). I never blogged about it because I wanted to block it from my memory...but this weekend I almost wanted to be back there! Ha!



The issue was that we went to the Aquarium on Veteran's Day, which I believe is the busiest day of the year. I don't know that for certain, and I have no proof to back it up- but I cannot imagine it ever being more crowded than it was on that day.



It's not a big secret that I do not like crowds. At all. I have talked to Mr. Mustard about it, and told him that I think I have a phobia about crowds. You know, like how people have with heights and clowns. But he says a strong dislike of something is not a phobia. Potato, pot-ah-toe.



Anyhoo, I could only stand to be at the Aquarium for about 12 minutes before I had to leave. But Paprika wanted to stay (of course, we had just arrived)...so I took Ginger on a long walk around Long Beach while Mr. Mustard and Paprika fought it out with everyone else nuts enough to visit the Aquarium on Veteran's Day.



Incidentally, our little trip also fell right during Ginger's naptime, so she was feeling about like how I was. Can you tell?



My point is...now I look back at our trip to the Aquarium on Veteran's Day with almost fondness. It's only been two weeks (not even) and already I'm saying: "Gosh, that was a heck of a good time. Let's go back!"

So, here's hoping when I look back at this weekend, it will be something we all laugh about...here's hoping!



Oh, and...although Paprika felt miserabled all day Friday, yesterday, and most of today, her fever broke this afternoon and by this evening, she was running around, chasing after Ginger...just like old times!

So, all's well that ends well, I suppose. She's still not 100%, but definitely a gazillion times better than she was...and that's a good thing!

Les Miserables!

Paprika's temperature was 102 all day yesterday. She stayed in bed reading books and watching movies on our mini-dvd player. Poor miserable.

So, last night she had some Motrin and went to sleep early. When I got up at 9am this morning, I noticed she hadn't come in to our bedroom last night, so I figured she'd gotten a good night's sleep in her bed.

But when we went in her room to check on her, we found her on the floor next to a big bowl that she'd been using to throw up into all night. I guess she didn't want to bother anyone. My heart just sank.

Paprika is the most non-complaining child I have ever met. Seriously. I wish she would have come in and gotten us...but she's not like that.

The first thing she said this morning?

She said: Being miserable is no fun.

So, today has been a repeat of yesterday. Paprika is watching movies in bed while Ginger and I keep ourselves occupied with crafts and games around the house.



Yesterday Paprika didn't want anything to eat and just drank juice and water. Today her appetite is improving (she's having a goat cheese pizza right now as I'm typing this)...so I take that as a good sign.

Ginger's appetite, on the other hand, is quite good! Things like this happen when I turn my back for a second. I cannot let her out of my sight...she is into everything!



Here's hoping that the next day brings Paprika some relief...and that the rest of us don't get whatever she has. Fingers crossed!

Thanksgiving Play & A Surprise!

Yesterday was the Thanksgiving Program at Paprika's preschool. They've been building up to it for weeks, and she was so excited about it.



They made shirts with their Native American names and made necklaces out of beads. Paprika's name was...Purple Princess! Can you tell she came up with the name all by herself? Ha!



The day also included her preschool's Feast (translation: pot luck). We cooked up some chicken for the occasion. I thought we might be able to pass it off as turkey, but I guess none of the kids (or parents) were fooled. Ha!



After school, Paprika came home and wanted to put on my makeup. I let her, of course!



She was soooo proud of the finished product. Ta-da!



So, the big surprise happened last night when Paprika crawled into bed with Mr. Mustard and me around 3am. Paprika never (hardly ever, maybe once or twice) has come in during the middle of the night, and when she snuggled up next to me, I thought...ahhhh, bliss! What a rare treat!

Well, that feeling lasted about 90 seconds because before I knew it, she rolled over and threw up about a gallon of vomit on my face. I repeat, on my face.

So, as I frantically tried to wake up Mr. Mustard and get out of bed, she rolled over and threw up another gallon all over our sheets right there in the middle of the bed.

It was so not awesome at all.



So, long story short, all the plans I made for today had to be scrapped, and instead we are staying in. Paprika has been in her bed in pajammies all day reading books, drinking water, and eating animal crackers.



I am on the fourth round laundry, trying to get the vomit out of our sheets, mattress cover, bathroom carpet, towels, and everywhere else that got hit during the middle-of-the night barf-fest last night.

But all is not lost. We get the chance to be snuggly and enjoy the cute little Christmas tree we just put up in Paprika's bedroom.



I hope that the next time Paprika comes in to snuggle at 3am, it will be much less dramatic! I don't know how many of those middle of the night wake-up calls I can stomach! ;-)

17 months!

My little bear turns 17 months today. That's one month away from the big 18. Where is the time going?




She is fascinated with clothes and shoes. It started a few months ago, but it has really picked up steam recently. She wants to pick out her shoes, and often will pick out different shoes for each feet (so like, one pink shoe and one brown shoe). And then she will get furious if I try to put matching shoes on her.




What can I say? She is attached to her shoes.



She will even carry the shoe basket around the house just to be close to her shoes. Nevermind that the shoe basket weighs as much as she does.



She loves books. Loves being read to, and looking through books on her own. She squeals with delight at the sight of a new book and wants to look through it over and over again.



Her vocab is picking up quite a bit. She says maybe 50 or 60 words. Words like soft, juice, cheese, shoes, socks, shirt, star, no, help, etc. Her favorite sentence is still: I want that. She's got that one down. Ha!



Her favorite foods are strawberries, cheese, and bread with mayo. She used to like avocados but now is on strike with them. I just got her to start drinking whole milk (organic), but she still likes nursing best of all.

She wears size 18-24 months, and has for awhile now. We are probably going to go up to size 2T soon. I like clothes to be roomy and comfy! She's in a size 3 diaper.



She calls kitty cats "Meows" and dogs are "Woofs." I am dada and Mr. Mustard is mama sometimes. Sometimes she calls me mama and sometimes dada. I can't figure it out. I don't think she knows the difference between a mama and a dada. Ha!



She loves her big sister and idolizes her like nobody's business. Whatever Paprika is doing, that is the thing to do. Paprika is really gentle with her, really proud of her, and makes my heart swell with how great a big sis she is.

So, there ya have it. The 17 month update! I feel like yesterday I was 17 weeks pregnant with her...and probably tomorrow she will be 17 years old. Not so fast my little bear! Sigh!