TV Poll

Do you ever wonder if your kids watch too much TV? I have read article after article about this very question. I know that I should fill my girls' days with activities, crafts, and learning experiences, but sometimes I just need a break. Sometimes I need to shower, and sometimes they just love to watch TV. Actually, it doesn't help that Miki and I love to watch TV as well. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't leave the TV on all day long. I have actually been really good about limiting our TV viewing pleasure (at least I think so). The girls get about 1 hour of TV a day on average. Some days it is more, some days less. But I usually will let them watch a show while I shower and/or make dinner.
Lately, all Sadie asks for is TV, from morning til night. She LOVES Ariel. She has Ariel shirts, pj's, toys, wall stickers, books, and movies. Yesterday she watched Ariel's Beginning twice, once with me and then once later with Miki (this was a little over two hours of TV viewing)!!! So, when this happens I wonder what goes on behind the closed doors of other homes. Do other mothers cave as often as I do?
So, here are some guestions, and be honest now. You aren't helping me by trying to make yourself look perfect (I know you all are anyway.)
How much TV do you let your kids watch? Am I letting my kids watch too much? Now I want honest answers! There are days where the girls watch hours of TV. Am I all alone? Do I need to tone it down a bit? I would love to hear your opinions! Bring on the constructive criticism! And bring on the fun stories and personal experiences!

Bunk Beds

We had planned on getting the girls bunk beds when we move next summer. Well, it happened a little sooner than that. I was at our neighborhood yard sale, which is quite the event, and found a great deal on this bunk bed set. $380 for the frame, which included two bookcases, three drawers, and a desk, and two pillow top twin mattresses. They also delivered and hauled every thing up my stairs and showed me how to assemble it. Great deal, right? The mattresses didn't end up working out, so I had to go buy some cheap ones at Billy Bob's Beds (only in Texas!). This is the end result though. I love how excited the girls are to be sharing a room. Sadie is still temporarily in her crib/toddler bed, but that will be taken down soon and she will be in the bottom big girl bed. The girls talk and talk and talk, sometimes for hours, before being able to fall asleep. It is fun to hear them giggling, telling each other stories, and telling each other that they love each other. They are more tired, but they have actually been arguing less in the mornings than before. What a fun adventure!

Paint Job

I finally got around to painting our master bedroom last month. It has been the room that we have put off the most, but the one that I have planned, plotted, and dreamed about making over. I had gone through a number of paint options, but finally found one that I thought would fit my plan. It is called "going gray". I don't know if I like that title. It seems to fit me too well. It was a little harder to paint and redesign this room because I didn't really have Miki's thoughts on it. I love to get his opinion (which I really trust when it comes to decorating!), but this time, I just went for it. I had a little advice from my friend Kimberli to give me the confidence. I think it has turned out nice. I love how relaxing the room feels now. I will have to post some pictures of Miki's gardening accomplishments soon!

First Day of Pre-K

Kylie started her first day of Pre-K on Tuesday. This is the Mother's Day Out program that she went to last year, and we loved it! So, I decided to keep her there for this year. She loved that she already knew her teacher, where to go, and what to do. I still think she was a little nervous, but definitely nothing like last year.
Here is a picture of her with her teacher Ms. Sherry. She is in the blue dolphin class with 11 other kids.
I think dropping her off for her first day was just as hard this year as it was last year. I was kind of lingering in the door way, and Ms. Sherry was kindly giving me cues to leave. I finally complied and pulled myself away. I just wish more than anything that I could be a fly on the wall. Does it get any easier?
After school, I was attempting to interrogate Kylie, but she wasn't having it. She told me that she just didn't want to talk. I stopped pestering her for a little while, but later at home, she opened up a little more and told me that she talked to a girl named Ellie. She also said that they looked into a mirror and got to tell their teacher their favorite thing about themselves. Kylie said that it was her eyes because they help her to see. I love that she still likes her eyes, glasses and all.

Cleaning

Let me just start by saying that Miki has been out of town since Sunday (went to New Orleans for a medical board review course) and this is what happens when he leaves me unsupervised.

Sadie woke up Wednesday stating that she wanted to wear big-girl underwear. I thought, "Wow! am I ready for this? Is she ready for this?" But, I decided to go along with it. Hey, if she is interested, why not spend the whole day cleaning my carpet, furniture and dozens of pairs of underwear?
After two successes and seven failures, she started to lose interest and was whole-heartily fighting it. I caved and put a diaper on her for the night and have not mentioned potty-training to her since. I see nothing wrong with waiting until she is begging me to potty train her and/or starting kindergarten to face this torture again. I have to remind myself that she is her own little sensitive, stubborn, clever person and does things in her own little sensitive, stubborn, clever way. How can two sisters be so different? My sisters and I weren't that different, were we? (Warning: lots of unnecessary rhetorical questions used throughout this post!)

Today the girls helped me mop the kitchen floor. Really, it has been needing it for a couple of weeks now. I can't believe that I put it off for this long. I consider myself someone who has to clean and have everything in its place. I think the me of ten years ago would be outraged at the me of today and the slob I have become!

My girls were so wonderful to help me and spend some quality cleaning time with me. Although Kylie did try to quit early and I told her that she needed to clean until she was breaking a sweat. That it would put hair on her chest and meat on her bones. It would make her into the kind of person that this country needs to lead us into a better and brighter tomorrow...

Okay, not really. They pretty much spilled water all over the floor, Kylie pulled Sadie around on the towel and then they put blankets over the chairs and pretended that they were at school. What a great morning!

Quote of the Day

Miki got home from work today, and as usual the girls are so excited! Screaming, running, jumping on him, and in every way making him feel loved. Miki was carrying both girls down the stairs and this cute conversation followed.
Kylie: "Look at me mommy!"
Me: "Wow! Daddy is so strong!"
Kylie: "Yeah, even though he is old!"

Glasses

Here is our beautiful Kylie, full of excitement about her new glasses!
A couple of months ago, I took her to her 4 year doctor's appointment. They tested her vision and she didn't do so well, so she got referred to an Opthamologist. I took her to that eye exam last week and he said that she had an astigmatism in both eyes and would need glasses. We were expecting this since she has been complaining of headaches and I have noticed that she hasn't been able to see some things as well as I thought she should have (she thought a doll up on a neighbor's roof was a banana).
Two days ago we were able to pick up her glasses and she has been so happy! She thought that it was funny that the ground looked like it had another step and she was trying to leap over that other step all day yesterday (I noticed this too when I got glasses to correct my astigmatism.)
It made me so happy when I was reading a book to her and she said "Mommy, I can see all of the letters!" She then proceeded to point them all out to me. She also proceeded to point out all of the blemishes on my face and the hair on my arms. She thought that it was so funny that the hair on my arms grew so fast! She just couldn't see it all that well before.
Today she was practicing writing her letters and she pulled out a legal pad of paper and wrote the letters in the small space between the lines. She has never been able to keep them so neat and tiny. I am glad that we were able to help her vision before she started school.
I am a little saddened by the fact that she will have to deal with glasses at such an early age and that it will be something that we will have to handle for a long time. But it helps that she is seeing so much better and is so excited herself. I hope the excitement lasts!