Monday, August 27, 2007

Inmate Number 6052007

Yep, that's right according to a mean old lady in Hobby Lobby, I have a future juvenile delinquent on my hands. Chad was at retreat last night and today, so I took this morning to run some errands and then we went to pick him up at the camp they stay. Maddie also got to take a swim in the pool. So we were at Hobby Lobby before grabbing some lunch. She was strapped in the stroller and was getting antsy. She started to cry and throw a temper tantrum just like any 2 year old might do. Mean Lady Hobby Lobby came into the aisle we were in and informed me that I have a future juvenile delinquent on my hands. She quickly turned and went back to the aisle she came from. From there it went something like this:

Me: "Excuse me, do you have a problem with my child?"
Mean Lady Hobby Lobby: "Yeah, she should be better behaved in public"
Me: "Well she is only two" (thinking that everyone thinks she is four because of what she looks like)
MLHL: "I have two year old grandchildren who are better behaved than her"
Me: "And I'm sure that they are perfect all the time"

At that point I walked back into my aisle. Another mom came into the aisle and told me that I was a whole lot nicer about it than she would have been. We chatted for a few minutes and that made me feel better. I was so boiling mad. We are also trying to get Maddie to stop using her nuk, so I don't give it to her just to make her be quiet. She threw her tantrum for a few minutes and then she was fine. We were in the store probably for another 15 minutes. So all of you mothers and fathers of toddlers you better watch out because tantrums lead to being a juvenile delinquent. As we were going to check out, I was looking for Mean Lady because I wanted to tell her that I hoped she had a good rest of the day. She had already left the store or at least wasn't in any of the aisles that I passed.

Needless to say I left Hobby Lobby pretty mad. It all passed soon and I was able to laugh about it, but it is amazing to me what other people will say to you about your parenting skills when they don't even know you.

I was going to get Maddie to hold up a inmate sign and take her picture, but I forgot before writing this post.

Not too much else going on. This weekend we have a couple of friends coming to town. Friday is the first football game of the year and so I'm sure we will be there for a good portion of Friday evening.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Two Peas in a Pod

That can be a great thing, because the girls keep themselves entertained by playing with each other. It also can be a bad thing because then they are always in each other's space. Maddie has become very aware that Emma invades her space, so to solve that problem she pushes Emma out of the way. Maddie has spent numerous minutes in timeout the last week or so. Emma also is very aware how Maddie can invade her space, so she will bite Maddie. It has been a battle that is like being bipolar. For twenty minutes they can be playing so well together or at least next to each other, then in an instant it can change to them screaming at each other. I have a feeling that this is what the teenage years are going to be like. They have been sharing a room since we got back from Wisconsin the first time. Maddie is doing very well with being quiet when she goes to bed. I think that helps her to just lay there and fall asleep. In the morning it is so fun to listen to them "talk" to each other. Emma usually is the one who wakes up first, but Maddie is soon to follow. Maddie also like to jump into bed with Emma in the mornings. Usually I find them in there laughing and playing peek-a-boo. We have a feeling that there are going to be many nights where we are going to have to tell them to go to sleep and stop talking.

Here is how I found them the other morning. I don't know how long Maddie had been in there for, but they were both just content sleeping in the same crib.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Epitome of Potty Training

That's right, Maddie has taken an interest in the potty, so we are going on it. We aren't full fledged training, but she likes to sit on the potty. She also likes to take all her clothes and diaper off and run around the house naked. Today we got big girl underwear. I was even surprised when she chose The Little Mermaid over Dora. We will see how this goes. So on this topic, I decided to go to the library and get a couple of books about potty training, just to thumb through and see what they have to say. I was reading in one how that somewhere between two and three a kid grows to about 50% of their adult height. Now if that is true that means that Maddie who at 26 months was 37.5 inches will be somewhere around 6'3". We are going to start that whole basketball thing soon or maybe even volleyball.

Anyways back to my title, I think that this picture explains it all: Maddie with no clothes, with the potty bowl on as a hat. She is learning this whole bathroom thing by osmosis.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Loads of Pictures

Back Home

We are finally back home and glad to be here. We loved seeing everyone but there is nothing like sleeping in your own bed, being lazy on your couch, seeing friends, and not living out of a suitcase.

First off the National Youth Gathering- it was an awesome, uplifting time. I was so happy that I was able to go and even participate in the Mass Events. Maddie and Emma even enjoyed dancing and singing. We got to stay at the Peabody, see the duck parade, and hang out with the Janetzke clan. Grandma Heff was there, but she divided her time with us and the group from Mount Olive. Anne was with us most days and it was fun to just walk around and talk with her. Anne, Grandma Heff, the girls, and I made it out to the Magic Kingdom one day. Maddie loved seeing everyone, but most of all loved riding the Flying Dumbo's. She waited in line so well and then just giggled the whole time. We also made it to Universal Studios before we left. We got to see Curious George, Shrek, and of course Dora. I think Maddie enjoyed herself. We flew this time and the girls were great on the plane. From Orlando we went to Cleveland, we were suppose to go to Chicago, but when we landed in Cleveland the Chicago flight was delayed, but there was a flight going to Milwaukee that we got on. Mom was flying to Chicago, so she was able to get our bags and we got home a whole lot earlier, which the girls were thankful for.

Thursday began wedding errands and odds and ends. The girls were pretty wiped and so they just played and napped most of the day. We had some help Friday morning from Kendra, so Chad could go golfing with the boys. We took the girls up to Grandma and Grandpa Janetzke's and they spent the weekend with them. We saw them at the wedding and part of the reception, but it was nice to not have to worry about them and able to talk and hang out with everyone. We picked them up Sunday afternoon and then just hung out the rest of the time. We did manage to get some swimming in on Monday morning with Ben, Sam, Amy, us, Jana, and Mike. We got in yesterday afternoon, about an hour and a half later than scheduled. We went up to school so Chad could catch up on anything he missed yesterday. Then it was home to do some grocery shopping and unpacking.

Chad is at school for more meetings, both girls had doctor appointments today. They are both growing like weeds. Lots of shots, but they both did great. The rest of the week is just getting settled back in. This weekend the Brewers are in town, we will be watching them from the comfort of our sofa.

We are so glad to have been able to see all our family and can't wait to see you in the cold of December. (That is hard to imagine since it is over 100 today)

Monday, August 06, 2007

Never enough time

We are heading back to Texas tomorrow after 10 days gone. We have lots to do when we get back and Chad is right back into meetings tomorrow afternoon. After we get settled back into a normal routine, I will fill you in on Florida and Jana's wedding. I have lots of pictures, but want to put them on our computer and then onto here. Hope that everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of summer.