Sister Speak

Big C and Little C have already developed their own language. The favorite time to chat seems to be when Big C is using the potty and Little C is stuck on the other side of the door.

It's almost as if a school of dolphins has moved into our house. The non-stop chorus of shreaking is just precious, isn't it?

My ears are bleeding.



Friendly Reminder: Pause the music using the playlist box to the right before starting the video.

The One About The Cozy Coupe

Cassidy has had a life-long love affair with her Cozy Coupe. She's had a deep and intense LURVE for that thing since the day we brought it home. She outgrew it years ago, but continues to play with it.

Campbell is getting to be just the right age for it, so we pulled it out of the garage today and let her check it out. She loved it just as much as Cassidy. I could smell a storm brewing.

Cassidy hovered closeby the entire time Campbell was loving on the Coupe. She looked like a very pretty little hawk, and I could actually see the jealousy eating away at her.

Cassidy decided the best way to get close to the car would be to push Campbell in the car. They both thought that was outstanding.

It didn't take long for Cassidy to convince Campbell to get out of the car. When Campbell did, that little felon Cassidy carjacked the Cozy Coupe.
Poor Campbell tried to chase after the car, but she fell and Cassidy got away. Where are the police when you need them?!?

Is There a Full Moon Tonight?

Seriously.

I think my precious princesses have come down with a terrible affliction.

Little C bit one of her friends at school today. Not just once, THREE TIMES.

Big C had to be spoken to during gymnastics class for not listening to the teacher, and also for her lack of volume control.

Good grief. What happened?!? Yesterday I had two darling girlz. Today I have a tiny vampire and a human fire alarm.

I don't get it.

Surprise!!

While Cassidy was at school today, Sergeant Sexy took Campbell to Dr. CanYouHearMeNow and got her ears pierced!

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Surprise!!

And the bigger surprise? We dropped The Silver Bullet off at the shop after Cassidy got on the bus this morning. We had a DVD player installed in the back for the girlz.

Cassidy was excited about having a DVD player in the car again. It's only been a week, but she's missed it. We told her we had it put in because she did so well on the bus and at school today. We also told her that if she starts to act up, we'll take The Silver Bullet back to the shop and have them take it out.

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And believe me, Cassidy knows I would do it.

First Day of School

SHE DID IT!!!

Cassidy climbed up on that big yellow bus wearing her huge Hello Kitty backpack without one second of hesitation this morning. She even grinned and waved at us out the window as the bus dove away. No tears, no drama, no commotion. The whole thing took less than 15 seconds.

I feel at least 20 pounds lighter. What a huge relief.

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Poor Campbell has been all out of sorts this morning. She's used to going to school with Cassidy, so she's been quite the fussbudget this morning. Unfortunantely, we're about to make that situation even worse. Stay tuned.

Mommy and Cassidy Day, Part 2

Part 2 of Mommy and Cassidy was just as fun as Part 1, but not as physically draining. Cassidy was clearly dragging today, and fell asleep in the car more than once. I decided to take it easy on her, but only because I don't want to send an overtired 4 year-old to school tomorrow morning!

After we dropped Campbell off at school, we went to the Circle Store (aka The Mothership, and sometimes called Target) and got Cassidy a few more things for school. She asked for a blue Icee on the way out, and I got her one because she did so well in the store. I'm cool like that.

We had lunch at Old MacDonald's and then got our teeth checked out by the dentist. I shouldn't have been surprised, but she sailed through that dentist appointment like an old pro. It seems the ole gal is more willing to spread her wings and try new stuff every week... maybe that's what being 4 is all about. Whatever it is, I love it. I've been waiting for this for a long time!

We spent quite a bit of time talking about school bus expectations, the people she would see at school, and behavioral guidelines in general. I really think she's ready.

Stay tuned for an update on the big day tomorrow, as well as an unveiling of the big surprise!!

Mommy and Cassidy Day, Part 1

Today was Mommy and Cassidy Day, Part 1. The agenda was packed with nothing but fun stuff... a trip to the water park, a stop at the nail salon, shopping at Walgreen's, and Orientation Night at Big Girl School!

Cassidy found a new favorite slide at the waterpark this year. It's a big purple one (not a baby one), and you have to actually climb steps to get to the top of it... the telltale sign that a waterslide is not for babies!!

We climbed those steps and slid down that slide at least 25 times. It was AWESOME! My legs are already feeling sore and my shoulders are pink... it feels like summer!

Orientation Night at school went well, and Cassidy seemed to fit right in. She's going to be in the same class as Aftyn and Madison (from dance), so she's happy. Her teacher was very nice and seems to truly love what she does. I suspect Cassidy's going to have a GREAT year!!

A quick Sister Pic at the beginning of Mommy and Cassidy Day

Waiting for the waterpark to open

We had so much fun!!!

She had chocolate ice cream for lunch. Don't you judge me!

Getting pampered at the nail salon

Mama and Papa came over to play with Campbell while we took Cassidy to Orientation. We knew Campbell would be fussy because of the late hours, and we wanted to be absolutely sure Cassidy had enough time to get used to her new classroom and campus without feeling rushed. When we got home, Campbell was bathed and asleep and our house was CLEAN!!! Whoo hoo!!! Thanks, Mama and Papa!!!

King's Dominion!!

Today was Evil Empire Day at King's Dominion, so we got to enjoy the park for cheap. Free would have been better, but cheap is fine. We refuse to pay full ticket price for the big amusement parks while the girls are so young. When you can only stay a few hours and then end up spending all of your time in the kid's area, it's really not worth the money. I imagine we'll one day be buying season passes to the park close to our house, but not for a few more years at least.

But since the Evil Empire subsidized a large portion of the cost, we decided to give it a try. Campbell is still too young to enjoy much of it, but Cassidy had a ball. We met some of their favorite people - Dora, Diego, Blue, and Pablo. Campbell was not as excited about the characters as Cassidy... actually, "terrified" is a good word to describe her reaction.

I think the biggest shock of the day was when Cassidy rode a roller coaster! It was a small-scale wooden one, but definitely not a baby ride. She's awfully brave on a roller coaster, considering she won't jump off the side of the pool!!

Driving to the park...

Meeting our friends...

Enjoying the day...

The ride home...

Princess Haircut

I took Cassidy to get her haircut today. I usually trim it myself, but it was time to let a professional even things up. I don't want to send Cassidy to Big Girl School with nappie hair.

She was so excited to sit in the chair. The stylist said Cassidy sat and listened better than some adults.

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She's getting so grown up!

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I Have A Secret...

... but I'll never tell!

Look for a post next Wednesday. There are two important things planned... Cassidy's first day of school and a mystery surprise!

Beach Party!

Cassidy's last day at the center is tomorrow. Unfortunately, some of her best friends won't be at school tomorrow, so we had her going away party today instead.

She's been asking for a beach party, so I stuck with that theme. It was awesome and wild and rowdy! I loaded some Beach Boys music on my iPod, brought in our beach towels (to use as tablecloths), and blew up two big beach balls. The kids had juice and cupcakes, and thought the whole thing was OUTSTANDING. Each one of them thanked me with no prompting from Miss Courtney or Miss Cherry.

It's so fun to be around kids who clearly appreciate something so simple. If we do our jobs right, hopefully Cassidy will be this gracious when she's 16.

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I can hope, right?!?


PS - The classroom doesn't always look so bare and torn up. The teachers cleared the walls so Mr. Harry can repaint.

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Friends in Low Places (Literally)

The Silver Bullet is way bigger than Black Beauty. Until now, Black Beauty was the biggest car I'd ever driven. I mostly stuck with compact cars until Cassidy was born. Black Beauty was a compact SUV, but the Silver Bullet is a monster truck. I feel like I'm driving a tank or a bus... maybe it's a TankBus?

Anyway, I've never been the best driver in the world. Sergeant Sexy and I agree - he's the better driver, and I'm the safer driver. But I have a hard time judging distances, which makes parking difficult. This is easy to overcome on the road and in store parking lots - just stay away from the other cars. No big deal.

Unfortunately, this is not so easy at work... the spaces are tight and the valets pack the cars in the deck like sardines. I've been worried about driving to work ever since we brought the Silver Bullet home. I'm terrified I'm going to hit another car. To call that "embarrassing" wouldn't even begin to cover it.

I went to work yesterday and pulled into the garage underneath the Evil Empire. My heart was racing, but I was relieved to see my most favorite Parking Expert ever. Rick is here to save the day - I'm safe!

Rick showed me the best spot to park the TankBus, and stood right next to the Silver Bullet to talk me through getting it into place.

I'm not the only one thankful for friends underneath the Evil Empire, my insurance is especially thankful!

Cheese Ball

Campbell is turning into a real cheese ball. She started smiling these giant grins a few days ago.

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It's absolutely adorable. Seriously.

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Mommy's Got A New Ride

As much as I LURVE Black Beauty and absolutely hate to see her go, the time has come to part ways. The ugly truth is that she's just not big enough to transport our brood and all of our accessories.

I got me a new ride - the Silver Bullet! I had the dealer ScotchGuard the upholstery this time. I've always been strongly against the after market add-ons, but I've seen how the girlz are capable of destroying a car so I caved.

The first order of business was to sticker up the back window with Hello Kitty. I love the kitteh!

And the best news of all? Papa is going to adopt Black Beauty into their vehicular family so I'll get to see her whenever I want.



We are so blessed!!

Breakfast with the Animals

Our local Zoo hosts a Breakfast with the Animals event every year. This was the first year we participated... it's a members-only event, and we didn't get around to joining the zoo until earlier this year. We've been missing out on some fun stuff!!!

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We got to watch the zookeepers feed breakfast to all kinds of animals. There was a special tent where the People Food was served, but we were so busy we almost missed it. The volunteers working the People Food tent were from the Evil Empire. Seeing their Evil T-Shirts made me feel just a smidge guilty for not volunteering. Not guilty enough to volunteer next year, but a teeny tiny smidge guilty.

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We rode the train around the Zoo, listened to an old-time band play, and posed for pictures with the GEICO gecko.

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I can't believe we never knew about this!

The old-time band

Riding the train around the Zoo...

Look closely at the bubble Cassidy and Sgt. Sexy are in... there's a Prairie Dog sitting on top of it!

Sergeant Sexy and Cassidy supervise the zookeeper as he feeds the cows their breakfast.

Cassidy loved the GEICO gecko!