Happy Free Candy Day!

or Happy Good Luck Putting Your Kids To Bed Day!

We will be spending another year not trick or treating. (And because our front door opens to the backyard we don't have to hand out candy or keep our lights out.) It might just be our last. Unless I get the sudden urge from some Milky Ways and then I'll have to wake up one of the girls and send them around the neighborhood. 

But really, we are all Halloweened out. And the girls think Halloween ended days ago. Last Friday Nate's building had a trick or treating party. The girls had a lot of fun but Kendyl especially enjoyed schmoozing with everyone on Nathan's floor. They got a rather large stash of candy (to Nathan's disappointment mostly chocolate, which we realized was because most of the people on his floor are women)  but we had to leave when the girls started taking off their costumes. Josie especially didn't understand why she couldn't run the halls in her diaper. 

Long day at the office.

(It was even funnier before I realized I should be filming it.)

 The next day all ready for round 2 at the church trunk or treat:

 Kendyl talked all day how she wanted to go as Sleeping Beauty.

 But changed her mind 5 minutes before we left.

Happy Halloween! 

You can bet I will be first in line for the after-day chocolate candy sales!

The Hurricane

If I had the chance to rename a child I might be tempted.

 Meet Hurricane Sandy.

  Because she basically personifies a hurricane.  From her crazy hair and whirlwind personality, to the destruction left in her path. And I am crazy in love with her. However, I am not looking forward to the disasters that are forecasted for the Vasher household this next year.

This is how birthday number 2 went down:

Opened presents. (All thrifted except her new stroller. How lame am I?)

 She picks up quickly. Notice the two babies in the single stroller. 

 Went to play group at the park. I was trying to make sure Josie lived to eat cake that night but ended up loosing Kendyl. It is a massive park and I finally found her at the other end being pushed in a swing by a girl and her nanny. (For about 5 anxiety-filled minutes I was envisioning telling Nathan I somehow lost his daughter.)

We did make it out of the park. But it's too fun to leave. Ever. Even with bribes. And threats. Some old man was chuckling as I spent 15 minutes chasing Kendyl down on a huge playset while holding Josie.  Some people. I really wanted to yell, "Come on! Can't you at least block the slide!"

 During Mom's afternoon sanity break Josie (encouraged by a big sister) emptied a tube of toothpaste in the living room. It didn't do much for the room's build-up and surface stains. But at least there was immediate freshness. 

Josie zonked out before dinner (beginning of a cold) and slept for 3 hours. She missed pizza and the first round of ice cream but luckily we waited on the cake for her. No candles. (Another lame Mom point.) I forgot to get some at the store and our neighbor wasn't able to answer her door when we went to borrow some. 

Today marked Day 1 of Potty Training. We went to buy more diapers before the big storm hit and Nathan couldn't bring himself to spend another $25 on something we all hate changing. So instead we invested in some new Josie panties. I have big plans on quitting though and buying diapers on the black market. Especially after her whole new package of underwear is now in the washer and its been less than 6 hours. And its also really no fun because every time Josie has to put on a new clean pair Kendyl also has to change to the same matching colored pair for herself. Problems you never anticipate. If I had we would have gone with an all white package.

Wish me luck. On potty training and surviving Hurricane Sandy. 

And surviving the real Hurricane Sandy tomorrow.

The Gap

Well the gap is narrowing. When Josie was born I decided to give away everything she outgrew as she got older. I figured the clothes most likely had already gone through her and her sister and my closets just didn't have enough room to save all those pink clothes….especially if we only have brothers after this (or--see previous posts--no younger siblings). And if a little sister finally did make a debut those clothes would most likely be way out of style. (“Ewww your mom makes you wear leggings! That was so early 2010s.”) Also we have gotten so many great hand-me-downs that have come just when we needed them, so why not pass ours along as well. But I always box away Kendyl’s old clothes for Josie. So every few months it seems we rotate out the closets. When we first started this it seemed like there were so many sizes in between the girls (3m, 6m, 9m, 9-12m, 12m, 18m, 18-24m, 24m, 2T) and lots of old diaper boxes were packed away with them. Well I just went through another closet swap and there are now no boxes of clothes between them! Granted I might not have wanted to have another box so J has some slightly big clothes in her drawers and K has some slightly shorter clothes in her drawers…but still! And its not just the clothes. Even though in pictures K towers over J, they are on the same level with toys they play with (minus K’s 100 piece puzzles), how they entertain each other, bedtimes, when they wake up, shows they enjoy, quantity of chocolate milk they chug, etc. The girls are quickly becoming best friends which is demonstrated in the daily number of cat-fights. (A question for another post--why do boys naturally wrestle and slug each other while girls' instinct is to scratch and pull hair??)

Josie is turning 2 on Thursday and since I’ve been claiming that age for her for a while now, its weird to say I have a 2 year-old and a 3 year-old. (Nathan quickly points out that K is really almost 4.) And its even weirder to think that even though they are 20 months apart, I had a baby in 2009 and 2010.

Anyways, enough with my inconsequential ramblings. Here’s some pictures. The girls got a bag of hand-me-downs. There was a matching pair of PJs that were both 3T and so of course they insist on being matching to bed. This shows what the same size looks like on my 2 girlies. (J's pants could use a good roll at the waist and if K moves even slightly her belly is clearly shown.)

 

Regrets

Right after Josie was born the biggest question I had was to buy or not to buy a double stroller?

I did not.

My thought was once I stopped carrying Josie around in the Baby Bjorn, Kendyl would be old enough to walk. Ha! So I pretty much had Josie strapped to me for her first year and then we came up with creative, if not slightly unsafe solutions. And its been super annoying but I'd say doable.

Until last Friday.

Entenmann's was having a dollar bread and cake sale and Nathan had the car all day for a training. No problem. I decided to stick the kids in one of our umbrella strollers and walk the block or two down the road and across a major intersection to buy some bread. Not too hard.

We made it there with hardly any issues. Josie wanted to walk part of the way but she sat on K's lap when we crossed the street. When I got to the store I went a little overboard considering my transporting circumstances  and bought a dozen breads and bagels. (Never pass up a good deal.) 

Somehow we made out of the store, across the parking lot, up and down a curb, and to the intersection. As we crossed the street some guys honked at me. 

Picture a mom pushing a stroller with one hand thats carrying the rather heavy load of a 3 year-old and 4 bags stuffed with bread and mini bagels, while the other arm is grabbed onto a squirming 2 year-old with crazy hair, who is trying to dive out of her arm. Oh and holding 2 balloons. 

Hot.

25 minutes later we made it 1/4 of the mile home. 

If I ever have two more kids close together I will be buying this. My sanity is valued at least "as low as $589.00." 

Actually...it's not.

Post Update:
My little sister just sent me an email saying I should get this stroller instead.

It would definitely get more honks. :)

The {fill in the blank} 2 years.

20 months ago this picture was taken.

 2 hours ago this picture was taken.

These past two years have been the best two years! The hardest two years. The most memorable two years. An exhausting two years. A very blessed two years. A physically and emotionally demanding two years. They've been way better than I thought they would be. Also much more difficult than I ever thought possible. (And this is coming from a mom with only two, pretty healthy children!) 

Before I had kids I used to imagine them all dressed up on Sunday in their beautiful clean church clothes I had picked out (complete with matching hair accessory), sitting quietly—content with a quiet book and without any snack. I used to imagine the crafts we would do at home and baking or cooking dinner together. I imagined everything I could get done during nap time. I imagined easy discipline solutions with quick results. I imagined grocery shopping together and thought how fun it would be to pick meals out together. I imagined cuddling with my children at night and letting them sleeping late into the morning.

Let’s get one thing straight. I LOVE BEING A MOM. And I love, love my girls. But now I imagine different things. I imagine the Sunday when we won’t have to make 5 trips out to the foyer with a screaming child—no matter if they are wearing a ridiculous outfit and uncomely hair. I imagine a day when the snacks, wipes, and diapers can stay at home and our clothes remain unmarked from ballpoint pens and poop stains. I imagine a day when I can finally track down every pen, crayon, and marker in the house and throw them all away! I imagine a day when I can go shopping during daylight hours. I imagine cooking dinner everyday (okay...maybe every other day) instead of waiting for Nathan to come home and save me. I imagine quiet. I imagine showering by myself and getting ready un-chaperoned by a 2 and 3 year-old.  I imagine sleeping in a bed just with my husband. I imagine possibly pursuing a hobby.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” I know that this is my season to be tired and to never have a clean house…ever. It’s my time to share every toast I make and every cup I pour for myself with someone else. For now I will have children literally hanging off my limbs and downright awful shopping/library/being in public experiences. And right now there are days where my greatest accomplishment is simply keeping us all alive.  

It’s a very hard season. And it will change soon enough, and by then I might be sane enough to miss this time.

But I still like to imagine.

(Notice the boots. Remember this post? That's why grandmas are better than moms.) 

Happier than Christopher Columbus on a speedboat.

Thrift stores make me happy. Today was 50% off day at Unique and for $25 I scored:

2 skirts for me

2 long sleeve Shade shirts (I love Shade shirts) for me

1 pair of (slightly big, but waytoogoodtopassup) church shoes for me 

3 puzzles for K

1 box of 4 puzzles for J's b-day

Dora Chutes and Ladders for J's b-day

a Fancy Nancy game for K

2 rather fancy, sparkly purses for the girls 

Bag full of balls for J's b-day (why??)

My first thought before I checked out was "holy moly I am going to break the budget." So I did my ridiculous habit (I seriously do this every single time I shop-doesn't matter where) of holding out the "non-essentials" until the end to make sure I can afford them. Usually this means holding back the box of brownies, otter pops, ice cream, Sprite, or juice until I see the total. Then I make a last minute decision under the scrutiny of a very annoyed cashier and irritated people behind me. So today I held back the clothes until the end. But then I realized I was at a thrift store on 50% off day and should just buy the $3 skirts!!!

Buying everything I wanted and not feeling the slightest bit of buyer's remorse makes me very happy.

Camera Found

I didn't take a single picture in September. It really bugged me that I couldn't find my camera because we had such an awesome Saturday last week and I don't have single picture to show for it. This afternoon it occurred to me that I hadn't checked under our mattresses. (An obvious place for a camera to hide.) Sure enough under our mattress along with a missing headband and a dozen bobby pins, was our camera. So here are two pictures to remind me of my favorite Saturday in September:

(I selected Josie as my model because Kendyl decided to change back into her pjs and it's 3 in the afternoon. Somehow her shirt came off between the photo shoots.) 

#1: Saturday was Falls Church Service Day. We signed up to go to a farm in Maryland with some other families from the ward to pick squash that would be donated to families in our city. We filled up about a third of a moving van. Josie had a blast picking them up and "helping" me carry our bucket to the van. Kendyl kept saying, "I shouldn't be here." She was rather concerned over her dirty hands. They let us take some home so I am now enjoying the vegetables of our labor--butternut squash. No one in the household wants to try it which I couldn't be more happy about. More for me. 

#2: Josie is modeling my birthday gift. On Saturday Nathan took me to Ross to pick out some running shoes as my promised b-day gift. It was quick and much less painless from my shoe shopping trip in the previous post. My only concern is now running in them. Last time I tried to start running again (a little less than a year ago) resulted in Nathan walking me next to me as I "jogged" about a mile. But then I was wearing old Payless shoes and this time I will be wearing new Nike shoes. I expect quite an improvement. Maybe 1.1 miles? 

Not pictured is the awesome Fall-ish weather we are having. Everything looks prettier in the Fall here. We also spent part of Saturday at the park throwing rocks in the stream and letting the girls entertain themselves in the sandy volleyball court. Saying it felt great outside is an understatement. 

All because a red leaf fell...

After a summer of bare feet and flip flops Kendyl has been begging for some "running shoes" just like Daddy's. She was promised "when the leaves turn red and fall on the ground we will take you shopping for running shoes." 

Last week a red leaf fell. We probably could have gone another week without her noticing, but since the weather's turned colder, she really needed some new shoes.

Friday was a bad day. Nate had been gone every weeknight and we've also been watching some girls for 2 weeks while their parents are away. Which is all fine and dandy but add a Kendyl and a Josie to the mix and it equales one stressed out mom. 

Nathan had the brilliant idea that I should take our girls and get Kendyl her running shoes at Target to "relax and get out of the house and maybe buy yourself something...small."

K was super excited. She pointed out all the red leaves on the way to the store. 

We enter the store. I make sure both girls are in the shopping cart so they don't go crazy in the shoe section. I zero in on a pair of perfectly perfect "running shoes" in her size, gender, price range, and with Velcro straps. It was going to be the shortest shoe shopping trip EVER. But in the minute it had taken me to decide on perfect shoe, Kendyl had also zeroed in on her selection with the help of sidekick Josie. 

"We found our shoes Mom!"

"Those are boots Kendyl. We are getting running shoes."

Josie scales down the side of the shopping cart and starts shrieking as I try to keep her contained in the cart. No luck. Kendyl is now whining because she decided sparkly boots are really speaking to her.

I try to be firm. "Kendyl we are getting running shoes. Look at this pair. It's just like Daddy's and it just your size!"

She puts them on. "Nope. Too Big." Tosses them out the cart.

"Kendyl they fit you perfectly." I take her out of the cart have have her step on the shoe size chart to prove that she really is a size 10.

"No Mom. Those don't look like running shoes to me. I just don't like them."

I proceed to explain how these are perfect and begin comparing them to Daddy's shoes and her idol-aunt Lolly's shoes.

"Mom. I DON'T LIKE THOSE SHOES!"

K proceeds to run down the aisle in reckless abandon with Josie. 

"Mom I found the running shoes!!!! They are just like Nathan's!"

"No Kendyl those have ties. We are NOT getting shoes with ties."

"But Nathan's has ties."

I try to convince her the perfect shoes are cool. She is completely uninterested. (Meanwhile Josie is pulling shoes out of boxes and throwing them around.)

Then K stops dead in her tracks. 

Speaks in a voice of awe: "Mom, I want these!"

"Kendyl those aren't even running shoes. We are NOT getting them."

COMPLETE AND UTTER BREAKDOWN

I assess the situation. Screaming 3 year old. 2 year old wearing 2 different shoes and a pile growing behind her. People are staring. I grab the girls and throw them back in the cart. Josie is now screaming. Kendyl is now yelling in the loudest voice possible, "KITTY SHOES! KITTY SHOES!" People are really staring. I race to a checkout and purchase the perfect shoes. "KITTY SHOES!" 

Sobbing. Screaming. Staring.

We make it outside. People in the parking lot are looking around for the source of the noise. 

"KITTY SHOES!"

I somehow wrestle them both in their carseats and text Nate to inform him how relaxing my trip went. 

Amid the sobbing and a call to Dad in an effort to calm her heaving body, I decide that Kendyl is never going to wear or like the shoes I bought her so I drive towards Payless. Bad call. Screams continue. 

Next few seconds are not my best motherhood moments I confess. 

We arrive at Payless. There was a larger selection of "running shoes." I feel somewhat optimistic and show her an appropriate selection of shoes she can choose from. Complete apathy.

Josie and Kendyl pick out some matching non-running shoes. Cute, tempting, and way too expensive. Shoe companies must make bazillions on producing pink sparkly shoes and unleashing them on poor, unsuspecting, budget minded, practical-shoe buying families. Add a Disney decal and you've got yourself a $25 money trap. 

I sit down in defeat as the store lady scurries after them putting shoes back. 

My tactic is not working. Now Josie is very attached to the princess boots and Kendyl is stomping around in a matching pair and finally smiling. The store lady is shooting me funny looks. 

I try one more time to make K pick out a Payless running shoes. 

"That's it! We are leaving!" 

I grab a crying Josie and try to pry the princess boots off her. Attempt to match up shoes to boxes. Fail. Leave the mess to store lady who probably just wants us out.

Get in the car. Hand Kendyl the original perfect Target shoes.

"Kendyl these are your new shoes." 

No battle.

"Ooooooo. I LOVE my new running shoes!!"

Really. 

Quotes of the Day!

"It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it." -From the Golden Girls


"It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't." -Barbara Kingsolver


"For Christmas our kids are only allowed to get the exact same toys. Same color, same size. Or else I will be dead by next year." -Liesel Vasher 


"PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THEM TO THE STORE! THERE IS ENOUGH FOOD IN THE HOUSE THAT I CAN MAKE DINNER! I am telling you this as a loving husband! Do not take them to the store. IF YOU GO IT WILL BE BAD!!!!!!" -Nathan Vasher



(good thing I just used the last diaper.)

Really Random Post

1. NATHAN'S FIRST DAY!!!!!!!!! 
How do you make something read important?  I hoping it does because seriously, YAY!! A year ago we never thought this day would come...literally because we thought he'd be pursing a Ph.D somewhere else. But we are so thankful to be here (even though 5 months ago we had never even thought of moving to D.C.) and be blessed with a good job (even though 5 months ago we thought Nate would be back in school this week). Nathan got no sleep last night and I feel like I sent my little boy off to his first day of Kindergarten. 

2. Josie is two! Not really. Her birthday is the end of October. But she is sure acting like a two year old.  Grumpy, grumpy. I remember Kendyl at this stage and thinking how easy little baby Josie was. Their roles have totally been reversed. Not that Kendyl is now "easy" but Josie is definitely more to handle.  She fell again at church last week and gave us a huge scare. We've had to move our couch to stop her from climbing up the back and jumping off and put the bar stools in the shed (which means me and Nate now eat standing up). I frequently find her sitting on the toilet. Anytime she goes in her diaper she flings it off and runs to the bathroom. Now if only we can get that order reversed. She insists on getting up on the potty all by herself which is pretty amusing and partially gross to watch. We love Josie and really pray she makes it to age 3. 

3. The best thing I heard all day: Kendyl ran to me and said, "Mommy I did not eat the butter!" Of course I ran out to check. And really, truely she did not eat the butter. I don't know why she told me, but I gave her a high five. It must have been some temptation to warrant her announcement. 

4. The fall is amazing. We have our windows open at night. I wear sweaters and long sleeves even though I don't really need to yet. We go to the park without gallons of water and sunscreen.  I get less mosquito bites when I get the mail. I love it! Hoping the leaves don't change color for another month though. Kendyl was promised that when the leaves turn red and fall on the ground she will get a new pair of running shoes. (Sounds like a line out of Bug's Life.) She found a tree full of red leaves on Saturday at the temple, but wasn't able to produce one that had fallen yet. We are hoping the red leaves wait a little longer until Nathan gets his first big boy paycheck. 

5. My house is messy and it's driving me crazy. Which is really the reason this is a long post because I'm totally procrastinating. Something about cleaning a crockpot encrusted in day old spaghetti sauce. Which is why I'll keep going....

6. This is a napless house. Not that we are anti-naps, just that we don't take them anymore. I wish we could bring back the naps. But half the population does not agree. 

7. This one won't surprise you. I lost my camera. (Hence the lack of recent pictures.) And a key I really, really need to find. Another reason to clean. 

8. I finally started copying and pasting all of mine and Nathan's dating emails from my old BYU-I email account. They were fun to reread but I wish I had kept a better journal. (Or emailed more.) Even now I wish I did it. For me promising to be a better journal keeper is like promising to give up chocolate. But then I remember I update my blog and take pictures and I don't feel so bad.

9. As part of our date, Nate and I made a list of all the things we'll have to start buying back. Of course it will take a while, but it was fun dreaming of owning dishes, dressers, and cookie sheets again.  

10. I can't think of anything else to write so I'm going to post some random pictures to go with my random post, call it good, and maybe tackle the sink. or laundry. or general mess everywhere. 

How I normally find Josie Pie. She had been fully clothed not much earlier.  

(I censored it because this is not a private blog and I don't want her running home from school one day saying she found this on google images and I ruined her life.) 

Summer 2007. I just saw this picture and realized I lost my one and only BYU-I shirt. Probably 2 years ago. Nate and I were also just saying how we have nothing from our alma maters. (Maybe a few diplomas but no one sees those. ) Nate rushed through DU so fast we never made it to the bookstore.

 On one of our first dates we painted pictures of each other. We didn't reveal them until after we were done. Good thing I decided I already liked him. 

Photo of my room before I married Nate. He saw this before he married me...and still thought I was amazing. But he can attest that these days I'm not the one with the messes. 

Like I said, random pictures.

 Here's a picture I sent my family over 5 years ago of this new boy I went out with and kind of liked. 

Next day I learned they put this up as their computer background next to a picture of another guy I'd recently gone on a date with. I think they found his pic on BYU-I stalker. Caption was something like, "Nathan vs. _____. Who should Liesel pick?" I can't recall who the family voted in.