Gunning for Mother-of-the-Year Award!

As promised, the story of my friend's & my 1st Annual Cookie & Crafting-palooza. Please be aware that although the word "crafting" is in the title, that aspect did not materialize.

I had that "picture-perfect" plan in my head ~ us 2 moms in the kitchen baking, while the kiddos sit peacefully at the table working on some homemade Christmas ornaments, maybe jumping in to help us grown-ups mix some stuff up here & there. Then they would decorate the glorious cookies that we made. :)

Yep, I can hear the laughing all the way over here. Maybe it's cause I'm the one laughing. But I'm sure you all are cracking up, too. 

So, my awesome friend Kristin came over with her son, Landon (who is awesome friends with Xandra - we're thinking a marriage someday???). And immediately, all 3 kiddos tore off running through the house, squealing, laughing, & having tons of fun. And Kristin & I got to work. 

In order to fully understand the hilarity of the day, you'll need to know that I've never done the big holiday baking party before. My mom & I used to make some type of pastry, but I've never made a bunch of different types of cookies from scratch. 

**Before I go any farther, please know that I did take pictures of my own kiddos. But I'm using a different lens & am not quite used to it yet, so none of my kiddos' pics turned out well (think blurry from constant motion). Thankfully, Landon saved the day (& the memories), by being so wonderfully photogenic & not sick of me taking pictures! ;)

Kristin & I started with sugar cookies, so the kids would have something to decorate (remember the vision people). Kristin rolled out the dough, and we began trying to use cookie cutters. We quickly realized the dough was just... sort of limp. Not stiff enough. (Get your minds out of the gutter people!)

Being oh-so-smart, I decided to look at the recipe (ha! there's a thought!). 

"After preparing the dough, refrigerate overnight." 

OOOHHHHHH!!!! DUH!! 

So we scrapped the cookie cutters & just rolled up balls. Then we called the kids back downstairs for the fun part- decorating!!

Hey!! That icing's supposed to go on the cookies!!

The ultimate guilty face!

I think Landon was the only one who decorated a cookie... but there was a lot of icing "mysteriously gone. :)  As soon as the face-wiping was done, off they went again, up & down the stairs. Laughing.

And off Kristin & I went, back to our baking. We were busy, measuring, mixing, rolling, throwing pans in the over & grabbing them out. 

Suddenly, I heard that sound. The one that no one wants to hear. The sound of a little body tumbling down the stairs. From how far up? Not sure. But far enough. Milo fell down the steps, and apparently bit into the inside of his lip. Blood everywhere. Did you know the mouth bleeds profusely when it's injured? I mean, like a LOT. I was freaked out. Thankfully, Kristin was there to calm me down.

Even that didn't hold him down long. He was off & running around with the big kids in no time at all. And we finished up the cookies... Cracking up once again, that had we looked at the 3 cookie recipes we chose to make, each & every one of them required the dough be refrigerated for anywhere from 2 hours-overnight. :)  Oh well. We skipped that part & the cookies still turned out awesome!

Now, here's the "Mother of the Year" award-worthy part of the story:
After Kristin & Landon left, I was getting Milo ready for nap time. I started vigorously wiping off his chin, because I saw there was some dried blood left on there. As I rubbed, Milo started getting really upset. Then I looked again at his chin. Nope, not dried blood. It was a scrape (or rug burn). And I'm trying to wipe it off. Ugh. Bad mom.

It gets better. After he got up from his nap, he asked for some orange juice. Ok- he pointed & grunted until I figured out what he wanted. And I didn't think twice about pouring him that cup of juice. Until he began wincing & tearing up. Poor baby! Ugh! Orange juice, Amy?! Really? Cause that sure would be soothing on a nasty wound like biting into your lip!!

Well, since this post is already insanely long... I'll keep going!! :) Because that was apparently just the beginning of my bad days to come. Today just might have topped Saturday. I woke with Milo this morning around 5:30. I got him a little breakfast. And around 6, Xandra got up. She requesting something different from Milo for breakfast. To which Milo had an absolute meltdown. How dare I not serve the kids the same *exact* meal - I just might be jipping Milo out of something.

As I was cleaning up the dishes after the meltdown breakfast, I heard Xandra yell that the dog had thrown up. I found vomit on the couch, spilling down the front of the cushions, & landing in a small puddle on the carpet. Lovely.

Cleaned that up. Got the kiddos dressed for school. Went upstairs to dress myself. Finished up. Smelled something. Milo. Blow-out diaper. Great.

Cleaned that up. Back downstairs. Found fresh vomit on the chair, again spilling down the front of the cushions, & landing in a small puddle on the carpet. Seriously?

Got the kids off to school. Came home. Started cleaning up the house a bit. Went upstairs to make my bed (too tired to do it when I woke up). Found more vomit between my sheets. OH. MY. LORD.

Did I mention I have a final (my last final of the semester) tomorrow? In Sectional Anatomy. Cumulative.
Time to study?? Ha (again)!! Obviously not on the agenda today.

I'll finish this up quickly with the highlights of the rest of the day:
11:45 Xandra home from school
12:15-12:45 Lunch
1:00 Finish making bed & pick up a bit more
2:00 Pick up Milo early
3:00 Milo's speech therapy
4:00 Matt home from externship (briefly)
>find more puke on another couch<
5:00 Matt off to dr. appointment
5:30 Make crappy dinner for kiddos
6:15 Clean up dinner
7:00 Bathe kiddos & get them off to bed
7:45 Study
10:00 Tired of studying~catch up on blogs & update my own

WHAT A NASTY DAY.
I hope it gets better after this.
Cause I'm really tired of finding & cleaning up puke.

My Baby Girl...

I found this picture online, and I find it ironic that it has the name "Sasha" attached to it. When Xandra was little, she couldn't quite say her name, so she referred to herself as "Zasha." I still call her that to this day- it's my special name for her. And this picture also depicts how my girl has been feeling lately.

Matt & I have been having numerous talks & rants regarding Xandra the past week or so. She's been throwing more fits lately, which haven't made much sense. Granted, we've been putting new rules in place regarding food, bedtime, & general behavior. I knew there would be repercussions - I'm not entirely new to this parenting thing!! But I also know that there are things regarding Xandra's behavior that just simply need to change. We've coddled her & spoiled her for a very long time. That's our fault.

Anyway, our newest behavior issue with Xandra has been getting her to school. I posted about this in the Dairy Farm field trip. When Matt drops Xandra at school in the mornings (for at least the past week), she cries. When I took her for her field trip, she cried. I had to take something to her today after she was dropped off, and she cried. Matt actually bribed her yesterday morning- saying if she didn't cry, he would take her to get ice cream. It was difficult for her, but she made it. She didn't cry, so she got her ice cream last night.

One of her wonderful teachers pulled me aside this afternoon when I picked Xandra up, and told me she thinks she figured out the problem. Apparently, after I left my daughter in tears once again this morning Xandra told Miss Shannon that she was sad because everybody got to stay/be at home except her. Blew my mind. This thought just totally didn't pass through my brain. I don't know why I didn't think of it... But it makes absolute perfect sense. And now I'm having major guilt over it.

I still don't want to pull her out of daycare, though. Aside from it being a daycare (which allows me to get so much done in a day), they have taught her so much!! I've been worried for a little while now that Xandra is just ever so slightly behind her peers. And in some areas, she is. But she's caught up so much just by being in this preschool!

I realize this is just something that she will ultimately need to deal with. And really, she won't have to deal with it for very long. Milo will be starting the same daycare in August. Then a few weeks after that, Xandra will be moving on to kindergarten.
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On another note, Milo has had his first noticeable injury. He falls all the time around here, and we've had at least half a dozen lip bleeds when he slips. He's quite a dare-devil, and I've already predicted that he will be the child that needs stitches & casts. It's not a matter of if- just a matter of when.

So Matt came home from running some errands earlier today, and we decided to meet him in the front yard. I set Milo down so he could walk around. Matt just got done telling me to keep a close eye on him, when he fell. I really was right on top of him- there was just nothing I could do. Our driveway goes downhill from our house to the street. Milo had been walking around in the garage, got some speed up, and headed toward the driveway. I knew what was going to happen before it did, and I even said something to the effect of "Milo, slow down!" & started grabbing for him. Then down he went. Luckily, I was able to somewhat slow him down so the fall was definitely not as bad as it could have been. But he's got scrapes around his forehead & one on his nose. I think it's one of those type that looks worse than it is. Honestly, he only cried for maybe 1-2 minutes, and then he was absolutely fine. Such is the life of boys, I suppose!