cup of joe: standard title.

I started a wonderfully hilarious post at the beginning of January. And over a month later, I have decided to just hit the highlights, move on, and try to remember to post the ridiculous because I want to be able to come back and laugh at myself in the future.

A. Christmas- because that happened awhile ago.

1. the girls eagerly anticipated snow and didn't believe me when Christmas was actually super close because we had no snow. This worked in our favor, as we got Lily and Emma recurve bows and arrows for Christmas and could then go outside and shoot.

2. Christmas morning was every bit as exciting and chaotic as it should be for 3 young kiddos. Lily could barely contain herself Christmas Eve, coming out multiple times to check and see if it was Christmas morning yet. Each year, I think, "oh she is a such a fun age for Christmas!" and every year, I'm right, and her sisters are also.

B. New Years- hey guys, it's 2016.

1.We had a power clean and put new toys away in preparation of having Rick, Nikki and kiddos come hang out for a few days. It was glorious.

2. I ~~begged~~ asked our neighbor's if a few of them would be up to watching 5 children, 5 and under, so Rick, Nikki, Jesse and I could go watch Star Wars. Emily and Paul are rockstars and it was so much fun.

C. Snow Days. They came and canceled everything for a long time. And still are throwing my schedule off.

1. the girls LOVE going down to take care of the chickens with me in the snow. Since the roads are so snowy and there is basically no traffic on my road, I pull them down the middle of the road on their sled. Lily thinks I'm a sled dog and keeps telling me to "RUN FASTER!" up the slight hill to get to the top of our field...no.

D. Kaylee. Turned. TWO. What.

traditional birthday cake pancakes success

1. She's hilarious. Her facial expressions crack us up, she is intentionally funny with her antics and things she says.

2. She is a motor mouth. Lily and Emma were barely saying 10 words at two, and Kaylee is speaking in full sentences and it is cracking me up. Little kids talking is great. But also, so is silence when it finally comes at the end of the day...

3. At Thanksgiving, she decided to full out potty train. I was not in the mood, but fortunately, I went for it. She did fantastic, including a trip to Great Wolf Lodge (5 hours away) and a whole weekend with no accidents (including the drive there and back) or at the hotel. She has since regressed some, but that happens and she's doing great again. The power of chocolate chips.

4. Birthday cake:

E. Emma is just hilarious.

1. She is loving school, and sings along with Lily's school work, which is so fun to watch. I realized I was focusing so much on Lily's schooling that I might be missing some valuable sponge time with Emma, so we started working on learning letter sounds with her as well. I don't expect her to learn the same as Lily, or necessarily catch on as quickly- after all, she is like me in many ways.
2. Emma has also hit a super sweet stage. Mixed with the sour, but I'll take it. If she's happy or thankful for something, she will just bear hug you and say, "thank you SO much for..." and it's just the greatest thing ever.

F. Lily is doing fantastic with school.

1. I'm so pleased with how she is doing, even on the days that don't work out quite as planned. On the rough days, I remind myself that she's only in kindergarten and she will get it, whether it's tomorrow or not until next school year, and that helps me not stress over whatever it is.

2. She is loving ballet still, and I really enjoy that she is doing it.

3. She has also hit a ridiculous stage of whining. I. do. not. tolerate. whining. We are handling it, and learning that after she has asked for something once that she may ask once more to confirm our decision and then that is our final answer. Honestly, sometimes she reminds me of something- for example, "you said I could have a little juice after I finish lunch"- and I don't mind that. I mind pestering and whining when she doesn't get her way, and the tone of voice that comes with, "no, I want that NOW." That is unacceptable, and she's learning this. I know it's just something kids go through, and I'm trying not to be impatient and too hard on her since she has to learn somehow.

G. I lost motivation. Typical.