Good bye old swingset

Well, we decided a few weeks ago to upgrade out backyard swingset to a real wooden one.  I tried to get someone in town to buy our blue Little Tikes one, but no one wanted it...so I put it up on Craigs list...which totally freaked me out.  Not that I thought some serial killer was just sitting around waiting for someone to post an ad for a playground so he could come out and get me, but you never know what to expect!  On a whim i put it up for $200.  In a matter of an hour I had two replies back, and in a week it was sold! It just set off with a nice set of grandparents with four grandkids who I know will get good use out of it!
It was a great first experience selling something like that...and we actually made some money back from it.
One thing I didn't expect was the barage of tears from Luke when he saw it driving away.  "Bring it back!!!" he was yelling from the doorway.  He was not appeased by the fact that the new larger one would be here in just 5 days!  I'm sure he'll be excited when the new one arrives!

Here is Olivia on the slide the day I put it together (which I made Brad do with me in the dark while they were still sleeping because I was so excited for them to play with it!)  I will miss it a little since it was so well loved over the years!

Sledding

I admit, I have not taken the kids sledding other than in our backyard...until today.

They had SO much fun. Luke wasn't even a bit apprehensive (shocker).  I even built them a little starting platform and then Brad and I put a little mogul in their run to give them some air.

via thought the mogul was the best thing ever! She was so excited to keep going down the hill. Luke didn't like the bump very much, but we made him go over it anyway!

Cooking in the kitchen

Luke loves to help out in the kitchen (just like daddy), and I am always amazed at how long he will stay on a task. He and Brad made pork dumplings a few weeks ago, and he helped make about 40 of them. He was pretty proud of himself. But, he wouldn't eat any of them...so much for "if they make it, they'll eat it".

Reporter

I always joke that Luke is going to be a reporter one day because he asks a lot of questions of people, but he may be a lawyer because he has a habit of badgering people to death.


Here he is at our favorite museum reporting the exciting sports news (always about the Yankees winning...they win every sport according to him) with his buddy Mallory. He spent about 20 minutes in the booth pretending to read the news...before moving on to the voting machine.



Judging by the amount of voting he did that day, he may become a politician...He voted for his favorite thing to do outside: run, favorite vegetable: peas and favorite animal: walrus. I know two of those are true...I wouldn't trust him about the walrus.

Not the crafting diva

I was reading recently about a movie, or tv show idea about two girls who believe they are crafting divas, the next Martha's. They move in together and attempt to sew, scrap, bake, and decorate. And the funny part is that they aren't at all crafty. It probably doesn't sound that funny when I write it, but it really cracked me up, because I realized it was like reading a story about myself (how selfish of me). I've always been that person who sees something and tries to figure out how to make it myself...which is not usually a good idea. I ususally spend as much or almost as much money making something that doesn't even look close to what the orginal idea was.
I've been getting better lately, I've been sewing purses (don't look inside, threads everywhere) and I even make Olivia and I matching dresses for Christmas (washing them was really nervewracking...would they survive??). But, most of the stuff I make is obviously home made! I strive to make something that doesn't look homemade. I knit a lot of hats (other than scarves, that's all I can knit) and half of them don't fit anyone's heads! I donate them. Some poor kid is walking around with my half ass hat somewhere. I have made many things for Olivia that she has worn once...I make her wear it once so I can see how it turned out, convincing myself that it's actually not bad...and then I put it in the back of the closet...because it actually sucked.
Wait, what if someone is secretly writing this show about me...making fun of me? Totally probable (not really, I don't know anyone).

Toothie the Tooth Fairy

Olivia's first tooth fell out the other day. It was a long wait for that tooth to come out! We first got word that it was loose in November at her last dentist apointment. It rattled around in her mouth for a long time. I was getting pretty grossed out by in as Olivia would push it with her tongue and it would be horizontal in her mouth. I could see it hanging by just a thread.
I had my own dentist apt on Thursday and I asked my hygienist about the best way to pull it out...or actually the best way to tell Brad to pull it out while I hid on the other side of the house. I just didn't think I could do it!
She gave me a few tips, gauze over the tooth, twist and pull or tie dental floss around it and pull the ends.
I remember losing a few of my own teeth. I remember biting the headrest in my parents volvo and my dad stopping short and my two top teeth coming out...that seems like an easy way to get them out!
Olivia got a visit from the tooth fairy that night (she swears she heard her that night) and can't wait for her next tooth to come out.

Olivia turns 5 in NYC!

For Olivia's 5th birthday, we took a big trip to New York City (sadly, the kids first time there...shame on us!). They had a BLAST! We took the subway (Luke's favorite part, even though a panhandler came through, he likes to tell everyone about the man sleeping on the train) and went to the American Girl Place (Olivia's favorite place). For her birthday, we let her pick out her first doll there. It was an overwhelming experience, 3 floors of dolls, clothes and accessories. Luckily we had been studying in advance and had many magazines stashed around the house. So, Olivia knew which doll she wanted when we got there. (not that she was influenced by her mom in any way at all)

She was so excited to take her doll home! She was sweetly spoiled by her grandparents who bought her outfits and matching pj's which she loves to wear with her doll (who sleeps next to her on a pillow) and her aunt Jess and uncle Kevin who bought her doll her very own pet, Pepper, who sleeps in a little basket next to her at night. (Olivia proves to be the best pet keeper in our house since Pepper is always comfy in his basket, Luke's zhu zhu hamster is missing again)

After the store, we headed to the American Museum of Natural History. We had so much fun there. I haven't been there in years, but I remembered a few things like the enormous whale hanging from the ceiling in the oceans room. The butterfly room was really cool, and the kids loved the planetarium (Luke likes to tell everyone that stars are made of gas). All in all, it was a great day!
Here is her doll Rebecca dressed in her movies outfit. (I think I influenced Olivia's choice in doll because she had the nicest clothes, I'm saving up to buy her the flapper dress)