So, she got a new passport photo...

Amelia isn't going to find out for a while, but she will be joining us at Beaches Turks and Caicos in the fall for an amazing #BeachesMoms long weekend! Her passport is expired; the photo on it was taken when she was nine months old for our extended family trip to Europe. I guess it's a good thing that children's passports only last five years - how silly would it be to have a baby photo for a now walking, talking, reading little girl?

Last weekend, we took the kids to Walgreens for passport photos. We want to renew both kids on the same year moving forward, so we got Andrew a passport pic as well (this calls cruising in our future, I think!). Amelia was not very interested in this process. She was tired from a busy summer day, hungry, and totally disheveled. She wanted to go home to play. Her hair was a bit crazy, she had a black pen mark on her face a' la fake Cindy Crawford (I failed at removing it), and she flat out refused to smile.

So now the child has a new passport photo. For the next five years, this is the one she will live with. And if the cops ever need a good mug shot of my kid? Well, here you go.

 

On the bright side? This is going to make me laugh for the next five years.

I love this kid.

What my bum needs (oh my...) #LetsTalkBums

Lets face it, parents spend a ton of time wiping, patting, powdering, diapering, and talking about their children's backsides. We take care in selecting the best fitting diapers and the softest wipes.

As a final assignment for the Cottonelle "Let's Talk It Out" campaign, I am starting a conversation about what our grown-up bums need. Cleanliness and freshness - of course - but mine needs something else...

Maternity Underwear.

Yep... and I am not happy about it.  I didn't even think about this when I was pregnant six years ago. My body was younger and smaller, and other than switching to some comfy cottons, I didn't need much. This time around, at only 20 weeks, I am feeling puffy and uncomfortable with every move. As if belly pains and muscle aches weren't enough, I now get to pull my wedgies out of my bum every time I stand up or take a few steps. I have a feeling that baby number two is going to know a bigger Mommy than Amelia did! The spread is ON.

Sigh.

Well, at least there is really good news for my bum! Cottonelle's FreshCare wipes are soothing and soft, perfect for the cleanest clean. Paper alone can never win again! FreshCare wipes are available in stores now, and with a new sleek upright canister.

In the mood to talk about your bum? Visit Cottonelle on Facebook to "Talk it Out".

And here's Cherry one more time - let's see how her mission continues:

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This is a sponsored post in affiliation with Cottonelle. All opinions are 100% mine.

Cherry lands in the U.S. and she's on a mission to find out about your bum!

I shared the first video in this hilarious Cottonelle FreshCare wipes series with you last week, and now it's time to check in with Cherry to see what is happening in the U.S.! She did not even leave the airport before asking her hot and "dirty" questions...



Everyone must wipe, right? So let's talk about our bums! Have you ever used a bidet? I have seen them, but never tried. How do you get dry? It seems like wipes would be a much easier way to clean!

What do you think about this product? Would you use it? Or maybe you do already?  Let me know! Let's talk. Bring the conversation over to Facebook to chat with Cottonelle:  Facebook.com/Cottonelle

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I am a Cottonelle sponsored blogger and am being compensated for my time. However, all opinions are 100% mine.

I'm gonna be kind to my behind with Cottonelle

I was selected, along with several other bloggers, as a brand new Cottonelle Ambassador. I will bring you a series of posts over the next few weeks, where we can chat about ways to "be kind to our behinds".

Let's face it, moms are rarely together in the same room without eventually discussing poop.

"Baby hasn't pooped in days!"
"What does green poop mean; should I be worried?"
"You should have seen the diaper explosion we had the other day!"

Ha - you get the idea. But do you know what we don't often talk about? Our own adult potty needs. I have always known Cottonelle to be a super soft, high quality toilet paper brand, and I very often purchase it for the family. But what about wipes? We don't use dry paper on our little ones' bums, why is it that we don't treat our own posteriors as kindly?

Funny lady Cherry Healy asked the same thing - and she's on a mission to find out more!


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I was selected as a paid Cottonelle Ambassador, however, all opinions are 100% mine. 

She dressed herself... (yikes)

Draw a picture that you feel accurately depicts one of your last tweets...

 Even funnier than her crazy outfit was her super-serious, detailed, four-year-old explanation of why it did, in fact, match.
 
I was not convinced. (But I let her wear it.)

Did I just say that?

A first pregnancy is exciting. And scary. And confusing. When I was pregnant with Amelia, I constantly had questions. Not wanting to be the crazy one with daily phone calls to the doctor, I turned to the Internet for answers to my frequent freak-outs and worries.

In doing so, I met a fabulous group of mommies. We were all due at the same time. For some, this was also their first child. Others were experienced mothers already. Somehow, simply through our little message board, we connected. Even though many of us have not met in person, these ladies are my friends.

We've since moved our "club" to a closed group on Facebook. This is the place where everyone can vent, worry, laugh, and cry, without fear of letting private secrets leak out into the public.

And let me tell ya, some of these secrets are doozies! But I'm not going to tell you those. My lips are sealed.

But I can share this one:
Do you ever catch yourself saying things to your kids you never thought you'd say?

We have! Here are a few highlights from this hilarious conversation:

• Close your butt cheeks
• Stop decorating your room with sandwiches
• Macaroni & cheese does not belong in your ears
• Stop eating all the soap bubbles
• Take the dog's coat off an go put on some clothes
• No, you may not get in the washing machine
• Do not pee on your sister
• Stop feeding the dogs glittered pine cones

Want to join in our fun? Leave a comment! What surprising phrases have come out of your mouth lately?

This may be a tough one

Amelia will be a full 2-1/2 years old when Halloween comes around. I'm excited that she will be able to help pick her costume. And she'll (hopefully) be excited to wear it for trick-or-treating.

To help psych her up for Halloween, I've been asking her daily what she wants to be. Usually she stares at me, with her big blue eyes and a totally blank face.

Tonight, she said (totally out of the blue), "Mommy, I want to be a princess for Ha-wa-ween."

So I confirmed, "you want to be a princess?".

To which she answered, "No, Mommy. A moose. I want to be a real moose."

Um....OK.

Wild & woolly

Amelia has crazy hair. It's thick, kinda wavy, with a mind of its own.

Today, Amelia has graciously agreed to share a personal portrait collection of her fashion-forward and trend-setting looks. Enjoy.

The "Wild & Woolly"
Amelia's most frequent look.
A very low-maintenance 'do.



The "Sugar & Spice"
Often used for school or birthday parties.
Simple & sweet. Just add hairbow.



The "Aloha"
An attention-grabbing option.
Simply clip on a tropical flower. Any color works!



The "Diva"
When you just can't get enough accessories.
More bling = more fabulous.



The "Woodsman"
Only fashionable in Winter or cold weather.
Add warm ear-flap cap and a big stick.



The "Monkey Pox"
For an edgier look. More of a distraction than a hairstyle.
Add monkey stickers and pretend to be sick.



And my personal favorite, "This Little Piggy".
The most difficult Amelia style option.
Requires a comb and a 2-year old who can/will stand still for 3 minutes.



Guarantees comments from strangers.
Especially good for attracting grandparents!

Crazy man

I have been married for 7-1/2 years to a wonderful husband - and friend. He is helpful around the house, understands (and tolerates!) my quirks, and truly adores his little girl. I know a few people who don't have that kind of support at home. And it's heartbreaking.

These days, however, Steve and I consider ourselves lucky if we manage to watch one TV show together in the evening. More often than not, he barely gets Amelia to bed before booting up the computer and getting back to work. Or I'm so worn down that I just want to curl up in bed with my latest ebook on the Nook. We both know that the craziness is temporary. We're both striving to find some sanity again. And in the meantime, I've learned how that little spark of love can show up in the strangest ways.

We were coming home from the rehab hospital, three kiddos in the back seat, laughing and singing children's songs. We stopped at Costco for some gasoline. That's when I heard some Amelia giggles. There was my husband, peering in the backseat window while pumping the gasoline. Making ridiculous faces at the kids. Really silly ones... not lazy just-stick-his-tongue-out kind of faces, but full-on wacky contortions of every possible facial muscle. The kids thought this was hilarious. Amelia's laugh was priceless.

And at that moment, laughing along with the kids, it struck me just how much I love this guy.

Crossed eyes, puffy cheeks, and buck teeth.... who knew?

Drama queen in action

I wish I had the energy to write thought-provoking posts each night. But not so much right now.

It's hard to live life in the "real" world when something so truly real and difficult to grasp is right smack in the middle of my world. SIL is doing well, by the way... but the ups & downs will continue. And the physical change she needs to accomplish is still a while away. (But we know she'll get there!)

When I can't coax my brain into a place to write, I tend to rely on photos. Shame on me, I know.

But hey - deal with it. :)

Since I've already done a couple photo posts in the past week, I'll graduate to a video instead.

Enjoy - my favorite drama queen in action!

My little spelling bee

Amelia has foam letters she plays with in the bath. She knows how to recognize every letter. And she's begun "spelling" with them. In her own little language.

She's in the bathtub. She pulls out a W and a P. She sets them on the bathtub ledge.

"W! P! That spells polka-dot. And it says movie! I like movies."

She adds a letter (D, if I remember correctly).

"Mommy! See what I did? I spelled pig! Wait. No, wait! I need more letters."

She reaches in the bathtub toy bag and pulls out two handfuls of letters. Places them all on the tub ledge. It looks something like this: WPDHNJTSXAC

"See! It says tree."

This went on for 10 minutes. When Daddy got home, Amelia proudly announced,

"Daddy! I did letters in my bath! I can spell tree. And movie. Amelia is soooo smart."

Ahhh, laughter.
Must be what keeps us from going wacky in the midst of terrible twos.

Need a laugh?

Busy, crazy day today. Worn out, hoping my little one will lay on the couch for a bit and chill out. Logged onto Facebook (for probably the 11th time today - I have an addiction), and was greeted with a pretty funny video. The laugh was a welcome stress reliever.

Moms, have a laugh at this one:
Single Ladies by a Pregnant Redhead.

Priceless!

A pilgrim? Or a pilgrim lawyer?

We've been trying to grow Amelia's hair out. Recently, I've realized that she looks similar to the shaggy dog in the Roadrunner cartoons. You know, the one that cannot see because of all the hair in his face? That's our girl.

We rely on hairbows to pin those crazy bangs back, but this is not always practical or successful with a child of Amelia's, um, enthusiasm. She is a wild and crazy girl with very little time to stop and get her hair fixed.

Tonight as she was eating dinner, contained nicely by the straps of her high chair, I gave in to my inner nagging. I got out the scissors and cut her some bangs! Of course she moved and the bangs got a little crooked. With another snip here and another snip there, they were acceptable. Maybe a little too short, but at least the child can see. And her extensive hairbow collection can now live to its full potential in the accessory world. No longer necessity.

Steve says "it looks okay... for a pilgrim." I'm not sure what this lovely male-perspective hair critique actually means, but it doesn't really matter. The hair will grow back quickly. I bet we're going to love her new look before that time even comes.

You can see the haircut in this new video. Amelia has a future as a trial lawyer, I think. Although she'll have to stop making up her own language. Maybe this is pilgrim speak? Hee hee.

The "Amelia-ism" of the day

Amelia is in a phase where humor is everything. She is funny. She thinks the cat is funny. Daddy is super-duper funny. Today, Amelia was listing everyone and everything she thinks is funny:

"Daddy funny."
"Claude (our cat) funny."
"Bear-bear (stuffed animal) funny."
"Pickles - funny!"
"Cat show funny."
"Jeff (a neighbor) funny. Funny doggies."

So I asked her - is Mommy funny?

And my bright-eyed little girl looked at me, thought about it for just a second, and replied...

"No. Mommy working. Again."

I'm so sad!!! I want to be funny too! I think this calls for a fun Friday morning activity tomorrow. No work for me!

Thumbs up, thumbs down

In honor of Amelia learning how to do a "thumbs up" (which, by the way, is crazy cute!), here is a thumbs up/thumbs down recap of our Sunday:

Gorgeous sunshine and perfect temperatures...
Thumbs up.

Playground in the morning, followed by shopping at Super Target...
Thumbs up!

Amelia managing to get out of the shopping cart belt - without unbuckling it - and jumping at me in the bread aisle...
Thumbs DOWN.

Amelia sitting on the floor of Super Target, taking her shoes off, then screaming "MY TURN!" at Daddy when he tries to put them back on...
Another thumbs down.

Amelia's incredibly embarrassing and super-gigantic parking lot temper tantrum because she did not want to get back in the car...
A big, really big thumbs DOWN.

Amelia deciding she would stop crying long enough to let me go pick up lunch while Daddy drove over the speed bumps in the lot...
Thumbs up.

Amelia not taking a single minute of nap today...
One more thumbs down.

Outdoor playtime and Steve grilling our dinner so I did not have to cook...
Thumbs way up!

Amelia kissing me goodnight instead of saying "no" as usual...
A happy mommy thumbs up.

It's funny. No matter how tired or frustrated we are, at the end of the day, everything is always OK.