Last month Michelle and Natali' came to visit. It was great to finally get to see this precious new bundle of joy and get to hold her. She is such a sweetie. I had a great time visiting with Michelle and am so glad she was able to "pop" in for a couple hours. Here are some pics from our afternoon.

Milestone....?

Today Allison had her first timeout. Yep, that's right a timeout. It was all I could do not to laugh, but I just could not allow her fit to go without consequences. We had been playing outside for quite awhile when I decided it was time to go in. Afterall there is still snow on the ground. So I usher her into the house (against her will) and can only imagine what the neighbors are thinking as she is screaming. We get inside and I crouch down at her level and talk to her about how much fun we had and she shrieked. Yep, shrieked. She would not look at me either. At least not face to face but I could see her little eyes looking off to the side in my direction just waiting to see what I would do. I did not even bat an eye. Then she threw her toy down and gave me the same sideways glance and then shrieked again. So I picked up the toy and whisked her off to her room (and those of you who have taken love and logic will get a kick out of this) in a sing song voice saying "Uh oh looks like a little bit of room time coming up here. That's okay I'll see you when you're sweet." Then I closed the door and walked away.

When I went back in 2 minutes later I kneeled down and gave her a hug. She grabbed on tight, but as soon as she was done she ran to the other side of the room, gave me a dirty look (I kid you not) and then shrieked again. So I said "Uh oh" and closed the door again. This time when I came in a minute later she was much happier and ready to play.

I guess even at almost 16 months it isn't too early to start. She is really getting an attitude and although it is super cute, I really shouldn't allow her to get away with it. We don't want a spoiled little princess now do we?

I have it out for my finger

It's true. For some reason my ring finger on my right hand is not faring well. It's not that I am sabotoging my finger on purpose. Really, I'm not. But for some reason this finger this week is prone to cuts. Earlier this week I was doing the dishes. I had been working on them for all of about 10 seconds (maybe less) when I put my hand in the sink to rearrange the stack of dishes that I had piled in the sink when I felt the sharp pain of a knife slice along the side of my finger. I decided at that time the best thing would be to leave the dishes for later that day.

Now fast forward a few days to yesterday. The slice in my finger is still healing, but it is to the point where it really does not hinder me anytime I have to go anywhere near water. I am working feverishly on a sewing project that I am determined to finish before Allison wakes from her nap. Because of said feverish pace I am not really paying much attention to the pins that I have in the material. Before I realize what has happened, one of the pins sticks into the pad of my finger and rips about a half inch gash up my finger. That's right, rips it. No nice clean slice this time. Do you realize how difficult it is for a rip in your skin to close. Trust me, much harder than a nice clean slice. I do not recommend ripping your skin if at all possible. Of course it is the same finger that is still working so hard to heal.

Today it is still sore, but I'm hoping that it will heal quickly. At least Steve is now home to do the dishes for me!

Things I've Learned This Week:

That it is much harder to keep a cut that ripped the skin closed than a slice from a sharp knife. (story to follow)

That rice milk does not make for good chocolate pudding.

That the kids CAN spend and hour and a half in a store without having a meltdown if they each have a $25 gift card to spend.

That we can survive 2 weekends in a row without Daddy and still come out relatively unscathed.

That I was still thrilled he decided to come home Friday night instead of Saturday!

That Allison is super cute and has so much personality and I have thoroughly enjoyed her this week.

That I have an issue with pride when I successfully complete a sewing project (even though that had something to do with my ripped skin).

That no matter how hard on work on keeping the kitchen clean it will only stay that way until the next meal a few hours later.

That library books seem to disappear in our house.

That you can only renew library books so many times until you are forced to find the book and return it. Where on earth could Batman: The Mad Hatter have gone?

Thanks for listening to my life's lessons for this week. Hope you had some good lessons this week too.