Out of the mouth of Bailey

This week, my mom and brother Chris came to visit us. On one of those days, we visited Palmyra, and forgot the camera. I don't know what got into Bailey, but she was full of hilarious sayings:

• In the bathroom: "Mom, nobody else is in here. I don't see any feet!"
• In another bathroom: "Mom, the big person came out of the big bathroom (the handicapped one), and the little person came out of the little one!" (Yes, one of them was still in the bathroom. And she wasn't being quiet about it.)
• In the church bathroom (the day before): "How come someone has been in that bathroom for a really long time? When are they going to be done? Why are they taking so long?" etc... 
• In the car: Chris: "Aren't I hot?" (he was being the typically teenage boy) Bailey: "You should get a drink of water."
• On a trail: "Mom, I wish we had known it was going to be a hot day. We should have brought cold drinks."

She had us laughing and smiling all day long. I wonder what she's going to say next.

Open Farm Day

Today we took advantage of "Open Farm Day" and visited two farms that we about an hour outside of Syracuse. It was fun to show Bailey and Avery that our food comes from a farm, not a supermarket.

We had told the girls that we were going to a chicken farm, and Avery was super excited. We had to stop and home and grab snacks, to which Avery announced, "No. Chickens! Chickens!" So, our first stop was Brick's Farm, a free range chicken farm, home to 3000 chickens. It was truly a sight to see- and smell.

Bailey was not too happy to be in a room with so many chickens, who would happily peck your toe if you got to close. Avery, however, thought it was fun, and willingly pet a hen.

After reading about the horrors of caged hens, I was excited to see a farm where chickens are treated more like chickens, and less like egg producing machines. We bought eggs, and I actually think it is really cool that we got to see exactly where these eggs came from. I'm excited to make omelets this week. (:

At Brick's Farm, the girls were also able to feed some farm animals, or really, watch mom and dad feed them.

Our next stop was at a dairy farm, where we got to see a brand new baby calf. Even Bailey swallowed her fear to touch the tiny cow.

Apparently, the little cows have a serious need to suck. When you try to pet a calf, they try to suck on your hand- your whole hand. Luckily, our tour guide, who happened to be the owner's daughter, was happy to let the cows suck on her hand so the kids could pet the cows.

We had a great day visiting the farms. I'm just glad that Mike was able to go with us!

Mike is thirty!

Today Mike hits the big three-o! I'm putting together a list of reasons why we love him. If you know him, post a reason why you think he is great!

I'm the wicked stepmother

Tonight Bailey threw the tantrum of all tantrums. And that is saying something. It was actually very sad. It was a full hour of violence, threats, and thrown objects (all done by Bailey, I might add). 

It culminated in me holding her bedroom door shut while she angrily screamed, kicked, and threw her toys at the door. I never thought I would lock my daughter in her room, but I can honestly say I was afraid for Avery's safety, and I was tired of being scratched, bitten and otherwise attacked. 

While this was going on, I heard a sobbed, 

"Bruno!! Bruno!"

Sound familiar? At first I couldn't understand what she was talking about. And then it dawned on me. Remember Disney's Cinderella?

Then,

"I know. I need Cinderella's mice. Mice! Avery, bring me Cinderella's mice! I need out of here! Bring me Cinderella's mice!"

I felt like laughing, kind of. I was the wicked stepmother, locking the soon to be princess in her room. I hope that's not how she thinks of me...

Let't hope for a fresh start tomorrow. After all, sleeping beauty ends well. I might just have to wake her up with a kiss.

Preschool Gradution

Trying to catch up here...

Back in April, we had a preschool graduation for the six kids in our co-op preschool. The co-op preschool was a great experience. There were six kids, and we each took turns teaching one week at a time. The week after you taught, you babysat for the that week's teacher. I'm not going to lie, when it was your turn to teach, it was a lot of work. Keeping six kids interested for two hours took some creativity. But they all learned a lot this last year, and had a great time doing it.

My favorite moment of preschool happened when I was teaching. It was before class started, and I had music playing. I asked Bailey if she wanted to dance with me, she replied, "No mom. I am not here to dance. I am here to learn."

For their gradution gowns, they took their dad's white shirt and turned it backwards. Bailey, my fashionista, wasn't convinced until all the other kids were doing it. (:

They even got to do a graduation march down the stairs, with pomp and circumstance playing. Apparently, it was not an easy walk in dad's shirt...

We are really going to miss all our preschool friends!

Bailey is four!!

I can't believe that my baby is four. They say that time flies as you get older, and I believe it. I remember when we brought Bailey home from the hospital- I thought it was weird that they were letting us take her home. What if we broke her? What should we do if she cried? She changed our lives forever, and I love her more than anything.

Sadly, her baby pictures are on the other computer, so here are pictures of her starting when she is one:

Was she really ever that little?

On her actually birthday, we had a little family party. She had wanted to make a lady bug cake for my birthday (I might mention that nobody actually made me a cake on my last birthday, but that's a different story), so I attempted one for her. I think it turned out pretty well, until the frosting started to melt while I was frosting it. Oh well.

This is Avery and her someone-pulled-out-the-camera face. Hilarious.

Later, we had a princess party for her, but I didn't take any pictures. Oh well.

Here are some things I want to remember about Bailey right now:

• 
  
  She loves, loves, loves to cook with me in the kitchen
• 
  
  She likes to play this silly game where she makes up new words and wants me to copy her
• 
  
  She is getting so independent- she doesn't need me to get her a drink anymore
• 
  
  She loves swimming, painting, and crafts of any variety
• 
  
  She actually likes to help me clean the house, and she is very good at folding laundry (she calls it wrapping it up)
• 
  
  She loves her daddy- anytime to she seems him for the first time that day, she starts screaming, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" This includes in church.

I can't believe that next year she will be going to Kindergarten. Where did my baby go??

Pioneer Children

On our way back from the west this this June, we stopped by Nauvoo. We spend a day and a half there, and had a great time. We didn't get to see everything there is to see, so we will have to go back. I was impressed by how family friendly the sites were (especially compared to Kirtland. Let's face it, Kirtland and kids just don't go well together!). They had pioneer games, including dress up, pioneer cookies and crafts, and John Taylor's rocking horse that was featured in the Friend recently. Bailey is still talking about it, and asking questions about the pioneers.

Yes, this is kind of a weird picture, but I couldn't get one where everyone was looking...

What a cute pioneer!

That evening, we went to one of the shows. In the break, the sister missionaries went around asking peole what their favorite part was. The people who sat next us said that it was our girls! They were being adorable. Bailey and Avery were singing and dancing and leading the music. They were our little show stealers.

The only downside was the bathroom situation. Despite taking Bailey right before the show started, she of course, had to go potty. Mike loves these kind of shows, and well, let's be honest, I'm not a huge fan. But. They only had porta-potties. I don't do porta-potties. So, Bailey and I wandered around until the piano tuner let us into the building, promising to keep it our little secret. I was really glad.

Nauvoo was a memorable experience. I loved how they tied everything into their testimony of Christ. The printer shop wasn't just a place where they printed the paper, but a place where they shared a message of Christ. It was an uplifting vacation spot.

Museum of Play

Last week, my old college roommate, Shannon, and her family were in town. While they were here, we visited the Museum of Play in Rochester, NY. (Of course, Mike couldn't come. Shocking.) It was awesome. It was like COSI on steriods. We were there most of the day, and didn't have time to do everything. Bailey asked me if we could spend the night there. When I told her it was closed, she asked if we could come back tomorrow. We didn't, but we will have to go back soon. Avery, of course, took eons to warm up to the place, but when she did, she had a great time.

Sometimes I'm still amazed that we are old enough to be married and have kids!

They have a giant grocery store there, and Bailey and Avery loved it. It was funny to see what items Bailey put in her cart (they could only pick five): two popcorns, a lemon, oatmeal and a loaf of bread. Maybe I'll let Bailey do the shopping now...

Avery really enjoyed the post office. For some reason, all she wanted to do was to stand at the counter and smile at me. Maybe it was fun to have a counter just her size... I don't know. She spent at least ten minutes there.

With an entire museum to play in, Bailey and Avery just wanted to read. They are girls after my own heart. (:

It's too bad that Rochester is about an hour and a half away, with a toll road between. We love the Museum of Play.

Green Clean Review

Last night (while Mike was on his first call), I made the green cleaning plunge. I've been wanting to do it for a while, so I figured I would start now that we are in our new house. It's amazingly inexpensive, and I felt okay letting Bailey, and even Avery, help out.

To "green clean" your bathrooms, you only need a few things, most of which are probably already in your house:

To wash the mirrors, sinks and the outside of the toilet, I made a 50/50 mix of water and vinegar. It worked great! Bailey and Avery loved spraying everthing down, and I didn't have to worry about it getting on their hands or clothes. I was really pleased with the results- everything looked really clean.

Next, I poured a mixture of 1/2 c. baking soda with two cups of vinegar into the toilet bowl and let it sit for about 15 min. I was impressed by the results. The inside of the toilet was gleaming white. Who knew?

Lastly, I made and mixture of one cup water with 10 drops of tea tree oil for the shower. I used that on the shower doors and the tile. It's supposed to prevent mold and mildrew growth. Obviously, it's too soon to say how if it works, but at least it smells good.

The only downside is that your bathroom smells like vingear. Luckily, even that didn't last long at all. I admit, I like the smell of a chemically cleaned bathroom, but I'm sure it's not good for your lungs.

So, I give the green clean experiment two thumbs up. I'm excited about saving money, and making our house a little bit greener.