Tooth Fairy: Take Two

It looks like we will get a second visit from the tooth fairy in one week! Micah's other bottom tooth was very loose and today it came out. Well, it was a bit of a team effort. I told Micah I wanted to try and pull it one time and then I would leave it alone. It was so loose, it was just grossing me out. Anyways, I got a hold of it and then Micah pulled away. I was left with a tooth in my hand and Micah was now down one more tooth!

I thought this was all pretty early, but his dentist says it is the right time. His x-rays show that his adult teeth are pushing up and ready to come in. Love this cute sweet kid!

I better get going and take care of my two sickies. Looks like they have caught colds. Hope it passes quick and that I don't catch it too!

Ta da!

This little table was a hand me down from Chad's parents. It is so small that I thought it would make the perfect play table for Brooklyn. At first I painted it all yellow. I didn't like the way it turned out and I ended up putting it in the corner of her room for the last year. I decided to try again and stripped it. I stained the top and painted the bottom white. I think it turned out pretty good and now I need to get a pair of these little chairs from Ikea to complete it!

Coming in for a Landing!

Looks like the Tooth Fairy will be making her debut at the Trotter house tonight! Micah lost his first tooth. He came out of the bath telling us he "swamped" out the tooth with his other teeth. Huh? Anyways, he seemed both thrilled and scared at the same time. He is starting to hit these big milestones that make me realize that he is a big kid!P.S. The kids are loving the Yo Gabba Gabba bouncers their Ghee got them. This is practically their main form of transportation!

FYI

I got a lot of comments about my hair in the last post. Just wanted to let you all know how easy it is. First of all, this is what I have:


I got it as a gift and I love it. You can get it on eBay for around $35. I have super straight hair and this is the only curling iron that has curled my haired and kept the curl all day and even into the next day. That is a miracle for me! Anyways, if you take a small section of hair and curl it like you would a normal ringlet. The only difference is that instead of trying to keep the hair nice and flat against the iron, hold on to your hair the entire time you wrap it around. As you wrap it, it will naturally twist and that is what makes that cool wave effect. There you go, now curl away!

LA Zoo

Sunday we decided to go meet up with some friends up in LA.
We stopped by their place for a quick bite to eat and then headed to the zoo!

We went on a day that the rest of LA wanted to go too!Can you spot Chad, Matt and Dina?
B spent her time eating a cookie while we waited for our tickets.
Right when you get in, there are sea lions.
Chad and Brooklyn were checking out Reggie the alligator.
The meerkats were really cute and seemed to enjoy the crowd.
Matt and Dina checking out the meerkats.
The fam in front of the flamingos. Didn't know there are two different kinds. Have to say, the Americans are my favorite. They are pinker!
In front of the wallaby. I just love the funny look B is giving.
Micah and the big nasty komodo dragon. I think he is thinking Micah might be delicious.
Checking out the koalas. They sleep 18 hours a day. They also have brains that have shrunk over time. hmmm...
The giraffes seemed to be really curious about the crowd and they kept walking by to check us out. That, or they were pacing to keep their babies away from us. Such cool animals!
I was there too. I am just the one behind the camera most of the time.
Here we are. Tired after walking the whole zoo...that is why Brooklyn is giving the camera the evil eye and I am having to hold Micah up!
We had a great day. I forget how much of a treasure trove LA can be. We really stay so local, but I think we will have to get out and about more often. We had a great day!

Mini Me & Progress

Today we had a gross incident...I won't got into it. Anyways, I snatched her up and put her in the shower with me to get two birds killed with one stone. After we showered, I put on the little towel wrap that my mom and dad had put in my stocking this year. When B saw me wearing it, she wanted one too. I put it on her and it was just too funny not to get a few photos of! She is looking more and more like me.




And just to show you that I am taking my New Year's resolutions seriously (well ok, at least some of them) here is a picture of my newly painted mantel. I love how it turned out! Micah helped me out with making his best pose for the camera. Maybe he can work on The Price is Right one day!

Rezzies!

OK, here are some of the New Year's Resolution for this year:

1. Make more at home family dinners. Try to go out less and even buy less items that are semi-made. I want to try out some new recipes and get my kids to try new tastes and textures.


2. Unsubscribe from those millions of website e-mail lists. I swear the majority of my e-mails daily are from places like Pottery Barn, Groupon and Zulilly. I want to unsubscribe and clear out my inbox.

3. Work on home improvement projects. I have several.

Like getting a bedroom door. Long story, been without one for too long.
Painting the mantle. Chad has left too many drinks on it and I'm not a fan of oak.
Doing something about the lighting in my kitchen. I might have to call a pro for this.
Adding some love to my boring bathrooms. Start with framing the mirrors?
Planting something in the planter just outside of my front door. Kind of ashamed to say that I have let it go barren for almost a year and a half now!
Add some curb appeal to my front door. I think that we need a new lighting fixture and maybe a pretty topiary?
On my wish list would be new floor boards throughout my house. Currently, ours are plain, ugly and pulling away from the wall. I hope I can see them go!

4. Make time for more playtime with the kids. I get distracted by the hustle and bustle of life and at the end of the day I feel like I have spent very little time actually playing with my kids. I want to get more time one on one with each of them enjoying their favorite things.


5. Less cleaning (sadly). I love a clean house, but if I am going to make more play time for my kids, I will need to leave beds unmade on some days or leave dishes in the sink for a while. This will be tough for me!

6. Let the kids get dirty with projects/games. I am the first one to avoid pulling out things like stamps and Play Doh so that I can avoid the mess. I need to let them get messy and get right in there with them!


7. Make time for date nights. Um, date nights are almost never. I love getting out with Chad though. I would love to go out once a month to spend time with just him.

8. Try to get a gym membership or take time to workout on my own. I don't think I am fat, but I know I am not fit. I would like to be fit. I would love to increase my endurance and tone. I'll see what I can do about this. My schedule and budget are tight, so I will see what I can do!


9. Be pleasant. I remember my friend Carrie saying how she wanted to be "A joy to be around" as her New Year's resolution one year. The next week she wrote "Being a joy blows." Love her! I want to try and be more positive in general so that people enjoy spending time with me.

10. Read more. Last year, I got back into reading after YEARS of not reading an entire book. I have gotten into some really good books and I am remembering how much I enjoyed it. I want to read more this year. I f you have any good recommendations, let me know.


11. Watch less TV and spend less time on internet. Both of those suck away my time. I have to say I have some favorite shows and websites that occupy way too much of my time. Truthfully, I don't think that TV or the internet do much to enhance my life, but they are fun. Let's look for a balance.

12. Be more supportive and appreciative towards my husband. I want to make sure I verbalize my appreciation for him this year. I know he likes it and is more pleasant when he feels he is loved and his hard work at the office and at home are acknowledged.

13. Eat more sushi! Just because I want to.
14. Read scriptures more often. They always help me to be more kind and patient through my day. I need them and I would like my kids to be familiar with them.

Big girl bed

I finally got Brooklyn's bed all together! I got this bed on craiglist for 45 bucks. It was in rough shape, but it has beautiful carvings and it's a real antique. With a little paint and TLC, it turned out! Special thanks goes to my brother and my father in law who helped me out. Now that the bed is done, I have to figure out how to reorganize the room and I have to paint a dresser to match!

P.S. Next post will be my New Year's Resolutions. What? I told you I don't have "stop procrastinating" on it!

How to get my kids to eat...

I'm so glad Santa brought the kids Mr. & Mrs. Food Face. They are so fun. I have very very picky eaters and so any way that I can get them to eat is great. These are normal plates that have a plain face on them and then you put in the "magic." I love that I can make their food into funny faces. As a bonus, I get to express my creative side a bit, even if it is turning corn into hair!

P.S. Next post, I will get around to my new years resolutions. It's a good thing I don't have procrastination on my list!

Craving

Chad and I were just looking through some old pictures of the kids and after seeing pictures like this:
You can imagine that I might be craving a baby just a little. I am not sure what it is. I think maybe the fact that I am selling off the crib, or Brooklyn is starting to potty train, or that almost everyone I know is either pregnant or just had a baby, or even the fact that if I hadn't lost that last baby, I would be holding an infant right now. I want one, but I know the timing isn't right. We have teeny tiny place and a teeny tiny budget. Chad is feeling stressed enough with the pressure of feeding three mouths, adding another wouldn't be fair to him. One day we will have one more. I guess in the mean time I can work on being a better mother to the ones I have. Can't be ungrateful for the two I already have!