Tori The Squirmy Worm

Shy GlobeTrotter Fan

2012-01-21T13:16:00.003-06:00

Tori wasn't sure what to make of goingto the Globetrotter's game. Like Christian, she didn't know muchabout them either. She liked the show, but her favorite part washalf-time when local dancers came out and did flips, hula-hoops and tumbling. When I asked her after we got home if she wanted to take a classto learn how to do that, she said no. She's just as shy as her brother.

This was demonstrated the most duringthe game. Flight Time came and wanted to sit by her. At firstshe didn't scoot over and he almost sat on her, but I pulled her over intime so he could sit between her and the kid next to her (seen here - Best viewed as an image download). FlightTime asked her name, she didn't answer, so I told him as Tori leaned fartheraway from him. A few seconds later he asked if she could help him! Tori could be part of the show! What kid wouldn't want that? Tori is that kid. She said no, so Flight Time moved on downthe aisle to another girl. After Flight Time and the girls segmentwas over, I asked Tori if she wished she had done it and she still saidno. She could've skipped with them, gotten a ball and had them spinthe basketball on her finger. The little girl also ended up in thepaper, but none of that mattered to Tori. She was happy not participating.

Like her brother Tori talked about thegame for 2 days. They talked the Before Care's supervisor's earsoff. It seems like it was a good experience all around and next time,I'm sure they'll enjoy it more.

Improving In So Many Ways

2012-01-13T21:44:00.001-06:00

Tori is the Student of the Week this week. We found out before break, so it wasn’t much of a surprise. What is surprising is her vast improvement in skills. Her handwriting has improved tremendously, and she is catching on to her spelling words much faster. She is reading better, too, and she is now doing a lot of her homework on her own. By the time second grade rolls around, she should be much more self-sufficient as far as homework goes.

Tori's Best Gift

2012-01-04T17:58:00.001-06:00

Tori loves all of her gifts, but her favorite seems to be the little purple alarm clock from Santa. Huts set it for her, and lucky for us, Tori uses it. She gets up, turns it off and gets dressed. No more having to wake her up. Unfortunately, we forgot to turn it off the day we got back and it woke her up bright and early on Saturday morning. Poor girl!

On another note, Tori has six dollhouses now, plus some smaller buildings, allowing her to nearly have her own town. We call it Toriville, but she hasn’t taken to that name yet. She’s got all kinds of dolls and critters residing in her town with furniture and cars of all types. The LaLaLoopseys are mixed in with the dolls, turtles, raccoons, etc. It’s pretty crazy and often turns into a huge mess—which she detests cleaning up. Huts and I have a great time sorting and putting things away.

All I want for Christmas

2011-12-12T19:22:00.001-06:00

After weeks of bugging Tori about wiggling her teeth, they finally came out. She was eating an apple when they fell out, one after other, saving a trip to the dentist. Like her brother, she was scared it was going to hurt, but it didn’t, and now we are hoping she does better next time. Her permanent teeth were moving in already, right behind the baby teeth, so she won’t even have any gaps. She got $5 for her efforts, although she missed the tooth fairy—sneaky little fairy!

Tori is all set for Christmas, and her heart longs for another dollhouse. She’s got a town building up in her room! She and I have a date Friday night to watch Frosty with a bowl of popcorn. Maybe Christian and Eli will join us!

Mom's Boo-Boo

2011-12-08T18:09:00.001-06:00

I messed up Tuesday morning and slit my hand. As I pulled a bag from an upper cabinet, my really sharp bread knife came with it. The result—six stitches to close up a gap at the base of my pointer finger. I kept the wound covered most of the day. When Tori got home, she noticed the bandage right away. I told her what happened and let her look at it. She was grossed out by the stitches and the dried blood, and she let me know it. She is also fascinated by it, however, as she keeps asking for a look at it. She says she wants to become a doctor, but I don’t know.

To Sleep Perchance to Stay Up Late

2011-12-05T17:56:00.001-06:00

Generally Tori has been a bear in the mornings and a whiner at night before going to bed. Recently she's begun to understand, the better she is the more privileges she gets. This past 2 weeks, she's been allowed to stay up 30 minutes later to play at night during school because she has been getting up in a decent mood and not throwing a fit about it. She's also improved in how fast she gets up. It used to take us 15 minutes to get her up, dressed and out of bed, leaving not time for breakfast. So she would eat breakfast at school. The last couple of weeks, she's been getting up and dressed and able to eat breakfast before we leave. It is a Christmas Miracle! I don't know if she'll keep it up, but we hope she will. She's also stopped whining about things so much. She doesn't throw as many tantrums as she used to and is easier to put to bed. Maybe she's growing up a little bit.

Party!

2011-11-12T11:28:00.001-06:00

Tori was invited to a party this weekend, and she is VERY excited about it. She has mentioned it several times, and she has asked us time and time again when it is. It is Sunday afternoon, and we're guessing she will get up early and get dressed, although the party is not until noon! On another note, we got an I-pad, and the oldest two are all over it. They love using it, and I don't think Huts and I have been able to use it for more than half an hour. Tori especially loves the Crayola program on it and kicked off her day off school this morning doing that. No doubt Christian has played with it all day at home. They are tech savvy and they are not even in their teens yet.

Tired One

2011-11-02T18:55:00.006-05:00

Tori was a spider queen, and she loved every moment. She went trick-or-treating twice, and when that was over, she checked out all of the trick-or-treaters at the door. She zipped around, eating candy until it was time for bed. One night of rest was not enough, however, and Tori went to bed very early on Tuesday night. She woke up this morning happy as a clam, ready for a day of school!

Baby Sister

2011-10-14T20:57:00.003-05:00

Of course, Tori wants one, but even she admits that she wouldn’t like to share anything with a sister. There are perks to being the only girl. Tori makes up for her lack of a sister with her dolls. She has tons of sisters that she hauls around the house and yard and plops wherever. When she found out she was having a girl cousin in November, the little one became her cousin-sister too. She is excited to have another girl cousin and can’t wait to meet her. Too bad we don’t live closer because Tori would surely take this new little baby under her wing!

Come Fly With Me

2011-09-20T19:45:00.000-05:00

Tori is now a seasoned flyer. Wetook 4 plane trips to Portland and back a few weeks ago and she had a greattime. We got in late and had a hard time getting back to the hotel,so we got to the hotel around 3 am our time. She got a 2 hour napon the 2nd flight and loved the in flight music selection. She wasn'tinterested in the kung fu panda movie though. She slept in late andwent flower picking with all the girls and had some lunch. Then backfor a quick nap before the rehearsal and dinner. She had pizza fordinner that night and had fun playing with her cousins and other kids. We tried breakfast again in the morning at the hotel, but the kidsweren't into it, so we walked to BK and had breakfast there. We alsohad lunch at Elmers, which wasn't bad, but the kids needed a nap. Toriand the girls took a decent nap and got ready for the wedding. Theyall got to blow bubbles in the procession and were good for the ceremonyand pictures. They had a blast at the reception as you can see below. We left a little early since we had an early flight and I took Toriand her cousins back to the hotel to get some sleep. They playedfor a little bit and watched the cat and the hat and zonked out for thenight. I warned Tori the night before that we were getting up earlyand she'd have to get up when I woke her. She got up, but was tiredand crying a bit. Once we got on the flight, she was ok. Unfortunately,there wasn't any entertainment on the way back, but she still enjoyed theflights and only got a little ancy on the last flight waiting for it toland. It took a day or so to recover from being exhausted, but sheOverall, she had a good time and loved flying. She can't wait toget on a plane again.

Shot Time

2011-08-30T20:30:00.000-05:00

Tori went for a checkup yesterday, along with Eli, and sadly, they had to get shots. I thought there shot days were over, but it turns out there are a couple of new shots. Tori, apparently, took it in stride, not even crying about it. She came home with a bright pink band-aid and stickers. She is doing well and growing fine. Eli, too. Unlike his big sister, he did cry. By the time I saw him, however, he was doing well with his band-aided leg. He told it hurt, and that was that. My babies are all grown up. I don’t even have a toddler anymore. Sad, but not sad enough for us to want another kid. We are done! The sight of infants doesn’t even move us anymore. Travis is having a girl in November, and while Huts and I look forward to meeting her and holding her, we also look forward to handing her back! We are so done with babies.

Happy Camper

2011-08-23T20:13:00.002-05:00

Unlike her brother, Tori was a pure delight on the first day of school. She got up without a fuss and talked non-stop at breakfast, though she was a little teary when she learned there would be new kids in her class. Huts took her to her line, and they found it right away. After the fuss with Christian, I walked over to Tori and gave her a big hug. She was so excited to be there and even more so when she got off the bus. “That was fun!” she echoed Christian as we walked across the street. She had a great first day. The only downer was the 15 minutes of reading with her dad. She was not interested in that at all, but she survived and we will do it again tonight!

Ready for School

2011-08-21T15:44:00.002-05:00

Tori got a mail teacher, Mr. Jacobson, for her first grade teacher. She was upset at hearing the news. She wanted a female teacher. Once she saw his picture and heard how nice he was, she got excited to start first grade. She's all ready to go to meet her new friends.

She also got to meet a kindergarten girl named Kayla who lives in our subdivision. She is getting some of Tori's old school clothes. They both seemed to like each other and want to play together right away. Kayla didn't stay long the day she came to check out the clothes, but they both were excited to setup a play date in the future after school gets rolling. Maybe they'll get to play together soon.

In a couple weeks, Tori gets to take her first flight to Portland for her Uncle Samm's Wedding. She's a bit scared about the flights, but she'll be fine after the first short leg of our trip is over. She'll get to dress up and fawned over at the wedding, so she'll be fine once we get there. The trip back is going to be a bit more difficult. We have an early flight and Tori is not an early bird. I may be carrying her through the airport zonked out. Hopefully it goes well and we can do it again in a few years to Disneyland.

2011-08-09T19:43:00.001-05:00

Tori does not yet know her teacher for first grade. They are still sorting everything out. One of the first grade teachers passed away recently, so that and the coming and going of students has resulted in some shuffling. Christian promises not to say anything about his teacher until we know Tori’s. She wants a woman, but there is a possibility that she will end up with Mr. Jacobsen. She is terrified of that, but all will be ok. She is looking forward to having her own desk and using all of her new school supplies. Wish her luck!

Readers

2011-07-26T20:28:00.001-05:00

Along with our trip to the bank, we visited the new library. Christian was not impressed, but Eli and Tori had a good time looking at the books and playing with the blocks and puzzles. We spent about an hour there, much to Christian’s dismay. Tori brought home a book about Olivia—she is on an Olivia kick right now. She has the house that turns into a pirate ship and the family. She also watches Olivia every chance she gets! Anyway, the book she borrowed folds out, and she has done a good job of keeping it away from Eli. Way to go, Tori!

Wowww!

2011-07-05T18:12:00.001-05:00

We took the kids to a ball game late on Sunday night to catch the fireworks show. Tori had a blast. She got some fries, played at the playground and watched the fireworks show in awe! She loved every boom, unlike Christian who slunk down into his seat and covered his ears. She thought it was spectacular and watched most of it with her mouth open in awe! She had started to tire out, but the fireworks woke her up and she was oh so ready for more once we got home. She played outside for an hour lighting up the night with sparklers and went to bed after midnight! This morning, she was a bit tired but happy to go off to the sitter’s with toys in tow for whomever else might be there.

Birthday Party

2011-06-27T20:35:00.002-05:00

12 was the magic number for the birthday party on Friday night. Owen showed up to play with Christian, and Tori had nine little girls to play with. There were also a few parents who stuck around to help. They played for an hour bouncing on nearly everything, and then they were off to the green room for pizza, ice cream and cake. Most must have eaten beforehand because there was quite a bit left. Oh well. Tori opened her presents, got a hug from Monkey Joe and took off for another half hour of play. Shop closed up at 8, and we were back home by 8:30 with three tired kids and a sack of presents. Many thanks to all who made this birthday so special for Miss Tori.

Diva Turns 6

2011-06-20T17:01:00.003-05:00

Tori’s birthday was this Friday, and she had a blast shopping at the toy store. She collected all of her money—thanks to everyone who contributed—and bought:

Pillow Featherbed Lala Loopsy doll

Four mini Lala Loopsy dolls

Lala Loopsy doll treehouse (NEW!)

Lala Loopsy cat to dress up

Zoobles carrying case

Zoobles figures—for those of you who aren’t familiar with these, Zoobles are like Bakugans for girls.

Monster High Jeckyll and Hyde dolls

Tori is all set and spent much of this weekend playing with her new loot in her room. She doesn’t realize it, but this Friday is her party and she is sure to receive a few more gifts, including the cat above that she had me wrap for her party.

All of the Lalas and Zoobles came in, and out went the majority of the My Little Pony stuff. Tori is growing up, and her interests along with it!

Birthday Girl

2011-06-13T19:32:00.000-05:00

It’s hard to believe, but Tori is turning 6 on Friday! She is getting so big now. Not only does she have her own way of doing things, but she is starting to talk like an older kid, telling us jokes and relaying stories of her friends. She even went to camp by herself this morning—yes, she was a bit scared but off she went without big brother Ollie.

She is fortunate enough to come from a big family, which means she will be receiving quite a bit of birthday money. This is presenting a problem in the shopping—she can’t make up her mind what she wants to buy. More than likely, some of it will go into savings until a later date. Got to make sure she leaves something for Mom and Dad to get her!

Out of all the people she gets cards from, Aunt Lucy and Lily (not Brent, sorry Brent) are her favorite. She looks forward to their card—probably because Lucy was the first to send her a musical card that she remembers. Lucy also sends gift cards, which Tori adores! Thanks, Aunt Lucy, and to everyone else who sends Tori a card or gives her a call. She loves to talk on the phone and will not doubt be pleased with everyone who calls her!

Birthday Girl

2011-06-02T20:21:00.002-05:00

Tori will turn 6 on Father’s Day weekend, and yesterday, we booked a party for her at Monkey Joe’s. In addition to two hours of playtime, Tori will get pizza, cake, ice cream, a gift and goodies bags for everyone. She is not thrilled that she gets the green room for her party, but she will live. We aren’t sending out invitations until school is out to avoid the hoopla.

Since we can’t have the party on her birthday, we are going to have a little party of our home. Tori gets to choose where she wants to eat, and we’ll get her some gifts. I haven’t asked her if she wants to pick out her own gifts. We’ll see. Anyway, she is looking forward to her big days and will probably drive us crazier the closer we get to them.

Please

2011-05-25T19:46:00.000-05:00

Tori has been asking for a lot of new toys lately. We didn't really know why because she got toys often enough to placate her. We found out why this past week why she was asking for more toys. Usually the kids take toys to before care to play with in addition to the toys they have there. Apparently Tori's "friends" like them so much that they decide to take them home with them. They tell Tori that they don't get new toys or toys that are that pretty, so they are going to take them home. Once we found this out, Tresa discussed it with Tori and they decided that it would be best not to bring toys to before care for the rest of the school year (about 3 weeks). Tori seemed happy with this arrangement and hasn't asked about taking toys to school since she decided. She seems to be happy about the whole thing and so far her "friends" haven't said anything that we know of. She's such a nice girl that she couldn't say no. We may have to work on that a bit as she gets older, but for a 5 year old, its pretty much expected.

Sleeping Pretty

2011-05-19T15:17:00.001-05:00

Unlike her brother, Tori LOVES her new bed. She couldn’t wait for us to get it together, and unfortunately for her, we started with Christian’s first. By the time we got it together and everything put away, it was lunchtime. Poor Tori. She so wanted her bed up.

Finally, we got it together, and we started putting things away. Tori was a huge help. She carried in all of her clothes from the family room and put everything where she wanted it under her bed. She loves her new space under her bed and tacked up a blanket not too long after so she could have a real hideout.

There have been no complaints from her about the height, not even when I was helping her get dressed this morning. The beds are a little harder to make, but she is happily doing her best. Whew! One child satisfied.

Field Trip Finally

2011-05-10T18:01:00.002-05:00

Tori has been waiting all year to go on a class field trip, and yesterday was the day. She visited a farm and saw lots of animals. She had much to tell us yesterday, and she can’t wait for the next field trip.

On another note, she had lost interest in dancing and is now into MAD. She loves to watch the show with Christian. It keeps them laughing and they always come downstairs with recaps!

Busy Week

2011-05-04T18:06:00.000-05:00

Things have been crazy around our house lately. Grandma Vickie is in the hospital—has been since last Wednesday. She is still in ICU so the kids cannot visit her. Tori did tell me to tell Grandma that she loves her. They may transfer her today. If so, the kids and I may be visiting Grandma tomorrow.

In addition to that, we’ve been preparing for our subdivision’s yard sale. We thought it might be this Saturday, but the sign never went up. Then we got a notice in the mail that it was this Saturday, so we have to set up for it. Good thing we have everything priced and moved downstairs.

Uncle Frank is also coming down to see Grandma Vickie, so we have to get ready for that. Tori is hoping he brings his girlfriend’s daughter Destiny. We have grocery shopping to do, and the kids’ rooms are a mess because they are getting new furniture next week and their old furniture is going into the yard sale. Tori and I worked on that this morning, shoving her doll stuff into a laundry basket for the time being.

Busy, busy, busy, and Tori is looking the part. She is very tired, but hopefully she will pep up as soon as she gets to see Grandma and gets her new bed.

New Dollhouse

2011-04-27T15:03:00.002-05:00

That was the highlight of Tori’s Easter—a new purple dollhouse to go with her pink one. She had more than enough furniture to stock the two and made some steps out of Legos. The house is small enough for her to carry, and she did—to her room, downstairs, upstairs, etc. She says she is going to put the black family in the new house and the white family in the old house, but last night, she had all kinds of dolls in the houses, along with Eli.

She also got the first-ever boy Lala Loopsy and the Frankie Stein Monster High doll, plus some play jewelry, tiara, etc. Right away the clothes came off Patch the Lala Loopsy doll and went onto another Lala Loopsy. Patch now has on some Builder Bear clothes. Frankie escaped the clothes switcharoo, but not for long I’m sure. Tori was absolutely thrilled with her Easter basket—thank you Easter bunny.

Back Home

2011-04-14T19:25:00.000-05:00

The kids are back home now and back in school. This week is Spirit Week, and Tori is having a ball. Today was Fashion Disaster Day and she dressed for it—yellow shirt, green and purple dress, Hawaiian shorts, mismatched socks and crazy hair. Christian is sitting this one out, and tomorrow’s Career Day too. Tori wants to dress up like a fashion designer, so we’ll see what that entails. Maybe her new pink outfit with a tape measure or a feather boa around her neck.

Excited and Weepy

2011-04-07T18:28:00.002-05:00

Tori was so excited to go to her grandparents for the weekend, she was up and dressed at 6:45 am on Sunday morning. Considering she doesn't usually get up until 8 am on weekends and we weren't leaving until 8:30, this was a miracle. She was ready to go! On our trip down we stopped for drinks and snacks and I told the kids if they had to go to let me know so we could stop. About 10 minutes after we stopped in Springfield, Tori told me she had to go. Luckily there was a rest stop up the road. We stopped and got out and I told her to meet us by the flag pole when she was done. Christian and I came out and she was dancing by the flag pole. She exclaimed "ha ha I didn't have to go". So we stopped for nothing! We hit the road for the rest of the haul and the kids were excited to try the head phones that came with our car so they could hear the movie, while I could listen to anything else but the movie! We got to Wentzville and the kids had lunch at McDonalds. Tori showed her Grandparents her color book and they were off.

We called Tuesday to check on the kids and they were having a blast with their cousins. Tori talked to us and got a little weepy when I was talking to her. She missed us a little bit, but I'm sure she perked right up after I got off the phone with her. They had a big week planned and it sounded like it was in full swing!

Almost Time

2011-04-02T10:06:00.001-05:00

Christian and Tori are headed to Marie and Steve’s this Sunday for a whole week. Lucky for them, the weather is going to be good, if not great. Eli is not going though he keeps saying “I go.” He would miss Mommy and Daddy way too much.

Tori is the most excited. She can’t wait to spend some time with her grandparents and cousins. She thought she was leaving tomorrow and got really excited. I don’t know if we will be able to contain her excitement tomorrow. We have clothes to wash and bags to pack. She will probably be over the moon!

Everyone Loves Tori

2011-03-26T14:15:00.001-05:00

We met with Tori’s teacher, and she had nothing but good things to say about Tori. She is a real delight, and all of the first grade teachers want her in their class next year. She has mastered most of the skills and is working on her numbers to 100—moving from one group to another, 69 to 70, and saying them backwards. We were thrilled to find out how well she is doing and got Chinese for dinner to celebrate.

Dancing Queen

2011-03-23T18:01:00.001-05:00

DWTS started last night, and Tori couldn’t wait. She was all excited when the first pair came on and danced her way around the living room. Huts and I looked at each other at one point and said she needs to be in a dance class. Today I am going to look into some dance classes. I might find her one soon. She also wants to go to camp this summer, so we’ll see.

That's Just The Way They Are

2011-03-18T19:26:00.001-05:00

Christian and Tori go to latchkey run by the Y every morning and afternoon. With Mom living with us, they could ride the bus, but they don’t want to. They like going to latchkey; the people there take good care of them.

The kids receive an afternoon snack at latchkey, and yesterday, Huts and I brought in drinks and cupcakes in lieu of their usual snack. The kids loved that, and the staff was all over us. Guess we’re the first parents to bring in snacks. They were so grateful that Tori and I are going to do it again for Easter.

Apparently when the staff was passing out the items, one of Tori’s teachers was there. She told the Y people that “that’s just the way they are.” Tori’s teachers always call us generous. Huts and I never thought much about it, but I guess we drop by a lot of stuff from wipes to play-doh to cupcakes to goody bags for the party. Just goes to show you that the smallest efforts mean a lot.

Miss Wants-A-Lot

2011-03-17T18:39:00.001-05:00

Tori has now decided that she wants another dollhouse, the Manor, so that she can separate her dollhouse families (one white, one black). The Easter bunny was going to bring her a handheld game, but now it looks like he will be bringing her another dollhouse. This one is two stories with a purple exterior—how lovely next to the pink and green, three-story Victorian dollhouse she already has. This smaller one is less expensive—a good thing for the Easter bunny’s wallet. Two dollhouses seem a little excessive, but at least now, Tori will be able to put all of that dollhouse furniture to use.

Of course, Tori has a jillion other things on her list, including all of the Monster High dolls she does not have. Those can wait until her birthday, and lucky for us, she will never remember everything she asked for this Easter. If she did, we would never hear the end of it!

On another note, we brought in drinks and cupcakes this morning for the latchkey kids. Nothing green about them—more springy that anything, but they will have to do. I couldn’t even find green plates—
just blue and yellow. And the cupcakes have confetti on them. Oh well, no one seems to care they have nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day. They are just glad to have a cupcake and a drink. Usually all they get is a bag of crackers as a snack.

A Bed Full

2011-03-10T18:42:00.003-06:00

Tori has so many stuffed animals we strung up clothesline around half of her room for her to hang them from. Last night, she decided to take all of them down and throw them into the floor. I was going to put them back up this morning, but then I decided to just pile them on her bed and leave it to her to do tonight. That should keep her busy for a while! She’s always looking for something to do, and tonight she will have plenty to do!

Last night did not go smoothly with Tori either. She has several goals she has to complete for kindergarten. We have been practicing and made it through much of them. Then she lost focus, and that was that. She just started guessing on her sight words, and words she had read just moments before became something else entirely. At this rate, she is never going to get those sight words down pat!

The More Girl

2011-03-08T18:53:00.002-06:00

Christian has just a couple of collections, Legos and Bionicals, whereas his sister has many. Tori likes all kinds of things, and every time we go out, she tries to get a toy out of us. Like this weekend when we went to K-mart for a new microwave. They all looked at toys, and Tori decided she wanted another monster doll. She already has two, which she rarely plays with, so that wasn’t going to happen.

When she figured out that she wasn’t getting anything, she changed to the Easter tune. Can you put this on the list for the Easter bunny? (The kids usually get a couple of toys for Easter.) She has quite the list going, but lucky for us, she will forget most of it and be happy with whatever the Easter bunny brings her—the last two mini LaLaLoopsy dolls and a handheld game.

New Beds? Perhaps!

2011-02-28T18:34:00.001-06:00

After a few trips to the local furniture stores, Christian and Tori have settled on the same loft bed, just in different colors. Tori would like white, but the bed comes only in natural and black, so she is opting for natural. We’re going to girlie it up with stick-ups, etc. She is getting drawers underneath and at the end of the steps, plus a bookshelf. If we move the bookshelf under the head of the bed, she will have some cubbyholes to crawl into and hide her stuff.

Furniture shopping with Tori is very interesting. At first, she was all wound up and excited about it, begging us for a bed that she would outgrow in a couple of years. Then she settled down a bit and zeroed in on the bed with steps yesterday—with some help from us. She is in the middle of this “I don’t know” stage, so we have to work hard to get her to focus and make a decision.

We’ve got some things to do on the house and then we may order a bed for her and one for Christian. It just depends upon how things go with the work on the back of our house (new door and some deck repairs). Wish us luck if we get them new beds. They will want Huts to have everything together in an hour!

Valentine's Day Girl

2011-02-15T18:23:00.003-06:00

Tori had a ball yesterday. Not only was it her helper day, but it was Valentine's Day. She made some crafts, played some games and came home smiling with all of her loot. She glued lots of things together last night and made her own little box for her valentines. It was a cute box to begin with, but Tori has added her picture, stickers and lots more to it. She has also stuffed it with her valentines. She took it to school this morning to show off to the people at latchkey. Tomorrow is spring pictures, and she can't wait to dress out of uniform! Goodness knows what outfit she will come up with!

My Birthday Book

2011-02-10T18:46:00.000-06:00

Tori is all about making books these days. She steals the computer paper and either staples the pages together or has her dad do it. Sometimes she tapes up the pages. Then she bugs us for hours on end how to spell certain words. She decided to make me a birthday book, nothing about birthdays persay, just a bunch of scribbles about whatever happened to be on her mind. A nice gift, but very much a Tori gift.

Ready To Go

2011-02-03T18:44:00.000-06:00

While Christian was bellyaching about all of the writing he had to do, Tori was watching everything, looking forward to the report she will have to one day do. She loves doing homework. She’s my little eager beaver, and as her teacher says, we don’t worry about Tori because she tries so hard we just know she will get it. Yep, my little Tori is always ready to go to school and do whatever her beloved teachers tell her. She loved making her poster for the 100th day and can’t wait to do her homework each Monday. If she could have, she would have written Christian’s report for him! At least I know she won’t be bellyaching when she has to write about the man or woman she chooses for Black History Month.

What a Mess!

2011-01-28T19:41:00.000-06:00

Tori has always been messy, but lately, she’s gotten worse, at least at school. Every day that we have picked her up this week, we have found her backpack empty and her stuff everywhere. We generally know what she takes to school so we usually manage to collect it all. Yesterday, we weren’t so lucky. Tori had gotten another shirt for school, but none of us knew it, and we ended up leaving it at school. Again, she had everything from her backpack scattered all over the place, and in a hurry to get to the book fair, we left the new shirt and Christian’s hat. Fortunately, it was all there this morning when Huts dropped off the kids. Tori changed into the shirt and was happy as a clam.

On another note, they are having a pajama party in after care today. School let out at noon, and the Y decided they would let the kids bring their pjs and watch a movie in them. Christian and Tori are in their pjs right now having fun. If they want to go to the toy store, they are going to have to change.

Miss Writes-A-Lot

2011-01-25T19:10:00.002-06:00

Tori is learning how to read and write, and she shows off her budding skills by taping and stapling together computer paper and writing words on them to create little books. After using up much of the tape and staples, she likes to follow her dad around, asking him how to spell this and that. Sometimes she asks me too. We deal with it fine for the first hour or so. Then it starts to get tiring as Tori loses focus and we have to repeat letters. Eventually, we shoo her off to find something else to do for a while. Right now, she has two books—one of which she took to school and got a sticker for it. She also has a “diary” notebook she has filled with scribbles and is down to one coloring book. That girl loves to scribble, paint, color and do arts and crafts of all types!

Up and Ready To Go!

2011-01-17T18:01:00.000-06:00

Tori got a last-minute birthday party invitation to one of the babysitting kids’ party. She was all excited and couldn’t wait for 4 o’clock on Saturday. We got the little girl a gift and told Tori that the party wasn’t going to start until late on Saturday afternoon. She picked out her outfit on Friday night, got all of her stuff ready and drove us crazy until we wrapped the gift. Then she flew out of bed and got dressed early on Saturday morning. She was all a-dazzle in her pink sequined shirt and pants…at 7 a.m. She drove us nuts the rest of the day wanting to know if it was time to leave.

Because she got up so early, she was tired, so I tried to persuade her to take a nap, but she was having none of that. We distracted her as much as we could until the magic hour arrived. She came home all happy and slept in the next morning. All of that waiting and partying wore Miss Tori out! She was all ready to go this morning, though, for her last day off school at the sitter’s.

Fashionista

2011-01-13T18:45:00.002-06:00

Tori is still the little fashionista. This morning she insisted on wearing a shirt under her school shirt (for looks of course). Then she had to wear her scarf that her Aunt Lucy made her last year tied in an extravagant way (her way)! She's been sleeping with her sleep eye cover nightly since she got it at Christmas. She also wore the headband that her Aunt gave her yesterday. I don't know how much it actually was worn, but I'm sure it was in and out of her hair all day. At least she's stopped styling her hair like she was a character from Star Wars. On weekends she'll change clothes several times a day for the fun of it, just like she changes her doll clothes. She has fun doing it, even though she comes up with some crazy combinations in our eyes. She wants to pose and prance around for all the pictures and people around. She's her own fashion show and our house has become the runway!

Sickly Christmas Again

2011-01-05T19:57:00.000-06:00

Tori's Christmas started off rotten again! She seemed to have gotten the bug that Christian had earlier in the week, except she got sicker than he did. Christmas morning she felt miserable and laid on the floor with a blanket and pillow. She had some milk before we opened presents and a few minutes later barfed it up. After getting a quick bath she rallied to open presents, but spent most of Christmas day in bed cuddling her lalaloopsy doll and watching movies. She felt better on the 26th, but still wasn't very hungry.

On the 27th we all headed to Grandma's for their Christmas and Tori seemed to be back to normal. As with her brother she got to go to Monkey Business, but since she was asleep when we left and needed her 2.5 hr nap, she only got to go the 2nd time. Of course she had to wear her Christmas dress to play in and she got hot, so that slowed her down a bit. For Christmas from Grandma, she got dolls, clothes and doll clothes. I'm sure there was other stuff in there, but it was mostly clothes and dolls. The trip back wasn't bad and she had fun at the last holiday gathering, but it exhausted her. She was in bed by 6 pm on Thursday and slept almost 14 hours. She missed dinner, so she was starving for PANCAKES...her favorite breakfast. She attempted to stay up on on New Years, but didn't make it either. She was just too exhausted and made it to 11 for the New York ball drop.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and playing with her dolls and brothers. We ran a few errands and got soaked when we went to the grocery store, so Tori warmed up with a bath on Saturday after we got home and dry. She lazed around yesterday, but seemed to be ready and excited to get back to school. We'll see how tired it makes her when we pick her up today.

Please Don't Sell Them!

2011-01-04T19:54:00.000-06:00

Tori has a small room, which she fills up fast. This Christmas, she decided she was done with Dora and all of that stuff went into the yard sale pile. Yesterday, I mentioned to her that she had lots of new dolls that she has yet to play with. I was just wondering what her thinking was behind that. She got upset and pleaded with me not to sell her new dolls. Poor girl. There’s no way I would sell them. I just wanted to know why she was waiting to play with them. Guess I better leave that subject alone for a while. She’ll play with her dolls when she is ready I guess.

Crazy Girl

2010-12-16T20:25:00.000-06:00

Something got into Tori yesterday and she was wild according to Huts. She seemed a bit crazy when I saw her later that night and spend much of the night running around the living room chasing Eli and making him scream. She got into trouble a few times, and the waterworks started. Huts even made her sit on the couch once until she could get herself under control. Poor girl. She wore herself out and didn't want to get up this morning.

Attached At The Hip

2010-11-30T20:13:00.000-06:00

Tori doesn’t get much girl time, so when Destiny came, she was delighted. She stuck to Destiny like glue, following her everywhere and smiling all the time. She even went over to Aunt Annie’s with them. (Frank’s dad was there for Thanksgiving.) All of this fun made for one tired Tori, and she got real weepy on Friday night when she realized they were all leaving the next morning. Come Saturday morning, she was well rested and managed to keep it together when they left. She helped me put things away and do some laundry, all the while waiting patiently for a ride in the new car! She loves the Traverse, especially her seat in the third row, which she has been begging for since she realized some cars have third rows.

Bed Wetter

2010-11-22T18:15:00.001-06:00

Tori has started to wet the bed at various times. We’re not sure what’s going on with her. What seems to alleviate the problem is giving her one last drink of water at 7 and me getting her at night when I go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, I was so tired the other night I did not get her up and we had a wet bed to deal with. Maybe after a few more weeks of this, she will automatically get up on her own.

Hunt and Seek

2010-11-20T09:56:00.001-06:00

We're delivering the last of the fundraiser candy tonight to a friend. She doesn't have any kids of her own and likes to spoil mine rotten with little gifts hidden all around her home. The kids love walking around her new home and finding all of the hidden treasures. We're bringing pizza tonight for dinner and then let the hunting begin!

Diva

2010-11-07T10:32:00.000-06:00

Tori's report was equally good. She needs to work on letter recognition, but her teachers said she tries so hard they know she's going to get it. The meeting started with a discussion of Tori's hair, which her teachers assured me they knew she was doing herself. One day I guess she returned from science with a ponytail right in front—picture Tori as a unicorn. Her teachers had to muffle their laughter and managed to get her hair in place. They love her and think she is wonderful, just like the folks do in latchkey.

9 out of 26

2010-11-06T10:32:00.001-05:00

That’s how many letters Tori recognizes from the alphabet. Not exactly great. We’ve been working with her, but I don’t know that we’re making a lot of headway. It all takes time I guess. I think she gets distracted rather easily and loses focus, so we’re working on that too.

No luck with Girl Scouts. Huts says he sees posters in the lunchroom on it, but the women never got back to me about it, so…I think we’re looking into putting her into a tumbling class. That will keep her fairly busy and more importantly allow her to release some of that pent-up energy.

One Too Many Fits

2010-11-06T10:30:00.002-05:00

For whatever the reason, Tori was a real pill this weekend. Maybe it was because she was tires. Maybe it was because we have left her go one too many times. Anyway. she threw one whopping of a fit on Sunday afternoon when we told her it was time to leave the playground. She stomped, kicked, screamed, cried, etc.., until I pulled her out of the playground and smacked her hard on the butt. Then she settled down and whimpered to the car. She stewed for 15 minutes and then clung to me the rest of the day. She knew she had crossed the line. This morning, we warned her no fits this afternoon when we picked her up. We'll see if she listened.

And the Winners Are...

2010-10-22T20:17:00.001-05:00

Clone trooper for Ollie, Dorothy from Oz for Tori and Puppy Dog for Eli. These are the costumes they have picked out for Halloween/. They are having a 45-minute fall party on 10/29 and coming to my work at 2:30 to do a little trick-or-treating. I am helping out at the school party, or Huts is--the sitter has something to do so Eli is with me for the day and Huts is coming home early. Should be lots of fun and loads of candy for the kids.

Playground Cryer

2010-10-01T08:33:00.002-05:00

Tori has enjoyed everything about school. Her teacher, classmates, hot and cold lunches and Before/After Care. The only thing she doesn't seem to like so far is the amount of time she gets to spend at After Care. She doesn't get enough time to swing before we get there, so we always end up with a crying girl when we pick her up from after care. She's so upset because SHE WANTED TO SWING! We tell her everyday that if she wants to swing that she needs to do that first when they go outside. These words are not heeded as we always end up with a crying Tori. Even when she does get to swing, she wants to swing more! There is never enough time for swinging.

Usually she stops crying once we get out of the parking lot. Tori has been going outside and using our swings to get her after school fix. Luckily she's big enough that she can play outside by herself. Before kindergarten started, she also taught herself how to swing, so we don't have to be involved. However, she still requests that we push her on the swing sometimes. I guess she still wants her parents to help her swing.

Oh Please

2010-09-22T18:34:00.000-05:00

We took the kids to Target on Sunday and rewarded them for being so good all weekend long with the yard sale, festival, etc/ Tori took an instant liking to this wedding Barbie ensemble, complete with Kent he groom and two bridesmaids. She just had to have it, and we relented. She disliked the wedding dress--too fluffy, so that came off and jeans and shirt went on. Then she played with the four for a long time. When I went in this morning to get her up, I found Ken in the window sill and the girls on the floor under her bed. I guess she had some fun with them before she fell asleep!

Anyway, she got a very nice toy, which meant her brother got a very nice toy, which he played with all day. The best toy, however, was the cheapest--Eli's singamabob. I caught all three playing with that doll.

Better Today

2010-09-21T18:31:00.003-05:00

Yesterday morning was not a good one for Tori. We put her to bed at 8:30, which means she stayed up to 9 or so and that ended up costing us. Tori was a total crab and broke down at before care. I pulled her into my lap and reassured her everything would be OK. She did not want to go to school,, so last night she went to bed at 8 and woke up her sunny self. She ate some pancakes and went into school without a fuss! That girl needs her sleep! Of course, we won't be home by 8 to put her in bed tonight. Maybe Uncle Dale can manage it.

Ready To Go

2010-09-07T19:40:00.001-05:00

As previously mentioned, Tori has been excitedly waiting for school to begin. The first 2 days she got to sleep in until 8 am due to their being no before/after care. She was happy and ready to go both days. she enjoyed her first couple of days and made some new friends (even though she doesn't know their names yet, but knows they like her shoes!). We were expecting her to be the first one who would get in trouble for talking too much, but apparently it was another boy who got that privilege. It sounds like she's been a pretty good student so far.

Today she starts before/after care and the first full day of school. She got up in a better mood than most days she went to the sitter's. She wasn't quite sure what to do once she got to before care, but I bet the full day will tire her out tonight. she's been excited to wear a new uniform every day and likes picking out her clothes the night before. So far no homework, but I'm sure it'll pick up next week. Tonight she also gets her haircut and we are going to the mall to hopefully find her a few more uniform dresses.

We thought this would be a bigger transition for her and that we'd be having an unhappy child with lots of battles about school, clothes and getting up in the morning, but so far, she's been pretty good about everything. I think her brother leading the way and her outgoing personality helped ease her fears and allowed her to enjoy the beginning of school. Hopefully it continues.

Getting To Know Everyone

2010-09-04T09:43:00.000-05:00

Tori doesn't know much about her classmates yet, but she is trying. She knows that one of them is named Jayden and one of the boys wears glasses, which hurt his nose. Some girl told her that she liked her shoes, which pleased Tori to no end. We're just waiting for her to get the names down pat and then she will be bursting with stories as she does with Kylie from the babysitters. We know all about Kylie''s likes and dislikes, daily rituals, etc. compliments of Miss Tori.

Sneak Peek

2010-08-26T20:50:00.001-05:00

Tori got to check out her classroom yesterday. She seemed thrilled to be there. She checked out her classroom and another room where she will doing some things and met her teacher. She also got early that day, so I know she's excited! Get ready, Mrs. Badorek, here she comes!

Almost Time

2010-08-18T19:18:00.001-05:00

School registration is tomorrow night. Huts and I will fill out some paperwork and then check out the lists to see who the kids' teachers are. Tori is looking forward to it. Christian would love to skip it, I think, and end his education now. We had a big discussion this morning about shoes. Sandals are not allowed, so I bought the two new tennis shoes. Tori remembers and has been begging to wear hers ever since. Christian doesn't and tried to tell me I had bought him new sandals. Ugh! When that boy is fixed on something, he won't let go of it!

Anyway, we are getting everything labeled and put in the backpacks this weekend. Wish us luck! Tori will want to go to school right then and there! That girl just cannot wait!

Polly Obsession

2010-08-03T18:27:00.001-05:00

Tori did such a great job of keeping Eli entertained while I mowed the lawn that she got a toy too. She started off the trip by telling me she was done with Polly Pockets, which of course she wasn't. She looked at everything and settled on Polly Pocket and friends party pack. This puts her up to 22 dolls and zillions of clothes and accessories, enough to fill her plastic jack-o-lantern bucket for Halloween. That girl. She is going to turn into a Polly Pocket.

Big Girls Go To Kindergarten

2010-07-21T19:43:00.001-05:00

Tori's Kindergarten physical went well, though she wouldn't concentrate during the eye test. She is a growing girl like her brother and grew 3 inches this past year as well. She's about 3' 5" and 40 lbs. and in the 50% in height and weight. She passed all her other tests with flying colors as well. She was a bit upset at her brother for all the butterflies and magnets following him instead of her from the projector. She didn't quite understand how it worked. She was happy to be distracted by the fish tank and all the strange fish in it. She also showed off her counting, hopping ability and knowledge of her address to the doctor. She's definitely ready for school.

There were a few open houses in our neighborhood this weekend, so we went to them just to look. Tori went with us to the first house and she and her Mom went to 2 more. When they came back I went to the 2 they saw and Tori went with me. She was the tour guide in each house. She showed me where the girls room was and the boys room and pointed out where the deck and back yard were. She did a better job than the realtor at showing the house. If we ever move she'll be going to all the house showings with us I suspect. She enjoyed it so much, she may be a realtor someday.

Picture Time

2010-07-06T19:18:00.003-05:00

The kids got their pictures taken this weekend, and amazingly, the three of them behaved the pros. There was no fuss on the bathtub or with the new clothes. Tori let me fix her hair and never said a word about it not being "right." We got there early and walked around. Then the fun began, and they smiled and did everything the photographer said, without fuss! Look for pictures in your mailboxes at the end of the month!

New Shoes, Big Tears

2010-06-26T16:30:00.000-05:00

I had to throw out Tori's old silver glittery shoes--too small for her and in bad shape, so I bought her a new pair of pink glittery shoes. She has been dying to wear them to camp, but she can't. No fancy shoes allowed, just tennis shoes. Lots of tears have been shed over the shoes, as well as her limited selection of clothing--no dresses. She can't wait to go to Sharon's and show off her new shoes and clothes. She is not going to like school uniforms!

Happy Camper

2010-06-22T19:58:00.004-05:00

Although a bit scared, Tori plunged into camp and had a great time. She cried a bit, but she made it through and today hopefully went better. She wasn't too thrilled about having to wear her tennis shoes, but she did get up early enough to eat pancakes. We'll see what her thoughts are this afternoon.

Update: She lost her lunch in between the time they handed it to her from the cooler to the time she sat down. Doesn't know where it went or how it got lost. Later in the night, she said she remembered the cookies she had for lunch. Which story is true...you decide.

Clothes Horse

2010-06-22T19:58:00.001-05:00

Tori is all girl. She loves everything girlie and changes clothes three or four times a day/ Her grandma got her a ton of clothes, old and new, and she has had a ball ever since wearing this and that. Store bought or yard sale, clothes are her thing, as are shoes. She is in heaven!

Bye-Bye Soccer, Hello Grandma's!

2010-06-08T18:47:00.002-05:00

Tori had her last soccer game yesterday, not that she played much in it. She stood around as usual until her coach (Huts) sent her to the bench because she didn't want to play anymore. She whimpered over to me, and Huts carried Eli around the field as he instructed his players what to do. We gave out party bags and cupcakes, and everyone left happy, most of all Huts who is not coaching little kids again! Now, everyone at our house is preparing for the week-long trip to see the grandmas. Tonight we're getting snacks--NOT TOYS--but snacks.

Big Party

2010-05-20T18:56:00.002-05:00

Tori and Christian had a super party last Sunday. Several of Christian's classmates came, along with Tori's friends and some of my coworkers' kids. They played for about an hour and a half before chowing down on pizza and cake and opening gifts. Everyone got really hungry after about an hour, but the pizza wasn't ready yet, so they played some more, all the time letting me know how hungry they were. We got the pizza at 2:15 and went downstairs where it was a madhouse
getting them food and cutting the cake. The two got loads of gifts and spent the read of the day playing with their loot! Now they are looking forward to the next party in June.

Pig Tail Girl

2010-05-17T18:22:00.001-05:00

Wednesday night we got our hair cut and Tori had her hair put in Pig tails. She is growing her hair long so she can have pig tails all the time. Our hair dresser puts them up for her every time we get her hair cut. This time she put them in a little too tight. After we got home Tori complained of her head hurting and hearing beeping inside her head. She didn't feel like eating and wanted to go to bed early which is rare for her. She got some Tylenol for her head ache and fell asleep pretty quickly. The next morning she was fine, no headache, no noises in her head and nothing has reoccurred since then. We aren't sure what the noise was, but she seemed really tired and with a head ache, who knows what that could've caused.

A Keeper

2010-05-07T20:25:00.002-05:00

We're having a yard sale tomorrow, and getting Tori to give up stuff for it has been difficult at best. She wants to keep everything she has ever been given—including clothed and shoes she has outgrown. Instead of getting rid of something, we should just move and and get a house with two bedrooms for her. Easy solution! How silly of me not to have thought of that.

Too Shy To Play

2010-05-07T20:25:00.001-05:00

Tori is in soccer and she is coached by her dad, but she still won't play. Huts puts her in and she stands there while all of the others play soccer. He takes her out and she scampers off on her own. She will participate in practices, but only to a degree. Soccer is a bust, and there are six more weeks of it! Hopefully, swim class in July will go better. Tonight is kindergarten registration. Wish us luck.

The Rain

2010-04-25T14:51:00.001-05:00

It has been raining for days here in Peoria. When she was younger, Tori liked to play in the rain. This weekend she got to show her baby brother how to do it.

The Birthday That Won't End

2010-04-23T19:12:00.003-05:00

Tori is our middle child, and even though she is the only girl, she sometimes feels left out. Not this year. Her birthday celebration is going to start on May 16 with a combo party with her big brother and end on June 17 with swimming and carnival fun. Her grandma Marie is also throwing her a little celebration on June 16 in Kansas City. Then we'll head to Brookfield where she will have a day of swimming and a night at the carnival in Brookfield after a trip to see her great grandmother Grace. She is one lucky little girl, and she knows it!

Bumps and Bruises

2010-04-08T19:11:00.001-05:00

In all of the play outside and going in and out, Tori and Eli got some injuries. Tori fell on the bottom step of the deck and got a black eye. She also has some bruises on her legs. Eli fell on the driveway and added some scrapes to his already banged up face from falling on the garage step. His legs look one big bruise. All of that running around and climbing is taking a toll on their little bodies, but you wouldn't know it from the smiles on their faces.

Twin Obsession

2010-03-14T14:35:00.000-05:00

Tori is obsessed with twins. She has two sets o twin dolls that talk to each other. She has Barbie doctor doll that cares for twin babies. She has two sets of twins for her dollhouse. She has three sets of twins she puts into her dollhouse. And now she wants a twin birthday party. She wants to have her birthday party with Christian's again, at the same play place as last year. I told her we would do it in May this time before school lets out and have her buddies over for a birthday play date in June. She seemed happy with that.

Nother Bowl

2010-02-25T18:50:00.003-06:00

Christian and Eli spent the morning howling. Tori, of course, had to add fuel to the fire. She got up OK, but started sniffling when I gave her oatmeal in a plastic bowl. She demanded a proper bowl. With that, she was happy and excited to go, with Brat dolls in tow.

Baby Snakes

2010-02-23T18:30:00.001-06:00

I had a weird dream about Huts and his pet snake, which we all know he would never have because he doesn't exactly like snakes. Tori heard me discussing the dream with her brother, and before long, she had a dream about baby snakes. They were cut, but they loved to chase her up and down the stairs and into her bed. The snakes were apparently slimy and left grossness everywhere they went, including across her window. Fortunately, there was a cleaner guy to get rid of all of the mess. The snakes stayed, and the story went on and on and on…

Ka-Pow

2010-02-17T19:24:00.001-06:00

Tori had to get 3 shots to get ready for school. The first two didn't hurt much and she just got a really sad face, the third stung and she cried a bit because it hurt. She got to pick a sticker, so I tried to cheer her up a bit by acting like I was going to put the sticker with the picture of the dog on it over tinkerbell's face on her shirt. That got a laugh out of her and stopped the crying for a few minutes. She was still sad on the way to the car and cried a bit more when she told her Mommy about it. She got the band-aid's pulled off when she got in the shower and that hurt a bit then too. By bed time she was fine and her arms didn't hurt anymore. Now she is all set for school in the shot department.

Peter Pan

2010-01-27T18:29:00.000-06:00

Tori doesn't want to grow up! She wants to be 3 again! She doesn't want to go to school next year! She does want her birthday party and presents. She wishes she could be little all over again and doesn't realize that like everyone else, she's getting older. She wants to do swimming/dance/gymnastics this spring, but she doesn't want to go to school. Her first day is going to be a tear fest for sure. Whether it will be from anger or sadness, we'll have to wait and see. She also doesn't want to go to summer camp with her brother this summer. She was upset the last 2 years when she wasn't able to go. Her brother will help her along, but she doesn't want to get older! Like everything else, she'll outgrow this physically and emotionally. We're all getting older, whether we like it or not.

Off To The Dentist

2010-01-14T19:48:00.000-06:00

Tori got her hair cut last night and is getting a filling and cap this morning. Her uncle Dale took her, and she was looking forward to it. She loves going to the doctor, even for shots. Ollie, ont he other hand, hates it. Anyway, she should be wonderfully happy this afternoon when we pick her up. She loves one-on-one attention!

Dolls Galore

2010-01-05T19:21:00.002-06:00

Tori woke up sick on Christmas morning and went back to bed after looking through her stocking. When she finally got up, she opened a mass of dolls for her dollhouse and her room. She got seven or eight dolls in all, plus some Barbies. The best gifts, however, came with Grandma Marie, the car for her dollhouse and a Christmas globe. She and Eli love to push the button on the globe and dance around to the music! Tori also got a cradle handmade by her Grandpa for her many dolls. What a lucky girl!

Let the Holidays Begin

2009-12-16T18:59:00.001-06:00

Tori and Ollie had a special night with this dad last night. They went out to eat at a Chinese buffet and went to see the lights. Eli stayed home with me. He hates his car seat and isn't feeling good with his molars coming in. We played, while the others had a great time. They told me all about the food they ate and the lights they saw. More fun is on the way on December 23. Huts has the day off and is taking them to lunch, to see the Chipmunks moves and then to spend their gift cards at Target.

Not Ready

2009-12-05T22:59:00.002-06:00

Last night we got to talk to Tori while she was visiting Cassy and Courtney. She's having a great time. She is not one who likes to stay home and she didn't bat an eye when she left. She started crying because she couldn't go with them! She is not a home body. Even with the girls in school and being home alone all day with Melissa, she is having a good time. Most kids would be bored, but not her! The only thing she might miss is her doll house. She doesn't miss us it seems. I asked her last night if she was ready to come home...dead silence.

"Maybe next week?", I asked.

"Yeah, next week", she quickly agreed.

She misses her parents...really she does. Next year she won't be able to take these trips because she'll be in school. Hopefully that'll solve some of her wanderlust. This summer could be her last chance for long trips away from home for awhile. She'll be back home next Friday in time to see the Princess Frog with her Mama and get ready for Christmas. Not much time left before the havoc of Christmas occurs. The kids are ready. We just have some space planning to do for all the new toys from Santa!

Update: Her two weeks turned into one! She missed her Mommy a lot and her Daddy a little. She also missed her dollhouse! You know the important things. I met her and her uncle Frankie in Alton, IL. to pick her up. She was ready to go!

Grandma - Tori Day

2009-12-01T19:31:00.001-06:00

Today Tori stayed home with Grandma. They slept until 10 and played dollhouse. They were supposed to go see Darin for awhile later and take the new dog with them. She sat with Grandma all last night and no doubt talked her head off today. Tori loves the one-on-one attention from her grandma until Aunt Melissa arrives, and then that will all be over!

Screamer

2009-11-19T19:16:00.000-06:00

Tori got into major trouble last night. She has been making a mess of her face when she eats, smearing it with ice cream, pudding, etc. Now she is broken out and has sore, cracked lips. After getting her face washed last night, she settled in to watch TV. She asked for a snack 10 minutes before bedtime and got told no. She screamed bloody murder, got put into bed and screamed bloody murder again. She finally got a banana in bed, only because we were trying to get Eli to sleep.

Wonder Woman!

2009-11-03T20:11:00.001-06:00

Tori braved the cold for several blocks and would have went more, if Dale and Annie had brought the wagon. She loved going up to the doors and came home with a bag of candy. She put on gloves and a hat,. but that was it. She didn't need anything else. She was Wonder Woman, after all!

Miss Fit

2009-10-30T13:22:00.001-05:00

Tori has been seeing her bed a lot. She has taken to fussing over the least little thing, including throwing huge fits when Eli steps foot into her room. She is getting quite selfish, and that fact lands her on her bed quite often these days/. She sits there until given permission to get up and then vows she won't make a fuss again. That remains to be seen!

Happy Pants, Then Not So Much

2009-10-22T19:16:00.000-05:00

We figured Tori would be the one who was upset about not getting to go to Joe's. We were wrong! She was happy as a clam to go eat pizza and see her Aunt and Uncle's. Its been a long time since we've been to Pizza Inn, but Tori missed it so! The only problem with her is that she gets too distracted with everything around her and it takes her hours to eat. I had to keep reminding her to heat her food, so we could get out of there before it was their bed time. She enjoyed the night out and played with her Aunt and Uncle's outside while Christian ate. She had her problems though. She threw a fit when they told her to get out of the street. She threw a 2nd fit when it was time to go home. All of her crying caused Eli to get scared and he screamed at the top of his lungs until we had to yell at Tori to stop crying. She wasn't done with the fits though. After brushing her teeth, she tried to go back into our room to watch her movie. She had closed the door on her way out and attempted just once to open the door. When she didn't get it the first time she screamed bloody murder. Then it carried over to this morning. She brought a small Care Bear and a sun visor to the sitters. She couldn't get the visor to fit the Care bear and I couldn't either. I told her it couldn't be done and the screams came out again. This time she got in trouble. I yanked her out of her care seat, spanked her and sent her to the sitter's door while I got Eli out. She howled all the way to the door, but calmed down by the time we went in the house. She's in for a rude awakening because she's too old to be throwing those kind of fits over nothing.

Sleepyhead

2009-10-15T19:38:00.000-05:00

Tori sleeps until the last possible moment every morning. I dress her while she sleeps, and then I haul her downstairs into the car. I don't think she says much. Poor girl. Mornings are not her thing. However, this morning, she woke up at 3, wanting to leave, and at 4, wanting to get dressed. Huts and I told her to go back to sleep. Lo and behold at 6, Miss Sleepyhead was back!

Miss Whiny

2009-10-15T19:34:00.001-05:00

Tori has entered a new phase of whininess. She starts tearing up at the drop of a hat, mostly when nothing goes her way. We have no idea when this started, but we're hoping ti does not last. In the meantime, she is getting to know her room/bed really well.

Me and the Kids

2009-10-07T19:01:00.001-05:00

After very little sleep due to Ollie and Eli, I managed to pull it together and have some fun with Ollie and Tori on Monday. We played dollhouse, ate at Chilis and shopped at the toy store. Then we came home and played for a while before Huts and Eli came home. It was a fun day for the three of us, and we're supposed to do it again soon!

Mom-Daughter Day

2009-09-23T18:42:00.000-05:00

I am trying to find a day for Tori and me to have some fun. Friday is out due to the prospect of rain. Maybe Monday. We're going to do a little shopping and have some lunch. We might even go to McDonalds!

Darth Vader, Wonder Woman & Sock Monkey

2009-09-14T20:51:00.001-05:00

It's official. There will be no theme this year in the kids' Halloween costumes. Christian has a fascination with Darth Vader right now, even after seeing how Anakin became Darth Vader. Tori has no interest in Star Wars. She was going to be Tinker Bell, until a couple of days ago when she announced she would be Wunna Women. Eli gets no choice; Dad picked out something warm for him that hopefully he can handle. Stay tuned for photos.

All Clean And Ready For Her Return

2009-08-31T12:35:00.000-05:00

Tori's room is all clean and waiting for her to come home. The dolls are in place, the dress-up clothes are tucked away and the room is a mass of peaceful pink and purple. Eli doesn't even seem interested in it now that Miss Chatterbox is not in there to yell at him and make him laugh. Oh Tori, your room is yearning for your return.

Excitement

2009-08-28T21:34:00.001-05:00

The weekend is about to start, and Tori is totally looking forward to it. She knows she has the next two days at home, the following four days at Sharon's, the Friday with Mom and Eli. the weekend with everyone and Grandma and Grandpa, and Monday with the family. She is psyched!

Off to Annie's

2009-08-11T18:51:00.002-05:00

The kids have been barely home 3 days and they went to stay the night and day with their Aunt Annie. Tori did not want to go to the sitter's today because she was so ready to go. She always has to be doing something, its a nightmare in her eyes when she has to go to bed and get up the next morning for the sitter's. She still has a full year of going to the sitter's before she starts school next fall. Luckily she starts swimming in Sept. Then in the winter or spring we are looking at putting her into dance or gymnastics.

She still likes to play tea party at home with all her dolls. She brings chairs, dolls and plates for her tea parties to the chalk table. She positions her dolls exactly how she wants them and then they have a snack. Each doll speaks through Tori and they talk about all kinds of things. None of which can be interrupted by a parent asking what Tori is talking about. We get a "I wasn't talking to you, my dolly was talking". Sorry to interrupt that conversation! I'm sure it won't be long and we'll be watching plays in the near future. I'm sure she'll get her brothers to participate.

Mommy

2009-08-10T21:13:00.000-05:00

Tori has taken to calling me Mommy and she says it about every minute or so. It drives me a little batty, but I am trying to be patient and grin and bear it. She has a lot of requests and lot of questions, which I don't always know the answer to.

On another note, I took the time to fix her doll's wild hair, and she isn't fond of that at all. She hasn't removed the dog tails, but it's coming. She likes the wild and crazy look I guess.

Busy Girl

2009-07-31T18:33:00.001-05:00

Tori is lovin' her time at Uncle Frankie's. She has latched onto cousin Kassy and Kassy's mom Melissa. She is eating up the attention and all the time on the trampoline and four-wheeler. If we're lucky, we'll get her home without too much of a fight soon.

Missing Mommy

2009-07-01T21:38:00.002-05:00

The first 2 days of this week, Tori has been sad that she has to go to the sitter's. She's missing her Mommy! Today she got to spend the morning with her Mommy due to the sitter not being able to watch her the kids today. She was excited! They had a bit of excitement at home when they discovered Piper was bleeding. Apparently they cats got in a fight while we were sleeping and Piper got it good.

The kids discovered the carnage and 'helped' Mommy clean up. I'm sure she'll have a great story to tell tomorrow. Her day with Mommy ended at noon as her Uncle Dale came to take care of them in the afternoon. I'm sure she'll be sad, but she'll get another day with Mommy sometime soon.

4th of July

2009-06-30T19:02:00.001-05:00

We let the kids know this morning that the 4th is coming. Of course, they related the shooting of fireworks to some episode of Sponge Bob. We passed by a fireworks stand and are wondering if Annie can shoot them at her house. You can't do it in Peoria because of local laws, but maybe it is allowed in Mossville. I will be checking that out. If not, the kids will have to settle for sparklers and stink bombs.

Big Helper

2009-06-25T18:49:00.001-05:00

Tori is a great helper, unlike her big brother. She picks things up and never has a problem when we ask her to help. She helped pick up the blocks last night, while Christian snuck off and hemmed and hawed to get out of it. She helps with Eli too, who thinks she is hilarious. She can make him laugh like nothing, Last night, she made cookie bars. What a helper!