Let the Holidays Begin

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!