Awesome!

Yesterday, I met some friends at the Museum of Science and History. As usual, it's so much fun to play at the Children's Museum inside of the MSH. This time we were with Mikayla's best friend, Samantha and her parents and Jessica and Hadas.

Of course as soon as we get there Jessica grabs Mikayla and Samantha's hands and runs to the Dino Dig (where they loook for already burried dinosaur bones). Then we run to the other outside portion where little kids can build or play with water. From there we played in the grocery store and the hospital. Then it was time for a snack and and her first IMAX/Omni experience...



We sit down to watch Sesame Street and Mikayla looks at me and says "Mom, this is the most awesome thing I have ever done! Thanks for taking me!!"

I give her a HUGE hug and think, "Wow, this is pretty awesome...getting to spend this time with Mikayla and take her to her first IMAX....even if Elmo is a little annoying!"

Things we say...

So here's an update on some of the latest and greatest out of Mikayla's mouth...

We recently acquired a dog, Bud the boxer. A friend needed to have a few of her dogs go to good homes because she didn't have the time to love on the dogs, plus work, plus new baby. She knew that we LOVE boxers and asked us if we would consider adopting Bud. We told Mikayla that we would be watching Bud for awhile just to make sure that Bud and Mikayla were compatible. Turns out that Bud is the PERFECT dog for us!! He sleeps more than any dog I know! So after almost a week, Mikayla called my friend Amy with a very important question...

MAC - Hi Amy!
Amy - Hi Mikayla! How are you?
MAC - Fine...
Amy - That's good...
MAC - I have something to ask you...Um, I have two dogs, Sarah and Wolfy but um they are just pretend dogs, and I don't have a real dog and I was wondering if I could keep Bud?
Amy - Do you take good care of him?
MAC - Yes (doing her excited hand rub and scrunched up face)
Amy - Do you love Bud?
MAC - YES!
Amy - Ok, as long as you promise to take good care of him and love him, you can keep him
MAC - Ok, THANK YOU!!!

Per Amy...it was the sweetest conversation and as I listened to it and watched Mikayla's face I couldn't agree more!



A few mornings ago I asked Mikayla to clean up the front room...aka her play area she calls the back room...
MAC - "Mom, I need a little help..."
Me - "Honey, you made the mess all by yourself so you get to clean it all by yourself..."
MAC - "Mom, part of your job description is to clean up after me..."
Me - "Ahhhh, No"

Last night my mom and dad came over to watch Mikayla while Michael and I went to parent/teacher night. I told my parent's that Mikayla could not eat anything else until she finished her corndog to which Mikayla said...
"Lola, I don't mind if you want to share with me..." Sneaky little girl!

Other things my almost four year old is in to...
Mine's bigger
I'm bigger/older
Mom, who's bigger/older?
Mom, he/she made a bad decision didn't they? (talking about ANYONE she sees smoking...)
I love Hello Kitty!
I love Princess (insert any Disney Princess character...especially Sleeping Beauty!)
Mom, she's my best friend!
We're not friends anymore...
We're best friends again!
I love Bud (our new dog) but can we a girl dog too?? I never had a girl dog before...(we've had Bud for 7 days...)

So this is Mikayla in a nutshell!

Funny Songs

There is nothing like hearing my daughter belt out the lyrics to some of mommy's songs...

I should really get this on video, but imagine if you will, a three and a half year old singing the following songs....

By Kellie Pickler.... "I'll be there in the back of your mind, from the day we met to the very last time and it's just too bad, you've already had the best days, the best days of your life!!..... I heard your gonna get married, have a nice little family, live out my dreams with someone new. But I've been told that a cheater is always a cheater, I've got my pride and she's got GLUE!!!!!" (really supposed to be YOU but Mikayla likes Glue better...)

By Lady Gaga " Mamamama.......mamamama..... Can't read my, can't read my no you can't read my poker face" (Mom, why would he poke her face? I don't really know sweetheart, I don't really know)

By Kelly Clarkson " Since you been gone, I can breathe for the first time, I'm so moving on, yeah, yeah, Thanks to you, now I get, what I want..... Since you been gone" (Mom, is Kelly Clarkson angry in this song? Why?)

By her all time favorite, Taylor Swift, which Mikayla calls Taylor Switt... "She's wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts, she's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers, dreamin' bout the day when you wake up and find that what your lookin' for has been here the whole time...If you could see that I'm the one who understands you, been here all along so why can't you seeeeeeeee, you belong with meeeeeeeeee...."

Last but not least, by Rockwell ... "I'm just an average man, with and average life. I work from 9 to 5, hey hell I pay the price All I want is to be left alone in my average home, But why do I always feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone? I Always feel like somebody's watching me and I have no privacy. Woh, I always feel like somebody's watching me, Tell me is it just a dream?"

There are many more, these are just a few I find funny. Like should an almost four year old being singing about "the best days of your life", "belonging to someone", etc....makes a mommy laugh!

It cracked...

So Mikayla woke up from her nap this afternoon and asked me to tell "sister" (her imaginary sister) to stop messing with her flip flops. After we do this whole bit I tell Mikayla...

Me- You have a great imagination!!
MAC - No I don't...
Me - You don't?
MAC - Nope, it cracked.
Me - Your imagination cracked?
MAC- Yes, it's broken.

I love that little girl's imagination!

Worst Mommy...Ever!

So I might be the worst mommy ever...

I just let my child watch the entire "California Girls" video by Katy Perry. At first I thought it was pretty harmless. I kept wondering if Mikayla would notice the provocative moves and I would wince every now and again, but alas she is not old enough to understand most of the innuendo.

I was waiting for the comment about the singer being naked (everything covered strategically) but all Mikayla saw was the cotton candy she was laying on (and now she wants some cotton candy). Mikayla kept pointing out the other candy stuff in the video. I was a little disturbed by the whip cream cans on Katy's bikini top...especially as it sprayed everywhere... that I was getting ready to change the channel but the video finally ended!!!

And what does my daughter say...

Mom, she's got cupcakes on her boobs!!!

Me: Isn't that silly!!! (Worst Mommy of the Year....here I come!)

Volume Control

So I was reading a friends blog this morning and she made me laugh!! All to often I am telling Mikayla to "use her inside voice" or "whisper in my ear" and it all started with this encounter in March or April...at Walmart...

We had just, JUST walked into Wally World when my little mini-me noticed a rather large looking woman...

MAC "MOM! (real loud...at least to me) Why is that man in a dress?"
Me "That's not a man sweetheart"
MAC "Are you sure?"
Me "Yes, I'm sure." As I glance over to the woman who is just smiling and nodding at me....like maybe she understands what I am going through...and then...
MAC " Then why does she have a beard?"

And all I could do was turn the corner and grab the basics in order to escape!

Here's an idea...

So Michael and I have been racking our brains on how to "ween" Mikayla off of having us lay with her for one song as we put her to bed...



I'm not a fan of bribing my child (ok, yes I am...) so here's my compromise...and let me give you a little background info.



A few weeks ago Mikayla spent the day with her friend Samantha. Samantha has princess sheets...so for a few days we listened to how Samantha has princess sheets, a trampoline, a dog and a baby brother. I mean Mikayla was GREEN with envy!!!

Michael and I toss around the idea of giving her a surprise if we don't have to lay with her, the "mark it on a calendar" idea, and settled on the "give her a heads up that this will end soon". She did not like the idea that she was going to have to give up this mommy or daddy lay with her time. (I mean who would...she gets a sippy cup of water, a thousand stuffed animals, burp cloths and blankets plus someone will rub her back for almost a full four minutes!)

I tried the "if mommy doesn't lay with you for a week we can go to Toys R Us..." I got the "no...i don't think so" response.

So we have given up on this idea of changing her bedtime routine...UNTIL...

Tuesday, Michael had to go out of town for work (if you can call Las Vegas work...ok but to his credit it is up and at breakfast at 7:30 am and he doesn't get back to his room until after 10 pm...and let's face it, I'm not there so how much fun will he really have??!!). Tuesday evening Mikayla and I go to Target as I am on a mission to find a cheap slip-n-slide (BTW found one for $1.24!!!)

On the way to the toy section we pass the coordinated kids room aisle...low and behold what's at the end of the aisle?? PRINCESS SHEETS!!! Short of hyperventilating and passing out, Mikayla makes it known that we are not leaving the store with out said sheets.

Me "Let's think about it..."
MAC "Let's just get them..."
Me "Let's tell dad about them and see what he says..."
MAC " Let's just get them, please..."
Me "Let's see if you can be a good girl and we'll think about it..."
MAC "I AM a good girl and I just said please...."

Brilliant, quick thinking mom that I am, I say...

Me "If we buy the sheets mommy and daddy are not going to lay with you at bedtime..."
MAC "Ok, you don't have to lay with me, are we getting them???"
Me "So at night, we will read one book then you hug me good night and I leave..." (thinking I needed to spell it out)
MAC "Ok, are we getting them and can we put them on tonight?"
Me "Ah...Ok, but mommy is not laying with you tonight"
MAC "YEAH!!!!!!!"

So who knew...the secret to bed time happiness is princess sheets!!! Two nights and counting all is going swell!!!