This is the Ocean, Silly, We're Not the Only Two in Here

Lydia and I made meatloaf Friday night and I took pictures to document how much she helped. She really, really enjoys helping in the kitchen and it's fun cooking with her. It will be fun as she gets older to have her help more and more (as long as she's willing to)!

And here's how we make Grandma Pfeiffer's Meatloaf:

Step 1: Wash your hands! (And wear your cute apron.)

Step 2: Gather your ingredients.

Step 3: Add the milk to the dry mixture (bread crumbs, egg, spices).

Step 4: Add some spices. And mix up the mixture.

Step 5: Add the ground beef and mix with your hands!

Step 6: Put the meat mixture into a pan and smoosh it down.

Step 7: And always clean your dishes as you go...that way, you don't have a messy kitchen when you're done!

I don't have a picture of how the meatloaf turned out, but it was very good! Lydia is a good and willing helper! We also had home made mashed potatoes and broccoli with our meatloaf! Yummy!

Just Keep Swimming...

September was very busy and now we're finally into October! I think the Pfeiffer Family is getting into a routine and used to working, playing, making dinner, cleaning...all in one day! Before I say anymore, I want to introduce the newest Pfeiffer Family member....WAGS! 

My friend, Melissa, found this precious puppy wandering her neighborhood and took her in. Melissa already has two dogs (and two kids) and couldn't keep the puppy. Brian and I had just talked about getting a dog the night before Melissa told me she had found a puppy! We met the puppy, saw that Lydia adored her at first sight and that the puppy was very sweet and cute, and decided to take her home with us! We had her checked out at the vet and she was healthy! Yeah! So, we now have a new dog named Wags! She is between 5 to 7 months old and a Chihuahua mix. She is very sweet, very active, and Lydia loves her!

Anyway, I like to post my daily schedules/routines so that I can remember them down the line. So here's the most up-to-date weekly schedule for the Pfeiffer Family!

Mondays:

8:00-9:00: Lydia and I get up and ready to head out for a walk. I let Wags outside so she'll go potty before we go for a walk.

9:00-10:00: I get showered, dressed and ready, plus straighten up the front room and living room while Lydia eats more breakfast and watches a show. Then I get Lydia dressed right before my first piano lesson of the day arrives.

10:00-12:30: I have four students Monday mornings (all home-schoolers). My youngest student yet is an almost 5-year old! Lydia loves playing with my two new piano students (sisters) and then my other two piano students whom I've had since I started teaching. Lydia has a full morning of playing with other kiddos while I teach.

12:30-1:30: Lydia and I usually eat some lunch and watch a show or two before nap time. Sometimes we will get together with Leah and Adah.

1:30-3:30: Lydia naps and I relax!

4:00-5:30: I have three more piano lessons. Lydia usually wakes up between 3:30 and 4:00. She's really good at staying in her room watching a show or reading books. Or she will come out and play in the living room. Brian gets home before 5:00 and will then entertain her and let Wags back inside.

5:30-bedtime: It's family time! I make dinner and we enjoy time together. We usually take Wags on a walk in the evening.

Tuesdays:

8:30-1:00: Lydia and I head off to pick Leah and Adah up to go to Bibleland. Leah and I work in a 2-year old room while Lydia and Adah head off to their classrooms. We teach a Bible lesson, have praise and worship, craft, and playtime. It's a pretty nice job! After work, we feed the girls lunch at the church and let them play on the playground for a bit before heading home.

1:30-3:30: Nap time!

4:00-5:00: I have two piano lessons. My middle school student was an hour-long lesson, but the stress of just starting middle school and going to Cub Scouts the same night as piano was too much for him. Oh well!

5:00-bedtime: Family time! Brian gets home later now on Tuesdays, as he is tutoring a middle school student for an hour in the evenings.

Wednesdays:

8:00-2:30: Lydia and I head off to Preschool! Lydia is loving her preschool teacher and everything else about preschool! She helps me set up my classroom in the morning, joins the teachers at prayer time, and then goes straight to her room! Wednesday is extended day, so it's a little long for her (and for me), but we're getting through it!

2:30-4:30: Nap time!

4:30-bedtime: Family time!

Thursdays:

8:15-9:00ish: Lydia and I meet up with Leah to go on a walk in the morning. It's sad that our morning walks are now down to two days a week...uhoh. We usually hang out in Leah's front yard after our walk to the let the girls play a bit.

Morning-12:00: I try to get all the cleaning done and as much laundry as I can done. Lydia will watch a show or play with Wags. Sometimes Leah and Adah will head over here, or Lydia and I will head over to Leah's house to play and hang out.

12:00-1:30: It's time for lunch and a show before nap time.

1:30-3:30: Nap time!

3:15-6:15: I have four piano lessons on Thursdays and two of them are 45 minutes each. Lydia is good about napping until about 4:00 and then watching a show in her room until Daddy gets home. Sometimes she'll come out and hang out quietly in the front room with me. Brian gets home before 5:00 and takes over. Lydia will head off to Dearest and Best Buddy's house around 6:00 for the evening to hang out with grandparents and cousins.

6:15-bedtime: Brian and I have an evening to ourselves before we pick Lydia up between 8:00 and 8:30. She can't spend the night, as she has preschool in the morning and I don't want her staying up late!

Fridays:

8:45: I drop Lydia off at preschool! And I have the morning to myself!

9:00-10:00: HEB! I can make a super fast trip without a 3-year old walking around behind me (or running away in front of me)!

10:00-12:30: I get to relax and enjoy time by myself!

12:45-3:30ish: I pick Lydia up from preschool and we head home. She'll usually get to watch one show before nap time.

3:30-bedtime: I don't have any afternoon piano lessons - yeah! Lydia and I usually just hang out and get dinner ready. Brian comes home before 5:00 and we have a  nice evening together.

Our days are busy, but we're having a lot of fun. I'm thankful for Thursday mornings when Lydia and I can just relax without any time commitments. And I'm thankful for Friday mornings when I get to just be by myself and Lydia gets to have fun at preschool!

I'll leave you with this cutie:

Oh, My Goodness. Everyone Behave Naturally

Today was Lydia's first day of PRESCHOOL! I can't believe she is three-years old and old enough to go to preschool. What's even better is that she gets to go to the preschool I work at! We both headed off to "work" today - together!

Lydia did a great job helping me set up my classroom and following me around the building. She wasn't very still during prayer time with the other teachers, but at least she was quiet! When it was time to go in her room, she went with barely even saying goodbye to me! She found her name on the outside wall right away and put it where it goes. And that was the last I saw of her until 10:10, when the Busy Bees come to Music Class!

She was very excited to see me in the music room and (luckily) got to sit next to me in the circle. Unfortunately, she was too excited to be near me to do any of the songs and movements I did (except towards the end). She kept telling me what she wanted to do. But, she stayed on her spot and was a good 3-year old student. Then her teacher came and it was time to go. Lydia picked up on this right away and refused to get in line - she stayed by my side as I gave each student a stamp. Thankfully, an assistant came with her teacher and took Lydia's hand to walk her out with the class. Lydia, of course, was crying and crying! I heard her all the way down the hallway! It just broke my heart...but I knew she would have fun in her class.

When I went to pick her up, I learned that she only cried for a little bit and that the assistant helped her calm down and start playing again in the classroom. I was worried something like this would happen, but I know that after a few more times at preschool, she'll get used to being in my music class and then head off back to the Busy Bee room - and she'll want to go back to her class.

Lydia was exhausted after her first day of preschool and cried in the car because she felt that the A/C wasn't turned up high enough (it was as high as it could go). She went right to bed when we got home and fell asleep immediately. Next week, on Wednesday, she will be in the Extended Day class (as I stay to teach a class), so she'll be doubly worn out! It will be a good afternoon nap when we get home.

I am looking forward to Friday when I get to leave her at the preschool and go run errands without a child! Yeah!

Well, I'm Already Downstairs! You'd Better Keep Up!

I just had to share some recent Lydia tidbits so I won't forget them later on. I wish I could film her throughout the whole day...or at least take a picture of every little thing she does. She is hilarious! I'm so thankful for a outgoing little girl. I was so extremely shy when I was younger and I'm glad Lydia is the complete opposite. She's outgoing, social, and definitely has a sense of humor. Love it!

This morning it took me two minutes to wake up to my 8:00 alarm! I need to start going to bed earlier! When I got out of bed to check on Lydia (I no longer have her baby monitor on - go me!), she was standing in the hallway holding a large yellow sponge as if it were a baby. I asked her what she was doing. "This is my baby...you want to come play?" I still needed to go potty, brush my teeth and get ready for our morning walk, so I told her I wasn't ready to play yet. "Oh, come on," she says, "you can be the grandma!" Out of all the hundreds of dolls and stuffed animals Lydia has in her room...she chose a SPONGE to be her baby! This girl cracks me up!

Lydia's new thing is to drive in her toy car. It suddenly hit her the other day that she wanted to drive in her car everywhere, just like Mommy and Daddy. She almost didn't get into my car at the post office because she was looking for her car. She now drives her Little Tykes car from our house to my parent's new house down the street. She also likes to fill her car up with "gas" and wash it's "windows". Her baby doll sits in it's seat next to her. She takes the fake key out of the ignition and then puts it back in and turns it a few times. She watches out the side "mirror" as she backs up her car. She has to park her car in the driveway next to Daddy's car. Once again, this girl cracks me up!

Every day I am so thankful and amazed at how much Lydia has grown. God has given me a wonderful, perfect little girl. We may have our tough times, but when she gives me a hug or asks for one more kiss before bed time, I am filled with so much joy I can hardly stand it!

Lydia posing in my wedding dress.

How's Your Thirst for Adventure, Captain?

August has barely begun and it's already been a full month and is looking to get even full-er!

The annual Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio was last weekend (the 2nd, 3rd and 4th). Mom, Leah and I headed up to Ohio on Friday and arrived just in time for the last part of the Hot Dog dinner at the local high school. It was quite "chilly" in Ohio - being under 80 degrees most of the time - a big difference from over 100 degrees in Texas!

Saturday morning we got up extra early in order to get into our Daenerys Targaryn costumes and for Leah to do both our hair and makeup. The costumes turned out awesome and we were excited to wear them at the festival. We walked almost the whole length of the Double Take Parade, but no one even asked us who we were dressed up as! There were plenty of Disney characters and other clever ideas - but no Game of Thrones characters. After the parade, we headed to the Research Tents to see what we could do. We got $5 right away for filling out a survey, then $25 for doing a taste test survey, then a $10 gift card to Wal-Mart for getting our fingerprints and pictures taken. Sunday we got $10 in Wal-Mart gift cards for the same thing, plus $10 for filling out a lie-detecting survey. We love the Research Tents since there's usually some good money to be made!

We entered the Saturday Costume Contest, but we didn't place. There were several awesome costumes. 3rd place went to a group of four (two sets of twins) who dressed as Prince Charming and Cinderella. 2nd place went to....I can't remember. And 1st place went to twins dressed as the Grimm Brothers. We also entered the most look alike females ages 24-29, but didn't place, either. Oh well! It was still fun to participate in the contest tent - we had never done that before.

We watched the Talent Show, as usual. There's always issues with the sound system, which kind of ruins the experience of the talent show, but it's always fun watching twins show off their talents. We also caught Drew Murray, a magician, in the food court - he's always really fun to watch! We tried to figure out his magic tricks, but were stumped even though we watched them twice.

I bought a t-shirt for me and Brian and then a different one for Lydia. Now we all have Twins Days shirts! The weather was perfect for walking around the festival all day - it was never too hot or too cold. We watched the fire works Saturday night and then stayed up late watching Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, haha. Sunday, we left the festival around 3:00 and went shopping at Wal-Mart and a $5 and under store. Then we chilled at the hotel for awhile and then went out to eat at a local restaurant. We left Monday morning for Texas. It was a great trip!

Lydia had a great time at her Grandma and Grandpa Pfeiffer's house! She loves spending time with them, especially since they have a new puppy named Joey. Lydia was a great help with Joey and very sweet with him. She wanted to go back and visit again!

Brian has been very busy working with my dad over at the new Dunlap house (three houses down from ours!). The house is really coming along great. There is new carpet and the walls are freshly painted. The boys worked on the side yard this morning and it looks great. Mom and dad will be able to move into their new house soon.

Brian starts working on his classroom next week. The following week Brian will be at teacher training/meetings all week and I do CPR training and have our preschool teachers meeting. Parent Orientation for Preschool is on the 30th - and this time I get to be the parent and not the teacher!

I have been researching new preschool music ideas and piano teaching ideas. I start my full week of preschool, Bibleland, and piano lessons the second week of September - eek!

Sara's bachelorette party is the last day of August and I'm helping Tamara plan and get ready!

Wow, August is busy and will probably go by way too fast!

Barbecue? Okay, Let's Live Dangerously.

Leah, mom and I will be heading to the Twins Days Festival next weekend! We are so excited about the festival! Especially this year: Leah and I are actually dressing up with the theme! We have never worn a costume to the festival before, but this year we decided we might as well try something new. The theme this year is "Fairy Tales/Characters from Books" and everything that encompasses. I'm sure we'll see lots of princesses and princes, villains, heroes, and other creative costumes. But, instead of Disney princesses, Leah and I are dressing up as Daenerys Targaryen from the book/TV show Game of Thrones!

Daenerys is a major female character in the books and show. She's strong and brave. She overcomes every obstacle that is thrown at her. And she is determined to win the Iron Throne and claim her birthright. She's pretty awesome. In the book she is very, very young - like 14 or so. She has a pretty rough beginning - her brother is super mean and she's married off to some king or "Kahl" of a "barbaric" race. But, she ends up falling in love with her husband and getting pregnant. Just when you think things are working out for her, her Kahl dies and so does her baby. She's left alone in the desert with only a few loyal servants - and with her dragons! After this, she takes control and gets whatever she wants. Her dragons grow bigger and she is determined she will get the Iron Throne.

Daenerys is on the right.

Now, I have to admit, I have only read the first book all the way through. I started the second and got stuck half-way. These books are hard to read. They're very descriptive and there are a ton of characters to keep track of. The show, on the other hand, is super is easy to watch. You quickly fall in love with the good characters and hate the evil ones. Unfortunately, nothing happens the way you expect it. The good guys don't always win and sometimes they even die! The author, George R.R. Martin, likes to keep you surprised and interested. There are seven books in the series, I believe - crazy! Season 3 just ended on HBO.

In Season 3, Daenerys wears the same outfit through most of the season - a blue tunic/dress with black or gray tights and high boots. Her super blonde hair is down and wavy with a few braids in the back. This is the outfit we are trying to recreate. This whole summer I have been working on getting my hair from dark brown to light blonde. I have not been completely successful. It's very hard to go from dark to light on your own! But, I have managed to get my hair light enough where people can notice the difference, and it is finally pretty much the same color (other than very light roots). My co-worker was willing to help us make the outfit. We found a pattern and bought the fabric and she recreated the dress all on her own! And it looks awesome! We bought some black leggings and boots. My dad made a claw necklace out of wood and we bought some (super cute) dragons to carry around. Leah is the expert hair and makeup artist. And we finally have our costume!

Last night, Leah and I dyed our hair and then Leah braided it all over our heads. We slept in the braids and didn't take them out until around eleven this morning. Super cute curls! Then Leah put our hair in braids to look like Daenerys'. We then dressed up in our whole costume and took some pictures.

With a little bit of editing, the pictures turned out great! We are so excited to dress up as our favorite character next weekend.

We did buy another (super cute) outfit to wear when our costume gets too hot. We are going to walk the parade and enter a costume contest (hopefully a morning one) and then change into our other outfit. Next weekend can't get here quick enough!

Dogs Obey So Much Better Than Children. Don't They?

A list of things I am loving about Lydia right now! (Lydia is 3 years and almost 2 months)

1. Lydia has a set of conversations that she loves to talk about. Here are a few examples:

-Lydia: I am three.

-Me: Yes, you are a big girl.

-Lydia: I am three and I can ride the roller coaster.

-Me: Yes, you can.

-Lydia: But not the big roller coaster. Just the little one.

-Lydia: I like my new bed.

-Me: I'm glad you like your new bed!

-Lydia: I am three and have a new bed. I was this (she holds up 1 finger) and I was in that room (she points to her old room).

-Me: That's right. You were in a crib in your old room.

-Lydia: Yes, but I am three and I have a new bed.

-Lydia: I am Marina. I play the drums.

-Me: Okay.

-Lydia: I like Marina. You like Marina?

-Me: Yes.

-Lydia: I like Kiki, too. Kiki plays the guitar. You like Kiki?

-Me: Yes.

-Lydia: Who does Daddy like?

-Me: Daddy likes Twist.

-Lydia: Oh, yes.

Those are her three favorite things to talk about: being three and riding roller coasters, being three and having a new bed, and anything about the Fresh Beat Band.

2. Lydia likes to stay up late and read. I kind of get frustrated with this since she's going to bed later (and still wakes up early), but how can I tell her to stop reading?! Of course, she doesn't ever read when she's allowed to be awake...only when she's supposed to be sleeping. But, I like to read when I should be sleeping, too.

3. Lydia has really started playing with her doll house and I often overhear her telling her dolls things that I tell her. For example, she was playing with her dolls and I hear "Do you need to go potty?" or "Sleep all night, don't wake Mommy up."

4. Lydia is very sympathetic to people. When someone has a "boo-boo" Lydia gets very concerned and will talk about their boo-boo for a long time. When Uncle Thomas lost his glasses on a roller coaster, Lydia was extremely concerned about it. She kept asking him where his glasses went and how he was going to get them back. She is also concerned about making sure everything is "okay". She asked me if I wanted to go swimming and I said, "Probably not. I may just put my feet in." And she says, "Oh, that's okay, Mommy, you don't have to." When she sees Leah she says, "Leah, you don't have to swim if you don't want to." Leah tells her she does, in fact, want to swim and Lydia says, "Oh, that's okay if you want to."

I wish I could remember all of her conversations because she is hilarious! I love talking with her and hearing what concerns her and what she is thinking about. Despite being a "Trying Three", Lydia is such a joy and wonder, and I thank God for her every day. After having a couple of relaxing weeks, Lydia's behavior has improved and there are fewer melt downs and tantrums. My main struggle right now is trying to get her to drink less juice and more milk!

We're Goldfish People, We're Ant Farm People. We're Not Dog People.

The above quote is there because of Lydia's recent comment she made (not while watching Beethoven, but watching High School Musical 2): "I want to get marry and I want a dog." She cracks me up!

Before I post Lydia's super cute July 4th photos, I have to talk about the "Trying Threes"...just so I don't forget about it later on.

The thing about three-year olds...they KNOW what you are saying, they KNOW the rules, and they KNOW how to push you to your limit. I don't know if Lydia has just been exhausted from this busy week or is finally become a "trying three-year old". Whatever it is, Lydia is definitely trying my patience. 

The past few days she has thrown a tantrum about everything, from the fact that I don't have three blankets on my bed to her ice melting in her cup. Nothing is safe from Lydia's tantrums. When she misbehaves after a warning, she goes straight to time out (now that Daddy's home, I am teaching him to be more consistent with these time outs), but if she starts screaming and crying uncontrollably with now clear reason, she goes straight to her bedroom. Sometimes she stops crying in her room, sometimes me coming back after a minute or two calms her down. Time out has always worked well for Lydia. She needs her alone time and I need mine - both of us need time to cool off.

Today, she was very well-behaved while at the music store (went a little hyper, but no tantrums and listened pretty well to Daddy), but on the way to Michael's she started throwing a fit because I couldn't reach her juice cup, and neither could she. There was screaming and whining and it was driving me mad. Finally, I came up with the great idea of bribing. Michael's is right next to the Dollar Store, which is always a great place for a kid - everything is only $1! So, I tell her that if she stops fussing and is a good girl while we're at Michael's, she will get a special treat from the Dollar Store. This immediately quiets her and she sits calmly in her car seat until we get to Michael's. And at Michael's, she is well behaved and there are no tantrums! Yeah!

We get to the Dollar Store and she immediately starts looking for something. First she picks out a water sprayer (she has seen these before and wanted them, haha). Then she picks out Dora the Explorer stickers. And then, while I was walking down an aisle, she picked out a Dora the Explorer coloring book. And she wanted ALL THREE things. Daddy tells her that she has been so good, that she can have two things - the Dora stickers and coloring book. This maker her happy, until she remembers the word "treat". To her, a coloring book and stickers are not "treats" - M&M's are treats. I decide that we can get the M&M's (I like to have chocolate in the house to bribe her, haha) and save them for home. This makes her happy. Until we get to the car. Then she wants the M&M's. But, when we tell her that the Dora book and stickers will go bye-bye if she keeps fussing, she immediately stops! And she was very good at Sam's Club where we had lunch.

For Lydia and me, bribing works. I know not everyone likes the idea of bribing your children, but when it works, it works. As long as we are consistent with it - as in, we only give her something when she does what we asked, and then that we give her it once she does what we want - it will work.

And on to cuteness - looking at these pictures, you will never guess the tantrums this girl can throw!