A View From Above

It is so FREAKING cold outside right now...I'm talking -11 degrees at noon today! The snow looks so fresh and inviting, since we just got about 4 1/2 inches yesterday, but we'd freeze to death if we went out to play in it.

Finding things to do in the house is starting to make me crazy.

They're coming to take me away, HA HA
They're coming to take me away, HO HO HEE HEE HA HA
To the funny farm
Where life is beautiful all the time
And I'll be happy to see
Those nice, young men
In their clean, white coats
And they're coming to take me away, Ha-haaa!

PRAY FOR US! :O)

Best Shot Monday

Winter Wonder Land.



For more Best Shot Monday images, head over to Tracey's.

And In This Ring....Ella vs. Snow White

We put Ella down to bed one night and went downstairs for the evening. On the monitor I heard Ella talking to her babies in her bed, as she usually does since she has like 5 babies in bed with her at one time some days. Sometimes we can hear her repeating some of the things we said during the day, or laughing and giggling about what we talked about just before bed. Other times we will hear her rearranging the babies in her bed before she falls asleep.


This night I heard her talking to the new Snow White doll she just got at Christmas. She was disciplining Snow White for not doing something she told her to do. I couldn't understand what was happening but could hear her yelling at her doll, then a few loud bangs and grunts of disapproval after telling her she would be put in the naughty chair.

So I went up into her room and opened the door slowly. I almost wanted to catch her last position prior to my entering her imaginary argument with Snow White. My visions were that maybe Snow White would be thrusted over Ella's head ready to be thrown against the wall (which was what I assumed the loud bangs were). I found her sitting on her bed with Snow White in her lap. I asked her, with a calm and curious voice.....

Mommy: "Whats going on in here?"

Ella: "Snow White wont listen to me!" With a profound expression of frustration.

Mommy: "Well, What are you asking her to do?" Still with calmness and curiosity in my voice.

Ella: "She wont stop kicking me!"

As I turned on the light, I saw Snow White laying in Ella's lap, her removable shoes on the floor and with her plastic legs twisted one to the front, one to the back.

Mommy: "I heard you yelling at her from downstairs. Were you throwing her against the wall?"

Ella: "YES, because she wouldn't listen to me!"

Mommy: "Why would you throw her against the wall. We don't do that when we are upset. That's not very nice."

Ella: "Oh."

Mommy: "I think Snow White should come sleep with Mommy and Daddy tonight in our bed. Mommy will take care of her and you wont have to be angry."

Ella: "Okay. I love you good night."

Within a second of me closing her door, she starts screaming at the top of her lungs.

Ella: " Mommy, don't take Snow White! I love her and I want her to be with me in my room!"

I went back into her room and explained the whole thing over to her again. She would understand my reasoning for taking Snow White in my room and that she could crawl into bed with us in the morning. Every time I left the room, the screaming would start again.

Ella: "But I love her! I don't want to fight with Snow White! I love her!" (Think Rocky calling out Adriene's name in the movies.)

My heart was so broken. She was so hysterical after 15 or 20 minutes that nothing I said to her would be of any sort of comfort until she got Snow White back. It was a battle of the wills. I COULD NOT go back on my word and let her have the Snow White doll after it had gone on for so long. That would be giving in and she would start to think that she could cry herself into a fit and get what she wants. Its something we are working on already. Keith went into her room once or twice too. Finally, after another 45 minutes of screaming and then silence, screaming and then silence (every 10 minutes or so) she fell asleep.



*Sigh*
(envision me fallen onto the couch, one arm and both legs hanging off the end with the other arm to my forehead and a warm cloth over my eyes.)

Another day, successfully (?) completed.

Winter in Minnesota

Yup, lots of snow. Its actually snowing as I type this. Its been cold, but in between the below zero days, come a few teens and low twenty's that make it bearable to for a 3 year old to play outside. Not that Ella really cares how cold it is outside. As long as she is "bungled up" and promised hot cocoa afterwards, she is good to go.

We have a slight slant in our backyard....slight enough for a 30 lb little girl to actually go sledding on. And what a trooper carrying the sled back up. Oh ya, Daddy so makes her work for it. Do you remember having to climb the biggest hill ever just to go down it one more time? They did that the other day too. Mommy had a day off and Daddy and Ella went to a really big hill to go sledding on. I was told they both had a wonderful time.

Here's my little trooper enjoying the season.

Best Shot Monday

My Mom got this fish for Ella (which she named Sweetie Pie) as an incentive to do her poopies in the toilet instead of her pants. We still haven't completely been successful in that department....but to top it off.....he stares at me all the time!

I feel like he's sizing me up to plan his escape....



For more Best Shot Monday images, head over to Tracey's.

All Girl....All The Time

I cant believe believe how much Ella has grown in the last year. We went and got pictures of her and her cousins for the grandparents and the change is so drastic. Last year, Ella was short, smiley and munchkin like. This year, she is long, tall and has a maturity about her that scares the crap out of me for 3 years old. Before I know it, she's going to be a teenager going out on dates! Aargh! Maybe I shouldn't let her play with make up yet?!

In any case, I let Ella have at the makeup for the first time a couple of weeks ago. It worked out great for her, but she scared the begeebies out of her Daddy when he came home from work. Reason being, she was playing with my makeup and I only have colors like gray, brown and a slight purple. It was cute to watch, but the outcome was a little darker than I had envisioned. It looked like war paint. Though she felt beautiful....Daddy wasn't too sure about the outcome either. This first picture was the beginning of the war paint experiment.


I wasn't sure if I was going to post any of those, but Keith told everyone at work and our family how she scared the crap out of him. So I sorta feel like I needed to post at least one picture of the experience....But you only get one!

The remaining pictures in this post are post-Christmas. Yes, Ella got makeup galore for Christmas from Santa, so we had at it again. Bright pinks, blues and purples. Just what a little girl should use. And lots of lipstick. She LOVES lipsticks. She loves lipstick so much (be it chap stick or kiddie lip gloss) that when she gets up to go to the bathroom first thing in the morning, most days she puts chap stick on right after (and calls it lipstick).






Hey there bright eyes!










Aw forget it. Its just too cute to see her put on make up and admire herself in the mirror. And besides...The tilted head, squinty eyes she gives me when she feel beautiful is something I cant resist. There's no doubt we'll do it again!

Rounding Out Our Holiday

Last Saturday, we had our big family Christmas with Keith's extended side of the family. We went to his Aunt and Uncle's house and his Uncle made an ice skating rink in their back yard. They did this last year too and I was excited to see Ella get out there now that she is a year older and not as scared of everything! :o)

Once she realized that it was ice and not snow she did pretty good. She fell a few times and cried, but we just picked her back up and off she went. The big kids were playing hockey. Jack and Ella picked up some sticks and played a game themselves. Even little Everett got into the swing of it (although he really just sat there and held the stick). The kids ate snow, slid around on their hands and knees and had a gay ole' time.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY BLOGGY FRIENDS!