Master Manipulator

On Friday night, we were over at our neighbors', and the kids were playing.  Victoria somehow ended up bumping heads with their kid, and her already loose front tooth became looser.  It was pulled out by my drunk heroic neighbor, so she got a visit from a tipsy tooth fairy that night that had to scrounge around the change jar to drum up some dough while her husband was passed out on the living room floor (lucky gal).  Well, the next day, we noticed the tooth next to it was ready to come out as well.  It was still in her head today hanging by a thread, so we wanted to get it out so she didn't swallow it in the middle of the night.  The hubs ended up making a deal with her to go ahead and pre-purchase a goody from the store while they were out today in order to prevent the tooth fairy from having to make another trip and to encourage Victoria to wiggle that thing out.  She chose markers, and the deal was done...or so we thought.  The tooth was still in there at bedtime, so she and I grabbed some floss, and with some twisting, a little blood, and a tremendous amount of gag suppression, I was able to yank it free.  Then, all of a sudden, she declared the prior deal null and void.  Wesley told her the tooth fairy wasn't coming, and she got really upset.  I wanted to keep the magic a little longer, so I told her we would see what we could do.  Well, I went into her room later to check on her, and I saw these pictures surrounding her tooth:

They're both pictures of the tooth fairy (I assume), and one says "I Love You," so seriously, what they hell was I supposed to do?  I had to reward the kid and leave her some scratch and a note from the TF herself:

Now if this happens again tomorrow, I'm going to have to put a stop to it.  And, probably also take that kid to the dentist, because that shit is fucked up.  I've had nightmares about pulling my own teeth out.  I don't intend to live them out through my daughter.  Also the tooth fairy is going broke.

Who Has 2 Thumbs and Is Turning 35?

This guy! 

I'm married to an old man, nevermind the fact that I'm only a year younger.  We've officially been together for half our lives, which is unreal.  In honor of his birthday/ our anniversary, I put together a slideshow, which could also be used for his funeral (bonus!).

Photo Shoot

We are currently in the process of redoing Sophie's room.  She's finally past the "I'm going to personalize every wall in the house with crayon murals" stage, so we are systematically repainting every room that she's destroyed, which is basically all of them.  We did our bathroom first, and now we're doing her room.  It was a soft yellow before, and luckily yellow is her favorite color, so we're covering it with a slightly brighter shade.  I've been looking at different artwork for her walls, and I ran across this little girl's room, which I love.  The artwork on her walls is comprised of professional photos taken of her favorite toys.  This is an amazingly creative idea, which I decided to try to duplicate.

Let me preface this with the fact that I am totally aware that I  am a terrible photographer, but I am not going to pay a ridiculous sum to someone to photograph toys. (Sidenote, if I were going to pay a pro, I would totally hire this chicka again.  She did our family photos back in November, and I couldn't be happier, so if you're in the Atlanta/Athens area, check her out.)

I set up my little area with a stolen hospital blanket as the back drop and snatched a light from Vic's bedroom, because it's a flexible one, and these are my results:

The only reason I got the above shot of my famously camera-shy girl is because I think she was jealous that her toys were getting all of the attention.

You see, her favorite toys are an old, rusty dump truck, her much loved, but battered Corny, and her tattered rag Bebe.  She also has a fascination with letters that is ridiculous- to the point in which she uses them for pretend play instead of actual dolls. 

I haven't decided which of the above I will be using or if they'll be in color or black and white, but I think they'll work.  I at least know she will love them, and that's all that really matters.

Super serious

Sophie listening to Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and contemplating her own relationship with that prat Jacob.

This is how I look to my 3yo

I would be horribly offended, but in her defense I'm not wearing any makeup.

Channeling Jimmy Stewart

Mother's Day was yesterday, and I spent a majority of it in the bed watching a marathon of Buffy.  It wasn't a day of leisure as much as a necessity that I remain as still as possible.  I've had vertigo for 3 days now, and I was especially sick with it yesterday, so my fantabulous husband took the kids out of the house for a few hours.  When they returned, I was still sick in the bed, so the oldest entertained himself while Wesley played the Wii with the girls.  Sophie came into the room to occasionally jump on me, assuring herself that I was still alive I guess, but other than those minor assaults, everyone actually left me alone.  In other words, it was the best Mother's Day ever.

Field Trip!

I've never been on a field trip with any of the kids.  I've either been working or taking care of the baby.  Plus, chaperoning other people's kids unnerves me.  I always worry they'll get hurt or lost or something.  All the guilt from never attending a field trip finally caught up with me, so I volunteered to go to the zoo with Victoria's class.  I figure I live in a zoo every day, so at least I would be in my element.  Luckily a bunch of parents volunteered for this one, so we each only had 2 kids a piece.  If only my own kid would have listened as well as her friend.

That is a big ol' gorilla on the other side of that pane of glass.