Shouting It Out

I really wish I had something more exciting to tell you about on a Friday night, but I just changed a load of the kids clothes from the washer to the dryer and was amazed! There are a few shirts with what I thought were set-in stains, but they came out! I used a ton on each thing, but I didn't even let them sit very long before putting them in the wash- and all the stains came out. One shirt was COVERED in strawberry juice, orange drippings, and remnants of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich... all gone! It is Shout Advanced Action Gel for Set-In stains- they are not kidding!
Random, I know, but I feel like I need to share when something works! Here is Blake showing you his staining skills and his toothy smile.

Free

We are officially pacifier free at our house! Blake hasn't taken one since he was about 6 months old, but Kate has not wanted it out of her sight her whole life. She could only have it for bedtime, but she would have loved to have had it in 24/7.
We tried to give it up a while back, but the night we took it away from Kate, she woke up with the stomach bug, and then she was afraid of bedtime for a while... which started the worst behavior I have ever seen at night. So, I talked to my pediatrician, and she said that she probably associated taking away the pacifier with waking up sick, and she started throwing fits, which just became a bedtime habit. Then, we got the baby gate to keep her in her room, and she just had to cry for a few nights, but it was all better.
Last week, my grandmother, Nanny, fell and broke her elbow, and I was visiting her in the hospital after surgery around 7:30 or 8 at night, so Brandon was putting the kids in bed. I came home and Brandon had somehow talked Kate into giving her pacifier to the "paci fairy" to give to babies who need it. I thought it was a hoax and that I would hear her screaming all night, but she did it! We have been free from it for over a week now (I waited a week before mentioning it just to be sure). I was not too thrilled to take it away last week because the kids stayed with Papa G and JoJo this weekend, but the kids did fine.
I was at one of my best friend's weddings in Mississippi this weekend, and it was so fun. I am hoping my friend (hint, hint Melanie) will email me pictures so I can show you the fun. Brandon had to work, so I went alone, and I had my own king size bed from Thursday to Sunday... Heaven! I could shower, get dressed, fix my hair and makeup all by myself. I laughed on Saturday morning as I realized that normally, I get out an outfit, lay it on my bed, and then the kids run off with it and play dressup until I need to put it on. I then pick out shoes, but Kate just throws them on and tries to walk around in them, and then she wants to know about every little bit of makeup I use. She is a girl, through and through! Hope to show you pictures soon!

Entertaining Themselves

Kate and Blake make me laugh all the time. I can turn around for a minute, and there is no telling what they have gotten into! They are in Kate's doll stroller. She looks like she is enjoying it in the first picture, and then he ran her into a dresser, so he is laughing in the second picture.

This morning, I heard giggling, but I could not find the kids. They were behind the chair in Blake's room "making a cake." She usually comes up with a plan and Blake just follows and giggles. He has started trying to repeat everything Kate says. She takes pride in her teaching skills too- she tells me, "I am teaching Bubs (her name for him) how to say 'please.'"

He tried to escape when I found them, which made me think they were up to a little more than pretending to make a cake. I haven't found any evidence yet, but who knows what I may find later. I have found the wipes container emptied 3 times today, a cookie container under the dining room table, and Kate's entire bookshelf emptied. They are funny, but they are a mess too!