The Drivers

I’m not ashamed to admit that the kids and I visit the Goodwill about once a month.  Have any of you been there lately?  They have some pretty cool stuff there, some like new!  I have decided that I am no longer going to buy new books at Costco, Barnes and Noble, or on-line.  What’s up with the tight purse strings?  Simple!  Reduce, re-use, recycle!  Cuts down on cost and cuts down on waste.  I see how Miles and Lila destroy their books after owning it for a month or so.  They get bored with their books and toys and they start to thrash on it.  All the books we have purchased for Miles and Lila at retail stores are now ripped, torn, broken, or just down right, destroyed.  After a while, we throw the books out.  Mostly because, lately, Lila LOVES to eat paper!  

Onward with my Goodwill story.  I love the Goodwill.  They have fantastic books there for kids of all ages.  All the books there are in good to new condition.  Best of all, the books are anywhere from $0.50 to $2.99.  What a steal of a deal considering these books would normally cost $8-$15.  After a month, when Miles and Lila are done with their books, we donate them back to the Goodwill.  I feel really good about doing this.  I feel like we are teaching Miles and Lila about reducing waste.  I also love the fact that the Goodwill employs those with mental and physical challenges that otherwise, they would not receive job training.  Everyone benefits!  I love that.

What does “doo-dah” and “foof-fof”  mean?  Since age one, Miles has been calling his pacifier a doo-dah and his burp cloth a foof-fof.  We are not quite sure how or where he got the names for this.  We always thought it was so cute and just never corrected him.  When Miles turned 2 years old (he is now 2-and-a-half) we decided that Miles could only have his doo-dah and his foof-fof during his nap and at night-night.  Miles shed a lot of tears, but after a few weeks, he was ok about it. 

We took Miles to the dentist for the first time last month.  The dentist noticed that Miles had a slightoverbite, but the dentist wasn’t too worried because there was still room for “correction.”  Though, the dentist said to get rid of the pacifier by at least 3-4 years old.  This past week, we decided that it was time.  We told Miles that we lost his doo-dah.  Surprisingly, at first, he didn’t seem too upset.  He probably thought that his pacifier would show up again soon.  But three days later, he started to have difficulty going to sleep.  Jason and I put our foot down and decided not to give in.  It has been almost a full week without the doo-dah.  Though, we still give him his foof-fof.  We don’t mind him carrying around his lovey.  I mean, how many college students do you know who still carry their lovey? 

Miles and Lila picked out some spring flowers at the nursery and spent the weekend learning about…what dirt tastes like…and of course, how to plant flowers.

We spent the afternoon at Jason’s cousin’s home, the Loupins: Jill, Pat, and their son David.  They also have a daughter, Mandy, who was there earlier with her boyfriend Ross.  But they had to leave for a second Easter dinner.

Miles says, “I’m not quite sure why their cat, Cruiser, doesn’t like me. I mean, I pull on her ears and tail and chase her around the house. I think that’s fun!”

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…

An  Easter Egg Hunt!

There were more toddlers than there were eggs!  Now, that’s wrong! But I guess you can’t ask for a lot when the city puts on a free event for the public! 

I found a pink egg!  The eggs that mama has in the fridge are usually brown or white!  This must be my lucky day!

I love fire trucks!

Lila:  Mama is frantically packing last minute so that we can spend the weekend at Ba Ngoai (grandma) and Ong Ngoai (grandpa) house.  I think I am pretty funny taking my clothes out of the luggage and putting it on my head instead!

Miles:  Finally, we get to Ngoai house and grandma shows me my new fire truck bed!  Sooo coool! Yay, I no longer have to sleep in the pack and play. 

Lila:  Later on in the afternoon, we walked up the street to go to the park.  It was sure a beautiful day! Weeeee, it was my first time on a swing!

Miles:  It was so much fun having my cousins there to play since Lila is a little boring to play with.

Lila: Weeee, my first time going down the slide. I am so thankful my cousin Lexi was with me.

Miles: Weeee, I can slide all by myself, but it’s more fun going down fast with my cousin Lucas.

Miles: The next day, we went to Nate’s birthday party at Kids Quest, a really fun Children’s Museum.  Birthday parties are the BEST because mama let’s me eat anything I want…chocolate cupcakes, lots of juice, and tons of pizza!

Miles: The best thing about this place is the water ball play area.  I’m not quite sure why mama was a little surprised when she saw me covered with water from head to toe at the end of the party.  What the heck?  How can you play in the water feature area without getting wet?