Five Question Friday

Please join by copying questions into your own blog and linking up!

1. If you could speak with a different accent, what would it be (ie Australian, Scottish)?

2. Can you fall asleep anywhere? (ie floor, couch, deck)?

3. Do you use public restrooms? If so, do you sit on the toilet?

4. If you were stuck in an elevator for 24 hours, what celebrity would you most want to be stuck with?

5. Where did you & your significant other go on your 1st date?
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1. I love Scottish accents because I love Scotland and the people. They seem to be so friendly and easy-going to be around. I would love to have a nice thick brogue!

2. When I was living in Europe and frequently train traveling, I learned how to fall asleep just about anywhere - on a very crowded train car seat in the hallway, in a train station when all the hotels and hostels were closed for the night, sitting at the bus station and waiting for our bus to arrive...I haven't lost this skill, but I haven't been able to use it for awhile since it seems I always need to be awake with my kids!

3. I do use public restrooms because I can't hold it forever. But I heavily line the toilet seats with toilet paper. This helps me in a few ways:

• I pretend like the toilet paper is a special force field that will protect my backside
• I never accidentally sit in someone else's squat-gone-wrong because I see it when I line with paper
• I never get in a situation where I have gone and there is no toilet paper "spare a square" problem. I only choose stalls with lots of paper.

4. I'm not sure which celebrity because I think I would want a good conversationalist with a sense of humor and someone who doesn't embarass easily or that I wouldn't be embarassed in front of - after all, 24 hours is a LONG time and it seems like some bodily functions would most likely need to occur. Maybe someone like Patricia Heaton? She seems funny and down to earth.

5. On our first outing, we went with my sister and her husband to Houston's and then back to their house to play Phase 10.

On our first "alone" date, he took me on his catamaran on the lake (where I fell in fully clothed) and then we got cleaned up and he took me out to a now-closed restaurant, where we talked until the restaurant turned its lights out! Great first date!

Playtime at Our House

I love watching my kids play. It is amazing to me how their minds work and create entertainment and interest around objects and observation.

Meg would rather play with any of JD's toys than hers. This causes no end of frustration for JD.

But how can you say no to a face like this??

JD is going through a major "Toy Story" phase right now. He switches between Buzz Lightyear and "Booty" (Woody) daily.

He comes up with whole dialogues and scenes with his little guys. I love eavesdropping on his play scenes.

Meg can often be found in this corner of the room, digging through the book basket and flipping through pages.



And of course, my little girl loves to finish off her day playing in mommy's big bathtub with the cups!

Going, Going, Gone!

It is amazing how quick this year is flying by!

Meg just celebrated 9 months this past weekend! We took the kids out to a park near our house for some pictures (that were technically for Baby Meg's 8 month pictures) in some very humid and sticky weather. This is why Mommy and Daddy aren't featured - we were dripping in sweat!

This little girl will be ONE in just a few short months!!

And this handsome boy is just two blinks away from turning FOUR! (Okay, so it is actually more like 7 months, but still!)

My kiddos are just my most favorite two little monkeys in the whole world and I wouldn't trade them for anything! They just brighten my day with their smiles and hugs and cuddles.

Stairway to Heaven?

Hmm...I wasn't ready for this benchmark yet in my young daughter's life. I should have known it was coming.

Meg loves the stairs. Scary!

I have a baby gate, but JD goes up and down all day to his room, so it is tough to keep it closed all the time.

So far, I have caught her by the first or second stair, but we followed her up one time last night to see if she could do it.

And she can!

Now we need to start working on the backwards crawl to get her down the stairs safely!!

First Day of Preschool!

JD started preschool today with much anticipation and excitement (mostly from me). We got used to the Mother's Day Out schedule in the spring and I really missed it over the summer! Plus I know that JD has lots more fun with kids closer to his own age (as evidenced by all the fun he has at playdates and playing with his cousins).

To get ready for school today, JD helped me to fix his lunch: turkey & cheese sandwich in his new Toy Story sandwich box, wash the grapes and put them in a Toy Story baggie, add some Toy Story fruit snacks and a cheese stick with a bottle of water (yes, my kid loves TS right now).

We also labeled everything and laid out his extra clothes for his backpack and his clothes for school today, complete with new, really fast shoes from Grandma!

Last Thursday, we met JD's teacher Ms. Otelia and some of the other kids that would be in his class and JD loved the playground and toys in the classroom. He also recognized his name right off to post on the door.

So JD really wasn't too upset about the prospect of playing with new friends with his nice teacher and eating his yummy lunch this morning.

I tried to get some pictures at school, but he was too excited about getting in the building to give me much of a smile.

He went right away to the other boys and started to play with the construction trucks set out. Whew! No clinging, tears or anything. Just a "see ya later mommy" and a "I love you too."

I spent some time with the Megster, who just chuckled and giggled all morning! I think she liked having her mama all to herself for a bit! We also met up with Daddy for lunch - what a treat!

When I picked JD up, he was so excited to tell me about making a new friend (Aiden) and a new song that he learned (Where is Thumbkin- not so new, but apparently this is the first he has remembered it). Just when I was about to breathe a sigh of relief that this year is going to go smoothly, I received a letter from the director that our teacher is leaving (tomorrow) to start at Wylie ISD. We will have a substitute teacher until they find the right person to take Ms. Otelia's place. Oh man!

So we will hold our breath until we meet our next teacher and hope for the best!!

Moving and Shaking

Meg is now an eight month old busy girl, crawling and cruising everywhere she goes. She mastered crawling about 2 weeks ago and almost immediately decided that she wanted to be upright and walking.

I caught her mid-crawl in this picture.

Meg has also mastered dumping her toys all over the floor to get to the one she wants.

And she is pretty proud of herself too!

5 Question Friday

My friend Brooke posted this with a challenge to do the same, so here goes:

1. Do you have any nicknames and if so, how did it come about?
My obvious nickname is Mandy (from Amanda), but the other one is Mando. This came from my years as a Berkner High School Bandelero (Bando). So in high school I was Mando the Bando. Mando stuck with my family members and a few others.

2. What is your birth order amongst your siblings?
I am the dreaded "middle child" with none of the middle child hangups - ha ha (I'm sure they would disagree)! I have an older sister (by 3 years) and a younger brother (by 4 years). I love being a middle child and think it is the best place to be - not the Type A "anal" perfectionist first sibling and not the "spoiled baby" of the family (not that my siblings are either of those things - ha ha). Just perfect! :)

3. In a movie of your life, who would play your significant other?
Sean Connery in his younger James Bond years because my husband has the Scottish accent perfected.

4. What is currently your favorite song?
Hmmm...that is a tough one since I listen to kids' songs the most these days. I'm a huge Backyardigans fan - love "Robot Rampage" or "Pirate Says Arggh."

5. Are you saving your money for anything right now? Big or small purchase?
Sort of. We (by we, I mean me) are hoping to get a new couch next year. It is becoming a desperate situation since ours is falling apart and looks disgusting after 2 kids have attacked it.