Where is my baby girl?

Ava is officially a toddler now. I think she has skipped being a one-year-old and gone straight to the terrible twos. Either that or she is spoiled rotten. We attempted to make a trip to the library this morning. We being me, Aidan, Ethan, & Ava. That's a 7, 5, and 1-year-old. You wouldn't think it would be so much trouble right? I asked the boys what the "rules of the library" were. "Don't yell, be good." *Sigh* The last time we went to the library the boys got into a chicken tender battle with some other kids. Yeah, I said chicken tender battle. Luckily, we were just about the only ones on the children's floor when we arrived. I let the boys choose their books first. About a minute into them choosing, Ava decides she no longer wants to ride in the stroller. The last time I let her out to walk in the library I ended up chasing her. So I had to decide which was the lesser of two evils: a screaming toddler in the library or a running toddler. I chose running and let her out of her cage. The boys chose their books quickly, and we went to the baby section (which also has the toys) so it's convenient. The boys found the infamous chicken tender, along with all the other pretend food and played while I got some books for Ava. She played in the playhouse nicely.

The boys have been mentioning that they'd like to have fish in a fishtank. We've been discussing it and talking about responsibility etc. So I found a couple of "All about Fish" books. Ava decided she wanted to scream some more because I tried to put her back in the stroller so we could leave. If this has ever happened to you anywhere, let alone in the middle of the library, you know how I felt. So I ended up carrying her until we got to the elevator, then when the elevator doors closed I put her in the stroller and let her scream. The elevator was just enough of a distraction to make her forget about being in the stroller. We managed to check out our books with no further incident. On to Walmart!

Ava continued her quest to make my morning miserable by not wanting to sit in the cart. I have a nice comfy cart cover for her to sit in, one that has a chest buckle to keep her somewhat secure. She stands up any chance she gets. I don't understand it. She has the chance to sit in the cart and ride along, not a care in the world, but she would rather scream and try to stand and slip/fall/break her head open on the cart. So we race through Walmart, trying to get what we need while she is yelling and trying to stand up. People are staring by the time we get to the juice aisle because she is really yelling at that point. I hand her a box of Crunch-N-Munch to quiet her. She chews on the box and we make it to the check-out lane. She sees the check-out and it's like an instant scream button has been activated. So I take her out of the cart and hold her, while I lug our items onto the belt with my other hand. We make it out and get to the car. The carseat has been Ava's nemesis for a while now. I'm not sure why, she just hates being in it. She is still rear-facing (and will be for quite a while) so maybe that is part of it. I wrestle her into the seat and distract her with a tube of lotion. She seems ok, and we make it home without a peep. Usually she will nap on the way home from a morning like that, but not today! She holds out for lunch and two hours afterward. Walking around crying, bumping into things, trying to climb things, crying...you get the picture. Finally she is now asleep on me. So this evening when my husband asks me what we did today, and the boys say "Oh nothing" and I say "We went to the library and Walmart" this is what going to the library and Walmart really means.

What's in your juice

What's in your child's apple juice? Probably lead. There is a study out that basically says 85% of the juices and fruit cups they tested contained levels of lead that were unacceptable and would warrant a warning label under California's Proposition 65. And this list does not only contain bargain basement store brand juices. It includes organic brands like Earth's Best, and other trusted brands like Gerber and Motts. What is the deal with lead in everything? Of course, I am one of those people who don't get my children flu shots because I don't like all of the "extra" garbage they put into them, so maybe I am not the best judge.

I went grocery shopping the other day and started looking at the diced pears and diced apples, one of Ava's favorite snacks. Guess where the Dole pears and apples came from? PRODUCT OF CHINA. Why? Do we not have good enough pears and apples here in the U.S.? Do we need to cut costs so much that now our food is coming from another country? These companies need to start realizing that people are willing to pay more for a better product. We want good safe food to feed our children, and we don't want to cut corners to save a buck.

A Case of the Mondays

I awoke this morning to the sound of the shower running. To fully appreciate my annoyance, I have to explain the layout of our bedroom/bath. There is a wall separating the two, but the wall doesn't fully go up to the ceiling. So you can hear everything. Then my husband decides to start his electric razor. There's no going back after that. Ava gives up trying to sleep at that point too so I am screwed. It is summer, and I am supposed to be able to sleep in, dammit.

This evening also holds another chapter of the kitchen counter saga. They are supposed to come measure (for the second and hopefully final time) tonight at 5:00. This process has been the most annoying thing in our lives for the past couple months. I think the woman we are dealing with must have a screw loose. The whole thing was supposed to take three weeks and we are now well into the second month of waiting for these stupid things. And we not talking granite here, solid surface, or anything "special"..it's laminate. We are really hoping to have them in by the time Ava's party rolls around (about two weeks from now) because we'd appreciate not having BLUE countertops. Yeah blue. Whoever thought that was a good idea also had a screw loose.

The Weekend

The weekend is just about over now. This Saturday was Relay for Life. I took Aidan and Ava along with me this year. This time last year, Ava was only a week or so old. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. She is already walking (almost running) and becoming such a character. Aidan really enjoyed going to the Relay with me. I didn't think he was paying much attention to the meaning behind the event, but he said to me this morning "Do you remember when that lady said that the relay was so no doctor would ever have to tell their patient that they had cancer?" I was so proud.