Family Fun Time

Matt was supposed to work all this week. However, he surprised us and was able to get a four-day-weekend! A real treat for us as Matt no longer gets four-day-weekends. In the Army, when he's not deployed, he gets a four-day weekend for nearly every National holiday. However, this job is very different and he works all the holidays except Christmas. I've had a hard time getting used to that. While I was a bit irritated that he found out at the last minute he would get it off - because we could have planned a trip to Spain given more time - we've been having a great time.

The girls just love waking up in the morning and discovering daddy home. This morning, he awoke to both girls yelling, "daddy, daddy, daddy!!!" Excuse Olivia's pantie shots. While it has become quite chilly here and we haven't really started to heat our house and, therefore, must dress warmer, we cannot keep Olivia dressed. She always feels cold to me. However, she proclaims that she is, "just fine." We have been putting our foot down, especially now that it's cooler-but, it's still quite a challenge. I mean, if she's hot, she's hot. Right? We have wood being delivered tomorrow and as soon as we get the fireplace going, I can imagine Olivia saying, "my babies and I are just too hot!"

We spent the day together getting haircuts and eating lunch together. Tonight, we went out to a rotisserie chicken restaurant. Delicious chicken, homemade french fries and good Portuguese "vinho tinto." We split two half pound chickens with the girls. Lila's behavior, as always, was wonderful. Even Olivia was decent. Hey, I can't complain tonight. As we were leaving, a five-year-old, American boy was throwing a fit so badly that his parents had to leave the restaurant and take their food to go. It's during moments like that I am thankful that Olivia, while going through a rough stage, isn't nearly as hard as some other children her age and older.

To keep Olivia quite tonight at dinner, we engaged her in conversation about her babies. What she thought they might be doing at home. She explained it this way: "Tyrone fell down the stairs and hurt his hand and I took him to the doctors. The doctor said nothing was wrong with him. Now he is sleeping. Maria, Ellie and Ming Lee are sleeping too. Matt proclaimed that they all sleep a lot. She responded, "Yeah, they do."

After dinner, we wandered around Cascais. I love Cascais. It's a city eight miles from our house. Sometimes, I wish we lived closer to the area. Many American families live in Cascais. There are many great restaurants, shops, coffee shops, weekly markets, shopping mall, and the marina nearby. However, I wouldn't trade the distance to the beach in which we live and the very short commute Matt has to work. Cascais is lit up with lights right now and, in some ways, it reminds me of my hometown, Burlington, Vermont, at this time of the year.

After dinner we went to a small dessert shop/bar and had dessert. I don't know about Lila, but Olivia looks forward to finding a cute shop to have ice cream or a Portuguese dessert (Matt and I love the coffee).

Now, the girls are tucked into bed. Olivia has given Matt and I instructions not to enter or turn on the lights to certain rooms because her babies are sleeping. We are also to be very quiet.

When she's like this, you just want to eat her up! It's so darn cute!

Olivia

Above picture: Olivia, in desperate need of a haircut and wearing Lila's old 3-6 month pj's, standing on a chair (a no-no) as Matt and I try to clean up after dinner.

I was going to write about our progress with unpacking. However, nothing interesting has happened with that. We're getting there. I doubt anyone really cares where we're at exactly.

So, I'll update you all about Olivia. Olivia is the most trying nearly-three-year-old I know. I've recently babysat for kids her age - so, I know this to be true. I'm sure much of it must be a reflection of the poor disciplining or attention she must be getting from me during the day. Lately, she's makes me second-guess everything I do. I must be failing somewhere. Nothing else could explain her current behavior. So, while, I've made recent note of areas in which I think I can improve here's what's been going on.

My dear little Olivia has developed a mouth on her. Here's an example:

Daddy: "Olivia, sweetheart, you are frustrating me. I'm trying to work."

Olivia: "No, daddy, YOU are frustrating ME."

Another one:

Olivia: "Daddy, can you get my cup?"

Daddy: "No, Olivia, I know you are able to get it."

Olivia: "No, really, you can get it for me."

And, yet another one:

Olivia (pointing her finger): "Don't you do that!!!!!"

Olivia has also taken up climbing. As in, get a chair and climb up to anything that has a shelf. Be it Lila's dresser, the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, daddy's bar, reaching up into a closet, etc. Usually, she's up to no good. When I ask what she's doing, she'll reply, "NOTHING!!" She can now silently move a chair or stool from one room to the other in record time.

She's also taken to going upstairs on her own. She's sneaky about it. She and Lila will be playing in the playroom together. Suddenly, I'll hear Lila crying because she's alone. When I call for Olivia, she'll call back, "Don't come up here, Mommy!" Yeah, right.

There's no way to effectively gate the stairs. So, I'll have to close all the doors and put on doorknob covers and see if she can't get those off. That will only lead to a tantrum-which is why I've put it off. Hopefully, she'll just get used to it.

Olivia can, in five minutes, make a mess in every room. While putting a few dolls to bed in each room may not be "making a mess" to her, it is to me. I could, literally, spend all day cleaning up after her. Most of the time, when I try to pick up a doll that is randomly sleeping somewhere, she will freak out and tell me that I woke her baby up and to put her back! She will then proceed to ask the baby if he/she is okay, gently put a blanket back on her and sing her a song back to sleep. If I get close, she'll say, "Go away mommy!"

I also can't get her to wear slippers or socks. It's wet and chilly here right now. We have no carpet and she needs slippers. I was going to buy her a pair at a local market. But, I found two pairs that still fit from Alaska and I can't get her to wear those for more than a few minutes. Her feet are always red and cold. She says she's hot. Go figure. I guess, when she's really cold, she'll let me know.

Then, there's getting out the door. If Olivia isn't willing to go somewhere, she'll undress just as I'm about to leave. Worse yet, she'll undress out of her clothes and into Lila's. She'll scream the whole time I'm changing her and while I put her into the car. This is particularly true of Monday mornings when we go to Mums and Tots group. If I was a good mother, prepared mother, unlazy mother, I would get up before my kids (who sleep until 7:30-8:30), shower, dress, make coffee, eat and get the diaper bag packed. But, usually, I lay in bed until they get up, browse the internet while they eat breakfast and just fart around the house until an hour before we're supposed to be there. I always think 45-minutes is enough time to get ready.

This week, once we arrived, we had a good time. However, as I checked myself in the rear-view on the way out, I noticed that my hair was a mess from the wind, rain and grease from not having gotten up in time for shower and, there was snot on my face. Doesn't matter if it was mine or Lila's. It was snot. On my face.

On the up side, as a parent, you know you're doing something right if, when you walk into your child's room during, what's supposed to be nap time, and find her sitting on the floor, reading a book out loud, with her dolls carefully lying on the floor in front of her. That was too cute to discipline!

Someone recently asked me if Lila was "always this good." Yup, but so was Olivia at Lila's age...