Friday Funnies

Who needs cable when you have kids?! Especially kids that say funny stuff!
The girls seemed super funny this week, or maybe it was just that I remembered to write them all down.  Either way, enjoy!!

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Bailey: Mommy this strawberry milk tastes funny.
Me: That's because it's chocolate milk.
Bailey: Oh, then it's yummy!
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Skylar: Mommy, when I have a baby, I want to name her Sarah.  I used to want to name a baby Peppermint but then I realized that wasn't a very good name.
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Walking to school one morning and it started to drizzle a bit.
Skylar said, "It's starting to rain!"
I replied, "It's ok, it's just a little drizzle."
Skylar said, "But Daddy said it wasn't going to rain!"
Reagan replied, "Skylar, I hate to burst your bubble, but Daddy is NOT a weatherman!"
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Bailey was sitting next to me on the couch and tooted. I said, "What was that?!" She replied, "There's a monster in my butt!"
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Walking to school again, we heard an ambulance.
Bailey: That's a ambrijan
Skylar: Bay, it's AM-BLI-ANCE
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A little girl walked up to Reagan at school and said, "What are you going to be for Halloween?" Reagan said, "I'm not sure yet."  The little girl said, "I'm going to be Jason or Freddy Kreuger!" (she has much older brothers).  Then she walked away.  Reagan turned to me and said, "Who are Jason and Jenny Cooper?" :D
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Bailey was playing with a fairy wand and touching it to things in the family room.  She would say "Abba Dabba" and turn objects into other things.  She touched it to the fan and said, "Abba Dabba, you're a elephant." Then she came over and touched the wand to my head.  I said, "What are you making me?" And she said, "I'm making you blonde...."  (oh, if it were only that easy)!

Can't wait to hear about all the funnies at your house this week!

Friday Funnies

I'm taking a break from linky (cause it's being stinky today), but that doesn't mean I can't share my own funnies with ya! And if you want, go ahead and share some funnies in the comments.

1. While driving, Skylar said, "That cloud looks like a purple dragon eating a sandwich!" (I love her imagination).  Reagan said, "Skylar, have you EVER seen a purple dragon eating a sandwich?" She replied, "Uh huh....right there in the sky."

2.  I asked Skylar and Bailey if they wanted a roast beef sandwich for lunch (since that what I was making for myself).  They both said, "Ew! No! That's gross!" So I made a sandwich for myself and told them I would make them something else after I finished.  So, of course when I sat down they both wanted a bite to "try it." Both of them said, "Oh, I like it! Can I have my own?" And there went my sandwich....

3.  Reagan has officially discovered Hannah Montana.  But not because her friends like her, but because she saw that Miley has a horse.  Go figure.  Now we can sing the theme song like the best of them!

4.  My friend Rachel doesn't blog so she gave me permission to share this one: Her boys are 7 and 4.  The 7 year old and a female buddy were talking about having to go potty.  The 7 year old told the girl, "Just go in the woods." She replied "I can't do that. I don't have one of those." The 4 year old piped up, "I have 52!" Rachel said, "Obviously he had no idea what they were talking about, but wanted to participate." ;D 

girls and dolls

I know...it's 105 degrees outside and we're not even to Fall yet, but I can feel it.  I know the school supplies at Target will only be there for two more weeks.  Then, you know what moves in?? That's right.  The Christmas trees, skirts, lights, ornaments, cards....and then.....the toys.

The commercials are weeks away.  You know the ones.  The sparkle and lights and smiling faces that show kids "You NEED this toy!" Each year I wait to see which newly created craze will end up on my girls' list.  One area I am always amazed with is dolls.  Pretty soon the dolls on the market are going to be so lifelike, we won't need to have more real babies.  :) Recently I was reading one of the girls' library books (you  may remember that they love the Christmas books), and this passage stuck out:

"There were dolls that said mama and dolls that said goo.
 Dolls that made music and dolls that made poo.
There were dolls that grew tall at the push of a button
 and a doll best of all that didn't do nuttin."
How Murray Saved Christmas by Mike Reiss

I wholeheartedly agree.  My  favorite baby dolls are the ones that don't do 'nuttin.' But there are still quite a few baby dolls on the market that are just "stuffed" so I thought I would offer some of my research insight with you on the best options for baby dolls. We also love to encourage baby doll play in our house because I heard a great quote once..."When a little girl plays with a Barbie, she wants to be like Barbie. When a little girl plays with a baby doll, she wants to be like mommy."

Recent research has shown that many of our plastics contain BPA (from phtalates in the PVC).  This chemical has been found to disrupt hormone levels in children especially.  You can now find BPA free bottles, plates, pacifiers, etc.  But what most forget is that the plastics in toys contain the same harmful chemical.  (I won't bore you with the details on whether or not phtalate free PVC is as safe as PVC free vinyl, so let's just stick with one chemical for now).  It's not necessarily a concern unless you have a baby putting the plastic doll in her mouth (which, let's face it...every baby does).  So, for the babies, here are a few BPA free dolls that they can "chew away" on:

Most fabric dolls are of course plastic free (but some still have plastic pellets that contain BPA and can leech into the fabric making it just as unsafe for babies).  Some that claim to be BPA free are:
Pottery Barn Kids:

Our favorite...Corolle Dolls.  They are manufactured in France and contain no BPA.  They also have different dolls for different ages.  The newborn baby dolls are either stuffed with just a plastic face and hands or just a lovey with a face, or completely stuffed and made of cloth.

As your little one gets older Corolle offers dolls for 18 months+.  Our favorite is the Calin doll.  You may remember that a certain "Calin" is my fourth daughter.

Another favorite is Tidoo. She's a Calin that can get wet.

They also have some funky dolls if you like something a little different:

As a bonus, the dolls smell like vanilla.

Another brand we love that contains no BPA is Madame Alexander.  Most know her as the maker of famous porcelain dolls, but she does so much more.  These are a few of her "baby" dolls.

I was recently introduced to a wonderful shop on etsy.com that makes baby dolls.  Lovies for my Babies. She uses all fabric (great for babies!) and they are all machine washable. She does use "beanbag" type material to weight the babies so I can't be sure if it's BPA free, but they are SO cute! And totally customizable.

As your precious ones get older, it's doubtful that they will be able to avoid the American Girl catalog.  If she isn't ready for the historic dolls (or the 'just like me' dolls), a great option is Bitty Baby.
We have one at our house and she is WELL loved! The great thing about Bitty Baby is that she is a great size and has a plethora of accessories made just for her. She's also available in a multitude of skin tones, hair color, and eye color.

If BPA is not a concern, then some less expensive alternatives are the Fisher Price newborn dolls (and the Target knock off).  Both are made in China, contain BPA, but are stuffed and cuddly, and don't do anything special.

I hope this limited list is helpful for someone. :) Happy Shopping!! And please feel free to add to my list! I love to hear about other baby dolls.

Really?

Unfortunately I find myself asking this question more and more.  "Really?" Usually followed by "Seriously?" Maybe it's my age (and the wisdom that comes with being mid-30's), or maybe there truly are more and more ridiculous things in the world.  Maybe it's because I took a critical thinking course in college.  Or maybe it's the fact that I was blessed with common sense.  Either way, I'm sure I'm not alone.

Two weeks ago I had to fill out paperwork for Reagan's school.  Again.  The same information they asked for last year.  Again.  Part of me wanted to write on the information card "nothing has changed..." but I know that they probably already chucked last year's info card so it would have been futile.  I dutifully filled out our address, phone numbers, places of employment (I'm COO of Homefront Enterprises in case you were wondering), allergies, blood type, social security numbers, ebay and paypal login names, and pets living at home.  Ok, so maybe I am exaggerating a bit but you get the idea.  Then, I got to the Disaster Emergency Preparedness sheet.
 It said, "In the event of a disaster (i.e. fire, flood, terrorist attack, etc.), please provide FIVE in state family members/friends and THREE out of state family members/friends that we could release your child to."

Really?
Seriously?

If you think about it for a minute (it really doesn't take much longer), IF something has happened to both parents, and all FIVE of our in state relatives and friends,....I'm fairly certain that the elementary school won't be the only building left standing in all of Southern California.  And if something DID happen to our entire state, and somehow the school was left standing, I'm sure it wouldn't be really easy for my aunt in Kentucky to come pick up my daughter.

Who makes these forms?
I don't know what's worse...the fact that they have to ask these questions, or the fact that I filled it out.

Let's all just roll our eyes and shake our heads.

Friday Funnies

Did this week blaze by for anyone else? Wow! I only wrote down three funny things...but here they are!

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On our way to church Reagan said, "Wouldn't it be fun if dogs went to church?" I told her that Service Dogs were allowed in church because they are allowed anywhere that people go.  Skylar said, "I've never seen Circus Dogs at church." :)  Service...Circus....it's all the same right? :)
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Again, while driving, Skylar said, "MOMMY! Watch out for the Pizzons!" Reagan corrected her and said, "Skylar, it's not Pizzons, it's Pigeon, with a J." :D
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Reagan asked me, "Mommy, am I short?" When I asked her why she wondered that she said "because my skirt is a size 5 and I'm 7 years old." I said, "Well, you're petite." She replied, "Oh great! That's another word for short isn't it?" HA!


Can't wait to read about the "Funnies" in your house this week!

More Animals from the Reserve

You may remember that we live on a wildlife reserve.  Here are a few more animals we have seen around here lately:
This yellow bird just blends right in with the yellow flowers on the tree!

Then there's this bird:

and a few other "wild" animals:

Ok, so a few of them "might" actually be from our trip to the zoo....but I'll never tell. :)

We heart the beach!

If you follow our blog, you will recognize this photo. It's one of my favorites from one of our beach trips this summer.  Skylar LOVES the beach and it just shows all over her face in this one.  I might add that she added the headband....not me. :)

Head on over to I Heart Faces and see all the other fantastic beach pictures!