Fwoot Smoothies

Back when Tori was an infant and trips to the pediatrician seemed like a weekly occurrence (usually due to ear infections), I struck a deal with Lexy.

During those trips to the doctor, enduring the long waits both in the waiting room and then again in the examination room with a squirmy then 2-yr-old wasn't fun. For Lexy or me. Knowing her love of fruit smoothies, I thought maybe the promise of one after a well-behaved appointment would do the trick.

Sure enough, she behaved like an angel. And when she thought about disobeying, all it took was a little reminder about what her prize would be and she would quickly whip into shape.

That was a year and a half ago.

And what I thought would be a one-time thing has turned into an EVERY TIME WE SEE THE DOCTOR FOR ANY REASON thing.

Needless to say, we have a lot of fruit smoothies.

This morning, we had the pleasure (ha!) of another visit to our dear sweet Dr. Kim who now knows us by name. Today's visit makes two Fridays in a row. :) (And Tori has a WELL baby check-up scheduled next Tuesday!)

It seems that Lexy has picked up pink eye from someone either at school or on the playground. LOVELY.

Thankfully, we caught it somewhat early, and I hope she'll make a speedy recovery. (And you can join me in praying that Tori doesn't get it!)
[[UPDATE: (since I'm late in posting this....) Lexy is fine now. NONE of us got it. Amazing. ]]

I upped the stakes a bit on Lexy this morning as we drove to the doctor's office. Due to the extremely contagious nature of pink eye, I thought it wise for her to not go play with all the toys in the ped's office, but rather sit in a boring chair on the other side of the room with me. So I told her today's new rule and explained my reasoning and then told her that getting a "froot smoothie" was depended on her obeying my rule.

She did such a good job!! She and I sat at one end of the room guessing what movie the kids on the other end of the room might be watching. She asked a couple of times to go play with the toys-- especially at one point when we were the only ones in the waiting room-- but seemed determined to obey despite her disappointment when I said "No."

So, after the appointment (and confirmed diagnosis), we headed to Robek's for her well-earned fruit smoothie. This ritual has become so common-place, that we also have standing rules for how one is to drink said fruit smoothie. She knows that she MAY NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, REMOVE THE LID of the cup, lest it spill all over her and her car seat. Removal of the lid will result in immediate disposal of her fruit smoothie. (I mean business)

This last rule makes life a little challenging when she (and Tori) get to the bottom of the cup. You know, that moment when you really need to dig the straw around and get the last inch or so of smoothie. Generally, we end up throwing the cup away with a little still in it because of strict lid removal policy.

So, this morning, we arrived home with smoothies in hand and I got busy cleaning up the kitchen (or something) and kinda tuned out for a second. I do remember hearing the silverware drawer open and the familiar clang of a utensil being grabbed, but I paid it no mind.

And then I realized that the girls were both sitting under the kitchen table.
This is what I found.



Total partners in crime, spooning out the last of their beloved "Fwoot Smoothies" in hiding because they'd broken the cardinal rule. I couldn't help but laugh.

They didn't make a mess (hooray!) and they were actually enjoying each other's company.
Win, win, I guess.
So much for my rule.

Wise Choices

While folding laundry this morning:

Me: Lexy, do you remember who we saw on TV yesterday? Remember all the flags?

Lexy: Barrack Obama! (she loves saying his name)

M: Yes, and do you know why we were watching him yesterday?

L: Uh huh

M: Why?

L: I don't know

M: He is our new President. That's a REALLY big job. We need to pray for him. Do you know what his job is?

L: To help his mommy?

M: No, he has to help the whole country! That's a BIG job!

L: Oh!

M: We really need to pray for him!

L: Dear God, please help Barrack Obama to make wise choices. Amen.

And again I say "Amen."

Winter Fun

As I alluded to in my previous post, we spent time up in the mountains playing in the snow! We had the pleasure of spending an extended weekend with WONDERFUL friends up at my dad's cabin, which he graciously allowed us to take over.

We spent our days out in the snow. Most of the kids loved it...
Tori was a little unsure about this whole "snow" thing.... She definitely didn't like the cold. Either that, or she didn't like the coat we insisted she wear when she was outside. She also seemed a little uncertain of her footing on the ice and pretty much stood TOTALLY STILL whenever we put her down. Our usually smiley, happy girl was definitely out of her element.

happily walking on solid, non-icy ground
She refused to wear her gloves, so she just kept her hands tucked up inside the sleeves.

eating snow!

Bill and the other guys built little fortified bunkers to have a snowball fight. (My hands were too full holding Tori to get many pictures of their creation!)


And then they built their own personal toboggan run, complete with a HUGE snow pile at the end to ensure a safe stop. The kids LOVED it. And a couple of the adults did, too. :)



And what trip to the snow would be complete without a snowman!

A Little snowman. The snow was so powdery, we had a hard time getting it to stick together!

Beautiful Sunset from the cabin balcony.

Winter Wonderland

Hard to imagine that just yesterday, Lexy and Daddy were SWIMMING in Aunt Barb's house....




I guess that's the beauty of living in southern California....

Stay tuned: Winter Wonderland wrap up when we get home....

Rose Parade 2009

Happy New Year!

We started the year off bright and early with a trip to the Rose Parade in Pasadena. My family has been going to the parade for years, but the Hughes Zoo has been out of town for the past 4 years on January 1st, so we haven't been in a while. And we've NEVER been with kids! So this was a new adventure!

This year was also exciting because we had some serious hook-ups from a family friend who is a Pasadena Police Officer.... He escorted our car behind blockades, even driving the WRONG DIRECTION on a street, to within 2 blocks of the beginning of the parade. (That probably won't mean anything to you unless you've been to the Rose Parade before, but that's a big deal. :) )

Enjoying a powdered-sugar doughnut

The kids did great, and everyone had a great time!

A few favs...

Lexy LOVES the horses, which I find highly amusing because I've always wondered why they bother including horses in this parade--- they just poop and make it smell!

this one had "COWBOYS dancing!" and many recognizable fruits and vegetables

Tori likes the horses, too, I guess. Figures.

There were a whole series of Sesame Street Characters, which were a big hit with the younger folk.... This one has "Bob" from Sesame Street on the front!

Christmas Review

Totally behind in the blogging, so I'm doing a whirlwind tour of the Hughes Zoo Christmas....

Christmas Eve at our house....

Grandma, Gigi, Uncle Ryan and Kristy.....


Presents literally engulfed our living room....




Lexy delighted in GIVING gifts more than RECEIVING (melted my heart)....


Ryan gave THE gift of the night-- a rocking horse that makes galloping sounds for Tori-- so cute!....


Both girls were a little under the weather with what we thought were "just colds." HA. When will we learn our lesson....

Tori had the barking cough of croup all night and I had to take her outside into the cold air twice in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve. When she would settle and go back to sleep, I'd hear Lexy start crying for me. She was complaining of a sore throat and telling me that her ear hurt. I alternated between the two all night. Oh, the joys of motherhood.

Christmas morning....

(Big gifts this year: Lexy-- new bicycle [or "bike-a-cil", if you ask her], Tori--new baby stroller)

Hughes Zoo (running on VERY LITTLE SLEEP), Grandma, and Gigi.... Not willing to let our "colds" dampen the spirit, we charged on ahead and had our traditional egg casserole breakfast-- A Hughes Family tradition-- cinnamon rolls and apple cider. Oh. And we opened all the gifts from Santa. (How could I forget that) The morning is kind of a blur. Not many pictures to document it because no one was in a picture-taking mood. We were all just going through the motions in a daze. To wit, we forgot to open our stockings until lunch time.

After breakfast, we headed straight for URGENT CARE!! Isn't that where everyone goes on Christmas morning?! Thankfully, the answer was "no", and we didn't have to wait long.




Diagnosis: 2 ear infections, one in each daughter. Antibiotics all around!! And I hope you don't mind driving 20 MINUTES ACROSS TOWN because there's only ONE pharmacy open on Christmas Morning! Merry Christmas!

Still in pajamas after long morning naps, we headed over to Grandma Holly's house for the traditional Christmas dinner. We had a nice gathering of family that hadn't been together for quite awhile due to various circumstances.


Christmas 2008: One that will not be forgotten anytime soon. :)

The Nutcracker

Grandma Holly treated Lexy and I to a performance of The Nutcracker at the local community college this year.

We took a few pictures before heading out the door, and Lexy insisted on carrying a purse and wearing a scarf just like mommy.

I was able to find a little black purse to coordinate, but wasn't so fortunate with the scarf. As you can see, hers didn't match. At all. Oh well.

Lexy LOVED the show and has been talking about "ballerina girls dancing around on their toes" and "guys spinning on their heads" (authentic Russian dancers) ever since. She spots nutcrackers everywhere we go now. She's already talking about going with Grandma again next year. I guess we've started a new tradition. :)

And just to prove that she is, in fact, 3 years old, she decided to ROAR at the camera. I'm shaking in my boots. How 'bout you?