Mama Gets a New Car!

After nine years and nearly 100,000 miles, I finally purchased a new car. I have to give it to the old Honda CR-V. It was a good little car--at least until the end. Literally the day after I had made the deal on the new car, it started acting up. By the time my new car arrived at the dealer a couple of days later, it wasn't even driveable. But they agreed to stand by the deal, providing we towed our trade-in to the lot. We were just grateful we didn't have to fix it. I definitely give Nelson Mazda two thumbs up so far!

So, what did I buy? A 2008 Mazda CX-9. It's "crystal white mica" with sand leather interior. (The front seats are heated, which is lovely in the winter!) It has a third row and seats up to seven people. We got a rear DVD entertainment package, which the girls already love. We can't wait to drive it to Disney World this spring! The photo below is from a website, but it looks pretty much like mine.

Potty Talk

It's that fun time in a toddler's life--time to begin the long goodbye to diapers and say hello to our new friend, the potty chair! Presley is 19 months and has taken a slight interest in her potty. She enjoys sitting on it with a book, and sometimes watches a DVD. But at this point, we have yet to make any "magic" happen in the potty, if you know what I mean. Still, we're off to a good start and hope to have happy potty updates soon!

Dressing Up

Reagan is the queen of costumes--seriously, this girl has a ton of them and she knows how to use them! It seems now, however, that one costume at a time is not enough. Notice the unique use of accessories, as well as a combined Ariel-Snow White motif in the first photo.

Recently, Presley has joined in on the costume fun. She has to grow a bit before she'll be able to wear most of them, but she had fun playing in the Snow White ensemble.

Things I Never Expected to Become an Expert In...

1. Disney Princesses. I know their titles, real names, back stories, living relatives (mostly dads), and what color dress they usually wear.

2. Exactly how ripe a banana should be to meet the toddler's requirements.

3. Judging whether a pair of little girl jeans is cut narrowly enough for my skinny-minny daughter.

4. Taking in pants that we received as hand-me-downs from our average-sized cousins.

5. Wrapping a rubber band the size of a pencil eraser around a tiny tuft of hair at least four times.

6. Disney World. After watching Travel Channel specials and visiting "insider" websites to plan our vacation, I probably know more than most travel agents about the Mouse House.

7. Childhood illnesses. OK, I'm really not an expert in this, but I have definitely earned my stripes with our oldest. And I have learned how to anticipate when she's going to throw up.

8. Reading food labels. I now know that "brown" bread doesn't mean 100% whole wheat and orange-colored "juice" may, in fact, contain no fruit juice at all.

9. Diplomacy. I have sooooo many examples of this--from dealing with an overbearing parent to having a conference with your preschooler's teacher--but I choose to be diplomatic and not name names.

10. Brittney Spears. Who isn't, right? Seriously...can we stop with the media coverage already?