The Wait is Over!!!

Francesca's tooth FINALLY fell out. After 1 full week of being loose and 2 days where it was literally hanging on by a thread, her tooth fell out this afternoon. She took 1 bite of penne ala vodka at a birthday party and it just popped out. This after countless attempts at wiggling it out. I also tried to remove it by sticking my finger in her mouth and gently wiggling it, while she was sleeping of course. I only succeeded in getting my finger bitten. This is Francesca's 6th baby tooth to fall out. Now she has a big gap where her 2 front teeth should be. She looks so cute.

The wait is on...

Francesca has a loose tooth, and you would think by all the moaning and complaining she is doing that this was her 1st loose tooth. Ha! It's #6, she has already lost (and grown in) her 4 middle bottom teeth. One of my previous posts was about the snaggle tooth she lost and now its' mate is ready to depart her mouth. We have been on "ToothWatch '08" since last Friday when she called me at work to tell me that she bit into a bagel at my mom's and her tooth hurt. Since then all we've heard is

"Will the chicken nugget I just bit into make my tooth fall out??"

"I just chomped down on a chocolate bunny and it made my tooth hurt. Do you think it will fall out??"

"I can't eat my dinner, it's too hard and my tooth might fall out...Oh but what's for dessert? If it's soft I can eat it..."

If this tooth doesn't fall out pretty damn soon I am going into her room while she is sleeping and giving it a good twist. Gavin has already offered (way too willingly I might add) to punch her in her mouth, in the hopes it will dislodge the tooth. Scott offered to get his pliers and yank it out. Now her big fear is having it fall out during school tomorrow, because then she has to go to the school nurse. Don't know what the problem is there, she LOVED going to the school nurse back at the beginning of the school year; she would sneeze once and tell her teacher she had to go. Francesca (like many other almost 6 year old girls) is PURE DRAMA...I may be totally gray by the time she hits high school, ugh!

The Results Are In!!

We have a tie for this week's poll - 2 votes each for "Francesca-The Automatic Flush" and "Hey Shithead". "Gavin driving the convertible into the garage" got 1 vote - yeah I guess we didn't think that was too funny either, especially moments after it happened. Oh well, we can look back now and laugh (well maybe we don't laugh too loudly..or too long...sometimes I look at the garage and want to cry). No one voted for "As-Seen-On-TV". Oh well. So this week's poll has come to an end, and I have to think of a new one. Happy Easter to all of my readers who celebrate it. My kids are eagerly awaiting the Easter Bunny, although Francesca is convinced that the Easter Bunny is really Santa Claus in a bunny suit. Works for me.

Francesca and Gavin

Striptease in the 4 year old class

Let me just start by saying it was not Gavin. THANK GOD. Cuz' he likes to be naked and show off what God gave him. On the ride home Gavin tells me all the exciting things that happened today at school. Someone broke the toilet, causing the floor to overflow with water, Gavin to slip and land on his butt, necessitating a change in pants. Thank goodness the nuns keep spare clothes at his school. But the real news was what went on at the beginning of rest time:

"Mommy, guess what happened at rest time?!! The girl in front of me pulled up her dress and down her underpants. She showed me her butt!! I did not want to see that, so I yelled NO NO NO!! Then Sister gave her a time-out. It is not good to pull your pants down in front of people."

Yikes! That was some excitement. I am surprised that Gavin was able to sleep after that. But that was not all. Apparently it was "show your stuff" day in his class.

"Mommy, then the boy in back of me pulled his pants down and showed the class his willie! I REALLY did not want to see that!!! That was disgusting! He got a time-out too! I kept my pants up, don't worry."

Boy he could not stop talking about "show and tell" today. According to my husband, Catholic schools certainly have changed these days!

When You are Older

This is a Francesca "oldie-but-goodie" from July 2007. Sorry, they haven't done anything too funny so far this weekend so I thought I would amuse you with this.

So Scott takes Francesca to his office 2 nights ago because he can't find a notebook with client info. that he was supposed to bring home. They find the notebook on his desk, safe and sound. Francesca then asks her daddy what is so important that they had to go back to his office to get it. He tells her - "client information".

"What's that, Daddy?"

"Stuff I will explain to you when you are older", he tells her.

"Oh.....like sex?"

Scott can't believe his ears. What did his precious daughter just say???

"WHAT DID YOU SAY FRANCESCA???"

"Like sex....when I am older!"

At this point Scott is so flustered he pulls the car over, afraid he might actually crash the car if he hears his daughter utter that word again. "Francesca, tell me again what you said?"

"DADDY!!!! You said it was something you would tell me about when I am older....Like SIX! SIX YEARS OLD!!! What did you think I said?"

Oops.....said Scott.

NEW POLL!!!

We have a new poll at the bottom of the page, check it out and vote for your favorite Francesca and Gavin story! OR, if you know my kids personally and your favorite story did not make the poll, leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite is!!

Chatting with Francesca

I was off from work today, as I had to register Big Guy for kindergarten (oh how the time flies). Francesca had a half-day, due to teacher conferences. My mom picked her up so I could get some errands done. On the way to Stamford to pick Gavin up from nursery school we talked about her morning at school and her birthday, coming up on May 9th. All she can talk about is her birthday and how we are going to celebrate it. She would like me to bake a chocolate fudge cake, and perhaps I could bake it in the shape of a princess castle. OK...Next, she asks me how much money Scott and I have saved, because she would like to have Hannah Montana come sing at her birthday party. I told her that no amount of money (that we have, anyway) could bring Hannah Montana to her birthday party.

"Mommy, if you and Daddy go to the bank every day and take out some money, we can have enough to call Hannah Montana and have her sing at my birthday!"

Oh boy...I left it to Scott to explain to her why she was not having Hannah at her birthday.

Francesca also told me that she would like to go to Texas on vacation this summer. OK, why, I ask. What do you know in Texas?? She told me that today in school they read a book on tornadoes. She would like to see a tornado, and the book says they can be found in Texas, Kansas and "middle America". According to Francesca, tornadoes are "big swirly winds" are to her that sounds exciting. Well, again, not happening, my dear. I told her to watch her brother some time. He is his own tornado!

Ding, Dong, AVON Calling!

Today we went to the Greenwich St. Patrick's Day Parade. Always a good parade, although Scott and I personally think it was way better back in the day when you could actually BYOB and drink while you were freezing your butt off. After 1 hr., 2 cold kids, 4 hot dogs, 2 shamrock necklaces, 1 Irish sword, 1 magic wand decorated with the Irish flag colors, and handfuls of candy thrown by marchers, we went home. We were all cold and tired and the kids actually fell asleep in the car on the way home. Of course, as I tried to transfer them from car to house they woke up. Then they got their second wind.

Francesca decides that we are going to play "makeup store". She was the AVON lady. I agree, as long as I can sit on the couch and read a magazine. So up she goes into the bathroom and comes down with all of my makeup, plus cotton balls and makeup remover. Uh oh, I am in for it. She starts applying eye shadow to my eyelids (and the surrounding areas of my face) in wide strokes, telling me I look "bee-you-ti-fullll". I then get poked in the eye with a mascara wand. Oops, she says. I now have to explain that eyeliner is not for my cheeks and please don't try to sign your name on my forehead in Luscious Red lipliner. For a moment I thought the game was ending and we would all relax, but no, Gav had to get in on the action.

"Mommy, I am Mr. Gavin. Wait a minute while I put this powder on your face. Ha ha Mommy, you look pretty funny right now. Checka, go get a mirror so Mommy can see how she looks!"

Actually I did not want to see how I looked. I was afraid someone might come to the door and I would have to answer it looking like the Bride of Frankenstein. After a quick swipe of makeup remover they were at it again. Now "Miss Francesca" tells me that I may need to help her for a minute...

"Mommy, do you have any cucumbers? " What for, I ask. "For your eyes, Mommy. You need to cut it up and put slices on your eyes. It makes your eyes pretty." Yes, I have a cucumber. No you are not getting it I tell her. It is for salad this week.

Gavin - "Mommy if you are cutting the cucumber for your eyes could you cut some up for me? I am really hungry. Or I could just eat the cucumber slices when you are done with them..."

I finally had to put a stop to this oh-so-fun game. It took me 10 minutes and alot of soap and makeup remover to get their handiwork off my face. My face is still stinging, 4 hours later.

It's a Lazy Day

Well it's rained all day here in Port Chester. My big accomplishment for the day was walking 40 minutes before it started to rain and going grocery shopping (BY MYSELF!!!!!). The kids have been stuck inside watching TV, playing games and napping. Francesca fell asleep sitting up on the couch, her head leaning on the arm. We had a 2-hr. stretch of no whining, so peaceful. Gav was awake of course, because they haven't both fallen asleep at the same time in about 3 years. At 4 and almost 6, they don't routinely nap anymore, but if they happen to fall asleep we don't complain. Finally, Francesca woke up and Gavin eventually fell asleep. I was downstairs folding laundry and Scott calls me upstairs because "I have to come see Gavin". There he is, asleep, with a smile on his face...his little hand in his pants. No wonder he is smiling. :)

Family Movie Night

We just (barely) survived our first "Family Movie Night" at F's school. Ugh...For $10 for the 4 of us, we got to sit on hard metal chairs, or the floor, if we choosed. We watched (really didn't) "Game Plan" with The Rock. With all the kids, including my own, running around and screaming I could not for the life of me tell you one iota of what went on in that movie. Admission got us 4 free small popcorns, which satisfied the kids for about 30 seconds. Then they moved on to the real good snacks, in their opinions. Ring Pops. Twizzlers. Cotton Candy. Hey at least the popcorn was not too bad for them. Plus, they opted for bottled water over soda. You know, for a school that has a "Healthy Eating Initiative" they don't give a crap about nutrition as long as it is after school hours. Oh well, I guess Ring Pops sell alot better than bran muffins. They did have coffee for sale for the parents. I found myself wishing that someone had a bottle of vodka stashed in their purse; a shot or two would have made the evening WAY more bearable. Gavin, once again, was trying to sweet talk the ladies. This time it was the PTO moms. Here's how it went:

"I would like 2 Twizzlers please." (Twizzlers were a dime each)

"Here you go, and here's your change." (He had a quarter.)

"Oh no. Keep the change!" (He's obviously trying to get in good now, knowing once they get to know him next year they'll be calling him the kindergarten's Eddie Haskell.)

Thank goodness we don't have another nighttime school event until April. I think it's BINGO. I'll pack my BINGO markers and pray for no Ring Pops.

As-Seen-On-TV, Part 2

For those of you who know Francesca and Gavin, you know that they are OBSESSED with "As-Seen-On-TV" and all of those lovely products that we can buy on TV. My mom broke down and bought them the "Pancake Puff" for Valentine's Day; boy were they excited. I tried to make Pancake Puffs that weekend but had run out of Bisquick. I had to improvise, and well, mine were not what they saw on TV. Gavin tried a few but Francesca refused to eat them.

"Mommy, those DO NOT look like the Pancake Puffs on TV. Maybe you should have let Daddy make them."

Whatever. The cat had no problem eating them. Scott made them the next weekend and the kids raved about his ability to make a perfect Pancake Puff. Well he was lucky, I had just gone grocery shopping and had a new box of Bisquick.

This morning, as Gavin and I pull into his school parking lot, I realize that my iPod is not in my purse. So as I am rumbling around my big Mary Poppins bag, Gav looks at me with his big blue eyes and says:

"You know, Mommy, if you had the 'Buxton Organizer' you would be able to find your iPod right away. You could even find your cell phone blindfolded. It comes in black, red and tan. Plus, you get a free 'Memory Mate', you know...you talk and it remembers what you say. Milk, bread, eggs...your whole list! Mommy, you really need the 'Buxton Organizer'.

My children are walking advertisements for infomercials. Yesterday Scott used "Mighty Putty" on a crack in the basement. You would have thought it was Christmas, for all the jumping around that was going on in our house. "Mighty Putty" is their favorite As-Seen-On-TV commercial. They are convinced that they can find a use for it everywhere in our house. Gav has already asked me to please tell the Easter Bunny to bring him some.

Dancing Queen

She's at it again. All weekend Francesca has been walking (or dancing) around the house in a leotard and ballet slippers. At the library she insisted on finding books about ballet, gymnastics and Irish step dancing. Today she comes downstairs in a black leotard, a top hat and red ruby Dorothy-in-the-Wizard of Oz shoes. She proceeds to tap tap tap throughout my living room all over my wood floors. This is not a child who takes dance classes either. We signed her up at 2 for pre-ballet and at the recital she sat her fat baby butt down on the stage and refused to pirouette. She did however smile and wave at the crowd. So today she is bopping all over the place, saying "Mommy don't I look great??" I had to stifle a laugh because she looked like a 5 year old version of Liza Minelli in Cabaret! Last night she even dragged out a kilt my mom brought her back from Scotland to put on during her step dancing routine. She is too funny. Thank goodness tomorrow is school. The dancing queen will be put to rest until next weekend (we hope!).

Sneaky Francesca

Scott and I were cleaning the basement today (BIG HUGE CHORE, way past overdue). Anyway, I was in shredding and throwing out mode, tossing things left and right. Mom, don't worry, I DID NOT throw anything important out. So we were almost at the end of our cleaning for the day when I find a small handmade "coupon" book hidden under many pieces of paper. Now I know what you may be thinking (or Mom, what YOU may be thinking) - I stuck it in a big pile of stuff and missed it entirely. But NO, this is not the case. This was a coupon book made by Francesca in school around Christmas. It includes coupons for things like cleaning her room, setting the table, sleeping late (that one is almost impossible for us to redeem) and leaving us alone for a few minutes. There is no way that I would ignore something as valuable as that. Either Scott or I check Francesca's backpack or folder every day when she comes home from school so there is no way we missed it. I am betting that she purposely put it in her pocket and hid it in the basement. She's no dummy, why give Mommy and Daddy another reason to ask her to clean her room or set the table?? She probably thought "why do it for free when I could clean my room and then get something in return for being so helpful". Anyway, now that my basement is clean I am sure my living room is a mess since the kids have been playing there all afternoon. I think I need to go redeem a coupon!!!!

Who is Funnier??

Well, that is a tough one. They're both funny, in their own ways. Gavin is all boy, you know, thinks the sounds and smells that his body emits are the most hysterical things he has ever heard. Francesca, well, she is funny when she thinks we are not listening. The moment she thinks we have heard her conversation (usually with herself) she screeches at us and runs away. So readers, based on what you have read so far, tell me what you think. Is it Checka or Big Guy that keeps us in stitches on a daily basis?? Visit this week's poll at the bottom of the blog.

Weekends at the LaDore's

Francesca is on a ballerina kick, last night she dressed up in an old leotard and ballet slippers and decided to put on a performance for her brother. Gav could have cared less about watching her, but the good brother he is, he sat down and watched. So right as she was about to turn off the lights, she looked at her audience of 1 and said, "OK sir, sit down and please pay attention to the ballerina; and TURN YOUR CELL PHONES OFF!" That just struck me and Scott as funny.

The cat threw up a hairball at 3AM this morning. I know this thanks to Gavin, who apparently heard Picky Picky hacking at that hour. He claims that he told me at 3AM to clean up the cat's mess but I did not. I don't remember hearing this, but then again I don't remember being awake at 3AM either. The final straw for Gavin was when he stepped in the hairball. He started yelling at both the cat and me. It was not a good start to the morning. Oh well, we still have another day and a half before school starts again!