What we BEAN up to

These days Miss A is quite the busy little lady. She's here, there, and everywhere all at the same time and she would try to do everything all it once if we let her.

Last week I googled for activity ideas geared specifically for toddlers. I came up with some really cool things for her to occupy herself with but the clear winner of them all was one: Bean play.

I was a little concerned that Miss A would spend more time trying to either eat the beans or stick them in her nose or ears but after a little "how-to" lesson about what to do and what not to do...

She was off and running with the whole idea!

And she was occupied for nearly 20 whole minutes with this!!!

And the play segued itself into her trying to figure out other things as well.

Eventually she did start making such a mess with them that D and I had to make the executive decision to clean them up and Miss A was NOT happy with that but we will surely bring them out for another day - rainy or not - for her to play with them again.

Guess who wants a pony for Christmas

Right now everybody around these parts is all a-buzz about the regional Renaissance Festival, or the RenFest as "those in the know" know it as. Does everybody have these? I have no idea. However, what I do know is that it's a big deal around here!

Today's weather was every bit inclement but that didn't keep us from going as we've been planning on it all weekend. That and also? I printed off a coupon to save us a fair amount and it was only good for this weekend. *wink* (Penny saved is a penny earned in the Ellwood household!)

As it turned out, the weather didn't keep near as many away as might have seemed and it was actually a little nice because, so we were told, there was about 2/3 less people there than normal. Woo-hoo for just as much fun but less crowds!!!

We all decked ourselves out in rainy weather gear complete with galoshes and we didn't just have a ball eating our share of roasted turkey legs, Scottish meat pies, crab pretzels, frozen chocolate dipped graham cracker bananas, and funnel cake fries, we also had more than our share of splashing in all of the puddles and hanging out with all of the equine in attendance...

Miss A was in all kinds of heaven with the free pony rides that they had there. Granted, the ride was just around in a little circle and she wasn't off doing jousting competitions or anything but still? It was pretty awesome if you asked her.

And if the pony ride wasn't enough, there was this weird mime looking character floating about pretending like he was riding a horse that Miss A was more than happy to believe was a real horse.

The horse was pretty much a life-size puppet and the guy made the eyes blink, did some pretty realistic neighing of the horse, and dipped its head up and down just like a real horse would! It was impressive and Miss A was quickly head over heels for it...

*sigh* It was such a cute sight that OTHER PEOPLE were actually stopping, looking, AND taking pictures of her and all of her sweetness. Such a joy and a blessing she is to us and all those around her.

Perhaps next year we'll get her a cute little Renaissance costume and she can blend in with the "locals" a little better.

The stuff that dreams are made of

Wendy's Frosty + french fries = DELISH!!!

I KNOW it sounds gross (this is what I thought before I was "in the know") but it really is one of the greatest joys that I really believe all should know if they truly want to live a life that is fulfilled and awesome...

The Great (-est little) Pretender

You remember how two weekends ago Miss A went and got her first haircut?

Well, guess what her new favorite "game" is to play.

ANSWER: Pretending to cut hair!!

Last evening after we came home, we were just hanging around and relaxing - D was in the living room with Miss A watching the History channel and I was updating the blog with our haircutting experience.

I was mid sentence and D started yelling for me to come "look at Miss A!" (This is something we are doing more and more often as the things she's doing are becoming more and more amusing and entertaining.

When I came in, this is what I saw:




Can you tell what she's doing?

Answer: She's pretending to cut D's hair!!!

*HAHAHAHA*

And the great thing about it is that she was getting REALLY into it.

And the best part of all was at the end when she looked at her work and said, "That's SO cute!"

Miss A is such a riot. We just love her! Having a toddler around is AWESOME!!!

Extreme Makeover: Miss A Edition

Today was momentous for All of us Ellwoods because today we all devoted ourselves to something much needed for all: Haircuts.

Now, D and I just needed "the usual" of our monthly trims but Miss A? Well, Miss A... she was in SERIOUS need of some hair shreddage because she was sporting a... well... (I'll just say it) - a MULLET.

Don't even get me started on how embarrassing such a thing is. The good thing at least was that Miss A 1) didn't really realize she was sporting a mullet and 2) therefore didn't have any clue how bad it was.

For this big momentous occasion, we decided took a cue from a friend of mine and went to a place called Pigtails and Crewcuts. The one my friend goes to is all the way in Hawaii (quel dommage that we couldn't go to their place!) and our closest/most local location is in Annapolis. No big deal! We called ahead for a spot on the waiting list and when we showed up we had barely a wait until it was our (collective) turn. Miss A was the first in the chair.

And she was super excited to sit at the fire engine spot AND enjoy a green (her favorite) lollipop. Her mess of a mane was spritzed down with water and Miss Pam worked some major magic on her. Even D, who sort of protested the need for the haircut to begin with commented numerous times on how much better she looked with every snip of the scissors.

"Extreme Makeover: Miss A Edition"

Not even 10 minutes from the start of the cutting, Miss A was perfectly trimmed, coiffed and even pigtailed (hence the name of the beautyspot itself!) and despite the fact that she looks less than thrilled about the event on the whole...

...she was very pleased with the whole experience and (I think) was looking disgruntled because she was at the end of her lollipop. Miss Pam was nice enough to supply her with a brand new fresh sucker and then it was D's and then my turn.

All in all? It was a big success! And we'll (ALL) definitely head back there even for a whole round of family cuts as well. Six thumbs up for Pigtails and Crewcuts! We'll see ya next time!