Fanning the Flames!!!

We had a quiet morning...

After a visit from Sister Reed, we had some lunch.  Alegria wanted yogurt.  Not only did she lick the foil top, she also used the foil top to scrape the yogurt from the cup and eat it like that...instead of using her spoon!

Then when she asked for a slice of cheese and I gave her one...she used her spoon to eat that!  Silly girl!

After putting Odette down for a nap, I came out to find Alegria watching her movie while sitting in her doll's crib and sucking on her doll's bottle!

Once both girls had napped and I had chatted online with Cameron for a couple of hours, I got both of them up, got us all ready, and we headed to Bennet Clinic on post.  For the longest time, I've known that I can get over-the-counter medications there for free...but it's the wait that I dread...especially with two young children!

Anyway.  I decided that I was tired of paying for allergy medicine and we headed over.  Here's Alegria in our improvised double-stroller!  Usually, I carry Odette in her Bjorn carrier when I use the stroller so Alegria gets to sit in the stroller, but I was hoping we wouldn't have to wait long and therefore didn't want to have to take Odette in and out of her car seat...so I put the car seat on the stroller and Alegria stood at the foot of it, on the back part of the stroller itself, which was fully reclined to allow for Alegria's standing room.  It worked pretty well, I think...

...until Odette needed a diaper change!  Thank goodness there was a family bathroom right near the waiting area, so we headed in.  Unfortunately, there was NO changing table in there!  I couldn't believe it!  So I had to improvise.  Thankfully, I always carry my own changing pad, which I place on changing tables anyway!

Once done with that, we headed back to the waiting area.  Alegria had a snack of goldfish while chillin' in Odette's car seat.  Yeah.  Odette didn't want to go back in her car seat once I'd taken her out!

Thankfully, within 45 minutes, we were seen at the pharmacy counter, got two months' worth of Claritin, and went on our way.

Our next stop was the mall.

The first place we came to was Payless.  They had more of a selection than our little Payless in Cove, but I still didn't see anything that made my heart stop.

So then we left and went to find Time Warner cable to drop off the cable boxes and equipment.

When I had spoken to the gentleman on the phone a few days ago and he'd told me that there was a Time Warner at the mall where I could drop the equipment off, I had asked if it was a kiosk, to which he said that no, it was an actual store.  I was doubtful...he had an Indian accent and I was sure he was at a foreign call center and had no idea what he was talking about, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Well...as soon as I found the KIOSK, I asked the guy at the kiosk where the store was and he said "this is it."  And then he let me know that I couldn't drop the equipment off with him.  Great.  Luckily, he let me know that at the Time Warner in Killeen, there's a drop box where I could drop the equipment off without having to go during store hours.

So that out of the way for now, we started wandering around, looking for another store to go to where we could buy shoes...and then we saw it.  "The Shoe Dept."

As SOON as we got closer and I saw the display window, I fell in love!!!  (Pictures at the end of this blog entry)

There were so many other shoes there, too!  I was originally looking to get a wedge, but even after seeing what they had, I just could NOT pass up the shoes I ended up getting!

While we were there, we also found some shoes for Alegria and Odette...a gift from Daddy.  When I had spoken to Cameron the other day and told him how when I told Alegria that we were going to the store to buy shoes, she had asked, "Buy shoes me?" he said for me to get her a pair as a gift from him...and of course, he wanted me to get a pair for Odette, too, because "I can't leave my little princess out!"

So I let Alegria choose a pair of shoes.  Daddy doesn't realize he's just feeding our obsession!!!  Haha!!!

However, even after Alegria put her new shoes on, she apparently had not gotten her fill of shoes, because she'd grabbed THIS as we walked around, and proceeded to put it on!!!

To bling, or not to bling, that is NOT the question!  Of COURSE, Alegria's choice in shoes would be fantastic!  She's MY child!  Hahaha!!!

So...before we left, Alegria had, interestingly, left Big Bear.  But it wasn't only that she left Big Bear home...she's done that more frequently now, but the fact was that she actually TOLD Big Bear, "Bye-bye Baby Bear!" before we left!

Well...as soon as we got home, and as soon as she saw Big Bear, she ran to him and told him "We're home, Baby Bear!  We're home, Baby Bear!" over and over again!  I caught the last minute on video...so cute!!!

Once home, it was close to Odette's bedtime, so I quickly got her into her PJs:

And while I brushed Odette's gums, Alegria finally learned to use the camera correctly!  Up until now, she'd always put her finger pretty much right on the view finder, but today, she did a great job getting a picture of Odette and me!

And quite a few pictures of Big Bear, though I'm only posting one!!!

After my attempts to put Odette to sleep were to no avail, we came out with Alegria.  She was wearing her new shoes while in her pajamas!  CUTE!

Odette does not look like she's anywhere near being ready to go to bed...

Awww!  Sweet!

This is what "not tired" looks like!!!


Then Odette spit up and Alegria was such a big help and wiped her up...she even said, "See...I wipe her face!"  Adorable!

I finally got the girls to bed...late, but oh well!  They're happy little girls and that's what's important!  They're so giggly and loveable that I don't mind the occasional late night...especially when new shoes are in the equation!

After the girls were asleep, I got started on making Valentines from the girls to their playgroup friends for our Valentine's Day party tomorrow.  This was the end result:

Homemade chocolate-covered pretzels, homemade picture Valentine cards, and home-made Valentine heart finger puppets!  I made pink ones with long eyelashes for the girls.  These purple ones were the"manly" ones for the boys in our playgroup!  Haha!

It took me a long time to get everything done, so it's really late at night now...but of course, I had to get a picture of our shoes before I head to bed!

Here are Alegria's new shoes (is it any wonder that they're sparkly?):

Odette's new boots:

And of course, MINE!!!  I LOVE these new shoes!!!

And now I'm off to bed.

Good night, everyone!!!