Bye bye pacifier?

Amber was ridiculously old when she finally ditched the pacifier. Seriously... she was 3 and a half. I never meant for it to get so out of hand, but there was always a reason we didn't do it. First, it was that I was pregnant and she'd already have the "trauma" of a new sibling soon. Then it was dealing with being a big sis. Then it was trying to potty train and didn't want to overlap or interfere with that. Then it was starting school (and continued efforts to potty train.) Then we were having another baby and it was just getting ridiculous. I worried myself to death about it, and when the day came that the last one broke, she gave it up herself. No screams. No tears. Not even a mention of it after she said it was broken and gone. You could have knocked me over with a feather. Now I swore up and down I REALLY wasn't going to do that this time around with Audrey. And there was the whole "going to be a big sis" thing going so I let her keep it till she got used to that (And boy, was that a rough time!). We started collecting it up every morning and after every nap, saving it just for "deaux deaux time," with eventual plans for total elimination. Then she kept getting ear infections--and the tubes/adenoidectomy, which caused ANOTHER infection--so she started keeping that sucker around the clock. She was SOOOO crabby, and I just wanted her to have some kind of comfort... I was getting sucked down excuse alley again. I decided her New Year's resolution was to give that puppy up. There were two left, both full of holes, and when they were gone, that was it. Little did I know that they'd be MIA today! It was rough going getting Audrey to finally lay down--she essentially cried herself to sleep--but she did it. The only problem now is actually finding the two missing ones before she does! I know she'll pop those suckers back in her mouth, even if we are paci-free for a while. I KNOW at least one is in the house, so it's a race to find them first!!

It's been HOW long??

We were out of a "real" computer for several weeks, but NOW I have a beautiful new laptop on my kitchen table! Hopefully this will make it more likely that I update. And thanks to a nap and Dora the Explorer, I'm able to hop on here right now while I watch the "big girls" with half an eyeball...

I had promised an update after the next school party for Amber (which, sadly, was Halloweeen's party) unless things went tragically wrong. They did go wrong--with my computer. But all-in-all, she did pretty well. There was the class picture incident, though--it's where all the kids sat around the teacher on a blanket at the pumpkin patch. All the kids, that is, except Amber. She just stood on the side with her back to the camera. Yep, she's THAT kid. But I am fully confident that had I not been there, she'd be right up front and center cheesing it up for the camera.

I know this because when I "sneak" in and watch her at school functions, she is Little Miss Goody Two Shoes. I was late to her "Santa comes to school Christmas party" last week (due to a particularly nasty blowout diaper--Thanks, Stella!) She didn't see me walk in, and lo and behold, there she is sitting in her teacher's lap, beaming at Santa like she'd never done a thing wrong in her life.

Well, I suppose it's time for me to go... the hubs is home (and keeps talking) and the Dora is about to save the day again anyway. Here's hoping to be back soon!