To be...or not to be

Olivia turned to me while doing her hair this morning and the following conversation began...

O - I really want to be a mom when I grow up, but I really DON'T want to either.  I don't know what to do.

Me - (laughing inside already because she has already told me a million times how unfair it is that girls have to change their names...AND have the babies, so I'm expecting a repeat of that).  Oh yeah, how come?

O - Number one.

Me - (thinking...wow, she has a list this time...this is gonna be good)

O - Yes.  Number one, I want to be the mom 'cuz I REALLY want to be the boss.  

Me - The boss??????

O - (looking up at me all innocently and completely oblivious to the irony of her statement)  Yes.   The boss.  All the time.

Me - Uh okay...not sure about that...but okay.

O - Number 2, I don't really want to carry babies around all day.  Because I want to be carried still.    So, I just don't know if I should be a mom or not.  (Then looks up at me with a look that says "well there you have my full and completely justified/rational list.)

Me - Wow.  Great thoughts.  We'll have to think about it, huh???  Good thing you've got some time to decide, because I think you'll still want to do it.  Being a mom makes you pretty happy...even if you don't get carried that often.

Secretly, I'm now totally hoping that she has twins and has to carry two babies around every day!  That'll show her who's really the boss in this whole motherhood thing!!!

We Run For Ice Cream!

Our most favorite family tradition of the year?!?!  Our BlueBell Fun Run. 

The only race where you get to run and then eat the world's best ice cream!!!  It does not get better than this!!!

The hat and how it RUINED her life

When I was little, I remember being extremely self-conscience.  I hated that about myself then...and still hate it about myself even today.  So imagine my excitement when I have daily reminders that I get  a second chance at helping lovely little girl through those exact same crazy emotions.  AND TODAY TAKES THE CAKE!

Our elementary school has these great ideas for a fundraiser.  There is no selling of lame products or actually nice but crazy over-priced products to neighbors and friends (or me!).  They call them Pay-To-Play Days - your kid brings a dollar to school and they can wear a mustache on Mustache Day or crazy socks on Crazy-Sock Day, or a tutu or tie on whatever that day was!  You get the gist.  Fun and easy and totally up to the kids if they want to participate!  I've always loved this take on fundraising...UNTIL Olivia came along!  

Olivia is completely in love with the IDEA of the whole thing and talks about it for weeks and plans it out and is soooo excited...UNTIL the day of.   That morning is filled with anxiety and extreme emotions.  No, actually, she's usually super excited UNTIL the second I pull into the school parking lot and she is supposed to get out of the car!  On crazy hair day, we actually had to come home and wash out her all her red and blue piggy tails before she could calm down enough to think about going to school!  Self-conciousness at its worst!!

I find myself re-living all those same emotions right along-side her...but luckily now I just find the whole thing soooo funny!  I totally think my old-age perspective, experience and ancient wisdom can help her through this, right?!?!  We've talked about how she doesn't have to do it and how it's just an extra/crazy thing if kids want to do it.  No pressure whatsoever!  But still, she gets excited about the idea and wants to participate...every single time.  Ugh.

So today is 'Crazy Hat Day'.  Liv is SO excited about wearing a new pink/sequiny/shiny baseball hat she has recently fallen in love with.  I truly thought this might be her turning point.  She even took her own dollar to pay with...shows commitment, right?!?!  

Well, on the way to school, she is all hatted-up and ready to go (and looking SOOO cute, btw!)  As the kids are climbing out of the car, I make the crucial mistake of asking Liv where her hat is.  UGH!  She starts frantically looking around and then start mumbling/wailing/whining/crying (rather incoherently) that it blew off her head.  I am beyond confused thinking that it blew off her head when she walked to the car and she just didn't bother to pick it up...things like that don't usually occur to this funny child!  And now she has tears streaming down her face and refuses to even get out the the car!  

I tell her it's fine and we can go find it...so after we get home and can't see the hat on the driveway, she finally wails even louder that it blew off when she stuck her head out the window to yell goodbye to Garrett at the bus stop as we drove past him!  WHAT?!?!?   How did she not notice?  She said she thought it was just her hoodie flapping around in the wind!  HAHAHAHA!  And we searched the street and it's now where to be found....so now her life is ruined.  True story...a totally ruined life.  Dumb hat!

So after multiple times of her saying she wants to go to school and then her refusing to get out of the car (much to the bewilderment of the cute 5th grader safety-patrol helpers who kindly open her door for her at the front of the school), we head home for her to calm down and figure out her life!  

She finally gets her act together and we walk into school...and HOUR late!  And what does the random lady at the front desk say when we walk in..."Where's your hat, little girl?  It's crazy hat day!"  HA!  If she only knew! 

Plans

So, I just found this list on my phone that Olivia made for our family back in December.  I had bought tickets to go see the Nutcracker...but apparently she thought I was dropping the ball and hadn't planned efficiently.  So here is Liv's idea of a good time!  No sneaking out early for us!!!

Love this girl...and her cute ideas and insane ability to take over every single thing in our lives!  

Travel Companions

My traveling companion as we headed out for a quick errand this morning.

Liv made sure she was buckled in tight and had a great squishy kiss on her head before she would leave the front seat and get buckled in her own seat in the back.  :)

Love that you never know what you're going to get with Liv!!!

Ouch!

Ethan just single handedly threw me under the bus.

As he was heading off to bed, Ethan paused at the top of the stairs and calls down, "Mom, you know how some kids moms wake up before they do in the mornings before school???  Maybe you could do that so I don't have to get my own snack and water bottle."

WHAT?!?!  Excuse me?  The child has gotten his own snack and water bottle like twice all year...and that's when I've asked him to do it because I was busy doing Liv's hair...or HIS hair...or was elbow-deep in peanut butter sandwiches or something!  But yes...my child gets up by himself each morning, I admit it.  And more often than not, I am waiting for the lights to flip on as he walks into the kitchen before I roll my lazy bones out of bed!  Totally guilty!  But hey...I'm raising a self-sufficient group of kids.  It's for their own good, right?!?!?

But when he said that...I have to admit I about fell over laughing.  Got to love it when your kids call you out!  

Long time

So, I've completely fallen off the blogging bandwagon.  It makes me sad since I LOVED keeping this blog and recording our lives so we could go back and reminisce, but just can't seem to fit it in much anymore.  So here are some snippets of our everyday life.  This will have to do for now,,,until we can arrange for more hours in each day!  

Projects...

"Hey Mom!  Let's find a project to do!"  

This is what I heard the very most during the early summer weeks.  I love when my kiddos get their creative juices flowing.  They get along so well and keep themselves entertained for hours...a total win-win!!!  

So far we've made glitter slime, bouncy slime, raced balloon rockets along zip-lines, raced balloon lego cars, pictures out of colored rice, painted multiple watercolor masterpieces, but I think the only one I managed to snap a picture of is this lovely marshmallow catapult.   

Ethan read that if you let it sit for a day or two, the marshmallow joints harden a bit, so it catapults a bit better...so we were all banned from touching it for 2 days!   But what do we find as it sits???  Little nibble marks from a certain little girl.  She just couldn't keep her hands (or her teeth) off this thing.  

Appendicitis

So, in case you have ever wondered if a person with absolutely no hair on their head has to wear a hairnet in surgery...the answer is YES!  And here he is laughing at me for wanting to document such a trivial thing!  

Steve had decided to start the summer off with appendicitis.  Poor guy!  Had a few complications, but he's doing well.  Thank goodness for 24/7 Tour de France and World Cup coverage...otherwise he'd be miserable!

Wishes

Liv:  Mom, I want to type something.

Me:  (handing her the laptop) Okay.

Liv:  Will you help me write it?

Me:  Sure.

Liv:  Okay.  I want to write "I wish I could be a fly."

Me:  Do you mean "You wish you could fly"?

Liv:  NO!!!!  I want to be a fly!  Now, will you help me write it?


SOOO funny!  I love getting a glimpse into Olivia's  funny little mind!  Apparently, first thing on a Saturday morning is a good time to be a fly!

All Tied Up

Guess who has entered the ranks of official shoe tiers???  

Yep...that's right!  After watching Ethan learn this all important life-skill years ago, Olivia picked it up after me showing her just once.  She must have been processing the info for months now and was ready to go once she officially tried it!   Now she is tying everything in sight into nice, neat little bows!

 Got to love that she learned with my shoes!  Extra long laces proved to be super beneficial!!!  

Edited to add...
She actually accomplished this skill weeks ago...I just forgot to actually hit post on here so it was officially documented!!!  :)  The funny thing with this accomplishment was that she didn't actually own a pair of shoes that tied!  Only cute little sandals/slip on flats for this little miss!  BUT, yesterday, she picked out a pair of tennis shoes and could not be happier with her bright little feet!   I love her bright cheery bows!  So proud of this girly girl!

Spring Break

Well, since I am the world's very best mom...I am admitting straight up, that I did not snap a single picture during spring break - unless you count countless pics of science fair action shots from every single angle!!!!  

So this is a more documentary type of post...one, that just documents what we did, so that years from now (or even as soon as next week, since my kids have a knack of forgetting how amazingly fun we actually are!), I can prove to my kids that we did indeed do something great!  :)  

Spring Break 2014...camping, movies, hanging with friends, a bit of science fair homework...and lots of sleeping in!

The highlight:

We hit our favorite campsite with some of our dearest and favoritest friends and had the greatest time EVER!!!  Even though I always say I will never camp in the cold, the night temps dropped severely and we survived. We all slept with layers upon layers of clothing, hats, blankets inside our sleeping bags and we stayed toasty warm!  And who knew???  When you sleep with a hat pulled over your eyes, secured in place by your hoodie hood pulled tightly around it...you'll actually sleep in despite the blazing sunshine lighting up your tent at the crack of dawn!  Amazing!

We biked until our chains broke, ate amazingly well considering we were camping, relaxed, let the kids explore and run amok and just sat and talked for hours and hours!  I LOVE being away and disconnecting from everything!

RIP

You know how you can tell a situation's severity just from the tone of your child's voice...those moments when you can tell if it's a real emergency or just a regular old holler for help???

Well, the other night, I got the call...a real call for help...although there was something different this time and I couldn't put my finger on it!

I can usually tell exactly what's going on just from Liv's intonation and even from how she calls my name...as either as a statement or a question.  Funny enough, it's usually the question ones that are a bit more serious!  So when I hear a "Uh???  MOM?????" coming from upstairs the other night as Liv was supposed to be getting ready for bed, I ran up the stairs.  I found her standing in the middle of her room...in her underwear.  As I walked through the door...she just stares up at me with a blank look but starts pointing to her hip.  Her cute little undies/ are completely shredded on one side.  Since they were fine that morning when she put them on, I was quite amused, perplexed and a bit intrigued!  When I asked what happened, this is the conversation that followed:

Me - What happened to your underwear?

Liv - Uhhhhhhhhh.......

Me - I'm so confused!  How did you totally rip through the side of your underwear?

Liv - Well???  First I climbed up on my hutch to put in a CD.  Then when I was jumping down, I got stuck.

Me - You got stuck?

Liv - Yeah.  Well...I jumped, but my pants got stuck on the knob and I was hanging from the drawer for a while.

Me - (just envisioning my pipsqueak daughter hanging upside down by her underwear from the small knob on her drawer) - Uh, is that even possible?

Liv - (totally exasperated, though still slightly baffled herself) YES mom!  I was just hanging there...until I ripped free.

Me - HAHAHAHAHAHA!  (My mental picture got the best of me and I couldn't hold it in)

Liv - (now totally annoyed and done with the conversation, she starts to walk away) Well...it was really scary...and it DID happen.

Opera

Yesterday we took the kids an opera downtown.  It was a family showing of Rapunzel, a favorite story thanks to Tangled!!!  I don't think they really knew what they were getting into...but it was fun all the same!  Although, I think this is one activity that Garrett has now put on the top his "NEVER TO DO AGAIN" list!  Whenever I caught his eye during the show, I was usually graced with a lovely eye-roll, accompanied by a heavy sigh!  Poor kid took one for the team...Liv liked it and Ethan was entertained! 

But all in all, a great time was had my most!  :)

Bit the dust...

It is official!  Ethan lost his first tooth about a week ago!!!  He was waiting and waiting and waiting for this day to come...and it finally did!  Whew!!!  He was beginning to think it would NEVER happen!  

And I have to admit, that toothless little grin is just too cute!  Sure love this kiddo!

Winter Storm

So, I know its slightly ridiculous and I could go on and on about how Texas just isn't equipped to handle with inclement weather of the COLD variety...but let's just say that we have enjoyed every second of our two "snow days" lately!  With school cancelled and work saying to not come in...what are we to do?!?!?!

The first snow day the kids wanted to snuggle in and watch movies all day!  We caught up on some of the old classics like Sandlot and caught a few Phineas and Ferb's and it proved to be the perfect thing to do.  Especially since they didn't notice if I happened to doze off in the middle of the movies...allowing for some great naps!  Wahoo...a win-win!

Yesterday, with about 3 snowflakes falling from the sky along with some frozen rain, we got our second chance at a snow day and the kids opted for games...Phase 10 being the game of choice!  We had so much fun!  Hot chocolate...snuggling by the fireplace (thanks for re-lighting the pilot light, Steve - AND not blowing up the house!!!)...lots of games...kids who decided to not every change out of their pajamas that day - except G who decided basketball practice in his pj's might not be too ideal!  Then we wrapped it all up with a showing of "the Incredibles".  The perfect day!

Turning Back the Clock

Ethan came downstairs this morning and seemed a little out of sorts.  We asked him if he could go up and get dressed for school and this is the conversation that ensued.

Steve - E, go get dressed for school and then you can eat breakfast.

Ethan - (voice a little wobbly) But I already went to school.

Steve - What?  You haven't gone to school.  You just woke up!

Ethan - (now with a tremor in his voice)  But I did already go to school, Dad!

Steve - What?!?!?!

Ethan - (chin totally quivering now!!!)  I did, Dad!!!  I did go to school.  Then I went to bed.  Then I woke up.  And then the clock just started going backwards!!!!  I'VE ALREADY BEEN THROUG THIS WHOLE DAY!!!!

Steve - Oh, like Groundhog Day?

Ethan - (now crying in confusion and frustration, climbs on my lap and whimpers) I already DID today!!!!

Poor kid!  Apparently we've been watching too many Christmas specials with Huey, Duey & Louie getting stuck on Christmas Day...or other cheesy Christmas movies!!!   My poor kiddo was beside himself with confusion!!!  It did make for a pretty funny conversation though!  He was convinced that he had seen the clock turn backwards!!!

Funny, how I kept thinking how NICE it would be to have an extra day to get a few things done!!!  Maybe that should be my Christmas wish!!!

A Compliment......well, almost!

Olivia - (coming down the stairs) Awwwww!  Mom!  You look soooo cute!
Me - (relishing in the compliment for about 0.2 seconds)
Olivia - Well, actually?   You look kinda cute!


Thanks.  Thanks a lot!

Secrets

How do you say it?

Today Olivia and I were driving to the library.  She was telling me all about the books she was going to be getting!  I for one was just happy she was talking about getting something other than those silly little fairy chapter books that she is convinced that she can read!  She grabs those chapter books by the stacks - usually only the pink and purple covered ones...unless it's a fairy who has cute hair...and then she'll 'read' that one too!  She's such a girl! But, she'll get a bunch of those and will sit for a good 20 minutes reading to herself, flipping through pages and telling some random story line!  So funny!

But today she was convinced that she could remember right where she had found the Waldo books on our last trip to the library.  She was planning on grabbing a couple this time - though I totally suspect that was so she wouldn't have to share with Ethan!  But she couldn't quite remember what they were called...although she was pretty confident in her substitution for a few minutes.

O - Mom...I can't wait to get the Loser Waldo book.

Me - Uh, what book?

O -  (slightly exasperated at my not hearing) Loser Waldo...you know!!!

Me - (now laughing really hard!)  Loser Waldo????

O - Uh yeah??!?!?  Wait...that's not what it's called, is it?

Me - Nope.  It's "Where's Waldo".  

O - Oh yeah...WHERE'S Waldo!  That's what I meant!