Just Because...

It's time for a little update, and all I'm in the mood to do is post some pics. Here are some recent faves!

Antics

The other day I texted Eric, asking him if he would support my decision to list Emily on eBay. You never know what this girl is going to give you. Usually she doesn't do battle with me. That's more something she saves for her dad:) Like the other morning, Emily marched in our bedroom and shouted accusingly at Eric (who was still fast asleep, not moving a muscle), "Dad, don't you touch me!!" Anyway, she's thrown us for a loop the last few days. A bit of middle child syndrome in the works? Maybe. Even so, she is hands down the girl who gives me the most laughs.

Exhibit A: When I went in to check on her tonight, I found her at the foot of her bed, with an umbrella propped up over top of her.


Exhibit B: Last weekend she dug around in the baby clothes, found a denim skirt made for a 3 MONTH OLD, and thought it was to die for. This is her reaction upon me telling her it had to go back into the baby bin.


Exhibit C: She's always accessorizing.


After finding her under the umbrella, I'm happy with my decision to not list her on eBay. I really do love my "middle Skittle".

Day of Love

My girls have been counting down the days until Valentine's since the day after Christmas. Yesterday, the girls each had two friends over for a "Valentine Tea". The girls painted, played games, and had snacks, cake, and "tea" - pink lemonade. It was so much fun. I think we might have to make it a yearly tradition. Happy Love Day!

Working Woman

What you are looking at is Katelyn's most recent obsession, as well as her motive for helping out around the house. After spotting this doll in a catalog, she's got her heart and mind set of saving up her money until she has enough to buy it herself.

"Honey, this doll costs $100," I said, pointing to the price.

"Well, then I will have to save up for a long time," she replied, determined.

I must say, this newest fixation is working to my advantage. Upon waking up each morning, Katelyn immediately makes her bed, puts her clothes away, empties the dishwasher, and inquires of any other chores she could do to earn some extra money. She is also thinking ahead and calculating the total of her weekly allowance for the next 6 months, as well as pinpointing other monumental days which she might be the recipient of some cash (Valentines? St. Patrick's Day? Easter? Birthday?)

She was elated at her payoff from the tooth fairy last week, after losing her very first tooth. Ka-Ching! I've noticed her wiggling furiously at the remaining teeth in her mouth, obviously hoping to quicken their removal so that she can cash them in and add to her savings.

While my boring adult brain is having difficulty with the concept of a doll whose clothing costs more than my own, it's nice to see Katelyn work for something she wants, and to be excited about earning something on her own. This girl is determined and she's darn good at saving money. She'll yank every last tooth out of her mouth if she has to, and scrub and polish for full allowance until she's got that hundred bucks in her piggy bank. In the mean time, my toilets have never been so sparkly.

Toddlers and Tiaras

What is cuter than a little girl dressed up like a princess? How about 200 little girls dressed up like princesses? Today I took Emily to the princess bash at Utah Sate with my sil Brooke and little Bayla. It was probably one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. It was princess heaven, with scads of little girls dressed up in gowns and crowns.

We were greeted by Tiana, who oddly enough was a pasty white caucasian brunette. I prayed that Emily wouldn't ask her why her skin wasn't "chocolatey". Would it have been racially offensive if the gal had caked on some heavy bronzer to pass as an African American princess? I dunno... Just a thought.

The girls got to get autographs of each princess, and do games, activities, and crafts and win prizes. Not only did they get to meet princesses, but there were a few princes were wandering around the ballroom as well. One dapperly dressed young man approached Emily to ask her name. Emily then asked who he was, to which he replied, "I'm a prince!" Emily looked as if she'd been handed a plate of broccoli and told that it was ice cream. Apparently the young men didn't bear strong resemblance to the movie characters. Come to find out, some things are far better in animation.

Pictures are necessary to do this post justice! (I'm sorry once again; I cannot figure out why my posts and pictures are all smooshed together. Forgive.)






I should also mention that some of the mothers got into the spirit of things and dressed up as well. Call me a party pooper if you want. Although I'm afraid if I had gone to the effort of getting "princessed up", I may have caused some of the princes' eyes to wander. And I wouldn't wish to do that. For a couple of reasons.








As you can see, Emily ate her dessert like a proper lady at the tea party with Belle. And this was Bayla, at the end of it all. Could be that the magic was beginning to wear off:) The girls had a lovely time in the company of princesses!

A World of Girls

I get asked on a regular basis if I am going to "try again for a boy". This seems like a perfectly logical question because
a) it is everyone's business, and b) I must somehow be feeling a void by not having a son.

When I was very young, I remember wanting a little sister so badly. So badly, in fact, that I dressed up my little brother Dave in my old dresses and imagined he was a girl. As such, I raised a playmate who partnered me in playing Barbies and Mall Madness. (Those who know Dave don't have a difficult time understanding this.) As I got older, I relished being the only girl. My brothers and I grew up very close, my dad insisted I was his "favorite daughter", and I got oodles of one on one time with my mom. No sisters to have to share her time and attention with.

As much as I loved growing up with brothers, I always wanted a bunch of girls. In my fantasies, I pictured my daughters being the best of friends, dressing up together, painting each other's nails, having tea parties, baking cookies with me, and sharing clothes and secrets about boys as they got older. (You can stop rolling your eyes; I know it's not going to be all rainbows and butterflies during the teenage years.) It's not all rainbows and butterflies now.

I LOVE my world with 3 girls. I love everything about having girls. The dolls, the dress-ups, the clothes, the shoes, doing their hair, baking with them, doing crafts with them, their sweetness (as well as their sass), their sensitive spirits, and getting to relive my childhood through them. I love watching them interact with each other, especially the way Katelyn and Emily coddle Claire. When they fight, it gives me a headache. When they snuggle up with each other, it gives me joy. I hope they'll always be close with each other and with me. And as much as it pains me to see them grow up so fast, I'm also excited for the fun we're going to have as they get even older.

I've got what I always wanted. And I love my world of girls.

Naughty and Nice

Taking the girls out to breakfast for stuffed cinnamon french toast at Kneaders = NICE
The words I was thinking when I smacked my head on the table while reaching down for a dropped binky = NAUGHTY
Fixing the girls some delicious, healthy tacos for dinner = NICE
Feeding myself a half gallon of peppermint ice cream and a bag of cinnamon bears for dinner = NAUGHTY
Whipped up a batch of homemade caramels to give to my neighbors = NICE
Decided to eat half the batch instead of giving them to neighbors = NAUGHTY
The girls behavior while attempting to get some oh so sweet pics of them in their Sunday Christmas dresses = NAUGHTY
The next ten minutes of peace I'll be getting while the girls are in time out = VERY NICE

I Miss Blogging

I really do. It's a relaxing outlet for me. I just feel like lately I've been in a blogging rut. The writing juices just haven't been flowing. Whenever I've logged onto my blog to write a post, I end up staring at the computer screen with no outcome. But I feel the need to update, so here's a quick catch-up:

We visited Santa at the mall. It's the first year Emily's dared talk to him. While sitting on his knee, she requested binoculars and a gun. I got quite the look from Santa, and I was just as surprised as he was at my 4 year old's plea for a firearm.

Claire is crawling all over and into everything. And she loves to bath.

Lately Emily has been afraid of turning into a black person. ??? Don't ask, I have no idea. She repeatedly declares that she doesn't want her skin to turn "chocolatey". She has also commented on the African American cashier at Target, saying to her, "I'm looking at your chocolate skin..." Oh, dear. I promise we are not a racist family.

We are all missing outdoor time and park outings. I've forgotten how creative we have to get with things to do inside the house to keep busy and entertained.

We turned off our cable (I have issues with Comcast). This means I no longer hear the sound of sports announcers coming out of the television. Sweet bliss.

I am very tired of hearing myself "SHHHHHH" at my oldest two when Claire is sleeping. They are loud.

Katelyn has a couple of admirers in her kindergarten class. While I think it's cute, Eric may be starting to get a few gray hairs over it.

Every morning the girls look for "silver dust" by the fireplace. Silver dust is a sign that Jingle the elf bear has come during the night and is hiding somewhere in the house with a surprise. Katelyn and Emily love looking for Jingle. I think it's more fun for me than it is for them.

Male Blindness

I swear that all men are born with it. I don't know how many times as a child that I remember my mom asking my dad to get something for her (like from the storage room, while she was cooking in the kitchen), only to have my dad return from a thorough search to declare that there was no more of *item*. Mom would then make a trip to the storage room and return triumphantly 15 seconds later with *item* that we were apparently out of. All the time.

Today we were getting ready for a little getaway with the girls and I asked Eric if he remembered to pack the ipad for the car. He wandered around the house for 10 minutes, unable to locate the device. I then did my duty as a woman with working eyeballs and stepped in to help. (A bit put out from having just packed every other possible trip item by myself.) "Under the couch?" I suggested, as I walked into the living room.

"I already looked there!" Eric called from the next room.

"That means absolutely nothing," I muttered.

"What'd ya say?"

"Nothing!" I called back.

I shoved my head down to the carpet to peer under the sofa, and immediately spotted the vanished ipad.

I made a bit of a show of toting it out to the car. The look on Eric's face was priceless. "Where did you find that?" He asked.

"Where do you think?" I smirked.

What I like to think was a look of awe and admiration swept over his face. "But I lifted UP the entire couch and didn't see it!" He exclaimed.

About a dozen smart aleck remarks ran through my brain, all of which I restrained from speaking. I mustn't boast my super phenomenal power, that being that I am a woman/mother who is the only one in my household with the ability to SEE and FIND stuff. Sort of like that whistle that only dogs can hear.

So This Is Me

Emily made a comment to me the other day that really helped put my self image into perspective.

"Oh, mom," she said, in very patronizing tone. "You're not a real woman. You're just a mom."

Such is my life.

She's Royalty

Emily got to dress up as a princess to go to her friend's birthday party. Oh boy, she felt so very fancy!







I don't know what the deal is with my text and pictures getting scrunched together. Here are the 3 stinker sisters together. Claire has obviously been welcomed into their club. And Emily pulled my boots out of my closet and thought they'd be a good look for playing computer games on the bed.

Something New and Exciting...

Eric's new website... I must say it looks awesome.

Click here. to check it out.

Call Me Pathetic

While getting supplies at Zurcher's party store, two teenage boys walked up beside me and began sifting through the balloon bins. It took very little time for me to detect that they were on a quest to woo young ladies into going to a high school dance.

"Okay dude, help me think of all the letters I need balloons for," one said to the other.

His buddy put on his thinking cap. "Well, you need one for H... O..., M..." the boy trailed off. Then silence. The two of them stared at each other vaguely.

"E ?" I suggested.

"Oh yeah, thanks," said one. Counting slowly with his fingers, he went on. "Then you'll need a C... O... M...." More silence. Their eyes shifted blankly at the air.

"I," I urged.

They smiled gratefully and and were able to piece together the final letters N and G on their own. Well done.

"Grab ten balloons," said one. "Then I can get them to Kristy's house." My keen senses led me to the conclusion that Kristy was going to be the recipient of the Homecoming dance proposal.

I couldn't resist. "I heard that she's going to say 'no' if you asked her," I said casually.

The two boys turned and looked at me with mixed expressions of shock and concern.

"Really?" said the kid.

I shrugged my shoulders. "That's what I heard."

The two boys looked questioningly at one another, and hesitated to select any more balloons from the bins. I hadn't actually planned on them believing me, but for some reason they seemed to put stock in my gossip. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that I initially came across as an all-knowing genius. After all, a woman who knows how to spell the word "Homecoming" must be extremely intelligent.

I'm not quite so mean that I would let this go too far. Of course I set the record straight that I was only joking, and the boy with the Kristy crush breathed a sigh of relief. As I exited the store, I shook my head and told myself I need more adult interaction. Messing with high schooler's heads should not be this amusing to me.

Par-Tay

My big girl is now six! To celebrate, we had a Strawberry Shortcake bash and invited some girlies over to party hardy. (You could say that I "suggested" the Strawberry Shortcake theme, since I am such a big fan.) Luckily, Katelyn is too. Here's a few pictures from the event.




Birthday Girl


Lil Sis of the Birthday Girl


The Favors- Hair bows on a candy stick


The Project- The party guests made these necklaces


The Decor- Tissue pom poms


And the goodies- Cupcakes, of course.

Happy Birthday, Miss K! But I forbid you from having more birthdays. You need to stop growing.