What Up, Dawg?

Yo! Have a good Monday! Fo Shizzle.

The Next Rachel Zoe?

Reese is well on her way to becoming the next Rachel Zoe, stylist to the stars. Especially with outfits like this one:

Yeah, those are tights. No, she is not wearing a skirt over the tights. In fact, I had to put the smack down in order to get her to put on a skirt when we went to pick Avery up from school. Oh, and for those who are wondering, the tank is a size 3T. She wears a 5.

Not sure what this move is all about....maybe she's channeling Flashdance?
Either way, the girl's got a bright future, as either a stylist, a dancer or, if all else fails, a bag lady.

Childhood

To me, this picture captures the very essence of childhood. The toothless grin, the unkempt hair, the candy around the mouth. I just love it. If I was a really good photographer and put my photos on display in a gallery somewhere, I would call it "Childhood." But, since I'm not, I'll just title it that here, for myself and my loyal readers (Hi Mom!).

Spring Break!!!

We just got back from what is, to date, the best vacation we've ever had. And it took place in little old Oklahoma! Beaver's Bend, to be precise. Maybe this ridiculously long post will make up for the fact that I haven't posted in a few weeks. (Thanks to those of you who noticed that I hadn't!)

The kids prepared for this trip for days. They knew we were going to be staying in a cabin in the woods, so they thought camo would be the best choice of attire. They had dress rehearsals several times in the days preceding our trip.

We arrived at the cabin Thursday afternoon. The kids were enthralled with all aspects of the cabin. Besides the fact that it's in the woods and we could do lots of exploring, it had a porch swing!

....and a hot tub!

Seriously, folks, if we never left the cabin, the kids would have been happy, as long as they could live in the hot tub. I think they would have slept in it if that wasn't extremely dangerous.

Aaron and I are considering putting one in the backyard, just so we don't have to hire babysitters anymore. I'm joking. Sort of.

We also did quite a bit of fishing.

I was surprised that Reese was our most avid fisherman. She couldn't get enough of it. Avery has been before, so I knew she liked it. Rhett was upset he didn't have his own fishing pole. In hindsight, we should have brought one for him, even though he can't cast, reel or stand still. His favorite part of fishing was throwing rocks into the water. I don't think any of the fishermen in the area appreciated it, but I couldn't keep him from doing it. Seriously, it was like an obsession with him. He couldn't walk two steps without picking up a rock, even when I said not to. It was like some force was compelling him to bend over, pick up a rock and throw it in the river. I must say, it was pretty cute when the rock would make a splash. He would make a fist and say "Yessss!"

Thursday night, we decided to cook hamburgers outside, over an open flame. Turns out, we are waaaay too "citified" to do something like that.

After much effort on the part of my sweet husband, he said "Mom, I think we're going to have to cook these indoors if you don't mind." I didn't mind. Neither did they:

Friday started off with more fishing, followed by a thrilling train ride. Ok, it wasn't thrilling for anyone except Rhett, but he's so enamored with trains right now, we just had to do it. It was totally worth it. He LOVED it. Almost as much as he loved throwing rocks into the water. Almost.

After lunch, we went for a canoe ride and then played minature golf. I don't have any pictures of the canoeing, because I didn't want to take my camera on the water. I have no excuse for not taking pictures of minature golf, except I was really concentrating on getting a good score.

Saturday started out rainy. But a little rain never hurt anyone, and we were determined to hike at least part of one of the trails. A little rain turned into a lot, but we still had a great time. In fact, this was my favorite part of the trip.

The weather continued to get worse - rain turned to sleet and 58 degrees turned to 32 in a matter of hours. We were stuck indoors for much of the afternoon. After putting together 2 puzzles and playing 78 games of Zingo, we started to get cabin fever. (Get it? Cabin fever? And we really were in a cabin? You can laugh later.)

We got out the yellow pages to see if there was any entertainment. There was a bowling alley in DeQueen, Arkansas, and a skating rink in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Aaron and I, being children of the 70s and 80s, hesitated only a moment before choosing skating.

Reese liked it, but I wouldn't say she loved it.

Although she lasted longer than Rhett, who was sick of it after about 20 minutes. Actually, I'm not sure he ever really liked it. He just went along with it because everyone else was. Here he is, wishing someone would take the dadgum skates off, already!

Avery hugged the wall for about 15 minutes before she got the hang of it. But once she did, she never stopped skating the entire 2 hours we were there. She was a skating machine. At one point, she pulled over long enough to say "Mom, this is so fun. This is my favorite part of the trip!" Totally worth the $8 we spent on admission. (For our whole family. Gotta love small towns!)

Aaron looked as if 20 years hadn't passed since he spent his Saturdays at the roller rink in another small town in Oklahoma. I, however, looked like this the majority of the time:

Look at those little kids darting in front of me. I didn't hit them, but at some point, a chubby kid in front of me decided to change directions and slammed right into me. He fell, I fell and his friend, who I didn't even realized was there, fell. Please take a moment to enjoy that mental picture...chubby, close-to-40-year-old mother of three, dogpiling two chubby, approximately-11-year-old boys in the middle of a skating rink.

At any rate, we had a great time. We woke up yesterday morning to snow covering the trees. It was a beautiful view out the back window of the cabin. Needless to say, we'll be going back as soon as we can!

(Still thinking about the pile of chubbies rolling around on the skating rink floor? Me too.)

Sweet Sibling Moments

As of today, February 24, 2010, I can honestly say that my kids, in general, get along pretty well. (You never know what kind of demons will overtake them tomorrow.) They are usually pretty kind to one another and actually, sometimes, go out of their way to make their brother or sister happy. They fight, of course, and tattle and whine, but today, instead of focusing on those moments, I decided to highlight a few of the compassionate actions that happen around here.

Reese can swing by herself. Rhett cannot. I was probably laying on the couch, eating chips and watching Judge Judy, so I couldn't help the poor boy. Luckily, he has a big sister around to grab the rope and bring him along with her.

See that sweet face? That picture was taken shortly after she did something that I never wanted to forget. I've already forgotten what started the initial conversation, I just know that Avery wanted something that she can't afford. There was a lot of explaining about college educations and jobs, but it wasn't sinking in. Just when I was about to throw up my hands and tell Avery she wasn't allowed to say the words "not fair" or "money" for the rest of the night, Reese marched into the kitchen and plunked this on the counter.

She said "Here you go, Avery. Now you can buy whatever you want." That sweet angel had gone into her room, emptied her piggy bank and was prepared to hand over every dime she had to her name. It wasn't enough to buy whatever it was that Avery wanted, but I still thought it was just about the sweetest gesture ever.

Ok, I don't know that this has anything to do with anyone doing something nice for anyone else, but I love watching them play together. I guess you could say that Rhett was very kind and patient while Reese played "Beauty Shop" with him. He's being a good sport, which is, in my opinion, the best way for a little brother to show his love.

I realized as I went through pictures, that I don't have any recent pictures of Avery doing something sweet for her siblings. It also made me realize how much I take her everyday sweetness for granted. I don't take pictures of her getting Rhett a sippy cup of milk, or of helping Reese put on her jacket. I never stop and make a big deal out of her choosing to watch Fairytopia, because Reese loves it, instead of her much-preferred Batman cartoons. She cuddles Rhett when he's sad and sticks up for both of them when she thinks I'm being too hard on them, or not listening to them. She, in my opinion, is one big reason why Reese and Rhett are sweet and kind. I think she sets the tone of how they all get along and for the most part, that tone is one of joyful, funny, sweet kindness.

Since I didn't have any pictures of the wonderful things she does for Reese and Rhett, I thought I'd share a tiny glimpse of her six and a half year old self:

Every night, when I put the girls to bed, I lay with them and chat. They are never ready to go to sleep when I'm ready to leave the room, so I tell them I'm going to get ready for bed and then come back and check. They are almost always asleep by the time I get back to their room. One day, Avery complained that she felt lonely when she woke up without seeing me one more time, and how was she supposed to know that I came back? She wanted me to wake her, I knew that wasn't ever going to happen, so we compromised. I started leaving them a note. So, if they fall asleep before I come back, this is what they see on the floor next to their bed.

They love it. I don't know what it is about the eye and the heart that makes "I love you" seem so special, but Avery goes nuts over it. In fact, I just found a note in her school notebook that I had put in her lunch box. It was an index card with the same message. I always leave notes in her lunch, but that's the only one she has kept. I asked her why she kept it and she said "It's because I know you love me, even when I'm at school." Say it with me: Awwwww.

That's not all....a couple of weeks ago, when I went into their room, she wasn't asleep. She was crying and didn't want to be in her bed. I rubbed her back and left again. A few minutes later, she came in my room, begging to sleep with me. I said no and told her to go back to bed. Never one to give up so easily, she came back, crying harder and begging louder. I was tired and irritated and I told her that if she got up again, she would be in big trouble. I didn't hear from her again. But when I woke up the next morning, this was on the floor by my bed:

When she got up, I asked her what this was all about, even though I already knew and had shed a tear over it earlier that morning. She said "Well, I felt lonely in my room and I didn't want you to be upset with me. I came back in just to hug you and you were sleeping, so I went and got my diary and made you a picture like you make me when I'm sleeping."

How's that for setting a tone of sweetness?

P.S. I am aware that I used the word 'sweet' in this post so often, you may feel a bit nauseous, but I don't know any other word to describe the sweet moments that my sweet babies show me from time to time. Have a sweet day!

Time Out

I sent Rhett to time out the other day - I can't even remember the crime - and didn't pay much attention as he walked over to get in the chair. I looked over to notice that he had grabbed Reese's baby on the way. He loved on that baby the whole time, comforting the baby in ways he probably wished his mean old mother would comfort him.

Here he is before he knew I was taking pictures of him -

And here he is after (the flash gave me away) -

You know, it seems that it takes away a bit of the "sting" of time out if they catch you taking pictures...but how else am I going to have a good collection to show during his Senior Breakfast?

I can't let a little thing like effective discipline get in the way of entertainment, so I just keep on snappin'. Even during a mealtime meltdown.

Notice the food hasn't even been placed in front of him yet. For all he knows, we're having marshmallows and Ding Dongs for dinner. Just the words "Dinner's ready!" send him into a Category 5 meltdown.

You could come to our house at mealtime and see this any night of the week, unless it's a special occasion (Mom's laziness constitutes a special occasion, right?) and Aaron has brought home McDonald's or something equally junky and artery-clogging. Oh, and unless he's been sent to his room for throwing a fit.

He literally just sits on his bed, looking depressed. He hasn't figured out that he could be playing with all of his toys and we would never know the difference. Nope. He's a good boy. He knows that he's in trouble, so he sits on his bed, in the "trouble" position. It's happened so often, that now, when I say "Come on guys, it's dinner time," he says "I go my room, Momma?" And for some reason, I always say no, even though I know this is where it's all gonna end. Sigh.

I will reflect back on this post one day when he's in high school and I want to complain that I can't keep food in the house because he's eating so much. Bigger sigh.

Arguing with a Fence Post

Me: Rhett, get down off of that table. You know you aren't supposed to be climbing on that.

Rhett: My mom said I could.

Me: Uh, I'm your mom and I say no.

Rhett: But my udder mom say yes.

Me, sighing: Get down.

Rhett: I'm telling.

Me: Who are you telling?

Rhett: My udder mom.

What I really want to know is, where the heck is this other mom when it's time to scrub toilets or fold laundry?

It sure doesn't feel like Texas

Because it's snowing...

...we got up 30 minutes earlier than usual and had snow ice cream for breakfast!

It tasted horrible, but they loved jumping out of bed and going outside first thing in the morning...not to mention having ice cream for breakfast. It has to be a great day when you start out like that, right?

The Big Costco Adventure

This afternoon, after Avery got out of school, our whole family went to Costco. Most of these trips do contain a few minor incidents, but usually nothing worth writing about - or at least nothing that I want to remember forever. Someone usually gets lost for a few heart-stopping minutes and someone almost always gets hurt by falling off of a cart. At least one if not all three of the kids cry at some point and there are always, always at least 14 arguments (mostly between the kids). Today's visit, however, turned out to be the best one yet.

First, somewhere between the wine section and the guy passing out the fudge samples, Avery yanked her front tooth out. I'm sure I don't have to tell you the excitement that this event causes in a 6 year old and her siblings. I will tell you that we stopped mid-aisle, not caring who was behind us or trying to get past us. We all shrieked, jumped up and down and hugged each other, as if we had just hit the Powerball jackpot. It was a glorious moment.

There was some slight panic when she thought she dropped the tooth in Costco, but after a good 10 minutes of searching every spot we had been since it first fell out, we realized that it was just stuck to the Kleenex she had wrapped it in. Whew.

Next, the kids went off with their dad and found a little picnic table. Usually, when those four go off on their own, they come back with bags full of candy bars and boxes of every fruit snack you can imagine but, I must admit, this discovery was their best one yet. Of course, it wasn't as cheap as the candy is, but we've been wanting a little outside table ever since the wooden one we had rotted in the rain. Plus, this purchase doesn't cause hyperactivity or cavities. So I'm happy.

They are ecstatic about it. Avery informed me that they would be eating all of their meals on this table from now on, forever! I informed her that no meals would take place on the rug, but we'll deal with that when the next meal comes. (Side note: The table folds up so that it will lay flat or lean up against a wall. Able-to-be-hidden is one of my favorite qualities in a kids' item.)

The third, and final, life-altering event involved the gorgeously pink dress that Reese is wearing in the above photo. As we walked toward the checkout lanes, we passed through the clothing section. There was a rack of little girls' dresses, overflowing with all sorts of pink, fluffy, shiny, and rustly concoctions. Reese thought she had died and gone to Heaven. She stood there, wrapping her arms around each dress that she loved and then, as if her life wasn't perfect enough at that moment, her daddy said the words that every woman wants to hear: "If you want one, you can have one...they aren't expensive." She spent several minutes going from dress to dress, trying to find the perfect one. I saw this one on the end and, trying to distract her from the black and white horror with the monstrous magenta rose on it, showed her this one. She turned to look and her eyes got wide. She immediately dropped the offensive one on the ground and ran to me, grabbing the dress and twirling with it in her arms. "This one! This one! I have to have this one!" she said as she twirled. After the excitement had died down a bit, she looked at me and said "Momma, when I look at this dress it makes me want to go faster."

I know exactly how you feel, Baby. I have the same reaction when I see that Sephora box arrive on the doorstep.

Super Family!

Super Mom, Super Dad and Super Baby...I'll let you guess who's who. Have a SUPER day!

What the.....?

Sprinkles!

We love Sprinkles cupcakes. Unfortunately, the only place to get them is about a 40 minute drive away, into Dallas. Also, they are a gazillion dollars apiece. So we don't get them often. But, sometimes I buy the (also way expensive) Sprinkles mixes at Williams Sonoma. Economically, they are a total ripoff. The mix is about $14 and it is just a mix. You still have to add butter, milk, eggs and you have to make your own icing. (They provide the recipe.) So basically, you get a package of dry mix for $14. Oh, I forgot the signature dot to put on top of the cupcake. That explains the high cost. (not) But dang, those things are good. Sometimes it's worth all the extra expense. Sometimes, a Betty Crocker just won't do. Plus, $14 for a dozen Sprinkles isn't all that bad...a dozen at the shop is at least $36. Anyway, sometimes I just want one! For those occasions, we keep a Sprinkles kit in the pantry.



Guess what flavor we made today?


What the hell is red velvet, anyway?

Interesting Playdate

Avery had a friend over this afternoon...for most of the afternoon they played together, in the same room. Toward the end, however, Avery was just wandering around in the living room and kitchen while her friend stayed in the girls' bedroom with Reese. Assuming Avery was mad, even though she looked totally normal, I asked what was wrong and she said "Nothing." I asked her why she wasn't playing with her friend and Reese and she said "We're pretending like we're divorced." So basically, they spent a good 10-15 minutes in separate rooms, doing separate things. And here I thought the whole concept of a playdate was for them to get to play together.
What's next? Pretending to be poor? Out of work? Frustrated with cleaning up after kids who don't appreciate it?
I will never understand the mind of a child.

A Day to Remember

I received an email from Avery's teacher today, telling me that Avery wasn't her "normal, cheery self" today. She said Avery seemed kind of distant and maybe she was concerned about me being sick.
I was sick all day yesterday and on the mend today so I kind of thought her mood might have something to do with the fact that I was isolated in my room, with fever, on a day when we usually snuggle and cuddle together in the evening. Combine that with her daddy getting her ready and rushing her along on the first day back to school after a two week vacation and it's no surprise that she might feel a little blue.
When she got home (someone else brought her home because I was afraid to leave the house for too long), I asked her how her day was. She was perfectly cheerful and had the same happy attitude she normally does. I told her that her teacher emailed me that she seemed sad and she said "Yeah, I was sad today." When I asked her why, she said "Because you were sick and I was worried. I just couldn't stop thinking about you."

No, I'm not bragging or trying to be unnecessarily sappy, but I have to mark this day in history because I have a sinking feeling that, someday in the not-so-distant future, she'll be perpetually annoyed with me and wanting very little to do with me. When I feel like I might just strangle her and when she wants to run away from home, I can pull this out and remind her that, once upon a time, I was her whole world. As she is mine.

Why?

Why do Santa pictures cost $20? And why did I ever start a tradition of getting them done? I have them all framed and get them out for display every year. Every year, when the picture is worse than the year before, I say I'm not doing it again. And yet, when I get all the pictures out, I convince myself that I'll be sorry if I don't continue it. As of right now, I'm just sorry I don't have my $20 back.

Please feel free to laugh. At all of them. Sure, Rhett is the most obviously funny, but if you know what my girls really look like, it's kind of funny too...Reese looks slightly psychotic and Avery has the Chandler Bing "freeze-when-a-camera-appears" smile.

The silver lining: Bringing the Santa pictures out in twenty years!

General Store

I had to do some baking this morning and it's freezing outside so it's an "indoor day." I didn't want the kids to watch TV all day and I sure didn't want them to be bored, because, as we all know, boredom leads to fighting with each other and asking Mom 400 questions per hour. So I tried to think of something that they could do together that would take a while. The Princess cash register in the middle of the floor gave me the idea: Pretend grocery shopping! Oh how I loved to play grocery store when I was a kid. I LOVED to unload my mom's groceries while tapping away on an adding machine of some sort. My one unrealized dream is to be a grocery store checker. I know, I know, I could probably be one really easily right now, but the automatic scanner ruined it for me. I need to be able to punch in numbers really fast to enjoy myself.

Wait. Where was I? Oh right...grocery store for the kids. So, I set up the "store" in the kitchen, got them some grocery sacks and told them to get after it.

Honestly, they weren't that excited when I mentioned it, but they got pretty pumped when they saw it all set up and realized I was letting them use real groceries.

First things first, of course: Reese had to make a list.....

Note: The "Health and Beauty" section is kept separate from the food section. Even a pretend store has to be somewhat organized if you want to streamline your shopping experience.

Rhett did some shopping at first, but gave up after Reese made him be her baby and then became impatient with him. That could not have been part of the game. How in the world would she ever get the idea that a mom gets impatient with her precious child at the grocery store?

Clearly, Reese had business to take care of, so as soon as Rhett balked at being her verbally abused baby, she forgot all about him and got busy shopping.

I think my favorite thing is that she actually read the list she made.

She looked at it every time she picked up an item. I had to get a close up of the list, without her knowing, just so you could see why I find it hilarious that she referred to this list a gazillion times this morning.

If you ever need to get something done, or if you are just in the mood to laugh at your kids, set up a store. It's worth what little time and effort it takes to set up and clean up!