Busy Beavers

I'm convinced that if I had an extra 2.5 hours in each day, or a sister wife, that my life would run so much smoother. Kidding about the sister wife ... kind of.

Here is a brief summary of the past few weeks:

- We are avoiding most retail stores because the girls are petrified of spooky Halloween stuff. After church, the girls and I went into Walgreens to get a 1st Communion card for Olivia. We walked through the electronic doors and there were about 48 skeletons dancing around and saying creepy things. Quinn bolted for the parking lot. Thank God no cars were coming. We tried to re-enter the store after I got them calmed down. I agreed to hold both of them but as soon as the door opened they both screamed so loud the store alarm went off. THE STORE ALARM WENT OFF! It was quite the scene in the Walgreens parking lot. Needless to say, we had to pack up and go to the neighboring CVS store to get our 1 item.

- Maema came down and spent a few days with us to help with the girls while our new nanny was on vacation. She also delivered all of the girls fall/winter clothes and shoes. We love having her here with us and we are all sad when she leaves.


Hassie Clare asked me the other night if she could live with Maema when she turns 68. I told here Maema would be really old (like 120ish) but she said she would take care of her:) Those girls LOVE LOVE LOVE their Maema. For the record .... she is just backing her car into the garage and they wanted to ride with her. (No we don't let our kids ride in the front seat and they are ALWAYS in their car seat.)

- The girls and I went to Cape and stayed with the Aunt and cousins again. Have I mentioned how hospitable they are? I went to a fabulous wedding (thank you Bruce and Ashley Smith for a wonderful evening) while the girls went with Maema and some of the cousins to a local pumpkin patch. (Pics courtesy of Maema.)

HC with cousin Hilton

The girls w cousin Kaylee

- The girls started a new dance class. This year they are doing ballet, tap and tumbling (or germnastics as Quinnie says) at a different dance school across town. It is a little more laid back then the ballet company they attended last year ... much more our style.

- Every year in October our Bunko group dresses up for Halloween Bunko. This year I went as Dog The Bounty Hunter's Wife. Her name is Beth. I was a trashy mess but had so much fun:)



Beth & Alice (AKA Aunt Jenny)

 - We headed to Union, MO for Jamie's best friend (AKA Quinn's Godfather) Benji Hammer's surprise 40th birthday party, thrown by his lovely and amazing wife, Paige. The best part of the night was when Benji and Paige pulled into Maema's driveway and saw us standing there waiting on them. He got teary eyed and was shocked. They are our soul mates and we would not have missed it for the world. However, I forgot my camera so I downloaded these pics off of someones facebook page.

We stopped in The Legion to have a drink with the birthday boy's sister ... or so he thought. The party was waiting on him.

 

Mendi, Me, Woody and Tammy

Silly boys. It took them days to recover:)

Me & Woody

 

The Thurman & Hammer girls playing in Maema's basement the day after the party. They only see each other 2-3 times a year but they insist they are BFF's!


- A good friend of mine lost her father to cancer. The service was beautiful and as expected, my friend held up like a rock star. But you could see that she was a mess on the inside. My heart hurts for her and her family. Hassie Clare and Quinn said extra prayers for Ella's granddaddy.

- The girls got their first homework assignment. This month they are working on writing the letters Ee, Oo, Aa and the numbers 3, 4 and 5. They looked thrilled!

- Sarah (our ever so smart, talented and pretty summer nanny) came for a visit while home from college on her fall break. She brought paints for pumpkin painting and dressed up as Dorothy. The girls were so excited to see her .... and super excited that she bought them Halloween kits to make their own candy jewelery! 

Mary Bo Peep (AKA Little Bo Peep, AKA Quinnie), Dorofee (AKA Sarah) and Cinderella (AKA Hassie Clare)

We stay so busy that sometimes I can't remember what we did yesterday, let alone a week ago. So what does any busy working mom in 2010 do ....I pulled up pictures off my iPhone to recall what all we have been up too lately. In fact, all of these pics (unless noted) are from my phone.  Thank God for modern technology.

Fun Friday's with Sarah

**this post is about 2 months overdue**

Every Friday, Sarah (our summer Nanny and friend for life) would plan a fun treat for the girls to reward them for good behavior throughout the week.  She is a baker ... a darn good one, so most of the Fun Friday's involved something yummy.  Sarah is very creative and fun. She is not afraid of making a mess or tackling a project with 2 toddlers.

I think these are chocolate chip cookies of some sort or maybe edible play dough ... I can't remember.

Baking Princess cakes

The final product.

Alphabet cookies.

cupcakes with sprinkles and homemade butter cream icing

Tea party. BIG EVENT. Sarah made different cucumber sandwiches she thought the girls would like (they were delicious) and brought flavored tea.

She also brought a real tea set, matching plates and an old fashion table cloth. The girls got all dressed up in tea party attire. It was adorable!

Sarah went WAY out of her way to make these days special for the girls. She prepared most of the stuff the night before, went to the store after hours, etc. She went up an beyond the call of duty, as always.
This girl radiates positive energy and can find something positive in any situation. I'm so happy she loves my kids and plans on being a part of their life. I couldn't ask for a better role model.

Way Back When-esday: QRT

I needed to see pictures of my Quinnie Ray. I needed to look at her sweet, innocent face. I needed to see these pictures to warm my heart up.

I'm just going to say it ..... Quinn might possibly be possessed. She has been psycho-toddler lately. She becomes enraged with .... I don't know what. She screams bloody murder and becomes out of control over the smallest things. Yesterday it was because her pants didn't fit her right. Today is was because she hit her sister and refused to go to time out. I've tried everything but nothing seems to work except putting her in her room, shutting the door (holding the door shut) and waiting until she calms down. It is horrible and it lasts for a really, really, really long time.
The weird part is that 85% of the time she is a perfect child. She never gets in trouble at school. She does almost anything I ask. She is polite and sweet to others. She follows directions to perfection.  She is loving, compassionate and usually a joy to be around.
I wish I could teach her some balance. She carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. I'm so frustrated and frustration leads to bad parenting (with me it does).
I need to do some research and find a good book that can help me understand why she does this and what I can do to help her / guide her / teach her. I'm also going to talk to her pediatrician.
After every ugly tantrum I make it a point to hold her and love on her. I tell her how much I love her. I tell her that even when I'm mad and disappointed in her that I love her. I tell her that she is a good little girl and that it is okay to get mad and angry but there are better ways to express those emotions.
I tell her all this for her and for me. I'm always full of guilt after her tantrums. I'm mad at myself for getting angry at her or for not handling the situation the right way. I have no control over her when she gets "crazy." I feel helpless and I HATE feeling helpless when it comes to my kids.

So, looking through old pics of my oldest daughter has made me smile. I was looking through them as she was screaming in her room, coming off yet another tantrum that was brought on because she didn't want to change out of her night gown to go play outside (so she got to stay in her bed with her night gown on while HC and the nanny played outside). When I look at the pictures and see her amazingly beautiful blue eyes, I realize that this is just a phase in her life. Someday we will look back and laugh about these tantrums (I hope).  She won't believe me when she is 36 and I'm telling her about how awful they were and how distraught I was watching her melt down. This to shall pass.

Paisley Pineapple

We just found out a few days ago that my little sister is having a baby girl. As much as I wanted a little boy in the family, I'm ecstatic with the outcome (I have secretly wished for 17 weeks that they were having a girl). Little girls hold a very special place in my heart. I've been surrounded by them my entire life. I was raised with a house full of girls, lived with lots of girls all throughout college, had girl roommates after college and now I'm raising little girls.

The relationship I have with my mother is priceless. She is my best friend. She is my sister's best friend.  And I'm almost positive that my mom and her mother (our grandmother) were best friends. So you see, the mother / daughter relationships in our family are special and unique. And I have no doubt that me and my sister will have that with our daughters one day. And that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside knowing we will be able to experience that together.

This is one of my all time favorite pics of my Mom and Grandma that I came across about a year ago.

Ohh ...  her name is Paisley Breann. And my favorite boutique is the Paisley Pineapple and one of my favorite singer/song writers last name is Paisley. She is already perfect to me and probably always will be.  My little Paisley Pineapple will be loved and spoiled by her Aunt Kissie....no doubt about that! 



1st Day of Pre-school

After little preparation, buying tons of school supplies (I had no idea how much money parents spend on school supplies) and lots of discussion with the girls about their new teacher and new classroom ... their first day of pre-school went smoothly. They only go 2 days a week for 6 hours to the same mother's day out program they have been going to for the past 2 years but this year they go up stairs to pre-school. We felt this program will help us decide if the girls will start full time 4 year old kindergarten next year or go straight to kindergarten. Their teacher, Ms. Martha, is lovely. She is a certified kindergarten teacher and a mother of a 4 year old little girl .... perfect credentials to help us make the decision about next year.

The story of the lunch boxes -

The girls and I spent **way too long** one evening shopping for lunch boxes online. HC was adamant about wanting a Wizard of Oz lunch box. We found several cute ones but at the last minute she fell in love with a Little Mermaid one with a tail hanging off the box. Quinn decided on an adorable "old fashion" W of O lunch box. Fast forward to the first morning of school - I had their lunches made, in their new lunch boxes and sitting on the counter when they woke up. Hassie Clare immediately started negotiations with Quinn about switching lunch boxes for the day.... of course Quinn said no. Long story short, HC worked on Quinn for over an hour and somehow got her to switch. I'm telling you, the girl has some serious negotiating skills! 



Daddy took the morning off work to take the girls to their first day of pre-school.



"I'm a little nervous about all this pre-school stuff."





Hassie Clare's crayon box was at one table and Quinn's was at another. Hassie Clare noticed this as soon as we got into the classroom and went over to get her box and put it next to her sister. It was so sweet! Ms. Martha said that it would be fine for a few weeks and then she might slowly start separating them.

 Nana and Amy joined us that morning. Nana is in complete and utter denial that the girls are old enough to go to pre-school. I think she had a harder time with it then I did! The girls did great. They required about 27 hugs and kisses from me, daddy, Nana and Amy but there were no tears. I was a little bit emotional on the inside ... mainly just that uneasy feeling in my tummy that I get every time I leave them. For me it wasn't much different then it has been the past 2 years. But holy cow, next year when they start school full time it will be a whole new ball game and just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes.

PS - Is pre-school a hyphenated word or is it preschool?

Oh how I love Missouri wineries

Another trip to Crown Valley Winery in St. Genevieve, MO. Same trip we take every fall, however this time we celebrated one of our single ladies getting hitched!

Beautiful bride-to-be

I had "sweaty face" cause I had just stepped off the dance floor. I love dancing outdoors at 2 in the afternoon!   

As you can tell, I had ZERO fun!

**pics taken by Mendi  .... man I love that beautiful chica with a Mick Jagger / Steven Tyler smile and I head FULL of curly hair!**