TGIF

Friday
57 degrees
Raining lightly
Dora on the television
A cup of hot coffee sitting next to my laptop
Absolutely no where to go today

This is what I call a perfect Friday.

Gone Like A Flash

This post sounds a little familiar. It seems I feel this way at the end of every month.

Tomorrow it will be August. At the end of the month Princess will start school. Ok, so it’s just pre-kindergarten, but still, it’s a big change.

I’m looking forward to the end of August because I think Princess will really enjoy pre-k.

I’m not looking forward to the end of August because that means summer is officially over. The habitual planner in me is not looking forward to change, however my work schedule may change for the better so that will be nice. My schedule change is still up in the air but I’m hoping for a couple less hours a week which will help our daily schedule immensely….not our checkbook, but my life will be less hectic. I hope.

I’m also not looking forward to the end of August because I’m sure preschool will bring a entirely new list of things Princess will learn and I’m not talking about reading, writing and arithmetic if you know what I mean. There will be 11 other kids in her class and I’m sure some of them will be more “seasoned” than Princess. Don’t get me wrong, we don’t shelter her from the world, but we use avoidance as a means to make life less complicated some times.

For example, Princess will be five in a couple months. She has only drank soda a handful of times. She has had a root beer float for a special occasion at daycare once and 7-Up at two or three birthday parties. We’ve never given her a drink of our soda and she knows soda is not for kids. Flower is two and she has never had soda. I’m not opposed to soda. I drink soda. Not a lot, but I do enjoy a Dr. Pepper on occasion. I think children don’t need any more empty calories which rot their teeth. They get enough sugar in all the candy we eat :) I have a dreadful sweet tooth and I’m trying not to pass it on to my children.

Enjoy the last days of summer. Don’t blink because Christmas will be here before we know it.

Tidbits from Last Weekend

Princess and Flower were standing in front of the bathroom sink brushing their teeth Friday morning. Princess was making faces in the mirror accompanied by this weird groaning/grunting noise. Flower looked at Princess and said “What wrong Princess? You pooin’?”

Sunday dinner was at Nana and Papa’s house. Traditionally we begin our meals with Flower mumbling something no one can understand and then Princess blesses the food by saying “Thank you Jesus for this food. Amen.” We like to keep it short and simple. We sat down to the table and Papa asked Flower if she would like to say the blessing. Flower folds her hands, bows her head, and very, very seriously says “Thank you Jesus for Daddy’s birthday. Amen.”

The girls and I were enjoying strawberry shortcake with Nana and Papa on their deck after dinner. We were discussing the fruit trees and when the cherries would be ready to pick. Nana and Papa were saying they should find the tags from the cherry tree so they knew what kind if tree it was. Then they might be able to find out when to pick the cherries. Princess looked at them and said “Just google it!” as if she knew exactly what she was saying. Heck, she probably did.

It Was a Wet and Wild Kind of Weekend

It’s Tuesday. I’m not really sure where Monday went. Before I know it the weekend will be here again. That’s a good thing. Summer is flying by. That’s a bad thing. Last weekend was the first in almost 3 months which we’ve been home and cold/stomach virus free. Rather than sticking around a house in terrible need of a good scrubbing we played at the lake and on the river.

Friday the girls and I went out for lunch at a new bakery. It was delicious. Princess takes after her parents and enjoys dining out. Flower just likes to make a mess with her food so I say dining out is one less time I’ll have to clean the floor. That afternoon we met Homestead at the lake for some fun in the sun. The kids had a marvelous time wading in the water and playing in the sand. We will definitely put the lake on our list of things to do again before the summer is over.

Saturday was Dear Husband’s birthday so he went fishing while the girls and I watched Saturday morning cartoons. We were completely worn out from our outing on Friday. There was a commercial for a hotel on TV with a line about going out or staying in and Princess looked at me and said “We are not going out today….I’m exhausted!” After a long nap Princess felt better so we dropped the girls off at Nana’s for the evening. DH and I ran some errands and went out for pizza.

Sunday we took the raft out for a little fishing. We had a big crew. Nana, Papa, Grandma M, and the four of us. We packed a lunch and took the fishing poles. It was Flower’s first trip in the raft. She did ok but we’ll probably wait until next summer to take her again. Sitting in one place for more than 30 seconds isn’t really her thing yet. Princess is a little better in that department so she and Papa fishing off the back of the raft. Grandma M, Nana and I tried to entertain Flower in the front of the raft. DH rowed. We saw river otters, pelicans, geese, a bald eagle and deer. Princess and I each caught a fish. Actually Papa hooked the fish and Princess reeled it in. I was getting lunch out of the cooler and missed it but DH said she gave the poor little fish the ride of its life. A good day was had by all. Nana and Grandma M made a delicious birthday dinner for DH to finish off our day.

That was our weekend. The girls are still exhausted and so am I. It seems like all we do is try to catch up on sleep and rest during the week so we can go like crazy on the weekend. I love summer but sometimes I long for winter so I have an excuse to stay home.

Flower The Entertainer

Let me set the scene. The girls and I are sitting at the counter finishing up our dinner tonight. Daddy has already finished and is cleaning up the kitchen. He has the water running in the sink and Princess is talking.

Flower "Daddy"

Pause.

Flower "Daddy"

Pause

Flower "DADDY! Listen me! I tell you something!" (Me laughing in the background)

Daddy (standing directly in front of Flower) "Yes Flower?"

Flower "I tell you something."

Daddy "What?"

Flower (with a mischievous grin) "Ummmm"

Long pause. Now that she has his attention she doesn't know what to tell him so she sings a bunch of jumbled words to a tune she made up instead. Flower is our little entertainer.

Happy 90th Birthday Great Grandpa!

July is a busy birthday month for us. Grandpa, Great Grandpa, and Dear Husband are July babies. DH and I were married on Great Grandpa's birthday 13 years ago. We reminisced over a bottle of wine and chicken alfredo last night. It was lovely.

Before I get on with the purpose of this post, I'm going to take a moment to brag a bit. DH and I have been married for 13 years but we've been together since the 80s. I know, that makes us really old. November 1989 to be exact so this winter we'll celebrate 20 years of togetherness. Seems like a long time but it's flow by rather quickly. I wonder where we'll be 20 years from now?

Back to my original post. Yesterday Great Grandpa (my grandpa) turned 90 years old. He's amazing. I might go as far as calling him my hero. He has the biggest heart of anyone I know. No matter what happens he always makes me feel like I'm the most important person in the world. Most, if not all, of my childhood memories involve my grandpa and I would not be the person I am today without him.

My mom and my aunt planned a party for my grandpa last weekend. The girls and I spent most of the week at my parents house with Auntie C, Future Uncle P, and Cousin H. The big bash was on Saturday and over 100 people came to help us celebrate. We had a wonderful day visiting with family and friends. The most repeated phrase at the party was "I hope I look half as good as Grandpa when I'm that age." Here's to another year Gramps! I love you! K-

Dog Tired

We got home late last night from a family reunion. We had a great time but by Sunday evening we were beat. We were still three hours from home so we stopped at a McDonald's to grab a couple Happy Meals and take a potty break.

The three of us girls were in the handicap stall using the facilities while Daddy was ordering our food. The girls were done going potty and it was my turn. Flower was exhausted. She was so tired she couldn't hold her head up any longer so she walked over to me and laid her head on my lap to take a quick nap....while I was peeing. Seriously. If we would have had a camera I would have let Princess snap a photo. It was a true Kodak moment.

Now, to clear that image from your brain, I will post something cute.












Oh yeah, and we saw a black bear....

and a grizzly bear....

and a few other random animals but I'm tired of waiting for blogger.

An Identity Crisis: Part Two

Earlier this year I shared a couple stories about Flower taking offense to being called something besides her given name (here and here). Last night as I was getting Flower ready for bed Princess came into her room to say good night. Princess said, “Good night cupcake!” Flower replied, “I not cupcake, I pie!” That’s my girl…two years old and she knows her desserts.