15 things i'm not afraid to admit

thanks, gina, for the inspiration! here we go...

15. being wrong is hard. and even harder to admit
14. mornings don't start until i've taken at least one drink of coffee
13. i fluffed up avery's hairbow to make her tall enough to ride a ride at disney world

12. i've let my girls eat a cupcake...for lunch
11. i only give the appearance of organization - and sometimes even that is scattered
10. i like yard work because i like the end result, but i would really prefer just to sit and watch

09. i am a little bit lazy. nap time for the girls is down time for me too and i usually spend it doing something wasteful
08. the thought of something happening to one of my kids often keeps me awake at night, which ties into....
07. addisons (almost) three weeks of coughing have been hard for all of us

06. i am more selfish than you will probably ever know
05. i have a strong desire to learn how to be a strategic shopper...and i hope i am not too lazy to learn
04. i am a bad listener but expect people to listen to me

03. i day dream. a lot. (probably when i should be listening to you)
02. i hate dr copays
01. i'll miss my family when we move

Now, what about you? What are some things you aren't afraid to admit??

two girls

my two sweet girls ~ having fun loving on each other!

twinkle toes

last week avery started ballet and, i must say, it took me back about 25 years to teri donna school of dance (where i took). however, a couple of things have changed.

- she had a strict and mandatory dress code. pink leotard, pink tights, pink shoes. i think that is to establish uniformity and distinguish age. still. she's 4. seeing all the pink made me laugh out loud.

- she is required to wear a bun and they give you a booklet of instructions on how to do it. i thought it was just 'encouraged' until i received my first newsletter reminding me to check the handbook on how to correctly make the bun.

and a few things have stayed the same

- the excitement about the first day. the night before her class avery had to try on her tights and tutu (which is not allowed in class, see rule 47b in the parent handbook and reminder in the newsletter). she didn't care so much about the leotard (litatard, as she calls it), just the tights. add cinderella shoes and you've got your star performer. she was made to be on stage. drama runs in her blood.

- first day jitters/so much excitement she didn't sleep. she was so excited she couldn't sleep at nap time. now, i'm no fool. avery will talk you out of a nap as well as i can sell you a story but normally there is no negotiation. i saw the excitement....she played quietly in her room for over an hour.

- how precious and big she looked all dressed and ready and walking into her class. no moms allowed.

addison and i sat outside with the other moms and siblings and talked about the dancing girls. and, i joke about the rules, but we are so excited avery will take ballet from such a great place. they do an amazing job!

note the ponytail. i don't know how to make a bun, even with instructions
(turns out it was optional...though i've never been a huge rule follower! :)

addison showing off her shoes too

i couldn't resist.

addisons dedication

sunday was addisons dedication. i know what you're thinking - wow, she's 19 months old and they haven't done that yet? no, we had not, and for good reason. we waited until avery was older and we really liked several aspects of her being that old. however, addison and avery are two different children. and i should have thought this through. lets just say i was fully prepared for addison to jump out of my arms, which she rarely stays in, and break into full sprint across the stage. and, to be honest, i almost let her...just to shake things up a bit! :)

the day went off without a hitch and we had a great day with friends and family! thanks for all of you who came to see sweet addison...and those of you who wanted to be there but couldn't! we love you!

it pays off

i had a small moment of anxiety today in the carpool line. yes, i'm a carpool mom. avery was walking with her teacher and she was holding...a my little pony. her obsession borders on crazy and i was staring at her waving the pony at me as if to say 'i snuck it in my backpack and look, i still have it." i also saw her being lead to the car by her teacher and i was trying to think of what to say when asked why the pony was in her backpack.

"it wasn't in there yesterday when i packed her folder and her snack"

"addison must have done it"

"she has security issues, surely one time won't hurt"

"her daddy lets her do those things. we're working on it privately."

"honest...i told her to take it out"

all these things were running through my mind in the 10 steps it took them to get to my car and she opened the door and this is what i heard:

"mommy i got to go to the treasure chest and this is what i got!"

relief, gratitude, pride, guilt...all the emotions were there. and then i heard an even better piece of news:

"avery is the most respectful and has the best manners of any child in my class - you've done a great job."

4 semesters of growing kids - 4 years of raising avery - many pull-out-your-hair moments. but this was one of those 'pat-yourself-on-the-back-feel-better-about-your-parenting' days. some days seem really long and harder to get through, and some days God sends little reminders that all the hard work and effort you are pouring into your children pays off.

big school

today was avery's first day of 4k and she was so excited! yesterday we picked out her outfit, picked out a snack, packed her backpack and, most importantly, picked out our hairbow. she was so ready this morning when she woke up that she didn't even mind missing the last few minutes of max and ruby. here are a few pictures of our morning...our little girl is growing up!

starting the day with a healthy breakfast...bagel, cream cheese and....candy corn.

packed and ready to go

thanks for the help dad

and...if you wonder what addison is going to do all day...take a look at WHO she chose to play with while avery was away! Bless her heart - it's survival of the fittest.