Celebrities

Zach and I made our debut on national television on Sunday afternoon.

 It was a reality show.

The reality of it was that we were rooting for a losing team.

The Little Moments

Seeing all 3 of my kids "reading" their new library books in the stroller on our way home from the library was one of those little moments in my day that just made me smile.

Question of the Day

Why is it that my saying, "I didn't ask you to sing in the mirror.  I asked you to please brush your teeth" has to become a normal part of our morning routine?

This.  This is why.

Kindergarten has taught her many things.  Being speedy is not one of them.

Slow or fast, I sure do love this girl!

Not a Surprise

Today Adelie and I had this conversation:

Me:  "Guess what tomorrow is?  Pre-school day!!"
Adelie:  "I like pre-school."
Me:  "I know you do."
Adelie:  "Do you know what I don't like at pre-school?"
Me:  "No.  What don't you like?"
Adelie:  "I don't like quiet book time."
Me:  "Why don't you like quiet book time?"
Adelie:  "Because I don't like sitting down and being quiet."

Nope.  Not surprising at all.

3 for 3

When Zach and I were preparing for our Hawaii trip, the girls were so excited about the prospect of having the whole week with both sets of grandparents.  They couldn't wait for us to leave.  At the time, Briggs didn't understand what was happening and couldn't verbalize his feelings about it either way.  I like to think that he would have said, "Don't go, Mama.  I'll miss you too much."

This afternoon, he made his feelings perfectly clear.  My parents stopped by as we were finishing lunch.  After lunch, Briggs said, "Grammie.  Come.  Play room.  Sit."  So Briggs and my mom walked into the playroom and sat down to play.  The rest of us followed them in there.  Looking up, Briggs said, "Bye-bye, Mama.  Bye-bye, Dada."

So even my baby boy has decided that grandparents trump parents.

Ouch, buddy.

Ouch.

Money Talk

Staley lost another tooth this week-end.  She got 8 quarters under her pillow.  I heard her telling Adelie, "I got 8 monies.  I think that's a dollar."

Later Zach and Staley were discussing how many quarters make a dollar.  Zach pulled out 8 more quarters from the coin jar to illustrate his lesson.  After they were done with the little math lesson, Staley picked up the quarters off the table and put them in her pocket.  They had this conversation:
Staley:  "I'm going to buy something with this."
Zach:  "You're going to buy something with my money?"
Staley:  "It's not your money.  It's everybody's money."
Zach:  "No, it's my money."
Staley:  "I think it was my reward for doing so well in the math game."
Zach:  "I never said that."
Staley:  "Well I said it."

That's one way to make some money.  I love my little gal who boldly makes her own rules.

This afternoon during rest time, Staley was making tickets for a show that she is planning.  When she was showing them to me, each ticket had a number and some of the tickets had a face on them.  Staley explained to me, "The tickets with the happy face are on sale.  The tickets with no face are the normal price.  And the tickets with the sad face are really expensive."  It would be nice if stores employed that system.  It would make it much easier to know if you're getting a good deal.

I love seeing the world through the eyes of my children.  Life is so much more fun that way!!

Tender Heart

Adelie is my brave, confident little girl.  She makes friends wherever we go.  Little kids, big kids, grown-ups--it doesn't really matter.  The other day at a college soccer game, she sat right down next to two college guys and struck up a conversation.  She embraces new situations, keeps up with her big sister and older cousins, and has been loving having her "own" thing (pre-school/gymnastics).  When we watch movies, Staley will cover her eyes and ears during "scary" parts while Adelie will watch them and tell Staley when they're over.  As brave and confident as she is, she is also so sweet and tender.  She is always ready with a sweet compliment and a big hug.  And just as Staley does not like the scary parts in movies, Adelie doesn't like the sad parts.  After taking the girls to see "Finding  Dory" in the theater, Adelie told us that she didn't like it because it was sad.  And the other night we watched "The Lorax."  When the last of the truffula trees was chopped down and all the animals were sent  away, Adelie's eyes teared up and her lip quivered as she asked, "Why is everyone so sad?  I don't like this part."  So Adelie can bravely handle the scary, but her tender heart can't take the sad.

I love all the little things that make Adelie who she is.  I love how brave and confident she is, but I also love her sweet, sweet heart.

My little sweet heart