A Little Late

I don't know how this slipped by me.  This is my sweet girl who was so excited that we weren't making the typical valentine card you can find in any store.  She went with me to Michael's and picked out the colors she wanted to use and then we came home and made pretty butterfly tags and dipped marshmallows.  It was a good time and she was so excited to get to school and hand out her homemade valentine treats.

Happy late Valentines Day :)

Aaarrrggghhhh

A couple of weekends ago I took my little pirates to the Pirate Dinner Adventure.  Kendall has been begging to go every single time we pass the place, so we finally broke down and took them.  We really had a great time.  We went with my mom so we got in some Grandma time as well!!!  And of course Grandma had to have her little pirates in he right pirate gear.

So as you can see, Cass is giving us her best pirate "aaarrrggghhh", Kendall is contemplating if she wants to do what her sister is doing and Hayley is 2 seconds from ripping off that hat, she hated that thing.  Kendall didn't care for it very much either so my mom and I decided to be cool.

Pretty soon it was time for the pre-show to start.  That is when this walked out.

He is the captain of the show.  My mom and I looked at one another and I believe the words "well, heelllloooooo captain" were uttered, followed by this picture which was followed by him acknowledging said pervy statement and a wink may or may not have been in the mix as well.  I think all of that was followed by one seriously red faced mama, yeah, my poor kids had to deal with their mom acting like a total dork.  The pre-show was fun, they had a lot of audience involvement and then we got to go sit down and eat and watch the show.  I didn't get any pictures inside, it is super dark and my kids were going nuts and I was trying to balance Hayley one my lap and actually watch the show and eat. All in all it was a great night, tons of fun!!!!

Family and Friends

I love my Aunt.  She is a wonderful woman and we have a great time together.  From time to time she will come down and rent a cottage at the beach about 1/2 mile from our house and she brings her friends.  Her friends are a riot!!!  I love being able to hang out with this group of people.  They are always warm and welcoming and you can always walk away with your belly hurting from all of the laughter.  It never fails that there will be a moment when we are all in the same room and there are at least 3 different discussions going on and I can look around the room and just feel blessed.  This is life!!!

One of my Uncles is in this picture but there was supposed to be another on.  Why is here not there you ask?  Well, it turns out that he is train cursed.  And by that I mean that any time he steps foot on a train, it kills someone, lol.  It has happened once before I guess but that night, he was supposed to be taking the train down, after getting off work early and showing up around 7.  Well, the train he was on hit a person on a horse, thus killing the person and horse.  So, his eta was pushed back to 9 or so.  Around 9 or so my Aunt got another text.  After the train finally was able to go again, it hit another person!!!  Seriously 2 people and a horse were all killed.  So, he arrived sometime around 11pm.  Let me be the first to say, I don't think riding on a train interests me much anymore!!!!

Growing Up

Ever since our oldest was about 4 years old, when we would be out shopping and pass by a Claire's store, we would ask if she wanted to get her ears pierced.  She said yes, until we explained that it would mean a needle in her ears.  I know some parents don't tell their kids ti will hurt but I didn't want to lie to her and then have her be mad at me.  So, it has always been a no.  We have done the same thing for our second little one.  And we have always had the same reaction, NO!!!  So, we eventually stopped asking.  Well, 2 weeks ago I was at the mall with my two younger girls just walking around and we happened to pass by a Claire's store.  Next thing I hear is "mom, can I get my ears pierced today", I stopped.  "Are you sure?  You do realize they will put needles in your ears"  Which was followed by an "I know, I am a big girl, it will be fine".  So, we went into the store and started browsing the piercing area.  "Are you sure you still want to do this?"  "Yes, I want to!!!"  So, I put her in the chair they have and we waited for the lady to finish up with her customer.  She was very excited to be sitting in the chair.

Once the lady came over with the forms, I told my girl that she couldn't back out once I signed everything and she let me know that she was ready.  However, there was only one girl working and I knew that they needed to have both ears done at the same time.  There was no way that once she felt the first one that she would let her do the second one.  So, she called to a girl who was working in the Claire's kiosk in the mall and she came down to help out.  And with that, my little girl seemed to grow up a little bit before my eyes.

And the thing is, I expected a fit.  I expected crying and sobbing and plenty of "ow's" but it didn't happen.  She almost sat there in a state of shock and with one single tear falling down her cheek, she whispered "ow".  It was then that my momma heart turned to mush and I felt horrible.  How could I let her do this?!  how could I willingly let her get hurt?  I picked her up out of the chair and hugged her tight.  I told her how brave she was and how pretty her ears looked.  That didn't seem to work, so I asked her if she needed something else from the store.  I know, I am a huge sucker because of course she said yes.  So, with new earrings, a pink fluffy pen and a new Dora diary, we left the store.

She has done pretty well with them.  She did take them out once, she swore she didn't do it and that they just flew out of her ears, haha.  But, they quickly went back in and we cleaned them really good.  We have just a little over 4 weeks and then we will be able to go and get her a new pair, she is hoping they have Beiber earrings, lol.

Little Friends

I love having friends.  I love being able to have that time where we can just sit and chat and talk about life and cry and be able to support one another.  What I love even more is seeing my kids start to make friends.  Being in the military, it is sometimes hard for kids to have good friends because it seems that by the time they actually start to make good relationships, one or the other moves away.  And even though they remain friends, it gets hard to keep in contact.  So I love being able to have friends here for my kids.  And I love that their friends love the younger siblings as well.  A couple of weeks ago we went with some friends to Dave and Busters for lunch and some play time.  Hayley absolutely loves their oldest daughter and she loves her right back and it is so sweet to see when I am sitting right across the table.

We had such a fun time.  I think that sometimes I cringe at the thought of taking my kids to Dave and Busters because I know they like to just run around and I have to keep reminding them to stay by me and not fight on what game we will play, but it was actually not as bad this time and I had some fun too!!!!  Towards the end of our time, after the girls turned in their tokens, we found this ride.  I think ti was called the typhoon or cyclone and the girls didn't actually ride it but they still sat down and watched the screen.  I had seen some people on it before them and there are giant wind tunnels on each side of the seats that blow the heck out of you and I am sure they wouldn't have liked that.  But it was funny to see their faces just watching the screen.

I think Hayley was wondering why I put her down on this thing but she had to get in the picture too.  I like to call Hayley my little old lady.  She is careful, she doesn't get too wild and if other kids are playing more on the rough side, she will come sit next to me and give me the look like "those crazy kids", lol.  We get along really well!!!!

Dinner

We have an incredible restaurant down here.  It is a on a street that leads straight to the pier at the beach and sits between other restaurants and beach shops and the trees are filled with twinkle lights.  I feel so blessed living only 5 minutes from this street and sometimes pretend that I live in one of the super cool apartments that sit above the shops so that when street festivals are happening that I can just throw some clothes on and head downstairs to be part of it all.  I like to pretend this when I am pulling into my parking space, I gaze up at the light shining out onto the street and hear the laughter of twenty somethings inside having the time of their lives.  It is then that I turn off my SUV and proceed to unbuckle small kiddos so that we can go have some dinner.  My single twenty something living in a cool pad on a cool street bubble officially popped.  But, it is ok.  Because there is something that those twenty somethings don't have.  They don't have three incredible little girls who join me for dinner and draw cute little stick people on their place mats.  and they definitely don't have the moment when my older girl says she wants to take a picture by the fire (which was convenient since our table was nestled right up to it, I didn't even have to get out of my seat to take the picture) with her younger sister and when the picture was about to be taken, she does this......

I love when my girls love on each other!!  Especially when it is not prompted by me yelling "why don't you actually look like you love your sister!"  So, to those twenty somethings I say, yes, I may be envious of your sweet non-responsibility lives but I have one pretty sweet life too.  Now excuse me while I go wipe the snotty nose of my youngest, she has a bit of a nose issue this morning, try not to be envious.

Oh, and by the way, if you ever are in southern California near the beach and see the restaurant Beachfire, I highly recommend that you go in, request a seat by the fireplace and definitely order the calamari, it is to die for!!!!!!!

Baby Shower Fun

Last weekend I had the pleasure of throwing a baby shower for my friend and fellow leader Amanda.  For over a month I schemed and lied and sat through a dinner where her sweet daughter wondered why no one would want to throw a shower for her mom and new sister.  Ugh, I wanted to scream, "I care!  I promise that you will have a great shower and feel loved!!!!!"  Needless to say, when the preggo mama went to the potty, I told her daughter who was sworn to secrecy.  Her husband dropped her off that morning, she thought she was going to a Girl Scout meeting, but she had so much more fun in store.  We started by eating, what would a baby shower be without food?!!  Following the food, we played a couple of traditional baby shower games, the "smell the chocolate in the diaper" game which was a ton of fun to watch.

We also had some cake, made by me, yes, I just promoted my self but this is my blog so I can do whatever the heck I want to do.  Here is the link to the baby shower cake or you can even just check out the whole site here.  All in all, it was a wonderful day and I was so happy to see her happy.

Now, if that sweet girl would just hurry up and get here so I can hold her and snuggle her, the world would be alright :)

Baby Chunks

Living in California means that we get to wear shorts for almost the whole entire year.  And yes, while the rest of you have been trapped inside with 20 feet of snow blowing around outside of your door, I have had my front door open to let the 75 degree weather and the smell of fresh cut grass creep into my home.  And while that has been happening, I have taken the opportunity to put my little chubby legged baby in shorts.

There is something that I just love abut short little legs with little chunky rolls popping out of shorts.  I squeeze them, when she least expects it, I sneak up behind her and squeeze her sweet little legs and tell her how cute they are.  Don't worry, I do this only to my children because I do know how disturbing it may be to do that to anyone elses child, I promise I will never go that far, even if your child is super cute in shorts with little fat legs.  And please don't mind the hair on my girl.  It has taken her forever to even get any hair and now it is in a wild phase, the only time it ever looks tame is right after her bath when it is wet and slicked down.  I love my crazy haired, chubby legged baby!!!!  (and yes, I have been told numerous times she is in fact no longer a baby but a toddler, to that I say lalalalalalalalala (with fingers in my ears), she is indeed my baby!!!!!)

A Trip

A couple of weekends ago my co-leader, her husband and I took all of our Girl Scouts and one brother to the San Diego Zoo for the annual Girl Scout Cookie Kick Off.  It was a lot of fun and our girls had a great time.  However, it was smokin hot that day.  I know I should not be one to complain since some people are buried in snow and having negative temperatures but seriously people, at one point we were sitting on metal seats with the sun blazing down and I was sweating, it was gross sweating.  I think I might stop there, I just had a bowl of some delicious oatmeal and just the thought of sweaty skin makes me sick.....any who, we had a great time.  We sat on the metal seats for the kick off show where all my girls gave me a group hug for being a cool troop leader (I tried not to cry) and then sat some more for more show.

See that sweet face front and center?  It was her birthday that day and she chose to spend it with us, how cool is she?!!!!!  after we did the show, we were able to take off on our own and see all the animals.  Eventually we were able to stop and have a quick photo shoot......we may or may not have kicked some kids off f this thing and there may or may not have been a creepy lady standing next to me asking if she can take pictures of all my girls too, why?!!!!

all in all it was a fantastic day and since it is cookie season, make sure you keep your eye out at your grocery stores and in your neighborhood.  Girl Scouts work very hard and are very excited when it comes to cookies and I know when you buy a box, it means the world to them!!!!

Good and Good For You

Ok, so maybe not good for you but definitely much better than having a candy bar.  Have you tried these yet?

They are super yummy!!!!!  I got a free sample in the mail and didn't know if I wanted to even try it.  Most diet foods that have chocolate in it tastes like diet food.  But, it was free and I thought, what can it hurt?  I am so glad I tried it.  This bar tastes just like a butterfinger!!  It is not the same size but it is just the right amount and super yummy!!!  Plus, it is only 100 calories so it is a perfect snack or for one of those moments when you need something sweet.  They are a little pricey, I think the box of 6 is around $4 but it is worth it!!!!  Now I think I want one, gotta go :)

People Let Me Tell You 'Bout My Best Friend

Last night was a fantastic night!!!!  Me and two of my amazing friends hopped in the car and drive to LA to meet the one and only Mrs. Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman.  We left our children in the care of their other parental unit and headed out.  We may or may not have gone the wrong way and ended up at the beach with 2 out of 3 people needing to pee and one about to throw up.  It was gorgeous though, rounding the corner in the road that heads into a small tunnel and coming out the other side is blue water on one side and a steep cliff on the other, so pretty!!!!  We eventually found our way and throwing up on rodeo Drive may have been a topic of conversation for one sick person but we all made it in one piece.

On a side note, do you see the boots?  Those suckers are amazing and I love them but they also took me a good 20 minutes and endless laughing and loss of breath to put on.  And they were perfect on my feet while we were sitting and waiting in line.

And waiting?  Yes, we waited, we waited a good 4 hours in order to meet this woman who I feel like I know because I get to read about her each and every day.  This was only a tiny portion of the waiting, these people were on the other side of the room waiting in front of us.

We found our spot and copped a squat between a lady with her two kids and a gentlemen who seemed to be quiet but I could tell he was obsessed with our girl from Oklahoma, he had that look about him.

 The kids who belonged to the lady in front of us were ridiculously cute and the little girl eventually warmed up to us, especially when she was able to use my camera and take a picture.

Oh, and did I mention that one of my friends is also pregnant and due in 2 weeks?  Waiting in line for 4 hours was not fun, especially for her.  I complained about being hungry and wanting to sit and I am sure at some point she wanted to slap me and remind me that she was also in the same situation only carrying a human being in her mid section, needless to say, she was a trooper!!!!!  And after 4 hours, our waiting was put behind us and we saw her, the skies opened up and angels were heard singing overhead.......or maybe it was a mix between Cher and Christina Aguliera playing over the load speaker and the bright lights of the book store, never the less, there she was........

She was so sweet, she would talk to each and every person who was there and indulge us in picture taking.  I am sure she loves it but I am also sure that after 4 hours, she is not as excited to see us and we are to see her.  Let me tell you quickly how book signings work.  Since she is willing to personalize your book for you, the people at the store have you write your name on a post it note and attach ti to the page that will be signed.  They tell you not to put any phrases because she will not be doing that.  I pretended not to listen and drew pretty pictures on my post it and in parenthesis, I reminded her of our friendship and that I was indeed her best friend.  Yes, you may be laughing right now and find me to be nothing less then lame but I tell ya, I love this woman and wouldn't mind an invitation to her ranch and possibly and invitation to stay there the rest of my life.  A girl can dream right?  The only thing standing in my way?  Barnes and Noble workers checking post it notes and yes, we did see them re-write a couple.  I cluthced my book and didn't want them to take mine, surely they would scoff and re-write my name.  But the book signing Gods shined down and they left it in there the way it was......ok, maybe that was a little over dramatic but I was super stoked I tell ya!!!!  The it was out turn.  We stepped up to meet Miss Ree and I got my hug.  She said she was a hugger and didn't mind and I was not against it either.  We chatted a bit and took our picture.

Aaaaggggghhhhhhh, so exciting.  Then she opened my book and saw my note and started signing.  I think my response was something along the lines of "I wouldn't mind you writing that in my book, hehe".....yes, I do realize how lame and childlike I was but who gives a flip, when will I ever be standing next to her talking again?  She indulged me and said of course we are besties and now I have this in my book.....

I die!!!!!!!!  Yes, I know she has no clue who I am and is not thinking of me today and she leaves our city but I swear one day, I will use this as a free ticket to Oklahoma to live on her ranch with her and her family, after all, you call me your BFF Ree!!!  Ok, creepy moment done, in all honesty, it was so much fun and she was as sweet as you would expect.  she indulged each and every one of us and greeted us all with a smile and a thank you.  I love reading her blog each and every day and have so much more love and respect for her now after meeting her.  Not only was she amazing but so were my two friends who I got to enjoy this experience with.  We laughed and groaned and talked about how hungry we were and it was all worth it.  Being out of the house minus kids having "grown up girl bonding time" (I love the movie Enchanted) is aways fabulous and even more so with amazing woman!!!!  So, to my friends, thank you for giving me a great night........when do we do our next signing? :)

Trouble

This is why no matter what I do, no matter how much cleaning I do during the day, it always seems like I have done nothing.

As Travis Tritt would say, I smell T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!!!!!!