I'll Accept My Mother of the Year Award Later...

On Monday, this happened:





And it gets better. ;-)


After I picked up Paprika at school, I had a short window to get the girls snacks and get Violet down for a nap before we needed to be at Paprika's piano lesson.

So, I set Paprika and Ginger up with a movie to watch and a snack, and went about the work of getting Violet to sleep. After much rocking and singing, Violet was asleep...on my chest. The girls were 8 feet away in the next room watching a movie, so I thought I would just relax with Violet. I was sure if I put her down, she'd wake up and then we'd have a very grumpy girl at piano lessons.


So...about five minutes before we had to leave for piano lessons, I woke up Violet. It was so hard to wake her because she was in the sweetest most serene state of slumber ever.  Pure bliss.  But I woke her because, well, we had to go to piano. I had planned on just throwing shoes on the big girls and loading them in the van.


That is, until I saw this:



Oh, so that is where my waterproof eyeliner went! I had just decided to buy a new tube because I had given up on ever finding it. The girls had drawn not only over their entire faces, but also on their arms, hands, legs, neck...everywhere!


But, well, it was time to go and those piano lessons don't make exceptions for showing up late. So when I told the girls we had to go NOW just like that, Paprika freaked out and started crying. She was too embarrassed to go to her lesson like that. So, I frantically tried to scrub her face to get it clean...tick tock tick tock, and then as soon as it was mostly gone, we flew out the door. Ginger was fine going to the lesson just as she was...thankyouverymuch.




Now, the place where Paprika takes lessons is a little Toddlers and Tiaras. There's a dance component there with Dance Moms (you know what I'm taking about) - and well, let's just say I was not looking forward to marching in there with my children covered from head to toe in waterproof eyeliner. It's the same place where that mom judged me for Ginger taking off her clothes. Remember?!

Anyhoo, I was just grateful my children were clothed and all when...just as we are getting out of the van to go inside the studio, I notice that Ginger isn't wearing any underwear. And she's wearing a dress. And then I feel the front of her dress and yup, it's wet.  Like, potty training wet.  So...now not only is my child covered in waterproof eyeliner...she's also soaked in pee. Awesome-sauce!

So, I asked Ginger, "What happened?" She tells me: "Well, I was going to go to the bathroom, but I decided to go in my pants instead. And then they were wet, so I took them off. And then you forgot to bring me fresh pants so now I am Freeeeeeee!"

Yup, some days it's so awesome being a mom.  :-)  No really, it is.  Really.  It is!  And the good news is that it all (eventually) washed off, and I had a pull-up in the car, and we all lived to roll on another day.  But I think I might have left my pride at the piano studio.  Just a little bit on that day.  :-)



The End.

Paprika's First Piano Recital!

Paprika had her very first piano recital yesterday - and she did great! Grandma Pat came down from Santa Barbara for the occasion.  Here she is with the girls just after she arrived:




One of my 13 Goals for 2013 was to take at least one family photo every month.  Well, January was coming to a close and I still hadn't done it!  So, Grandma Pat took this quick photo of the five of us. 

My goal with the once/month family photos is just to get us all in the picture - I am trying not to be mired in perfection or worried about us all looking perfect.  Because that's not reality. 

The reality is that Ginger isn't a fan of posing for pictures - and she lets us know it.  Haha!  One day I know I will look back on this photo with Ginger grimacing as a precious snapshot of our family.  I love that it is real.  I often wonder about photos that are so beautiful and posed, and well...not really REAL. 

My goal with my photos is to remember the reality of each day - the good, the bad, the out of place hairs, and the mismatching outfits.  And how beautiful it all is, even when it's not perfect.  :-)





This is a photo of me and Mr. M right before we got in the van to go to the recital.  I had Pat take a quick pic of the two of us - I need to do that more often.  I cherish the pictures I have of just me and Mr. M   :-)





Here we are at the recital.  Paula and Daryle, my neighbors and friends, came to support Paprika.  They brought flowers and French caramels for her.  How lucky are we?????



Paprika was the second student to perform.  When they called her name, she went straight up on stage...all business.  If she was nervous, she didn't show it!  :-)





After she took her bow (and went back onstage to get her music!):




After everyone had gone home, Paprika went back onstage and we took a picture of her with her flowers, her caramels, and her little participant pin (on her dress). 

I know her dress seems really big on her - but it's the dress she wanted to wear.  I ordered two dresses for her from Ebay  - and this one came huge!  But she said it made her feel like a queen...and since it was her day, she could wear whatever she wanted.  She was so happy in that dress, it made me smile, too:




Violet and Ginger were great during the whole recital.  About halfway through, Violet fell asleep and then afterwards, we transferred her to the van and she stayed asleep!  We went out for ice cream, but since Violet was asleep, I stayed in the van with her while everyone else went in to get ice cream.  Then we got home and she was still asleep - so again, I stayed in the van with her...for over two more hours!

This is her after we got home and we were parked in the driveway.  I loosened her carseat straps after we parked so she would be more comfortable (I just didn't want anyone to think we were driving around with them so loose):





So, as I was sitting in the van about two inches away from Violet, not making a peep (so as to not wake her up), I realized I didn't have my phone or my laptop or a book or anything with me to keep me entertained.  All I had was the camera.  So after about an hour, I got so bored I started taking pictures...(that's how I took that picture of her above) - and then I started taking pictures of myself and random pictures of the van.  Hahaha.

This is me being silly in the van.  I was feeling loopy!  :-)





Here are the flowers Paula brought to give Paprika - notice the butterfly. How cool is that?!



Paprika felt so special!  Aren't they beautiful?!  :-)




Last but not least, here is the video of Paprika performing at the recital!  We are so proud of her!!!!





The End!

Two Frozen Kernels In A Pod!

Everything went back to normal today, which really means that Mr. M is back to working on two different TV shows - and I am here by myself with the kids non-stop. Party time! ;-)



It's been raining, which means that when we start to get cabin fever, the options are to go to the mall and ride the escalators at Macy's or hang out at Pottery Barn Kids.  The girls pretend that Pottery Barn Kids is their personal home away from home with fancy toys to play with - and I pretend that we actually might buy something so we don't get kicked out.  Funny thing is that there is about zero chance I'd buy anything new from there and instead I use it as my personal scouting mission for what I might buy on Craigslist eventually.  Our house is a treasure trove of other people's Pottery Barn castoffs...which is fine by me.  When I go to the store, I feel like I am looking into a time machine into our future decor.  Ha!

Today we went to Target because we were out of frozen corn.  Right now Ginger is on a frozen corn kick - big time.  It's all she wants to eat, and she only wants to eat it frozen.  As in, not microwaved or heated in any manner.  Just frozen.  She will eat an entire package at a sitting and then ask for more!

So now Baby Violet is also on a frozen corn kick because anything Ginger does, Baby Violet has to do, too.  ;-)  Two peas in a pod, I tell ya!



I am ready for the weekend!  I miss Mr. M so much when he's working like this - so hopefully we'll get some time together.  Yay!  Paprika also has her very first piano recital ever this weekend - she is so excited she can barely sleep.  :-)

The End.

Oh Happy Days!

My Dad, Nana Nancy, and my Grandma all boarded the big bird back to Indiana this morning. We had such an amazing time having them here. The house was full of life and energy, and now it feels so empty - which is saying something, considering there are three energetic little ones running around. ;-)

I was so glad we were able to host everyone comfortably. Even though our house is small, I didn't want that to limit our hospitality. I think we did a pretty great job (if I do say so myself - haha!) My dad and Nancy slept in the girls' room and my Grandma had the guest room. Everything felt just right - and now I am counting the days until we can do it again!

I promised my Grandma I would post pictures ASAP - so here they are! There are A LOT. I took a break from blogging while everyone was visiting - I wanted to focus on the here and now. Now I want to remember the good times, so here's a taste:


Saturday night (moments after arrival) - Celebrating Grandma's 80th Birthday!:







Sunday Morning - Reading with Grandpa:



Sunday Afternoon -

First we all went to the Park with the girls - they fed the ducks and played on the playground. Here is Nana Nancy with Violet pointing out some ducks:



After that, we went on a short scenic driving tour and then headed to the Beach and Aquarium. We stopped for ice cream at the end of the Pier and the girls got so messy eating their chocolate treats.  Then, the girls watched the surfers and asked (a million times) how old they have to be to go surfing.  :-)  Here's Great Grandma Mimi with her three great grandchildren, plus me and Mr. M. We love my Grandma so very much!:




Grandpa and Nana Nancy - we love them so very much, too!:




Grandpa with Ginger:




Sunday Night - Great Grandma Mimi holding Violet right after Violet's bath:




Paprika reading stories to Mimi and Nana Nancy:




Monday morning - Violet feeling bright and cheery sitting next to Grandpa:



Making fresh squeezed orange juice after picking oranges from the backyard:









Monday afternoon trip to the park:













The water fountain was a little overzealous in its spray - can you tell what the girls had the most fun doing at the park? They got soaked! :-)








Some of my favorite memories from growing up are my dad playing guitar to me (and teaching me how to play). I was so glad when my dad got out the guitar and favored us with a tune. Little guitar serenade by Grandpa on Monday night:



It was all the more special because this is the 12 string guitar that my dad bought me for my 17th birthday. It was burned badly in the fire and Robbie fixed it up when he was out this past summer. Lots of memories with this particular guitar:



Of course, Ginger wanted to play, too!:




On Tuesday morning, Grandpa made boats with the girls. The girls had made paper boats on their own and we added white duct tape to the bottom to make them waterproof - so the boats would sail easily.

Here's Grandpa helping Ginger construct her boat. She then decorated it by drawing lots of little people on it - so cute!:




Then we went to the Wilderness Park to see if the boats would really sail. Paprika's boat sailed fantastically - a seaworthy vessel it was:







We fed the giant koi in the pond (not that they need feeding - ha!) The girls were so excited Grandpa gave them quarters to get fish food. I always forget to bring quarters, but Grandpa saved the day!




We spent a few hours hiking around the Wildnerness Park. Hardly anyone was there - which, you know, was just great by me! We let Paprika miss school since it was such a special occasion. :-)

She got a little science lesson by way of studying the turtles over at the pond. There were so many turtles, and the cutest baby turtle, too! She wanted to take him home (but we didn't):









I tried to get a photo of Grandpa with the grandkids (and me!) - but Ginger was not having it! She had stepped in the pond and so her sock was wet - and well, that did not make her a happy camper. Don't worry - she quickly got over it! (When I gave her MY sock! Haha!)







I took tons of photos - and these are the highlights!

 I spent all day today so sad that my Grandma, my Dad, and Nancy had gone home. It was so wonderful having them here - I hope they come back soon. We miss them already.

And you know what - when they were here, the weather was AMAZING. And then today, after they left it got cold and now it's raining. So, clearly, the weather agrees.  Ha!

 I will always cherish the memories from this trip - they were TRULY sunny days! :-)


The End.