Do you have a 5 year old?

Well I do. I've had a 5 year old for about 2 months now. And let me tell ya...life. is. nevah. dull. It's kinda like living with an old crazy woman stuck in a liddle teeny, tiny girl's body.

She wears LOTS of jewelry. LOTS. Like way more than the norm. I wear a necklace, a couple of rings, and some pearl stud earrings. My 5 year old wears a ring on every finger, 3+ necklaces, a bracelet on each wrist, as many stick-on earrings that will stay stuck on, and at least one shiny, "sparkle-ful" headband. And that's on a slow day. And then? Well then...she goes out and digs in the dirt and "rescues" worms (although I happen to think the worms are actually in need of being rescued from her)


She likes make-up. Especially bright colored, glittering make-up. And she slathers it on thick. So thick, in fact, that it takes a couple of days and many applications of Mary Kay eye makeup remover before it can actually be deemed "removed". Her favorite shades of eyeshadow include "Peacock blue" and "Bubblegum pink"...
So please...if you see her in Wal-mart, please comment on her beautiful make-up job and don't ask if I have been smacking her around. It's make-up people...just make-up.


She really is a trip to live with...and lately, I've just been soaking it up. I've been asking her questions, off the wall questions, just to see what her answers will be. Her favorite TV show is "Dancing with the Stars"...her favorite food is a peanut butter and jelly...her favorite color is pink...she wants to be a vet when she grows up...she's learning to share with her baby brother...she can appreciate good rock-n-roll music, and can memorize the tune and the words after listening to it once...and she loves her daddy. BOY HOWDY does she love her Daddy...she told me that he is the "fun" parent. That all I do is "drink coffee and knit"...which is not entirely untrue. I do drink a lot of coffee...but that is only so I can keep up with her. I happen to think that Daddy is her favorite because he doesn't enforce the rules like I do...he's kinda a push-over. :)

Yeh...I'd say, if you don't have a 5 year old in your life (he or she doesn't have to be biologically yours...or even live in your house)...you outta go out and find ya one.

Disney on Ice

Last Sunday we went to Disney on Ice. Grace and I (well and Sam...if you're the kind of person that counts a 6 week old fetus...I do, only b/c, at the time, he was making me very tired and causing me to crave raw meat...so, yeh, he counts...except we didn't have to pay for his seat) have been to see Disney on Ice in OKC. We went the night before we closed on our house and packed up the last of our belongings and moved to Kansas City (where...according to the musical Oklahoma..."everything is up-to-date")
Earl has NOT been and was so excited to take us that he, he himself, marched down to the Sprint center on his lunch hour and bought 3 tickets to the Sunday afternoon show. (Didn't have to pay for Sam this time either...he did, however, take up considerably more room than he did during his first show...)

Here is a picture of Grace before the show began. In her flower hat. That her daddy bought for her. Attached to the hat was a bag of cotton candy. I forgot to tell Earl that our children are TERRIFIED of cotton candy. They have an unnatural aversion to the fluffy, sweet treat. Both children, at a young age, were driven to tears at even the suggestion that they eat the stuff. So...Earl and I ate it...the sacrifices we make for our children.


My girl. Boy howdy our world has certainly changed since the last time we watched princesses skate on ice.



Lately we've had a really rough time getting Sam to smile--or even look--at the camera...this time was no different.


And while Earl, Grace, and I watched Ariel sell her voice, grow legs, and fall in love with The Prince...

Sam did this...

Yeh...it was nap time...at least we didn't have to pay for a seat for him...

Sam-O turns two

Can somebody please tell me how we went from this ginormous, sub-human belly...


to this screaming and really hungry 9.5 lb, 23 1/4 in. long infant...


to this wispy-haired, blue-eyed, (still really hungry) 1 year old baby...


to this silly, sweet, comical (not as hungry, cause there's too much to see in the world and not enough time to eat) 2 year old boy-child...

in a matter of two very short years?

What a ride Ram-Sam-Sam...what a ride. Happy Birthday...I love you so good.

C is for cookie,



That's good enough for me,



Oh, cookie, cookie, cookie...



Starts with...




C!!!!!!!

One morning last week, it was during a time that Earl was out of town...I'm sure of that, because normally Grace and Earl get up early and eat breakfast and discuss world issues...I do not get up early. Nope. I like to sleep. I do not talk in the morning...much less discuss world issues. So on this particular morning Grace got up, quietly went into the living room,making certain not to disturb the sleeping "mommy dragon" from her slumber, and switched on the television. All. by. herself. I guess the last channel I had watched the night before was TLC. And apparently at 7am in the morning, TLC broadcasts "The Baby Story" directly followed by "A Wedding Story" (though shouldn't it be the other way around?) Now before you say anything, let me inform you...she knows how to change the channel to 70...also known as the Disney channel, but on this day she chose to watch "reality" TV...fantastic. I stumbled out of bed somewhere between the end of "The Baby Story" and the beginning of "A Wedding Story"...and Grace greeted me with a beaming smile and said "MOMMY! I watched the cutest baby be borning!!! An' now...this lady is getting married!" Note to self: when Earl travels, make sure the TV channel is set on something appropriate for a 5 year old. Lesson learned. Thank you.
Anyway...since then...Grace has become a fan of any wedding reality show (thank goodness she did not become a fan of birthing reality shows--it's the little things in life we are to be thankful for people.) Be it "Bridezillas" or "Platinum Weddings"...."A Wedding Story" or that one about choosing the perfect dress (the name escapes me). And she will tell you in no uncertain terms that she is going to marry Connor, a dear friend of hers she has known since birth. But last weekend....well, I did her one better...I took her to a real, live, not seen on TV wedding.
She was so "de-cited"


We wore our pretty dresses...

I even took her "backstage" before the wedding to see the bride in her beautiful dress...

Isn't she pretty? This is my dear childhood friend Katy. We have known each other for a very long time. We have sold many Girl Scout cookies, if I began to add them up...your head would spin. We traveled Europe together. Got our Girl Scout Gold together. Were camp counselors together. She is a friend in all seasons of life and now, in this very precious season of her life, she was able to make a very wonderful memory for my wedding obsessed 5 year old. Thanks Katy. Congratulations. You are a beautiful bride.

And Katy, I promise, when your time comes and you make your own "not seen on TV" version of The Baby Story...I will not, I repeat will not, bring my 5 year old.

Okay...I'll admit it...I'm boring. Well, as of lately, I'm boring. And there's really not much to post about. Plus I'm a sorta a loser when it comes to downloading and posting pics. We're clipping along nicely here...kids are growing like weeds...I'm frantic trying to find clothes that actually fit and are appropriate for this early spring weather. Still can't get Grace to stop talking, and can't get Sam to start talking. Lots of playing outside...lots of dreaming about digging up flower beds and gardens. So...that's it...there ya go...boring...*yawn*
Oh wait...
Here's something good...Sam can chew gum. Yup...the boy isn't even two yet, but he's chewing gum. Sometimes he swallows it...okay, most times he swallows it...but each "chewing session" is getting longer and longer. Like right now? Well right now, he's been working on a piece for a good 10 minutes with no swallowing in site. Thanks Sam-O...thanks for a little blogging material...

My, my...how the time flies!

From this...




To this...

Wow.

But...in the 1,825 days (give or take a few days for leap year and such) since this girl came into our world, one thing has never changed...she has always been a DIVA! From the moment she took her first breath, Grace has been marching to the beat of her very own, very pink, super sparkly drum. March on Graceface...march on...