Making Breakfast Fun

Instead of poptarts and donuts, I prefer to send the girlz to school with bellies full of oatmeal.  One sure way to get them to eat oatmeal?  Color it.

Today, Cassidy decided she wanted her oatmeal to be blue.

Campbell wanted her oatmeal to be yellow (no surprise there).

And when yellow got too boring, she changed it to green.

Cassidy finished her entire bowl of oatmeal this morning.  Campbell didn't.

No worries.  She'll have another chance tomorrow!

Pretty Girlz in Fancy Shoes

Check out these pretty girlz in fancy shoes...

Upward Cheer 2011

Upward Cheer 2011 has officially ended.  The closing banquet was Saturday night and Cassidy was excited to bring home her poms, team picture, and participation gift (a really nice Upward drawstring backpack).

At the banquet, we were told there were a total of 200 kids in Upward Basketball and Cheer this year - the most we've ever had. WOW!

I'm really hoping Campbell will have the stamina to gracefully get through the practices and games next year.  It will be so much more fun when she can join in instead of watching from the sidelines.

What a huge blessing this program is to the kids of this area. Especially ours!

Go, Upward!

Cassidy and her friend, M.  And yes, Cassidy wasn't happy I forgot her stage make-up.  Whatevs.

I love this face.

Onion Grass

Cassidy came home the other day concerned about the Elementary School playground at Big Girl School.  Evidently, there's onion grass growing on the playground.  She said if you pull the long green tops, little onions come out of the ground!


I don't know if this is true or if she's making it up... I don't know much anything about onion grass.  It sounds really neat, so I said "that's cool!!".


Her response?  "Actually, Mommy, it's NOT cool.  There's ONION GRASS all over the PLAYGROUND!!"


Ummmm, okay Princess of Coolness.  I guess it's not cool.  It sure sounds cool to me!

My Second Home

I've spent an enormous amount of my life in airports these last few months.  Today I decided to embrace my new second home, the place where no bag is to be left unattended, and write my first blog post on-the-go.

I spent this week in the heart of the Evil Empire.  I still haven't run into the Head Evil One, but there's still plenty of opportunities.  I had the great fortune to have dinner at a normal restaurant with a friend from work last night.  It was a nice change of pace... as awful as it sounds, the super-fancy places are getting tiresome.  It's ridiculous, I know.  But it's the honest truth.


The best part of dinner last night was how we got there - in her little red convertible!!!


Yes, Mommy just got her coolness back.  And I have proof!

It's looking like this will be the year of travel for me.  So instead of fighting it, I'm settling in and trying to make the best of it.  I can now post from near or far, Sergeant Sexy's magnet collection is blooming, and the girlz are LOVING the extra time they're getting with Mama and Papa.


We're going to get through this.  And there's sure to be a pot of gold with my name on it when this is all over, right?

Fashion Statements At Church

I'm so very thankful to have a church family that loves and understand children.  Especially when our children insist on going to church dressed like this:

Cassidy taught us well!  We stopped fighting the clothing battle a long time ago, and now only invoke the veto clause when absolutely necessary.

We're quick learners, and one of these days they'll have us fully trained!

It Must Be Nice...

... to have Godparents with a "Your Wish Is My Command" policy.  Remember how Campbell coveted the little trampoline at Izzy's birthday party?


Guess what Campbell got from her Godparents for an early birthday gift?

Yep.  And the girlz haven't gotten off of it since it came into the house.


I would very much like to have some Godparents with this same policy.  Where can I find some?!?

God Has A Sense of Humor

Mama has often said God has a sense of humor.  It seems he was full of himself last night.


Each year, the 9th grade class at Big Girl School hosts a pageant for their major fundraiser.  The purpose of the event is to raise money needed to pay for their big expenses: Ring Dance, Prom, School Gift, etc...  The contestants are the high school girls and there are several filler pieces throughout the night to give the contestants time to change and prep for the next round of competition.  The idea is to bring in families of the younger kids that would probably not attend the pageant otherwise.  More people in the door means more money for the 9th grade fund.  One of the filler pieces is a "Little Miss Big Girl School" competition for the Kindergarten students.


I use the word "competition" very loosely, because there really is no competition - the winner is drawn from a hat.  For realz.


We knew it would be fast and simple - no more than 10 minutes from start to finish.  I had been diligent in preparing Cassidy for the outcome - there were 11 girls vying for the title of Little Miss Big Girl School, so clearly the odds were long that Cassidy's name would be the one pulled from the hat.


I told her (no less than 20 times) she would not win and this was purely for fun.  We had already been told that every girl would get a goody bag with a crown inside, and she was happy with that.


Sergeant Sexy and I had it all planned out:
1. Cassidy would prance around the stage and look pretty.
2. Someone else would be chosen from the hat.
3. Cassidy would be mildly disappointed (but not too much with the promise of a crown!)
4. A second loss would prompt the pageant phase to die a natural death.
5. We'd leave the event in plenty of time for a good night's rest.


That was the plan.  That's how it was supposed to happen.  Campbell didn't even take a nap yesterday afternoon - we were that sure we were leaving early.


Imagine our shock - absolute disbelief - when Cassidy's name was pulled from the hat.  We stayed until the end of the pageant (11PM!!) so she could get pictures taken with the new Miss Big Girl School.


Our plan for last night was clearly not God's Plan.  And there's no doubt about it, I'm sure God must have been doubled over laughing at the look on my face when Cassidy's name was called.


Yes, our Cassidy is Little Miss Big Girl School 2011.  And her desire to participate in pageants is stronger than ever.


The negative reinforcement idea was a FAIL.  But she sure did look pretty.

Dress: $19.99 eBay special

Low dolla, no holla!

Big Kassidy participated in the real pageant... she made the top 10!!

The Little Miss Big Girl School contestants

Cassidy and her escort

Cassidy was crowned by Miss Big Girl School 2010... the picture is blurry because I had turned off my camera.  I was THAT sure she wouldn't be picked.  Luckily, Big Kassidy's Mom got an excellent shot of the crowning!!

The Winner!

Cassidy with Miss Big Girl School 2011

Big Kassidy and Little Cassidy

Cassidy with Miss Big Girl School 2010

I won!  I won!!!

She's Two

Why won't she stop fussing?
Why is she refusing to follow even the simplest directions?
Where are all these tantrums coming from?
And what's with that awful whiny voice?!?
What's wrong with her?!?!?!?

She's two, that's what's wrong with her.  She's adorable, unpredictable, funny, volatile, charming, psychotic, beautiful, and TWO.

The cure comes with the third birthday, and that's when things REALLY get interesting.  Two is a cake walk compared to three.  Oh, the fun times we're about to have!

On a brighter note, check out the dress Campbell's wearing in the picture above.  I LOVE this dress and have carried it with me since I moved out of Mama and Papa's house.  I secretly hoped that maybe one day I would have a little girl that could wear it too.  I was thrilled when God gave me TWO girls to wear it!

It may look like a simple green dress to the untrained eye, but it's way more than that.  My Grandma made it for me when I was a toddler and I love it.  And I especially love that both of my girls have now worn it.

There are days I wish I could still fit in it.  But looking at Campbell wearing this precious dress is almost as good.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We woke up to green toilet water and shamrock decorations all over the kitchen this morning.  Our leprechauns know how to do it right!  St. Patrick's Day has arrived!


After last year's green milk FAIL, I decided to buy some green plastic mugs for the girl'z milk instead of coloring it green.  It worked much better, and there wasn't even one minute of pee-in-the-milk angst.  Whew!


Campbell was in a rotten mood this morning, and that put a damper on the festivities.  Not fun.

Window clings all over the kitchen windows

Cassidy loves her new hat!

Don't let the smile fool you... she was AWFUL this morning.

The leprechauns even left a shamrock on the bathroom mirror for us!

Corned beef, cabbage, red potatoes, Irish soda bread, a bottle of Guinness, and green jello are on tonight's dinner menu.  What a fun day!!

Cancer Sucks

I attended a funeral today for a family friend who was struck down by cancer while I was in Texas.  I met him almost 20 years ago at our "home church" near the ocean.  He was super-nice and everybody loved him.  He was a worker bee around the church and rarely missed a service or event.


All of my favorite people from that church were at the service... if I had to make a guess, I'd say about 75% of the people at the service were also at our wedding.  Including the one in the casket.


I hate funerals.  I know hate is a strong word, but I honestly mean it.  I hate everything about them - everything.  I find the hushed voices, slow hymns, enormous flower arrangements displayed on gigantic easels, tiny bulletins, and overall atmosphere of despair to be torturous.  The torture peaks when the family is escorted into the service.  I find the whole thing to be awful.  Being part of that family processional?  Double awful.


For the record, I want none of that when I'm called home.  Sergeant Sexy is aware.


I much prefer baby showers and birthday parties.

Hello Kitty Day

I was gone again most of last week, finally rolling into the house in the wee hours of yesterday morning.  Luckily, everybody stayed well this time and there was no drama.  The trips are coming faster and faster these days... almost one of top of another.  I'm praying the travel budget will run dry in the very near future.


After church today, we took the girlz on a special trip to the local Hello Kitty store.  We ate lunch in a real restaurant and then played in the play area for a while.  After we were sufficiently played out, we headed to the Hello Kitty store.


Leave it to Cassidy to choose the most expensive item in the store.  We know our Cassidy, so we made sure to impose a veto clause before we even walked into the store.  The chosen item was put back on the shelf for someone else to enjoy.


Cassidy ended up choosing a huge, fluffy Hello Kitty wearing a pink dress.  Campbell chose a Hello Kitty backpack for Big Girl School in the fall.  It's the perfect size for what she needs.


The girlz really did a nice job keeping themselves together, and that made the day much more fun.  Once we were back home, the girlz and I ran to Mama and Papa's house to take back the mountain of the stuff the girlz came home with last week.  The girlz played outside for a while and before we knew it, it was already time for bed. 

Campbell at lunch

Cassidy at lunch

Girlz riding dolphins

Campbell

Cassidy

The Starts At Night Are Big And Bright...

...Deep in the heart of Texas!

Another long week has come and gone, with The Village caring for my people and me locked in a Texas conference room.

This time around, the trip out was anything but boring.

1. When leaving for Texas, TSA made me remove my shirt.  I was wearing three, so it was no biggie... but I had to laugh when I sent the text to Sergeant Sexy.

I write: TSA guy made me take off my shirt.

Sergeant Sexy reads: My wife was just strip searched by the TSA.

Fun times with the text messages.

2. We rocked and bumped our way through the nasty storm that tore up the mid-west with tornadoes.  Have I mentioned before how much I don't love flying?  Yeah.

3. Once we landed, a co-worker and I found a taxi and headed for the hotel.  I just went to this same place 5 weeks ago.  I vividly remember how much the taxi fare was and the names of the main roads we were near.  Once the taxi meter ticked up too high, I knew we were being taken for a ride.  We asked the taxi driver to cut the tour of Texas short and just take us to the hotel.  Meanwhile, I shot off another text to Sergeant Sexy that was immediately misunderstood.

I write: Jackass taxi driver isn't taking us to the hotel!!

Sergeant Sexy reads: My wife has been kidnapped and will soon be killed by a crazed Texas taxi driver.

Awesome.

Certainly a rocky start to another week on the road, but it got better.  I saw a herd of real Texas Longhorns!  I tried to get a picture, but we were in the hotel shuttle and I couldn't get close enough for a clear picture.  We were told those longhorns are the pets of the man that owns all the property in the area.  How cool!!

But no matter how many crazy taxi drivers and longhorns I got to see, coming home is definitely the best part of going away.

A Big Day for Campbell

Today was a big day for Campbell.  Her last day in K2 was Friday, and this morning she started K3.  We sent juice boxes, cupcakes, cheesy poofs, and party supplies to school Friday so she could celebrate with her friends.


She asked me to take her picture on the front porch this morning (I'm not making that up - she really did).  I got a somewhat cute one of both girlz, and then Campbell's eyebrows got concerned.

Somewhat Cute

CONCERNED EYEBROWS

No matter what I did, I couldn't get that girl to smile.  And it wasn't even like these pictures were my idea!


I made a great first impression on her new teacher by forgetting her blanket and sheet.  Way to go, Mommy!  Campbell stopped by her old room to give her old teachers a hug, and then went into her new class without complaint.


Her new teacher reminds me of the pastor at our old church.  They look kind of similar and have the same calm, gentle manner.  It's a bittersweet move - we really love her K2 teachers, but I feel good about the future.  In the big picture, this is definitely a good thing!

Sunshine and Rainbows

I found a package of blank postcards at Michael's the other day.  I bought them thinking Cassidy might want to decorate and mail them out.  She did a few Monday and they turned out really nice.

Warning for Mama and Papa: Spoiler Ahead.  Consider yourself warned.

She drew this one for Mama and Papa.  She said it was a sun and a rainbow smiling at Cassidy and Campbell as they walk to Mama and Papa's house.

At first glance, it looks very sweet.  Precious.

And then I noticed what she didn't draw.

For starters, ME!  And what about Sergeant Sexy?!?  Since when do we let the girlz walk to Mama and Papa's house by themselves?  We don't!

She speaks volumes with what she doesn't say.  I know life is nothing but sunshine and rainbows at Mama and Papa's house - the girlz remind us every day.

I'm assuming this means life is trash and dead flowers at our house.

Did I say this picture was sweet?  I meant to say RUDE.  Cute... but rude.


Whatevs.