ww - Daddy's Home!

I am thankful for...

• my girls who sat on Addi's bed with me tonight and giggled themselves silly. I already can't remember what was so funny, but I hope I always remember their laughter.
• the big, beautiful, open Texas sky I gazed at as the sun set tonight. It made a long drive enjoyable.
• my son. He adds such a different dynamic to our family and he loves me and fully expects me to pick him over either of his sisters.
• the cooler weather. I forget how much I love fall every year and then, after a long, hot summer, the temp drops some and I fall (pun not intended) in love again.
• that monstrosity of a football stadium because it made my husband happy since he was able to go to a game there tonight.
• my grandparents who were delighted the kids and I spent the afternoon and evening with them.
• my husband. I'm reading a book set in San Francisco and it's put me in a mood to take a trip there. I emailed Bryan this morning and said "I want to go to San Francisco with you." He wrote back and said we could go in a few weeks. (Except we can't because we have 3 kids and other responsibilities. Fortunately, he travels enough that we won't have to pay for airfare or a hotel, so it really is as easy as finding time. And childcare. :))
• Bryan's traveling job. See previous bullet.
• my warm bed. It's calling my name and I have about 20 pages left in my "San Francisco" book. Good night!
  
  

the boy is breaking us

For the past six and a half years, Bryan and I have enforced a hard and fast rule: Children may NOT eat or drink in the living room.

I get the feeling he doesn't care about our rules.

*Our rules = my rule, but Bryan backs me up on it 'cause he loves me and wants to keep the peace!

His Signature Look

Levi's 18 months old now! I don't want to believe it, but it's true. I took him in for a check-up last week and the poor baby got 4 shots and a finger prick. Levi weighs 24 pounds and 4 ounces, which is only 2 ounces more than he weighed at 15 months. The doctor and I think something was off with his 15 month weight...it was recorded incorrectly, he hadn't pooped in a week, something. We've Bryan turned his car seat around, so he's discovered the dvd screen and points to it when it's not down. :) He's constantly moving and constantly un-tidying things. (I've kind of (much to Bryan's dismay) adopted the idea that he won't be able to destroy anything else if I just leave it all out. The experiment is failing. I see trash bags full of donations in my near future.) Everything was made to throw, according to Levi!...food, coasters, remotes, cell phones, toys, books, sippy cups, spoons, plates, bowls, anything. His vocabulary is increasing and he loves to imitate sounds. Yesterday he was trying to snap after he heard me do it. Outside is still his favorite place, so all this rain we've been getting has been challenging for us. As much as I'd like to ignore it, the fact is he's becoming a little boy right before my eyes. No more babies in this house! :(

What a wonderful age!

Libby came down the stairs ready for the rain this morning. Doesn't she look ready to splash in raindrops? :) She said that big, cowgirl hat would protect her. (I think it provides added protection if worn backwards :) Addi, careful not to hurt Libby's feelings, whispered, "It is going to be sooooo embarrassing having her walk me to school in that thing!"

Of course, she got tons of smiles and compliments on her hat which made me think of all the moms we passed who saw her and were taken back to a time when their children put on clothes with no worries. Like Libby, they hadn't yet learned to care what others thought of their outfit choices. It is a precious stage that I adore. Well, I admit, I don't always adore it because, unfortunately, I worry about what people think of me. I even worry that people will judge my parenting if I let my child go to the library in a Cinderella dress or the grocery store covered in cheap, plastic jewelry or church in a way-fancy flower girl dress.

I don't worry as much now as I did when Addi was in The Stage and that makes me sad. Sad because I wasted energy worrying about stuff that doesn't really matter and mostly because I took a little of that innocence from her. I made her think there was a reason what she was choosing to wear was wrong. I should have saved my energy to fight her when she wants to wear too-short skirts! The good thing is I've learned to be a little more flexible and to consider priorities before I open my mouth. Sometimes. Like this morning. I let Libby wear the hat and fold her ankle socks over and even wear plastic jewelry and I reminded Addi that she won't be judged by her sister's fashion tastes.

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wordless wednesday

HOME SWEET HOME

(thankfully just for one night!)

Preschool!

Reagan, or Elizabeth as she's requesting I call her now :), was so excited to start her last year of preschool today. Her classroom is upstairs this year, which is a big deal to her. I asked her to tell me 3 things she wanted to do today. She said, "Eat, sing, and learn to read!"

This next picture made me laugh because Levi did something Libby usually does to Addi. I brought her out for her "First Day Picture" and he ran to her side and smiled for the camera. Before I could take the picture, he was on the move though. :)

It's FREE!

Do you have a Sprouts in your area? We have one and I love that place. You can go to their website and register for a free 3-month subscription to an online meal planning site, Six O'Clock Scramble. The subscription is almost $20 if you paid for it, so I think that's a great deal. I have no idea if the food is any good, but it's free!

This and That

Libby Lu is all about dressing herself these days. When Addi started doing this, I had panic attacks worrying if I let her wear her "outfits" in public, people (read: other mothers) would condemn me, but if I didn't let her, she might spend years in therapy being cured of her overly controlling mother. I'd like to think I've relaxed a bit over the years, but really I think Libby's just better at wearing me down. I barely batted an eye as we ran to 4 different stores with her in this get-up.
My White-Trash Baby
I couldn't normally post a picture of Levi running around outside because it wouldn't be decent! He would live outside if we let him and makes such a mess when he's out there that I usually just strip him down to his birthday suit and let him run free. Well, free within the confines of our teensy-tiny, fenced backyard. Bryan put him to bed last night and doesn't believe in pajamas for our children, so I didn't care if Levi got his already-dirty-from-yesterday's-food-stains shirt more dirty and he's wearing shoes only because the grass was still wet from the sprinklers running last night. But, normally he's out there nekkid as a jay bird and happy as a lark, especially when he pees all over the yard (or worse yet, the patio!) making one of his sisters scream. :)
This darlin' thing was adorable jumping on the trampoline this morning in her nightgown with her short hair wildly whipping around her face squealing and giggling in delight. Hands down the cutest thing I saw all day. I wanted to run in and grab the video camera, but instead I selfishly soaked the moment up.

It's been so cool in the mornings lately that I've left the back door open for the kids to wander in and out. First, notice how obedient Zoe is. Clearly she's begging for someone, anyone, to play, but she's outside and stays out until we call her in. She's a great, old dog and I hope she's around long enough for Levi to remember her. He is passionate about Zoe. She's part of the outside appeal for him. He still barks more than he speaks.

What about Addison? Well, no pictures of her because she always at school now! I'll get some soon though. She's doing well and likes her new classmates and teacher. Although the other night she told me she wished I would put her back in kindergarten. Her kindergarten teacher was so wonderful and, while we've heard over and over how fabulous her grade 1 teacher is, she just hasn't been in 1st grade long enough to bond with her new teacher. It doesn't help that she isn't as comfortable as we thought she'd be since only one kid that was in her kinder class is in this class. In a month, she'll be glad she's in 1st and has all these new friends, but it's bittersweet now.

I'm undergoing my usual Schedule Changing Issues. In a few weeks, once preschool starts (next week!) and my bible study starts (next week!) and MOPS starts (in a couple weeks!), I'll be able to get my new School Year Schedule down. For now though, I feel like I'm in a long transition. I've never been great with transitions!