We've Arrived!

Where have we arrived, you might ask?  To the days of Little Miss Priss wanting to flaunt her own style.

Exhibit A:

Have you ever seen such in your life?  Once Cate saw them at Target, there was no turning back.  She begged.  She pleaded.  She told me she'd never ask for anything again.  She even pinky promised and bit her thumb.  That was Saturday morning.  Everywhere we've been since then that she's asked for something I've reminded her of her of her promise and she's said, "oh yeah, that's right...I do love those shoes."  She wore them Sunday with her stockings and smocked dress.  She's serious about those kicks!  They sort of remind me of a pair I used to have when I was her age so I can't say a thing about it.
Now on to Exhibit B:

This would be the outfit she meticulously chose to go with her bright blue tennis shoes.
I rest my case.
She used to be the one I could count on not to argue about what I lay out for her to wear in the mornings.  Those days are long gone.  And in the grand scheme of things, is it really worth it?  Contraire mon frere.

 One of the reasons Cate wanted those shoes was because she said they'd be good bike riding shoes.  She's all about her bicycle these days.  Rightfully so.  She's practiced so hard.  You know there's some dedication in the mix if she'll get out in the misting rain to ride...

If only you could have seen the spill she took that landed her face down in the mud.  You can sort of see the result of it in this one...

That's one dirty little love!  J and I always say she's the boy we never had...she's about as rough and tumbled as they come.  I asked her if she wanted to go change after she got that muddy.  She said no thanks because she'd probably be wrecking a few more times.  Towns has been really helpful in the process.  She's a great encourager and constantly tells her sister she's doing so good on those two wheels of hers.  Sweet thing...

Love this one...

He's such a good Daddy!  There's nothing I love more than seeing him with his girls.  They adore him.  And he might just be wrapped around a few fingers!

On a different note, last Tuesday was monumental for these two...

Bethany's last time to cheer and Towns' 100th day of school...although I suppose it was Bethany's 100th day of school too now that I think about it.  The difference in the two is that Towns wants the next 80 days of school to creep by whereas for Bethany they can't be over soon enough!  So hard to believe she's almost halfway done with high school.  I say it all the time...someone please hit the pause button!! 

Somebody Call 9-1-1

Yesterday was one of those days.  You know, one of these kinds of days...

The kind where you're desperately trying to get a home cooked meal in everyone despite the crazy Monday night dance schedule and you end up using your daughter's take home folder as a fire starter because you inadvertently turn on the wrong eye of the stove.  Yep.  That kind.  (And apparently today's the kind of day where run on sentences are perfectly acceptable.)  It's a miracle we still have a house standing after that episode.  Goodness.

The good news is that despite melting Towns' folder to pieces, these two are always willing to provide a few laughs right in the middle of the chaos...
Towns was doing her spelling home work (I didn't set that on fire) and had to pick five spelling words from her list of ten to use in sentences.  Being the ever so helpful sister, Bethany gave her a couple of suggestions:
1. My sister Bethany is my favorite.
2. My sister Cate is scary.
That's when Towns did this...

And said, "ohhhh Bethany."  She ended up using the one about Bethany being her favorite.  She did not use the one about Cate being scary.  Instead, she should have used this one:
3. My mother's ability to set things on fire in the kitchen is amazing.
Did I tell you about the time I laid J's brand new motocross pants on the kitchen counter...right over a lit candle?  Better keep that one to myself.  He's yet to let me forget it.  Especially given the fact that they were so hard to find.  One of a kind.  Straight from Australia.  I doubt I'd let me forget that one either.

Speaking of laughs...
The Wii has been a good source of them lately.  The other night the little ones begged J to play Just Dance Kids with them.  Bethany and I stood in the background laughing until we were crying while we got it all on video and camera...
He'll kill me for this.  Oh well...'tis better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission! I'm pretending I didn't hear him say, "those pictures better not end up on the internet."

Our family has reached a whole new level as of Sunday afternoon.  All five of us are now capable of riding on only two wheels...
Buggy was beyond excited to learn how to ride her bicycle without training wheels!  Actually, this is Towns' old bike, and the only way she can stop is to throw both legs over to one side and hop off.  When we take the training wheels off of her bike she'll be able to put her feet down to stop since it's smaller.  Or better yet, use the brakes.  There's a new concept!  I'm finding out that she's learning new things at an early age.  Turns out having big sisters really lights a fire under you.  She definitely doesn't like to feel left out and wants to be able to do everything they do.  Can't say that I blame her.  If this isn't proof she there's something to the whole concept of adoring your big sister, I don't know what is...
Towns was already asleep the other night when Cate got right up under her and dozed off.
Sweetness!

I'll leave you with my latest obsession...

I stumbled upon it in Target the other night and told my dear husband that I couldn't live without it.  So he happily purchased the Floral Cherrynova shampoo, conditioner and body lotion for me.  It's divine.  Seriously divine.  The cherry on top (no pun intended) is that it's made by Burt's Bees!  Usually I get things like this and love them for the smell or how pretty they are, but don't love them for the way they work.  Proud to report that's not the case here.  It's a win/win!

Bowling & a Half Birthday

With Monday being a day of no school thanks to Martin Luther King, Jr., we made sure to fill it up just right.  We had a long list of things to accomplish.  All fun things, of course!  It started out with Towns the Restauranteur opening Bananas & Candy for business.  Apparently that's the name of her hot spot.  She had two things on the menu: banana smoothies and candy.  Sounds like a winner to me...

 

 We didn't have plain yogurt for her smoothies which was totally unacceptable to such a professional.  Cate agreed to let us use her beloved strawberry squeeze yogurt to improvise and made me pink promise to buy her more before the end of the day.  Given the fact that Towns is really serious when it comes to playing restaurant, there was no way we were having anything for breakfast that wasn't on the menu.  So strawberry banana smoothies and candy it was.

They were pumped about the day ahead.  After a lunch date at their favorite Asian spot, it was time to trade in the sparkly silver ballet flats for the ever-so-stylish bowling shoes.  I forget we even have a bowling alley.  I'm glad I happened to remember Monday because it was great entertainment.  For me and for them!  They bowled, I watched and laughed.  They're pretty funny...

 

They discovered this metal contraption that helped them get their ball going straight down the center...

 

I've never seen such in my life, but it worked!

 

They both got so excited for each other when they bowled strikes.

There were quite a few happy dances performed!

Next on our "to do" list was preparation for something really special...Mrs. Propst's surprise 1/2 birthday celebration!  Since she has a July birthday, we thought it was only fitting that a "birthday in a box" be waiting on her Tuesday morning at school so the kids could celebrate with her...

With the help of other sweet moms in the class, we gathered everything needed for a super fun birthday party.  Including a little Carriage House goodie!

It took four hands to get it there...

 

Two of those hands belonged to a very windblown Cate!

Mrs. Propst had to open a note explaining what was in store before she opened the box...

It was a note that went on and on about how special she is, how much the kids love her, and how they couldn't think of a more fun person to celebrate.  I think it's safe to say that she was surprised when she opened the box and balloons popped out...

Especially since she had no idea it was even her half birthday!

Everyone absolutely could not wait for her to dig in...

She proudly wore her birthday tiara all day and proclaimed herself "queen of the world"...

To say she's loved would be an understatement.

That's one fabulous half birthday girl!

Sister, Sister

There's nothing better than a healthy dose of sisterly love..

Ever since Bethany turned sixteen, naturally we see her a little less than we used to.  And less than we'd like to, for sure.  That comes with the territory and I totally understand.  However, the two little sisters don't really understand.  Whenever she walks in the door they run to her screaming as if they haven't seen each other in years.  It's really sweet.  So anytime she gives them a little extra attention (see above), they're in heaven.
Cate didn't want to miss out on the love fest, though.  She jumped right in the middle of it.  Literally.

You can tell by the look on her face she got the reaction she desired...

And of course, you can tell by the look on Towns' face she was none too thrilled about it being jumped on.

These girls make my world go 'round...goodness, I love them!

Today's a Monday and a Tuesday rolled into one, and my inbox looks like Mt. Everest.
If you don't hear from me for a while, send the search and rescue team...

Wishing and Hoping...

 Wishing and hoping and thinking and praying, planning and dreaming...

Isn't that how the song goes?

(Obviously I'm having a My Best Friend's Wedding moment, here. )

It's official.  I'm craving summer like never before.  Maybe that's because I'm frozen to the core.  And there's snow on my car.  I'm just not a winter person.  I try.  Really, I do.  But it's just not for me.

I would give my right arm (and most likely my left) to be doing this right now...

Oh well...a girl can dream.

And wish.  And hope.

At least it's a long weekend, though.  Hallelujah!

A Little of Everything

It's stormy here.  It stormed all night long...which means sleep was minimal because our children don't value it much anyway, but definitely don't like sleeping through a storm.  This is what I'm listening to right now.  It kind of gets me going when my eyes are this heavy and caffeine isn't really helping!  And with this weather also comes the lack of motivation to do anything productive at the moment.  So with that...

What would you do if you walked into your kitchen, tripped over blankets, chairs and stools that were set out to act as a restaurant, kindly told your six year old that she needed to get a handle on the mess she was making so that I could have room to cook dinner, and she (not so kindly) replied, "well, Mommy, that's just what happens when you have creative kids" with that tone of voice that she knows better than to use?  And then what would you do when she asked you to walk her into school and you find her brand spanking new Kindle Fire in her desk...the Kindle Fire you told her repeatedly not to take to school?  Any answers?  I need them, that's for sure.  Blondie has been a firecracker here lately and I'm wondering where my real Towns has gone!  I know she's just testing her limits.  Cate went through that forever ago...she got a jump start obviously.  But this is a new one for me because Towns is usually the child who would sooner die than break a rule.  Praying it's just a phase and that enough tough love will do the trick.  Minus a few little kinks like that to work out, she's as sweet as sugar and I couldn't possibly love her more.  She's recently discovered that she loves history.  Yesterday she got very animated while telling me the life story of Christopher Columbus and then decided she was going to make a globe.  I printed out a map of the world for her to go by. She couldn't quite figure out how to make it round, and she didn't want to stick with the notion that the world is flat.  This is what she came up with...

Love!

I'm also wondering where my ribbon-wearing girl has gone.  She ditched bows a long time ago, so ribbons were our saving grace.  And now it's this...

 

A barrette.  So trivial in the grand scheme of things, but she looks so growny.  Makes me want to press rewind!!

And then there's Cate.  Have I ever mentioned that she desperately asks for God to give us a baby every day of her life?  Towns gave her a dose of reality the other day when she was going on and on about the baby we're theoretically going to have.  She said, "Cate you know that Mommy and Daddy are not having another baby, so you might as well move on to something else."  To which Cate replied, "um, yes Towns, they are because I pray for it every day and God will give us a baby since I've been asking so nicely."  I've had to put out a lot of fires lately in that area.  She's told Sunday school teachers, school teachers, parents of her friends, etc. that we're having a baby, that it's a girl, that's she's very excited about it, and that it will be here in September.  So if you've been on the receiving end of that story, I apologize.  It's not true, but my child would give anything for it to really happen.  Every time we're in Target she begs to go to the baby section so we can buy everything we need for this baby.  She has it all planned out.  The other day we got a Kelly's Kids catalog in the mail.  She pays no attention to the fact that they're selling clothes...she thinks they're selling children.  She asked if I had $48 to buy the baby she had picked out and that she was sure I could just order it online.  Simple as that.  It's time for an intervention!  The only thing that remotely gets her attention off of a baby is talking about this...

That's her cousin Amy's Christmas present, Bennett.  It's the tiniest thing I've ever seen and is just Cate's size.  She says she would do without a baby if we'd get her one.  J is definitely not going for that.  For the most part I'm with him.  But seeing how happy that little ball of fluff made her would almost be worth the feeling of having a newborn again.  Almost. I hear having one that tiny is like having a baby all over again.
Moving right along...

How sweet are these three?

Friday night we went to watch B cheer at the big Decatur/Austin basketball game.  Towns and Cate spent their time staring at their sister in hopes that she'd throw a glance their way.  They felt pretty special when she came to give them a squeeze during halftime.  They'd been working hard on a dance for a couple of months that she'd told me we had to see.  I know I say it all the time, but I so wish I could slip into a cheerleader "unicorn" as Cate calls it and pretend I was in high school for just one night.  It looks like so much fun!
Here's the video.

In other news, Buggy is the proud owner of her very own library card...

She has a new found love of the library and wants to go every day.  I think it's partly because she loves books and partly because she thinks she's hot stuff with her new plastic!

I'll end with this...

Friday afternoon was perfect for a trip to the park by the river.  It was actually warm enough to stay for a couple of hours, thank goodness!  Emma and Towns spent lots of time making up dances and cheers, most of them involving trying to throw Cate up in a basket toss which never had the outcome they desired...

Word on the street is that there's a talent show coming up at Ben Davis.  They've spent months talking it over and planning it out.  Apparently they spend a lot of time at school discussing.  I know this because I got a phone call from one of her friend's mothers asking when practice was.  Then she informed me she heard I was making the costumes?!  And to top it all off, the other day I found an outline in Towns' desk that went over outfit and song choices for their dance.  I had to apologize to Mrs. Propst in advance if she'd seen it because it went something like this:
1. sports bra
2. tan tights
3. booty shorts
And I'll stop there.  I gently guided them in the opposite direction while I had the opportunity to spend a few hours with them at the park.  We'll see how that goes.

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Birthdays Galore!

Two hundred and sixty two miles is a lot of miles.  That's the number of 'em that separate me from my mom which is no fun whatsoever.  Whenever we get together, it has to be for a decent amount of time to make such a long drive count.  So the fact that we got to spend a couple of days together after Christmas followed by a few days with everyone at our house was a major treat.  We also helped my mom and my sister celebrate their birthdays while they were here which was icing on the cake.  Pun intended!  J and I took charge and entertained all the kids while Steve took my mom to Simp McGee's for a birthday dinner shortly after they arrived.  Can you say pizza buffet and ice cream?  That's exactly what we did.  And the muchkins couldn't have been happier!  We tucked everyone into bed semi-early because the next day was a big one.  My sister's 13th birthday to be exact.  It's not just any day that you get to celebrate the first day of your teenage years, so we had to do it up right.  We hit the ground running early that morning to make the most of Anna Grace's day.  She chose to start out with a trip to the ice skating rink...

 

Now this is where it gets comical.  Of course, YaYa (my mother) nominated herself as official photographer so she wouldn't have to get on the ice.  That left Steve and myself to make sure no one scored broken bones or stitches.  That's a tall order with our crew!  It was hard to keep our eyes on that many children at one time because they were all over the place.  Anna Grace is an old pro, Max is pretty experienced, Towns is finally good at staying on her feet, and Cate, well, is just Cate.  She wobbled back and forth, side to side, and every other way possible but came home without serious injuries.  Miracle!

As long as she kept her arms out to balance herself, she was ok...

 

But the thing about Buggy is that she only has one speed.  Wide. Open.  So the thought of gliding across the ice didn't appeal to her at all.  She was only happy if she was all but running.  You can sort of tell how her feet are barely touching the ice in those skates...

 

When she finally took a spill, she discovered that ice got all over her gloves which she loved for some reason.  So then she spent the rest of the time trying to make herself fall so she could eat the ice off of her gloves...

 

We had a little conversation about how gross that was. And also about how she was going to be black and blue if she kept falling like that.  With tears in her eyes she asked if she was really going to turn black and blue.  She told me she didn't want to be a different color and promised she'd try to be more careful.

She stayed pretty close to Pappy most of the time since he's the fun one and all...

 

Bethany even cleared her busy schedule to join us for an hour or so.  We felt so special!  She's a girl on the go, you know.  This was our attempt at a group shot...

My mom managed to shoot fast enough to catch us all on our feet, looking the same direction, and actually smiling after that commotion, though...

There were some really good ice skaters there practicing their turns and twirls.  Towns was mesmerized and now thinks she wants to add ice skating lessons to her already long list of activities.  She tried so hard to do what those girls were doing.  But she was cautious and had at least one skate on the ice at all times...

 

Smart girl!

These two chicas were so excited that Anna Grace chose to start her birthday off with skating...

 

They've been begging to go for quite some time.  In turn, I've been holding off for quite some time.  That's something I can't tackle by myself.  And truthfully, the aftermath isn't fun.  I feel like I've fallen off a bucking bronco every time.  How is it possible that it can make you that sore?  Age.  That has to be it.

Before we hit the ice rink, we'd made a stop by Gigi's for birthday cupcakes.  We had an impromptu party after we hung our skates up for the day...

Oh, but the fun didn't end there.  We headed to Bridge Street for a movie and dinner after that!

The fountain outside the the theater provided lots of entertainment for us...

 

I sometimes feel bad that Max is the only boy in the bunch and doesn't have someone to pair up with.  Usually Cate's the one that can hang with him.  But AG wanted a birthday picture with her girls...

Which left Max feeling left out.  I ran and tackled him and told him that I wanted my picture made with him and only him...

Can you believe we're brother and sister?!  Twenty three years apart, but I couldn't love him more!

I love this one...

Can't believe you're 13, sister!  It seems like yesterday that I was at home for Christmas break my freshman year at Auburn, begging and pleading with Mom to let me skip the first week of going back to school if you hadn't come yet.  I couldn't miss the day I officially left the "only child club" and gained a sister!  Thankfully, you made your grand entrance into the world before I had to leave.  I cried all the way back to Auburn because I didn't want to leave you...I came home almost every weekend because I just couldn't stand it!  When I'd start missing you, I'd call and beg y'all to drive to Auburn just so we could go to dinner.  And of course, Mom and Steve would make the trip with no questions asked.  That's some love and devotion!  After I graduated from college and was on my own, I'd whisk you away for the weekend and take you shopping.  Just the two of us.  It's so hard to believe that you're a teenager now.  I love you so much and am so glad we got to spend your 13th birthday together!

What a perfect way to round out our Christmas break!