Corn!

Today when I picked up the girls from pre-K/daycare, I opened Katie's car door, and Natalie bent down and picked up a handful of pea gravel from the little strip between the parking lot and the building. I didn't think too much of it, but did make a mental note to just watch her and make sure she didn't try anything crazy. As I lifted Natalie into her car seat, she pulled out one of the tiny pebbles, held it up, and proudly proclaimed, "Corn!" She then smiled and tried to sneak it in her mouth...

"Not corn! Not corn! Yuck!" I was yelling as I tossed her prized pea gravel back to the ground. Natalie was so upset, kicking and screaming as I fastened her seat belt. Katie, sooooo much older and wiser, began lecturing Natalie about how you shouldn't eat rocks because they might stick in your throat and choke you. To this, I added, "And if you DO eat a rock and it goes in your belly, it would sure hurt when it came out in your poop."

"Rock poop??? Ha ha ha ha ha ha....!!!" Katie laughed for blocks. Apparently that was the funniest thing she'd heard all day...

Memorial Day

I grew up going to the cemetery with my family for Memorial Day. We didn't have any family buried in the town I grew up in, but we went to be part of the service, part of the community, to remember, even though we may not have known them. With all those years of 21-gun salutes, poppies, overcast skies, and hint of rain, you would think I would be fairly stoic about Memorial Day goings-on.

And I have been.

Until now.

Before the offering and the sermon (entitled "Remember Not to Forget") at church yesterday, they played a brief video. It was of Ronald Reagan giving a Memorial Day address, who knows how many years ago. It was beautiful. Emotional. And as it ended, they played Taps. After 2 notes, the tears started to flow. Before it was over, I was sprinting to the bathroom in the middle of a breakdown. Besides the lone bugle, the only thing I could hear in my head was my cousin Tate's voice before my grandpa's funeral, "I hope they don't play Taps. I'll cry like a baby." Tate, who along with Neil and my brother Tyson were so strong as they folded the flag to give to Grandma. Just knowing that song makes him cry like a baby made ME cry like a baby. I absolutely, positively, could not hold myself together. By the time I'd washed my face and gotten my wits about me, the choir was mostly done with a stirring rendition of the Battle Hymn of the Republic for the offertory.

I couldn't believe what a wreck I was. I mean, I miss Grandpa, but I thought I'd been dealing with it OK. But Taps... I can't take it. Not anymore. I avoided the news all day today in fear of hearing it again on TV. I think losing Grandpa this year made the whole idea of Memorial Day hit home in a way it never had before. He fought in Korea. He was so proud of his grandsons (and some of their wives) and their military service. I am so thankful for all of them, stepping up and serving so that we can have our freedoms.

Remember not to forget.

Soccer - Last Game

Today was the last game of the season for spring soccer. Here are a few photos of Katie and her fellow Ninja Turtles. First, Michael, Braden, Katie, Sam, and Francesca warming up before the game:






Katie going back on the field after a water break:

Katie getting ready to stop another shot as Michael tries to intercept the ball:

Our post-season party in the gym! This year they had giant cookie sandwiches for all the kids. Yummy!!!

Even Natalie got a cookie since there were a few left over:

And our Ninja Turtles:

From left to right, we have Braden, Katie, Anya, Francesca, Coach Mike, Sam, Bill, Michael, Ivan, Coach Cherie, and Gavin.

It was a fun season! Katie wants to try basketball this summer, so we'll see how that goes... (at least it's air conditioned...)

Disney on Ice!

Last night, Katie and I went to Disney on Ice Worlds of Fantasy. We had a great time! Neither of us had ever been to an ice show, and this was a good one. It started with the Princess Pre-Show, a display of various princess items set up on the club level. Here are a few of the things we saw from Snow White and Aladdin:

At the end of the display was a real live princess that you could pose next to! (Apparently they are prohibited from talking as they are very good at waving and smiling.) We got to see Belle, and then Cinderella:

After that, we got our souveniers and popcorn and found our seats. This show featured Mickey and Minnie, Cars, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Tinkerbell. Katie and I each had our favorites. I would post more photos but a lot of them are dark and/or blurry. Here are a few of the good ones:

Ariel with Sebastian and Flounder:

My favorite part and Katie's least favorite, the stampede from The Lion King. I just thought it was awesome how they staged it! Katie was scared by it, which is understandable considering that part of the movie is a little scary when you're young:

And Katie's favorite, Tinkerbell! This is from the end, where Tinkerbell saves spring. It's hard to see her green tunic, but she's being held up in the air by Terence (keeper of the fairy dust) in the center of the photo:

We had a really great evening out. Sometimes it is so hectic with 2 kids and jobs and everything that when you get the chance to spend time doing something really fun and just focus on one of the kids, it is so peaceful and so fabulous. We ate out at Wendy's on the way home. Natalie was mad that she had to stay home with Daddy, but they had a good evening, too. Maybe next time a good show comes to town, Natalie will be old enough to go along and actually sit still for it. I look forward to finding out!

Rain

For the first time in I don't know how long, we got a good, hard rain yesterday. Some parts of town received upward of 5". Yes, 5! As dry as we've been, that is a boatload of rain.

I went running this morning. Often I run after work with the temperatures exceeding 90 at this time of year. Since I had a dentist appointment this morning, I decided to run early, right after Colin and the girls left the house, giving me plenty of time to clean myself up and make it to my appointment. Only I ran so far that I seriously impacted my schedule. It was yesterday's rain. Everything was so cool this morning, still slightly overcast. There were puddles everywhere. My socks were soaked. It was glorious.

Besides the cool temperatures, I was in awe of how peaceful it seemed, and just how GREEN everything was starting to look. I mean, it's technically been spring for almost 2 months now, but with no rain, the landscape didn't look that great. Today it did. It was just fabulous. I ran, and ran, and looked at my watch -- oh no! I needed to turn around and head back to the house! I made it back, showered, changed, and got to my appointment approximately 1 minute late. Not bad for the panic I had. And really, it was worth it to spend that additional time outside this morning when everything was still. Absolutely worth it.

Sooooo Big

Sometime last week, Katie complained about some of her shorts being too tight around the waist. I'd also noticed that several of her pairs were looking *awfully* short. Granted, she does have kind of long legs, but still...

So, over the weekend on our regular Target visit, I made it my mission to load Katie up on new shorts. We'd already gone through her drawers and gotten an approximate number of pairs we'd need to buy to replace the ones she's outgrown. At Target, we set off on our mission. I soon realized that we needed to move on up to size XS (4-5) in the Girl's Department.

Yes, Girl's. As in, no longer in the Baby/Toddler section. My little girl has grown so much that she wears big girl clothing sizes now. Remember how fun it is to go through all the tiny baby clothes, seeing how cute they are, wondering why babies need pockets, anticipating moving up to the next size of infant clothes, then up to the 2T, 3T... I can't believe we've outgrown that already! It seems like she was that tiny just yesterday, and now, all of a sudden, she's 4! And a big girl! I must admit, it made me a little sad to realize we had outgrown all the adorable tiny clothes. At least I can still visit that section for Natalie! But based on how fast Katie grew, I know we won't be visiting there much longer.

(Hint: I need friends to have more babies so I can keep shopping for tiny clothes!!!)

Happy Princess Day!

Katie asked me this morning, "Why do I have to call it Mother's Day when I don't call you 'mother'?" I told her she could call it Mama's Day if she wanted to. After a moment, Katie replied, "I think we'll call it Princess Day! Because you are as beautiful as a princess!" How wonderful to hear that from my big little girl.

So, to the rest of you princesses out there, Happy Princess Day from Katie, Natalie, and I!!!

And special thanks to Colin for taking these lovely pictures of his girls before church this morning. :)

I had a pretty good day. Colin and Katie made chocolate chip pancakes for our breakfast. My biggest monkey wrench was the fact that I didn't get to take that nap I really, really wanted. Natalie ruined my plans when she fell asleep on the way back from the grocery store BEFORE lunch. She was out cold. There was no waking her at that point, so I just put her in bed and let her sleep as the rest of us had lunch. I knew there wouldn't be enough overlap in the 2 naptimes to allow me any significant amount of rest, which was a bummer. After Katie went to bed, I had barely enough time to fold one basket of laundry before Natalie was awake and ready for her late lunch. Katie also did not nap well and was up sooner than anticipated, but that's another story.

We called our moms/grandmas, played outside, and then went to Applebee's for supper. Colin was very gracious in wrestling an uncooperative Natalie, allowing me to eat my meal first so that I could have my hands free to deal with her as he ate. We had dessert, came home and relaxed a bit, and then the girls had their bath and went to bed. And I am FINALLY getting the one thing (besides napping) that I really wanted to do all day, which is play online. :)

Happy Princess Day!!!

I Came, I Saw, IKEA!

It is open!!!


I wasn't one of the crazies camped out, but I WAS crazy enough to head to IKEA over lunch on the first day it was open, frantically emailing my co-worker Cindy on my Blackberry with the latest updates as I made it through the crowd.

It was nuts. Absolute, total madness. Police had several intersections near the store blocked off, and there was heavy traffic control through the parking lot. Once inside, I could barely move, and I saw 3 local news channels setting up to broadcast from there. So, sadly, I was not able to eat any meatballs on the first day as I could barely get to the restaurant, and I was working on limited time. I was able to see a lot of the things that interested me, though, which are currently entertainment centers, dining room storage, and kid stuff. I spent less than $25, and that included a grab-and-go sandwich and water from the cold case near the checkout lines.

I can't wait to go back! But since Colin and I want to take the girls, we'll wait at least a month to go as a family. Hopefully some of the madness will fade. But still... IKEA is finally here!!! How can you NOT be excited about that!?!?!

Invisalign Dilemma: Holy Communion

Almost halfway through my Invisalign treatment and I finally had to face one of my dilemmas: Holy Communion. Now, ever since getting my aligners, it seems like we've only taken communion by intinction. Since I can't eat or drink anything except water with the aligners in my mouth, I just chose to stay in my seat instead of going up to the altar to partake. It made me sad, but I didn't know what else to do.

Today we did communion the other way, with the ushers passing it down the pew. I took my bread and sneaked it to Colin so he could eat 2 pieces since I didn't think I'd be able to chew it. When it came time to have the juice, I took that cup and I slammed it faster than a frat boy doing shots. Colin nearly laughed out loud, but my theory was that if I could rocket it straight down my throat, it would miss the aligners and keep them clean. Seems to have worked -- they weren't pink the next time I took them out!

Neither situation is ideal, but for the remainder of my Invisalign treatment, I will hope for communion in our pews so I can at least participate in half of it.

Go Ninja Turtles!

Katie has been doing really, really well in soccer this season. She's enthusiastic, positive, and (usually) attentive to all that is going on around her. Here are a few photos from today:





Natalie and I also chatted with Y-Guy (or Elmo, as Natalie called him), and Natalie wanted to get in on the action as well. Another future soccer player? We'll see...

Jacaranda Time

Photo from http://www.spiritoftrees.org

It's jacaranda time again! With its blue-purple blossoms, this has got to be my absolute favorite tree in the springtime. I love to spot the bright colors peeking out between the lush green leaves of the surrounding trees as I drive to and from work. After seeing the branches look so bare in the winter months, I am always excited for the jacarandas to bloom so I have something pretty to look at.

I would LOVE to plant one in our yard. From what I've read, though, they require a lot of maintenance. We had a pink crape myrtle in our yard once, and it was a nightmare in terms of upkeep. And the crape myrtle blossoms, although beautiful, make quite a mess when they all fall to the ground, so I'm assuming a jacaranda would be the same. I guess it will remain a dream at this point, but some day, I will make it a mission to plant my very own jacaranda!