Happily Ever After...

Yesterday we flew home from VA. They allowed us to pre-board the flight, and as I got to the plane to get the girls out of the stroller, the flight attendant( she was probably in her late 50's)rushed off the plane to help. She scooped up Gianna from the stroller, grabbed Aria's hand, and as I folded the stroller and grabbed our backpack, she took them to their seat. Very nice to have the extra help. I told the girls to say thank you, and she continued to help by putting my bag in the overhead bin, and buckling Aria's seatbelt. I again prompted them to say thank you. She looks at me, and says, " You need to STOP making them be so polite and let them be kids!"  I am not kidding- she really said that. Being a bit dumbfounded, I didn't reply as she walked away, only to come back a minute later to say, " How do you think kids will respond to her (Aria) when she goes to school and she is so polite? They are going to make fun of her and tease her." Hmmmmm.....

This week the girls and I are in Virginia helping my mother who fell and injured herself. She is also moving this week and combining two houses into one... ...My grandfather passed away 2 1/2 years ago. He left the house to my mother and her sister. Mom couldn't let go. The memories compelled her to divide her time between her home in the country, and her childhood home outside the city. Unfortunately, practicality has won out over nostalgia, and the home had to be sold.  So here I am tonight, sitting in the bed that my grandmother tucked me into as a child, with snapshots of precious memories  flashing across my mind and heart- How fitting that I was able to be here on the last week this home will be in our family to say goodbye. Papa and Nannie bought this house over 50 years ago to raise their two daughters. Although it is a modest home, and he was a successful attorney, they never felt the need to move on to bigger and better . They were content. Many, many holidays, birthdays ...

I was tagged by Cheri  and this time, I am really going to follow through and do it! Thanks for not giving up on me Cheri! So here goes on 7 random things about me: 1) I met my husband at a church youth group, and only went because I heard there were really cute guys there. Can you say shallow? I was only 14 years old, and NOT a Christian at the time. I saw him walk into the fellowship hall, and it was a love at first sight moment.  It still is. :) 2) I have wanted to adopt since our first son was a baby. We looked in to adopting domestically at that time, but I became pregnant with our second son and we shelved the idea for 18 years. To say that the girls are a dream come true is an understatement! 3)  I'm a bag lady.( Or so my husband calls me.) Purses, cute totes, storage bags- you name it- I love them! I don't like to get rid of them either. I find a purse I love and I will use it forever.. I have passed this disease on to my girls. 4) I NEED to be at the beach at least onc...

... than sleeping babies.    I told them to rest and read for 30 minutes, and checked on them to find them both sound asleep.  They were just so adorable, I almost woke them up to kiss those sweet, delicious cheeks. Almost.  But then I stopped myself, and realized if they were sleeping,  then I could actually be the one to read. So I did. ;)

Birthdays always start around here with breakfast in bed. Oh, look- The Big Chicken mug came to celebrate too. He is very specific on things he wanted for his birthday- so it was easy shopping and he wasn't disappointed! Gotta love that! One more pose before ballet for the girls and basketball for the Birthday Boy, ahem I mean Birthday Man. In the afternoon we went bowling. Haven't been in years and we had so much fun! Then we came home for the traditional birthday dinner of homemade spagetti, and cheesecake. As I have mentioned before, we let Aria pick the "theme" for everyone's birthday. It is so much fun to see what she picks, and believe me, she give it ALOT of thought. This year for her Yo, she picked a basketball theme, which is very fitting because he gets up early every Saturday to play. The HILARIOUS part, was, as party favors she picked Grillz( as in teeth painted gold) and was insistant that we buy them. How could I say no to that??? Snort. Chuckle. Li...

Today we hosted play group at our house. Although I didn't manage to get all of the kids in the pictures, I did get a few keepers..... Gianna, Aria,Juliet, Madison and Leah LOVE to dress up. Sweet Vivian didn't want to be left out on the fun! She's a Princess too! The oldest and youngest of the kids: MacKenzie holding Laurel. Notice The delicious rolls on Laurel's arm. Is she not the CUTEST, JUCIEST thing you have ever seen? Oh, but it gets cuter when she sucks her thumb! She is my CH@rmin and I just squeeze her! How'd Bogey get in the shot of the cute baby??? Oh well, look at the gorgeous baby and ignore the ugly dog. We have a rule for play group: Your home=your mess. It works so well, because as you know, you have a specific place you put stuff and it is so much easier to have your kids clean up after their guests.  The dress up room took the worst hit. All those princesses had to primp and get ready for the ball. I can only imagine what it will be like in 10 yea...

The days are long.....                                         ..... But the years are short. You'd think I'd remember that, since we have done this parenting thing already, but sometimes I get caught up in the long days, and forget. Today was one of those days. The girls woke up early. Daddy is out of town. We had schooling, haircuts, grocery shopping, lunch, and home for naps by 1PM. We had a unusually squabbly day with the girls, and a fly in the car on the way to the store, that almost sent Aria over the edge. She cried about it half way through the store, just thinking about the horror of a FLY in the car.  When I walked in the door, with bags of groceries to put away,  and I found that the dog has "stomach issues" that lead to baths for all dogs, and lots of bleach and mopping. You know it's bad when you have to remove a sink full of dishes in a hurry to wash the disgusting dogs! ( The dishes are still on the counter- haven't quite gotten to them yet.) ...

At Grandmommy and Papa's house! An acrobatic show given by the cousins A cool fort made to hide from the talking grown ups. Playing with Papa on the instrument (I forgot what it's called)  with a little hide-n-seek thrown in for giggles. Craft time with Grandmommy. Remember my YOUNG, gorgeous sister?? Yup, this is her! She surprised me and came to be a part of our 24 hours of family time.  Oh, I love her :) All the kids love, love, LOVE their Aunt Katy too! This is my sweet, beautiful sister in law. She always freely shared Andrew with me when he was little... We have returned the favor and Gianna is ALL HERS when we visit. They have a very special bond. I love to see her with Gianna.... She is a wonderful Aunt to all of the kiddos, but she gets her baby fix with Gianna. I love it! We played the keyboard, and danced to the music And finally they showed signs of slowing down! We crammed as much fun as we could in a short 24 hours! Thank you Mom and Bill for such a wonderful time...