It's Hard Being the Little Brother

Last night after dinner, Big Man came in the kitchen carrying a Snow White costume dress and a Belle costume skirt. He wanted help putting them on. I asked why he had 2 skirts. He said "in case of emergency", I said, "a princess emergency?" DH piped in with, "buddy, if there is a princess emergency, you need a sword and shield!" K said, "no, a Princess emergency would need the Powerpuff Girls!" Of course...what we were thinking?

Things they know....

So one day last week when I went in to wake up the girls, K was talking and 2x in the course of a sentence called me "Dada". So I was joking with her and B that I was NOT Dada, and did I even look like Dada? So then we were going through all the ways I don't look like Dada - I don't have a beard or moustache, I'm not a boy, I'm smaller than Dada, etc. Closing out the list K says "you wear pajamas." LOL It still cracks me up. Yup - when discussing major characteristics of mom and dad, the fact that dad sleeps naked makes the list. Gotta love it.

Overheard...

So early this morning I climbed into bed with my girls to get some extra snuggle time before I leave for my trip tomorrow. After a while we were all talking and the girls made some of the funniest comments.

• K was telling B she would love going to her camp next summer. "They don't serve you food so you get to bring all your own stuff!" - seriously, that was her number one selling point!

• K was telling B about all the games they have at camp. My mind wandered and I hear B say "Well, what happens if a black guy comes up behind you?" and K says "Watch out cuz he will jump you!" I am like "WHAT???!!!" They were talking about checkers. Both girls always pick red.

I love how kids talk.

They Say the City Lights are Bright

My B is sick today. But normally she has a very sparkling personality. I knew this - but usually she has been somewhat shy around other people. Until recently. She has now figured out that an audience is golden.

It started out a month or so ago. We were at the final class of K and B's gymnastics. The teachers were giving out ribbons. The kids could walk up on the "stage" get their ribbon and bow, curtsy, or wave to the crowd. Of the 22 kids - 21 got their ribbon and shyly waved. B was the last kid called up. She shyly went up, took her ribbon, then turned to the crowd and did a perfect curtsy. It was sooo precious. I can't believe I didn't have my camera.

Then a few weeks ago we started swimming lessons. We found a time where all 3 kids go to class at the same time at the same place. Perfect! DH goes with Big Man into the kiddie class, K goes to Swim 3, and B to Swim 2. Mom stands ready with towels. So, DH and Big Man get done and head to the showers. I grab B and head for the girls' showers. K's class goes 10 minutes longer, so she stays in the pool. I get B in the locker room and push her into the communal shower. She was the only one in there. After a minute or two I tell her I want to go check on her sister in the pool. We run through our normal security drill (Me - so, if someone comes in and says, "little girl, there's a pony outside - want to go for a ride?" what do you say?? B - NOO! YOU ARE NOT MY FAMILY!) OK, check. So I pop outside the locker room to check on K. As I come back in, I hear very loud singing. I walk over to the shower, and there is B...dancing and singing at the top of her lungs, up and down the length of the shower. She has a group of toddlers and moms watching her from the locker room, and she is having a BLAST! It was so funny. I had never seen her like this around strangers. I would have taken video, but it was probably child porn, since she was naked.

Anyway, this is her routine every week at swimming now. This week as we were getting her bathing suit off, she said "time for my show!", and off she went.

Broadway...here she comes!

Most Relaxing Day

So I was away with my girlfriends this weekend. On Saturday we had nearly the perfect day. We woke up, had a delicious breakfast - tropical french toast (courtesey of Dinner Done), and decided we would not get out of our jammies all day. It was heaven. We read books, played cards (I taught them Canasta - which I LOVE), watched a movie, ate chocolate and junk foods, drank wine and blender drinks, it was perfect!!! We even went out and visited a local gift store we love (before the drinking, of course) IN OUR JAMMIES! It was so great. I read a bunch of magazines and several books without interruption. How lovely! We came back early on Sunday to make it to a superbowl party. It was a perfectly relaxing weekend. How often do us busy moms get that??? I am so lucky to have such great friends, and a great husband who lets me get away with it. Especially since i have another weekend away in 2 weeks for ScrapBowl!

NO BOYS ALLOWED

(k is doing MUCH better, thanks for all the good wishes. I am cloroxing the heck out of my house, lets keep our fingers crossed!)

So I am a big believer in girl-time. Sometime you need to get away from the DH and kids and get with your girls. I have an amazing circle of close girlfriends that live in town (and a few out of town) and I am so lucky to have them around me. The core group started from college and has grown a bit from there. Most of us have known each other for over 20 years and we are still close. I am so blessed. Now we have kids that are growing up together. We all had kids around the same time - at one point 4 of us were pregnant with our second child at the same time - gave birth in June, July and August of the same year! There are now 11 kids ages 6 and under. It is really great.

And while we do lots of family events together, I love when we get together - just the girls. The husbands think we spend the time together bitching about them. I'm not going to say that has never happened, but really it is just that women can talk to women about more things than husbands or others care to hear about. I think that time is so precious, and love when we get the opportunity to do it.

Every few weeks we have a girls dinner (although we have been slacking lately - need to get back on that), a few times a year we go on a "girls weekend" away, and when several of us turned 30 we decided to do a week-long girls trip every 5 years.

At 30 we flew to Nashville, TN; rented an RV, and drove across the South. It was awesome. None of us were particularly into camping, nor had any of us lived in or driven an RV. But we had a great time (nevermind the smashing the a/c unit off the top of the thing, or Duffy nearly having a heart attack at my driving down rainy, wet mountain roads).

At 35 we stayed in a b&b in Santa Fe and did day trips around the area. So relaxing, and so BEAUTIFUL! We took a cooking class, did lots of shopping, ate GREAT food, saw opera, hiked, and even had mud baths.

Next year, several of us will be 40. We are renting an apartment in Paris for a week. I am so excited. I already have my plane ticket, and we aren't going until August. All of us have been to Paris before, so we are really just going to try and hang out - eat great french food, drink french wine, and enjoy the culture.

How do you all spend time with your girlfriends?

Bad Girls, Bad Girls

I am so glad my girls are not teenagers..or even pre-teens. I don't have to explain the Parises, Lyndseys and Nicoles of the world to them. What is going on? And WHERE are these girls parents??!! Seriously. Not that they aren't old enough to be responsible for their own actions -- but at least for Paris and Nicole, their parents are completely and totally enabling this behavior!!! Its not like the are earning the money they use to buy drugs and alcohol. (Ok, I'm sure the Simple Life makes them money, but not the kind for how they are living). What is with these people. I guess we had the decade of the bad boys back in the 50s..now its the girls turn? I'm over it. And so glad I don't have to explain this to MY girls.