A quick one

I just wanted to tell everyone because I am so super excited: I got notice today that I am officially on the wait list for nursing school for Maricipa County community colleges. I got to select up to four choices and students are taken from the wait list by date/time stamp until the slots are filled up. Rio Salado is my first choice and they have the shortest wait list right now at two semesters. So, if I'm lucky, I will begin nursing school next fall semester. I've been working my butt off at school with that goal in mind, so let's hope that the schools do what I want them to do, right? So exciting!

Prepping for a workshop

I have a workshop coming up, so since I'm all caught up on schoolwork for now, I got to just play this weekend.

A little Halloween treat box made from acetate.

A Halloween card with embossing and sponging. This designer series paper is retired, so the actual projects will be a little different as we'll be using the current paper. I just don't have any on me right now.


Another Halloween card, this one made with one of my favorite sets.


These aren't for my workshop, but I love making them. The centers are York patties and they're made from different paper punches.



This year I found the perfect bowl for my spiders.

Really celebrating

Today Bailey was invited to a slumber party and Cole to a sleepover, so only Lindsay is home with us until tomorrow evening. Jason and I decided that we should take Lindsay somewhere special and really celebrate her birthday. Being the baby of the family, she feels like she doesn't get enough attention and alone time with us, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity. We didn't tell her where we were going and showed up at the mall. After walking through the mall, we ended up in front of Build a Bear. I turned to her and said something like, "Look, Lindsay, it's Build a Bear". She says "Yeah, we never get to go in there". So then I told her that's what her surprise was and that's what we were doing with her. She was so happy. Not only did she get to spend the afternoon/evening alone with mommy and daddy, but she got a new friend too. J and I both had a good time with her too. Jason's in the other room watching Matilda with her (thanks, Mausses, that was a great choice for her!), so she's still getting some quality time. It's been a nice day.

Lindsay's turn

Seven years ago, Jason and I had very cool experience. Instead of waking up in pain and rushing to the hospital, we got up very early in the morning, said goodbye to our two kids and sat in traffic all the way to the hospital. Then we sat there all morning while nothing happened. I think I should have realized then how stubborn Lindsay is. You can't rush her, she does things in her own time and only if she wants to. And while Bailey and Cole were both early, I forced Lindsay out on her due date because I was sick and tired of being pregnant. So while nothing happened all morning, and we tried, in vain, to get some sleep, all of a sudden, things began to move. And like the other two, once labor began, it was a very quick process. She was a pretty easy birth, so I'll give her that much at least, and then she was here--my beautiful baby girl. She turned our world upside down. After having two angelic babies, this one seemed to know that she was the youngest and would have to fight to get all the attention she could get. She never let me put her down! She was the longest to sleep through the night, going until she was nine months old before she would do it, and then it was just for the most part, she still liked to party during the night. She slept in a bouncer chair in the living room until she was three months simply because at the time we lived in a two bedroom place. So if I put her in with the other two, they would wake her up or she would wake them up. Looking back now, I think all these things are funny, but boy do I remember how tired I was! I think that's my biggest regret with Lindsay is that I was so tired that whole first year (well, really, the first five years) of her life that it seems like a blur. But with a three year old, an eighteen month old and a newborn, sleep wasn't something I got regularly. And somehow, with as difficult as she has been, there is just something special about this little girl. I can't wait to see how she turns out because I have a feeling she's going to be a really cool adult. So happy birthday Lindsay. We love you!

Playing catch up

This has been a very difficult and busy week for us. On Monday, I thought I would treat the kids and take them to the library after work/school. Lindsay was especially excited because it was finally time to get her very own library card. The whole time I'm standing there getting her card with the guy (all the people who work at the Surprise library are volunteers, so they're all old retirees, and this guy really couldn't hear a word. He kept misspelling Lindsay. First Limbsay, then Linbsay, finally getting it right. But I didn't know he was misspelling it each time, so he would look at me and go, are you sure, this doesn't look right.) she's being a pest. Finally she gets her card and we go over to the kid section where the other two are and I start directing her to the Junie B Jones books, which she loves. They even had a few that she didn't have yet. But no, then she spies Hannah Montanna, and it's over. Sigh. At least they were chapter books, right? Anyway, she's picking out her books, and Bailey comes up with a stack of six or seven books to ask how many she can check out. And this is the same day she had library at school and picked out two books there too. So she was a little bummed that I only let her get three. I had to promise to take her back this weekend if she's finished them (which she might...five books, five days. That sounds like Bailey). Then I go over to see what Cole's got and almost laugh. He's got picture books. Lindsay is all hyped up to check out chapter books and Cole's got picture books. I was able to persuade him to get chapter books when we found the Hardy Boys books and Star Wars books. Oh, and one of the Star Wars books is a choose your own adventure, so he's in absolute heaven now, he won't put it down. And since he's grounded now (I'll get there), it's a good thing he has something to read. Since the kids were ok, I went off to get my books, and then figured we could leave. Boy was that a mistake. Lindsay has been very tired from first grade, and lately her deal is that her legs are so tired that she can't get up on her own. Sometimes I help her, but there are other times when I'm just not in the mood (after listening to her whining about how long it took to get her library card perhaps), or, you know, have my hands full of books (no idea where Bailey gets it from). So she starts to throw a fit that I won't help her up. Loudly. As if Lindsay would ever throw a quiet fit. She's standing there screaming at me. And of course half the library turns to see what's going on. So I'm very quietly trying to get her to be quiet, and it's not working. She gets louder. At this point, the whole library is looking at me, and the security guard comes over to see what's going on. I was so embarrassed and livid like you wouldn't believe! So I tell them all to put down their books as we walk out. Outside, where I don't care if she screams, I give Bailey and Cole their library cards and let them go back in to get their books (and then I sent Bailey back in to get mine--I like having a ten year old!). At this point, Lindsay's so upset, and she wants her books, so she keeps trying to hug me and tell me she's sorry (but before you start getting warm hearted over it, this is her SOP, she throws a fit, says she's sorry and hugs me without meaning it or learning anything). This time I was so upset, I just kept pushing her away and telling her she needed to let Mommy cool off. If we were at home, I would have given myself a time out. She finally did calm down, and we were able to have a talk about appropriate library behavior and how even when she misbehaves I still love her (she was very concerned about that). I'm sure I could have handled the situation better, but I was proud of myself for not even raising my voice (even outside) or manhandling her in any way. So maybe next time she'll behave herself because I know she's really sad she didn't get to check out books.

Wednesday, we took Cole to a karate studio nearby and signed him up. We had to make a commitment for a year, but he's really excited. He has done a few classes through the school but he really wants to earn his belts and advance, so we figured we'd better take him to an actual studio for that. We were impressed that this place expects him to put his discipline into practice at home too, not just for karate. In order to be tested to the next belt, he has to achieve six belt loops, and a couple of them at least have to be that he's doing well at home and at school, so we like that. So now he's doing karate twice a week, and his little buddy from school was in his class, so that's cool too.

Thursday Cole decided to give me a run for my money. He's been having a problem lately with telling me he's going to go ride his bike and then going into a friend's house without telling us. We had just had a talk about discipline, and he wants to go ride his bike. About an hour later, Lindsay goes down to the park and comes back telling me she can't find Cole. So I go walk down the street but I don't see his bike at his buddy's house or at either neighborhood park. So I get in the car and drive over to his other buddy's house (which is in another neighborhood across a bigger street), and sure enough, his bike is outside. So he's grounded for the next week. We were going to have him go to karate Thursday night since he's supposed to go twice a week, but we decided that he needed to not go the rest of this week now. Oh, and this is on top of that morning. My bedroom door happened to be open because the dog was being a butt in the middle of the night, so really early in the morning when the kids are supposed to be getting ready for school, I hear Cole tell Lindsay to shut the fing door. So he was busted on that one too. I think he figured I wouldn't hear him so he was safe.

Finally, last night Bailey started a hip hop dance class at a nearby dance studio. She was so excited to go, but I think she's changed her mind now that she's started. This is the first dance class that she's ever taken, and I think the other girls in the class have dance experience, so she was a little frustrated. But I had warned her before she started that if I was going to pay the class fee and the registration fee, she had to stick with it for at least three months. I think that's long enough for you to say that she's given it a really good shot and getting past the initial frustration. And I think each week will be a little better. Lindsay is going to do cheer (this is me so not excited!) at the same dance studio on Monday nights too. So our normally busy life is becoming downright chaotic. I'm hoping that it will make for some well rounded kids, though.

Bailey's party

Bailey's party was on Saturday, so I spent the better part of Friday trying to get a lot done (doesn't help when you have to run a kid to the dr and the dog to the vet and then your boss asks you to come in for a few hours on your vacation day, but I digress). The only theme that she had going is that she wanted it to be like a spa day, so she wanted mostly healthy food, and we went from there. I was hoping to get decorated on Friday and to have prepared half the food, but none of that got done. So Saturday morning, we got up and everyone helped clean up and then decorate. Jason was a big help with the streamers, he did them way better than I would have done. Then Bailey helped me prepare the food. The doorbell rang a couple minutes before 2, and I was still in pj's, so I let Jason answer the door while I ran upstairs to take a quick shower. By 2:30, the four girls had arrived and we let them just hang out for a little while. Around 3 we went over to the aquatic center here in Surprise and swam (and I love our aquatic center--9 people, $11). When we got home, Jason and I made a bunch of different kinds of sandwiches without crusts, cut into triangles for dinner. We had a fruit salad with a berry cream cheese dip, gatorade slushies, and the munchies I had made earlier (fruit salsa with homemade cinnamon chips, reese's haystacks, chocolate dipped pretzels with sprinkles, cookies, and chex mix). The girls were pretty funny. They loved the turkey sandwiches, we kept having to make more, but none of them would touch the chicken sandwiches. Same brand of lunch meat and everything, they just thought chicken was weird. After dinner, she opened her presents, and then we had cake. After the festivities, the girls gave each other makeovers, and I painted their toenails (we found some cute bling for their toes at Target too, but they didn't stick very well). They were so hilarious. Whenever they finished with each other's makeup, they would go into Bailey's walk in closet, link their ankles, and the girl who had her makeup done had to tell secrets, such as who they liked. I tried very hard not to laugh, but they were having fun. Bailey made me proud too because while I was in there, the girls didn't want to tell their secrets to each other, but Bailey told them I was cool. :D Oh, and she told me who she likes, so at least she'll talk to me for now. I give it another year or two and then she won't want to talk to me anymore. Anyway, the girls finally went to bed at eleven and were asleep by midnight, so that wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be. The next morning, we got up and made them french toast and smoothies and they found the time to give each other makeovers again before they left.

Bailey had a great time, which was the most important part. And Jason and I got to see the group of girls that she's friends with at school, and they're really pretty good girls. The girl that Bailey talks about most got her the most thoughful gift, so we were really happy that this is the girl that Bailey calls her best friend. I think the most annoying thing for me was the cell phones. I didn't anticipate that every single one of those girls would show up with their own cell phone. We've agreed that our kids don't need one, and we really think it's pretty stupid for kids this age to have them except for some circumstances. But to bring them to a sleepover? They were calling and texting eachother while they were sitting in the same room or the same car! Oh, and they were calling their parents too ("We're on our way to go swim. I love you!") Seriously, if Bailey started calling me from a sleepover just to say hi and that she loves me, I'd be asking her if she needed to be picked up. It really made us uncomfortable, I wanted to take them away, but since they really weren't doing anything bad with them, I couldn't see how I could. Within five minutes of them getting here, I did have to stop them from prank calling people though. It also made Bailey pretty jealous since she doesn't have one. But, other than that and the exhaustion of prepping for a throwing a party like this, it was great.

Proof that I'm insane

Our kids get to have birthday parties on their even birthdays, and since Bailey was turning ten, it was her turn. So she decided to have a slumber party and four of her little girlfriends were coming. Bailey was really thinking this birthday was pretty special because she was turning double digits, so I really tried hard to make it special for her. And as if I didn't have enough to do last week, I decided that the party favors should be pretty special too. Each girl went home with a journal and a little purse that I made for each of them filled with girlie things and candy. I actually ended up shorting myself on my essay in order to get them done and didn't get as high a score on it as I usually do, but since it was the first assignment, I'm not too worried about it. I'll have to try harder in the future to make sure school doesn't take a backseat. I just hope my daughter appreciates the effort I put in even though she doesn't say it. I guess that's pretty normal for a ten year old though.