Our little ballerina

Apparently I don't have a lot to say/type. In fact I can think of very little to say/type. But what I do have is A LOT of pictures of our ballerina from her first dance recital last weekend. Because really is there anything cuter than little girls in tutus?!? There isn't. Trust me.

 

So excited at dress rehearsal!

 

 

This girl was fearless on stage. She had absolutely NO stage fright. She smiled the entire time. And the crowd loved her. She may have been the smallest ballerina on the stage, but she had the brightest smile (says her completely biased mother). She may not have known what to do some  most of the time, but she was adorable imitating the ballerina next to her:) She danced her little three year old heart out and we loved it. Contrary to what her father said, it was the best $35 I have spent in a long time. Totally worth it.

She may have been fearless on stage but bedtime is a different story these days. She begs to sleep with me every night. Her argument? Her bed has bad dreams in it and my bed has good dreams. ALL the good dreams. She bats her eyelashes a bit and quivers her bottom lip as I sternly instruct her to return to her bed and I am instantly a puddle of love, completely and totally wrapped around her little finger. And subsequently I spend much of the night trying to unwrap her body from mine...in my bed. Because clearly I cannot deprive my child of good dreams:)

 

 

Hi!

 

Just popping in to say "Hi and we are still here". We survived test week. Charlotte is healthy. Our sanity is (mostly) intact. Joe started his LAST rotation of his third year!  Life is all flowers and sunshine. ALL THE TIME.

 

Kidding. Its just life around here. But it has been a little extra sunshine-y because we have been having fun with extended family. And its finally warming up. Plus Charlotte had her first dance recital on Saturday. It was pretty stinking adorable.

 

 

I might have even shed a tear or two over the cuteness of the whole thing. Joe did not. Even Hannah and Isaiah enjoyed seeing their sister on stage.

 

 

More later. Much much more. Back to family time now. And packing. Lots of packing.

 



right on schedule

I had kind of forgotten that it is a test week THIS WEEK. Mostly because I have been busy getting ready for our company that is coming this weekend. More of a mental preparation than an actual get-the-house-ready type of prep. Regardless I have been a bit preoccupied and distracted. Plus we weren't falling apart like our usual test week selves. Everyone was healthy, relatively happy, and sleeping at night. Until last night that is. 

Charlotte went from happy and healthy to a feverish, coughing, weeping needling in just a matter of a couple of hours. By bedtime it was evident that sleep was not going to come easily for her (despite the ibuprofen & Benadryl). She was a whining thrashing mess. So I laid down with her in her TODDLER sized bed until she finally dozed off. She slept peacefully for a few hours (but of course I had not gone to bed even though my gut told me I should have). Just as I was finally trying to go to sleep she cried out for me. Back to her bed I went. After some more crying and thrashing we both dozed off. Somewhere around midnight she woke again so I decided to transfer us to my bed - where there would actually be room for both of us. When we crawled into bed I woke Joe and told him it was going to be a long night and suggested he go sleep on the couch or the guest bed in the basement (so he could get good quality pre-test sleep). He declined.

Two hours later Joe kicked us out because Charlotte was kicking him in the neck. Totally legit complaint. But that meant we went back to the too small bed...

 

I tried really hard to leave Charlotte alone in her bed but she wasn't having it. She needed her mommy. So the toddler bed it was for the rest of the night until Isaiah found me at 6 am begging for cartoons and cereal. I obliged. Glad to get out of my miniature prison. 

After getting the big kids situated with their cartoons and breakfast, I finally crawled back into my bed without any children! I immediately woke my peacefully slumbering and blissfully unaware husband to complain about the backache I was now experiencing (compliments of the toddler bed). He didn't reply. Nothing. Nada. No acknowledgement. So I repeated myself and added how tired I was too with a little extra whine in my voice. To which he responded, "yeah I think tonight I will sleep in the guest bed so I can get more sleep". 

WHAT?!? Are you kidding me?!? Because I already suggested that 6 hours earlier! Oh I was livid. And tired. The words that flew out of my mouth were not kind. And they were not filtered either. He felt my wrath. He knew he had made a mistake. He quickly got his tired self out of our bed and helped our children get ready for the day while I attempted to get a little sleep. (I say attempted because two out my three children managed to weasel their way back to my bed to ask me very important questions - what day is it? and can I use your phone? - and interrupt my sleep some more.) 

As I was driving Isaiah to school this morning I was explaining to him why I was so tired. He then began drilling me as to the exact times Charlotte had woken during the night. To which I repeatedly responded "I don't know. I was sleepy." He then went on to explain that he had read the medicine package and it said it only lasts 8 hours so Charlotte probably needed more medicine to sleep! If I had just given her more medicine then I wouldn't be in this predicament. And I hate to admit it but he's probably right. 

All that to say, we are falling apart right on schedule. 24 hours to go until test time. 

If these walls could talk...

...here are some of the funny and cute (and not-so-cute) things you would hear...

Isaiah: Whats in the box?
Me: Toys.
Isaiah: (looking around the playroom) Really? It doesn't look like any are missing. Are you sure?
Me: Yep. Pretty sure. I just packed them all.
Isaiah: Oh. Well it really doesn't look like we are missing any toys. Maybe the play kitchen toys...
Me: Clearly we have too many toys!
Isaiah: No! I can tell there are toys missing. Really. Like....like....like.... Mom are you sure it's full of toys?

 

Charlotte: Sometimes I wish I didn't have a big brodder.

Me: Why?

Charlotte: Well sometimes when we are all playing in Isaiah's room he doesn't want Hannah there so he puts her out of his room. And I like playing with Hannah. And if I didn't have a big brodder then I could play with her too.

Me: I see.

Charlotte: I think it would be better if I had a two year old brodder.

Me: Makes sense. But you have a big brother. Sorry.

 

 

Joe: Hannah are you done (eating)?

Hannah: More daddy.

 

 

Okay that one isn't really cute or funny. BUT its her second TWO WORD sentence ever so its worthy of documenting in my humble opinion.

And lastly, this morning as we were walking into the restroom at Target to change Hannah's slept-in-all-night-and-poopy diaper (with a diaper two sizes too small and the remaining one and a half wipes I scrounged from my van floor):

Charlotte: Mommy it stinks in here!

Me: Well yes it's a bathroom sometimes they stink. Please hold my wallet while I change Hannah. 

Charlotte: Mommy it really STINKS!

Me: Mmhhmm. 

Charlotte: (looking around and noticing one occupied stall) Oh there is someone in here! I bet it stinks because of that person. 

Me: .... (Red faced and head hung low focusing really hard on the dirty diaper at hand while said occupant emerges from her stall. Meanwhile Charlotte oblivious to her mother's discomfort in the situation begins drilling me on the workings of and content of the feminine hygiene product dispenser.)...not now Charlotte! 

*Updated (to include a few more funnies):

Tonight at dinner I served the kids and then noticed I had tomato sauce on my white sweatshirt so I went to the bathroom to wash it out.  And this is the conversation I overheard from a distance...

Isaiah: Knock knock. 

Charlotte: Who's there?

Isaiah: Daddy. 

Charlotte: Daddy who?

Isaiah: Daddy is coming home. 

Me: (in my head) Ha! That's actually a funny joke. 

And then I hear Joe walk in! Joke was on me. Next I hear Joe riffling through the mail (mostly bills)...

Joe: Who are these people that always want all my money?

Hannah: Mama! 

Finally.

I finally, finally survived a ladies night out WITHOUT getting sick! No headache. No puking. No yuckiness at all. Granted this evening was much calmer than the previous two but still it's a HUGE victory for me! (The previous experiences can be found HERE and HERE.)

We took the train into the city, grabbed some dinner (my first time eating Thai food - yum!) and then we saw SELAH in concert.