Happy Birthday Selena!

A few months ago we went to Walt Disney World. As a condition of going, Chris said we wouldn't have any birthday parties this year. Everyone agreed. But let's face it, Selena is too young to enter into any kind of binding contracts or agreements.

This was evident as her birthday drew closer and she kept asking about her party. And even though Chris reminded her that we had dinner with the princesses, it wasn't registering with Selena and she just wanted to know when the party was.

So I technically didn't throw her a party, per Chris' agreement with the kids. I did not send out invitations, buy goodie bags, or even have a cake. I just happened to mention to a few friends that we would be having lunch at Chuck E. Cheese today, if they wanted to stop by. Some friends showed up and she had so much fun.

But the fact that there was no cake did not go unnoticed by Mackenna, who wondered where her sugar fix was. I don't enjoy baking at all, but I eventually was going to make a birthday cake today -- or at least buy one. But before I could, my sweet friend Mendy called and offered to make Selena a cake. I know it was killing Mendy that I didn't have one made. I, of course, let her make it. Thanks so much, Mendy! Selena loved her pretty pink cake.

I love how Selena still comes in our bed in the morning to cuddle. She still rubs my neck like she did as a baby. When she's wants us to guess something, she'll say, "Do you want a hint?" You tell her you do, and then she tells you the answer. Every time a song comes on the radio she'll say, "Don't change it! This is my favorite song." She loves music, dancing, and staring at herself in the mirror.

Selena is my baby and will always be. She has her dad's happy personality. I am thankful every day that she is with us.

Night of Chili & Friends

Tonight would've been a night that I usually stay at home in my sweats counting down the time until bedtime. Chris is gone, Alec was at football, so it was just me and the girls. But I decided they would enjoy going to a church activity -- the chili cook-off. So we went and it was a very fun night. The girls had already eaten dinner, but that didn't stop them from enjoying chili and cornbread. I met new friends, found out a friend was pregnant, and took some fun pictures.

Tomorrow I get to do Alec's football game alone. But thankfully a friend invited the girls over so I don't have to entertain them during the game. I can actually concentrate on Alec playing.

Chris had his check ride the last few days. They make sure he still knows how to fly by testing him for three days. So far so good, he's passed everything and should be home tomorrow night.

Back to School

I am so glad my school days are behind me. The thought of going back makes my stomach turn and gives me nightmares. I just returned from middle school orientation and am overwhelmed. First of all, I needed a map to navigate my way around this school, and still managed to get lost and be late for the classes. They had us following our child's schedule just like our kids do every day, so we could meet all of their teachers and learn about their curriculum. I have no idea how Alec makes it on time to his classes. He has one class at one end of the school, then has 2 minutes to get clear to the other side. At least he doesn't have to do it in heels like I did, but still, it's quite a distance.
Then the amount of work he is going to have this year scares me. I can help him with the writing assignments, but forget anything with numbers. It's funny how our kids know their parents strengths and weaknesses. Even Sophia will go to Chris with math problems, but come to me for spelling. Same with Alec -- I help him with everything but math. I tried to tell Sophia I'm capable of doing second grade math, but I think they've lost all faith in my mathematical abilities.

So after coming home thinking of all the projects Alec has ahead of him, Sophia throws another tidbit of stress at me that's sure to add more gray hair. Apparently, they've kept her in the office the last two days during recess because a girl said Sophia said something bad about another girl.
Then Sophia, in tears, tells me how she told them what happened, but nobody believed her and they yelled at her.
Well, that's not what a mom wants to hear. So now tomorrow, instead of sleeping in, driving her to school in my pj's, then coming back to lay on my couch, I have to get showered and go into the school and find out why they've kept punishing her for two days, without sending me a note or calling. Seems to me they're making something huge out of nothing, which makes me crazy since it's going to interrupt one of my days off of work.
And of course last week when Chris was home, there was no drama to deal with. Now he's gone and the drama begins. I think tonight I'm going to go call my old friends Ben & Jerry to come relieve my stress.

Our Week

Last week at our house, Chris spent a lot of time indoors. Why? Let's just say a bag of frozen peas and the couch were his best friends. So while he was recovering from a small out-patient procedure he had done, (pictures would be slightly inappropriate) I did all of the running around with the kids. Chris refuses to take any kind of medication, so he toughed it out and never admitted he was experiencing any discomfort. I tried to baby him, but he hates that. So I took more jobs, which turned into rushes so I had a ton of late nights working.

The girls were able to go to our neighborhood block party where they got very large tattoos. Sophia admired her tattoos and said to me, "Mom, I want this to be permanent." Okie dokie. I'm sure she'll change her mind once she realizes a real tattoo involves physical pain, so I won't have to worry about her getting one.

We also had the elementary school ice cream social, which I really don't look forward to. I have ice cream in my freezer that I'd gladly give to the kids. But every year they insist on going into a crowded, hot, smelling-of-body-odor cafeteria to get one popsicle. They enjoy seeing their friends, so we go.

The highlight of my week was Emmy's night, which unfortunately for Chris was at the same time as the Dallas/Greenbay football game. Cami and Mendy came over and we ate about 4,000 calories each as we watched our award show. For some reason overeating is much more fun and involves less guilt when you do it with friends.

I didn't exercise at all last week, so I'm trying to get started again since I'm going to order my black dress. Even if I haven't lost all my weight, I'm sure once I get the dress, then I'll totally eat right and exercise.

Sounds good anyway.

Three's Company

As I dropped Selena off at her first day of preschool, it was a little sad as I realized she's my last child and I have no more babies at home. When I was very young, I imagined my future family. It consisted of a tall husband with dark hair who looked great in a suit. I had seven children which included twins. We had a brown station wagon and lived in a one-story home with a fence. I imagined all of us sitting in church, children behaving perfectly, and everyone happy.

Life doesn't always turn out like we imagine it. I don't have my twins, nor do I have seven children. But I did get the tall husband with dark hair who actually does look great in his suits. My home is not one-story. I have four stories, which I should be grateful for because it gives me a little exercise.

Growing up with five siblings, I just always imagined I'd have a lot of children. But I guess not all of us are meant to have a bunch of little ones. There are times I think I could handle more children, and then there are times when I think I can't even handle the ones I have.

But I know I should be grateful that I've been blessed with three amazing children and not dwell on the fact that I don't have as many as I dreamed about when I was a little girl. I also didn't end up with the station wagon, but I'm not complaining about that.

The Ideal Husband

As I listened to my friend tell me what her husband had done for her, I stood there with my mouth open, in shock. I had been offering her my sympathy because her husband was leaving for a five day business trip. She said it wouldn't be so bad because, "He made dinners for the week and put them in the freezer." What? What husband does this? I told her that is not normal.

As I told another friend about this miraculous husband, it reminded me of other husband stories I've heard like the husband who bought a year's worth of gift cards for his wife, so she'll have at least a date a month; or my friend who had the husband that took her to New York for a shopping spree/Broadway show long weekend; or my friend who spent a couple hundred dollars shopping and her husband didn't even blink; or my friends who get flowers from their husbands, just because; or the husbands who never complain no matter how much weight their spouse gains.

But then I had to remind myself that I only hear the good deeds these men do. I'm not hearing about their annoying habits or weaknesses. I'm sure they probably have traits that would make me insane.

And even though I didn't marry Emeril, I never have to worry about paying bills, car issues, fixing anything in the house; he'll watch any of my friends' children happily; comes home from work always happy; never yells at me even when I deserve it; will run any errand I ask him to, and has the patience of Job.

So I decided to stop comparing other husband's good traits to things I think I want in my marriage. Because heaven forbid if Chris starts looking at other wives and realizing that they actually make meals every night and don't run up hundreds of dollars just in fast food charges; they bake cookies, instead of buying the dough and warming it up; they actually sew instead of buying new clothes when something rips; they use an ironing board; they don't feel the urge to order something from mail-order catalogs every week; they don't yell when they talk; they can say no to salesmen; and they don't constantly obsess over Edward.

I recently read a book called "Love The One You're With." It had a great quote:
"Love is not as a surge of passion, but is a choice to commit to something, someone, no matter what obstacles or temptations stand in the way. And maybe making that choice, again and again, day in and day out, year after year,, says more about love than never having a choice to make at all."

No doubt if Chris did make me meals before he went flying, I'd probably complain that I couldn't order take-out. So I'll just be happy for my friends and be grateful for what I have, concentrating on all the reasons I fell in love in the first place.

Sophia's Two Front Teeth

My children get their teeth very late, and lose their teeth late. Sophia is 7 1/2 years old and hasn't lost a tooth. This causes problems when her adult teeth start coming in, but there's no where for them to go. So her dentist told her she had to either loosen her two front bottom teeth and get them out herself, or he'd need to pull them. Well, my Sophia is not one for any kind of physical discomfort, so she didn't even begin to get the teeth loose.

Needless to say, she ended up in the dentist chair last Tuesday, missing another day of school. I took her to a dentist where our friends work, Laurrel and Regina, so that made Sophia more comfortable. This isn't her regular dentist, but we switched for this procedure since her regular dentist didn't use the gas. And there's no way Sophia would've sat through getting a shot in her mouth without being high on something first. So I picked up an extra day of work to pay for a specialized dentist who would get her nice and relaxed before he even touched her.

At first she wouldn't let Regina put the mask on her, and I started using my "mothery" voice telling her she'd better put it on, since this was costing a small fortune. Regina threatened to kick me out of the room since I was becoming "one of those mothers."

This made me laugh because Regina is such the bossy mother with her own child, but with my Sophia, she was so patient and used the sweetest voice. So I kept my mouth shut, Regina didn't kick me out, and Sophia put her mask on.

When it was all over, Sophia came home with her first two teeth in a cute pink canister. After we were home about a half hour, she walks up to me with her teeth in one hand and Scotch tape in the other and demands, "I want you to put them back."

Excuse me? Yes, she wanted her teeth put back in her mouth.

Chris laughed, as I explained to her it wasn't an option since I paid the nice dentist a whole lot of money to take them out. She's my most sensitive child. She held her teeth the rest of the day and would occasionally ask if we'd tape them back in.

That night she refused to put them under her pillow. She said she wanted to keep them. She didn't care about the money, which is totally opposite compared to her brother who would extract his own teeth, plus his sisters' if he could just to get some money.

First Week Down

I remember being in junior high, thinking I knew everything, knowing I was smarter than my parents and so excited to be out of elementary school to attend school with the big kids. It doesn't seem that long ago, but apparently it was. Because my little boy is now in middle school.

He loved his first week. He woke up promptly at 6:15. I crawled out of bed to make him breakfast and watch him walk to the bus stop. He told me to shut the door so his friends couldn't see me. He's lucky I didn't follow him with my camera and help him on the bus.

He came home glowing. He loved the freedom of walking freely up and down the halls to his classes without having to stand in lines and stay with teachers. He didn't have too much homework, so he was loving it.

He also discovered -- girls! I was not happy about this little discovery and after explaining for the hundredth time how he can't even think about dating until he's 16, I wondered if I could learn math well enough to home school him. That was a quick thought and I came to my senses, but his raging hormones are going to age me.

Sophia, being in second grade has had an easy first week, although she did miss her second day because of swimmer's ear. She has a fun, young teacher. Her class is in one of the trailers, and she loves it. We'll see if that lasts when she has to walk out into the cold just to go to the bathroom, lunch, and her auxiliary classes.

The first week I woke up bright and early with Alec. After he left, I would walk on the treadmill and thought it would be a great year, because I'd get in such good shape. It only lasted the first week though. This second week of school I haven't exercised at all -- I've slept instead. I so hope that my motivation comes back.

While everyone is at school, Selena has had fun play dates. She, Tori, and Marlee played dress up with gorgeous nightgowns and then danced around.