Ashlyn has 'boyfriends'?

Ashlyn just informed me that she has 3 boyfriends. The conversation started with her saying, "Keifer loves me! Well actually, I have 3 boyfriends." I was silent and she continued with, "I had 4 but one moved to another school, so now I have 3 to go." I asked her what the "to go" phrase meant but didn't really get an answer so I then asked about the 'boy' that went to another school. She said "You know Jack. He was in Kindergarten last year so went to a new school this year." Well, no, I don't know Jack although she talked about him a frequently last year. So, last year Ashlyn was in the 3 year old class (she was 3, turned 4 half way through the school year) and she had a Kindergartner as a boyfriend. So at this point in the conversation I can feel my stomach in my throat. I asked her what does 'boyfriend' mean, but she skirted the question and continued to tell me the names of the boys... Keifer, Ryan and Ronan. Ronan is another boy she often mentioned last year, that she played with on the playground and also referred to as her boyfriend last year. Even her teacher last year commented on the friendship and said Ashlyn has good taste (jokingly), that he is a very cute boy from a nice family that she knows well.
Back to the car conversation... after Ashlyn told me the boys' names she then said, and I'm not making one word of this up: "This may sound awkward, but now I need to decide which one (she hesitated and then whispered) I'm going to marry." And she said it with a big smile on her face. By this time we are pulling in to the school car-pool line. I quickly asked her at what age does she think a person is old enough to start thinking about getting married? Well, the conversation was cut short and I got no answer as she jumped out of the car to greet her friends.
I wondered to myself, do I have a 5 year old or 15 year old? I realized how much she learns just from observation of people she views as being important. Our actions, values, priorities already make a big impression on her.

Talking about Christmas in May???

Avery randomly said yesterday, "Where is our Christmas tree?" Just out of the blue, no previous discussion about Christmas or Santa. She asked me several times until I explained that it is in the attic and that required more explanation.

Today, Ashlyn came across a picture in her drawer of herself with Santa from three of years ago. She looked at it and said, "That isn't the real Santa!" and tossed it on the floor. She is way too observant!

It is May, warm, even hot weather, and my girls are suddenly thinking about Christmas. Even though it is my favorite holiday, I simply can't even start to think about Christmas yet! Let's enjoy the summer!!!!

Need a Translator?

Sometimes kids seem to have their own language and it takes their parents to translate for everyone else to know what they are talking about. A couple funny things the girls have said this week that may need me to translate for anyone else to really understand:

Avery: "My do it my sep" = translation: 'I do it myself.' She always uses "my" for "I" and hasn't mastered 'self' yet, although she can be heard saying this phrase throughout the day with everything she does... getting in the car and buckling her car seat, getting dressed, etc. She doesn't want help with anything, but she needs help with most everything!

Ashlyn: if you ask her what she had for dinner last night she'd tell you "sloppy jones" = sloppy joes

Dora!

{singing} "Dora, Dora, Dora the Explorer!", "Go Diego Go!"

These two songs are constantly being heard in my head or coming out of my mouth... thanks to Avery! She is absolutely obsessed with Dora and Diego. She loves the cartoons, which is all she ever wants to watch- episode after episode- and asks to watch it the minute she wakes up in the morning. She also insists on wearing her Dora pull-ups and throws a fit on the occasion when we have run out of Dora and must dip into the Princess 'reserve'. Often she will also dig through her drawer until she finds a pair of Dora panties to put on over the Dora pull-up as well. It doesn't stop there! Avery has a small Dora figurine as well as a plastic Jaguar (Diego's pet) that she has with her most of the time and even sleeps with.

Avery actually has an entire entourage that accompanies her to sleep: tonight she has 1 baby doll, Dora, 1 lovey, a bear and 5 blankets (2 for her, one each for Dora, the bear and her doll). As I was tucking Avery in bed tonight she asked for her baby. I laid it in the bed next to her and she said, "no, that's Dora's spot!" Dora, Dora Dora!

Wordless Wednesday

Two weekends ago we celebrated McKenna's 5th birthday at a "Girly Girl" party. All the girls were pampered with princess outfits, hair-dos, make-up and nail polish. Then they put on a runway fashion show and showed off a little of their dance talent. Ashlyn loved every second of it, including her walk down the runway. She could have fooled the audience into thinking she has done this a time or two since she looked like a natural as she strutted down in her high heel dress up shoes, did a little turn at the end of the runway, then posed with her hip popped; all done with a beautiful smile on. Avery loved the make-up and nail polish but did without the dress up clothes or spot light.

McKenna's 5th birthday 2-21-09

Early Spring Cleaning

Over the past week I've had the urge to do some spring cleaning- not scrubbing type of cleaning, but getting rid of stuff we don't need or use, type of cleaning. I have collected 5 big trash bags full already to be donated, plus passed down 2 big bags of my own clothes to my cousin. In the process I've noticed how hard it is to let go of some things. Even though I may not have used it in several years, I still think, well maybe..., and somethings I have a memory attached to it that makes it tough to get rid of. It was so interesting to see the same behavior in the girls. I made a pile of some of the stuffed animals that have been in a basket in the corner of Ashlyn's room untouched for months and months. Of the 15+ that were in the pile, she was willing to part with only one of them. So the 14 stuffed animals rejoined the 30 others that remained still on the shelves and in the basket. I do understand her attachment, even though the animals just sit in a basket. I still have 4 or 5 stuffed animals from my childhood, 3 of which are in Avery's room in the bottom of a basket full of her stuffed animals. I decided, after several minutes of contemplating, to put my bear in the donation bag. It is obviously an old bear, almost antique looking with it's stiff body and simple, dated clothing with stains. I can still envision it sitting on my book case shelf in my childhood bedroom. Just before I went to bed last night, as I was walking past that donation bag that contained my bear, I stopped and took the bear out of the bag. So, now it remains sitting on the couch in a "holding pattern" until I decide if I want to depart of it yet or not. Sentiment!

Along with the spring cleaning, comes other signs of spring nearing. Avery has enjoyed picking the blooming purple weeds. And, as I was driving Ashlyn to school last Friday, we noticed the newly blossoming white flowers covering the Bradford Pear trees that line the sidewalks down Spring Creek and fill may back yards. The trees look as if they are covered in popcorn. Ashlyn noticed the blooms at the same moment as I did, (it's as if they bloomed over night) and she yelled out, "Look at the flowers! Spring is coming! Spring is coming!" Oh, the joys of spring and summer!

Unfortunately, we don't get to enjoy the flowering tree that once stood shading a big portion of our backyard. We lost our beautiful, huge tree last April in a major storm when 4 of the 5 main branches snapped off at the trunk. I didn't realize how much we enjoyed that tree until it was gone. And now that we are beginning to see the Bradford Pears blooming, I'm reminded again of the loss. Surprisingly, as I browsed 2 years of digital pictures, I was unable to find a picture of our tree before the storm tore it down. A good reminder to "stop and smell the roses" every once in a while!

April 2008 Now you see it...

Now you don't!

Better late than never!

Well, I've found my way back to our blog... after only 3 months have passed! My last post was Thanksgiving! The problem? I've been sucked in to the black hole of FaceBook. This social website that I was introduced to a few months ago has been so much fun to reconnect with old friends and stay up-to-date with current friends that I don't get to see as often as I would like. I mean, my girls have a more exciting social life than I do right now. For some reason it is so hard to find a common day and time that friends can all get together. My close friends and I use to get together every Thursday night to watch our favorite TV shows. Now, that we all have 2 kiddos, we only can manage to get together one night a month usually. So, FaceBook seems to fill the void of daily adult interaction and girlfriend time.

Anyway, I guess Facebook has put a bit of a spell on me causing me to choose to spend time there rather than focusing on this blog. And to be honest, I've had a bit of writer's block. I need to be in the right state of mind... and lately I've been "Debbie Downer". Times are tough! For us, for businesses, for our country, for the world! And we are feeling it financially along with most everyone else. And so, FaceBook (as well as Webkinz.com thanks to Ashlyn) allows me to put any stress or worries aside for a bit each day during my so called free time. But now I'm back! I realize I'm missing out on recording important things, funny things, special things. So I hope to stay up-to-date starting now, and to go back and fill in the past months as I find the time. I haven't completely neglected the blog- I have kept brief notes in draft form (12 entries to be exact plus other notes on my calendar) to trigger my memory so I haven't lost all the memories of the past 3 months, but possibly a lot of the details. As the title says, "better late than never!" And everyone knows, now that I have 2 kids, you can just about count on me being late for everything but I always make it there!!!


I better add this disclaimer just in case: I am in the middle of a book, "Memoirs of a Geisha" right now. I enjoy reading, a little too much when it's a good story, which is why I really don't read a lot of books. Because, I get so engrossed that I tend to spend every possible minute I can reading the book. And before I know it, the laundry is piled up, dishes stacked up and it's 6:00 pm with no plans on what to cook for dinner. So, I plan on finishing the book in the next few days so I can then spend some time on the blog.