Weekend of estrogen

While the men of our life were away with our precious sons, hopefully not killing them, us girlies decided to have a weekend of estrogen. 

Here's a little fact about girls: THEY ARE SQUEALY.

They scream, they squeal, they cry, they pout, and they are adorable. THANK GOODNESS FOR THE ADORABLE PART. It seemed Tracey and I hardly saw them, they would just run off, close the door and play for hours.

 We did decide to treat the girls to a pedicure, or well, I should say we tried to treat them to pedicures.  First time we went in it was an hour wait, so we put our names on the list and left to kill some time. Second time in we waited a good 40 minutes and were hardly acknowledged. This was as far as we got. Maggie was all, "WE ARE WAISTING OUR TIME!" Smart words from a four year old. We eventually left, bought the girls some new polish, and gave them pedicures at home.

It was a quick visit, but so fun for our girls to have some time together.

How fun will it be to look at these pictures when the girls are 13 and 16?

They will be horrified, and Tracey and I will cry.

Cry because our babies will be all grown up, and because we'll be old.

Fun weekend!

Good things do happen when you camp

So the last time that Paul took Pierce backpacking, was all the way back in 2013. It was an awful, traumatic experience, where they were eaten up by some sort of deer mites. WELL AT LEAST IT WAS TRAUMATIC FOR ME. 

I decided at that time, NOTHING GOOD HAPPENS WHEN YOU CAMP. 

After that experience of being eaten alive, and hiking 2.5 miles in the dark, I was sure Pierce would never agree to going again. 

Uh, no. 

Like someone who goes back to their stupid ex, my son was ready and willing to go backpacking again. 

It took a while, but finally another trip was planned. This time though it was going to be a group trip, five boys and four men. And I would imagine a whole lot of stink. 

This time around they went to the Red River Gorge, in Slade Kentucky. Here's a fun little fact about the Gorge, people die their each year. THAT'S A SONG TO A MOM'S EARS. But Paul should be proud of me, I only gave one small lecture this time around.

"Please don't let him stand near a ledge."

I'm betting he did, but what I don't know won't kill me I guess.

Actually as soon as Pierce walked through the door back home he let me know he climbed up ledges. It's as though they enjoy upsetting me.

That upsetting news was quickly followed by, "I didn't miss you at all! I was too busy to even think about you!"

 I acted appalled, but it actually made me happy. I was happy he had such a great time.

Paul told me that he never complained a single time.

He said he played really hard

Held his weight, and worked really hard.

Proof of that.

I'm happy he's home, didn't fall off a cliff, or get eaten alive.

I'm also happy for these men who invest in their sons and give them memories they will never forget. I must also now admit, as long as I'm the one not going, good things do happen when you camp.

Spring flingin'

What a difference a couple weeks can make....

Because now we are driving around with our heads stuck out our windows like a dog.

Something about the beginning of each new season, you know? It just breathes new life into the body, and suddenly you want to move. We've been venturing outside a whole lot, letting our poor pasty white bodies get a little sun exposure.

And with the thoughts of Spring, come the thoughts of closing out another school year.

The kids had a Spring Fling the other night and we stayed and supported for an entire THREE hours. That's a long time to spend with a few hundred elementary children. But like I say for most all things, "it's all for the chirren."

One of the games Hope played was Plinko. Ask me how much I want to play that on The Price is Right. Uh, so much.

I hardly saw Pierce, just glimpses of his sweaty face as he would run by me and ask for more tickets.

I finally managed to drag them out of there when they saw I was about to fall over holding up all their loot.

Yeah it was a pain getting them out of there, because honestly I think they would stay until I passed out from exhaustion. 

But they didn't say bummed too long. It's Spring'ish outside, and you just can't help but be happy. 

P.S. all three of us are jumping in this picture and I can't help but laugh out loud at just how non-jumping we look.

But hey, we tried.

Parenting in a world of social media

My firstborn is no longer a tiny little fella, much to my chagrin. 

That tiny guy with the big blue eyes? I used to take an average of 65,4789 pictures a day of him because I was firm in being obnoxious. 

But here we are and he's not so "tiny" anymore, and he's getting his own ideas about things.  Ridiculous, right? 

Of course, I jest.  Sort of. 

Pierce is aware of social media, and he is aware that I will take pictures of them and post them. 

You see where this is going. 

He's told me after I take certain pictures "mom, please don't put that on anything." And I get it. The older he gets, the more I will have to bend with him, and I will have to respect his boundaries. I think as moms we look at our children with such admiration we can't help but want to show them to the world, but then it's about us and not them. 

 

He's still a little guy and I still reserve the right to post photos, but I've had some light bulb moments that I have to be careful what I share and consider his feelings in the process. 

Parenting in a world of social media is an odd thing. I will hopefully navigate my way through it without messing up my children too much, but only by the Grace of God. 

Back in the saddle

Despite mounds of snow on the ground, it's that time of year again. 

Time to crank up the bats, warm up the gloves, and spit. Or whatever it is you baseball playing people do.

Pierce has already had tryouts and been assigned a team, he's now an A. Is that right? The A's?

Last year we had an interesting year, and by interesting I mean bad. But this year feels right! Or at least that's what I've been told. His coach is the football coach for WKU, who also happened to play for the Broncos, the Chargers, and the Redskins at one time. Hello, that's the bomb dignity to a 10 year old boy.

Practices have begun, and he's ready!

And I'm ready to spend hours at the ball field cheering on my boy!

Go A's!

Life according to kids

I accidentally left trash in the car one day, and when we got into the car the smell was definitely a reminder that I forgot! 

Pierce: "Man! It smells like a porter potty in here!"

Hope and I were shopping and she picks up a pair of G-string underwear, she studied them for several minutes and was totally confused by them.

Hope: "MOMMY THERE IS NOTHING TO COVER YOUR STUFF!"

Pierce was telling me a really juicy story, full of great detail, and then we reached the climax of the story:

Pierce: "Mom she let the cat out!"

Me: "She let the cat out?"

Pierce: "Yeah! It was funny, the cat was out!"

Me: "I am confused, what do you mean? There was a cat?"

Pierce:  "Mom, she spilled the beans! You know, she let the cat out!" 

Hope is apparently quite the little witness at school. While I am proud of her for sharing about Jesus, I am a little nervous that I'm gonna get a call one day. And since this happened, we've had a few talks about maybe a nicer way to share...

Hope: "Mommy a girl told me that she believes in many god's, so I told her she was gonna go to hell."  

Hope: "Mommy, I have a dream. You know like Marker Luther Jr."

Pierce: "Mom when I grow up and don't have any money, is it okay if I still live with you?"

Hope loves sharks, so we were having a big discussion about all things shark.

Hope: "You know which sharks I like the least? The sand shark! He just lays there! I like sharks that are more entertaingful."

Pierce: "Mom I like everything about you, but my favorite thing is your personality." (Heart melted)