the big show is almost here!

This afternoon, SweetPea had her first taste of being in the limelight... and she LOVED it! I honestly wasn't sure how she would do being on stage and having an audience and now, I am looking back and wondering why I was worried about it at all. Not only did she remember her dance steps (and proved it by "running through her steps" back stage) but she smiled, had fun and totally ate up the applause and adoration.

I was a little surprised that she was so "willing" to go through everything on her own since I can still remember that moment of fear racing through me before I would get on stage to perform. I loved to dance and loved my classes but getting up in front of a group of people for any reason has always left me anxiety-ridden. Thankfully, SweetPea didn't inherit that from me since she wanted all eyes on her the entire time... even when she wasn't supposed to have them.

My very own little Cinderella, reaching for the prince

It did shock me though how much she didn't enjoy the make-up. After looking forward to that for weeks now, she couldn't wait to take it back off again. Ah yes, there's my girl! I knew that my genes must have entered into her development somewhere.

But the costume? She kept calling today "costume night" and couldn't wait to put her ballet dress on. When tap was over, she refused to allow us to change her back into street clothes. The shoes? She would live in her tap shoes if we let her. Tiaras and bows? Oh yes, the more the better. But make-up? Yeah, she can definitely leave that one alone.

Biggest thrill for today though was receiving her first bouquet from daddy. I am not sure who was closer to tears... daddy handing his little girl her flowers or SweetPea accepting them from him. It was one of those moments that you just know that you will cherish the rest of your life. The look on both their faces at that very moment in time.

Our first visit from the Tooth Fairy

Literally, our first visit from the tooth fairy. As a young toddler, Peanut was terrified of the idea of people/creatures entering her house while she was sleeping. There was nothing magical about Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, etc. Those induced panic that I have never seen her such a young child. So we nixed them. I figured that telling a lie, even in good spirits and then having to deal with them coming to the truth wasn't something that I wanted to do anyway. I try to always be as honest as possible with my children, so why should I create magical beings when I try my hardest to incorporate magic into our every day life?
Easy... because this little face chose to believe in the tooth fairy all on her own. No one had to tell her that she exists, she just does. And while I could have sat SweetPea down and told her the truth and crushed her imaginative spirit, instead I took the time to explain things that we see with our eyes and those that we see with our hearts. The tooth fairy is one that we see with our hearts. As long as we believe, the magic is there. Once we stop believing, the magic ends. Amazingly enough, SweetPea agreed. And not just a "If I nod my head, my mama will stop talking" agreed but an honest "Like Santa Claus and the North Pole?" Yes, baby girl, just like that.

Someone got a very special visit during the night!

SweetPea was very impressed by her five dollars in bills and change awaiting for her under her pillow when she woke this morning. Even more impressed when mama said yes to paying for her own brownie from the local bakery. Daddy and mama didn't want the tooth fairy to get all the credit (because yes, we are selfish people and want some of that adoration as well) so we kept the tradition that I started and allowed SweetPea to "pick a prize" for losing her first tooth. Her choice? A mermaid Loopsie. Wonderful. So now I am on a mission to find Coral Sea Shells in the "big size".

Now that the magic of losing that first tooth has wore off, SweetPea has already started wiggling her second. Yikes! Thankfully, its not quite ready to pop out yet which is good for me. I am not ready for my baby girl to be toothless yet.

My baby girl is growing up!

I was really excited to share today about SweetPea's dance pictures. I even debated sharing some pictures of her in her costumes, all dolled up in her dance finery with her hair curled and that sweet smile of her's adorning her face.

Instead, I forgot to grab a single picture of her in costume. Totally unlike me. But I called it! While sitting in the parking lot of the dance studio, waiting for our time to go in and get SweetPea ready for her pictures, this happened....

Notice anything different?

Ahhhh!!! Wasn't she just born yesterday? Didn't those sweet baby teeth just make their appearance!? I knew it though. Once she showed me her wiggly tooth about a week ago, I just KNEW that she would lose it during her dance pictures. Actually, I had some very bad dreams about her literally losing it during her pictures, the gum bleeding and staining her costume and SweetPea losing her head. Instead, though, it popped out while she was having a snack while waiting for her pictures. No bleeding, no tears, just *pop* and her little tooth laid there in her hand.

She is beyond words excited for this momentous event. I really wasn't sure how we would proceed but she informed us that the tooth fairy was going to be paying her a visit tonight. Ok then, that solved if we were going to go down that route or not.

I am still in shock though. Punk lost his first tooth about a week before his seventh birthday. Peanut was about 6.5 years old when she lost her first. SweetPea blew them both out of the water by losing her first at just shy of 4 years and 3 months! Wow!

one proud mama today

Anyone who knows Punk knows that he loves sports. Loves them! And it makes us all laugh because he hates running. Detests it. He will run for short distances but he just doesn't enjoy the feel of a good, long distance run (and neither does his mom ha ha!) So imagine our shock when first, he comes home and tells us that he wants to join track and our even bigger shock when he sticks with it.

Yes, my soccer star now runs track! 

I think that a major part of it was his coach saying how track helps you build endurance for other sports. Which is true. And that its a great complimentary sport for those that are interested in athletics. Which is true too. Doesn't hurt that one of the coaches is one of Punk's favorite teachers. Having someone you admire tell you something that your parents have been trying to tell you for years definitely goes a long way to cementing that idea in your head.

Punk at his first ever track meet

Since Punk's school has an extra abundance of track members (well over 100), he wasn't selected to "represent" his school in the meets but performs for "personal best". Today, he did the running long jump, 50 meter dash and 75 meter dash. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't out of my seat proud! Just to see him stick with this and really work made me so happy. That he went to his first meet after not being able to practice with the team for most of last week made me even prouder. I wanted to just tell everyone that my boy isn't a quitter but a fighter!

Today's goals were logged and he will compete against those scores on Thursday. I am not sure if he competes in the same activities week after week or if they will end up switching it up a bit. I know that he has no interest in ever running the hurdles or doing the high jump but I do know that he wouldn't mind doing shot put at least once or twice.

Our grand vacation day 4

girls' horse riding adventure

putting her hand in an actual dinosaur print

skipping rocks in the Paluxy River

catching crawfish

and stiff fish

climbing the "big rocks"

awesome dinner with friends... meeting face to face after ten years

Our grand vacation day 3.... Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from sunny Texas!

how the littles spent most of their day

great grandma and her oldest great grandson

first time meeting great-grandma

first time meeting great-grandma.... her namesake

four loving generations

Robyn and Matt's wedding day

flower girl and the ring bearer... awww

baby sister and her fiance!

the happy couple with my blessed nephew

sums up SweetPea's feelings about sharing the spotlight

never got a pic of all my kiddos together that day *sigh*

absolutely melt my heart

my sister and my new brother-in-law

the beautiful bride and her maid of honor

the starving crew lol

my mom and the most handsome nephew ever

Yay!! Finally!

Oh wow! I think that this is the longest that I have gone without a knitting project since I learned how back in August of 2010. Which might not seem like much to the general public but to me, someone who is constantly doing "something", its a good size break.

But with only about five weeks until our family vacation, I needed to stop dragging my feet and get started. I already knew which pattern that I wanted to follow for PorkChop, so I got the yarn ordered and fell right into it.

Qing Long, take one

I love learning new techniques but to be thrown into learning two for one project (and right at the beginning), its a bit stressful. Ok, its a LOT stressful. And made me consider scrapping this piece to try another. But thankfully, I kept trudging ahead and now, I can say that after about fifteen attempts, I did figure out the cast on and got it tight enough to not look "frumpy" a few rows down. As for magic looping, I don't think that I will ever be a fan. Its nice to say that I did it and that I can do it if I have to but I think that I prefer my dpns.

I am really hoping to be done with this by next Sunday. One week.... Why do I set these kinds of deadlines for myself? Because I like the torture? Maybe. But I want to give myself ample time to work on SweetPea's sweater too. Not that she "needs" one, whereas PorkChop does, but I want to feel accomplished.

time to get cookin'

I love our Sunday routine! A good home-cooked meal, dessert, tons of family time.... I love it. I especially had a great time this weekend since we had all five kiddos with us. That's a rarity. The fact that all five kiddos got along all weekend without complaint was even more of a rarity. Since we all had such a nice break (half days Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for the boys and half days Thursday and Friday for Peanut) with such low stress levels, I wanted to do something extra special for our Sunday treats. Enter Pickle's favorite cake and one of my favorite treats...

Last weekend, I made hubby's favorite cake, pineapple upside down cake, and it was meh. I used a cake mix to save time (and because I got scared at the last minute that I could do a good enough job) and it just wasn't that great. I only started making cakes from scratch back in August and I am still shaky on my confidence. But lesson learned.... our family does not like cakes from a box anymore.

So this weekend, I scoured the net looking at different carrot cake recipes until I found one that I thought would fly. And did it ever! It was moist and full of flavor and absolutely amazing! PorkChop had two pieces himself and walked around the table begging for scraps after that. For a child that is not a cake fan under normal circumstances, that was HUGE!

carrot cake from scratch

The other big treat of the weekend started yesterday. I had pinned a recipe for fried baked pickles a few months back and finally decided that it was time to try. I am so thankful that I did! All the kiddos enjoyed them, which was another huge shocker. I really expected the older kiddos to complain and drag their feet but getting them involved in the process of making them made them more than eager to try their taste.

first attempt at baked pickles

I do need to remember next time not to add the shredded cheddar. Since PorkChop reacts very badly to dairy (but has been ok with tiny amounts of cheese) I should have known that these would be too much for him. But then again, I never expected him to want to eat a fried baked pickle. SweetPea either. Instead, SweetPea ate the pickles out of the center and PorkChop ate the breading. If it wasn't for the fact that they are both slightly built, I could call them Jack Sprat and his wife.

I am already planning out our dessert for next Sunday. I am thinking either trying my hand at creating a chocolate covered cherry cupcake recipe or going with a pre-wrote one for triple salted caramel cupcakes. Either way, I think that we need a cupcake day around here.

"sew" excited

There is such a thrill, a certain energy if you will, from starting a new project. I liken it to a high.... you see all the potential before you but no idea where it will go. You have an end goal in mind, a projected result, but ahead of you, you have miles and miles of potential that you need to shape. Don't get me wrong, I love finishing a project too and seeing all my hard work and time turned into a gorgeous, tangible item. And I love the path to the finish line... its soothing for me to have an outlet for my creativity. But there are some projects that you are just itching to try, some that you drag your heels on, some where motivation will not come and others that keep you up all night with joy. This first sewing project of the year is definitely a much anticipated one......

first sewing project of the year

Yesterday, hubby procured tickets for himself and SweetPea to attend our township's annual daddy/daughter dance. Not only is just the thought of those two having a special "date" enough to give me a tooth ache, but this year, the dance is on Valentine's day. So I just KNEW that I had to do something extra special. I envisioned a dress in SweetPea's favorite color, purple, with lots of lace and ribbons, something elegant but very girlie. 

SweetPea had other ideas......

She insisted on pink. Pink? Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of the color. I was thrilled with Peanut's favorite color turned out to be blue. Even happier when SweetPea turned to all things purple. So the thought of working on this gorgeous dress in pink just wasn't very thrilling. I went along with it though, showing SweetPea all the different pinks that I could find and none of them were right for her. Everything I showed her met with a "That too ugly" and a haughty, nose up in the air, face.

Then I stumbled onto this print....

Elegant and girlie.... pink without being garish.... Something that I could envision lace and ribbons... The perfect fabric for the perfect dress. And best of all, SweetPea approved! She even helped me pick the sash and ruffle colors (and did an amazing job). We picked out the ribbons for her custom bows (although, we still need to find a green to match) and even though I opted out of lace for the pattern that I selected, SweetPea did tell me that she wanted to wear lace socks instead of tights on her special night.

Everything is now cut and prepped for the sewing, which I hope to start tomorrow. Then again, I still have that pesky hat to finish (just all the embellishments), a house to be cleaned, kids to be bathed, a chicken to be roasted and a hubby on the road. So maybe I am being overly optimistic in saying that tomorrow I will start. But in my dreams, its already completed and SweetPea is turning circles in her beautiful princess dress.

Mama said there would be days like this

If I say it once a day, I say it about fifty times.... Peanut's new room is HER room, not SweetPea's. Which means, SweetPea should NOT enter Peanut's room without permission. Does this mean that she listens? No, mainly because she is three but also because she is used to sharing a room with Peanut. Also, because the room that is now Peanut's used to be the boys' shared room and SweetPea wandered in there whenever she wanted.

Then again, I also say many, many, many times over the course of the day to pick things up... do not keep things in your room that shouldn't be in there... and if its something dangerous (by my terms), please keep it out of the reach of the littles.

But that didn't stop SweetPea from entering Peanut's room while I was cleaning up from lunch. It didn't stop SweetPea from attempting to use wooden shelves (that we have long since thrown out the bookcase that they went to) to create a "fort" for PorkChop. And it didn't stop SweetPea from dropping one of said shelves right on her big toe.....

first boo boo of the year

It was scary at first, for the both of us. Hearing a loud thump, hearing SweetPea start weeping, then sobbing, then screaming and NOT seeing her appear was scary. Running down the hall to see her sitting on her sister's bedroom floor, rocking back and forth and holding her foot was bad. Watching blood seep through her tights and knowing that, because she refused to take off her leotard/tights combo from the night before, that I would have to remove ALL her clothing to see what happened was bad too. 

Thankfully, she missed her toenail by less than an 1/8 of an inch. She did manage to break the skin right under by blunt force but it was minor, all things considered. For quite a bit, we worried that she might have broken her toe. SweetPea just sobbed the entire time "Will I EVER be able to dance again?!" and no amount of soothing words would convince her that yes, she would probably be back on her feet before her next class.

Liquid advil to reduce the pain and swelling, ice and elevation too, and a good  nap (which she sorely needed), did wonders though. The same child that couldn't bend her toe or walk on her foot at all before her nap at 1pm was stomping through the house after being told to help clean her room at 7pm. 

Will this stop her from entering her sister's room? Probably not. Will it give her pause before doing something "fun" that she knows that she probably shouldn't do or at least, ask first? I doubt it. But she's young and in charge of her own person and she got lucky today. Thank you, Guardian Angel, for watching out for my little Grace once again.

first of the year

I have really been slacking this year. Normally, I have projects lined up and have already begun cracking on that list. This year? Yeah.... I have things in mind but no real direction. I mean, I have ordered the perfect pattern for SweetPea's daddy/daughter dance dress. I bought a couple other cute dress patterns too. I even have a new sweater pattern to knit. Just lacking motivation right now. Big time.

But today, I got started on a project that I have a deadline for. Before Christmas, I got asked to make an Angry Bird hat for a little boy near SweetPea's age. Earlier this month, I got asked to make another for this little boy's cousin. So here I am....

first project of the year

I couldn't find a pattern for the black bird without driving up the price of this hat so I am making one up as I go. Fun times! Just taught myself to crochet in November of 2012 and here I am, trying to create a pattern. I do have the hat pattern down (using a basic existing pattern for that) but all the embellishments are coming from me. Hopefully it turns out ok. I am almost to the point where I need to stop until I can find some grey yarn locally. But it's ok... I have until next Friday to complete this.

Wish me luck! But I think that I am going to be fine. I have faith in myself and major confidence this time.

Over the river and through the woods

Ok, so it wasn't to grandmother's house we went but to the sledding hills. But at times, it definitely felt that we were going to go over a lake river and I would say that a good number of people crashed through the woods. Thankfully, no one in our family, although Pickle did make a very daring crash into the tire barriers at one point. But I digress....

Hubby knew that I was a bit bummed about our plans for the weekend needing to be changed and asked me what I would like to do instead. Had I thought things through, our original plans could have held since this (initially) cost more. And I guess that I could have been selfish and chosen to do what we have been trying to do since Christmas. But in the end, I went with something that would benefit the entire family, not just me. So a-sledding we went.

Four racing down the hill.

Pickle hadn't been in years now (easily five or six) and SweetPea, the last time we took her (which was two years ago), wasn't old enough to go on her own. PorkChop was too little last year to go, so of course, this was his first time. I felt bad not having Punk and Peanut with us but c'est la vie. There is always next time.

The weather ended up being perfect, in my not so humble opinion. The day called for marginally warmer temperatures than Saturday and flurries. Instead, the day felt much warmer (which could have just been all the layers everyone had on) and it SNOWED! Sure, hubby said that they were just flurries but when it was enough to leave a light blanket of snow over everything, to me, that's a bit more than just flurries.

We ended up hitting two different hills and four different runs. SweetPea, after a few runs on daddy's lap and one on Pickle's, decided that she could go on her own! It was a little nerve wracking watching her stop in the middle of a hill and attempt to walk back up but by the end of the day, she got the hang of crossing to the side and walking up the pathway. PorkChop had an amazing time if his giggles were any indication. Even when getting some major air with daddy, he was laughing and squealing and pulling the ropes to go faster.

Getting the chance to spend the day outdoors doing something that was fun for everyone definitely was a spirit booster. Especially since hubby looked into other local sledding hills and found some that make their own snow, provided the weather is cool enough to hold. Looking at our forecasted weather for the rest of the month, I can definitely see another sledding day in our future.

first year COMPLETE!

I can't believe that Sweet Pea's first season of soccer is now behind us! I cannot believe that hubby's first time  coaching is now complete either. I cannot believe that my baby girl has her "very own trophy" that must be snuggled and cuddled and swaddled in a linus (and will be returned there after daddy glues it back together... poor thing). I am not even sure yet if there will be a "season two" for our budding little athlete. Right now, she is looking forward to playing baseball in the fall. No more summer sports lessons for her. Although, I am still seeing if there is going to be a preschool dance class held at the community center this summer. *whistles*

I 

Sweet Pea definitely played her heart out today for the final game and was such a little card! I am so proud watching her... she doesn't take anything from anybody! Be it a teammate, a friend, an opponent or a stranger, if she feels that she is being wronged in some way, she stands up for herself. Now we just need to work on teaching her to stand up with words only....

In honor of Sweet Pea's final game, we took a special bike ride tonight down to a semi local park to allow her to play for a bit. We almost made it to said park last night on our daily ride but thought that it might be getting too late to allow play time and then to make it back to the house at a decent time. (And we were right... We still got back after 930!) Long bike rides are our favorite form of family time/exercise during the warmer months and getting to check out new parks/centers/trails/places makes it all the much better. Its funny... at the beginning of our bike rides, we were lucky to do 15miles. And after those, we were pretty much beat. But now? Peanut and Pickle made a 38 mile ride with us (our longest yet), we mapped out a just over 40 mile ride for the summer, are planning on a 50 mile ride tomorrow AND have now found our 15 mile rides to be nothing more than a walk in the park. That is, as long as hubby is pulling Sweet Pea and Pork Chop in the trailer. I can fully admit that my short 9 mile ride pulling them both felt like a few 100 miles of work.

Kids Bowl Free

For parents of larger families, this is one of the best summer programs out there! I am very grateful that our local bowling alley participates in the Kids Bowl Free summer program. It means for the cost of shoes, my kids can bowl two free games each day this summer. Not that we go every day. I select one day a week as "bowling day" and that's our fun activity for that day. In the past, I have stuck to a schedule with our outings but I am not sure how to approach that this year. Summer reading club and preschool skate have set days but the rest of it can be pretty fluid depending on what we want to do. So I may leave it like that. 

This year was the first year that Sweet Pea has been old enough to bowl. I was envisioning hours of waiting for her bowl to slowly creep down the lane, nearly stopping in front of the pins or breaking through to knock one down at a time. I was a little wrong! Apparently, she inherited her daddy's bowling skills because she rocked the lanes today for her first time!

Yes, we use bumpers. But she didn't need the ramp and used their smallest ball, a 6lber. Not only that, but she didn't bowl granny style. Instead, she held the ball, charged to the foul line like a little line backer and THREW the ball down the alley! I was beyond impressed!

All three of the kids did an amazing job though! Punk broke 100 both games, which made his day. He is now declaring that his summer goal is to break each "record" from the week before. Which means that next week, he needs to beat 111. Peanut's final game was a 96 which upset her because it meant that she was just bare points from 100. I reminded her that there is always next time and that she might do better with a bit of practice under her belt. As for Sweet Pea.... both her games were in the 60s! Not too shabby at all for a 3 year old's first time!

Unfortunately, all this excitement is making me consider signing up myself and hubby for the Kids Bowl Free program so we will have another cheap option of entertainment this summer. For adults, its something like $25 to register up to five adults on a card to get two free games all summer. I am not sure how much a game is normally but it sounds like a winner to me. Now to see if I actually ever do it this summer. lol

a first for us

Yesterday began what was one of the most scariest times in my life. PorkChop hadn't been feeling well for a few days but I just assumed that it was teething. His fever was high but he was still acting pretty normal, a bit more clingy but his normal happy and content self. During SweetPea's party though, he decided to stop eating. All together. I would offer the breast and he would just rear his body backwards and howl, huge tears running down his cheeks. By early afternoon, he wasn't wetting any diapers. We decided about 8pm to take him into the after hours clinic at the hospital before it closed.

When we got there, it had been at least 7 hrs without a wet diaper and even longer since he had eaten. He still wasn't interested in food and his eerie crying fits were getting closer and closer together. Thanks to some motrin, his fever was at bay at least.

PorkChop was seen at 830pm and because of his age and the history of illnesses in the family (SweetPea had an ear infection, Punk had both ears infected, Peanut was starting to complain of the same), it was decided to admit him through the ER for some IV fluids.

We were told at first that it would be a few hours and then he could leave. But with the length of his fever, his refusal to eat and his lethargy, they decided that it would be better to admit him overnight to the pediatrics ward.

Hubby took the older kids home, including my poor birthday girl who didn't understand one bit why mama and her baby were staying behind. I kept trying to offer the breast and my poor little man just kept refusing and looking at me with such sadness that I wanted to break down and cry. I didn't though. I was too afraid that if I started, I wouldn't stop.

Instead, I held PorkChop through six attempts to get a blood draw, through two more attempts to get the IV started, through a catheter to check for urinary trouble and an RSV swab.

I didn't sleep a wink that night having PorkChop not in the bed next to me for the first time since his birth. And the poor little man was so exhausted from the lack of fluids and the testing that he slept for four straight hours for the first time ever not snuggled up in my arms. Three bags of fluid later though and that ended. Once the IV fluids began kicking in, PorkChop started to become more like his normal self. He perked up, slowly ate from the breast and began wetting again.

Results came back that his body was fighting something but they never could pin point exactly what. Best guess was that it was some kind of viral infection based on my description of his slapped looking cheeks most of last week.

It never would have occurred to me before that such a mild appearing "cold" could be so concerning so quickly. None of my children had ever been hospitalized overnight before even though we had made other ER trips for various illnesses. Just the mental image that I carry of my PorkChop screaming (from hunger they guessed... ) but unwilling to eat, wanting to snuggle and just sleep, to being hooked to an IV is something that I will not soon forget.

I will take more time to snuggle him, to love on him, to have a bit more patience. We were lucky that nothing was seriously wrong. But what if it had? What would I have done without my baby?