Wednesday, November 21, 2012

My Little Firecracker

I am constantly wondering if I am making the right choices as a mom.  This was especially difficult when trying to evaluate Amelia with her little gymnastic "career."  During the summer, she made the team which included much more time away from Mom and Dad, many more hours in the gym, and alot of money;)  Drew and I just kept saying, "She's only 5...Can she handle all of this and school?"  Well, our questions were soon answered and everything has worked out perfectly.  I mean there are sacrifices; like no holidays from school, missed play dates and weekends full of travel for competitions.  But we are so proud that we have encouraged her to participate in a sport that has been able to teach her so much.  She has made new friends and her coaches are such great, positive role models.

Her first competition was this past weekend.  She was a nervous wreck.  We got up at 4 am and drove to Northern Kentucky.  It was cold, she was tired and I was sick.  Not a fun day....so I thought! And then it began!  She had an awesome day!



 Amelia walked away with 3, yes 3 medals and a 3rd place All Around trophy; her first trophy, I might add!


After bath time, snuggle time, and a recap conversation that night, Amelia was having trouble falling asleep.  She just kept reliving the day.  I left the room and started to hear her cry.  I walked back in and asked her why she was upset.  Her reply?...."I just don't want this day to end, Mom."

 I was able to rest easy on Sunday night....Drew and I had totally and completely made the right decision.

Friday, October 12, 2012

You is smart.....

I reluctantly watched The Help last week.  I say reluctantly because every time I watch a movie that "everyone" is talking about, I end up hating it.  But......I must say I loved it; especially when Aibileen says to Mae Mobley, "You is smart.  You is kind.  You is important."  I thought about that scene over and over.  They were such perfect words to say to a little girl.  So needless to say, I knew I wanted to do something like that for Amelia.  You see, our sweet Amelia is very shy.  She is a perfectionist and a people pleaser, and I have heard her say on more than one occasion, "I can't."   I thought it would be so great for her to know just how Drew and I felt about her.  I sat down and wrote some adjectives to describe her and then I began taping them on the ceiling above her bed.  They were just handwritten on note cards and honestly I wasn't pleased with how they turned out.


But I still couldn't wait to show Amelia when she came home from school.   She jumped up on her bed, read the words and then said she wanted a snack.  Well okay, then...she's not impressed.  As I tucked her in last night, she looked up and read a few more of the words.  She said, "Mom, do you really think I'm brave?"  I said, "Absolutely."  She gave me a kiss, rolled over and then fell asleep.

This morning started Fall Break so I got to sleep until 6:45.  I woke up but decided to stay and  snuggle a few more minutes in my warm bed before getting up.  And then,  I heard the sweetest little voice say," I am talented. I am smart. I am loved."  I had tears in my eyes and went to her room to read the rest of the words with her.

 So yes, it was a rushed project.  I used lined notecards and a black marker that was just about dry.  It was handwritten and unevenly spaced.  And to be honest, I can't be sure all the words were spelled correctly;)    

Did it matter?  Not one bit.  Was it worth it?  You have no idea.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

It's Potty Time

It's that time!  No more diapers.  I can honestly say I'm tired of changing diapers. So....we bought Maddox a brand new potty this week.  It sings when you pee pee in it. (genius, right?)  Obviously, he loves it and he did pretty well with his first day of  big boy pants.




Thumbs Up!


Potty Scorecard

                                                 In potty           8 times
                                                 Outside           2 times
                                                 In the floor     1 time
                                                

So a pretty good day for Maddox!  And seriously, how cute is he?



 

Monday, August 13, 2012

and I'm crying again....

It's that time of year again.  The time of year when the laughter stops, the fighting ceases and the little spark in our lives heads back to school. I really am crying again.  It seems absurd especially since its first grade.  I know, I know....I've done this already but I'm convinced I'm just lousy at change.  I love my crazy day to day life; both kids at home, yelling, running, giggling, flipping, hugging, snuggling, and playing.  I don't need anything to change.  I like everything just the way it is...but, nevertheless, here we are staring first grade right in the face.  I'm a mess and Amelia couldn't be more excited.  I mean, she has a new teacher....and "he's a boy." She's had her backpack packed for 2 weeks and her outfit is ironed and ready.  She's pumped, Mom is not. However, I must admit, it does make it easier knowing how much Amelia is looking forward to her new adventure.  So, Amelia, I write to you.....

My Amelia Rose,
Sweet, sweet girl, it's time for first grade!  You are so excited that I think you may pop.  You have a new teacher, Mr. Robinson and you absolutely loved meeting him.  You found out that several of your friends are in your class and I think that will make this year a breeze.  When we walked into orientation, all of the teachers remembered you.  They were so happy to see you.  Mrs. Scott hugged you for the longest time and told you to come to her room if you needed anything.  I could almost see the relief on your face.  I watched you walk down the hallway to your new room with your little ponytail rocking back and forth.  I tried to hold your hand as we walked up the stairs, but you let my hand go.   I don't know why it made me sad but it did.  Of course you don't need me to hold your hand as you walk up the stairs, but I just wanted you to need me or maybe I just needed you to hold MY hand.  It just made me realize how much you have grown up in a year.  You have gained so much confidence around your friends and teachers.  You are still as sweet as ever and funny, too!  You can read and write and sadly for dad and I , you can spell.;)  You are a great big sister and I credit you for teaching Maddox his colors and numbers.  I must say I am most proud of the love that you have for your family...I'm not just talking about me and Dad and Maddox.  I'm talking about the people you pray for every night...Granzy, Grandma, Grandpa, Matt, Dani, Tyler ,and GP.  If you can just continue to remember it really is all about family, then you are ahead of the game. You really are the best kid in the world.  So are you ready?  Heck yeah!  Knock em dead, Amelia.  Just remember, if you ever need anything in your life, big or small, night or day, Dad and I are here for you.  We love you and are proud of you and can't wait to see all the things you accomplish this year.

Friday, August 10, 2012

The Not So Lazy Days of Summer

Wow!!!  Back to school already? On one hand, I cant believe it....on the other hand, I feel like its been a really long, fun summer!  We wasted not one day of our break.  The very first week of summer, Amelia went to acting camp.  Believe it or not, she's a shy little thing outside our house.  Drew and I were convinced it would be good for her and it absolutely was!  She loved it.




 A week later Amelia started pre-team (Hot Shots) at gymnastics.  That child has flipped all over this house for the past 8 weeks...and the Olympics only made it worse;)

In late June, we went to Cincinnati and the kids had a blast. 




Honestly, we could have saved some money and just gotten a hotel room down the street.  Don't get me wrong, they both loved the zoo and the museum and the baseball game but those activities just couldn't compare to staying in a hotel room.  Their favorite thing about the room?  Staying up late and jumping on the beds, of course!  They loved swimming at the hotel, too!  And its a good thing because we swam alot this summer.  In fact we just finished the last week of summer lessons.




So, so, so thankful that we were able to spend time with our family this summer too.  We saw the Ulmers in Louisville and visited Granzy and Tyler a couple of times.  The kids loved swimming at GP's and we even stayed a weekend with Matt and Dani.  And of course, we had our annual July 4th get together!


And finally somewhere in all of the fun, Amelia was able to bust her little tail in gymnastics and make the team.  I don't know how she does it but we are so proud!  All 39 pounds of her:)

Now I also must report that I totally intended to help Amelia with her bike riding and get that paci away from Maddox, but didn't quite get around to it...saving them for the fall;)  So here's to a great summer of 2012!  Now let's get ready for first grade!



Saturday, July 7, 2012

Amelia on the bars

So proud of sweet Amelia.  She has been working extremely hard this summer on bars!  First video is Amelia doing her pullover back hip circle.



And finally...Amelia's dismount!  Still needs a little work but oh so proud of her!


She became a little frustrated but maybe because I kept saying one more time, one more time!!  Anyhoo, congrats Amelia!!  Hard work pays off:)


Thursday, July 5, 2012

We love love.

I was putting Maddox to bed last night and told him I loved him.  He said, "Me too, Mama."  I then asked him, "Do you know what love is?"  He said, "You, Dad, hugs and kisses."  I think that pretty much sums it up.  I am so grateful that at age 2 he understands that we love him so much.  Drew and I try to make sure both kids feel loved every second of every day.  I know that seems so unrealistic, especially when a good portion of my day is spent saying, "pick up your toys, don't hit each other, no jumping on mom's bed, and don't pee in the floor."  (You can guess who this reminder is for.)  But for the most part, I am proud to say that I think we have succeeded in this department....just ask Maddox;)




Tuesday, June 26, 2012

A boy with a paci

Today while Amelia was at gymnastics, Maddox and I actually caried on a full conversation.  I looked at him and told him that we had to get rid of his paci soon.  I explained that only babies had paicfiers, not big boys."  I asked him, "Are you a baby or a big boy?"  He said "I a boy!"  I said "But big boys don't have pacis, remember?"  He thought for a second and looked at me and said "I a boy with paci!"  I love him!  But seriously, that stupid thing has got to go.


Tuesday, March 6, 2012

The sweetest kind of love

Here they are yesterday loving the snow....



and today, poor Maddox is sick.  He started running a fever during the night and felt pretty poopy all day.  Amelia could tell he felt bad because he wasn't playing with her at all.  They have fought like cats and dogs the last two weeks so I thought Amelia may enjoy some one on one time with me but she really missed playing with him.  As Drew carried Maddox to bed, Amelia started to cry.  She said she was worried about him and didn't want him to be sick anymore.  At that moment I thought, wow...you guys really love each other.  Even with all the bickering and occasional spitting episodes (thank you, Maddox), you love each other.  I realized I was watching the love grow between a brother and a sister.  And that love, well...it is the sweetest kind of love. 

(Feel better, Maddox...we love you!)

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

And this is why I love Drew so much

First of all, I love Drew for many reasons!  But his ability to put a positive spin on everything is by far the most attractive thing about him.  Now for the story.....This past weekend I had 2 shows so Drew had to turn into Mr. Mom; something he enjoys and is fully capable of doing.  The kids had a full day of activities and I had left a fairly detailed "to do" list.  I left at 7:30 in the morning and got home at 7:30 that night.  I knew Maddox would be asleep but I thought I may be able to get to tuck Amelia in bed.  So as I hurried through the door, I was knocked down by a horrible smell.  It reminded me of rubber burning.  I immediately threw my bags down and ran to check the space heater.  Everything looked fine so I went upstairs to check Amelia.  The smell upstairs was even worse.  I asked Amelia what had happened.  Her reply "Daddy burned something really bad.  He had to open all the doors and windows."  After getting both kids to sleep, Drew and I were able to talk about the day.  I asked him, "So how was it with both kids for 12 hours by yourself?"  He said "We had a great day!   Oh but I did almost burn the house down."  Excuse me?  Long story short, he tried to clean Maddox's pacis by placing them in boiling water.  He forgot about them and they completely melted causing the smoke detector to go off...(Thank goodness Amelia has been learning about fire safety at school.  Drew said she kept saying." Dad, there is a fire in house.... Dad, there is a fire in the house.)  After scolding him for leaving it on the stove, he filled me in on the rest of the day.  Amelia had cheerleading that morning.  Of course, Drew took Maddox to watch.  It seems that Maddox became obsessed with the water fountain and when Drew finally made him stop messing with it, he threw a fit...in front of the entire gym.  He hit Drew and spit on him, then screamed bloody murder.  Drew eventually had to take him outside.  Later that afternoon, Amelia wanted to take George for a walk (in her grocery cart), so off they went.  Amelia, according to Drew, had a huge meltdown because he wouldn't let her take off her coat.  A huge screaming match right there on the corner of Claridge and Darien...nice!  He said he finally calmed her down but then stepped in dog poop on the way home.  He decided to make coneys for dinner and I could tell he was very excited about trying something new with the kids.  I just didn't have the heart to tell him that they would hate them and he would have to make a "second" dinner.  And, yes, that's exactly what happened.  So to recap, house fire, dog poop, hit in the face, spit at, and 2 temper tantrums.
Now I don't know about most people, but for me, that is a horrible day.  If just one of those things happened, I would have been crying for sure.   Not Drew.  He was completely upbeat and fine....tired, but upbeat.  So yes, I'm convinced that this is why we work so well together.  I am the storm and he is the calm.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

*Sigh*

Amelia woke up with a fever again today and I knew we were headed to the doctor.  Of course it's tax season, so Drew couldn't help out with Maddox.  *Sigh*...I so dreaded the next couple of hours.  They fought all the way there, mostly because Maddox wanted to play and Amelia wanted to be left alone.  Once we got to the doctor's office, Maddox refused to be carried and walked.... I mean, splashed, in every puddle in the parking lot.  Soaking wet, we approached the door where I knew another fight was coming.  They both reached for the handicap door opener button thing.  Amelia got there first and Maddox punched her.  Before I could even check in at the front desk, Maddox was doing a timeout....a very loud timeout, at that.  They called us back after about 10 minutes.  Doesn't sound like we had a long wait until you think about what all Maddox did in those 10 minutes.  He managed to completely empty the waiting room of every ounce of hand sanitizer.  He soaked himself even more with the water fountain and I swear, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him lick a chair.  I forgot to mention that he was also constipated so every 5 minutes or so he would run to me screaming.  He would put both of his hands on my arms, bend over and scream.  Lovely. While we sat in our room, I thought I had both kids distracted with some crayons and coloring books.  Then I remembered Maddox had learned to open "handle" doors.  He left the room while I was holding sick little Amelia.  He seemed quiet out there so I didn't panic.  Two minutes later, he came back to the room with about 10 suckers and 5 stickers.  I asked him several times to take them back and he refused.  Somewhere in there, he hit me and did another VERY loud timeout.  So loud, that I was embarrassed and sweating!  After his timeout, he went to return his loot.  I would have followed him to make sure he was on the right track, but the doctor was starting to test Amelia for strep and the flu.  She went crazy.  She hates anything down her throat or in her nose.  I looked up and both  kids were screaming.  Amelia had a q-tip so far up her nose, I was actually worried and Maddox had a hand full of tongue depressors from....well, I have no idea where he got them.  I'm assuming he fell on the way back from his "treasure hunt" and that's why he was crying.  I decided there was nothing left for me to do but to call Drew.  I didn't want to yell or scream at him, I just wanted him to hear exactly how my day was going.  Both tests came back negative, tongue depressors replaced, stickers and suckers put back in the basket and off we went.  I feel certain the entire office erupted in applause at the sight of our Saturn leaving the parking lot. *Sigh*  The afternoon has been better.  It's amazing what lunch, a nap, and a good poop will do....Anyway, I think this picture pretty much sums up this yucky Wednesday.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Martin Luther King Jr...Amelia style

Had to write this down while it was still fresh in my head.  At dinner tonight, Amelia informed us that she heard a very sad story at school.  We asked her what it was about and this is what she said.  "Mrs. Scott told us a story today about a man named John King.  He was a white man who wanted to be like his father but someone killed him.  He had a dream and it was boring."  Close enough?

And while I'm thinking about it....This is THE best time with Maddox.  He is so kissy and huggy and I LOVE it.  He can be completely into his cars or blocks or Toy Story stuff and I can say, "Maddox, can Mommy have a kiss," and he comes running.  I know this won't last long so I'm soaking up every minute of it!!

Friday, January 6, 2012

"Just Like You"

My sweet Amelia is going through a stage where she wants to dress like me, act like me, and look like me.  It all started a couple of nights ago when she saw me wearing a new pajama set.  They weren't anything special...just a flannel shirt and matching pants.  But she fussed and fussed over them. So while I was out shopping yesterday, I picked her up a similar pair.  We made plans to have a "girls only" night.  This special occasion would include baths (separate, of course;), new pjs, an episode of Good Luck Charlie, and snuggling in my bed.  She was so excited.  As soon as she put her pajamas on, she looked me up and down.  She insisted I take her hair bow out so her ponytail would look just like mine.  She placed her adorable little size 10 house shoes right beside mine and climbed into the bed the exact same way as I did.  We were both lying on our blankets when I could feel her staring at me.  She said,"Mom, I want to be just like you."  What a precious moment!  Just as we were starting our show, she said, "Mom, now I only need green eyes like you, glasses like you, and yellow teeth.  Thanks Amelia.  I love you, too!