The Little things in life.

Chris has been traveling a lot for work lately, and it makes it difficult to be the one left at home to keep things running. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining because I know he enjoys feeling more needed in his department and somewhat enjoys the travel aspect for it gets him out of the same boring routine.

I was worried about how the girls would deal with Chris being gone. Lexi, being the little grown-up she is, didn't seem to be bothered. Brenna, on the other hand, struggled the whole first week. She wouldn't go to sleep and would cry in my lap about how much she missed her daddy. She would ask questions like "Is Daddy ever coming back?" and I would try to console her with the number of days until he would be back.

Chris has taken 2 more trips since then, and we have slowly gotten used to it. We talk every night and I feel like I always tell him about the big things of the day, but easily forget all the cute little things the girls say. Those are the things I want to remember.

Brenna: "Mommy, I guarded my Squinkees from Dawson like you told me to. I didn't let you down."



Lexi: "Stephen is my new bff. He wrote me a note today asking me to play with him during 2 bell. (Pause as she looks at me) I know what you want to say."

Me: "What do I want to say?"

Lexi: "You want to ask if he's my boyfriend."

Me: "Well, is he?"

Lexi: (eye roll) "Mother, you're embarrassing me."




Brenna: "When I get older, can I marry Daddy?"

Me: "No, because I'm already married to Daddy."

Brenna: (Starting to Cry) "But that's not fair you get to marry him and I don't."

SLIDE by Jill Hathaway!

For most teachers, the time they spent student teaching was stressful and almost a deal-breaker on the whole teaching career. I was recently married, 6 months pregnant, and a little concerned about being in a classroom full-time.

Then...I meet Jill Hathaway. She was a great mentoring teacher who introduced me a lot of new ideas, concepts, but most importantly, writing. At the time I was student teaching, she was constantly telling me about her book ideas. I had never even considered writing or becoming a writer, but I loved listening to her talk about it.

And now, her dream of becoming a published writer is finally coming true! Here is her first novel being published! I cannot wait to read this and share this with my students who I know will love it, too! If you love YA mysteries, then look for this one!

Bren's Haircut (No Appointment Needed!)

There comes a time in every parent's life when their child does one of those things that ALL kids do. I remember a few weeks ago, a facebook friend documented her little girl cutting her own hair. I recall thinking how nice it is that my girls have never tried that.


Until now.



Bren was in her room cleaning (which is something she never does by herself). I walk in and the first thing I see is a pile of hair and scissors...



followed by more hair...


This is what Bren looks like. She said "I told you I needed a haircut, Mom!" Luckily, she had a ponytail on top that covers up most of the damage. And she cut the same look on both sides which I feel shows that she knows it has to be even! :-)



But, of course, we had to document this event when Bren did the "typical kid thing."

Winter Photo Shoot

Since I'm home with a sick Brenna today, I saw this as a great chance to do some cleaning and post on the family blog.

Black Friday, Jess and I found these cute coats at Gymboree for an AMAZING deal (I'm sure I've told most of you all about the $15 I paid for these coats). I wanted to take some pictures of the girls out in the snow with these coats. 3 months later, we finally got the snow we needed.

We had a fun morning driving around Adel finding some great spots. We saw 200 geese and a bald eagle flying around by the soccer fields. It was an amazing sight!

Love these girls more than life itself!


Brenna looks too innocent in these pictures; don't let her fool you!
Ms. Alexa with her sass!

And of course, some goofy ones!

A Bittersweet Morning

Today started like most other mornings. Bren came into my room around 5:45 and asked for cartoons. I got ready while she entertained herself and patiently waited for "Sissy" to get up. Breakfast was next on the to-do list: Chocolate chip waffles for Lexi and Regular for Bren.

The day turned unusual when we had to get dressed. Lexi, for some reason, wanted to wear a dress. And, usually, whenever Lexi wears a dress, Bren must follow. The only thing was that Bren doesn't have any dresses that aren't completely "summery". I was just about to tell her that I didn't have a dress for her to wear, when I saw "The Tote."

To all you mothers out there, you know how important and exciting "The Tote" can be. When discussing this with another teacher, she told me she thinks of "The Tote" as shopping. It's a great chance to reminisce about your older daughter's old clothes while finding new outfits for your younger daughter. I begin digging through the tote looking for a dress with leggings that Bren could sport today.

The dress she chose was one that brought back many memories. When Brenna was born, one of my aunts got them matching dresses. I loved putting them in those dresses! Bren today was wearing the one that Lexi was fitting into when Bren was born. All these thoughts came flooding into my head: my baby is wearing the big sister clothing!

I had this bittersweet feeling hit me. My baby is no longer a baby? Do I miss little babies and all that comes with them? Now that we are out of the baby stage, do we really want to dive back in?

If you would have asked them this morning, I may have actually considered it. I may have "slipped" and said I wanted another baby.

But reality set it....there is no way I want to go back to diapers, formula, and having someone be 100% dependent on me. I love my kids and want to enjoy every minute with them as they continue to grow up right before my eyes!

Here are the pictures of Bren wearing Lexi's dress (I'll look for pictures of them together wearing the matching dresses to compare!)


Pretty Girl!


Notice her pretty Jewelry? Thanks Jessica Bellinghausen!
My two big girls!
Bren is always willing to share the love! (Lexi, not so much!)

First Snow of the Year!

It was predicted that we would receive maybe an inch or two in Adel last night....and they were right! We woke up to a winter wonderland. Both girls were jumping up and down at the sight of the fluffy new snow. For me, the ONLY benefit to snow is if there is enough to get a snow day. In Iowa, 2-3 inches doesn't quite cut it...so we were on our way to school.

As I watched their faces light up as they talked about the snow, I remembered what that first snow was like as a child. You want nothing more than to jump in it...build a fort....throw a snowball.

Forecasters had also predicted that most of it would be gone before the afternoon. I felt awful telling Lexi that the chances of her getting to play in that first snow were slim. So we rushed through breakfast just to get about 10 minutes of play time in that first snow. I apologize now to Ms. Wolf and the other Adel Elementary teachers for sending Lexi soaking wet to school. But by looking at the smile on her face, it was all worth it!



Cutest Picture in a long time! Look at the love!


1st snow angels of the year!

My Daughter.... A Cheerleader?

For anyone who knew me in high school, my life revolved around sports. Competition and the desire to win has been burned into my veins; it's apparent when I play Rec Volleyball.

After the birth of Lexi, I remember thinking that I couldn't wait for her to play sports and for me to be the proud mama in the crowd. She's fast= track. She can jump= volleyball. Good hand/eye coordination= soccer.

I wasn't prepared for the day when Lexi brought home a flyer from school for a cheerleading camp and said she wanted to go. What? My daughter, a cheerleader? How did that happen?

After watching her practice her little cheers and her dance, I saw the same passion I had for sports show up on her face while cheering. I realized it doesn't matter what she does during her school years. I just want her to be involved and be happy. As long as she is that, I will be the proud mama in the crowd.

And there's always Cheerleading competitions, right? :-)

Here are a few pictures of her performing during halftime at a Tigers Football game:





Red. Black. Red. Black. Wh-wh-wh-wh-white!




She caught me! :-)n