Thankful #6

I am thankful for The Princess.

After 3 boys, it has been so much fun to have a girl.  She is all girl and loves to dress up and look pretty.  But she also loves to play in the dirt.  Her favorite thing in the spring when we are doing the garden is to find worms and name them and carry them around!

She loves to read.  She reads to me while I am doing her hair in the mornings.  It is so much fun. 

Bedroom #4

The Princess’ bedroom is done.  She was moved to the basement into the blue room.  It took 3 coats of primer to cover the blue, then 2 coats of paint.  Ugh.  Here is before:

And after:

Her room was the biggest let down.  I think because it was pink before (when she was upstairs), so it really wasn’t that big of a change.  We added the sage green for the accent.  The room is smaller, so it feels more crowded.  And the thing over her bed?  I don’t like it, but she loves it, so I put it up.  So between all of that and being burnt out from doing them all, I just wanted it over and done with.  I really had to force myself to finish it.  But now everything is out of my front room and I can go clean it good. 

These have been 4 separate bedrooms, but because I did them one right after another, it has felt like one long, drawn-out project.  I am so tired of clutter and mess.  And that is all I have been doing since August 1st.  I am so ready to do something else!  I still need to do our master bedroom and bathroom and the kitchen and front room and family room…after Christmas!  I can’t even think about it right now!

6

The Princess is 6 years old.  I thought I would tell you why I love her.

1.  She is a girly girl.  She loves pink and flowers and butterfly’s and dresses.  She is not a tomboy at all and I am so glad of that!

2.  She lets me do her hair.  I have been doing her hair since she was 4 months old and I cherish that time together.  Sometimes she reads to me, and sometimes we just talk.  I don’t ever want to give that up.

3.  She loves to have cuddles with me.  That is when she climbs up in my lap and I just hold her and cuddle her.  We have been doing this for a long time.  She will come up to me say, “Mommy, can we have cuddles?” That just melts my heart!

4.  She loves to help me work in the kitchen.  She has her own apron (okay, 2 of them) and we will cook and clean and have all kinds of fun together.

5.  She is friendly to everyone.  She will look for those who are feeling left out and invite them and include them in her group of friends. 

How lucky I am to have her for my daughter!

Growing Up

My children are growing up on me, and I can’t stop them. 

The Princess started 1st grade this year.  That means she is in school all day long.  She is loving it.  She comes home each day bursting with stories about the kids and things that have happened (I love it because the boys never tell me anything).  Her teacher said that she has a very unique quality, in that she is friendly to everyone.  Not just to her friends, but to all the kids in the class.  I am so proud of her, because that is something I have really talked to her about, and tried to teach her.  She is reading so well.  We read from the scriptures for 1/2 hour every morning, and then each child goes to their room for reading for one hour each night before bed.  Not only does it help their reading, but it gives them time to calm down and be ready for bed. 

The Chocoholic is in 6th grade.  He loves walking to school with The Princess because last year he had to walk alone.  He got a great teacher this year, and she is really going to challenge him.  I am thrilled about that.  He is an entrepreneur and loves to make money.  Right now he is selling Silly Bands before school.  He buys them at Wal-Mart where there are 12 in a package for $1.  Then he sells them for 25 cents each.  He said the kids know they can buy them cheaper at the store, but then they have a bunch that are the same.  This way, they buy just the ones they want.  He only takes one package at a time to sell and won’t open another package until the first one is gone.  It cracks me up, but he is making pretty good money!

The Artist is in 8th grade.  No longer will he be the bottom of the barrel at the junior high!  He loves art, singing, and drums.  His birthday isn’t until October, but we already gave him his birthday present.  We were treasure hunting, a.k.a. driving around looking at garage sales, when we saw a big drum set.  I got a killer deal on it, but it was too big to hide in the house.  So we had to give it to him.  He was so excited.  His voice is deep and now he is getting mistaken for his dad AND his older brother. 

The Teenager is working like mad to save money.  He has a scooter but it’s only 49.5cc and it barely goes 25 mph.  He wants to buy a motorcycle, which I am totally fine with.  Then he will start saving for a car.  He is working at an ice cream/grill shop and does dishwashing and bussing.  Yesterday he worked a double shift, so he left the house at 11:30 a.m. and didn’t get home until 12:30 a.m.  He is doing the same today and tomorrow.  This morning when he got home, I told him I wasn’t going to wake him up to read scriptures with us so he could get more sleep.  He said, “No, if I do that, the Lord won’t bless me.”  I was so proud of him.  He is going to be in 11th grade this year.  I think that sounds younger than saying he will be a Junior.  I remember being a Junior in high school.  Yikes!

I keep telling my children to stop growing up, and yet if they stop growing up, how will I ever get them to leave the house so I can be alone with The Doctor?  Because I am really looking forward to that!  I guess it’s the season of life I am at.  No more babies, just children getting older and preparing to leave the nest.  I hope I am doing a good job with them.  I don’t have much time.

Baby Clothes

When I found out I was having a girl, I knew that it was time to get rid of my boy clothes.  I didn’t have any problems getting rid of them.  I had bought most of them from garage sales, and the rest were the cheapest clothes I could afford to buy.  They had been through 3 boys and I was tired of them.  I gave them all to my sister without a backwards glance.

The Princess had beautiful clothes.  I bought a bunch when I was pregnant, and she was given so many as gifts.  Dresses and sleepers and tights and shoes (I never bought shoes for my boys when they were babies!  Not until they started walking!).  Lace and ribbons and bows and ruffles and pink, pink, pink!  It was so much fun to dress her.

I have said it before – you buy clothes for boys because you can’t let them walk around nekked.  You buy clothes for girls because they are so cute and make you say, “Awwwww.”

But as The Princess grew out of her clothes, I struggled with letting them go.  They had barely been used and were in such good condition.  I finally gave them to my sister the hopes that my sister would have a girl.  But she didn’t.  So she gave them all back to me because she didn’t know what I would want done with them. 

So then I had to deal with those emotions all over again.

And then I had a brilliant idea.  I got out my digital camera and went to work taking pictures.  Of every single outfit.  I love that we have digital cameras now and can take all the pictures we want without spending the money to develop every single picture.



After I took the pictures, I was able to let go of the clothes without a problem.  I had already pulled a few of the clothes out that I wanted to keep.  Those are boxed up, waiting for my daughter to mock them when she grows up and I pull them out for her little girl.  (Sorry, Mom.)

Faith

I want to document this experience because they were very important to me, and I don't want to forget them.
In the summer of 2007, due to many things in our lives, I had to start working.  I was miserable.  I had been a stay-at-home mom for 15 years.  I didn't, and still don't, understand why it couldn't have waited 2 more years until The Princess was in school. 
Anyway, I started working during the summer, so my boys were able to baby-sit The Princess.  I worked M-F from 1-5.  I would get home and just grab my kids and hold them and try not to cry in front of them. 
When school started, I was faced with a dilemma.  What do I do with The Princess?  I really didn't want to put her in day care.  I wasn't making enough money to even be able to do that.  I just prayed that something would work out.
I had talked to a sister in my ward during the summer about the situation, and she volunteered to watch The Princess for me.  She had a little girl the same age.  But by the time school started, she told me she could only watch her one day a week.  That left me 4 days that I didn't know what I was going to do.  After she told me, I cried the whole way to work.  I just prayed and prayed, asking for help.
Just before I left work that day, my boss called me into her office.  She then asked me if I would like to work from home at all.  I just about cried.  So we agreed that I would work one day a week from home.
After I had been home for a while, I "got the thought" (translated: Heavenly Father inspired me) that maybe people would be willing to trade piano lessons for babysitting.  I was giving lessons to 3 different families at the time, and when I called them, all 3 agreed to trade!  I truly know that I was being blessed.  It happened so fast and so easily. 
I owe so much to those sweet sisters, none of whom even needed to trade, but were willing to do it to help me out.
Amber
Holly
Heidi
Heidi
Thank you from my very soul.  You are angels in my eyes.

Princess

The Princess is a true diva.  She loves to dress up and have her hair done and be pretty.  And I have to admit, I tend to encourage it!  I love feeling pretty. 
Last year, The Teenager had a concert, and The Princess was dressed up in her Cinderella dress.  She wanted to wear it to the concert, and now that I have 3 kids under my belt, I am more relaxed with the 4th.  Sure she can wear it, why not? 
She didn't just wear the dress.  She also had the tiara, the gloves, and the purse.  I drew the line at the high heels, though!  She looked so adorable and got many comments throughout the night.
As I watched her walking in front of me, a little piece of me regretted not letting my boys do the same when they were little.  Not dressing up as Cinderella, but letting them wear the Halloween costumes and going out in them.  She was so happy and they would have been too.  I was too worried that they would get dirty or torn and then I couldn't pass them down to another child.
So learn from me...things like that aren't going to affect their eternal salvation.  Learn to relax and let them have fun.  I wish I had learned that earlier.

Ice Cream Anyone?

I don't know why I buy toys for my children. When we get boxes, they become toys and the kids LOVE to play with them!

The Princess is now taking after her brothers. She got these boxes, took a pair of scissors, and made an ice cream stand. It was small, but she did it all on her own! She was so proud!

That was the best ice cream I have ever had!

Three White Dresses

http://www.whatheavenseesinyou.com/

One dress down, two to go!

My daughter is an alien!

What in the world? I am sure that is what you are thinking. Well, she is not an alien, but I have discovered the BEST CURLERS!!!!
They are called Curlformers. You buy them at Sally's. They are simple to put in, and simple to take out. The Princess even sleeps in them, and they don't fall out. I have put them in my hair and tugged and pulled hard and they won't fall out! You know how you use the foam curlers and in the morning, there is at least one that fell out during the night? Not with these!
And they dry super fast because the hair is not wrapped on top of itself. I did these the other day for her dance pictures. I soaked her hair, put them up in the Curlformers, let her eat lunch, used the hair dryer for 15 minutes, and I had perfect spiral curls. The difference in the colors? They spiral different directions...one clockwise, the other counterclockwise.
Here is a video showing how they work:

Now, I prefer them in the longer hair, like the Princess'. But they will work on any length. Following are pictures I took right after I took them out, without any styling.



I love, love, love these curlers. Now, they aren't cheap. I had to buy extra long curlers, and there were 6 in the package (3 pink and 3 yellow) for $12. I used 5 packages of curlers. But they are so worth the money! They have shorter curlers, and they have wider and narrower sizes as well. If you want to see them in person, come on over. I love to show them off!
**Updated
Here are pictures of her hair after I have separated the curls and styled it. Starting at the bottom, after I took each curler out, I separated it with my fingers, then hair sprayed it. It seriously took me about 10 minutes and her hair was done! I love it!

Random Princess Pictures

I downloaded my camera a couple weeks ago. I love seeing pictures that I took, but I had forgotten about. Following is just a smattering of them.
This picture is of The Princess spelling her name with twist ties. I don't use twist ties to tie up my garbage bags, so I always have a ton to play with. She totally did this on her own. I was so impressed! (Pretend that you can't read what her real name is!)

This is the Princess dressed up as Darth Vadar. She loves dressing up in the Halloween costumes. And changing them. Several times an hour. But isn't she cute?

Here is The Princess on her brand new bed. No more toddler bed. No more crib mattress. Now she has a really big girls bed. I wanted something that would be classy and could go from small girl to teenager. And I got a really good price on it, which helped me justify how much I spent on the comforter!

More pictures to come.

Soccer

Tuesday I took another 75 pictures at soccer games. Many were of The Princess sitting on the grass...in the middle of the field...watching the ball go by. She was supposed to be kicking it. She did other things. Like play in the goal until her hair got caught in the net...twice. She also swung on the goal posts. And played in the dirt. In fact, when we got there, the first thing she asked was if she could go play in the dirt. No, we are here for soccer. Awwww. These are some of the rescued pics from the cell phones.

Mia Hamm, she's not!

The Interviews

from Working Momma 247 by Jean


1. What is something your mom always says to you?
The Teenager (age 15) : Go do your chores.
The Artist (age 12) : Clean your room.
The Chocoholic (age 10) : Do your chores.
The Princess (age 4) : I love you. 
Apparently The Princess hasn't entered the droning world of chores in our house yet!  LOL

2. What makes your mom happy?
The Teenager (age 15) : When they (the chores) are done.
The Artist (age 12) : Dad and love.
The Chocoholic (age 10) : When you say I appreciate you for doing stuff and give her hugs and kisses (Yes!  He got it down!).
The Princess (age 4) : I kiss her and hug her.

3. What makes your mom sad?
The Teenager (age 15) : When I yell at my brothers.
The Artist (age 12) : Fighting.
The Chocoholic (age 10) : When we argue and fight and talk back.
The Princess (age 4) : That I get in trouble.

4. What does your mom do to make you laugh?
Every one of them said tickle me.  I guess I tickle a lot!
5. What was your mom like as a child?
Again, they all said I don't know.  I guess it's time to talk about how perfect I was.  Yeah, right!

6. How tall is your mom?
The Teenager (age 15) : Smaller than me (And that is true and it's so sad!).
The Artist (age 12) : Almost the same height as me.  Well, I'm almost the same height as her.
The Chocoholic (age 10) : I don't know.
The Princess (age 4) : Like as tall as my grandma (Like, fer sure!).
7. What is your mom's favorite thing to do?
The Teenager (age 15) : Scrapbook
The Artist (age 12) : Scrapbook
The Chocoholic (age 10) : Her work
The Princess (age 4) : She likes to work
Yep, I like to work.  NOT.  It's just that's all I do anymore.
8. What does your mom do when you're not around?
The Teenager (age 15) : Work
The Artist (age 12) : Work, laundry
The Chocoholic (age 10) : Work or scrapbook
The Princess (age 4) : Work
This makes me sad.  Just does.
9. If your mom becomes famous what will it be for?
The Teenager (age 15) : Perseverance (Huh?).
The Artist (age 12) : Acting (Again, huh?).
The Chocoholic (age 10) : Being the best mom (Awwww).
The Princess (age 4) : When she gets married (LMBO!).
10. What is your mom really good at ?
The Teenager (age 15) : Getting us to do stuff we don't want to do. 
The Artist (age 12) : Piano.
The Chocoholic (age 10) : Her work.
The Princess (age 4) : Playing games.
11. What is your mom not very good at?
The Teenager (age 15) : I don't know.
The Artist (age 12) : Playing video games.
The Chocoholic (age 10) : I don't know.
The Princess (age 4) : Playing Candy Landy (her words) because sometimes she wins and sometimes I win (Too cute!).

12. What does your mom do for her job?
The Teenager (age 15) : Bank reconciliations.
The Artist (age 12) : Accoutant.
The Chocoholic (age 10) : Payroll and Taxes.
The Princess (age 4) : Work like Daddy.
All true!

13. What is your mom's favorite food?
The Teenager (age 15) : Lasagna? (He said it as a question.)
The Artist (age 12) : Chocolate
The Chocoholic (age 10) : Macaroni and Tomatoes
The Princess (age 4) : Macaroni and Cheese (Definitely not! That's her favorite).
14. What makes you proud of your mom?
The Teenager (age 15) : She never gives up. (I'm guessing this goes along with the perseverance thing.  I am going to have ask him more about this.)
The Artist (age 12) : She works, cooks, and does our laundry for us.
The Chocoholic (age 10) : She gives us hugs and kisses, loves us, takes us to school sometimes, and feeds us.
The Princess (age 4) : That she love me so much.
15. If your mom were a cartoon who would she be?
The Teenager (age 15) : Tigger (?)
The Artist (age 12) : Supergirl
The Chocoholic (age 10) : Jerry cause she hardly gets hurt (as in Tom and Jerry).
The Princess (age 4) : Tom and Jerry (They must have been watching Tom and Jerry just before I asked them these questions!  LOL).
16. What do you and your mom do together?
The Teenager (age 15) : Talk
The Artist (age 12) : Hardly anything (oops)
The Chocoholic (age 10) : Play games
The Princess (age 4) : Play
17. How are you and your mom the same?
The Teenager (age 15) : We kinda have the same interests.
The Artist (age 12) : I don't know (I think I might be dropping the ball with this kid!).
The Chocoholic (age 10) : We like to play games and we like chocolate.
The Princess (age 4) : We love each other.
18. How are you and mom different?
The Teenager (age 15) : We like different things (which contradicts his answer to #17.  I'm just saying...).
The Artist (age 12) : She's a girl and I'm a boy.
The Chocoholic (age 10) : She's an adult/girl/mom and I'm a kid/boy/not.
The Princess (age 4) : She wears glasses and I don't.
19. How do you know your mom loves you?
The Teenager (age 15) : She says so.
The Artist (age 12) : She kisses me and hugs me.
The Chocoholic (age 10) : She cares for us and loves us.
The Princess (age 4) : She kisses me and hugs me so much.
20. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
The Teenager (age 15) : Wal-Mart
The Artist (age 12) : Red Lobster (not anymore!)
The Chocoholic (age 10) : I don't know.
The Princess (age 4) : To the store.

Oink, oink!

So last night, we were up late because The Teenager is in the play at his junior high. So we didn't get home until 9:30. The Princess was very emotional because she was so tired. So after I tucked her in bed, I laid down beside her (which I can do now that she has a twin bed).

I sang all 4 verses of "I am a Child of God" to her and then was humming while I stroked her hair. I thought she was almost asleep, when she stirred.

"Mommy?"

"What?" thinking that she was going to say I love you or something equally sweet.

"What are baby piggies called?"

LMBO!

I answered "piglets" and she was content. Ah, the moments that make motherhood worth it! LOL

Ooooh!

Last night, I was trying to get The Princess to hurry up and get ready for bed. I told her that she was going to her cousin's house tomorrow.

She looked at me, her eyes got wide, she put her hand to her mouth, and said, "Oh! What am I going to wear?"

LOL I am in trouble!

Guilt

I have not sat down with The Princess and taught her about guilt. I have not taught her how to say things that will stick a knife in my heart and twist until I bawl. And yet...she has mastered it. Whether intentional or not, she is a pro.

On Mondays, I work in the office, so she gets to go to her cousin's house to play. This morning she was coughing a little tiny bit.

She said to me, "Mommy, I am sick. I can't go."

I said, "The Princess, you are just fine. You are going."

She said, "Okay. Maybe they will take care of me."

Ouch.

Tutu

I love to say tutu. I love all sing-song words. But I digress.

Miss Priss Tutus has created a new tutu out of organza and it is gorgeous! The princess would look so cute in it!

Go to her website here to see it and to enter her contest to win it.

Oh wait. Don't go. Then I will have a better chance at winning!

My Fourth Born

1. Was your pregnancy planned? Yes, we tried for 3 1/2 years. Yes, that says years. It wasn't until I lost 36 pounds that I was able to get pregnant.
2. Were you married at the time? Yes.
3. What were your reactions? We were in shock. We had decided we were done because #3 was 5 years old. She slipped in just under the wire!
4. Was abortion an option for you? Never.
5. How old were you? 31
6. How did you find out you were pregnant? Home pregnancy test.
7. Who did you tell first? My hubby's mom. She was so excited for us. My mom and dad were gone on a trip, and I wanted to tell them before anyone else on my side of the family, so we waited a whole week before we could tell anyone on my side!
8. Did you want to find out the sex? Absolutely! And when the technician said it was a girl, I started laughing and crying. I was laughing so hard, my belly was shaking and she couldn't keep the wand on! It was funny!
9. What was your due date? August 20.
10. Did you have morning sickness? No.
11. What did you crave? ?
12. What irritated you? Everything!
13. What was the sex of your fourth child? A girl.
14. Did you wish you had the opposite sex of what you were getting? I felt guilty for being so happy that I was having a girl. If I had had another boy, I would have been happy too, and we even had a name picked out for him!
15. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 25
16. Did you have a baby shower? Yes. My mom and my aunt gave me one. It was so nice. They are classy women. Because she came early, the baby shower was 5 days after her birth. So of course I got to put on maternity clothes to go! LOL But it was nice because everyone held the baby and I just got to open presents without being the center of attention!
17. Were they a surprise? No.
18. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Nope.
19. Where did you give birth? At the hospital I had to give birth at because our insurance wouldn't cover the other hospital or my doctor that I loved!
20. How many hours were you in labor? My water broke in the shower that morning, and my hubby was teaching his last day of classes, so I called and told him. He taught his class (his students thought he was insane for not rushing home, but when it's your fourth, you kind of know what is going to happen!), and then came home. We got to the hospital at 11:00 and it was 1:30 when the doctor decided to start me on Pit. I didn't hardly even feel the contractions until 4:55. Then it was only 2 hours and 15 minutes of labor before she was born.
21. Who drove you to the hospital? My hubby, after he got home from teaching.
22. Who watched you give birth? My hubby and my mom.
23. Was it natural or c-section? Natural
24. Did you take medication to ease the pain? Nope. I started asking for an epidural and my hubby wouldn't let me. I am so glad too because it was only 15 minutes later that she was born.
25. How much did your child weigh? 7 lbs. 1 oz. My smallest baby!
28. When was your child actually born? August 13, 2004 at 7:12 p.m.
30. What did you name him/her? The Princess.

Shabby Baby Girl

Shabby Baby is having a contest to find the next Shabby Baby Girl. I think The Princess would be a perfect "Picture Princess" because she is so darn cute, and she is the epitome of a Princess! She loves clothes and as we are entering spring, I need to buy her all new stuff. This dress would be absolutely perfect! The Princess loves to wear dresses and to look pretty.

That time...

So I think it's that time of the month...for The Princess. She is only 4, but she has been moody this week. Whining and crying and every little thing has become a huge thing.

Is this normal for a 4 year old girl?

And because I have had a hysterectomy, I don't know when my time of the month is anymore. So I think I might be overly sensitive too.

All in all, it's been a really hard week. And it's only Wednesday morning!

Help!