Resting Up

Today the planets all seemed to align. All three of my children woke up this morning in a pretty mellow mood. My usually energizer bunny-like girls were content to play quietly and watch a little more tv than usual. I felt this same way before each of my children were born. I never nested or felt an overbearing desire to clean and do busy work. Instead, I always believed my body instinctively knew I was going to be missing out on sleep soon, so I should rest up while I had the chance. I think today we were all subconsciously sensing that next week things are going to get crazy busy again, and so we enjoyed a day of vegging and doing nothing. It's not often my kids go for such a "boring" day, but today it was just what we all needed.

Hellos and Good-byes

Today was open house at Ava's elementary school. We found out who her teacher will be this year, where her desk is, and what her classroom looks like. Jocelyn and Molly stayed with friends so it could be a special time just for Ava. It was a little overwhelming with all the chaos and throngs of people, but Ava is really excited for school to start next week. And I'm excited for her too - this is the beginning of another journey she will take. In the next 7 years Ava will learn many things, meet great friends, and make many wonderful memories at this school. Beginnings are always so exciting, because there's no where to look but up and the great adventure that is to come.

Sitting at her seat

Under her name outside the classroom

Unfortunately, new beginnings can only come from an ending. Tonight we said good-bye to another summer of babysitting adventures with the Olszowy sisters. During the school year, physical distance and crazy schedules make it almost impossible to see these girls outside of the dance studio. So during the summer we make it a point to have them over to babysit as much as possible. My girls adore Victoria and Veronica, and if I'm not mistaken they think the Seward girls are pretty special too. Victoria and Veronica came to watch the girls while I had a dentist appointment, and then I intentionally stayed out of the house for several hours before meeting Ben for dinner, just so they could all play together a little longer. So thank you again to these wonderful girls for another memorable summer. My girlies had a blast, and happy children make for a very happy Momma.

Peace and Quiet

The peace and quiet I am referring to is not exactly what may first come to mind. Today was kind of a frustrating day. I spent the first half of the morning prepping to host a playgroup at my house that ended up being two kids and one mom. Did my house need to be cleaned anyway? Yes. Should I treat one family the same as four or five families in the way I prepare for their arrival? Of course. But I'm human, and it was annoying nonetheless that I went to a lot of trouble for seemingly nothing. Then some jeans I ordered for Ava don't fit, and there's no easy way to exchange them for the size she needs. Oh, yeah, and then there's the normal everyday chaos that exists in my house.

Amid all the craziness and frustration, there was this moment: I allow the girls to play my tablet (or whatever game player they choose) for one hour each day. I try very hard to make sure they do not sit and watch each other and therefore spend even more time in front of a screen. I was in the middle of cleaning when I noticed it was WAY too quiet in the house. I realized all 3 were in my room, where Ava was having her Tablet Time. I walked in ready to shoo the other girls out, when I encountered this:

No fighting. No poking. Nothing but three little girls watching a Curious George clip together. They didn't even blink or look up when I snapped this picture. I guess sometimes a little bonding time, even if it involves frying one's brains with screen time, is worth the peace and quiet and sisterly love.

Rock Stars

This afternoon Ava, Jocelyn, and Ben went to The Fresh Beat Band concert. The Fresh Beat Band is a children's rock band - they have their own television show as well as CDs. As far as kids' music goes, they're actually pretty good, and lots of fun to listen to. We spend many a car ride rocking out to FBB songs. In November, I learned the Fresh Beat Band was going on tour and headed to DC. When I went online to look for tickets, however, I learned that in the week-and-a-half that tickets had been on sale the show had all but sold out - a few single tickets in nosebleed sections were all that were left. I was so bummed we were going to miss such a fun show. Then, in April, it was announced that the tour was extended, and this time there would be a show in Vienna, a town just north of us. We got online the day tickets went on sale and were able to get seats a little far back but on the aisle. Only problem: every person going in - even a newborn - requires a ticket. And as much as I love Molly, there was no way I wanted to pay that much for her to go to a show she'd never remember. Ben was almost as excited about the show as the girls were, so we decided that he could take Ava and Jocelyn for a Daddy-Daughter Fresh Beat Band date.

They came home this evening on Cloud Nine!! Ben of course spoiled the girls like crazy - they came home with shirts, light-up spinny things, and a poster. (I don't even want to THINK about how much money he wasted... I mean spent.) The house was full of little girls playing drums and guitar and singing their little hearts out. They clearly didn't want the concert experience to end. I'm not going to lie, I was more than a little jealous that while Molly and I ran to Target and the commissary the other 3 members of our family were having such an incredible time. But knowing the fun and one-of-a-kind experience they shared eases the envy and makes me happy for them.

The girls in front of the ampitheater

the stage

showtime!

a glimpse into the concert experience

two very happy FBB fans :)

The Darndest Things

Ava has a lot to say, all the time. Every minute of every day her little mouth is going. I've said many times that she was somehow born without an internal voice - the thoughts go from the brain straight out the mouth. Sometimes her musings are profound, sometimes silly, and often hysterical. The other day we were cleaning the house. She was really on a roll getting her chores completed when she looked at me and said, "Mom, are we taking care of business? I've always wanted to take care of business!" Especially entertaining can be her horrible interpretation of lyrics to songs. This evening we were listening to a kids' satellite radio station. The Chipmunks version of "All the Single Ladies" came on. Ava got excited because she recognized the song, and began dancing and singing. Instead of saying "if you like it then you should have put a ring on it," as the lyrics actually go, she asks me, "Mom, does the song go 'if you like the letter K then go to K-Mart'?" It took everything I had in me not to roll on the floor laughing. Then she looked at me and said, "I know, I'm such a sassy girl!" *Pause* "Mom, what does sassy mean?" I literally have NO idea what's going to come out of that kid's mouth next. But with the likelihood that it will be highly entertaining, I simply sit back and enjoy the verbal ride.

Chores

Today I got around to one of my least favorite activities: going through the girls' clothes. I feel like I have to do this every other month. (It's probably only two or three times a year, but still.) Starting with Ava's clothes, cleaning them out, putting her old stuff right into Jocie's drawers, going through Jocie's stuff, tackling Molly's clothes, then putting away the piles of things that don't fit ANYONE that I've accumulated along the way. It really took my almost the entire day to finish (mainly because I had to stop for lunch, naptime, and various other kid-related interruptions). But by dinnertime I was finished: everything in the girls drawers fit them currently and are in neat piles. The clothes that don't fit anyone at the moment are in bins, organized by size. It is an arduous task, but I do feel accomplished for having pushed through the tediousness and frustration to get it completed. Now if these girls would just stop growing for a while...

2 Sides of the Coin

The first high point of my day came at dessert time. We had dinner with friends, and afterward the kids had popsicles. For anyone who may not know my kids very well, they like to talk. A LOT. It is rare to go an entire 3 seconds between answering one question and being asked another. I have times when my ears are ringing just from the sounds of my wonderful yet talkative daughters. But for a few blissful moments this evening, all was quiet. There was only the occasional slurping of popsicle juice to be heard. It was so wonderful, I very seriously basked in the glory of the silence.

Shortly after, in the car ride home, I had the radio on. Some song came on that my kids know, so of course they start belting out the words. I looked in my rearview mirror: Ava is swinging her hair back and forth (as the song mentions), Jocelyn is bouncing in her seat, and Molly is waving her arms in the air with the biggest dopey grin on her face. I had the sudden realization: while the silence can be nice at times, I was enjoying being serenaded just as much. Quiet can be a treat, but sometimes the noise of these girlies is equally enjoyable. I'm not even going to lie: all 4 of us were singing and laughing together all the way home.

Wonderful World of Disney

The girls and I ended our day watching Return to Neverland, one of the many Disney spin-off movies made in the last decade or so. I got the idea in the first place after seeing a commercial for the Magical World of Disney Junior. I remembered Saturday nights as a kid, watching the Magical World of Disney movie. The theme music would start, the image of Cinderella's castle filled the screen. Then Michael Eisner or Roy Disney would come on to provide 5 minutes or so of background or random facts relating to the movie about to air. Then it was showtime. These days, getting my girls to sit through an entire movie is an extremely rare event. While they had their squirmy moments, tonight the girls and I enjoyed this obscure yet entertaining movie. The movie may have been less than Oscar calibur, but the audience was first rate.

Perspective

As I mentioned yesterday, Ava was at a sleepover last night and this morning. So I spent much of my day with just 2 of my children. My first thought: take advantage of being down one and get as many errands done as possible. We paid the registration fee for Ava's religious ed class at the church, turned in Jocelyn's paperwork to the preschool, and bought a few gifts for some friends. We did all this, and made it back home in no more than an hour and a half. I feel like I've had several conversations with other parent-friends recently about how silly it now seems that we were so overwhelmed with our one child. I remember when Ava was about 10 weeks old, she would sleep for an 8-hour stretch from 1am til 9am. I had such a hard time staying up that late with her. Now I think, what the heck was my problem that I couldn't get my act together and just sleep when she did? I know after Jocie was born, it was at least 2 months before I felt comfortable taking 2 kids to the store by myself. Now "only" 2 kids seems like a mini vacation. There's no way to gain this kind of perspective except in 20/20 hindsight, and I'd never want parents of an only child to think I feel superior to them or that their struggles are not valid. These thoughts just made me realize how much I've grown in the last few years, and that a new perspective can make one appreciate the little things even more.

More Belly Laughs

As I was looking to title this post, I noticed that I had already made a "Belly Laughs" post in April. But there's no other way to describe the scene that unfolded this evening. Ava's at a sleepover, so Ben, Jocie, Molly and I were out running a few errands. Ben said he needed to run into the grocery store quickly to get one thing, so the girls and I stayed in the car. When it became obvious that this trip was not going to be so quick, the girls became antsy. So I started playing silly games with them - tickling Jocelyn randomly and "yelling" at her when she pretended to touch the a/c controls, and acting surprised and horrified as Molly used her baby's hairbrush to brush her own teeth instead. For a full 5 to 10 minutes, these girls were guffawing uncontrollably. Molly almost snorted on more than one occasion! I was glad to be able to keep the kids entertained, and in turn actually entertain myself as well.

Grown-up Talk

One of the few things I regretted about our trip to Texas was that Ben and I didn't get to have a date night. We had plenty of people who would have been more than happy to watch our kids, but between Ben's crazy work schedule and making sure we saw as many people as possible, time simply got away from us.

I start by explaining this because somehow we hit some good karma tonight. Ben got home a little late, so I had already fed the girls their dinner. He came in and the girls did their usual squealing and hugging of Daddy. But then they all went off to play on their own... leaving Ben and I to eat our dinner together. We talked - and had an entire conversation uninterrupted. With our children IN the house. I'm not sure this has ever happened before. It was truly a treat to get to catch up with my husband before we were both incoherent from exhaustion. I'm not naive enough to think it will happen again anytime soon, but sure did savor the moment.

Reunited (and it feels so good!)

The girls and I got to spend a good portion of our day catching back up with our Virginia friends. We hadn't gone to the commissary yet, and I wasn't up to being creative for lunch, so we met up with the Halls and Foleys for lunch. The kids had fun talking and creating their normal chaos, and I had a great time talking with the women who I normally see several times a week but had only talked to once or twice while on vacation. Then this afternoon the neighborhood kids were out in full force, so the girls spent some time running around and playing with them while I went through the mail, unpacked, and did the many other random chores that come with returning home after being gone for so long. Yesterday it was great to be back in our physical house. Today it was nice to spend time with some of the people who make this place our home.

Jiggity-Jig

We are home. It was a LONG day for all of us, although in different ways: Ava, Jocelyn, and I were on the road to the airport at 4:30am to catch our 6:00am flight. Ben and Molly didn't have take off until almost noon, but delays kept them from getting to DC until almost 7pm. It will take a few days for all of us to fully get back into the routine of things, but it was just nice to walk in our own house, sit on our own furniture, and it will be especially nice to sleep in our own beds.

The Perfect End

Today was a day full of family. We began in Austin with Ben's family and ended in San Antonio with mine. I couldn't think of a better way to end this vacation. It was a long 2 weeks, full of many adventures and visits with friends. But in the end, we return to Texas every time to see family. This afternoon Ava cuddled up to me. I asked her if she was okay. She looked at me and said, "Mommy, I want to go home, but I want to take everyone back with me." I couldn't think of a better way to describe my exact feelings. It'll be good to go home, but a piece of us is always here in Texas. Thank you, everyone, for a memorable trip, and we hope to see you again very soon.

The Sewards

The Convertinos (minus my newly-added nephew Josiah)

Girl's Best Friend

First of all, thank you to anyone who reads this for being patient with me during this vacation. It's been pretty challenging to find time to write these posts - shocking!

Today Molly, Ben, and I drove to Elgin (just outside of Austin) to meet up with Ava and Jocelyn and spend some time with Ben's family. The girls had fun playing and Ben and I enjoyed visiting. The funniest relationship to watch, however, may have been between Molly and Ben's parents' dog Marley. Marley followed Molly around all day. In the beginning Molly wanted nothing to do with her - I heard "No, puppy!" approximately 46 times in the first few hours we were there. After a while, Molly gained enough confidence to pet the puppy, even smelling her paws and yelling, "ew, stinky!" By the end of the day, Molly was throwing Marley her toy and wearing that poor puppy out. It was funny to see the push-and-pull interactions between this child and dog.

Over the River and Through the Woods...

This afternoon Ava and Jocelyn set off on a great adventure: spending the night at Nonnie and Pappy's house just the two of them. After we saw Ben's parents last weekend, I suddenly realized that just because Ben was working non-stop this trip, didn't mean the girls couldn't go off and spend some time with their grandparents on their own. (And in fact, would probably even have more fun doing so.) So we organized a child hand-off this afternoon, with Ben, Molly, and I heading to meet up with everyone tomorrow. These two were SO excited for their special time with Nonnie and Pappy. I am so excited they are getting old enough to have these adventures, and remember them for years to come.

Hot water, Deer, and Tex-Mex... Oh My!

I began my day savoring an everyday luxury we've been deprived of the last few days: a hot shower. My parents' hot water heater has not been working for almost a week, so I've been washing my hair salon-style (sticking my head back into the stream of the bath faucet) and jumping in and out of freezing cold water when I can't stand not showering any longer. Yesterday afternoon a wonderful plumber came over and fixed the water heater. This morning I almost burned my skin off... just because I could. It's always good to be reminded of life's little luxuries - but only every once in a while.

Then we went and visited some more family friends. It was great catching up, watching the girls play together, and giving Ben a chance to satisfy his baby itch with their 1-week-old. Best part of the morning, though, may have been when we first got to the house and discovered deer feeding in the backyard. These are not typical deer - they were willing to eat the deer corn the girls were throwing at them just feet from where the girls were sitting. It was a great opportunity for the girls to see some "wildlife" up close and personal.

Finally, I finished my day satisfying a great need for some good and greasy Tex-Mex food. My mom and I took the girls to Taco Cabana, my very favorite Tex-Mex fast food ever. The girls were not excited to be going anywhere besides McDonald's at first, but I knew I had won Ava over when we drove up and she saw Taco Cabana's bright pink exterior. They had cheese quesadillas and tortilla chips, I had bean and cheese soft tacos and rice and was in heaven. So glad to finish my day in such a delightfully delicious fashion.

Ray of Sunshine

I'm not sure what happened to my children in their sleep last night, but they woke up this morning completely different, completely WONDERFUL children. The past few days have been full of the ups and downs that come with being away from home for so long. I can explain to them that we only take trips like this once every few years til the cows come home, but at the end of the day my kids are out of their routines and in a major funk. Today, however, I had my good-natured girls back. I didn't really have to discipline anyone. They played well together, occupying themselves without getting into things they shouldn't. I looked at Ava at one point this morning, and realized I had not seen her smile - REALLY smile - the way she was today, in a while. Like I said before, I don't know what made today such a great day, other than the grace of God. What I do know is I am beyond happy to have my happy, well-behaved children back, even if just for a day.

Fairy Godmother

Before I get to my warm fuzzy of the day, I'd first like to take the opportunity to thank a few people. First, thank you to Kristin, Josh, and Kaitlyn Mokry for letting my girls and I invade this morning while Ben got some much needed sleep. Another big thanks goes to Sarah and Eric Thompson for having us for dinner tonight, making an absolutely delicious meal, and allowing my children to use their dogs as entertainment.

Molly & Kaitlyn - partners in crime

animal masks, the only way Josh was halfway willing to take a picture ;)

the Sewards and Thompsons

Miss Sarah Smith, however, takes the cake for my smile-moment of the day. Sarah was my roommate for 3 of my 4 years in college and is Ava's godmother. Sarah and I have shared a LOT over the years, and today she drove the 3ish hours from College Station to spend the afternoon with us. It was so nice to get to catch up and talk face-to-face for the first time in years. My girls had fun with her too, especially Ava. I had hoped there would be enough time before we had to leave for dinner for Ava, Sarah and I to go do something just the 3 of us, but in the end there wasn't. Ava and Sarah worked it out themselves, though, and spent some quality time playing ping pong in the Thompsons' gameroom. Ava calls Sarah her fairy godmother. Ava will say, "I know she's not really a FAIRY godmother, I just like calling her that." And you know what? If ever there was someone up for the job of being a fairy godmother, it's Sarah. I am forever blessed to have her in my life and the lives of my husband and children. She is yet another person I wish we lived closer to, but the rarity of our visits makes them all the more special.

Ava with her Fairy Godmother :D

Sunday, Fun-day!

Today was just a great day, start to finish. Well, there were a few bumps here and there, but so many more frowns than tears. We started off the day meeting Nonnie, Pappy, and Great-Grandma (Ben's parents and grandmother) for brunch and a little perusing around the outlet shops in San Marcos. Mealtime was great - Ava wowed Nonnie and Great-Grandma with her tic-tac-toe skills, Jocie and Pappy occupied themselves with a peg-and-hole game, and Molly entertained everyone with her usual antics. The best part, however, had to be the rides provided by Great-Grandma's walker. The walker came out, and for my kids it apparently looked like the coolest stroller EVER. Each child took a turn being pushed around by Great-Grandma. In turn, she got her own ride in one of the stores! It was a silly gimmick that brought everyone a laugh.

playing tic-tac-toe

cheeeeeeeeeeese!

Ava tested out the walker ride first

Molly took holding on very seriously

those not on the walker made out pretty well, too

Jocelyn giving Great-Grandma her own ride!

Then when we got home we hit a little snag. Molly's only nap came on the car ride home, which took under an hour. Add the fact that she seems to be hitting that point where she's feeling a little homesick (or just sick of not being in her own house), and to say she was a bit of a terror does not do Molly any justice. She's been getting into things she never would at home, and making all kinds of trouble. The final straw: just after dinner, she walks into my parents room covered in her own feces, which she had spent quite a bit of time digging out of her diaper. I was SO mad at her. I took her diaper off and just threw her in the shower (not literally, although I was slightly tempted by that point). I went to grab the soap, and came back to her squealing and splashing in the "rain." I had yet another quintessential parent moment: I could have wrung her neck seconds before, but the sound of her laughter and sight of her playing maniacally melted (almost) all the anger away. 

Finally, to end the night and a whirlwind 18 days, Ava stayed up late yet again to watch the closing ceremony for the Olympics with my mom and I. It has been a true joy sharing the spirit of sport with her these past few weeks. There were moments when it took a little arm-twisting ("you can only watch this once every four years, you're going to watch it with me!"), but overall Ava enjoyed learning more about different countries and sporting events. I can't wait for January of 2014 when we can do it all again - sleep deprivation and all.

Reunited

Today was a reunion of sorts for Ava and her cousin Jeremy. We saw Jeremy the first weekend we arrived, and all 3 of my girls had fun catching up and playing with him. But back in the day, when we still lived in Texas, there had only been Jeremy and Ava. We moved before Jocelyn was mobile, so for almost 2 years anytime we came to San Antonio Ava and Jeremy were attached at the hip, playing and laughing and having a grand time. Ava idolized her cousin and would do anything he wanted to, and Jeremy enjoyed having another little person around to play with. Today Jeremy went to play outside with my parents' neighbor, and while Molly and Jocelyn opted to stay indoors, Ava went and joined the boys in the sprinklers. When they came inside, Ava and Jeremy washed the grass off themselves and ate dinner together. Much of the night the two of them were doing their own thing together. Now they are having their own little sleepover (Jocie was very upset not be included, by the way). It was so fun to watch these two really get reacquainted. I wish they could live closer and truly grow up together, but for now I'll settle for these sweet moments they get to share together.

Recharge, get Wild

This morning Ben got home at 8am after working all night. It was therefore necessary for me to take the girls somewhere so he could get some sleep. After doing a little research, I found a little consignment shop just a couple miles from my parents' house that also has a little play area. The idea is to have a place for kids to play while their parents are shopping. For us, it was the perfect place for the girls to play for an hour-and-a-half and get a little energy out.

Molly spent most of her time in the little log cabin

Ava (of course) found the dress up clothes and played in the castle

Jocelyn playing with a treehouse toy

We then finished our day with some Wildmen. A few of the guys from Ben's old Corps of Cadets outfit came over to catch up. It was another blast from the past and so much fun. Not sure that when we all hung out in college we would have imagined that 7 years later, we'd all be married and talking amid the chaos of our kids running around. It was a great end to yet another great day.

the best picture of the kids I could manage

Kiss and Make Up

This afternoon I was sitting on the couch watching some Olympic event (situation normal these days). Suddenly Jocelyn runs over and plops on the couch, very upset. Seems Molly took something from Jocie, or ran into her, or did something to somehow upset her. About 10 seconds later, Molly comes trotting in. She walks up to the couch, looks at a sad Jocelyn, then at me. I said, "Molly, do you need to say you're sorry?" Molly turned to Jocelyn and said, "Sorry!" Then she leaned over and gave Jocelyn a hug. Jocelyn immediately brightened, returned Molly's hug, and said, "I love you Molly. You're such a goober!" This resulted in 5 minutes or so of tickling and uncontrollable giggling. I really never get enough of my ridiculous, moody, gloriously wonderful children.

Green Thumbs

This evening the girls helped Grandma water the plants in the backyard. A simple task on the surface, but a nice experience for me to witness. For the most part my kids gravitate towards my dad, their Papa. He's loud, silly, and will do pretty much anything the girls ask him to. In other words, he's "the fun one." My mom, on the other hand, is the loving, nurturing one - my kids adore her but she's not the first one they run to for entertainment. However, tonight my kids had a nice quiet moment with Grandma. It was nice for them to have this special time with her, and it was a very bright spot in my day.

Baths, Brisket, and Blue Bell

My kids find entertainment in some interesting places. Around 11am I went around my parents house doing my occasional head count and found this:

Seems my parents' shower makes a fun play area - Molly literally spent 30 minutes playing in there!

Then this evening we all went to have dinner at the house of one of the men Ben is working with these next few days. It was amazing - brisket, potato casserole, beans, and cornbread. You just don't find food like this anywhere else. I got made fun of, but I took a picture of the brisket for tonight's post - that's how good it was, and how it made my day.

Finally, there was Blue Bell ice cream with apple pie for dessert. It frustrates Ben to no end, but I don't understand the obsession with Blue Bell ice cream. To me, ice cream is ice cream. For Ben, however, Blue Bell is one of the great things he misses about Texas. We were both so glad to get to indulge in some Texas cuisine, and enjoy the company of new friends.

Goal!!!

Today was quiet compared to the past weekend. Ben and my parents went off to work, so the girls and I just hung out and recharged after a hectic few days. It was nice... until about 10am. Then, true to form, the girls started getting restless. They were very glad to see Papa come home after quiet time, and even more excited to see Daddy at dinnertime. After dinner we all went outside to let off a little energy. The girls found a mini soccer ball and played with Ben for a good 30 minutes. By the end of the night all were sufficiently exhausted. It was nice to have a little bit of normalcy amid the craziness of vacation.

Old School

This afternoon I got to catch up with my old - no, let's say long-time - friend Ruth. Ruth and I went to high school together, and she's really one of only two or three people I make an effort to keep in touch with. Since high school, Ruth and I couldn't have taken more different paths. I went away to college; Ruth stayed in San Antonio. I got married right out of college and now have 3 kids; Ruth is still single with no kids. Ruth works full time as a CPA as well as competes nationally in badminton; I've had a part-time job from time to time but not left home for anything other than the occasional vacation. And yet, as soon as we sat down at our table yesterday we just picked right up where we left off. We check in with each other once or twice a year, understanding that we are busy with our lives and not intentionally ignoring the other. I don't have too many friends that have lasted throughout the years, but it was so nice today to catch up with someone who has shared so many years with me and knows me like few others do.

Auntie's Day Spa

Our first day in San Antonio, the girls got to reunite with their Auntie Pamela. My little sister prides herself on being the anti-me, being much more concerned with hair, make-up, and overall style than I would ever dream of. She arrived at my parents' house stocked and ready for fun. She painted all three girls' toes. She painted Ava and Jocelyn's fingernails with paint AND glitter. Pamela straightened Ava's hair (well, halfway until Ava got restless). Ava got a full make-up job. Each and every step of the way I cringed at how ridiculous my girls looked and the superficiality of the whole experience. Then I took a step back. These girls don't get to play spa day with Auntie more than once every few years. This is how they relate and bond, and such rare occasions should not be reined in but rather embraced.

painting Jocelyn's toes

applying lip gloss

Molly's turn

LONG day

Holy cow. That was by far the craziest, longest day I have experienced in a very long time. We finished up Princess Camp and traveled halfway across the country to begin our vacation in Texas. First, Jocelyn did SO great in her end-of-the-week performance at Princess Camp. I was blown away - first by how well she knew the dance she had learned that week, and second with the level of confidence and joy with which she was dancing. There is no longer any doubt that the dancing bug has bitten another one of my daughters.

Once camp was done, it was straight to the airport to catch our flight and begin our journey to San Antonio. I flew with just Jocie and Ava. First, it was really neat to get the chance to travel with just the two of them. They were rock stars - delays on the tarmac, 2 flights, a 2-hour stretch in between in the Atlanta airport, and arriving in Texas 2 hours after bedtime did nothing to deter these happy little adventurers. Given how great this trip has begun, I can't wait to see what the rest of this vacation has in store.

Resting Up

This has been a long week for Jocelyn. Spending every morning at Princess Camp has been super fun but super tiring. It is usually a challenge getting her to take a nap, but both Tuesday and today I've been able to get her to watch the Olympics with me on my bed, which results in her falling asleep. This is how she slept for a full two hours this afternoon:

Talk about sleeping HARD. She literally did not move from this position the entire time she slept. I loved getting to spend a few minutes with my very own Sleeping Beauty amid the chaos of the day.

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Victoria and Veronica came over this afternoon to watch the girls while I got some last minute running-around done for our upcoming adventure. While it may not have been the most efficient way to spend my time, my first stop was the spa to get a pedicure and my eyebrows waxed. Let me first say that while I get my eyebrows done on a regular basis, I could probably count on two hands the number of pedicures I've gotten in my life. Between the cost and time to myself that are required, it is just really not on the priority list. However, I thought it would be nice to treat myself for once. And holy moly was it!! I sat down in the massage chair, turned it on to whatever setting looked good, took a deep breath and just... existed. There were no interruptions. No chores to be done. No children demanding something or arguing or whining. The guy giving me the pedicure (who was AMAZING) said to me halfway through, "It's really quiet, huh?" (To be fair, at this point I was the only one getting a pedicure, so it was pretty quiet.) I just looked at him and said, "It's really nice." To which he made some comment about it sometimes getting too quiet. I thought to myself, at this point in my life I'm not sure such a thing exists. I don't know how long I could have sat in that chair basking in the peaceful quiet, but it would have been a lot longer than anyone ever wants to work on another person's feet. The guy seemed genuinely befuddled that I kept turning down having my phone or a magazine to occupy myself. I kept trying to figure out how to savor each minute of me-time so as to refill my energy tank for the crazy days ahead. It was a nice and well-needed break - and I even got my shopping done in record time so as to get home with enough time to get everyone to dance class on time! Overall a pretty stellar outing alone.