The Power of $5

Today we made a Target run to buy supplies for our own trip to Virginia Beach. Tomorrow we leave to meet Ben and spend the rest of the week playing at the beach and enjoying all that Hampton Roads has to offer. I had told the girls that if they behaved while I bought what I needed that they could get a toy of some kind. The problem came when I said I wanted to have a five dollar cap on the toy they purchased and we couldn't find anything worth buying for that inexpensive.

So we opted to try something new (for us) and headed to Five Below, a sort of glorified dollar store in which the entire store is five dollars or less. I had never been in Five Below but had heard good things. It was fantastic. I loved it because the girls could pick up anything in the store and I didn't have to bargain with them or tell them no. The girls loved it because their options were limitless. In the end, Ava bought a stuffed turtle, Jocelyn got some nail polish, and Molly came away with some plastic dress up heels. I found a boogie board for our beach adventures, and walked out paying $20 for everything. It was a pretty exciting venture for this bargain-loving woman. I see many future visits to this gem of a store.

Pamper Time

Today Ben left for Virginia Beach. He will be outprocessing from his active duty position to take a new job starting next week. I had thought he would spend today with us and then leave at or after dinner. After church, however, he said he was hoping to leave closer to 1pm. I was disappointed because I had hoped to run a few errands, including indulging in a manicure. My nails usually look awful but at this point they are all fairly long, so I wanted to get them done so they hopefully stay pretty a little while longer. When Ben asked why I was disappointed he was leaving early, I didn't say anything at first. I didn't want to be selfish and delay him for such an unimportant reason. But I finally admitted I'd hoped to get my nails done. Without hesitation he told me to leave right then, that he was going to have lunch with the kids and pack anyway so there was enough time for me to go before he left. I considered declining for about 10 seconds, then decided I needed the time for myself and I wanted to graciously accept Ben's kindness and generosity. I ended up taking Ava with me (she heard where I was going and was halfway in the car before even asking if it was okay) and we had a nice time hanging out and getting our nails done. I thoroughly enjoyed my few minutes of pampering. It was just what I needed to recharge. I was so grateful to Ben, not for "letting" me go, but for not making me feel guilty for wanting some me-time. It allowed me to let go of my self-inflicted guilt, and made the outing all the more enjoyable.

Rock Star Treatment

This morning I had to make a quick Target run. I left the house about 8:45am and returned just after 9:30am. As I turned onto our street and drove in front of our house, I saw Jocelyn standing on the sidewalk with her scooter. She took one look at me and began squealing and jumping up and down - think teen bopper at a boy band concert, and you have an idea of the basic reaction I'm talking about. I have seen Jocelyn get excited like that for many other people, but I rarely get such a reception. And I have to say: it's hard not to feel pretty darn special when someone acts so excited just to see you return from a 45-minute errand run.

Until We Meet Again

Today we said so long to some of our very sweet friends. Victoria Olszowy is on her way to the great adventure of college at James Madison University, and Veronica has decided to try out dance team at her high school and not return to the dance studio in the fall. We spent a few hours at the Olszowys' house this afternoon, getting the girls haircuts and spending some time with our friends for the last time for a while. We all had a great time. All three girls had fun watching this year's recital video with the girls they have come to consider pseudo big sisters; I had a really nice conversation with Debbi, a fellow dance mom who has become a dear friend. What I treasured most was how little the situation affected my children. I'm sure much of that was because the younger girls don't fully understand what is happening, as well as Ava having already had her sad moments at the dance recital a month and a half ago. But I think that even at the age of 6, Ava has come to realize that we rarely truly say good-bye to anyone. We have said many good-byes in her short life, and yet we still stay connected to those we are close to. I'm sad that she has had to learn this lesson already, but am very happy that Ava no longer sees good-byes as a permanent farewell; rather, we are just saying so long until our paths cross again.

The Power of Forgiveness

Most of the time I find my daily blessing in a fun or happy moment of the day. Every now and then, however, blessings are found in life's tough lessons. Today was one of those days. I am again choosing not to share too much - there are still a few things in life I keep to myself. But today I got a fresh perspective on forgiveness, particularly in self forgiveness. I have always said I am an 83-year-old trapped in a young adult's body. I am incredibly boring and play it safe always; I've done very little that I would regret or be ashamed of. And yet I have carried indescribable guilt for something for years. I think I have always considered the guilt as just punishment for something I can never take back. Tonight someone suggested to me that I should ask forgiveness of myself. That while I in fact cannot take back what I did, that it was a long time ago and the only one left suffering is me. Not only that, but my punishing myself isn't helping anyone but constantly hurting me. It was a perspective I had not considered before. I ask forgiveness from God and others all the time, and would be hurt and even insulted to be denied that mercy. Why should I not expect the same from myself? Holding on to this guilt has accomplished nothing. There is such freedom and joy in forgiveness. I am grateful for the idea that I give myself permission to forgive myself. It will not be an easy process, but I am excited to begin the process to making myself a little more whole again.

Tourists for a Day

Today the weather was absolutely GORGEOUS. This morning was actually chilly and required light sweaters! I knew this was a not a day for us to stay indoors, but after playing in our front yard all summer, the girls have gotten a little tired of it. As I was trying to think of where to go, I remembered that I am always saying how I wish I took advantage of living so close to DC more often. We never go because it seems such a hassle to load up the kids and all the necessary "stuff" to keep them happy and transport ourselves into the city either by fighting the crazy traffic or taking the metro. But this morning I thought, why not? Let's just go. And before I could talk myself out of it, I had packed water and goldfish crackers (because, really, what else does a child need?) and loaded the girls in the car. We got to the National Mall just before noon, and the adventure began.

We started our adventure by sitting on every one of the first four or five benches we passed. This was the second such occurrence.

After the benches lost their appeal we turned to the lampposts

Mommy, get a picture of me too!

After we had walked a few yards, it was time to find a spot for our mini picnic. Not a bad backdrop ;)

Enjoying some Goldfish and water, the snack of champions (or at least young children)

Then it was time to take some fun pictures. Ava was able to get the holding-the-Washington-Monument illusion pretty well!

Jocie tried her best...

Molly didn't even try (and after using all my patience on the other two, I was fine with that)

The girls were having fun running along the grass on such a beautiful day.

Not having paid too much attention before that, I realized that we were right in front of the Natural History Museum (aka the dinosaur and other fossils museum). I asked the girls if they wanted to walk around there a little while, and they jumped at the chance. Their attention span was next to nothing, but with free admission I didn't much care if we stayed three or thirty minutes. (It did end up being closer to the latter.)

As soon as we walked in, Molly was amazed by the big elephant in the middle of the atrium

All three girls were pretty fascinated

I tried to get a picture as we were leaving - clearly we were done with taking serious pictures by this point

After the National History Museum we made a quick stop at the Smithsonian Castle. I'm not sure of the exact origins of the castle, only that now it just serves as a souvenir shop and cafe. Regardless, the girls were desperate to visit the castle so we did for about five minutes. As we left the girls were whining that they weren't ready to leave just yet. So it was off to picnic part two.

yet another pretty picture - even the monument's construction can't ruin this view

Ava found these 3 Goldfish stuck together, so of course we had to take a picture

can't take a picture of one child without taking pictures of the others

it was a struggle keeping her hair out of her face with the strong winds

I took a picture for two random women wanting a picture in front of the monument. Seconds later Molly runs to the exact same spot: "My turn, Mommy!" It's really too bad she's so shy ;)

One last fun picture for Ava

And Jocelyn

After a long day, still smiling - the ultimate sign of a successful outing

By the time we arrived home, it was a 4 1/2 hour excursion door-to-door. We were all sufficiently exhausted when all was over and done, but it was so fun. We really don't take advantage of the incredible area we live nearly often enough. Today has motivated me to make more trips like this in the future. It may take some extra effort and time, but the memories made are more than worth it.

Big Girl Bed

After rearranging the older girls' room yesterday, today was Molly's turn to get a mini room makeover. This meant finally graduating from a crib to a "big girl" bed. I have been struggling with this decision for a few months now. On the one hand, I have been blessed to never have had ANY of my children even attempt to climb out of their cribs. So we have always just moved them when we felt they were ready. Molly has never expressed unhappiness with her crib nor has she made noises of wanting a real bed. However, on the other side, I don't want her to get so old that she is all too aware of her new found freedom and we have major issues keeping her in bed at night.

So ultimately today became the day to kick start this experiment with Molly. After naps, I took the railing off of one side of her crib and put up a bed rail. She was SO excited. She played in her room for an hour after I was done, randomly climbing into her bed and then getting right back out again. This made me slightly nervous about how tonight would go. But we did our same bedtime routine and she got into her bed and settled in just fine. We said prayers, I kissed her goodnight... and that was it. She never got up. She never made noises of any kind. She just fell asleep. I'm not naive enough to think it will always be this easy - she's bound to eventually figure out she can get up if she wants to - but this was as successful a first night as I could have hoped for. She really is a big girl now.

sitting in her bed - first her "nice" picture...

... followed by her "silly" one (it was also vitally important that both Rapunzels were present in both pictures)