She DOES listen!!

It's no secret around here that BigGirl has a serious issue with listening and following directions. At school, she is super smart, but very inattentive at times, and often does not get her work done because she is too busy paying attention to what all is going on around her. We are actually going to talk to the pediatrician when she has her checkup next week about attention management options for this school year. A lot of days, it seems like most of what I say to her goes in one ear and out the other... BabyGirl, so far does not show any of this, thank goodness!

So, imagine my surprise today, when after a long ride in the car with the girls talking and giggling in the back seat, we pull up to the gymnastics gym. My non listenting child jumps out of the car, hits a pose in the middle of the parking lot, and starts this booty shakin, hips swayin dance, while singing "Girl how you shake it, got a playa like WHOO" at the top of her lungs (the name of this song is Sexy Can I, if you needed help- not exactly 6-year old appropriate- bad mommy). I had no idea she was even listening to what was on the radio b/c she was so busy playing mommy in the backseat. So there we have it, proof that her ears DO work!

Weekend recap

Hold on to your seats, here comes a long post... !


We started the weekend with family night at the pool. This basically just means that they are open until 10pm instead of 8 and the kids get to swim with the lights on~ how cool is that when you're 3 and 6? We waited til B got home from the bank and then swung through the McD's drive thru on the way, really only intending to stay long enough to get a little swim time in after the lights came on. But of course when we got there we discovered the place was packed and we ended up staying until 10! The girls had a great time swimming with Daddy while I got to socialize for once! Our great next door neighbors were there with their 2 kids Claire(8) and Clark(5), and another pair of good friends with their 2 girls Madelyn(9) and Sophie(6). Clark is BigGirl's so-called "boyfriend" (OMG, already??), and Sophie is her BFF, so she had a blast. Their moms and I finally made a dance decision- YAY- we are going to the better studio with the longer drive, and carpooling. It feels good to decide!

Saturday we got up and BigGirl and I headed out to do some shopping. North Carolina has tax free weekend the first of August every year, so she got some school shoes for PE days and cheerleading, and both girls got some cute clothes- all tax free! Then we went over to my mother in law's house for dinner- sounds SO exciting, right? Well, she has some really crazy and fun friends, so we had a GREAT time (there was a lot of wine, so that helped, too). One of the couples brought their 2 girls Winslow (11) and Maitland (9), so my girls had a great time hanging out with the big girls. Win and Maitie were awesome babysitters/entertainers! The girls slept over at the MIL's house and went to church with her Sun. morning, so we got to sleep all night, for once (BabyGirl has been waking up lately :( ).







Here's Win and Maitie teaching BigGirl how to use her Webkins that she got for her birthday last month... BabyGirl is supervising...













Sunday, I hosted a baby shower with my great childhood friend Alice for another friend of ours, Heather, who has a baby girl on the way. I made some yummy pimento cheese and we had some great little goodies. Our thank you gift was these cute monogrammed towel wraps!





















The kids at the shower, A, big brother D, Alice's cutie pie R, BigGirl, & BabyGirl...



























And check out the monogrammed cake for little miss Emily...























These adorable ponytail holders came in the mail yesterday- so excited! Too bad BigGirl's monogram looks a little like a bad word...














We went out shopping Sun. night again, this time looking for a new video camera but did not pick one yet. Ours died earlier this summer and we had only had it about 3 years. It was a Sony Handycam, and it was really easy to use, but it was so hard to get the videos into a format that was quick and easy to view. If my grandpa can't come to the dance recital, I want to be able to get the video out of the camera and onto a dvd or something that he can watch without a lot of hassle. So that is what we are looking for next- maybe one that records onto the teeny dvd disk, or a bigger memory stick? Just not the mini-dv again- those are really video tapes anyway. Anyone have any suggestions?


Yesterday, it was back to the pool...

Gettin her float on...

SO big!

Popscicles are the best part!

Today is my mom's birthday, so we are heading out in a little bit for some more yummy Mexican food! Happy Birthday Grammy!

BTW, Harold & Kumar Guantanamo Bay was a little disappointing. If you've seen it, you might disagree, but I just thought the first one had a LOT more funny moments. I did enjoy Neil Patrick Harris's repeat performance, except for his exit!! Overall, good for a laugh or two, but if you really want to crack up, rent the first one again.

Lookie what I got!!

Happy Monday! Just a quick post ~ B and I are about to watch Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay! We've just finished a great fun filled weekend over here, which I will post about later... I'll just say there was lots of good friends, good times, and good wine!! :)

I'm pretty new to the bloggy world, but I know enough to get excited about receiving a blogger award and I was so proud to read that Reynie has awarded me the Colors of Friendship award!! She has the cutest blog over at Southern Girl Rambling~ check her out! Thanks, Reynie! That made my day!!

**THANKS, MonogramChick, for the uploading help! I am figuring this blogging out, slowly but surely :)

Embarassing...

Here's the tag of the 5 songs you're embarassed to say you like...

1. What Time is It? from High School Musical 2... Oh, all right, I really like almost ALL of the songs on this cd, and since my girls have to listen to it EVERY time we're in the car, I know all the words. Sad, I know. But it is just so much fun to sing along, and I love how it says, What time is it? Summertime! It's our vacation!!

2. Bust a Move by YoungMC... SOOO old school!! It takes me right back to the huge seventh/eighth grade parties where we thought we were so cool doing the Roger Rabbitt and the MCHammer! Fun times...

3. Let's Go to the Movies from Annie... That was my favorite movie as a child (Alice, shut your mouth about the glasses!!), and the girls just watched it the other day and loved it. I will sometimes just break out in this song and change the words, Let's go to the Bathtub, Target, whereever...

4. The Polar Express theme... Another cd that we listened to over and over at Christmas time. It is just really a cute song and fun to sing to. Really, any Christmas song is tops on my list.

5. Rockstar by Nickleback... Yeah, right, I want a bathroom you could play baseball in and big black jet with a bedroom in it? Maybe in my next life, but it's fun to dream, right?

OK, now I tag The Rups, Moments that take our breath, and anyone else who wants to play along...
Have fun!!

Dance delimma

With little girls in the house, there is dance on the agenda. For the past 2 years, BigGirl has been taking dance at a really great studio~ totally professional, awesome talent in the teacher (who I took dance with growing up), staff, and the older girls, and lots of potential if BigGirl wants to get serious about it one day. She was so excited to find out that she can graduate from beginner ballet/tap to intermediate ballet/tap/jazz this year! Well, the other day we get a letter in the mail saying that they have to close their studio in our (small) town due to budget issues! They will offer a tuition discount to any of us who want to drive 30 minutes to their other studio, but I'm really not sure it is worth it. BabyGirl also can start this year, since she's 3 now, but her class will be on a different day of the week. I really don't want to quit dance altogether b/c I think she is really pretty good at it (even better when she pays attention, but that's another long story...), and it was something that I totally loved and was a huge part of my life growing up- I danced from kindergarten through college. So here are the options:

* Drive 30 minutes for high quality dance at a discounted price- BigGirl's class would be Thursday evening after she's already had an hour of cheerleading practice and BabyGirl would be another day- 2 days of driving and an exhausted Thursday night/Friday morning.

* Stay in town and get so-so quality dance at a little cheaper price- both girls could take and it wouldn't matter if they were on different days- I've heard the classes are on Wednesdays (I have teacher meetings) or Thursdays (again cheerleading day- remember I'm the coach- we have to be there).

* Drop dance altogether and do gymnastics- also 30 minutes away and much more expensive tuition, but no recital costumes to buy. This would only be for BigGirl- she has been going in the summers for the past 2 years and loved it- would BabyGirl just sit out another year?

* Do a combo class at the gymnastics gym- Dancenastics- 30 min.of jazz and 30 min. of gymnastics, but this is also on Wednesdays and I have teacher meetings and it would be really hard to get there in time without walking out of my meetings- not something I want to do week after week- no class available for BabyGirl's age.

AAGGHH! Maybe we'll just find a new activity???

If it's not nailed down, monogram it!

I've been told I have a problem... I am a sucker for all things monogrammed. While searching preppy monogrammy blogs, I found this awesome giveaway. Monogram Chick will award one lucky reader with a monogrammed backpack and lunchbox! All you have to do is check out her website at http://www.monogramchick.com/ and pick out the style you like. Then leave her a comment on her blog http://monogramchick.blogspot.com and let her know which one you choose. Also let her know that I sent you and maybe we'll both win!! Happy monogramming!

PS Anyone who knows how to attach one of those cute little "here" links that you click on and there is the blog/site you're referring to, how do I do that??

What's going on

Well, its about time to do some posting, I guess, now that I have this page looking good! Summer is in full swing around here and we are loving it!! Being home is the best part~ no schedule, no bedtime, no worries. Only a little over 3 weeks left for me, so I better enjoy it...

Yesterday and Tuesday was cheer camp for my mini cheerleaders. BigGirl gets to cheer this year and was SO excited to be there learning cheers, stunting, and dancing to Fergalicious with the high school cheerleaders!! She could be pretty good if she would just pay attention better, but that's another long story. BabyGirl got to go with us yesterday and got in on the fun with a little stunt action herself. She will be the one with the talent b/c right now she is the only child of mine who can follow directions. I see an expensive future here...

Bible school is this week. We have a new christian education director who comes up with some pretty out there stuff sometimes. Like this bible school, the whole family is "encouraged to participate together". Well, I'm all about some family time, but we get plenty of it being together all day every day during the summer. Does it sound like too much to ask that I just can drop them off and not feel guilty about it? We have achieved just that each night so far, but I have a feeling tonight will be the night I somehow get roped into staying and "participating". Is it too much to ask that B and I get one week during the year where we can have adult conversation during dinner without any screaming or scrambling going on?? We did go to the El Corona last night after sneaking out the bible school back door and I may or may not have had a NICE margarita sans children. Don't get me wrong, I truly love my children. On the other hand, I have done my time on the bible school committee and I'd like to be able to opt out this year, take a break, have some quiet time, etc... But, I'm just saying...