May 14th

I was getting breakfast for Ariana the other morning and she walked into the kitchen and asked me if it rained last night.  I looked out the window and said, "Yes, I think so."

Then she responded with, "No, I don't think it did."

"Well, it's all wet outside so I am pretty sure it did.  And why are you asking me if you already know the answer," I asked.

She went to the window and looked out.  After seeing that everything was wet Ariana decided that it did  indeed rain.  I then asked her why she always argues with me.

She replied, "No I don't."

"Yea, you do,"  I said.

"Na-ah," she said.

Then I gave her that really-you-are-going-to-argue-with-me-on-this-too look.  And she laughed.

Growing up

May, 6, 2011,

I was watching Julia walk to school a few weeks ago and as she was walking away I noticed she grew up on me.  She looked like a young women in her skinny jeans, tall boots, and styling winter coat.  It was a sad and happy moment.  She is my oldest and I have felt like I needed to push her to grow up.   I didn't want to hold her back.  I needed to give her a push so she would start to spread her wings.  And she did.  But when? I missed it.  She was my baby one day and then the next day she wasn't.

I'm happy she is maturing and growing.  She is doing more and more on her own.  But I am also sad when she doesn't need me anymore.  And it's funny because I have been telling her that she needs to do things on her own and then when she does, I'm a little sad.  But don't worry I know she still needs me.  Without me who would wash her clothes, cook her dinner, be her dance manager/taxi driver.  See she does still need me.

Now Ariana is a different story.  She is the baby.  I hold her back too much because she is the youngest and I feel she is too young most of the time to do things.  I know a part of it is I don't want her to grow up.  I want her to stay my baby forever.

I love both of my girls so much.  To me they are perfect.

Spring

April 26th, 2010,

Spring is here!  At least today it was.  Ariana and I got to go on our fist bike ride the other day.  It was so nice to be out in the sunshine and warmer weather together.  We rode around the neighborhood and got some fresh air.  We stopped and looked at the lilac bushes.  They have buds on them.  Can't wait for them to bloom and smell them.  They bring back good memories.

I am really looking forward to many more bike rides with Ariana and Julia this year.

Movies

April 7th, 2011,

It's spring break and of course it is cold and rainy.  We are trying to make the best of it though.  The girls have been keeping busy by watching movies and hanging out with friends.  So far we have watched Despicable Me, Alice and Wonderland, Megamind, and Julia and I watched Romeo and Juliet.  Julia didn't know the story about Romeo and Juliet so she was a little sad about the ending.

This weekend is suppose to be nice so hopefully they can get out there and burn off some energy.  I know they have cabin fever just as bad as Trevor and I, or maybe even more so.

Being a Mom

March 28th, 2011,

I don't know what came over me last night but out-of-the-blue I started talking with a southern accent.  It was not a pretty accent either.  I sounded more like a southern man than a southern gal.  The kids started laughing so I kept on talking.  Then they started to get annoyed so I really kept on talking.  It was pretty fun to turn the tables on them and annoy them for once.  I had never seen Julia do the dishes so fast!  She wanted to go in the basement where she wouldn't be bothered by me anymore.

As I was talking I kept talking about Texas and oil and any crazy thing that came to my mind.  When I was putting Ariana to bed she said we couldn't ever move to Texas.  She said that in Texas they have to catch and kill their own food.  There aren't any grocery stores there.  I started laughing.  She was serious too. I told her that wasn't the case and that there were grocery stores there.  She still said she didn't want to live there because she didn't want to talk like that and I sounded dumb.  I guess Ariana won't ever be moving to the south.  My crazy talk might have scared her for life.  Oops.  Oh well.  There are lots of other places she could live.

Dinner

March 9th, 2011

I was in the kitchen tonight getting ready to make dinner.  I had thawed ground sirloin and was trying to deciding what to make with it.  We hadn't had meatloaf in awhile and everybody loves it so I decided to go with that.  I heated the oven to 400 degrees and put the meat in a bowl.  Then Julia walked into the kitchen and asked if she could help.  "Of course!" I said.  She keeps growing up on me and I am finding it difficult to spend time with her. She is always busy and doesn't have time for her mom. Ariana and I have our photo challenge but Julia and I have nothing.  When she asked to help I was thrilled!!!!

I went to get the eggs and discovered we were out so we were just going to have to wing it.  When I cook I like to change things up a bit and I hate to measure.  That might be why I don't like baking.  We added Montreal Steak Seasoning, some chopped onions, chopped garlic, and salsa.  Julia then started mixing it all up.  She loved it!  She said it was like playing with play-doh.  LOL.  Next she divided the meat into four quarters and made four small loaves.  This makes it cook quicker.  We put it in a baking dish, drizzled some EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) over it, and popped it in the oven.

Julia and I peeled potatoes next to make mashed potatoes to go with it.  You can't have meat loaf without mashed potatoes.  Ariana then came into the kitchen and wanted to help.  We already had enough potatoes but we let her peel an extra one.

Julia was so proud tonight.  Her dinner was amazing.  We all loved it.  Who knows maybe she will love cooking and this can be our "thing".

March 6, 2011

Ariana lost her podometer and was so upset.  She really liked the one she had because it was clear.  She was also upset that she lost it because it showed that she was not responsible.  She didn't want another one she wanted the one she had.  She cried and cried and cried.  Julia found an old one that she had and gave it to Ariana but Ariana didn't like it.  She said it always resets and that wasn't going to work.

I was driving back over to her Uncle's house where she lost it and Trevor called to say Matt couldn't find it.  I then took Ariana to Target.  We found one but it wasn't as cool looking as her old one.  Ariana said she was sorry for the way she acted and that this new one would work.  She just really wanted the other one.  I gave her a big hug and told her it was okay.