Generosity of Spirit

So we took the girls to Dairy Queen for dinner. It's a tradition...we always go on their birthday. So Mitch went up after we ate to get ice cream, and an older man walked past us. He stopped and said "3 girls?"...so I made small talk with him for a minute and he said he had four daughters and that we should "seize every opportunity to have fun with them because they are grown and gone before you know it." I said that we were surely blessed and he replied "Blessed by God indeed." and wished Bug a Happy Birthday. I thanked him and he went on his way and got some ice cream of his own.

This guy was easily in his late 70's...long white hair in the back and a long white beard in front. I was secretly worried that Hattie would say "ho ho ho" since he somewhat resembled Santa. He had on a hat, khaki pants and a blue jacket that said RP Lumber.

Before he left DQ, he came back to our table and said that he could tell that we were a good family raising our kids up right, and that it wasn't often he saw such young children so well behaved in a restaurant, and said the world would be a better place if there were more parents like us around...he proceeded to put $30 down on the table...I tried to decline...and before I could get it all out he said "the next time you take your beautiful family out for dinner I want it to be on me." He said "May God bless you all, and you have a good night." I said "thank you so much sir. God bless you too." And he walked away.

What kindness and generosity!!! I think he was lonely and the fact that I talked to him, made eye contact and gave him just a little bit of my time made his day. And in return...he made mine. I wish I could give him a proper "Thank You"...what a great day!

Bug's Birthday Roundup

Yesterday my sweet baby Bug turned 4...and it's hitting me hard. It's so cliche...the phrase "they grow up so fast" but it's so true. It seems like just yesterday I was rocking her to sleep, lying her in her crib and waiting for the cry in the middle of the night. And now she is as independent, sassy and smart as they come. I don't want this stage to end. I love the crazy things she says. I love the way when she is tired she still climbs into my lap to snuggle and she fits so perfectly that it's like there is no other place in the world that she belongs, except to me. She is in fact a "momma's girl" and I adore that about her. When I told her that I didn't want her to turn 4, that I wanted her to stay 3, she said to me "I will still love you when I am 4, because I will always be your baby." Yes Bug, you will ALWAYS be my baby.

Tisha and I decided a while back to hold a joint party for our girls. Bug's birthday was March 8th and Tatum's the 10th and we knew we would be inviting a lot of the same people. Tatum wanted a cowgirl party, and Bug didn't really care as long as she got to have a party...so Birthday Roundup was what we did. Tisha and I worked on the skirts together. I got the invites, thank you's and favor tags. The rest we divided up pretty easily and it all came together pretty smoothly.

Tisha hosted because she has an awesome finished basement. We started off the party with some art projects. We had the kids fashion some western style vest out of paper bags, and we had some Sheriff Callie printables for them all to color. They had some snacks while they worked on the projects. Then we headed down stairs. We had pony races and Mitch helped them play pin the bow on Apple Jack (She's a pony in case you aren't familiar with the My Little Pony brand). After the games we just let them play for a while. Then we went upstairs for cake. Tisha had the Wal-Mart bakery do cupcakes in the shape of a pony. It turned out pretty cute. And then of course there were gifts. The party went by pretty fast. And everyone had a great time...Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go cry in the corner of my baby turning 4. What's wrong with me???

Hair Genius

Ha, Genius...I think not. But I am getting better. If you recall, last month I went to a spa night to learn some tricks for doing little girls hair. And in the meantime I've been practicing. The hearts for Valentines were a BIG hit! And I keep trying my french braids...they still need some work. It's time for  me to start trying something different too. After all, dance recitals are comign up this spring and the girls will have to look FABULOUS. Maybe I should just go ahead and make an appointment at the Little Salon now, lol!

Natalie Loraine

She's here, she's here! I'm an auntie again, and my sister Laura finally knows the joy and the love of being a mother. Last Tuesday (the 25th and incidentally, her due date) I started getting text messages from my sister questioning whether or not she was in labor. After an hour of so, I had her convinced and suggested that she call her doctor. Of course, they wanted to see her. And about three hours later she was being admitted.

YAY! It was a long night. I checked in around 6 am, and she was almost to a 9. And she texted me at 7:30 that they were having her wait about 30 minutes and then the pushing would begin. So I kept my phone close by. I even skipped my regular class at the Y, and opted to do the elliptical so I could take a call if need be. But at 10 there was still no news. I texted Jeff for an update. About 30 minutes later he let us know that she had pushed for over two hours with no progress. They were taking a 30-40 minute break and then giving it another go.

Around 1 I got word that they were taking her in for a C-section. After 4+ hours of pushing Laura developed a fever so they wanted to get her out. 4+ hours!!! My sister is a rockstar! So then around 2:30 I got word that she arrived. Laura called me a little after 3 and let me know her name was Natalie Loraine. Natalie was Jeff's grandmother and February 26th had been her birthday, and of course Loraine was my grandmother on the Myerscough side. What a name full of sentiment and meaning. Natalie had been trying to make her way in to the world sunny side up...it just wasn't going to work. But she is here and healthy and beautiful...that's what matters most. Mom and baby both went home yesterday, March 1st. Oh, and might I add she certainly looks like a Myerscough!

Natalie Loraine Ianello
February 26th, 2014

7 lbs 5 oz, 20,5 inches

12:22 pm

Bugtard

 

Every January I sit down and I begin working on our blog book...yes, that's right. I turn this into a hardback book for my girls every year. It's basically a BIG photo album with stories attached. It's a lot of work, but so worth it. Well, After an "episode" to speak this past Wednesday I had to look through the blog book to see if a certain story was in there. It wasn't so I'm writing about it now.

Back in November I was getting Kiersten ready for dance class. It's the same routine every Wednesday. Wake her up get her dressed and out the door, drop her off and run to get Leah. Head back to dance and get Leah ready and then rest for 15-20 minutes until it's Leah's turn. Its a whole rig-a-ma-roll, but they love it, and I love that they have a "thing" to look forward to.

Well one Wednesday in November I was in a rush and trying to get Kiersten ready to go. I said "hurry bug, we've got to get your leotard on." But what she heard was "Leah-tard" and she wasn't having it. She didn't want to wear a Leah-tard. So she boisterously declined to put it on stating that she needed a "Bugtard" I could hardly contain my smile and the laughs definitely ensued. She made me go get a different one out of the closet, and so now...every Wednesday she asks if I got the "bugtard".

How on earth can you argue with her logic?!?! And now baby sister is all about dance too. She wants a tutu to wear all the time. Thankfully so far, this behavior has been confined to just in the house. Gotta love my girls! 

Be Mine, Valentine!

The girls were so excited to celebrate Valentines this year. They wanted to make 

And send Valentines to all their family and friends.  So I got to cutting.  We didnt have much for red and pink construction paper so we made hearts in all sorts of colors. Then the girls decorated them with stickers and markers. I was so proud of Bug. She wrote her name on all of her hearts all by herself. And when they were done with the homemade Valentines they got to work on Valentines for all their school friends. They had a blast at their school parties.

And when the actual holiday rolled around, they got some Valentines of their own. Grandma Tootie  and Grandpa Dave sent them hair chalk and klip klop horses. And Gigi and Papa sent them new music CD's for the car...the Frozen soundtrack and new kidz bop. They love to sing along. We got them the Frozen dolls, Anna and Elsa.  Spreading the love!

Polar Vortex

This winter has undoubtedly been one of the coldest In Illinois that I can recall. My mom says it is one of the coldest that she can recall, too. Snow isn't out of the norm for us. And we may have gotten a little more than normal this year, but the snow isn't the problem. Its the bitter cold temps! We've had more days than I can count with negative temperatures, and that is not even taking into account the wind chill. Its a bummer for the girls because its been so cold they cant even enjoy the snow. Well, last week we finally had some temps in the 20's. It was like a heat wave! They couldn't wait to get out and play in it. Even Hattie sat at the back door crying until we finally bundled her up and sent her out. I stayed inside where it was nice and warm and dreamed of warmer weather.

Spa Night

Last night we participated in our first Mom and Daughter Spa Night at the Little Salon here in Decatur. This kind of came about because every time I get my hair done I complain that I don't know how to do little girls hair. So I told them to have classes. I said I could round up some other moms...particularly moms that went to the same salon that I just so happened to be friends with. So they really took it from there. Tonight was kind of the test run. Their space is really small. But they had three different stations set up. 

One with nail painting. They talked about doing pedicures, but we just didn't have the room. We only did fingernails and the girls were totally fine with it. The other station was makeup...they did some powder, blush and lipgloss. And of course the last station was the hair. They took their time and showed us all the steps and even pulled up some styles on pinterest so we could follow along. Then of course the girls got glitter in their hair. 

They had wine for the moms and juice boxes and cookies for the girls. And also little treat bags that had the clip in tiaras, curly straws, and the pink hair extension clip. We actually talked to them about booking birthday parties. Like I said they don't have much room. But said they might be willing to come do birthday parties in the home. Since we were just a test run, they charged us $25 per family...I gave them $35 since I had two kids participating. And we were there about an hour and 20 min.
It was a lot of fun and the girls certainly enjoyed it!