Friday Favorites

I want to start sharing with you some of our favorite things, specifically my kids favorite things to do.  My girls LOVE helping in the kitchen.  It's something they do all the time with my mom, which I love.  That's a special memory they will always have of their Nana and she makes it a point to let them help no matter what she's making. 

I'm not always as reluctant to have them help me.  I'm a little controlling in the kitchen and we don't have much space.  Plus, I don't like to cook.  I want to do it and get it done.  My mom is a cook.  The best, in fact, and has more patience with her grandchildren than I do sometimes.  

Last weekend, I did let the girls bake.   They wanted muffins and I had just bought some easy (and cheap) mixes from the store.  You know the ones.  Where you just add water or milk.  Mix and bake.  I let them to do it all and they were in heaven!

I did help when it came to putting them in the hot oven and then taking them out when they were done, but they added the water/milk, stirred, spooned the mix into the cupcake liners and then licked the bowls.

First Day of School

I'm crying a little inside because summer is over.  And, let me tell you, we had a GOOD summer.  Especially compared to last year.  The girls were eager to start and I was a little eager to send them.  The hardest part for us this year was waking up!  All three kids figured out how to sleep in over the summer.  They spoiled me. 

We had meet the teacher last week.  Mykah was SO excited to see who her teacher was.  Karsyn was more excited to see if she had any of her friends in her class.  She doesn't, but she's being a trooper.  She makes new friends pretty easily, so I'm excited for her. 

Normally, I do a back-to-school photo shoot.  But to add to my "laziest mom of the year" award, I didn't do it.  The plans are to do it this weekend.  Better late than never, right?

The first day of school came.  8.25.14

Karsyn is big in 2nd grade.  She's excited to be in the portables and her teacher is Mrs. Yorek.

Mykah is excited to be in class with her friend Jayden.  She's in Mrs. Krenek's class, which I was super excited about.

 

I had to share this next one.  Mykah keeps saying she wants to be a rockstar.  I had her give me her best rockstar pose.  Clearly, we need to work on that. 

And then they were tired of me taking their pictures.  Hence the reason I don't get too eager to have photo shoots with them.

They came home and reported great days.  Mykah was a little more peppy than I expected.  She was in high gear and excited to tell me about her day.

Sister Sister

Oh how I love these girls.  I love their friendship.  I love their bond.  Yep, they fight.  They fight quite often.  Everyday, it seems.  But the moments like this when they are together .. not caring if they're touching .. not caring if one is looking at the other wrong .. these moments just make all of the not-so-good moments melt away. 

Having two girls is probably one of my favorite things in the whole world.  I'm so glad God blessed us with two girls close in age.  There's just something about sisters.

Day 140

Day 137

Day 132

Day 120

Day 83 - New Haircuts!

Day 29

It's my biggest fear

{Heads up.  This is some rambling with no pictures!}

We all have fears in life.  The fear of heights and snakes are two real fears that come to mind.  I'd have to list snakes as one of my top fears and have often said that "the only good snake is a dead one", I would say that snakes are not my number one fear.  You probably wouldn't guess what is either.

My biggest fear right now is that my children will be overweight.  True story.  I actually fear that my children will know what it is like to be obese.  And it's up to me to make that NOT be a reality.  You see, my husband grew up overweight.  It's something that he has struggled with for so many years and is finally facing his weight and punching it in the face.  I'm so proud of him.  He was raised on fast food though.  Raised by two obese parents and never taught the importance of eating healthy.  I wasn't overweight until I was married, pregnant and in control over my own eating.  I literally went crazy on the fast food and eating out.

I won't quote any statistics about childhood obesity, but both of my daughters have shown that if they do not learn right now the importance of eating healthy and exercising, they could be overweight at some point.  Now, don't go thinking that I'm one of those moms who already has their daughters on diets and focuses on their weight.  I absolutely never mention the word "fat" in front of them.  We have weighed them once, just so I could see their BMI, but we just made it a game to see their "number".  We ALWAYS talk about healthy eating and how important it is for our bodies.  We talk constantly about how mommy hasn't always been healthy, but how I'm working hard to be healthy so I can have energy to play with them.

Now.  BMIs.  Mykah is actually "at risk for being overweight".  Karsyn is "a healthy weight".  Mykah only weighs about 5 lbs less than Karsyn and they are 2 years apart.  I used to worry about Karsyn until she started school and she stayed even more active/busy and grew taller.  I do worry about Mykah because she is my child who fights me every chance she gets when it comes to eating fruits & veggies.  She also is my lazy child who hates any form of exercise.  Her actually enjoying soccer was a big shock to us because she has never had an interest in moving in any way.

Sadly, it's only been in the last year that we have actually eaten healthy.  Before then, we did feed our family fast food, cookies, chips, sodas, and whatever else we had that was convenient, full of sugar, and who knows what else.  In all of my pregnant years, I kept my toddlers happy with snacks.  All day.  And movies.  All day.  I could go on and on about the regrets I have for not showing my family how to be healthy from day 1, but the important thing is that we are fighting to be as healthy as we can right now.

What do my kids eat?  We do still eat some processed foods.  If you look in their lunchboxes, you will see frozen Smucker's PBJ sandwiches, but you'll also see organic apple slices, whole grain crackers, and several other healthier options.  Karsyn prefers to take a package of pretzels for snack and actually eats lunch in the school cafeteria almost everyday.  We do get Little Ceasar's pizza every once in a while and eat out more on the weekends than we should.  We are trying.  It's a process.  Tonight for dinner, we did have grilled chicken, asparagus spears, and seasoned brown rice.  The kids eat frozen waffles many mornings for breakfast, paired with some sort of fresh fruit.  We also dig Tyson chicken nuggets.

Bottom line is, I have chosen to let my kids be kids, but doing so in a way that is as healthy as I can make it at this time.  Conveniences is huge.  Price is huge.  And getting them to actually eat is huge. 

It's a process, like I said.  And I'm so thankful we have chosen this path right now and for the rest of our lives.  I feel like I'm giving my children the tools they need to lead a healthy life and to make the right choices later on.  My children being overweight is definitely my biggest fear, but it's a fear that I feel I can now face because of the tools I have to teach them and keep them as healthy as I can.

194/365

what a special, special memory this is now.  today was my granny's birthday.  and she likes to be pampered.  so my girls did just that.  they painted her fingernails and toenails.  they brushed her hair.  they put lipstick on her.  and who knows what else.  while mykah finished up, karsyn sat down and read granny a book.  i will cherish this picture forever and ever.

156/365

These are some girls who are glad to be home and ready to get back to our new summer routine.  I'm hoping the happiness stays! 

142/365

my girls decided to leave notes for nana and papa on our front door.  i absolutely love my home filled with their drawings and notes.  now that karsyn can write, it's even sweeter.

133/365

today was our first day of swim lessons!  we're hoping to get good so we can swim lots this summer without dragging 50 arm floaties around everywhere.

129/365

i love that my girls love flowers.  they pick flowers in every yard in our neighborhood everyday, it seems.  you know, those little yellow ones that keep popping up all over?  but this week, HEB flowers have been in our jars. 

tough love, part 2

lesson learned.  by me.  i didn't expect that! 

when i decided that i'd let the girls go for 24 hours without a mommy or a daddy, i thought i was being tough.  i thought it'd be extremely hard on them after a little while b/c i made them do everything on their own.  they made the decisions.

little did i know that i'd spend the day crying.  i needed them to need me i guess.  it was almost like i was living life without them.  it was HORRIBLE.  but i stuck it out.  it sounds extreme for me to think that.  i still think i was being ridiculous.  but it proved to me that i have been called to be their mommy.  i am mommy.  all i know is mommy.  i learned that i really like making mykah her chocolate milk each morning.  reading books before bed.  making them their meals and preparing fun snacks after school.  that's me.  and i think i was lost without doing those things.

when the time came, david and i decided that we'd talk with them for a little while, then be mommy and daddy again.  we also decided to remind ourselves that they are 6 and 4.  they didn't really know how to react.  and it killed me to think about them not having us.  or us not having them.

in the end, it was good and it was bad.  i'm not sure i'd do it again.  but they have acted much better since then.  i assured them that we'd never really leave on purpose.  that we'd always be there as long as Jesus allowed us to be their parents.  that we love them.  that we do love being their mommy and daddy, but we restated that they were also created to listen to their parents as well.  we prayed a whole lot.  we hugged even more. 

tough love it was.  for all of us.  and probably a much needed lesson.

tough love, part 1

let me set this up for you ... 2 children ... ages 6 and 4 ... who continually choose to not listen to their mama.  who continually choose to fuss and fight with each other.  who do not respond at all to spankings, rewards, encouragement, discouragement, swirlies in the toilet (kidding), or hanging on the wall with duct tape (also kidding). 

all kidding aside, my children are having a hard time listening.  and it's really wearing on me.  so it was time for some tough love.  last time, i about had it.  every day, karsyn comes home from school and the arguing begins.  we talk about it daily.  constantly.  probably too much.  we talk about kindness.  we talk about how Jesus didn't make them to be ugly and to fight.  He made them to love each other, to do kind things for other people, to respect others, and so on and so on.  and it seems to not sink in.  ever. 

they have chosen to not listen to the words we constantly speak.  they have chosen to not pick up their stuff all over the house.  they have chosen to fight with each other despite my efforts to also prevent that.  so i decided to go drastic last night and not be their mommy.  for the whole evening they didn't have a mommy or a daddy.  here's how that played out ...

*i simply stated ... "you keep choosing to not listen to mommy or daddy, so you don't have a mommy or a daddy now.  you can make your own dinner if you want.  you can take a bath if you want.  you can go to bed when you want." 
*they immediately ate some leftover spaghetti. 
*mykah started chanting "i don't have a mama, i don't have a mama"
*i wanted to lock her in a closet.  i didn't, for the record.
*they actually went and got in the bathtub on their own.  i did make sure they weren't scolding their bodies with hot water.
*karsyn started crying.  she never would speak, she just cried.  this really got to us.  david kept saying "this is so sad" ... yeah, i thought it was sad too, but the lesson couldn't stop there just because she was crying. 
*about 7:00, mykah had been MIA for a little while.  well, i knew she was in her room, but we hadn't heard her or made visual contact in a little bit.  when i went to check on her, she was sound asleep in her bed.  CHECK.
*david and i were packing more stuff in our POD.  moving day is quickly approaching.  karsyn followed us around and tried to help us as much as she could.  she sang and danced as if all was right again.  she'd say things like "raise your hand if you have a daughter!"  or she'd sing songs about having a mommy & a daddy.  we minded our own business and kept packing.
*karsyn noticed that she was getting mosquito bites.  i calmly said "if you had a mommy, she'd probably tell you to get inside."  she stayed outside to play more.
*8:00 came and david and i decided to call it quits for the night.  i have to have my downtime.  karsyn just hung out.
*we finally decided to pretend to go to bed so she would too.  she tried to climb in bed with us and we told her she couldn't because she wasn't our child.  after two times, she finally went to her bed and closed the door.  she fell asleep fast and by 8:30 we were back up and continuing on with our evening.

i woke up this morning feeling defeated.  i was prepared to be a mommy again.  but the attitudes and the arguing had started before they even got out of bed.  i took care of jaxton as usual.  told karsyn to let me know when she was ready to go to school and i'd drive her there.  they attempted to make breakfast and was able to squeeze our a pancake in the microwave.  i'm sure they'll be starving before lunch!!  around 7:40, karsyn said she was ready for school.  that made her about 20 minutes earlier than when she usually arrives, so i'm curious to see how that went. 

i've cried a few times since then.  i don't like not being mommy.  i don't like not making them breakfast, not fixing their hair, not helping them brush their teeth.  that's another thing ... karsyn went to school without brushing her teeth.  hopefully she doesn't knock anyone out!  her morning breath is STINKY!  mykah has tried to win me over, but she claimed that, in that moment, she only wanted a mommy to hold her.  so the tough love continues ...

all i can do is shake my head

this is what i'm working with, folks.  looney.  toons.
all i said was "stand by each other so i can get one picture of y'all in your swimsuits."

118/365

happy sunday!

daddy / daughter dance

this is a HIGHLY anticipated night of the year.  they remember it.  they talk about it constantly.  they countdown to it.  the daddy daughter dance has been an annual even for us for a few years now.  i think we missed last year because we forgot.  yep, mom of the year.  anywho ...

i am a mom who likes everyone to be matchy matchy.  and my family LOVES it.  ahem.  this time, the style of dresses matched, which is what i wanted, but i had a hard time finding a tie for daddy.  all he had were blues and reds.  i didn't want his tie to stand out that much, so i found this pink tie. 

i admit, they were all adorable.  yes, i'm biased.  yes, i'm okay with that.  but lots of people agreed.

they left around 6:00 and went to eat at Texas Roadhouse.  then hit up the dance around 7.  the Ross Volunteers were there and greeted them with swords high.  how neat is that?!?  yep, just like royalty, they got to walk under raised swords.  the details that go into this evening always amaze me. 

they had ice cream & candy and danced the night away.  when they got home, they were wired, but quickly dropped.  i love that they have a sweet, special daddy who will do things like this with them.  AND wear a pink tie.  he rocked it.