. 241/365 .

 

this morning was different.  much different than yesterday.  i'm still surprised.  she was very eager to get up and get going again.  ate.  did the whole routine.  she had known for several days what she wanted to wear for the second day.  her sparkly shirt.  sparkly belt.  and sparkly shoes.  and she had to tuck her shirt in she said.  oh, and the side pony tail, which somehow ended up just looking like a pony tail in the back that i didn't get centered.  oh well. 

 

she wanted pizza in her lunchbox today.  and milk.  and was ready with 30 minutes to spare. 

 

the hard part came when it was time for her to be dropped off.  today she insisted that i drop her off.  you know, she wanted me to do that yesterday because she "knew where her classroom was already."  i had to explain that mama didn't know where it was, so maybe she could show me.  that's how i got my foot in the door yesterday.  today though.  drop me off.  and i was ok with that.  parking and walking isn't really my favorite thing to do these days with the big belly and swollen feet.  but i would have walked her in every day if that's what she wanted. 

 

but, she wanted to be dropped off.  so we did just that.  as soon as that car door closed and i watched her walk away into the school all by herself, i lost it.  completely.  and have cried for an hour afterwards.  big, ugly tears.  i'll never lose that picture of her walking in from my head.  she had her backpack on.  lunchbox in hand.  opened the door and walked right in.  without me. 

 

and now i want to know.  since when did they start teaching them to be teenagers on the first day of kindergarten?!?  today was hard on this mama!  my mom said it best.  she called me shortly after and i boo hoo-ed to her.  she reminded me that i have raised her to be independent.  i have raised her for this very moment.  i have raised her to be strong and courageous.  i just didn't prepare myself to see that moment. 

 

 

. 240/365 .

. 240/365 .

. 207/365 .

 

the look that says "please stop taking my picture."

. 206/365 .

 

LOVE this picture.  today we went to the waco va hospital to visit pop.  these flags line the main entrance.  it's an absolutely beautiful scene.

. 201/365 .

if you look REAL close, you may be able to see the whites of daddy's eyes.  maybe.  he swears he was awake.  and i love that their favorite thing to do, other than beat daddy up, is to cuddle up for a short movie on the ipad or read books.

. 200/365 .

and look sideways yet again.  what in the world?!?  most of the time, the girls absolutely do not want to pose for a picture.  this time .. we get this awkward prom pose.  priceless.

. 199/365 .

 

why do pictures, or computers, ever cooperate exactly how you want them to all of the time?!  i gave up on this one and it was too cute not to share.  she clearly isn't happy to be taking yet another picture, but look at those curls!  it was a sweaty kind of day.  normally her hair is absolutely out of control. 

. 198/365 .

 

jaxton's room is coming right along.  we now have a changing table!  above that we have 2 little shelves that are full of pop's old model cars.  we thought these added a nice touch to the room that will be full of navy, red, and yellow.  they are super cute and just the look we wanted.  now to find something to go under the shelves, but above the changing table.  something he can't pull off the wall as he gets older.  it's a work in progress for sure!

. 197/365 .

what i thought would be a chore that i could use for discipline some day, turned into her favorite activity.  mykah-1.  mama-0.

. 193/365 .

the girls are BIG into drawing these days.  mykah loves to color pictures.  karsyn loves to draw rainbows.  so i have tons of pictures similar to these all around the house, but she drew this one today and it was one of my favorites.  for some reason, her rainbows have been more of a square shape lately and i'm not sure why.  today, it was perfect.  and i love it.  i'm not sure how she learned the colors of the rainbow, but each time she draws one, it's in perfect order too.  remember, ROY G BIV.  red. orange. yellow. green. blue. indigo. violet.  she does just put purple instead of indigo & violet, but she always draws it with the colors in the right order.  today, her flowers were even in "rainbow order", as she called it.

. 192/365 .

i will probably never catch up where i'd like to be on my blog, which means the last 144 days of daily pictures probably won't ever happen.  i'm sad that i've missed so many days, but pregnancy just hasn't been well to me.  these days i'm feeling good, other than being exhausted.  i've realized that i've missed so many opportunities to post about the girls' daily activities, soccer, swimming, and so many other things that have gone on since february.  i may try to back track a little and make up some posts from pictures that i have, but the pictures are few and far between as well.  so instead of worrying about the past and what i've missed on the blog, i'm moving forward. 

and here's one of my new favorite pictures showing what we've been doing this whole summer ...

these sisters sure are something else.  this was one of their good moments.  those are few and far between as well.  i absolutely love the times when they are getting along, but they both have such strong personalities that, what seems like the majority of the time, they are fighting.  still, they have that sweet sister bond that surpasses all days of arguing. 

. 48/365 .

i love having this on my chalkboard this week.  it most definitely reminds me that what you're feeling on this inside, shows on the outside.  it's very hard to have a bitter heart and a smile on your face at the same time.  being happy inside, bleeds happiness on the outside.  it does.  the Bible tells me so.

. 47/365 .

for some reason i have always had this deep desire for my girls to LOVE something.  to love a certain toy.  to be obsessed with a certain collection of things.  i'm not real sure why that's important to me, but it is.  i want them to have something that they are passionate about and i feel like it's my job as their parent to help them find things that they love to do.  i'm pretty sure that may make me weird, but i dunno.  we tried to get them into "littlest pet shop".  we bought tons of stuff from a friend whose daughter had outgrown it.  they like playing with it.  but it's not something they love.  we bought them legos.  they like playing with them.  but they don've love them.  and their interest seems to change so frequently (they get that from me, sadly) that it's hard to keep up with their favorites.

at this moment in time, it's safe to say that mykah is obsessed with barbies.  she sleeps with them, bathes with them, and plays with them several times a day. 

i haven't quite figured karsyn out.  they do both like to play with their new dolls that they got for Christmas.  they're the target brand american girl.  definitely cheaper, but we couldn't see spending $100 on a doll that may or make not keep it's hair or arms and legs for any certain amount of time.  mykah loves to fix hair.  i try to limit her to her dolls because she hasn't quite got the hairdressers touch when it comes to human heads.  you may leave with bruises. 

oh, and karsyn is mildly obsessed with soccer.  playing it.  not soccer balls.  not all things soccer.  but when it comes soccer season, she's super excited. 

so, for now, that's all we got.  and i think it may be normal for my children not to have yet decided that they'll be doctors one day for sure, i'm comfortable with the fact that that's life.  life is about learning.  it's about living.  it's about finding new things you love and exploring new hobbies.  and i want to nurture that for my kids.  i want to help them find their passions in life and run with them. 

maybe i should do the same for myself.

. 46/365 .

i've definitely over done it on the sugar these last few days and my body (and my children) can totally tell.  i'm pretty sure i need a good solid week of detox.  BUT, one of my kiddos brought a big bag of these yesterday for valentine's day and i'm pretty sure i ate most of the bag myself.  there may still be some left.  maybe.  and ... i wish they made the traditional chex mix without the pretzels.  just sayin'.

. 45/365 .

we had a little photo shoot here this morning for valentine's day.  and i promise mykah slept all night long, but apparently she was quite the tired one.

it kinda looks like she's about to eat karsyn alive.  and i'm pretty sure if karsyn keeps waking her up in the mornings, she just may chomp her to pieces one day.  mykah is very much a 12 hour sleeper.  always has been.  yes, i LOVE that about her.  but with the girls sharing a room and karsyn being an early riser, i think mykah gets woke up way before she would want.  she is my child.

poor girl.  she just couldn't hang.  she did crash out at naptime today, which seldom happens.  her sleep has been a little off these past few weeks.  hopefully she gets back to her 12 hour naps soon!!

. 39/365 .

i absolutely LOVE it when all of our snack bins are full.  it was slim pickins around here and now we have a good variety.  everyone's favorites.  these clear bins are from target and i'd have a pantry full if i could afford to.  my next goal is to get the same amount in the smaller size so i have a variety.  my heart definitely pitter-patters over clear bins with white lids.  is that weird?

. 35/365 .

i gathered the supplies to make this for the girls.  i've seen the idea on pinterest a few times and really wanted something to keep their craft stuff organized and easily accessible.  i want to make the cans cute, but haven't had time for that just yet.  plus, i have to find it's permanent home first where other little fingers don't have access before i make 'em pretty.

. 34/365 .

it has been a BUSY week.  jasey and her kids have joined us all week long.  plus, pop had a heart attack on monday and will have triple bypass done sometime today.  this is what i indulged in this morning and it was well worth it.  a glass of big red and a cup of cappuccino.  seriously.

. 33/365 .

you've seen my kitchen a disaster before.  and here it is again.  only this time, we're cleaning out my pantry.

i'm not real sure how it gets so out of control so quickly, but i'm hoping i can handle it this time.  while the BFF is here, she's helping me organize a few things that i'm too lazy to do myself.  needless to say, this was a project that was way over due.