Tuesday, April 26, 2016

I'm so in love with almost everything you say these days. It is all so hilarious. Just today you cleaned the rug and you dusted and declared it all as being the best time of your life. How great right?









You love your beautiful Aurora doll and even though you got a different one for your birthday you don't seem super interested in her. You still prefer Aurora.
You also got this horsey from Chocolate Milk Grandma! 
When I was in England Daddy said you said you missed me and that made me feel super happy. You gave me the biggest hug and you sat in my lap and let me snuggle you. I melted.



You are so caring to everyone. You love your friends Lauren and Avery even though you haven't seen them in a year or so. You love all the neighbors including Angie and Lorein who are the ones you invited to your party. You also love  Ian and Mariah and Kaydence and just had your first sleepover outside our home with them!

You still prefer sleeping with Daddy and I which we don't love but we tolerate because we know these days are coming to a close.

I can't get enough of your lisp. It's so cute.

You love Doc McStuffins but watch anything, including the power Rangers. You are "the Power Ranger green."

Favorite Color: "My favorite color is popo."
Favorite TV Show:" Is pick one or two (holding up 3 fingers) My favorite is Sofia."
Favorite Book:" My favorite is uh, Rabbit."
Favorite Song:  "My favorite song is Let it go"
Favorite thing to do oustide: "Riding bike"
What do you want to be when you grow up? "Okay, when I grow up I want to be a doctor.
Who is your best friend? My best friend is Lauren. I miss Lauren. She is my best friend. "
How much do you weigh? "I weigh this much" pointing over her head
What do you love learning in school? "I don't want to go to school."
What is your favorite dance move? "My favorite is digs."
What is your favorite food: "My favorite food is ba-sketti."

All in All, you are joy in human form and we are so lucky to have you in our lives. 



Who knew when we picked and booked our date that it would coincide with so many other big things? It just happened to be probably the biggest weekend ever in London. Just kidding, I'm not qualified to speak on the celebration sizes of this giant city but what I know is, it was all very exciting.

We began the weekend with the Queen's birthday which was celebrated on the 21st of April. According to one source, there are big things that day, but the majority of the festivities happen throughout the month and into the year.

The next big event was the arrival of Obama at the palace for lunch and then to Kensington for dinner. Even little George got in on the fun!


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The same day was St. Geroge's day which meant parties and special menu's and flags flying everywhere. So much fun!

Image result for st georges flag

The last day we were there was The London Marathon. We didn't catch any of the race but we did see some runners on our train to the airport.

Even with all of that stuff, the most fun for me was The Other People. We met and talked to a list of people whose name we actually kept on a list in my phone. I wanted to share some of them here because most often, it's the people I remember and not the places (although those are spectacular as well). I'll try and be somewhat not so slow.

First we met Barbara and Michael who are flight attendants for Ryanair. They are friends and also fans of selfies. We caught Barbara taking a selfie pre-flight and then we asked her and Michael to take one at the end of our flight which ended up kind-of holding up the next group of people waiting to board. Oops.

Secondly we met Richard who was a salesperson for the Stansted Express. He made cracks. I think that's how they say it. lol. He had jokes is what I'm trying to say. He was so nice and we wanted him to travel with us because he knew his way around so well.

We don't remember the name of the serious but funny lady at the border who was hilarious yet stern-faced who joked with us about our potential next president (Trump). I saw her again at security when we left the airport.

Our first Uber driver was Dahir. He was a nice guy. He wanted to marry Chelsi. He also has 40 siblings. He is Muslim and his father is allowed to have 4 wives but he's been divorced so he's had 7 wives. He knows all of his siblings.

At one of the delicious restaurants we ate at we met Mark. He doesn't eat dessert at the restaurant but he goes home at night to eat a cake he buys from the co-op down the street from his house. He eats it by himself. lol.

While waiting for a bus connection on the open-top tour we met Simon and David who work for competing companies. They like each other though. David is the one who shared his video of Obama with us. David is from Canada.

I can't forget our Starbucks barista's Jess and Boile (with a thing over the e). They were so rad. I wish we could have hung out with them outside of work. They were our kind of people and they made delicious drinks!

Another bus driver we met was John. He made sure to get us to the train station on time. He lost his 4 year old son 6 years ago to pneumonia (he suffered from Cerebral Palsy and epilepsy). I teared up over this! My Nevie is 4 years old. I can't imagine.

After  this point, we were rushing so there wasn't a lot of time to talk to others. It was a pretty magical trip. We had so much fun. I can't wait to tell you about our hotels. 

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Today my Sadie came in crying because her best friends were ignoring her which I quickly realized may or may not have been true. That's not the issue though. What's important is realizing what she experienced. One mom might see this as her being whiny. Another mom might be sympathetic. This mom right here, has a tendency to be the "you're being whiny" mom. Being sympathetic to my own kids has been a really hard concept for me lately primarily because I'm doing it on my own right now. This has been a very good experience though, because I've also become way more aware and therefore empathetic to the vast range of parent/child relationships I'm surrounded by in my life. 

Jackson, my oldest, often gets really frustrated and he will cry or get so mad/sad that he goes to his room. I've heard the words that come from other parents who either think he's overreacting or he's too old to "act that way". 

Sadie struggles with anxiety. Today at church she did not want to go to the front to be spotlighted without me coming with her. 7 kids went up before her without a hitch. She doesn't like talking to strangers but is more than comfortable talking to people she knows. She needs to know dates and times and how's for mostly everything. I see the looks that come from other moms and dads when she is crying over these things. 
I was actually trying to take this picture without them looking but Sadie had just been called up (again) and was starting to cry (again). Jackson had put his arm around her the first time she didn't want to go and offered to go with her. 
The reason I bring these things up is because your kids haven't had the same experiences as mine have and vice versa. It's easy for you to point out that my kids cry a lot because yours use different coping skills and it's something you're simply not used to. It's easy for you to say that you think my son might have ADD because he doesn't like sitting still for 4 hours. That's okay. 

I struggle with my reaction though. I'm not sure what to say. Because I don't see these things as being negative. What do/would you say? 

Yesterday we sat around with some educated friends of ours, one of whom is a psychologist. He was talking about how we have widely broadened our verdicts of mental health issues so that everything that might be perceived as normal 10 years ago is now quickly defined as being on the Autism spectrum or having ADHD, among other things. In reality these ever-expanding diagnoses need to be reserved for those who really suffer from these often-crippling issues. I also feel like the diagnosis needs to be given by the most knowledgeable people: the kids' own parents and their trusted health professionals.

I'm not naive to think that Sadie's anxiety is normal, because I actually think it isn't. However, I am not a doctor, but I am her mom and I know her better than anyone else. I know that when she was 2, her Dad left for a little while and when he came back, she really struggled. And since that time, she has continued to struggle with people leaving hence her desire to the whereabouts of the people she loves at all times. I can see from the outside where it seems excessive that she hates being separated from us, but I get it for now. We process in the ways we are capable of until we are able to see professionals for more tools. 

In the meantime, I think we all need to save our stares and our speeches for our blogs or journals and not give them to each other. We are all doing the best we can. Have you ever been confronted with this parenting conundrum or is it just me? lol.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Is that one of those rites of passage like a broken bone or a bee sting is? I'm pretty sure this is the first time any of my kids have had it. Although, my dear Sadie had that one time with the Vaseline in her hair...so maybe I should count my blessings?

Anyway, the secret, easiest way to get gum out of your kids hair is to:

Cut it out

That's it! Magic right? Are you disappointed? I didn't even bother to Pinterest other ways because after the night I had previous, I was in no frame of mind to deal with the weeping and wailing that would undoubtedly accompany the combing through of sticky gooey grossness.



Can you please explain to me why Genevieve woke up 8 times last night crying? Do you know the sound of nails on a chalkboard? That's what her crying in the middle of the night sounds like to me? Don't judge me! I was so exhausted already.

4 year old life is proving to be just as fun as 3 year old life but with more words. Today I was outside with my friends in the 'hood and Genevieve came over with no pants or underwear on, carrying her pull-ups and told all of us in the vicinity that she did not poop in the toilet and was going to poop in a pull-up. We laughed and I cried inside. lol. That's my kid.

Also, I have been inspired by a few fellow full-time mom's to Just Do It when it comes to starting an online business. I am STILL going back and forth about what I want to do full time so I'm just going to do it all. For now. Until I am able to narrow down my focus, I'm going to do the things I enjoy. Therefore, I am going to start listing some of the fun things I find at thrift stores or antique or flea markets here in Germany. I will also post some of the digital things I have created over the years. Eeek. I'm nervous and also really excited.

Are you on Snapchat? If you are, please tell me. I have restarted that endeavor and it's pretty fun! Anyway, this is it for now! 

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

There are too many things that happened today to try and fit it into a caption or a facebook post even. Plus, I've been really bad at this lately. Thing is, I've been gramming more because I use a magic site called chatbooks,com to get my feed printed to paper once a month. It costs like $6. In fact, if you want to sign up you can get your first book free with my special code! It's a win-win cause I get a $1 credit. Woot. It's been really fun. The kids love looking through them and David does too (especially cause he's not in Instagram).

In other news, Nevie is about to turn 4! It's crazy. She's been a ton of fun to listen to lately minus her EXTREMELY loud tone. I think because she is the baby, she feels the need to almost yell in order to be "heard" even though we are standing right next to her. She also repeats things at least 3 times. Grrrrr.

For dinner tonight we had Chick-fil-A sauce with a side of chicken nuggets and homemade french fries (cooked in peanut oil to add to the effect). The kids ate and then went outside immediately afterwards to soak up this hot (70 degree) weather. Genevieve was super excited about a snail she found and wanted to put it in this gross snail box we have had since last summer. I told her she wasn't allowed, that we needed to clean it out otherwise the snail would die. She understood. I was standing at the sink doing dishes and Nevie came in to eat more of her food because she was hungry. I looked up at her with her chicken nugget in one hand and asked her where her snail was. "Right here" she said, with the snail in her other hand. oh em gee. I about died.


That's the story I really wanted to tell. I may have to use Instagram to post her other one-liners that have been so funny lately! This age is so much fun!

About the anxiety thing. I have told several of my friends that Spring is when all the big things happen. So right around when Daylight Savings hits is when my anxiety goes full force. I wake up to that delicious smell and the sunshine and then BAM! Immediate anxiety. It's a learned thing. I can't help it. Spring time is when David always leaves, when we moved, when David was at Airborne, when David was in some other country, etc... Plus, another big thing is happening and it's not in stone and therefore anxiety. Thanks a lot Obama. Jk.

Can someone just be my personal assistant? There are so many things I want to write and share with the world but I don't have the focus to sit down and get them all here. How do good bloggers do it? I suppose they don't have kids at home? Or maybe they do and they just manage their time better? I need All The Tips and Tricks. Real ones. Not lame ones.

That's all for now. I'm gonna go try and write another post with a separate subject matter as to be more professional. Jk. I mostly just want to be able to find it later and it helps with my scatter brain. 

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