A Fairy Tail

"Every once in a while right in the middle of life, love gives us a fairy tail"

A few nights ago, with her two hands placed gently on each of his cheeks, my blue eyed girl asked her daddy to dance. She wanted to have a ball. Her words. It was one of those moments the tears (happy tears) just well up without warning. This is life. Just everyday life. And right in the middle of it, love...her love gave us a fairy tail...And we all danced.

This morning that fairy tail was a little less "princessish" and more "super heroish". My children woke up with abundant laughs and abundant energy.  So with their capes in place we set out to rid the world of injustice...just kidding...we ate our breakfast, did our chores, Grayson got to meet the special baby he has been itching to meet for a long time (and he was precious and delighted...oh the sweetness that radiated from him as he proudly held that baby!), played with some buddies, napped, picked up one of our favorite cousins, picked up the, oh so nutritious, Taco Bell (since Daddy was working late! ;) ), came home and built Lego cities, watched Doc McStuffins and called it a night...sounds exciting, huh?! This is life...and as I tucked my super heroes and princess in, I realized it is more than JUST life...it's a fairy tail, right in the middle of life....

Why Not?

We try to be fairly consistent in our parenting and try to have consistent discipline, rewards, etc...but I also try to stick to the old cliché "pick your battles",  when it comes to kids just being kids! If it is something that makes a difference in their character...who they will become...who we are molding them to be, then I try to give it all the time, attention, redirection, or reinforcement that it needs.
But today, and most days, sometimes I catch myself thinking "why not?". Although I didn't plan to listen to Christmas music today, "why not"? I didn't plan for Ada Grayce to wear mismatched flip-flops, but "why not"? I didn't plan for Grady to have a lesson in self feeding today, but "why not"? I didn't plan to disassemble bongos, just to check them out and reassemble them today, but "why not"? Before you answer quickly "no" when the situation presents itself ask "why not"? If there is no really good answer...then go for it! It will leave you smiling and might just be what you needed today! I NEEDED to hear "Frosty The Snowman", while it was 101 degrees outside today! Better yet, I NEEDED to sing to the top of my lungs "All I Want For Christmas"...even though people looked at me funny..."why not"? :) I NEEDED to watch Grady explore his food and learn what it was all about...today was rice and chicken...he thinks this is very weird! It made a HUGE mess, but "why not"? I NEEDED to sit and watch Grayson diligently disassemble a set of bongos and completely figure them out in his head before reassembling them! I NEEDED all of this today!

 

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about. "

After...There's Finally an After! ;)

So excited to say our teeny tiny kids' bathroom remodel is finally complete!! Yay!!! So here's a couple pictures to enjoy! :)

Complete with pictures above towel hooks, PVC toothbrush holders and a toilet paper stop line! ;) I love the orange and I am so happy with how things turned out! Now to convince my love that we really should just finish up the hall bathroom....;)

Simple Pleasures

Today we spent all day just enjoying the simple pleasures...it was nice, wonderful, much needed! We finally got a chance to set up Grayson's rock tumbler which he has been itching to do! That was fun! But it takes like 21 days to complete the process!! Yikes! That's FOREVER to a 5 year old! So we will definitely be making a countdown calendar and draw a picture of our observations, just to keep up with it for him! :) 

We have already "checked" on it at least a dozen times! Can't wait to see what he gets :) 

We followed that with about an hour of play dough time! And then hit the outdoors! Everyone enjoyed swimming and then while I was getting Grady settled for a nap, the big kids decided to have a "truck wash"...they must have spent 45 minutes or more just washing their truck! And he can't wait to show his daddy, he said! :) 

 

Lunch followed and now a good nap! :)

 

"The simple things are also the most extraordinary things!"

"A Day at the Beach Restores The Soul"

My soul has been restored! ;) Today we took a beach trip! For those who know me well, you know I LOVE the beach...everything about it...EVERYTHING! I would go every chance I get! And after today, it is clear that my two oldest children love it just about as much as me! They had a BLAST!! In the words of my son "It was more than great...it was AWESOME!" It was a really fun day...Can't wait to go back with my little boy and Daddy, but we had a fun day with cousins and the best aunt ever! :)  After a day in the sun and saltwater, Mommy is a happy girl :)

Bedtime prayers consisted of thanking God for "the shells and the sea and writing my name in the sand!" :) I love these babies to pieces!

Surprises in the Mail!

This evening I came home to a stack of mail! It was full of surprises! The most exciting for me would be an official acceptance letter to be an independent educator! Pretty exciting, and one more step closer to kicking off the year! :)

And the most exciting thing for the children...OUR ANTS!!!! Yay! They arrived on the perfect day! Grayson has just returned home from a blissful week with his wonderful grandparents, and what a cool thing to take his mind off the separation from them! And the best part was that him and I were just discussing that if our ants didn't arrive soon I would contact the company to "make sure they were coming"...by his request of course! :) We are excited to give this a try!
So we prepped the hill, "chilled" the ants...literally! By placing them in the refrigerator! And put them in! Now, we wait! It says that it may take them a couple days to get used to their new home and start digging! Should be fun to watch...now wonder if I can sleep tonight without feeling like ants are crawling on me....

There they are! Our new friends for the next couple weeks! :)


And since it's the end of the week, I wanted to include a few things I left out, and like I mentioned in my very first post, mainly just for me to remember! :)

Ada Grayce has a sweet free spirit! And a style all her own :) And my boys were so happy to see each other today! These are my hearts! <3

 Grady had his nine month check up this week! He is still hanging at the top of the charts, but at least he is no longer OFF the top of the chart! ;) So thankful for a happy, healthy, growing baby boy! Life is about to get VERY adventurous with this one! :)

 This is Ada's first drawing of me..."what's beside it?", you may ask...according to my sweet daughter..."It's a mess"! I love it! Kids call it like they see it! Either she thinks I am always cleaning a mess or I AM a mess...I will leave that one to you! ;)

And this is the last one for the day! Her first family drawing! The thing that caught my eye...look who is the biggest...speaks volumes doesn't it?! My children love their daddy, and boy are we immensely blessed to have him!! It does my heart good to have a "daddy's girl"...I never got to be one, but boy am I glad I get to raise one! <3

...and During...

Well, after a minor (actually major) computer malfunction, I am now back online thanks to a loaner! ;) I still can't post pics of a completely finished bathroom, but I can say we have definitely made progress here this week! But why is it when you start fixing things, you notice all the other little stuff that could be done as well?! Yes, this VERY tiny bathroom is a VERY time consuming project! But, it is getting there! Can't wait to see the finished project by Saturday evening...I hope! ;) My husband is still diligently spending his evening hours working away! most everything is finished now except hanging a few things and putting in the sink and toilet! And I have to say, I really like the orange!

So blessed to have such a hardworking man! He really is the best! :)

Had to include this just for the boys! ;) 

Along with the bathroom work, we have completed the playroom, and added cute little finishing touches! And the two kids that are home this week, have REALLY enjoyed it! We got to snuggle a new, very precious, very wonderful baby girl yesterday! Ada Grayce was in heaven! And this made me a little emotional and made me realize something maybe I could have done a little different when Grady was tiny...I wish I would have just let us all and sit together more. Just let them hold him more...but the reality is they were 2 and 4 and they didn't just sit together. And things are crazy with three kids, especially when you are sleep deprived and weary! So maybe it's something to look forward to in the future! It is AMAZING how quickly they mature...and it feels like yesterday my little ones were that little...well, they weren't that little, but close!

And along with all this fun stuff, I have made HUGE progress in the school year planning! Which makes me very very happy and quite relieved! I have missed my big boy like crazy this week and CANNOT wait to get my hands on him tomorrow morning, but I am so grateful for a little time to get some things accomplished and prepare for our big Kindergarten year! He probably has not missed me nearly as much as I missed him...after all, he was with two of his favorite people on earth!! ;)

This evening, I had the fun opportunity to go to an art "exhibit"! My niece attended art camp all week and made some very cool stuff!! She really enjoyed herself and it was a lot of fun to run behind her as she found her work up on the wall and one even earned a ribbon! She was thrilled! :)

Hoping in the next couple days, to finish my school planning through December and then I get to reward myself by finishing a dress for Ada that I can't wait to finish!! :)