Ellie at School

One of the things I love to do is go and volunteer at the girls' schools whenever I can. I can't do it as much as I would like, but when I do I love to see all that they are doing and how much they are growing.

Here are some pictures from my most recent visit to Ellie's class.

The end of the shirt.

One of the things Robb does that drives me a little crazy is he doesn't get rid of his shirts when they get holes in them. Some of them he does, but not all.

Last night we're standing next to the sink and I notice a hole in the arm of his shirt. Keep in mind that the shirt he had on was not a one of a kind shirt he bought at a concert he went to one time and now has some sort of emotional connection with. No. It was a work shirt, one of seven others exactly like it. And when I say exactly I mean it. Same color, same style. The only difference being that this one had a hole in the arm.

I knew that the only way he would get rid of this shirt is if the shirt was beyond repair. So I stuck my finger in the little hole on his shirt and I pulled. I was thinking that would do it. Yay, no more shirt with a hole. I was wrong.

Instead of getting rid of the shirt he just started laughing, took it off and proceeded to remove the arms from the shirt making himself an even more attractive garment. He then put the shirt back on and proceeded to make one of the arms of his shirt into a hat.

Lovely, isn't it?

After we took some pictures of this beauty, he got even more creative and did this:

"Look hun," he said "a vest." Oh my goodness - really?

The girls thought this whole thing was great, helping as much as they could. However, when he was walking around the house sporting his new vest, Olyvia said it perfectly when she said "Dad, now you just look silly."

The scary thing is . . . I am sure that the vest is in his drawer.

Practice, Practice, Practice

I have my new camera in hand and now the task is to figure out how to use it. A little overwhelming, I must admit. I am, however, ready for the challenge. I am ready to learn how to work it and take some awesome pictures. My first few are a little scary and so I won't share any quite yet. I am hoping to take a ton more this week and will figure out the downloading and get some up on this page for you to see and comment on.

So, here goes . . .

"I just want a hug"

A simple saying like "I just want a hug" can have so much more meaning. I am waiting for dinner to finish cooking and while doing so am watching the girls attempt to beat up on their dad. They both go at him, full steam ahead, at the exact same moment. Olyvia meets with resistence and her sister is there instantly to comfort her and reassure her that they can take him on. And so, without further coddeling of each other they are at it again, full steam ahead right for him.

Robb trying to be the adult in the situation decides this isn't a safe activity to do in the kitchen with dinner cooking and all and so moves to our living room . . . where the wood stove is. Interseting choice as opposed to the bedroom where there are no hot devices.

So they have moved into the living area and I hear Ellie say in her sweetest voice, "I just want a hug" and she goes in for her hug and at the last minute pounces on him. This continues until Robb decides that he has to bring it to a close so he can get a rest. Their laughter however is infectious and it permieates into your being and he can't help but start laughing as well which then becomes his weakness. He is then at their mercy because he too is laughing too hard to gain control. It is as if they prey on this weakness, doing things to just make you laugh harder.

The Struggle of Any Good Mom & Wife

I finished up the book I have been reading last night. It was an amazing book and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in reading something not too heavy but definitely impacting. Made me think a lot about myself and my life and how the things I do can impact others. The book is A Lotus Grows In The Mud by Goldie Hawn. Simply amazing.

Towards the end of the book (pg. 412-413) she has been talking about empty nest and how as parents we are to deal with that. This is not something I have experienced, but I know I will. I have seen my mother go through it and my friends' mothers, each of them dealing with it in their own way. In her book, Goldie says "The most frightening aspect for many people, especially women is the "What happens now?" She goes on to say that "one of the most important questions we are faced with at this time is the nature of our relationship with our partner. Losing our children to their new lives leaves us naked. We only have each other now." This is an interesting concept. I look at some of the people I know and I think about how much of their lives they dedicate to their children; how much they define themselves by their children. They are going to be hit hard with empty nest. Goldie points out that when we do this and then our children leave, "panic can set in" and we might not know how to deal with our relationship. She says that this doesn't have to happen though, that the key is to be aware that this time will come and that our children will (and should) leave our home to go and make their own. As husband and wife we cannot forget each other in the process.

I love my children dearly and I love to be a part of their lives and look forward to continuing to do so. That said, Robb and I need to make sure that we continue to enrich our relationship with special time just the two of us. We cannot give up every part of ourselves and our relationship for our children. If we do, what would we be teaching them. Robb and I used to have "date nights." We would have someone come and watch the girls and we would go for a walk or go work out together or go to a movie or dinner. We would do something just the two of us. We haven't done this lately and I have to say I miss it. I miss just him and me time. Although I love our time as a family, I know that this him and me time is important to making our family work. Not only does it give us each time to show the other why we love them, but it also shows our children that their parents are still in love with each other and still want to be together. This is important for when they get older and enter into a relationship of their own.

I encourage all you mothers out there to dedicate as much time to yourself and your relationship as you devote to your children. Because one day soon they will grow up and move on to their own independent life. If you have already prepared, then the question of "What happens now?" won't be so intimidating.

Question for November

I have decided to do a question each month. Let me know what your thoughts are on the question by commenting to the entry. I am excited to hear what everyone's responses are.

"Are you being the real you, or being the you everyone wants you to be?"

Halloween

Halloween went off without a hitch, if you don't count the wonderfull rainy and wet weather we had. This didn't stop the girls from having a great time in their qwest for the perfect piece of candy.

We headed downtown to wonder the streets looking at all the kids in costumes, and some adults, and collect candy from the different stores. The girls had a great time with their grandma, papa, auntie, uncle and cousin and they didn't mind that we were there either. :)

Here are a few pictures from our trecks. The one mistake I made was letting Ellie wear her princess slippers with her white tights. They met their demise Friday night, never to recover from the blackness that they suffered. I should have taken Robb's warning and put her in tennis shoes. She didn't seem to mind though and just loved to be a princess.


Our little "Curly" (Leilah) dressed as a wonderful little witch. She did a great job and once she figured out the idea behind trick or treating was hard to keep up with.


We finally found a way for Ellie to wear her hat that was more comfortable but it caused a lot of giggles from her and Papa.


Our wonderful Rachel Ray - At first I wasn't sure how to do that costume, but we just ran with it and Olyvia was extremely happy with the outcome so that is all that mattered.


Our little princess. She looks so sweet and innocent in this picture but every time we turned around she was sneaking and eating the candy. It was an ongoing battle the entire evening.


The three girls got to pet this really sweet dog that was downtown trick or treating. We found that little Leilah loves dogs and was running up to every one she saw. This was a constant worry for her parents.


And finally a family shot. Robb and I with the girls - our little Rachel Ray and Princess.