A Month Off?

It feels as though its been ages since I've put my fingers to keys and whipped out a blog post...and by the looks of it, its been almost a month - shame on me.  But as they say, life gets in the way and such is life.  I am going to work on blogging more, but to say I am going to make it a priority might be a bit of a stretch as I have so many priorities these days, it seems odd to even call them priorities.

Travel Buddy "Donald da Duck"  goes to California with Me

I thought I would do a catch up type post to remind myself of the last month...

#1 Yesterday on the way to school, this was my conversation with Olivia:

Olivia: Mommy, if I punch someone in the face will I be a bully?
Me:  Olivia, generally speaking punching someone in the face isn't the right thing to do
Olivia: But what would make me a bully? If I punched someone in the face over, and over and over again? Would that make me a bully? Because I don't want to be a bully.

Clearly they are talking about bullying at school - and she seems to be getting the "over and over again" part about it, but hopefully I can help her understand that it isn't always physical.

Found this blast from the past - check out those brows - good grief!!

#2 The other day she also asked me why there was a huge "Red Sign" in front of their school (after school care) - and turns out it was the largest Romney sign I've ever seen, so then I had to try and explain the concept of the "Election" and voting...that was a doozie.  Not quite as hard as "The Internet" and "Insurance" but tough nonetheless.

The girls and I run errands after Gymnastics every Saturday - they love the Target cart and the popcorn!

#3 - We went Apple Picking at/on Carter Mountain this past weekend and the weather was absolutely beautiful. It was nice to be able to take Riley with us.  I forget how much attention he gets though, everyone was stopping to pet him and ask a million questions about him.  I always love the variations of how people attempt to say "Weimaraner" - it really is a mouth full.

All ready to go

He was pumped to be outside, among the trees, surrounded by wildlife scents, he was however, far from thrilled to be on a leash, and unable to chase down those scents. 

The crew on top of Carter Mountain - bad lighting and iphone camera = bad photo

The girls had a good time as well, they got to take the tractor/hay ride this year, and didn't complain quite so much about all the walking - they really are growing up :) But all three kiddos (Riley included) were exhausted and rested most of the way home, which made for a peaceful ride for Brad and I.

#4 - Brad has been traveling quite a bit, the girls and I have had a lot of quality time together and with that usually comes a battle for who gets to sleep in Mommy's bed while Daddy is away.  We've taken turns, but this has also perpetuated Avery's inability to sleep through the night on her own, and her "going to bed" battle has been escalated just a bit.

Sneaking out of her bedroom for the 387th time

And with all the travel, Brad has been getting super creative in keeping the girls close, so this last trip he let them pick out one of his shirts to either sleep with or just have close by.  Olivia chose a green Polo t-shirt and Avery chose a cycling jersey - indicative of their personalities we think.

#5 - School is going really well for both girls.  Olivia is really enjoying Kindergarten, and she has her first field trip tomorrow.  I was hoping to chaperon, but all the spots are already filled, so no soup for me, hopefully I can join in next time. I actually love packing her lunches, but she is dying to buy school lunch.  I have to say, the menu grosses me out, between Corn Dog Nuggets, Mozz Sticks, Cheeseburgers, Chicken Tenders and Pizza I am wondering if they realize its school and not the State Fair, good grief, throw a veggie in there, would ya?

#6 - Avery loves saying the Pledge of Allegiance and I am simply amazed that the child doesn't butcher some of the words - I was hoping for something really funny to come out of her mouth, but she nails it.

#7 - Olivia is obsessed with singing, she loves to belt out a tune while in the car and she is picking up on several pop songs - she loves "Hard to Love" by Lee Brice, and Brad caught her singing "Whistle" by Flo Rida...yikes. We probably need to invest in more Kidz Bop CD's so she isn't stuck with the unedited version...have ya'll heard the unedited version of Payphone by Maroon 5, good grief, I played the album from my phone the other day while I was cleaning and had to run across the room to stop it, it was quite racy.