A month... really?!?

Geesh. I knew we were busy and I have been pretty overwhelmed lately... but nearly a MONTH has gone by since I have logged onto this blog? Bad Mommy! There goes my "once or twice a week" commitment! But I can recommit... I can! I have to. So much happens in our daily life that is so blog-worthy, but I swear I can't remember a fraction of it as I sit down to write. I will say that most of our free time as parents has been house-hunting, which went into full-force at the beginning of this month (no coincidence that is when the blog-slacking REALLY started). We do like our townhome, and love our neighborhood, but I think we've outgrown the space. It's a little bittersweet to think about selling it, as this is the home we bought right after we were married, and the place we brought each of our babies home to. Many, many wonderful memories. But... it's time. We have found a place, and I thought about sharing a picture, but I think I'll hold off on that, as I don't want to get too excited just yet. We did come to a home-sale contingency agreement, and everything is in place, but we do have to sell this one first, and someone can come along with a non-contingent offer and take it.  So... we are of the mindset that whatever is meant to happen, will happen. It is pretty much out of our hands now. Wish us luck and say a little prayer!

This has also been a very busy month for the kiddos. Gosh, they are growing so fast and both of them amaze me and just fill my heart every single day.

Getting ready for her first day of "princess" ballet class

Showing (and telling) me exactly how she was going to dance

After our Mother's Day Tea at preschool

The sweet gift Liv made for me

Celebrating Mother's Day at Gaga and Pap Pap's

One of Olivia's favorite pastimes

Owen's first time in the big kid swing

Our scrapbook page for Ms. Lora

And one for Ms. Betty Jo

Snuggling and watching tv in the morning

Last day of preschool picnic with Johanna and Ashlyn

Olivia with her two amazing teachers

Ms. Lora, Olivia, and Ms. Betty Jo

Olivia is doing well and having a great time at her ballet class. I'm curious to see how she will perform on the last day of class with Mommy actually in the room.  Her first year of preschool has come to a close, and I have to say that I could not have hand-picked two better teachers for her. I really feel like they both love and accept Olivia for exactly who she is, and have this balance of setting the limits she needs but allowing that spirit of hers to shine through at the same time... not always easy, and quite a delicate balance. We are so grateful as parents to have had such wonderful teachers for our daughter's first experience with school! 

Owen is getting SO big and is just moving around like a crazy man! He took his first two steps last week! He's still just crawling and cruising, but I'm pretty sure that walking is right around the corner! He doesn't really say any words yet, but is a VERY vocal little boy. :) He waves hi and bye-bye and is just the happiest and sweetest little thing you ever did see.

Mother's Day was such a special day for me this year. It's like the kiddos knew just what I needed. I can't even tell you how well-behaved and agreeable they were the whole day for me (if you know my Olivia, you know this is a big deal). :)  We had a really nice day at my parents' house just playing and relaxing with the family. It was absolutely perfect.

I wish I could remember all of the funny stories over the last month to journal them! I will say that Olivia is still on a "calling all of us by character names" kick... and it's almost constant now. Most recently we are the characters from Arthur. She calls herself D.W., (which is kind of funny, because she IS D.W.) Owen is Arthur, Daddy is Buster, and I am Muffy.  And yes... she calls us by these names ALL the time. Very rarely have I heard "Mommy," "Daddy," or "Owen," and the funniest is when she calls us these in public, or when she calls out in the middle of the night, for instance, "MUFFY! I need to blow my nose"!  Seriously, kid?? Yep, she's serious.

We're approaching summertime now (thank goodness!!) and have alot planned... playdates, pool time, a few more weeks of ballet and then musical theater, and we're going to attempt Mother's Morning Out for Olivia once a week... we shall see how it goes. I'm hoping to find a babysitter/Mother's Helper once a week so I can spend some one-on-one time with each of my kiddos, maybe doing a Mommy and Me class with Owen like I did Olivia... I'm not sure yet. But I've got to figure out a way to have more "special" time with each of them. I'm a lucky Mommy, and I want my beautiful babies to know that.

The Rose in My Garden

Today was Olivia's first "real" tea party. It was definitely one of the sweetest, cutest things I have ever seen. She was invited to the home of a precious little girl from her preschool class, and let me tell ya, her mom knows how to throw a tea party!

Not one detail was missed and I think I know what kind of party Miss Olivia is going to want for her next birthday.  Although... she also says she wants a SpongeBob party. A SpongeBob tea party, perhaps? Seems quite the paradox, does it not? Well, if you know my daughter, you know that SHE can be quite the paradox, and that a SpongeBob tea party would fit her perfectly. :) Case in point: the sweet, sensitive, princess-obsessed little girl that is my daughter, is also an extremely active, talkative, extroverted, spirited little firecracker. Anyone who knows her, knows this. So why, you ask, was I surprised when she walked into a very subdued girly tea party today... and within minutes, the guests (and moms) saw my sweet little girl's bum not once, but twice? Naked bum. On purpose. Yes, folks, my daughter mooned all party guests and chaperones. Two times. And laughed the whole time she was doing it. The moms laughed, and one said, "Well, she sure wants to liven up this party!" but Lord knows what they were really thinking! HA! Oh well. I can't waste too much time worrying about it, 'cause THAT'S MY GIRL! For better or worse, take her or leave her, that's my baby. And whew- let me tell ya, she's a freakin' whirlwind of emotion and energy. Sometimes it's silly and fun... sometimes... not so much. And it's the not-so-much part that scares me, especially when I think about the teenage years to come (Dear Lord, give me strength). But I love that little girl more than life itself, and I keep the epilogue to "Raising Your Spirited Child" by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka very close-by... because on the tough days, it is very much the reminder that I need.

An excerpt from aforementioned epilogue, The Rose in My Garden:

"Love your spirited child for who she is.  Let her make you laugh.  Let her share with you how she sees, hears, and experiences the things around her. Allow her to enrich your life. Because she is more, she will make you more.

Spirited kids are like the roses in my garden. They need more attention.  Throw a little water on the other flowers and they grow.  Not the rose- it needs special treatment. It has to be pruned and guided in its growth.

Other flowers can be plucked, pulled, and mauled by a preschooler and still last for weeks on your dining room table. If you treat a rose roughly, it will wilt in your hands or stab you, make you bleed.

But there is not another flower like the rose in my garden. Its rich perfume fragrance titillates my senses. Its satin soft petals tickle my fingers. Its blooms are so vibrant they stir my soul. Spirited kids are like roses- they need special care. And sometimes you have to get past the thorns to truly enjoy their beauty."