Procrastination Champion of the World

I was going to write a post, but then I had stuff to do. And a 5 page term paper/book report to write on a book about Cleopatra that I didn't even read yet. I had laundry to fold. And my kids expect me to feed them like 3-4 times a day, which is getting ridiculous. Life is busy. Life is crazy. I stay up too late every night, just because I can. In theory I could blog at that point in my day, but David is yelling at whatever sporting event is on TV and my brain says no, just look at Pinterest. So I do. I listen to my brain most times.

In just over a week I will be done with school for this semester and I have to say THANK GOODNESS. I'm tired of learning, I want to read a book for fun. I'm a nerd, but a lazy one.

My house is decorated for Christmas, my tree has actually been up for a really long time. I have an excuse though. Its a good one. Wait for it....

Maybe I'll tell you later.

Witten keeps me busy some days. He. is. wild. He climbs on stuff, gets into cupboards, and jumps off of the couch. Everyday he makes a mental to-do list of bratty things to accomplish, and he does not procrastinate like me. He gets it done. An over-achiever, this boy.

Ava has been up to her usual, watching iCarly and whining about stuff. That's what she does, especially if Alana isn't home. When Alana is home they play together, and fight together. I'd like to think its mostly playing.

And Alana, she is the same sweet and outgoing lady she's always been. She does so good in school, she loves learning. I think she likes making friends just as much though, which is a lot. She loves playing school, and reading, and those are both hobbies I can fully endorse.

I'm hoping to "catch up" on blogging during Christmas break. That's one of my goals, along with washing my hair as little as possible, wearing yoga pants daily, and not leaving my house before 9 am. Its good to have goals, gives you something to work towards, or something to postpone...

A Belated Halloween Post

As I type this I am sitting about two feet from my Christmas tree. Yes, I know, its November 18th. I am crazy. And I'm about to write about Halloween, by the lights on my tree. I win some kind of overlapping holiday/procrastination award. I will accept my trophy later. Like New Year's Eve.

I don't know that I really get that into Halloween. I put up decorations, and dress up my children as various princesses or reptiles. And of course I eat the candy. But I'm just not that into it. That being said...this year I actually wore a costume. For awhile anyway. Ava had a preschool party and I went, and I thought it would be funny if I wore an old costume that I had. So prepare yourself, because this is the only place I will EVER post a picture of this. Behold:

Now, I feel like the real problem with this costume is that I run the risk of looking too sexy. So I didn't wear it trick or treating. Children were staring at me. I wanted to change.

Ava, who went as Princess Jasmine, put on her costume in the morning and took pictures with her favorite other princess cousin, Rapunzel. They both looked so cute with hot pink lipgloss and a couple of coats of my mascara. I will openly admit that I am jealous of children's eyelashes. I covet them. Life is unfair.

Ava had a small party at school, but because of the lens on my camera I couldn't quite fit everyone in the frame for the picture. But you get the point. Preschoolers in princess and super hero costumes, we've seen it all before.

Alana skirted her school's "no costume" policy by wearing a jack o'lantern shirt and pumpkin stem headband. Technically, it wasn't a costume. She still looked festive though. And I think the pumpkin on her shirt might have more teeth than her.

When it came time for actual costume wearing, she went in the same direction she always goes. She was a princess. Ariel, to be exact. Toothless Ariel. And she looked too old and grown up, stupid makeup.

Witten was my little dinosaur this year. But he didn't really care. He wore the costume, but it didn't really matter to him. And he wasn't really a fan of trick-or-treating. He was too tired, he had only taken one short nap, so getting in and out of the car wasn't his favorite thing. He made it to about 3 houses, all of which were people we're related to, and then he was done. We didn't want to carry a crying and sad dinosaur with us everywhere, so we took him to David's parents house where he was happy to eat crackers and watch cartoons. That may have been the highlight of his Halloween.

Getting a picture with all 3 of my kids was the most challenging part of my day. Witten didn't want to hold still, and then when he would look at me for a second the girls weren't looking because they were messing with him. I don't even care some days, as long as they're all in the picture. I keep it real. Life with kids isn't all smiles and perfectly combed hair and babies that hold still.

And then after all the trick or treating, we came home to enjoy our candy. Which we still have a big bag of. I ate all of the good stuff though. Happy belated Halloween.

Avast Ye Mateys!

Happy "Talk like a pirate day"! But really, who comes up with this crap? Why do we need a "day" for everything? Because when you're Ava, everyday is "Talk like a pirate day". So here ye, scallywags, just be lookin' at these here photos and be on with your day.

Ava Goes to Preschool

Well. I did it. I sent my squishy girl off to preschool. It wasn't something I really planned that far in advance, I'm not sure I've even come to terms with it still. But once Alana went to school I saw how bored Ava was at home with me, especially when Witten was napping.

So, I called a preschool about getting her in there. School had already started, but preschool hadn't yet. It was full, so they put her on a waiting list and I put it to the back of my mind. I didn't think that a spot would open up, so I forgot about it. Right around the day that preschool started they called me and said that they had a spot for her in their afternoon class. Its not really in our budget to pay the same amount as our car payment for Ava to go to preschool 3 days a week, so I applied for her to be in their scholarship program, but I had to wait and see if she got approved. So she didn't start right away, instead we waited almost a week waiting to hear from them. Then, on the day before she turned 4 they called and said she could start when she was ready. But what if I wasn't?

She went out and got a backpack, and some cupcakes since it was her birthday. She was excited, but since she's equal parts sweet and spunky, she was nervous and resistant. Ava is nothing if not attached to me, but she is also friendly once she warms up to people. She likes to play, and is more willing to play with people after she has met them a few times. So it goes without saying that both Ava and I were a little nervous about dropping her off with a bunch of people she didn't know. She cried a little when she went to bed, but with a little convincing I managed to get her to agree to go, especially once I told her it was pretty much a 3-hour long playdate. That did the trick, the rest of the day she was nothing but excited for her big day, her fourth birthday and first day of preschool at the same time. She even took time to accessorize herself, wearing her matching Doc McStuffins necklace and bracelet, talking about how everybody was going to think she looked so nice. She is girly in every moment of every day.

I took her to school when she was ready, and though she approached it cautiously, she went in willingly. She sized up the room, and after realizing that there were tons of toys and kids to be played with, walked on in like she'd been there everyday of her life. She washed her hands, met her teachers, then walked over to the play area without really even saying anything to me. After all of that anxiety, she was willing to wave me off like it hadn't happened. I hugged her and said goodbye, but was careful not to drag it out, then I left with just Witten and went home. It was weird, and too quiet at my house, and I didn't care for it.

At 3 o'clock Witten and I went and picked up both of the girls, since Ava's preschool is at a church right across from Alana's school, it makes it a little more convenient since they both get out at pretty much the same time. Alana walked in and sized the place up, officially giving it her seal of approval. Ava walked up to me all casually, hugged me tightly, then proclaimed that she had so much fun. She made friends, she ate cupcakes, she played, they had storytime, what's not to love?

Although I'm still not officially ready to send my baby away so much, she is going to kindergarten next year before she turns five, and I want her to be ready. She is sweet and loving and enthusiastic, but she is shy and can be stubborn about doing stuff that she wants to do. She hates getting into trouble though, and if its someone besides me giving her instruction (like her teacher) she will listen every single time without hesitation. The whole point of preschool for my shy girl is to have fun and socialize, and I think she is definitely accomplishing both of those things. I'm grateful that she has a chance to go to something that she can learn so much from, even if it means she won't be home with me forcing me to watch Caillou.

That Really Snuck Up On Me

Holy crap its Ava's birthday! My squishy lady is already 4! I wasn't really paying attention and before I knew it her birthday was here. I'm not overly sad about it, because 4 isn't unchartered territory. I've done 4, I can do it again.

I started this blog when Ava was just a tiny little nugget of a baby, so its great that I can go back and look at old posts like an online scrapbook. She's grown up so much in the last year since Alana started school, but she's still my little lady and I love her so.

She also starts preschool today, which I have not had time to mentally process, so we'll come back to that one. Let's wait and see how much she cries first, then we'll revisit just how foreign the concept of preschool is to me. She has an August birthday, so really I've only had her home with me for 4 years, now she's ditching me. Alana never went to preschool, plus she has an October birthday, so I had her home with me uninterrupted for 5 1/2 years. I was lucky on that one.

I'm happy to have such a sweet and sassy girl, she really is so nice when she's not whining. Happy birthday to you Ava, I love you!