Holding up my donkey!

News Flash: Just added to our families vernacular! "I'm holding up my donkey!" Last night upon getting out of the bathtub Lily asked for the coveted princess towel, and when I handed it to her she said, "Yeah, I'm holding up my donkey!" I asked what that meant she said, "It means I'm excited." Enough said...

Reading

Just wanted to share a great moment.... I was busy cleaning the kitchen after our baking explosion for Memorial Day parties and the girls were playing in the family room. They have spent the morning creating a blanket fort. (A great Saturday morning past time in my book) Anyways I digress, I hear Rose reading. Yep, she just picked up this cute book about ants and starts reading it with as much enthusiasm and expression as I always give it. But, the cutest part is Lily is sitting there beside her listening very intently. I am such a sap for moments like these...
Mainly impart because we read to our girls every night for 20 minutes. We have done this since they were days old. And watching my children in such a simple moment just as this lets me know that they love to read... you know without prompting or not because it's part of the bedtime routine. And ultimately they chose to read instead of turning on the TV.
So, ya'hoo for reading and the joys of childhood!

Disney!

Here's the new version of "Steamboat Willie". Who's steering the boat??

On our way to the Magic Kingdom the first day. The boat ferry was the perfect way for the girls to first see Cinderella's castle.
Meeting Cinderella. The girls were troopers. It was about 9:30 at night and we had spent the entire day on rides... so the smiles though genuine, were very tired. Lily and I spent much time in Dino Land at the Animal Kingdom. The Triceratop Spin was her favorite. Four times her favorite! Jack and Rose spent their time riding big kid rides.
Yes, my husband bought a Mickey shirt... when in Disney. It was unseasonably cold and rainy.

So, I have a bunch more pictures, but I just wanted to share a few. We had a wonderful time and can't wait until we are able to go again. I love the family fun!

Obi-Wan Vs. My Girls

Getting my children dressed for school is always interesting. Now that Rose wears a uniform life is sweeeet. There is not much discussion. "Do you want to wear a jumper or a skort?" Simple. Now last year at preschool the conversation was much more critical. Of course desiring my child to be independent and responsible I wanted her to get herself dressed. But, this lead to some crazy outfits: stripe shirt and stripe pants, dark pink sweater with a summer pink skirt, Christmas dress in May...you get my drift. Not wanting to totally squash her budding fashion sense I would redirect. (My Star Wars parenting advice taken from Obi-Wan Kenobi..."Those are not the droids your looking for." Translated to parent redirecting, "That's not the outfit perfect for today.") Normally my redirecting would result in a meltdown of epic proportions and I would tell my 5 year old that her outfit would be great for playing around the house. "Anyways" I would say, "You look ridiculous!" End of story.

So this year with Lily in preschool the morning dress has been a breeze. She never cares what I put on her. As long as she has two options for Iniminiminimo we are golden! But, today it happened... all going well with the normal routine... lay out two outfits (both pink) and a meltdown comes from nowhere. "No Mommy! I don't like pink. I don't want to wear pants! I want to pick out my own!" OK. Deep breath. I'm cool. "Sure Lily, let's figure something out together." After 10 minutes of stripe shirt and stripe skort combos (As well as "that's not the perfect outfit for today.") we come up with a very blue outfit...decidedly her new favorite color. Off to preschool...

Now my life being, well my life, later in the afternoon I go in to pick up Lily from her classroom. She is standing in the middle of the room very proud holding a pink balloon. "Mommy look I got the pink balloon. Everyone wanted it, but PINK is my favorite color!" Great Lily... Great.

So now knowing I have a third girl on the way I hope that I will be ahead of the game. You know wiser... sharper and ready for some Jedi mind tricks!

Obi-Wan you're my only hope...

Smurfs

While spending the afternoon outside my girls were innovative. Yes, innovative. I was busy pulling a myriad of weeds from the planting beds and the girls were at work. It honestly was great. Every now and then I would holler asking if everything was alright, and I was always returned with a "yes, mom". So, I was productive and got to work in the yard: two of my favorite things to do.
After thirty minutes I decide that I should physically look in on the girls, and yes this is what I saw. Lily a little smurfette and Rose was admiring her handy work. "Look mom, Lily is Blue!" "Yes, Rose she is...let me get the camera!" So we snapped pictures and Lily danced around for awhile (notice the blue footprints) until it was time to bathe.
It's funny when children are left to play they will be children. A bucket of chalk, a little water, and two sisters can turn into some serious fun. I know it was a mess, but with the next rain it was all washed away. And to quote Cyndi Lauper, "Girls just want to have fun... ohhh, Girls just want to have fu-un!"