Musings of a Mommy

So yes, the before and after pictures. Let me tell you. I did this entire room (minus some electrical work from my dad and some help from Matt putting the bunkbeds together) in about 48 hours. I felt like I was on Trading Spaces, minus the really hot carpenter and annoying host. I don’t think I realized the amount of work this was going to be until I was knee deep in it. So yes, the before pictures of what was Audrey’s room.

Before 1

Before 2: Bed, rocker, and bookshelf

Before 3: Changing table/dresser and toy shelf

Before 4

And now to the after!!

New color, new bed, new everything!

IKEA hack: Cubbies! Each girl has a place for bags, coats, and backpack

Close up of the cubbies

Lexie's memo board I made. Audrey has one as well. I'll hang it up when she's a little older.

Window treatment I made out of foam board and fabric and a glue gun!

Still in progress. I'm looking for some ribbon to glue on with the beads.

The ridiculous amount of bows we have. But they are in ROY G BIV order so yay for that!

So that’s the bedroom and now Lexie’s old room is a playroom. I don’t have before pictures of that room because well, I forgot to take them. It now looks like this - well, actually now it’s a big mess but originally it looked like this:

Kitchen/dining area

Dollhouse Area

Babydoll area

Toy closet of SHAME

So that’s the new digs. The girls love it, I’m happy which makes Matt happy!

This is a conversation that keeps getting repeated over and over:

April: “The best decision we ever made was to have a second child!”

Matt: “Really? That’s the best decision we ever made? Not having a first child, getting married…that’s the one you picked?”

April: “Hey buddy! You’re not home all day long! They play! TOGETHER! FREQUENTLY! Mommy gets to have ME TIME, and we all know how much Mommy needs ME TIME. Best. Decision. EVER.”

I totally win this argument because now that Audrey is becoming more of a person and less of a baby, the girls love to play together. They entertain each other a lot and that is so incredibly amazing. It rules, in fact. They especially enjoy playing this game where Audrey is the ghost and Lexie runs from her screaming and hides in the bathroom. Hey, I didn’t say that played fascinating games – just that they played together.

So even though they love each other and want to be together and Audrey cries when we drop Lexie off to school and the first thing she says when she wakes up is, “Lexie? Still s’eepin?” I’m kind of freaking out about moving them together. I’m so convinced that no one is ever going to sleep again. They’ll refuse to go to sleep, Audrey will get out of bed, Audrey will wake up screaming and wake Lexie up and Lexie won’t want to go back to sleep and then she’ll wake Audrey up really really early and it will miserable….see? Freaking out.

It doesn’t help that my mom is convinced it is the worst idea ever. Of course, she was hesitant when we moved Lexie to a big girl bed and it worked out beautifully. So maybe she doesn’t know everything but still. Matt is convinced it’s a good decision and they’ll enjoy being together. He’s probably right.

Everyone I talk to who has kids who bunk together or sleep in the same bed say it’s the best decision they made. The kids love it, they have more room, and the kids will comfort each other sometimes in the middle of the night and bond even more. Logically, I know this is a temporary thing because eventually Lexie will want some privacy and her own room (in 4 or 5 years) but right now? She’s begging to sleep in the same room as Audrey. Lexie gets lonely at night and I understand. I was the same way. I would have loved to share a room with a sibling when I was younger. Just the comfort of someone else in the same room would have helped me sleep better.

So maybe it will work out. Maybe after an adjustment period, I’ll be saying that was the best decision we ever made. Maybe.

So yeah, it’s been a month. Whoops!

See my life has been busy. Busy with things like:

Soccer. Lexie is playing soccer for the second season and she’s finally starting to kind of like it, which is awesome. Her team is the Earthquakes and most of the time, they look a little lost. But that’s okay.

Ready for action!

 

Dance Class. Lexie’s recital is coming up in a month and she’s really excited. Audrey, however, just wants to dance and stands outside the door, crying to go in a dance. Looks like we might have two ballerinas come this fall.

Organizing.  Spring has brought on spring cleaning and I’m getting rid of a ton of stuff. The benefit of a small house? We don’t hold on to what we don’t need. I do have a new favorite organizing thingy. It’s from Target and it’s a magnetic paper holder. So all of those sheets I need to keep for school, dance, soccer, camps, church, etc? I can access them quickly and they’re oh so neat. (Sorry for the grainy pic.)

And one of the main reasons I’m organizing? We’re moving the girls together, into the same room, at the end of May. That means, I have lots of crafty things (like memo boards, window treatments, painting, rearranging, etc.) that I have to get done. And, I’m going to consolidate two girls into one room. So that’s been fun. And, we have a busy summer coming up. Lexie is doing 3 YMCA camps, one gymnastics camp, and Vacation Bible School. Plus, we’re going to the beach for a week and two very special girls have birthdays coming up in July – which means one big joint birthday party to plan.

So I have a notebook. With lists. Lots of lists. Of everything I have to get done, shopping lists, things to remember, etc. And lately, it’s looked like this:

And of course, I still have two girls to take care of. I am in full-on summer mode. Bring on the swimming pool, relaxing days, etc. So Matt and I decided to take Lexie out of speech therapy for the summer. She needs a break, I need a break, everyone needs a break. She needs some time to just have fun.

And now onto the important news (for Jess!) – The Royal Wedding. Oh hells yes, y’all. I was up at 5 am, watching all the glory. Everything from the Prime Minister’s wife not wearing a hat (shame on her!) to Beatrice and Eugenia wearing unfortunate hats. The Duchess of Cambridge looked beautiful, and I really hope she enjoyed a canape or 12 at the reception. She was mighty little. Her sister was cute and Harry was cute. Perez Hilton released a pic that appeared to be Harry, William, Charles and Camilla getting ready before the big day and Harry was in just his underwear. Wow!  My girls managed to wake themselves up at 5:30 that morning and they were very excited about it all. Lexie was especially fascinated and she thinks it’s pretty cool that Mommy and Daddy took the same vows as the prince and princess. And now for the not so flattering picture of us that morning:

I made a picture schedule for Lexie. It’s awesome and cuts down on lots of arguments about what she has to do (like brush teeth, getting dressed, going to bed, etc.). It took forever to make but thanks to Word clipart, she loves it.

And the girls are doing well. Audrey talks so much. It’s insane. She said a full sentence to me today – “Mama, can we take Monkey in, too?” I was floored. Lexie is really starting to get interested in these little projects around the house, like having a pet rock. She also told me last weekend that she was in trouble and it was my fault because, “You make the rules that I don’t obey and I don’t like them!” I guess with that logic, she’s right?

And, I’ll leave you with two beautiful drawings.

Audrey:

Lexie:

I guess I'm not the only one ready for summer.

So even with all the fanfare, and every trick we could pull out, the Cats lost to UCONN in the Final Four. It was a sad, sad night for Wildcat fans and to make it even worse, the championship game between UCONN and Butler was HORRIBLE. Awful, horrible, no good. A waste of 3 hours. A waste of my time. Lackluster celebration afterwards.

I mean, I even pulled out all the stops, like these:

With fans like these, how on earth did UK lose???

In other news, we had a busy week last week. I made cake pops for my mom’s birthday. They were DELICIOUS. Oh my God. I gave away most of them, otherwise, we would have devoured them. We also made cupcakes for Mimi, because Lexie asked to. She loves to bake. They were really yummy and pretty.

And this week is Lexie’s Spring Break. Mimi and Papaw have taken her to Cincinnati to go to the aquarium, to see the movie “Hop” and to go to the Cincinnati Museum. But the best part of the trip to Lexie? The hotel. She was way excited about that. I talked to Mimi and they are having a blast.

So Audrey is enjoying being an only child. We took her out to eat tonight and it was so easy with just one kid. It’s amazing how easy just one is. My house isn’t destroyed, the laundry is next to nothing, one less bed to make, less fighting, etc. And, it’s not even like Lexie is that hard. Mom commented how easy it has been with only having Lexie. It’s just like one kid is easy, add one more and you multiply the responsibility and everything by a million. So we’re getting a tiny break until tomorrow afternoon/evening when Lexie is returned home!

Lexie started soccer Thursday evening and she loved it. I was really proud at how well she did. Audrey was fortunate enough to spend the rainy, cold early evening at Mimi and Papaw’s house (it was freezing at soccer practice). On the way to pick her up, Lexie and I were talking in the car about when she gets so frustrated and what’s going on. She said she just wanted to go places and didn’t like it when I said no.
“Well, honey, where do you want to go?”

” I don’t know, Mommy. The circus, Disney World, all the places.”

My pretty ballerina

All the places. Wow. I am a homebody.  I love Lexington now. I like being home, at my home, in my routine. Lexie loves to travel, even if the “traveling” is just to the mall or to Monkey Joes. She wants to constantly be on the go and staying home is really hard for her.
I thought about her future and how I’ve been wondering what paths Lexie Leigh will travel and where she’ll end up. Lexie doesn’t like to sit still so I imagine that she’ll choose something that provides a lot of stimulation and ability to move. And she wants to constantly be on the move. It’s so perplexing and weird to watch this little person grow into her own person. And to watch her, knowing some of the challenges she’ll face in the future (crushes, dating, school, mean girls, etc.) and not knowing much else.

Silly silly girl

I told her tonight that she has grown up overnight. And, how do I have an almost 5-year-old?? I really think she was just born last month. How is she such a separate entity all of a sudden?? We were talking tonight (thanks to the Julie Andrews book, The Very Fairy Princess) about what abilities she has that causes her extra princess sparkle and the poor thing couldn’t think of anything. I began to list her wonderful abilities – being a great friend, soccer, ballet, being an exceptional big sister, working hard at speech and occupational therapy, climbing, bouncing, swinging, playing video games, etc. and she seemed to cheer up and my heart broke.

My poor little girl. Life is so hard for the sensitive ones (trust me, I know). I cringe knowing that the day when the “popular” girl comes and is mean to her – that’s coming so soon. And one day she’ll notice and pay attention.I can’t protect her forever.

Can't I keep her this little forever??

I hate to talk about what my kids can do because I’m always worried that it sounds like bragging because let’s be honest, as a parent, you know that parent. The one who always talks about how smart and wonderful their kids are and how they are geniuses, and walking at 4 weeks old, speaking 3 languages by 8 months, and running a country while attending preschool. It’s obnoxious.

But, this is my blog. And, it’s kind of a running record of my kids, family, and what’s going on in our lives. So, therefore, I’m going to talk about how completely brilliant Audrey Jane is.

Currently, Audrey loves to count. She can count (with a little help), to 20. Seriously! It’s amazing and my jaw drops open just about every time it happens. I don’t know where she learned to do it but it’s amazing to me that she can.

And, Audrey can “sing” a few songs. Now, she manages to get out about 50% of the words, but Twinkle Twinkle, The Tiny Tim Turtle Song, and the Little Fishies song – those are her favorite. We sing them all the time. She’s been taking a music class (Musik Matters) and she is rocking it. She gets so excited when it’s the day to go and says, “YEA!” when we pull into the parking lot.  She loves the songs, and sings them when we leave. It’s so cute.

And, she’s talking SO MUCH. I can’t even count the words she says. She says two and three words phrases and puts all kind of words together. Today, she told me “Daddy go to work. Lexie go to school. Bye bye!” And, she tells me what shoes she wants to wear (“pink shoes! boots!”), and what she wants to do (“go to grocery! Kroger!!”). She’s brilliant and it is so much fun to watch her grow and develop. I love it.

And, she makes me laugh every single day. She is such a ham. She loves to laugh at Lexie and thinks Lexie is by far the absolute best, funniest, greatest person in the world. And Lexie eats it up. Their  favorite thing to do is shake their booties before bathtime. Audrey laughs hysterically every time that happens.

Every day is something new and I love it! I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Ready to take on the world!

The past weekend, Lexington was invaded by princesses! On ice skates! With sparkly costumes! It was FAB.U.LOUS. And, of course, Lexie and I had a “date” to go together, like we did last year. I was a little hesitant because last year it was very long and Lexie got a little unsettled, shall we say. (It was 2 1/2 hours last year. WAAY too long.)

In Princess fashion, the little girls usually dress up for the show and Lexie LOVES that part. She chose her Cinderella dress with all the latest accessories.

Working the camera.

 

So this year, we ended up 3 rows from the ice. Go Mommy! I didn’t realize where the tickets were until the day of the show.  Lexie was a little scared because of the possible fireworks (she hates fireworks - they are too loud for her) but pretty pumped to be so close to the action.

It was a great show this year. Shorter and more action. Lexie loved loved loved it. Of course, we had to get a toy (binoculars from The Little Mermaid) and some snacks (cotton candy and popcorn  – which came with a crown and a Mickey tub, now renamed our popcorn tub). It was an expensive date but one that only comes by once a year, so we can splurge a little.

Needless to say, Lexie passed out Saturday night and has been “reading” her princess program ever since. And, she’s decided that when she grows up, she’s going to be a princess.

I don’t know if you’re aware but THE WILDCATS ARE IN THE FINAL FOUR BABY!!!!!!!!!!

I have been a UK fan for as long as I can remember.

NIT Tournament, Memorial Coliseum, 2009

I vividly recall watching games and rooting for “my boys” when I was in the 4th grade but my parents had games on since I was born.

Kentucky basketball is an interesting thing in Kentucky.

Lexie, 3 weeks old

People jokingly call it a religion and that’s not that far off. We are crazy for our boys in blue.

Lexie, 2007

People may make fun of us, call us insane but that’s okay. It’s tradition and part of our lifestyle and I love it.

When I have the good fortune to attend a game, I usually end up in tears and not because we won or lost (although I have cried for that, too).

Lexie, Fall 2008

 It’s usually because when you get in the arena and hear 23,000 of your closest friends all cheering for the same thing – it’s amazing. In a world that constantly tries to tear people apart by religion, politics, what have you, it’s comforting to know that there are still some things that can unite the old/young, Republican/Democrat, etc.

UK basketball is so much a part of me, I can’t imagine what it would be like without it. That sounds crazy, I know, but it’s the truth.

Lexie and Audrey, 2009

Matt and I both went to UK and went to every lottery we could, doing homework, hanging out with friends, hoping for a decent pick. (For the UNC/UK game where Tayshaun Prince shot the 5 3-pointers? We had first row tickets. HELL YES.)

Lexie and Audrey, 2010

 Now, we watch every game, attend the ones we can, attend practices that we can, read the sports blogs (www.kentuckysportsradio.com anyone?), listen to the call-in shows, talk about it, read about it, etc, etc, etc. I feel so proud of our boys in blue, even if I have realized I’m 10 years older than them. What the hell?

Lexie and Matt, Gameday 2010

So our boys in blue have done the unexpected. They pushed past Princeton, WV, OSU, past UNC and now they face UCONN in Houston on Saturday evening. If they win that game, they face Butler/VCU for the championship game the following Monday. I am so excited, I can’t sit still. This tournament has aged me 10 years. I watch the games through my fingers, jump and shout around the house, and then feel like I’m going to vomit until I can jump and shout some more. It’s been a roller coaster of a ride to get here but guess what?!?! WE DID IT! (Or, yet, they did it but whatever!)

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock (or not a parent), you know that Disney has a new princess in town, Rapunzel. She stars in the movie, Tangled, and it is the new rage among little girls. And my little big girl (Lexie Leigh) is frankly, obsessed. She talks about it constantly, would wear her Rapunzel shirt everyday if it was an option, and wants only one thing in the whole, wide world – to have a Tangled birthday party.

Now, in our family, since the girls birthdays are fairly close together (2 1/2 weeks), we did a combo birthday party last year with a princess theme and it worked great. This year we will be doing the same thing. Since we do have a pool in the backyard, we have built in entertainment and since family always wants to be invited, we do a birthday party at home, with family and some friends. Lexie loves it, Audrey didn’t know any better last year, and even though it stresses me out a bit, it’s worth it.

So last year, the theme was easy (Lexie picked it, Audrey didn’t care). This year, it’s another story. Lexie wants Tangled. Okay, easy enough to get some purple plates and cups and a Tangled cake (I really want to attempt this but we’ll see). That’s good enough to satisfy everyone. Maybe if Mommy can get it together enough, some Rapunzel decoration.  However, Audrey doesn’t give a flying you-know-what about Rapunzel. She likes Dora, monkeys, and Mickey Mouse. So how can I rectify this situation? I know Audrey is too little to really care but c’mon, how would you feel to look back on pictures and see that your birthday parties were really for your older sister, you just happened to show up and eat some cake? So I tried to convince the girls to do Princess Dora. Nope. Neither went for that.

So the compromise is to have two cakes or two different groups of cupcakes, which is easy enough. We’ll do two flavors and people can pick. No biggie. Some decorations for both, purple will work for Dora and Rapunzel, which works for plates and everything. Just means that the invitations might be….interesting, shall we say! Rapunzel and Dora, hanging out!

Might mean more work for Mommy, but in the end, we will have two very happy little girls.

I usually refrain from speaking about my religion, spirituality or faith. In fact, recently in church, we did a spiritual gift survey and the gift that came in last for me? Evangelism. I despise pushing a religion or belief upon another human being. I was very much raised in the belief that you don’t talk about money or religion.

So for probably the first and last time, I will say a little about it because it is relevant to something about Lexie and our recent conversations.

I am Episcopalian. I was confirmed into the Episcopal church when I was 16 and met Matt at The Cathedral Domain when I was 17, began dating a few weeks after we met and minus one little break up in 2001, we’ve been together ever since (10 years and counting).  Episcopalians are considered “Catholic Light” or “catholism without the guilt.” We are like the fun-loving, accepting, kind of tipsy aunt at the Catholic family reunion.
So anyway, my church going was sporatic, at best, until Matt and I had Lexie. Then, like so many other families, we made the decision we wanted Lexie involved in church for a multitude of reasons, one of them being because most of our best friends are friends we made through the church and we want lifelong friends for our girls.

About 18 months ago, we joined Good Shepherd and fell in love with the church. We’ve been going pretty regularly in the last 9ish months and it apparently has made quite the impact on Lexie.

Lately she has been asking a lot of questions about God and Jesus and Heaven and man, they are hard, hard questions. Such as, “Where is God?” “Where is Heaven?” “How do I talk to God?” It’s mindboggling to have to answer these questions because they are questions that I struggle with on a daily basis. The other evening, Lexie happened to catch a little of the news about Japan and the earthquake and tsunami. She asked why all the people were crying and Matt and I just kind of looked at each other. I tried to explain what an earthquake was and that it had happened to the people in Japan and they had lost their homes and belongings and needed our thoughts and prayers and our help. She asked how she could talk to God to help them. Oh man. All I could think was, what have I gotten myself into? Or, hey! How about a snack? Cookies? No? I didn’t take the easy route, I tried to simply explain that just by talking to God outloud or in your head, He/She could hear you and just to send good thoughts to the people who were so sad. It was one of those parenting moments.
It means that Lexie is growing up and thinking more complex thoughts. Matt and I were lying in bed the other night, just talking, and marveling over the fact that Lexie will be turning 5 in a few months. 5! That’s practically grown up. She won’t be a preschooler anymore. And then today at the park, I saw a girl still enjoying herself on the playground equipment. She was probably 8. And I seriously lost my breath because I saw Lexie in her. I just started thinking, “Oh my God, that’s Lexie in a few years!” And even writing this, I struggle to find my breath because when did she grow up? And how did I apparently miss it? And Good Lord, it’s going to keep happening and it’s going to go faster and faster. It made me want to snuggle her down and try to stop the time from going by.

When your children are really little, it’s a miracle sometimes to make it day to day. Life becomes one big cycle of feeding, diaper changing, feeding, diaper changing, bathing, feeding, etc. Then one day, that little baby is suddenly talking to you and having a definite opinion about everything (ahem..AUDREY) and then you look away and suddenly, they’re asking questions about God and talking about the babies they are going to have and naming those babies and ask how old you were in that picture and how old you are now, and talking about their future and what they’re going to do when they’re 5, and 10, and 100. I’m worried I’m going to blink and she’s going to be breaking curfew and stealing the car.

Another conversation we had recently involved some pictures I have in Matt and my bedroom of the two of us throughout the years. There were a couple from 2003 and one from our honeymoon and Lexie asked where she was in the picture and I told her she wasn’t here yet. And she replied, “Oh, Mimi must have kept me while you went to the beach.” Uh, no. Not exactly. I tried again to say she wasn’t born yet and she said, “Oh, I was in your belly.” Nope, not quite right either. I said again, no you weren’t in my tummy, you weren’t with Mimi. You were still with God and He/She was waiting to give you to us when we were ready. Man, that confused her even more. How do you explain to a 4 1/2 year old that she didn’t exist yet. Kids are so egocentric that the thought that the world existed before her and will after her….that’s an impossible thought. Thankfully, she was happy with my stuttered explanation and the conversation was finished.
Like I’ve said so many times, this parenting thing is hard. And hard in ways that I never thought would be hard.

Lexie, one week old.