personality shoes

All three of my kiddos have had a case of walking pneumonia this week so they have felt horrible and looked the part too, thus, no pictures have been taken. I did however remember that I wanted to take a picture of a couple pairs of their shoes, so I figured that would be a good choice for this post.

I got these two pairs of shoes for the girls a while back and after I got home I began thinking more about them and realized that each shoe is a pretty good picture of its owners' personality.


These shoes above are my oldests'. The majority of the time she is like the pastel colors in these shoes - sweet, calm, quiet, content, cheerful, happy to share with her siblings, and loves to help Kiki around the house. But then, just like the shiny silver streaks in these shoes, she also can have a burst of personality from time to time - whether it's frustration at one of her younger siblings that lands her in a rare timeout or, as is more often the case, her very joyful laughter. She is definitely the first born child. She likes things to be neat and orderly, thrives on a routine and likes to know what is coming next in the day and likes it even more when she can accurately predict what is coming next. She rarely irritates me and when she does happen to I usually realize it is some part of my own personality that I need to work on myself.

These shoes belong to my middle child. She has a very bold and passionate personality! :) She feels her emotions very strongly and isn't afraid to make sure everyone knows! When she is happy, she is usually bouncy and bubbly and giggly and her eyes are bright and sparkly. When she is angry, you can see it flash in her eyes. When she is sad, as Anne of Green Gables said, she is usually in "the depths of despair." :) She likes to test her limits and see how much she can get away with...which isn't much when Kiki is around. So for her, the routine of sitting on the "naughty steps" is a very familiar one, though becoming a bit less frequent lately, thankfully. She can definitely be sweet and kind and loves to give hugs and kisses and for the most part plays very well with her older sister and baby brother. She could care less about having things neat and orderly and I can just see the bedroom she shares with her sister in about 10 years having a line down the middle with one side spotless and one side...decidely not! :)

I love my two very different little girlies and can't wait to see what God has in store for their lives!

recipe for 30 minutes of peace and quiet

Put the baby down for a nap.

Send the girls into the living room for "quiet book time".

Let the oldest discover that a chipmonk lives inside the wood pile just outside the window, which they promptly name "Princess".
Instruct said chipmonk to play "peek-a-boo" with the girls, peeking out at intervals juust long enough to keep the girls interested, whispering as quietly as they can and sitting as still as statues so as not to scare her away!
Go grab a cup of tea or coffee and sit quietly while it lasts. (Or, if you are like me...go grab your camera and join the girls for the fun!) :)

dance recital

Last Saturday I took my three kids to Lauren's dance recital. Lauren was in my 3rd grade class a few years ago and her family was one of the two most encouraging families I had! My tough year of teaching that year was made much easier with their help and encourgement! Lauren's family and I have stayed in touch the past few years and this school year, Lauren, who is now homeschooled, has come over once a week to spend the night with me. The purpose is for me to help tutor her in math as well as to give her piano lessons, but we tend to also have a lot of fun together too! :) She has quickly become like a little sister to me...and like a big sister to my kids. She has gotten to know my kids very well and they are always excited to see her. Lauren is 12 now and is very grown up and mature for her age. She loves kids and has the "magic touch" with them! :) We call her a mini-kiki because we have oh-so-much in common. :)

Anyways, back to the dance recital! I had told the girls several days before that we were going to get to go see Lauren dance and so every day last week they would ask, "Is it Lauren's day yet??!" Finally, Saturday morning, the oldest came to the door of her parents' bedroom where I was staying while mommy and daddy were up at another horse race, and I heard her say, "Kiki? Today is Lauren's day now??!" "Yes, it is!" I replied. I then heard her race back down the hallway to her room and announce in a very excited voice to her sister, "Kiki says it IS Lauren's day now!!!!!" They were SOO excited all day long and were thrilled to go pick out flowers to give Lauren - which had to of course be hot purple, blue, and yellow daisies - the kind that have obviously been dyed! :}

The time finally came to leave the house and as we were in the car getting closer, my oldest said, "Oh, Kiki! I just can't WAIT to see Lauren dance!!!" Finally we were in our seats - on the second row! thanks to Lauren's mom - and I looked over at both girls and their eyes were huge with excitement - I was beginning to think they might pop! :} They enjoyed every dance number and oohed and ahhed over the littest dancers in their Little Mermaid cosumes and cheered for Lauren and her best friend Kelsey each time they came on stage.

One of our favorite activities around here during the day is to turn on the cd player and dance around the room together...and I have a feeling that activity will be requested even more in the next couple weeks! :)


The baby hangs out on my lap while the girls chat with Lauren's mommy. He loved the dancing too and danced to a lot of the music himself. He especially loved getting to clap so often - and loved that everyone else seemed to be clapping for him too!

I'm still learning the tricks of my awesome new camera, so these are kind of blurry...besides the fact that I had a dancing baby on my lap! Lauren is on the left and her best friend, Kelsey is on the right.

Yay Lauren!! :)

Lauren had 4 different wardrobe changes! :) The girls were very excited to get to go up on stage afterwards to give her a hug. Good job, LaLa!! (as the baby calls her)

butterflies

So, for her birthday, my oldest got a "butterfly pavillion". We mailed off for 5 caterpillars and watched them double in size every day for a week or so. They then turned into cocoons (which were sort of creepy looking! bleck.) and 10 days later, out came the beatiful butterflies!! :) It was a great "science experiment" for the girls to be a part of...and of course lent itself to some awesome analogies as we talked about how our hearts are ugly with sin before Jesus comes into our lives...and how He makes us into a new creation, just like the butterflies! :) It was even cooler that in the middle of this, I had the kids for the weekend and they came to my church and I found out afterwards that someone had brought a caterpillar around to each of the sunday school rooms to talk about that very topic!! I love how our God cares about even the small details like having the "science experiment" at home coinside with the same lesson at church! :)

Here are a couple pictures from the day the girls let the butterflies go.

100% boy

These pictures pretty much cover a great day for my now-16-month old baby. He is most definitely all boy - he loves to get into everything, tackle his sisters, make huge messes, and screach at the top of his lungs! He is so dadgum CUTE! and I love him SO much!! I miss him on the weekends and am always ready to see him again Monday morning. I love his hugs and the way he plays with my hair when he's tired. I can't imagine him as a teenager but I know that time will be here before we know it - so I will enjoy him while he's little and thank God I have the privilege of watching him grow every day. Now, if I could only get him to call me "kiki" - instead of "dada"!! :}


He is most definitely into feeding himself and gets offended if you try to do it for him. Here he is, uh, "experimenting" with a bowl of grits... there was a quick dip in the tub after this....
I think he still looks like a baby in these two highchair pics...(ew, isn't this one lovely?!)

But I think he looks like such a big boy in these two!! He was having a screaching contest with mommy and his oldest sister here. He won. (and I love how his hair flicks out in the back in these...my best friend's hair does that sometimes and I think it's adorable!) :)

claim to fame

Ok, so Wendy doesn't know I "stole" this picture from her camera while she was upstairs getting ready this morning...but I had to share her fun story! She and Dinny went to the Kentucky Derby a week or so ago and she was sitting just chatting to the guy next to her and didn't think anything of him at all until someone came over and started calling him "your highness"! Finally someone else leaned over and asked if she knew who she was talking to? (Uh, no!) It turned out it was Prince Albert of Monaco!! She said there were no security guys around him and he was just there with a couple other people...and he doesn't look like you think a prince would look...so there was really no way to guess that he was someone important! Of course, after that she had her picture taken with him...and a couple other girls...I don't really know who they were...but it's fun to see all the cool hats! :)

happy mother's day! (a couple days early...)

My kiddos love their mommy very much! They may not cry when she leaves but they talk about her when she's gone and ask when she's coming home. Even the baby gets excited to see her car coming down the driveway. They know she loves them no matter what...even if she does make them obey and sit in timeout every now and then... :) She makes my job more fun - especially on slow work days when she hangs around the house till 10am or so...! :} I think she is more laid back and has more patience than i do. :-p Although, maybe that's because i'm here all day. Anyways, the girls answered some questions about mommy which, as it turns out, the oldest one also did at preschool, but these have slightly different questions. So enjoy, Mommy! We love you! ;)

My Special Mommy

My mommy is the most wonderful mommy in the world.

She is as beautiful as a ... princess!

She is as strong as a ... gorilla.

She can clean the house as fast as a ... cheetah!

Her favorite food is ... spicy foods and spinach.

Her favorite thing to do is ... cut with scissors for a craft.

When mommy was little she used to ... run around and play with her sister.

I think my mommy looks funny when she ... makes a funny face.

But I know she is really mad when she ... puts me in time out!

I wish my mommy would ... plant flowers ... with me every day.

I would not trade my mommy for a ... pony!

Happy Mother's Day!

Love, T

My Special Mommy

My mommy is the most wonderful mommy in the world.

She is as beautiful as a ... princess.

She is as strong as a ... princess!

She can clean the house as fast as ... she can!

Her favorite food is ... chicken and spicy foods.

Her favorite thing to do is ... clean up the dishwasher.

When mommy was little she used to ... swing on the swings.

I think my mommy looks funny when she ... does funny stuff like make a monster mask with her hands!

But I know she is really mad when she ... spanks me!

I wish my mommy would ... eat popsicles and candy ... with me every day!

I would not trade my mommy for a ... new babydoll!

Happy Mother's Day!

Love, E

My Special Mommy

My mommy is the most wonderful mommy in the world.

She is as beautiful as a ... pinkie pie pony.

She is as strong as a ... closed gate.

She can clean the house as fast as ... I can run!

Her favorite food is ... mandarin oranges!!

Her favorite thing to do is ... kiss me again and again!

When mommy was little she used to ... get into everything just like me!

I think my mommy looks funny when she ... screaches just like me!

But I know she is really mad when she ... mad?? at me?? NEVER! o:)

I wish my mommy would ... tickle me ... every day.

I would not trade my mommy for a ... green elephant!

Happy Mother's Day!

Love, J