Last night I came home and found this note on the kitchen counter.  It just made my whole day.  I asked Don what happened, and he said the kids were horsing around (after he asked them to stop) and Chloe gave Macie a bloody nose.  Chloe evidently felt bad and wrote Don a note:
"I am sorry to make a bloody nose.  I hope you forgive me.  I love you Dad.  I love Dad. Please. "
I asked Chloe what the picture meant next to "plez."  She told me it is a "please" sign.  (she said her teacher taught them this.) I have never heard of a please sign, but maybe I am just not with it.

Chloe turns (1)6.

Chloe FINALLY turned 6 last Saturday.  She has been breathlessly awaiting this day since the day she turned 5.  Her request was for a "Princess Fashion Party."  I shortened that from a "Princess Fashion Tea Party."  I know my limits.  Even though I tried very hard to make things as simple as possible, it still ended up being exhausting.  This might have been because a mild case of the stomach flu made me feel like I was in the first trimester of a pregnancy, and the only thing I really wanted to do was lay on my soft bed in my underwear while I let the ceiling fan lull me to sleep. 

Also, Don and I made the mistake of thinking that going boating in the morning the same day as the birthday party, was a good idea.  It was not.

Chloe's cousin spent the night Friday, and the morning of her birthday, Chloe threw up.  A few times.  I asked her if she still wanted to go boating (by this time Don had already left with his friend to go pick up the boat).  She said she didn't want to miss out on all the fun, so I picked her up some saltines, gingerale, and gatorade, and like magic she was feeling better.

The boating trip had it's own list of set backs, the biggest being that we waited around for an hour waiting for our husbands and the boat to arrive at the lake, only to find out that the lake was full and there was a 3 hour waiting list to be able to launch your boat in the water.

So then we ended up driving another 45 minutes to another lake.  Once on the lake, our children did what children do best, cry and complain about pretty much everything.  My friend's son was literally so freaked out by falling in the water off the tube, that he pooped his pants. And Chloe and her cousin are still convinced that they almost drowned.  And Macie acted like the clown from "It" was making faces at her all day,  and refused to sit anywhere other than my lap.  (Later late evening she had a fever, so I bet she wasn't feeling well all along. Poor Macie.)

Despite all that, we still managed to have fun, because well, we were on a boat, with our fun friends.

But we decided that next time, there will be no children allowed.

We didn't end up getting home until 3:30 PM and the party started at 4.

So I had a half hour to bathe everyone and to finish setting up for the party.

I believe the girls loved the party and that is the only thing that matters. 

(But I think I am birthday partied out for a couple years)

 We had a nail station.

 And a make-up station.

 And a hair station.

 And A LOT of really cute, really excited, little girls.

 And we played a dress up relay race that resulted in a lot of crying and chaos. 

 And then Chloe opened her presents.  That took 1.5 minutes.

 Macie stole the suckers. And you'll notice...never let them go.

And then we had dinner.  I watched as Don spent an hour carefully infusing the hamburger patties with garlic and onion.  We also had smoothies.  The kids seemed to really appreciate the smoothies.  But poor Don, all his hard work went mostly unappreciated.  Chloe said she wanted hamburgers, so we had hamburgers.  I think the adults enjoyed their burgers though.

 Chloe also really wanted a Pinata.  And it took a long time for that thing to crack.  We really wished there was a 12 year old boy to help out.

 Macie wasn't able to put her all into the swing being that she had to keep track of her 2 lollipops.

 Oh look, there's Macie again, unwrapping candy.

 Didn't I do an amazing job decorating this cake?  Oh you didn't know that I am super talented and crafty?

 Okay, okay.  I bought the cake.   

Chloe had to close her eyes and redo her wish because she forgot to do it before she blew out the candles. 

Great picture, don't you think?

I think all of Chloe's birthday dreams came true.  My love for her makes me do crazy things.  Not illegal things, just things that are not good for my health.

But she's worth it.

(Next year we are just going to go out to eat)

P.S. She woke up the next morning and had a 2nd go round of the pukes.

I've been thrown up on before, but I have never had the opportunity of using my hands for a puke bucket until now.

I have arrived. 

Mother's Day

I had a lovely Mother's Day.  We had our traditional Mother's Day lunch at Leonore's house on Saturday. And Chloe also "lost" her first tooth.  Apparently you don't tell Grandpa Rey that you have a loose tooth because he will yank it out unexpectedly. 

Losing her tooth was quite traumatic for Chloe. Tears have been shed over the loss of her lower chomper. And she worriedly asked me, "What will happen if I lose all my teeth and then I can't chew my food?"

  In fact she hasn't even turned it in to the Tooth Fairy yet.  Don told her that she has to give up her tooth to the tooth fairy if she wants her money.  But she cried and said she didn't want the tooth fairy to take it and turn it into magic.

So then I said that we could just write the tooth fairy a note and ask if she could just leave the tooth and also some money. (Brilliant idea, me thought)

However, Don nixed this idea and privately told me that this is how people grow up and can't make decisions. "You can't have your cake and eat it too," he says.  Apparently it is our job as parents to teach our children this crappy life lesson. pfft.   "If you can't make a decision about a tooth when you are 5...you can't pick a major when you are 18."

And since I couldn't pick a major when I was 18, or decide if I wanted to get married at 23,  I think he might have a valid point.

She told me today that she is ready to turn the tooth in so she can get money for Disneyland.

Is the tooth fairy doling out 100 dollar bills these day?

Because if so, I might pull a few of my own teeth out.

Ever since Chloe lost her tooth, she has been speaking with a lisp.

And to be honest, I miss Chloe's non-lispy voice.

So Sunday Don was a superstar husband.  He got the kids ready for church and made me lunch and did A LOT of dishes.  And he even took Macie home from church to change a nasty diaper.  Now I know he loves me.  He will do anything to get out of a changing a poopy diaper.  And he bought me a delicious pie.  So it was a nice, nice day.

I am so grateful for my children who have made me a Mother. One of the things that was hard to wrap my brain around after my Mom died, was that I had no one to call "Mom" anymore.  And I so missed that word and everything that it meant.  I am so grateful that I have that word back in my life, and it is used, it seems like, a billion times every day.  I love being able to repay all the things my Mom did for me, back to my own children.  And in that way, part of my heart has been healed, and I feel connected to her.  Because motherhood is a chain that can never be broken. There is nothing in the world as strong as a Mother's love for her children.
I also thought about my friends yesterday who find Mother's Day to be a difficult day.  Friends who have lost children, or can't have children for various reasons, and really feel that void in their life. And other friends who have lost their Mothers as well. I want them to know their value as a woman.  Motherhood means so much more than physically bearing children. I have had many mother figures in my life, and obviously they did  not physically bring me into this world.  But they have been "mothers"-they've supported me and loved me and comforted me like only a woman can.  I don't mean to sound trite, I know that nothing can replace a child or your Mother.  I just know that everything will work out in the end.  And women are just...awesome.

Field Trip

Yesterday I chaperoned Chloe's kindergarten class on their field trip to Stuffington Bear Factory.I learned some things about Teddy Bears.  I learned that Stuffington is one of 2 teddy bear factories in the United States.  (As a fellow chaperone whispered, the other 6000 are in China).  I can't imagine who they sell their stuffed animals too...Etsy? Just kidding.  But seriously.  Actual people cut out all the materials by hand.  And actual people sew them all together.  All the kids got to make their own teddy bear.  Picture "Build A Bear" ...but not as nice.

I got to ride on the bus with Chloe.

It was a big day for Chloe yesterday.  She also had a birthday party to attend.  So we went to Target.  I cannot keep up with my children at Target.  They touch everything.  They want everything.  They take greeting cards and slide them under the display thingee...which by the way, are physically impossible to retrieve.  

Chloe made a point to show me the "fancy" things that Emma loves.  These are the dolls on her shirts.  And the fancy skull on her lunchbox.  "See Mom, She has a bow and eyelashes.  That's what makes it fancy."
um, no. Chloe WILL NOT be participating in this strange monster/zombie trend.
I protest such nonsense.

P.S.  Macie fell asleep late afternoon yesterday for 6 hours.  Luckily she woke up at 10 PM and was ready to start her day!  I spent most of the night trying to sleep while she tried to wake me up.  She brought me a box of macaroni and cheese.  At 3 in the morning.  I would have killed her, but she told me "I wuv woo" for the very first time...at midnight.  Oh really? Well then why are you torturing your Mother with your cuteness in the dark abyss of night?

Yesterday while I was at the Dr. , the nurse looked at my chart and said, "So you are 32 now? Happy Birthday." 

I said, "Thanks."

And then she said, "Better to have one than not, right?"

And I was like in my head, "Eh, excusez-moi?"

What is with people thinking once you hit 30, it is all downhill.

She was like 50-something, so I was confused.

But it seems like when I tell people my age now, that they feel the need to reassure me that I don't look as old as  

my age, as if 32 is archaic.

And for the record, I would like to point out, that the majority of Hollywood Female stars do not reach their peak of stardom until their 30s. 

Meg Ryan was 32 in "Sleepless in Seattle."

Julia Roberts was 30 in "My Best Friend's Wedding."

Rachel McAdams is 34.

Boo-yah.

And that's all I have to say about this.

I stand corrected.
Macie makes just as many messes as Chloe did at her age.
She must have read my last blog post and decided she needed to make a name for herself.
In the past few days I have cleaned up:
-shredded cheese sprinkled in various rooms on my carpet.
-almost an entire tube of toothpaste spread on my door and bathroom floor
-half a bucket of oatmeal dumped out on my carpet
-rice dumped out on my carpet
-almost my entire tube of foundation on my carpet and curtains and also spread on multiple surfaces in my bathroom.
-a bowl of water dumped on...you got, my carpet.
She must really like dumping things on my carpet.
I can't keep up with her.

The month of April. In a nutshell:

Chelsey had a birthday. I believe she turned 25.  We got her some balloons...which my kids played with and she cared nothing about.  She did get her new Wii game system though, so I think all her birthday wishes came true.

We had a little party at my Dad's house.  We tried to sing her "happy birthday" and tried to get her to blow out her candles, but she was too preoccupied looking for a very important piece of paper from 10 years ago.   We did the birthday song 3 times before giving up and my girls blew out the candles.

Don and I had our anniversary on April 23rd.  8 years!! We saw a movie about Jack and the Beanstalk, but I can't remember what it's actual movie title was. Probably, "Jack and the Beanstalk."  Oh Don informed me it was "Jack the Giant Slayer."  We liked it.  All the restaurants were all closed by the time we got out, so we ended up getting a burrito from Filibertos.  

Then a few days later was my birthday.  I had a great day.  I went to a Relief Society thing in the morning and then tried to get my free eyebrow wax from Ulta, which they don't do anymore.  That could have ruined my birthday, but it didn't.  Just kidding. Well, sort of.  I am seriously still disappointed.  

Then I went around town and got my free stuff.  But that wasn't that much fun because my kids wanted to go with me and walking by Pottery Barn Kids is like the sirens in the Odyssey.  They got sucked in and then we had to look at all the overpriced merchandise that I will never buy, but they will beg for, for days on end.  Blasted jewelry box with the twirling ballerina.

Also, I got ONE free Krispy Kreme donut (stupid economy, they used to give one free donut away to everyone, any day of the week) which Chloe ate half.

We had dinner at Joe's Farm Grill with some friends and then came back and had cake back at our house.  

I actually did have a really fantastic day, full of friends and laughter and fun.  And I love my kids.  Even though I hate taking them to the mall.  (Hate).

Last night we went to Paloma's birthday party.  Chloe has had a hard time watching her kids turn 6 before her.  I try to tell her that this will eventually be a good thing, but she doesn't believe me.  "Don't worry Chloe.  When you turn 32, you will be happy all your friends are 32 before you!"  

 I have mentioned right, that Macie only wears her bathing suit?

Oh, and occasionally this dress.  

I love Macie so much.  She is mostly angelic.  She has her terrible 2 moments, but most of the time, she is just lollipops and sunny days.  

I seem to remember having a lot more messes to clean up with Chloe...but maybe it just seems that way because I am used to having kids and messes now.  It seemed like every day chloe was making some horrendous mess when she was Macie's age.  

I don't have as many moments with Macie.  But yesterday she had her moment.  She took a fourth of a gallon of milk and dumped it on my carpet.

Then she got the rug to sop it up.  This is how I discovered her.  Guilty as sin.  She told me, "Sowwy Mom, sowwy."

The good thing about Macie is that she feels really bad when she does naughty things. If she gets reprimanded, her feelings are mortally wounded.  And she comes back sweeter than ever and humble.  

I just love spending time with her.  She is a priceless gift to our family.