Biker Chick

Several years ago Bella's Grandma Susan bought her a bicycle. Bella was scared to death of it. It had training wheels, a horn, a basket, a bell, she even got a matching helmet to go with it, it was awesome. However I couldn't get Bella near it so I ended up selling it at a garage sale last summer. This past week Bella went to her friends Emily and Dylan for a sleep over. Dylan did what no adult could. He not only got her on a bike but he got her riding it all on her own, I couldn't be more proud. Thanks Dylan!!!

Santa

As the holiday season gets closer, the word Santa comes up more and more. Bella has already made most of her Christmas list and I have already figured out what I am getting for gifts for most of the family. This past weekend Bella learned how to ride a bike (I'll give you the story on this tomorrow) and so last night on the way home from girl scouts she told me she wants Santa to bring her a bike for Christmas. I said we will put it on the list. She then starts talking about how a lot of kids at school don't believe in Santa. I asked her if she believes and she said "yeah, I think so, but mommy why don't you just tell me for sure, don't lie." We have preached to her how lying is bad and that if she lies she will be in more trouble then if she just tells us the truth, because of this she never lies. So as we pulled into the driveway I sent Johnny a text and told him we need to tell her now. I didn't want to tell her lying was bad and then have her find out I lied to her face when she asked me not to.

We got in the house and we told her that Santa is not real. That the idea of Santa came about from the story of St. Nicholas, a man who used to put candy and pennies inside kids shoes at night, and that parents kept the tradition going and growing because it teaches children about giving. We explained how not all kids get gifts from "Santa" or even from their parents. Sometimes parents put their kids name and Christmas list on a tree, in hopes that a stranger will give their child a Christmas that they can't afford. We explained that even though this child probably knows "Santa" isn't real that the morning he or she receives a gift they weren't expecting from a complete stranger makes their whole holiday great. After all that is idea of Santa, to give. She completely understood, and though she was upset at first it made sense to her.

P.S. We explained to her that now she has to play along and not ruin it for other kids. She now wants to play Santa for her sister and cousins... with Mommy and Daddy's money of course :)

We Are The Future

Raymore had a "We Are The Future" parade this weekend that Bella's Girl Scout troop took part in. It was cold but a lot of fun. My favorite (which I didn't get a picture of) was a float made by the high school class of 2014, their theme was Zombie Apocalypse. Here is some pictures of my little girl scout!

 

Also a picture of Cambri, who assisted with the parade :)

Royals

So after the whole family being sick off and on for over a week, we were finally feeling a little bit better on Sunday, and decided to take my in laws to a Royals game. It was the first game they had been to in 15 years, and the stadium has made a lot of changes since then. Of course the Royals lost, because watching a Royals game is kind of like watching a Chiefs game and they almost always end in disappointment. Living in Kansas City we have come to get used to that though, and can have fun anyways. Here is some pictures...

Green Thumb

I remember as a child bringing home tiny seeds in a cup of a dirt. I'd put them in a window so they could get sun, I'd water them, and then they would never grow. I just figured it was because I was a kid that they wouldn't grow. Maybe I got too excited and gave them more water than was needed, or maybe they were in a bad window where the sun was too bright.

Now I am an adult and my children have brought me these same little flowers and asked me to help them grow. I'll put them in a window, give them water, and they never grow. Sometimes they come home and have already gotten them to start growing before they give them to me, and then I turn around and kill them.

I always feel bad and was about to give up trying, but I'm not a quitter. So when Cambri came home from daycare with a tiny plan about two weeks ago, I tried really hard not to kill it. I put it in a window the cat, kids, Johnny, or myself couldn't accidentally knock it over . Instead of watering it everyday, I water it every other. I always hear the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. So I made some changes and this window must have perfect sun because...

Chiefs

Yesterday we went to a Chiefs football game. It was a lot of fun, and the first Chiefs regular season game that we have been to. Here are some  pictures.

I'm Watching You

So the other day Cambri refused to go to bed. After several attempts and a few hours she finally went down for the night. After she went to bed, I took some "me" time, like I normally do after the kids go to sleep. I read a book, watched some TV, and finally went to shower before I went to bed for the night too. When I walk in the bathroom I trip over something, without looking I kick it out of the room, only to notice that I kicked two of Cambri's baby dolls out of the room. It turns out she had tucked them into go night night with a towel, on the bathroom floor. It took a second to hit me, but I realized, we tuck her in every night (in her bed) and then don't go to bed, maybe that's what she was doing with her baby dolls. Put them night night (or as she says ni ni) and then played until she just couldn't play anymore. I know she watches me and does what I do. I throw something away, she will find something (even if it's a toy) and throw it away. I am putting the dishes away, she will take the dishes out and then put them away in her play kitchen. I wipe something off the floor and so does she. I make a funny noise, she mimics it. I tickle Bella, she tickles Bella. I think you get the point, she is a copy cat. So it really shouldn't have been a surprise that she put her babies night night then came to play (her "me" time). Or maybe she put her babies night night and forgot about them, and then just wanted to play and it was all a coincidence. Either way it reminds me of this song, and I have to learn to remember she is always watching.

P.S.  I had to post a song because she refuses to let me take a good picture of her anymore. She is too busy to stop and pose!

A Mothers Love

    I have been reading a lot lately. I don't know why, I seem to just kind of go through phases. Sometimes it's my nails, sometimes it's my hair, sometimes tattoos, out of all the phases this one seems to be the cheapest and the entertainment seems to last longer, so that's two positives. I have read all the "OMG you have to read this" books and finally went searching for something different because I wasn't as impressed as I thought the top hits of books would be. Don't get me wrong, they were good (well some were just okay) but I like a book I can relate to.
     It was $0.99 and a memoir on teenage pregnancy called The Girl Who Couldn't Say No. I couldn't completely relate to this book because, well, I was 17 when I got pregnant and she was 15. She got pregnant in 1994 when it wasn't as acceptable and I got pregnant in 2003. She is somewhere in Europe going to a private catholic school, and I am in America going to a public school. The father of her child disappears from her life while the father of mine marries me and adds to the family. So yes, there are a lot of differences however I can relate. I could relate to the looks people give when they find out you are having a child so young. I can relate to the questions of "who is the father" and "are you sure?" and the whispers behind my back about how my life was ruined. I could relate to wanting to do everything I can for this baby, doing what ever it takes to graduate, support, and love my child.  
     None of it has been easy, there have been times I feel like I have failed, that I didn't make the right decision. Most of those thoughts came before my beautiful Bella entered the world. Like when I let my 6 week old puppy fall off the bed and dislocate his hip. I took him to the vet, paid to get it fixed and then spent that whole night crying because if I couldn't take care of a dog, how would I ever be able to take care of a child. I am sure a lot of it was hormones, and I know a lot of it every mother goes through. What got me in this book, is that just because I was young doesn't mean I was different than any other mother.
     When I got angry at people just trying to help, I always took it as they didn't trust I knew what I was doing because I was young. Turns out she felt the same way. May have been the age, or it may have been the part that I just wanted to prove everyone wrong (I wasn't a terrible mother like they thought I was). It turns out it doesn't change, even after Cambri I need help once in awhile. I need a babysitter, I need Johnny to just take over for a minute because the screaming baby has me wanting to rip my hair out.  If I had other family close I am sure there would be nights I call and ask for them to rock the baby instead. Don't get me wrong I have felt a lot more confident with Cambri than I ever did with Bella, but I really don't think that is age, I think it is a first time Mom compared to the second time Mom (and the fact I have no choice). As I have gotten older I have seen first time older moms take their baby to the ER for a mild fever, which turns out to be an ear infection. Mothers who call their mother begging for help, because young isn't the reason you do it, you do it because you are a first time mom, and in all actuality first time older moms panic just as much as a younger first time moms. It doesn't just come natural, as people sometimes make it seem.
     I did good almost the whole book and then at the end she had me tearing up a few times. She is talking about if she would change the way she did things would she, what she says is "What you give up is nothing compared with what you gain. If you don't believe that, you just don't get it." She is really so right, I have been asked if I would change things, and I know well before this book that no, not in a million years. I love the way my life has turned out. No college degree, or multimillionaire husband will change that. Everything I have done has made me who I am. The wonderful mother and wife I have become, even if I don't always feel that way. At the end of the book she says "I can feel, with every tiny bit of my being, that this is where I am supposed to be. it's not tragic, it's not second best - it's perfect." What she says is the truth, and even if I didn't have it as hard as her, I know that I feel the same way. My life may not be what my family dreamed for me, or even what my husbands family dreamed for him. But everyday we make our dreams come true, together, and we couldn't be happier doing it. That's all that matters.