The Moments When It's All Worth It

Fashion Friday: Mommy's Turn

A few weeks ago, this mommy got to celebrate her 31st birthday (gulp!) with another mommy. Granted, I would have liked more than one day with my East Coast girl, but I'll take what I can get.

The day was spent browsing Chicago boutiques -- spending way too much on shoes and laughing like teenagers. We capped that off with a relaxing 5pm massage (yes I used 5pm and relaxing in the same sentence!). But as usual, our nighttime adventure was the most fun. We always have a great time and manage to find just enough trouble to keep the night interesting...but that's all I'll say. It was all in good clean mommy fun! ;)

As part of a little tradition we started way back in 8th grade, we posed for photos before our big night out. Here are the few I think Cara wouldn't kill me for posting. (I hope!) Love you and miss you, girl. :)

It's Not About Me.

Bless those we often forget.

Fashion Friday: Let's Get Physical

With the cool weather here, I knew there was no stifling Emma's never-ending energy. So, we signed her up for gymnastics once a week. The perfect way to get her used to following directions, making new friends, and most importantly, working out all of her "wigglies."

She really likes it, and her teacher is very patient with the fact that Emma seems to notice everything in the room. I thanked her teacher for her patience the other day, and she just smiled and said, "She's just very detailed oriented." In the beginning, I didn't know if I liked this teacher -- she was young and not as animated as some of the other teachers -- but after that response, she won me over.

The class is organized, but laid back. They let the kids try out everything -- balance beams, parallel bars, rings. Emma's already learning forward and backward rolls and cartwheels. It doesn't exactly come naturally to her, but then I have to remind myself that she's only 3. And she is busy. So I just let her have fun and back off of my perfectionist tendencies. A lesson I'm sure I will continue to learn as the years pass.

Emma has warmed up to a fellow gymnast named Lilly, who is a cute little peanut. In fact, she's the niece of one of Jeff's childhood friends, so Lilly's mom and I already know each other. We chat as we watch the girls though the window -- and as I chase Kendall around the waiting area. I have to say it's a nice 50-min break from the norm for all of us.

And, of course, Miss Emma loves wearing her leotard. She actually takes her nap in it on gymnastic days so that she can get up and go right away. Once we get home, it must stay on until everyone gets home and sees her in it. I have to say, she does look pretty darn cute in the thing.

The only drawback to our new activity is that Emma somehow manages to come home with MORE energy than before the class. I'm not sure why that surprises me. But as long as we continue to point this energy in a positive direction, I'm thinking there is no telling what this girl can do. I just hope I can keep up with her.

Fashion Friday: Promising More Treats!

I know I have been MIA lately. And I can give you a million excuses of why I don't have time to post anything, but really it comes down to the fact that I've just been in a funk. Kendall's first-year letter is still half-finished. I haven't posted any photos from her party. Heck, I never posted any of Emma's birthday pictures from August. I don't even read other blogs anymore. But I'm determined to pull out of this yuck.

Anyway, to kick off my new-found joy, I am posting photos from a pretty fun day. This year we were fortunate enough to celebrate Halloween as a family. (I use the word "celebrate" loosely here since I'm not super fond of the meaning behind day, yet I'm always up for an excuse to have some fun.) Anyway, Jeff was able to come home early from work, and we all trick-or-treated together. He wasn't too happy that I made him dress up, but he took one for the team (ha!).

Emma had lots of fun, even though she couldn't eat most of the candy in her bucket. But she could eat some of it, which is really all she needed. Kendall hung in there until the very end, when she started to get hungry. Then we all headed home for dinner and some fun family time. We turned off the lights and played with Emma's glow sticks, which kept her happy for nearly an hour. Although I think Jeff may have had more fun than any of us. ;)

Here are some photos from the day. Hope everyone else had lots of fun with their little pumpkins!

The Girls in their costumes:

Our Little Pumpkin Kendall


"Princess Ballerina" Emma


Off to score some treats:




Daddy and his girls: