Lyla Birthday: 6 Years Old

Lyla turned six years old today. There was once a time when I pictured what my life would look like as a mom to a six year old. It seemed impossible, but now here we are! Today is the day! Lyla greeted me this morning the same as she always does, with a big hug. Then her first question was, "I am six years old. Why aren't my teeth falling out yet?" Ha! She is much anticipating the loss of her first tooth and apparently the clock is ticking! She noticed her gifts on the kitchen counter and hinted at how wonderful it would be to open one right away. She thought she would need to wait for Dad to arrive home from work, so she was delighted when I told her there was no need to wait. Kirk was at work already, but thanks to this amazing technology known as a video call we were able to continue with the present opening celebrations together. We are still in full swing with Christmas break, so our sleep schedule keeps getting pushed later & later. The lazy bum life will come to an screeching halt next week, but that's not the point for today. Lyla received some cute winter clothes (Texas is currently an ice box), a CD, and a kid sized sewing machine. She was a happy girl! We have simplified (for us) our kid gifting quite a bit because I have spent so much time purging stuff we simply do not need. It's always been a constant cycle until I started practicing this new theory --- if you can't consume it, wear it, or learn a skill from it then it's JUNK. Sad but true fact of life and I repeat this to myself as I start twitching in the Target dollar spot...or all of Target for that matter. I really do feel weighed down when we have too much stuff. And I can tell my kids feel the same way about toys! It's overwhelming, "ahhhh what do I play with ahhhh." But right now, even with Christmas barely behind us, we've purged and decluttered and it feels like freeeeeedom!!!! And again, that's not the point for today. Geez. I should really blog more because clearly I've missed the keyboard.

Alright. Lyla and I attempted sewing a pillow case together, until I decided needle and thread should not be used prior to coffee consumption. It's much too painful for the brain. So we made chocolate chip pancakes, per request of the Birthday Girl. And bacon. And strawberries. Yum! We sang Happy Birthday too!

After breakfast Lyla was adamant about recording her annual birthday interview. This is something I started when she was two and usually I'm pretty good about remembering, but this girl is ON TOP OF IT. And technically I shouldn't say I'm "pretty good about remembering" because having Lyla remind me about the interview on her birthday made me realize I still never got around to recording Max's four year interview. Oops! Sooo we did them both today! Better late than never! Thank you Lyla for your persistence and determination because the birthday interviews are my favorite. It's always so silly because their answers are never "right" --- not that they can answer anything wrong about their own likes or dislikes, but I feel like sometimes they just look around the room we are in for something to say during the interview. I get it though. Interviews are tough. The pressure can be scary. Obviously I'm just preparing them for the real world here, ha! Yeah, I'm going with that. Regardless of their answers, I love the interviews because their personalities shine through. Their tiny voices and pronunciation of words change, yet they seem to keep a lot of the same mannerisms and facial expressions they had when we started this tradition.

The birthday interviews made us hungry so I made some lunch, then we played a couple rounds of foosball. The competition gets a little intense when you start losing to a four and six year old. Then we watched a live concert from Lyla. Sadly, she requested no photos during the performance after she busted me taking one. Afterward, Lyla prepared for a little day date with her Aunt Taylor. Taylor picked her up in the afternoon and they spent a couple hours together shopping at ULTA, Sam Moon, and getting frozen yogurt. It was so sweet of Taylor to take Lyla out for some one on one time, because anyone who knows Lyla knows that dates are her faaaavorite! I know those fun memories will have a lasting impact on Lyla. She is so loved and I am so grateful.

 

In the evening once Kirk was off work, we went to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. Lyla was greeted with another gift from Jeremy, Charli, and Hali. The "LOL" dolls could have been the kick-start to Lyla's YouTube career, but instead she revealed their contents on the restaurant table. If you're confused by what I'm even talking about, well then, just carry on. We enjoyed pizza, with the exception of the birthday girl, of course. She does not enjoy pizza, although CPK is her favorite restaurant. Yup, now you even more confused by this paragraph. Oh well. It was a day well spent for Lyla and it makes me so happy to see her happy!

I started this sentence as "it's been so easy being Lyla's mom" and then I erased it because that is definitely not true. Motherhood is often full of doubt, fear, guilt, regret. It is full of love, gratitude, pride, reflection, laughter & so many silly moments. And sometimes all of those emotions wrapped into one at the same time. It's the hardest job I have ever had and sometimes I question who thought it would be a good idea to hire me. But I know in my heart Lyla was meant to be my daughter. She has been my greatest teacher and I am honored to be her mom. Lyla doesn't make it tough being a mom, I do that to myself. She is truly an amazing kid. I would describe her best as thoughtful, compassionate, & determined. And she is so fun! In school, she is eager to learn and so very smart. She is polite and attentive. She was recognized last month in her class for being a good example of responsibility. She has some perfectionist tendencies, but I'm going to try to guide her away from that because perfectionist life is too exhausting. And I may have mentioned this next part in a previous post, I can't remember because it's been so long since I blogged. We had a parent teacher conference and Lyla's teacher told us about a deaf girl in their class who Lyla always makes sure to include with her friends. Her teacher said she feels so relieved about having a student like Lyla in class because she knows nobody will ever feel left out. I left the conference crying and then cried some more as Lyla came home from school day after day excited to show me the new signing words she learned from her friend. Lyla pays close attention to people and acts accordingly. She is accepting and inclusive. Her kindness makes our family stronger, it makes her classroom happier, and the world a better place. Happy Birthday, my Lyla girl. I love you so much!

The Birthday Interviews

My Perspective on 19 Trillion Gallons of Rain

I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude as I tucked my babies into bed tonight. Our home has not been affected by the flooding, our belongings are dry, and I am putting my children to sleep in their own beds. This is not the case for so many people from areas surrounding us right now. It's unreal the amount of people they are packing into all the emergency shelters spread across dry parts of Houston. I have seen photos of cots lined up in gymnasiums, families setting up camp on air mattresses or even the floor. The unknown can be scary and a lot of these people will return to their homes to find they have lost literally everything. It is absolutely heart wrenching. I can't even fathom losing our home, how would I ever explain that to Lyla and Max. And imagine how all these young children must feel staying in a shelter among hundreds of people they've never met before. The entire experience would be so terrifying for them.

As for us, we are about 40 miles north of Houston where the flooding has been a lot less severe compared to other counties. There were several main roads near us that flooded over the weekend and creeks with high water, but they all drained fairly quickly. I feel very fortunate to live in a neighborhood that did not flood. The rain poured for five long days, but it was a test on my sanity more than anything. I didn't even know it was possible to stay at home for that many days in a row. The entire town was shut down, even gas stations and fast-food places were closed during the peak of it all. We enjoyed our time together though and the kids were definitely entertaining. By Sunday night I don't know if they were delirious or just really tapping into their imaginations, but they were hilarious. I love my family and the extra together time was a bit of silver lining as we waited for Harvey to pass. 

My ears have been glued to the local news channel ever since the madness started. I watched as Harvey made it's way toward the coast, hitting Rockport and Corpus Christi. I naively thought the worst was over after the hurricane touched land, but little did I know the real problems were just beginning. I was skeptical, thinking "oh sure, the media just wants to hype it up like they do with everything." Then it kept raining...and raining...and then the flooding...and then the mandatory evacuations in some areas. I remember at one point I was watching, jaw dropped, everything happening on the TV and I felt so scared. I was scared for all of Houston. I couldn't sleep, just kept watching and watching. Mother nature is a bad bitch! She has no limitations! It was clear that a lot more rain was coming, but they didn't know exactly where it would hit the hardest. Brace yourselves, was the general warning. As people began abandoning their homes with nothing but a suitcase, I just felt helpless. In times like these I always remember the quote by Fred Rogers --- good ol' Mr. Rogers! 

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me,

 "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

And there were the helpers. Government workers from all outlets came to assist, even the National Guard, but that is something to expect during a flood expanding over an entire metropolitan. The remarkable thing was seeing ordinary people drive their big trucks and boats into the devastation to HELP. They willingly marked their arms in black sharpie with their names and social security numbers, then risked their lives through flooded streets searching for people in need of being rescued. I saw one couple who said they rescued over 70 dogs. There was another guy delivering Pizza Hut to people refusing to leave their homes. I saw so many hugs and so much appreciation. I mean....it was AMAZING. The rescues would never have been as successful without the helpers. 

I have never in my life been so close to a natural disaster of this magnitude and I hope it's something I never experience in my lifetime again. We have lived in Texas for five years now and I still lean more towards Idaho being my one true home, but over the past few days I have felt proud to live in Texas. I truly think this is the first time my heart has belonged here. It has been remarkable watching the community come together to organize relief efforts for flood victims. I am amazed by the kindness and generosity of so many people. I visited one relief shelter today and the amount of donations they already collected was unbelievable. The rain has only eased up the last day or two, people have barely felt brave enough to venture the roads, but so many of these shelters are already bursting at the seams with everything you could possibly think of --- mattresses, bedding, pillows, towels, blankets, toiletries, baby items, clothing, shoes, pet food, kennels, canned goods, the list goes on and on. The grocery store couldn't keep bread on the shelves in the beginning, now they can't keep the diaper aisle stocked fast enough! This is all in just one day after the storm subsiding! People even thought about food and treats for the first responders, people who have been working 18+ hours straight get hungry too! I am proud, so proud as I witness these recovery efforts taking place. 

Despite all the devastation Houston continues to face, the outpouring of love is phenomenal. I get tired of hearing about all the hate in our country, but there hasn't been any of that on my TV over the past few days. This has been about humans helping humans, without the drama of politics, racism, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs. These flood victims will need support for days, weeks, even months to come. It's going to take a lot of time for everyone to recover. I am heading to a shelter tomorrow to help sort donations and my sweet Lyla girl offered to tag along with me. We've been watching this catastrophe unfold together and I think it's important she sees the helpers too. This goes for Max too of course, but it goes over his head a bit more than Lyla. There is so much work to do. Goodbye and good riddance, Hurricane Harvey. 

Some of these pictures belong to me, some of them I collected from other sources.

 I'm posting to remember.

Mother's Day

I had the very best Mother's Day weekend. I seriously couldn't imagine a better weekend spent with my sweet family. We headed down to Houston on Saturday to do some exploring around Hermann Park. There is a peddle boat rental place that I've been wanting to cross off my list for awhile, so I was happy to finally check it out. It was a beautiful day for it too. For the second stop on our adventure we walked through the park until we stumbled upon the butterfly museum. We brought the kiddos here once before, but it was over three years ago so it was a much more enjoyable experience for them now that they are older. The butterfly museum is basically this giant dome shaped green house and the butterflies flutter freely all around. It's pretty cool, very rainforest-esque and super humid. The kids have been learning about butterflies in school, we raised caterpillars at home, and now after this butterfly museum I think I'm tapped out on butterflies for awhile. They are very majestic creatures though. We had a really fun time! 

We were all ready for lunch after the museum, so I found a place nearby called Little Matt's. My preference would have been Mexican food (duh) but when I pulled this place up on Google, I knew we could not pass it up. Their website made it seem like the coolest kid hang out ever and it definitely lived up to the expectation from the moment we arrived.The first thing that caught my eye was the candy bar spread across their front counter with a magnitude of variety. Potentially a parent's worst nightmare, but from a kid's perspective it was heavenly. They had an icee machine and free ice cream for kids. I'm realizing now it basically sounds like I'm describing Chukee Cheese, but just trust me, it is so much cooler than that. It definitely has a funky/hip vibe and all the employees were so incredibly friendly and attentive. The menu is surprisingly impressive, including a lot of diverse options and they have an incredible amount of sauce selections. And an arcade!!! You're probably thinking okay sure, arcade, yeah yeah yeah, but it's legit. The claw machine isn't rigged like all those other money-robbing-crap-chain-places. Max won four silly animals from that game!!! He was so proud of  himself! And I was proud too --- you may not know this, but my dad is actually a claw machine master, although he claims it is all natural ability. I was lucky enough to inherit this unique talent from my dad and I am happy to pass on this valuable skill to yet another generation. :) Hahaha! Okay so my description of Little Matt's got a little extensive, but the last thing I need to mention is the story behind how the restaurant got started --- "An idea that came alive from a difficult time as my son was fighting cancer for the second time in his life; an idea of bringing families together in my West University community to witness and provide kindness, faith, love, and hope to all. Little Matt's was born, 4 years ago today; not for profit, but to provide support to many in need while dealing with a childhood illness." Oh my gosh. Grab me the tissues!!! It makes me love the place even more. I'm a sucker for anything sweet and sappy. 

Okay. Moving on. We stopped at this adorable park after lunch right around University Boulevard in Houston. It's a really quaint little area. We decided it would definitely be our 'hood if we ever decided to become true Houstonians aka city slickers. But that will never happen because I watch way too much crime TV. However, I do love discovering new neighborhoods in Houston because there are still so many I have never visited. The park was the last stop on our Saturday adventure before we headed home. It was the perfect day for me. I'm appreciative of Kirk because I know walking around all day isn't exactly his idea of fun after a long week at work and it was definitely a lot of walking, especially for the shorter legs in the group. I miss my kids being babies sometimes, but I am also embracing this newish stage of having increasingly "big" kids. We don't have to bother with diapers, carriers, or strollers anymore. It turns out life is a lot easier without the nursery on wheels. It's all about lathering on the sunscreen and distributing fruit snacks these days!

First thing Sunday morning the kiddos headed into the kitchen with Kirk for what seemed like forever. They wouldn't allow me to get out of bed and I was beginning to feel like a prisoner in my own bedroom! They finally greeted me with breakfast in bed, flowers, and a sweet card. Lyla was in charge of delivering the coffee for some reason and from the moment she entered the door I watched in horror as the coffee splashed out of the sides of the cup with each step she took. Hahahahaha it was actually really really funny. I couldn't decide whether to tell her to stop or hurry up because either way it was already a disaster, but she was so giddy about her delivery it was impossible to say anything. It probably wasn't the best idea to let her be in charge of the coffee, but luckily the coffee came right out of the carpet and my white comforter was left unharmed. Haha! I will never forget the image of Lyla, wide eyed, walking across my bedroom as the coffee splashed all over. She was too excited to stop walking even though she knew she was spilling it.

We spent the rest of the day in the pool. Charli, Jeremy, & Hali came over and Kirk grilled for lunch. It was great to hang out all together and it was another day of much happiness. That evening I fell asleep on the couch while snuggling and watching a movie with my babies. My heart felt so full the entire weekend. I am one lucky momma! 

Three of Max's favorite things --- bbq sauce, quarters, and icees!!! 

Monday Adventures!

We had another day off on Monday, which was really exciting because the Monday after a holiday weekend is always a drag. I initially planned on doing laundry, grocery shopping, and completing other tasks that help my household function properly....but then I decided we needed an adventure instead. It seems I'm always trying to juggle that balance of work vs. play, too busy vs. not busy enough, too much vs. too little. My brain is in constant overdrive. Anyway, I planned for us to adventure to south Houston to visit a wildlife bayou and then to Galveston.

I didn't know the bayou accepted cash only, so that extended our trip into this town named Alvin to locate an ATM. The portion of town we drove through was quaint and had that old town feel. I don't know why but that is one of my favorite things to do. I love exploring little towns. We made it back to the wildlife bayou where we were greeted by a very friendly tour guide. She told me every day for the rest of the week they were expecting field trip visits with over 500 students. This made me really happy that we decided to come on a Monday. We pretty much had the place to ourselves! The tour guide drove us around in this jeep/human cage/doon-buggy type vehicle. The animals are free to roam around the 80 acres of property and it's very much built to replicate a natural habitat for them. It's like an opposite zoo because people drive around in cages to look at the animals instead of vice versa. Ha! The animals are not shy. They had no problem getting up close and personal, sticking their necks into the cart to grab a mouthful of food from us. It freaked all of us out little, but it was also very thrilling. I think a real safari would be awesome someday!

The kids enjoyed the tour and seeing so many of the animals up close. They were hesitant of feeding them, but they still watched. They were also able to ride a pony, visit the petting zoo, and make friends with a deer. This deer is named Joey and he was cracking me up. He just wandered around the property as he pleased, even making his way toward the gift shop. The only animals they have confined to one area were the alligators, which makes sense. Those things are freaking dangerous! Dinosaurs! I was disappointed the rhino didn't feel like making an appearance, but that gives us a reason to go back! Plus, I really enjoyed our tour guide, it was obvious she was very passionate about her profession and she kept cracking jokes about drinking on the job. She was a funny one.

Galveston is only another 30 minutes from the bayou place, so we continued our adventure down to the beach. The weather looked a little sketchy when I checked it earlier, so I didn't come prepared for a full beach experience. I figured we would fly kites, enjoy our picnic, and maybe dip our toes in the water. Much to my surprise, the weather was beautiful. We ended up staying for over two hours, searching for sea shells and slowly inching further and further out into the water. Max and Lyla were completely soaked and covered in sand, even my jeans were wet up to my knees. Haha! I should have known my kids would have wanted to get in the water regardless of anything else I had planned. I won't let that mom fail happen again. It was a fun day and both kiddos were zonked out the entire ride home. Although Galveston doesn't have the prettiest of beaches, there is still something so peaceful about the ocean. My decision to ditch the chores and adventure instead was just what we needed. 

I can't stop looking at this photo! She looks TOO old. 

Wedding Ceremony

I got a little picture happy, so I decided to include the mock wedding photos on a separate post. And yes, Max has road rash on his face. If you know Max, then this will not come as a surprise. 

Congratulations to the lovely couple and their union as husband and wife.
The newlyweds are registered at Target and Toys R Us.

Happy Easter Weekend!

This was one of those weekends that I could replay over and over again. I think the fact that it was extended by two extra days for our Easter break may have contributed to the goodness. We spent Friday visiting with a friend and her delicious newborn baby, then returned home to dye some Easter eggs. Lyla seemed to enjoy this project more than Max. She had fun combining different colors and creating designs on her eggs, whereas I probably blinked twice and Max had already dropped his entire pile of eggs into all the color cups. He was unimpressed and ditched us to play outside, however his eggs ended up being the brightest colors since they were left to soak for so long. Nobody likes the taste of hard boiled eggs in our family, but we had fun dissecting them afterward. 

Saturday the kiddos woke up at the crack of dawn, because that's what they always do when we have the day off. Lyla woke up with the idea that she really really needed to go get her haircut, like immediately. She actually started this a few weeks ago when she mentioned that she would really like to cut bangs. This was one of those "smile and nod" moments in parenting with the expectation said child will likely forget about whatever they keep going on and on about.....but Lyla has a natural ability for being extremely persistent. She did not forget and this "I want bangs" conversation continued for about three weeks. So, when she brought it up yet again on Saturday morning, I said "okay fine, let's go!" And off we went on our 9:00 a.m. adventure! Technically they are side swoop bangs because she has a calic, but regardless, we think her new style is fab. The boys left on their own adventure to Home Depot. I was laughing at Max's comment when Kirk told him that's where they were going. He said, "you mean, it's like our home...but it's a depot???" Yes, exactly son. Kirk decided he wanted to make our garage less trailer park-ee, so that was a nice improvement. I decided Kirk is in the "weekend project" phase of life. Max has been quite eager to assist him.

I made lunch for us and then the kiddos played outside for the remainder of Saturday afternoon. And by remainder I actually mean for about five hours. They were mad when I made them come inside at five o'clock. The neighbor kids may drive me nutso sometimes, but I'm also really appreciative of them. Lyla and Max really look forward to play time with their neighbor friends. I want my kids to value the friendships they make in life. It reminds me of a book we read together, "If I could keep you little I would pick for you a friend or two, but then I would miss you choosing friends you like who like you too!" It's a cute one. Anyway, I left later that evening to join some friends at a painting class. I forgot how much fun those classes are!

The Easter bunny visited as we slept that night. We were lucky it didn't rain and he was able to hide some eggs outside for the kids too! It was pretty funny when the kids woke up that morning because they could not find their baskets. We left them on the couch in plain sight, but they were running in circles and probably looked at the baskets five times before Lyla finally noticed hers. Max had this disappointed look on his face as he watched Lyla go through the contents of her basket. His basket was sitting right next to hers!!!!! We watched in disbelief for a few seconds, before we finally motioned Max to his own basket. You have one too little buddy! That morning brain fog is a real struggle. We ate breakfast and then I'm pretty sure the kids consumed 70 pounds of candy while I prepared a couple of dishes to take to Charli's. I do not like all that Easter basket madness, by the way. Who invented hiding plastic eggs with candy in them? I don't like that person. And whyyyyy does Easter basket grass exist? That stuff spreads like wildfire. And why do I even go along with all of it!??!

I took pictures of the kids before we went to Charli's and they were super agreeable to do so for once. I had this genius idea to have a pretend sibling wedding. The kids loved this idea and they were totally all about it. I told my brother this story and he called me "creepy" and "weird" --- typical little brother thing to say. I thought it made for a really exciting photo session! We even had a wedding ceremony, complete with wedding march music and a bouquet for the bride. It turns out I'm a terrible wedding officiant, as the only thing I could come up with for the ceremony was to have them say one thing they love about each other. Max contemplated for awhile and eventually said "booty" as his response to the question. I thought it was hilarious, but apparently that part of the story also contributed to my brother's "creepy" comments. He's entitled to his opinion though. We enjoyed lunch together at Charli and Jeremy's house. The kids got in their mandatory golf cart and Mario Party time. And that concludes our Easter festivities!!!!!!!!!!!!! I slept like a baby on Sunday. 

Silly string...another evil product....yet I continue to buy it like an idiot.

 Her face is PURE JOY!!!!

Lyla: Five Year Old Check-Up

Lyla had her annual check up this week! I have been posting her growth stats to the blog her entire life, but I decided this will most likely be the last time I share them on the internet. I think at some point this information becomes irrelevant and I can only imagine the way Lyla would feel about me if I kept the blog updated through all the glorious phases of puberty. Haha! Not that we are even close to any of that, but five years old just seems like a good stopping point. 

I will have to think of something new to post on a frequent basis throughout the adolescent years. Perhaps her grades, assuming they are good. Hahaha! 

Weight: 41 lbs, 55th percentile

Height: 45 inches, 98th percentile

Lyla has always been taller than average, but every doctor has always told me that can fluctuate when they are babies and it doesn't necessarily determine their height long term. However, now that is she is a five year old and growth has steadied, I am now told she will most likely remain on the road to being a tall person. Again, irrelevant to anything that matters in life, but I have always related more to the short person end of the spectrum, so now I'm just imagining all the potential in having a TALL daughter. The possibilities are endless!!!!