You Know It's Spring in Texas When...

Well, I've been just slightly negligent in keeping up the blog....things have changed a bit since my last post TWO YEARS AGO. Spice is now in kindergarten (for a few more weeks anyway) and Sugar is a big second grader. A family member asked about starting a blog so I checked here to see where I'd gotten my design and after I watched the video of Sugar's first day of kindergarten three or so times while bawling over how much she's grown up, I decided it was time for an update. Here are the girls posing in the bluebonnets. It's a Texas tradition, you know!

Innocence Lost

I knew this day would come. I just didn't realize that it would come so soon. I didn't really expect that my girls would remain innocent forever. I just thought we might make it to the double-digits before it happened. Well, too late; it's already happened. My sweet little girls have figured out the difference between girls and boys. That's right....you heard me. Sugar and Spice know the difference between boys and girls. Oh, I know what you're thinking..."What kind of mother would allow this to happen? Obviously they've been exposed to something they had no business seeing or hearing." Well, I really don't know how it happened. But they found out. And just in case you haven't heard....girls have eyelashes.

The Formal Dinner Party

Sugar's teacher held a formal dinner party at her home this afternoon for the entire class as a culminating activity for the nutrition and manners units of study they completed this week. It was fantastic! I'm sure the kids will remember it for the rest of their lives. First they gathered in the living room where Ms. Matejka took photos and served all of her guests hors d'oeuvres . As she circled the room offering each child a cracker with canned cheese, she reminded them of appropriate responses if they did not want anything or thought they wouldn't like it. She even instructed them in the fine art of taking a small bite if you're unsure and then hiding the rest in your napkin until you can get rid of it! :) Next each of the gentlemen was instructed to invite one of the ladies to join him at the dinner table, which was set with black and white table cloths, silver charges, specially folded napkins and goblets of water. The courses included chicken noodle soup, garden salads, sorbet, the main course ( fish sticks, macaroni and cheese, green beans, carrots, and corn), and dessert (brownies presented on a plate with chocolate syrup, whip cream and sprinkles). During the salad course she provided tips about how to move food around your plate if you don't like it so that it appears as though you're eating and how to respond if your host should notice that you are, in fact, not eating. The party ended with the presentation of the hostess gift (some lovely flowers and a bracelet that the room mothers thoughtfully picked up) and a tour of the house. I wish kindergarten could last forever!!!

The Birthday Dance

Sugar's teacher goes above and beyond what any parent could expect to make each of her students feel special each day, but birthdays are a major event! The birthday boy or girl is greeted at the entrance with a message in sidewalk chalk and a blow-up cake, he or she receives a special birthday gift (which is top secret and must be opened at home so as not to spoil the surprise for others!), and then the birthday dance begins. If that weren't enough, the principal bestows a birthday blessing upon him or her during chapel service. It was incredible and I'm so glad I got to be there to see this!

All I Want For Christmas

Sugar originally wanted a horse for Christmas. We managed to convince her that Santa wouldn't bring a horse to a family that wasn't prepared and didn't have room for a horse. Well, now she wants a sled. So far, we haven't been able to budge her from the sled request, no matter how many times we say that there's not enough snow in this part of Texas to ride one. She insists that, "She's going to use it for something else!" What? We haven't gotten any kind of answer to that. I guess we need to hire a Santa who can tell her that he doesn't bring sleds to little girls in Texas. Anyone? Anyone? Thankfully, Spice is a little easier to please.

Perceptions Are Funny Things, Aren't They?

We received a notice from Sugar's school last week informing us that vision and hearing screenings were being conducted. I asked Sugar whether she had had her eyes and ears checked. She responded with a very convincing no. We continued to discuss her day at school, when suddenly she exclaimed, "Oh! We played 'The Eye and Ear Game'!" Hmmmm. I asked her to describe the ear game for me. She explained, "First you put on these headphones that are a little bit squeezy. Then you listen for a beep and when you hear one, you raise your hand." She went on to tell me about the eye game: "You stand way back at the green tape. There's robot fingers on the wall and some go this way, some go that way, some go like this and some go like this. *turning her hand to point up, down, left, and right* You have to look at the chart and tell which way they're going." "Sooooo," I asked. "You haven't had your eyes and ears tested yet?" "Mommy!" she replied. "I already told you I haven't had my tests!!!" ***Disclaimer: Sugar passed her screenings with flying colors. This is a photo from last year when she decided to try Paprika's glasses on for size.

I Can't Believe I Haven't Posted Since August!!!

Wow...it's been a while. A LONG while! I've intended for weeks, *ahem*, months, to put something new up, but it seems that the blog is constantly falling to the bottom of the priority list. Tonight was the Burleson Christmas Parade and we rode the HCCA float along with several other families and Ms. Werner, the school administrator. It was WICKED cold, but we had a great time. Spice LOVED throwing candy out to the other kids on the street, although they had to risk their very lives to get it since her tosses never managed to land very far from the trailer. Sugar took herself right up to have a seat by Ms. Werner and spent most of the parade sitting with her. I was only slightly jealous. Actually, I was quite proud of her. She can be very shy and clingy at times, but it's obvious that she feels very comfortable with her teacher and Ms. Werner. We are so glad that we chose to send her to HCCA!

Our Little Kindergartener

Sugar made the transition into kindergarten last Tuesday flawlessly!. (I, on the other hand, had a little difficulty!) She has a fantastic teacher who has so many amazing things planned for this year and she loves going to class each day. Paprika, once again proving his superior mental capacity, told Spice that she would be going to Grammygarten each day while Sugar was at kindergarten, which seemed to appease her quite nicely. We are so excited to see our Sugar blossom into a confident, independent little girl and we can't wait to see all of the things that she will accomplish this year.

Sugar, The Artist

Sugar loves doing craft projects, whether it involves coloring, painting, foam stickers, or whathaveyou. So when we found The Art Barn this summer (thanks, Michelle!) Sugar was hooked. She has thus far made a bowl for Grammy, a pumpkin plate for Nana (sorry, no photo of that one!),
a rainbow box for her cousin's birthday next month (shhhh!) and a unicorn box for herself.
I even joined in the fun and made this tile collage cross.

Our First REAL Emergency

On Tuesday night, we experienced our first SERIOUS child-related emergency since Sugar was born a little over five years ago. As we prepared to go to Nana's house after dinner, the girls went out to get in the car ahead of us. Spice took the opportunity to play for a moment and was bitten by some type of ant (we think) as she stood in the grass by our driveway. As I was coming outside, Sugar was racing into the house to tell us that Spice had been bitten. We put some StingEze on her foot, gave her a bag of ice and proceeded to head over to Nana's house. On our 5-minute drive, Sugar began to complain that her 'lip wouldn't go up'. When I looked in the backseat I thought that her lip had gotten numb because she was putting the ice pack on her mouth. As we neared Nana's driveway, she began to complain that her 'eyes were going down'. I looked in the backseat again to discover that her face appeared to be swelling. When we stopped, Paprika jumped out to check her, while I ran into Nana's to find out whether she had any Benadryl on hand. She didn't. So Paprika, being the level-headed, rational person in the family, thought to rush back home and get a hefty dose of Benadryl in her before we attempted to go to the nearest emergency clinic. The Benadryl had the desired effect....her swelling did not worsen...and the CareNow clinic physician prescribed a steroid, which we were able to fill the next morning. Two days later, her swelling has almost disappeared, and she's back to her normal wild self. Thanks be to God for His faithfulness to us and His care for our little Spice! And now here's Spice's version:

And They Swam And They Swam All Over The Dam!

For the last couple of weekends, we've had the pleasure of spending Sunday afternoon swimming in the pool at my brother's best friend's parent's house. Got that? The girls just love going 'swimming', although neither of them can swim yet. Sugar would still rather die than go under water, and Spice isn't too much better about it. However, I am finally seeing some progress and now have hope that maybe one day they will actually be able to swim. Look at Sugar floating on her back and swimming all over the pool! She even jumped into the shallow end by herself. (Okay, I bribed her with the Swan Lake Barbie movie, but it still counts!) There's just a tiny section of Spice doing her thing, but that's because everything you see in that section is everything she does in the pool. She's just gotten comfortable floating with the life jacket in the last couple of weeks...up until then she would have a panic attack when she couldn't touch bottom any more. So she's making progress, too. I predict that we'll have a couple of swimmers next summer!

Little Gymnasts

Every summer for the last three years, Sugar and Spice have gone to the Little Gym for classes. It's one of their favorite things about summer and they really look forward to going to their one-hour class each week. This year I've really been impressed with how much their confidence has increased! Both girls are walking on the high beam without assistance and jumping off the end and both of them can do a basket hang from the bar (hands and feet on the bar). See for yourself!

Spice Strikes Again

So we're in the local Wal Marts one day last week and we picked up a block of Monterrey Jack for some Chile Rellenos that Paprika was planning to cook up (yes, they were delicious!). I was focused on trying to find Sugar a pair of lightweight navy shorts that she could wear under her school uniform jumper. Suddenly Sugar comments that Spice (who was seated in the grocery part of the basket) is 'trying to bite that cheese'. I reach back and take the package away from her to find that Sugar has not quite captured the enormity of the situation with her assessment. This is what I saw:I assure you that I have not altered or intensified the results of Spice's efforts in any way. Notice the teeth marks?! To make matters worse, she continued to try to get the block of cheese back throughout the remainder of our time in the store. I'm thinking maybe I should schedule an appointment with her doctor....I'm sure it's a calcium deficiency.

Sugar Shaker!

Sugar received a hula hoop for her birthday last Friday, which she immediately identified as her favorite gift....along with her Belle doll, her unicorn, her Alaskan doll, her kitty, her new clothes, etc., etc. (She wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, dontcha know!) Anyway, she has been practicing with her new hula hoop every day and doggone if she's not hula hooping already!

A Picture Paints A Thousand Words, Oh Yes It Does!

Both Sugar and Spice have now had their first experience at the wondrous place known as the Build-A-Bear Workshop. I took Spice for her birthday in April after she received a gift card from her uncle. May I introduce you to Princess Aurora Royale? No amount of coaxing could convince Spice that PAR needed any type of clothing, accessories, or other paraphernalia. She finally acquiesced to a small bouquet of flowers on her front right leg, but later had second thoughts and promptly removed it.
And, here is Princess Estella Royale. Sugar sincerely apologizes for the lack of fancy gold and silver sandals, a skirt, and several other items that her cruel mother would not allow her to purchase. Painfully, she was limited to only two additional items of dress and was thus unable to properly adorn her new companion.
Yep, these pics pretty much sum up my girls' personalities.

Cowtown Camera Girl Rocks!

A couple of weeks ago my friend and colleague Nell Valdez, who is not only a super librarian, but also an extremely talented photographer, got some new equipment. She offered a free sitting to someone who responded to her blog post and I won! Last Wednesday I took the girls to her new house (it's beautiful!) so that she could shoot them wearing some tutus that she purchased for her business. Here are a few shots from that session:

After the tutu shots, we went to a nearby ice cream store so that Nell could get some summertime ice cream cone pictures. I haven't seen those yet, but I'm sure that they will be just as good! Nell has lots of interesting ideas and an amazing eye for what will make a fantastic photo, plus she shoots her subjects very naturally so the finished product shows the real expressions and smiles that you love. You can see more photos from our tutu session, as well as more of Nell's work at here blog, Cowtown Camera Girl. Here's the link to the complete session!

Oh, Those Summer Nights!

Except for the unbearable heat, summer is my favorite time of year. Our schedule, which can be hectic and exhausting during the rest of the year, slows to a crawl. Or maybe it just seems that way because I'm not working! Anywho, today was one of those great summer days. After a relaxing afternoon, we took the girls to Burleson where we had ice cream for dinner....YUM!

Then we headed over to the park to play until the sun went down.

Sugar and Spice especially love this particular park because it has two play areas separated by a creek, which of course is very nearly dried up at this point in the summer. Crosssing the creek, looking for animals, and throwing rocks in the water are just as fun to them as the slides, swings, and monkey bars. I just love these carefree days of summer....

Spice Does Her Librarian Mother Proud!

I know, I know. Spice is NOT actually READING this book. She has memorized it. But, still....my baby is taking her first steps toward reading and that does my heart so good. Just look at how proud she is!

Sugar's First Time Behind the Wheel

While we were in Juneau visiting our dear friends, we were treated to a little boat ride. Sugar took over the captain duties briefly and actually did quite well for her first time behind the wheel. She was quite proud of herself, as you'll see in this video.

Overhead one morning last week....

Sugar: "Mommy, why do you always smell bad?"
Mommy: "I don't know what you're talking about. Do you mean my breath?"
Sugar: "Yes!"
Mommy: "It's probably because I just took my vitamins."
Sugar: "Will you smell better later?"

Gee, I certainly hope so....