At the store

Lulu: I farted
Me: Me, too.
Lulu: We better flee the scene of the accident

I can see how she would hear that

Lulu calls Don Don & Angie the "Illinois."

Facebooking for my mother on Blogger

Me: (after a long explanation of Judaism, Islam & Christians & Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock) And that's why they fight over that area. Alexia: Sooo Jerusalem is like a cupcake? It's a cupcake they all want but now they only get small bites? Me: I guess that's one way to look at it....

Facebooking for my mother on Blogger

Mike: Does your school have cliques? Kiernan: What's that? Mike: You know, like different groups at school like the Goths, nerds, jocks... Alexia: Eskimos....

Things I find when I get to the bottom of the pile

I'm trying to work on my 2012 resolution and last night, I started getting rid of stuff. I threw some away. Made give away piles. Folded a ton of clothes. Made decisions. The anxiety is so overwhelming when I even think about going through these piles. I was folding clothes tonight and found this little gem under a laundry basket.

It's an unfinished Alexia story. She spoke the story and I wrote it down:

Once upon a time, there was a little witch who had a magic box. She was on born yesterday but she had a beautiful sparkling dress from her parents. The little witch didn't know how to use her magic box that her parents gave her. She tried to use her powers to open the box. Little did she know that there was a ghost in the box. Tap Tap Tap went her broomstick on the top, but when it opened, out came a BOO Ghost. She commanded the ghost to dance until she clapped her hands two times. The ghost said NO....

It looks like there may be a second page floating around here somewhere. I'll let you know.

Fashion Show

Kiernan totally ditched us all weekend in favor of his friends (from what I gather, there's nothing to do around our house....it's boooooooooring). Alexia picked out several new dresses from Penney's yesterday during their sweet sale and wanted to show them off. She spent about an hour last night making flyers for her Fashion Show and posted them all over the house (I just realized I didn't take pictures of them-but will).

She only made it through two changes of clothes before she was done changing clothes and decided to do something else.

The size 6 dress was on sale for $5.00 and the hat was $3.00. A steal!

This dress is also a size 6 but has a lower neckline. The only way I'd let her get it was if she would wear it with an undershirt. She is totally in love with this dress, which surprised me since it's blue and purple and not pink.

Daddy knows that it's polite to bow to royalty.

Her after Fashion Show couture.

There comes a time in every little girl's life....

Where she decides, "To pierce or not to pierce?" Alexia asked me last week why she couldn't pierce her ears like her friend, Ally. "Well," I replied. "You've never asked." She looked at me like Huh? That's all it takes? And immediately asked, "CanIpiercemyears??" (It sounded just like one word.) Sure.
So we were at JCPenney's yesterday and she asked, "Mommy, you said I could get my ears pierced. Can we get them pierced today?" Sure. REALLY? Yes. PINKY PROMISE? Yes. And she made me pinky promise. We stood in the checkout line at Penney's and she just could not stop talking about it. She told the clerk and she told several ladies in line about how she was on her way to get her ears pierced (I don't think she even took a breath.) They were all very amused. She even made me Pinky Promise her one more time while our items were being rung up.
We left through the mall entrance of Penney's and headed straight for Claire's. The assistant manager helped us choose these pretty pink daisy earrings and had her sit in the piercing chair. She gave me the whole run down about what she was going to do, how to clean them, when they can be changed out and started getting the piercing gun ready. She was cleaning her equipment when this very loud, boisterous woman walked by the chair and loudly asked Lexy, "Are you getting your ears pierced?!" Lexy nodded with a little smile. "Oh, you are SO BRAVE!! When I got my ears pierced I cried like a big baby. But I bet you're going to be SO BRAVE!!!" I couldn't even begin to repeat what this woman was telling her but just that she was SO LOUD!
The assistant manager seemed ready but was waiting. I think she realized I was looking at her like, "Aaaaaand??" and said, "I'm just waiting for the store manager." I felt a little panicked for a second. How did this young girl make assistant manager when she doesn't even know how to pierce ears at an ear piercing store? Au contraire! Claire's employees are very smart, indeed. I was asked to stand in front of Lexy in the chair so she was looking directly at me. The assistant manager had one gun at her left ear and the manager had the other at her right. The assistant counted down, 3-2-1 and they both pierced an ear.
Lexy insists she said, "OW!" but she didn't. Her mouth opened in a loud gasp, her eyes filled with tears and her lip started to quiver. She was staring straight ahead, trying so hard not to cry that I almost cried. She looked up at me with gigantic eyes full of pain. Just then, the VERY LOUD woman said, "You did it!! You got your ears pierced!! Ohhhh they're beautiful!! You are SO BRAVE!!! You didn't even cry!" She was so loud that Lexy's head snapped up in surprise and it was like she shook it off. "Yes! I got my ears pierced!!"
I went up to the cashwrap to pay for her earrings and cleansing solution and they put her bottle inside of a cute pink bag that read, "Just Got My Ears Pierced." She carried that all over the mall. Every so often, she'd stop and loudly asked, "What does this say again, mommy?"
She can't WAIT to show her friend, Ally, tomorrow. I'm pretty sure they have the same earrings which will no doubt delight them both.

Kiernan wants his ears pierced. I told him no. Not until he's much older. Then we'll talk.

All about Alexia

All you ever wanted to know about Alexia but were afraid to ask.

She wants you to see her butterfly

Even though it's a bit smooshed

Scenes from Lexy's Birthday at school

Happy Birthday to Lexy!

Today my little baby girl is 5 :)

I bought this baby belly dancing sword 2 years ago with the plans of giving it to her for her 5th birthday. Needless to say, it's not pink or princessey so she wasn't that excited about it. She did give me a pretty smile though.

Lexy's poem for the day

Pumpkin Pumpkin Pumpkin Pie
Must have some before I die
Round as a circle, brown as toast
Or I'll haunt your house as a hungry ghost

Some one year old birthday cuteness

Additional Trashion Show Photos

In complete random order

Trashion Fashion Show

Lexy is now a supermodel!

Let Sleeping Babies Lie

I didn't realize how many pictures I've taken of Lexy sleeping. She is awfully cute asleep and awake.

I don't remember posting these. PRECIOUS!

Bed Head

I couldn't help it. Her hair was everywhere. EVERYWHERE!

Robots Rule!

The 4's class has been working hard on their class robot and it made quite the impression on Lexy:

My house: Where the past & present collide

I have very fond memories of my grandparents farm in Dixie outside of Walla Walla, Washington. My brother and I spent weeks there every summer from the time I was 6 until 15. And every summer I would spend the beginning of my visit almost ritualisically going through their house and over the property looking at playthings and pictures that had made an impression on me in past years. We moved so much when I was younger that it was a nice feeling to know that their farm was frozen in time. Heck, when I was in college they still had pictures of chickens I had drawn and taped real chicken feathers to on their fridge. Over time I would stop checking in on certain toys I had outgrown in favor of more grown up things but it was a nice feeling to know that I could go to those stuffed animals and games anytime I wanted. One of those things, silly as it sounds, was 3 different decks of playing cards. Why playing cards you ask? My gramma didn't have just any old playing card decks. Being from Reno, I was used to casino decks with the edges notched off and plain, old boring casino backs. My gramma's decks had a boy dressed almost like the famous "Blue Boy" painting (except not in blue) with his puppy in a fancy garden, a candle in a unusual candleholder with a little deer standing next to it and this one, a beautiful little blond cherub girl.
When I was little I didn't dare do anything but hold these cards and look at them. They were so crisp and shiny that they were more like works of art then a game. And every year I would open the cabinet they sat in (in their unusual card holder--a two sectioned box with a lift away lid, not at all like the holder you slid your cards into and closed the lid on) to see if they looked like they had been used. I think if they had shown any signs of wear I would have picked them up and played with them. When I got older I would pick up the decks, weed out the ones with the little girl and play Solitaire with them.

My grampa died in 2001 and I made the trek up with my family to clean out the house. My gramma was in a nursing home at this point and wasn't able to give us much in the way of direction as to what to do with her belongings. So we went through and tried to decide what was junk and what meant something to us. And it was hard because I had become attached to a lot of junk in their place over the years. I opened the drawer where she kept her cards. They aren't junk I told myself and scooped them up to put in my box. They're here in my house now and of the three decks, there isn't one complete set. I should throw them away. And they're still there.

So, Lexy saw the two sectioned card holder for the first time a few weeks ago and started to dig. She comes to me with the little girl, "Mommy, is this me?" HA! It *does* look like her. I find it ironic that for years I was drawn to the beautiful little blond girl on the playing card and now the beautiful little blond girl lives with me.