They're So Different

Sometimes it's hard to believe my daughters all came from the same parents and are growing up in the same house. They are so different from eachother!
Cecelia is a breeze. A total breeze. I can't even express how easy she is. Every once and a while I get the whole "I know!"...but that I can handle.
Delaney is hot and cold. She is super funny - probably the funniest one of the three, to be honest. I just told her yesterday that she's just like her Uncle Dave. She is also (still) the most sensitive and if the teeniest tiniest thing doesn't go right she has a really hard time dealing with it.
Laila is sweet and angry. She has no fear when it comes to speaking her mind to her family or anyone else in her path. On the other hand she slept with me for a while last night and her little face just made me melt.

I love having the mix of personalities in the house - it keeps things exciting.

One of those things

I'm sitting in the living room and Laila is in the bathroom singing at the top of her lungs "I ain't 'fraid of no ghost!"

I didn't even know she KNEW that song! Funny!

Snuck Out

I snuck out of town last week to see my Mom, the boys and their girls for a few days.
We didn't do the usual 500 hours of Mickey...and it was actually a nice break.
I mean, obviously we went on a couple of thrill rides and obviously I came home with a large bag of Mickey souveniers, but that's just par for the course when you're in Orlando.
Mostly, we just spent time together and laughed. We laughed, and laughed and LAUGHED!
And then we laughed some more.

Even though I had a hard time making the decision to go "there" without my family, it ended up being a really fun and really adult-like trip for me.

Sometimes you just have to go with the motto: "Work hard, play hard."

Family

I love my girls equally. I love my parents and they love my brothers and I equally. In my adult life, I cannot remember a single hurtful, mean, or cruel word said between my brothers and I. It's a beautiful thing. Growing up I always just seemed to know that there was no competition for love or for things. It's been easy because my parents have never favored one over the other. They never excluded any of us from anything. My brothers and I have never cared if one brother got this, or the sister got that. We've all had our stuff come up over the years...graduations, weddings, children, buying a home, going back to school, moving from here to there, etc. etc.  Our parents have been there for us when they knew we needed it the most. We've always understood that people have different needs at different times. Even growing up, if someone needed a new pair of tennis shoes it didn't necessarily mean everybody got them. Why buy for all if only one is in need? Taking out the jealousy component in a family makes things so easy.
I hope, hope, hope I can continue this with my own girls because I DO love them equally. I would never favor one over the other. I would never just give and give and give to only one child. Creating jealousy in my children would be devastating to their relationships and our family as a whole. I've seen it happen.
Raising a happy and cohesive family is probably the number one goal of mine. Wish me luck.

**Update to post: There is an entire book dedicated to this topic called Siblings Without Rivalry.

Talking About Daycare Again

Sometimes I don't really understand what the role of daycare provider means to people. I guess I always assumed that parents enrolled their children in daycare so that they can go to work.
However, lately I have noticed a trend of more and more parents putting their kids in daycare when they aren't working and just staying at home.
I understand the importance of socializing your child. I enrolled all my girls in preschool so that they could learn how to get along with other kids their age and take instruction from someone other than their parent.
If you are a stay-at-home parent why would you want to send your child to someone else's house all day everyday? Why wouldn't you find fun things to do with your child yourself?
Some of the parents also have their own kids every other weekend. I have heard over and over again from these parents who have their own children for "their" weekend with them complain (as they're dropping their child off at my house for 9 hours) that they didn't get a break from their kid(s) and how hard it is.
Does this make sense? It does not make any sense to me. I take care of my own kids - plus other people's kids - 7 days a week. They do not go to another house during the week or every other weekend. I am the last person who needs to hear that because you spent two days with your own child that you need a break.
Really?!?
Is this just how things are? Is daycare more than what I thought it was?
I feel so bad for these kids and am glad that I am able to provide a home-away-from-home environment for them.

For my girls, my life, my heart, my everything: Cecelia, Delaney, & Laila

"Yellow"

Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah, they were all yellow.
I came along,
I wrote a song for you,
And all the things you do,
And it was called "Yellow".
So then I took my turn,
Oh what a thing to have done,
And it was all "Yellow."
Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
You know, you know I love you so,
You know I love you so.
I swam across,
I jumped across for you,
Oh what a thing to do.
Cos you were all "Yellow",
I drew a line,
I drew a line for you,
Oh what a thing to do,
And it was all "Yellow."
Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
And you know,
For you I'd bleed myself dry,
For you I'd bleed myself dry.
It's true,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine.
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And all the things that you do.

 

~Coldplay

 

Mommy's song for you, my love.



Dad's 58th Birthday

My Dad's birthday was earlier this month and we had a GREAT time celebrating at Gastof's!
Happy Birthday, Dad!!!!!!