My Teenager

I write blog posts in my head everyday that never get typed.  I didn't realize how long it had been until I went to upload some pictures and found these from Andy's birthday and realized the last post I wrote was before that.  A long time before that.  Sorry, I'll try to get better.  I probably won't, but I'll try.

In the meantime, here are some pictures from Andy's birthday.  What an amazing kid he is.  Yes, he has very little tolerance for his sisters and is not very nice to them, but he is smart and funny and has a great sense of humor otherwise.  He can be grumpy, as all teenagers can be, but overall I would take him over most of the kids his age.  I can't wait to see where this kid goes in life, but will truly enjoy the next five years we have with him before he flies the coop.

Happy Belated Birthday Andy!

Nobody Wants To Be The Donkey

When I was in high school, like most high schoolers do, I said "me and" a lot.  My parents always corrected me and told me I sounded ignorant, but I didn't care because I was in high school and thought I was awesome.  Oh, now I know where Andy gets some of that ridiculous level of confidence from.  Anyway, it wasn't until I was in college and then an adult that it really drove me crazy when people used that incorrectly.  We don't have that issue with Andy that much, either because he never does anything with other people or he actually says it correctly, but the girls are always together and talking about each other and "me and Sarah" or "me and Amanda" is always coming out of their mouths.

I had tried and tried to get them to say it correctly, but nothing took.  Until Charlie taught them a little phrase he learned when he was in elementary school in Mexico.  Whenever they would say me first, the teacher would say "el burro por delante" which means "the donkey goes first".  Now, the girls never want to be the donkey, so they quickly started putting the other person first and then adding themselves to the end.  They still have trouble with the me and I part, but they are getting much better.  In fact, the other day we were in the car with my friend, Theresa, and her girls, Kelly and Sarah (yes, it's very confusing to have a sister Sarah and a good friend Sarah).  Amanda and Theresa's Sarah were sitting in the middle row and Sarah said something about "me and Kelly" and Amanda corrected her and told her that it was "Kelly and I".  I couldn't help but smile and give her a silent atta boy!

Party Planner

This week Andy had a social studies homework assignment where he had to interview an adult on, well, how to be an adult.  He asked me questions such as how do you get into college, how do you do your finances and what do you do to relieve stress.  The last question he asked me was what do you do for the family?  Oh son, I could go on and on, but I basically said that I did the dishes, cooked meals, made sure the kids got to all of their activities, kept the house picked up and did all the crazy behind the scenes errands.  That was it, pretty simple.

Well, yesterday was Charlie's birthday.  Amanda, who is six and never really gets a real birthday party because she has a summer birthday and she's the third child, insisted that we throw Charlie a surprise birthday party.  So this week I ran around town ordering and then picking up balloons and birthday plates, getting streamers and hanging them up, getting a birthday cake and a fancy dinner to prepare (but we had steak so he had to cook it!) for his suprise.  Unfortunately in the end the surprise was on her because he was flying home from a trip yesterday and was able to catch an earlier connecting flight so he got home at 3p instead of 6p and got to see the surprise before she got home and had a chance to yell "surprise".  Regardless he was surprised and the girls were so happy to have a decorated kitchen.

Last night as I was sitting in the office next to Andy I told him he could add one more thing to that question on his homework assignment that asked what I did for the family.  Party Planner.

A New Beginning

It's been a long time since I've written.  A really long time.  Holidays have passed, trips have passed, the kids have been in and out of school and back in.  I feel bad.  Bad for not writing, bad for not keeping everybody current on what we are up to, bad for not putting all the stories down.  But here's the thing.  When I started this blog it was because I needed a place to vent.  To tell all my crazy stories of the things that the kids did.  Stories that wouldn't be important in six weeks or six months or six years, but were really important to me at that time.  I was drowning in diapers and babies and pysical therapy and doctor visits and trying to fix everything all while being sleep deprived and not understanding the joy of lattes.

Now that Amanda is in school full time my perspective and frustration level has changed.  The kids are older and a little more mature and sometimes I can even reason with them and they have empathy and everything is flowing harmoniously most of the time.  Yes, they still drive me crazy on a weekly basis, but it works itself out so much easier and occasionally they recognize what they've done and apologize.  And yes, Charlie still travels more than I would like because I miss him and love him but now the kids can get themselves dressed and brush their own teeth and get their own breakfast and I'm kind of there to assist rather than do it all.

I was telling Charlie last night that I like my 40s so much more than my 30s because now I can rediscover who I am and I'm not in crisis mode all the time and we can just all work together as a family.  So I've been quiet over the last month or so because I don't have a lot of crazy stories to tell and we've just been enjoying time together and because other than May, December is the most crazy and time consuming month of the year for me, making all the Merry happen, that at the end of the day I don't want to sit down and write about it.  Sometimes I want to write about it in the middle of the day or when I'm in my car, but by the time the kids are in bed and everything is quite I don't want to get off the couch and tell you about it.

So I've sat.  For over six weeks.  But now I'm sad that I don't have a recount of what we did, besides enjoy our time together, because I hope that one day the kids (when they have kids of their own and have an excellent perspective) can look back at this blog and understand me a little better and everything I did for them and with them.  To understand where I was coming from and realize how much I truly love them, no matter how much they drive me crazy.  This thought, as well as the fact that Andy only has five short years left with us, gives me a renewed interest in sharing our stories with you and getting them out there.  As well as the fact that every time I talk to my mom she tells me how much she loves my blog.

Even though I hate recaps, I will just say that we had a very busy, but lovely, December.  As always we had a fantastic time seeing family and friends in Miami over Thanksgiving and are so glad that we have that time with them.  We wish we could see them more.  We came home to a decorated house, which relieved a lot of stress for me, and jumped into baking and gift creating for all the elementary school teachers.  Andy's teachers got shut out this year now that he's in middle school, but I am okay with that.  We got a little crafty this year and the girls and I made ornaments where you pour paint inside and swirl it around.  They turned out great and we kept a few of our favorites for ourselves and gave even more away.  I took Sarah on a fun and amazing trip to New York the second weekend of December.  I took Andy when he was seven so Sarah was way past due.  It happened to be an unseasonably warm weekend for December so we walked almost everywhere and we had a great time seeing the Rockettes and a Broadway show (Matilda) and visiting the Empire State Building, the Peanuts windows at Macy's and the top of the Rockafeller Center.  We also got a bonus day with April from New Jersey and got the meet the newest addition to their family, the adorable Alara.  Hopefully it will be a weekend Sarah never forgets.

We didn't do anything else spectacular in December, just hung out, had Hanukkah and Christmas at home and then Christmas with my family in Michigan.  We came home with a few days to spare, rang in the New Year with friends and the kids went back to school last week.  December in a nutshell.

So I will make more of an effort to share, the good and the bad and the boring, so we will have a little record of what goes on in our lives.  All I can tell you is that right now I feel very blessed with where we are in our lives, with our family and friends and where we live, and I hope the shit doesn't hit the fan.

Jumping the Gun

We went over to a friend's house on Thursday for a Girl Scout meeting and I saw that she had her Christmas decorations up already.  I started to give her a hard time about it, and then she told me how they are never home for Christmas, they are leaving to see family on the 19th, and that her kids are little and she wants her decorations up as long as possible so they can enjoy them.  That rang home with me.

I thought about it more and more and how it applied to us.  We never put our decorations up before Thanksgiving.  On the years we come home on Saturday we may put them up the Sunday after Thanksgiving, but it's usually the weekend after and it's never long enough.  For the first year in I don't know how long we actually had no plans the weekend before Thanksgiving so we decided to take the plunge.

We put the tree and inside decorations up on Saturday and were going to wait on the lights, but the weather can be unpredictable here (two years ago we never put our outside lights up because it was always freezing and snowy on the weekends and then it was too late) and yesterday was beautiful so yesterday afternoon Charlie, Andy and I took care of the outdoor lights while the girls rode their bikes.  See, unpredictable.

As a result, I have a little less stress and we get ready to leave for Miami for Thanksgiving, and one less thing to worry about when I get back.  I've got my Christmas cards ordered too, now just to write that letter...

Entrepreneurs

On Monday night we got about eight inches of snow.  On Tuesday the kids had their first ever Snow Day.  They've had snow days in Texas before that were really ice days, no snow but you can't get anywhere because it's too icy, but never a true snow day where there was actually snow on the ground and you're stuck at home.

Andy came into my room just after 7a while I was trying to enjoy the fact that I didn't have to get up for anything that morning and asked if he could shovel the driveway for $20.  I immediately said yes, because I didn't want to do it and Charlie was out of town.  I started thinking about it a little more and realized that when I was 12 years old, or now for that matter, my dad would have never given me money to shovel the driveway.  It was just expected, I was told to go out and shovel the driveway and I did.  I grumbled about it, but I did it.  But here's the thing.  Last year at the beginning of the winter when we had our first big snow a kid about Andy's age came to the door and asked if he could shovel our driveway for $20.  Again we did not want to do it so we happily gave that kid $20 to do it.  Andy was a little miffed and we decided that if we are willing to pay someone to do a job for us, why not keep it in the family and let him do it for the same amount?  I'm not sure that jives with the "contributing to the family" thing or whatever we are supposed to be teaching our kids these days, but I think things have changed from when we were kids.

Anyway, the snow was heavy and thick and the job wasn't as easy as he thought it would be.  They don't keep those kids home from school for just anything!  He got about 3-4 rows shoveled and then decided it was too much and came in.  That would have been it for him and I would have seen myself outside shoveling until Sarah decided that she wanted some money and she was going to do it.  Man that kid is growing on me.  So she got on all her gear and went out to shovel which made Andy go back out there which even got Amanda out there for a bit but I'm not sure if she made more of a mess or helped them.

In the end, my driveway did get shoveled and all the of the kids got some money.  A win-win for everybody.

All I Want For Christmas

I've been trying to get the kids to put together their Christmas lists, but they haven't been very interested.  This morning I got an email from my sister-in-law asking what they wanted so I thought I would try a different approach.

Me:  Kids, Aunt Nanci sent me an email today asking what you wanted for Christmas.  What should I tell her?

Amanda:  Candy.

Me:  No.

Amanda:  Money.

Me:  No.

Amanda:  Bounce House.

Me:  No.

Amanda:  Van.

Me:  No.

Amanda:  Unicorn.

Me:  No.

Amanda:  Trampoline.

Me:  No.

Amanda:  Pool.

Me:  No.


Looks like someone will not be getting anything for Christmas unless her list gets a little more realistic.

Kid Quote of the Day

Sarah:  Mommy, Sarah means princess.

Me:  Yep, that's right.

Amanda:  Mommy, Amanda means unicorn.

Me:  Um no, no it doesn't.

Kid Quote of the Day

"I hate my Tooth Fairy, I want a new one!"

- Amanda, after finding out that the Tooth Fairy left glitter on the pillow of one of her classmates.  Way to make it difficult for everybody else Ainsley's mom!

Kid Quote of the Day

The craziness of Halloween is finally over and as we had a slight lull in conversation in the car today, Amanda says to me, "Mommy, how many days until Christmas?"

In case you were wondering, it's 53.  53 days until Christmas, 53 days until we see Grandma and Grandpa and all the cousins from my side of the family.  54 days until she starts asking how many days it is until her birthday.  Please give me patience.

Hallo When?

Amanda:  When is Halloween?

Me:  Saturday.

Amanda:  How many days is that?

Me:  Three.  Today is Wednesday.  Thursday, Friday, Saturday, three days.

Amanda:  I don't get it.

Me:  The day after today is Thursday, the day after that is Friday, the day after that is Saturday.  Three days.

Amanda:  How about if you just tell me on the day.

London

We left for London on Friday afternoon.  The kids and I were flying on miles and the best city for us to fly out of was London, so we decided to make a weekend out of it.  We decided to ride the train instead of fly to avoid some of the hassles of the airport, but leaving the train station was very similar to an airport.  You still had to fill out a customs form, show your passports and go through security and x-ray.

The ride was fun and relaxing and the girls enjoyed getting to sit across from one another with a table in between.  You barely even notice the short period of time that you are actually under water because you are in a tunnel.  Unfortunately for Amanda there were no windows in the tunnel and you could not see the fish as you were whizzing by on the train.

When we arrived in London we couldn't find a cab right away so we decided to try the underground.  Bad idea, at least with kids and luggage in tow.  There were people everywhere walking so fast who had no patience or tolerance for us getting our bearings.  So, back to find the taxi line and we finally were on our way to the hotel.  Charlie found a very cute bed and breakfast for us close to a university. Our room was pretty basic, four small beds jammed into a big room, but it did the trick and we were only staying two nights.  After we dropped off our bags we walked to a local pub for dinner.  We got a few funny looks from the patrons and the kids thought it was a bit interesting, but we were mostly just happy that we could order and communicate with the bartender in our native tongue.

The next morning we got up ready to see London.  We had one day and wanted to show the kids as much as possible.  First we went to the half priced ticket booth and got tickets for that evening for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Then we jumped on one of those big hop-on-hop-off buses that takes you all over the city.  Kind of cheesy, but we got to sit and listen about the history of London and we saw the entire city.  We got off at the Tower of London to see the crown jewels.  Andy enjoyed listening to the humor of the Beefeaters giving the tours, but we couldn't keep up because there were at least 50 people trying to listen and the girls were bored and staying in the back where you couldn't hear.

By the end of the day we were bused out and had a quick dinner of cake and ice cream before we headed to the theater.  When we got our tickets our choices were way back in the balcony or for a little more the very front row, so the kids got to sit front and center.  We were so close we could see the little microphones on the actors.  The kids loved the play, especially Sarah who had read the book in second grade so was very familiar with the story.  Our long day in London was an amazing end to a very long trip.

The next day we flew home.  We didn't get home until after 7p on Sunday night and the kids had school on Monday.  It took us several days to get back on schedule, and for me to get caught up on all the laundry, but it was worth it.  The kids have some wonderful memories of the trip and occasionally with throw out something about Paris or Venice or London and it makes me smile.  I love that we have instilled the love of travel in them.

Paris

We woke up really early on Monday morning for our flight to Paris.  Like it's-still-really-dark-out early.  The hotel was right by the train station and we didn't want to mess with a taxi or Uber so early in the morning so we took the train to the airport.  I love European public transportation, it is so incredibly easy.

The only thing we had planned for Paris that day was to get there and get checked in to the apartment that Charlie had rented on AirB&B.  We didn't want to schedule anything and then miss it because our flight was delayed or cancelled, and that worked out pretty well since we were arriving to our third city of the trip.  The place Charlie found to stay was amazing.  It was a two bedroom apartment with a room for us and a room for the girls and a double futon in the living room for Andy.  It had two showers and one toilet room, although one of the showers was tiny (according to Andy it was too small for him), and a full kitchen with a good-sized refrigerator (for Europe) and a dish washer.  The best part was the view from the huge living room window of the top half of the Eiffel Tower.  Unfortunately I didn't really get any good pictures.  I took one of Charlie the day we arrived and then remembered I need to take more the night before we left but the next morning it was so foggy you couldn't see the top of the tower.

I don't want to give you a day by day run down of what we did because that's kind of boring, but I will say we did a lot considering we were only there for about four days and we had three kids in tow.  I also spend about two of those days by myself with the kids, which went very well but by the end I was tired.  Tired of walking, tired of the weather and tired of being in a place where English was not the first language.  Mentally and physically tired.

Don't worry, we took the kids to all the hot spots.  We did a fantastic Eiffel Tower tour and even Charlie and I learned new things about the tower and the surrounding area.  We spend a lovely afternoon on the hill of Sacre Coeur, saw Notre Dame and the Arc De Triomphe.  The kids and I went to the palace of Versailles, which they really like but by the end decided they had seen enough palaces for one vacation, and I took them to the courtyard of the Louvre to see the pyramids.  We didn't go inside because they would have been bored.  Heck, the last time I went in I was bored.  We tried to go to the Musee D'Orsay, one of my favorite museums in Paris, but it was our last day and the line was so long we wouldn't have gotten to see much.

I did sneak in a fun kid day while Charlie was at his conference and took the kids to EuroDisney, or as they like to call it Disneyland Paris.  There were a few things that were different than the park in California, like the hours and the fireworks show, but a lot of it was the same.  It was a fun day of doing something totally for the kids and not making them learn anything.

The only bummer about our time in Paris was the weather.  The first day we got there it was sunny and warm and we hoped that it would last the whole week, but we weren't that lucky.  We got a little sun on Tuesday for our Eiffel Tower tour and then it got overcast and windy for the rest of the week.  The day we went to Disneyland it was so cold I finally bought a second sweatshirt for the girls and myself to wear over the sweatshirts we brought and I bought gloves for all of the kids and myself.  That made a huge difference, but I was still cold.

So, Paris was awesome minus the weather.  The kids got to eat crepes, Andy ate an entire baguette in one sitting (minus about one inch of it), Andy mastered the Paris metro system and we spent so much money on vending machine candy you wouldn't even believe it.  I know where I get that from, my dad.  Except he hoards it and keeps it forever and the kids and I ate that stuff right up!  It was kind of bad because if I had coin Euros in my pocket, even if they were the equivalent of $1 or $2, we would drop them into the vending machines like they were dimes or nickels.  We rode all over the city on the Metro and there were vending machines at all the Metro stops so you can see where we might have spent a lot of money on all the amazing, delicious, different and new candies.

However by Friday I was done.  Worn down and cold and tired of trying to speak my horrible 25 year old French.  The fog rolled in and it started to rain and we were all just done.  I was more than ready to head to London for the last full day of our trip and then on home.

Fish Are Friends, Not Food

Amanda:  What are we having for dinner?

Me:  Fish.

Amanda:  Fish is for babies.

Me:  No, fish is for big girls.  You know what's for babies?

Amanda:  What?

Me:  Whining about what's for dinner.

Amanda:  No, whining is for big girls.


Ugh, I really hate the whining stage.  Unfortunately it's the longest one of all.  Amanda is full swing and Sarah is almost out of it.  Just a few more years...

Frankfurt and Vienna

We left on Wednesday after school for Frankfurt.  The kids had Friday off and it was the end of the term for Andy, so they only missed one, relatively unimportant, day of school for our trip.  Plus, all the teachers thought it was pretty cool that we were taking the kids to Europe so were more than accommodating.  We got very little sleep on the plane and landed in Frankfurt mid-morning.  Before we left Amanda was really nervous about having to sleep on the plane and was convinced we were going to crash and die.  When we got off the plane she had decided that she wanted to live on an airplane.  Tired and all I would declare that a success.

Charlie had a meeting at 1:30p so we got a room at the airport hotel so we could shower and change, but we were flying on to Vienna that night so we didn't get too comfortable.  After he left for his meeting, I took the kids into town.  Frankfurt was tough.  We were so tired and the only words I know in German are Thank You and You're Welcome, which doesn't get you far.  Plus, the trains were not as easy as in other countries like Paris or London.  But, we finally figured it out, although Andy (who knows everything) was convinced I was an idiot, and hopped on a train for a few stops to the nearby town.  We were looking for a certain restaurant that the concierge had recommended, but as we were walking by a different restaurant the waiter sort of made us come in to eat and I was way too tired to fight.  So, our first and only meal in Germany was at an Italian restaurant, but none of us cared too much.

We only had a few hours so we walked around the cute little town, got ice cream, bought candy - you know, the important stuff.  We were all back to the hotel by 7p and then to the airport to head to Vienna.  The next morning Charlie left again for more meetings and the kids and I were on our own.  We found a cute little pastry shop and then a park where we ran into a lady who was from Boulder (crazy!) and a group of school children that all spoke English (turns out the owner was from California and started an English Kindergarten - which there was ages 3-6).  Not at all what I was expecting but kind of cool.

When Charlie got back we had dinner and then went to a music museum that was supposed to be awesome but I didn't think was that interesting.  Oh well, at least we can say we've been there.  On Saturday we went to a palace and then on Sunday went to a little amusement park with a thing like a Ferris Wheel where you went around and could see the whole city.  This is the part that was different about traveling with the kids.  You can't take them to all the stuff you want to do and expect them to be quite and good and interested.  They are interested to a point, but you just have to do some stupid, fun, kid stuff too.  So when people ask me "Did you have the best time?", we had a great time but it was different from every other time I have been to Europe because we had to make it more kid focused.

I was happy to leave Vienna on Monday morning for Paris for multiple reasons, but we sure did enjoy the nice big breakfast at the hotel and the candies at the front desk.

Fall Break

A few months ago Charlie realized that he had to attend a conference in Paris over the kids' fall break.  Our solution?  Bring the kids!  Charlie would have to be in meetings here and there, but would get to spend both weekends and a few weekdays with us.  It would be better than being home all week with nothing to do and having him gone.  So after weeks of planning, he put it all together and we spent last week, and a couple days from the previous week, in Europe.

Overall it was a great trip, but this is just the teaser.  We got home on Sunday night so we are still jet lagged and I have spent most of the last two days doing laundry so the story will have to wait another day.  I will say I am so blessed that this trip worked out and we were able to go, it is just amazing to share the world and our love of travel with our kids.

Fifty Shades of Inappropriate

Yesterday I was having a conversation with the girls while I was driving.  We have some of the best, funniest conversations in the car.  I think they are just extra silly when they are sitting next to each other, strapped into the car without the possibility of escape.  Amanda was asking me what's my favorite shade of blue.  She's not satisfied that my favorite color is blue, she needs to know what shade of blue.  Then Sarah joined the conversation.

Sarah:  There's a book called "Fifty Shades of Gray".

Me:  Yes, but that book isn't really appropriate for kids.

Sarah:   Why is it inappropriate for kids?  It sounds boring.


As I was trying to decide how and if I was going to answer that question, Amanda came to the rescue.


Amanda:  I'm going to write a book called "1000 Shades of Blue".  Then I will tell everybody to read that instead of "Fifty Shades of Inappropriate".

Smart A**

Last week were Andy's parent/teacher conferences.  In our district they do "student led" conferences, which means your student comes and tells you what they've been working on and then you spend a few minutes with the teacher and they tell you a little about your kid.  I'm not going to sugar coat it, I think student led parent/teacher conferences are stupid.  I don't understand them.  I want to go to the conference and talk openly about my kid and find out if he is being good or bad or respectful or not and I don't feel that the teacher can honestly answer that question with my kid sitting right there starting at them and waiting for an answer.  I could be wrong, but I don't think I am.  I think this new way of conferences is being dictated by helicopter parents such as the one my neighbor overhead in one of her daughter's 8th grade conferences who asked the teacher to make sure her kid drank his water when he got to her class because by sixth period he was a little dehydrated.  Yeah, like the teacher has nothing better to do in a class of 13 year olds than to make sure one of them is drinking enough water.

Anyway, Andy was fully aware how I feel about these conferences because I may have gone off about them at the dinner table on more than one instance last week.  That was because a) I hate them and b) he was supposed to be babysitting the girls while I went to them but since I had to bring him I had to make other arrangements and ask another favor of one of my friends to watch the girls yet again.  Luckily I have nice friends.  Prior to the conferences, each of the teachers had the kids fill out a personal evaluation as to what they have learned so far this year, how they think the school year is going, if they are struggling with anything...you get the idea.  Then when we got to the conferences they were supposed to share the evaluation with the parents, show them a few things they have been working on so far, and then we got a few minutes with the teacher.

Knowing my frustration with the situation, Andy decided that he didn't need to take the evaluations overly serious.  His answers were not disrespectful, but some were a little sarcastic.  One of the statements from his math evaluation was my favorite by far.

 Statement:  This is what I have learned this year from having to collaborate with classmates:

Andy's response:  Be a good colorer, or you can't help.


Man, I love that kid and I sure hope he is learning something besides the fact that his coloring skills are lacking.  By the way, his conferences went fine, it wasn't as bad as I thought, he is being respectful to his teachers and fellow students and is currently rocking straight As.

My Little Giant

When I was a kid, about once a year my mom would make me try on everything in my dresser and closet to determine what still fit and what I needed for the year to come.  The process was torture and I hated it.  I'm pretty sure, especially now that I am a mom, that she hated it as well.  It took forever and was boring and I moaned and groaned through the entire process.

A couple weeks ago Andy informed me that he had outgrown his pants and needed some new ones.  Except he didn't do it nicely, because that's not always how he operates these days.  Instead he just barked at me, "Buy me pants".  I fought to ignore his statement, went upstairs and counted to ten, and then came back and told him that I would be happy to purchase new pants for him after we went through his closet and dresser to determine what he had that actually fit.  What's the saying?  Paybacks are hell.

One day after school this week we holed ourselves in his room and went through all his clothes.  I'm pretty sure that we've only done this one other time in the past three years we've lived here because it is so unenjoyable.  We found multiple things that still had the tags on them that probably haven't fit in two years and other things that fit up until a month ago.  The kid is growing like crazy and will be taller than Charlie and me by Christmas.

By the time we finished, we had two good sized bags of clothes to give to two of the neighbor kids that are a couple years younger than Andy, and another bag that will be donated.  He can close he dresser drawers once again because now he only has four pairs of jeans that I bought him in the spring, two long sleeve shirts and a short stack of t-shirts and shorts (that will not fit past this fall).  As soon as Old Navy has a good sale, or we have no choice because it starts to get really cold, we are going on a serious shopping spree.

He can't fit into kids' sizes anymore and now is wearing men's small.  Which means the price of his clothes just doubled but he's still growing out of them as fast as a kid.  I really don't see him slowing down anytime soon.

Despite his size, he still likes to be tucked in at night and read with us and even snuggle and hold our hands once in a while.  But I don't see that lasting much longer.  The other day he said he couldn't believe he was going to be in high school in two years and then said, "Where did the years go?".  Funny, I thought that was my line.

Where indeed my little man.

Concert Bound

About a year ago Charlie and I bought tickets to the Taylor Swift 1989 concert.  Yes, they went on sale almost 12 months in advance.  Luckily we were on top of it.  We bought enough for our family and a few extras which allowed us to invite a few friends.

My friend, Larisa, and her daughter, Natalie, flew in for Labor Day weekend to hang out and go to the concert with us.  On Sunday we took them to Garden of the Gods, our favorite place to take out of town guests since we've been there more places than anywhere else, and then came home and headed out to the concert.  We had dinner first and were forced to sit at the bar because we didn't know we needed reservations.  While there Sarah said, "Mommy, it's so much fun to sit at the bar."  Man are we going to be in so much trouble with her some day.

Sarah and Andy got to go to the Taylor Swift Concert in Miami in November of 2011, but this was Amanda and Natalie's first concert.  Amanda was so excited when it started and kept screaming, "I love you Taylor, I'm your biggest fan, I want to marry you" but about an hour in she was ready to go home.  Sarah and I had a blast and because we listen to the album a ridiculous amount in the car knew (almost) all the words and sang along to it all.  Charlie and Andy didn't sit with us because we couldn't get that many seats together, but I heard that Andy knew all the words too.

Overall we had a great time and were so glad our friends could come visit and share in the fun!


The girls in their concert shirts before the show.  Natalie is only a year older than Sarah, but she is on the tall side and Sarah and Amanda are on the short side.

Sarah waiting for the concert to start.

Amanda waiting for the concert to start.