Where's the Heat?

I have broken out the winter clothes again...and it's JUNE! It should be in the 70's and 80's but instead we are suffering through the 50's and rainy gloom. Gotta love weather in Minnesota.

We traveled to the cabin this weekend and had a lot of fun. We got to celebrate Aliyah's birthday with her grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles. Amazingly, her and cousin Charlie only verbally fought with each other. There was a little bit of physical pushing but nothing worth crying over.

Alex was pretty good too, but I did have to pull her aside when Charlie got there to tell her she had to be nice when her sister wanted to play with them and she needed to include her so she didn't feel sad. It's odd because Aliyah and Charlie are only 6 months apart and should be the play buddies, not Alex because she's 2 yrs older.

It's mainly because Aliyah is a loner and has a temper, as does Charlie, so they don't share very well. Alex will just let Charlie do whatever. The big difference between Charlie and Aliyah is that Aliyah IS more social because she goes to daycare all day, where Charlie does not. Plus there is a huge age gap with his siblings, the next oldest being 8 yrs. older. He doesn't get to play with a lot of kids except on play dates and with the neighbors for spurts at a time. He is a sweet intelligent little boy, but I think he is a little spoiled for being able to stay home with his mom and be babied.

So what's Aliyah's deal you may ask and why is she a handful too if she is around kids her age all the time? Well, when I figure that one out, I'll dedicate another whole blog to that answer!

Happy Birthday to my Baby Girl!

It was Aliyah's 4th birthday yesterday and my oh my what a day! She got the royal treatment at daycare, got to wear a crown and pass out special treats she picked out herself. She also finally got her long awaited wedding dress, so she can be a "bride." She even said she was going to marry yours truly.

After she ripped into the presents, she promptly put her dress on and danced around with her new matching "bride" doll. I think she even acted a little like a mini bridezilla, but it was her birthday so I did not care. I even gave her a large package of m&m's that were her very OWN and she did not have to share with her sister. Boy was she happy about that!

And of course we celebrated in style with good ol' Scooby Doo and the gang decorations and mmmmm....cupcakes. Which she promptly decided to eat the "A" shaped candle, decided it tasted gross and spit it out. Apparently I didn't teach her not to eat wax candles!! That story will be repeated for years to come, you can bet.

Happy birthday my sweet Lele.......

The Many Graduations

Tonight Alex has kindergarten "graduation." And in the last two years, she also had preschool graduation. TWICE.

Caps. Gowns. Pictures. Programs. Cookies and Punch. AGAIN.

Don't get me wrong, I love to celebrate successes, no matter how small they seem but what is the deal? I don't remember having these when I was young and they are now in EVERY. SINGLE. GRADE.

Is it the crazy parents of today who want to see little Sally and Dick "graduate" in order to brag to everyone in their family, glorifying it to what it has become today? The endless singing and programs? Or do we do it to see the happy shining faces of our children because they have grown up another year and we want to take in all the happy occasions we can before they leave the nest, so to speak?

Alex is really excited for tonight, we will all pile into the tiny school gym and clap, cheer, smile, and take pictures. And think about the fact that she is now a first grader.

And next year, we will do it all over again. For Aliyah's preschool program, and probably Alex's first grade program. TWO to attend......

The Day After

I am tired. Soooo very tired today. Memorial weekend always takes so much out of me and I say every year I am going to take the Tuesday after off. Well, it's another year and did I take the day off? Nope. What is wrong with me?

Anyway, we stayed home for the weekend and Ben decided to build the shed he's been talking about for a few years now. Personally, I had some reservations on whether it could get done or not (he's not exactly a builder) but now that it's almost done, I'm really excited. One thing about the new shed...it's BIG. I mean like 14x12 big and you can fit my car in there and it's bigger than our master bedroom BIG. Yikes!

So he and our neighbor and a friend spent three days working on it while I tried to keep the kids out of their way. I managed to plant my garden, plant all the flowers, and get some shopping and cleaning in, while cooking many many meals and visiting with the wives of our neighbor and friend and their children who came over to help build.

But today was a bitch trying to get myself and the kids up and out of bed. Ug!

Dinner Table Conversation

Alex: Mommy, it this a REAL dead chicken?
Me: Yes dear.
Alex: Oh. Mommy, did YOU kill it?
Me: Uh...no dear.
Alex: Hm. O.k. But where did it come from?
Me: From a farm. No more questions. Aliyah, are you done with your ice cream?
Aliyah: Yes mommy. Just put the rest in the oven for me. I'll eat it later.

SAD

Last week was pretty bad around work. We had a another layoff, which in February they swore wouldn't happen again.

Liars.

It ticks me off because a lot of good people got let go. And on top of that, our company decided to make us take a mandatory 2 weeks off over the summer and if you don't have enough PTO, then tough shit to you. You have to take it unpaid. And then they decided to do paycuts. Not just a smallish 1 or 2 percent, but 10 percent. That f'ing hurts.

I have been working my way up steadily in the pay increases and I finally got to where I wanted to be last summer. Only to have it all taken away from me.

But I feel like I shouldn't be complaining because I at least have a job. I'm not worrying about paying a mortgage or worrying about debt. My family is o.k. but not other families.

It just sucks and I've been in a funk ever since! Bring on the warm weather, please so I can go outside and soak up some sun and let out some stress.

Secret Kid-Crack

Is cotton candy. We went to a Twin's game on Sunday and the girls begged to get treats to eat. They had their hearts set on cotton candy, which Ben said they could get a bag and then share.

Well, given that their mother is weak I broke down and got them each their own bag. Aliyah got the pink and Alex got the blue. I just loved the dirty look Ben gave me too, when we got back to our seats and he saw they each had their own. Well, he would have given in too, I swear it. Plus, you try telling them no when they each want a different color, there is a mile long line behind you and your kids are holding up the line because their mother won't let them (gasp) get their own.

Anyway, they proceeded to enjoy their sweet treats, diving in with sticky fingers and melting the enamel right off their teeth with pure sugar.

And then...they finished the whole fricken bag and proceeded to bounce off the seats for the next two hours.

OH. MY.