Today is Lovely

It really is. McKenna woke up at 8am and then crawled into bed with me to watch Little Einsteins for a half hour before asking for breakfast. So I got to wake up nice and slowly. Kyla woke up at 9am. The girls have been well behaved all day so I've managed to get some work done. The weather is gorgeous - 78 degrees, clear skies, light breeze. I've got a Cherry Tart burning and I'm enjoying a bowl of fresh cherries in the backyard, blogging while my two daughters swim in their little kiddie pool. After their naps and Erick gets home from work, we're going to have a fun little family evening at Disneyland. The perfect day. It probably doesn't make for the most interesting blog reading but it is what it is. I love perfect days filled with endless pleasant details.

And more importantly, today is 10 years since Erick and I became a couple. <3 I love you Erick. Thank you for making ten years so much fun that it feels like it's only been one, but so wonderful that it feels like it's been forever. You know what I mean.

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Update on Gymnastics: "gymnacsics" was a bust. We didn't even make it there. McKenna actually fell asleep for a nap that day so I had to wake her so we could make it on time. She woke up and was in no mood to participate in any class. She said she wanted to go but kept saying she was tired. She couldn't get motivated to get dressed. Then when we had a disagreement about what she should wear and it was melt down city from there. So I said "Make your decision. Are we going to be in a better mood and go to gymnastics or stay home and rest some more?" She said "NUFFING!" (Nothing!) So I closed her door and told her to keep resting. Called the studio and canceled and told them I'd reschedule for another day. McKenna still wants to take the class so maybe in another week or so. I think I'll wait for us to get the recital over with first. Too many things going on right now anyway!

So instead we took a leisurely trip to The Block for dinner. We ate at Jodi Maroni's where we were treated to the delightful image of a drunken David Hasselhoff (could this video be any more pitiful? Watching him try to eat that hamburger was just sad. And by the way, if my teenage daughter was nagging at me like that non-stop, I'd probably drink too. She was relentless considering he was barely coherent.) After dinner we walked all over. The girls love it there because they can run wild and then we can duck into a ton of our favorite shops. They have a Ron Jon's, Borders, a pet store, a candy store and 5 billion cute clothing shops. We stopped at Hilo Hattie and picked out outfits for Erick and McKenna to wear to their father/daughter dance next week. Here's what we chose:


They even got matching island necklaces. It was so cute watching the two of them shop. We picked out McKenna's dress first and then went to the men's section to find the matching shirt for Erick. McKenna was pulling stuff off the shelves saying "Here Dad. Try this." and they were talking about what they were gonna wear and how much fun they were gonna have. She kept jumping up and down and smiling up at him. Then they went to the dressing room together and put on their outfits and came out and modeled them for Kyla and I. I thought my heart was gonna explode. They're both looking forward to their big dance night. June 15th! McKenna wants it to be NOW but I told her it's not until "after Las Vegas". If I say "It's not for a month, she'd have no concept of how long that would be." So now she just knows to be on the lookout for a Vegas trip and after that is the dance!

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Tuesday I opted out of Disneyland (way too hot) and Starbucks (too hot for coffee too!) but I did buckle down and get a lot of DST work done. Then while the girls napped I went out all by myself to Target and to grocery shop. It was soooo nice! Usually when I do those things I'm so distracted making sure my kids don't wander off, that they're not pulling stuff off the shelves, not trying to jump out of the cart, etc. So it was just really relaxing and productive! Target was having a sale on some cute kids summer clothes so I got these:



Blue one for McKenna, pink for Kyla:



McKenna's on the left, Kyla's on the right:





And grocery shopping was FUN! I could actually think about what I wanted to cook and make sure to pick up healthy snacks. I brought home lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and made a menu plan and everything! For me, grocery shopping, housework, cooking...that's a labor of love. I'm always "presenting" it to my family. "Look what I bought for you!" "Look! I cleaned your favorite dress!" So I was all proud to come home and show them all the food I'd picked out for them. Usually they're with me and just throwing stuff in the cart. LOL!


So that day was a happy day for me because I was running all the errands I've always wanted to do and I felt very comfortable with driving. I never thought I'd actually feel COMFORTABLE driving!!

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Yesterday was something extra special for me!


McKenna's preschool class had a Mother's Tea. My sister came to watch Kyla (thanks again Mel!) and I went over at 12:30pm. It was so cute because all of us moms were waiting outside and we could see the kids rushing around, getting everything ready. We had pink lemonade and cookies and we sang a song. I think we were all extra grateful to be there that day since one of the news reports about the Coble accident reported that just days before the accident, Lori had gone to a mother's day tea at Kyle and Emma's school. So it was a time to say a prayer of thanks for our children and the time that we get to be their mother's, however long that may be.

And we got the cutest little gifts too!

A plant that McKenna grew herself! She decorated the pot and the teacher stuck a little picture of McKenna in the plant with a popsicle stick. And the garden stone was painted by McKenna as well:


And this has got to be the neatest surprise! They had a photographer come in and take a picture of each of the kids in these old-fashioned clothes! They gave us four 4x6 photos!


Isn't that a cool gift?? McKenna is very excited about Mother's Day and she's asked if she can use some of my craft products to make me a card. : ) How could I deny such a request? So Saturday her and Erick (and Kyla I'm sure LOL!) are gonna work on something. She's been practicing writing "Mom" too! See!


After the tea party we came home and the kids had a blast in the pool. I also caught these funny pictures of all of them in the pnp. We only bring that out when Gavin is over so he can nap. But all the kids decided to climb in:
LOL don't ask me why Luke is in underwear only and McKenna is in pajamas. Frankly, I don't even know the answer:


They're all yelling "CHEEEEEESE!" but instead of looking at the camera they're laughing at each other:


This one just cracks me up. Look at McKenna all dramatic like she's about to be crushed by a giant anvil or something:


Yesterday was also a cool "mail day". Don't you love when you check the mail and you get a couple of fun items? I got my next hybrid project in the mail! Oh my goodness, this Scrap Gypsies gig rocks! The next designer that we're featuring sent us sooooo much stuff to play with! Gorgeous papers, cardstock, ribbons, chipboard, ric rac, lace, brads, ribbon slides and lots and lots of flowers! And she's so sweet because she hand-picked my kit to fit with my usual scrap subject - my girls! I'm excited to get started on this next project but I'm still ironing out the details of what it's gonna be. It'll be awhile before I'm allowed to show it off too. But I was excited to get the product in my hand and to be inspired right away!

I also got........DRUM ROLL.......MY DRIVER'S LICENSE! It came! My heart actually skipped a beat when I saw the envelope from the DMV. I was beaming all the way back to my apartment and I couldn't wait to show my sister and Erick. I kept looking at the words "Driver License" over and over. I still can't believe I conquered that fear. I can't believe I let it win for as long as I did. And I know if I didn't get my license now, it would've been never. So I really can't believe I came *this close* to just giving up altogether. And now I don't even feel nervous driving anymore. I never, ever thought I'd see the day.


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Alright, I had some kid-bits and pics to share but this entry is so long as it is. I'll save those for tomorrow and maybe I'll have some Disneyland pics to add as well.