A Thorn Among Roses

A bit o the irish.... Happy st pat's day Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

My girls are all readers...and the tag readers are so amazing. I didn't fall for them bc of the cost, but nana did, and boy am I glad. It reads and has music and sound effects...even when u hear it repeated 46 times in a row. And aren't they cute while they are getting smart? Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

i love the creative and imaginative minds of kids...i mean, i don't like the messes that come with the imagination. sofia is all about imaginary everything right now...her babies are always crying and need food or diapers, there's always food to be cooked or prepared, and there's definitely a lot of cleaning to be done. {i have no idea where she gets any of these ideas, btw} the sandbox is a great place to hang out and get some outdoor cooking, and dining done! and when jada's home, she joins right in, bc she's the "cooker" in the fam! when the bowls and spoons come out...there's entree's galore, and of course, starbucks to drink. and two cooks in the outdoor kitchen...wow, there's food flying everywhere! mixing and cutting... filling and washing...measuring. and the fun is always super duper messy...but it's all just FUN.

sofia is totally into the pretend play right now... she's loving her school bus full of little people and animals and lately, well, there has been some mayhem. on the drive to school, the kids decided to "twash" {trash} the bus and it then, needed a car wash. i would like to point out that the lecturing abilities of said 2 year old bus driver were quite good and impressive and very, very hilarious! i notice that my gerber daisy was the flipping car washer. {this proves, btw, why all of my things are not nice anymore bc if there were, they would be a good car buffer} {{noting the awesome sound effects by the perched lips}} and during the rinse cycle, she discovered there was a camera...so we got us some CHEESE. ...and big sis stepped in to bring it all around to the end. and then i noticed, i have 2 of my daughters, doing a car wash.  one in a bikini and the other, well, topless.  i sure hope that says nothing about our future.

b and jk had their very first softball game of their lives! oh yeah...the fighting blue dolphins were out to win...ok, hit and pay a little attention, in most cases. then, there was brooke...she was aggressive.  she's been watching big sis, paige, play for sure! {notice p as one of the coaches in the background} where ever the ball was hit, brooke ran full throttle and grabbed the ball...oh, and since she was first baseman and she was suppose to make the outs, she just ran the balls back to the bag in front of the runners.  yep, she was quick. after 4 balls all in b's hands, she decided to actually throw the ball to the other girlie covering 1st...or something.  she threw the ball at the bag.   if no one was there...she ran and caught it and tagged the bag.  she was a one girl team...and honestly, only 2 other girls even cared!! but when coach london told b that she could only chase balls on her side of the field, it went south fast.  tears and shruggi...

indiana has lots of exciting {{and sometimes super dangerous}} storms in the spring... but last night, jk and sof were jacked up about the huge monster black cloud that was coming. and they totally made a game out of it...you know, like the "sit-on-the-driveway-and-watch the balck-cloud-and-when-the-wind-blows-really-hard-and-the helicopters-hit-your-face, you-run-in-a-circle-and-scream -really-loud" game.   i don't know what this says about us...like are we just totally hill jacks or confirming yet again that we are "those people"...but the kids had fun. and jada had to pose for the camera saying "mommy...take this picture.  i look so cute!" ...and she was right! and for the record, when the lighting started we did come in...i'm not stupid.  and it doesn't help that i'm a total wimp either ;)

b and j got to have a fab makeover in cinderella's bippity boppity boutique...super special to us, bc paige was one of the first girlies to get a makeover 4 years ago at the big pre-opening.  hard to believe that p is old enough to sit and giggle and grin while the little ones now get the makeovers! so we got us some princesses...full of makeup and tiara's and nail polish!!!  with some fab hair... and there were smiles abounding...especially from this one who FINALLY got to be "real princess" in her own eyes bc disney finally got a brown princess!  i mean, can money buy that stinking face???? and what princesses they are... i mean, jada is REALLY a princess...bc she can't even take the sunshine.  she whined and squealed and well, just look at the cringe on her face!   what a stinking princess...a very cute princess, for sure.

i hear a lot that ryan and i are just amazing people because we have adopted and have fostered children...the truth is that we are selfish in a lot of ways. when you want a child...you want a child. i mean, most of us think biologically out of the chute, but a child is a child. you have no more control over medical concerns or genetics or due dates whether you adopt of biologically birth a child... we wanted more children. we adopted. period. i hate to make it sound so simple, but, and i'm gonna throw out frigg in' hand grenade here, it was. now, the process wasn't, but the actual, "ok, let's have a child" thing was that simple. the biggest difference i've seen is that having kids biologically, well, let's just say you can't decide simply over a nice meal and bottle of wine... sure there are background checks and paperwork and financials, but if you want that child, you'll do it...and it's just different stuff than you do with a biolog...

soccer season is always well anticipated around here... then, the season actually starts and the attitude of the b-ster flares on the field and it gets interesting! brooke gets tired and just thinks she should be able to rest...so her shoulders start flaring up and the pout starts to set in. lucky for her, grandpa was able to cuddle her and calm her down. then it's off to the field to kick around and play some soccer. crazy kid. this year was jk's first year playing...i didn't know what to expect, honestly. jada is my "watch" girl...she's not much of a jump in and do it kinda girl...but apparently, soccer is her thing! she was sooo cute and soooo excited! her fav thing...the pink soccer shoes! in the beginning, all the kids were running in a big circle around the ball and jada was staring at the birds and the people on the sidelines, with a smile, i might add. i yell from the sideline..."jada, run towards the ball and try to kick it in the goal."...

my girlies are sisters...so they fight ALL the time. {i swore at one point this week i was going to make them hold hands and sit on the couch until they could get along and not fight.} in spite of their love for each other, they get all "she did" and "she said" on each other and just can't stop. this picture gives me a glimpse into those small, infrequent moments of pure silence and delight that they have with each other. it's a concrete vision of them just taking time to enjoy each other and the splendor of things around them. Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

my idea of vacation=beach ryan's idea of vacation=golf the birds here at indian pass are amazing!  they are everywhere... the waves are absolutely amazing...the girls have spent hours "running" from the waves onto the beach. nana and sofie were playing peek a boo on the beach... paige found way too much humor in putting sofie's feet in the cool gulf water... i love this outfit on b!  i found it at a little boutique in port st. joe and it shouted 'brooke'. heading back to the cold north...very sad.