Perspective of a 4 year old drama queen

Meghan, the queen of all preschool drama queens, fell down tonight and scraped her hand. Of course this was traumatic, especially since there were traces of blood on her hand AND ***gasp*** her knee. I made all over her, washing them off with a wash cloth, putting on my special medicine that makes all pain go away, and getting out bandaids. As I was walking back to my room to put the bandaid box away, here's the comment she made to Kyle:

"Well.....at least I didn't mess up my fingernail polish!"

I about lost it. In a matter of less than 5 minutes, we went from me thinking that there was a broken/missing appendage due to the loudness of her scream, to being quite happy and thankful that her not so fresh and new Ice Blue Sparkly fingernail polish wasn't scratched up. Love this child and the way she makes me laugh! All in the day of a preschool drama queen......

Celebrating good times

Greg's home finally! Yeah! He never got anywhere to buy the kiddos any souveniers on this trip, so had a special celebration last night and today. He took us all to That Fun Place last night. The kids were as excited as ever. It definitely is a fun place for them. We ordered pizza and while we waited on it, the kids blew through 100 tokens on games. Meg loved the one where you put the tokens in and rode in a car and drove it. They all got plenty of tickets which they turned in for real "treasures" like plastic rings, tattoos, dice and fake vampire teeth. Woo-hoo ~insert sarcasm here~ :) They loved it so that's what counts! After we ate, then we played a very non-serious round of black-light golf. Meg was so excited that she could actually get the ball in the hole. I laughed though, because I don' t know how she'd really miss since she placed the ball right next to the hole, then just kind of scooted it in. HA HA!

Today we went swimming at the public pool so the boys could jump off the high dive. Meg showed off all of her swimming and underwater skills to everyone. They were quite impressed to say the least and she's just so proud of herself. And I'm a pretty proud momma for having a four year old that can swim that well.

I did get a pic of her all decked out in one of the boy's football gear tonight and will try to get it on my comp to share soon. It's pretty funny!

Playhouse update...

So the playhouse is nearly finished. It only took 9 months or so to get it actually moved on to my property, another 3 months or so to get it fixed up! Greg had successfully redone the floor and siding right after we moved it here. Dad and Ryan finished up putting in the windows, making the door and loft/ladder this weekend. We still need to touch up painting on the outside, paint the inside and put some flooring down. Mom will help to make curtains, a covered cushion for the loft and some pillows. Hopefully this can all be finished up in the next couple of weeks. Meg sure is excited about it! She told me that she wants to put a sign outside that says, "No boys allowed except for The Boys." HA HA! I'm sure that they'll just be dying to play inside of her purple/pink palace. :) Pics to follow soon as the progress continues and it looks more like a finished project.....off to bed for now. School work is all done for now and I'm pretty sleepy.

On another note...Greg finally gets home tomorrow from his fire trip! Yeah! We sure will be glad to see him. Meg's been asking everyday if this is the day he'll be home. He's more fun than me and gives in to her sometimes bizarre requests, although his doll playing skills are lacking at times.

TGIF

Thank goodness it's Friday! It's not like we've had a long hard work week to recover from, but we sure had lots of fun tonight! Our evening started off after Miss Thing woke up from her nap. We had to feed Greg's dogs, which included a 4-wheeler ride and checking our garden for more cherry tomatoes. **yummy** Meg was patient while I mowed Grammy's grass, so I told her she could pick what she wanted for dinner. I was secretly hoping she'd pic mac 'n cheese or something simple, but, as usual, she wanted Pizza Place cheese pizza. I spend enough time there working and didn't really want to, but Princess was in charge. She even insisted we walk and take her baby and her pretend cell phone. So....off we went. We had a great dinner, she loves the attention everyone gives her when she comes in. She made sure that everyone realized she and her baby had on matching dresses tonight and blue painted toenails and fingernails. (No clue where all this girly-girlyness comes from!) After dinner, we headed to Dairy Queen for a Blizzard. Not needed, but since Greg's been gone for two weeks, we've been suffering from Ice Cream Withdrawl. Mommy NEEDED some tonight to help soothe my summertime cold and sore throat. ~ugh~

Anyways, after relaxing on the back porch and finishing up ice cream, we checked on all of her Webkinz, played with the princess dollies...then things got a little wild. We were playing ball with a big green balloon and it turned kinda silly, somehow into a rodeo/cowgirl show. We had fun snapping these silly pictures. You can practically hear her laughing in some of them. I just adore that giggle that she has when she's having some much fun. I wish I could somehow can that laughter and have it to listen to when she's 16 and has no time for fun with mom.

Anyways, that's what weekends are all about.....fun times just being silly and laughing. We made the most of tonight and that makes me a very happy mama!

Sweet Summer Time

Summer sure has been lots of fun. It's bittersweet writing about what we spent time doing, but the reality is.....school's just around the corner. I guess I'm ready to go back. I usually always get that way, but am not having any feelings of wanting to go back yet this year. :/ Maybe it will come in the next couple of weeks, but for now I'll enjoy looking back at the fun things we've been up to.

We kicked off the summer by heading to Missouri to fire school with Greg. While he learned all about fighting wildfires during the day, Meg and I spent the days finding things to do. We visited the capital building (gorgeous inside!), went swimming in a few different pools, did some shopping, rode the elevator in the hotel, visited a nature center, and saw a veterinary museum. Good time! In the evenings we had dinners with Greg and usually found some ice cream for dessert.

A couple of weeks after that we took off and headed to Spring Mill State Park int the camper with our whole gang. We spent lots of time swimming, biking (the boys loved the dirt bike hills), playing on the playground, and exploring caves (not my favorite thing!) After a couple days there, we headed to Holiday World to meet up with the rest of my family. Holiday World was a blast...I think between all of us we rode every ride at least twice! :) Pics from the fun:

After Holiday World, we spent time at home hanging out together. We've enjoyed many visits to the library, lots of time swimming at Mamaw and Papaw's and then the county fair. Read below for details of that fun. Greg's been gone for the past two weeks fighting wildfires in California, and we're both anxiously awaiting his return sometime this next weekend!

There is one last of big summer news. Meg is swimming by herself now! Yesterday, she just took off in the deep end by herself. She didn't realize it really and it scared her at first. Once she realized what she did though, she just kept doing it. She can swim about halfway across the pool. In typical Meg fashion, she just decided she'd do this and that was that. I'm so proud of her! :)

Well...we're headed off today to have a playdate with some new friends/new babysitter. She's excited about going so I'd better get moving.

Busy, busy times!

OK, so time has been too busy to update everything, so I post the most recent. Meg showed her sheep today at the fair and she won her class! I was so proud of her. Last year, we had a big plan to show and she'd practiced, then she wimped out at the last minute. This year I hadn't even mentioned it, nor had she. Claire had been talking about it and Meg just kept quiet. I figured she didn't want to, so I wouldn't push it. Yesterday, she announced a couple of things.

1.) She wants to be a pig show-er when she gets older. She's completely obsessed with pigs.

2.) She wants to wash cows.

3.) She was going to show a sheep tomorrow. (Which was today)

Only 1 of those three things is a reality, so I went along with it. We packed up her show shirt, jeans and tennis shoes (time to buy new boots!) this morning and headed to the fair. I really had little expectations that she would do this, so I didn't have my hopes up. She hasn't led a lamb for quite some time. One of the older girls at the fair offered her lamb for Meg and Kate to share. It was a very nice, calm lamb, so it made it pretty easy for her. She got her coaching on exactly what to do, and in typical Meghan fashion, she did exactly what she was supposed to and it was perfect! My biggest fear was that she'd make a mistake of some kind or that the lamb would end up acting dumb and she stand out in the show ring and cry, so I told her ahead of time that if she didn't cry, I'd buy her a new Webkinz. HA!

She got a neat plaque that I can put a 5 x 7 photo in and a blue ribbon. Kate did a great job too and got fourth (a pink ribbon) but she was very upset that she didn't get a blue ribbon like "May-May", so Meghan told her that she liked pink better anyways and would trade her! That cracked me up...I guess she doesn't understand placing and colors just yet! I would've bitten someone's fingers off if they tried to take my blue ribbon from me! HA HA!

OH...and we've already got the Webkinz....she picked a cocker spaniel puppy this time! :)

Rising in the East

Meg has loved the moon for quite some time now. She's amazed many people when she looks up and says, "Look! A crescent moon!" She must have a science teacher for a mommy!

Lately, our focus has shifted on the sun. We saw some beautiful sunrises earlier this spring and she'd always comment about the beautiful colors. Many mornings she'd even say as we walked into daycare, "Goodbye beautiful sunrise!" :) Now the sun is past the sunrise state, so she's been a bit disappointed. She hasn't mentioned anything about it for a few days until this morning. My little inquirer asked...."Mommy, why is the sun always on that side of the woad (road)?" And then I did my best to explain about the sun being a star and the Earth orbiting around it and how Earth rotates on it's axis to make day and night..... I think I lost her somewhere along the orbiting part (you think?!?!) but she listened intently to every word. Maybe it's time to ask for a Solar System model for Christmas next year!

Time is Flying!

Yahooooo! Only 4.5 days of school left! I'm so excited for the summer to get here and have that extra special time with my girl! Here's a few funnies from lately:

Tonight~She tells me that she really needs to talk to me. She has something verwwwy important to tell me. I actually was a bit worried when she then asked me to sit on the couch so we could have this important conversation. HA! So she sits me down, and proceeds to tell me that she is REEEEEEEAAALLLLLY gonna need to take her new purse (which she had just gotten a neighborhood garage sale for free) and her baby doll to her soccer game tomorrow to show Mamaw and Papaw. Whew! I usually try to convince her that taking her toys places is risky, but since that was her "big conversation" it caught me off guard and she won. I guess her new tactic worked for tonight!

Earlier this week in the car~She has a package of Bubble Tape. She was in the back seat chomping on the way home and I asked for a piece. She willingly agreed, so I put my hand back and received a piece. A VERY TEENY TINY SCRAP OF A PIECE! I laughed and told her that it was so small I wouldn't even be able to chew it and that I'd like to have a little more. Here's here comment back:

"Mommy, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit!!!!!"

Hmmmmm...can you guess where she's heard that phrase before!?!?!?! Ah...the child who forgets nothing!!!! Love her!

That's all I can manage for now. I think I've got a sinus infection and feel pretty rotten, so I'm headed off to bed. I was able to complain enough and get my Wonderful Neighbor to feel sorry for me and mow my lawn tonight. What a super guy I've found......he's a keeper for sure!!!! :)

Good Buddies

This made my heart melt! I walked out in my living room this week and saw this sweet, sweet sight. Greg had brought over a new catalog (Cabela's, of course!) to look at. He sat down in the chair and I was back in Meg's room trying to coax her into getting jammies on for bed. She told me she was busy. When I walked back out, I saw her dragging her rocking chair over next to him and she picked up her new American Girl magazine. She plopped down right next to him and started flipping pages just like him. I honestly don't think anything could have made me happier at that moment. I love the fact that they have this connection. Life couldn't be any better at the moment. (Ok...well maybe it'd be just a little better if it was May 24th or so) HA! You get my drift though, right?

Bedtime and more...

As a lot of people know, bedtime has been an issue for Meghan and me. Even though she had her own room and her own bed, she slept with me while we lived at Grandpa's. When I bought the new house, she got to pick out some stuff for her room because she definitely was going to sleep in her own bed. She did pretty good and it wasn't too much of a transition, but the thing was I had to lie down in her bed for a half-hour to an hour. Not fun and a waste of the little time I had in the evenings to do stuff when she was sleeping. Laundry? Picking up toys? Get my drift? For a while now, she's been going to sleep all on her own, but with a definite routine. Here it is:

1. Get jammies on.

2. Brush teeth/use potty (sometimes she refuses this just to use it as a stall tactic later!) HA!

3. Read books. She tells me that she wants me to pick them, but then I never pick the right ones. Lately, she flips through the pages, and I swear she looking for the longer ones! Hallway light must be turned on as we head to her room and left on until she's asleep.

4. Tuck into bed with "critters." These in order on her bed: Cinderella (Build-a-Bear from Claire's bday party), Baxter (Bear brought back from a fire trip of Greg's), Tulip (Webkinz #1), Horse (another Greg gift), mini-horse (from horse bday party), Doggie (from the school carnival) and finally the most important of all....Kitty (who is looked pretty yucky b/c she goes pretty much everywhere!) Lately, Quack Quack (Webkinz #3) and a bunny get put up on a pillow next to her too. She also has her princess pillow and her High School Musical Troy pillow. Oh...lastly, Brown Blankie gets laid on top of her and she snuggles up.

5. I give her hug and kiss #1 and we say our special little good night sayings. I love that part. It's special between just me and her. I say a part and she fills in the blank. :)

6. I leave.

7. She calls me back for a drink. (even though I may have asked her earlier if she wanted one)

8. I give her a drink and leave again.

9. Called back for just one more hug and kiss.

10. Give hug and kiss and leave.

11. Called back to remind me to tuck Becca (baby doll) to bed.

12. I tuck Becca in and she's yelling out just a few more times "Love you mommy. See you in the morning!"

13. I repeated it back until finally all is quiet...ahhhh.

I know someday I miss these times when she just doesn't want to leave me to go to bed, so I try to cherish every moment.

Now for the more part.....
A few thoughts on how lucky I really am. I have an amazingly beautiful daughter, who's hilarious and bright. I've got a great home, with the most amazing "neighbor" ever! :) He treats me with the utmost respect and makes me feel special. Meg adores him and he is amazingly patient with her, answering all of her questions about what he's doing and why. He's taught her and given her many experiences that I'm grateful for. I've got the most supportive family ever that I can count on for just about anything. We spend lots of time together and have lots of fun. I have a job that I enjoy (much more in just 4 weeks) and a super building and faculty to work with. When I think about some of the painful, sad things that I have friends going through right now it makes me sad for them, but at the same time, I realize I need to count my blessings more and more each day. I'm doing just that right now.

Hmmm...a future bargainer???

OK...so Meg has officially learned the technique of bargaining. Tonight, we were back jumping on the new trampoline (YEAH!!!) and it was time to go up to the house. She first asked to swing before heading home. Here's the conversationg that ensued:

Me: No, we don't have time.

Meg: Please Mama, just a little bit.

Me: No.

Meg: How about 10 swings?

Me: How about 1 swing?

Meg: No, 6 swings?

Me: No, 2 swings?

Meg: Ok Mama, you gotta deal! (You can just picture the big cheesy grin on her face!) HA!

Seriously, how does she pick up on this stuff? I can see it now, "Mom, I need a car for my 16th birthday. No Meghan. Please mom, how about a Corvette........"

Blowing out the candles

Birthday Time!

Yep....yesterday was 04/14/08....Meg's 4th birthday. Wow! What a day it was. I took the afternoon off so we could spend it together. We went to lunch at El Rodeo (her choice) where she enjoyed her cheese dip and cheese quesadilla. She also remembered from Uncle Ryan's birthday in September that he got to wear a hat and had ice cream put on his nose. She requested that, so they brought her out a huge dessert. She was cracking up and loved every minute of it (I didn't have my camera....grrrrr!)

After lunch, we came home and had a little siesta. She, as usual, wasn't tired but slept for two hours. She was totally energized when she woke up. She was probably the most hyped up that I've ever seen her. We noticed Greg outside working on her playhouse shortly after we woke up (yes, I napped too!) so we went out to join him. We took the bright purple paint and went to work painting. She helped and actually did a marvelous job. I was shocked that she had less paint on her than what I had on me! HA! I left shortly after that to go pick up her My Little Pony cake and some chocolate ice cream. She suckered Greg into swinging her the entire time I was gone.

After dinner, everyone came over for opening presents and cake and ice cream. She was so funny to watch open her gifts. At one point, she stood and wiggled her butt as fast as she could...looked like a little duck. All in all, it was a super day. She just loves her new Leapster from Mamaw and Papaw and her High School Musical sleeping bag from Greg. I'm sure she'll get lots of use out of both of them this weekend while we camp. I'll be sure to post pics after we get back.

I'm headed off now to enter in my (**ahem** I mean HER) new Webkinz duck. She hasn't quite decided on a name, but I can still enter in the code so I can have all that extra cash to "buy" stuff with.

Zoo Pics!

St. Louis Pics

Children's Museum Visit

Easter Fun!

March Fun!

Faces of Meghan

Tons of stuff to share...

As usual, it's been a while since I've posted. Life's been busy. I just finished taking a class today to become a certified mentor to new teacher. Woo-hoo..it's over. It really ended up being quite a bit of work, so I'm glad it's done. I have decided in the mean time to go back and finish up my master's degree. I dread the course work (and paying for it) but I really need to get it done for salary reasons. I found an 18 month online program which will be fairly intense, but really the best thing. I can do it at night after Miss Thing goest to bed, so I won't have to spend even more time away from her at class. I think Greg may try to stay as far away as possible (which isn't far since he lives so close!) since I tend to get somewhat (he'd probably say a lot) crabby when I'm stressed.

Let me try to fill in the blanks of the past few weeks. Spring time is slowly, but surely, trying to arrive. We are absolutely thrilled to be able to get back outside and start swinging again. Meg's playhouse finally arrived (after a little griping at my dad and brother) so we've begun working on it. Since it does need quite a bit of work, I'll wait to post pics of it. Meg has requested to paint it purple, so I'm sure that's what it'll be as long as she doesn't change her mind. Last weeks was spring break from school. We had a busy three days home. Monday was a visit to the Children's Museum here in Indy. Her favorite part was by far the water table and sand area. Tuesday was pics with Claire and Kate. They all had their American Girl dresses on from Grandpa and had their dolls with matching dresses. Sooooo cute! Wednesday was lunch with Michelle, Bryce and Kynsey. On Thursday, we left for St. Louis. We had a blast (see pics for a brief trip summary). Meg loved going up in the "Awch" as she called it. Me...I wasn't thrilled about riding up in the tiny capsule and then being stuck up in the air so high, but I pretended like I was calm about it. We stayed up just long enough for a couple of pics, then headed right back down in the teeny tiny capsule.

As for new phrases...here's a few of my favs from recently:

When being asked a yes or no question.....she responds:
"Well....I'm gonna have to say N-O, no" or "Well....I'm gonna have to say Y-E-S, yes!" Cracks me up!

Tonight when I asked her to get in the shower, she told me "I'm not too sure about that!"

She told her dad about our trip to the zoo and said "It was lots of walking, but luckily I had my stroller!"

And the funniest...she announced as we walked by the donkeys at the zoo in St. Louis..."Look Mom...there's an ass! Did you know ass means donkey?" I just about fell over. That was also one of the first things she told Greg about her trip..."Guess what Gweg? I saw an ass at the zoo!" HA HA HA!

It's hard to believe that just four short years ago, I was impatiently waiting to meet her. My how time flies! She asked me the other day what I would do if she would have stayed a baby. Part of me longs to cuddle with the tiny baby she was, and hold her and rock her to sleep again and the other part loves how we can actually have conversations together and enjoy so much together. Such a mix of emotions I always feel when it's birthday time. I never realized how bittersweet growing up is for a parent.