A Weekend at Home

I love fall. So many fun things to do. Football, fairs, Halloween and the CAF Airsho. I showed Sid one of the WW2 planes flying around town Friday. The following conversation went like this:
Sid: Mom what's World War 2?
Me: A long time ago all the countries in the world got in a fight and went to war. It was a really sad time. A lot of people died.
Sid: That's because my dad wasn't going to give up.
Me: What?
Sid: My dad doesn't quit.
Me: World War 2 was many many years ago. Before your dad was born but your dad did fight in a war. It was called the Cold War.
Sid: Did he have to wear long sleeves?
Me: Yes.... They did wear long sleeves in the Cold War.
Probably our last parent child history lesson for a while.

Today I made hamburgers for lunch. While I was cooking Sid grabbed her notebook and pen and started "writing" a story about me to pass the time.
Sid: Mom in my story you have to clean all the house and then wash the clothes.
Me: I'm not sure I like that. Why do I have to clean all the house?
Sid: Mom it's in the script.......
Ah my little diva.

After lunch I couldn't find Sid in her room. I tracked her down in the entry sitting in her carseat.
Me: Oh there you are.
Sid: Yeah me and Star are just sitting here relaxing listening to music and staring at each other.
Me: Okay have fun with that.
Sid: Hey Mom I need to tell you something.
Me: What is it?
Sid: I'm in a really comfy spot right now. Would you get me a drink of water so I don't lose it?
Diva... The hat really says it all.

36 Bleh.....

I hit the big 3-6 this week. I've been thinking of this birthday as the start of the last half of my life. When I tell people this they ask "Are you only going to live to 70?" I don't think that exactly. I just can't deny I'm getting old, my mindset is changing and things are starting to break down. For example.... my birthday started when I woke up for no reason at 5am. I fear this may be the beginning of a new era of early rising biorhythms. When I got out of bed the bottom of my feet hurt when I walked. Gout? Arthritis? I tried to "walk it off" but gave up after about 10 steps when I realized I looked like some sort of zombie puppet. I then made some tea with milk to help ward off osteoporosis and sat in our recliner. Yes we own a recliner. It's fabulous! As I sat in the recliner I randomly began to think that we should buy some coasters, that I should be asking for lots of free condiments when we get fast food so I don't have to buy it at the store and that I really need to start moisturizing every day. Yep I'm old.

Food for Thought

Going to buy groceries is one of my least favorite things to do. I will put it off until we have eaten all the food in our house.

Last weekend when Sid came home from visiting her grandparents she opened the fridge and was surprised to see that there was actually food in it. Her response was, "Mom where did all this food come from!? Is it MAGIC?" Even the 4 year old knows it's more likely that magic filled the frige than I went to the store.

I've been trying to do better about feeding our family. More home cooked meals and fewer drive-thru meals. I've been shopping at the HEB in Midland to motivate myself.

Damon is not a fan of this. Everything we need should be purchased in Odessa according to him because Odessa > Midland. Maybe that's true about schools and it's definitely true regarding hospitals but Midland's HEB is just better. The produce department is huge and in the 3 times we've been to the store I still haven't seen everything they have to offer.

So we'll be making the 15 minute drive to Midland for groceries for the time being because Damon likes to eat and Sidney needs to learn where food comes from - the magical Midland HEB!

Decorating a Big Girl Room

Now that we are settled into our apartment routine it's time to pretty the place up!

I've been mulling over what to do with Sid's room. I want to transition it from baby to big girl but still keep her personality a part of everything.

This painting is one of the things we kept from her old room. I love that it's 1.) educational 2.) girly and 3.) colorful. I used it as one of our inspirational jump off pieces.

Santa brought Sidney this Barbie palace. His elves worked for 2 1/2 hours putting it together! Installing a 3 story elevator in a dollhouse is more complicated than you might imagine. After so much bonding time with this peice of plastic (not to mention that it dominates a large portion of her room) I felt we needed to incorporate it as another inspiration piece.Here are some of the items we have purchased so far:

I love that I can throw this quilt in the washing machine. It is also reversible to a solid if Sid gets tired of the dots. The quality is great. I think this is a blanket she could have through college.Sidney is a Hello Kitty fanatic. This throw pillow was pretty much a no brainer. When we found it at Target she insisted on carrying it until we got to the check out and then I had to persuade her to let the cashier have it to scan. It's a perfect match to the pinks in the quilt!We were in need of toy storage so that we could walk through Sid's room without stumbling over horses, Barbies and tea sets. Damon and I put this together twice since I can't read instructions. It's pretty and has safety latches so she won't get her fingers smashed. It's in front of her window where it can also double as a window seat.We ordered 5 of these panels for Sid's window. They give her room a pretty pink glow when the sun shines through them.

This is the bedskirt that coordinates with her quilt. We also picked up a pink zebra body pillow to put behind the quilt shams.

There are still quite a few things to pick up before her room is complete. We need a good lamp for reading and a wall clock. Some of the things we're considering adding to the pink madness:

I found this clock on etsy. They will personalize it with your child's name. With all the pink in her room we need some purple to balance things out.

I found this mobile on etsy also. They will customize the butterflies to coordinate with your child's room. It also looks really cool when it spins. It's as though you have a globe of fluttering butterflies above your bed.

I discovered PBTeen when I was looking for quilts. I love this site! Very fun and funky. I like all of these lamps. Going to be tough to narrow it down to one!

I had seen some vinyl wall quotes at Target but none of them seemed to fit Sidney. I was blown away by how many online options there were. Here are a few of my favorites:

Sweet Pea

Practically Perfect

Fairytale

Pixie Dust

Spirit of the Sun

Monsters

How to Introduce Little Girls to Star Wars

Damon usually reads Sidney her nightly bedtime story. Her favorite book of the past few weeks is a charming yarn called Barbie and a Fashion Fairytale. It isn't great literature. I know this because the pages are covered in glitter. It's really an infomercial for Barbie products disguised as a learn to read tool. But night after night after night it's her book of choice. Tonight as I passed by her door I heard Damon reading the story but with a slight twist:

Damon: "The gunship roared over the Eiffel Tower. The Clone Troopers were in desperate need of a fashion make-over. There was only one place they could achieve their objective - the city of Paris. They had worn their battle armor for 3 missions and it was time for a change. They needed Barbies help to add a little flair..."

HaHaHa! Here is a fun Star Wars PSA.

An Eye Full

I've been a Dior mascara fan for a few years now. It's a splurge purchase ($25+) so I try to make that little tube of black gunk last as long as possible. Today I picked up Dior Extase to help ring in 2011. It promises to transform my lashes in a single stroke. We shall see!

Christmas - Another One Flies By

The entire month of December has been a blur for me. I hadn't realized how Sid being in school was going to affect our typical Christmas happenings. Between her school pageant, teachers gifts, ballet practice, my work and the regular seasonal stuff there was a lot going on. The good news is that we got most of it done and I'll be better prepared for next year.

Some of the highlights:

Damon and I were invited to a Christmas party at Venezia's in Midland. The food was amazing! It was especially fun to hang out with grownups for an evening.

Sid had a lot of fun with her school Christmas program. This year she sang with the other kids in preK and next year she will get a speaking part. I was very impressed with how all the kids did. The teachers did an amazing job getting them ready.

Damon and I got to sit in on one of Sidney's ballet/tap practices. She is starting to get the hang of it. Her first recital is in May and I think her teacher has her work cut out for her with this group of dancers. Lots of personalities and a few divas!

We got to see my good friend Sara and her family. We met at Rosa's for dinner and then got hot chocolate at Star Bright Village. I miss them tons and I'm so glad that they will be moving closer to us.

We had dinner at Shirrie's a few days before Christmas. She is such a great cook! We hadn't seen Mark and his family in years. It was good to catch up with them and Damon loved having someone to talk tech with. Sid had a blast playing with all the kids after she got over being shy. When we left she kept asking when we could go back to play.

We went to Kermit for Christmas Eve/Day. It was wonderful to spend time with Damon's parents, grandma, aunts and uncles. Santa brought Sid a new doll and 2 horses for the doll to ride. She named the doll "Chocolate Diamond" and the horses "Barbie and a Christmas Carol" and "Barbie Cowgirl." Santa also brought her a new Barbie dollhouse. She loves the Barbie! Her toy box is overflowing with all the new loot.

Life is returning to normal around our house. Of course we're already starting to gear up for our next holiday - Valentines! My favorite!