Brace Face

Chase had to get braces, and it's all my fault!  He definitely has my mouth... big teeth, small mouth, pointy jaw.  Lucky him!

And just for comparison's sake, this was me before getting mine:

Yikes.

He was excited (HA!):

Step 1: An expander to round out his jaw....

The reward: Ice cream!

Step 2: Braces on the top (front 4)...

The reward: Ice cream!

The rewards almost make me want to get braces all over again.  HA!

Spring Break with the Grandparents!

My parents came down to visit for Spring Break this year!  We had tons of fun.

My kids managed to rope my mom into playing board games, despite the fact she usually hates them!

She kicked our butts (or as Chase so eloquently put it, "Grandma murdered us!"):

So we were forced to bow down to the almighty game goddess:

We ate at a couple restaurants where the kids could feed some turtles and fish:

 

We also ate at the kids' favorite movie theatre (and eatery), Flix Brewhouse:

I had to introduce them all (kids included!) to the rodeo!

 

Grandpa found a small airport down here with amazing flight simulators the kids could do with him, and they loved it!

We went downtown for a night and saw the famous Congress Bridge bats:

And of course the kids had to spend time at the hotel pool!

We also had to check out the graffiti park:

Yes, the kids and I climbed it, which was a challenge... but they hung in there!

I had been there once before, and in my experience anyone could spray paint something, so I sprayed the kids' names on a wall and was quickly reprimanded.  Apparently it was "artists weekend" (or something along those lines) and I was instructed to let people paint who actually knew what they were doing!

 

Oops.

The kids found this fun little Pokemon gem and had to get a picture with it, due to their current obsession:

While we were downtown the kids had to introduce Grandma and Grandpa to VooDoo Donuts!

 

 

We had a really great time, and the kids (and I) were really sad to see them go....

Thanks for coming, Grandma and Grandpa!

Zilker Park Kite Festival

We checked out the kite festival for the first time ever this year, with some friends.  The kids had fun with activities like hula hoops and jump ropes...

 

...as well as kites, of course!

 

Thanks, HEB, for the very challenging free kites!

Conversations With a 9-Year-Old: I'm a Pokemon Character

While watching Pokemon with my kids, a female character popped up on the screen....

CHASE: Oh, man.... She is EXACTLY like you, Mom.

MOM: (Not knowing the character at all) Oh yeah? How so?

CHASE: She's just so confident and she's always cheering everyone on.

I just LOVE that he sees me that way. Warm fuzzy!

Conversations with a 5- and 9-Year-Old: Boyfriends

Dinner conversation:

MOM: After dinner you'll need to brush your teeth.

CHASE: Ugh! I hate my life and everything in it! Except my friends and my games.

CHLOE: What about Mom?

CHASE: She should love herself.

MOM: I do love myself!

CHLOE: Yeah, you love everyone!

CHASE: Ew! That means Mom has like a billion boyfriends!

MOM: Well of course! I mean... DUH!

CHASE: (bursts into hysterical laughter)

CHLOE: What? Having a boyfriend isn't funny! IIII have a boyfriend!

MOM: Oh yeah? What's his name?

CHLOE: I don't remember.

We have it all together over here, folks! Haha!

Conversations with a 5- and 9-Year-Old: All About Mom

I saw this on Facebook and just had to try it.  Enjoy!

"Without ANY prompting, ask your kids these questions. Its a great way to see what they think."

Results... with my thoughts on their answers in italics:

1. What is something I always say to you? "I love you" (unanimous)

Awwwwwwww....

2. What makes me happy? "Boom Boom" (my cat), "when we listen to directions"

Agree.

3. What makes me sad? "When we don't listen" (Chase), and then Chloe added "It makes me feel sad for other people when they feel sad for us."

I have no idea what Chloe is talking about.  Not so sure she does, either.

4. How do I make you laugh? "By being funny" (Chloe), "When you say 'Don't laugh' in your serious voice" (Chase).

Hey.  Don't laugh.

5. What was I like as a child? "Funny and silly" (Chloe), "You wanted everything and said everything was yours, like 'That's mine! That's mine! Oh yeah, and that's mine!'" (Chase)

Wow, this is so telling.  I am pretty territorial about my space and my stuff.  Ha ha!

6. How old am I? 38

Nailed it.

7. How tall am I? 5' 3" (Chloe deferred to Chase on this one)

Nope.  5'8"

8. What is my favorite thing to do? "talk on the phone" (Chloe), "have fun with your children" (Chase)

I hate talking on the phone.

9. What do I do when you're not around? "watch TV," "work," "draw"

Draw?  Ha ha!  They apparently think I'm pretty tame.  Hilarious.  Makes me wonder what my tame mom really did when I wasn't around.  Food for thought.

10. What am I really good at? "ballet" (Chloe), "theatre" (both)

I used to be decent at ballet.  I'm glad she's impressed with my tendus in the kitchen.

11. What is something I'm not good at? "Geometry Dash"

It's a game they both play.  It's true.  I suck.

12. What do I do for a job? "theatre"

They got half of it!

13. What is my favorite food? "donuts and carrots" (Chloe), "oatmeal" (Chase)

I do not eat donuts and carrots together, just to clarify.

14. What do you enjoy doing with me? "coloring" (Chloe), "having fun" (Chase)

Me too.

Merry Christmas!

We have had a lot of Christmas adventures this month!  Of course we had to pick out our tree, and it's so nice that the kids are getting big enough to help me out more with it!

We also made Christmas cookies for their teachers:

Over break we watched holiday movies and played games:

The new obsession with both of the kids is Pokemon, so they wanted to play that... but Mom just did not get it...

...which the kids found a little frustrating (but hilarious!):

They also had fun making some handmade gifts for their dad and grandparents:

The kids weren't quite sure if they were on the nice or naughty list this year...

...but Santa delivered!  It was a close call, though.  The morning of December 23rd Chloe changed her mind about what she wanted to ask Santa for and I told her it might be too late in the game for Santa to change it. That night after I put the kids to bed Chloe came downstairs and said she couldn't sleep because she had a bad feeling about her Christmas present. She was close to tears so I sat her down next to me to talk about it and I reminded her that Christmas was more about what you give vs. what you get, and we talked about the things she got her brother, her dad, her grandparents... and how happy they were going to be when they opened them. She got the biggest smile on her face and then it was my turn to cry! She went back to bed happy and left me sitting there proud. That's what it's all about, y'all.

She didn't get exactly what she asked for, but she took it in stride.  And Pokemon took over both houses!

Gift opening came to a halt several times so they could look through every single Pokemon card they got...

...which was a lot:

See how they are sorted into piles?  And see that binder of sheet protectors?  Yup....  That was all Mom's doing.  I spent a good amount of time organizing and putting all those cards in that pretty little binder because I Just. Couldn't. TAKE IT!!!!

But I feel better now.

Cue: The aftermath!

Merry Christmas, everyone!