House of Estrogen

Halloween Weekend - Everything Else

This post is just a hodge-podge of the rest of our busy weekend.

First, the requisite Halloween attire for the end of the week. Nina, of course, chose to accessorize hers a bit!

 

   

Friday Night was the Fall Festival at the elementary school. It had all the usual suspects - big inflatables, games, crafts, polish sausage, pony rides, popcorn, and a cake walk. There was one new addition this year though, karaoke... really, really LOUD karaoke, like wishing you had hearing aids you could turn off loud. It was cute to see the kids Elise's age up there singing their hearts out to Hanna Montana songs, but seeing the fourth and fifth graders belting out lyrics like, "I kissed a girl just to try it. I hope my boyfriend don't mind it" or "Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye" was just a bit unsettling. 

   

  

We have attended the fall festival every year since Elise started kindergarten, but somehow we have always missed the "kiss the pig" event. The kids vote on which teachers should kiss the pig. Since Nina's kindergarten teacher was one selected for the honor, we made sure not to miss it this time. When I had heard about this in years past, I pictured a cute little pink pot bellied pig, perhaps Wilbur from Charlotte's Web. I had no idea the teachers had to kiss this humongous grey boar!  If there was ever any doubt as to why it is hard to attact people to teaching, it isn't just the money, it is the fact that they are made to KISS PIGS!  Mrs. S - you go girl! I think I would have called in sick (with swine flu, of course!)

  
 
  
Saturday morning, Elise made bagged lunches for the homeless with her Brownie troop. With all the excess of the weekend, I think this brought some needed perspective in her life. She came home wanting to round up our old coats and shoes to donate. One of her troop leaders was homeless for a time in her life, so she spoke very passionately and emotionally to the girls about what they were doing and why. I think it really resonated with Elise.

Next on the agenda was Nina's end of season soccer party. Nina really had a great time with soccer this season. I hope she'll decide to play again in the spring. Her coach was wonderful!

 

 Finally, just a couple pictures from Nina's last soccer game.

 

  
 Whew! What a weekend... lots of fun, but I'm glad its over!
 
 
  

Snowshoe Escape

I know I gripe and moan when J.C. goes out of town to Snowshoe, but despite my Internet ramblings, I really do try to be supportive of his trips. I know he desperately needs a break from the estrogen every now and then, and downhill mountain biking is surely the polar opposite of dancing to High School Musical, playing with Barbies, and reading the eighteen different versions of Cinderella that we own. Seriously, the man is up to his eyeballs in Hanna Montana notepads and pink tutus. He needs some rocks and dirt in his life occassionally. The single parenting weekends take every ounce of energy and patience that I have, but they also make me appreciate what a hands-on dad he is the rest of the time. They have one (please, just ONE! Make it only ONE!) last trip planned for this season before the lifts change over to skiers, so hopefully the girls and I can muddle through one more weekend alone until next season.

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy this video he put together. The first half of it is video of him that his friends filmed. In the last half, he is riding wearing a helmet-mounted camera. Enjoy!

Is It Ski Season Yet?

I'm so ready for ski season. It can't get here soon enough. Didn't know I was a big skiier? Uh yeah... 'cause I'm not. The commencement of ski season, however, marks the transition from mountain bikers to skiiers riding the lifts up and then barreling down the mountains. During ski season, I won't hear, "It looks like it is going to be GREAT weather up at Snowshoe this weekend....". During ski season, I won't hear, "Since I bought a season lift ticket, it is practically FREE to go up there. It would be a crime not to go, what with the good weather and the lift ticket and all."  &*$% lift ticket.

Due to good weather and a season lift ticket, I find myself single parenting once again this weekend. Good times. Nina and Elise's screaming matches are at an all time high. Nina "accidentally" kicked Addie in the head this morning (although when you're hurling your feet wildly around people's heads as your frenzied mother yells, "Stop waving your feet around! You're going to kick one of your sisters!", can it really be called accidental?). Karma wins though. A little later in the day, Nina somehow managed to fall off the toilet and smash her own head on the floor resulting in a lovely forehead bruise. I still haven't figured that one out. I went outside for all of 10 minutes this morning and came back in with about 40 mosquito bites. After arguing over what to have for breakfast (what sort of warped 5 year old turns down going out for donuts?), we finally made it out of the house and to the Farmer's Market. Along with fresh fruits and veggies, I bought some locally raised pork sausage, all of which I left in the car when we got home. Nice. Can the pain from a UTI result in death? If so, I think I'm well on my way. To top it all off, just a few minutes ago, I discovered this lovely artwork on the bathroom door.

  

One might assume it is the masterpiece of a toddler, but odds are easily 50/50 that it is the piece de resistance of an unruly five year old. Considering her American Girl doll is once again in time-out for the star tattoos drawn all over her face, pink highlighter on a door is certainly not outside the realm of possibility.

Last weekend, one of Elise's Brownie friends was over here and said, "It is so crazy here. You guys have all these kids. I think you should have just had two." Gotta love the insight and honesty of a 9 year old! Maybe she was on to something though. Things are just... uh... a tad bit out of control.

So....here's to an early winter, lots of snow, and a long ski season! Here here!

 

Field of Dreams

This year, I offered to chaperone Elise's Girl Scout troop on their overnight at the ballpark. It sounded like fun, but as it rained every night in the week leading up to the event, my anticipation turned to anxiety. We had been told by other troops that sleeping under the stars without a tent was the way to go with this event, and that was how our troop did it last year. That's all well and good on a nice night, but throw a little rain in the mix, and we have a problem. After much debate, we decided to just go with our original plan and cross our fingers. It was a risky move, but we got lucky. The rain gods over the stadium were looking out for us that night!

Here are the girls before the game started.

 

And marching in the Girl Scout parade as the players were warming up

 

After the game and fireworks, we set up camp down on the field... first row sleeping bags right in front of the big screen playing Hotel for Dogs.

The Domino's pizza concession stand operator was nice enough to bring down all the pizzas that hadn't sold, so we ended up with a late night pizza party!

It was lights-out at midnight, and this was the scene the next morning just before they blasted the bugle wake up call over the loud speakers followed by a medley of Hannah Montana and High School Musical to get everybody moving. They clearly knew their audience!

 

After a healthy and hearty breakfast of pop-tarts and Froot Loops, we headed home for a nice long nap. It was a fun night in the field of dreams!

A Tale of Two Billboards

Last week, I stumbled across an article about this racy Calvin Klein billboard in Manhattan. I had an immediate visceral reaction to this sign - disgust, anger, and dismay. I understand advertisers wanting to push the envelope with shock value, but to place this ad not in a men's magazine but on a high traffic billboard just goes beyond inappropriate to downright irresponsible. As a mother to three girls, I struggle daily with how to raise strong, responsible, confident young women. Seeing things like this fills my mind with doubt. How do I teach my girls to respect themselves, take care of their bodies, and act responsibly when the world throws these images in their faces?  I can't even fathom how anyone at Calvin Klein or their ad agency could look at this ad and in good conscience make the decision to display this on a huge billboard in the city. Do none of them have daughters? Is their perspective so warped that they can't see the bigger picture beyond the dollar signs? It is so disheartening. Everytime I see something like this, I feel like my job as a mother just intensified, as if this job isn't hard enough as is.

 

After feeling so discouraged about the state of the world in which I'm raising my girls, a friend gave me a glimmer of hope. She just happened to send me an email with a link to an article about Mallory Holtman. It is the most wonderful story of sportsmanship.  Read the article or watch the video, and I think you'll agree. Her selfless act of helping an opponent gives me hope that even in the midst of these disgusting images that degrade and demean women, there are still great women role models out there for my girls. It also helps me believe that there are mothers who have succeeded in the seemingly impossible task of raising responsible, caring, and self-assured young women despite all the external pressures fighting against them.

 

I said this was the "Tale of Two Billboards". Click here to see the billboard that I'd love to see replace the Calvin Klein one. That's what we need to see displayed 3 stories high.

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!

The last two days of our trip were spent at my aunt and uncle's lake house with my best friend M and her family. Her boys are 6 and 8, and they got along fabulously with our girls. The older one, K, was so sweet with Addie, especially. One of the rooms at the lake house has two sets of bunk beds, so the kids thought that was a real treat... like going to camp!

To show all the kids how long M and I have been friends, M brought a picture of the two of us in a church performance of the Christmas story. She played Mary, and I was an angel. I'm guessing maybe we were in fourth grade or so? I have NO memory of ever being in that play, so needless to say, we've been friends a LONG time!

This is going to be a seriously picture-heavy post, but I'm using the excuse that the pictures cover two days to justify it. There were just so many fun pictures because we were all having such a great time!

The view off the lake house porch...

 

The younger sibs... B and Nina - both a bit timid on the slide.

 

The hot shot older kids, Elise and K showing them how it is done!

 

And even the parents got in on the fun! M taking the plunge...

And the dads!

 

I guess age 7 is when you get brave enough for a rope swing. I don't think the younger kids tried it.

 

And then there is this move. JC is anxiously waiting a call from the Olympic diving team...

 

After swimming and playing for a while, R got the jetskis gassed up for us, and ZOOM, ZOOM!... we were OFF!!!

 

Elise with R

 

Nina looking oh so cool.

Even Addie went out for a spin! We thought the noisy motor might scare her, but she loved it and threw a serious tantrum when it was time to get off!

 

 

The race is ON!!!

 

 

Moms gone WILD!  I think the guys were a little nervous that we might not come back!  M and I had a blast zooming around the lake. It took us back to our high school days with summers spent on her dad's boat. The other boaters on the lake were spared a scary sight since thankfully we've outgrown mooning people!

 

Look at that grin on B's face! Love it!

 

I think JC looks slightly nervous here with me in the driver's seat!

M loved getting a little girlie time, and JC got to borrow a son for a couple days!

  

 

We spent the majority of our days swimming and jetskiing, but we did take the boat out for a spin a couple times as well.

 

  

 

Gotta stay hydrated when you're out in the sun all day... with Kool-Aid, of course! Love the pinky up in the air, all dainty like she's having afternoon tea.

Saying goodbye to Uncle D and Aunt D (my dad's twin sister)

I know, I know... enough with the pictures already! You get it... a boat, some jet skis, and smiling, happy people. I'll be back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow. Vacation posts are now over. Unfortunately, that means the vacation is too.

Dude, I'm Married to a Ten Year Old, Part Two

If there was ever any doubt that my husband is reliving his childhood, all doubt can now be erased.

 

To answer questions you might have - yes, he built that, and he flies about 14 feet. Gotta love this conversation with the high school kid next door...

"Man, are you jumping that?"

"yep"

"Oh, that's SICK!"

I'm pretty sure that these days "sick" means "cool", "awesome", or "rad".  I think he's really found his place in the world. And by world, I do mean the world of teenage biker dudes. Awesome.

Dude, I'm Married to a Ten Year Old

This morning, I see J.C. putting these really funky tires on one of his bikes, so I ask, "What's up with the weird tires?" He responds, "Those are my bike park tires."

Yes... bike park... with the ramps, half pipes, skateboards, and ten year olds on BMX bikes. And then there is my husband... closer to 40 than 30, computer geek, father of three, out there kickin' it with the 10 year olds.

I haven't watched him in action yet, but you can be assured that when I do, there will be video!

Better That Than Your Leg

J.C. and his bike had an unfortunate run-in with a tree recently. As upset as J.C. is about the bike, I have to say, I'm quite relieved that his bike took the hit and not his leg. I don't think he would have walked away from this one otherwise.

 

My manager was riding with J.C. at the time, and he has such a way with words...

"I only heard two things when this happened.  A slap/snap sound which I am guessing was the tree protesting the blow.  And what sounded like a 6 year old girl wailing because their favorite dolly lost her hair.

I saw the tree and it won’t be long for the world.  But I never saw the girl or her damaged doll."

Trying Something New

It is always nice when an opportunity comes along to try something new and different. I never know for sure what sport or hobby might pique the girls' interest, so it is always interesting to see what they think of new activities. Last weekend, our company sponsored a kids' tennis clinic, so off we went. Elise seemed to really enjoy it. Nina ran the gamut from having fun, pouting because she couldn't master a skill, and simply running back and forth down the length of the court. Tennis definitely didn't keep her interested the way gymnastics does. I do think Elise would enjoy tennis lessons though, so perhaps we'll sign her up for some in the future. Overall, it was a fun afternoon, and a nice way for them to get introduced to a new sport.

 

 

   

 

Not sure what this conversation was about, but it looks like a rather typical sibling interaction!