House of Estrogen

Smile

To keep from boring you with rants from a lunatic cookie mom, I thought I'd share three videos that made me smile this week. Enjoy!

Simple Woman's Daybook, January 19, 2014

 

 

For Today...

 

Outside my window... we finally have a beautiful sunny day!
  

   I am thinking... about Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I really want to make time to go see the movie Selma soon.
  

 I am thankful... for discovering the busted hot water heater before we had a garage full of flooded Girl Scout cookies.

 

 From the kitchen... hmm... this reminds me I was supposed to go to the grocery store today.
   

 I am creating... a grocery list?

   

I am going... to take the girls to see Paddington this afternoon.

 

I am reading... All the President's Menus by Julie Hyzy. I love it so far. I have enjoyed all the books in this series.

 

 I am hoping... to make final decisions on paint and faucets soon.
   

I am hearing... peace and quiet. JC has taken all three girls to sell Girl Scout cookies.
 

Around the house... our new bathtub for our master bath arrived today. It is gorgeous! I can't wait to get it installed and take my first soak.

 

One of my favorite things... Benjamin Moore paint.

 

A few plans for the rest of the week... jump rope, count cookies, Taekwondo, sell cookies, sewing class, pick up more cookies, Girl Scout meetings, work cookie booths, blah, blah, blah.

 

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... we went to the rodeo for my birthday Saturday night and had so much fun. It was JC and the girls' first rodeo ever. It took me back to my childhood at the Mesquite Rodeo in Texas and the Santa Fe Rodeo in New Mexico. Addison loved it the most. She and I stood in line for nearly an hour after it ended to get the cowboys' autographs and get her picture taken with her favorite cowgirl. The parking lot was deserted when we finally left, so a nice security guard in a golf cart drove us to the car where J.C., Elise, and Nina were waiting for us.

 

 

 

 

 To read more Daybook posts or learn how to participate, visit The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Good Morning to You Too, Hon!

This was my alarm this morning: "Ann! WAKE UP! There is water leaking in the garage. I don't know where it is coming from, whether we have a busted pipe or a broken hot water heater or what. There are COOKIES in the garage! I have to leave to drive the middle school carpool. You have to go down there and monitor the situation. If you need to start moving cookies in the house, I suggest you wake up Nina!"

Um, have you seen my garage lately?  "Moving cookies inside" is no trivial task.

Water is now turned off to the house. Small waterfall in the garage has ceased. Cookies are momentarily safe... until someone needs to take a shower or wash their hands.

A commenter on my last post called Girl Scout cookies "devil biscuits."

Damn devil biscuits.

Simple Woman's Daybook, January 12, 2015

 

 

For Today...

 

Outside my window... rain - will it ever stop raining? I need sunlight!
  

   I am thinking... about jump rope issues and Girl Scout cookie issues. I'm feeling a bit drained and overloaded right now.
  

 I am thankful... for my husband. He's a good egg.

 

 From the kitchen... peanut butter and jelly sandwiches... exciting life we live around here.
   

 I am creating... cookie spreadsheets, I suppose.

   

I am going... to bed.

 

I am reading... All the President's Menus by Julie Hyzy. I finished Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. I thoroughly enjoyed both, particularly the Storied Life - great book! I attempted to read American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History by Chris Kyle. I finally had to give up about 60% through it. It was just a really bad book - bad writing, bad grammar, bad attitude, disjointed story. I have no idea how it got past editors or how it ever made it to the New York Times bestseller list. I really gave it a good effort, but it is not a good book. I don't recommend it.

 

 I am hoping... to sleep tonight. I didn't sleep well last night.
   

I am hearing... a quiet house. Everyone is in bed.
 

Around the house... we are planning for some renovations. We have paint samples on walls and estimates from contractors.

 

One of my favorite things... Whole Foods lip balm. It is the only brand that doesn't give me an allergic reaction.

 

A few plans for the rest of the week... Girl Scout cookie sales start. 'Nuff said.

 

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... Nina hard at work on her new sewing machine.

 

 

 

 To read more Daybook posts or learn how to participate, visit The Simple Woman's Daybook.

And So It Begins...

Welcome to my garage.

Letter to Addison, Age 7

Dear Addison,

You turned seven last month. We celebrated with a gingerbread decorating party at home. I tried desperately to convince you to do a party outside the house - Ice skating! Bounce house place! Taekwondo! Manicures! Build-a-Bear!  You would have none of it. You were determined to have a party at home, so I relented. It was fun... chaotic and crazy, but fun.

Your insistence and never-back-down attitude about the home birthday party is pretty typical of your temperament these days. You are strong-willed and not shy about it. That will serve you well in a board room some day. Right now, it can be a bit draining for your parents. You and Nina are the stubborn soul sisters.

As you entered first grade, we crossed our fingers that the transition would be smoother than your transition to kindergarten which had been pretty traumatic. Things certainly went better, but it was still really tough on you. I think you are just someone who is very sensitive to change. Change is hard for you, and it takes you time to adjust to new classes, new camps, new situations. It isn't a bad thing, it is just part of what makes you you. I am starting to think that a traditional calendar school might be a better fit for you. Tracking in and out of school (9 weeks on, 3 weeks off) brings on a rough transition period every time. It is hard to get your behavior back in line after we track in or out of school. Overall though, school is going well. You like your teacher, and you are cruising along fine academically.

You enjoy reading. A couple of your favorite books lately have been Mercy Watson Fights Crime by Kate DiCamillo and The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale. You have some good friends both in and out of school and still participate in Daisy Girl Scouts and book club. You love to ride your bike and scooter.

The biggest change in your life in the past year has been your participation in Taekwondo.

When you first approached us about doing Taekwondo after a track-out camp field trip, I assumed this activity would go the way of others you have tried (T-ball, cheer, dance, and soccer). Your typical M.O. is to enjoy the activity for the first few weeks, tolerate it for the rest of the season or session, and then quit.

 

I never imagined that Taekwondo would have the impact on you that it has. It has made you a better Addison. I think you needed and craved the structure and discipline of martial arts. It just works for you. All of the tenets of Taekwondo are incorporated into the classes - honor, courtesy, integrity, self-control, perseverence. You are picking up all of that. Your first grade teacher told us that she noticed a difference in your respect and courtesy toward her after you started doing Taekwondo. We notice it at home too.

You are dedicated, determined, focused, and happy working toward your goals at Taekwondo. It is not an activity I ever would have chosen for you, so I'm so glad you found it and pursued it on your own. It is a good fit for your soul. I hope you will continue in Taekwondo for a long time. It has been such a great influence on your life.

I hope seven will be a good year. You continue to challenge us as parents, but you continue to bring us smiles and joy every day too. You talk all the time, giving us all your seven year old observations on life. I love your thought processes.

I love you,

Mama

2014 in Girl Scout Cookies

It is January, and if you have been reading this blog very long, you know what that means... Girl Scout cookies. It means blog pictures of the girls sitting at booths hawking cookies. It means angry, bitter blog posts from me where I vow to never again be a Girl Scout cookie mom. Before life gets ugly, and I disappear off the face of the Internet, I thought I'd share a fun video that Girl Scouts of the USA put out - the Top 10 Cookie Worthy Moments of 2014. It is cute, and really quite funny. Enjoy!