Bipolar, Gemini or 4-yr old drama queen?

(Saturday morning)

Kennedy: Wake up, mom!
Me: [not sure if I'm really awake, yet] Good morning, sunshine.
Kennedy: I want some oatmeal. Will you make me some oatmeal?
Me: Uh, sure. Do you want to go play in your room for a few minutes, first? [hoping she'll say yes so I can actually sleep in for once]
Kennedy: No, I'm really hungry. I want oatmeal.
Me: Ok. Let's go.

[I groggily drag myself up the stairs to the kitchen to whip her up some tasty oatmeal.]

Kennedy: Mom, thanks for getting me some oatmeal.
Me: [smiling and commending myself for raising such a polite child] You're very welcome.
Kennedy: [noticing that the oatmeal is Blueberry flavored] NO, MOM!! I DON'T WANT BLUEBERRY OATMEAL!!!! I WANT STRAWBERRY!!!
Me: [fully awake, now, thanks to the outburst] Kennedy, we don't behave like that. Blueberry is the only kind we have left.
Kennedy: But I want STRAWBERRY! I don't LIKE BLUEBERRY!
Me: If you don't want it, you don't have to have any breakfast. This is what we have, and this is what you'll eat if you're hungry.
Kennedy: [letting out a frustrated sigh] Fine. ... Mom?
Me: Yes, honey?
Kennedy: Can I please have some bunny milk? [i.e. Strawberry Nesquick]
Me: Yes you may, thank you for asking nicely.
Kennedy: Thank you for getting me bunny milk, mom. I love you.


(Tonight)

[After playing "royal ball" with her princess dolls]
Me: Ok, Kennedy, time for bed!

[With no argument, she swiftly runs to her bedroom to pick out her pajamas and then skips to the bookshelf to pick out a book. We meet at her bed where she has 6 books displayed nicely for me to see]

Kennedy: Mom, what book do you want to read?
Me: Hm... I think we should read Mickey and the Beanstalk.
Kennedy: No. Now tell me to pick.
Me: [Dreading another princess story and wondering why she even bothers asking me what I'd like to read when she knows I'm not going to pick another freaking princess story] Ok, Kennedy, you pick.
Kennedy: Twelve Dancing Princesses [Wow. That's a big shocker.]

[After reading the longest story on her bookshelf...]

Kennedy: Ok, now put my covers on, please.
[I start to put her pink floral blanket on her]
Kennedy: NO! I don't WANT that blanket!! I want the OTHER pink one!!!!
Me: You don't get any blankets if you talk to me like that.
Kennedy: [in a really fake, sweet, high-pitched voice] Mommy? Can you please get the other pink blanket on me? Please?
Me: [Laughing. But only on the inside] Yes, honey. Thank you for asking nicely.

After I get her all tucked in, I lean down to give her a hug. She squeezes me really tight, the way I love it, and I squeeze right back.

Kennedy: [as she's still nearly choking me] *sigh* Mom- I want to hug you for a long time.
Me: Me too, Kennedy.
Kennedy: You stay here and hug me for a long, long, long time. And in the morning, we can still hug! [she says this like it's an incredibly brilliant idea she's just come up with]
Me: Oh baby, I would love to hug you all night. [I really, really would.]
Kennedy: Ok. Then do it.
[After explaining all of the reasons why I couldn't sleep next to her tonight]
Me: Goodnight, baby, I love you.
Kennedy: I love you too, mommy.


Whatever she is, Bipolar, Gemini or Drama Queen, she's mine and I love her.

A little late

Bear Lake pictures!

Since I really should be working right now instead of "blogging," this will be short and succinct.

I want to go back. I miss the weather- sunny but not too hot. I miss the water, the sand, the light, fresh breezes. I miss the camping and hanging out around the campfire and gazing up at the innumerable mass of stars. I miss not having a schedule or deadlines and just being able to relax.

We had a blast playing volleyball in the water

Dirty Kennedy.

Some of the girls on the beach.

Kickin' it like a mo-fo on the wave-runner.

Mommy and Kennedy.

Clean Kennedy. (Notice my gun-show worthy biceps in the shadow? Or maybe that's the relief society flab that makes them look so large.)

Oh well. Back to reality and my desk FULL of papers to be reviewed.

Out of the mouths of babes

I don't usually do "Tags," but this one was really cute. Janica tagged me. Kennedy had some fun answers:

What does Mommy always say to you?
Kennedy: I love you

What makes Mommy happy?
Kennedy: When I kiss and hug her

What makes Mommy sad?
Kennedy: When I do something mean to her

How does Mommy make you laugh?
Kennedy: When she's being silly

How old is Mommy?
Kennedy: 65

How tall is Mommy?
Kennedy: This tall [she held her hand up to my head- she was sitting on my lap]

What doesn't Mommy like to do?
Kennedy: Work

What is Mommy's job?
Kennedy: to work

What is Mommy's favorite food?
Kennedy: Chicken [False- we all know the correct answer is pizza. Chocolate would have worked, too]

How do you know Mom loves you?
Kennedy: When you kiss me and stuff


Ok- so I'm not "tagging" anyone, but if you have a kid, you should do it. It was fun to see what she said.

My fixation has been fixed.

To start off, Bear Lake was awesome. Please be jealous, because it was that incredible. But there will be more of that later. Right now there is a more important issue at hand.

Pizza.

I think we've all established how much I'm in love with the stuff. While in Bear Lake, I was still craving it. Since I'm bossy and I tell everyone what to do, we all went out to get some pizza at Bear Lake Pizza.

What size would feed 6 hungry vacationers?...Medium? Too small. Large? Still too small. What's bigger than large, you ask?

The one and only 28" circle of heaven, Old Ephraim.

This legendary creation was named after a 10 foot bear, but that story is way too long and boring to write about.
This pizza is so big, that if your party succeeds in eating the whole thing, you get your picture on the wall!! (Oh my goodness, that is freaking incredible. Who wouldn't want their picture on the wall? We were actually trying to talk them into giving us cash if we ate the entire pizza, but they wouldn't have it.)


We were extremely confident as we strode up to the counter and put in our order for Old Ephraim. We merrily chuckled at how simple it would be for us, with our monstrous appetites, to finish this 28" challenge.
The mood quickly changed as the pizza, so large that it was being supported by 3 Bear Lake Pizza employees, was brought out to our table. Our confidence was shattered. Each piece was twice the size of my head. There was no way we could successfully devour it and get our picture on the wall. .. .. .. but, admitting defeat, we ate it, anyway.

Each of us could only handle 1, maybe 2, pieces before our guts were nearly bursting and our arteries clogging.

After we felt satiated, we boxed up the remainder of Old Ephraim and took it back to camp to show the others- and it was a nice joke for the rest of the weekend. (One of our guy friends wanted us to call him "Old Ephraim" for the remainder of the trip- I'll let you figure out why.)

Oh- and I'd give the pizza a 2 or 3. It really sucked. I guess they work so hard at making such a large pizza, they forget that they need to make it taste good.

If you didn't notice, the pictures are really crappy quality- my camera is still broken, so these were taken with my phone. I will post the lake pictures, later, when I get/steal them from my friends who were there with fully-functional cameras.

Look how cute she is in her princess swimsuit.

Notice how EMPTY the lake is?? And it was so warm. It was awesome. I'm telling you, you should be jealous.

Random thoughts

Nothing noteworthy has been going on in my life, but there is a lot on my mind. I will share this valuable information with you:

1: I want some pizza and ice cream.

2: But if I eat that, I'm going to have to run a gazillion miles to work it off, and, let's face it- we all know I'm not going to do that.

3: So I'll just nibble on my rice cakes instead.

4: I'm selfless yet stupid. I took Kennedy swimming, lathered her up with sunscreen, like a good mom, yet I neglected myself.

5: My back/shoulders look like they have developed leprosy.

6: It took me 30 extra minutes to get ready this morning- peeling is very addictive.

7: I want to get a bumper sticker for my junky car that says "watch for flying parts." And then I want to buy a new car.

8: But I'm too cheap to have a car payment, so I'll have to stick with my p.o.s. car(s).

9: It's fun to hear Kennedy use bigger words such as "certainly," "frustrated" and "absolutely."

10: Taking tap and ballet at age 25 probably isn't as easy as it would have been if I had taken it when I was younger and more agile.

11: There are many adjectives you could use to describe me... "graceful" isn't one of them.

12: Time seriously CRAWLS when you are waiting for a vacation (Bear Lake tomorrow!).

13: I love shoes... but wanting a different pair to match every outfit isn't justification enough for me to buy more. (According to Justin.)

14: I want a new hairstyle... but "creative" and "made of money" are a few more of those adjectives which do not apply to me.

15: I really want some pizza and ice cream. This rice cake is disgusting.

Princess invasion

It is done. I have survived. The house was cleaned and then destroyed, the cake was created and then devoured, a dragon piñata was stuffed and then slain, presents were wrapped and then ripped open, and fun was had by all.

Kennedy looked and acted like a princess. She was SO excited when we showed her the Snow White dress the morning of her party. (When I accidentally call her "Kennedy," she politely reminds me that her name is, in fact, Snow White.)


The kids decorated their crowns, tiaras, wands and swords.



The more artistically talented parents helped.

This is Kennedy's boyfriend/prince, Jackson. He hasn't hit his growth spurt, yet, but we're thinking that, once he does, and once he decides that hitting girls isn't going to get them to like him, they'll be a good match.


Then I told a story about Princess Kennedy (but she corrected me and told me the story was actually about Princess Snow White, since that is her name) who was poisoned by the evil queen. The only way to save the princess was to get dragon eggs.

So we searched in the yard to find the hidden dragon eggs. Oh- and in case you ever want to find Easter eggs in June... it's impossible. Call Janica- she has some. (Thank you :) )

After we found the dragon eggs... the dragon woke up! So we had to slay him, since that's what you do to dragons.
(yes, I was on the phone. I was giving my mother a play-by-play, since she was unable to attend.)


And here's a picture of Justin. He looks sexy. I'm not going to lie- it kind of turns me on.


We then had a royal ball, in which the kids danced to Disney music.

Present time!!!
Kennedy didn't even realize she was getting presents- she thought a birthday party was just that: a party. So she was super stoked that she was actually getting stuff. So was I.

Finally, the Pièce de Résistance:
This took me 8 hours. I almost cried when we cut into it. It was like cutting into my soul.
It didn't turn out as good as I had planned, but most things don't. It's a little lopsided, although I think that's because the frosting started melting... of course that could just be a lame excuse. But it makes me feel better.

Happy Birthday, beautiful Kennedy (Snow White)!! You mean the world to me!!

Another taste of the Ashleye

Ohhhh yes, baby. I know you've been waiting. Well, wait no longer, my friends.

I present to you: the rest of the pictures (unless I see fit for me to post some others, later).

Oh- and I apologize, but there will be no more elaborate play-by-play of our trip. Just some pictures for you to feast your eyes upon... with some very clever and witty narrative.

Hangin' out with the Hydrangeas. (See? I told you it was clever.)

Thought we'd stop for a while and sun bathe.

Ashlee's babies wanted some Chi Tea. And what babies want, babies get.

As we were walking along the streets of Seattle, these interesting chaps asked if we wanted our picture with them.... They wanted us to pose holding the "list." We weren't on it.

After we narrowly escaped the strange men, we continued down the street to our final destination: Food. Notice the sign above our heads? This is probably the best Italian restaurant I've ever been to. It's in downtown Seattle... it's a really small place, but it is divine. And apparently we were having a moment.

My cute mommy and me standing in front of Puget Sound.

Pike's Market!
Piggy wiggy

I don't like fish. Why am I tasting it? It's good form.

Resting in front of the lovely array of tulips

So... there you go. There's the Ashleye trip. Yay!!

Now it's time to plan for a 4 yr old princess party (this Saturday)!! It will stretch my maternal creativity to it's fullest capacity. We'll see how I do.