36

I recently turned 36.  And it may have been the best birthday ever!  I say that with little confidence because honestly, I'm getting old and I don't even remember what I did last year for my birthday.  But it was a great day.  John took the day off work so I got to sleep in a bit while he helped get the kids ready for school. 

I spent the morning birthday shopping with my mom. And then went out to lunch with my parents and Kortney and John.  Then John took me to see a movie.  I can't even remember the last time I went to a movie on a weekday afternoon.  I wish I could make a habit of it!  We saw the Imitation Game.  Great movie. 

Then we came home and John hung up one of my birthday presents.  I got a bunch of decorations for my birthday.  I like getting decorations.  Am I weird?

We picked up kids and did the after school rush and then grabbed some Chick-fil-A for dinner before my family came over for Tres Leches cake and ice cream.  Late that night after everyone was gone and the kids were in bed I realized that we hadn't taken a single picture all day.  John volunteered to take a picture of me watching tv while eating leftover cake out of the pan.  I declined the offer. 

 

And I must say...I got one of the coolest gifts ever.  My friend Brooke had this photo of us and turned it into a mug.  The photo was taken during the summer after dinner one night.  Brooke has the amazing ability to make 5-7 chins.  I am lame and can only make 2.  The proof if forever on the mug. 

Spring Piano Recital 2015

After our crazy afternoon Ainsley and Owen both delivered stellar performances. Memorized! Owen played "A Whole New World" and got stuck at one point. I was impressed when he went back a few measures and then remembered how to get to the end.  He sat down and said, "I failed!  I had to sit there for like 30 seconds!"  We reassured him that it had really only been a few seconds and his recovery was incredible. 

 

Ainsley played a pretty piece.  I don't know the name of it but it sounded beautiful. My kids are pretty amazing.

A wee bit of Crazy!!!

Right before Emmie lost her tooth (see previous post) and while we were trying to get ready for a piano recital (see next post)  Ainsley was in tears and terrified because her friends mother had yelled at her on her way home from school.  Telling her and her other friend that they were mean little girls and hopefully one day they would look back and realize what horrible friends they were. 

Not to sound too much like an 11 year old girl I will recount, briefly, the story....Because I still can't get over the craziness of it all!

The aforementioned woman is the mother of a girl that moved into our ward and neighborhood about a year ago.  Ainsley's little group of friends reached out to this little girl and befriended her.  And overtime we learned that this little girl was crazy. Ainsley put up with weeks and months of drama and fights caused by this little girl.  And then when Ainsley and her friends told this little girl one day that they were having a hard time getting over fights over and over again, well, the crazy really started to happen. 

That single action of Ainsley's friend standing up for her herself prompted this mother to yell at Ainsley and her friend on their way home from school.  The crazy thing was that neither of the girls that got yelled at had made the comment!

Ainsley came home crying and scared.  I think that if one of my friends mom's had yelled at me when I was 11 I probably would have been scared too.  In an attempt to quickly fix the crazy, and the tears over a lost tooth, and get ready for a recital I did what any good mother would do.  I got out ice cream.  Emotions were calmed and we went about our night.

Later that night after a piano recital and bed I mustered up my courage and called the offending mother.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.  But I felt this was a battle that I needed to fight for Ains.  I calmly explained to the mother that Ainsley came home scared and crying and that although the girls might have some problems they needed to work out, I requested that if she ever felt the need to correct my children in the future I would ask that she talk to me first. 

At this point I was expecting an apology.  Instead I got an earful about why she was completely justified in yelling at my child and that Ainsley had been rude and talked about her "Super Harry Potter Playdate" in front of her daughter even though her daughter wasn't invited.  The funny thing is that the "Super Harry Potter Playdate" was getting together with a classmate to work on a book report.  By this point in the conversation I realized that I was dealing with a crazy woman.  The conversation was headed nowhere helpful so I again requested that if she had anything negative to say to or about my children again that she talk to me first.  And then and said thank you.  And then I may have said good -bye and hung up quickly.

Things continued to get crazier!  This mom started a facebook war (with herself really because I never responded) told her daughter that I was posting lies about her and her daughter online.  Ainsley and her friends were getting glares and rude comments all day at school.  And Owen has to go to her house for scouts.  Awkward, right? It was crazy! 

It even got brought up at ward council! (John didn't tell me that ;) Probably because this woman tried to say that her husband had finally agreed to allow her children to be baptized...but then all this happened.  Talk about knowing how to manipulate the Mormons!

Anyhwho, things have since died down.  But unfortunately bridges have been burned and crazy has been revealed.  And now I have said my peace.  And hopefully Ainsley knows that I've got her back.  Because while I reserve the right to yell at my children, I don't allow others that right.  Unless they deserve it....and then other people can put them in their place all they want!

Another First Tooth!

Emmie lost her first tooth.  On March 4th. While we were getting ready to go to Ainsley and Owen's piano recital. Isn't she too young for that!  She beat Owen by a solid 2 years!There was much freaking out and crying.  But she survived.

Blue and Gold

Owen had his first Blue and Gold Banquet last month.  And boy was it a doozy.  It was completely over the top and completely awesome!  You really can't go wrong with a Harry Potter theme though.  I'll let the pictures tell the story.  Due to the fact that we took way too many.

3rd Grade Music Program

Owen sung his little heart out at his music program this year.  It was Disney themed and he had a solo part during "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."  He did great!  We dared him to do it with a British accent.  He claimed he tried it during the rehearsal but he chickened out during the performance.  Either way he was adorable.

Valentine's Day (better late than never!)

This year since Valentine's day was on a Saturday I decided to make a big breakfast for my family.  And then I decided that that if I was already cooking a big breakfast I might as well feed a crowd.  So I invited the miamaids over for brunch and they hung out with us for a bit.  It turned out to be a lot of fun. 

John woke up early to smoke us all a "fatty".  This fatty was peppers, eggs, and hashbrowns, wrapped in sausage and bacon.  And I have to admit, it was pretty good.

Speaking of John and fatty's.....John has been doing a weightloss competition with some of his family since January.  He has currently lost 28 pounds! His dedication has amazed me.  I unfortunately have gained 5 pounds...but that's a story for another day.

The rest of our Valentine's day was great.  The weather was gorgeous so we took the kids to the park and to dinner and watched Alexander and the......Bad day.   A perfect day as a family I'd say.