This year Mommy took the easy way out and we had their party at a pizza place. At least I thought it would be easier since I wouldn't have to clean up. I forgot about how much fun it would be to try to keep track of seven crazed 9 year olds running all around ... herding cats comes to mind. At least they had fun and birthday week is over now - thank heavens!

Happy Birthday to all of 'em!!!!

Well, it was a very "Hanna Montana" birthday party at our house last week. Somehow I was able to convince all of my girls to have a combined birthday party, since Halle's birthday is just five days before Annie & Kate's. And since Halle is only 3 and didn't really care, I figured I'd kill three birds with one stone and just do one party - easy, peasy, lemon squeeze, right?

So we had 16 little girls anywhere from age 3 through 6 running through our house singing Hannah Montana songs at the top of their lungs for two hours, no biggie. We had pizza, cake and ice cream (the girls each got to blow out their own candle - for once, which they loved!) and we did a craft that I forgot to have everyone take home. Oh yeah, and the cool Hannah Montana pinata shaped like a guitar that we just had to have? We got so busy singing karaoke that we forgot to do the pinata until there was only one little friend left - she scored!!!

Anyway, it was a great party and Mommy's so glad that it's over! We're grateful for all of our little friends and love having them over - just not all at the same time!!!!

Gratitude: Annie

I know, I know - I'm STILL terrible at posting stuff regularly. Sorry! Anyway, I was thinking about Annie today and how much I absolutely LOVE that little girl! She is a ray of sunshine in my life and everything I imagined when I pictured having a little girl: sugar and spice and everything nice - and a dimple on her right cheek that just melts me every time I see it.

Annie is one of the most loving people I know on planet earth. Seriously! I can be walking from the kitchen to the laundry room and mid-stride, Annie will intercept me and hug my legs tight and say, in an honest and sincere voice, "Mom, I really love you so much." This honestly happens probably four or five times a day, and more on the weekends when she's home. She's a total snuggler, unlike Kate and Halle, and welcomes any opportunity to do so.

Another thing about Annie - she has the strongest skull in the world, which she uses as a weapon and the strength of which has saved her from serious brain damage on several occasions. When she was nine months old, she had to wear a little pink helmet for about three months because the back of her head was getting flat. Apparently she became too comfortable with the helmet, because ever since it came off she's been bonking into things that would flatten any other little girl, but she'll just stand up and rub her head and keep going. I swear, that kid is a magnet for bonking into things!

When she was two, she was napping in one of our playyards in the basement because we had family staying with us, and somehow she climbed out and fell and broke her arm. I love this picture of her with her little pink cast because she was always smiling! It's the same reason I love this picture of her when she was three and had to spend a few nights at Primary Children's Hospital when she was diagnosed with asthma - still smiling!

Annie's also very artistic and very left-brained. It's so fun to watch the two of them tackle a math problem, or cleaning a room, or tying (and eventually not tying) their shoes because they're so opposite. Annie loves to daydream and draw, and when she does it's usually castles, princesses, dragons and knights in shining armor. She's also a pretty good little golfer and has great hand/eye coordination. She inserts words like "actually" "certainly" and "of course" in places where they don't belong when she's speaking, so it will sound something like:

"Hey Mom, did you know actually, that, of course, there's snakes that can, of course, live in the ocean?"

"No Annie, I actually didn't know that!"

"Well that would definitley freak me out to, you know, be certainly swimming next to one. I would be like "ahhhhh" and then swim away as far, far away as possible! Whew that would be scarry!! I would definitley NOT want to see a snake in the water! Oh, and did you know that, of course, the human head weighs eight pounds?"

Love that kid!

Gratitude: Kate

I've been so bad about not posting lately, and the guilt has finally caught up with me. I am so grateful for Kate - my spunky little 6 year old, my middle child (by one minute!)and my kid who always keeps things interesting around our house! Kate is a very thoughtful, clever little girl. She is my biggest helper and loves teaching Halle new things. She also loves to see how much she can get away with and can talk Annie into just about anything. Kate is the family Nark - I swear that girl even tattle tells in her sleep! She loves to read and write short stories and has darn near perfect handwriting.

The other day, she was reading one of her chapter books for school (29 chapters - geez!) and after she had gone to bed, I came downstairs, and on the sofa where she had been reading, I found her book with a little sticky note inside, with the word "interesting" (spelled "entresting") written in yellow highlighter. The next morning I asked her why she did that, and she said her teacher mentioned that it's a good idea to make notes while you read and she thought that page was interesting. Love it!

And a few weeks ago, their school celebrated "100 days left of school" and she brought home this "100 Day Activities" worksheet. The italicized words are the words she used to fill in the blanks:

I wish I had 100: toys. I wish I had 100: candy. I wish I had 100: dreams in one nigt. But I would not want 100: hollahoops.

I could eat 100: ice cream paks. I could eat 100: mackorony. I could eat 100: jello salid. But I could never eat 100: persons.

I could hold 100: hamsters. I could do 100: flips on the bing bag. I could make 100: chocklate pretsles. But I could never: eat 100: poop.

Priceless!

Gratitude: "All I Want Is You Mom"

Yesterday I asked Kate what she wanted for Christmas, just to see if her list has stayed the same, and she gave me a big hug and said with her goofy face "All I want is you Mom!" Now I'm smart enough to know that she was on a little sugar high from the candy she was eating at the time, and anyone who knows Kate knows that she can get a little silly sometimes. But it did make me stop and think for a minute about how true it really is - amidst all of the holiday craziness that seems to surround us at Christmas, all our kids really want is more time with us.

I had been looking at past Christmas pictures earlier in the day and couldn't hold back the tears as I realized how quickly they're growing up and how fleeting these little moments are. I realize that the best gift I can give my kids this year and every year is my time, my unconditional love and my attention (even when I have a million other things to do!)

Santa Has Problems

I'm sorry, but if I don't write this down now I'll forget. I was sitting at dinner with the girls tonight, and telling them about the news story that I saw last night about how Santa's workshop might not be able to get all of the toys made this year because there were so many good kids. I was just trying to put a little doubt in their minds that there's a chance that they may not get what they asked for - it's more fun that way on Christmas morning.

So anyway, I'm telling Annie and Kate this and then Annie sets her grilled cheese sandwich down and says, "but Mom, Santa doesn't have any problems." And as I'm trying not to laugh as I think about all of Santa's "problems" Annie holds a finger up and says "except for, of course, the sleigh crash of '64."

Yes, of course Annie. The infamous sleigh crash of 1964. Where does she come up with this stuff?

Tooth Fairy misunderstanding

Wow - we don't know what is up with the Tooth Fairy these days, but she is really off her game! Annie lost a tooth three days ago and Annie still hadn't received anything for her tooth. We discussed it and decided that the Tooth Fairy is probably confused about which house Annie is sleeping in, and that maybe if we left a note on the door of the new house, it would clarify things for her.

Fortunately, it worked and Annie got 50 cents under her pillow this morning. Silly Tooth Fairy!!!

Oh, the drama . . .

I'm sorry, but this was just too funny to pass up. Annie's probably going to kill me for putting these on here, but it was too cute. The other day she came upstairs and was sad because she was feeling left out of a playdate. We talked for a minute and I told her to just think of something happy - like Disneyland - and go play something else.

She said "okay Mom" but then she started getting "a throat." Those of you who know Annie know that "a throat" means that some sobs are coming along with some crocodile tears and that you should prepare yourself for the hormones that are about to be unleashed. But this time Annie was determined to fight it, and was trying to keep the sobs down when she told me that now, in addition to her "throat" she had a "jiggling tummy" and she wasn't sure if she could make it stop. I told her I'd take a picture to send to the doctor to see if he knew what we should do.