I have finally made it

I am officially an adult.  In fact I have never felt more like an adult that I do when I look at this picture.

I've always kind of felt like I was pretending at this adult stuff.  Get married, buy a house, have a kid, accumulate debt, yada, yada, yada.

As my children have grown I've still felt at times like they belong to someone else.  No one in their right mind would allow me to have kids, would they?

What if they did?  What if 10-and-a-half years ago today I gave birth to this bald, cone-headed, eight-pound, five-ounce little being?  And she was deceptively sweet, until the crying began.  Then when it stopped after several weeks we liked her again.

What if she has a heart of gold and eyes of bright blue?  What if she is caring, and silly, and moody too?  What if she has my allergies, bad eyes, and crooked teeth?  What if she has her dad's hands and feet?  What if two weeks ago we put braces on her teeth and the feelings began?  The feelings of- I am an adult and I am responsible for this young person's teeth.  This young person who is four inches shorter than me and wears a size seven shoe?  What if after years of struggling in school she has finally found her groove and gets awesome grades and reads like a crazy girl?  What if today she left for Fifth Grade Camp? Ten-and-a-half years to the day she came into the world, she dropped her gear, said goodbye, and ran off to her friends without looking back.  Four days of no mom, and no dad, except for when we visit of course.  What if she's having the time of her life?  I hope she is.

Soccer and vampires and conferences! Oh My!

It's amazing how fast time flies.  One minute you're on a roll blogging, working, taking care of your family and the next minute you realize you haven't posted on your blog in 9 days!

I remember a car ride I had many years ago with my step-mom and cousin.  "Wait until you get older," my Step-Mom told me, "time goes even faster."  I think I had been complaining about how fast summer was going by or something like that.  She was right.

The days between now and whatever event I am looking forward to will be a blur, it's best not to wish them away.

Things have been exciting lately.  The fall soccer season is over and there are no more Saturday early wake-up calls to open the concession stand and watch games. 

The girls were both vampiresses for Halloween, and they were super scary and pleased with their costumes.

Then last week we had our parent-teacher conferences and both of our daughters are doing awesome in school!  Just awesome!!!  I am so proud, and relieved.  Those of you that know us know that our 5th grader Ryann has had some struggles in school and this year has been a real turning point for her.  I couldn't be more pleased.

So, needless to say, the last two weeks were a blur, and now things are slowing down.  Slowing down enough where I can ignore the dirty dishes in my kitchen and spend a few hours working on stuff at Starbucks.  Drinking an iced chai.  Life is good.  Oh my.

It's only just begun

I am the mother of two daughters, one 10 and one six-and-a-half.

The one whines about everything.  The first words out of her mouth every morning are sung, but the music is more nails on chalkboard than birds singing.  It's horribly unpleasant.  Horrible.

Oh, did I mention that it's the six-year-old I'm talking about?

The one that's too smart for her own good, and basically tells me that.  The one that lost her two front teeth on Friday, but doesn't mind that I call her "Fangs".  The that loves her big sister and then whines that Ryann is just like Mama!!!  I think it's because we both use the phrase "Whiny Brat" to describe her.  I know.  Horrible.

The older one has hormones.  I can see them floating above her head.  A constant reminder of my younger days and how I just didn't want to talk about it!  Geesh!  She gets overwhelmed and confused.  Sometimes she's Mama's baby as she rolls her bean-pole-self up on my lap and wraps her almost size seven feet around mine.  And then she's the tween, unsure of herself and her feelings, and eyeing the neighbor boy with a gleam in her eye.

I wanted two boys.  I said that out loud.  But I have two girls, that someday will be 16 and 13.  Simultaneously.  I love them, but pray for me.  Please.