Don't Tell Daddy

Ava loves my shoes. And so does her *ahem* brother. Daily, Ava prances around the house in a pair of my high heels. Today, she chose my boots. And well, you can see what her brother chose. Shhhh, don't tell Andy this is what goes on when he's at work.

Mama's Clothes

My parents sent my very first soccer uniform to us this week. I wore it when I was five, and the only girl on the "Charging Cheetahs." Ava, being the little soccer player she is just HAD to have the jersey, so I washed it and stuck it in her dress-up box. This morning, when I had her go pick out her clothes for the day, this is what she brought me.

How could I resist? I'll admit, I got a little nostalgic seeing my little girl in my old jersey. A few things stood out to me: first of all, Ava is WAAAAAY taller at four than I was at five. I can specifically remember that shirt going down to my knees. As you can see, it's nowhere near Ava's. Secondly, this jersey is the only one in my many years of soccer and volleyball that didn't have a #9 on the back. Next, we had some SHORT shorts in the 80's. There was no way Ava was putting those things on. Not to mention, the elastic had dried out and broken which would have made the shorts fall off my skinny minnie. And lastly, Ava is such a little girl now. Really, she's a full-fledged little girl kid. Not a baby, not a toddler, barely even a preschool... she's a kid. And she's already acquiring her own soccer jerseys. She already has two, and I assume there will be many more in the future. I'll be sure to keep them for my grandchildren.

Relief from the Heat

It's been H-H-H-O-T this last week. Not just hot, but humid which makes the hot seem even more hot! The kids haven't played outside much, except after dinner when it's much cooler (but the humidity still makes you sweat like a beast). But today, we woke up bright and early to join our playgroup at the park and waterplay area. We were supposed to meet at 9, but the kids and I headed over to the park after we dropped Andy off at 8:30. So, for about 30 minutes the kiddos had the ENTIRE park to themselves. But after those 30 minutes, they were more than ready for some friends to arrive. When they eventually began trickling in, the kids stripped off their clothes, revealing their bathing suits and headed over to splash around in the "geysers" (as Ava calls them).

Since school is out, there were more kids than just those in our church playgroup at the water area. As a matter of fact, there were ALOT more. Jax was not at all overwhelmed by the amount or size of the other kids, and simply joined them all for a splashing good time. Ava, on the other hand, was frustrated by all the "unnecessary splashing" (her words, not mine) going on... much of it landing in her face. When I finally convinced her that no one was splashing her on purpose and to just go have fun, she was back at my side within a couple of minutes, hands on her hips, scowl on her face. Turns out, a little boy told her to "shut up!" He wasn't with our group (thank goodness). When I asked what prompted this meanness Ava said she was just walking around singing when the boy said the bad word (at least it is in our house). My first instinct, of course, was to go and shove the kid's face in one of the "geysers" but recognizing that course of action a) would not set a good example to my kids and b) could land me in jail, I opted for a gentler approach. I had to explain to my sweet little four-year-old that sometimes kids say mean things, and that Ava could just ignore him and go play with her nice friends, or she could tell him she doesn't appreciate him talking like that. She opted to play with her friends... and had fun!

We've been to this water area before but never noticed just a little ways down is a little "boat" for the kids, complete with steering wheel (what is the nautical term for that?) and bell.

From here, we went back to the park, then back to the water area to rinse off before heading to McDonalds for lunch. All the kids played in the play area while the moms sat and chatted. We finally made it home at 2. A long day, but a fun one! The kids ran around, played with friends and I made some new ones. And best of all, not one single Kleinman complained about that heat or humidity. That's right, three-and-a-half hours outside and not a single complaint. We just may like Mississippi afterall.

Helpers

This is why it's been nearly two weeks since our belongings arrived and only 75% of the boxes are unpacked.

This is how Ava and Jax "help" me unpack. I can't blame them, their version is WAAAAY more fun than actual unpacking! If only I were small enough to fit in a box...

A Work in Progress

Poor Ava. All our boxes arrived last week and for some reason, the movers put all the miscellanous boxes (the ones not clearly labeled) into her room... right in front of the boxes clearly labled "GIRL TOYS." After seeing her brother's room get completely unpacked and his toys all available to him she broke down in tears, "Mommy, can you please try to find my princesses?" Of course I could. She's been so wonderful during this whole process and extremely patient. So, I found her princesses. A happier girl there's never been. In the process I was also able to move boxes into their appropriate rooms and begin working on Ava's. However, in my rush to get her room in order I overlooked one major detail: a bookshelf. We didn't have one. In Utah, her bookshelf was built into her closet. Here, we had nothing. And if there's one thing Ava has a lot of, it's books. As a matter of fact, there were FOUR boxes labeled "GIRL ROOM BOOKS." So, we were on a mission to get a bookshelf. I had this grand plan -- I'd go to a second-hand store, find a cheapy bookshelf and re-do it (as I love to do) and all would be good. Here's the problem, there are only two thrift stores in our town and neither has much of a selection. So, we went to Wal-Mart planning to just get a simple white shelf... which, it turns out, Wally World did not have. So, we got a brown one. However, there was no way I was putting a brown wood bookshelf in my daughter's white, pink and green room. So, I spent several hours one night and a few the next morning to create this:

I incorporated some of the fabrics I'm using around her room into the shelf.

While I was feeling crafty I also came up with this little hair bow holder.

Easy peasy.

All of the rooms are still works in progress. As a matter of fact, Ava still doesn't even have a bed. She outgrew her toddler bed, so we promised her a twin bed when we moved here. However, with our house still in boxes it just isn't convenient, so for the meantime she's sleeping on a blow-up mattres, which she thinks is pretty cool. We're hoping by next weekend we'll have her bed up and I'll be able to start getting vinyl on the walls. I'll be sure to post more pictures as the rooms come along.

P.S. Just thought I'd add that I counted Ava's books as I put them on her shelves (there's a bunch on a smaller shelf in her closet, also) and she has 260 books. That's a lot of books for one little girl, and doesn't include all the books she handed down to her brother when we moved. Good thing she's learning to read!

The Very Best of Friends

I just stole this photo from my friend Joni's blog. I couldn't resist, it's too cute!

This is one of the very last picture we have of the Four Musketeers together! It was taken on the steps of our friends' house after doing a fun craft together. The night before we left, our friends graciously allowed us to stay at their house for our final playdate and a sleepover (Joni took us to the airport the next morning). It was funny, but after the kids were all in bed and Joni and I sat in her living room we realized it may have been the first time in our 18-month friendship that we had un-interrupted chat time together.

The morning was a tough one for all of us, none of the kids were very happy about moving (okay, I'll admit, the grown-ups shed a few tears too). Ava and Jax are already looking forward to visiting our their very best buddies... someday. Until then, we'll keep in touch via phone, e-mail and Skype. I have a feeling these kids (and Mamas) are going to be great friends for a very looooong time!

I'm a Genius

Okay, I'm not really a genius but I had one of those rare moments yesterday when a good idea popped in my head and, when executed, turned out just as good as I had imagined.

We have TONS of crayons. Really. Tons of them. As any parent knows you never have one complete set of crayons. You have a smorgasboard of perfect crayons, crayon pieces, crayons with or without paper, just the pointy tip of the crayon, taped crayons, and the like. In our house, the mish-mash lived in a large ziploc baggie. As I unpacked the ugliness that is the crayon bag I thought of going through it and throwing away all the broken pieces. But instead, the kids and I did this:

I know I'm not the first person in the world to do this, but I am pretty excited that I even thought to do it. First, I sprayed my mini muffin tin with Pam, then let the kiddos put crayon pieces in each compartment.

Then, I cooked it in a 350 oven for just a few minutes. Really, I couldn't tell you how long but I just kept an eye on it. Actually, the kids kept an eye on it and told me when everything looked all "melty."

Then, I stuck the tray on the counter to cool. But when that took too long I popped that baby in the freezer and within a few minutes...

VIOLA!!! They came out of the tin soooo easily and left very little residue so it was easy to clean off. I should have taken pics of the kids coloring with them, but alas, I did not. But I will tell you they L-O-V-E-D their new crayons. Ava told me several times they were the best crayons EVER. She especially enjoyed writing her name and seeing it in a rainbow of colors. Jax preferred the stick-it-on-the-flat-side-and-color-as-fast-as-I-can method. We have several pages of a Thomas coloring book that are full of Jax's very colorful artwork.

Love this little project. So fun and so resourceful.