Best Mother's Day Ever!

Mother's Day 2014 marked my first Mother's Day as a single mom and it was a wonderful day!  I had mentioned in my previous post about the sleepover that Kendall arose quite early that morning.  She was SO excited to give me a card she had gotten me (and had kept hidden!) as well as a beautiful picture she had drawn for me. 

 

As soon as we were all up and dressed, we went to a lovely brunch with Lily and Sarah at Breadwinners at Northpark Mall.  Thankfully, we had good timing and had only a 5 minute wait.  When we left, there was a two hour wait.  I splurged and got Eggs Benedict.  And ate the entire thing!  

 

 

Crazy girls refusing to pose for a picture with their tongues in their mouths.

 

Crazy girls climbing trees.  And on an unrelated note, it appears that the '80s are coming back in the fashion world!!

 

This was not an easy picture to get but was the best of many attempts to capture all four of us.

When Kendall and I got home, we both got back into our jammies and parked ourselves on the couch in front of the TV.  We forced ourselves to get up to make chocolate covered strawberries for a late lunch.  It was a hardship.

 

 

I requested three sets of retro Christmas lights as my Mother's Day gift.  Ask and ye shall receive.  Ye shall also immediately decorate the house in the middle of May with Christmas lights.  

 

 

Kendall turned down any and all suggestions of a nap throughout the rest of the day.  Until 4:30.  2.5 hours before I was hoping to get her in bed for the night.  Since she was on my lap, though, and since it was in front of the TV, I took the opportunity to enjoy the snuggles.  Also took the opportunity to turn off My Little Pony and indulge in an uninterrupted hour of Mad Men (my newest television addiction).  

 

After a quick bath and quick dinner of spaghettios and leftover pizza, we were both in bed, mine to be specific, by 7:15 and asleep by 8.  Not bad! 

 

 

I love this picture.  Kendall calls Ginger her "doggy mommy" since Ginger is a mama dog.  I think Ginger considers Kendall her kid puppy too and has probably now resigned herself to the fact that kids can't be weaned as easily as puppies.  

This was the most relaxing and stress-free Mother's Day I have had yet and I really got to enjoy the reason I celebrate Mother's Day.  Love that sweet, sassy, headstrong, too smart for her own good, mouthy, stubborn, thoughtful, hilarious little girl to pieces!  

First Sleepover

The last time my friend, Sarah, and her 5 year old daughter, Lily, were at my house, the girls managed to talk their tipsy relaxed mothers into having a sleepover at our house with both Lily and Sarah.  We calendered it the night before Mother's Day and since Sarah and I are both single moms who don't have parents in town, it seemed like a great time.  And it was!  We really did have a blast!  The sleepover included everything a little girl's sleepover should include.  Pizza.  Cake.  Music.  Short tantrums for each girl.  A small tiff that was over quickly.  Mani's and Pedi's.  Playtime.  Bathtime.  Storytime.  A pillow fight.  An attempt to sleep on very elaborately made beds on the floor.  And little to no sleep for all.  

 

 

 

At 10:30PM, Sarah and I, who were attempted to watch a chick flick, gave up and put each of our girls in our respective beds with us.  They both fell asleep pretty quickly after that.  My child, however, was up at 6.  Sarah's slept til 7:30.  Un. Fair.  The sleepover was concluded with a very long drive to the mall for a Mother's Day brunch.  Both girls insisted on riding with me and I was serenaded the entire way with songs about poop.  Secretly, I was smiling on the inside that Kendall is not as girly as she purports to be.  :)   The brunch was lovely and outdoors where the girls spent all of 5 minutes at the table and the rest of the time running around the mall courtyard so we could drink 10 cups of coffee and wake up enjoy grown up conversation.  Kendall is now asking me daily if I have "recovered from the sleepover yet" so she can begin her lobbying efforts for the next one.  It was a good time for all, but my answer will continue to be a resounding "No" for an undetermined amount of time.  

American Girl Doll Addiction



Mine, not Kendall's.  A 5 year old's addiction to dolls is not blog-worthy.  The addiction I seem to have, however, is a tad disconcerting.  I can't decide if I'm technically addicted to the dolls, or to getting them at what I feel are fabulous discounts.  Purchasing these things off Craigslist for 1/2 or more of their current worth appeals to both my inner cheapo AND my inner spendthrift.  I do believe that I may be more excited than Kendall is about them.  Especially about the latest find, a discontinued "Samantha" doll, the brunette pictured below, for $70.   That sucker is selling on ebay for $600 and up!  Kendall's response was not the anticipated "thank you, I love it!" but was instead, "great, now I have another kid to get ready for bed at night and for school in the morning."  Oh, and she doesn't have enough nighties for them to have a clean one every night (she has exactly three nighties and three dolls) so she is "having to do laundry" every day.  Did I mention that her "laundry" is done in a vase in my living room?  I discovered this when she couldn't find her doll clothes and had to go to bed without tucking her girls in.  I later found them stuffed into the vase.  Guess who dressed the girls that night?  I am, in fact, finding myself dressing them, doing their hair, and moving them around the house a lot these days.  I am not yet allowed to choose their outfits.

 

 

 

Kendall and her FIVE kids.  She has a mini Caroline AG doll that I scored for $12!

 

Kendall's kids' bedroom has now been relocated to the living room due to lack of space in the guest room.  Really should've just made this room her playroom from the start.  We have a much greater need for playspace than formal living space. 

Easter Egg Hunt (late post)

Totally forgot about the pictures from our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt.  Maybe I was trying to block out the creepy Easter Bunny.  Kendall would not go near it without me.  Can't say I blame her.

Recent conversations in my house

1.  I watched as Kendall kicked a plastic lid under my dresser.  Then asked her, "Where did that lid go?"
    Kendall:  "I have no idea."
    Me:  "I do.  It's under the dresser.  You need to pick it up and throw it in the trash or recycling."
    Kendall:  "Can't find it.  Just went poof.  Sorry, but let me know if you find it, k?"  Then she left the room.
   Me:  "Found it."
   Kendall:  "OMG!  Where??"
   Me:  "Under the dresser.  Where you kicked it."
   Kendall:  "Good job Mom!  Wow, you're great at finding things!  Whenever I lose something, I'm going to have you look for it!"

2.  Me:  "Kendall, you are very lucky you get to take your butterflies to school for show and tell.  I could never take any living things to my school when I was a kid."
    Kendall:  "Could you take dead things?"
    Me:  "Um, no."
    Kendall:  "Not even parts of dead things?"
    Me:  where is that therapist's number .....