pic

So the picture at the top is at least 3 years old but I have always loved it. I think I will leave it there for all to see for a bit.

Who said I can't?!?

So my house has been a Disaster for a few days now. I finally had a few minutes to get some dishes done but Carter of course was not cooperating. I thought I'd just put him in his high chair with a few snacks to keep him busy so I could it done. I picked him up and put him in but before I could even blink he had grabbed a bowl of cereal that had been on the counter all day and pulled it on top of him. Who ever said "no use crying over spilled milk" must not of had a kitchen as dirty as mine! I now had my kitchen to clean plus a dirty boy and lets not forget that I just added a extra load of laundry to the list since the high chair now had milk all over it...Does It Ever End?!?

It's hard being beautiful!

It all started in second grade. I better clarify this real quick before I go on. I think Anika has been beautiful since the day she was born, but second grade is when the boys started to notice. The boys?!? I didn't think this stuff started until they were at least 20, or I guess that is what I hoped. One day I picked Anika up from school in second grade and as I went through the usual kind of questioning, "How was your day?" "What did you learn?" she stopped me. She said "Mom I need to ask you a question". Well I have always tried to have a open relationship with my children, I want them to feel like they can talk to me about anything and everything so I told her go ahead, ask me anything. She proceeded to tell me that at recces Blake had asked her out. Hold on a minute here, I was not prepared for this type of conversation. She was only in second grade for cryin out loud. I suddenly saw all the conversations that this single one was leading to flash before my eyes. It was at this point that my hands started to sweat and my mouth started to dry up. "Mom are you o.k.? I'm trying to ask you something." After a quick peep talk with myself I was ready and told her to go ahead ask me anything. After all there wasn't anything a second grader could throw at me I couldn't handle, or was there? She said well Blake asked me out. So I asked her what she told him. She said well i told him I had to ask my parents first so I'd tell him the answer tomorrow. What a good little girl I have! She wanted to ask her parents first. I hope that whenever she is faced with a big decision to make she thinks to ask her parents first! I asked her what it meant to 'go out' with someone. She thought for a minute and said "Well he will probably come over and watch movies with me, and maybe you and dad can take us out to dinner since we can not drive and don't have money." Whatever happened to the days when going out meant you didn't talk to each other and sometimes chased each other around at recess?!? Well I put on my parent hat and asked her if she remembered what age she had to be to date. She said 16. I explained to her that going out is the same as dating and so she would just have to wait. (For fun though I told her that she should call her dad at work and ask him. I of course did not want to be alone with sweating palms.) Blake handled it like a man the next day at recess and said well at least we can still be friends.

Here is Anika on her first day of second grade. It was also her first day at Monfort. If you look at her in line to go inside she is standing next the the man himself, Blake. Isn't he cute?!?

Well the boys have not given up on her the last few years. There is a boy named Trenton who was in her class last year and this year, he also lives in our neighborhood. He asks Anika out on a regular basis. They were sitting in math class across the room from each other awhile ago and Trenton kept mouthing to her "Will you go out with me?". Anika could not figure out what he was saying so after class she went up to him and said "What did you keep saying to me?" When he told her she just rolled her eyes and walked away. Poor girl, wouldn't that be rough to have all these boys liking you. I recently learned though that I need to work with her on her boy/girl etiquette. There is one particular boy, I think his name is Ben, who has had a crush on her for three years now. On April 1st Anika walked up to him at recess and told him she now has a crush on him too. Before he could even smile she said April fools and walked away. OUCH! I was shocked she would do something like that, but then again as parents aren't we always surprised when our kids do stupid things. I talked to her about that it is not OK to play with peoples feelings like that, and then went to my room and laughed hysterically that she did that. Well I guess I need to get use to the fact that I have a pretty dang good lookin girl. I love her so very much and hope that we are doing our best to teach her how to make good choices when she is older. As for now Anika keep rollin your eyes and walkin away from them, you still have seven years to go, hopefully longer if I have my way!!