The past couple of days...

Well, on the 4th we celebrated with our little neighborhood parade, cooked out and then watched the fireworks that night. It was a fun day and a late night. The fireworks only went off two hours late...no big deal. Seriously, we got out to our church at 8:30 expecting the fireworks to go off around 9:30 or so. Apparently the company they hired had some "technical difficulties" and could not get the show going until 11:20. My kids were exhausted and I'm sure the neighbors were less than thrilled by the noise. Needless to say, the church was not charged for the fireworks...and they'll probably go with a different company next year. 

Here's Emery riding her tricycle in the parade. We have more pictures that I'll have to post later because they are on the computer and I don't feel like pulling them up right now!

Watching the fireworks. Luke was into them for about 2 minutes. Then David took him to the car to sleep. 

Yesterday the kids and I went to the discovery center. I was trying to avoid playing "tend" with Emery so I had to get out of the house. There's a great dinosaur exhibit there so that's always a huge hit with Emery. She LOVES dinosaurs. So we walked around for a while and then we heard someone announce that there was going to be face painting in the kids area. We hurried over there to get in line. Thankfully we got there first and did not have to wait. Emery does not wait her turn very well so I was relieved to not have to. One of my former track kids happened to be the face painter for the day. When he asked her what she wanted on her face she quickly responded that she wanted to be a tiger. She loves lions and tigers almost as much as dinosaurs. So, here she is with half of her face painted. Now she is requesting face paints for her birthday which is 5 months away. 

We got home and put Luke down for a nap. I still wanted to avoid playing "tend" so I googled Pre-k crafts hoping I would have some supplies on hand. We went and found some rocks in the alley and painted them. 

She would tell me who each rock was for as she painted it and how much that person was going to love it.  

Then I needed to cook dinner so she worked on this apple. 

This is what you call busy work for a 3 year old. Here, tear up some red paper and glue it to a paper plate! So much fun!

I thought it would keep her occupied but I think I did most of the tearing and gluing. I would put down lots of drops of glue and she would place the pieces of paper that I tore. Basically I created more work for myself as I was trying to cook. 

Today a friend came by to pick up some photos and we chatted for a while in the living room. Emery was in the back room watching a show and was really quiet. When Jessica left, I went back there to check on her and found her like this. 

She proudly announced, "Mommy! I got an ice cream sandwich ALL BY MYSELF!"  I will not say how many of these I have been eating a day. They are mini ice cream sandwiches. You cannot just eat one. Well, at least I can't. 

After we cleaned up her hands and face, she wanted to paint her rocks some more and then moved on to the easel. She didn't want to get her dress dirty. Instead of wearing her cute little smock, she opted to paint in her underpants. Isn't this how all artists do their best work?

We hung out with some good friends tonight. David was shooting a wedding so I was all alone with the kids. They were great and I feel like I actually got to hang out for a little bit! Sometimes it feels like its not worth it when I'm having to keep up with the kids the whole time but it was a lot of fun tonight. 

Here are the kids doing a puzzle. I wish I had gotten pictures of all of the kids there. 

Love these sweet babies. I'm so glad they're mine and they love me just the way I am, with all of my flaws and mistakes I make every single day. I have really been trying to be patient with Emery and not yell or talk to her in my "mean" voice. Sometimes she just gets too busy and has accidents or makes messes when she's not being careful. I've been trying really hard to help her fix these situations rather than get frustrated when she does something.  We have had much happier days and I have been so much less frustrated since I have consciously made an effort to stay calm and not overreact. It's been a while now since she has told me she doesn't like it when I am a "mean mommy." Ugh. Not what I want to be known as. Instead, she has been telling me lately that I am her best friend.  Melts my heart.  Today, I bumped my back up against our stone fireplace when we were playing on the floor and she immediately looked at me with such concern on her face and asked me where it hurt. She came over to me and kissed my back and asked me if it felt better. I love her heart.  I can learn a few things from her, that's for sure. 

Just saw how late it is. Guess David's stuck at a long reception. Good night!