American Girl Birthday and Parade of Homes!

It's been an up and down kind of week.  We finished up with the builder last week..for over $13,000.  Gak, I think I just threw up a little in my throat.  Yes, it feels nauseating.  The fact that we still had bills coming in four months later..it was all mysterious.  We had another $5070 bill for brick..and the brick was d-o-n-e last September.  Like..how did that bill not come in before we met, finalized, and closed in December?  ..Ok, I need to move along for my sanity.  Depressing stuff is no bueno.

Mary Claire's birthday was last Thursday, she's TWELVE!!  How did that happen?!  She was just my little girl one minute, and now she's looking into my eyes, and BiG!  And sometimes kinda sassy, and sometimes hilarious, and sometimes shy, sometimes sweeter than pie.  Boy, she's been fun! : )  

Great Wall of Chocolate at PF Chang's..mmm...looks like the momma couldn't wait for some either!

She added candles..and wanted more than 12! : )  More power to her..there will be a day she might subtract candles!

Even though she's big as me, she still loves dolls.  Especially American Girl dolls.  She now considers herself a closet doll lover.  (who makes my kid feel this way?  I'm gonna get you!)  She says none of her friends still play with them.  *sad face*  ..Anyway, she didn't want a party (remember last year's ice skating party or 2012's fun American Girl party?  Ahh..), she just wanted a trip to the STORE and to get Isabelle, the GOTY (her word for Girl Of The Year), since she'll be gone this winter.

They unwrapped Isabelle and handed her to Mary Claire, and we just sat and played for a while!

She says she takes the best selfies, and she's right!  How did she learn this?

So, we went to Kansas City (the nearest store) for a girl's trip!  We stopped by Joplin, and picked up our friends Angie and Andalynn to head north.  We had lunch at Sandstone Gardens (my fave!!), and then only 2.5 hours at the AG Store.  I think we mommas like it as much as the girls!  We got a few extras for their Christmas and upcoming holidays (can you say no shipping?) while they watched the magic at the hair salon.  Late dinner and hotel hunting (after I discovered our room was *smoking*! and I didn't realize there was still such a thing!  My fault, blech.)  Then brunch at Cheesecake Factory, a tiny bit of shopping and back on the road home.

She's so grown up!

but I still love her the same!!

again with her fancy selfie shots!  Thank goodness for those late-in-life braces! haha!

I had bunco at my house last night, and ohh..so much fun!  I do love these ladies, they are all sooo sweet! : )  I apparently made them wild rice and chicken salad before..since Candace said she remembers me making it!  haha, it's been that long we've been playing, that I actually double-made something!  Oops.  Does it help that I tried a slightly newer version?  It had red pepper, purple and green onion, toasted pecans, and a soy dressing..mmm, so much better!  We only played one round, we were so busy talking.  

after their game (against each other!)..and then we went for shaved ice at Shave the Planet!

So..about last week.  The day after we finished with the builder, he called and asked if we'd allow our house to be in the Parade of Homes.  It's not until June, but they had to get it on the roster if so.  I was really nervous for the obvious reasons: lots and lots of people wandering through my home, the actual foot traffic on my floors (even with booties!) and spills or stains, things getting taken and/or moved..and then the real anxiety: my house!  I'd have to have it all perfect, in less than a month!  I have all these things I want to do and redo (but I did get my new breakfast room chandelier up on Monday!), and my landscaping isn't finished, my dining room drapes aren't hemmed, I really need new bedding, what do I do with all these unpacked boxes, should I continue?

soo..will my house look this sweet?  I hope someone equally cute opens the door that weekend! : )

Ok, and the kicker.  My savings money just went to the builder.  So..what am I supposed to decorate with now?  Huh?  Be creative you say.  Ok, I'm really creative, and I'm working on it..but some stuff just costs money.  So here we sit at the crossroad.  Can I just say if you drive to my house and wear the booties and walk around..just please don't judge my house?  Just find something nice to say, and go to the next house.  Thank you.  We actually live and eat and sleep and change clothes here!  (evidenced by the clothes on the floor!) (and crumbs under the table!)

Wrapping my head around this.  I sooo much more enjoy having the bunco girls over, they are super sweet, and wouldn't think of noticing my crumbs, footprints, and laundry!  Love those girls!!

Crabs, Carbs, and Cards

I miss you!  I have been gone too long, and I have been a wee bit busy.  'Cause I have these sweet kids, ya'll.  I feel kinda like Carol Brady.  Except without Alice. You know when Kitty Karry-All turns up missing?  And then Bobby's kazoo is MIA?  And everyone sides and then you have to hold court to determine who started all the trouble?  Yeah, I know.  You have NO idea what I'm talking about.  'Cause your house is all calm and nice.  Well..summer came to a close, so now school is keeping our little Cindy and Bobbys busy.  heehee ; )

So.  Vacation now is like a kazillion times different with four.  Especially with a four month old on a plane.  With an hour wait on the tarmac.  Some crying in the air, and sweaty pits from stressing over what everyone else is thinking about you and your big family and your crazy plan to take all those kids on a trip.  Well, I can tell you it's a massive undertaking.  But..it was totally worth it.  I promise.  Not just the trip to the National Sports Collectors' Convention in Baltimore or the cheesecake that blew the day's carb limit to the moon (and back), or the days in the sand and shore with the family, or the ferry ride out to the Statue of Liberty, or the crazy separate shuttles to the hotel since we (and our luggage) didn't all fit in one..but even the mornings at the hotel breakfast and the silly days in the beach house shower.  Just what we needed..to be in even closer quarters for a while to make us appreciate our home (and separate bedrooms and beds!).

I could entertain you for days with all the craziness, but I'll try to keep a few things to myself.  ..You're Welcome! : )  Suffice it to say that I love my family, the rocks they sneak back home, the mountains of laundry, the piles of sand in the rental van (it's a ReNTaL! hahahaha), and the room keys we are still finding..

--Ok, I have to tell the truth.  I tried to narrow it down to five or six pictures, but it appears that I'm physically incapable.  I may just have to work on it for a few days. ; )  If you are a relative, you'll be patient with me.  ..and if not?  You can come back in a month and it'll all be over!  'Cause we've got the back to school bash, the first day of school, and so much growing baby.  And have I even told you Ethan lost two teeth?  Is that even possible at FiVe?  I'm thinking so..since there are two half-grown in already!!

K..here's the beginning of the onslaught. ; )  Get yourself a drink, and enjoy some of our memories..I'll start with our day in Baltimore with crabs, jellyfish, ships, a big rain, a few too many carbs, and some cards:

We started our trip in DC, then drove to Baltimore for the Baseball Card Convention..this is at the Inner Harbor.  Checking out an old cannon and what it could shoot!

Check this out.  Massive.

Only four could fit on the paddle boats, so Carter and I paddled our way to the air conditioning.  I think it was only a hundred humid degrees.  And the coldest air just happened to be in front of the Cheesecake Factory.

'Cause we like the air cold.  And our cheesecake chocolate. ; )

He's fast.

She's enjoying every savory morsel of her Reese's cheesecake.  She began with the peanut butter fluff on top.  FYI: this is 167 grams of delicious carbs.  Yes, it's a DAY'S worth of carbs for her!  Good thing she only ate half.

And then..the Convention began!  This is Honus Wagner's bat.  The one he touched.  Clay was in love.  He spent $88 *of his own money!* on baseball cards, and could've stayed till bedtime.

 The Convention was huge.  There were baseball cards, and they there were original jerseys/equipment, players signing, companies giving away freebies (we got three Upper Deck shirts!  Do you need one?), and we got to stand in line for redemptions (some mini cards for those new wrapper trade-ins.  I was incredibly reluctant to go..but it was fun to watch my boys with twinkling eyes.  That's kinda what vacation is for. : )

And tomorrow? (or when I get another ten minutes..)  The Beach!

oh, I left someone out of the pictures!  ..he's even wearing a crab ; )