Has it really been 4 months?

Well... so much for that promise about being better about blogging... Never happened... But, I did have some fun tonight updating my music... Still continue to love how certain songs just speak to me sometimes.

The Ewing home... well, we are doing well. Busy, busy, busy but doing a-ok! I guess I should try to update but alot of time has passed so I guess I will just do my best...

Megan:

*loves her new elementary school and has continued to be on principal's list every quarter. She loves to read and blows her AR goal out of the water usually in the 2nd week of each quarter.

*has really begun to love her piano lessons. She always liked them, but now I find her practicing without being asked and wanting to play. Looks like we are going to be searching for a piano in the next few weeks as the Casio keyboard is not cutting it anymore with her lesson books.

*has returned to her winter swim league and is all signed up for summer swim team... she continues to be a fish and I truly think she would live in the water if we let her.

*has definitly entered into her tweeny years... loves Justice, clothes, earrings, talking on the phone with friends, webkinz, facebook (yes, she has an account which is strictly supervised), hanging out with friends and riding her new beach cruiser bike that Santa brought her.

*has decided she wants to continue on with Girl Scouts and will be flying up to Juniors in a few short weeks.

*very excited to make her First Communion and Confirmation at church on May 2nd.

Aubrey:

*still our sassy awesome Aubrey...

*loves her 1st grade class and teacher and was so proud to win the award for the person who showed best charecter on a daily basis. She came home with tickets to a Diamondbacks game and lunch at Fridays at Chase field... what got me was she liked the "prize" but was more focused on the fact that she was a "good girl" and her "teacher actually likes me". Brought tears to my eyes that she has found a teacher who took a little girl with a bad kindergarten experience who was behind the curve entering 1st grade and transformed her into a confident, happy and appreciated awesome 6 year old who is now reading at an almost 3rd grade level!

*is talking about going back to piano but would rather spend more time with her Daisy troop for now... speaking of which she is bridging to Brownies in a few weeks.

*has mastered bike riding on 2 wheels with only one hand and standing on her seat while she rides her bike (and yes... I start having heart palpatations every time she does it).

*is reading only chapter books now... short stories are "for babies"

Allison:

*finished her Mommy and Me preschool this past week and really loved it.

*is officially potty trained which means she can go to preschool WITHOUT Mommy next fall... 3 days a week for 3 hours each day! WOO HOO!

*has returned to her Little Gym class and is not crying or throwing fits anymore... actually is having fun and has mastered her front roll, bear walk and wheelbarrel!

*started swim lessons last week and for the most part did not cry... we are making progress.

*thinks she owns the elementary school office since we are there so much... actually knows where every candy stash is... even in the Principal's office.

*continues to keep us on our toes and we keep an endless stock of Magic Erasers in the house... although we discovered they do not work on blendy pens all over the walls in her room and up and down the stairs... time to look into paint!

Mike:
*continues to work hard for Adobe... traveled quite a bit this year so far.. but has been home for 2 weeks which is a long stretch for him.

*continues to obsess about his landscaping and is excited about the new paver extended patio that was put in...

*got a brand new grill as an early Birthday/Fathers day gift.. I think he might love it more than me

Emily
*PTO continues to run my life, but I am loving it and feeling like I am making a difference

*has given my formal notice to both Girl Scout troops that I will not be a leader or cookie mom next year... feels good to pass the torch to someone else.

*is trying to get back on program and back to the gym more often... need to still find that balance and remember the me time.

*feels that I have finally come to an end with my grieving process for MJE and is at the point where I can say he is in a better place and I know he is waiting for me to join him someday.

*continues to strive to find the good in everything and walk away from the negative or anything that could hamper my emotional recovery... hard moments, but getting easier.

FAMILY:
*had a wonderful Christmas... Mike took 2 weeks off and we truly enjoyed the season as a family!

*Celebrated Alli's 3rd birthday with family and friends... she did pretty good, but had some ADD issues when it came to opening gifts

*Took the family to Disneyland and had a blast... of course there had to be drama from time to time and there was a freaking tsunmai warning, but we took it in stride! We are getting good at that!

*Stopped at the Cabazon outlets on the way home and had fun shopping for all new Le Cruset cooking ware... my kids were even into it!

*Celebrated Megan's 9th birthday... hard to believe!

*Had a wonderful Easter... even more wonderful because the Easter Bunny got our email and came on Saturday (before Easter) knowing that we had to leave super duper early to get out to Grandma's on time... what a good bunny! :-)

Those are the highlights I do believe... Sorry no pics tonight... just too tired... but will get back on tomorrow (or next week, or next month, or next year) :-) and load them on...

Keep checking back and maybe I will surprise you!!!!!!!

I know... it's been a while..

Ok, So I know it has been a while... but in my own defense... I cannot say the word NO! Life has been crazy and while I love being busy I am loving the idea of Christmas break for 2 weeks!!! It is going to be so nice. We are staying local... we are going to play, go to Zoo Lights, maybe head up to Flagstaff to go sledding again, and did I say play? Can't wait!!! I know many of you who check this blog do not have or don't want access to my facebook! Please be my friend! :-) So, I am going to throw an update on the last couple of months on here with a few pics... Hopefully over Christmas break I will have some time to spend on this blog!

So, back to October... we always have our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch... and of course our annual block party with the best neighbors anyone could ask for... What a fun time... This year we had an angel, a devil and Minnie Mouse in the house for Halloween. I know I am biased, but I think they all looked adorable...

Ok... on to November.... Thanksgiving was great... The Ewings were kind enough to keep the kids for a couple of days so we could do the Black Friday event. I have never done this before and yes, Mike and I were at Walmart at 3am. HOLY COW! These people are crazy. But, we did get some great finds... and we were able to get pretty much everything bought and wrapped. We got one tree up and all the lights on the house. We got a lot done and are very thankful for a mini break! :-) Aubrey had a very cute program at school with her class... They sang TOmmy the Thansgiving Turkey and she was adorable. I helped (imagine that...) at school that day with the first grade feast afterwards.

Ok... on to December... at least so far... December has been a nutty month! One thing after another... not alot of time to just sit back, hence looking forward to the break. We did mange to get away last weekend for a fun little trip to Polar Express in Williams, AZ. What a fun time! We had so much fun playing in the snow (which was a shocker, because N. Arizona never gets snow this early), riding the train, sledding, and just being together. It seems we are always so busy when we are here in town running from one thing to another... and this was our time. 24 hours to be together and it was awesome!

Looking forward to a great holiday and a wonderful 2010. We will try to keep this blog updated a little more often! Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An update

So, I know it has been a while... There has been alot going on but not too many pictures to show for it. I will have to get better about that.

Some important updates:

Potty training is going well... although she now asks us to leave every time she is on the potty saying "Go away Mommy, need pivacy". I guess I should be happy she is modest... if only that modesty lasted all day long and she kept her clothes on... Yes, my child loves to be naked and we usually end the day with at least 3 outfits that are sort of dirty because she is constantly changing her clothes. It is always an adventure.

Miss A had her first campout with the Daisy troop. She made it until morning but was not thrilled about having to change her clothes in a tent or sleeping on the ground. She is so my daughter. They started the evening off with a Halloween parade so my little angel got to wear her costume for the first time. I picked her up the next morning and she said she had a great time... I think that has something to do with the fact that she shared the air mattress with our friend Miss Stacey who stayed to help. Again, so my daughter!


We had a chance to celebrate the sealing of our friends Kyle and Beth and their children in the Mormon temple. We did not get to go into the temple, but we were able to hang out on the beautiful grounds for a bit and I got to play photographer for them. Such an awesome family... wonderful people! And I think I got "hired" to come to Utah with them for their family reunion! WOO HOO! WONDERFUL FAMILY!

Too true!

"When life gives you a thousand reasons to cry...Show life a thousand reasons to smile."

Whitney Houston

Not a huge fan of hers. Never really dug her music and thought she was a little too dramatic for my liking. But, two songs off of her new CD are amazing and so spoke to me. So, that either means I have gotten more dramatic or she has toned it down a notch. I am thinking that after the last couple of years maybe a little bit of both. But, all of you who really know me know how I love to listen to music.

A friend of mine and I were chatting the other day over a glass of wine and she was commenting on what a crazy and tumultuous year I have had. She paid me a compliment which I actually accepted... and that (accepting compliments) does NOT come easy. She told me that I have lost so much in the last year, but I seem so much more positive and resilient. It is amazing how much you can go through and NOT have it break you. I will gladly accept that compliment!

MILEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a great night I had last night... I took the 3 beautiful, fun, stylish and awesome girls to the Miley Cyrus concert. I have never seen so many screaming little girls in one place in all my life.

Her concert was great... nonstop! The kids knew all the songs and I actually have to say I knew most of them myself. We had a blast full of fun, laughter and music! Thanks to these three adorable girls for letting me tag along, and for telling me over and over again that I was the coolest mom/aunt there is... Just what I needed! This was a good night!

Those girly moments

So, I sit here as a mom to a 1st grader and a 3rd grader. They are both so full of life and love. They drive me crazy and make me proud all at the same time. I am sitting here having such a hard time with the idea that "cliques" are already starting up. Seriously... already? How can this be?

It brings me back to my own childhood. For as long as I can remember I clung to my friendships. They were so important to me. We could disect why that was and is but that is another therapy session for another day. But, I also remember how mean girls could be. I tried so hard to "fit in" and be part of the "group" and most days I was... but, there were those days that I came home from school completely defeated and sad. I just do not want my girls feeling this way. I know that they have already and that makes me even more sad. I also know there are going to be many more days with moments like these.

I just hope that I have the right words to say to let my girls know that they are truly awesome and wonderful girls. I never want them to feel that they are not good enough or need to be anything different than what they are. I never want them to feel they cannot talk to me or share their hurts with me. I just want them to be able to look back on their childhoods and say "yep... it was a fun and GOOD time filled with lots of wondeful friends and parents who I know loved me no matter what".