WANTED: Mommy's Princess

Natalie has this way about her....she is either an excellent child or she is in constant battle to wear me and everyone around her down. It reminds me of a nursery rhyme my grandmother says...

"There was a girl with little curl,

right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good she was very, very good,

but when she was bad, she was horrid."

Just to fill you in on our past week....

Monday - Last day of house guests they went off to Disney for the day - I cleaned Natalie was awesome!

Tuesday - Day 2 of preschool, battled to get dressed, get hair brushed, finally we get off to school. At pick up time, Miss Gayle explained to me how Natalie had to sit on the time out bench at recess because of pushing...ashamed mommy moment...

Wednesday - Week 3 of dance class, cried, cried, and cried some more. Dance teacher, Miss Lana, asked for Natalie to take a month or two break from dance (AKA- she got kicked out).

Thursday - Day 3 of preschool, the previous night we spent a lot of time talking about pushing and shoving and what things were good to do to friends and what things were bad to do to friends, we role played how to share and what to say if she wanted a turn or if someone was trying to take a turn away from her (using all my teacher skills). I was confident Natalie was going to have a good day and there would be NO pushing (I must have been kidding myself). Miss Gayle again, had to explain that she spent more time on the time out bench....so sad.

Friday- My sweet little girl wakes from her slumber and is polite and sweet all day. She was playful with her friend Jillian at our playdate, behaved at lunch, took an impressive nap and played well outside when she woke up...a charming little princess - so as she sleeps right now, I wonder who will she be when she wakes up...Mommy's princess or my little stubborn, strong willed child?

Scrapped the website and have decided to blog...

The website was impressive but difficult to update and even harder for people to check...some of my techie savvy friends have turned to blogging and since I can't beat them I have decided to join them:) Gone are the days when people would trap you at their house and force you to watch family movies, now I am entering your home via your computer...so sit back and subscribe so you can be entertained by the antics of Ben's 3 girls....

Ally Gene is 4 months old!

Ally Gene - 4 months old...

It is so fun having two girls, especially now that Natalie usually keeps her hands off of her baby sister:) Ally gets so excited whenever she hears Natalie coming, she kicks her legs and smiles real big, and has even started squealing - which Natalie claims as "Ally is talking to me", who knows maybe she is - remember Look Who's Talking from the 90's...Ally really is a joy, the kind of baby that makes couples consider a third child - wait did I say that out loud, don't tell Ben:) She sleeps without effort, eats happily and enjoys cuddles and tickles and peek a boo, who could want more? Some stats: 15 pounds, and still pretty short which makes for some unsightly thighs, not rolling over yet but does roll all around, she has flown to DC to visit cousin Jenna and Justin and furry cousins, Riley and Brody (sorry about the poop accident on your couch), she has toured the Pentagon and has seen George Washington's house. She has also flown to Las Vegas in her daddy's plane, and has had a ride in an ambulance ( we had a slight fall off the table onto the tile floor). She has had a pretty full life so far, let's see what month 5 brings:)

Natalie first day of school

Natalie will be turning 3 next month. Where has the time gone? She is so excited for "big girl school" and honestly I am too! Life at home with two little ones isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be, perhaps "easy" is not the word, joyous, or charming is more like it. When I thought of staying home with my children I had images of reading time, and playtime being peaceful. A time to bond with my girls- the alternative is sending them to daycare so I can teach and be with my friends which most days seems like a pretty good idea. Reading time is really me trying to keep Natalie from ripping pages out of her book and to keep Allison from drooling too much the pages get soggy...
So preschool is my new happy place. I get to send my daughter off to obtain a wealth of knowledge (that I really could provide for free) while I sip coffee and daydream about what I thought motherhood would really be like....
Natalie does come home thrilled to be with her school friends, she gets to sing, and paint, and read - while someone else reinforces what I have taught, no pinching, remember to flush the potty and never, ever run with scissors.
While Natalie is off forming her foundation for education, I do find time to visit the aisles of the grocery store and get the dry cleaning picked up or dropped off. I still haven't found the time to pick up a good book or to daydream like I once could....