A Couch and a Life Lesson

Long story. A couple days ago we decided to finally get rid of our old couch. It's one we got nearly 12 years ago. It wore out so we put a slipcover on it a few years ago, but it was way past its prime. Clear back in May, we got a nice, new cranberry sofa to replace it but we weren't quite sure what to do with the old one, so it sat "temporarily" (for 6 months!) behind our loveseat in the living room. It looked like a redneck seating arrangement. Anyway, there's nothing like having company over that makes you all of a sudden find a good reason to "get 'er done." Since we're hosting Thanksgiving this year, we decided we needed to make our living room look like a real living room again. So it was time for the old couch to go. Quentin and I loaded it on the trailer then loaded the girls in the van for a "D.I. Run." As soon as Kiera and Makenna saw our old couch on the trailer they gasped. "Wait! What are we doing with our couch?!" So we had The Talk - we explained that we have loved that couch but we just don't need it anymore so we'd like to give it to the D.I. so someone who might not even have a couch would be able to get it.... Well, they didn't like that idea. "Why can't we keep it? I could have it when I'm a grown up. We could buy it back." Kiera was in tears, worried that the poor couch would miss us. I knew how she was feeling. As a kid, even though in my mind I knew that THINGS didn't have emotions, I still FELT things FOR them. I remember how hard it was for me when my parents sold our old gray Oldsmobile. I didn't want the car to "feel" abandoned.

I worried that this little couch experience would tramatize the girls. But we all talked about how important it is to take care of the things we have. But it's also important to not hold onto EVERYTHING even if we don't need it anymore. It's good to give to others who may not have the things we do. That evening we watched the movie "Kit Kitteridge," which drove this point home even more. Being a kid and learning these "life lessons" can be tough. But I guess that's what life is all about!

Sleepover!

Last night the girls had their very first "friend sleepover" with their best friends Chloe and Sophie. Kiera's been wanting a sleepover for months but I wasn't sure she was quite old enough yet and frankly I pretty much knew we'd get a phone call in the middle of the night to pick her up (which would be okay). However, the moms talked about making the sleepover idea a reality and for a week the girls giggled at the very thought. Plans weren't "official," but we decided quickly that it would be okay and Chloe and Sophie ended up coming to our house for the night. It was crazy, it was loud, but it was oh, so fun. I couldn't believe how excited the girls were. They goofed around, played Wii Bowling, watched a Strawberry Shortcake video and ate popcorn, made huts, had a pillow fight, read books, brushed teeth and said prayers together and then - lights out. But I didn't hear the giggling stop till nearly 11:30 (sorry, Chloe & Sophie's mom!) Sophie and Kiera slept in Kiera's bed, and Chloe chose to sleep next to the bed on the floor in her sleeping bag. As soon as Makenna got tired, she ditched her sleeping bag and crawled in bed with me (Quentin was over at his brother's house). So all was well and we all got some good sleep till 7:45 when I awoke to lots of giggling. We had waffles for breakfast, played a little, then got things ready to take Chloe and Sophie home. What fun, and what good memories we're making!

ALL 5 GIRLS LOVE TO PLAY TOGETHER!


BRUSHING AND FLOSSING...


PILLOW FIGHT! (No, those aren't feathers flying around - just spots on my camera!)


SECRET HUDDLE


NIGHT NIGHT!

Field Trip

(DON'T YA LOVE HOW FIRST-GRADERS LOVE TO HOLD HANDS WITH THEIR FRIENDS? SO CUTE!)

Thanks to Granny for watching Makenna (AND taking her to preschool) and Kasidee for 5 hours today so I could go with Kiera on her first-grade field trip! We boarded the big yellow school busses and went to the Repertory Dance Theater and watched a dance show then went on a tour at the State Capitol. Both were very interesting and fun, but Kiera liked eating lunch at the park the best!

Magic Eraser

Okay, I realize I'm a little behind the times, but oh my gosh - I just tried the Magic Eraser for the first time. I got the inspiration from Makenna's preschool teacher. I was admiring the pristine preschool tables - no signs of paint, ink, markers, crayons, etc. and the teacher smiled and said, "Magic Eraser!" I had given up hope of "restoring" our old wood table that Kasidee drew all over with a pen. Granted, it's an 11-year-old table that isn't in the best shape anyway, but we still use it (it's got our fish tank on it) and it looks horrible with pen ALL over it. But I picked up a Magic Eraser at Walmart, came home and tried it, and wah-lah (or is it viola?) it magically came off - all of it! I am in awe. How does it do that?? Crazy stuff. Now if only I could find something that would take Kasidee's artwork off of our couch!!

R.I.P.

Yeah, it happened. Already. One of our fishies died, not even a week after we got it. When we were considering getting fish, we explained to the girls that fish don't usually live very long and that's just part of how it goes. Kiera was mortified and wondered what we would do with a fish that died. She wouldn't hear of flushing it down the toilet or even putting it in a box and burying it. She seemed okay with putting the dead thing in a pond, but we told her not to think about all that - this whole discussion happened in the car while we were bringing our new fish home! Anyway, from the beginning we noticed that one of our fish didn't eat much and seemed to be "un-energetic." And sure enough it died. Quentin found it after the girls had gone to bed and scooped it up, so at least they didn't have to see the poor thing floating around upside down. But the next morning the girls noticed one of the fish was gone and I had to explain what happened. A few tears were shed, but it wasn't the drama like I expected. I think Kiera especially is sensitive to the sanctity of and has reverence for LIFE - any life, even a fish's. (Hmmm - she'll probably be a life-long vegetarian!) We knew what we were in for when we got these fish, and I think we're all learning some important life lessons!

Our New Pet

They must have been talking about pets in Makenna's preschool class lately or something because for the last couple of weeks that's all we've heard about from her. The latest thing is that she wants a "mice" - not a mouse but a mice. Well, there's no way we'll ever have a "mice" for a pet, so we settled on a fish. We figured it was time. So we dug out Quentin's old fish tank, cleaned it up and went to Petco. Each of the girls picked out a fish - and now we have Sparkles, Molly, and Baba. The only thing is Makenna's constant questions have changed from "Can I have a pet?" or "Can I get a mice?" to "Can I hold my fish?" and "Can I put my fish in the bathtub?" and "Can I just pet my fish?" I think this has made me realize that we probably should get a "real" pet someday. I always figured I'd have a dog when I had kids, but I think the hair/pee/bad breath/dirty paws/etc./etc. kind of wig me out. But maybe giving up a clean home would be worth the joy a "real" pet would bring to the kids. Hmmm. Maybe someday.

Junie B. Jones

I am totally stoked. Kiera has always liked books from the time I began reading them to her as a baby, and she really enjoyed learning to read last year in Kindergarten. This year in first grade, I'm amazed at how she has really taken off in her reading and spelling abilities. For weeks she's been talking about the Junie B. Jones books. I guess her teacher has been reading them to the class and she LOVES them - and she thinks it's cool that they're "chapter books." She said that as soon as she gets done with the Houghton-Mifflin (?) set that is required for nightly homework, she can begin taking home the Junie B. Jones books to read by herself. So she's been bringing home 2 books of the required reading each night so she can get through them fast and get on to the Junie B. Jones books.

Anyway, she saw the Junie B. Jones books for sale the other day at the store and begged to buy some - she would even use her own money. As a compromise, I told her we could check some out at the library. So last night we did. I can't believe how engrossed she was with those books! She spent over an hour reading them and read 5 chapters (about 40 pages). I literally had to turn the light out on her at 9:30 so she would finally go to bed. I can't tell you how thrilled I am that she loves reading so much!

Hey Blue Eyes

When Ben & Jen sent Kasidee this cute dress when she was just a newborn, I thought it would be forever till she would be able to fit in it (it's a 12-month size). Well, we tried it on for church Sunday - so cute!! And I love how the denim brings out the blue in her pretty eyes!

Happy Halloween!

Well, we survived Halloween. After a month of counting down, it finally came. We visited Mom and Grandma during the day then got ready for our big night out. For weeks, Makenna talked about her Tinkerbell costume that we have in the dress-up box. But then about 3 days ago she decided she wanted to be a ghost instead. After searching for a ghost costume and coming up empty, we modified an old costume (she kind of looked like Mary from Biblical times instead of a ghost). But then, when searching the DI costume section, we found this adorable "China Girl" outfit that Makenna fell in love with. So all was well. Kiera borrowed the witch costume from Grandma Stephens, and we just couldn't pass up buying Kasidee's little candy corn costume (though she has loads of hand-me-down costumes and dress-ups).

While we waited for Quentin to get home from work (unfortunately it was his "late" night and he couldn't get home till 7:00), the girls had a blast answering the door and handing out the candy. Then when Daddy got home the 5 of us started going around the block. We didn't think Kasidee would last very long, so after a few houses Quentin volunteered to go back home and answer the door while the girls and I continued till Kasidee got tired. Then I would take her home and Quentin would take Kiera and Makenna around some more. Well, Kasidee didn't get tired. In fact, she ended up lasting longer than the other girls! We eventually went home, got Quentin and we all finished going around the block (about 30 houses). Kasidee insisted on walking the whole time and screamed if we picked her up or tried to put her in the stroller. So it was slow going, but she had SO much fun! At each door, she would pick out a piece of candy from her bucket and try to give it to the person handing out candy! She's such a cutie!

So I guess Halloween isn't really over till the candy's all gone. The girls made a pretty good dent in their collection last night, but I'm afraid some of it is going to have to "disappear." That much candy is just nasty! Hope everyone had a very happy Halloween!