Wednesday, November 21, 2012

The tigress is back....

I've been on a roller coaster ride for the last month or so.  Up, down, angry.  Up, down, angry again.  After the first few times, I realized....she's back.  The tigress that lives inside me.  She is driven by dramatic drops in my hormone levels. And just knowing what caused her to wake up, used to be enough for me to control myself.  But this time, it feels different.  I can sense her presence...lurking in the dark corners.  Then all of a sudden, she'll strike!  In a matter of minutes, I can go from calm and peaceful to CRAZY angry...yelling at the top of my lungs.  I feel like I'm constantly apologizing to my family.  I'm sorry, momma lost control again.  Little things get under my skin that usually don't bother me....piles of paper or toys all over the floor....the way someone says something.  Sleep becomes scarce....I often lay in bed thinking, thinking, thinking.

The good news....I have some tools to beat her back into submission.  Work outs-hard ones-help alot.  And, I have some herbal meds that I can take to help me get to sleep.  Talking and sharing my feelings with friends always helps too.  Listening to music calms me along with unplugging from electronics and just taking time to enjoy something simple like a bath or a cup of tea.

The next few months may be hard as my body goes through another shift.  I hope to make it out on the other side with my family and friends still loving me. 

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Darla Turns 4

Our lil lady turned four years old today.  Where has the time flown??  She has turned into quite the cutie, with a funny sense of humor.  She is sassy and loves to sing her way through her day.  She enjoys picking out her own clothes, pretty dresses to twirl in, shoes, playing board games, and playing pretend with big brother and her best friends.  She LOVES mac-n-cheese and isn't too picky about brands.  School is COOL.  She is learning her alphabet and knows most of the letters by sound and name.  She is still working on sight recognition of letters and enjoys writting her own name.  She LOVES to pick out the letter D, in every written format, from signs on the street to books we read.  Bathroom humor is her favorite and when she finds something we think is funny, she will milk it til we can't stand to hear it one more time!  She is a great sleeper, and still cherishes her blankey deeply.  She loves to DANCE, DANCE, DANCE and has learned how to operate our music system in the living room.  Now all we hear is Kidz Bop, baby!  We continue to work on helping her manage her emotions, and communicate with words instead of screaming.  The girls has some pipes, I tell ya.  And her Dad and I couldn't be more proud of the young lady she is becoming. 
 She loves to help in the kitchen too, and here she and Daddy are making the frosting for her birthday cake.
We had a joint family celebration again this year. Jodi and Brian hosted both families to honor Darla and her cousin Sydney who's birthdays are almost excatly one year apart.  And, another J2 cake in the books, this time with the My Little Pony theme.  It was more challenging than it looked on paper.  It tasted GREAT, though. 
 Pretty birthday princesses: Darla 4, Sydney 3
 Jazz hands!
 How many fingers are you, girls?

Today, Darla celebrated her birthday at school with her whole class.  The teachers bake mini cupcakes right in the classroom.  We sang to Darla and enjoyed a cupcake treat.  And of course, Darla's school BFF Hank, is right beside her. 
 After cupcakes the girls were enjoying a story together on the carpet.
After school, we invited Hank and Payton, Darla's two closest friends (so far) over for an afternoon lunch party.  We had chicken nuggets, cheese sticks, apples, and carrots from our garden.  Then we opened presents and enjoyed one more cupcake!

Aaaaaannnndddd, one last birthday celebration: Dinner out with the family.  Darla choose Red Robin again this year because she just LOVES their mac-n-cheese.  We all had a nice time out together.

Happy Birthday, Sweetie.  We sure do love you bunches!

Leaf Fun!

The kids and I took advantage of a perfect fall afternoon and played in the leaves.  I loved doing this as a kid, and I guess I've passed down the idea to the little ones.  And as a bonus, we ran into two different mommy friends, doing the same thing we were!  Yay for spontainous park plays with friends!!
It was a fun afternoon, and a great way to enjoy a rare dry fall day in the NW. 

Soccer Season is over

The Blue Flame played it's last game for the Fall 2012 season, on a cold and grey morning.  It was a bit of a bumpy season for Derick and Jeremy, and I for one, am not heartbroken to see it end.  We know that Derick likes playing soccer, but he took alot of 'breaks' and time outs this season.  We'll have to see how that plays out for next fall.  Never the less, we are all proud of our soccer guys.


Friday, November 02, 2012

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all!! 
 My Tinkerbell and Ninja.
 Darla and Jewel
This is what I got when I asked them to give me some serious faces.  Too cute!!