Just Thursday

Today was supposed to be cleaning day, and I did wash our sheets, but not too much else. We cleaned yesterday some, and did a little this morning. Afterwards Riley and Liam came over, and they all had lots of fun. Whenever Emma has boys over, they inevitably play house. Today they were in the hospital for some reason....the hospital was the bathroom until we made them leave. So funny to watch them. We also went to the park, and watched some Dog Whisperer, which I think is also a good parenting show. ;) Then we had a tea party, dance class and some Skyping.  A good day, but they do get long sometimes. Today I made a quiche while our friends were here, and Emma ate 2 large helpings for lunch. I think she was glad to eat something different...we haven’t been very creative lately. So it will be nice to go Kansas and eat yummy homemade meals...that I don’t have to cook! My brain needs a break. Tomorrow is laundry day, then packing day and traveling day! Woohoo! I think we will make it!

I packed a suitcase full of presents, and Emma wanted to be packed, too.

Having a tea party. Her little toys were in the hospital...everyone is apparently, since Ava was. Ava was at dance class tonight, so I think she is doing well.

We had some visitors tonight in our backyard. I will miss this part of Beale wildlife, but not the black widows, rattlesnakes, the raccoon who gets in our trash every night, the frogs and lizards that get inside, the coyotes that stare at me when i try to take the trash out, or the mice and voles. We do live in the country. We have also had a couple of bear sightings and I have personally seen a bobcat twice. And let’s not forget the turkeys!!

Play day

Well...today we needed a break from working out and doing work. We did do a little, necessary cleaning this morning, and then we played with friends in the afternoon. Sorry, I was busy enjoying the day and forgot to take pictures. I did get one at the end of the day, when she just wanted mommy...and was apparently, “not tired.” But somehow she fell asleep next to me while I read. 

This is a picture of our friends. Sarah, the mom, is the new Protestant Coordinator at chapel, and Mia, the older girl is in Emma’s dance class. And Emma also loves Ava. Ava has a very rare medical condition that is very sad to discuss, and I don’t do it in front of Emma. Ava was in the hospital today for a biopsy on her intestines, I think? Anyway, Emma saw her picture on FB and said she was thinking about her all day. Then we got their Christmas card tonight. She taped it on her door. They all dressed up in ‘dance’ clothes. Pray for their family, they have a long, difficult road ahead. 

Shopping day

Today we started off break by going to the gym in the morning and shopping in the afternoon. It was a pretty good day. Emma did really well, and we didn't start to go crazy until late afternoon. 😏 I think we will make it through break just fine...although we are both ready to go to KS on Sunday. Tomorrow is baking day, and we will also have cleaning day, laundry day, and packing! And I'm sure we will play with friends quite a bit, too. I sure do enjoy spending time with this little girl! 

We had an early dinner at Panera. She asked to go where they have macaroni and cheese.

Christmas time fun

We have had a couple Christmas parties this week...several actually if you count school. Wednesday we had the Chapel staff Christmas party, where they also did a little going away thing for me. Friday they had pajama and pancake day at school. And Saturday one of our friends threw a Pajama and Pancake Christmas party for some friends. Today I went to a girls lunch with some friends and Emma went to a friends house...we both had fun.

Ch. Wells giving me the plaque 

We went to Ch. Tangen and Holly’s house with Reagan and Lily for hot chocolate on Thursday.

“I’m milking her again.” I’m having to help her make a distinction between play and real life...it’s hard when she takes such good care of her dolls. But seriously we are going to be late for school because of it!

The party on Saturday.

Baby Joseph found some bacon.

This party was fabulous. Leslee was an event planner, so everything is always fun and split!

I told her to smile.

Christmas bingo!

Pin the nose on Rudolph.

Darlene helped baby Joseph 

They made her into a snowman. Also, even the adults were in PJs...even the grandparents and great-grandparents....which was hilarious!

All tuckered out tonight.

This popped up in my FB time hop. This was years ago in Mountain Home. Oh, these two. 😥 we are missing them this year. 

One of those days...

Today was Emma’s Christmas program at school. I will try to upload all the videos from it soon. But tonight I’m just going to bed. She was in meltdown city all afternoon, until I finally tried to put her to bed a little after 5. She finally went down around 8:30 when I was reading the advent devotional. It was a long evening. 

All dresssed up!

Ms. Holly came to watch! Emma was so excited!

Liam and Riley just got back from a trip, and we missed them! They brought Emma back a fire truck pencil, since they know she likes fire trucks. :) This face describes our afternoon, only with less tears.

Seriously, a good sight after 3.5 hours of fighting it. I thought she might never go to bed. She was in a disrespectful mood, so she ended up going to bed without finishing her dinner. However, sometimes what she needs when she is acting up is not what she deserves...like most of us. Sometimes she needs discipline. Tonight she just seemed to need mommy....”mommy all the time,” as she says. So after trying to put her to bed for 2 hours, I decided to just let her be with me. So she took a shower with me, wrapped presents with me, brought the devotional to my bed and fell asleep in my bed while I was reading. While I’m glad I had my job because it made the time go by faster, I’m glad to not have it now so I have the energy to deal with her meltdowns. I had plenty of time today to do my Bible study and even went out to lunch and shopping with a friend. “This day has brought to you by the grace of God!”

Being a mom

Emma has always said when she grows up she wants to be a mom...that is, when she wants to grow up. Sometimes she says she doesn’t....because then she would have to go to the hospital to have a baby, and that would hurt. Anyways....This weekend she was a busy little mom. She watches my friends who have babies and is picking up a few things. It’s pretty cute. I should have taken more pictures...she likes to hold her baby up in the air and talk to her , and she like to take her for walks and to the park.

Here she is vacuuming her beautiful house...I wish that thing really worked!

Nursing her baby while watching football. 

This is a new nativity set, like legos, that Jeanette and Gordon gave her. This was after she put them all to sleep. The angel had no place to sleep, so he’s in the tree.

And let’s be honest, Emma’s mom loves to shop. And we did some of that this weekend. We did pretty good at buying things for other people this time, but we did take pictures of things she likes, just for the fun of it.

Why are little people things so cute?! We loved the little chairs!

Hearts Apart Christmas Party

Tonight was the Hearts Apart Christmas Party. They served dinner, had a band play sing Christmas music, and gave out way too many toys. ;)  We knew a lot more families whose dad was deployed in the first half of the year, but there were two other kids from Emma’s class who were there tonight. We sat by Ryleigh and her family, which made it fun for Emma. A certain person in a red suit made an appearance as well. The fire truck brought him...which made Emma cry and run back inside. Apparently she thought they were bringing Sparky. She still wasn’t too sure of this guy. 

This was her waiting fir the fire trucks before she ran inside crying.

She wasn’t too sure about him, so she just stood there and smiled. This is her friend Ryleigh.

They each got a nice toy. Emma picked a vacuum. She vacuumed the ballroom and dance floor. 

She is making this face because the batteries sound like they are dying.

It come apart with the hose and the middle into a hand held vacuum. We even got to Skype with Daddy to show him!

This was given to me as a going away gift/Thank you gift for teaching Bible study. The going aways are starting...and we still have 2-3 month left! But this is the beginning of the end at Beale...I’m done working, done teaching Bible study and starting to think about all there is to do.

She was pretending she broke her arm.

Ms. Holly is back

Emma knew that when we didn’t have to watch Delilah anymore, that meant that Holly and Chaplain Tangen were back. She has been asking every day to go see them. So I finally texted Holly and we went over tonight after dinner. After looking at these pictures, you can understand why Emma loves them so much! They are always excited to see her, and have tea parties, and yummy treats. 

Tea party! (With pfeffernusse and PB rice Krispy treats)

Delilah is ready for Christmas!

I told Chaplain Tangen that the bottom third of his tree was all decorated! (It’s way more fun to do this with little kids.)

She had so much fun!

We drove around and looked at the Christmas lights afterwards. This was in Noah’s yard. She told me to take a picture for Papa Mike.

Shenanigans

Days with Emma are always unpredictable. Will it be a good day? Crazy? Tired? Silly? Or maybe all of the above. Usually it’s the last one. Yesterday was a good day. We stayed home! We painted nails, did my chocolate mask, watched football, worked out in the garage, and she made a Caesar salad for dinner while I did the dishes. Today was the first day I felt like I got my life back: no work, no dog sitting, no appointments or pressing tasks. So I went for a run, did my Bible study and still had plenty of time to get a few things done...like get all the things we needed for Emma’s passport. She got out early from school today, so I took her to Yuba City to get her passport renewed. We got her one when Steven deployed to Afghanistan when she was a baby, and it expires next year. Afterwards we got an early dinner and tried to do some Christmas shopping...but that is when the crazy got too much, so we just came home. (Example of her silly-craziness: At dinner she pulled her shirt half off in public to get her arm out so she could kiss her muscle, “because Tayvon did it.” Oh this child. 😕) 

Her newest concoction: salad with peanut butter. I made her try it before she made it, but she said she liked it. But then she ‘wasn’t hungry’ after a few bites. 

“Mom don’t forget the pickles!” Every time we painted our nails she asked me to do this. So I finally did. Then she told me I looked like a monster. It was fun though. 

This was at the County Clerks office. She wanted them to take her passport picture there.

And she wanted to make moose ears in her picture.

We stopped by a pet store during our shopping. Grandma Connie, she requested this picture for you.

This little guy was so cute! I could never work at one of these places. How could you not take them all home?

Oh Emma and the kitties. 

She really wanted to take one home. 

We shopped until she dropped. Actually we came home before her crazy got worse. 

We tried to make pfeffernusse when we got home. (Seriously, I feel like we can’t do anything without it going to pieces some days.) But we did finish. And we compromised: I let Emma have a dough ball like Laura and Mary in her Little House books to make her own cookies,  and I got to finish without her being too crazy. 

Pretty sure half of her dough ball ended up on the floor. But she had fun.