Phew!
It was a BIG week.
Two {firsts} ~ one muy bueno and one no bueno!
Took our sassy little señorita for a Supercut this afternoon.
The weekend ended on a high note…hoping to have a little fun tomorrow before going back to school on Tuesday.
Hope your Sunday was also full of sass!
Not only did Cupid come yesterday, but the Tooth Fairy also paid Chez Aspiras a little visit for the first time!
While chewing on a green Skittle from her Valentine loot, out it came!
We placed it in a small envelope, she wrote “Toth Fare” on the front and slipped it under her pillow.
A five dollar bill greeted her this morning…
{what’s the going rate for the {Toth Fare} these days, anyway?}
*****
Valentine’s Day recipes coming up…..
my day was derailed at about 10:30 this morning and I am scurrying around trying to rectify everything!
Everything is fine, but it’s just a NUISANCE! Any guesses?
More on that later, too…….
It’s back-to-school shopping time.
I loved this as a kid and teenager.
Shopping for all the new school clothes, shoes, Trapper Keepers and Pee Chee folders!
{Trapper Keeper image found here}
The kids never have a shortage of clothes, but they need a couple brand-new pieces to start school as well as some new zapatos.
I took them to Ross yesterday and it was a nightmare.
Everything that I liked, she hated.
Everything that she liked, I HATED.
We settled on a few things, but nothing that I super adored.
I’m not going to lie. I LOVE shopping for kids’ clothes. I am the one that always gives some article of clothing as part of the birthday gift for their friends. To kids, this equals B-O-R-I-N-G!
For Elliott’s birthday I found a darling pair of silver sequined high tops. I was so excited to give them to her. Wrapped in zebra print tissue and a glitter gift tag…she opened them and immediately blurted out, ‘They look like clown shoes!”
I told her they would look so cute with knee highs and a ruffled skirt.
Then she saw something on iCarly or somewhere and changed her mind.
So, now the sequined high tops are back in the game.
Yay!
Again, not going to lie….I am pretty particular about what I put on my kids. And I don’t mean that ALL they wear is designer, boutique inspired clothing. That is not the case at all. I have no problem putting them in a $2 pair of pants or a 50 cent shirt ~ as long as it’s cute!
If the shirt is ugly (in my opinion) and it’s 50 cents, no.
Cute and 50 cents, YES!
Sometimes a bow is OK, sometimes the bow ruins it. Sometimes there is just one little thing that makes it look cheap and I won’t buy it (even if it IS cheap).
I get most of the kid’s clothes from Ross, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, The Children’s Place, Old Navy, Kohl’s, some hand-me-downs and occasionally Wal-mart. I refuse to spend a lot on their clothing. I almost always get their shoes from Ross. They have quality shoes like Stride Rite at great prices.
So, getting back to school shopping…I was so excited to take her this year, but I just won’t spend money on something that I don’t like for her. Is that bad?
What I think I’m going to do to come to a happy medium is shop for her stuff myself and then let her pick out her outfits (within reason). That way at least I will LIKE all the pieces she has to choose from if she won’t let me dress her.
Ugh! I can already see the writing on the wall each morning.
Have a feeling there will be a lot of Punky Brewster moments!
These are the times when I wouldn’t mind her having a uniform.
Holden, on the other hand, is still easy…
…that is IF I can get him out of his pajamas!
Yesterday was Elliott’s first dance recital.
Another big milestone. I’ve been excited about it ever since I ordered her costume in February!
Her little class was assigned to the 9:00am show ~ yes, 9am on a Saturday! That translates to getting up real early which for me is fine because I do it every morning, but for a 5-year old who went to bed at 11pm the night before….it’s not fine.
She had an 8:30 check-in so I worked the timeline backwards in my head and decided she needed to be up around 6am. I know, I’m overly conservative with stuff like this. I don’t like to rush so I figured I needed plenty of time to curl her hair, apply her “make-up”, make sure all the ducks were in a row before I dropped her off with the backstage “babysitter” (who she later told me was Grandma Jean).
Needless to say, she was less than thrilled by her 6:15am wake-up call (I let her sleep in!).
After we successfully, yet not painlessly, got all the rollers in, we applied a little Mac StudioFix:
…some eyeshadow and mascara:
With each cosmetic would come more pouting and whining.
Once everything but the lipstick was applied, I told her “Now whatever you do, don’t touch your face” and turned my back for 20 seconds to grab the hairspray.
Well, what do crazy tired, grumpy kids do?
RUB THEIR EYES.
RIGHT AFTER PSYCHO PAGEANT MAMA JUST APPLIED THE MASCARA!!
Seriously, I went into scary pageant mama mode for a brief sec and I am not at all proud…
I jumped up and down (apparently that was my first involuntary reaction) and yelled, “What are you doing? You just totally messed up your mascara!”
I know. I know. Terrible Mom award right there.
Well, that made her tear up and make things worse.
So, I took a deep breath, grabbed some Q-tips and went over and told her that I loved her and that we will just pile on the blush and lipstick last minute and everything will be OK.
Honestly, I felt so stupid by the way I reacted. Jay witnessed the whole thing. I SOOO could not be a pageant mom.
I just wanted everything to be PERFECT.
And it was…
{She’s 5th from the left}
Overwhelmed by the barrage of flowers:
After the show, our friends hosted a bbq for the dancers.
The tutus were traded for two-pieces for a dip in the jacuzzi:
…but not for long:
They even reapplied their make-up after the swim!
Here is a close-up of the trophy BEFORE it broke into 2 pieces ~ $15 down the drain.
…and here is one tuckered out, vampy make-up wearin’, lollipop eatin’, rainboot wearin’ ballerina.
It was a BEAUTIFUL day!
Happy June 1st!
In just 9 days Elliott will “graduate” from preschool.
Onto bigger and better things…
Kindergarten.
What a special day that will be.
Carrying her new fancy polka dot lunch bag probably containing a little first-day-of-school surprise from Mama.
Dressed in some new school duds.
And new shoes on her little size 11 tootsies.
{Tear.}
They had cap and gown pics taken at school:
The first of many graduations to come in her life…
*****
I’ve been blogging for exactly 7 months today.
What I love about blogging is that I have “met” some other Blogger Mamas who are super duper creative, fabulous in the kitchen and party planning fanatics ~ one of them being Erin over at Bringing Up Burns!
I am excited and honored to have contributed a recipe for Espresso Cupcakes on her foodie blog, Haute Plates today!
Please click over and check out her oodles of tried and true eats! There is everything from A-V (appetizers to vegan!). I have tried a few of her recipes and can’t wait to sample a few more. They’re absolutely delish. I love that, in Blog Land, you never have to worry about eating the same thing twice if you don’t want to. There are tons of easy, family oriented ideas for cooking, baking, crafts, gift ideas, home decor, etc. out there so when you have a minute check out some of my favorites on the right side bar. They will suck you in and you will be forever inspired!
Thanks again, Erin! Hoping to meet you IRL real soon!
*****
Another birthday party down in the books…
Even if it was “off site” this time around, I am beat!
It was a great time, though and the little gymnasts had a blast ~ which is all that matters in the end!
…and one last celebration at home with Emilie…
Happiness is writing this post, sipping on some Chardonnay and knowing that I still have tomorrow to relax at the pool, grill with family and friends and know that my sweet girl is tumbling her way into FIVE with a big smile on her face!
Now a break from party planning for a bit, but since I am a freak and already know the venue and theme for both kid’s next festivities, I will be on the lookout for goodies here and there.
The joys of OCD!
Today’s events were full of flips and flops and all around fun…
…more jumps and tumbles coming tomorrow!
Dear Elliott,
Your First Year was filled with so much…both literally and figuratively. Here are some highlights:
You visited the San Diego County Fair at just a few weeks old. You took your first plane ride at 3 months. You and Rascal kept Mommy company on our drive to Nor Cal (your new home) when you were 5 months old. You were the sweetest Monkey while trick-or-treating in Menlo Park on your First Halloween (also 5 months). You were baptized and celebrated your First Thanksgiving at Lolo & Lola’s house in South Carolina with the whole family at 6 months. Of course your first Christmas, New Year’s, Superbowl, Valentine’s Day, St. Paddy’s Day and Easter were very special. You visited the grumpiest Santa at the SF Zoo, but later saw the “Happy Santa” at the good ‘ol Valley Fair Westfield Mall. You began swim lessons at 10 months and this is where you met your very first girlfriend, Charlotte! You moved into your brand new house in Gilroy at 11 months. I celebrated my very first Mother’s Day with you in beautiful Carmel, but had to get dinner “to go” later that evening because you had the HUGEST blowout in your darling little watermelon outfit (including your watermelon Robeez!) But, it was still one of the most special memories even with the package of wipes that we went through to clean you up in the tailgate of our old white Volvo wagon! Shortly thereafter, you celebrated your First Birthday with a Jungle themed adventure! I had SO much fun planning your bash and I think this is where I went into perpetual “party plannning mode”. Even though we had just moved to the area, you had SO many friends and family there to celebrate with you as you entered your Second year of life. It was a “wild” day and I a still dreaming of your fresh banana cake from one of my all time fave bakeries, Icing On The Cake in downtown Los Gatos. Oh how I miss that place!
Here you are in your cheetah print dress from Auntie Jeannie & Uncle Mark in Boston:
And your gorgeous fresh banana cake:
*****
Your Second Year was also action packed. Here are just some of the highlights…You quickly started meeting lots of fun new friends in your neighborhood (your BFF being, Logan) and by this time you and Charlotte were two peas in a pod and spent Wednesdays together after swimming lessons. You visited the Santa Cruz Boardwalk with your friend William when you were 13 months. You attended your first Gilroy Garlic Festival at 14 months. You flew to Vegas at 17 months to visit Lola & Lola and celebrate my 36th birthday. You did your first “apple picking” at Gizdich Ranch with Logan when you were 18 months old. You celebrated your 2nd Turkey Day and Christmas in your new home along with family. You went to the snow in Lake Tahoe when you were 20 months. However, the biggest milestone of your second year was that when you were 21 months old, you became a Big Sister. I will never forget you waiting (aka running) out in the halls with Gramma when your Baby Brother was born. You came in just minutes later and laid eyes on Holden and you have been a wonderful Big “Sissy” ever since (well maybe despite a couple minor instances!). You were such a patient girl for the first couple months while Mommy and Daddy got the hang of things. You shared your 2nd Birthday weekend with Holden with a back-to-back Baptism and your Western Cowgirl themed rodeo on Memorial Day Weekend 2007. Again, this birthday was filled with MANY new friends, family….and of course, fresh banana cake from Icing On The Cake! We also served mini sloppy joe’s, Auntie Bucky’s Ranch potato salad, Uncle Matt’s baked beans and your favorite, piggies in a blanket for all the little cowboys and cowgirls!
This is one of my favorite pics of you EVER. EVER.:
…and again, the infamous fresh banana cake:
Only 2 more days, my Little Sugar Muffin, and you’ll be FIVE!
Now, off to celebrate with mini bagels & cream cheese at school with your classmates!
Coming up tomorrow ~ Birthday Countdown: Part III
My baby girl is turning 5 on Saturday.
I am giving myself a gift in honor of her birthday and reliving the past 60 beautiful months.
“Baby A” was due on Saturday, May 28th, 2005.
The Curious George nursery was bright and welcoming, itsy bitsy Pampers Swaddlers, sensitive wipes & Boudreaux’s Butt-paste were arranged neatly in the little basket at the end of the changing table, gowns and onesies were bathed in Dreft and just waiting for a sweet little body to fill them…we were ready!
On my due date we got “dressed up” (for me that was a super stretchy black dress & some black flip flops!) and went out to a nice dinner ~ what would be our last dinner before becoming a family of three.
We decided on Thai food and went into Hillcrest to Celadon ~ right next to the hospital should my water break while enjoying dinner! We shared spicy curries and pad thai noodles. Jay drank wine and I sucked down not one, but two thai iced teas!
We got home close to 11:00pm and I went straight to bed. The next morning I awoke early and started to feel “some pains” around 7:00am. I started timing and sure enough we were on the 5-1-1 schedule. I timed them for a little over an hour and then we were on our way to Scripp’s Mercy Hospital.
They could not find my pre-registered paperwork so there I was filling it out again while Jay went and parked the car. I went into a triage room to be monitored and was admitted shortly thereafter.
I tried to go all natural, but after getting to 8 cm and being told this was my last chance for an epi, I caved and shortly thereafter had a needle in my back and was able to now enjoy labor and actually talk to those around me.
By 5:00pm I was ready to push and my crotchety old Jewish doctor was hurrying me along because he had two other women down the hall close to delivering, too.
I pushed for an hour and a half before he determined the baby was “sunny side up”. Dr. S wanted to use a vacuum to help with the delivery, but after I said, “Uh….NO you’re not!”, he manually “turned” the baby and by 6:39pm, Elliott Elizabeth Aspiras came into the world!
A baby girl!
6 pounds, 14 ounces and 18.75″ long
Sunday, May 29, 2005
I was thrilled either way, of course, but I now had a little one to dress in pink, ruffles, dresses, sequins, tutus, bows and patent leather mary janes ~ a little girl to LOVE.
After sitting under the bili-light for 8 hours (for jaundice), she was ready to come home:
{Tuesday, May 31st, 2005}
Birthday Countdown: Part II coming tomorrow!
Now, off to get ready to take the little one wrapped in the chickie blanket above to her Kindergarten assessment!
{Tear.}
Lately I’ve been realizing that I never have one-on-one time with my Elliott.
Holdy and I share Tuesday & Thursday mornings running errands together and his secret “cheeseburger time” once a week while “Sissy” is at school.
We needed a little Mama/Daughter bonding time.
After her favorite dinner of lettuce wraps, we went to Party City and she picked out plates and napkins for her school friends. We’re taking mini bagels and cream cheese next week for snack to celebrate her birthday.
She vacillated between Spongebob, polka dots, cheetah and zebra print, Tiana (Princess & The Frog) and finally settled on her all time fave princess, Ariel.
Next stop…Golden Spoon!
She was SO excited that she got her OWN yogurt AND got to choose a topping!
Chocolate & Peanut Butter with chocolate chips:
In 7th heaven:
I chose Coconut & Toffee Heath Bar:
We sat and talked about her upcoming graduation, dance recital and plans for the Summer. She said she still doesn’t need swimming lessons because she remembers EVERYTHING from “last time”…..m’kay, we’ll revisit that later.
She threw 2 pennies in the fountain and made as many wishes…
And as if all that wasn’t enough, we skipped down to Target and browsed around there, too!
She even talked me into some sour candies at the checkout ~ “It’s for our date, Mommy.”
We really need to do that more often.
Maybe next time a pre-Kindergarten pedi.
Yes, that’s what we’ll do.
I love you my almost 5-year old. Where did that half decade go?
