The joys of parenthood

Last week was spring break. Because of certain committments, we just stayed at home for the week. I rediscovered some of the joys of parenthood.
I let the kids "wash" my black car with their towels and sponges. It was about to go through the carwash anyway. I was patting myself on the back for finding something that entertained them for so long... when Lydia walks in and says "MOM, Claire is cleaning the car with a golf club." Yep. A golf club. So one of our doors has lots of lovely small scratches on it from Claire's cleaning efforts. What a joy.

We also went to the movies as a family. Usually movies are just for dad and the big girls while I stay with Scarlett, but this time we alll went. The only way to keep Scarlett still was to continue feeding her treats... and that didn't last long enough. We gave her a cup of popcorn which she tossed over her head to the people behind us. We gave her licorice, but she only wanted one. The next one we gave her, she threw at the lady's head in front of us. Then there was the usual climbing and screaming fits to get out of the aisle. She was exhausting.
She was a joy.

One afternoon we were playing with the soccer ball, and for whatever reason, Lydia wanted to surprise me by throwing the ball at my face. I got a bloody nose. What a joy.

Then there was that time I was at a friend's house, and while we were chatting, Scarlett got into my wallet and emptied all the cards out... then "played" with them and scattered them everywhere. I thought I got them all... until I got to Sam's Club and didn't have a debit card.

Scarlett seems to be the source of most of these "joys" in my life right now. I love that she always fills her diaper when we are out running errands.. because its so easy to change her in the back seat of a car while she wiggles around fighting me. I love that she moves chairs around the house so that she can get up onto counters. I love that she throws her food everywhere in protest. I love that she goes rigid and screams every time I try to get her in her car seat. I love that she's learned to pull her sister's hair... and mine.. when she is upset with us. She is such a joy. And somehow.. I still love her. SO much. I miss her when I'm away from her for a few hours. What's up with that?

I am not a cynic... I just want to remind myself that it ain't easy, and its not always joyous and happy. Thank goodness there are good days and great moments that make up for all of these little "joys".

On my mind lately..



That's how many miles I will be running at the end of the month. I'm training for my first half-marathon with some friends, and we are going to Austin for the ZOOMA race, and a girls weekend. It's fun, but draining. On my running days sometimes I find I don't have enough energy left to be a good mom. But I'm excited for the challenge, happy to be healthy & fit,  and anxious to check this off my "bucket list". I'm also afraid I might pass out at mile 11 and get carried away on a stretcher.

Also on my mind - the Easter season. I've followed some of my non-Catholic friends in giving up something for Lent, even though we aren't Catholic. I think it is a good practice to "go without" for a season. Right now I am going without Facebook, and caffeinated drinks. Both have been much more difficult than expected. For one, Facebook has decided to email me friendly reminders of what I've missed! I'll get an email that says "Friends A, B, C have posted popular pictures and status updates.. you have 2 pending notifications... 3 unread messages...etc". It's annoying.

Caffeine has been hard to go without... because of the 13.1 I'm working towards. After doing a 10 mile run I really would like to sit down with a Dr Pepper. Or a Monster Energy drink. But I know I am better without them.

 And finally... Scotland's on my mind. One of my neighbors has a flowerbed full of daffodils, and I thought how beautiful Aberdeenshire must be right now with daffodils all over the hills. Then last weekend we were watching a movie on Disney, and saw previews for the new movie Brave. It tugged at my heart. The Scottish accents, the men in kilts, the Highland Games, the majestic castles, and the most beautiful countryside in all the world. I missed Scotland. Plus... the princess has wild & crazy hair just like my Lydia, and is just as brute. Can't wait to see it. I am happy with my life here, but sometimes I really miss Scotland. How blessed we are to have experienced it.

 

And that's about all that's going on with us at the moment. My days are filled with transporting kids to school, soccer, dance, and keeping them alive and fed. Not too exciting, but I love this job.

Valentines Week

We had a week full of parties, dances, and celebrations of LOVE.
Both of my older girls had big Valentines parties at school with parents. At Claire's party, we ate a bunch of heart cookies, looked at her Valentines crafts, and mixed up some bath salts as a Valentines gift for mom.

At Lydia's party, all us girls were there to join in on crafts and ice cream sundaes (which kept Scarlett pretty occupied)

Lydia was absolutely beaming when she saw us walk in, and Claire ran right to her big sister for a hug. It made my heart happy :)

Lydia's best girlfriend in her class is Jenna, who also goes to church with us!

Also this week, Claire's dance class had a valentines performance at the mall. This was their first tap-dancing performance, and it was adorable.

Claire is pretty good at shakin those hips. They danced to Train's "Hey Soul Sister"

Claire and her good friend Brielle, who she likes to call "Ellie Bellie"

This week we also celebrated a significant birthday for our dear friend Shauna. She has such a huge heart, especially for children, it's no wonder such a loving gal was born on valentines day. We all love her.



Our church also organized a big Valentines dance last weekend, and it was a lot of fun. My girls are dancin' maniacs

Some of their best moves:

 

Scarlett liked to flirt with the "wallflowers" who were sitting in the chairs that she loved walking across.

Mommy trying to do the "Cotton-Eyed Joe" with my girls

Daddy and his girls...



The moments I won't forget

One afternoon at the beach the girls wanted to change into dry clothes, but later wanted to play in the water again. So this is what we got:

The gardener at Mill Point, Cyril, had a wealth of knowledge of the flora and fauna of the area, and introduced the girls to the "lipstick" flower. The housekeeper, Luz, was everyone's best friend, she just loved to chat, and she really loved the little girls.

Claire developed an ear infection on the journey over there, and was miserable with a high fever the first couple of days. We found a pediatrician, whom we paid around $350 for her to say "Ohh.. dat's a roarin ear infection"... and write a prescription worth another $150. So about $500 later, Claire is better. And worth it.

Josh and I got to spend a nice evening together on my birthday. It started out lovely, but when we were coming home, a crazy dog jumped in front of our car and started attacking our front tires! This rabid pit bull was biting at the tires, and we could barely go forward or else we'd run over him! So we pulled over and shut off the car and lights until he went away! Then we had to stop at the corner market for some bread, and although the loaf was priced at .89, I gave the guy a $20, and he only gave me $15 and some change back. It was the second time I'd got the "tourist discount" here.

Lydia really enjoyed special time with Grandma Sharon, who is a talented artist. One evening she spent nearly an hour in grandma's room just drawing pictures and telling stories. She really warmed up to both of her great-grandparents. We are so lucky that they are healthy enough to vacation with us.

Claire was very confident in the swimming pool. She could touch the bottom in the shallow end, so she became accustomed to not wearing her armbands. One time she was just riding on a float, and the float slipped away from her while she was in the deep end, and she started to sink. I was all dressed for the day, but had to jump in and save her! And this whole time we thought it would be Scarlett we'd be jumping in after. She amazingly stayed dry.

The girls were pretty tired at the end of each day. Lydia especially. That girl plays soooo hard all day.

Another classic moment was when we were at the grocery store, and while waiting in the check-out line Lydia starts singing Rihanna's "We Found Love". We already stood out as the only white people in there, and now my daughter was belting out a hip-hop song. The old man behind us just giggled.

Mill Point

Grandpa Paul found a wonderful place for us to stay while on St Croix.: Mill Point.
http://www.millpointstx.com/
It's an old sugar mill that was converted to a 6-bedroom modern home by Leon Uris, a famous author, back in the 80's. It was a very "Crucian" place to stay because the island is dotted with these sugar mills, which were introduced by the Dutch settlers in the 1700s. They were a lot like the windmills in Holland.

Beautiful sitting area inside the mill, but man there were so many steps around the property for poor little Scarlett.

Good morning! Scarlett coming out of our room. Lydia and Claire had their own room across from us and really loved having it all to themselves.

Great pool. Great view.

Exploring the rest of the plantation ruins

The resident horses were a real treat for the girls. It was a muggy morning, and Claire wanted to go topless like dad..

The famous Baobab tree - or as our girls called it - "Totoro's tree!" The Baobab is native to Africa, and its seeds were brought here by the slaves who considered them sacred. There are more baobabs on St Croix than any other Caribbean island

Hiking up the long driveway back up to the house.

Dining area

The kitchen - and two busy girls doing homework for missing a week of school!

 

Top 10 things to do in St. Croix

We've just returned from a wonderful vacation in St. Croix, one of the US Virgin Islands. The occasion: Papa Jon was turning 60!! We have too many pictures, and plenty of funny stories to share, but for now I've compiled a brief summary:

Top 10 things to do as a family in St. Croix

10. Just BEACH it! We went to a beach every day, and sometimes hit 2 beaches in a day. Caribbean beaches are awesome for kids because the water is so calm. The girls played in the gentle rollers all day. Our favorite beach: Rainbow Beach

9. Take a dip in the pool. It was great to have a pool at the house, to rinse off the sand, and for those evenings when the adults are exhausted, but the kids still want to play.

8. Ride the Jet-Skis out in the ocean. The girls had mixed feelings about this one. They loved it until we got too far from shore (Lydia), or went over 10 mph (Claire). So they got short rides, then mommy and daddy had some fun :)

7. Discover the Rainforest. We felt a little lost as we drove the winding roads through the rainforest, but saw waterfalls, hanging vines, brooks, and spooky trees.

6.  Just BEACH it - some more! Even babies love the beach. We liked collecting things, like sea snails, shells, shiny rocks and even hermit crabs. Scarlett mostly collected sand.

5. Enjoy the sunsets. Our house was on the west coast, and just about every night we'd sit on the pool deck and watch the sun set. Occasionally we'd see a massive cruise ship sailing right into the sun.

4. Snorkel and Sail. Just about every beach had access to a reef system for snorkeling, and St. Croix is also home to the world's only underwater national park. Josh & I sailed the Jolly Roger out to Buck Island, where we snorkeled along a reef system that actually has plaques along the sea floor detailing the different sorts of fish and coral.

3. Crab Races. We drove to the other side of the island for "Tito & Sue's Crab Races", where we paid $2 per crab, picked out our crab and named them, then cheered them on as they raced from the inner circle to the outside for a prize. Our crabs were Romo (Josh's), Roxy (Cassie's), Ellie (Lydia's), and Mr Krabs (Claire's).  Roxy won 4th place overall, and a free jeep safari (which we never redeemed). Romo won one of the drink races, and got a $25 bar tab at the restaurant - so we all enjoyed virgin pina coladas with dinner that night.

 The very next day we were at the Buccaneer beach, and go figure, the resort was hosting crab races for their guests. Because there were only 5 kids staying at the entire resort, Lydia and Claire were allowed to participate too. And they won! (of course, they had a good chance this time).

Claire held her winning crab for only a second, and when she saw his legs come out she dropped him and came crying to me! We were impressed that she even attempted to hold it!

The girls and their prizes

 2. Just BEACH it! Again and again! Enjoy the scenery, and playing in the sand.

Playing volleyball at the Buccaneer

1. Bring Papa. It was so nice to have Papa Jon around to help us with the girls. He went swimming with Lydia, played in the sand with Claire, and chased Scarlett up and down the beach and everywhere else. It seemed exhausting, but you never know with Jon, because he just smiles. All the time. We love him.