Time for a Haircut?

It's starting to get a little long, and guess what. She has NEVER had it cut yet. We thought about having it cut on her third birthday, but that didn't happen. I'm not sure if we want to wait for another birthday to cut it though. I don't want it short or anything, but a trim might be in order.

Video Wallpaper

I just had to share the new wallpaper I have on my phone. I get to see this bubbly little happy dancing face every time I go to use my phone now, and it never fails to make me smile.

Happy Birthday Carter

We celebrated Carter's 7th birthday over the weekend. It was a little late, but he had a lot of fun, and the party was a success.

Johnathan did some card tricks to help with the entertainment.

Of course Andrew had to join in the fun and do some magic of his own.

It became quite interesting as they both kept trying to out do the other and turned it into a competition as to which one was the better magician, and of course the kids loved the entire show.

I just thought I would throw in a picture of Em after having had her cupcake. As you can see... she loves her cupcakes.

Summer Vacation

It's almost that time of year. Summer vacation is nearly at an end. Only one more full week remaining before it is time for the kids to be heading back to school and for them to be asked by their teachers... "What did you do over summer vacation?"

Johnathan's answer would more than likely be somewhat simple. Something along the lines of "I worked and hung out with friends." He is always the quiet one and keeps things pretty short and sweet. However, he has been known to get a bit lively now and then amongst his friends.

Andrew's answer would be really difficult to predict. He is quite the creative individual and can be quite a character. He is always fun. So the one thing you can be sure of is that his answer would be amusing and probably in the form of a nice little humorous anecdote.

There is absolutely no predicting what Carter would say. The only thing to be certain is that you will get an earful for an answer. You have to be careful when asking open ended questions of Carter, and be prepared to listen for awhile when you do. Carter loves life, and loves to talk and share everything with anyone that is willing to listen.

Emmy is the only one left that will not have anyone asking this question. She's still only 3, so has a couple more years before she will be off to school with the rest of them. However, if she were to be asked that question, I think her answer would be quite simple. Something along the lines of "I played with my brothers." And then proceed to ask if you wanted to play.

Pierced

Haylee had her ears pieced today for her birthday!

Getting ready and making sure the marks are even before starting...

Giving Claire Bear a hug before the first one...

One down, and still smiling!...

Time for the second one. Still calm and relaxed...

All done! Still happy and smiling. She did wonderful!


Everyone was surprised at how well she did. Not even a flinch or anything, just all smiles and hug and kiss for her mom when she was done.

Volleyball

This was a couple of weeks ago, but we had a fun day at the park.

We started off nice and clean and happy about the prospect of playing a little bit of sand volleyball...


Then she started having a little more fun playing in the sand but still had the ball at least...


She was having so much fun, she got me down there to have a little fun too...


It was a great day, but for the rest of the time at the park, I couldn't get rid off all of the sand sticking to me everywhere.

Simple Concepts

I have been in the process of preparing myself for divorce for some time now. In order to help with this, I have done a great deal of reading on the subject, primarily in order to help ensure my kids are okay and will be able to have a smooth adjustment. In all of the reading I have done, there are several items that are shared and consistent throughout all of the literature I have read.

1. Always be available to listen to your child.
2. Don't argue or fight with your ex-spouse if your child is within listening range.
3. Use consistent discipline. Your child should have the same rules no matter where they are.
4. Don't criticize your ex-spouse in front of your child. Remember, they are the child's parent too, and by criticizing them, you are indirectly criticizing your own child.
5. Don't try to buy your child's love. This only leads to resentment and all the child really wants to know is that you love them. There are much better ways to demonstrate this to them.

To me, these recurring topics seem like pretty simple concepts. However, in witnessing how others handle divorce and handle day to day interactions and activities, I can see why these topics are published by so many different sources. For many years I was hesitant to move forward with my divorce due to my kids. However, by having a complete understanding of these simple concepts, I know that my kids will actually be better off in the long run because of my divorce.