Singing in Church (Or Not?)

All of the kids that attended VBS last week were invited to wear their t-shirts and sing in church on Sunday. Olivia was so excited. She talked about it all weekend. When it was time for the kids to go up front, she was one of the first to go. She got in her place on stage and the music started...

She burst into tears. I had to go up front and she ran off stage and into my arms. I asked her several times if she wanted to try again but she refused. Oh well, maybe next year!

**If you cannot tell, I took these pictures before the music (and the tears) started!

Biking to School

My little girl is growing up so fast. Her teacher told me that all the little girls in class have been talking about riding their bikes to school. One of her friends rode on Wednesday and Liv has been begging me to let her ride to school too. So today, even though it is humid and muggy, I obliged. We gave ourselves 25 minutes to go about .55 miles and we made with a minute or two to spare! She was so excited and wanted all of her friends to see her on her bike. (Adam had to pick us up because they don't have a bike rack or bike storage at school.) Pretty soon she will be riding without those training wheels and I won't be able to keep up!!

Love My Livvie

Livvie loves to give me little gifts. I posted a picture of a flower and some rocks that she gave me a couple of weeks ago. Last week she gave me this huge Jelly Bean key chain. It came in an Easter basket from Uncle Josh's parents. It had bubbles in it and when she had blown all of the bubbles, she decided I would love the keychain. It is big and bulky and takes up lots of space, but I love it and have left it on my keys.

Today she came in from outside and told me that she had a special gift for me. She went into her room and emptied one of her piggy banks and gave me the bank. It is a Winnie-the-Pooh bank that she got for her first birthday, but I am going to keep it in my room so as not to disappoint her. She is such a sweet the girl. She is always thinking of other people and wanting to share her toys and treats with her sister and cousin. I have been so blessed.

A Wonderful Gift

Olivia gave me a gift on Saturday. She brought me a flower in from the backyard and a lovely rock she found in the garden. She was so proud that I put the flower in a vase and displayed the rock. It's the little things. I love it!

We Are...We Are...

Thankful!

Last week was Olivia's Thanksgiving program at school. One of the older classes sang a song to the tune of "We Will Rock You" and I just can't get it out of my head. So I am sharing so maybe I won't be the only one...

We are, We are...Thankful

We are, We are...Thankful

We're thankful for our moms

And we're thankful for our dads

We're thankful for our food

And we're thankful for God

We are, We are ...Thankful!

We are, We are...Thankful!

We took video of the program. (I once again lost the "still" camera.) In true Olivia fashion, she was the ONLY (and I mean ONLY) child that did not participate in the singing and dancing at the program. She stood there with her hand in her mouth staring at the audience. Oh well!

Miley! Miley! Miley!

I took Liv to the Miley Cyrus concert last week. It was so much fun. She was a little nervous at first but ended up having an amazing time. Taking my daughter to her first concert was one of my favorite experiences of all time!

Pillsbury Dough Girls

Olivia's been "itching" to do some baking ever since her Aunt Sissy mentioned the possibility of making cupcakes 2 weeks ago. I grabbed some ready to bake cookies at H-E-B last week and we let the girls do the rest! Some ended up in balls like play dough and others turned out perfectly! It was fun and the end results were YUMMY!

Liv's First Day of Preschool

I am so delayed in posting. These are pics from Liv's first day in preschool. She did great and seems to love it so far! I am just glad that she likes it and that she is tired when she gets home. It makes nap time and bed time much more pleasant!

Olivia-ism's (Again)

Olivia is growing up so quickly. She will be 4 next week and there's something new with her every day! (Usually it's something new coming out of her mouth!) Since this is my weblog, I thought I would chronicle some of her "funnies." This is mainly for me to remember, but also some of you may get a laugh or two! (For those of you that follow me on Facebook, sorry... this is a lot of repeats!)

Olivia has been telling us that her panties are in her bottom a lot lately. She is always tugging and pulling and adjusting. Just to be funny, we taught her to say "I have a wedgie!" We explained that people call your underwear in your bottom a "wedgie." The other day we were in the car and everyone was buckled when Olivia started yelling "Stop, don't back out!" I slam the car into park and ask her what is wrong. Her response, "Unbuckle me! Quick! I have a wedgie!" At that moment, Amanda bursts out into baby giggles and cannot stop laughing. That made me laugh and of course, I got out and unbuckled her so she could *ahem* adjust.

On Friday, we were at Chick-Fil-A ordering lunch. I ordered Liv her kids meal with chocolate milk. As she heard me say "chocolate" milk, she piped up and said "Excuse me sir, actually I will have white milk, please." He looked at me and said, "Uh, how old is she?" I said, "She is almost 4." He said, "She just said actually." I know! I know!

Last night I took a shower and got ready for bed fairly early. I put on a t-shirt and pajama pants since I was still going to be up and walking around the house. When we got ready to get in bed for the night, I decided to just sleep in my t-shirt rather than changing into a night shirt. I took off the pants (because I cannot sleep with anything on my legs) and Olivia points at me and says, "Daddy, mommy is wearing her granny shorts again!" (Yes, I was wearing granny panties and she completely called me out!)

***For me, I had to add that when Olivia "squeeze's" something, she does not squeeze it. She "squeaks it!"(I cannot correct her because it is WAY too cute!)***

Adam always says, "Oh my gosh, she is a little Lauren!" I say, "She is me, only better!" And she is.

Purchases, Pickles, and Pee

Olivia made her very first purchase today with her own money. She always wants to buy little trinkets (junk) when we are out shopping, so I told her that we would have to start using her money for her little "treasures!" She decided to buy some silly putty today at Hobby Lobby. She picked out her item, walked right up to the cashier, and pushed it towards the register. I helped her count out her $1.37 and she got her own bag and receipt. She was so pleased with herself. We play "store" all the time at home. She likes to take turns being the cashier and the customer. She always wants me to tell her how much her items cost when I am the cashier and she reminds me to give her the receipt. When she is the cashier, she even knows to ask me debit or credit when I pretend to swipe my invisible debit card. All the ladies at Hobby Lobby giggled when I told them it was her very first purchase "on her own!" They thought she was an old pro! I figure it's never too early to teach her about money. (Especially since she comes from a long line of seasoned shoppers! Her Nana would be so proud!)

Speaking of Olivia, tonight she asked me if she could have some pickled peanuts. I buy almonds to snack on and recently purchased the salt & vinegar flavored nuts. She had some earlier this week and must have related the vinegar taste to that of pickles. She loves pickles and therefore loved the almonds. I never thought of them as "pickled" but was tickled when she wanted her pickled peanuts a.k.a. almonds!

My last Olivia-ism of tonight is about pee. As many of you mommy's know, it is hard to even go potty by yourself when you have kids around. Olivia is always standing right next to me in the bathroom and watching my every move. Tonight she inspected my "pee" and said, "Mommy does your pee look orange?" I said, "No!" She said, "Do you know that if your pee is orange, then you are dehydrated?" Thanks Doc! She is such a little turkey! I don't know where she gets this stuff. Yes, it's true! But huh? Who is teaching her these things?

Play Dates

My friend, Dee Dee, was watching her nieces yesterday and asked if we wanted to meet for a play date at the park. Bethany is about 2 months older than Olivia and Lucy is almost 1. The girls had a great time playing at the playground, in the sandbox, and having lunch at Chick Fil-A. I wish I had taken more photos, but the picture below is of Liv and Bethany building sand castles. They were "picture perfect!"

More Olivia-isms and AI

Olivia, Amanda, and I were listening to a new Spanish CD in the car today. After hearing the songs over and over again at least 3 times, I started to sing along. I sang a few notes and heard "Mommy, why are you crying?" Olivia was seriously concerned about me. She thought that I was crying when I was actually singing. Oh gosh! I must be really bad.

Speaking of singing, American Idol was great tonight. I still love me some Adam Lambert. He was my favorite, but Danny Gokey and Allison Iraheta are close seconds. Kris Allen is a really cute and he can sing too. I think Jasmine Murray needs to go bye-bye! The girls just aren't that good this year, dog!

And does anyone know the spoilers for tomorrow night? There are supposed to be some big changes...

Maybe they are voting Kara DioGuardi off the show! Does anyone else think that she talks too much?

Little Angels

Our friends, The Rossi's, came over last night. They have a little girl who is close to Olivia's age and a baby boy. The girls love to play together but both have similar personalities. Bossy! We never have to wonder what Liv and Julianna are doing because if they are not playing right in front of us, then we can hear them bossing each other around in the other room. Last night the girls took off to Olivia's room and after a while we noticed that it was really quiet. Adam jumped up and said, "It is too quiet. They are into something." He ran to check on them and what he found was NOT what he expected.

Olivia was sitting on her bed and Julianna was on the floor. Olivia had a book in her hand and was "reading" it to Jules. Adam said, "What are you doing?" Olivia held up the book so Adam could see it and said, "I am *reading to Julianna from The Bible." And she was! In this case, the quiet was not trouble at all, but our little angels were reading the good book! Priceless!

*Olivia does not know how to read. She looks at the pages and tries to remember what we have read to her! I am working on the reading, but we have to get the letters down first! :)

And speaking of little angels, on Saturday Olivia and her friend Shelby were playing dress up at our house. All of the neighborhood boys were outside playing and riding bikes when our doorbell started ringing. Adam went to the door and 2 of the boys (second graders) were there and wanted to know what the girls were doing. Adam told the boys that the girls were playing and to leave them alone. (I might have been nicer, but Adam is a tad protective.) Next thing we know, the door is being quietly opened and the boys are peeking in. Then the girls came out in their princess dresses and before I knew it...there were 10 boys from age 2 to age 8 in my backyard playing and being bossed by Olivia and Shelby. (Yes, we let them in. I can watch them better in my backyard. They are contained!) Most of the boys were in first or second grade. I told Adam that we are in serious trouble. Olivia is not interested (well, maybe a little!), but the boys are already knocking on our door and she is only 3! This prompted Adam to start polishing his shot guns! (Wink! Wink!)

My Christmas Princess

Getting Motivated, Texts, and A New Foot

This post is going to be a little "all over the place!"

Adam and I attended a "Get Motivated" seminar yesterday for work. There were a lot of fun and interesting speakers. Some of our favorites were Colin Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Zig Zigler, and Suze Orman. I took some photos and notes that I thought would be fun to share!

"Everyone has bad days, it just depends on how you handle them!" -Zig Zigler

"You are NOT a victim." -Zig Zigler

"Children spell love, T-I-M-E."-Zig Zigler

"In emotional situations, remain calm and remain focused." -Rudy Giuliani

"Weddings are discretionary, funerals are necessary. Be there for people during the bad times, not just the good!" -Rudy Giuliani

"Diversity is a source of strength."-Colin Powell

"You cannot go through life looking in the rearview mirror..." -Colin Powell

"Nobody knows anything for sure!"-Suze Ormann

"Times of great disruption bring us our greatest opportunities. Take advantage of adversity."-Rick Belluza






**************************************

On another note, Olivia is saying something a lot and it cracks me up! Every time my phone buzzes that I have a text or an e-mail message, she says "Don't worry mom, I am sure it was just a text!" Cracks me up that she already knows what that is!

**************************************

As many of you know, Adam's younger sister lost her right eye in a tragic accident on July 4th. Olivia has been very concerned about Bree (as we all have) since the accident. Bree recently got her glass eye and we explained to Olivia that now she has a new eye. Well, Adam broke his foot a couple of weeks ago, but just went to the doctor today (go figure!). When I picked Olivia up today, I told her that daddy had been to the doctor and that his foot was broken. She quickly asked "When's he gonna get his new one?"

I had to explain that he got a cast and that the bone would heal itself, but of course it was HILARIOUS! Kids are so cute!

Plucking

Preface:
Last weekend we were out shopping and Olivia overheard someone use the "F" word. We mentioned that it was a bad word and a few hours later she asked again if it was a "really" bad word. We emphasized that the "F" word was just about as bad as it gets. She seemed to understand. No mention of it since last Sunday.

Fast Forward to the Friday after Thanksgiving:
As mentioned in the previous post, the whole Shingleton side of the family was in Austin over Thanksgiving. Olivia and Campbell had a great time playing together and spent a lot of time running in and out of the living room putting on little shows etc...On Friday night, all the adults were sitting in our living room chatting when Olivia and Campbell came running in. Each had a toy cell phone in hand and they pointed the phones at each of us one by one as Olivia yelled "I am f$&king you" to each person individually...Great Grandma Jo and all...I think we were all in shock at first. Thad (Adam's brother) asked "Are you faxing us?" She looked at him with a "duh" look and said "No, I am f$&king you!"

Adam shot off the couch, picked her up, and carried her off into the other room. Grandma Jo was still asking "What did she say?" When Adam and Olivia arrived back in the living room, she shyly announced that she had been "plucking" everyone... like a turkey. She was the talk of the night. It was shocking at the time, but I get the giggles thinking about it now. She is, after all, just 3!

Friends

Like Father...Like Daughter

Yesterday I received a box of maternity clothes that I ordered from Old Navy. I was really excited to open the box and try on the clothes. Olivia was in the room with me as I tried on each item.

I think Adam is really rubbing off on her. Examples?

Shirt #1: "That looks cute!" (Totally me!)

Shirt #2: "Don't you have one in your closet that looks just like that?" (Okay Adam...)

Shirt #3: "I don't think Daddy is going to like that on you." (Thanks!)

Sweatsuit: "Mommy, you spend way too much money!" (Uh...where did that come from?)

Of course I realize that she is 3 and just repeating what she has heard her Daddy say over and over again, but she is supposed to be on my side right? We'll see how she feels about that last comment next time she wants a treat. I have the feeling that she will change her mind!

Olivia and Reagan

I just thought this picture was too cute!

The Rockettes

Yesterday I received an e-mail from the Frank Irwin Center in Austin notifying me of some upcoming shows and events. I hadn't checked their website since Raven Symone disappointed Olivia (okay...well really it was me!) and cancelled her Pajama Party Tour. Several "family friendly" events are coming up but the only one with tickets already on sale was the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. I have never seen the Rockette's but have always been interested. What little girl (woman) isn't at some point? I bought tickets for me, Adam, and Olivia. I was so excited...still am! Anyway...I got home and couldn't wait to tell Olivia all about it. Of course she had no idea what I was talking about. I explained (with great enthusiasm) who The Rockette's are and why they are SO COOL! With sarcasm, Olivia said...

"So, what other "fun stuff" do you have planned for us this Christmas?"

She went from 3 to 13 in about 2 seconds! I am in trouble!

I think that Olivia will really like the show regardless of her sarcasm, but just to get her back I told her that I was going to take her to sit on Santa's lap at the mall! (Her biggest fear of the season!) She screamed "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" I smiled.

Satisfaction!