I am pretty, Oh so pretty

Since Maddie has been able to walk we have known her destined place in our family. She would be our athlete. She has a natural coordination that her sister didn't seem to have (and that I don't possess either). She could dribble a ball across the room with her feet since she was a year old (Mia Hamm look out!).

I didn't put cutesy little outfits with bows and lace on her because that isn't what athletes wear. They also didn't look quite right on the daughter who, though born the same month, was always taller and heavier than her sister at that age. She wear's Nike's and little jeans with cute tailored tops. Simple ponytails with occasional braids thrown in there. She doesn't like dresses for school because then she can't play on the monkey bars. I have been thrilled that she will wear whatever I lay out for her. No fights about clothing like I have with Abby. Comfort is the name of the game for her.

And then last week something happened. Maddie said she wanted to be pretty. I reassured her that she was pretty but she told me that she wanted to be "Pretty with curls in my hair." I wish that I knew what precipitated this but I don't. All I know is that my easy going child now desires dresses and curls. Do you know how hard it is for me to get up in the morning and get all three girls out the door on time, let alone get up and hot roller hair that isn't even mine? But who can resist that sweet face?

This is my girl's everyday look

Maddie before school on Friday morning

Who could resist that face?

Sweet girl

Blog Help

Our family blog was okay.  It needs some sprucing up so I had a chance to work with an amazing Blog Designer named Danielle to redesign our blog and add some punch to it.  If you are in need of a blog design or redesign, check her out at Blogs by Danielle.

Sick

I am sick.  I received my sickness via my baby girl who wrapped her arms around my neck and breathed in my face several nights ago.   Now I feel like I have been stomped on and my head feels like it is about to explode.  But I just heard the sweetest words in the whole universe, sweeter than the first "I love you", sweeter than the "I do" at the altar.  They are....are you ready?  They are, "Go to bed and I will take care of everything so I am off to do exactly that.  

Girl Scout Skate Lock-In

Three weeks ago when my mom was here and we took the girls skating (see earlier entry) Abby saw a sign for a Girl Scout All-Night Skate and Lock-In and she asked if her troop could do it and if I would help chaperone.  It was three weeks away and sounded like something that would be nice and so I said yes.

It was a good idea until the day of when the temperature outside plummeted and I was dreaming of a quiet night indoors next to the fireplace, watching one of my shows on the DVR.  I had promised though and so after a half hour late start (a whole other story)  Abby and I headed out.  I carefully placed the address in the navigation system and confidently began driving.  When we ended up at the skate rink the lot was full.  I thought it odd that several men were walking in but thought that maybe they were dad's escorting their daughters.  They weren't.  They were there for the Martin Luther King Jr. late night skate that was happening at this rink, not the rink that we were supposed to be at.  We were also the only pale faces that I saw.  I had mistakenly put in the address for another skate rink and now we were at least 50 minutes away from the rink we should have been at.  We made it safe and sound though only an hour and a half late to meet her troop leader and three other little girls.  

There is nothing like one hundred eighty-five girl scouts in a skate rink with loads of sugar in their systems.  Thankfully, there was much to do with roller skating, laser tag, games and a play area.  At midnight they had all of us bed down on the skating rink floor to watch a movie and get some sleep.  I opted to take a lounge chair which added some amount of comfort to the experience.  I say some because a lounge chair can't quite conquer the chilliness of the rink, the smell of sweaty stinky feet, the loud flushing of the toilets and the unhappiness of one eight year old who forgot her beloved Blankie to go to sleep with.  I did manage to catch a few Z's though and woke with a start at 6:30 a.m. when they snapped on the lights, played YMCA at a deafening level and shouted, "Good Morning, Girl Scouts".  Poor Abs looked like a zombie as we stumbled out to the minivan.  She was so tired that she turned down doughnuts for breakfast.  We got home just as Bud was leaving for work and she and I tumbled into bed for a two hour nap.  I had an amazing time with my daughter though and I would so do it all again to see the smile on her face.  

Only in the South

Only in the South would they find a way to make snow on the side of a hill and then charge people thirty (yes, I said thirty) dollars to go sledding.  I had seen an advertisement for Stone Mountain's "Snow Mountain" several weeks ago and I thought I would take the kids and make some memories.  Abby and Maddie were too young in Ohio and they don't remember going sledding.   Then I got on the website and looked at the price of tickets, remembered how much I don't like the cold, how much Maddie hates being wet, realized that since we have moved South my kids don't even know how to zip up their jackets let alone put on all of the clothes for sledding and I decided that this was not the year that we would be going sledding.

However, Abby was asked by a classmate to accompany her family who had an extra ticket and so we graciously thanked them and accepted.  The adventure started the night before when I began laying out her clothing to wear.  The predicted temperature was in the teens and so I had several layers laid out on the bed for her.  She decided that it would be easier to wear it all to school rather than change after school.  After several tearful minutes, she finally accepted my Northern mom wisdom about not wearing a pair of tights, a pair of insulated underwear and fleece pants along with her ducky rainboots (the only waterproof footwear she owns) to school.  

She had a great time though and I am thankful that she had a chance to go especially since I didn't have to pay for it.  What made the evening even better was Maddie's babysitter offered to watch Maddie and Destiny that night which meant that Bud and I got to go see a movie in the THEATRE instead of the Gamblin living room.   Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino, couldn't ask for anything better.

All the kids who went sledding

Only Abby could manage to not have any real winter wear and still end up color coordinated and perfectly matched

A view of the sledding area.  Jackson, Lee and Davis looking over the scene (small history lesson below)


The largest bas relief sculpture in the world, the Confederate Memorial Carving depicts three Confederate leaders of the Civil War, President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The entire carved surface measures three acres, about the size of three football fields. The carving of the three men towers 400 feet above the ground, measures 90 by 190 feet, and is recessed 42 feet into the mountain. The deepest point of the carving is at Lee's elbow, which is 12 feet to the mountain's surface.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

My mom convinced me that we needed to take the girls to Sparkles, our local rollerskating rink. I wasn't that thrilled with the idea. I knew Grammy wasn't going to skating which left me since both younger girls are just learning.

We entered the rink and I was instantly transported back twenty years in time. The rink looked suspiciously like the ones I went to when I was young and the smell inside was the same (a combination of sweaty feet and fried food from the snack bar). The skate guards still wear black and white and carry a cool whistle. The music is even the same now. My girls were impressed that I knew the words to Funkytown.

It took the girls a little while to get the hang of going around and not falling. It took me about three seconds to remember how much I loved to skate and that it was one of those things that I was really good at. I remembered all the moves and impressed my girls to no end that I could still spin around on the floor and skate backward.

I only took one spill when Maddie started to fall and her wheels got caught in mine. At least that is the story that I am going to tell. It is a lot more scary falling these days as I picture a broken wrist or arm or hip. It was exercise that I could tolerate though and I think you just may find me soon down at Sparkles jamming away.

My Facebook Obsession

Several months ago one of my college roommates joined Facebook and invited me to do the same.  I didn't do it right away but one day out of curiosity I joined.  I didn't see the big deal about Facebook.  It just seemed like more of an adult version of My Space (which I had never seen the attraction too either).

Fast forward several months and I am obsessed.  What happened in the interim is that people I knew from my distant past began contacting me and asking me to be my friend on Facebook.  It has been fascinating to catch up with people from my past and see what they are up to.   I have found or been found by: my prom date from high school (married with five boys-oh my!!!),my roommate from my wild years in Florida (who has also gotten married and settled down with two kids of her own), various college friends, and several friends from my military days.  It also helps me keep up with some friends that I am still in contact with but don't get to talk to often enough.  I can see pics and videos of their families.  I can participate in random surveys, play games, send gifts and the list goes on.  I don't have to friend anyone that I don't really want to and they don't have to friend me either.  I have only been rejected by one person who I dated a lifetime ago and I really wanted to send back a message and say, "Okay, you really were not all that."

I love my life and I wouldn't change it for anything but it is nice to remember back to the days when I was just a daughter, friend, and  girlfriend.  No responsibilities, no bills, really no worries, except what we were going to do that weekend.  

If you are looking for a way to revisit your past or you just want something that will suck up hours of your time but leave you smiling, Facebook might be just the ticket.  My husband won't join because he thinks that he will be contacted by his plethora of old girlfriends and it will end up making me mad and then he will be in trouble.  He said, "Kathleen, joining Facebook would be like me seeing a train coming and throwing myself in front of it anyway."  I think maybe he thinks too highly of himself.  LOL!  I would love to see all of you join because then I wouldn't be the only one obsessed.  BTW- I absolutely expect an invitation to be your friend if you join.