So very patient...

My husband was so adorable yesterday - I have to remember this the next time I get annoyed with him :)  He took my daughter and I shopping, and we tortured him.  We only went to two stores, but went through virtually every item in those stores.

My daughter received a Visa gift card from my parents for Christmas and didn't really know what she wanted to get.  She looked at all the wallets, shoes, and clothing at store number one while I shopped for a purse that can double as a diaper bag.  We decided that we didn't really love anything at store number one, so we dragged my poor husband to store number two.  He was so cute!  He helped us pick things out and gave his opinion when we asked.  He didn't once complain, even though it was taking us forever and it was boring.  I went through maybe 50 purses and picked out 7.  My husband patiently sat and watched as I took all the paper stuffing out of each purse and went through all the compartments all the while I talked to myself about the pros and cons of each purse.  I slowly eliminated them one by one until I was left with one that I really loved.  Great!  My selection was made and now onto my daughter...

We went to the "girly" section and watched her go through every shirt, sweater, and blouse in her size.  She selected seven that she really liked and announced that she wanted to try them on.  My goodness, I want to slit my wrist just writing this....hahahahaha....I can't imagine how my husband felt at the time.  So, we walk over to the dressing room and on our way there I make a bunch of pit stops to look at all the baby items.  Being such a good sport, my husband joined in and even joked around about some of the funnier (useless) items.  He's the best!  We finally made it to the dressing room where it took my daughter and I forever to decide on which two items she loved the most and then she let her Papa decide between the two.  He selected the more sporty looking one :)  When we got to the register it was so freaking adorable to see my daughter hand her little Visa (gift) card and then watch her little face when she was told to sign her name on the store receipt.  How cute!  Wish I had taken a pic.

With that we wrapped it up and headed home; us girls happy with our purchases and my husband surely full of relief :)

And that's how we spent yesterday afternoon! The boys were so happy that they had decided to not join us when they heard the recap.  Boy, were they spared!

*If you are reading this, like Ralph Kramden would say, "Baby, your the greatest!"

UPDATE: Spelling Bee

My daughter saw my blog and corrected me, she didn't lose on the word Monstrous, that she said she can spell, she lost on the word Monstrosity. This new info just makes it worst!

A Date with My Little Girl

Those of you who have little girls know who Hannah Montana is.  Yeah, I'm not so crazy about her either...lol. You may also know that Emily Osment  plays Lily, Miley's sidekick and best friend on the hit show.  If meeting Miley Cyrus is not possible, meeting Emily Osment is the next best thing.  When my little girl found out that Emily Osment was coming to our local mall she was thrilled, but being the patient and understanding girl that she is (well most of the time :) she didn't make a big deal of it because "Mommy is on bedrest and Papa works that day."  I honestly didn't know if I would be able to take her.  It all depended on how I was feeling.  And when I overdid it on Friday, the day before Emily was due in town, I though "Uh-oh, it's not going to happen."  However, a mother's will is a strong thing.

I automatically woke up at 6 AM on Saturday and thought, "I HAVE to do this for her!"  I felt in my heart that after making it on the honor roll, the gifted student's program, and being so understanding about not having me 100% since being put on bedrest, my daughter deserved this.  I took a shower, made breakfast, woke my little girl up and surprised her with the good news.  It took her a minute to understand what I was saying and then she jumped out of bed and got dressed.  After inviting the boys and being turned down, we packed some sports chairs, a cooler full of drinks, snacks, blankets, paper for autographs, and jumped in the van.  We were out the door and made it to the mall before eight.  We sat in the car and pondered.  It looked deserted.  We were deciding whether or not to set up our chairs by the front door or whether to hang out in the car.  Going inside was not an option because we were told that the mall didn't open until 9 AM.  However, after 45 minutes we saw a group of girls go into the mall and my daughter said "Mommy, we have to go check," and so we did.  We walked in and there were already about 5 (groups) in front of us! The mall was letting people in and we had been sitting in the car for almost an hour!  We could have been first, but I guess being 5th wasn't bad.  I gave my daughter her backpack and went back to the car (which was park RIGHT in the front) and grabbed our belongings.  We set up our chairs and knew we were going to have a long day.  Emily Osment was not due until 1PM.  

Waiting for almost 6 hours wasn't so bad, especially since we were indoors with bathrooms available.  We made new friends and spent some quality time together.  We chatted, goofed around, made fun of people (okay, not very Christian, but still fun), took pics, and cuddled.  By lunch time our snacks were not enough, so we left our chairs with our new friends and walked to Chick Fil-A and got some lunch.  On our way back to our spot we couldn't believe how many people were already behind us!  There must have been about 400 people behind us and it was only 11 AM.  WOW!  We felt blessed with our number five spot and we were so happy we had gotten up at six in the morning.  By noon there must have been over a thousand people on line.  It was becoming ridiculous.  We saw people trying to sneak into the line, trying to get us to pretend  we knew them & they were with us, and we even had some bold grown-ups who just walk to the front and skipped us.  It was really a fiasco.  People act so ridiculous in crowded situations.  Parents screaming at their children, parents screaming at each other, people shoving, pushing... It was CRAZY!  We were happy to be up front surrounded by security and protective barricades.  

At 12:50 we heard the crowd scream and cheer and we knew that Emily was in the building.  My daughter, wow, my beautiful daughter's face just lit up.  She was so excited.  She squeezed my hand and looked at me and said "Thank you so much mommy," and that's all that was needed to open the flood gates.  I am already a pregnant emotional mess, so it was very easy for me to just start crying.  I was so happy for her.  When Emily passed by us, my daughter jumped up and down and cheered.  It was great.  We could see her so clearly from our spot.  Even with the radio ticket winners arriving and jumping up front, we still had a great spot!  It went by so quickly, before we knew it we were on the side of the stage waiting our turn.  I had our video camera and our digital camera set up and ready.  However, when I got up there I went blank.  It was hard to get in great pics and video with security rushing you.  My daughter briefly spoke with Emily and got her autograph.  I took a couple of pics and because my daughter didn't know she wasn't suppose to, she stood right next to Emily while I snapped the shots.  Fans were suppose to stand in front of the table, not next to Emily...lol.  It was great.  I even got an autograph for my best friend's daughter who was too sick to make it that morning.  

It was a quick 30 seconds, but so worth it.  My daughter bounced to the car and then she let out a scream, did a little dance and hugged me.  On our way home she called her Papa and her brothers to tell them all about it.  When we got home she called her aunt and made me email our family.  She was so thrilled and so grateful.  On our way home she said "You are the best mom ever," and that was worth getting up at 6AM and spending 6 hours at the mall.  It was a day shared with my daughter that we will never forget and for that I am grateful.

Oh, BTW, we found out that over THREE THOUSAND fans showed up!  Some drove as far as 200 miles, just to see Emily.  WOW! 

Here are some pics:  (The first pic above we also took when it was our turn)

Emily and my daughter (purposefully blurred out)

Little Fashionista

It's important for me to instill modesty in my children, especially my little girl.  Nowadays women everywhere are portrayed as carnal objects - this has spilled into teen fashion and even more scary, girls' fashion.  My daughter is VERY observant and my dressing has changed tremendously throughout the years.  As a young adult I wasn't the most modest person.  Being a New Yorker in the music & fashion industry all I wanted was to have the latest fashion and to be noticed.  Although, I am still not on top of the modesty chain, I believe that I hold a healthy balance and will pray to achieve more humility.  I believe that my daughter has a healthy view of her body and on self -virtue, however, she is going through this odd phase.  She is sooooooo into fashion.  She went from being this sort of "town-boy" who could care less if she matched, her hair was brushed, or the cuteness of her outfit to (in a matter of weeks) a little fashionista who cares about her appearance.  Caring about her appearance is important and I am happy for this change, especially when I can get her to wear a girly dress for church, but it's the emphasis on looking "cute" that concerns me.  I am hoping this is a phase and I as long as I don't see her being vain I will let her sort through her feelings, with a stern eye on the situation, of course.  I guess I am just feeling weird about my little girl growing up.  Did I mention that she is a gifted student who brought home a perfect report card and is on the honor roll?  She is creative, loving, giving, and so many other wonderful things.  Should I really be letting this small phase bother me?  Maybe not.  I just worry about worldly views and about my little girl being tainted with whats around her.  Please pray for me, that I may be a healthy role model for my daughter. Also pray that the good Lord will continue to put positive and virtuous friends in her path.