A Day at the Circus....

Today we went to the Shriner's Circus. May have been the MOST random circus I have ever attended and at the same time one of the best. Strange yet awesome? It was held at the Ft. Bend County Fair Grounds if that tells you anything. I'll elaborate later...

While we were there Georgia did something that was not a wise decision. Which was weird. I was pretty much in shock when she did what she did. (no, I'm not telling you..not important, not a big deal, but there is a funny part coming up) So I'm not a big "disciplinarian". She had really NEVER done anything that I have ever thought she needed to be held to the stake for. Kids are kids, they make mistakes. They are learning....obviously. I've "grounded" before but that meant no iPad or TV for the evening, things like that. I mean she is 5 and I think she "gets" the point without me having to drag out the punishment for longer than a few hours at this point. 

Anyway....what she did this afternoon was really just a bone head move on her part but she knows better and I was in shock. My mom had just bought her a light up magic wand that she was ecstatic over and my nephews light up swords. Instead of grabbing her by her arm and carrying her kicking and screaming out to the car I took a deep breath and calmly said "Give me your magic wand". She knew. I have never taken something away and really stuck to my guns on it. She handed it over and the tears started flowing. I let her know her choices were to stay and enjoy the rest of the show (which was a real gift from Mommy) or to leave right then and there (which is what Mommy thought was more appropriate). P.S. the show was almost over. We stayed.

We made if home after a long talk about the decision she made and the MANY consequences (sometimes it's just like a spiderweb and keeps going....), a magic wand locked in the trunk along with a plethora of other toys confiscated from the back seat and a lot of discussion of the parts of the circus that we really loved and enjoyed. 

As she was getting in bed she asks "Mom, if I'm not in trouble anymore tomorrow can I have my magic wand back?" hmmmmm tough one, as I've said before, never have I ever taken anything away from her permanently. "No Georgia, I told you, the magic wand is gone for good" *crying* <-----Georgia, not me. 

(For the record the cries are filled with things like "I'll NEVER get another light up toy AGAIN!!!!" "JUST TAKE ALL MY TOYS AWAY!! IT'S ALL MY FAULT!" "I'll be the saddest girl in the world without a light up toy!!!!" It's taking all my restraint to not say "ummm for real?"- also, disclaimer if you do not know Georgia personally she is totally NOT a spoiled brat... dramatic- yes, absolutely!)

I walk downstairs to the background music of 5 year old sobbing and start cleaning things up. A few minutes later the sobs subside slightly and I hear Georgia walk down....

She timidly approaches me...

"Mommy?"

oh how angelic she is...

"could you at least save the magic wand for my child?" 

What? Bhahahahaha- I'm dying hysterically laughing and my 5 year old is looking at me with dead serious eyes. This is a completely serious question to her. Quite possibly the difference between if she (and maybe I too) sleep tonight. If she cannot have this magic wand, can I save it for the one day in the future for the child she plans on having? Uhhhhhh.....News flash Georgia.....I don't like the idea of having a 5 year old turning 6 year old. THAT make me feel old so if you could stop throwing around references that one day you will make me a grandmother that would be greeeaaaaatttttttt.

I some how turn my immediate laughter into a soft, maternal looking, loving smile that does not resemble the internal hystericalness that is going on inside and say "Of course honey! I will save that wand for you child!" She smiles, I smile, she runs back up stairs to bed, I collapse into a convulsion of giggles and call my mom to crack up on the phone.

Dress Rehearsal

There is nothing I love more than a dance recital. Maybe it's the dancer in me.....actually, of course it's the dancer in me!!! I LOVED dance recitals when I was a kid and now, dare I say, I love them even more that I get to watch my very own daughter in them. The thing is... I love watching ALL the girls dance. I am one of those people (ummm not sure if this type exists or not) that loves to sit and watch each and every dance. My body moves involuntarily as I watch the dancers perform.

Dress rehearsal for Georgia was tonight. The recital is still a month away. I have to say I feel like this dance company really has everything together compared to others we have been with. Costumes are adorable, music is age appropiate, pictures went smoothly, they had plenty of staff letting everyone know where to go, etc. Plus they BROKE up the recital so we they are having 4 recitals that will each be about 1.5 hours instead on one giant recital. What a novel idea. AND you can leave once your child is done performing. When Georgia was 3 the old company REQUIRED us to stay for the ENTIRE production. Really? Why would I sit with a 3 year old for a 3.5 hour recital when my daughter's dance was #2? (we snuck out....)

Moving on...a couple nights ago I decided we needed to get it together on Georgia's dances and start practicing at home. She's old enough to know the moves and not have to look at the side of the stage. I knew the titles of the songs but not the versions so we sat down and I played 5 million previews on my phone of songs until she said "That's it!!!" then we downloaded and repeated. She is in three dances this year- tap, ballet, and jazz. Once we had all three songs downloaded we pushed the chairs out of the way in the "ballroom" and she "taught" me the dances. We are going to keep up our nightly routine until showtime....

Tonight she was on stage- she danced, she smiled, she performed, she soaked it up....she was SO excited! I loved seeing it. I have to say I love every single moment of being a Mom. Yes, even the other night when she was super exhausted from the weekend and randomly wet the bed and I was up at 1am changing sheets in the middle of the night. She NEVER does this...seriously I potty trained the child at 2.5 years old. I was super freaking irritated because she is almost 6 and why did she do this when I was sooooooo tired???? I guess I didn't LOVE that, but you know, I wouldn't really want to trade it for anything. I'm glad that I have her in my life for every moment- the super fun ones I always knew I would enjoy like dance recitals and dress rehearsals, but also the ones I probably didn't realize I would come to appreciate like changing sheets in the middle of the night for 6 years now...

But for now, while I'm washing sheets, here are some sneak peaks of the precious prima ballerina in costume!

Did you know?

"Mom, did you know that every day is someone's birthday?"

"Yeah- isn't that cool?"

"Isn't that crazy? I like just discovered that in my head and it's SO weird."

Recap

Y'all....it's April.

March blew by. Feels like it was a LONG month but so many things were going on we were super busy almost every moment. I had several birthday celebrations- my sweet friends threw a party in Houston for me. The following weekend we went up to Austin to visit the Bungo's & celebrate. Always fun to have all the kids together! We left the kids with the babysitters (husbands- theirs, not mine) and Tamara, Emily & I hit up downtown Austin. Dinners, cakes, etc. I rounded it out by celebrating with the family over Easter. (well...it's almost over) My mom helped Georgia surprise me with a cake the night before although unfortunately I was sick and couldn't take one bite of it! :( They also had special birthday donuts for me in the morning but again I could hardly eat anything! Kinda bummed out that on my ACTUAL birthday I was sick. I pushed through and went to dinner that night but had to get up from the table towards the end... oh well- it was a fun day and luckily I had been celebrating for a while so no real loss there!

For Easter we went down to the beach house Friday night. We had a bonfire on the beach, woke up the next morning and played on the beach then went fishing. Drove to Pearland later that afternoon to dye eggs. Back home where the Easter Bunny put together Georgia's basket and goodies and finally went to sleep! Sunday we ran to church then back out to Pearland for a big egg hunt and Easter lunch followed by the crazy kids swimming! I ran out for a bit and visited with Stephanie, Wyatt & sweet Palmer (whom I had never met...I know, bad friend!) Always great to catch up with her and her parents!

Oh and Georgia did get her Saige doll. She dragged me to the store (on my birthday, while I was sick) and we made the purchase! She could not be happier!

Now the traveling begins.. this weekend New Orleans for Tamara's 30th!!! I haven't been since Emily's 23rd birthday the weekend before Katrina hit. I have about 10 suitcases sitting in my bedroom right now that need to be unpacked from all of our little get aways and then repack for this weekend. Maybe tonight I will tackle that task!

Favorite thing.

Georgia received an activity book in her Easter basket yesterday morning. While I was cooking breakfast she sat down at the table and began to color and draw.

She came up to me in the kitchen and held up a page and asked me what it said. I read it out to her;
"He came down to earth and He lived as a man. Draw a picture of your favorite thing on earth. Say a prayer and thank Jesus for his gift."

She walked back to the table and sat for a minute then called out;
"But mom, my favorite thing on earth is myself!"

hahahahaha and this is what she drew:

Ummm....Help?

Georgia has her first loose tooth.

Several problems with this:

1. I don't "do" loose teeth.
2. I am almost as terrified of this as I am of her dating.
3. I am more terrified of this vs. dating.
4. I was creeped out by MY OWN loose teeth. I can't handle hers.
5. I feel sick.

I mean.... can I send her away until all the teeth in her head fall out and the new ones grow back? What am I suppose to do with this? Even if I started an emergency list of people that could show up on a moment's notice they would basically have to come be our shadow.

I'm literally gagging and clenching my own teeth in my head right now making sure they are safe and secure.

Annnnd the Calendar is Filling Up!

Spring is here. Apparently today is the first official day although down here we have been indulging in the gorgeous weather for weeks. Be jealous.

It seems like March hit and suddenly the rest of our school year is booked. From birthday parties for Georgia's friends to costumes coming home for her dance recital coming up I feel like her first year of school is basically over. I'm so sad! Obviously the continuing theme of this blog is the idea that Georgia is slowly (or in my mind VERY quickly) growing up. I mean, and I'm sure I've said something along these lines before, after Kindergarten she is pretty much officially, officially not a baby anymore. She's a kid. Which is weird. It's a total adjustment for me and I really am not prepped for this. It's kinda hitting me out of no where. Soooo has anyone figured out how to freeze time yet? Because that would be great....

Recently I was with someone who when asked "How old is she" they replied, "Almost 6". Ummm what? After a few rounds of this I said, "She is still 5 1/2...can we not say SIX yet?" and then I thought, "Actually... she IS closer to six than 5 1/2." Then I got depressed. I had the first 5 years planned out perfectly. 6 is just way to close to 10 which is way to close to 13 then 15, then 18. Then.... I will stop counting. So just as I'm holding on to my last few precious days of being 27 (6 more to go...) I am CLINGING to the last couple of months of having a 5 year old.

Now that is out of the way.... what have Georgia and I been up to lately? Glad you asked....

The Rodeo wrapped up last Sunday and Georgia and I spent a fair amount of time hanging out at the livestock show. I took her to a concert this year but had a feeling from the get-go that it just might not work out. Sure enough 45 minutes into it and she wanted to leave. 1 hour into it and we left. To her defense bed time is 8pm. The Rodeo starts at 6:45pm and it was a school night. I'll probably wait a few years to take her back to a week night show. She loves the livestock show, as do I and we had a lot of fun at the petting zoo and looking around there.

Birthday Parties! We loooove to celebrate with our friends and recently have been to some REALLY fun parties. I love that Georgia has all of her pre-school friends and all of her school friends. It keeps us busy and it's so much fun to have gotten to know the new friends this year and catch up with the old friends from pre-school when we hit up the parties. Which reminds me.... it's time to start planning Miss G's big party. For the past YEAR (yep seriously, a year) she has wanted to do the party at Sky High Sports. It's a giant trampoline place. Fine with me! It will be fairly easy as long as I don't go overboard (Like that ever happens...) and it really is a lot of fun. Plus I may or may not be known to show off a few flips, toe touches and herkies here and there (when the refs aren't looking of course) much to the delight of Georgia and friends. Georgia, of course, thinks I'm awesome when I perform and I would really like her to continue to think I'm awesome for awhile so "Whatever it Takes!".

Travel, Travel, Travel- Georgia and I both have several trips coming up both together and separately. I'm looking forward to all of them! This weekend we hit Austin together to visit The Bungo's with The Freeman's to celebrate my b-day yet again. Georgia has her first spring soccer game Saturday morning so we will wake up early, her team will win their first game (positive thinking) and then we will head on to Austin. PS- the girls have taken over the soccer team this year (She signs on with the same coach and team mates every year) but this season we have more little girls on the team than ever- and you should watch out...they are all pretty fierce!

Georgia's dance recital is quickly approaching (May 4). Super excited she will be in THREE dance numbers this year. Tap, Ballet and Jazz. Yes I will upload videos of the cuteness. Remember this from her very first dance recital dress rehearsal??? Cuteness overload!

Costumes came home a week or so ago and they are absolutely precious! We had a costume try on at the studio yesterday and costume pics are next week! I love it! Everyone get ready because her dance line up for the recital is one in the beginning, middle and end. So we all get to stay for the ENTIRE SHOW! I am actually excited about this, and warning the rest of you that show up that you are in for the long haul. ;)

The other night Georgia decided to decorate for my birthday and I don't know if I will ever take down the decor she provided me with. She is big into writing notes lately and she wrote me a million little notes:
"Mommy, I love you, you love me, love Georgia"
"Happy Birthday Melanie"
"Happy Birthday Melnie" <---haha
"I love you, you love me, we're a happy family. With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you, won't you say you love me too? By Georgia Bedre"

Then she taped them all over the door and wall. I love it. Tuesday night we are booked for a fancy dinner together to celebrate my ACTUAL birthday. Don't worry..it isn't the last of the birthday celebrations...I haven't celebrated with the fam yet and that will happen next Saturday while we are dying Easter eggs. I also hear there is a giant confetti egg fight planned so we will be sure to have plenty of concussions.... ;)

Okay- done playing catch up- Soccer practice tonight and maybe I will get some school work done???