How to Tell Dad Was in Charge

Thursday morning Lena and I went to Meijers to get a few last minute things for Thanksgiving dinner and then the remainder of the day was spent quietly at home. There was no huge family meal, although I did make a Thanksgiving dinner. It was just Lena, James, and I. My family was scattered about with their various commitments with their significant others. Anne and Paige spent Thanksgiving with their mom this year because it was her turn, but they did come down late Thursday night since it's our weekend with them. Plus, we had already celebrated with James' family a couple weeks ago since that's what worked with everyone's scheduled. All and all though, Thanksgiving was not very eventful, which was nice. Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my family, but it's a good feeling to just stay home sometimes.

Friday I did have to work. James was off though, so he got to stay home with our girls which basically ended up being an entire day to himself (sorta, he is on call this week and spent a decent amount of Friday on the phone). Paige and her boyfriend wanted to head out for Black Friday and she decided to take her two younger siblings along since dad was answering call after call after call. Now, I do understand that he was most likely distracted during the hustle and bustle of the girls getting ready to leave for what turned out to be an entire day's adventure, but you would think he would have noticed a couple small things...

For instance, what they left the house wearing would have been a worth while observation...

I might be mistaken, but I'm fairly certain I've put this shirt in the donation pile more than once. Not only did Anne not match, every time she lifts her arms even slightly, it exposes her whole mid section. A whole 5 extra seconds of looking in her closet and she would have found the shirt that actually came with the pants. When I asked James about it he informed me that he didn't even notice. She's old enough to dress herself and therefore it translates in his male mind that whatever she should happen to put on is sufficient. Oh dear... Just because she's 7 and physically able to dress herself, it doesn't mean she isn't in need of a little guidance at times. My sweet child walked around Toys 'R Us, Walmart, the entire mall, and out to dinner at Baker's Square dressed like a piece of spin art gone wrong. Lovely!

That's not all though. He also failed to have them brush their hair and their teeth before sending them on this shopping adventure. Lena's hair is already a labyrinth of tangles when she wakes up. The child honestly sleeps like a mini hurricane and somehow manages to get all of her hair mated to the point of looking like some sort of mental patient with a fear of hair brushes... Every. Single. Morning. Again, this is something that James is well aware of. Yet somehow, it slipped his mind as she slapped a pony tail holder in her hair and jettisoned out the door. 

When my girls got home Friday evening and I saw this all I could was shake my head and grab the camera. Maybe I'll write up a list of instructions next time it's his day to watch the girls. You know, with the basics?

1. Have the children brush their teeth: while Lena does believe that is part dragon or part werewolf, please make sure she does not smell like one.

2. Have the children brush their hair: this may require some assistance on your part. Neither child is very skilled in this arena and they tend to leave gigantic knots on the undersides of their heads.

3. Make sure they where clothes that match: it is only cute when they dress themselves in mismatched clothes when they're toddlers. Once they have passed that phase, it just looks tacky to send them out in clothes that are too small and in wonky colors.

4. Feed them before they leave the house: we already know our teenager is addicted to all things fast food. If you fail to feed them prior to sending them off with the oldest child they will eat nothing but french fries and chicken nuggets for all three meals with ice cream in between.

5. Please text me if you have any doubts: in this wonderful day and age of technology, you can send me a picture if you're just not sure. Believe me, I will help you.

I Am Just Lucky

Yesterday's Women's Car Care Clinic was a complete success. I just could not stop complimenting my partner in marketing last night because she really organized such an amazing event. We all had a hand in the planning, but she really did the bulk of it and deserves all the credit for it. I only organized the vendors and procured the items for the gift bags (Avon and Scentsy). She planned the stations, speakers, and so much more! It seemed that the ladies in attendance really enjoyed themselves and found it very informative as well. This my become a regular thing around Levin Tire and I was thrilled to be present for it.

I really am lucky. I know that sometimes I don't focus on that, but this morning I feel like my cup is pouring over with all the good things that I have in my life. All three of my children are still snug asleep in their beds right now. I peeked in on them this morning when I got up and I just can't help but glow with love for my three beautiful children.

At first I wasn't sure that Lena was in her bed though, see she went with my sister and brother-in-law yesterday to Six Flags Fright Fest as her upcoming birthday present and I was long in bed by the time she got home. (My sister has a key to my house, so I knew she'd let herself in.) As I tip-toed into Lena and Anne's room this morning, just to make sure she'd been returned, I saw Anne sprawled out in her bed like usual and reached a hand up into the top bunk to feel around for a body that I couldn't see. After a couple seconds of padding around the mountains of blankets I could feel legs, so I know she's good and comatose in her bed.

Yesterday really did work out perfectly schedule wise (I know, that never happens!) because Paige and I had to be to work at the same time. Usually it's a lot of extra driving to get her to work. Since they live 45 minutes from us, the weekends can get kind of hectic running kids back and forth. Hence, why we're planning the move over the upcoming summer. We left a little early so I could drop her off to her mom and still get to work at on time. I really do love spending time with Paige, her and I can talk for hours. She thinks of me as her mom and I think of her as my daughter even if it isn't officially on paper just yet. Her and I connected right from the start though, even before me and her dad were a couple and we stayed talking even during the times in between James and I being together. If you're a new reader, James has been around my family for 8 years, we'd dated a couple of times before now, but us being a serious couple didn't happen until a little over a year ago.

We finished the clinic around 8pm and Paige didn't get off work until 9pm, but it worked out perfect because afterward the Levin group went to grab food afterwards courtesy of one of our speakers/vendors. Thank you Matt from Stonewheel for the much needed dinner! My co-workers stayed at the restaurant to have a few drinks and while it would have been nice to stay I had to get Paige from work. I mentioned in yesterday's post about getting looked at as if I was a 3 headed dog when I say that I'm 30 with a 10 year old... Haha, you should have seen the looks when I said I had to get my 18 year old from work. I explained it of course, but I still don't think people grasp the story of the adoption sometimes.

Yesterday also provided Anne with some much needed daddy-daughter time. With Lena off with my sister and myself and Paige at work, Anne had her daddy all to herself. She was on cloud 9 with this! When we got home she was fast asleep curled up in his lap.

It really was a perfect day for all.