Presley

I have figured out one of the reasons we have problems with Presley. She cries and throws a fit over everything b/c she is SO hard on herself. She hates to mess up, she doesn't want to lose, she wants to be perfect....and she can't be.
Here are some examples from just the last week.....
- she was drawing a person and accidently drew hair into her persons face. Breakdown.
- she didn't draw an 's' correctly.....those s's are hard! Breakdown, fit and throwing papers all over.
- soccer she didn't know what to do, she cried. During their 'sharks and minnows' game she got 'caught', she cried. She didn't score a goal, she cried. Well kid, you have to touch the ball and actually play if you think you are going to score!
- we were racing to kick a ball yesterday and I won.....she HAS to win.
- she was mad b/c she didn't know that 9+6 =15....which she shouldn't know! Then she was mad b/c I was right!
- she tried to step on a spider yesterday and it got away. She stomped off crying "I can't even kill a spider!"

I don't think we push her to be like this. I don't think we give her the impression that she needs to be perfect. We tell her things like soccer and games are just for fun, that she doesn't have to win. We let her know that it is ok to be wrong. UGH! This parenting thing is hard.

Sunday Funday

Piper woke up at 1 am...we gave her a quick bottle, then she cried it out for awhile...then she slept until 8...I'll take it! Steve got up at 9 to start work on the deck railing and Presley woke up shortly after that. The goal for the day was fun and playing. We had no where to go and the weather was great!

We made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, once Piper went down for her morning nap about 10:30, Presley and I headed outside. It was the perfect day!

 We blew bubbles, we cleaned the insides of the cars, she played in the back of the car while I did dishes and laundry. When Piper got up about 11:45 we ate lunch, we went for a walk, played Frisbee, soccer and swung on the swings. Then we played inside for a short while, I did more housework, Piper played on the floor and in her jumper, Presley played princesses and watered her flowers and swing set (?).

Piper went down for her afternoon nap about 2:30 and Presley and I went back outside again. I thought about the housework I could get done......but then talked myself out of it and into enjoying the afternoon.

We did sidewalk chalk, painted our nails, had a snack. I read/finished by book while Presley played princesses in the back of the car!
Steve finished the deck railing around most of the deck...minus the stairs.

He got everything cleaned up and we moved our patio furniture up there. I think it looks pretty damn good! I had to wake up Piper at 5, and the four of us headed out on another walk. We got back and Steve grilled up some salmon, had dinner, had baths and got ready for bed. Busy, wonderful day and night!

 

Jumping fun

So Lisa and Jared's neighbors had the best outdoor item ever...at least where P was concerned. A small trampoline. The girl was on it 75% of the time we were there!

She actually made friends rather quickly with Kamden, they jumped together and played kitchen together. It was awesome to see her like that with another kid!

 

Cutie Colton! Lisa says he is always excited to have Presley over to play!

Even Steve made a friend in little Berkeley! She is adorable and seems to be quite the little spit-fire!

It was such a nice night! It was great to see everyone with all the kids (half of whom I don't have pictures of on here). Piper took a short nap, Presley played good, we drank a little, ate a lot and still got home about 9 to get the kiddos to bed! Thank you Lisa and Jared and good luck Rachel and Lane, hopefully we can stop by and see you in July!

Perfect Weekend

Hello from Miss Piper!

This weekend was perfect. The weather, the kids, the activities. Friday night we didn't do much, Steve did the grocery shopping while I picked up the girls from mom's, then he got our steak, potato and onion kabobs ready to grill! Yes, he is handy and he cooks! :) Both kids were asleep by 8:45, I cuddled up on the couch and Steve cleaned the garage.

 

Saturday Piper woke up at 4 am...I gave her a bottle and by 5 she was back asleep.....and then we didn't hear from her until almost 9! Heck ya! We also had soccer. Steve decided he wasn't going to go b/c he just can't handle Presley in that situation. It was picture day, team pictures...in the team tshirts. Nope, not for Presley. Again, she wouldn't wear the tshirt. Fine. There are only so many battles I was willing to have with her. I told her that parents were not allowed on the field during the game. So she didn't play, she sat on Grandmas lap until the last 30 seconds of the game when Coach Kelly basically forced her out there. She went with him, held his hand, ran down the field with him...and then she came to the sidelines crying b/c she didn't score a goal?! Good Lord.

This whole soccer thing is turning into a $90 tshirt that she won't wear and one shitty hour every Saturday morning....I think I could've found something better to spend $90 on but we'll just hang on at least another week and chalk this up to a good experience! HA!

 

We headed home and her mood changed instantly...soccer was long forgotten by the time we got home and then she helped Steve plant flowers, she was very excited!

She was a good helper and didn't mind getting dirty!

We hung out and played, P and I went for a walk and we got ready to head to Lisa and Jared's house. They had a house-warming party / goodbye party and we got perfect weather for it! They moved into their house a couple weeks after us and our friends Lane and Rachel are moving to Clear Lake and it turned out that everyone was able to come!

Five Question Friday

1. Who drives when your family is together, you or your spouse? Steve drives 95% of the time, occasionally I will but why bother when he will do it? :)
2. Are you an introvert or extrovert? I would say I'm mostly an introvert but that Steve has brought a little extrovert out in me. I'm on the quiet side, reserved, don't like confrontation, try to keep my opinions to myself but I'm always trying to make an effort to be more outgoing.
3. Are you married to an introvert or extrovert? Steve is completely an extrovert. He likes to be friendly and outgoing and the center of attention and talk to strangers.This is why it frustrates him SO much that Presley is shy. He said he just doesn't understand why there are people who don't want to be included. How could she NOT want to have fun? Why would she not want to be involved with other kids? He does not understand and does not like it....at all! I'm on the other side. I completely understand! I don't like it either but I don't want to make her feel bad about it, I want to make her feel comfortable in the situation. The more comfortable she feels the more likely she is to participate. UGH, ongoing battle in our home.
4. What's your favorite type of social media? I would say Facebook but if everyone would blog I think I would like that even more! :)
5. What's your favorite way to "recharge"? I don't know, a glass of wine...does that count? Going to bed early and reading a book. A bath, book and bottle of wine. A walk on a nice night.

Sunday Funday

Sunday was not a fun day. I woke up with Piper at 6:30 with a slight headache, damn beer. About 8, she was ready for a morning snooze. She fell asleep on the couch and I was just about asleep when I heard 'mommy! mommy!' from Presley's room. Damn it! Steve got up about 9:30 and I decided I would try to lay down for a quick nap....I tried for an hour and maybe got 1/2 hour of sleep.

Oh well, headache continued. Presley and I got ready and headed to Target and the mall, I had wanted a girls day for shopping but really the weather was too nice to stay inside so we cut our mall trip short, headed to the grocery store and headed home! Presley did a good job of playing outside with the neighbor kids and we just tried to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

 

Steve decided he was going to make the girls a picnic table from the left over wood from the deck. It turned out pretty darn cute!

We were SO tired Sunday night! I'm pretty sure I was asleep by 9:30 (wish it would've been sooner but it's not always smart to fall asleep before the kids in the house)!

 

I took the girls to gymnastics tonight. There was a new teacher, so I was concerned that Presley might not participate, but she did great. Piper on the other hand was tired! She cried almost the whole time, which she never does but she just wanted to sleep and couldn't sprawl out so it wasn't happening.

While we were gone Steve worked on his next project, (wouldn't have been my choice of projects to do around the house, but whatever!) a table to put next to his charcoal grill, he wants to add a bottle opener and then it will be complete! :)

Weekend Update

So Friday night we had tickets to go see the Land Before Time movie at the Science Center. We had Andrea babysit Piper and we had date night with P. Sam, Scott, Boston, Holly, Jerry and Mary joined us also so it was fun. Something a little different and the kids love that movie so they were excited! Then the 3 of us went to dinner at Buzzard Billy's and headed home about 9.

Miss Piper was pretty good for Andrea, slept all night but woke up at 6 am....boo. We had to get up and get ready for soccer, which we knew would be another struggle. She refused to wear the shirt and shinguards again.She participated in the first 20 minutes of 'warm up' (with one of us out there with her) and then gametime started and she wouldn't play. She would stand on the field if one of us was with her but that was it. Then at the end of the game she cried b/c she didn't get the ball?!

We hung out during the afternoon, Steve picked up the railed for the deck and I got some organizing done (I need to go thru the girls' closets SO badly!). Presley had some quiet time and Piper took a short afternoon nap but was pretty good about entertaining herself on the floor since she pulls herself around EVERYWHERE! She'll get on her knees and rock and then fall forward. UGH, she can stop growing any day now, I can't handle it.

Then Holly, Jerry and Mary came over to watch the girls and hang out while Steve and I went out for his birthday dinner. We went to Chicago Speakeasy and it was very good! We got to see alot of prom kids and for once I didn't think about me at prom...I started thinking about Presley going to prom! Makes me TOO SAD! STOP GROWING UP!
Then we went to Saints and Brock met us out for a couple beers and then we all headed to The Boathouse, which is closer to home so that is nice. It was a good night! Happy Birthday Steve!