Da Bangs. Da Big Bangs.

The first half of our first 4th in Arkansas was pretty much a bust. I got the kids all excited about going to the parade (not a real parade, per se, but one where the kid all wear their red and blue, decorate their trikes, bikes, etc., and march around the town square; in the center of the square, the Farmer's Market was going on) and rallied them for getting dressed up in red, white and blue. Piled everyone in the car, then put the address into the GPS so we could actually FIND the town square, LOL. We got there a bit late and it looked like a lot of the parade was over, but the kids were amused by the remaining kids riding around on their decked our bicycles. There were some fun ones! I was really enjoying myself by the time we crossed the street and got to the first stall at the Farmer's Market; the local farmer was extremely friendly, chatting up the three girls, and we found some really good looking cucumbers and zucchini to come home with. Across the way, there was a stall with adorable handmade, embroidered dresses with lemonade stands, flower appliques, etc. as well as pretty headbands (defintely my kind of place!). We were checking that stall out when the first drops of rain fell...and then had about a thirty second warning before the heavens just opened up and torrential rain ensued. The market goers pretty much ran for the hills, as did the Hedgepeths!

It rained pretty much straight from then until sometime around 3:30 or 4, when it finally cleared up and began getting hot again. Maddie and I took advantage of the rain and decided to run to Target to get a few more things we seem to have missed out on packing or needed for the pantry. We came out and the rain had let up quite a bit - but of course, as we headed for the car the skies opened up again and Maddie and I had a seriously good laugh over both of getting drenched.

*OH* *NEWS FLASH* I'm in danger, danger, danger. We are currently living about 1 minute from a Target. A brand spanking new Target, with a huge food selection. And a Starbucks. I'm in heaven! We're also about 2 minutes from a beautiful outdoor mall. My shopping options just got a whole lot better and more convenient! Bad for the wallet, but fun for me!

After the requisite 4th of July hot dogs, baked beans and watermelon for dinner (no hamburgers, alas, due to no grill at the temporary house!), we headed to Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, about 15 minutes away, for the big 4th of July celebration. They were having inflatables for the kids, as well as live music, ballpark food, and a big fireworks display. The ballpark also has one heck of a playground, as it turns out, so the kids had a ball!

A few things I learned about my kids while were were there:

1. Madelyn is getting to be quite the daredevil, and has seriously improved her coordination over the past few months. She wanted to go on the biggest, tallest inflatable obstacle course (with about a 20-25 foot slide drop) and scaled that thing with absolutely no issues. She also came back a couple of times to help her sister, who gave it a good effort but had to bail in the end because her little legs just weren't quite long enough to get from rung to rung.
2. Lyla loves fireworks. She clapped and cheered all through the fireworks show, saying, "Here comes da bangs! Da big bangs! I like fireworks! Where's the fireworks?" All day today, the day after, she has continued to ask when we are going to get in the car and go see the fireworks and "da bangs." I feel so bad that it only happens one night a year, since she enjoyed it so much! We do have a few sparklers, so we may light those tonight, very carefully. No bangs, but still a show!
3. Sienna continues to amaze me with her ever growing acceptance of her own allergies and the limitations that sometimes brings with it. She doesn't feel sorry for herself, and in that respect has taught me a few lessons about not making the situation worse by acting like she's missing out. She often suggests bringing her own wipes along, in case we need to wipe things off to keep from "getting her allergies." We don't go crazy with this kind of stuff, mind you, but in places like ballparks or airplanes where peanuts abound, I usually like to give her hands a good wipe before she touches her mouth!

All in all, a very successful day. Lots of fun had by all. We really enjoyed the ballpark and were so glad we took everyone, despite the late night. We finished the night with snowcones for the girls, and I think they felt like it was a perfect holiday. Madelyn did mention fireworks with grammy and grampy a couple of times, and I think over the next few days as it hits her that we've truly moved, she's going to miss them more and more. But I'm glad that our 4th was a happy one!

Who's that sleeping in MY bed?

So I'll admit that I'm pretty strict when it comes to kids sleeping in our bed. Mainly, I don't allow it. It's totally a personal decision, but I'm one of those people who thinks Mom and Dad should have their space apart from the kids. I'm sure it has something to do with how my own parents felt about it, because that's always how I remember it being in our house growing up, too; I can't ever remember climbing in bed with them. I know, too, that I need that space away from them. The days are long and tiring, and when I am able to get some sleep, I like it to be entirely mine, if that makes sense!

BUT...I totally break the rules when Brad's not home. And I have to say, I absolutely love little nighttime visits from my girlies when Brad is away, love snuggling with them and showering them with unexpected kisses during the night, and love waking up to find warm, squishy kids laying next to me. Brad's been away all week, and two nights ago it was Maddie who came in at about 3 AM and asked if she could sleep with me. By 6 AM, I had both Maddie and Sienna in with me, and then by 6:45 Lyla had joined the crew. This morning we made it until about 5:30 before I ended up with both M and S in bed with me again. What great snuggle time! Don't get me wrong...I can't wait for Brad to get home. Mostly because I've missed him, because honestly it doesn't phase me that much anymore to do it all myself. The kids are a bit older, the baby is much more self-sufficient than she used to be, and we've got a good routine going. But even though I can't wait for him to get home, I'm definitely ok with one more night of my sweet little guests.

Out of the mouths of babes...

So I have to 'fess up... we left the below mentioned toy store with toys for all three girls. How the heck do you go to a toy store and not buy them all something??? Maddie had asked if she could get a toy, and I told her that when she was Sienna's age, we did the same thing with her - and she traded her paci's in for her baby doll. Now it was Sienna's turn, because she was giving up her paci's, etc. etc. Well, Maddie quickly figured that she could get a toy too -- she just needed to give something up! So she runs upstairs and comes back a few minutes with a baggie of her own, stuffed with her two yellow silk "lovies," which are little 1 foot square security blankets. She's had these since she was about 1, and I honestly wasn't even ready to have her give them up. I wouldn't even care about paci's if they didn't interfere with speech and teeth. So I said, "Are you sure you want to give those up? I'm not sure you're ready..." And she said, "Why, are you worried I won't have anything to love on, Mommy?" In any event, we brought them to the store, and she fell in love with a Disney Princess cash register. She was so cute, and so willing to give up her lovies to get it. But in the end, she said "Mom, I'm just not sure I'm ready to give up my lovies. Maybe in a few more weeks..." My heart just melted, she was so cute. There was no way on earth we were walking out of that store without the cash register. She was so well behaved, and didn't ask for anything while we were there because she knew that she needed to give up her lovies to get a toy. I was really, really proud of her - and I didn't want her to give up her lovies. You're only a kid once.

When we got home, we let all three kids play with their new toys (because of course Lyla had to get one too!) and it was the first time that I've really seen them ALL fight over toys. They played well together for the moest part and were so excited to have new toys. In our house, it gets a bit desperate by fall because both Maddie and Sienna get all their gifts during the same time of year, wheras most kids have birthdays that are somewhat separated from Christmas time. So our toys are really "stale" by this point in the year, LOL! But man, Lyla is becoming quite the scrappy little thing, especially now that she's mobile and can pretty much army crawl her way anywhere. She was all over that Disney Princess cash register! At one point, I saw Sienna push her little arm right out of the way and say "No Lyla, that's not yours!" Guess the third one has to fight for everything, huh?

Maddie eventually wanted to play with the Dora castle, but Sienna was still very much engrossed in it and was having a hard time sharing. So Maddie says, "Hey Si Si, why don't you go play with my castrator??" OMG, I almost died laughing. I asked her to repeat herself, and she said "I want Sienna to go play with my castrator!" Guess cash register isn't quite an everyday part of her vocab yet!

We made it through Halloween!

I was very nervous about Halloween...this was our first year having to think about Sienna's allergies, and I honestly could have just skipped the holiday altogether (and that's without even taking into account the fact that I really don't even like Halloween!). But what's fun for the kids is usually fun for me too, and Halloween was no exception.



Madelyn dressed as - what else! - an adorable princess. Sienna fit so well into Maddie's turtle costume from last year, and loved it so much, that we decided to use it again. And Lyla was a cute little tiger (also worn by Sienna last year, but who's keeping track? LOL).



We began the festivities the day before Halloween with a preschool party for Maddie. She and I had a lot of fun baking Halloween cupcakes; cooking really seems to be our "thing" to do together and I think we both really enjoy it. She's such a good little helper in the kitchen. We dropped her off in her costume, then all the parents came back at 10:15 for a costume parade around the cul-de-sac where her preschool is located. Parents and kids had yummy treats, then did some Halloween crafts together. All in all, a very fun time. Maddie marched hand in hand with her friends Olivia and Katrina, and they were all just adorable!

Halloween night, the kids all got dressed up in their costumes, and Maddie and Sienna headed out with Brad while I manned (sp?) the door with Lyla the tiger. I think I literally saw about 1,000 Disney princesses. Guess that's what happens when you live in a neighborhood where there are kids under 5 in almost every house! My parents came over to see the kids in their costumes, so all three girls had a lot of fun with Grammy and Grampy when they came back from trick or treating. Sienna was really good, and the allergy issue was manageable, thank goodness. I packed a bag of safe treats for her, and she actually didn't even take any treats from houses (for fear of cross-contamination from candy with peanuts). As it turns out, Maddie was so quick running up to doors with her friends Jonathan and Theresa, that by the time Brad and Sienna got anywhere near the door Maddie and cronies were already done! Sienna just had a ball dressed in her costume and being out and about in the neighborhood with all the big kids.


Madelyn's primary question before going trick or treating was, "Mom, where's your costume? What are you going to be?" And, true enough, I hadn't even thought about a costume. So next year, I guess I'll be thinking a little further ahead. I'm sure it will make Halloween even more fun for them.

Back to School

It's been such a busy week with all of the fall/back to school activities! Madelyn had her first week of preschool at her new school, and even though she's been before I still had a hard time thinking about my little baby going off to do her own thing. It's still such a strange thing to get used to - even if only for 3 hours.

She did great on the first day, though she was a bit shy. By the end of the second day, her teacher told me she was "emerging as the group leader" and very chatty with all the other kids, often saying "Let's do this, guys!" or "Come on over here and play, guys!" (At our house, we often remind Maddie not to be a "bossy Gillis," which is a term her Grampy uses a lot. She's got no shortage of self confidence and has no problem herding other kids to go along with her idea of fun. The challenge for us will probably be to make sure that her "leadership" is constructive at preschool, and doesn't turn into something else...)

In other Maddie news this week...she started dance lessons! Very exciting for her, as she absolutely loves to dance and just perform in general. She's doing a one hour combo class of ballet, tap and tumble. I quickly realized though that I may be one of the only moms there that isn't really "into" it as a serious effort, if you know what I mean. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally fine with her doing dance if that's what she's into. But at age 3.5, we're pretty much just letting her try different things and see what she likes. Last year it was gymnastics, this year it's dance, and I think next year will be soccer once she's finally old enough to take soccer lessons like Dora! But all of the other parents there had clearly been coming for a while, and had multiple kids in dance.


And speaking of doing things on her own...the dance instructors won't let parents anywhere near the dance studio, because parents are distracting. I asked (sort of jokingly...maybe with a hint of sarcasm??) if I would ever get a chance to see her and what she was learning, and the instructor told me yes... at the recital in June. I know Maddie is pretty self sufficient and doesn't "need" me for things like this right now, but it just put me so on edge to have her down on another floor, with a teacher she'd never met before, doing something she'd never done formally before...with no parent there by her side, even for the first class. She was a trooper and didn't mind a bit -- it was me who was kind of a mess. I guess we'll just keep trying it as long as Maddie is happy doing it, though. I'm sure I'll get used to it too!

Long time, no post...

It's been a while since I've updated. What with the holiday, getting ready for fall activities like preschool, etc., and trying to be better about working out on a regular basis, I feel like I haven't had much time for things like blogging (or scrapbooking for that matter -- man am I behind!). So a quick recap of what's new here...

- Labor Day weekend was fun, but far too short. We went to my parents' for a cookout and got to see family and friends that we don't see all that often, which was really nice. The weather was gorgeous, so we spent lots of time outside. We took the kids to the playground and for a nice bike ride along the canal with the new bike trailer. Maddie loves it, but Sienna is still in that "I won't be confined!" phase where she wants to walk everywhere, never ride.

- We've been transitioning Sienna from two naps to one and it has been PAINFUL. She is a kid who really needs a decent amount of sleep, and it's a little rough getting to one nap. Some days she can do it, and others she's begging for a nap by 9:30 a.m. I'm so ready to just get through this though, so she and Maddie can nap on the same schedule and we can have a little bit more flexibility to do fun stuff during the day (rather than having someone always asleep!).

- Maddie started her second year of preschool, in a new school this year. She only had a short one hour day with parents, but seemed to enjoy it. She's really looking forward to meeting new friends. I hope this school is a good fit for her.

- Lyla is getting super mobile, and it even up on all fours rocking on occasion. She does a bit of army crawling and can get anywhere she wants to go by rolling. Where has my little newborn gone to??

- See post below about sisters. I mean to post this update first, then the pics of the three girls. Can't figure out how to change the order of my posts, so I guess I'm stuck with it!

Ohhhhh...it's Monday night already. Where did my weekend go?

Brad and I are exhausted from working on landscaping projects for the second weekend in a row. This weekend was HOT HOT HOT, so yardwork was particularly grueling. I would have said before last week that I knew nothing about landscaping whatsoever, but now I'm actually feeling kind of proud of myself (and of Brad!) for having gotten so much done in the yard. I'll post pics when it's all done.

The kids had a whole lot fun playing in the yard with us virtually all weekend. Maddie got a kick out of helping to pile sod in the wheelbarrow after we had dug it up while reshaping our front flower beds, and then scoring a fun ride back from Daddy, through the woods and around the yard. She also got a decent amount of squirting as she ran around the yard in her bathing suit while I watered her at the same time as the flowers, LOL. She was actually pretty good helping me shovel dirt, etc., and the guy who helped us at the nursery gave her a flat of yellow marigolds that I let her plant right at the end of the bed, in the front of the house. She was thrilled. They don't exactly go with the rest of the bushes/flowers, but they make me smile every time I see them and think of her doing all the planting herself.

Sunday night I was so tired from all the work, heat, etc., and was totally craving an icecream sundae. Note on the diet, but necessary! So Maddie and I went out to Friendly's and had ourselves a treat, and brought some home for Brad to enjoy. We parked by the canal and watched the boats for a few minutes, then headed home. Yummmy!

Today we've had a totally weird day of heavy thunderstorms. We've lost power twice, and we discovered we have a small leak in the roof of our one-year-old house. Good thing the house is still under warranty! The street out in front of our house flooded severely with about 18 inches of water in a very short amount of time -- the rain was just torrential! Here's a pic of the flooded 'hood: