A Sunny Winter Day at the Beach

We had a day with no plans and beautiful weather, so we decided to head down to Galveston and use a groupon that I had for Moody Gardens. The Aquarium was fun, but definitely not the best aquarium that we have ever visited. The penguin exhibit was great, and there were some cute, playful seals. We also liked hanging out with a Nurse Shark that was hanging out in front of a big viewing window. After about 2 hours of exploring, we decided to head to the beach. We ate lunch out there, and everyone was freezing cold. I didn't know if we were going to make it, but we got our sweatshirts on and everyone got into beach mode. The girls decided that it wasn't so cold after all, and they played in the water. At first it was just their toes, and they would scream and run each time they touched the water. Eventually, they hiked their dresses up and were going in up to their knees. After they were done in the water, they played in the sand, we walked the jetty, and played in the sand again. It was a lot of nice, simple fun. I actually got to lay on the blanket in the warm sun for about 30 minutes with no interruption...almost like a vacation :) I love the beach, and I love that my girls love it too!

Potty Stories (for the last time!)

Brooke did a great job with potty training! It really only took about a week after big messes for her to get it. Of course, we had some funny moments that I have to share before moving on into the world of panties forever!
1. One of the first nights she had panties on, I put her on the potty to see if she could get anything out. She couldn't, so we went into the living room and sat down on the couch. Literally two minutes later, I feel warmth on my leg, wet warmth. She peed all over me, and the floor, and herself. What a mess!
2. The first couple days anytime she sat on the potty she would immediately say, "Sucker, now?" Most of the time she never did anything, but she was convinced that she needed a sucker anyway. No way, sister!
3. The other day Kacy went in the bathroom and said, "There is pee all over the place in here!" Brooke said, "Yeah, that was me." Not sure what happened, but she peed all over the floor and step stool.
4. We were sitting at dinner one night and Brooke said, "I peed in my Pinkie Pies." It took us all about 5 minutes of very confusing back and forth questions to realize that she had peed in her Pinkie Pie panties upstairs and then changed into new panties all on her own. When we finally got everything sorted out Kacy said, "Wow, that was the most confusing conversation I have had in my life!'
5. We started calling Brooke the Potty Master because she really did master that potty!
I am so proud of her, and so glad to put those diapers behind us! Now, if I can only stop using the word "potty" I will be happy :)

It's a Water Fountain!

It's official! Brooke is potty trained! We are still wearing pull-ups on errands and at school, just because I am not in the mood for accidents. She has not peed in her pull-up for about 3 days now. I'm sure it will be soon that we lose those! It was crazy, she was literally peeing all over the house for about 3 days. She would scream and fight me every time I tried to get her to sit on the toilet. I really thought she wasn't ready, and that I should wait a while longer. I told myself that I would give her a week before we gave up completely. As the week went on, she made some little improvements. She would tell me that her belly hurt, and I realized that meant that she had to pee. When it was just her and I at home, she did well. When the girls came home from school and she was distracted, that's when the peeing would start. Upstairs, downstairs, everywhere...
Then, all of a sudden I guess the "magic panties" started working, on Saturday, she just decided to go the bathroom every time she had to go. It was awesome! At one point, Kacy screamed, "Brooke is going poopoo!" I panicked, expecting her to be going on the floor or in her pants. Kacy said, "She is on the potty!" She didn't even tell anyone, she literally just went in there all on her own. Since then, she has been what we call a "potty master." A few funny things - every time she pees, she says, "It a water fountain!"
I was giving her candy, so of course, now any time she goes to the bathroom she says, "Potty candy, now?" I do sometimes, just because she is so dang cute.
One time she said, "Mommy, Daddy be so proud of me!" He is very proud, and so am I :)
We made up a potty dance, one for pee and one for poop. She thinks it's hilarious, and frankly, so do I!
So glad to be passed yet another milestone in growing up. Some I am sad to see go, but not this one!!! No more stinky diapers!

Back Trouble

My back has been hurting since October, and I kept waiting for it to heal on its own. It was never getting better, so I finally went to a chiropractor. They did x-rays and found out that my tailbone and sacrum are all out of line. The cause: most likely from pregnancy. Awesome, those girls owe me big time - for lots of things that are never the same! :)
Anyway, he said their treatment plan is 98% effective, so hopefully I am in that 98%! I have figured out how to bend down and move without it hurting so much, but I can't work out like I want to. That has gotten really old! I have to go to therapy 3 times a week for 3-4 weeks, and they will take another x-ray to see how things are looking. Hopefully, it will move sooner rather than later! I don't like being injured and not being able to do what I want to do.

Adilyn's Successful Sleepover

Adilyn's first sleepover at Dove's house was back in October, and she did not do that great. She stayed up until about 3:00am, and she kept watching show after show. I know Dove's mom kept thinking that she was going to pass out, and she did...eventually! Dove invited her for another sleepover this weekend. I told Adilyn that she didn't have to go, and that I would pick her up super late. She decided that she wanted to try. I made it very clear to her that she was not to stay up later than the first movie that was put it. If she couldn't sleep, she needed to call me right away and I would come get her. I could tell she was nervous before we left, and I asked her about it. She said, "I am just scared that I won't be able to fall asleep." We talked about it again, and I let her know that I didn't care one way or the other if she did, but she could call me at any time.
Well, I never got a call. She made it. The movie was over around 12:15am, she said that her and Madeline were still awake, but that they went to sleep quickly. She was so proud of herself, and I was proud of her. I know it's a big thing to stay away from home, and it's just one more sign of her growing up. I am also glad that she has friends that are sweet and that she can have fun with!

The Night The Sh*t Hit the...Floor

I pride myself on multi-tasking, I mean, what mother doesn't? I grade papers and play with tiny princesses at the same time, I cook and help Brooke into her princess dresses, I pull weeds while giving kids a horseback ride, etc...it's just life. There are many times that it's pretty obvious that I am doing a little too much, and this happened to be one of those nights.
Here's the scene...
Cory is out of town, so it's just me. I am cooking dinner, and I decide to go ahead and make a double portion for a friend that just had a baby. It was a new recipe, and you know how that can go. I was also having Kacy help me make a dessert; she is great with cooking, but I still have to do a lot of work for her. The recipe was for baked pasta. There were many parts to it - the homemade sauce, the noodles, the Italian sausage - all cooking simultaneously. All while Kacy is asking me what's next, how high to turn on the mixer, and on and on. Then, Brooke pees on the kitchen floor. I quickly clean it up and put new panties on her. She is freaking out, Kacy is getting antsy, the sausage is burning. I put her on the counter, which in retrospect, was probably not the smartest thing based on the way the night was going. I get Kacy on track, Brooke is occupied with some straws, and I continue dinner. Things are going smoothly for the next 5 minutes or so, until Brooke poops in her panties. Really? I took everything off the stove, grabbed her and took her to the bathroom to check out the situation. It was a mess. I couldn't get the panties off without a big mess. Poop gets on me, on her, on the floor, on the toilet - a mess! I took her to the other bathroom, and I just closed the door to that poop-filled bathroom, hoping it would go away on its own. I took my pants off, cleaned her up, I disinfected my hands thoroughly, and went back to cooking. So, here we were - a naked two year old running around saying "I naked! I naked" and me, cooking dinner in my panties. Oh, the moments in the life of a parent! We cooked dinner, I had some wine, and I eventually cleaned up the mess.
By the way, the baked pasta was pretty dang good!

"Alright, okay, alright..."

Brooke has always been hilarious with the things that she says. She goes through little phases of saying the same phrases over and over. Her newest one is when I tell her to do something, she responds, "Alright, okay, alright" over and over. Kind of like an annoyed teenager? She is lucky she's so dang cute!

Panties? Or maybe not...

This was Brooke's outfit one afternoon while we were at the Frio. This girl and her outfits (or lack of outfits)! She ran around like this for about an hour, yelling off and on "hatty and shoes! hatty and shoes!"
I used this picture because she is obviously still in a diaper. I have been talking about starting potty training since we got back from DisneyWorld. That was 3 months ago! She would cry when I talked about panties, and she did not want to have anything to do with going to the bathroom on the potty. We decided that Santa was going to bring her "magic panties", and maybe that would help her get excited? Well, after all of our traveling over the holidays, I decided we were just going to do panties at home and see how it went. It's not going so well...she has peed and pooped in the potty a few times, but she has peed on the floor many more times! Granted, it's only been 5 days, but there have been way more accidents than successes. I know she will get it, but in the mean time...puddles, puddles, everywhere! Good thing we have mostly tile and wood :)
Edit: Today she peed four times in inappropriate places...the most annoying was right on my lap. And the worst part about it was that it dripped into my brand new cute and cozy slipper boots! Grrr...I sure hope that she gets it soon! Not enough patience and too much laundry to keep this up for too long!

First time on ice

We were invited to Emily's (Tracy's daughter) birthday party, and it was an ice skating party! None of the girls have ice skated in their lives, and Cory and I haven't been on ice for a very long time. I was a little worried about what might happen, but everyone did great! They had a little mini lesson at the beginning of the party, and Adilyn did pretty good. Kacy, on the other hand, panicked and made the instructor carry her across the ice in tears. I think she just freaked out a little bit. After a while, they were doing okay, holding on to the wall and marching along the ice. Kacy loved it, and even went away from the wall a little bit. Brooke loved getting taken around by everyone! I was amazed that she could even walk in her skates, but she did great. She kept wanting to go on the ice, and one time she got out of my arms and starting walking toward the ice. I thought surely, there was no way that she would try to go out there on her own. Before I knew it she was on the ice! I had to run after her to snatch her off before she got clobbered! Crazy, brave girl :)
It was a great experience, and I am glad that all the girls got to try it and had fun!

Shunned!

Brooke and I got all ready to go up and surprise Adilyn for lunch today. I usually don't tell them when I am coming because I hate it when something comes up and I can't come, they get so disappointed! Anyway, I made Brooke a little lunch, and we went up there all excited to see her. When I got there, I was a little late, and I noticed that she was eating lunch in the "Friend Zone". They get to pay Dillo Dollars and eat with a friend sometimes for a special treat. When I saw her over there, I figured that she might not want me to stay. She is usually so excited to see us, but this time she definitely did not look overjoyed. I got the hint, and I pretended that I was just there to look for her lost jacket. Nevermind the lunchbox that Brooke had. :) I asked her to come with me to lost and found, and when we were over there I asked her if she wanted me to leave. Her answer was, "That would be okay." But, she said it in a way that I could tell she felt a little guilty. I told her it was fine, and Brooke and I left quietly without making a scene. So there we were...it might have been the first time that her friends came before her loving mother and adorable little sister, but I am positive that it will not be the last time!

Family Movie Day

We went to see the "Penguins of Madagascar" one day over the break as a whole family. It was hilarious! I think that I laughed more than anybody. The girls and I have been to a couple movies, but I think this was the first one that we went to as a family. The girls got a gigantic slushy, popcorn, and some candy, and they were in heaven. I just can't believe how expensive movies are, especially when you add in some snacks and drinks! Anyway, it was a fun outing to break up the monotony of winter break. After the movie, I tried to get a picture, and the results were hilarious! I guess the flash was too  much for them to handle :) At least for everyone except Brooke!

The Frio Hike Pictures

 Taking a little break on the hike

We made it!!!

Our view from the top! Amazingly beautiful.

 Our property is down there...somewhere down there, anyway!

The hill behind us is the one we climbed, believe me, it is MUCH higher than it looks! :)

Looking Back on 2014

14 memorable moments of 2014...in no particular order! :)
1. Gulf Shores, July 2014 - That huge cave we dug was amazing! I will never forget hanging out in there underneath the blue tent with the girls and pretending we were mermaids.
2. Memorial Day - It rained and rained and rained like I've never see if rain before at the Frio. The kids were running around in the mud and the mud would get completely caked on their shoes. Kacy and Brooke kept coming over to get their mud high heels scraped off. We got stuck in the mud, and had all kinds of ridiculous muddy fun.
3. Saying goodbye to the old faithful Tahoe!
4. The heart wrenching morning of Kacy's breakdown about going to school. Oh my, I didn't think I was going to make it after that screaming, crying morning!
5. 4th of July at the Griffins - We celebrated 4th of July at the Griffins as we had for so many years, but it was different this year because we knew that they would be moving to Dallas. It was a wonderful day, full of good food and fun! We were supposed to leave in the afternoon so they could go to a neighborhood party, but we just stayed and stayed until the night!
6. Caddo Lake - The scenery was beautiful there, and I loved watching everyone canoeing through those amazing Cypress Trees. I didn't go because I stayed back with Brooke, but there was something magical about it.
7. Brooke's Messy Art party - I had planned to have everything outside, hoping that it would be a beautiful day. It was rainy and cold, so I had to improvise and change some things up. Luckily, nobody cared, we did a little art, and the kids just played like crazy all day. I love days when we have everyone that it close to us in one place just hanging out!
8. Impromptu October swim get together - We hadn't seen Tracy and her family in a while, so we had them come over for one last swim dinner. It was great to catch up with her, and the kids swam into the dark of the night. I don't know why, but swimming in the pool at night has always been one of my favorite things. I love to see the kids playing for hours together in something as simple as a pool.
9. Blessington Farms - It was a beautiful day when we went out to the farm. We had never been there, and it was so much fun! I could not believe how much the kids loved going down these crazy slides. They wanted to stay forever, and we actually closed the place down! So many giggles!
10. Polar Express - We loved the Polar Express, but one of the funniest things was when we were all trying to go to sleep. Mom wanted to switch pillows with me, and she threw the pillow at me. It hit me right in the face! I started laughing hysterically, then all the kids started laughing hysterically. We all got the case of the major giggles. Pretty soon we were all laughing so hard! The minute it was quiet, someone would let out a little snicker, and it was all over again. I love laughing!
11. We Will Rock You! Chad and Kristen won tickets to go see "We Will Rock You", Queen's Broadway show, and the invited all the Henderson ladies. I didn't want to go at first, but I am so glad I did! It was the best, most entertaining show, ever! I loved singing along with all the songs, and it was wonderful to do something different like that for a night out.
12.Coaching Adilyn's volleyball team - It was such a great experience to coach those little girls. It was ridiculously stressful and irritating, but they were such a sweet group of little ones. They all tried so hard, and it was great to see them get better as the season went on.
13. Kacy's Frozen Party - I love decorating for the girls' parties, but that Frozen party was especially fun to decorate for! Once again we had a rainy day, and since it was a swim party it made things extra interesting. It was still great to have everyone here! Brandon even made it down for that one. The Ice Cube pool toy was definitely a hit!
14. Disney World!!! I don't need to write anymore about it, but our trip to Disney was amazing. I will never forget it, and I am so glad that we splurged and went for it. It was great to share the experience with the Hrobars, and I loved every minute of it!

I am so grateful for this life that I get to live everyday. Of course, there are annoying moments and phases that you just can't wait to end, but overall, the love that I have in my life is more than I could have ever imagined. My family and the friends (that are like family) bless my days beyond measure, and I can't wait to see what amazing experiences we will get to have in 2015.

New Year's Resolutions - Kid Style

I like to ask the kids to make goals every year. I should have asked them separately because they seemed to like each other's answers.
Kacy - ride a bike, read better, play volleyball and basketball, have play dates with Marley, and clean up when asked.
Adilyn - ride a bike, get good grades, play volleyball and basketball, be nice to new kids at school, and be nicer to my sisters.
Brooke (these are my goals for her, and we will work on it everyday!) - work on being potty trained, not cry when I go to school, make new friends, stop hitting my sisters, and stop throwing things.
We shall see how things go! I sure would like to get the two big ones on bikes, it's getting a little embarrassing! I think learning to ride a bike has been on Adilyn's list for about 3 years now...oh boy!