From FOUR A’s to FIVE!!!

So many things have happened since March. I cannot believe I have taken such a long hiatus from blogging. Writing is one of my favorite things to do. Things are insanely busy around the Five A’s and a D house, but I’m going to try to keep up with my blog. It’s my little creative outlet.

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According to the new blog title, this particular post is to introduce you to A number 5. She graced us with her presence in late September. Her big personality is already shining through!

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Having all these little girls with names starting with A made me realize that I need to come up with unique nicknames for each of them. I’ll work on that.





   



         

Will Run for Chocolate!!!

After Little A was born in November 2011, I kept telling myself I would run a 5K at some point in 2012. That was my fitness goal: to be able to run a 5K. I didn’t get serious about it until close to the end of the year when I saw this: 

This was amazing! If any of you know at least one thing about me, it’s probably that I LOVE chocolate.  I could combine my fitness goal AND my favorite sweet treat. 

Seriously? 

I’M IN!

The race wasn’t actually until January 2013, but better late than never, right? 

With this being my first race, I didn’t want to go it alone, so I told my little sister about it. 

This girl. 

I am so proud of her! 

She has lost 80 lbs and is an exercising fool! 

(I’ll actually be sharing one of her healthy recipes tomorrow!)

We downloaded running apps onto our Iphones so we wouldn’t kill ourselves trying to train for the race. We used the free app 10K for Pink. It’s very handy. It starts you out doing intervals of running and walking so you don’t jump right into running and give up. 

So race day came.  We arrived bright and early, or in this case, dark and early. 

We put on our race bibs and went to our race corrals!

There were close to 20,000 runners in the 15K & 5K. That place was packed!

We started at Turner Field, ran a 3.2 mile loop, and finished back at Turner Field.

It took us 38 minutes and 32 seconds to finish the race. 

I’m pretty proud of us!

After the race we enjoyed our finisher’s mugs! 

We got lots of tasty treats to dip in chocolate, and a cup of hot chocolate to go with it! 

Fitness Goal? 

Check! 

Tasty Chocolate?

Check!

Cool Race Hoodies?

Check!

Fun day with my little sister?

Check! 

I think this one was a winner! 

I’m gonna be doing it again next year! 

Our Little Matchmaker

This is Big A. 

She’s my oldest daughter. 

She’s smart. 

She’s beautiful. 

She’s creative. 

She’s funny. 

She never ceases to amaze me. 

She’s the reason her father and I met. 

David and I have been together since Big A was 2 1/2 years old. 

I remember the day he walked into my daycare classroom. He was looking for a class for his daughter, who happened to be in the age group that I taught. 

(I think I might have done a fist pump in my head when I found out.  Just in case you haven’t noticed, my hubby’s pretty hot). 

We found out a few weeks after Big A started in my class that we also went to the same church. I was new in town, so I hadn’t met a lot of people yet. We have three different worship times at our church on Sunday mornings, so I had never seen him there.

A few months later, I called D one night to check on Big A because she hadn’t been to school the last couple of days. 

That was all it took. 

We talked for eight or nine hours that night. Both of us had to work the next day, but we didn’t care. We were in our own little world. 

We started dating after that. 

We dated for about 9 months before he proposed to me on Christmas night, 2008. 

We were engaged for more than a year before we got married. 

I consider our wedding day to be one of the most important days of my life. Not only did I become the wife to my soul mate, I also became a mom to the little girl who changed my life forever. I tell her quite often not to forget that I fell in love with her before I fell in love with her daddy. 

I love our family. We wouldn’t exist without our Big A. 

She’s a comedian. 

She’s an artist.

She’s a scholar.

She’s an author.

She’s a singer. 

She’s an actress. 

She’s a basketball player.

She’s a loving sister. 

She’s my daughter. 

I wouldn’t trade her for the world. 

Weekend Wrap-Up

We had quite an eventful weekend!
It was packed full of fun Halloween activities.

We started with carving pumpkins. Big A did a great job, but she had a hard time getting the carving knife all the way through the pumpkin. I had to help her shape things up a little bit in the end, but the end result was not bad for an 8-year-old.

D carved the top pumpkin.
Big A carved the bottom pumpkin. 

Of course, you can’t carve pumpkins without roasting the seeds afterward!

We visited our church for the annual Trunk or Treat. My brother-in-law, his wife, and the kiddos joined us there for some fun!

Big A, Middle A & Little A with their cousins. 

Last year, our neighborhood held Trick or Treating on the Saturday before Halloween. We didn’t participate because we had other activities going on. Evidently it was decided that the turnout for weekend trick or treating was better than on Halloween, so they held it on the weekend again this year. We took the kids  around the neighborhood to score some more candy.

Middle A, Big A, and her bestie warmed up with hot chocolate! 

Also, over the weekend I came to the realization that my baby is about to turn a year old in just 2 weeks! She was such a big girl, going right up to people and holding up her bucket. When they would put candy in her hand, she would drop it right into her bucket. It was so cute, but it makes me sad to think that a whole year has passed already. 

ROOOOAAAARRR!!!!

I’m going to feature homemade Halloween costumes on Wednesday, so if you would like for me to include your homemade costumes, please email them to anorris21 [at] gmail [dot] com. I love hearing from my readers, and sharing crafty things they’ve done!

  

Wordless Wednesday

I'm sorry.....or am I?

      I recently came across an article on Yahoo called, "5 Things Parents Shouldn't Say to Their Kids".  I was pretty curious about what those 5 forbidden things were that we evidently shouldn't be telling our kids, so I couldn't resist clicking and reading. I have to admit, this list was not what I expected. A few of these are no-brainers for anyone who has an ounce of common sense. The others actually surprised me. I know I'm not the only parent who has threatened to leave the house without my kids because they weren't cooperating. I'm also not the only person who has told her kid to act her age. If you could see the fits my 7 year-old can pitch, you would tell her to stop acting like a toddler and start acting like a 7 year-old, too! [I hope] we all know not to tell our children, "I don't care." Their little minds just don't understand the flippant use of those three words. Adults can throw that phrase around carelessly since we understand social cues and can differentiate between the many ways it can be used. Saying it to a child can truly hurt his feelings on a deeper level.
   
      What threw me for a loop was the one that said, "Say you're sorry."  I've always believed that you should encourage your children to apologize when they do something wrong or say something hurtful. I do make my kids apologize when they say something hurtful, hit each other, etc... It has always been my opinion that if you teach them to apologize after they do something wrong, they will form the habit of doing so. Although, even as I type this it sounds as if I'm encouraging a habit, like washing their hands, and not teaching them to sincerely apologize.
 
      Just two days ago, my girls were wrestling on the couch. Middle A got excited and bit Big A on the cheek. Middle A immediately got sent to time-out for her standard 2-minutes. For those of you who aren't aware, one minute for each year of your child's age is the recommended length of a time-out.  When Middle A's time-out was finished, we had a talk about why it's not okay to bite and I told her to apologize to Big A. Middle A walked over to her, gave her a hug and a kiss, and said, "Sorry for biting you, Big A."  Yes, I did tell her to apologize, but she understands what an apology is. When you hurt someone, just saying sorry doesn't fly in my house. You have to tell the person why you're sorry when you apologize and give them a hug to help them feel better.

     Middle A has picked up cues on understanding when to apologize as well. I'm a minimal footwear kind of person. I hate winter because I have to wear socks and shoes. I'm a total flip-flop freak. Unfortunately for me, toddler feet tend to weigh about 15 lbs each when they're wearing tennis shoes. Middle A steps on my toes all.the.time. When I say, "Ouch!", Middle A immediately replies with, "Sorry, Mom!" and gives me a hug and kiss. That shows me that she has more or less grasped the meaning, or at least knows when to say sorry.

      I happen to think that teaching your children to apologize when they have done something wrong is the right way to handle things. By ‘right’ I mean it’s right for our family. It’s what works best for us. Here are some things that other parents had to say about making your child apologize:

   I think you should make your child apologize. Also, you should make a big deal out of your own apologies to others. Allow your child to see you mess up and allow them to see you apologize. The example you set is more meaningful, than trying to be perfect on front of them. I try to do that as a teacher. If I mess up, I own it and apologize. It sets the stage for meaningful conversation. --Elizabeth, GA

When I was 5 years old, we visited some friends and I took a very small penknife from their toy box and took it home with me. I was sitting on our couch and it fell out. Both my mom and dad saw it and asked where it came from.... they took me all the way back into town that same night and made me walk up to the door by myself and apologize for taking the knife. Never, ever have I taken anything from anybody 50 years later. Best lesson I ever learned. --Mike, TN

I will apologize for him and teach him what he should've done instead, as well as what he can do to fix the situation. I do not force him to apologize. My son is pretty good at offering up hugs if he sees that he made someone sad. --Joanie,  FL

For the things that he understands, he apologizes. If it's beyond his comprehension, I apologize and turn it into a teaching moment. --Gracie, CA

He's too young to fully grasp apologies for certain things. If he hits his brother or the dog I make him apologize. But to kids at the park that he barrels into without looking or cuts in front of on the slide, I do the apologizing. --Sarah, CO

People’s opinions vary widely on any given topic that falls under the subject of parenting. If you ask 10 moms who do the same task or handle the same situation all in a unique way, they will all tell you that their specific way of doing things is the ‘right’ way. I’m a strong believer in the ‘You handle your family, and I’ll handle mine,” method, so I welcome your input, opinions, and methods! Share with me.

More Easter Fun!

Before we get into the pictures of our Saturday, I want to update you on the whole chocolate deal. 

I did it. 

I went 40 days with no chocolate. 

Honestly, it was harder than I thought it would be. 

Unlike my sister-in-law, who gave up Coke and then couldn't finish even half of one on Sunday, I had absolutely no problem indulging. 

I have probably eaten enough chocolate today to last me all week. 

Now I seriously need to jump on the treadmill. 

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Now on to the cuteness that is my 3 A's. 

We went to an Easter egg hunt on Saturday.

It was pretty cool. A few houses in the neighborhood got together and hid eggs in all of their yards so it was one giant egg hunt. 

There were quite a few kids there. 

They even had crafts for the kids to do!

Middle A kept trying to get a head-start. 

She knows what's up when she sees colorful plastic eggs now. 

Big A had a blast finding the eggs.

She likes to see if she can find unique colored ones.

Gold, silver, iridescent....

Middle A understands the concept of hunting eggs.

She just doesn't quite have the speed thing down yet.

They still got quite a bit of eggs! 

I think between the two of them, there were about 80 eggs.

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Later that evening, we colored real eggs.

We colored on them with crayons and used tape to create designs.

Both of the girls love decorating eggs.

Here are a few of our egg-celent friends!

These are a few of our favorites.

That's not the end of our Easter weekend. I still have plenty more to update you on. 

Until then, hop over to our Facebook page. 

Click 'Like' over to the right --->

You can follow along on Facebook and give your opinion on what I should write about next.

Easter Weekend: Part 1

Wow! We had such a busy weekend!

Annie returned from her week-long visit to Tennessee on Friday afternoon.

My parents and I met in the middle for lunch so they could visit with Middle A & Little A for a little while.

Cracker Barrel!

Pops & Little A

After the two-hour drive home, we went to D's parents' house for Easter dinner and an Easter egg hunt. 

The kids had a blast finding the eggs!

Middle A had her own personal basket carrier.

(Thanks, Papa!)

Then there were the Easter baskets. 

I'm pretty sure they liked them.

Thanks, Grammy & Papa!

That was what we did on Good Friday. 

Tomorrow, I'll post more. There are so many pictures I want to share.

It would be ridiculous to put them all in one post.

Until then...

Easter Egg Hunts & Owls

This weekend I took Middle A & Little A to an Easter egg hunt. 

Little A is obviously too small to participate this year, but Middle A had fun!

The poor kid only got 4 eggs. Every time she bent down to get one, a bigger kid would come by and scoop it up before she could. I felt so bad for her, but she didn't care. She was just happy she got some eggs (or as Middle A says, "Aigs"). After the hunt was over, a little boy came over and put a few handfuls of eggs in her basket for her. Sweet, right?

Here is Little A hanging out with Grammy.

Middle A swinging and grinning!

This week is Spring Break. Big A has gone to Tennessee to spend time with my family. She loves being able to go by herself. I think it makes her feel big and independent. She has so much fun spending time with my parents and my siblings. I, of course, get picture message updates a few times a day to keep me up to speed with all of their adventures. 

Meanwhile, here at home I'm working on getting the house cleaned up and organized. I went to Hobby Lobby last week and bought some super-cute owl print PUL to make diapers out of. That's my motivation to get all of the cleaning and organizing done. I refuse to start sewing until the house is clean. It's my motivation. 

Look how stinkin' cute this PUL is!

Source

I'm gonna get my butt in gear and get the house clean tomorrow so I can get to work on those suckers! 

We are family....

I have the fortunate blessing of having brothers and a sister who are my best friends. 

We have been close our whole lives.

Don't get me wrong, we had our spats and occasional fist fights (yes, fist fights). 

We still disagree here and there about things.

In the end, we are all best friends.

Unfortunately, my siblings all live in Tennessee.

I live in Georgia. 

I don't get to see them as often as I would like.

I actually miss having them around all the time.

This past weekend, they were all here (along with my parents) for Middle A's birthday and Little A's christening.

I was so happy to see my family. 

So many of us take for granted the fact that our families are always around, and sometimes even annoying. 

I cherish the memories we get to make when we're together.

February Fun

Yesterday was beautiful. 

 It was warm and breezy. 

 We spent some time outside.

 We graffitied the driveway.

 The girls were proud of their artwork.

 They worked very hard on it.

 We even played a little soccer....

 ....and baseball.

Middle A wanted to play tennis. Unfortunately for her, we haven't installed the courts in the front yard yet.

Hopefully more wonderful weather is to come!