Last Thursday after school, Jackie's little friend Sarah came to play. I gave Jack and Sarah 30 minutes to play upstairs alone and then I insisted that Jackie include everyone. This was like torture to her. But Sarah read books with Ben and Hillary and we all ate dinner and answered the conversation card questions I break out during family meals. My kids are excited about most everything in life, and Sarah coming over Thursday was akin to the second coming of Christ. Is "second coming" capitalized?
Hilly drew this incredible picture of Bethany Hamilton having her arm being eaten by a shark.
On Friday- Jack had off so her and Em chilled in the morning while I cleaned and then we picked up the little kids from school, went to swimming lessons for Hill at the Hac while Em taught Benny how to climb in the huge maze that he's been intimidated by for the passed 2 years. She gave him the confidence to climb all over that thing and its been life changing for him. She's so awesome. Then we went to the mall to find her shoes for a dance she had that night and to get Jackie some flats. Meanwhile, Benny was dying for these rain boots. But we decided his batman rain boots would be sad if he replaced them with Miles from Tomorrowland boots.
Checking out the Christmas scents in Bed Bath and Beyond.
Posing as mannequins while Em and I checked out Aeropostales sales.
Her turn! In her new bunny sweatshirt. Obvi.
We take pictures of things we want Santa to bring us. This avoids many tantrums.
We had a great dinner at the pizza place in the mall.
This pic was for Dada because he loves this kind of pizza.
That night Jim put the kids to bed while I did the make-up for these 3 beauties. They are SMART, hard-working, funny and nice girls. And they are all individuals. Exactly what I hope my girls grow up to be. I have so much faith in the younger generations after spending time with Em and her friends.
The next morning Jim and Hilly went to Hill/s last soccer game while Jackie and Ben and I went to see Em's semi-final volleyball game. They ended up winning the championship. Jack loves volleyball now.
Then we hit up the soccer game.
Benny and Dada hit up Starbuck/s for their weekly men's tradition of splitting an egg sandwich and drinking chocolate milk and coffee, respectively. The girls and I spent 2 hours at the library.
I couldn't find Hilly at one point. When I went to search for her, this is what I found. She is SUCH a bookworm. So is Benny. I see so much of myself in Hillary it actually scares and confuses me sometimes. I had no clue I was so charming!!!! Hahahaha And damn, am I stubborn. I def married the right guy for me. Jim is equally as stubborn but also accepts my quirks and has a great sense of humor. He also is more grounded than me. A good balance. I hope Hilly marries someone with similar attributes to Jim so she doesn't end up with 9 children, 8 dogs and broke because she spends all her money on her kids and dogs.
Benny ate an apple and handed it back to me and said, 'All done my apple, mommy! Thanks!'
Jack took this pic. Beautiful.
Chillaxing w some library books.
Benny playing fetch w Hannie.
A baby doll from our friend Abby. We sent this pic to Abby to let her know that Ruby is thriving and cross-dressing in her new home.
Bath time.
Sunday at Aunt Karen's. Benny, Blake and Pop-pop making pretzels.
Benny eating cookies.
Kids playing downstairs w beanie babies.
Happy birthday to Pop-pop!
Serious cake eaters. Especially Ben. He loves cake and ice cream. Never gets distracted while eating it. Never.
These 2. They have had a special bond since birth. Neither of them like me very much but they are stuck with me forever.
Jax and Blake playing football out back.
That night I finally caught Ben playing alone! Monster trucks, superheros and dinosaurs. That's where its at.
Monday- we took Hilly and her buddy Em out of yoga and now they are doing indoor soccer. Despite their lackluster performance during games. they did awesome! They really like drills and are definitely improving their skills. I think scrimmaging is just a bit much for them at this age. They just get overwhelmed and think "eh, i'd rather be chatting w my bestie right now.' which.... pretty much is my life story.
Hanging out during Jack's ukulele lesson.
A sleeping bunny. I love seeing him in such vulnerable positions.
Election Day- Off to vote for Hillary Clinton.
After voting for Hillary Clinton.
Election day- eating at the gym while waiting for results.
Waiting for big sisters to finish dance class. Hilly has a tumbling class at the same time.
Ok, so now that the election results are farther removed, I feel like I can write about it. And what a perfect space- the place where my kids can go when they are older to hold me accountable for messing up their childhood!!!
Obviously, I am a liberal feminist. I wanted Hillary Clinton- her inclusive policies, her positive hopeful outlook, a solid Obamacare amendment. I wanted to help elect the real deal: brilliant, incredibly hard working, insanely determined, TOUGH AS NAILS. HER. More than I realized- until she started losing. I yelled at Jim (for no reason- he voted for her too) and went to bed and cried myself to sleep. I thought, "Am I really this hormonal? I can't believe I'm crying over an election." And I felt embarrassed for crying over an election. The next morning as I received texts from my friends, I cried again. And I cried watching her concession speech. And I finally talked to my mom- I actually was worried she voted for Trump because we hadn't talked in a few days. I am totally understanding of why some people voted for Trump and while I could handle my dad voting for Trump, I was ready to feel extremely betrayed if my own mom did. But she didn't. She voted for Hillary. My mom is one of the strongest, most hard working women I've ever met and is the glue that holds our entire family together. If anyone deserved a Hillary win, it would be HER!
I know the system worked and many want Trump presidency and I accept that and hope it goes wonderfully. I want all my loved ones to flourish and live comfortable, fulfilling lives. But damnit, did I want that woman pres. I wanted my girls to see it. I wanted my son to want it (and he did).
As a college student, I had Hillary-esque dreams. Not necessarily political, but big career, glass-ceiling breaking dreams. But having kids rocked my core- I NEEDED to be home with them. I could not and cannot bear to miss a single practice or performance or homework assignment or bad day. I love being home with them and wouldn't change a single thing. But I am SO GRATEFUL that not all women feel this way and are sacrificing staying home (although some just don't want to, which is even more awesome) to further the position of women in the world for the rest of us. How beautiful are our differences?
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