Oh Taani Where Art Thou?

The solo parent saga continues with Bruiser, my second daughter. What a morning! While cleaning up breakfast I hear Hattie scream, "Dad, Neeley has a comb stuck in her hair!" I turned my back for less than one minute and Neeley quickly picked a fight with a comb. She lost.

I tried everything. EVERYTHING! The comb was triple rolled. After 20 minutes of frustration and Neeley screaming/crying, we loaded up and headed for Supercuts. I forgot to take the camera, but shot this picture of the hardened criminal before taking her in for hair surgery. And don't you think I wasn't tempted to cut the thing out. Oh, was I tempted.

I love the workers at Supercuts. They were gentle, patient, and skilled. Not a hair was lost and Neeley (and Hattie) got a trim. Why not, we were already there?

The best part - walking into Supercuts there were several women having their hair cut and overheard me explaining how Bruiser fought a comb and lost. Instantaneously a unanimous moan bellowed forth with an understanding nod, as if they once were in my shoes. It was a bonding moment with a few unknown women.

And yes, AnneMichelle, I am raising you. I have you as a three-year-old. Guess what, I love it. She has spunk, just like you.

We pick Taani up from the airport tomorrow! We are so excited to see her. WE LOVE YOU MOM!

BAD BOYS

I am running solo while Taani is in San Fran visiting the sister. After running to the airport early, getting myself dressed, kids dressed, hair done (not impressive in the least), lunches made, and hauling two kids tucked under each arm like a football we dashed to pre-school. I dropped them off, dashed to the office, joined meetings, meetings, & more meetings, picked kids up, hauled them to my sister's as I have clients in town, showed 12 homes, solved problems, picked the gals up, raced home, brushed teeth, sang songs (working on the Primary Children's Song Book), read stories, and kids put dad to bed (yes, you read correctly). Sigh. But I want to focus on "picking Neeley up from School."

Her teacher (a very dear friend of ours) pulls me aside (remember, I am in high gear today shuffling kids, managing clients, etc...) and says, "Neeley is starting to gravitate to the BAD boys in class." In my new role as Mega-Mom/Dad-Solve-Everything-Parent, I blurt out, "What do you mean by BAD?" She informs me that Neeley is drawn to the naughty boys that do outlandish things for attention. She feeds on them, loves their silliness and crazy behavior. I asked, "Does she do BAD things?" The answer was, "NO, she doesn't participate, is just in awe and they love the attention." Oh, ok, I think, she's just a groupie. Sigh of relief...

BUT WAIT...

Immediately my mind went to some teenage boy with a tatoo showing up on my doorstep, long hair, leather and asking to see teenage Neeley. I wanted to see these bad boys immediately and tell them to stay away from my daughter, she just learned how to keep her panties clean and dry!!!!

Pray for us.

The Bikers

We love to bike. I got home from work today and we headed out to a new little local park down the street. I looked down and noticed that Hattie was wearing one biking sock and another regular tube sock. She was so excited to ride her bike "like Dad" that she was frustrated she could only find one of her Cat Cycling Socks (a very important gear item for all serious cyclists). Her solution is captured in the picture at the end of this post.

When in Austin I visited the coolest bike shop - The Bicycle Sport Shop in a very cool part of town. This shop was HUGE and had its own selection of kids bike clothes and even a cafe. Amazing. I found the Cat Cycling Socks in the girls seciton and brought them home to Hattie. It's a big deal to ride our bikes and we have to have the socks, if only one.

Mom's Day!

I had to snap this shot. We had Taani's parents in town and on Sunday morning (Mother's day) it was Galapalooza in the bathroom getting ready for Church. The Sunday hair ritual is tradition in our family. Thanks Grandma Debi for your help! We love you and Happy Mom's Day!

The gals and I made breakfast for Taani. We made crepes and a few other tasty items. As a bonus we were able to share our tradition with Grandma and Grandpa! It made our Mother's Day to have them with us. I put the girls in charge of cutting the strawberries. They were a bit mangled in the bowl in the end, but the job was accomplished.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

I stumbled across this picture this morning and spent a few minutes pondering on it. This is my amazing Mom in 1945. Some thoughts on my Mom:

• One of the hardest workers I know. She was forced to go back to work when I was young, but I never knew it. She managed a home, job and four kids and never complained, once. She was home before I was home from school and never missed a beat.


• She could make a dollar go farther than anyone. She was very frugal and could magically make enough for everyone, provide gifts, do whatever she had to do on a dime. Amazing.


• She was incredibly caring. We had a blue rocking chair and many wounds were healed in long conversation in that chair (internal and external).


• She is incredibly intelligent. She has a love of books and could read an entire 800 page book in two or three sittings. She was always (and is always) reading.


• She sings beautifully. I've always found comfort in her singing voice. She sang in all the elite choirs in high school and at BYU. She still sings in her amazing church choir. I always found a spiritual depth to her as a kid when she would sing. I would look up and feel like the words were directly from her heart, as if she wrote them. At that time I believed she did write them.


• Her faith. Unmovable. PERIOD. She is steadfast and firm, never wavering. I am most grateful for this.


• Her humor. We've enjoyed many moments where we laugh so hard we are crying. Actually, laughing so hard one is crying - that's her thing and it's kinda funny.
• She is an amazing Grandma to my kids. My girls have affectionately called the guest room "Grandma Sherri's room" and they have in the past wanted their hair to be "Grandma Sherri hair." She is coming to visit in a few weeks and will stay for two weeks and we are thrilled. The gals can't wait to watch Enchanted with her.

WE LOVE YOU MOM!

BE SIMPLE - A FAVORITE WEBSITE

Had to share. I love this website and the more I poke around on it the more I love it. Scroll down to the "topics" area and see all the articles. This is one of my favorites:

52_TIPS on Zenhabits.net

Enjoy! Let me know what you think.

Ryan

It's Official and We're VERY Excited!!!

NEW GILBERT AZ TEMPLE