So, is this a sign?

Summer is coming, school is ending and we are in the process of deciding what to do with the girls for their summer break and have started looking for a sitter. Their first sitter - EVER - at first they were more worried about it than we were but now the tables are switching. So far all we have done is ask around at our Churches and hung flyers at the local University which has resulted in about 3 names.

However....we have been thinking about this since January....and these are the events that have happened...coincidence....or a sign.....you be the judge....

February - the fire in the kitchen - seemed to have kept their wits about them and put it out. Plus talk of getting them a phone to have on them while they are with the sitter just as they loose their DS in the house somewhere, becuase we had not bought them a carrying case for it. (they found it and are, according to them, now ready for the responsibility of a phone)

Early March - had an accident on the swing set, that included loss of skin and blood, Jason was home and knew nothing about it. I walked in from work and asked Reagan why she had the largest bandage we have on her arm. Apparently she skinned the upper back part of her arm and called her partner in crime, Avery, to patch it up since and I quote "she does not have eyes in the back of her head." I asked why they did not call for an adult's help and they shrugged their shoulders. "Of course not" I replied, "why would you call for an adult for a minor injury when you put out fires as a team?!" And then asked them if they were going to be responsible enough for a college-aged person to watch them.

Last week - I am at work, Jason is mowing and the girls are outside playing. Until Hoss speaks to them in only a language that they understand and informs them that he is so very hungry. But when Reagan gets back with a piece of gourmet deli meat he is in the front horse pasture....so of course it makes total sense to climb the gate and follow him......after all the horses were in the back eating and she can "so outrun them." Right. One would think that doing this once and getting caught by Jason would be enough for A) Reagan to stay out of the field and B) cause Jason to go into cardiac arrest.....but no. She was found in the field a second time by Jason and surprisingly enough Jason lived to tell me about it when I pulled in from work.
The girls were also spotted on their way to the drive to follow Hoss again, most likely because he had asked for some dessert.

Today - Girls are out playing soccer. I am pulling in bikes and Jason is cooking dinner. The wind was crazy today and Jason has picked up the trash that had fallen out from the trashcans earlier in the day....except for one plastic bag and one Mayo Jar on the back side. I walk around trying to find the girls and find them with Avery picking up pieces of glass from the back bedroom porch. I shout at her to freeze and then ask what in the heck she was doing. She threw it at the concrete because she wanted to 'see what would happen'. Seriously?? I told them to leave it alone and to get inside for dinner. I also told them that they keep doing things to make me think that a sitter is a bad idea and a summer at LatchKey (the program at school) is the better way to go. Avery cried and kept apologizing all the way inside which seemed like a long time and even forgave me. Forgave me? For what?

Later the table was set and we were missing one of our short legged friends so I go looking again. I find Avery in her room crying. Darn. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that she was sorry that she had done a stupid thing. First off, I called her out on using the word stupid so she owes someone $5 bucks and then we talked about the dangers of broken glass and the importance of calling for an adult next time. She stopped sobbing and forgave me again...looks like we are going to have to work on the meaning of that word, she seems to have it backwards.
She then told me that she just really does not want to go to LatchKey for the summer because she just hates it. And there is another $5 bucks.

So the girls alone for most of the summer with, for lack of a better word, a stranger! Or in town driving around with this stranger amongst the crazy people on this planet.

This is why some people decide to have plants instead of children. Plastic plants.

Press release....

Avery was not born to shop. She informed us of this at dinner today.

Well Child Appointments

Here's the stats and the reasons why Reagan was out of jeans for vacation in May and then again in August and then again at Back to School and at Christmas.......Avery must have flew just under the radar in some hand-me-down jeans.

Reagan went from 43" to 48" tall that is 5" in a 12 month period.....average is 2-3". She is now in the 50% in height. Even with all of the Ranch intake over the past year she has yet to weigh in at the 50 pound mark and went from 39.6 to 48.8 this year.

Avery grew from 42" to 46" this year so she should be able to attend most theme parks now. Right? She also hit the 50% in height this year. And went from 37 to 44 pounds. She asked on Sunday if she could stop riding in her booster because a friend of hers has....I believe her seat will hold her safely until she weighs 80 pounds! She may 10 years old before that happens.

She also told me this evening that she is ready to quit school and wants to be home schooled.
I told her to get over that quickly because she has roughly 20 more years to go. She was not impressed.

This is her first year and she is already struggling with Spring Fever. I hope this is not a pattern.

Apparently Spring is coming

Funny conversation with Avery and a Fire

On the way home last week Avery asked if I knew that her Uncle Sean could not read. She sounded so serious, so sad and so worried. I told her that he could in fact read and then asked why she thought he could not. She replied that when we were skiing Sean kept asking GP how to spell words. Which he did....most of the weekend while playing some type of Scrabble game on his phone. Just when you think they are not listening.....

Or not paying attention.....

Last weekend the girls were left home alone under the supervision of Grandpa and Grandma Skelton who apparently were on the couch reading the paper, watching the news and maybe even napping. Grandmother and Dad had left to run an errand. I was at work. Reagan was hungry.

The girls are allowed and usually help in some form to make their dinners. They are learning to use the microwave and have nearly mastered the art of cheese nachos. Chips, cheese and about 22 seconds. So Reagan thought she could make herself a snack. Since she could not reach the glass plates, she stacked two phone books and reached for a paper plate. Made her snack and and put it in the microwave. This would have all been fine, if the paper plate had not said "Happy Birthday" in a cute silver foil lettering.

Details are still sketchy, but apparently the plate caught fire, Avery got involved at some point and grabbed the fire extinguisher from the pantry, they both stood in front of the microwave and "blew real fast" until it was out and then cleaned up the evidence.

All of this while Grandpa and Grandma were reading the paper, watching the news and maybe napping. They had no idea. I am not sure how Mom and Jason found out or what they saw when they came home....but the mess was clean by the time I came home.

We have now had a lesson on what can and can not go into the microwave.

Proof that Little Girls Live Here.....

I love finding things like this. These babies spent the night in what appears to be sleeping bags at the foot of my bed.

Terrific Kid

Avery was awarded th Terrific Kid Award a couple of weeks ago for exemplifying Honesty.

She has waited A L L year for this so very presteigous award and even spent the first few weeks of school saying"please and thank you" for days on end. Here is a picture of the happy day.

Reagan Elise

Some say growing up is hard to do. I think they are mistaken. It is much more difficult to watch someone you love grow from a bald headed baby to a brave young lady. Reagan has been 7 years old for a month now. I promised myself I would not let an entire 30 days pass before collecting my thoughts, but its has been a busy 31 days. 31 days of milestones to add to a year full of them.

Reagan had her first sleepover, with what Jason and I hoped to be a small handful of girls plus Avery and Carter. A spa sleepover, complete with mud masks, cucumbers for the lines around the tired eyes of the group, a foot bath, manicures, "party food" as she requested and a movie to wind them down. Christy volunteered to paint fingers, Jason agreed to help with the food and I had ran all over town getting the perfect gifts to make spa goody bags. And then the RSVP's came in. All of them. So 10 plus our three had a picnic inside, played a game of Twister, had their spa treatments and ate and then ate again. They never tired and never stopped asking for food, never sat still and barely slept. So our first sleep over may very well be our last. I believe Reagan had a great time. She smiled and laughed until early Saturday morning. I was glad she had had a fun time with her friends and passed a stepping stone with flying colors.

The next day she was invited to sleepover of a good friend and long story short, she did not enjoy herself. I knew she was going to be tired. That worried me. I knew that the house was going to be full of girls she did not know from another school. That worried me. I knew the family had several pets, most all inside. That worried me. I knew that she would be somewhat on her own and that she knew she could call if she needed to. That gave me knots in my stomach. Reagan asks for a phone every now and again, that was the 3rd time I wish I would have given her one. I picked her up and before we got home, she was in tears and of course so was I. She was disappointed in a friend for the first time. But she passed a stepping stone and so did I maybe not with flying colors, but we passed.

She also started a new Math program at school. Rocket Math. 40 questions in two minutes, one error allowed but no left unanswered. At certain levels the students are recognized in front of the entire school. She set a goal, had me set the timer on the oven and time her night after night. We bought flash cards and she worked hard calling her Uncle Stuart every time she passed a level. Until the day she received a button at school stating she was a mini math master. She is now tested over books that she reads on a computer and has met her goal. She is becoming a good speller and is enjoying her enrichment classes. I think she now understands the process of setting and reaching a goal. Another stepping stone passed.

She has started giving me and Jason parenting advice. Even when not asked for. As well as giving Avery advice on reading, kindergarten, fashion, hair care and the lunch menu at school. As the oldest, I am sure this is not really a stepping stone but more of a bag of mixed stones in which she will use at her own leisure.

She has also started somewhat performing or doing something to get a laugh from those around her. Or at least that is what I am hoping she is doing. If not, she needs to be enrolled in a karate or dance class asap.

I noticed last weekend while she was standing/sitting at the table eating cereal with her great grandparents that she has grown again. Her legs from the knee to her hip a longer and she looks like the older kids at her school and not so much like Avery.

She also started a fire in the house but from what I can tell did not panic but instead took care of it in the way she knew how. Another stepping stone....maybe. We are working on can be cooked in the mocrowave and what to do in the case of an emergency a little more now than before just so that we can keep the stones she has crossed so far.

Her name is too long and to full of vowels to choose a characteristic from each, but I do know that she is still a little shy in new places and still a lot crazy. Very smart. Way too talkative, especially in the car or on the phone. Likes to think and talk outside the box. Resourceful to the point of being a pack rat. Artistic. Imaginative. Slower than molasses. She loves to run to town to shop or just to look. Helpful.

I know that this is not a complete list but this year she tried to save an wild animal, graduated kindergarten, lost two teeth, went to Atlanta, to Myrtle, spent her first summer break with 20 plus days away from home, played TBall, became a fish in the water, had her first sunburn, went to day camp, went to see Mt Rushmore, attended her first rodeo, panned for gold, went to Yellowstone, started full day school, got to go on a field trip by herself, rode a school bus alone, witnessed more snow than she had everseen before and went skiing in her very own spyder jacket.

Happy Birthday Reagan Elise Baskin.