Goodbye 2012

Well it's New Year's Eve 2012. Time to say goodbye to the old and hello to the new. Time to also say goodbye to the "holiday season" which I have to say I'm sad about. I always look forward to this time of year. My dad and husband are around more, the lights twinkle and line our street and everyone seems to be on the same page. We had a really fun Christmas together. The kids really understood what was going on this year and we had so much fun decorating the tree and setting up the train to circle underneath! We made a countdown chain to Christmas Day and each day we turned the train on and take a link off the chain. We even downloaded a Santa Tracker to hunt him down on Christmas Eve! It is so much fun to have children and make the magic of Christmas so big again!
I was so blessed by the kids this year and it helped so much because I felt homesick for the only place I celebrated Christmas as a kid. The house on Perkins Lane in Baton Rouge where my grandmother would wait for us to pull in the yard from our 12 hour drive. A two story house that was filled to the brim with every Christmas bear ever created, every musical knick knack that played christmas carols and the most amazing thing of all...LOVE. She was truly alive at Christmas. She loved every part of it and made it so special for us each year. I miss her so much. I miss Baton Rouge. I miss the smells, the food, the LSU campus at sunset, the family that surrounded me. It's a part of me. I spent every summer of my life in Louisiana-it's a part of me. Luckily for me I have an amazing husband who understands this and is taking me to New Orleans this summer for our anniversary. He is so good to me. And I actually was able to suprise him with a fun Christmas present this year.
Every year he hints at things he would like and I try to still suprise him with which one I've chosen for him. But not this year. This year I bought a few things I knew he would like to have for his new job at work but I also let my creative side show! I made him a 12 Days of Christmas (which I have to admit I stole the idea from Pinterest--but put all my ideas into it) and have been "torturing" him with it since. It's 12 envelopes that are marked day 1 through 12 and he gets to open an envelope each day. Inside the envelope are two cards that are taped shut. One is labeled "Nice" and one is labeleed "Naughty." He has to choose only one and I will do whatever the card says. I won't give all my secrets away for the 12 days, but today he opened "Naughty" and got a 5 minute massage.....if he had picked "Nice" it would have been a 15 minute massage. It is so much fun and it's a way I get to keep Christmas going for 11 extra days! It also is driving him insane because my husband is one to not keep secrets well and doens't understand that I am rock solid in keeping mine!! :) He keeps fishing for hints but my lips are sealed!! I hope to make this a tradition I do each year for him! We also had a creative spin for the grandparents this year. We took silver chagers and painted the kids fingerprints with tempura paint. Their little fingerprints all the way around the edge of the charger looked just like christmas lights. We drew in to string the "lights" together and wrote a poem on the inside about how their fingers will only be that small for this Christmas. It was lots of fun for the kids and the grands really enjoyed a homemade gift from them!
I hope your holiday season has been filled with lots of fun memories and special gifts too. I'll leave you with a few clips of Christmas morning from our house!! Happy New Year my friends. May 2013 be a blessing to you and your families!!

'Tis the season

Last night I got to share my two "mommy" roles. I got to watch some of my beautiful dancers onstage with the middle school chorus concert I helped choreograph AND I got to see my two kiddos share the stage with them for one scene! I have been helping with the chorus concert since I was a senior in high school and my mom and I always love doing it together and having an excuse to listen to Christmas music in October--we're choreographing, we HAVE TO! ;) Needless to say I've helped with many concerts through the years and I am always so impressed how they come together with great singing and entertaining dances. The students always work hard and even after disasterous dress rehearsals they pull it together the night of the performance! The choral director is like a second mom to me and we share a special relationship! I think my mom and her have more fun than the kids do some days when they are teaching choreography and dancing around like a couple of teenagers! They give each other laughter and love, such a precious thing these days!
Eli got to make his chorus concert debut at 3 months old as baby Jesus, but this year he and HesterGrace were the children in the last scene when the chorus sang "Christmas is for Children." Some of our dancers who are in chorus also performed a lyrical dance while the kids were onstage. I felt myself tearing up because there on the stage were two products of my heart, right there, I could actually see it. I've been feeling lately like I don't know if I can do both...be a good mom and a good dance teacher. But I realized last night that's just what the devil wants me to believe. I can do both. God has given me these precious children and a love for dance that I want to share. What a blessing! I want to post pictures of last night on my mirror so when the days come where I feel like I'm failing and letting everyone around me down I can look at the picture and remember the promise God made me. He may let me bend, but He won't let me break! He won't give me more than I can take. I just have to remember to ask Him to  help me through it all.
A big thank you to Beth Kirkland and the staff at BLMS for always welcoming us into your school and letting us be a part of the "christmas magic" each year. We love watching the kids grow up through the years and hearing the 6th graders say they can't wait for their first concert! Beth does such an amazing job teaching each year and I hope she won't retire before my kids make it to middle school :) I must say I feel old some years when I see the graduating class of BLHS and think...wait they were just in the concert as Santa or Rudolph or Suzy Snowflake, but last night I really felt my age!! Last night the sweet little 6th grader who picked up Eli and took him to sit under the Christmas tree with her was one of the flower girls in mine and Matt's wedding!!!!!! Yeah, umm how did that happen?! Isn't she still 5?? It was so crazy and weird and fun at the same time! She was part of something that allowed Eli to be here today even though he wasn't even a thought on that day! Now they're sitting together under the Christmas tree! WOW! The concert was a huge success (as always) and the Elvis Frosty the Snowman stole the show!! Another one down and already looking forward to the next!!

Sugar and spice and sass thrown in twice!

As you may have guessed I'm writing about my little girl today. My sweet HesterGrace, my spicy HesterGrace and my sassy-prissy walking-hand on her hip at all times HesterGrace. She is my girly girl...100%. No bugs, frogs or reptiles of any kind for this girl. We can't leave the house without her purse, a matching bow, her sunglasses and some "friend" for the trip. This usually is one of her babies, but does not exclude Minnie, Ariel, baby bear and "teeny" bear. And as every good mother knows, baby has to have a blanket!! She might be cold in this 95 degree South Carolina weather! Shame on me for being so thoughtless when I forget or try to rush her to the car without her necessary "items"! ;) If you've had the chance to meet her in person, you will agree she will priss right up and snuggle into your heart before you even have a chance.
Yes I have my work cut out for me with this one! Matt and I have talked about a third child and both agree we may not be able to handle any more girl after HG!! I had another mother at the dance studio cracking up when I came out of class the other day. My thought "Oh no what did she do now??" She told me HG asked very politely for a rice krispy treat. So she gave her one and opened it. HG looked at it and then said "pweese cut it up." So she cut it in half. HG looked at it and at her and said "in sqwwwaressss." She needed bite-size pieces. Nah she's not specific at all!! 
It amazes me how she is attracted to girl toys, colors and characters. I have honestly never pushed things on her. I mean I did give her my old Ariel doll and start the bow-sanity but I was always open to letting her play with her brother's toys. She didn't really have the urge. She loved to take DOWN his Thomas train set-up but what loving Godzilla-sister doesn't, right?! No, this one was wonderfully and fearfully made to be ALL GIRL! A few of her favorites right now are pink (yes, anything that is), Disney princesses, jewelry (out of mom's jewelry chest of course), shoes, playing babydolls and dancing! The babydolls in our house are treated like royalty. They each need to be swaddled in a blanket and laid down on a pillow. When you are given the baby to hold she asks you "pweeese be sweet to my baby." They are covered with kisses and gently rocked to sleep. It is like getting a sneak peek inside her heart. I know she is going to be an amazing young lady one day because the love inside of her spills out everywhere she goes. And the greatest of all is love, right? She reminds me to love, to love BIG and to love often.
When I'm at the end of my rope and wanting to have a crying fit of my own, she's there at my side giving me a kiss on my arm and saying "mommy I kiss your arm!" It melts my heart. Now don't get me wrong half the time I'm at my wits end is because of her sassy side!! She screams when Eli mistreats her babies or interrupts her singing or chases her with his pirate sword (understandable). She is stubborn as the day is long. Tell her you want her to eat a cookie and she says no because it wasn't her idea. She has a mind of her own and she plans on using it, thank you very much! My mom laughs at HesterGrace and looks at me and says with a smile "payback." I too liked to pick out my own clothes at age 2 and had a small, tiny really, stubborn streak ;)
But as I sit here in her room and watch her little chest rise and fall as she naps I can't help but fall in love all over again. I'll take the trying times. The dig in her heels and will not apologize times. The dramatic fall-on-the-floor because I stubbed my toe times. The sobbing in the "mad corner" times becaue she still has not apologized times. I'll take the bad with the good because that's who she is!
Some of my favorite HG quotes:
  She says:                                                         Translation:
Paint my ponytails                      paint my fingernails and toenails.
Strawbabies                                  strawberries
Baby soup                                     bathing suit
Not go out Mommy                    lay down with me tonight
My tummy hurts                         I've barely breathed or chewed during this meal and am full!

This list could go on, but I do have to go teach dance tonight so I will leave it there.
I'm just so excited to see what God has in store for her life. He surely did make her with a plan in mind. I sometimes have the fleeting thought I wish she was a baby again when I come across an old picture, but just as soon as I think it-here she prances into the room, kisses my arm (or forehead if I'm low enough) and skips out singing "Jesus loves the leeeetle cheeeeldren of tha wooollld" and I think nope, nevermind, I wouldnt go back and not have THIS!! I try not to dwell in the past but laugh with her today. Today is what we have. Hopefully many tomorrows too, but as far as those are concerned I'm just along for the journey...oh and to make sure baby is swaddled appropriately.
I'll leave you with some favorite pictures of my sugar and spice and sass thrown in twice!!

HesterGrace and Berkeley

First  beach trip

                                           

giggling girl

she didn't want to go inside



we must hold hands because we're bffs haha!

practicing my twirls

does this really need a caption?!

my general stance these days

it's the simple things

I was thinking today, as I dropped my kiddos off at preschool ONLY 5 minutes late, that we are so lucky. We, as moms, get to experience little simple joys every single day. When I was 21 and engaged I never would have gotten excited because the dishwasher was only half full when it ran last night therefore making my job short and sweet this morning. I never would have gotten excited about the bookshelf I re-organized still being in order two days after I finished that task (This is a monthly thing for me BTW-what part of tall to short and coloring books go 'here' do my 2 and 4 yr old not understand?! ;) ). I never would have gotten excited to find a shirt that A-fits, B-does NOT have spit-up stains on the shoulder and C- was actually HANGING in my closet!! That wasn't me today but that sure was "Hiliarie--mother of a 17 month old and 2 month old!" Yeah those were the good times! No, now I have matured to a place where only being five minutes late to preschool is a victory and a great way to kick off my Monday! (P.S. "Real" school next year for Eli is completely scaring me....you mean I have to have him up, dressed and at your school by 7:45?? Well we better stock up on cute PJs cause this kid will be rolling out of bed and into the car line!) Another example: I got excited today when I found two matching shoes for HesterGrace and suprise suprise they were actually the ones she wanted to wear!! She has decided she is a fashionista and should set her own wardrobe and style...nice try kid-you can't wear that because your pink cowgirl boots don't really jive with "The Little Mermaid" sundress and I saw you get that dress out of the dirty clothes basket...no I do not think your dance costume from last recital is appropriate for church or anywhere for that mattter...that Minnie Mouse shirt is a size 18 months, it's not suppose to show your belly button, it's suppose to meet your shorts, you're almost 3!! Ah the joys of having a little fashion designer in the house. Heck, maybe I should let her go with it-might end up on Project Runway one day!! And as I sit here in the den and realize after I finish this blog I will still have one whole hour to myself before I pick the kids up, I know that my life is truly all about little blessings!!

Yes, I feel sorry for that 21 year old me. Poor thing. She didn't have all the simple joys that I have now that I'm a mother of two. I pray my kids continue to teach me things each day and I can remember the little things are sometimes the greatest of all.