Another year is in the books!

I cannot believe another school year is over!  I am so proud of everything the girls accomplished this year, not only in the classroom but personally as well.  We don't pay for grades or offer bribes, in our house it is Steve's and my job to go to work and provide for our family and it is the girls job to go to school and always do their best, education is the most important thing they can be doing right now.  I remind them that one day they will be taking care of us and we have high standards :)!  

This year has been a year of heartbreaks figuring our who their true friends are, overfilled with excitement when goals they set for themselves became real, sadness of a fellow student passing away, trials of being a teenager and wanting some freedom, broken collar bone, lots of cheer and soccer, and most importantly a lot of fabulous memories made with great friends.  

As much as I hate my girls growing up I love each stage of life.  Being 13 is tough and I never want to be 13 again but I am so proud of the person Peyton is becoming.  She handles situation with such grace and calmness, all while filling our world with pink and glitter!  Lauren has really started to come out of her shell, she grew up so much this past school year and definitely keeps us on our toes with her funny and carefree attitude. I love that in her mind she is so much bigger than she really is, she is always ready to conquer the world. 

We are all excited for summertime, schedules relax some, we play outside more, our house is full of friends and the biggest decision you have to make is what flip-flops to wear!

Wishing you all a great, fun and simple summer!

-K 

I'm Back!

So after a very long vacation from my blog I have made it a priority to get back to posting more often.  Life is crazy and every time I would think about it something else needed done.

As I said when I started this blog will not save the world but if it makes you smile, gives you a great idea or you use it as a break from the real world then I have done my job!

Steve and I realized life was running faster than we were so we took a much needed long weekend to Dallas for Spring Break.  Four days of being together as a family with no schedule was exactly what we needed.  So we dropped the dog off, loaded the car with all the necessary road trip snacks and off we went to Great Wolf Lodge.  Great Wolf far exceeded any of my expectations.  From the moment we arrived the service was amazing!  My favorite part was we never had to leave the hotel, entertainment, food, and really amazing cookies and cupcakes were all located inside. 

After we checked in we headed to the water park.  First slide we went on was called the Hurricane, we all rode together and laughed and screamed the entire time.  When it was over Steve and I looked at each other like, um was that the best ride for our children to go on?  The girls thought it was the best thing ever and rode it many times.

Great Wolf has so many activities beside the water as well.  We bought the girls wands and set out to do "Quest" to become master Magi's.  After running up and down the hotel (thanks to Steve's Fit Bit we know we climbed over a 100 flights of stairs that weekend) completing quest and looking for clues the Earle Girls are now Master Magi's!

The point of this post is not to tell you what we did over Spring Break but to remind us all that it is OK to take a break from schedules, activities, work, EMAIL AND PHONES and just play.  It was definitely the break I needed so I could let some things go, help me remember that I can not be responsible for what others do only how I let if effect me and to refocus on my family and what we believe in.

Remember, when life throws you lemons make MARGARITAS! 
Karen

Day 7... Cox Radio

I am thankful for my job at Cox Radio.  I work with a talented group of people and have made some great friendships not only with my co-workers but clients too!  Everyday is something different, I get to be creative in helping my clients achieve their goals.

I have great bosses you understand my number one job will always be being a mom and have created a family friendly environment where that is possible!

Day 6... Friends

Day 6

I am so very thankful for my friends.  They are an amazing group of women.  Together we laugh, cry, laugh because we want to cry, encourage, support and occasionally drink :)! They are there for me at the drop of a hat and I will forever be greatful for their friendship.  Life gets busy and we dont talk everyday but they are forever in my heart.

And although they may not be "Aunts" to my girls I feel so blessed that Peyton and Lauren have them as role models in their lives.

Much love to these very special women....

Day 5... Sisters

Day 5

Today I am thankful for sisters! You can love and hate each other (sometimes all in the same day) but nothing will ever break a bond between sisters.  Sisters also make awesome Aunts, which I am thankful for as well...

I love the sisterhood my girls have.  They love and protect each other and dont think for one minute that when they are both involved that one will rat the other one out.  Lauren thinks Peyton hung the moon and while Peyton probably wont admit it right now she's pretty proud of Lauren too.

Day 4... Giggles

Day 4

Today I am thankful for little girl giggles!  I woke up to the sound of the girls laughing while they were upstairs playing together.  I know as they get older these days will not always happen so for now I will cherish being woken up to the sound of high-pitch little girl giggles!! 

Here is an old picture of Lauren that always makes me smile, she was full of giggles!

Day 3...

Day 3

Today I am thankful for beautiful Fall Saturdays!  We took advantage of the amazing weather to ride bikes, play at the park, feed the fish in the neighborhood pond and of course play a little soccer!

PS... I am also thankful to set the clocks back tonight! I can use all the extra hours I can get!!!!

Day 2...

We all know being 12 and in Middle School can be tough!  Those are definitley days I never want to do again.  So nothing makes this mom happier than to get a text from my girl saying this was an AWESOME DAY! 

So today I am thankful for AWESOME DAYS for this sweet girl!

The Month of Thanks

This post will be very short and sweet!  Today is November 1st, which means its the first day of the month of giving thanks.

Today I am thankful for these 3 people!  They are my entire world, and there are not enough words to describe how much I love them!!

Where did my babies go...

Without a doubt this day comes every year rather I'm ready for it or not.  The 1st day of school, such an exciting day for my girls but a hard day on this momma.  We have our traditions of back to school shopping, getting our supplies and of course the dilemas over what lunch box and back pack we get and do they match!  We also eat out the night before school, I say its so we aren't rushed in getting all of our stuff ready but really its just a great reason not to cook!

 So here we are August 16, 2012 and I now have a 2nd grader and a (pause as I am still getting used to saying this) 7th grader who is in Middle School.  As I took their pictures this morning I still see their sweet little faces from their Pre-K pictures. This will be a great year for both of them, full of new friends and experiences.  I just wish I could be with them to proctect and help them if needed.  I just have to remember that I am rasing strong, smart girls and even though I still see them as little they are growing up.

So as we start another school year and I look back on how they have grown and look forward to watching them grow even more my wish for them is to always believe in yourself and do what you know is right!

I love you sweet girls and everyday you make me so proud to be your mom!

And PS, just beware if anyone messes with my babies this Momma Bear will come out :)

It's Official....

OK, no surprise to anyone but I am a cheer mom! I start stressing the week of a competition, I have all the faith in the world of Peyton and her team I just want everyone else to know how great they are as well!

This weekends competition was no different, we packed all our shouter gear and headed to Kansas City. I woke up Saturday with the knot in my stomach and just kept saying we can do this, our girls know this routine inside and out. I get Peyton ready and make sure everything is perfect. I promise her eventually her head will stop hurting from all the bobby pins I jab into her skull, apply all the make up and give her hair one final spray of hair glue. All while never telling her how nervous I am. We get to the arena and meet up with her team, I give her one last hug and wish her good luck!

Then the waiting begins, I have my program and start taking notes. I apologize now to all the moms on other teams that I secretly am hoping for your daughters team to bobble or drop a stunt (I do not wish your child to get hurt, just loose a couple of points). Then they announce Twist and Shout Youth on deck, here it comes we are next. How embarrassed would Steve be if I just threw up right here? Now we're up, I try to sit still, but that does not happen. I'm up cheering, clapping and holding my breath. It literally is the longest 2:30 minutes and we have to do it all again tomorrow!

Day 2 starts the same, we are going into the finals in 1st place! All the parents sit in the exact section as yesterday, and almost in the same order. We decide today to go sit in the parents area when the girls perform. We didn't yesterday so of course we are hoping that doesn't jinx anything. I'm so glad I did because the routine was awesome and at one point I was able to make eye contact with Pey and give her a look of you've got this!

Now we wait for awards, will have to update later on that...

I've decided that it's OK that I'm a little crazy with this competive thing, I call it a sign of how much I love my kids and how awesome I think they are!

My saving grace is that the girls are like Steve and never crack under pressure!!

So if you ever find me passed out from holding my breath during their routines, it's OK just throw some glitter on me and keep cheering!!
Karen

She's an Earle what do you expect!!

I wish I had a picture from this because I'm sure it was a sight to be seen!

Last Wednesday was a beautiful night so we decided to end our day by heading to the park. We ended up in our neighbors driveway talking and the kids were playing. Well Lauren decided to play basketball, nothing real exciting about that right??

Here's where it gets comical :) she asked me to play, ok for those of you who know me I might be missing a few requirements for being a basketball star. But we played anyway. She was having so much fun and actually scored once that I didn't have the heart to tell her that 1. She was using a soccer ball not a basketball and 2. and when you score it's not called a goal!

Oh well she's an Earle and speaks the Earle native language of soccer!!!

Have a great weekend
Karen

Follow your own Trail!

So many times as parents I think we get so caught up in the day-to-day stuff," the parent guilt", and making sure we are living our lives to the format we "think" we are supposed to live that we forget it's OK to make your own trail!

 Lauren reminded me of this recently as she crawled onto my lap to thank me for giving her the best day.  To me it was just a day but not to her.  Want to know why this is the best day ever she asked?  Because we went to BBD for breakfast, I have a wiggly tooth, I get to spend the night with Nanny and Pop-Pops and Peyton gave me her old I-Touch and now it's mine!

So as you are juggling and re-juggling your schedule to make everything work (which magically it always does) remember to take the time to live life on the same level as your child.  I have to stop and remind myself that the girls dont really care  if the house is spotless, if all the laundry is put away or the beds are made. What they do care about is that on a beautiful Sunday afternoon I said who cares about the house, let's go on a hike (which, of course we got lost, but I reminded them we were not lost we were on our on trail!)

Walk on the trail that is best for you and your family, it's amazing that without even trying you can make memories that will last forever!

Have a great Monday...
Karen

My favorite month...

For many reasons February is my favorite month. January to me is cold and gray and a reminder that the beauty and magic of Christmas is over. I'm a warm weather girl and so by February I'm done with cold weather, I do like coats but really prefer just to collect them! February means warm weather is near, store windows are full of bright clothes, we start planning our family vacation and the girls start counting down to Spring Break and the end of school.

Yes February is the month of love, but shouldn't we be showing love and appreciation everyday?

So whatever your favorite day/ month is celebrate it big, but don't forget to celebrate all the other days as well...

Karen

If we could only keep them in a bubble...

As parents we never want our children to be upset or feel defeated, especially after they have given everything they have inside to something they love so much. This weekend Peyton had a cheer competition and what started out so perfect ended with many tears. It was one of those moments that as a mom I wanted time to freeze and rewind but unfortunately there are not mommy powers that allow us to do that. Instead I just had to watch and somehow figure out how to make it be OK. As soon as I finally got to her and we made eye contact, the tears started for both of us and I wrapped my arms around her as fast as I could (sweet Lauren just stood there holding onto both of us). Why, is all she kept saying, we had it going into today, why did it fall apart? I let her just cry for a few minutes, then I did my best to say something to make it better, but I know her she did not want to hear any of my momisms at that moment, she wanted out of that building. I grabbed her back pack and out the door we went hand in hand. Her dad and I told her that yes what happened sucked, and we know she is hurting but how she handles it from this point on is what matters. It did take her awhile to stop crying, but as we drove in silence (Lauren still holding Peyton's hand), she slowly stopped crying and started talking about the things that did go right.

My sweet Pey, you are such an amazing girl and I am so proud of of you! Life isn't always fair, and we don't always know why. One thing I do know is that you are loved so very much and as much as I wish I could make every day perfect for you, I know I cannot but after seeing you pull yourself back together today it just proved how strong you are and how well you can handle life's obstacles!

But I still wish I could just keep them in a bubble....
Karen

My little Ducks...

So Peyton is on a 3 day field trip for school and I know she will have a great time, but this Momma Duck does not do well when all of her ducks are not at home!  My entire schedule is thrown off, instead of driving all over getting the girls here and there I have 3 nights of nothing!!  As exciting as that seems, I am a schedule person so I am not sure what to do when my schedule changes!  I know I have to let the girls grow up, but how I wish my little ducks could just stay little...

Hope everyone has a great night!

Tubs on Porches

So I am a big fan (and a little jealous) of people that have businesses that require them to have a tub on their porch.  Why? Because inside those tubs are the cutest things!  My first "Tub on the Porch" Award goes to the Amazing Terra and Tickled Sew Pink! For those of you who know Terra I am sure you will agree she deserves this award and so much more! Here is how my conversations usually go with Terra... Me: "I know the girls have been counting down the end of school for 3 weeks now but I totally forgot to get Teacher Gifts" Terra: " No problem I will let you know when they are ready". Then I get an email and just like magic I have something cute to pick up from the "Tub on the Porch"  Like I said, I have found many people who help make my life easier and my sweet friend Terra ranks at the top!!!

So I'm going to start a blog...

OK, I have decided to start a blog.  Why some of you might be asking?  For several reasons 1. I love talking about my kids and wanted a way to be able to remember everything that they do and how they keep Steve and I entertained! and 2. In my job I have come across many wonderful things that help me out as a mom and wanted to have a place to share these things with all my fellow moms!  As much as we want to believe we can do it all, we really cant (but we will keep that a secret among us) so with my blog I will share services I have found that have made my life much easier!!

I hope you will read it from time to time atleast for a smile.  My goal is to keep this light and fun and to give you a break from the real world!

Well I must go pick the girls up from tumbling, so have a great night and remember when life gives you lemons just make margaritas! (Thank you Amber for telling me about that shirt, it is my new motto)
Karen