Opposites

This morning I came into the playroom and told the girls they needed to get dressed. Lizzie ran to her room in pure excitement over what wonderful outfit she might wear today. Anna Claire grabbed my hand and said, "Mommy, let's go to my room and get what you have picked out for me to wear today."
Later Lizzie said, "Mommy, I really like your shoes but let me show you a pair in your closet that I like better."
I am so thankful for the opposites in my girls! Anna Claire is so willful about EVERYTHING except clothes while Lizzie isn't too willful about anything except clothes!

Responsibilties & Happiness

Anna Claire eagerly assigned herself the job of feeding our dogs every day. After seeing the overflowing amount they got yesterday I think they won't need to be fed for the rest of the week!

We spent more time than we wanted to at Lowe's this weekend and Lizzie found her "happy place." Paint chips! If only we could get one of these paint companies to install one of these display cases in her bedroom. It would be "so rainbow!"

Valentine's

Happy Valentine's! We have had a great day! Anna Claire got to take Russ to school for a special breakfast - Donuts with Daddy. Unfortunately, poor Lizzie has an ear infection and did not get to go to school and missed her Valentine's party. To make matters worse, she picked her outfit for this special day right after Christmas! So Lizzie stayed with me today and "helped" me grocery shop. We also got ready for our fancy dinner. We have a cabinet in our dining room with beautiful china and crystal that we never use. Russ calls it the "cabinet of uselessness" and my sister says it's wasted on me. Well I had a great idea to have a fancy Valentine's supper complete with everything except silver. Table cloth - cloth napkins - candles ... I made pork tenderloin, baked sweet potatoes, black-eyed pea & avocado salad, fresh fruit, cornbread, and cookies with ice cream. We dressed up and let the girls pick out whatever "fancy" outfit they wanted to wear. It was fun! Lizzie LOVED it and Anna Claire tolerated it fairly well. We talked about manners, being polite, and the basics on how to act at a nice meal. I would not enjoy "fine dining" every night but we had a great time!

We also spent time reading 1 Corinthians 13 tonight and reflecting on true love - the love God has for us! Happy Valentine's Day!

Aubie & Big Owl

Since we registered the girls for the race they have been so excited to get to see Aubie and "Big Owl"at the finish line. At first I was confused until I realized they call Alabama's mascot "Big Owl" instead of Big Al.

Football is so ingrained into the minds of kids around here! I watched little boys give a big high five to Aubie and then run as fast as they could to get away from Big Al. And vice versa. So funny to watch!

(I apologize for the sideways photo - I don't know how to rotate it.)

Marathon Finishers!

All fall and winter our girls have been running 1 mile in PE every week, Runday Monday. They run 25.2 miles over many weeks at school then run the 26th mile downtown and get a medal. Since Russ and I are runners we LOVE it! Last year Russ ran with Anna Claire but today I ran with her and Russ ran with Lizzie. We had a great time!

Careers

Yesterday Anna Claire told us she knows what she wants to be when she grows up. I made a quick mental review of her two other career ideas she has told me:

4 years old - "a pirate ship lady"

5 years old - "author & illustrator"

Now at 6 years old she wants to be "the person at the White House that collects money for people to go in and see it." I love it!

Then I asked her if she knew what her daddy did at his job. She said "He's a 'multipatherapist'." I guess that's the 6-year-old dialect for physical therapist.

On a side note she and Lizzie tell people I'm a nurse but not a real one because I don't wear real nurse clothes!

Life from a 6 year old

Riding home from school today Anna Claire told me they celebrated the February birthdays in her class. She told me that Kate's mom brought triangle shaped donuts. She also brought napkins with "that boy who sings like a girl." I said, "Who?" "You know mom - JB - Justin Beiber!" I said, "He sings like a girl? Have you ever heard him sing?" She replied, "No, but that's what people say."