princessgrumpy

Crazy Hair Day (or so I hope)

2008-06-27T06:34:00.000-07:00

Adrian has spent all week telling me about "Crazy Hair Day" at her summer program. That it was Friday, that she can't wait!

Remember Adrian wants long hair so bad! After almost 5 years her hair is actually almost growing and she even got almost a real cut the last time I took the rest to see Miss Sarah at Custom Cuts!

So she is really excited when there is anything to do with her hair! She so wants to wear pony tails and braids and other things like her friends and her sisters. She brushes their hair and does mine almost every day!

So today she bounded into my room at 4 am reminding me it was crazy hair day and I had to make sure we did something cool! (Side note, summer camp doesn't even start till 8:45 am........ and getting her out of bed before 8:15 has been a challenge!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I get her a drink and send her back to bed..... I get up and get Colin & Melea up at 6:20 to get ready for school..... get them off on the bus.... try to make my coffee, but no here comes my reminder that it is crazy hair day.... I suggest putting in "bugs" from Colin's bug game or maybe some bones or legos............... Possible her resistance to this should have been my first clue! I start to get worried that she might be making up the concept!

Grumpy says "NO" she just wants barrettes and a lot of pony tail holders!

So we spend about 15 minutes trying to put in barrettes and other items.... she wants nothing that matches her outfit, nothing that matches another AND SHE WANTS HAIR SPRAY!!!!

I am really starting to get worried............ is there really a crazy hair day or is Grumpy making it up!!!!

But she is proud and so excited! She loved school this summer, and other than driving her everyday and wasting time and gas....so has mommy! It is nice to see her in a room with a lot of kids and we have had five play dates and she is just very pleased and happy all the time!

Daddy drops her off (I even let her wear her flip flops...... another story and argument most of the summer so far) SO I go the biggest hug as she is leaving "cause I LOVE YOU MOMMY.....you are the best mommy ever". She bounces off to daddy's car! All smiles and happy......

I get my 15 minutes of alone time with my coffee, her blog and I am just praying there really is a crazy hair day..................

Phone...... She was right..... It was and daddy says by far she had the craziest.... though he thought the bugs would have been cute too!

If you are princess dress like one!

2008-01-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

Did you know that princesses like pink!

Well my little Grumpy just loves pink and all bright colors, and most of the time she likes to wear as many of them as she can at any given moment

Yesterday however she was so in her element that it even scared me.

I have been letting her be somewhat independent at picking out her own clothes lately. .....It sure cause a whole lot of less fights in the morning..... but she wanted the most unusual items.

First she picked the plaid mauve/ purple bloomer skirt; then a pink flowered turtle neck , followed by her paisley hoodie and a pink cardigan. At first I thought she got all of these items, cause she wasn't really sure which top she wanted......OH HOW WRONG I WAS!

Her actual intention was to wear all of the clothes.... well at least she asked for just "pink" tights. SO I get those from the closet... come back with the "tame" solid pink tights and I hear my favorite grumpy stamp followed by "MOM..... MOMMY" pause here for dramatic effect to get the correct amount of irritation and the correct amount of insistence "how can you be so stupid.... only the pink flowers will go with this.!"

I breathe a sigh of relief and at least thank heaven she said the flowers not the stripes.....so I get out the really subdued floral pair..... no finger shaking and a few stomps and I hear " mom the stripe flowers". I think I am visually cringing at the thought of this combination and Eric is laughing so hard as he is putting on one of Colin's foot braces.... that it just brings so much levity to the room soon they are all laughing.

So our Princess Grumpy is as usual one that stands out in a crowd! I start doing hair and braid on her big sister and then I hear her come over and she then ask me "where is my pok-a-dot headband ?"

Oh I guess every princess needs a crown to complete her unique ensemble.

And all I can say after squeezing and pulling her burgundy and pink coat on (cause of the four sweaters) that I am so glade she didn't want the pink suede boots. She just settled for the buster brown mary janes with pink flowers!

So off to school goes my beautiful and very colorful little girl. Ironically it seems that she doesn't seem to care what others think and maybe all us old people are just wishing we could be princesses again and where whatever we want!

The Belle Dress

2007-12-25T21:12:00.000-08:00

The hardest thing to imagine for any parent.... a few days before Christmas.... OK AT LEAST FOR ME..... is to hear that my child wanted something I didn't even know about let alone even could go out and buy if I wanted to!

Well our little Princess Grumpy did this to me! We were sitting snuggling in the bed watching sponge bob, when she sat up straight and said "Mommy do you have a pen and paper?"

I was surprised and she said " I need to leave Santa a note... I forgot something!". At first I am not to concerned, cause we have been taking about what we wall wanted for weeks, and I got everything on her list and all the the lists Adrian wrote for the other kids.

But she starts writing..... "Dear Santa,...... I forgot to tell you I want you to bring me a Belle dress and Melea wants a pink princess dress like Sleeping Beauty. I am sorry it is late, but I know you will have an extra set and I really did forget Your special friend Adrian (the one with the curly hair)"

She then jumps out of bed and runs this into the living room to put in her sock for Santa to find when he comes the next day! I realize that there is absolutely no way this is happening.... there were no Belle dresses at walmart and she has really gotten to tall for the "normal" one size fits all ones in the toy section... I needed to buy this at Halloween or order it a long time ago!

Eric comes down and puts her to bed and then asks what all the fuss was about and I tell him..... he laughs a little and says she won't remember. It will be no big deal.

Well grandma is supposed to pick Grumpy and Melea up the next day to spend the night...... I still need to finish making the doll beds and make the sheets and blankets for them, and grandma volunteered to take them to see Alvin & the Chipmunks (My savior...cause I never really was a chipmunk fan at all!)

The last thing she says to me and Daddy as she is leaving is.... I forgot to check to see if Santa got my note...... and she runs back upstairs to see if it is gone.... then next thing I know she is in tears cause neither on of us remembered to take it.... so it is suddenly " Santa didn't get my note......what about Melea's dress....I forgot..... and I really meant to do it sooner,...... mom?"

Being the good mother that I am.... I mention that it is 2 days before Christmas and Santa probably already has the sleigh packed and there is no time for special gifts, and he will likely tell the Valentine's fairy or the Easter bunny when he does get the note tonight. DUMB DUMB DUMB. Cause she is so sure that she has been a good girl and Melea is the best sister that when Santa sees the note he will have the dresses, cause he is Santa and knows everything. I mention that remember mom buys the presents and didn't she remember us wrapping them. And that Santa brings the candy and takes the list..... DOES NOT WORK!

I actually want to cry cause this really is important to her. And I know there aren't any dresses at Walmart and I always swore I would never EVER be one of those last minute shoppers.

So off she goes to Grandma's with Melea...... and off I go to my craft room. I start painting the polyurethane on the doll beds! At the same time I am listing to Harry Potter #7 on CD (gave up reading with child #4) and it must have been the fumes cause I start digging through the fabric closet looking for fabric to sew some dresses!

I am determined to make those two dresses! As stupid or as ridiculous as it seems, to Princess Grumpy those dresses all of a sudden became important to her therefore they became important to ME.

I never really wanted my children to believe in Santa, but at that moment I did want her to believe in something and I new somehow I could fix it.... I was just praying it did not involve a trip to Walmart or Michael's.

Well I found a few old curtains, about 21/2 yards of yellow fabric and I always have velcro..... so I started to sew... and about 6 hours later I had two beautiful lined princess dresses (of course there were no hoop skirts.... that was not in the cupboard nor was there any crinoline!) but they were really pretty.... I knew 13 years of theater tech work would pay off for something! I had a tone of fabric and even more skill of turning household stuff in to magic.

I wrapped up the dresses and then proceeded to take all the present upstairs. We were opening gifts on Christmas eve cause Grandma had to work Christmas day at the hospital.

When Adrian arrived at the house that evening she was so excited, but then she said..."mom did Santa get my letter?"then she and ran off to check. EGADS.... I forgot to take the letter!

She came back and said... "Oh, well, you were right he was too busy, and that's ok mom.... we really don't need them, I know he was to busy!"

We eat dinner and then we open the presents!

Adrian is very excited with her "My Twinn doll" and all the clothes that mommy sewed for it.

She then opens her special "dress" and makes the greatest face..... and says thank you mom! She puts it on and models it and twirls and spins like a beautiful Princess Grumpy! She loves her special dress. She is also appropriately excited when she sees that Melea got her Aurora dress also.

Eventually we get grandma off to home, all the other children are in bed and Adrian is helping me clean up and she hugs me again and says "Merry Christmas mom, I love you so much". I ask why? and she states "the dresses!" I know that Santa didn't bring them! You did.

At first I am ready for the there is no Santa talk.... but she just looks up at me and hugs me again and states " He just didn't have time to get the letter and you are a great big elf and made them for us! like the other gifts that were in the closet". And she put my elf hat back on and kisses me on the cheek. I look at her a little strange, and I then she tells me.....

"and they are so way prettier than the ones Santa would have bought at Walmart anyways!...... I love you! ......Merry Christmas you are the best mom!"

I wish I could say she then scampered off to bed like a good little girl... but alas there was some more games to try out and a video to watch before she fell asleep at about 12:30 am on the floor amid her Sponge Bob operation game and her brother's Hungry Hungry hippos.

But even if I was really tired and completely insane for sewing two beautiful princess gowns..... Seeing her and Melea smile made my Christmas complete.

Merry Christmas Grumpy Fans!

Grumpy in NYC part 3

2007-11-10T16:42:00.000-08:00

They also got to do some other tourit things, Like the Science & History Museum (or where they filmed the the "Night at the Museum" movie...Adrian kept looking to see if the diaramas moved!

They went to Toys R US to get a stroller after Eric got tired of carring her on his shoulders. I think that was just Dad's excuse to see all the Lego's and the Lego buildings there!

Grumpy in NYC part 2

2007-11-06T16:33:00.000-08:00

Adrian and Daddy got to see several Broadway shows while in NYC!

She went to Les Mis on Wed evening,

She saw the Grinch on Saturday Morning with Aunt Karen & Daddy and then took them both to see Lion King that evening too!

Sunday she got to see one of the Premier shows of the "Little Mermaid

Princess Grumnpy's NYC trip photos Part 1

2007-11-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

Adrian had a great trip to NYC with her daddy last week!

After Adrian's first memorable (in her memory) plane ride, and then a taxi and subway ride she got to see Aunt Karen in Les Miserable!

Her and daddy then did the normal tourist stuff for the next few days..... which I believe included a trip to central park, the zoo, the empire state building, and every single playground they came across.

Adrian needed to get tired out so she would sleep in Aunt karen's apartment.

While we are waiting for Princess Grumpy's trip information

2007-11-03T07:33:00.000-07:00

I thought I would make a list of actual statements the I have said OUT LOUD to her in the last month:

"Please take your underwear off your head!"

"Did you really mean to stick your shoes in the toilet?"

"What your trying to tell me is that you WANT a peanut butter & honey sandwich (after she spent almost 10 minutes in a "charades" type of pantomime when I asked her what she wanted for lunch!"

"No you may not put your brother in the dishwasher for his bath!"

"Diapers are for wearing on your bottom!!! Please do not put them on your sisters' head! But thanks for telling me that I needed to change Eliza anyways!"

"Miranda is not a chew toy!! Please don't tease the cat with her!"

"Knives are not for throwing!!!!!! and neither are forks!!!!!!!!"

"No Adrian.... you can't get into the baby swing with Jordan! It is not big enough".... then I

"When I told you to shut the refrigerator door....you were air conditioning the whole house.....I meant for you to be on the outside of the refrigerator!!!"

"Please remember you are only 4 and have a whole life to eat at McDonald's" (In response to her telling me over the phone she ate 2x at Mc Donald's on her vacation with daddy in NYC so far! I wanted her to experience something cool & neat that we would never get in here)

AND THE BE ALL END ALL OF THINGS I HAVE SAID RECENTLY!!!

"DO NOT LICK THE CONVEYOR BELT!!!"

Who would have ever thought I would have to tell my "typical" daughter this!!!! She actually cut her tongue and freaked out a manager and a cashier at a huge local chain store!!! So if you ever see a sign when you are in line one day that says " Please don't lick the conveyor"....you can thank Princess Grumpy!!!

Princess Grumpy is off to NYC

2007-10-31T12:08:00.000-07:00

Adrian is off to NYC with her DADDY on Halloween!!! SHe is so excited....her first plane ride (that she can remember) new clothes; several broadway shows (Little Mermaid, Lion King, Les Mis & the Grinch) , central park, the Empire State Building, and lots of subways and taxis!!!!

She has new shoes, two beutiful dresses, great sparly shoes and her awesome smile.....

I will post some photsos and details of her trip when she gets back!!!

SO BEWARE AA & NYC....Princess Grumpy is on way!

Christmas is Coming!!!!

2007-10-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

Princess grumpy is so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!! CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!!!!!!!!!! We saw Santa and whole lot of really cool Christmas blow ups yesterday at Lowe’s.

It doesn’t seem to matter to her (or most major department stores) that we haven’t even passed Halloween yet. Heck…I haven’t even gotten out our ghosts and such! I am actually a little behind this year too!

She is making her list and putting all kids of toys on it. Many of which I have never even heard of ….but be aware Mattel and Hasbro and Playskool and all other sponsors on Nickelodeon …. your advertisers commercials are being watched an committed to the memory of my little four year old!!!! So basically all those companies wondering if your dollars spent are worth it .... they are doing just what you had planned!!! And in regular Princess grumpy fashion my little daughter WANTS IT ALL!!!

Adrian is going over catalogs, circling what she wants…. She tries to get me, daddy or grandma to stroll through the toy aisles at Wal-Mart so she can see if there is anything new and to point out what we might not have heard her say last night during “Sponge Bob”. She even attempted to explain to me why we needed to go to “Toys R Us” today!!! (I try to never take more than two children at a time there it can leads to insane moments and usually some screaming…on my part!)

I often wonder if my lists were this long…..I wonder if she will be disappointed when she doesn’t get all the “new” Dora the Explorer dolls and outfits that she has listed …as if having new Princess Ariel dolls wasn’t enough Dora is a mermaid now too! I remember being disappointed and being sad as a child when Santa didn’t pay attention to what I wrote. I really hope we still get one more year where one of the six children isn’t pouting or crying because they didn’t get what they wanted!

To be fair to “grumpy” she is making lists for all the other children too…and they even have a few toys on it that they might like too! (because I am sure that Colin getting Barbie’s car is exactly what he wants). She also is making a list of toys she wants me to buy for the “Giving Tree” and for the Toys for Tots. Though I think her give to others list is almost as long as her personal one. I asked her why and of course it was because she “thought they would like everything I do”…..and then I got my favorite response “Mom…you said I should give more than I receive”….this brings me back to last weekend’s birthday parties…. “So I am giving away more…I will get a little less than I give away”.

I love when she paraphrases me…but misses the point. And when did new math come back to the school curriculum!!!

I know this will not be the last Christmas item you hear about Grumpy & Me…it is just Early October and we have so many stores we haven’t been to yet! Heck I wish I was the one taking her to NYC at the end of the month….I want daddy to take a photo when he takes her to FAO Schwartz my favorite catalog as a child!

Today I made us both smile!

2007-10-04T21:53:00.000-07:00

I did something today I swore I would never do ...by the way DO NOT EVER SWEAR you won't do something as parent...because this has bitten me in the bottoms so many times.

I bought my littleGrumpy "Disney Princess cereal". I actually cringed when I saw it on the shelves months ago...and we all know my kids need more sugar.... LOL. But she has asked for it a few times before today, and I was weak and it was in the clearance aisle.

Actually I am way to much of cheapscape to buy $2.98 for a 10 oz box of high fructose corn syrup, other additives, and a few nutritionally good grains and a well placed copy written image.! Generally speaking our family usually prefers generic imitation cherrios from Aldi's.

However today it happened to be in the clearance aisle for fifty cents I stared at it for a while... I really thought a whole lot about it...will I spoil her...will I ruin her taste for good cereal...am I trying to buy an afternoon of peace... what was my real motive here? Well I put two boxes in our cart because I knew that in bringing it home this magic little box would make me "queen" for the day with my Princess!

I also bought about 240$ of groceries, and I got her, Colin and Melea some winter pj's. Grumpy got the Sponge Bob ones she asked for last week end, Colin got cars and Melea got Dora.

I really was excited to show my Princess what I had purchased for her. To let her know I think about her when she is at school and to basically give her something so she doesn't whine that I didn't take her to Wal-Mart (OK not so much the last one...but I love shopping with only one or two children ...and not Adrian it happens so much quicker)

Now just like everyday...the preschool bus drops her and her sister off about 11:50 am and I am still carrying in groceries. She jumps into my arms and hugs me and tells me she loves me, the nurse carries Eliza in and sets he on the bench ...where Eliza falls asleep. Adrian then helps me unload and carrying the rest of the groceries. She actually voluntarily does this...she loves helping me with this...and most of the time she is excellent at this.

She is tired when we get done and plops herself down and she sees my McDonald's iced coffee cup. She squeals "Mom you went there where is my stuff? She starts screaming after I tell her I didn't get her anything....this finally stops after about 3 minutes of fake wailing. I start making sandwiches for her and two of her sisters. I ask her to find me the honey...so she starts digging through the sacks so gleefully...first she finds the Sponge Bob PJ's and just goes wild! Mom this and mom that....then I remind her I need the honey...well I am told you have to wait mom....and off she goes to try on her Sponge Bob's.

She returns a few minutes later in a yellow porifera covered top and pants ...and then resumes digging for the honey. She finds the honey and then goes back to helping me separate out the goods while I finish the sandwiches.

Then she spots the little cereal box....This time she is so excited that the noise is bursting out of her...she dances around with her box, and gets a bowl and now wants cereal only....which is good cause I thought this might happen and only made two sandwiches. So then Grumpy pours the cereal and starts to narrate the whole process of eating this cereal...and how cool Cinderella is...and how neat Disney World will be and ....on...on...on she goes. I also got a few "mom your the best"....and "mom you love me so much"..... I actually start to feel bad...I gave in and she learned nothing and she thinks I am cool cause I bought it...what lesson was I actually teaching her. At that moment I was concerned that it wasn't a good one and I was afraid that this would come back to haunt me for many years to come!

So I was going to have to live with the fact that I bribed my daughter, fed her a horribly non nutritious product, and gave in on something I told her I would never get her. I momentarily had horrible visions of Adrian having a screaming / crying fit as teenager wanting a "pink princess car"...and me giving in and getting her one, even on clearance this would be bad idea.

Oh what had I been thinking at Wal-Mart. I bought her some junkie food that looked a lot like "pink frosted flakes" but sort of tasted like a flaky little pop tart with "pink" flavoring. It was actually wasn't to bad if you like frosted flakes...but would I buy it again, would I give in and get her something she "just had to have"...NO! I have to teach her an important lesson...you don't always get what you want.

Well I went back to putting away the groceries and wondering what a "pink Disney Toyota" was going to cost me and Eric in 2019...then I turned and watched her...she poured a bowl for Eliza and a bowl for Miranda....she was sharing and I had not even "asked" her too. She then announced she would give Melea some when she got home if she wanted some.

OK...now thinking less about how bad this was "giving in" and more about how cool it is she is sharing, and thinking of others.... pink princess car drifts out of my mind...the Adrian gets up and dumps the rest of the box of cereal in the trash and I almost faint! What is up with that I wonder. I start to scream...but then stop myself (it was only 50 cents)....I just watch and then she starts to fill the box with cheerios.

I ask her if she hates the cereal? My little Grumpy turns to me and smiles and says " Mom...you know it is what is inside that really counts! Right? ....so can we just put the cheerios in here (the Princess cereal box)...this stuff tastes like crap! But the box is cool!"

Salsa with a spoon!

2007-10-03T21:42:00.000-07:00

Adrian’s favorite place to eat in the WHOLE world (or at least her little part of it) is at our favorite little Mexican joint! Adrian loves to sit outside on the patio, as well as sitting inside in the winter! For Adrian it is never too hot to sit on the patio…104 degrees she can always be heard saying “mom” can we go for MEXICAN? ….Please….oh please!”

Well I swear this desire for Mexican mist have started in utero! I love Mexican food and craved the hot and spicy salsa from there all the time when I was pregnant with her. I even think she started with salsa on her ships at about one year and now she eats it with a spoon! She has to laddle it on each chip....must have her own bowl and little jar to go with her salt!

The funny thing is Adrian prefers to order the chicken nuggets and then gets the frijoles. DO NOT call the beans, she hates beans by the way…won’t eat them in soup, or baked ones, or chili. So she gets these instead of the fries…those are a French food according to my Grumpy.

Once she gets her plate she dunks her nuggets in the salsa and then in the beans… but the funny thing is after she finishes her chicken. She then makes what mom calls “roll ups” with tortillas and her extra frijoles. “Roll ups” look just like a bean burrito….except…well actually they are bean burritos…and she usually makes three of them to eat! So my question is am I lying or just pretending or is just a little fib or just being creative?

One think I have learned having Adrian is how to manipulate her to do what I want...most of the time as long as it doesn't include sleep. This “roll up thing” was an accident, suggest by the former manager of the restaurant caus eshe was always interested in the sizzling fajitas and Adrian couldn't pronounce that word...so we started calling them "roll ups".

Our restaurant also serves Mexican pizza (tostada’s), sizzlers (grilled shrip roll ups), meat rolls (taquitos). I had those "meat rolls" last night and she ate my leftovers for lunch today with soy sauce cause she thinks they are a type of egg roll. Creativive or maybe it was cause I was out of salsa (almost an immortal sin in our home).

We also have a few humorous things we call stuff at home too….”dot” for pancake syrup (cause you get a dot the size of a quarter), green beans are “strings” because if I use the “bean” word she will not eat it, she loves honey on her peanut butter sandwiches which we call “but nut” (don’t ask) and she has an oh NOT so endear phrase for the “butter” you put on popcorn! (thanks to Colin) And just like her mom at her age…Adrian confuses cauliflower and broccoli. So I always have to ask “Do you want the green cauliflower?" or "Did you mean the white broccoli..." when she tells me that she wants one of those two for dinner.

Well at least my Grumpy loves her vegetables!

Second day in the blog 31 for 21 challenge

2007-10-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

see our family site for what this is. So I am trying to do it on both of our blogs!!!

Really we didn't have to much from Grumpy yesterday. She was very tired and I think she is getting sick..she actually fell asleep just before dinner and slept through till this morning. Of course Jordan took his position at making sure I still didn't sleep through the night.

SO there was little of her and her fun grumpy issues yesterday!

But I have a question to pose....how do you get dried playdough out of grout lines and carpet?

Birthdays are fun...only when they are for Grumpy!

2007-10-01T13:19:00.000-07:00

We had a whole lot of family fun Saturday. We went to two different birthday parties and had actually been invited to two others. I’ve got some popular children!!! I really like the all or none rule our school has for allowing invites to be passed out there. It sure means that at least for a while all of my kids (those with 47 and those with 46 chromosomes) have an equal chance of getting an invite.

At the first party I enjoyed watching my children interact with all the guests. Colin was shying away from the girls (it was a princess party) and hanging with the guys…course all the guys were actually making over my baby Jordan for awhile….go figure.

It really is fun to go at talk to other parents too. This party is always one of my favorites, because the little girl has an older brother with Down syndrome and it gives me hope to see how much an integral part of the family he is and how much fun he is having. He told me all about his new school and all of his new friends. I really hope that Colin can get that animated and talk to me about stuff like that someday.

The actual coolest part of the first birthday party for me was watching Melea play the “musical finger nail painting game.” Melea was just so excited every time one particular shade of pink got to her that she would hide it and wait for the music to stop so she could paint with that one! It really was a great game and Melea had so much fun getting her nails done with her little girl friends. She even really was attempting to communicate and play with the girls and ignored her sisters…. Oh how age appropriate… And like all little girls I know who had to bring their little sisters to a friend’s party.

Some days I really have to look so hard to find something different between mine with the extra chromosome and those with the typical number. Most of the girls were in Melea or Colin’s kindergarten classes, but we took all the kids. I thought Adrian would have fun too, and we had to attend another party afterward for the children of a family friend. It was actually amazing for me to watch my very talkative and outgoing little Adrian become shy and reserved. I think most of this was due to the new location and the fact she didn’t really know anyone but the party girl. It is interesting to actually sit and see how she interacts with “typical” children in a strange situation.

Adrian just seemed out of her element there though. I really would have thought that she would have enjoyed the fingernail painting game…but the next thing I new she had disappeared Of course this “shy and quite young lady” disappeared and was replaced by the gregarious little Princess Grumpy when we got to our friend Max’s house….Adrian was so ready to see her best friend Max!!! She loves this little guy!!!! He is one of her many “boyfriends” and she seems to plan on marrying a different one of them each day. But for our poor little Princess the rude awakening was not over yet.

Her best friend Max has a few other friends to celebrate his birthday with …..Besides our six children….and why not he is one cool little guy. They were also celebrating his little sister’s first birthday. Of course my kids all had ulterior motives by this point in the party game! Colin & Eliza wanted to eat dinner (Kimberly’s famous spaghetti), Jordan wanted mommy (oh the ironic surprise there), Melea wanted to jump in the bounce house, and Miranda was just really tired (she has another ear infection). Of course Adrian just wanted MAX!!!!

Max is her friend and she really was excited to pick out his presents. We brought him a boring present….flash cards….but to Adrian these are the coolest things and she loves them so much she thinks everyone wants them. However Adrian was really surprised to see her BFF with others from his school. It gave her a start…but then our little princes…just put Grumpy into overdrive!

She put on her “one volume” only, she kept inserting herself into everything he was doing and trying to get Max’s attention no matter what she did. Sounds bad…but remember they are five and four years old….. So in her case she chased Max and his friend with a toy claw that had a hand pincher at the end ….she threw toys at them….she took his food… pretty much wanted him to play with just her. But at this party she was her normal Princess Grumpy self. Not the little shy girl we had experienced several hours earlier.

As her mom…I liked seeing her a little out of element earlier…and believe it or not I really do love my Princess Grumpy!

Today's Bad haircut!

2007-09-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

Today I really am no longer pretending to be a mom.

After six children …both biological and adopted…you would think I would have conquered this issue already. But before we were ever parents I made up a least of things that had to happen to make me feel like the “real” parent and not a “stand in” Today that happened. The last thing uncompleted ….was child cuts hair with scissors !

Well today my beautiful Eliza was given a haircut by Princess Grumpy!

I have been trying to get Eliza’s hair to grow and get longer since she moved in almost one year ago. Her hair was really stringy and has a ton of cowlicks (common in some children with ds) as well as children with certain medical issues. We worked hard on this and she finally had a whole new head of hair and I could get some pony tails in the little bob.

Adrian came home from school and wanted to play beauty shop….not that strange she loves to do hair. She had Eliza sit in our little chair and got out her tools. I took Jordan and Miranda for a diaper change. I told her I would be right back for Eliza and we needed to eat lunch because Miranda’s PT was coming soon.

I was out of the room for a few minutes (less than 5) and I had the intercom on. You would think that I would know Grumpy by no…no noise is not good. I changed the diapers and got the littlest one set to eat. I come back and I can’t find either of them and there are dark brown tresses on the floor.

First I think that Adrian or Eliza has pulled out some “doll’s hair. I start looking for the kids …again not a really good sign….I find Eliza sitting under the table showing off her new haircut to the cat. Adrian is still hiding. I am utterly amazed at how she knows what she did is not good and hides and then lies about it. (Four year old’s for ya!)

I yell and send her off to her room…she goes way to easily by the way…which means she really knows this was bad! I start to get Eliza out and it is not just a chunk….she made her look like Tinkerbelle!!!! And what is even worse…it really isn’t that bad! Especially for a little girl her age.

I cry a little, cuss a lot…sorry for all OT’s names I took in vane who really felt my children needed to learn to use a scissors…I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN!!! And just in time too…. next week are school pictures for the preschool crowd….yikes.

Adrian is in her room…there are no tears…none of the usual fake screaming…she knows she is in big trouble. I tell her I will bring her lunch to her room because she is not coming out for a while.

I make her sandwich start everyone else eating and call our favorite hair stylist shop. All the while praying she is there today….cause cutting Eliza’s hair is like cutting a moving target and our Sarah is great at this…. Basically we really don’t want anyone to touch the kids hair she is that awesome and they usually make it that difficult. I am in luck because she will be there till 3 pm!!! Good news for me!

I get a babysitter (thanks SH) and am getting ready to run out the door with Eliza…Princess Grumpy yells down the hall…”mommy, can you go ahead and yell at me….the longer you wait the more mad I know you are going to get….when you get so mad and don’t yell I get really scared….I really am sorry …I hate it when you are disappointed in me….so please yell at me so I can feel better”. I tell her when I get back we will TALK about this….but for right now she is safer in her room.

After Adrian but before Sarah!

I take Eliza to McDonald’s to pick up a happy meal, Miss Sarah squeezes us in ....THANK SO VERY MUCH!!! Miss Sarah! She was so awesome and was able to fix it (course I wanted the pony tails back…not able to do that. But she marvels that other than a few places she really did a good job for her age…I realize that I couldn’t have done better than my four year old…I also realize that I am not that mad….. it is just ironic that Princess Grumpy can finally make me feel like a "real" mom four years after her birth....

But urgh……that Grumpy….

AFTER SARAH!!! THANK YOU!!!!

To sleep or not to sleep. Why is the question!

2007-09-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

Princess Grumpy has been driving Eric and I nuts last few weeks at bed time. She just will not and does not want to sleep. I realize this sounds like an insane thing to be worried about…but she wakes up at odd hours to go to the bathroom….which is a great and wonderful thing….and we love the lack of pull-ups….but then she can’t get back to sleep in her bed. (Now remind you it is 1-5 in the am…so most normal people are sleeping).

If we do not catch her…she has this stealth mode that no one can hear her coming…and in this mode she is devious, destructive and down right annoying. In the last week she has done the following….while wandering around late at night…..

Played with Vaseline (which she got from the top shelf of her shelves above the toilet) and put it all over her bathroom….thanks Tammy & Dez for cleaning it off. Took my deodorant and put it all over the mirror in the hallway bathroom. She figured out how to open the child proof locks in the bathroom and got into the peroxide and made a toothpaste volcano with it. She knows not to eat the tooth paste…in her words “that will make me sick” and she doesn’t do that. But she enjoyed shoving the roll of toilet paper in the toilet with the plunger so much that she had to try to get a second one in.

I know it is normal to want to mix and play and do cool things with slimy and greasy items….but really!!!! She has taken this to an art form! I really hope this all related to her becoming a great scientist or a doctor some day.

I am sure,I was never that bad ..... Ok I personally know that alka seltzer does not blow up the toilet I loved playing with it as a child! (Sorry Grandpa Harry). SHe is so like her dad in her facination with toilets. She has to know where they are and visit them so often. (again this could be a really good thing) But she is so quite and so sneaky that unless I sleep on the floor of the bathroom I don’t hear her. NO ONE could hear.

SO I got this brilliant idea last night. I would have her exercise with me…maybe I could just tire her out and if I had to wash a few sheets…oh well…that is so much easier than Vaseline on the floor!

I walked for about 30 minutes on the treadmill at about 3 ½ miles an hour all the while she is bouncing on the exercise tramp and talking to me. “Mom this…” and “mom that…” and her mouth is running a mile a minute…”what are you doing that for?”, “why are you worried about your butt?”

I start my cool down and invite her to join me. I turn it way down and she starts walking and after a minute she turns around and jump into my arms and says “I love you mom!” ok most of the time this particular vocal tone that she used is precipitous for the words…”Don’t be mad at me but….” I tell her I love her too. Next moment she leans over close and whispers in my ear, "I like your big butt mom, and thanks for wanting to get healthy for us….but really you aren’t going anywhere...so I just don't get it" We hug, she jumps off and runs back to the blanket on the couch and says "I'll wait till you are done and then we will go upstairs".

So I guess I can laugh a little today and I will walk / run and at least know that when we sit and share our ice cream tonight…. That she isn’t really trying to secretly kill me from the ice cream just the sleep deprivation!

Princess Grumpy and Her Jewels

2007-09-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

My dear Adrian is a pack rat! She will find and bring home the most idiotic thing (in a grown ups mind) and place in her “magic little secret stash”. Most of the time it is a pretty benign haul…business cards, tooth picks, brochures, hair bows, anything that I really think she does just to make her daddy go “Why Adrian? Why?” This little secrete spot is exactly how I would picture a “House elf’s nest” from Harry Potter.

Adrian is absolutely so sure that I do not know where it is. If she wants to hide anything there or to retrieve anything from it she gets secretive… she tells me not to look and scans the hallway for prying eyes of her siblings and then dives into the little spot between the bed and the ladder that goes to the upper bunk.

Some days I feel bad that I know where her little secret place is…yes Adrian I do (and wait till you see me cyber stalk her and control her myspace page when she are older). When I pick up her room I usually move everything, neaten it and vacuum under it and put it back. I also take any old dishes to the kitchen so she doesn’t start a mold collection too. But most of the time I just leave it alone. If I am missing something and I can’t find it…I usually look there and have a really high chance of finding it. Daddy’s glasses were missing for 18 hours and low and behold…they were there. (She wanted daddy to stay home …so she thought if he didn’t have his glasses he could stay and play with her)

I went to wash her bed sheets, I carefully moved all of the stuff…the books, and clean empty yogurt cups, the crayons, her writing book, her five pairs of Aunt Karen’s broken sun glasses, assorted special toys, her “make up”, and a bag of fake money. I put the sheet, the blanket and her pillows in the washer. I then subsequently move them to the dryer. I hear a little funny noise coming from the dryer….the little preschool bus comes…I have to run out and meet the girls.

Eliza and Adrian are always excited to return home, Adrian comes in and then I go back to trying to figure out what the noise is. I start by opening the door, and our start falling rocks…about 4 or 5….I pull on the blanket…out fall some more…. Adrian screams at the top of her lungs!!! This then causes Eliza to start wailing and I am extremely confused at to what rocks are doing in my dryer.

Adrian then starts grabbing them and crying. This little girl can cry and get to a point where she can’t speak ….due to the tears speak… faster than most little ones I have seen. I am actually really very confused and thankfully relieved that the dryer is not falling apart! After about three minutes, Adrian becomes a little easier to understand between the wails and I realize that she is upset about the rocks.

She is crying about “her jewels”. These are just run of the mill; little drive way rocks that have been well ground by some river in their previous home. But to my little girl they are her jewels. She had them in bed with her and when I pulled up the sheet I must have pulled them up too.

She is blubbering and it is very difficult to here her but in the sincerity of a four year old princess….she says “mommmm mommmm de de de they were for you” insert the horrible wailing of banshee here, “ I ga ..ga…ga…got you the jewels to help build our new house” wail a little more “They have the sparklies in them so they are like your ring” (my engagement ring) and “you can give them to the guy to fix the house and make all the rooms”

I was so surprised and then handed me all of the precious jewels that she picked up off the floor in front of the dryer and then together we look for the rest. I told her that daddy and I really appreciate the thought and love her for wanting to help us…but she needed to keep her jewels for herself. So I found her a new “jewel” box and we spend a little time to decorate it and put all of the rocks back into it ….together …she tells me all of the things she wants with them…since I don’t need them to build the house . She is going to get a new bike for Colin, a new computer for daddy, pay for Kayla’s books, get grandma a car, buy Melea a new baby doll so she will leave Jordan alone, and to help the poor kids on TV.

We smile, go upstairs for lunch with Eliza and Miranda… I see her sneak off down the hall… look both ways …and go in her room and I know she is taking them to her secrete place. All little girls need a secrete place to hide their most treasured possessions. I need one too, there are days I wish that I could hide and protect all of my children from the world and the “bad” people out there. But I would be protecting them from the good ones too.

But today I will sit and smile and laugh (inside) as Princess Grumpy Skips down the hall to her secrete spot. I will remember her precious “jewels” and be struck by how much she wants to help others. I am also going to be very worried if my credit card ever disappears!!!

What I still need to teach My Grumpy!

2007-09-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

I wrote about what Princess Grumpy has taught me today on our family blog spot. http://thegrumpyfamily.blogspot.com/ . But I thought I would devote a little of this today to discuss what I feel Princess Grumpy still needs to learn!

She needs volume control. She needs to learn when it is OK to scream and when, not to. She needs to learn to not say little comments so loud that it make her mother want to crawl under the table (incident at our favorite Mexican restaurant when she couldn't figure out why a very nice gentleman was wearing earrings and a dress). But the funny (or really scary) thing ...or really scary....was that she related this to a story line on my Soap Opera "ALL MY CHILDREN" and their story line about transsexuals. Big and correct jump for a little girl.

She need to slow down. (common complaint about me to... so I guess you really learn with what you live with). She is always moving and doing and planning and thinking and ...... I guess the apple doesn't really fall that far .... but I want hers to roll a little bit so she can make sure she has a chance to enjoy life, meet great people, and really see the universe as it is unfolding before her. Princess Grumpy only seems to stop moving when the TV is on and it is something she wants to watch ...and then it is so scary the way she zones in and tunes the world out that I think a lot about throwing all TVs out of the house.

She needs to find consistent general awareness. I see such sparks and flickers of wonder and amazement, but sometimes we go back to our little world. Someday I hope that my Princess Grumpy realizes the world doesn't revolve around her. (....ah....but she is four and a princesses so in her mind the world DOES exist and revolve only her). I hope I can teach her to help and appreciate others and not be looking or using people in a way that is more "what they can do for her". I really don't want her to be a "user" or a "taker" like I see a lot of children now a days.

Grumpy needs to find consequences and learn that actions affect people. She thinks that batting those beautiful, deep expressive eyes will get her anything. (and with strangers, waiters, service people, her older brother...it does) A lot of the time I often wonder if I am to hard on her. After parenting her two older siblings , you would think I would know what to do...but Adrian is a different child, with different needs. I guess I am doing OK most of the time because Dad and Grandma think I am too easy on her (most of the time) and Aunt Karen & a few friends think I am to hard (a lot of the time). Most days the thinking chair is her best friend!

Mainly I really want her to maintain her beautiful soul! I don't want to see her corrupted, I love her spirit, her enthusiasm, her ferocity, her sly humour and sarcasm (remember she isn't a teen yet) and the zest and zeal she demonstrates daily.

SO my dear Princess Grumpy I promise that I will try to demonstrate and exemplify good qualities for you. I will attempt to not to yell as quickly. We will have lots of hugging, snuggling & special mommy time ( you have to share with the rest though); to pick you up physical and emotionally when your are sad. I promise to be there for you when you realize the world isn't always just and that people are not always nice as they seem. I promise try to give you the space you will want someday and are starting to demand!!! (I'll work on daddy and grandma too) I will try to listen to you all of the time. Really listen and not judge when you need me to be your mom. I promise to let you fail and to be there to help you learn from these events and I will try not to fix them for you!

And when that day comes and you realize "really realize" that your family is not "typical" and what being a sister to a "bunch of retards" really means. (thanks little brat at walmart this past weekend) I will be here to talk and help you grow from that experience too. Just please don't hit them back! I hope I will have taught you well enough to just turn and walk away... but if not I'll be there to post bail.

I just have one thing to ask from you!!! Just once and a while !!!LET ME SLEEP!!! & quit taking the dental floss and decorating the house like it is Christmas!

The Big Treasure Hunt

2007-09-20T07:38:00.000-07:00

This morning was school picture day for Princess Grumpy's older siblings. Why this affects her, is how it effects her mom. It makes me crazy. I have to find clothes that won't clash with the backgrounds, there are forms and money that have to be remember, we have to bath and do hair (not that we don't do this every day...) but it has to be "PERFECT". Let's just say that as with other years ...mom feels like it was a fiasco...and dad got to miss it for ethics training or something (I would believe he made that up to miss the picture day excitement....except nobody wants to be at work that early without a good reason).

So somehow we managed to get all of them dressed and ready for school, sparkling and pretty and Melea's braids as equal as I could (she actually wanted me to do her hair today- so I was surprised). in all this Princess Grumpy comes to visit! She realizes that she is not getting her picture taken and is really mad! She starts to whine and whimper!

We have five minutes till the first bus arrives and I am making sure that the young Prince and the four Princesses all had something to eat and drink, and their bags are packed. I then realize I forgot that is is Thursday "popcorn day" at school and Colin & Melea will need quarters for popcorn.

I can't go get them upstairs myself, i am afraid the ensuing chaos 3 minutes of time away from all of them will bring if I leave, ....remember that Eric has managed to get out of picture "morning" fun. Adrian is still crying and now adds she doesn't get popcorn to eat at school as another reason. I am so trying not to laugh at her cause she is really reminding me of Lucile Ball at this moment and Melea has her hands over her ears.

I get an idea which could be good or bad....it really depends on how it goes. Princess Grumpy will get them! I ask Adrian if she will go upstairs to daddy's office and bring me back two quarters. I am going to time her and give her 5 minutes before I come get her and by royal command she is not supposed to stop and play with Prince Jordan or wake him up if he is sleeping. (So at this point all of you are going ...well.....you are just asking for it Jane......)

In a microsecond that would have even Einstein convinced things can move faster than light- she stops crying jumps down from her seat and salutes me and runs off upstairs toward the bedroom. I remind her gently "5 minutes and two quarters".....the next thing I realize is she is back with a little purse and she says to me "mom ...are quarters silver or brown?" I am starting to actually see the folly in my plan, so I just say "fill the purse with a handful of change and I will figure out when you get back" So of she goes running at the speed of light jumping over Eliza on the way out the door. SHE IS A PRINCESS WITH A MISSION!!!

I hear a few crashes and something drop and in about a minute I hear from somewhere upstairs a low rumble then a "mom don't worry- I am all right....I' am going to make it...keep timing!

The next thing (course there was a french braid and an apple bar and a diaper change in between) I know I feel someone grab me around my waist and I squeeze me saying "I did it, I did it, I did it....." I am looking for blood , waiting for the scream from Jordan and I look puzzled as she holds out her hand to me and drops two (exactly two) quarters into it and she smiles and hugs me and tells me thanks for trusting her.

Trusting Adrian is always hard, she loves to get into thing and is a "Fold, spindlier and mutilator" of books, likes to wrap my canopy bed with dental floss and pretty much stops at the mirror to pretend with make up any chance she can get. I really thought this wouldn't work....but she stands there so proud and exuberant with the results of her quest in my hand now... she take them back and counts them out again and says "look Colin this is two.... one...two." You can have your popcorn, and gives him a hug!

I am pleased she did it, I am pleased she was helpful and I am pleased that there are currently no more tears, and possibly I am a little pleased with myself. I start to think hey...maybe today won't be so bad after all. For a few glorious second I think we have shared a typical mom and daughter moment...she is happy and I am happy and no Princess Grump in site any more just my beloved Adrian.

The preschool bus gets here a minute early and we start getting ready to leave I hug her and say thanks and in all innocence and adoration the eyes blink, and there she is again my Princess Grumpy. She looks up at me and says mom "that will cost you a quarter.....you know the big silver one." I snicker inside, then I hear her say " You only get three minutes not five your legs are longer and your butt is fat so you can run faster than me...... GO!!!! NOW!!!!!MOM!!!!"

Pretending or Lying....

2007-09-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

Princess Grumpy has a new dilemma. She has been having trouble with not being able to pretend. This is something that has been discussed at preschool and among Eric and I for a long time. So earlier this summer, I decided to start some exercises and work on "pretending" or making scenarios up and trying to build on and become creative about them. Basically my Princess Grumpy was not that creative, she is precocious, gifted, has a huge vocabulary, very helpful and has a wonderfully empathetic personality but her ability to pretend was / is almost as bad as her dancing!

We tried all these exercises from my early childhood educations books, we set up scenarios, nothing worked.... OK I got a new idea from dad....ask Adrian what is up.....well her response was.... in that whiny , grumpy voice she uses when she doesn't want to answer the question"Mom- isn't that lying?" After almost three months of trying to "fix" what everyone saw as a possible developmental problem I realized I started the problem to begin with!

I was so stunned! Adrian had / has trouble telling the truth about things she does. For example: "who opened five bags of jelly beans and dumped them in the sink to pick out the green ones and eat most of them", or "who dumped 500 q-tips on the floor" and my favorite- "who used the dental floss to decorate the room" ...vivid picture....all 100 yards in the brand new container around my 4 poster canopy bed. But I guess I just assumed that she either knew the difference between them or was supposed to know the difference, or just supposed to know how to pretend but learn not to lie. But somehow My little Princess Grumpy made a jump that they are the same thing and she knows how disappointed I get when she lies all this time she thought she was doing what she was supposed to which is not lie- there fore no creative make believe or pretend.
We had a long talk..... we do that a lot.... and she is now way into pretending... we have "pretend friends, and pretend daughters, pretend school, you name it we pretend now....We finally decided that the difference between pretending and lying is when you want to not answer Mom or to hide instead of answer me- it is a lie (or it will be a lie when you open you mouth). So we are supposed to think and remember that mom gets more angry about the lying than the mess (accept for the dental floss incident- that really was annoying!!!!)

However last Monday night I told my daughter, that she had special "hoppy" slippers and it was OK to wear them into a restaurant. I did it for all the right reasons- I didn't want us to not be able to eat after actually getting all the kids there and realizing she had forgotten her shoes. I put athletic arm bands on her feet over two different socks and let her pretend they were magic slippers. I carried her across the black top, into the restaurant and put her in the chair (sort of hoping that no one saw this).

As delusional as I am I thought that I could hide her lack of shoes- but now my beautiful Princess Grumpy (who had been screaming, crying and refusing to go in) had to immediately jump down and show off her beautiful new special "hoppy" slippers and hop all around the table showing the rest of the family and all the other patrons, She hopped to the bathroom later, hopped around to make sure that her "pretend daughter" was OK in the extra booster seat she had the waiter get for her, and she proudly hopped out of the restaurant to the car.

This morning she wanted to wear her "special hoppy slippers' to school - I hid them when she wasn't looking and then convinced her to wear her beautiful silver sparkly mary janes. I feel bad because I "lied" to her.... I guess I didn't set a great example for her, no matter how creative the thought...but the funny thing was today when she came home from school she found the "arm bands / hoppy slipper" took off the beautiful sparkle shoes and said to me "mom" in that beautiful, but whiny way she says "mom!!!!!! I got my hoppy slippers, she giggles, hugged me and said- great pretending mom- did you want to hide under the car instead of the bed when I asked for them this morning? you are not supposed to hide things I am very dissapointed in you!", then she hopped away.... turned around, cocked her head to the side andsmiled then blew me a kiss ...and hopped off to watch Sponge Bob !

So I wonder which of us really has the problem with pretending?

Welcome to the Princess Grumpy Site

2007-09-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

I want to welcome all of you -basically my three friends and anyone they sucker into coming here, our case workers, socialworkers and all the fun people we have in our life and those that just want to make me feel better and important ( I want to contribute more than just the diaper change and funny email here and there )

This is the blog for Princess Grumpy stories and the fun experiences of being her mom.

Princess Grumpy is the nick name or Alter Ego that I have given my daughter Adrian Elliott! SHe is currently four years old and some days she is wise beyond her years. Adrian has a lot to teach all of us about the dignity and value of others and the effect on all people on this planet!

Somedays it will be the tales of how we survived the morning getting ready for school, and other times it will be the insite and wisdom she teaches me (and the rest of the world) with her comments and enlightening way she approaches everything! Adrian is an awesome big sister, little sister and daughter. She lives, loves and does everything with an enthusiasm that I wish all people could experience (however don't turn on the TV- she does Zone in way to well). SHe thinks of other people and always wants to help. Adrian is

Princess Grumpy have five brothers and sisters. She has an older brother and sister, as well as two younger sisters and a baby brother. She lives with her mom and dad who love her so much - but occasionally need a break fro her grumpy ways! So she visits Grandma a lot (Thanks Grandmom)

Eventually I have written about 27 stories at this time about Princess Grumpy and her Royal Family. I am planning on trying to get some of the children's stories I have written published . We are working on illustrations and whether or not I want to rhyme them or not! I have made it a priority to get these done asap! (basically I need to make sure she goes to college)

So Welcome all (again basically my three friends) to the wonderful world of My Princess Grumpy!