Crazy Hair Day (or so I hope)

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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!!!