There is a snake in the yard!

As we were leaving hip hop class tonight, Christopher yelled "snake, there is a snake coming!" and darted towards the car.  For some reason it brought back an extremely funny memory about Krista.  I haven't told this story in awhile, so some details may be sketchy, but I definitely remember the most important parts.

I was in the family room one day while the children were playing on the porch.  Suddenly, I hear Krista's scream of terror.  This was not a normal scream, she sounded horrified.  All sorts of things ran through my head in the seconds after the scream.  Then she yells, "There is a snake on the porch! A snake!"  Anyone that knows me knows how I feel about snakes, so I scream at the kids to get in the house.  Alex and Chris just stand there and look at us and I cannot figure out why they are so calm.  Krista and I hop on the back of the couch (yes we were standing on the back of the couch hugging each other) as I yell at Alex and Chris to move.  Krista is hysterical, and I am not helping things,  and I'll be damned if Alex and Chris will not move.  So I get down and ask if they see anything and Alex just shrugs his shoulders.  At that moment I realize that the sprinklers are on.  I turn to Krista and asked her if she saw the snake and she cries "no, I heard it go ssss, ssss,ssssssssssss. 

At that point Alex says, "I just thought it was the sprinkler."

I lost it.  Alex, Chris, and I laughed so hard we cried, realizing that the sound she heard was the sprinkler coming on.  Krista was not amused and yelled at us to stop laughing.  Alex told her it was just the sprinkler, but she was not willing to believe him and got very angry when we would not stop laughing.  She then runs up to me while I am standing in front of Alex and punches me in the butt, then she kicked Alex between his legs.  Fortunately she was too far back and barely got him.  He laughed and said "she's really mad!"  which made us laugh harder, and made her even angrier. 

Obviously I had to punish her so I start walking her upstairs as she screams and cries "there is a snake there is a snake MOMMY!"  I am trying my best to give her the stern mommy face but tears are running down my face and I cannot hide my smile as I explain why she should never hit mommy or her brother.  We make it to her room and she throws herself on the bed in hysterics. 

It a little while, but she finally calmed down enough to listen to reason and believed us when we explained what happened once again.  I literally laugh out loud ever time I think about it.  I think to get the full appreciation for the craziness that went on in that 15 minutes, you just had to be there.

Rest of the party pics!

It's My Party and I'm a pretty princess!

So today was the big day.  Krista has been absolutely giddy about this affair since I told her we were doing it.  The squealing, twirling, and "OMGs"  can finally stop now.  The cries of "she's bragging again" are now over (that would be Alex's complaint."  AND the constant cry of "where's my prince suit!" can finally end.  Overall it was a great time.  Not as many people were there as we anticipated,  but that didn't stop the action from going forward.

First of all, there was supposed to be a jump castle.  If you live anywhere near the Summerville or Charleston, you know that the sky was not willing to cooperate.  I had to send the poor guy away, and stick to indoor crafts, movies, and food.  Although I was disappointed, the kids seemed to have a great time.  Second, the pizza place didn't open until 1200.  Well, the party was starting at 12 so poor Donnie waited outside of place for thirty minutes so he could be the first one to get in and out and back to the house.  Third, I always make things so difficult or myself, and got way to fancy with the boys prince costumes.  It took me until 1159 to finish, and I still had not gotten dressed myself by the time our first guests arrived.  Thank goodness for my wonderful mother who came over early and got Krista's hair combed and got her dressed.

Once things got going it went pretty smoothly.  There was only one other glitch and that was easily solved.  We left the candle at my parents house, but mom (to the rescue again) went and retrieved it for us. So the kids ate, did crafts, watched movies, played, and went home.  Krista was happy, so I was happy.  Thank goodness I have 6 months until I have to do this again. LOL. 

Of course, there are pictures:

More to come!

I just can't be good

Krista is a drama queen, and everyone who knows her is completely aware of this.  At times it is just funny, and at other times infuriating.  I have had to count to ten on numerous occasions when the hysterics get out of control.  My dad has a theory,  well two actually.  First, her behavior is payback for the misery that I caused my mom as a child.  I am not a fan of that one, but whatever.  The second is that she is suffering from middle child syndrome.  This theory makes more sense to me, but we are still left with how to fix the problem.  Last night she had a temper tantrum because it was too late to have fun dip.  Fun dip.  A pack of fun dip caused about 25 minutes of turmoil in my house.  Yes, it would have been easier to just give it to her, but then she gets the impression that the way to get what she wants is to throw herself on the floor and kick and scream.  The sad part is when she finally calms down she says, "I just am no good at being good.  I must be a terrible person."  She is either a master manipulator, or she really feels bad about the behavior.  Either way, this mommy felt terrible for her last night.  She really is a sweetheart, and I know this phase will pass. Until it does, i will continue to look for the humor in all the little quirky things she does.

I am a cheerleader!

Krista did exactly what I didn't think would ever happen.  SHE IS A CHEERLEADER.  Thanks to the influence of my team and Sue Stempert, she decided that she was meant to cheer.  The most exciting thing for her so far has been wearing the uniform.  That is the highlight - the lowlight - actually doing the work.  Krista is the stereo typical "I wanna look cute but not work" type of girl.  her favorite quotes at practice: "Can we go home now" "I am just so tired" "I just don't think I can do it" "But I have to pee."  She does have a blast rolling around on the mat and doing cartwheels at the wrong time though.  No to mention the stuffed tigers are great fun to play with when you are supposed to be listening to coach Nancy.

I give her a hard time, but she is adorable out there.  At the last competition while they were waiting for awards the DJ played the cupid shuffle.  She was down there getting off.  It was hilarious and way too cute.  I have to admit that is has been fun watching her.  I don't know how long it will last, but we will have fun with it for as long as it does. 

The funniest thing in the world is cheer dad Donnie.  He cannot believe he is wearing the TCE red, blue, and gold again.  HAHAHA

Last competition was a pretty big one!

The brothers at competition.  Poor Alex could not see anything, but he cheered as loud as everyone else.