Up to her old tricks

You can't trust my second child.  If you haven't heard from her in 5 minutes, beware of what you will you find or where you will find her.  Point in case:

 Apparently, you need sunglasses on to paint the granite countertops with nail polish.  What a masterpiece!

Just so you know, Sally Hansen quickdry nail polish comes off quite easily with nail polish remover.  I'll just oh-so-thankful she didn't get any on the grout!

Found that one out the hard way...

I kept warning her.  "If you keep playing with that gum, it will get stuck in your hair.  Then, I'll have to cut it out!"  She didn't want to listen.  And then this happened:

Nope, that isn't a growth on her forehead...

See that look of fear in Haley's eyes?  She was beginning to realize that gum wasn't coming out so easily.  Luckily for her, good ol' google had the answer~Peanut Butter!

Peanut butter + gum = Success!

Slowly but surely it all came out.  I bet next time she won't be so eager to prove me wrong!

Reality Bites

Remember how Shelby kept making wishes on my necklace?  Well, those days might be quickly coming to an end.  She recently asked me the most heartbreaking question I've heard in my life.  "Mom, why aren't my wishes coming true?"  What I failed as a parent to do was realize that she had no reason to doubt each and everything I had told her.  Wow...what responsibility I had without even realizing it....

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the most inquisitive of all?

All this time, she had been patiently waiting for:

• our dog, Lilly, to start talking like a real person
• her stuffed animal, Daisy, to become alive
• me to not have to go to work anymore
• all of her friends to come over for a sleepover

After she innocently asked me about her failed wishes, I felt incredibly sad for her all day.  My only answer for her the next time she asked was that she had to make her wishes come true and that no necklace could actually perform magic.

Now, if only I can come up with acceptable answers to "how does Santa get all those gifts to all those kids in one night?" and "where did I live before I was in your tummy?" and "where did Chuck (my mom's dog that recently passed away) go?" then my job as a parent wouldn't seem so scary!

High Hopes

Keep looking up!

Recently, I was asking the girls what they wanted to be when they grow up.  Shelby said "a doctor that gives people lots of shots to make them feel better."  Ah, so sweet!  Then, it was Haley's turn.  Here's how it went:

Me: Haley, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Haley:  Um...um...(eyes turned to the ceiling)...um...BEER!
Me:  You want to be a beer when you grow up?
Haley: No, DRINK beer!
Me:  Okay, you can drink as much as you want...when you are 30.  Just remember that if you drink too much, you will get very sick.

Becoming a beer drinker looks like a huge success compared to Shelby's next discovery. Bryon had the girls painting the walls in the garage.  Shelby was doing great until she exclaimed, "This smells great, Dad!"  Paint huffer isn't exactly a parent's dream for their kid's career path.  Let's just stick with the shot-giving-doctor path!

Giddy Up, Pardner

Source: familyfun.go.com via Monica on Pinterest

Nope, I did NOT make the above horse.  But, it was my inspirations for these:

Haley's horse, "Fluff"

Time for your close-up, Fluff

Fluff, meet Shelby's horse, Flower

Nope, I don't just sit around making stick horses!  Shelby's school has an annual Rodeo Day, where the kids dress up and do all kinds of fun things.  Check out my adorable cowgirl:

Unfortunately, high winds and impending rain forced the school to postpone all outdoor activities.  I guess riding around on "Flower" all day will have to do for our little ranch hand for now.  Something tells me Flower's days are numbered, as her little owner really likes to abuse her a little too much.