Becuase you had a bad day...

You know that song?  This one...

Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day
 
Well it's Meredith's favorite song.  Seriously.  If you come into my house any given day, you may just catch her naked except for her underwear, belting out this song at the top of her lungs.  And not because she constantly has bad days, I mean how many 3 year olds have bad days?  Especially ones that often munch on Happy Meals for lunch, goes to dancing school, play school, has multiple play dates and owns 3 pairs of red shoes.  Exactly, not this three year old.  No sir-ree, no reason for a bad day here.....at all.
 
Today though was a different animal....she had a great morning.  Dropped her brother off at school, went to dancing, then we went to get a 99cent sonic mini oreo sundae, then to Hobby Lobby (her favorite store - no idea why, because it's not mine), then to lunch and then to Mimi's.  Where she played all afternoon.  She played with her dolls, rode on the golf cart, fed the ducks, and all kinds of fun stuff.  She even got ice cream for a snack for the 2nd time that day.  Which is unheard of normally.  I am the healthy snack momma, I tell ya.
 
Anyway her day was busy and the plan was to have her daddy pick her up on his way home from work.  But when your dad is constantly on call as her dad was tonight, sometimes those plans have to change.  So I went to pick her up and head to get her snack for school tomorrow.  Do you know what can cause a 3 year old's world to come crashing down?  Changing plans on them.  Plans they were looking forward to.  When I walked into my mom's to pick up my daughter that I had dropped off 4 hours earlier, I was met with Satan's spawn instead.  Okay not really, but it was so not my child.  Not the one I left earlier.  Not the one I went through 19 1/2 hours of labor with no epidural just to wind up with a damn c-section anyway.  Yes, not that one in deed.  Instead I got one with a surly attitude, on the verge of a complete breakdown and drowning in tears and other fluids draining from the senseless fit being thrown. 
 
I did what any good mother would do.  I threatened a punishment, I told her I was NOT happy with her choices and I told her I was disappointed in her behavior and then I left her there and headed to get her snack without her.  The snack I specially ordered for her class to go with the "I'm going to Disney world and you're not" theme I have going on for snack day tomorrow.....but that is a post for another day.  Anyway I left her.  I was bewildered. I normally get tears and a fit when she has to leave Mimi's but normally she straightens up when I correct her.  Today not so much.
 
About an hour or so later I met back up with the devil's spawn said child.  We looked eye to eye, she told me I was mean. I told her to go to time out and think about it.  She cried, I banged my head on the counter.  Five minutes later I sat her down to talk to her.  She said she was sorry and hugged me.  Then she threw another fit with screaming and crying and real BIG tears.  I'm not even sure why.  Can 3 year olds have PMS? 
 
I sent her to her room.  She stayed there screaming for a while.  She finally emerged and we hugged and I told her I loved her and she sat on my lap and she cried about crying and then I told her enough....move on.....you had a freaking bad day.  Sing that damn song you are always singing at the top of your lungs.  She didn't want to because she was having too bad a day to sing.
 
So about 6:30 we had both chilled out.  Josh went back in to the hospital and the tikes and I went up to start an early bed time routine.  Once everyone was in bed, stories were read, songs sang and prayers said, I tucked Noah in and then went to tuck in my girl.  She asked me if I loved her, I responded as I always do "to the moon and back."  She asked me how far that was, I told her as I always tell her "as far as she could ever imagine."  I kissed her and told her I was sorry, she said she was sorry too.  I looked into her deep brown eyes and saw myself looking back at me.....God bless me when she is 16.  I am going to need it.
 
Meredith remember always that I love you! I am sure there will be times when you don't like me and I don't like you, but I will ALWAYS love you.  No matter what!
 
**By the way you love that song, because the chipmunks sing it.  I love it because you sing it!

On days when she just dresses herself

My diva.  She has a fashion sense that is totally her own.  Some mornings we completely bat heads over the wardrobe.  Many of you may think like my mother, why on Earth do I give her the choice.  Well let me just say.  She doesn't always get to choose.  Sometimes when we are going somewhere or on Sunday mornings, I choose for her and that is that.  She knows that and typically does not fight me on this.  As long as the outfit meets her very picky standards.  Most of time I let her pick between two things.  And others I let her have free reign.  I figure what does it really hurt if she gets to pick her clothes for the day.  I'll tell ya, not a damn thing.

  It has gotten easier since I have gotten to know what she likes and what she does not like and will refuse to wear.  Remember when I said I only bought pink things, I did that way I didn't' have a drawer full of clothes not being worn because they weren't Pepto Bismol pink.  I started buying clothes that meet her very high standards of 1)not being tight around her arms  2)not being empire waisted and being tight across her chest 3)not being tight on her waist  and 4)not containing too much frilly stuff....then we got to a place where we are good.  I hated wearing stuff I did not like as a child.  I'm changing that with my own children. Here are some examples...

She loved this one....didn't want to take it off.

She totally put this ensemble together....do you love the shirt hair?  Yes, a yellow shirt she wore all day on her head like hair.....ALL DAY.  To the grocery, McDonalds, Target....ALL DAY!

Dress up at the discovery center.  She loves dress up and totally gets into character when she does. 

More dress up...this is my recent favorite princess ansemble she has put together.  We typically always wear her green dress, with a crown, heels and a purse.  See her side picture for an example.  However today, she totally mixed it up and had on a blue dress with two or three tutus underneath it.  This totally broke her no tightness around the waist rule, oh well.  I guess rules were meant to be broken.  Oh and when we are in princess garb, we have to play the part and refer to her as princess Meredith.  Today she waited for her little prince to wake up from his nap so he could dance with her.....he didn't cooperate when he awoke.

I wanted you to see the multiple layers under that dress.  I like to encourage her creativity and decision making skills.  I love it!

Dancing Girl

Yesterday Meredith started dancing school again. This is her second year. We are trying out a different school, much closer to home and with a better schedule. We will see how it goes. My girl is already ready for the recital and wants to know when can she dance on the big stage.

She has come so far from last year.

Showing off her cheesy grin and new dancing back-pack. She gets a canvas tote she has to use at school and so this backpack she had to have is now her dancing bag. Girls!He is going to be so sad when he figures out they aren't going to the same place.

The dance recital

So after spending hundreds of dollars all year for dance lessons, costumes, recital fees, pictures, and other miscellaneous stuff.......guess what.....she didn't dance. She did go on stage and watch the little girl next to her cry for the first number and then she went ahead and cried herself for the second number. I mean being three and on that big stage can be pretty freaking scary. Overall Iam very proud of my girl.

The day before was the dress rehearsal and I must say she did great that day. The audience was only half way filled, but there was a crowd and that day she danced her little heart out. It was precious. I just wish her daddy could have seen her that day too.

Here she is getting ready. Meredith and Adalyn, unfortunately Adalyn was in a different class, but Meredith loved the fact they were at least in the same recital.

Getting ready to go on stage!

Here she is with her friend Grace. The girls came up with these poses on their own, I was super impressed!

At the end of the recital her daddy gave her a dozen pink roses. Her first flowers!

The fireman and the princess

Today we went with a local playgroup to the fire station. I thought Meredith might be into it, but I knew Noah would be. I was right, I just might have a future fireman on my hands. He loved the big trucks and the sirens and he was pretty fond of the firemen and fire dog too.


Mom I suggest you step back, this is a pretty big truck I'm driving here.

And while Noah was very into the fire station visit, Meredith Aurora was not. She didn't want to hear the sirens, she was indifferent about getting to go inside the fire truck, nor did she care that much for the fire dog. Her real concerns were making sure to poof up her dress like a princess when she sat down and whether or not her fire hat went with the dress.

Hey there fireman....how old do I have to be to get a gig driving this thing?

Really mom, does this hat go with my dress?

Me and the tikes in the fire truck. Notice my hands acting like a restraint on Noah, the minute the picture was snapped he was up and trying to get in the drivers seat.

This place is so cool, now if that momma lady would just let me go where I want!

Hmmm I wonder if those words say "Noah's truck"......how should I go about getting up there.

Here is the only picture of both of my kids together. I literally was running around chasing Noah who just wanted to get into the fire truck.

Here he is scoping out a fireman to put him back in the truck. He had no time for Sparky the fire dog.

Hi Mom, I told you I'd find a fireman willing to put me back in the truck. You can go home now, I'm staying with these guys!

As we were leaving I told Noah to tell the firemen bye. He turned and looked at me and said "Bye" with his Mississippi twang and then walked back over to the firemen. I pretended to leave to see if he would cry or get upset. He didn't, in fact he didn't get upset until I made him leave with me. I'm sure we will have another visit to the fire station in our future!

So it went down like this...

I know a few of you are looking at our funky hair pictures saying......"Meredith has on a dress.....she has on short sleeves....what happened to only wearing long sleeves and the no dresses stance thing you got going on?" In fact I even got a few comments about it.

Well let me just say. One that is not a dress, it is a "shirt dress" and Two it wasn't easy to get it on her.

Yes, we named it a shirt dress, because while it is long enough to be a short dress, it comes with some leggings and technically isn't a "dress" and I will never call it that for fear of her turning her nose up and never looking at it again, much less wearing it. Hence my 2 year old said...
"momma is dat a dress?"

"No, it comes with pants see?"

"Is dat a shirt dress?"

"Exactly and that my girl is the best of both worlds."

Yesterday when it was time to pull my hair out get dressed, I pulled out her new outfit along with another "shirt dress"/legging set. I gave my daughter two "spring" options. I won't lie, it was hard. But I am the mother right? I mandate the dress code and I buy the clothes. In this little battle, she begged for the pink long sleeve shirt with yellow on the inside, oh yes my girl knows her wardrobe. "But mom" she wanted it "puuhhh-lease" ----the same shirt we have worn basically every other day this winter from gap. But I held my guns and didn't give in. She whined like there was no tomorrow and in the end, I won.

She put on her new outfit and she wore it all day, until we spilled some water on it at Mimi's house and that is when the tantrum started to rear it's ugly head. But Mimi saved the day by throwing her pants in the dryer and she went pantless for an hour during which we took our photos yesterday.

So my little creature of habit informed me yesterday that today she was going to wear her pink shirt and jean combo. I told her nope, she was sleeping at Mimi's and I packed her another "shirt dress "and legging set and that is when she almost lost it.....I mean the torture of having to wear new clothes. But she kept her cool and then looked me in the eye and informed me that she was NOT wearing the new outfit, she was wearing her blue shirt dress again. I gave her a kiss goodbye and left her with her Mimi. Her Mimi washed it for her, which was a good thing because the jeans and pink shirt were not in the suitcase, although she did sneak that damn pink turtleneck.

I will continue to pick my battles, I think that is a very important thing to do in parenthood. However I will not have my daughter die of heat stroke from wearing winter clothing in South Mississippi during the season called spring, that is really 2 tiny steps from summer.

Because sometimes on a Wednesday you just have to let your hair down...

Today Meredith and I played dress up with some of Mimi's Halloween wigs! We were the Doodlebops....not really, but it sounded good to Meredith. We wore these most of the afternoon and then road through the neighborhood in Poppa's golf cart with them.....we got a few curious stares.
Like Mother, like daughter......seriously my mom used to do stuff like this with me and my sister.

Mom I am beautiful!

Is it not super hilarious from the back?

Strike a pose!

She is as sassy as she looks....I promise!

These pictures don't even need a caption

What Mom, you want me to look cute? Well that's easy, because I am so incredibly adorable! Check out my girls dimple I know what could be cuter?Absolutely nothing! As long as I get to wear my dancing skirt and boots.....Life is good!Okay mom, enough cuteness can we go already!

Dancing

Meredith started dancing school this week. This year she is taking tap and ballet. I was a little nervous as to how she would do. She did great! She loves it! It is all she talks about all week long. I don't know if she will get this excited about things as she grows up, but I sure hope so! I will never forget how excited she was for her first dancing class and how that excitement lasted the whole way home and into the next day. This class is during our usual dinner time, that did not even phase her, she smiled and walked in like a big girl never looking back! She loved it and she loves Ms. Lori her dancing teacher. I think she is the equivalent of Cinderella in Meredith's eyes. She talks about Ms. Lori non-stop!

Here is my little ballerina before we left. Sorry no pics of her in the tap shoes!
(see Brownie in the bottom corner helping me take pictures) "Mom, we need to go.....Mom let's go to dancing school!"
(after attempting many shots and trying to get her to look, Brownie gave up, see her leaving)
Okay mom, one more and I'm not looking! I am way to excited to look, I'm ready to leave! She seriously did not want to sit still to take these. She wanted to leave and go, we were 20 minutes early!

Scheduling a playdate...

This is Meredith and her best friend Adalyn or "adalee" as she sometimes says. Adalyn is Meredith's best friend and will be for years and years to come. Like it or not!

Meredith always wants to play with Adalyn, mainly because her parents are "cool" and let her play with make-up. I often here...."momma go to adalee's house and pay wit make-up!"

Yes....I hear that often!

Tonight, meredith called Adalyn's dad Jeff to schedule a playdate.....

talking on a her pretend cell phone

"Meredith who are you talking to?"

"Miss Jeff"

"Miss Jeff, Adalee come pay?"

jibberish...jibberish...jibberish

"Okay...bye"

"What did Mr. Jeff say?"

"Miss Jeff said another day!"

Oh well.....Miss Jeff must be the party pooper!

We have gotten very particular about what we want...

Tonight Meredith is fast asleep in her bed with her yellow bankie (a green blanket...don't ask...I don't know either....she knows her colors very well), a pink pacifier (that is very pink) and her Drew Breeze football jersey. She debated back and forth as to whether or not she wanted to wear the Saints jersey or her New England Patriots jersey. The Saints won out, even though I was really pushing the princess pajamas. Oh little girls....they sure do know what they want early. I am okay with sleeping in the jersey, because I am remembering to pick my battles.

Why everyone should have a little girl....