Thursday's events

Chelsea has been begging me for a long time to get her ears pierced. Every time I wore nice earrings, she would play with them and ask again and again. We had lots of discussions about how getting your ears pierced hurts and whether or not she would be ready. She promised up and down that she was ready.

So, we made the big appointment for Thursday morning. I had been debating whether or not I wanted to get my nose pierced, but I figured it would be a great reward for me for losing 30 pounds. Okay, so I'm only at 28, but I figured I was close enough. :)

We went to McKenna in Morden. I had a long talk with the piercer about the gun vs needle debate and we decided for Chelsea's earlobes, it would be best to use the gun. The problem is, at McKenna, there is only one piercer, so they have to be done one at at time.

Well, my brave girl sat there all by herself, still as a statue when the first earring went in. Four seconds later, the crying/screaming started. Chelsea was done. I tried showing her a mirror, talking about how pretty it looked and how we needed to do the other one, but she said she was quite happy with just one. All she wanted was just one earring.

This went on for about 5 minutes, until I told her that the piercer has to pierce two ears; that's her job. If she doesn't do her job, she'll get into trouble. So, Chelsea climbed on my lap and sat really still, all while crying. But, the second earring went in and she hopped off my lap, declared she was done with me and wanted daddy. Good thing he was just outside. She was as happy as can be, once her tears were wiped away and she was munching on mini eggs, that is.

Then, I got my nose pierced. No crying or mini eggs needed.

The best part is that when I was leaving the salon, Chelsea asked me if the piercer was going to get into trouble because I only got one earring done. :)

This is her "before" shot.

And after. It's hard to get a picture of little studs!

It's been so good healing together. She gently touches my nose and asks if it hurts and if it's healing and we get to clean our piercings together. I love having a daughter!!

I think matching tattoos are next. But no worries, she has to be at least 8 before I'll agree to that.

The princess and the frog

- We went home to my parents' house this weekend. Saturday night we went to a Halloween dance for kids. Chelsea was VERY excited to have a new Snow White dress from Aunty Jen with new shiny black shoes.
- I should have gone to school today to plan my week, but I didn't. I was so tired after our 3.5 hour drive home took close to 5 hours that I decided to skip it. This is the first weekend since school started that I haven't been there for 4-5 hours on the weekend.

- I just got an email from someone asking me why I'm not as smiley as I used to be. That made me really sad. I need to get a handle on why this job is making me so stressful. I'm constantly worrying about work and how to do it better and how to become a better teacher - so much so that it's stressing me out all the time and that's gotta go!

- Hey, in case you were wondering, having a puppy loses it's excitement really fast. The training is coming along, but it's busy with 2 kids. I'm a little tired of the accidents, the jumping up, the nipping.... but at the same time, she's well loved and is great with the kids.

- Friendships are hard for me. I'm a home-body and I like being at home. On those rare nights when I don't have school work to do, cakes to make and decorate, or housework, I like staying home. Friendships take a lot of work and time and sometimes that is hard. But the rewards are definitely worth it. I have such great friends right now and I just want to say thank you ladies. Thank you for loving me for who I am and loving me for where I am right now. I appreciate you.

- And on that note, good night all!

A whole lotta nothin'.

- Quiet blog again, I know, I know. I miss blogging, but I'm not feeling very inspired lately. Thanks for checking to make sure I'm still around!

- I'm settling into a routine with work and kids and cakes and whatnot. I am REALLY trying to make an effort to be there for my kids and not be busy with stuff in the mornings.

- I'm not going to get into it, but work is not the highlight of my day. I'm really struggling with the split grade. I have really high expectations for myself and I don't feel like I'm meeting them, and that is constantly weighing on me, stressing me out.

- I recently was invited out with a new group of girls. It was a lot of fun and it was reassuring to hear after that they thought I was halarious and that we should all hang out again. For some reason in the friendship area I've been so hesitant and unsure of myself. I needed a good boost.

- Chris and I went to a wedding today. Aren't we cute?

P.S. - Isn't that nose just begging to be re-pierced?? I'm really tempted...

My Biff.

I used to hate the phrase "best friend" because I never felt like anyone's best friend. I would cringe when I would read Facebook statuses that said "bff", but now, I can say that this lady is my BFF.

And when my BFF turns 29 for the 4th time, we celebrate!
Pretty pretty toes.We had a lovely relaxing evening at the spa, getting our feet pampered and then spent the rest of the night laughing at peopleofwalmart.com. I know, we're horrible, but best of all, we're good for each other.

MUAH, lady. Happy birthday!!

Family Photo Shoot

My friend Maggie took some family photos for us the other day. They turned out great, considering that it was super windy! Here are some of my favourites!

Pick your battles.

This girl and I seem to be in a struggle every morning. She's very independent and is all about doing things herself.

Right now, we battle over clothes and hair. She wants to choose what she wears and how her hair is done.

Most days, I let her pick her clothes. Most days, she's mismatched or wearing something backwards. I'm okay with this. We've struck a deal. On Wednesdays (preschool) and Sundays (church) I get to choose her outfits.

So, today, being Sunday, I chose her outfit - a cute new sweater (thanks Amanda!), tights and a skirt (because she HATES pants at the moment).

And, because I believe in compromise, she did her own hair.

Just in case you weren't in church today, this is what you missed.

Thank you to all of those in church who encouraged her. She kept telling me, "See mom? Everyone thinks I'm beautiful!"

You are always beautiful, baby girl!