Dear Disney

Dear Disney Movies, 

I would like to just take a moment to thank a few of you specifically. Your influence on my Brown Eyed Girl is amazing and never in my life would I have guessed that you would have so much power over my daughter and her daily decisions. Specifically, her fashion sense and hairstyles. 

Tangled. 

Oh Tangled. Thank you for making haircuts non-existent in our home. Our Purple Princess THE Tangled refuses to have a haircut thanks to you. She adores Rapunzel’s long, flowing hair. She strives to grow her hair just as long, and dreams of it touching the ground. Every morning is a constant battle of trying to tenderly de-Tangle her lovely, long locks after dreams of floating lanterns and Eugine have left her hair in rat’s nests. 

Brave. 

Thank you for teaching me patience and to be brave as I try to put multiple braids in my wiggly daughters hair because she also longs to have her hair look just like Merida’s. She loves having Brave hair so much that I have to bribe her just to wash her hair in the evening. Water washes away Brave hair and that my friend is a travesty. I find myself trying to mend the bond by promising to once again endure the wiggles in order to braid again. 

And most recently, thank you Frozen.
(Actually, I am really thankful that my Brown Eyed Girl is so in love with Elsa) Just as the weather is warming up, my children desire to spend every minute of daylight outside, in the wind and dirt and sun. Last summer my Brown Eyed Girl refused to put her long Brave hair in a ponytail while playing outside and every day her hair grew more and more Tangled than the day before. By summer’s end it was dry and brittle and I had to tell her that only way her hair would grow long like Rapunzel’s was if she ate asparagus for dinner and let mommy give it a little trim to keep her hair healthy.

But since Elsa has been in the picture, my Brown Eyed Girl is willing to Let It Go and is forgoing the long, flowing tendrils for an Elsa braid.

Elsa, I am telling you that you are welcome in our home any time! Do you want to build a snowman? Grab a cup of coffee? How can I thank you?

Spring Break

As the last few hours of Spring Break wind to an end, I can't help but chuckle at what a difference a decade can make. Ten years ago Rah-Rah and I were working on our tan, sipping drinks pool side by day and living the night life up in Puerta Vallarta. Not a care in the world. Just a bunch of college girls on Spring Break. Clubs, pools, beaches, tanning lotion and famous encounters.

It seems like an eternity has passed me by since those days.

Fast forward to 2014... married, two kids and a career change later and I found myself kicking off Spring Break by sipping on a margarita while I disassembled a toddler bed and packed away crib sheets and bumper pads.

Mr Blue Eyes got his very own big boy bed!

I sure am going to miss this cute bedding. I searched for months on the internet, every baby vendor imaginable, until I found exactly what my hormonal brain wanted. 

While his room was under construction, someone found a couple "Uh Oh's" behind the toddler bed.

Way to go Uh Oh Fairy!

As the new Big Boy Bed took form, Mr Blue Eyes was beside himself with excitement. 

So excited I think he had ants in his pants. 

Or he'd been sneaking cookies again and had a sugar rush. 

It was a team effort to make the bed with his new sheets. 

They do good work - only once of course.

I don't know... he looks sooooo little in that Big Boy Bed. 

But there was no going back. He has waited and wished for this bed for months. 

 New clean, Big Boy room.

He even skipped story time that night he was so excited to snuggle in. 

This was a week of moving.
We went to parks, went for walks, I pushed 70 lbs of kids in a double stroller 4 miles into the wind and thought I would die - but we moved.

I can safely say I am in better shape than I was ten years ago. In fact, I ran 6 Miles with out stopping at the start of the week and then 7 miles this morning as I continue to train for my first half marathon in May. We had just enough nice weather that the kids and I trained together. 

They motivate me to move. So we made sure to also motivate Daddy. We cheered for Handy Man at his hockey game. 

The kids got to watch the old man skate and play hockey for the first time.

To them, he was Wayne Grezky.

I did manage to relax for a half an hour pool side. Mr Blue Eyes was very excited that Sis did not have school and was able to come watch his lesson. The first time in a month there were no tears from our little guppy.

He was all smiles and thumbs up this week.

We brushed hairy horses and rode PC. 

We smiled and giggled and played Candy Land.  

We had ice cream. Because you have to have ice cream on Spring Break.

It was a perfect week.