Get it Together

 Rocky had a performance at her school.  They had a Hawaiian artist in residence that taught them to hula.  It took me back to my BYU Hawaii days when I almost flunked my Hula class because I slept through the final.  In the end she let me take it and I passed okay.  I am not kidding when I say that I had studied my hips off in order to get through that class.  I loved it but Hula is no joke.
Rocky did just fine, probably because she inherited her skills from her old mom, not to mention this kicking sarong.  I think she excelled because she took it so seriously.  The other kids were picking their noses and giggling and stuff, by my little Lilo had her game face on the whole time.  I finally got to meet Arlo, Ayla, Kaleia, Leila and Jaxon.  I also found out that there is a kid in Rocky's class named Marley McNutt which immediately turned both Brandon and me into second graders who can't stop giggling.  Rocky told me that we shouldn't laugh because Marley is a "really nice girl."  This just goes to show that my kindergartener is more mature than her parents. 

I didn't get a photo but both Rocky and Daisy have caught the Olympic bug.  Between the three of us we invented a new sport, competitive ice dancing cleaning.  You lose points for just standing around but can score major bonuses for artistic dance-cleaning moves.  As you can see we had to just pretend that there was ice, but in case you were wondering, the cleaning part was legit, and also coincidentally, my idea.

 Rocky was surprised to find that her hand had completely disappeared which doesn't cause a deduction in points, but makes the cleaning stunts a little more challenging.

I have noticed that there are about a million pictures of Rosy in her high chair.  I am convinced that it is because the only time she will sit still is when she is strapped in.  Otherwise the pictures just look like the back of her head as she runs away.

 Brandon made specialty pancakes for Valentine's Day.  No wonder he has these girls wrapped around his finger.  Not only did he make them heart and flower shaped but he served them with pink syrup made out of fresh strawberries.

 Sometimes I feel bad for the boys that fall for these girls because they are going to have a lot to live up to. 

 That night Rocky and Daisy paid him back by setting our house up like their restaurant.  The dish of the night at Chef Coozine was spaghetti and meatballs and barf juice.  (Otherwise known as fruit punch but once Daisy drank it an then barfed and so it was thus named.  I know, gross.)
For one night Rocky let us turn off her Pandora station so we could listen to Italian music.  (She switches between Bruno Mars and One Direction, much to the disdain of her dad.  Her favorite song is "Treasure" and if she is awake she thinks that Pandora needs to be playing.  Daisy is a little more picky about her music.  The other day on the way to school Katy Perry's Roar came on the radio and she said, "Rocky really likes this song but I think it is crappy."  In that moment I wished that the whole world could hear her little voice say the word crappy.  And speaking of her little voice that reminds me of the thing that makes my girls laugh harder than I even thought possible.  Rocky will try to get Daisy to say the word, octubre (October in Spanish).  Daisy can't say it right and kind of sounds like she is doing an impression of Dracula.  Octoblegh.  Rocky will tell her how to say it right and then Daisy will say it wrong and they will laugh hysterically, then Rocky will say it again and Daisy will say it wrong again and they will laugh again.  It has kind of become a regular part of our daily routine.)

 My favorite part of the night was Daisy's centerpiece.  She put a lot of thought into the arrangement.  She also still insists that the pink animal is not a pig, but a dog. 

 And here is Rosy again, in her seat.  (Since we were eating in a fancy restaurant everybody kept their shirts on.) 

This photo lives to prove how Rosy really earned her new nickname, Marley McNutt. 
Nobody believes me because when we walk out the door she becomes this miniature doll that sits stone-faced observing the room.  But, within these walls, she becomes a wild animal. 

The Baby Dragon and her keepers

 The other day they were doing this car-seat check at the fire station.  I didn't really think it was important, but I figured that it couldn't hurt if we went.  When we pulled up the police officer that was assigned to us looked in the van and saw three darling girls, happily and safely tucked into their seats.  The van was even newly cleaned thanks to the fact that a few days earlier I had shuttled a bunch of friends to a party so had spent a good deal of time vacuuming up cheerios and smashed fruit snacks off the seats.    Just like this picture, things looked like they were under control.

Don't Believe What You See

 The guy was a little surprised and asked, "Did you need some help with something?"  I explained that I just wanted to make sure that my kids were safe.  Then he took a second look and actually started moving the seats around.  Rosy's seat wasn't even secured safely, and she could wiggle out of the arm straps.  At that moment I could see the understanding come into his eyes and he realized that even though at that moment we looked like we were under control the truth was the exact opposite.  All three girls needed adjustments on their seats and Daisy's had expired in 2011. 
When did I completely lose it as a mother?
By the end their were two firemen, a cop and the supervisor of the program crawling around in the back seat of the van trying to fix things up.  Of course once they were unstrapped all three of the girls were jumping around in the front seats, Rosy was pushing all the buttons and the windows were going up and down and they were all trying to talk to me at the same time. 
It was total chaos.
When I pulled out the scene in the back of the van looked much like it did when we had arrived but this time the girls were legitimately safe.  I wanted to feel embarrassed but I really just felt relieved and I laughed the whole way home.  I never thought I would be that lady but it happened.  Maybe I will have it together again one day when my kids aren't so small but then again, maybe I never had it together in the first place.  At least now I have three little someones to blame it on.

Rosy said her first word.  Bush baby.  Jill gave her this stuffed animal for Christmas and now it has forever cemented its place in Rigby history.