Gift

In a week we will be celebrating the 4th Birthday of Miss R. 4 years. Holy Hell. My girls are no longer babies and never will be again. They are silly, mischievous, smart little girls who will definitely give SP and me a run for our money as they grow up. They already do that now which makes us have to think quicker and smarter just to keep up.

We have now been in our house in Louisville for 3 years. The memories of being in Cincinnati are fading a bit as new memories here take their place. It will always be the birthplace of my girls but I really feel like Louisville is home. It's where I feel most rooted and grounded with my family and hope they do too.

I love seeing them interact with each other and all the kids in our cul-de-sac. It reminds me of my childhood and all the close friends and fun times I had growing up. There is definitely something of value in having those early friendships and spending so much time playing outside.  I am glad we're able to have a home that allows them to experience that.

For the moment, I feel our family is calm and content. The girls are healthy. Sp and I are healthy. We are happing and enjoying life.

I am not sure what the future holds for us, but right now I am enjoying the moment. This is not always easy for me to do, so I am working on it. I don't want to look back three years from now and regret one single thing.

What will she become?

C loves to watch the DIY channel. LOVES IT. She prefers to watch that channel over most movies, cartoons and kids programs. Her favorite is Nic*le Curtis. She'll sit for HOURS and watch show after show. Lawn remodeling. Bathroom remodeling. Whole house renovation. Doesn't matter.

For her birthday we got her a tool belt and tool set. A real one. Not one of those rink dinky plastic sets. Sure, it's all pink, but the stuff works. I even used her tools to take apart the dishwasher recently. They do the job.

She's got some random pieces of wood outside and she'll hammer, screw, bang around for as long as we'll let her. I am fascinated by this. I am in awe of her.

Looking around I don't really see many kids with their own tools, a desire to watch the DIY and overcome with sheer joy with the prospect of building me a garden box. It's uniquely beautiful and we are doing all we can to encourage her interest.

Today we were at the hardware store to buy wood for the garden box and they were having one of those kid classes. She has been begging to go, but her slacker parents forget...often. Just our luck that today was the first Saturday of the month and build a bird feeder day.

So, we built bird feeders. C was very into it and almost split SPs thumb hammering. R lost interest in about a second and I ended up building her bird feeder. It was really fun and I hope we can remember to do that more often.

I can only imagine where this interest of C's will take her. Seems like the prospects are wide open and I am going to just sit back and enjoy watching her little mind work. Such a cool little girl.

We aren't that different

This morning R presented herself in the bathroom where I was getting ready full of jazzy confidence. She had dressed herself and was damn proud of it. Her picking out her own outfits has become quite a thing and today was no exception. She had discarded the shorts I picked out last night and opted for a purple pair to go with her blue and pink Minnie Mouse t-shirt. On her feet were socks that did not match and a pair of Nike's that were a size too big. Such a sense of accomplishment was evident on her face, and I just rolled with it.

Together R and I went to find C who was also getting dressed. She had not really deviated from the outfit she selected last night, but she had picked a fetching pair of black knee high boots to go with her shorts and t-shirt. She LOVES those boots. They are hand-me-downs from her friend from school. She wears them whenever she can. But today, heading to Spring Break Camp, she had to leave the boots behind and she was not to happy about it. In the end, she opted for flip flops and that seemed to brighten her mood.

I can remember having my own sense of style from a very young age. To be different was just my way and not because I was "choosing" it necessarily, it was just what I liked. Sure I may have worn black, and nothing else for years. Or had a pair of faux snake skin pants that I rocked with a lime green shirt. Chances are, no one looked like me but everyone looked at me, and that was ok.

I still like to wear socks that don't match. Black is still a color of choice in most outfits. I don't care too much about trends or any of that. I just wear what I like and what makes me feel good. I am trying to do that with my girls.

It would be real easy to try and control what they are wearing because it doesn't match or fit someones idea of "normal", but I am not going to. As long as they look appropriate and clean, it doesn't really matter to me. Like those knee high boots...can't really play safely in those shoes so I had to draw a line...but otherwise go for it. I did.