- X's and O's -

Will you be my GALentines???!?

We never turn down an opportunity for celebration, and Valentine's Day lands perfectly in the dead of winter when a little pink warmth is more than welcome!  

Between a Valentine's bag decorating contest at my work...

 

...to both kids' Valentine's Day parties at school and Juli stealing a little V-Day kiss from her babysitter's son...  

 

...to Daddy cooking us a steak dinner after work [which I failed to grab a pic of!]...

...we were really feelin' the love this year!  Juliette especially enjoyed thumbing through her big sisters' school party loots!

Sending all the x's and o's to you!!!

 

 

- Eagles or Rams or Chiefs? Yeahhhhh, IDK! -

We are SUCH BIG football fans that Scarlett thought we were going to a bowling party tonight and this  is my current Google search: "Who is in the Super Bowl 2023?"

...But a couple of hours before the kickoff, our next door neighbor brought over green balloons and football rings for the kids and so! LETS GO, EAGLES!!! ;) :)

We had a great evening full of great family/friends and lots of yummy food! #eaglesbaby !

- Out of the mouth of babes: VOL XXXVIII -

On the way to pick up Harper from school:
Me:  "You can be something GREAT when you grow up!  ...A teacher, a doctor, a mom, a dog trainer, a babysitter... What do you think you'll be?"
Scarlett:  "Well, I know one thing I'm DEFLY [definitely] not gonna be.............. A BOY!"
Me: .....

While opening the "Guess Who?" game:
"Well, the box says you have to be 6 to play this... You're too old and I'm too little, but.........who cares! Let's just play anyway!"

After [cautiously] talking about a school shooting at dinner one evening:
Scarlett:  "Well what will I do if somebody shoots everybody except me and Juliette and I can't take care of her because she's really heavy and I can't pick her up?"
Me:  ".....Well, somebody like Grammy or Papa would have to help you..."
Scarlett:  "But how would they even know?! Would I call 9-9-1?"
:'( :'(

Randomly, a few weeks after briefly discussing why the kiddos at VBS were very strictly prohibited from wearing white shirts on water fun Friday:
"Mom!!! I'm gonna check 'da radar and see if it's raining today, because you and Daddy have a white shirt on!"

One Sunday morning before Mass:
Scarlett:  "Mom, can you pick out my clothes so I can get changed?"
Me:  "I'm putting my makeup on, can you ask Daddy for help?"
Scarlett:  "I already asked him, but he's just laying on 'da couch wif [with] his armpit hair just...hanging out!"
Me: .....

After sprinting to the car in a mild rain:
"Phew!  We made it to 'da car wif-out 'da barella [umbrella]!"

On the way home from picking up a Dewey's pizza:
"Buckle up, everybody!  'Else 'da police might get us and take us to jail!  ...And they might even take our peesa [pizza], which would be TERble [terrible] because we are wheely [really], wheeeeeely hungry!"

As I was in the shower:
Scarlett, rushing in:  "MOMMMM!  Uncle Brantsy is here!  I already telled him you are in 'da showa [shower] and he MIGHT not want to come in here..."

 

Five minutes after said announcement ^^:
Me:  "Scarlett, tell Dad to come in here to the bathroom so I can tell him something about food at the concert..."
Scarlett, shout/yelling while walking out of the bathroom:  "DADDDDD, come in here, Mom needs you for sump-ing!  Brantsy, Mom is still naked, so you stay in 'da kitchen!"
Brant:  .....

While being forced to clean up the tornado of toys:
Scarlett:  "For my bert-day [birthday] or Christmas, I want, ummm, a Alexis [Alexa] and a magic wand so then I can just tell Alexis to wave it and I won't have to pick up all my stuff!"
Me:  "I'll take the same gift for my birthday or Christmas!"
Scarlett:  .....

While heating up leftovers for dinner:
Scarlett:  "Ughhhhhhh, we're having 'DA SAME FOOD AGAIN??!??!"
Harper:  "Scarlett, some kids are homeless and always hungry, they live outside and are so hungry that they just have to make mud pies with grass on top."
Scarlett:  ".....Oh.  Well do 'dey like it?"
Harper:  .....

Randomly:
"Mommy, I know everybody you know except your work friends, right?"

While talking to her iPad -- offline -- on the way to pick out her birthday balloons:
Scarlett:  "Hey Siri, is 'da bloon shop open?"
Siri:  "To answer that, you'll need to be online."
Scarlett:  "Hey Siri, just tell us for real.  IS...'DA...BLOON...SHOP...OPEN???"

After getting a flu shot and complaining about a sore leg:
"Just imagine if you break your muscle bone.........is actually what this feels like!"

Randomly:
Scarlett:  "Mommy, when I'm all grown up, will you still be my mud-duh [mother]?"
Me:  "Yes!  But you might not always live in my house, like you might have kids and your own family and want to move out some day, but I'll always be your mother!"
Scarlett:  "I'm not gonna get kids.  I'm just gonna 'dopt them."
Me:  "Oh yeah?  Why's that?"
Scarlett:  "BECAUSE!  Rememba [remember], I telled you, I. DON'T. WANNA. GET. A. HUSBAND."

 

 

- Out of the mouth of babes: VOL XXXVII -

After listening to her whiny mom complain about still having some lost/diminished taste/smell following COVID infection in December 2021:
Harper:  "Well, you're lucky COVID didn't make you lose your talking!"
Me:  .....

 

Randomly:
Harper:  "Do you wish you would've had the other baby that died?"
Me:  "Well, not really, because then we wouldn't have had you!"
Harper:  "Yes you would've!"
Me:  .....

After Scarlett had a mini-meltdown about riding in the hot van on a 98* day:
"Scarlett, you should just be happy you aren't a homeless person that can't ever have a house or a car with air inside!"

While watching me get dressed one day:
Harper:  "Look at that BIG tummy! ...From all of us growing inside there!  Imagine if we were all in there at once and you had triplets!"
Me:  .....

Same day, while watching me get ready for bed:
Harper:  "Does every girl wear a bra to bed?"
Me:  "No."
Harper:  "Why do you?"
Me:  "It's just easier with breastfeeding, and stuff....."
Harper: "Ooooooh, I gotcha. Will your nipples stop leaking when you're like 600 years old or something?"
Me: .....

After being put to bed on an August school night before it was dark:
"Scar, did you know we're 'octurnal [nocturnal] because Mom sends us to bed in the middle of the day so we sleep all day?"

 

Randomly:
Harper:  "How old do you have to be to stop having kids?"
Me:  "I'm not sure! Maybe 40?  45?"
Harper:  "Wow!  So you have a long time left to go!  How many more kids do you think you'll have?"
Me:  "I don't know! Maybe none?"
Harper:  "I bet you'll have some more.  Because you know, the more childs you have now, the more grandchilds you'll get some day!  And then you'll have a LOT OF childs to watch!"

 

Before leaving for a shopping spree:
Harper: "Do we have an umbrella?"
Me:  "It isn't really raining that hard..."
Harper:  "But I don't want to get my hair wet, because then it will stink.  Because you know, rain water is fish pee!"
Me:  "No, it isn't..."
Harper:  "Yes, it is! Haven't you ever heard of the life cycle of a cloud?! ...We learned that in kindergarten!"

While driving through the country during November:
Me:  "Wow, the trees really lost a lot of leaves this weekend!"
Brian:  "Yeah, the wind has been ridiculous..."
Harper:  "DAD!  Don't call the wind 'ridiculous,' that's how we breathe!"
Brian: .....

Before bed:
Me:  "Go scrub your teeth, we're going to the dentist tomorrow!"
Harper:  "Awwwww, man!  I HATE the dentist!  It's a dumb, ridiculous place.  And it isn't even healthy for your teeth because it makes them bleed!"
Me: .....

While talking about Twinkle Toes's return:
Harper:  "Well I don't think he'll do the same things he did this year as he did last year, because that would be STUPID..."
Scarlett:  "Yeah, that would DEFLY [definitely] be BORING..."
Brian, me: ..........

While getting in bed on Christmas Eve:
Me:  "Happy birthday, Jesus!"
Harper:  "Do you have a gift for Jesus?"
Me:  "...No, not really, do you?"
Harper: "Yes!"
Me: "What is it?"
Harper:  "Love!"

On the way to candlelight adoration at the church:
Me: "Shoot, we're running late..."
Harper:  "It's ok that we're running late, he won't get Jesus out for a while."

On the same ride to adoration:
"Now, Scarlett, remember when you're at adoration, your body has to be calm, listening, and quiet..."

Randomly: 
Harper:  "Why can't men wear jean shorts?!"
Me:  .....

- Father/Daughter Dance 2023 -

AND THEY'RE OFF!!! 8th Annual Father/Daughter Dance hosted by the local K of C's, here they come!

[^^ Pic on the right of Daddy and all his girls for funsies, even though Super J got voted out for the dance!]   

 

And btw, I enjoyed the heck out of these photos I took before the dance since I figured they'd probably be the only ones I’d get from the evening ..........[and yes, I'll go ahead and give you a spoiler that I predicted correctly!]! 

 

 

All the hairspray...

 

...all the glitter...

 

...ALL FOR DADDY!!! 

 

 

They swung by to pick up another dancing duo on the way, and I don't think I've ever seen a cuter quintet [yes, had to Google, "what do you call a group of 5 people?"]!

 

When they got home, the stories never ended!  Here are two, to name a few:

 

Scarlett: "I ate TWO big heart cookies, one sprinkle brownie, two chocolate kisses, and a bunch of M&Ms!  But I shared the M&Ms with Kate!  And that's all the junk food I ate.  I don't even ask Dad, I just go get whatever I want!" 

 

Harper:  "Yeah, Mom, that's because Dad drunk four cans of beer."

This dancing trio had the bessssst time, and I'm fairly certain that 3/3 of them are already counting down for next year!