sisters

More times than not, when I peek in on my girls before heading to bed, I find them sleeping together. 

Sometimes this means they are both down on the bottom bunk.

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Sometimes, it means they are side by side in their drawers (truthfully I find them like this almost as often as I find them in the bottom bunk). 

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Sometimes they are both on the floor.  (haven’t found them like that in the last 2 weeks)

And once, last week, I even found them side by side in the same drawer.  IMG_1430

As I peek in on them snuggled up together, it gives me hope that as they grow, they’ll share secrets, slumber parties, and hopefully a life long friendship, side by side….

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One day my 4 year old came to me with about 8 pony tail holders and asked me to put them all in her hair.  I was surprised with how cute it turned out and she was excited when she received compliments on it from her friend at church.  After realizing how well it stayed in, I decided it might be worth trying this for gymnastics.    (this is it after a night of sleep)IMG_2235

So, we tried it out for gymnastics that Tuesday.  After their classes, my 5 year old told me she gives me 1 point for her hair that day b/c it stayed in, but was loose at the end.  Her sister however awarded me 3 points b/c not only did it stay in, but her teacher told her she liked it. 

And so it began.  

It, of course, being, my receiving scores for how I style my daughters hair for gymnastics.   (because you know there isn’t enough pressure already as a mom…)

Each day before class we started allowing extra time when getting ready so I could do something special to their hair.  They always have something in mind that they want, and I try my bestest to make it happen.  And after class they’d come out and tell me my score. 

This fancy do right here earned me a 300 from my 4 year old (even though the barrette fell out in class). 

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IMG_2311However, this do on my 5 year old (in which I divided her hair into 5 sections, braided each section and them combined them into a pony tail) got me a whopping 1 point.  (because it looked nice but got loose by the end).

This caused me to delve further into their grading scale.  Basically, my 4 year old is happy if I use a lot of pony tail holders, someone compliments her and it doesn’t all fall out.  She’s easy to please, and more about style than function.   

My 5 year old is a tougher judge.  She informed me that the highest score I could receive is a 10.  When I asked her what I could do to earn a 10 she told me, “Well mom, you could just do a pony tail, just a pony tail, and if at the end of class all my hairs stayed in and none were falling out, that would be a 10).   So, with her the issue isn’t number of compliments, number of pony tails, or even style.  It’s all about function.

hmmmmm

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Well, it turns out that if you sleep in a head full of braids, you wake up the next day with wavy hair.  This was a big hit.  In fact, when she wore her hair to the tutorial the next day with two tiny pony tails and the rest all wavy, it went over very well.  (whew… perhaps redeeming the 1 point score from the night before)

The next day for gymnastics, she told me that she wanted 2 little braids to come together into a pony tail.  This seemed much easier than the 5 braids I had attempted on Tuesday.  And it combined a little bit of style to the function of a pony tail.

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Actually, I think the style helped with the function, as the braids helped keep those loose shorter hairs from flying out during class.  This was of course critical to my scoring at the end of class.

My score? 

100 points! 

(off the charts baby!)

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Nothing like a surprise package of clothes in the mail to bring smiles to the girls faces and provide an impromptu photo opp. 

(the boys appreciated it too, but not to the same extent)

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Thanks cousins Ben and Eli!

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Growing up, part of me wished for a sister… one to share a room with, share clothes and secrets with…. maybe if I’d have had one, I would know better how to braid my girls hair…  I had a great brother, and I would never have traded him for a sister, yet part of me at times felt like I was missing out a little…

When I married Scott I instantly gained in my sister-in-law the sister I had always wanted.  And she is all that and more.  And to sweeten the deal even more, Karen and I share a birthday.  We joke that it’s perfect because it makes it so much easier for him to remember my birthday (that would work IF he could remember his sisters birthday).

I truly couldn’t love Karen more if she was my blood.  I’ve known Karen for more than half my life… in HS I was her secret sister in lacrosse.  While Scott and I were dating in college, she let me crash in her dorm room (often even sharing her top bunk) so I could come and visit Scott at Grove City.  We’ve run races together, shared a mouth guard (gross I know), she’s cut my hair, told me not to wear that jacket with that dress, she was my maid of honor in our wedding…

She became that shopping partner I needed and is great for the clothing consults… (even cross country).  I appreciate her humor and her realness.  I respect her faith and her strength.  She is an awesome Army wife.  She’s a great mom, so laid back and easy going.  And she is one, fantabulous aunt.  (I love listening to my girls play with their baby dolls b/c one is always the mom and the other is always the Aunt Karen).   I appreciate how important family is to Karen and all the effort she makes to be an active and real part of our family’s lives, despite the distance she has always lived from us.  It means more to me than she could ever know.  

Last week we visited Karen and Jim on our way to and from Fl and during quiet/nap time, the two of us got to escape for a little Starbucks date (One of my favorite things to do with Karen).  It was like a pre-birthday gift to ourselves.  Smile   I love that we share a birthday… kinda seals the whole sisterhood thing, ya know?   So, happy birthday Karen… my friend, my sister, and my birthday buddy!  I love you bunches!!!

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IMG_1884My girls had their Mini Olympics Show yesterday afternoon and I gotta tell you, I was one proud Momma as I watched them perform.  

Their class did a floor routine (which was super cute to watch) and then each girl had a chance to perform on the bars, trampoline, and tumble track.  

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The event concluded with a trip to the medal stand for each girl and then the opportunity to pose for pictures afterwards.  In January, the girls were placed into the same class.  This was nice, not only b/c it allowed me to take fewer trips to the gym each week, but also b/c the girls really enjoyed being together in class.  This summer my older daughter will move up to a new class.  I hope though, that it isn’t the last time they share practice time. 

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They both worked so hard this year and learned so many new skills.  I love, LOVE watching them work hard in the gym as well as practice their skills in the living room floor, on what they have deemed the “gymnastics couch” and on the sidelines of their brothers baseball games.  I am very proud of my 2 little gymnasts!

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People often ask me what the girls do while I am doing homeschooling with my oldest child.

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On Tuesday the answer was “take all the cushions off the couch and every single blanket and pillow they owned and build a fort”IMG_0572

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If I am distracted enough they even smoke a stogie or two in their fort.  (just kidding those would be pretzel rods…I promise, but doesn’t this bottom picture look sketchy?)

 

 

If only, tearing down forts and putting them away was as much fun as building them….

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