OCD Never Looked So Good

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What four-year-old makes his bed like THIS? With NO help from Mama?

This has been going on for a while now, at least since the age of three.

Older sister could use a few lessons from him, although her skills would be considered NORMAL. This is a DAILY occurrence:

Pillow pet tucked neatly in the corner, blankies folded ever-so-perfectly at the foot of his bed.

It really is an ART form.

Sometimes I wonder where he gets this from...

Then I admit that I was a child who never once "played" with my Barbies.

I would set them up perfectly ONLY to admire.

To this day, each of my Barbies have all of their outfits, shoes, and hair in tact.

And I still won't let my daughters play with them until they are RESPONSIBLE enough.

I look forward to when he grows up so we can go on mother/son organizational frenzies!

Our little ladybug is three!!!

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I am shocked that Brenna is three. She is still my baby! How can this be? I guess time flies when you are living in survival mode. I thought for sure by now I'd have my act together!

We love our Rosie. She is such a delight, her face is so fairy-like, and she is the best tushy-shaker I know. She has us all wrapped around her little finger. In fact, today we realized that she does most of the mess-making, but never any of the cleaning up! We've got to work on this now that she is a big girl.

Here's getting to know our girl:

She has the keenest sense of smell, probably asks us at least 10 times a day, "What's that smell?" Could be morning breathe, the catalytic converter, Kempton's you-know-whats, Daddy's face, chocolate, pretty much anything. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree on this one.

Her dimples are so kissable, she is so feminine, and loves the color pink. Must use pink bowls, plates, cups or else...

Playing babies is her thing. She must have her baby (bear) with her at all times. That thing has had nine lives. Last winter after it had been lost for a couple months, it showed up in the preschool parking lot after the snow thawed.

She is such a big helper in nursery at church. I recently got a call from her nursery leader telling me how sweet and helpful Brenna is in there. Her independent side comes out when I'm not around.

She's mama's little sidekick. Wants to be near me, even when she has to go potty. She loves to hug, snuggle, and kiss me all day long. She says Kempton is her "best friend" but has a funny way of showing it!

Ironically enough, she's our biggest eater, and least picky.

Brenna had her first official birthday party, with invitations and everything.

 

 

Ladybug themed decor:
and food:

We did these place mats again:
She loves her friends! I made ladybug tutus for the girls, and a bug catcher for her one boyfriend.

Pin the dot on the ladybug of course.

She isn't into all this attention and gets embarrassed easily. This was her reaction to the birthday song!

I think their favorite part was when we turned on music and danced the "jitterbug," but...

...Brenna just observed her friends having a great time.

Coming to a bank near you:

We can't forget the family party. Thank you grandparents for the fun gifts!

Grandpa Perriton and Brenna's birthdays are two days apart, so we took Grandpa to one of his favorite restaurants, KFC for our family celebration.

Notice Averie's missing tooth! More on that later...

Happy Birthday Rosie Posey!

Getting Real

Pin It I have been thinking about the blogging world lately, especially the stay-at-home Mormon mommy ones. All the positivity, creativity, lovey-dovey stuff is really very inspiring, but.... is it realistic? And could we be doing each other a great disservice by only showing our best?


I then realized that a few of the blogs I am addicted to are those that talk about real life, not just the fluff. I love blogs that make me realize "I'm not the only one who feels that way about such and such" or blogs that make me laugh because they are showing the more human side of motherhood. After reading these kinds of blogs, I feel uplifted, like a weight has been lifted off of me. And just as a side not, I also enjoy creative blogs with beautiful pictures and fun blogs about nutrition, design, fashion and parenting tips. Plus I love all of my friend's and family's blogs! I enjoy seeing what you are up to and reading your thoughts. It's just got me thinking:

"I don't know about you, but even though I have a great life, it's not always flowery and it's FAR from perfect! It's definitely a work in progress."

Don't get me wrong, I will continue to blog our family's important events and the joys that come along with being a wife and mother, but I just want to be more REAL about it. I do feel that through my blogging, I have shown glimpses of the good, the bad, and the ugly. I just want to remember the chaos and less-than-perfect parts of marriage and family. These parts are just as important to reminisce.

Cale is a true realist and is very honest (no exaggerations or sensationalizations coming from him) and has accused me of being an "eternal optimist"and sometimes putting on a happy face or front even if I don't feel that way. I think it's funny that he wants me to be less optimistic, but he has a point. It is important to recognize joy, happiness, excitement, and blessings, but it's also OK to recognize disappointments, frustration, and problems. It can't be all or nothing! Meaning one bad day doesn't makes for a bad life, one fight doesn't mean a bad marriage, or one inpatient moment where I lose my temper with my kids does not make me a bad mother.

So, in the spirit of "being real," here are a few things that we, as the Perriton family, fight about. Enjoy!

~Cale leaving his toiletries on the counter every morning before work, plus his underwear on the ground, and wet towels on the carpet. He doesn't even feel bad!
~Sunday evenings when I realize how messy the house is and that I have to clean it up Monday morning, which takes several hours and my whole day is shot.
~Me procrastinating the payment of bills when that is my responsibility. So Cale goes on a bill paying frenzy and pays them all at once.
~Me rarely cleaning out the car, leaving it just plain nasty.
~Me wanting to exercise AND sleep in on Saturday mornings, meaning Saturday mornings are all about Suzette!
~Brenna refusing to go potty on her own, usually insisting that I lift her on the potty and stand there and wait.
~Averie strongly resisting me doing her hair. So I just do the easiest thing possible to avoid the drama.
~One word: Football. Although I've kind of gotten over this. It only took me 12 years!
~Kempton being the king of dilly-dallying in the morning, making Averie almost late to school every day.
~Not to mention the constant fight between Kempton and Brenna over MY LAP.