Friday, May 2, 2014

High Five for Friday (5.2.14)

Strange, right?
1. Last week my phone broke. The screen just popped up out of the frame while the phone sat quietly on the table at Starbucks (yes, I still go there, but only once a week and because I must have a Petite Vanilla Bean Scone on Thursdays), so the damage had nothing to do with how I treated or took care of the phone. Dealing with Verizon and Apple to replace the broken phone gave me heart palpitations and nightmares, but since this is a "high five" post, I will overlook all that and focus on the positive…which is that my new phone arrived not broken and Apple paid for me to ship the broken phone back to them. A second high five will come when Apple releases the $700 hold they have on my credit card…

That was a terrible "high five" entry. Let's go in a different direction.

2. Last Friday night Will graduated from a camo belt to a green belt in Tae Kwon Do! He completed his forms with strength and accuracy, and actually got a few good kicks and punches in during his sparring rounds. (Will is the smallest kid in his class, and though he won't admit it, sparring kids who are bigger and stronger than him makes him nervous and consequently timid.) I love watching him on the mat, and was so pleased that my dad - visiting on his way home from a business trip to Mexico - could attend the graduation as well. Hallie, completely worn out from a busy day playing with Grandpa, saw very little of Will's demonstrations…
 

3. On Saturday morning I bit the bullet and dolled my Hal Gal up in full hair and make-up for her dance pictures. I hated every minute of turning my newly-five-year-old into a dancing princess, not because I dislike styling her hair or applying make-up, but because she's FIVE YEARS OLD and I don't think five year old little girls should wear make-up. I understand why dancers are required to wear make-up for recitals though - I've been on stage and know the importance of stage make-up - so I went along with it and did my best to find a happy medium between a completely clean face and one that looked like it belonged to a hooker.

When we arrived at the studio for pictures, both the owner and Hallie's teacher (and then later in the day a friend of mine whose four daughters all dance) told me that Hallie's make-up looked perfect. And while I still prefer Hallie sans make-up, I couldn't deny that my little dancing princess looked truly stunning.

For the record, Hallie loved every single aspect of her made-up face and cried when I washed off the eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, and lipstick. Deep breaths, deep breaths... 

4. Did you have as rough of a week on the parenting front as I did? My sister and I spent 40 minutes on the phone yesterday afternoon. The first 20 minutes revolved around her giving me advice on how to deal with a problem I'm having with Will (as an elementary school teacher, she's an expert on addressing issues in preschoolers through fifth graders), and the second 20 minutes revolved around me giving her advice on how to deal with a problem she's having with Lily. (I'm no expert, but Hallie was a peach of a three-year-old so I have a few "been there, done that" theories, ideas, and suggestions to offer.) This short piece - entitled, "Parents: You're Doing it all Wrong" - picked me up a bit and give me the chuckle I needed to survive the rest of the day. (I especially love the picture the author used…maybe Tom will buy me a coffee mug that reads "World's Okayest Parent" for Mother's Day.)

5. Happiness Highlights:
Will, working on pop-ups with Grandpa. 
He may be small when compared to his baseball teammates
and opponents, but he's working so hard to become stronger.
And he's working on his fielding (with the Aggies!) too. 
Hallie thought this bench needed dressing up.
As a last resort, I bought the first set of BOB Books for Hallie.
Miraculously, they worked for her and now - just like that - she can read. 
Will styled Hallie's hair into this
be-ee-u-tee-ful ponytail all by himself. Clearly.
Happy Friday, friends!

Linking up with High Five for Friday!

No comments:

Post a Comment