WAH Blog

Well it was time – time for me to cut (or trim) Brooks hair. I guess the final straw came this Monday night when the third person that day commented on my cute daughter. Brent has been driving me crazy to get it cut for months so Tuesday night I went to Cool Cuts and got a TRIM – not a buzz cut! As you can tell by the photo, not only was mommy traumatized but so was Brooks. Thomas the Train and a lollipop couldn't dry the tears. The good news though is it's still long enough to make me happy, yet short enough where he looks like a boy!

For as long as I can remember, Dylan has been asking me for a "little" dog.   See, we have a GIANT dog – a Great Pyrenesse that weighs 120 pounds! My reply to Dylan every time she asked for a "little" dog was "when you turn 5." Well, guess who turned 5 this week? Yep. So guess who got a dog this week? The Bell-Milam home. We surprised her with an 8-week-old Cockapoo and boy is she cute. Dylan decided to name her Ginger and she is as sweet as can be. So now our family is complete! No more kids and no more animals!   

This is the first year I get to see a Christmas Program for one of my kids at school. I have been hearing about these adorable little 4- and 5-year-old plays from other moms for years. This is my year! I'm so excited. Now that Dylan is in preschool I'm the one that gets to brag about my adorable preschooler who sings like an angel. Her Christmas play is today so I'll let you know how she does, but here is something I know for sure, I've heard her sing and she got my genes when it comes to tone and it's not good! But then again, does it matter? Any 4-year-old who opens their mouth to sing is bound to sound like an angel. Right?

After a delightful weekend excursion with Dylan to the Junior League's American Girl Fashion Show and Breakfast benefitting HITS Theatre, I realized how crazy we are for introducing our kids to outrageously expensive trends.

Again – what was I thinking? I can remember as a child I was perfectly content with my beat up Raggedy Ann doll, Holly Hobby and Cabbage Patch kid. Now adays the dolls come in look-alike styles with matching clothes for the doll and the child. You do the math – a doll, outfit for Dylan, matching outfit for the doll, accessories for the doll (because heaven forbid the American Girl cannot ride in the back seat without a car seat) and the list keeps growing. It's not cheap.

I'm getting smart though because this weekend Allegro Ballet is holding their annual Sugar Plum Fairy Breakfast and Market. I casually told my mom she HAS to take Dylan because it's the perfect Grandma/Granddaughter event, which it is, but I'll also remind her not to leave home without it … you  know … her credit card!   

The silver lining to this child, who seems to think she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, is that 95 percent of all events she attends benefits a charity of some sort.  So that makes "dolling" out the cash a little easier to swallow!

I can't believe it is finally here! As I was getting Brooks dressed for school today I was thinking about McCain and Obama's destiny. I'm sure McCain's mom (she is the only candidates mom who is living) can't believe her little baby boy will find out if he is the next President of the United States by the end of the day. I can bet as a mom this whole campaign is one BIG emotional rollercoaster, and I'm sure it is so surreal for her. So whoever wins the election today just be happy we live in a great country with the freedom to choose our next President and maybe, just maybe, someday my little Brooks will be a candidate for President of the United States!

A few weeks ago we baptized our son Brooks Andrew. We had family and friends there to share this special day with us. The problem with baptizing a 2-year-old child is the fact that they can speak now. When we baptized Dylan she could only say a few words. Well, not so much with Brooks. More like LOTS of words. So when the Pastor dabbed water on Brooks head he began to slap the Pastor's hand away and say "No. No." After what seemed like 10 minutes (but was actually only one second) of complete humiliation in front of the congregation, they broke out in laughter while I wanted to disappear. So now Brooks is baptized, and our whole family will have a story to tell of Brooks's infamous baptism. Can't wait to tell this at his child's baptism someday!

Do you have a friend you have known forever? I was thinking this past weekend of the longest friendship I have and it goes back to the 5th grade! My 5-year-old daughter, Dylan, has been friends with her friend Brooke since they were 4 months old. I met Tracie (Brooke's mom) at a charity event in the neighborhood we lived in and Dylan was 4 months and Brooke was 8 months and ever since that meeting  the girls (and the moms) have been friends. Here they are around a year old as we are going to Disney on Ice and then a few weeks ago at Chucky Cheese. It is so much fun to see the girls grow up together and their friendship develop (except for the few times they argue over a princess costume). So what is the longest friendship you have to date and what makes it work?

Well I did it again. This time I went too far. I actually bought Brooks a Hummer for his birthday. When Dylan turned 2 her grandparents bought her a Barbie Jeep, but when Brooks figured out how to drive her Barbie Jeep we figured it was time to buy him his own wheels. It also drove Brent crazy his son was obsessed with a pink Jeep. I did however remind Brent that Brooks does not know or care the Jeep is pink – it has a steering wheel, an accelerator and brakes, and that is all he cares about! So Brooks got his own car last week. I neglected to think about the fact that now a 5-year-old and 2-year-old have moving automobiles, and my backyard has literally turned into a collision fest.  So now every night Brent is playing  traffic cop as opposed to relaxing and watching the kids play peacefully. See, Brooks driving a pink Jeep wasn't all that bad!