Brought To You By The Letter P

I can hardly believe that one week ago we put Hannah on a plane back to college.  This past week has been a blur of activity and playing catch up.  I intentionally let many things sit (and slide!) during her time at home so we could enjoy our time together as a family.  But seeing her go meant facing a vertical climb to get back on top of real life!  Her visit home was fabulous every which way.  Here are a few highlights....

P is for Pajamas

Pajama day at school was a MUCH bigger success than crazy sock day.  Thank goodness.  I learned some important lessons on the eve of crazy sock day, when WITH MY DAUGHTER'S BLESSING AND FULL PERMISSION, I stayed up very late sewing fancy bows and jingle bells all over her favorite striped knee socks.  I proudly draped them over the couch and was caught COMPLETELY off guard when she arrived down stairs the next morning in a hysterical fit of tears because I had ruined! her! favorite! socks! FOREVER!!!!  It was a confusing morning that ended in me tearing jingle bells from knee highs in a highly dramatic fashion while my wailing six year old watched from a time out stool.  A low, really.  A parenting low.  I then proceeded to RIP the entire sock drawer out of her dresser and set it at her feet, demanding that she choose a suitable pair of crazy socks to wear to kindergarten.

She chose white bobby socks.  Plain white.  I'm not even kidding.  With a total smirk on her face.

I was STEAMED.  The child went to school on crazy sock day wearing white socks, and I slammed a fistful of perfectly good jingle bells into the trash.

So, you can understand why I got a total case of the vapors when the teacher sent a note home saying we had to wear pajamas to school.  I resolved right then and there to let her pick out every single thing and to NOT embellish, change, or alter any night wear in any way.  She chose to wear cat pajama pants, a horse pajama night gown, and an owl robe.  All at once.  (With white bobby socks, don't you just know.) I was fine with it.  Completely fine.  And I only mentioned sixty seven times once or twice that Nana and Papa had just gifted her a fetching pair of MATCHING pajamas with little pink hearts on them for her birthday.  It was all good.  We made it through pajama day, smiling and everything.  Victory.

P is for Perot

We visited the new Perot Science Museum, and despite missing the parking lot entrance (twice!) and getting completely lost downtown, it was highly entertaining.

The musical staircase was a big hit.

So is this cool thing in the sports exhibit where you can race different animals on a huge screen.  Max is faster than a T-Rex, in case you were wondering.

P is for Pampered, and Pomegranate Martinis

Hannah's roommate came to spend two weeks with us.  She is fabulous and we absolutely adore her.  One night, the girls agreed to hold down the fort so that Handsome Buzzard could take me out on the town for a belated anniversary celebration.  We went out for a steak dinner (thank you, Dad!) and spent the night in a hip hotel.  P is for a PERFECT evening away.

P is for Playing Games

There's never a shortage of people in my house when Hannah is home for a visit.  That's part of what makes having her here so fun!  There were plenty of game nights with friends during this break.

P is for Parties with Tea

It is tradition for Emma and Sissy to share a tea party together the day before Sissy goes back to college.  Except technically, it's a cinnamon roll and chocolate milk party.  But they always use the purple tea set that Hannah made in ceramics class in the second grade.  This party was extra special since Lindsey was in town to join in the fun.  P is for Precious.

P is for Pumpkin Muffins

Life jolted into full speed when the girls left town, and switching gears can be hard when you are six.  (Or forty four!)  I purposed some special time with Emma this past week to help ease that transition.  We spent one whole morning making pumpkin muffins, and since I blocked out the whole morning for us, I didn't worry at all about the mess.  I let her do everything....measure the flour (and dump it on the counter), crack the eggs (and add shells to our batter)......you get the idea.  In other words, one batch of muffins really did take up an entire morning, but we had a lot of fun.  Turns out her favorite part was washing the dishes.  I filled the sink with warm soapy water, and she stood on a stool forever playing in it.  She was drenched by the end, which was just fine by me.  Took me four kids, but I finally got one who likes to do dishes!  Wonder how long that will last???

P is for Painted Ponies

I picked up a package of paper horses for a dollar at the Hobby Lobby.  We did an open ended art project the other day.  Emma kept calling out the next supply that we had to use in our masterpieces.  Here is my watercolor, crayon, marker, glitter glue, sequence, cut paper, google eyed creation! Who knew you could use so many supplies on one piece of paper!

P is for Penny

Penny, the Perfect Pet.  I have no idea how we got so lucky.  We just plain did.  She got her hair done this week, and is now particularly beautiful.  :-)  She played outside with the neighbor's four pound puppy the other day, and was so incredibly gentle.  Don't they look like a mega and mini version of the same dog??  Super cute.