Girls...

Today, Grace made me chuckle.

I heard one of those commercials on the radio to come audition for some of the Director's that "might" have something to do with the Disney shows she watches. Such as Wizards of Waverly Place, Sweet Life of Zack and Cody, you get my point. I just knew she would want to do something like that and I have heard (and ignored) the commercial a million times over the last few years. After thinking some about what kind of parent I want to be and what I want to teach her, I told her if she wanted to go I would take her. It is only 20 minutes away anyhow.

I have thought a lot this year about parenting, as kids are at so many different levels of maturity and what they wear, how they act and what they do, even though they are all twelve! HA  The ones I am talking about are her friends. Grace wears makeup. I don't care, I even help her if it doesn't look right (whatever that is). For a while I contemplated not letting her wear any at all. Then I saw the other kids at her school. WOW. For some time I went back and forth but always go back to the battle thing. Is makeup a battle worth fighting over? For me? No. How you wear your makeup is a different story. Is it harming her? No. Does it affect the way others look at her? Maybe. Does it affect the way people look at me? Of course it does. Because that's the way I work and think. It all goes back to the parents. So, do I not let her wear it (and argue constantly and see, daily, most of the other girls her age wearing it) or do I give up worrying about what others think about ME? That is a hard issue, I know. Needless to say, Grace does wear makeup and I feel a little better about not saying no, again. I feel like I say no a lot, and I don't want to be that parent. There are certain issues I won't budge on, like lying about her age so she can have facebook, or getting her a cell phone when she does not need one. But...

And honestly I lost the whole point I was trying to make above, about the auditions. It's easy to say Grace will never be a famous singer or actor (more than likely). But I didn't want her one day to say it's because I wouldn't let her audition!

I asked her when she got home from school today if she wanted me to call and set up a time. She raised her eyebrows and said "no, not really. Just Beiber even says he wishes he wasn't famous because he'll never have a normal life again."

I was flabbergasted, but held my cool. When she walked away I raised my eyes and told God "thank you so much."

I did think it was funny though!

…the thoughts above about makeup are solely mine. MY OPINION…and again, we all know what they're  like, assholes, because we all have one!

And I totally respect if you agree or disagree!

I have definitely overcommitted with school. I am taking five classes and my family and home are getting the back burner. I have two more months left and won't be taking that many classes again, ever. I know it will all be worth it, but I won't get this time back with my family, and classes will always be there to take. I am going to limit to 3 at a time from now on. That will get me where I want to be…eventually.

We were able to get some time away from school and work last weekend. We took the kids to the Tennessee Aquarium. Grace says she wants to be a marine biologist, so she loves everything about the aquarium. Marcus, on the other hand, is pretty much only excited about the elevator at the hotel, and the escalator at the aquarium. It's quite comical. If I can ever get the video off of our camera from Disney, I have the funniest videos of Marcus wanting to leave the park to go back to the condo. He did not like Disney World and is probably the only kid I have ever known to be like that!

This one was taken through the glass but turned out pretty good.

I thought these were pretty. 

She has a feddish with sharks. She LOVES them. 

My first time eating here. Feta, artichokes, onions, and white sauce…yum!

Why yes, of course he's playing Angry Birds on my phone.