wheregowego....

Ahhh, summer has settled in here in Gearyland and a routine has been found.  This makes life much easier and less stressful for everyone involved.  One of the items we are working on this summer is Mekdes using complete sentences.  "Wheregowego" is what she uses to ask any question.   It is used so frequently, that it is becoming part of our family vocabulary.   As a result, I am making an effort to use the proper sentence structure with Mekdes when she is asking a question.  Instead of "Wheregowego store?" we are trying "Are we going to the store?".  It is all rather fascinating, really!  Mekdes is doing a great job with her language development and talks 24/7.  We were all in the car the other day and the 90's song--Whoomp!  There It Is! came on and all the girls were singing it.  Each girl was taking her "solo moment" throughout the song and having a great time.  We all burst into hysterical laughter when Mekdes' solo time came up and we heard her sing at the top of her lungs...."Poop, there it is!"  Mekdes must have been thinking...what a strange American tradition to sing a song about bowel movements, but whatever....I'll go with it!!!

I love these moments!!!!

Mekdes loves to snuggle with our Ethiopian flag.

simpler times...

 My heart is yearning for a simpler time with my girls.  A time when finding the right color crayon was all that mattered in an artistic first grade moment.  A time when sleeping in the tent in the backyard was the greatest adventure any little girl could dream of.   When I look at my Anna and Emme now, this is still what I see:

To everyone else, this is what my eldest daughters look like:

All that matters in their worlds now is friends, boyfriends and text messaging.  The greatest adventure they could think of would not include any parents and I'm quite sure would be out of the country!  I don't  know when it happened, but I have become the worst mom on the planet whose only goal is to ruin her daughters' lives.  No more crayons and tents, my friends.  I am at war with hormonal adolescent creatures who are giving me a real run for my money!  My parents have been waiting for this moment.  The moment when I have a daughter who is as unpleasant, selfish and disrespectful as I was in my youth.  Good news, folks!  I have two at the same time--YAHOO!!!!!  From the moment I wake up until the moment I shut my eyes at night I am in a constant tug of war with my older girls.  Checking texts, checking quantity of texts, calling other parents before a party, insisting on meeting other parents and friends, no facebook, constant computer monitoring....these are some of the things that I do to ruin my girls' lives.  Combine these items with the cooking, laundry and 24 hour taxi service I offer and you have created a recipe for a women who loves....wine!!!!  

Oh, I don't mean to complain here.  I realize many women have had daughters and survived.  We are all healthy with a roof over our heads and for that I am eternally grateful!  If I could just get a day here and there when I am not locking horns from the moment I open my eyes, that would be lovely.  

I will end this entry on a positive note.  While the first few days of summer vacation were a NIGHTMARE, we just had a week end that was relatively pleasant.  There was laughter and moments spent together that were enjoyed by all.  I shall take it and tuck it into the folds of my memory to be pulled out another day when I am reaching for that bottle of wine!!!!