Daddy can do it better!

So with the sunshing and the feel of spring in the air....I did IT! I offered to teach my brave 6 year old how to ride her bike without training wheels. WHAT WAS I THINKING!?

So the whole moment felt right: Training wheels off....CHECK! Helmut on.....CHECK! Knee pad and Elbow pad positioned....CHECK! We took a few quick spins in the garage and all felt great! So headed out onto the street!

With my hand positioned on the back of the seat and my encouraging words shouting "PEDDAL...PEDDAL...PEDDAL! We took off...I let go....Panic sets in a down come the feet! Next I get encouraging words from the 6 year old "DON'T LET GO!"

Round 2....back up the street we repeat the steps above!

Round 3.....Not discouraged we attempt this crap again! NO SUCH LUCK! I am getting frustrated and she is getting frustrated. I am getting a backache and tired and she is getting mad! I offer a "let's stop clause" and tell her we will try again later!

Round 4....Okay so not really even a round! 6 year old tries to coax me out behind her bike again and I decline! I am done......I have washed my hands of this task! She can have her daddy teach her how to ride a bike! Those will be great memories that she will have of her daddy teaching her to ride a bike! I don't need her to have memories of me screaching like a howler monkey!

Some things are just best left for daddies to do!

Time to Dance

This is the time of year that I love....the weather is starting to warm up and we finally get a chance to see the Swingers dance! Madison has been in the swingers since last summer: I love to watch the performances, and I even tried to talk hubby into going swing dancing with me. He graciously declined!

So this past Monday we went to the Swingers performances....I took a few pics. Can't wait until the summer performances!

Happy Spring!

Ugh!

Every feel like you are in such a bad mood that it never goes away? That is how I have been feeling lately....UGH! I decided to do a blog about the TOP 10 things that are bugging me, in hopes of changing my bad mood!

1. People in the school parking lot that don't pull all the way up, and then get out of their car to gather their child. Now I have to wait until you get back into your car so I can pull out, because I am boxed in like a sardine...UGH!



2. Moody Teenagers who complain about everything morning, (not to sure about noon, because they are at school) and night! Everything from what's for breakfast, lunch and dinner is a complaint. They earn money from babysitting, cat sitting and other odd jobs, but yet ask me continually for cash, because they don't want to spend her own money....UGH!



3. The census bureau for sending me out a letter to inform me that the real census is coming. I don't waste government money, why do you....UGH!



4. Strong minded 6 year old who will challenge every request that is made of her. Enough said.....UGH!



5. Self checkout lanes at the grocery store that continually need a cashier to come and override something that I had scanned....if I wanted to wait in line for the next "real" cashier I would have....UGH!



6. ALARM CLOCKS.....they really suck! I hate the fact that I have to set one for the mornings that I am off, because the children still need me to parent them and get them off to school. UGH!



7. Idiotic father in laws that call our house to remind us that his birthday is coming up! Seriously....after 16 years of marriage and you calling every year to remind us I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN! UGH!!



8. Continual LAUNDRY....I just plain hate it! I hate folding it, I hate hanging it, I hate ironing it, I hate washing it. UGH!



9. The academy awards really bug me....why do we glorify and present awards to people who make much more money than I and yet, I pay to see them work! Seriously, why is there NO awards for normal people like me who work hard and never ask for recognition! UGH!



10. Being crabby really bugs me....normally I am a happy carefree person! UGH!

So what makes you crabby, what is your UGH moment?

Life taken to away.....

We all dread that late night phone call....you all know something is just not right! the kind of call that startles you out of a deep sleep! The kind that makes you heart feel like it is going to jump out of your chest.....

Well this past Saturday we got that call. My husbands cousin was in a tragic accident. She was killed instantly late Saturday afternoon when she feel off her snowmobile and having another sled land on top of her. All of this happening while the love of her life, her husband watching 2 sleds back. The only comfort is that she died instantly...the Lord did not allow her to suffer. She was 33 years old and leave behind her husband and her 3 daughters. Her girls, age 12, 9, and 7 (side note....the 7 year old had her birthday on Sunday) will grow up with out their mother. As I type this the tear well up again....the thought of their mother never seeing the first school dance, the softball tournaments, the prom, marriage and babies, breaks my heart!
I have begun to slow down and listen to my girls on the "silly" stuff that they talk about, and that I normally filter out! I add extra hugs when ever I can, I even make sure I tell my husband, parents and close loved ones that I LOVE THEM!

You can never let life get too busy to forget the real reason we are put on this earth! I rely a lot on my faith and believe that God has a plan for this family. We head out tomorrow to go to Iowa for the visitation and funeral. We have to support our loved ones in this time of loss. Please send prayers and good vibes towards this family...they have a long road of recovery ahead of them.

Inner Bad Ass Released....or so I think!

Bumper sticker at tattoo shop! That says it all!

Getting a tattoo is a funny thing....You talk about it, you plan it and then you talk about some more! That's what it was like for me for the past 15 years! When I turned 30 I promised my self that I would do it before I turned 35 and then at 35, I made that promise to myself for 40! So this year is not my 40th but 39th! I was not going to back out again.....so here is how this all went down!

Research and research that is my forte! I read up on everything about tattoos that I could find. I researched shops and artists. My head was spinning! So when our 18 year old babysitter went and got her foot tattooed and showed it to me, that sealed the deal! I knew the essentials....The design, The where, and The who! Now all I needed was to set it up!

On the day of going in to get our estimate and bring our drawings (I forgot to mention that hubby has always wanted a tattoo also, and we decided to do together!) I felt like I was going on an illegal drug purchase. I was nervous, that my hands were sweating and I kept looking behind me as if I was being followed! So hubby and I arrive at the shop and go in! We are greeted by these tattoo covered, pierced up guys! We ask for the artist that we knew we wanted to do the work. Speaking with him our confidence rises, rises so much that we make an appointment....THE VERY NEXT DAY!

The night before the tattoo....hubby did not sleep a wink! He is quite the drama king and dislikes pain and needles very much! Good thing he had to work before we went in for our appointment because I think he would have driven me nuts! So the plan was for me to go first.....that was the plan until hubby gets in the car and is sweating badly! I tell him that he does NOT have to do this! He says....NO I WANT TO! Then he adds that he wants to go first!

With hubby all ready to go, seeing him sitting in the chair, I wonder when he is really going to back out! So I walk outside for a bit, thinking that if I am not there I won't have any influence on him! After 15 minutes, I come back in to the shop to find him laughing and totally relaxed! Phew....then I wonder if they even started? Yep, the outline was started! Hubby Survived! No flinching, whining or tears! So now I had to anxiously wait my turn!

Hubby about 1 hour into tattoo....still calm!
His finished tattoo!

Waiting and waiting....I am not usually the patient type without a drink in my hand, so it was awesome when a few friends showed up to keep us company! We chatted with the piercing guy, even exchanged a wonder pets ring tone, watched people get piercings and found a crazy women's bathroom that definitely needs a woman's touch! The 2 and half hours for hubby's tattoo flew by!

Crazy womens bathroom....dont they know that yes, girls go to the bathroom together, but not like this?!

With his tattoo looking awesome, I was excited to get mine done! Wait did I say excited? Yep! All my nervous energy had been released! Getting all set up, Alec the artist starts on mine......no real pain! Just the feeling like a deep itch that you can't reach. My "little" tattoo, like my husband calls it, took about 20 minutes! I was all done, and ready for another!

My tattoo represents my heart with a keyhole....the 3 little hearts represent my husband and girls who all have the keys to my heart! Their colors in their hearts are their birthstone colors! Hubby's tattoo is truly releasing his inner bad ass! For those who know my hubby, he is a quiet shy type! This was a representation of his dark side!

So would I do another? Yep!

Whatever!

We have all been fully warned of the the newborn that keeps you awake all night, and then the progression of the the "terrible" two's! But that is when pretty much all the parenting advise stops! We never hear beyond those toddler years, except maybe the first few years in school. I think I have figured out why....TEENAGERS! Nobody wants to utter that word! I think parenthood was a complete set up! I battled the nightly wakings, the terrible 2's and even the early school years, but I am ready to pack it in as a parent of a teenager! Teenage daughter, yet at that!

No don't get me wrong....I love my daughter with all my heart. I think that I will love her more when we are completely out of the "whatever, you don't know anything, and I hate you!" phase in her life right now! We have hit hormone island, so along with the pimples, and body changes we also get to enjoy her mood swings! I am not sure if I am in complete denial, (and I am not about to verify with my Mother) but I don't think I was this up and down as a teenager! I admit, that I have used the line "you don't anything" to my parents, but as a parent now, that is the most horrific words that can be said to you! I love that I am made out to be the bad guy, when reminding her to brush her teeth, or wash her face! I feel like I am asking her to wash her face in acid! On the other end of the teenage spectrum can be the most loving, understanding daughter....okay so I may be exaggerating a bit, but she can be pleasant and even receptive to communication that does not involve asking for money!

So I think people don't talk about the teenager years, because it's easy to think of battles with an adorable little 2 year old that shouts "No!" Then with a pimply moody teen! I think if I was told about this, I might have changed my mind! All kidding aside.... we all have been teenagers or have even parented a teen and survived! I have a long road ahead of me, but I am prepared! Or so I think!

Happy February!

Kenzie and her Friend Amanda at school on Valentine's Day!





Life has been busy in the Dean house again! Back into the swing of things and never really finding time for me! So I decided to take time to update you.

Had a great weekend "date" night for Valentines last weekend! Went to Outback and the Casino!

Finished getting Madison's cookie order for girl scouts. Phew she sold 102 boxes!

I volunteered at Kenzie's school for her Valentine's day party. Even though she avoided me completely. Hahahah

Was mortified when I seen Kenzie's Martin Luther King....I have a dream project! Her dream for her family was for us to get along! Wow...the teachers must think we fight all the time!

Nice....I can only imagine what the teachers think!

Off to the Dermatologist today for hubby for a mysterious rash that he got on vacation! He swears he thinks he has flesh eating bacteria!

Planning on FINALLY getting my tattoo!! Yes, I have been saying this for years, but I have a place all picked out, just need to go in and get it planned! Pics will be posted when done!

Excited for a trip to Vegas with Brother in law and Sister in law! Finally a trip with no kids!

I will try and post again tomorrow! Happy February!