another week, another update.

lots of fun things happened this past week, so here goes!

the biggest news, PRESLEY IS NOW 4 AND A HALF.
she has been asking me for MONTHS when she will be 4 1/2 and the day finally came.
she woke up on tuesday and walked into my room and i said, "oh hey 4 1/2!" and she snapped back, "i don't think i'm 4 1/2 just yet, because i got up and looked in the mirror and i still look 4?! so maybe later today after dance i'll be 4 1/2."
so then on the way to dance, i guess she realized she was actually 4 1/2 because she kept saying things like, "look how long my legs got! look how long my toes got, even that little toe is long! look at my long arms. i am so growned!" 😂
the rest of the week (and even still today) she has been adamant about telling anyone who will listen that she is 4 1/2.
we also went to the doctor that day for her kindergarten physical and she had to get FOUR shots and a finger poke....NOT FUN.
BUT, later that night we took the kids to see pj masks live at the rabobank and they both had fun! eli was SO into it, he did awesome.

the next day at school i told presleys teacher that she had her vaccines the day before and her legs might be sore and presley quickly added, "AND I'M 4 1/2".

friday we had movie night at our clubhouse. they put up a huge screen and had pizza and popcorn and we watched trolls. we love our neighborhood!

randy and chih were obviously enjoying the movie.

eli mostly loved the popcorn, of course, but sat through about half the movie with his friend lucas!

tomorrow i register my baby girl for kindergarten... well, if all goes as expected, i guess. i am not only having anxiety about this HUGE moment in both of our lives, but i've been stressing about the logistics of the whole situation as well. i have all the paperwork i need (i think), and i've looked at the checklist at least once a day for 3 months, but i'm still worried i'll forget something. as if they're not gonna let her in if i don't get her registered on day one. i just like to be on top of things like this!

pray for me.

how is this baby gonna be in kindergarten in six months? 😭

one quick presley-ism i don't want to forget...

anytime she sees a question mark, for instance when her tablet loses it's wifi connection a question mark pops up on the screen, she calls it a mystery. "mom there's a mystery!"

and an eli anecdote i don't want to forget...

he tries VERY hard to talk to alexa and he can get her attention, but getting her to play his songs (any song blippi sings) is challenging. so he was like, "ALEXA! play tractor!" and she was like, "sorry, i didn't quite get that, can you repeat that?" and he was like, "no." and walked away. 😂

well hello!

lots of good stuff has been going on over the past couple weeks and i finally have a minute to sit down and share, so here goes!

first, and foremost... the biggest news.
our grass is GREEN again. whoa, right? i'd say it's cause of all the rain we've been having, but i'd be lying.
we have a dirty little secret over here at pemberley manor, and it's called grass paint.
apparently you're supposed to "winter seed" or some similar nonsense over here in the california area. and apparently my yard man (RANDY) didn't get the memo. but he turned our ugly brown lawn (i say lawn, it's more like a patch) into green goodness.

before

after

crazy, right? he said he needs to, "work on the formula to get the perfect shade of green." 

and i was like, "do whatever you have to do, just keep looking that good while you're doing it." but really, look how cute he is. i've said it before, and i'll say it again... i have a crush on my yard guy.

speaking of rain, the other morning randy MADE ME GET OUT OF BED TO LOOK AT A RAINBOW. i was like, "rainbows are great and all, but sleep is even better." BUT i got up and went outside in my pajamas to look at the "coolest rainbow ever". 

so it was actually a double rainbow, and the bottom one was SO vibrant and clear, and it probably was the coolest rainbow i'd ever seen. so i ended up forgiving him for making me go outside looking like a hobo at 7am.

anyyyyway. valentine's day happened!

mom served up pink heart pancakes for breakfast, we went to presley's class party, and had heart shaped pasta for dinner! i also made a heart shaped cake, chocolate dipped strawberries, and strawberry shortcake. randy brought home roses and a sweet card (my fav! words of affirmation is my love language!) for me, a car for eli, and a balloon and a movie for presley (his valentine tradition is to buy her a disney princess movie!). 

i left friday to go to a women's conference in roseville with some amazing ladies from church. it was an INCREDIBLE weekend and so refreshing and restoring to my soul. i had no idea i needed this weekend so badly, but boy did i. God was really moving and using the speakers and worship team to speak straight to my heart.

 i was so anxious to leave randy and the babies, and honestly i expected a million "help!" texts but never even got one! randy told me when i got home that there was only one instance that presley said, "call mom"... and that it happened this morning before church. apparently eli found my makeup and had drawn on himself with eyeliner. presley came in and saw what happened and told randy, "ok, call mom." but randy handled it. he managed to get the kids and himself ready and not only made it to church, but also sunday school!

he told me that presley's outfit was a "group effort". i was expecting much worse, and presley looks so happy. randy killed it this weekend... he supported and encouraged me to go away for two nights and everytime we texted he reassured me everything was going great at home and to have fun. i just love him.

but the icing on the cake of this fun week was the birth of my NEWEST niece CAMILA!

she was born on february 12, and she is what you'd call perfection. we have already facetimed(and i cried the whole time) and she confirmed that i am her favorite aunt even though i won't be able to snuggle her in real life until JUNE. she has a dimple in one cheek and lots of dark brown hair and i'm just in love with this angel!

here's how my morning is going.

i woke up to the sound of the appliances beeping and clicking, and the sudden quietness that follows a power outage. that means sound machines turning off, and kids waking up. it wasn't early... we actually slept in until 7:40ish, but we probably could have had a little more time. but, of course, the headache i had since yesterday afternoon was still lingering (and still is). 

yesterday was rough.

presley woke up feeling kinda crummy...runny nose and low grade fever. i actually had to wake her up, which is really unusual. she was fussy and wouldn't stop crying, so i decided we should probably NOT send her to school. what can i say, as much as i needed a break from all that mess, i also want her teachers to like me. 

after a dose of cold medicine and tylenol, she was back to normal and completely and literally out of control. i'm not sure what got into her, but it was BAD. not listening, talking back, screaming...you name it. 

poor randy. we don't talk (text) much throughout the day because he's usually very busy at work. so he had no idea what he was walking into when he got home last night. and bless his sweet heart, of all days... he randomly showed up with surprises for the kids(and i'm all like, where's mine? and he's all like "i'm your surprise". and i'm all like, *eyeroll*, and he's all like, "rude.")-- a matchbox car for eli and a blindbag cupcake for presley. needless to say, presley didn't get her surprise because her attitude was on the highest level imaginable... and then being the meanest mom ever, i took her tablet away too.

also, an update on paci-gate. 

NOT GOING WELL. i repeat--GOING TERRIBLY.

ugh. he cried himself to sleep for naptime yesterday and again last night. and i hate myself more than i can even explain. my parent's are like, "you have to do it, just be strong". and my sister's all, "give it back! his teeth are gonna be messed up regardless!" she's so supportive.

so yesterday was a bust. and today started off ugly, too. BUT. but. BUT..... the power finally came back after about 45 minutes. also, (of course) i put hallmark channel on for background noise to write this blog, and heard the GREATEST NEWS EVERRRR--they are going to play a christmas movie EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT for the rest of the year! so consider my friday nights spoken for (as if i ever do anything besides watch hallmark channel on friday nights, anyway.) AND it's my favorite weather ever--rainy, cool, overcast--which is a rarity in bakersfield, so i'm here for it.

oh! AND! i snuck a picture of randy's new beard!

so, consider this day turned around. byeeeeee!