Living the dream, 7-year-old style.

We're back from our busy American Girl weekend, and we had a blast. Having only one child on a trip is incredibly easy, especially when that child is getting to live out her fantasies all weekend long. She was so much fun, it was hard to believe she's often such a drama queen.

We started out by checking into our hotel, where Ava was not impressed with the size of our room. She was, however, impressed with the bottled water and  glasses on the nightstand.

I had let the hotel peeps know that we were celebrating a birthday, so they sent some cookies up to our room. That was nice. Please note Ava's multi-colored nails. 

We went to Tyson's Galleria that night and perused the pricey shops. Ava knocked down an entire display of boots at Neiman's, and also tried on some sparkly Jimmy Choos. If only we wore the same size, then I could justify the purchase. Just kidding. 

The next morning, it was time to hit the American Girl store. This girl was beyond excited.

She loved the store, but was intensely focused on purchasing McKenna, which we did. Then we met my aunt and sister for lunch in the AG cafe. Morgan is a good sport for hanging out with all the girls and even wore pink to show his love for American Girl. Or, as he said, "I have a limited number of shirts that are acceptable to wear in public." Hmmm. Sounds like someone needs to go shopping.

Ava pretty much looks at Laura (my sister) like she is a big celebrity. It's very entertaining to watch.

My aunt, my sister, Ava, and McKenna. (Please note McKenna appears to be drinking wine. She probably needs it after hanging with all of us).

The girls. I wish we could do this every weekend.

We spent the rest of the day doing a little more shopping (Disney store, Lululemon), then saw a movie, and finally went back to the hotel around 9. Yesterday we went to my aunt's house in Alexandria, where we all had brunch at Carlyle, which was super yummy. 

We drove into DC for a bit, then around Old Town Alexandria. We headed back home around 3, stopped briefly at Ikea, and finally made it to Raleigh around 9:30. Based on today's mood, I would say I have one tired little girl on my hands. Ah, the aftermath.

Davis was with my parents all weekend, and is coming home around lunchtime today. I think he's going to have some adjusting to do since he pretty much got to have his way all weekend, and appeared to have an unlimited supply of popsicles:

 Hope everyone has a great Monday.

The Birthdays Continue.....

Now that my birthday has come and gone, it's time to move on to the next one. Ava turns 7 next Tuesday, and we're kicking off the celebration a little early. Davis is packed and headed to my parents' for the weekend, while Morgan and I are taking Ava up to Tyson's Corner to the American Girl doll store for her birthday. We convinced her that this would be more fun than a party. And it will be. Because she gets to shop here:

And we get to stay here:

The weekend rates at the Ritz Carlton were better than just about anywhere else we would have considered. It doesn't hurt that it's connected to Tyson's Galleria, home to upscale shopping galore. 

We'll also get to visit my sister and my aunt, who both live in the area. Now, I wonder if the Obama girls are in town. Ava would love a playdate if they can spare the time.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. 

Not Quite Over the Hill

Well, it's my birthday today. I officially crossed the mid-thirties line. That's right. Thirty-six. Ouch. Hurts a little to say that. Doesn't help that I'm ringing in this new year with a pulled back muscle that will just not get better. I'm sure my reluctance to take a few rest days has nothing to do with that. 

It's been a good day so far. I started off with yoga (thinking it would make the back happy. It did not.). Then it was off to my tennis clinic - also bad for the back. Met friends for lunch and Prosecco - good for the back and the spirit. More Prosecco would have been better, but it's daytime, and there are children to tend to. 

While out and about, I saw three tween girls (okay, maybe 13ish) shopping, and all were in head to toe lululemon. Granted, I was, too. But I had been at tennis. Also, I'm 36, so if I want to overspend on workout clothes, I can. I've earned that right. One of the girls had on the same skirt as me, but in a different color. She looked absolutely appalled to see that we were practically twins. I would imagine I looked equally appalled.

Anyway. I bought my own birthday present a couple of weeks ago, which was a gorgeous abstract painting from my friend Jen at Gilded Mint. Here are a few of her latest creations, any of which I would also like to have:

But, if I hadn't done my own shopping, here are a few things I would want:

New Wunder Unders from lulu:

This new lululemon Swiftly long-sleeved tee. Currently not available in the US, so I'm hoping it comes out soon. I love the zigzag pattern. And the color. 

One more lulu item - these Studio Crops. These are not something I would really ever think I wanted. But I tried them on the other day and they are oh-so-comfy, so I'm thinking I need them. 

via luluaddict

New Jonah dress from Lilly Pulitzer:

This necklace from Baublebar

If pressed, I bet I could come up with some more things, but that seems like a good list to start with. 

Hope you all have a good Thursday!

Supernanny, wherefore art thou?

Oh, Jo-whatever-your-last-name is. Yes, you with the purple skirt-suit you wear in every episode of your show. You know, this one:

I could really use you in my house right about now. You and your British-ness are needed badly. You see, it turns out that I do not actually have a preschooler. No. She is actually a moody 17-year-old merely trapped in the BODY of a preschooler. That is the only way I can explain the talking back (I think ol' Jo refers to this as "backchat), the defiance, and the incessant need to have the last word. (Hmm, come to think of it, maybe she's a member of the U.S. Senate disguised as a preschooler).
Things have gone from bad to worse on the tantrum/defiance front, and it is not fun, my friends. Not fun at all. Now, the lucky thing for me is that we do not engage in public tantrums. So, most of the activity in question is relegated to our warm, happy home. But really. It is BAD. Take yesterday, for example. We decided to take a nice family stroll around the lake. Ava said she wanted to take her scooter, and promised she would not get tired. Why I believed this, I will never know. So, we loaded up the SINGLE jogging stroller and drove on our way. I think we made it about oh, 3/4 mile before her little legs began to get tired. At this point, I should mention that the husband really thought we should bring the double jogger, but I insisted that it was too bulky and didn't want to have to remove stuff from my car (which also prompted me to start whining about needing a bigger car). He was nice and just loaded up the single. Okay, so the whining begins 3/4 mile in. And guess how long the trail is? Yes, that's right. Two-and-a-quarter miles. So, we trekked on, with the promise that we would stop to feed the ducks. so, we did. At this point, the whining/crying was escalating in volume, and the skies were darkening with an approaching storm. It was time to hightail it outta there. The solution was great for Ava, bad for the rest of us. We took Davis out of the stroller, put her in it, along with her scooter and helmet, and I CARRIED Davis for the remaining mile. Have I mentioned that he's 23 lbs? Yeah, that was a lot of work. Not so much fun. But we made it before the storm.

Now, Sunday night is Family Dinner night. (Yes, I know that all nights SHOULD be, but we do not live in a perfect world). Post-lake walk, I made some shrimp fajitas (thanks to Gina for this recipe ). It only took Ava about 5 minutes to finish her 2 bites of dinner, and she very politely (seriously) asked to be excused. Well, kids, we all love polite, but it still doesn't always get you what you want. We told her we'd like for her to stay at the table with us while we finished. That did it. She went on to cry, yell, whine, complain, kvetch, etc. about how badly she did not want to sit there, how bored she was, etc. We didn't give in. We just ignored and talked to each other. But the damage was done, and there was no amending the night. Her antics got her no reading time, and as soon as I cleaned up the kitchen, I sent her to bed. She was asleep before 7pm.

Now, here's the other thing that's going on (and seriously, if there are any of you reading this that would like to offer up advice, I welcome opinions and comments). She is back to having infant-like separation anxiety. I mean, I can't even go out for a run without her bursting into tears. It's bad. And again, this is something that only goes on at home. She happily goes to school, to dance, to friends' houses. It's like she just can't fathom the idea of being at our house without me. And she's also waking up at night saying she's scared and wanting me to sleep in her bed. I'm exhausted today from last night's bout of musical beds. I started out in mine, and then she came in my room around 1:30am saying, "Mommy, I had a really, really, really, really, really scary dream." I said I'd lie down with her for 2 minutes but then was going back to my room. Well, as soon as I started to leave, she freaked. So, back into her bed I went, where I dozed off. Woke up a bit later and went back to my own room. She was back to get me an hour or so later. And then again at 6am, when she was begging to get into my bed. I mean, the EASY solution is for me to just sleep in her room. But that's not what I want to do, and she needs to know that her Daddy and I sleep in the same bed and that's that.

Argh. We're actually going to talk with her ped on Thursday about all this. Did I mention that she pushed over a table a few weeks ago? Oh yeah. Total Real Housewives of New Jersey-style.

To ease my strife, I bought a pretty new Lilly Pulitzer dress this morning.

Made me feel better. :-) Especially since I got to be the person in the dressing room who said, "Actually, can I try this in a 2? The 4 is a little big." Mad love to the clothing manufacturers who cater to our egos and skew their sizing.

Ode to Target....

Ah, Target. What an alluring appeal you have. Why else would I find reason to visit you, oh, 3-5 times a week? You entice me with your bargains, your fashionable wares, and your ability to convince me that, why yes! I DO need that Liberty of London notepad!

Yesterday, I had but a quick little tryst with Target. However, the joy of the occassion was impeded by an encounter with SuperBitchMom. Davis and I trotted in, and headed straight over to the returns line to take back a dress that I had decided not to keep. There was one woman finishing up her return, and no line. And, as in all Target stores, there was one of those line managing ropes. You know what I mean, right? Okay. So, as I'm waiting, this woman and her 3 children come up and stand on the opposited side of the rope from me. I had seen this woman outside with the kids as I was coming in. She was yelling at them to stop playing. I noted to myself that she seemed annoying. And that she was wearing ugly shoes.

The woman who was already doing her return finished up, and I stepped up to the counter with my little return. Now, remember, SuperBitchMom is standing at the other side of the return rope. As soon as I get to the counter, she says in a loud and bitchy voice, "EXCUSE ME. I was next. See? I was standing here where it says, 'line forms here."

WTF? I mean, seriously? If there were several people in line, I could understand. But there was me. And then her. It was clear who was there first. CLEAR. It took every fiber of my being not to engage with her, but I was the bigger person and just smiled politiely and said, "Oops! Looks like I didn't see  that sign. Sorry!" And I let her go. And what I wished I had said was, "Sweetie, I can see from the way you were yelling at your boys outside that you are having a bad day. So even though I was clearly here first, I'll let you go ahead of me. I mean, walking around in those ugly shoes must just put you in a bad mood." Of course, I think of these things too late.

The rest of the Target trip was fine, thank you. I did keep being like, one aisle away from SuperBitchMom, and she continued to be loud.

I bet she homeschools.