Can you say Diva?

Ok, what am I going to do with this girl?

We were getting ready to go somewhere last week and I told her we were leaving......she panics and says...."I need my make up, can you get it for me?" WHAT? I DID NOT TEACH HER THAT!!

Today she informed me that her socks were the wrong shade of pink to be wearing with the pink shoes she had on! I also told her it was time to get Carter from school this afternoon, to which she promptly popped open her phone to inform her cousin that she would be going to the nail salon, and that she would LOVE it if Addie would join her. (hence the picture above on her phone)......where does she get this stuff?

We can't go ANYWHERE without her purse, and her latest favorite thing is her disney mp3 player, to which she rocks out to everything I downloaded on to it. I mixed in a lot of fun praise and worship songs thinking that maybe she would retain those lyrics and sing those............hmmm.......the other day I heard her singing to her babies......"she thinks my tractor's sexy!" I'm pretty sure that's not one of those desirable lyrics!?.......OOPS!........I guess I'm going to have to remove Kenny Chesney from her listening now............uugghh, be still my heart, I LOVE Kenney Chesney!..........

Craig had a very RUDE thing to say about the whole situation when I approached him with the question of "how did she get this way?"

His reply..."LOOK IN THE MIRROR!" uh..uh...have you? I mean WHAT?? Huh? Who? you.....uummm?? ..............................................ok, he's probably right.....

Happy Birthday Addie!!

A great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my niece Addie!!
We love you Addie!
Love,
Craig, Heidi, Carter and Ava

BFF's Forever!!

I couldn't resist posting a picture of these bff cuties!!
Notice how Addie ALWAYS has her arm around someones shoulder when she poses for pictures! Sooooo cute and funny!!

Lost!!!

Oh yeah baby........Lost returns, and it's about time! I am a complete LOST devotee! Unfortunately when I started watching several years ago, I never thought it would demand so much thinking on my part. I usually do not like shows that I have to think about.(for obvious reasons......remember the wristache?) But, too late I was hooked immediately. However, I had nobody to discuss this show with......and that drove me crazy!

And then......just like a falling star........all my wishes came true..............my good friend Melissa got hooked also!!! (no, I didn't bribe her, I only do that with my children!) So of course ever since, we have LOST meetings to make sure we understand what is going on. (we speak very slowly to each other!...) I'm glad Lost has moved to Thursday nights because it was seriously causing problems with my American Idol meetings.......WHEW!! I can rest easy now......no more conflicts!!.....................EXCEPT ONE BIG ONE! ...........My bff' Robin has her birthday dinner this Thursday! WHAT??? DOES SHE NOT KNOW WHAT SHE HAS DONE?? I would NEVER schedule MY birthday dinner if it was the season premier of one of HER favorite shows......like Little House on The Prairie!!?

I mean, do I mean NOTHING to her? She should really consider having another birthday date....altogether.........like maybe sometime next month.........and she might consider looking at my tv schedule before she confirms this time!! GEEZ!!!!!

Oh well, I have it all worked out....at exactly 7:35 Thursday evening (while enjoying a WONDERFUL friend filled dinner I'm sure,...) I am going to slap Melissa on the back causing her to spontaneously throw up. At about that same time, I am going to abruptly lose my eyesight due to what must be a life threatening migraine!! (if I "go blind" she won't suspect I am going home to watch tv!!).......They'll be SHOVING us out the door!

Oh wait.......I have tivo..................(oops!....I'd erase everything I just wrote, except that would take way too long and my toes might start to hurt........)

Addie's birthday party!

Addie had her birthday party last night, and it was so much fun!

Of course the bff's take time out for a pose!

So here is where it gets good!......... No, your eyes are not decieving you, this IS the one and only Pete Hixson!! I'm going to be the first to say that his love for his little girls goes VERY deep............I mean, the picture says it all! It's going to be a LONG time before his friends let him live this one down!! Once again, way to be a dad prince Pete!!

Although Carter is not quite convinced Uncle Pete should be in tights!!

Don't EVEN mess with my dad!!

Apparently Pete needed to regain his manliness by being the human pinata holder and changing out of those ever so restricting tights............I wish I could report to you that he did not get hit, but alas.......he got whacked right in the leg by a fiesty little boy taking his aggressions out on the pinata (and Pete).........I would also like to report that everyone felt sorry for Pete and that nobody laughed........but alas again......all party guests actually cheered and clapped! Especially his good buddies. (because you KNOW that as soon as they got in the car to go home, all wives would be saying..."see what PETE does for his girls?? You're wearing tights at our next party!".....hmmpphh)

The time had come to go, but Ava was nowhere to be found!!

Pretty Pretty Princess

Well, of course nene did not disappoint!! As expected, she created an unbelievable completely over the top princess skirt for princess Ava!! So off to the ball we went!!

Princess in the making

Tonight is Addie's birthday party....(princess themed ........of course), and we are in full preparation over here in the Zawisza household. Curlers flyin', lipgloss shinin', and batons a twirlin'....(ok, maybe not the last one.....but it sounded good!:-) We are hurrying so that we can go get our princess skirt that Nene made especially for our princess Ava. We haven't seen it yet, but we know Nene, and it is probably completely over the top! I bought material, and said "I need a princess skirt".......there's no tellin' what she has made! I am SURE pictures will follow later!



Anyways, this should be quite the party tonight. We were at Addie's house until 11:30 last night decorating and finishing things. Hollie has decided to be Hannah and I's spokesmodel should we ever decide to go in to business with our designs................I need some votes on THIS one please!!!
Oh, and btw.....I WAS NOT INFORMED THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE "SPOTTING" HANNAH WHEN SHE FELL OFF THE LADDER!!!!!.......................sorry Hannah, but you've known me 27 years ...............and yet you still thought I would take it upon myself to watch you hang something from the ceiling?? Flash back: I AM the one who picked the back of your diaper away until your butt hung out, and do you not remember.. " I'm gonna make you as pretty as a princess"....a.k.a....."i'm going to rat your hair up so high that it will take three baths and an entire bottle of conditioner to be able to comb through it again".......shall I go on? WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH YOU??? Learning lessons are the key to life!

And where was Hollie anyways?

Oh well, gotta go, preparations pending you know...........I LOVE living vicariously through my daughter!:-) hee hee

Banned from a restaurant??

Ok, so I'm thinking that we might not be welcome at La Parilla anytime in the near future.

Hannah and I went over to Pete and Hollie's house tonight to set up for Addie's b-day party tomorrow. The kids were going crazy and we were struggling to get everything done. Pete came home and said that the Riddles wanted to meet for dinner.......so we all went to Laparilla on Dallas Highway. They did not have a table for all of us, but booths across from one another. We put all six kids in the same booth, and tried to ignore the fact that we were their parents...............BIG MISTAKE!!! I seriously can't write down everything that went on because I would still be typing, but let's just say that salsa, salt, cheese dip, dirty floor, soda, napkins, moving table (uh huh, they figured out the table was not glued to the floor) crayons, and more cheese dip were definitely not being viewed in their proper content.......pretty much let your imagination run, and then x's that by ten!!

I'm pretty sure the final straw came when Hope stood up in the booth and started to loose her balance grabbing the first thing she could to keep from falling............................the woman's hair behind her!!

I am soooo not kidding! I thought I was going to spit my soup! Honestly, definitely jumped in to my top ten funny moments in life! Ok, so maybe I shouldn't have burst out laughing (due to the fact that a ladies hair DID just get pulled), but you weren't there! Even Pete couldn't help but laugh. Hollie just pulled her hat over her head and continued to pretend we were not the houligan's parents!! Pete being the calm patient dad that he is, calmly scooped Hope up, and took her somewhere. Where? I don't know, I've always wondered where he takes them, but have never asked.

Pete was "calm" several times during dinner............poor Pete....not one of us got up to help him the whole time we were there. He took care of the entire chaotic situation while I just laughed.

Some things never change!! Way to be a parent Pete!! .......to all six kids.................oh, and btw....did you pay for the artwork our children drew....................on their plates?

Lifetime friends!!

My phone rang today, and most who know me, know I rarely answer my home phone.......(i'm such a rebel!:-) Anyways, I answered it today, and it was my lifelong friend Stacie from Iowa!! I LOVE it when we get to talk!
We always reminisce about our highschool years and I try to get the low down on everyone still in Iowa. Since we went to a very small Christian Highschool, everyone was kind of tight and she still pals around with lots of our friends. So, I get to hear what's going on with everyone and of course always love to catch up with Stacie and her family.
Her mom Sandie was like a second mom to me in highschool. She was my cheerleading coach and the school secretary..........oh the memories!!!
Anyways, after talking to her I got to thinking.........(watch it!......no smart remarks or I will ban you from my blog!!!.............if i can.), true and I mean really TRUE friends are a gift from God. Stacie and her brother Brian and their parents are those kind of friends. When I think about my highschool years in Des Moines 85% of my memories invole this family in one way or another. It just got me thinking....(uh huh, twice in one day!!.....i'm feeling a little faint at the moment!:-), after all these years, living far away from eachother, and living completely different and seperate lives, this is a family that I still consider very close friends. My whole point is that those kind of relationships are far and few between, and I just think it's neat how God puts people in your life like that! That's all! I'm done...............all this thinking is making my wrist hurt...why my WRIST you ask? Because at first it was making my head throb, so i put my hand on my head and leaned on my arm....too long. So, now my wrist hurts. Oh well, it should feel better soon, I've definitely put a stop to this thinking thing. I will not do that twice in a day again...........I need to "work" myself up to that gradually................kind of like the stairmaster you know?...........oh, that's a different story, and it would involve that "t" word again, so at the risk of getting another wristache, I will go to bed now!!
Another day.....another time..........

Dogs, wands, and sunglasses!

Ava had her "bff" over to spend the night tonight. These two are quite a pair. Macauly thinks she's Ava's mother and orders her around . The funny thing is, that Ava does whatever she says! Ha! Incidentally, Hollie told me that when Ava was at their house, Addie thought she was Ava's mom too!!

Well, Ava thinks both girls hung the moon, so I guess that's why she lets them mother her! ha!ha!

Ok, so guess what Macauly was doing all night?? PLAYING WITH THE DOG!!!!!! I am not kidding. By pure instinct, when she sees the dog at first she screams, then she remembers that she likes Lilly, and gets one of those Macauly grins on her face and starts petting the dog.

Melissa doesn't believe me.................but then again anything that even rhymes with dog scares Melissa. She told my in laws that her intense fear of dogs was hereditary and she must have passed it on to her girls!..................Ya think??? We still laugh about that. I think I know what I'm getting Macauly for her next birthday.............love you Melissa!:-) hee hee......

So, I'm going to actually get to bed at a decent time tonight, I'm exhausted and have a big day tomorrow. I have to get myself and the kids passport pictures, and Hannah and I are doing most of the decorating and cupcakes/cookies/ for Addies princess birthday party on Saturday. I am sure that we will post some pics when done!! lata!

Cousin fun!!

Tonight Carter's cousin Hope came over to spend the night. Carter told Hopie about the bubble bath last night, and then proceeded to beg for another one. EVEN though Craig told me NOT to do that again, (apparently it breaks the jets?.....huh?....what does that mean?).....I couldn't help myself from letting them have one. I mean who am I to deprive these children of what could be the single most greatest experience of their lives??
Well, ok that might be going a LITTLE overboard, but it seriously has to be in at least the top ten experiences of a child!!? I mean have you SEEN how many bubbles I put in the tub? Were YOU allowed to do that as a child? I seriously doubt it. There are very few moms/aunts as cool as me that would do that in the world today..............i'm just sayin'...........that's all.
Anyways, OF COURSE they had an unbelievable amount of fun. Hopie could care less how much soap/bubbles were in her eyes, she just kept laughing and diving under the water. Carter of course being my slightly reserved child (perspective: as reserved as you can get being a Zawisza!;-), thought that Hope was hilarious, and decided he better not let her "show him up"........so he started diving too! There was more choking gagging and spitting going on than on an episode of fear factor!
They didn't seem to care though. The laughter and giggles trumped the choking!
Anyways, we love when Hopie spends the night. I hope as these two grow, they will keep their tight bond. Everyone who knows Carter and Hope, knows they share a deep love for eachother! We love you Hopie! Come again soon! And try not to get me in trouble tomorrow by burping bubbles!! (i did kinda forget to mention that they drank half the tub.............probablly not a great thing.......)

More Snow!!

Yes, it is true we had more snow here in the Atl!!

Shortly after we woke up this morning, the snow started falling hard!....Of course being converted southerners now, we immediatly cancelled all of our plans for the day..............there's something about snow here that puts the fear of God in you!! ha!ha!

So, we bundled all up.....and just to give you some insight, Ava had tights, leggings, sweats, jeans, long sleeved thermal, t-shirt, hooded sweater, coat, stocking hat, and a pair of socks on her feet and a pair on her hands.( I THINK they sell gloves/mittens here, but I've never actually looked!:-)ha!ha! It was quite an ordeal getting her dressed, she kept saying..that too mommy? what else?......of course we DID forget to "go potty" before getting dressed...SO......

Anyways, we went on a walk during the snowfall, and then later played with our neighbors in the backyard. BTW.....we LOVE our neighbors the Andersons!! Unfortunately the snow was melting almost faster than we could play with it, but Carter and Craig were still able to get a few good snowballs in!! (and a few tears shed by Carter because apparently Craig thought he was trying out for the major leagues when he threw the snowballs at Carter........!:-)

We ended the day with a BUBBLE BATH.....and boy did we have some bubbles!

(Craig later informed me that we are NOT supposed to put bubble bath in our jet tub....whoops! needless to say, I will be cleaning up bubbles for the next several days!! Oh well, the kids thought it was the greatest thing EVER!!)

No school!! It's a "snow" day!!

So, of course school was cancelled on Thursday the 17th due to ALL the snow.........funny thing is, when I woke up in the morning and looked outside, there was no snow!!

Oh well, I don't care, how often are my kids going to get a snow day living in Georgia?

Anyways, I was determined to make "no school, snow day" memories with the kids, so that's what we did. (well, I HOPE that's what we did...)

We kept the tv off the entire day and played music through the house. The kids got out their Christmas toys...(which they are already tired of!:-) and actually played with them. I asked them to give me one hour to get the house in order...(because you KNOW I can't have fun in an "unorderly" house!! I mean c'mon!!), and then we all sat down and painted with the paints they got for Christmas. Both kids are quite the artists, and love doing craft projects.....they must have aquired that from their nene!

Then Ava had her own little "dance off".........that girl can shake it to Amazing Grace if that's all that's available to her!! I will have to post a video of her sometime........Anyways, that got me and Carter laughing and in turn encouraged her more! She is definitely our little performer. My mom and dad say she reminds them of my brother Pete when he was a kid. They say she acts exactly like him!..........Well, let's just pray she turns out like him then, because right now she has a mind of her own and quite frankly she scares me a bit! (I'm not sure I can deal with another ME!!)

To end our great day, Craig came home from work and joined us for some more laughs and fun. Then Josh and Hannah brought strawberry shortcake over to celebrate Josh's new job!!

Oh yeah....Way to go Josh!! Congrats on the job!! Craig helped land Josh a job at his company as a project manager for a major account around the city!

Everyone was excited for different reasons, making it an all around great day.

I'ts definitely the "simple" things in life that bring the most joy and happiness!!

I hope everyone's snow days are as memorable as ours was!

Snow in Georgia??

We had SNOW in Georgia!!

Neither of my children had ever seen snow before!! I grew up with snow, and so it is so crazy that my children have never played in it before!! It's actually kind of sad, because I have so many wonderful memories from when I was a child and the excitement we would get during the winter and especially a winter storm!!

Anyways, Carter and Ava thought they had died and gone to heaven, they wanted to stay out in it all night. It was precious to see them playing in the snow and just watching in amazement as it fell.

I've heard a rumor that we might have more snow tomorrow, but I haven't told the kids because they will get their hopes up!!

I have to say though, that I secretly hope we DO get more snow...it was so beautifu!!!