Ice Skating Fun!

Last spring AR went ice skating for the first time. It was pretty awful. She only lasted about ten minutes and cried pretty much the entire time. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when we went to see her friend in her ice skating show and AR has been begging to go again. I was reluctant but we had talked about it since the last time and she had a better attitude about it so I agreed. We were supposed to go Thursday night with one of my co-workers but I was dying and had to postpone it. AR was disappointed and although I wasn't feeling 100% on Friday, I couldn't let her down again so I sucked it up and we headed out to Lindenwood Ice Rink in Wentzville. For $18 we got two hours of skating, I predicted that we'd only stay about 20 minutes but we made it 1.5 hours!!! There were lots of teenagers there that were willing to take pictures for us so one took this pic of us and I texted our family and friends and said "pray for us!"

This was AR skating last spring. I think she did pretty well but she was upset because she kept falling to which we had a whole conversation about how everyone falls and if we fall just get back up. She also didn't like "marching" which is what the kids told her to do because that's how you learn.


Luckily today they had skate aides or scooters. AR insisted she didn't need one and that she was going to be able to skate and spin without any help. I love her confidence but I still snatched one up and it was a good idea because we both used it.

I was a little bit of a hunchback but hey, I needed it as much as her!

We could use it together, too. Sometimes, AR got on the other side and skated "backwards."

Look at her, she's a boss on that thing moving all over the ice in seconds! She really did look like a pro with it.



Here's me using it, my videographer could use a little more experience.



Us skating together!



The scooter really helped her confidence. She actually skated without the scooter quite often too.

Super proud of my girl!

Here she is skating with no help but close enough to the wall just in case.



She had a blast!!! She only had maybe 3 major falls and hopped up every time with no tears! The last time she fell, she started crying about something not even skate related and I knew it was time to go. She did awesome, I can't say how pleased I was with the entire experience.

She said she was going to do spins and she did!



Overall, it was just an awesome afternoon!

And to prove it wasn't all rainbows, here's a wipe out video!

Winter Break 2016

AR was off school this past week so like we always do, we made the most of what we could! We're not girls to stick around the house, we like to be out and about surrounded by family and friends. Here's a quick recap of how we spent our week.

Monday
My step-sis came over on Monday. We checked out Nanny's new house, ate pizza and played AR's new cupcake game-thanks Shadow for that gift, it's a hit! After a quick nap, AR and I headed back to Six Flags to meet up with a soccer teammate of hers. Unlike the Friday before when we visited, it was packed!!! The girls still had a good time and we stayed late enough to see the lights around the park. The top left pic is one we sent to Jenni when we found out she was there too but unfortunately, we weren't able to catch up with her. Still, we had a great time!

Tuesday
Tuesday we slept in and it was much needed. Colds are being passed back and forth like crazy! I went to lunch with some gal pals from college then met up with AR and Nanny to see Sing at the theater. Incredibly cute movie! AR got up and danced and sang when she recognized songs and she didn't ask to leave because there weren't really any scary parts. Definitely a good kid movie! After the movie, we took Shadow for a walk and ended up at the playground. Nanny made us chili then some friends of ours came over to exchange Christmas presents. In the top right, AR is modeling her new, super warm, super adorable jammies. Funny how she went from almost falling asleep in the top left pic to modeling superstar in about ten minutes. 

Wednesday
Wednesday we slept in again, isn't break awesome? Then we went to get my oil changed. Now, that may not sound like anything fancy or fun to you but AR LOVES going with me to get my oil changed! There's a lady that walks around and takes our order for snacks and drink. AR gets a Capri Sun and they have an arcade plus a TV with Disney Jr. The girl loves this place! After that, we stopped by her friend's house to drop some stuff off and the girls got to play. AR spent the afternoon with her Grandma Star and she said that they baked cookies for the family. I went to work and played trivia that night, Team Char Char did not bode as well as we did last time we went.

Thursday 

It was back to work for Momma. As hard as it was to be motivated to go after being off for so long, it was even harder because I was one sick Momma. I forged through though and survived my work day while AR and Nanny went to visit friends with horses. I had promised AR that we would go ice skating with a co-worker of mine but I was literally on my deathbed. AR was disappointed but I made up for it by picking up her friend, Kenzie, and taking them to the park for the Christmas light display. We got ice cream on the way back and as soon as we were home, I climbed back into bed. 

Friday
Friday morning I slept in while Nanny took care of AR. I was trying to muster up all my strength for ice skating. There was no way I could let her down again so we trekked out to Wentzville and ice skated. It was AWESOME!!! Another post is coming about that! We came home and passed out then woke up to play more cupcake game and watch Minions in our jammies.

And that my friends is how we spent our winter break! AR is spending the weekend with Matt. I work Sunday and plan on taking down Christmas stuff. I also plan on cleaning my gutters with Nanny's supervision so wish me luck! Luckily, I'll have a couple more days off next week to spend with my girl so I'm sure we'll have more adventures ahead of us!

Christmas 2016

Merry Christmas, everyone!!! After AR and I went to Six Flags on Friday, we headed over to my sister's house. She was hosting our family's Christmas on Saturday. My main objective was to keep H out of trouble and make sure AR and Sha got along. Way past all of our bedtimes, the three littlest girls headed to bed while Sha Sha continued to prepare for the big event and we all slept in until almost 9AM on Saturday morning!

We all three started out in one bed then I got up since I was squeezed in the middle. Halfway through the night, AR came and got into bed with me. In the morning she said she woke up and figured I was lonely and needed love so that's why she got in bed with me. In reality, I think H kicked her out of bed because AR was a kicking machine. AR then proceeded to tell me that she was going to go see if H would jump outside with her (on the trampoline) and I had to be the bad mom and tell her that was a bad idea. So instead, we took showers and got ready for my dad and his family to arrive.

Once the girls knew Papa was close, they were anxious for them to get there. AR couldn't find her own boots so she hijacked mine!

Then the present unwrapping began and even AR was shocked at the stack in front of her. She got lots and lots of Descendants dolls, Trolls, cute clothes, and lots more!

After presents, delicious lunch (thank you, Sha Sha!) then we all sat down to watch Christmas Vacation.

Not all of us made it through the movie... someone had to do a show of gymnastics tricks for their Mommy!

The Hfield fam!!!

After slight panic because I couldn't find my keys, but eventually did in the bottom of my bag, we headed back to our house. We picked up Nanny and drove around to look at Christmas lights. We had extra Minion ornaments that we'd made for her class. Our neighborhood had a few Minion inflatables so we stopped at three houses to give them a Minion ornament. The first house wasn't home so we left it on their doorknob. The second house the guy thought we were crazy. The third house was grandparents and invited us in to see their snow village. They let AR turn on every Hallmark holiday toy that plays music and sent us on our way with a bag of Hershey kisses. It was a pretty magical, neighborly moment!

When we got back home, she set out cookies and milk herself.

All ready for Santa, now get to bed, kiddo!

Here was the spread from Santa... an Elsa castle, a Trolls seek and find book, a My Little Pony easy reader, and a Blues dress.

Opening her stocking and wondering why the heck she got an orange! I had to explain it was for good health.

She had lots of other presents to open from me, Nanny, her babysitter, and some other people that love her that sent some over or dropped them off. She is a very blessed little girl to have such wonderful people in her life.

After the gift opening, we had breakfast of special drinks and an egg casserole that was incredibly easy and delicious.

Then we had a little bit of time to open a few gifts. Her big gift from me was a Descendants karaoke machine and it was a hit!

I'm sure we'll be hearing a LOT of this during her Christmas break this next week.



Santa also brought both AR and me this necklace. It has our birthstones on it. It says "I love you behind my back and around" because that's what AR always says then it says A Team because that's what we call ourselves.

Then it was time to head over to Daddy's!

Matt invited me in to see the tree that Santa had brought to her room and he let me stick around to watch her open her gifts from him and Santa. 

Santa brought her this super awesome tea set which she had asked for! WTG Santa!!!

AR and Daddy got me a gift and it was the greatest ever because my girl thought of it all on her own! I won a bike back in November so AR told Matt that I needed a blue helmet so we could ride it through the neighborhood together. How awesome of a thought process is that? I hadn't said anything, she thought about it all by herself!

My sweet, thoughtful girl! I can't wait until spring so we can ride together again!

When Matt dropped her off Christmas night, they brought in all the gifts she got at grandma's so I could see. One of her favorites was this pink camouflage BB gun.

Overall, I think this little girl had a pretty awesome Christmas! Now, I get to spend the next three days with her while I'm off work. Today we hit up Six Flags again with a soccer teammate, tomorrow we're going to Sing in Suite Seats, and then who knows what Wednesday will hold for us! Hopefully, your holiday was as blessed as ours. Merry Christmas!

Elf on the Shelf: Rainbow Dash Sparkles Sparkles

Well, ladies and gentlemen, Elf on the Shelf appeared in the G-Fam household the Friday after Thanksgiving. I called it that AR would name her Rainbow Dash and so our Elf will be known as Rainbow Dash Sparkles Sparkles.

The first night she arrived, she was just chillin' by our stockings and AR and I read the book to become familiar with the story. As soon as I finished, AR got serious and said to me, "Mommy, I have to tell you something... I touched her already when I was looking at my stocking." I told her it was okay since she didn't know the rule yet.

The next morning, we woke up and Rainbow Dash had gotten into our sprinkles to make a snow angel! Thank you, Rainbow Dash, for leaving that for me to clean up...

We went to my dad's for Thanksgiving Saturday morning and when we came home on Sunday, Rainbow Dash was sitting on AR's tree along with an ornament of her that we added to her tree.

Rainbow Dash wanted to make sure we knew that she rocks... although AR keeps telling me, "Mommy, her name is Rainbow Dash Sparkles Sparkles, not Rocks."

Rainbow Dash got wrapped up in some lights when she was trying to climb the tree!

Silly Rainbow Dash made a snowman out of TP then got stuck inside it! AR had a hard time finding her this morning and then was afraid that Rainbow Dash had used the potty inside the TP!

On December 1, Rainbow Dash brought our Advent calendar... but she got into it before we could! 

Rainbow Dash knows we love snocones so she was in our freezer with coupons to get some snocones from our favorite place, Bahama Bucks. 

AR was so surprised to find her there! Luckily, Rainbow Dash had left behind an umbrella on the floor so we had an idea where to look.

Nanny always has popcorn when she travels. She'd popped some Friday night for her flight back to FL on Saturday morning, Silly Rainbow Dash got into it and was watching TV when we got up.

Last year AR was begging for a nativity scene, just like one she had in her classroom. Rainbow Dash must've heard her talking about it because she brought one for her. Thank you, Rainbow Dash!!!

Rainbow Dash left a note apologizing for using all the sprinkles for her sprinkle angel. She also brought supplies for us to make cupcakes including cute elf cupcake holders. 

AR had to take this pic of her "not touching Rainbow Dash." Of course, she wanted to make the cupcakes right then and there too!

Silly Rainbow Dash got into the toothpaste! My Mini Me insisted on cleaning up the toothpaste before we left for school... oh how I love her so much!

AR spent the night before at her dad's so Rainbow Dash was a little bored and had a tea party with AR's other toys. When she came home, she was so excited that Rainbow Dash was using her Olaf tea set and she told me that she didn't care if the elf played with her toys. Then she looked at me and asked if she could try to get Rainbow Dash's teacup. Then we accidentally moved the chair and Rainbow Dash started to fall but I stopped the chair before she did. I went downstairs to put laundry in and when I came back up, Rainbow Dash was on the floor. When I asked AR if she touched her, she said no, she'd just moved the chair. Suddenly, it dawned on me that it's a game to AR to "not touch the elf... but still move her." :-/

Rainbow Dash got a little troll fever!

Rainbow Dash brought this note and pack of M&Ms to AR. It says: "Your daddy grows plants, right? Well, now it's your turn! Plant these M&Ms in this bowl of sugar and see what happens tomorrow. Oh, and eat a few M&Ms while you do." So we planted the M&Ms deep in the bowl of sugar and waited...

We woke up the next morning and the M&M's we planted grew a candy cane!!!

Rainbow Dash found this Barbie horse that is probably 30+ years old and took her for a ride. 

Rainbow Dash made these containers of mini M&M's into Rudolphs and left a note telling AR to take them to Ms. Pam's to share with her friends there.

Uh oh... Rainbow Dash got into the sticker collection!

Rainbow Dash brought AR an Elf on the Shelf notebook and special pen... and forgot to take the stickers off her face!

Rainbow Dash must've gotten lost and wound up in her underwear basket!

The next night, she got trapped under a glass in the cupboard!

Rainbow Dash was jammin' out when we woke up this morning!

Rainbow Dash brought a pickle to hide on the Christmas tree and whoever finds it first on Christmas morning gets the present that she's sitting on.

Elsa froze Rainbow Dash!!!

Rainbow Dash brought this sign back from the North Pole and hung it on our front door!

Rainbow Dash was feeling left out not having a stocking so she brought AR some new socks and hide in them.

Then on Christmas Eve she headed back to the North Pole to help Santa with Christmas and stayed there until next year! Thanks for all the fun times, Rainbow Dash!!!