The Saturday 7

1. Well it's been 3 days since Justin left for Wyoming . . . and I'm ready for him to come home. Haha. Really, it hasn't been that bad. Bedtime is the worst. But we've been keeping our days pretty full and staying busy. Justin and I texted a little bit while they were on the road, but now that he's out in the wilderness he doesn't have cell service. It's so strange being totally cut off from him. They have some kind of satellite device that allows them to "check in" so I get an email once a day to assure me that he's still alive, but that's it. I hope he's catching lots of fish and having a blast!

2. This week was Niki's annual "Girls' Sleepover." Lucy's been going for a few years, but it was Lena's first year. Both girls have been sooooo excited and counting down the days. I was a little worried how Lena would do, but they did great! They got to play with make-up and go to the park and ice cream shop and stay up 'til midnight. I'm so thankful Niki takes the time (and spends the money) to do fun stuff like this with them. I'm sad that I didn't do more with my nephews when they were little. I kind of didn't know what to do with boys, and when they were little, Justin and I were broke college student newlyweds so we couldn't afford to take them places or do fun stuff with them. Maybe if my other siblings ever have kids I can redeem myself. Until then, I'm just thankful that Niki's willing to spoil my kids!

3. I had my dreaded dentist appointment this week. I had to get a cavity filled for the first time in 20+ years and I was pretty nervous. But it was a piece of cake! I got the laughing gas for the first time ever. Man, that stuff is awesome. I didn't really know what to expect, but it just made my body feel really heavy and relaxed. I had a hard time keeping my eyes open. But it didn't make my brain feel fuzzy. I felt like I still had all my mental faculties. Haha. They put some topical anesthetic on my gums before putting the needle in, and apparently it worked really well because I didn't even feel the needle. And the drilling and filling went pretty quickly. The worst part was having my jaw propped open for so long. It hurt for a while afterward. The best part is that the whole thing only cost $35! Thanks, insurance! Although now, I have an unhealthy lack of fear about cavities. On my way to the appointment, when I was feeling so nervous, I had the thought, "Maybe I should lay off the Dr Pepper so I don't have to go through this again." Now that I know I can have that lovely gas and only pay $35, I don't even care! Lol.

4. My oldest nephew is getting married this summer. He's 21, which is 2 years older than I was when I got married, but I still feel like he can't possibly be old enough to be getting married! I don't know if everyone does this, but in our family, it's tradition for the bride/groom's aunts to throw the family bridal shower. That's me! So weird! Haha. He's only 9 years younger than me, so we really grew up more as brother/sister. He doesn't call me Aunt Sadie. None of my nephews do. So throwing a shower really makes me feel like a grown up. Haha. I can only imagine what it feels like for my little sister - who's only 3 years older than Ty. (And here's a funny factoid - because my brother robbed the cradle, his wife is Tyler's aunt, but she's younger than him by a few months.) Anyway, all that's to say . . . we've been planning the shower this week. Libby and I went shopping for supplies while the girls were at the sleepover. Pinterest is super helpful for coming up with ideas, but it sure does add a little pressure to make things awesome. We're going low-key and just doing a couple Pinterest-y things. As we were walking the aisles of Michael's, though, I got to thinking that Pinterest has probably really helped their business. Everyone is a DIY-er now. Or at least they try to be. We'll see if any of our pinspirations actually turn out. Haha.

5. Lena has officially given up her nap. It's somewhat devastating. She still has one hour of rest time in her room, but it's not the same. This was me all week:

6. I've been thinking about the "strong-willed child" label this week. I don't want to use that as an excuse for Lena's behavior. I feel like "strong-willed" is often a euphemism for "naughty brat." Haha. I found an article on Pinterest that was actually kind of helpful. In it, the mom describes herself as her daughter's "brick wall." The strong-willed kid keeps trying to butt into her and get her way, but the mom remains a solid, unmovable brick wall to her daughter's will. I've been remembering that image every time Lena loses her mind and telling myself "I am her brick wall. She will not get through me." I'm usually pretty good about not losing my temper. My years of nannying have taught me to stuff my emotions and not get vocally angry with naughty children. Haha. But the rage inside me is a little disconcerting. I'm really hoping this is just a testing phase. The terrible threes or whatever. She'll realize soon that I'm the authority and she's not going to get her way, right? Right?!

7. Our week in pictures:

Strawberry shortcake. She couldn't stop eating it long enough to smile, and kept saying, "Mmmmm. This is good!"

On Monday my sister had a softball game just down the road from our house, so we decided to take a family walk down there. It is literally a half mile walk. We sat and watched the game for an hour, then had to make the half mile walk home. The girls thought they were going to die.