We are having a BABY!

Okay-- I have decided to give up on Mom and Dad getting me a baby sister from Walmart. Tonight while in the tub, I poked out my tummy and announced that the baby in my tummy was just kicking and jumping around. My mommy and daddy said "WHAT?!!!!!???!!" "Yes," I told them (as I rubbed my belly like Aunt Sissy) ..."The baby sister in my tummy is just jumping around in there!" They were so proud! LOL!

Our First Day of Ballet Class

"I am going to be a ballerina when I grow up!" Mary Catherine Rawlinson. I love to dance and I have been asking my Mommy and Daddy to let me take ballet classes for a few months. They finally found a dance company that would take me for lessons even though I am not yet three years old. My teacher is Ms. Tina Hathcock at showbiz studios. Her mother, Mrs. Patsy Hathcock was my Mommies dance teacher. I will have class every Monday from 5:45 -6:15pm. We are dancing to all kinds of songs. Jeramiah was a Bullfrog is my favorite dance song right now. I love doing the butterfly and pretending to be a frog. I love to jump! Our annual show case will be June 3rd. After my class, Mommy , Sissy and Gaga took me to Redbone for supper. They then took me to K-mart to get a pink and black dance skirt to wear over my leotards and tights. I am very excited about dance class and I like the pink outfits best of all!

Well, Dance class was short lived...the next week I decided, that i did not want to be a ballerina. I refused to go back to class. Mommy said it is okay we will try again next year if I want to.

Disney On Ice

Jennifer Stroup (Jen Jen) and Celia Urquhart (Sissy) took me to see Disney on Ice at the Florence Civic Center. We had such a GREAT time. They bought me cotton candy, a snow cone, a program and a Sleeping Beauty Doll. I think I almost broke them! I loved seeing the Disney Princesses. They were all there skating and twirling around on the ice. I didn't like the shark from Nemo and the Whale from Pinochio. I covered my eyes when they came out! I called Mommie and Daddy on the cellphone as soon as the show was over. I told them every detail of the show. Thank you Jen Jen and Sissy for this fun filled night!

TRICK O TREATING 2005

This was my first year to go Trick or Treating! What a great time. Originally, I wanted to be Sleeping Beauty (not because she is my favorite princess but because she wears pink and that is my favorite color). I have a sleeping beauty costume but it is almost worn out from all of the love I give it. When we went to get my friend RJ a birthday present at Walmart, I found the perfect costume and just wouldn't leave the store with out it...I was going to be TINKER BELL! Walmart didn't have the crown, shoes and wand to go with the outfit so, we had to search high and low at all of the good stores until we located the balance of the costume. I wanted high heels. Mommy and Daddy made me watch Peter Pan to prove that Tinkerbell wears ballet shoes. Of course, I think she should wear high heels. Finally, after significant discussion on the matter, I agreed to wear ballet shoes. At school, we had a grand Halloween Parade & party. Gaga, Sissy, Mommy and Daddy came to see the parade. All of the children at school wore costumes and marched around the gym. My friends RJ and Tallon were red power rangers, Lauren was Snow white and Sam was an Army man. We wore our costumes to school. The teachers wanted us to stay on the line around the edge of the gym. That was a very hard thing to do. We had a big Halloween party at school and got lots of neat treats. Mommy and Daddy took me Trick or Treating when they got home from work. We went to Gaga's, Aunt Linda Stricklands, Sissys, Aunt Flo & Uncle Jay's, Jen Jen's Meme's house and Mrs. Bobbie McElveens. I got so many treats that my pumpkin was completely full! At the beginning of the night, I was a little shy and Mommy had to help me remember what to do. By the end of the night, I was banging on the doors screaming "Trick Or Treat!" It was so much fun, I wanted to wear my costume to school again today!

3 Year Olds & Musical Chairs

Whomever in the world came up with the game musical Chairs for kids should be shot! As many of you know, Mary Catherine goes to Central Methodist Mothers Morning Out. This is a program which I highly recommend and think is absolutely wonderful. However, I must share with you our most recent school discipline issues with Mary Catherine. The year Mary Catherine was born, I think everyone else in the world had boys. Until this year, her class has been all boys. Not that there is anything wrong with it but, boys are generally rougher playmates than little girls. To say the least, Mary Catherine fits right in with the guys! She pretty much bosses them around and tells them what they can and can not do. She is pretty bossy ( I have no idea where she gets this trait from-HA!). Well, to make a long story short, we were getting reports from school that Mary Catherine was being sent to "TIME OUT" on a pretty regular basis for pushing and shoving. We spent considerable amounts of time "discussing" this aggressive behavior with her and we tried every kind of punishment you can think of from taking the princess dolls to no princess movies. After a week of "Time Out" reports, we told her we would not tolerate behavior that hurt other people and if she did it again she would have to be spanked. The next day, Mother was to pick Mary Catherine up from school and if the teachers reported any problems she was to bring her to me at my office. I dreaded 12 noon. When I saw the white CTS pull up at the office...I almost wanted to cry. In comes Gaga with Mary Catherine following behind with her head hung low. Mother reports that she once again spent a considerable amount of time in the "TIME OUT" chair today. I sat her upon my desk and asked what in the world was going on? In the sweetest little voice you have ever heard..."Mommy, I shoved Riley." Break my heart and make me want to cry. Okay I asked, "what did I tell you was going to happen?" Lip poked out..."I am going to get a spanking." So, I take her into the conference room and she gets a spanking. I feel like dirt but I had promised. I decide the next day, I am going down to the school and observe. So at 10:30 am, I head to MMO. When I arrive, I go to the observation window but the teachers know I am there. I see all the precious little 3 year olds playing, singing and laughing. Then Mrs. Patricia says..."Now it is time for Musical Chairs." She lines the 3 year olds up and sets out the chairs in a straight line. The music starts. The kids begin to walk. The music stops. Panic sets in as several of the 3 year olds want the same chair. They are pushing and shoving and tackling...It is awful! This continues for 5-6 more times. Then I see it about to happen. As chairs disappear...Fear is setting in. At this point Mary Catherine is in the middle of RJ Lee and Robbie Jordan. RJ is in the front and Robbie is in the back. The music stops as Mary Catherine is rounding the end of the chairs. RJ continues to the other end and Robbie takes a seat in the last chair. Mary Catherine turns, puts her hands on her hips and looks at Robbie as if you say "HOW DARE YOU TAKE A LADIES SEAT!" and shoves him right out of the chair on to the floor as pretty as you please and sits down in his chair. Of course, she was immediately disqualified to the "TIME OUT" chair. It was a sad moment for this Mother. I immediately knew the feeling she was having...Being "OUT" and "NOT THE WINNER" and in her mind failing! It was an awful feeling, I remembered from my childhood. I knew what I had to do. I waited until her "TIMEOUT" period had passed and I went to the door and got her for the day. I told the teachers I had seen what had just transpired. I assured them it wouldn't happen again. She and I were going to go have a "talk". Mary Catherine and I went to lunch and we talked about "winning, losing and how we play the game." We also talked about being "OUT". We learned that afternoon that being "OUT" didn't mean we weren't succeeding or that we were failing. It is funny, I remember having this discussion with my Dad some 30 years ago...Mine came when I showed a horse, lost and then acted like a bad loser. I am sure this isn't the last time I will have this discussion with my daughter but, I hope she learned "it matters not if you win or lose, its how you play the game that really matters!" If she can carry this with her, she will be okay for the rest of her life. Stephanie