Little Miss Chievous: A week in the life of Lizzy

For your enjoyment I have included some "highlights" from a week with Lizzy. I've found that when I am on the brink of physically abusing my child (that IS a joke, I promise) it helps to stop and take a picture. If I can imagine that someday I will look back on these misdeeds and laugh, then it almost allows me to see the humor at that very moment.... ALMOST.

Exhibit 1: Going Green

Lizzy hits sister. Lizzy is put in time-out. Lizzy won't stay in time out and is moved to a chair in the kitchen for close surveillance. Lizzy still won't sit in time out and sticks her hand in McKenna's fish bowl to torture Alex, the fish. Time-out starts over AGAIN.

Lizzy climbs on counter and starts scarfing sugar sprinkles from nearby cupboard (she's quick.) Mom sends Lizzy outside for time-out because she clearly has too much energy for inside.

Lizzy strips down to her undies and finds a green marker which she uses to scribble all over the screen and windows. Then she turns the marker on herself.

Mom makes Lizzy clean the window and screen. Lizzy feels overwhelming remorse.

Exhibit 2: The Haircut

The picture says it all.

Exhibit 3: The Pee Incident

This is Sydney's boot that Lizzy peed in (as well as all over her closet floor) in defiance to me trying to put her to bed. It should be no surprise to Lizzy that she needs to go to bed at the end of each day- it's only been happening every night for her entire life. So after 90 minutes of battling over bedtime, it ended with pee on the carpet and inside Syd's new boots.

Oh, it gets better. Of course, after the pee incident Lizzy was required to shower. She became so enraged by the shower that she slammed the bathroom door several times until it came off the upper hinge and was dangling by the lower hinge. It trapped her inside the bathroom and scared her to death. Taylor walked in the door at 9:30 and saved me.

Exhibit 4: Creative Gardening

Lizzy is removed from dinner table and put in time out. Lizzy sneaks outside through the garage side door. Mom sees Lizzy, but chooses to ignore her because Mom is tired and is sitting down to dinner with the other 3 girls. Lizzy, not to be ignored, strips down naked and starts throwing the dirt from the potted plants outside of the kitchen slider. Lizzy wins because Mom can't ignore this without having to clean up (or supervise the clean-up of) the dirt on the deck.

Exhibit 5: Photo Op

While downloading these photos I noticed that Lizzy has been playing with my camera.

The Inzerellos Visit

We LOVED having my sister Anne and her cute family visit! Since I'm typically a full-time activities coordinator for my 4 girls, I took the opportunity to clear our schedules while Anne & Nick were here so we could just hang out. It was great for me, but I realized by the end of their visit that they were probably bored out of their minds and had seen enough of Danville and the Jacksons. Sorry guys! At least we ate well. Next time we'll hit the city... and the country... and maybe even the beach:)

Charlotte hangin' with Aunt Annie at the Sideboard Cafe in Danville. Nick outsmarted himself at this restaurant by ordering the healthy chicken sandwich. Really? Big mistake...I'll bet he's still craving that cheeseburger he passed on.

We took Rock City by storm. Yes, that's still in Danville. We seriously did not go beyond 1 mile outside the town limits of Danville for 4 days.

Lizzy didn't let Anne go home without one of her masterpiece hair styles. This is HOT.

The girls loved having cousin time with Mia. Lizzy could make her belly laugh like none other, and Charlotte called Mia "mama" all weekend. Lots of love going around.

Why?

Why are Charlotte's eyes so incredibly blue some days?

Why does every meal have to end like this?

Why can Charlotte put a peg in a hole at 14 months and not WALK?

Why are pumpkin patches so lame in California? We grow half of the country's food here, so you would think we could come up with a decent farm experience.

Why are bad hair days so cute on babies?

Minneapolis on a Whim

I never take spontaneous trips. But when I heard that my grandpa was not doing well and that my parents and sister were flying out to visit with him and my grandma I felt like I really needed to go and see them. Since it's difficult for me to go to Minnesota (kids) and my grandparents haven't been able to travel much the past 8 years, I hadn't seen them in at least that long. It had just been too long. So I hopped on a plane with Charlotte and spent a few days up north. Charlotte wasn't the best traveler. Double ear infections will do that to you. Regardless, it was SO good to see everyone.

This is how our trip started.

Me & Grandma Grace

Grandpa Wally & Charlotte

Charlotte meets her new cousin Mia. ("Mama")

Anne, Dad & Mia

Bring it ON!

With Fall comes student council elections. McKenna decided to run for Treasurer this year and won! She is "Little Miss Money" now. It fits her perfectly. She comes from a short line of 2 former accountants, and from time to time we catch her holed up in her room counting her money. (Probably just to make sure Lizzy hasn't swiped it again... but hey, it's good practice.)

On one of the first vacation days from school, we got together with just a few friends and hiked around Muir Woods near Sausalito. Gorgeous.

Lizzy and her gang.

McKenna, Bree, & Sydney

Charlotte Turns 1!

With the first day of school comes Charlotte's birthday.

Yes, my baby is still a baby since she isn't walking (at 14 months!) But I cannot believe how this past year has flown by. Sadly, my little brunette is turning blonde, but she still has her signature curls.

Charlotte kicked her little party off with her favorite toy at Gramma Karen & Grandpa DJ's

We transitioned into cake smoothly....

Until she snapped. I can't remember what happened, but there is a missing strawberry on the cake at this point.

All better.

Lizzy and cousin Ellie having fun at Charlotte's celebration.

School Rocks!

Just when I thought I was beyond hope of ever regaining my sanity... school started. Sure, my kids still fight. But I don't have to listen to it 12 hours a day. Sure, my house is still a mess, but there is that glimmer of hope that I might be able to clean something up while the older kids are at school.

Love love love the new school supply option. Just pay your money in May and the PTA orders your school supplies for September. No more running around to 5 different stores only to find they are sold out of the special Mr. Sketch washable smelly markers. It's like Christmas when your kids arrive at their desks on the first day of school.

And... the beauty of after-school play dates. I think being cooped up in a classroom during the day intensifies the creativity involved in after school play. The kids who were so "bored" over the summer are now romping around dressed like Native Americans making potions out of local plants. Go figure.

Coming of Age

Oh yes, turning 8 years old is HUGE in the Jackson Family. The kids look forward to baptism, the long-awaited 8-year-old RV trip with Dad and Grandpa DJ, and a "special" date night with Mom & Dad. (Little do they know, mom & dad drop the bomb about the birds and the bees over the dinner of their choice. Oh, and I think Santa was also discussed on McKenna's big date. Rough night.)

We've been procrastinating Syd's Date Night for 9 months now, but she did get her RV trip in June. She chose to go down the coast to Santa Cruz for 3 days. The highlight? Tidepools and staying at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk until midnight... eating fried Twinkies (yes, you read that correctly) and going on thrill rides.

Sweet Ride

A relic from the phone booth era... Sydney is utterly confused.

Summer Highlights

Fun with friends

A few moms decided to get together and provide classes for our kids this summer instead of signing them up for a gazillion camps and classes elsewhere. It turned out to be a great idea... we all picked an activity and hosted dance classes, a book club, cooking & baking classes (below) and a music & poetry class. Hooray for talented friends!
I had to include this picture because it's so WIERD! Just a typical summer evening. Girls are so goofy...
The gang: geared up for another day at Diablo Day Camp. I can't say enough good things about this Girl Scout camp. The kids can go for one week per summer and participate in archery, dutch oven cooking, swimming, hiking, etc.

Okay, the bottom line is that they love camp, it is 5 days, 6 1/2 hours per day, and it only costs $80 for the entire WEEK. did I mention that lunch is provided????

For logistical reasons, we had to cancel (postpone?) our big trip to the East Coast this summer. We wish we could have gone to visit our friends and family on the the other side of the country, but it gave us a great excuse to hang around and enjoy all of the parks and sites closer to home. Water play tops the list for all of our girls.

A great discovery! We were introduced to the Woodminster Amphitheater in Oakland where we saw a performance of Peter Pan this summer. The weather was perfect an we had a lovely picnic with friends at the venue before the show started. I hope we can make this a new Jackson summer tradition:)

One of our frequent weekend trips to Saddle Creek in Gold Country. We discovered the cute little town of Murphys this time where we ate at a great Mexican cafe and enjoyed playing in the icy water straight from the Sierras. Next time we'll bring inner tubes!