5 on a Friday: How I Have Spent my Time Now That Class Is Over (33/52)

 1. Watching the new Dance Moms reboot. Dorothy has watched the whole thing twice, but the rest of us (everyone but Harry and Minnie) are watching an episode a night, and it is a DELIGHT. I cannot wait for dance season to start so I can say things like YOU ARE NOT HERE FOR FUN. YOIU ARE HERE TO DANCE and can tell Dorothy in a fake tearful voice THAT DOESN’T EVEN GO ON A BEAUTY BLENDER when she’s being terrible to me during hair and makeup. I can’t wait for the first time she tells me she is hungry and I can tell her FIRST YOU STRETCH. THEN YOU EAT. Seriously. This show is a gem.

2. Not coloring my hair but thinking I should any day now.

3. Signing Minnie up for THE CUTEST DANCE CLASS EVER and also driving Dorothy to her LAST WEEK OF TEAM TRYOUTS!! 

(Last private of the SUMMMMMMER)

4. VOTING. Harry got to vote in his VERY FIRST ELECTION!! And WI voted NO to a MAGA power grab in the legislature! Yay! I will say, my very blue county picked the most conservative option every time in the primary, and for WI to be blue, we need to be, like, ELECTRIC blue in November.

(I came home from the (very crowded) polls and bought a yard sign right away. I wanted a snarky one (I saw a Harris Walz OBVIOUSLY sign that made me lol) but decided to go official and make a donation.)

5. Cleaning out Minnie’s dresser and closet and room to make space for new toys. Now I need to clean out the living room toys and the downstairs toy room. (I donated 3 bags of clothes, a Minnie Mouse ice cream cart, a bag of books, and a bag of toys yesterday, but there is more to divest).

Everything is dolls, dollhouse, and accessories in here now.

There are extra dolls in that storage cube by her bed that is also a nightstand LOL and doll accessories in the one on the bottom shelf (next to her Target scanner, also LOL) (Yes- that IS her changing table— still going strong(ish) as an awkward bookshelf)

We have MOAR baby beds downstairs, but 2 in her room seems fine.

This was in her closet holding all manner of random crap (I also threw away 2 bags of assorted broken junk and plain old junk), and now it is blocking her window and holding tiny dolls, Calico Critters and small dollhouse accessories

American Girl clothes and accessories, plus her beloved doll stroller

Storage cube of larger dollhouse stuff and a red bin of… totally random stuff she can’t part with.

Clearly this is a work in progress, but at least now it is easy to clean up her playing house and target scenes.

I really need to get Dorothy to go through her Barbie stuff and AG dolls and decide what Minnie can have, what we need to donate, and what is super special that she wants to save for her own kids. I think we are also going to put the giant house that’s in Dorothy’s room downstairs and replace it with a vanity table or a desk (priorities LOL). So STAY TUNED.

MINNIE IS FOUR!!!

 FOUR! Didn’t I just find out I was pregnant, like, last week and have a pandemic baby YESTERDAY?!?! And now all of the sudden SHE IS FOUR YEARS OLD and starting 4K in the fall?

She had her first friend party (a year later than the other kids, but that’s because she only went to 3-year-old preschool, and everyone else went 2 mornings a week at 2, so this is her first time to have friends for a friend party) last weekend. She had a pool party, and when we scheduled it, we expected a hot August day. We got… 70-degrees for a high and windy **whomp whomp**. But! We also got endless sun and the pool to ourselves.

Even the beer was on theme:

Costco bday cakes are maybe the best thing about costco

Piñata chaos

Coop filled his pockets

Ben dressed to match

Dorothy and her bff were CLUTCH for present opening.

And party set up

These balloons barely survived the wind

Thankfully, when we saw the weather forecast, we got crowns to decorate and bracelets to make and bubbles galore.

Yessssss queen

She loved beating the hell out of the piñata she so lovingly selected and played with **yikes face**

Big kid!!

Dorothy, Coop, and Lena were the best party helpers and could basically start a side hustle.

THE WATER WAS SO COLD THO

Ben “forgot” his suit

The car also was rough on the balloons.

There I am TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM

She had 3 pieces of cake.

Dorothy: barely taller than the preschoolers.

But super strong

LOL her little stance kills me

Pizza and fries— her favorite foods.

Seriously she looks so grown up.

Next year, I think we will try to have her party after her birthday maybe because she was VERY BOTHERED that she still actually had 3 days left as a 3 year-old. Luckily! Her preschool bff had a birthday party THE VERY NEXT DAY.

On Monday, a lifeguard brought Minnie a bday present to the pool, which was a delightful surprise

And she wore a fancy dress to celebrate the LAST DAY OF THREE

As you can see, she helped bake her own cake. And she decorated it to her exact specifications

Ben was in Peoria when Minnie woke up on her bday morning, so we held off on cake and our gifts until dessert (when Ben was home), but she blew a candle out on her (pink) pancakes (with sprinkles) and opened gifts from her grandparents. Ben’s mom and dad sent her an etch a sketch (big hit) and the game hot potato (huge crowd fave with the sibs) and a SCOOTER that is now Minnie’s fave thing in the world.

My mom gifted her a toy shopping spree, and she went ALL IN on dolls and accessories:

We had a cookie at her favorite coffee shop and dinner at Culver’s (her choice OBVI)

When Ben got home, we could finally eat her pink cake and open the gifts that had been tempting her on the table

And yes, she does like her unicorn scooter way better than her Trek bike. 

But seriously, you guys. Can you even believe that MINNIE MARIGOLD is FOUR?!