The Dirty Pearls

So I went to high school with this awesome guy Tommy Mokas, such a great friend, very talented, funny and he had a dream.  Well his dream has come true, his band The Dirty Pearls are currently opening for Lady Gaga on her tour.

On their way from the Kansas City show to the Minneapolis show The Dirty Pearls stopped in Cedar Rapids for a free show!  I was so excited and there was no way I missing it, even on a Tuesday, thank goodness for vacation days because it took me most of Wednesday to recover :)

I've been to a few concerts, this one beats them all, sure it helps knowing the guy playing lead guitar, but it was just such an awesome show and everyone in the band is so damn nice!  They seriously ROCK and it was an honor to be watching Tommy rock out, check them out, I have a feeling they will be around for a very, very long time.

Myself, Tommy and Brienne

3 of the 4 of us from our volleyball team :)

My beautiful little sisters!

Tommy doing what he does best, rocking out!

Girls Are Mean

Tonight I noticed that Bella was acting "off".  We are lucky in the sense that she is a very laid back child, loves to sit and color, play games, read books, watch Scooby Doo, play Barbies, she has some sass but not too often.  She is always very happy, laughing, playing, just being silly, not so much tonight.  She seemed sad and just wanted to snuggle.

Immediately I thought she was sick, but no temperature and she told me she felt ok.  At that moment she said nothing was wrong and she didn't know why she was feeling sad.  So I dropped it and let her snuggle with Papa watching some tv.

When it was bedtime, that was time for us to have a talk.  Bella has had problems with a girl in her class since the first day of school, as a mother it has been heart wrenching to see her go through this.  I notified her teacher immediately and she has been wonderful, the counselor as well.  It seemed like things were getting better, there have been some issues here and there, but nothing too major.

So I ask Bella to tell me about her day, how school is going, how Lily Pad was after school.  She gets all excited and is telling me about her day at school and then she pauses and gets this sad look on her face.  She tells me that her timeline material got put on the wrong table and the girl she has issues with grabbed it and was very rude and pushy in giving it to Bella and trying to make her take it away.  Bella said she went to tell her teacher right away, but the girl was pretty rude the entire day.

Bella then goes on and says, "mommy, I just don't know why she doesn't like me."  OMG, talk about heartbreaking, to see my little Bella all teary eyed, holding back the sobs and being strong, wondering how someone could not like her.  I told her immediately how wonderful, amazing, strong, sweet, caring, loving she is, I mean it was serious diarrhea of the mouth!

Then Bella hugged me and said, "I know mommy, you tell me every day how special and strong I am.  I know that and I have way more friends than "the girl" does because she is bossy and mean to everyone.  She gets in trouble a lot and I just wouldn't want to be her friend."

WOW.  I could not be more proud and in awe of my six year old daughter, seriously.

We have long road ahead of us, there will be mean girls throughout her life.  I hope we continue to help Bella grow into a strong and confident young lady, I know from personal experience how tough it can be to not have the confidence to face the mean girls.

I love you Bella, you teach me more than you could ever know and make me want to be a better person every day.

Say A Little Prayer

Pam Mohwinkle passed away on Friday, January 18th.  She was a bright light for so many people, a rock for her family, such a very special person.

And He will raise you up on eagle's wings, Bear you on the breath of dawn, Make you to shine like the sun, And hold you in the palm of His Hand. And hold you in the palm of His Hand.

Rest in peace Pam, you will forever be remembered and in the hearts of all you have touched with your beautiful life.

LOVE

To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides. ~ David Viscott

Hug your family, tell them how much you love them, don't take anything for granted.

A tough week in this life, a very dear family friend that has been battling cancer for years is facing her final battle.  I pray for her and her family, watching a loved one lose their battle to cancer is one of the hardest things anyone can go through.

I pray for peace for her family, and peace for Pam.  God please wrap her in your warm embrace and carry her to your Kingdom, give peace to all those who love her and give them the strength to say goodbye.