Adeline Decides - Recap CINCO

          Has it really been an entire month and a half since the last recap? Ouch, sorry folks. This recap of Adeline Decides is days away from Cinco de Mayo, which really means nothing to Adeline because she is half Canadian. I don't know where I am going with this. Proceed to the recap!

Ahem, if you need to get caught up and figure out what the heck Adeline Decides is you can go here and here.  In a nutshell, I am spending at minimum, 6 months letting my 3 year old make decisions for herself and for our family. We are at the halfway mark and I have zero regrets with starting or completing this project. It is hard to recall what decisions are notable on here though, as it is becoming second nature for me to get her opinion on a whole lot of things.

But here is what you might have missed in the last month and a half:

-We hopped in the van and drove down the road...TO TEXAS. I gave a detailed synopsis of that trip on our business blog that you can view here. Adeline did things like con an old lady out of some bacon, and play with cows, you know, the usual.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

          Moving along, I have been getting my nails done in a nail salon by my cousin for, 17 years now (what can I say, I am high maintenance). So we visit the nail salon every other week. Adeline decided it was high time she got to sit in the chair for a fresh coat of polish:

Is this normal? 3 year olds aren't supposed to stay willingly stationary for this long right?

Since the last recap, Easter happened. That weekend was a blur, but Adeline did decide to make Easter cards instead of buy:

She made the lil guys with her finger prints! I drew the faces and such. 

Everyone together now: "Awwww".

             Another month of March achievement for the books, Adeline became a knight. Wasn't her decision initially, until she saw that she got to hop on stage and have a captive audience. Oh, people are watching? Give me that crown and let's do this:

She did pick out several outfits for herself and I that I thought to snap a pic of: 

Not entirely sure why I look frightened in this photo. The outfit isn't scary at all. 

The dress she helped me buy from another recap. 

A shirt she got for a song during the Texas antique show. The vendor loved her to pieces. 

Remember from last recap she picked out her outfit for school picture day? I'd say she was pretty happy with her selection...

        Since the beginning of this parenting project I have had a few friends ask me if Adeline could decide for them too. While I don't plan on daunting her with everyone's life questions, if you have one you would really like to have Adeline give her sage advice on you may send it to us. Comment here on the blog with those, or email them to us at junkdrunkjones@gmail.com (subject line: Adeline Decides). If I feel like asking her, and she feels like answering, we will get back to you with her words of wisdom.  

50 States or Bust

Let me disclose that I cannot take full credit for this brilliant idea. I read an article in one of my parenting/soccer mom magazines someone purchased a subscription for me as a gift. In an issue they shared a story that inspired me to set a goal for our family.

Goal: We want to take Adeline to all 50 states by the time she graduates from high school. That is about 3ish states per year.
Lofty? Probably.
Crazy? Possibly.
Impossible? Nah.

For weeks I jokingly mentioned the 50 states or bust goal to Brett, and then to the rest of the family. In reality I was just verbalizing it enough to make it materialize, because it wasn't a few weeks after that mention that I invited she and I on a road trip my parents had planned almost a year prior. I don't normally invite myself on such adventures, but they agreed to let us stow away. The days following I packed us up for a 9 day/1,500+ mile trek up north. We hit 5 states that trip alone, and Adeline had a freaking blast. 8 months have passed and she still mentions it.

Thanks to my job (and what is evolving into quite the family business) as Junk Drunk Jones we get to travel a bit. We just got back from a trip out west that knocked off another 4 states on her list.

Is this goal gonna work out? I have no idea, but I am going to try like hell to make it happen. What is your favorite state? When we make it there, what should we be sure to see?