{wednesday cutie}

Yay! Spring is FINALLY here!!!

{2012}

Since we're going back in time, I thought I would show my 2012 video. It's a little on the long side, but a lot of these pics didn't make it into the blog last year, so enjoy!
2012 - a year in pictures from Allison Gottlieb on Vimeo.

{february 2013}

And now moving on to February 2013. Above is Decades Day at school. Emily was obviously 50's, and Paige was....I guess 80's. Feathers, a scrunchie, neon colors, leggings.....i guess that's 80's. It was nice to get some more use out of Emily's Halloween costume!

 Max. In need of a haircut. But truly, I love him like this. He looks like a mini English sheep dog!

Emily has been on a movie making kick lately. This one is all about her stuffed dogs.

Paige working the camera.

Paige was verrrry proud of this tower she built with her blocks. It took a lot of tries to get it that high. A lot of tears too.

Still trying to figure out where those brown eyes came from........but they sure are pretty.

 Daddy still wore a tie in February.

Science night at Emily's school. She made a flying paper thingy - top right hand side of the picture.

Making valentines. This year was blow-pops with home-made valentine tags. Easy to make, and very cute.

Saturday morning breakfast.

The 100th day of school.

Valentines day.

Crazy Paige.

{january}

 It's been awhile since I have done any regular posting here. I am going to try and post a little more regularly. Starting with today. I thought I would go all the way back to January of this year and just post a few of my favorites that haven't been posted yet. First up is Eric's 42 birthday. We celebrated with a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. YUM.

 There was a lot of this during January. Foggy. Cold. Slushy. Snowy.

We took the girls to the Detroit Auto Show. Us and the rest of the state of Michigan. It was CRAZY crowded. Too crowded to really enjoy it.

 It was career day at school Both my girls decided to be professional softball players. Paige is wearing Emily's softball uniform from 2 years ago. It's not even all that big on her.....

and that's the end of January. More catching up tomorrow.

{40}

Forty things about ME on my fortieth birthday!

1. I still remember way back when I was a freshman in high school, telling my then boyfriend, George, that the person I was right then at that moment, is the same person I will be when I am 40.

2. I was kinda wrong. But kinda right too.

3. I am still a rule follower.

4. I still hate geometry.

5. I am still a very liberal-minded person.

6. I am still creative - but not in the way that I was back then.

7. I am not nearly as naive as I was then. But I think most of us can say that.

8. In fact, it's been so long since I was that person, I don't even remember if we are all that similar.

9. So, I'm thinking....the memory is not nearly as good as it was WAY back then.

10. But at that point, I only had 14 years under my belt......

11. So, maybe the memory isn't all that bad. At least I still remember that I said that....

12. Moving on.....

13. And yes, I just used a transition as one of my numbers.

14. My favorite color right now is turquoise.

15. There is not a lot better in life than a really good book.

16. Or listening to your kids laugh.

17. Or a really perfectly prepared piece of steak.

18. If my hair looks good, it puts me in a good mood.

19. If my hair looks bad, i try not to look at my reflection too much.

20. I'm probably the least vain person you know.

21. Hearing the word CARBS is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.

22. The best part about Winter is getting to wear crazy socks.

23. The best part about summer....is EVERYTHING.

24. My favorite cake is.....cake.

25. In fact, I once heard a story about a family who didn't speak to each other because someone didn't tell someone else that they were picking up the cake for a family member's birthday....and therefore there were TWO cakes. And I'm just not really seeing the problem with that...are you?

26. I miss my Grandma Clara everyday.

27. I take WAY too many pictures.

28. If I won a million dollars, I would not sell my house.

30. But I would buy myself a Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland.

31. Is it crazy that if I could go on vacation right now, I would go to DisneyWorld, even though i've been there 1,000,000 times?

32. At one point in my life, I had Michael Bolton and Kenny G in my CD rotation.

33. I can only admit that because I'm pretty sure I had Metallica and Van Halen in the same rotation.

34. I would rather buy clothes for my kids than myself.

35. I can't draw, but I have awesome handwriting.

36. I throw away a lot of my kids artwork. If i didn't, we'd have to get a bigger house or a storage unit. Don't tell them, okay?

37.  I'm totally addicted to baseball. I can't WAIT for the season to start.

38. I haven't scrapbooked in a really long time. I miss it it, but for some reason i just can't get back into it. But I will....

39. It took me about 30 tries to get the above picture of myself.

40. I have looked forward to turning 40  - because it seems like being 40 is FUN. I'll keep u posted!

Happy Birthday to me!

{sick days}

Being sick sucks.  Totally, utterly sucks. The sick bug started here with me. On Christmas Eve. I am still not even sure what I had. My stomach hurt. A lot. I was nauseous. Way too much to put on my snazzy new Christmas Eve sweater and go on over to my Aunt and Uncle's house. So, I sat at home. Staring at the Christmas tree and feeling completely sorry for myself.

 By Christmas morning, I was better. Not completely. But enough to join in our normal Christmas day celebrations. It took me a few days to get back to "normal". By New Year's Eve, I was good. And looking forward to all that 2013 would bring. Be careful what you wish for......

Paige was next. Tummy ache as well. She was fine. She wasn't. She was fine again. She ate dinner. She slept. I exhaled. The next day, I took them out to Build-A-Bear to spend their Christmas money.

That night, it was Emily's turn. Stomach ache again. But for Emily, it didn't go away. And I got about 20 minutes of sleep that night. Lots of sanitizing. Lots of ice chips. Lots of Dr. Mom. And one very sad 10 year old who missed TWO sleepovers.

I didn't even have time to exhale. Paige woke me up one night later at 2am with a mess in the bedroom and bathroom. After one of the worst scenes I had to clean up ever, I sat with her in the bathroom, waiting for the storm that I just knew would come. I had just experienced it with her sister two nights before. But the storm never came. She told me knock-knock jokes and practiced tying the string on the clothes hamper. At 6am, she slept on the floor of my bedroom - her bedding was still drying - and I slept/watched her from the warmth of my bed. She felt fine, she didn't, she ate, she drank, she seemed to be over it. And then she wasn't. The stress of all of it was starting to really get to me. Another night of sick? I made her sleep on my floor that night. She was not happy about it. She protested. And I made a decision. I knew that there was no way I would sleep with her all the way in her room. And there was NO WAY I was sleeping on her floor. My almost-40 year old body wouldn't bounce back like her 5 year old one would. I put my foot down. Made her as comfortable as possible. And we slept.

She missed her first day back to school after the Holiday break. I wanted to make sure she was completely fine. She was. It was a nice day. No one got sick. She was sweet and full of smiles. My stress fell mostly away. I made appointments for flu shots. NO MORE SICK.

Two a.m. Tuesday morning. Paige in the bathroom again. This time, not because she had tummy issues. She looked fine, but the minute I took her hand to take her back to bed - I knew it. Fever. 103 to be exact. All that cleaning, airing out of the house during last weekend's 60 degree weather, constant reminders to wash hands.....it didn't matter. More lost sleep. More hand wringing. Did my baby have the flu? The dreaded deathly flu??

I want to say right here, right now, that St. Johns Pediatric Partners - nurse Cindy particularly - awesome. Talked me off the ledge. Gave me lots of great advice. Eased my fears. By the second day, the fever was still around, but Paige was doing well. Most likely, it was a cold virus, not the flu. We did visit the doctors office on day three, but a check from the doctor told us she was on the mend with no additional issues.

And now, Eric is sick. Woke me up Thursday morning looking for the thermometer. He tried to go to work today, got dressed and everything, but decided to stay home and heal. His birthday is tomorrow. Can we please be done now?

 Being sick sucks.

 Being not sick is AWESOME.

 Let's hope we are heading there soon.

Have a HEALTHY week.

BTW - the reason that all of these pictures are of Paige is because Emily was either sick or at school or hanging out with her friends. Not around for my camera. Not uncommon for kids approaching those teenage years......You can see her above. She is around......kindof.....

{what we've been up to during the last month...}

Someone turned 10!!

That's 2013 - backwards....

Happy New Year!