Life with a side of Silly

{Ms. Gottlieb}

2012-02-16T14:11:00.000-05:00

Today is Career Day at Emily's school. Of course, she wanted to go as a teacher. Specifically, an Ojibwa Elementary School teacher. Her Dad made her an ID tag complete with a pocket for her "hoot tickets".

Hoot Ticket - a redeemable ticket that students at Emily's school receive for doing good deeds.

And I know - because I used to teach - that most teachers don't wear their hair in buns...but really, I could not help myself. Especially when I had a matching pencil....And the pearls are the ones I actually wore when I was teaching.

Miss Paige had to get in the act too. She'll be able to really participate next year when she's in Kindergarten. But this morning, she also wanted to sport the same "do" as Emily. Except...she called it a BURGER. "Mom, I want my hair in a burger like Emily." She slays me, that kid. She also still calls her forehead a headfore.

And, of course, Paige HAD to be the very first person to receive a HOOT ticket.

The burger:

Here's to the first of many future mornings getting all dressed up in your teacher gear sweetie!

{All-Day bound...}

2012-02-08T14:38:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago it was declared that All Day Kindergarten would replace the traditional Half Day Kindergarten in our school district. Much applause and cries were heard all around. I was one of those that was applauding. My background in education, elementary education to be more precise, tells me that an all day curriculum would be the best for my girl. She will not have to rush through her Kindergarten year. She will have plenty of time to prepare for first grade and beyond. She will have plenty of time to develop social relationships with her classmates that will hopefully carry her all throughout her scholastic career. I know all these things to be true. And if Kindergarten were to start tomorrow, she would be ready. She is BEYOND excited. This girl has been watching Emily get on that school bus since she was seeing from the seat of her stroller. She has been wanting to get on that bus since she could walk. And the thoughts that SHE will get to ride that bus next year...well the anticipation of that - it's almost too much for this four and a half year old to bear.

A couple of days ago, I realized that she is really growing up. I know, kids, they tend to do that. But this past week, she is dropping so many of her babyish habits, and replacing them with those of a much more mature kid. And all that confidence I felt about her going to Kindergarten began to fade a bit.

She has been by my side for four and a half years. Up until this year, all day, everyday. And of course, there were many times I wished she would just leave me in peace for a moment - a lot of that came while I was in the bathroom...but, it's kind of sad to think that I won't have her little face around all day.

Being a parent is a crazy thing. Every moment of your child's life you have this push/pull thing going on. Of course I want my girls to grow up and be independent little beings. But, can't they just sit on my lap and watch Micky Mouse Clubhouse with me a bit longer?

Can't they say dis or dat instead of this or that, just a while longer?

I know. They can't. It's so strange to think about my kids being teenagers, or adults. But it is the goal right?

So, I get it, you Moms who had those sad faces in the hallway of pre-school last week. I get it. It's hard to watch them pull away. It's hard to let them grow up. I guess we almost have no choice in the matter. And if you know my Paige - I lost that battle four and a half years ago.

{the most long awaited snow day EVER}

2012-01-21T15:05:00.000-05:00

It FINALLY came! Snow! Some of you who live in warmer climates may think we're nuts, and that's fine. We northerners like a variety of weather. Well, at least this northerner does. I like my winter a bit on the snowy side. Now come March 22nd, I would rather not see any more of the fluffy white stuff. But, having to wait until January 19th for snow....well, that's too much. And, truth be told, I actually enjoyed getting up at 7am - ON A SATURDAY - and shoveling the driveway this morning. It was so peaceful. No one was out with their snow removal machines. Just me, Eric, our shovels, and a gorgeous sunrise. Nothing better than that to start the day.

A bit later, the girlies wanted to get outside and enjoy Mother Natures present for them. And enjoy they did.

Did I mention that this girl got straight A's on her progress report? Did I mention that she has a 99% in math? She just LOVES school. She LOVES learning new stuff. We are so proud!

She did eat quite a bit of snow while she was outside - hopefully all those smarts come with some common sense.......we do have yellow snow around our house.

Building snow forts, and making cherry ice pie. Sand toys do double duty.

Happy snow day to ALL!

{41 and mothballs....}

2012-01-19T17:21:00.000-05:00

Eric turned 41 today. We celebrated last night because he works late tonight - I KNOW, on HIS BIRTHDAY - and because my Mom couldn't be here today. Not that my Mom HAS to be here for Eric's birthday, but she did get him a gift, and that entitles you to a piece of cake. Right? Well, maybe that's just my rule.

Anyway, at 41 Eric is still the same as he was when he was just 40 - except now he wears a tie. Apparently, over 40 means FANCY. Guess I had better get my cocktail dresses out of storage. I still have a couple years, but I think I may need some time to get that mothball smell out.

And, now, this has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with Eric, or turning 41, but I thought I would share a story, that probably only I think is funny...it has to do with mothballs.

My friends Tracy and Ian bought a house years ago from a an older woman. The house was in it's original condition when they bought it - I believe it had been built in the 60's. It had PINK carpeting, although some may have called it rose, and PINK walls. It also had the traditional pink bathroom, and baby blue bathroom. It was all kinds of awesome. If you saw the house the day they moved in and then saw the house today, you would swear it was a different house.

Anyway, the mothballs. So, of course, the night they moved in, we had a painting party, and painted all the walls white. PINK BE GONE! Tracy's Mom was kind enough to cater dinner - KFC. We ate quite a bit, and put the leftovers in the fridge, along with our cans of soda, and some delicious brownies that another friend had brought over. This is FLORIDA people. You can't leave food out. EVER. Unless you like ants.

The next day, they renovations continued. And we got hungry. So, we opened the fridge and prepared to eat the delicious chicken leftover from the night before.

Are you wondering what all of this has to do with mothballs? Are you hungry for KFC?

We all took out first bite of chicken, and then we all promptly spit it out. It tasted like MOTHBALLS!! WTF? How. In. The. Heck?

Okay fine. We'll get something else to eat. Let me just get a drink of my Coke.

HOLY CRAP! MOTHBALLS!! REALLY WTF? It's a SEALED can!!!!

And then we looked over at the tray of brownies. And then we cried, for these brownies are the BEST. BROWNIES. EVER. And now they also tasted like MOTHBALLS.

I don't know why they didn't kick the fridge to the curb at that point, but they didn't. I recall Tracy froze some meat in the freezer soon after they moved in. She defrosted it, and made dinner with it - and guess what? MOTHBALLS. Then they kicked the fridge to the curb.

I guess the original owner was so OBSESSED with not having moths, she put mothball EVERYWHERE. Including behind the refrigerator. After years of it being in the vents for the fridge, it became the mothball refrigerator.

Thus endeth the mothball story. Don't you feel better now?

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC! We're having mothballs for dinner tonight!

{aware}

2012-01-16T17:22:00.002-05:00

I was reading this blog post today, don't carpe diem, and oh boy, did that resonate with me. To give you the cliff notes, it's about those people who tell you that you should appreciate and enjoy every moment of your child's young life because it's fleeting.

I know it's fleeting. I know that tomorrow my kids will be one day closer to teenager-hood and adult-hood. But, when I hear stuff like that, I can't help but feel a little guilty about my days with my girls. Did I appreciate them enough? Did I stop and really LOOK at them?

Maybe. I am not sure. I might have been too busy caught up in the mess that was left in the kitchen/bathroom/bedroom/basement. I might have been too busy yelling at them to get along. I might have been too busy cleaning up yet ANOTHER spilled cup of juice. Or working. Or doing laundry. Or cooking.......

Do you know when I will have a moment to stop and remember all the cuteness, the things they said, their teeny fingers, their jokes that make no sense....do you know when?

When they are all grown and out of my hair.

If that's not an advertisement for scrapbooking, I don't know what is.

And YES, I am truly aware that Emily is not in even ONE of these photos. She's not home during the day - she's in school. And when she is home, she is NOT into having her photo taken. She's too busy with her friends.

{cowgirl}

2012-01-09T17:56:00.000-05:00

Picked up these adorable pink cowgirl boots on clearance today. There were a couple of other options, but once Paige saw the PINK cowgirl boots...it was all over. And of course, once we got home we had to ACCESSORIZE!! I love this girl.......

{besties}

2012-01-06T21:28:00.000-05:00

They are having a sleep-over in Emily's bedroom tonight.

I love how much they LOVE each other. I enjoy the heck out of it because soon, it will be a bunch of: "she stole my sweater, she ruined my favorite shoes..." and door-slamming. Sisters are forever.

{emily @nine}

2012-01-03T14:44:00.000-05:00

Her favorite food: pizza
Favorite TV show: Spongebob Squarepants
Favorite color: hot pink
Favorite time of day: time to play with friends
Favorite thing about school: specials (art, music, PE and science)
Favorite thing to wear: what she's wearing right now
Favorite movie: The Parent Trap
Favorite song: California Girls by Katy Perry
If she could go anywhere it would be: Hollywood, CA, because she wants to be a movie star. (what?)
Favorite restaurant: McDonald's and Red Robin
Favorite thing to do at home: play with Paige
Favorite holiday: Christmas

Some things don't change: She's still the silliest kid that I know. She is still really into reading. Right now, it's The Dork Diaries, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Boxcar Children books and A to Z mysteries. She still loves to play with her Nintendo DS.

But some things don't stay the same: She is a little bit more interested in her clothes now. She has been changing her earrings almost everyday, instead of once a month. She is much more likely to wear a hair accessory than she was a year ago. And lately, the more glitter, the better.

Her BEST friend: Hands down, her little sister. And the feeling is quite mutual, I assure you. Emily is seriously, the BEST big sister any little sister could hope for. She truly loves to hang out with Paige. And that is SO COOL. They even got a couple joint Christmas presents because Santa knew that they both wanted the same thing....and they could definitely handle sharing. And they did.

Nine wonderful years. What changes will TEN bring? What will stay the same?

Stay tuned......

{christmas 2011}

2012-01-02T12:59:00.000-05:00

I could not continue on with 2012 without looking back at our Christmas 2011. It was a whirlwind of activities, and this year, came and ended without a ton pf pictures. But that's okay. I have the important ones. We always take our family picture - mostly because we are all dolled up in our Christmas finery - right before we leave for my Aunt and Uncle's house on Christmas Eve. And no matter how hard I try and get things ready ahead of time, we are ALWAYS in a hurry to get the photo. ALWAYS. This year, our remote timer was acting cranky, so we had to do with the timer on the camera.

And this one is the best of the five photos we took - we are all kind of blurry, and the color is YUCK. And if you look really hard, you can see that Eric and I are both kind of annoyed.....Merry Christmas!

BUT, after all that, we got to my Aunt and Uncle's house and had a blast. The most entertaining present, for both kids and adults, this year were the Connectigons. Thank you Ryan, Julie, Aunt T, Uncle D and Kelly. The girls still play with them everyday.

The most entertaining present for the adults - Paige's squirrel. Apparently, it was rabid.
(Matt, you KNOW I could not resist posting this)

And then we jammied up the girlies - Grant was already sleeping at this point.

Goofed around a bit more.....

And we headed home. I think we pulled in the garage around 11:30pm. Paige was sound asleep. So it was up to Emily and I to sprinkle the reindeer food outside - in very high winds, we were done in seconds. And we set up the cookies for Santa. Emily was in bed close to midnight. It was at this point I realized I left my good camera at my Aunt and Uncle's house.....

So, at approximately 8am, Christmas morning, I snapped this picture. And at approximately 8:10am, it was all over. Emily was very surprised that Santa brought her a DSi XL. It wasn't on her list, but somehow Santa just KNEW she really wanted one. Paige was very excited about her American Girl doll Molly - but she was most excited about her Pinkalicious DS game. It was a very great morning, followed my much toy playing over the next week. Emily has expressed many times, her gratitude towards Santa this year, and has big plans on making him a huge Thank You card.

Hope your Christmas was Merry!

{new year, new outlook}

2012-01-01T17:04:00.000-05:00

This year, is going to be good. Maybe not great, but good. I truly don't have a whole bunch of control over it, but the parts that I do, I will.

This blog is not going to be a neglected part of my life this year. There will be posting more than once a week. I will be bringing you a small slice of our life. A slice of our normal, good, life.

So, please, come back and visit. I promise to make you smile.

My mantra for the year: Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.

-Mary Jean Iron

{cha..cha...cha....cha....changes}

2011-12-22T17:39:00.000-05:00

I have to be very honest. 2011 is very possibly, the worst year of my life so far. And I am not saying that like some adolescent who just had her heart broken by some dude. I am saying it like the adult that I am. 2011 sucked. HOWEVER, there have been some great and wonderful things that have happened this year as well. It's just that the bad stuff had greatly overshadowed everything. Wow....I am really Debbie Downer.

Which brings me to the whole lack of blogging. Lots of changes have taken place around here in the past six months. Eric is no longer working in the basement. He's now working outside the house, some times six days a week. He leaves when it's dark, and comes home when it's dark. That in itself is a HUGE adjustment for HIM.

I am now mostly running the day to day operations of our business. That in itself, is a HUGE adjustment for ME.

All the things that I was able to do for the past few years....I am having to find a new way to do them. I don't have Eric to rely on to watch the girls while I run errands, or help out at school. And that is a HUGE adjustment for the GIRLS.

We are all having to get used to this new life. Everyday there's something new that we have to learn to adjust to. And it's hard. Some days, I feel like I am just chasing my tail all day long.

I am EXHAUSTED. Mentally and physically. Some days, I feel like I just need a moment, but then someone gets sick, or breaks something, or needs to eat........it's been a challenge.

BUT

Things will get better and easier. We all just have to adjust and find our new rhythm. This path that we are all on right now is a good one....it's just going to take a while to get used to it.

Life is still going on around here. And it's a good life.
And I can't wait to see all the great and wonderful things 2012 brings.

{nine}

2011-12-16T11:19:00.000-05:00

I will hopefully have a more in-depth post later, but I just wanted to wish my sweet girl a very happy birthday today! Nine years since you were a little peanut. Wow. Love you Em!

{more leaves, Parade Company Tour and Thanksgiving}

2011-11-29T16:56:00.000-05:00

This, I promise you, is the very last of the leaf pictures. Or is it leaves pictures? Ummm, no. That is definitely not correct. Leaf pictures it is. Whew. Glad we got that straight.

It was a good year for frolicking in the leaves. Best year yet. Although, last year would have been good too if our leaf pile didn't suddenly disappear one day by a well-intentioned leaf removing neighbor. I think they now know that we are leaf pile addicts and will leave our leaves alone. That was way to fun to say.

A couple weeks ago my Dad and Natalie treated us to a lovely afternoon tour of the Parade Company. If you live in this area and have never been, you should go. You get to see a backstage tour of all the floats used in the America's Thanksgiving Day Parade here in Detroit. It's really interesting. The girls really enjoyed seeing all those floats up close and personal. And they enjoyed watching the parade on Thanksgiving morning - "Mom!! That's the one we saw on the tour!!"

Each float is sponsored by a company, who commissions the Parade Company to design and build it. It's the only parade that does this. Unique and very cool. And while I really enjoyed hearing about all the floats, I retained very little....The float below is one that has to do with reading. I just really liked the fairy.

This is a picture inside the HUGE warehouse. See Elmo? I do remember that this one was sponsored by PNC bank. See, I was listening!

Wizard of Oz - and some Big Heads on the wall. Apparently, you pay around $300 to wear one of these big heads and march in the parade. There's all kinds...including Tom Selleck. We saw him in another part of the tour.

The Ford float.

The float that Santa used to ride on.

The cheese wall. This is where they make the costumes. How would you like to have a cheese wall in your office - where people just look at you? I know, AWESOME, right?

My Dad and the girls. I don't know why he's standing so far away from them....I did shower them right before we left....

And the big hit of the day - we all got clown noses when the tour was over. The funny hats stayed in the gift shop.

And then we will move on to Thanksgiving. It was a lovely affair this year. We had 18 people. Eric's mom came to stay with us this year, rounding out our group. We had our usual shenanigans during dinner - with WAY more potty humor than most people could tolerate. But we are not most people. And let's just say that there are some things about some people that I now wish I never knew. (Yes, Kelly, I am talking about YOU.)

The crazy picture below...umm, Kelly, what are you doing?

I think I love this one the best.

And finally, one of my girls walking home from the bus stop.

I think we are all caught up now!

{instagram love}

2011-11-17T08:56:00.000-05:00

I really love the Instagram app on my phone. It's a cool way to capture everyday moments. Here's a sampling of my Instagram photos from the past month or two...as you can see, I like to take pictures of Autumn. It's just so preeeeetttty!

{jumping in the leaves}

2011-11-07T09:39:00.000-05:00

Every fall we look forward to raking up our leaves, and then subsequently jumping in them. This year, the girls got a couple chances to jump in the leaves. Our maple tree is quite a bit bigger this year than years past - DUH! - and we had more leaves than ever. This small pile doesn't even represent half of what we had. Emily made this pile all by herself after school one day last week, and she decided that it was big enough and she couldn't wait one more second...she had to jump.

Pure Autumn Joy.

i LOVE this picture. Lovelovelovelovelove......

This is from the next day. Storms were rolling in, and I thought we had better get outside soon before the leaves became a soggy mess. Today's theme was leaf rain. Our next door neighbor joined us for the fun. And about five minutes after I took this picture it poured. Water this time, not leaves....

{halloween 2011}

2011-10-31T22:06:00.001-04:00

It's a theme this year...each and every big event becomes small in comparison to some other unexpected event. What? Let me back up a bit. We carved pumpkins on Saturday. I thought it would be fun to roast some pumpkin seeds since neither of the girls had ever had any. Easy enough. Fast forward to the next morning...the girls tried the roasted pumpkin seeds before breakfast (they hadn't finished roasting by the time they went to bed) - Emily didn't like them, Paige LOVED them. Paige loved them so much that I think she may have over indulged.....I got a call from school this afternoon. She got sick TWICE in the classroom. LOVELY. I figured she was going to be out of commission for trick or treating. Not to mention that I missed Emily's costume parade at school. Later on in the day, Paige was BOUNCING off the walls, and saying that she was all better and wanted to go trick or treating.

She lasted two whole houses before she lost all her excitement. She was done. But, oh, she was cute.

But my sweet Emily had a very great day. And doesn't she look so very pretty in her home-made skirt?

Hope your Halloween was SWEET!

{frosty}

2011-10-28T09:17:00.000-04:00

Is it wrong that when I woke up this morning and saw that it was frosty outside, I rushed my girls to get ready quickly so that I could snap a few pictures?

I didn't think so.

The leaves on our maple tree are falling at quite the rapid pace this morning....so fast that it will probably be completely bare by Halloween.....

{pumpkins and another trip to the Osprey Trail}

2011-10-25T17:19:00.000-04:00

{she is...}

2011-10-18T15:07:00.000-04:00

slightly out of focus. but that's because she's just too darn busy to stop for one nano-second and be photographed. I took this picture last week after she got a much needed haircut. But she was too preoccupied to stop for photography. she ran for class representative a couple weeks ago. i was so proud. i for sure thought that she would decide not to do it once I read that she would have to give a speech in front of her whole class. but, she didn't even hesitate. she was full on excited. we helped her with her speech, made a poster and sent her off to washington...i mean, school. of course, i told her that student council elections are basically a popularity contest, and to not be too disappointed if she didn't win. and she didn't. and of course, she was a bit disappointed. but she is totally excited about trying again next year! she currently has straight a's - and is very proud of it - as is her momma. she is pretty much done with fall softball - she does have a rain make-up, which will be played idon'tknowwhen. she is going to be a 50's girl for halloween - but her costume is yet to be made. she is still my silly, silly Emily.

she is loving school. she loves her teacher, loves her classmates, and loves it when she has homework. she wants to do it the minute we get home. she loves coloring, playing with her stuffed animals, playing with her big sister, and dancing. we recently had to re-instate the booster chair at the dinner table because she is just way too squirrel-ly and took HOURS to eat her meals. literally HOURS. she is big time into spelling words, and talking about numbers. and I was so worried about her academically....she is the definition of CUTE. but she does have some very un-cute moments too. she is always ready for a hug, a kiss, or an "i love you". she is a day brightener for sure.

{celebrate!}

2011-10-07T09:40:00.000-04:00

No, she didn't really watch the game last night - that beautiful, wonderful, stressful, nail-biting, stomach churning, watch while hiding behind your hands baseball game. That game where the Tigers beat those dang Yankees. Barely. But they did it. She didn't get to see those back to back home runs in the first inning. Nor did she get to see Valverde's dance at the end of the ninth. And, oh what a dance it was. She didn't get to see the champagne celebration that drenched the Yankee visitor clubhouse. She slept through it all. But when I told her this morning that the Tigers won and now they get to go play Texas, she asked if it was okay if she wore her Tiger shirt today. She may not yet understand the game - but the girl knows how to celebrate!

Two celebrations down, two to go.....GO TIGERS!!!!

{my new favorite}

2011-09-23T14:39:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, when you press the shutter button, you just don't know. Of course, digital photography helps a lot. You can see within a second if you got the picture you had envisioned in your mind. I love it when you press that button and you know. You know it's a beautiful picture. This was one of those times. I captured this little girl - in all her sweet, painted fingernail glory.

{osprey trail 2011}

2011-09-20T09:10:00.000-04:00

On Labor Day we sat around being grumpy because it was such a gray, yucky day. It was the last day of summer vacation, and we were sitting in the house. Cold, I might add. We had to get out. It wasn't raining anymore, so I thought we needed to go on a hike. Of course, on the way there, it started drizzling, but thankfully stopped once we arrived. The girls complained quite a bit. But their moods improved quite a bit once were got outside. I guess fresh air really does do the trick sometimes....

We'll be going back in a couple of weeks to gather leaves...Emily, the grumpiest one of all that day, can't wait!

{the last bit of summer}

2011-09-16T14:32:00.000-04:00

i took these pictures of the girls a couple days before school started. It was a gloomy morning, very overcast, and VERY humid. A far cry from our upper fifty degree temperatures we are having today.

She: is still loving school. In fact, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, she is not a happy camper when I inform her that she doesn't have school that day. She still cries when she gets frustrated, but I have noticed that it's happening a little bit less than it used to. She hasn't quite figured out what to do with herself when Emily is at school - a sure sign that their relationship strengthened over the summer. She is doing much better at riding a regular bicycle and may be ready for no training wheels come next spring. She can write her name legibly now, and is working on writing other letters as well. I have been working with her on letter sounds a lot more lately, and she is picking up more and more everyday. She is still very affectionate. I hope that doesn't change anytime soon.

She: is so very excited to finally be in third grade. She loves her teacher. She loved learning to write in cursive, until it got hard. Typical Emily. She is always ready to play with a friend. She still loves softball, even though the fall schedule is a little bit grueling. She is still such a silly kid. She is working on being less grumpy when things don't go her way. She does chores now. She doesn't really enjoy doing them. Typical Emily. She is, hopefully, going to go through a growth spurt soon to catch up to her arms and legs that grew with wild abandon this summer. She is already looking forward to her birthday - typical Emily. I, however, am not. Nine? Really?

{paige goes to pre-school}

2011-09-07T14:10:00.001-04:00

So, the day that we have been looking forward to has finally arrived. Complete with rain showers AND a power outage. About 20 minutes before I was going to make lunch for Paige - something yummy and warm on this cold day - the power went out. And it didn't come back on until after Eric and I got home from dropping her off. She was stuck with a mediocre PBJ. I think she was quite amped up and didn't really care about eating anyway. After lunch, we went upstairs to get changed into the FIRST DAY outfit - pink and grey striped butterfly tutu top, black leggings, and her brand new Twinkle Toes that light up when she walks.

She looks so much like Emily in the above picture.

She was not very happy about posing in the rain.

But she gave me a good jump anyway.

I asked her to show me her "I am so excited about pre-school face.....this was it.

And there were no tears at drop off either - not even from me. The rain, power outage, and a last minute trip to the bathroom....I was just happy to get her there.

(BTW - in the interest of full disclosure...the apple picture was taken after we got home from school All the apples we had yesterday got eaten yesterday....so, I thought I had nothing to use. I passed the vase full of small, fake apples on my way back into the house after we got home. BINGO. Can you tell it's a fake?)

{third grade}

2011-09-06T10:02:00.000-04:00

My Emily is now officially a third grader. And she is so EXCITED about it. Normal people dread the last day of summer vacation because they just don't want it to end. Emily, on the other hand, was wishing the whole day away yesterday because she could not wait to get to school. Maybe it's the excitement of a new teacher, or new school supplies, or seeing friends she hasn't seen in awhile. Whatever it is, she is so very ready.

We've had her first day outfit picked out for a couple of weeks. I don't know if it's influence from her little sister, or what, but my girl has gone very girly. There was no question that she was wearing this dress on the first day. The only difference in what we put out last night, to what she ended up wearing this morning, is the pants. It was fifty degrees this morning. Of course it was. Weather this year has not been great - and this morning was no exception.

But that didn't kill any of her excitement.

She even got a new backpack. Hopefully this one looks good for few years - unlike her light pink one that was dirty after a few weeks. Note to self - only dark colored backpacks are acceptable.

Paige was not a happy camper early this morning. When I woke her up she thought today was her first day of school as well. I pulled out her capri jeans and Hello Kitty shirt to put on to walk to the bus stop and she remarked that "this was not her first day outfit". When I told her that she doesn't start until tomorrow afternoon, she was not very happy. There were tears. But she got over it after a while when I told her that she gets to have her very own special first day - all by herself.

So, off she went. All grown up. Sort of.....

{silly girls}

2011-08-30T20:39:00.000-04:00

I have completely lost my blogging mojo. Which, after almost four years of bloginess, is, i guess, to be expected. I have tons and tons of photos that are waiting to be blogged. Really cute ones. You wanna see them? Then please, send me some mojo. Maybe it's the unstructured summer we are having. Maybe my blog posts will come back in a week after school begins. SIX MORE DAYS. :)

In the meantime, enjoy my very silly girls.

{no tears}

2011-08-23T17:00:00.000-04:00

Fall softball is underway. Emily has had a couple of practices. But the month break from hitting and catching is pretty evident, and we felt like she needed a little bit of extra practice at home. So, the other night, Eric took her outside to work with her. At first, she was having a pretty good time. But, then a couple of minutes later, she wasn't.

Even though I have told her, and told her that the only way you get good at something is with lots and lots of practice - she still gets very frustrated when she can't catch a ball or hit a ball within a few tries. So, then there are tears. And the hitting and catching get worse because, really, who can see through those tears?

And doesn't she know? There's no crying in baseball. Or softball, either.

{lack of owl}

2011-08-17T22:44:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I forget that I have some really great pictures hanging out on my memory card. These two photos I took a few weeks ago, in the early evening when the light is so, so pretty. I had just completed the owls that I made for both my girls, and wanted them to pose with their new pets. I guess I was very captivated by the girls and not the owls because they are barely featured in either one of these pictures. In fact, if I didn't tell you about them, you would not even notice they were there. But you definitely notice these beautiful girls.....

So, to be fair, here are the girlies and their new owl friends. Emily named hers Ojibwa - after her school mascot. Paige named hers Sweetie - after ?? I am considering making a few more and selling them at the Mom to Mom sale in October. And by that, I mean I am kind of, almost, sorta, slightly thinking about it.

{aunt ingi was here}

2011-08-15T22:15:00.000-04:00

more to come...

{shhhhh...don't tell}

2011-08-10T18:28:00.000-04:00

I give my kids Kool-Aid. In this day and age, that's probably cause for a phone call to child and family services. If it makes you feel any better....it's sugar-free. Actually, that's probably worse, right?

I drank tons of the stuff when I was a kid, and look at me. Ummmm...actually, that's probably still not making it better, is it?

This face probably belongs on a poster with the tagline:
Help this child now - her parents give her Kool-Aid.

(and yes, my kids also drink from Christmas cups all year....)

{beachy}

2011-08-08T14:25:00.000-04:00

Finally got ourselves to Lake Michigan this past weekend. It was a bit chillier than last year, but it was still awesome. More photos to come....

{recent faves}

2011-08-03T20:25:00.000-04:00

I haven't been in the mood lately to blog. Nothing much to blog about. It's been hot. And we've been trapped in our house just like it's winter.....

BUT, I am still feeling very grateful for a few things. I am grateful that it's not snowing. I am grateful that we finally got some rain and our grass is green again.

I am grateful for Crafty Thursday. Last week was portrait mosaics. Pretty cute, right?

I am grateful that all it takes to make my girls' day is a trip to Build-A-Bear. Emily got another dog. Paige got a cat. Are you surprised? Does anyone actually build a BEAR there?

I am grateful that I finally won one battle with the sewing machine and made the garland featured in the picture below. And I didn't even have to call my Mom until after I finished.

I am grateful for little girls who want to swim at a moments notice. I am also grateful for the tomato plant (at the middle-right edge of photo below) that has given us SIX yummy tomatoes so far.

Right now, even though some days it doesn't seem like it, there is quite a bit to be grateful for around here.

{trophy time!}

2011-07-26T23:01:00.000-04:00

You know how I said in my last post that Emily was my beautiful one? See above photo. Now look below.....Yeah, sometimes, you just have to take my word for it.....

We attended her softball banquet this evening and had such a lovely time. The most exciting part to Emily, other than getting to hang out with her friends, was finally receiving her trophy. Actually, it is a plaque - but it's still pretty cool.

She loved playing softball. She's super excited about going back next season. And we did sign her up for fall softball. She begged - although there was no need. I just LOVE that she loves it.

{Paige is four!}

2011-07-22T23:07:00.000-04:00

My youngest daughter will be four on Sunday.

She was a very fussy baby. Not easy at all. Didn't sleep through the night until she was almost six months old. And even then, it was a battle. A battle she almost won. It was a foreshadowing of her fiercely independent streak she still has today. If she doesn't want to do something, she doesn't. End of story. Kind of. She has a very stubborn Mom.

On the other hand, there is no one more affectionate. She is always good for a hug, a kiss, or an "I love you Mom." Melts my heart on a daily basis.

Where her big sister is beautiful, Paige Elizabeth is C.U.T.E. Just stinkin' adorable. Some days, it's almost too much to take.

I thought that she wouldn't talk for a long time, because she was the little sister...I thought she would just sit back and let her talkative big sister, Emily, do all the talking. So wrong. She doesn't quite have the vocabulary yet, but she's is trying her best to stay in the conversation. And if you don't quite understand what she's saying....yeah, she's not to happy about that. Miscommunication is quite the frustration for her.

Her favorite thing to do is whatever her big sister is doing. Other than that, she loves stuffed animals, dolls that have many different outfits, and coloring. She is also a bit obsessed with the Nintendo DS lately.

She is ready for school to start. Ready to grow up.Some days she is four going on ten. She is my little girl. My baby. My baby who is almost four.

Happy 4th Birthday sweet Paige.

{wordless wednesday}

2011-07-20T09:00:00.002-04:00

{my source of amusement}

2011-07-17T23:09:00.000-04:00

So, I could totally lie to you and tell you that these pictures were from the fourth of July. Um, yeah, no. On the actual fourth, Paige was parked on the couch with a red bucket by her side. No, she wasn't feeling overly patriotic...she had a stomach bug. Not very picture worthy.

BUT I BOUGHT MATCHING SHIRTS!!! So, as soon as Paige felt better - a couple days later - I really wanted them to wear their shirts and take a picture. Well, THIRTEEN days later.......

Happy Belated Birthday America! Do you think Hallmark makes a card for that?

This was the very first picture I took. And then only got crazier after that.....

Seriously - I don't tell them to give me smiles like that.

And I didn't tell them to do that either.

Almost.

WHAT is THAT face about Miss Paige?

Oh, my girlies. I love you so!

And that's just the seven that I felt like editing. There were MANY more!

{backyard softball}

2011-07-06T09:44:00.000-04:00

We had a little catch session in the backyard - which has been happening more often. These pictures are from a couple of weeks ago. Emily and Eric wanted to practice for the game the following day - and unfortunately, that game was rained out. But it was still good to practice.

I LOVE her face in this one. There's a little bit of fear mixed with really wanting to catch the ball.

Happiness after actually catching the ball.

This one CRACKS me up! I think she must have been ready to move on to batting practice - which I don't have pictures of because I was too busy helping her out with her batting stance. It's a lot to remember for her.

And this one was just being goofy and cute while her big sister was practicing.

{kicked when down}

2011-07-05T12:09:00.000-04:00

Well, I was just beginning to feel better a couple days ago, and then Paige went and got herself sick. Fever, stomach pain - and lots of sleeplessness. FUN. Really - was I bad in another life? This summer so far, has not been the most fun. But luckily, it's not over yet. Hopefully, in a couple of days, all the bad will be gone, and only good things await us.

I have been a bit behind in my blogging - so I am going to start a couple weeks ago when Eric's Mom was visiting. We went for a hike at Stony Creek one day, and also spent part of Father's Day at the Farm. The weather while Pilar was here was not the best. Lots and lots of rain. Great for the grass, not so great for doing stuff outside. But we made the best of it.

More tomorrow...

{i didn't forget...}

2011-06-27T17:05:00.000-04:00

I have just been a little under the weather.

regular blogging will resume as soon as i am feeling better.

Obviously SHE feels just fine.

{first and last 2011}

2011-06-15T08:44:00.000-04:00

So today is Emily's last day of second grade. When I was walking her to the bus stop this morning, it truly did not feel like it was the last day of school. It wasn't that it wasn't warm enough - it was only in the sixties this morning, but really, that's pretty normal for this time of year. I think it's most likely that we've been really bust for the last few weeks, and this whole last day thing is just another day to mark off on our busy schedule. Emily has another softball game tonight, we have a garage sale tomorrow, and Eric's mom will be visiting for a week starting tomorrow afternoon. So, I have a lot on my list for today.

BTW - the one major thing that I notice between the two photos - the light on a September morning is a lot nicer than the light on a June morning. I also notice that my girl's baby face is pretty much gone. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that she'll be in third grade come September......

oh - and I HAVE to get her a haircut.

Happy Summer!!

{red dress}

2011-06-09T08:00:00.001-04:00

I guess I could pull out the picture, and maybe I will - but this dress is the one the Emily wore to the hospital on the day we brought Paige home. In case you didn't know this already....

time FLIES!

{sleepy girl on dog}

2011-06-08T08:00:00.002-04:00

I know they grow and all that...but it's kind of amazing when you look back.

{field day 2011}

2011-06-07T08:00:00.002-04:00

Last Friday was field day at Emily's school. She was so very, very, very excited. She looks forward to this day all. year. long.

Where are the pictures from the field on Field Day? Where are the pictures of my daughter participating in all the fun activities? Yeah.....so.....I have two. And they kind of stink. I quickly ran around to get a couple shots while she was at the other activities - and I was being quick because even though we had nine people to cover our station, when five out of the nine people there leave, four is just enough to keep the activity running smoothly.....As it turns out, Emily's class was the last class to come to our station - colored rings. And because their teacher spent a couple of minutes talking to the class before they did our activity, she missed out on participating. Only half the class got to do the activity - and she was in the second half. I don't have any pictures of her crying...sorry about that. All in all, she still had a good time, but it just stinks that she didn't get to do her own Mom's activity.

Does any of that make sense? Oh well......Yea for Field day!

{baseball with Paige}

2011-06-05T21:49:00.000-04:00

Last Wednesday Paige wanted to take a little batting practice....so Daddy had to show her where to put her feet, and how to hold the bat.

And, how to fetch the balls that she hit.

Isn't she supposed to have her eye on the ball?

THIS is how you swing....

She took a few really good swings. I am really looking forward to t-ball next year with her. Hopefully, she'll still be into it....

{glimpses from this weekend}

2011-05-31T15:29:00.000-04:00

{Oprah and my sweet Little Bit}

2011-05-26T11:12:00.000-04:00

I watched Oprah's final show yesterday. It was a very sad moment for me. I have grown up with her for most of my life. I have run home from school to watch her show the way that my Mom ran home from school to watch American Bandstand. I have watched a lot of her shows with my Mom - some then, some now. I have taped tons of shows so I didn't miss an episode while I was at work. Some people are not into her. That's fine with me. My Grandma didn't like her one bit. When she stayed with us in Florida, she would go in her room and read during Oprah - she just did not like her at all. Seeing as how they are both from practically the same town, I find that funny. So now what? I am sad - but also very enlightened. I loved sharing in her "aha moments" with her. I even had one yesterday. She said this: "I've talked to nearly 30,000 people on this show, and all 30,000 had one thing in common: They all wanted validation... They want to know: 'Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say mean anything to you?'" Something that seems so simple, but I had never thought of it.

Thank you so much Oprah.

I think my Little Bit can safely say that I see her, hear her, and what she says means so much to me.

Who have you validated today?

{wordless wednesday}

2011-05-25T08:50:00.000-04:00

(i still LOVE that bike)

{some thoughts on a monday...}

2011-05-23T21:42:00.001-04:00

I was going through a lot of my pictures the other day, and man, oh man, I have a lot of pictures. A lot of pictures of my kiddos especially. Too many probably. But I am so addicted to this photography thing. I really and truly LOVE to take pictures. I have for a long, long time. I can't draw worth a darn. But, with LOTS and LOTS of practice, I think I may be getting a hang of this shutter thing. I know I have a long way to go....but, I am having so much fun getting there.

And some super awesome and cute subject matter doesn't hurt either. BTW - Emily made a great heads-up play at second base tonight. So very proud of her! I sure hope that she wants to continue playing softball after this season- because watching those games is so much fun for Eric and I.

This picture below is my favorite. They kept grabbing grass and throwing at me - and it kept landing all over them. Which they thought was pretty funny.

{finally}

2011-05-22T17:55:00.000-04:00

It's time to break out the swim suits. Yea! I can hardly believe it since last weekend we were wearing sweaters and jeans....

{hodgepodge}

2011-05-18T14:57:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been quite a week. Lots of stuff going on around here. Not a lot of picture taking. Here's some pictures from the last couple weeks -

The following three are from Mother's Day. I do have a couple with me and the girls, but I just don't have the time to look though all of them right now and find the one where we are all looking at the camera and at least look slightly happy....yes, it's come to that.

Paige reading after her bath last week.

Showing off her clean feet?

Wearing a tiara...

Watching TV in my office. The TV is now in the shelves next to my desk. A much better arrangement.

And her new favorite thing to do - play my DS. She is quite obsessed.

That's all for now!

{seriously proud}

2011-05-11T21:19:00.000-04:00

Emily is well into her very first softball season. She, currently has three games under her belt. And she's doing quite well, learning a lot, and having a lot of fun - which, at this age, is the most important thing.

She's definitely not the best hitter on her team - but i think she's doing a great job. And, I really think she'll only get better with time. I am just so proud that she gets up there and tries her very best. Much better than I was at that age. I was a nervous wreck. I was such a wreck that my coach told my Mom that maybe softball wasn't for me. I think I only got to play in one game.

And last night, she got to try her hand at catcher. And according to Eric, she was quite good.

She was not loving it too much, though. She was not a fan of all the equipment. I thought she looked pretty awesome. :) Look at that concentration! Isn't she the cutest catcher ever?

{wordless wednesday}

2011-05-11T10:39:00.000-04:00

(taken a couple of weeks ago)

{Emily's 1st Softball Game}

2011-05-09T10:47:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday was Emily's very first softball game. The weather was perfect. The girls were all excited, and a bit nervous. And, don't you think it's so very nice that Mother Nature perfect coordinated the field where there pictures were taken with their uniforms? How nice is that?

After their pictures, there was a bit of practice/warm-up.

And then it was time for the game. Emily did kind of hit the ball her first time up....it went about 2 feet in front of home plate. But, because these girls are not the speediest fielders, she got a single. YEA!

She made it all the way home and scored a run! Here she is waiting patiently at 3rd base.

And taking off for home!

I think they had fun - they don't exactly keep score when they are this young. It's a good thing...I think they may have gotten crushed by the purple team.......

Game one down, another one tonight!

{spring concert}

2011-05-06T11:22:00.000-04:00

True to form for taking pictures right before a performance of any kind - Emily makes her natural I-am-nervous-so-could-we-just-get-this-over-with-right-quick face.

Paige did not want to be left out. She's doing bunny ears on herself.

And apparently, she calmed her big sister down just enough for a natural smile. Those second graders put on an awesome performance. Some of them were a bit nervous, but they sang their little hearts out. A truly entertaining and very enjoyable performance. Her music teacher, Mr. Mallore, is AWESOME. Who gets 7 and 8 year olds to sing Beatles tunes?

The fourth graders - who sang Motown songs - we equally awesome.

Yea for school choral performances!

{wordless wednesday}

2011-05-04T09:23:00.000-04:00

{two faces}

2011-05-03T09:08:00.000-04:00

This one - above - makes me laugh. She's just pretending to be mad, but when she really is, watch out. She been turning out tantrums left and right lately. Kicking, screaming, crying...then whole nine. Tantrums are a new thing around here. Emily never had them. Never. So it's a learning curve. And I have learned to give her some space.

But then she can be so sweet. She loves to give hugs and kisses. She is so loving and caring with her stuffed animals. She loves to help out. She can be very funny. She is such a giggler. And truthfully, she is like this most of the time. Thank goodness.

{the other one}

2011-04-30T14:00:00.000-04:00

She's so darn photogenic. I mean, I know I am pretty biased, but what a pretty girl. Yet, she runs from me when I pull out the old camera. I usually have to bribe her. Will she appreciate all this when she's all grown up? I have no idea. But really, only one very small part of me does it for her. I do it for me. I want to remember her in all her growing-up-ness.

She is so very excited about her Spring Concert next week. And even though we have heard her sing all the songs in full - Beatles tunes - I am still excited to hear her sing them with all her classmates.

She also has her very first softball game next Saturday. She has vastly improved - according to her dad - in the hitting area, as well as fielding. I am both excited and nervous for her. Go Thundercats! I have some pictures of her from her past few practices - I'll post those soon.

{really? can it be?}

2011-04-28T17:53:00.000-04:00

Almost a month late...but Spring is finally starting to show off. This is right outside my office window. It wasn't even blooming a little bit this morning. It's just amazing to me how fast it can all change.

Finally.

{wordless wednesday}

2011-04-27T09:11:00.000-04:00

{happy monday}

2011-04-25T10:22:00.000-04:00

A photo of two of my favorite people. My other favorite was getting her shoes on and not available for pictures.

Remembering my Dad

2011-04-19T21:21:00.002-04:00

Every day I read some article or see something on the internet, and I think about how I'd like to share it with my dad because I know he would find it interesting. That's when it hits me the hardest that he's gone. Though these last several years we were separated by a great physical distance, throughout my life my dad had never left my side. He was a kind and nurturing father. He always showed me new and interesting things and gave me an inquisitive nature that has helped me to find things out for myself. Ever since I was a little boy I could never rest until I figured out how something worked. He taught me how to use tools, how to take pictures with a camera, how to drive a car, how to find things out. Anything that is my passion today is rooted in the teachings of my father.

When he started his own business in Florida in 1982, I loved to go to the store and help out as I could, even as a preteen. Eventually I started working in the store, part-time at first, and then full-time. We had a very close working relationship. Although we had different opinions on some matters, we typically saw eye-to-eye and never fought. We even lived together as roommates before I met Allison, and still there was rarely any friction. Our working relationship developed over the years. In the beginning, I was dependent on his direction and guidance, but as the years drew on our relationship changed. As I learned what he taught me and became more proficient at my job, I noticed that it was my father who was beginning to depend on me. It was not lost on me, and I was very honored that he placed so much trust in me. As he provided for me, so was I able to provide for him.

Yes, my father was my friend, but our relationship transcended mere friendship. When I got married it was natural that I selected him as my Best Man. He fit the description well. For all the gifts he gave me in his lifetime, the best gift I could give in return was the gift of life - for him to see me live the life I live, and to see his genes passed down to my children. So while the sadness of his death is fresh, it is tempered by remembering the closeness of his relationship to me - Father, Mentor, Provider, Teacher, Co-worker, Friend. And yet, remembering makes his passing all the more difficult to endure.

{super GIRL}

2011-04-19T11:51:00.000-04:00

Emily has her Spring concert in a couple of weeks. And for some reason I did not get the note about a dress code that supposedly went out last week. Thank goodness for friends who like to tell me about such things, because without them, my child would have nothing to wear for her concert. The dress code: white shirt, black pants or skirt. The white part - no problem. It's Spring. There's white cardigans EVERYWHERE. But black? Yeah, no.

BUT, you will be happy to know that I did find a black skirt at Old Navy - waaaaaaaay in the back, under a bunch of stuff. I think I may have screamed when I found it. Sorry about that if were shopping in the store at the time.

What does this have to do with the cute girl in the Supergirl shirt? Saw it at Old Navy while I was searching for the skirt, loved it, bought it for Paige. She LOVED it too. She loved it so much, that she INSISTED on wearing it the very next morning - when she woke up at 7am. Today, she's wearing a Halloween shirt. That girl has got her fashion opinions, I tell ya.

All that just to explain where I got the shirt...

{my ultra-cool aunt and uncle}

2011-04-17T17:03:00.000-04:00

When we went to Tennessee a couple weeks ago we discovered that my Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Eddie had quite a bit of fun before our arrival.

They made this for Emily and Paige. Yes, those are streamers hanging from the ceiling fan. Yes, those are Christmas lights around the opening of the tent. Yes, that's tulle.

Yes, the girls LOVED it. I can't say that they slept all that well. But it doesn't matter. They were on vacation. And they obviously have and Aunt and Uncle who love them so very much.

Thank you so much Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Eddie. We had such a great time - and next time, Eric and I are sleeping in the tent!

{tribute to my father-in-law}

2011-04-13T11:13:00.000-04:00

I met him around the same time I met my husband. I remember getting my very first taste of "show and tell" at our very first meeting. It was a Tommy Gun. A little intimidating at first, but I remember he was just so proud to have it and wanted to show it off. There were lots and lots of Wednesday night dinners with Eric and I. When we went for pizza he always complained that they only had Budweiser beer, but drank his half of the pitcher anyway. I will never look at a piece of prime rib the same. If you ever witnessed him eat that, you know what I am talking about. He loved sharing information - about himself, or what he was interested in at the moment. When Eric and I got engaged, he insisted on helping out with an engagement party. At our wedding, he was the Best Man. His speech was written on the back of a ValPak coupon. Which, we still have. Each week, he took $20 and spent it on grocery items, or other odds and ends for each of his children. Some of the things he bought that week, other weeks he just opened one of his many file cabinets stocked with such things as olive oil, cookies, noodles, etc., and gave us that. It was always interesting. We called it "The Package". He loved garage sales, and called it "going sailing". When I had Emily, he was one of the very first people to hold her. In fact, it's one of the only pictures I have from that night. I was never a big fan of the Shady game, but it was fun to watch him try and get his Grandchildren involved. Emily has a whole collection of Shadys, including some negatives her Grandpa sent her pretty recently. Every time we have breakfast for dinner, Eric proclaims it, "Illegal" in his best Jerry impression. He loved taking pictures, and sharing them with us. He was always thoughtful. He loved reading this blog and always told me how much he enjoyed watching the girls grow. He was one of the best men I knew and I still can't believe that I am talking about him in the past tense. We loved you so much Jerry/Dad/Grandpa. And I know you knew that.

(pictures from February 2010)

{some favorites}

2011-04-11T21:42:00.000-04:00

I know that I said that I would share the rest of the Tennessee pictures, and I promise, I will - but these pictures of my sweet girls could not wait.

These next two pictures of Emily are really nothing spectacular - but she has such a playful spirit, and is so dang silly, they are just so her. She knows how to have fun with a couple of ribbons. Why buy her very expensive toys? Why?

And this girl. She's been such a rascal lately. She's so MOODY. She very attached to her Mama. She's full of spirit. And I almost can't get enough.

See the cut on Emily's nose. A gift from the rascal above. It wasn't intentional...at least I don't think it was. Emily is such a good big sister, she didn't even get all that upset over it. She has the biggest heart.

And she can work the MOODY vibe as good as her younger counterpart. I live in fear of those pre-pubescent hormones.

Because I will have not one, but TWO hormonal females to deal with. This is the time we should all feel sorry for Eric.

And maybe help him find his shotgun for all those boys we'll be keeping off the front porch.

(these pictures were taken on Sunday when it was EIGHTY degrees. It's only supposed to be in the fifties tomorrow)

{tennessee trip}

2011-04-07T14:27:00.000-04:00

It's been a total crap beginning of spring around here. Cold, cold, and more cold. I must have known that it would be total crap because about a month ago I asked my Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Eddie - who live in Tennessee - if we could go and visit them during Emily's Spring Break. I knew we would need to go south and get warm. So we did. We were only there for a few days, but it was enough to remind of what we will EVENTUALLY have coming up here in the frozen - not really - tundra.

We spent our first full day there in Cades Cove. It has been quite a few years since I have been there, but it hasn't - thankfully - changed a bit. The tree below is one of my favorites. I am going to have to go on a hunt and find the photograph I took of it years ago.

Oh, and we brought my Mom along with us. She hadn't yet seen her brother and sister-in-law's new place, and I thought it would be a good break from the cold for her as well. Unfortunately, she was a bit under the weather the whole trip, but she still had a nice time - and was quite the trooper.

SPRING!!!!!! Oh, how I have missed you.....see you soon!!!

I had to include the following two pictures. Eric, my Uncle and I were all mesmerized by the blooms on this pear tree. In my next post I will show the pictures Eric took with the new point and shoot. My picture of the blooms is two pictures above.

Emily was determined to cross a stream. She kind of almost got to cross this one. Eric found a tree trunk that had fallen across the stream and was about to let her climb across it, when I decided that was not such a good idea. She would have most likely fallen in, and I didn't have a change of clothes for her. Sorry Em.

The next day we went to Bald River Falls - in the Cherokee National Forest. Paige could have cared less about the waterfall. She was way more interested in the nuts and rocks on the ground.

And pine cones.

My studly husband.

SPRING!!! Sorry. I get very excited about things blooming. And I was quite taken with these redbud trees. They were everywhere. Love them!!

Paigey was all about Aunt Lindsay.

And here are the falls. I should have taken a video. A picture really just doesn't capture it. So very pretty.

And speaking of pretty....

I'll post the rest tomorrow!

{by the way...}

2011-03-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Spring!

{Emily's Room Tour}

2011-03-29T13:47:00.000-04:00

For my birthday, last week, the girls got me a swanky new point and shoot camera. The Canon that we had was just not cutting it for me lately, and I thought it may be time to try out the new Nikon. So, I gave my old p+s to Emily. She is now a video making fool.

First up - a tour of her room. She also did a tour of Paige's room, but I thought I would save that for another time.

WARNING - this is an eight year old's view of a tour. Don't view this video on a full stomach. You have been warned.

Enjoy.

Uranus-y Neptune? I have no idea either.

{spring?}

2011-03-23T08:53:00.000-04:00

As I am writing this post, I am looking out the window at snow and ice covering my grass and sidewalk. Mother Nature obviously doesn't care that we have had a rather yucky winter. We had such a nice taste of spring last week. Paige even got to try out Emily's old Princess bike.

Eric took it down last Friday afternoon, while I was at the Mom to Mom sale. He was quite impressed at how she took to it. No fear whatsoever. No idea on the whole braking thing, but that will come. Hopefully, Spring will me making a comeback soon....and she will have time to practice.

I also picked up a mint condition Barbie Jeep at the sale, but she was so into the bike, I didn't get any pictures of that. Maybe soon......right Mother Nature?

By the way - Paige doesn't mind the whole second-hand thing. She's just bothered that Princess Jasmine is not on her bike. That's her favorite princess. That Jasmine must have made some impression on her - she only watched about half of Aladdin a couple of months ago - but she has a Snow White, Belle and Cinderella doll that she plays with quite a bit. That kid is a mystery.

{oh, and by the way...}

2011-03-18T09:37:00.000-04:00

Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day! (note the green earrings, headband, and shirt peeking out from under the LIGHTWEIGHT jacket)

Yesterday we ventured out from our winter caves to behold an almost seventy degree day. We went hunting for Leprechauns. They were sighted around the creek area, so off we went. They left some clues behind that they had been there, but alas, no pot of gold to speak of.

Oh well. A good time was still had by all.

Have a GREAT weekend! And Happy 1st Birthday (tomorrow) to Grant! We'll see you soon!

{jumping for JOY}

2011-03-16T12:19:00.000-04:00

I have a thing for jumping pictures. I just think they are so fun. Don't you? Paige was all to happy to oblige me with these photos. She got to wear her kloppy kloppy shoes. I am sure Eric thought the ceiling was going to cave in on him while we were taking these photos. It got kind of loud. We switched to spinning - but with those shoes, it got kind of dangerous - so no pictures of that.....

All that jumping - makes you a little bit exhausted.

{our jewels}

2011-03-14T17:07:00.000-04:00

Thank you Jenna for the pretty jewels!

{apparently...}

2011-03-13T11:26:00.000-04:00

my kids do know how to make a good fort.

Kelly - I stand corrected.

{love}

2011-03-08T16:24:00.000-05:00

With everything that has happened in the past week, this is the face that got me through it. Of course, there was also another face, just as beautiful, but she goes to school during the day.

This face, along with the face of her sister, is one of love. All I had to do to was look at them, and know that love, life and kindness still exist. And I smile.

Thank you, my girlies. You make every day special.

Especially the days like these - where drawing an octopus is the only thing on our schedule.

And this face....is one that says, "Mom, put the camera away and let's play!". Okay cutie. No problem.

{in remembrance}

2011-03-05T07:43:00.000-05:00

Grandpa John - you were loved. We'll always remember you.

John Henry Alderman

July 22, 1922 - March 1, 2011

{saturday}

2011-02-26T10:21:00.000-05:00

Have a great week-end!

{right now}

2011-02-24T11:54:00.000-05:00

About a year after Emily was born, I really started thinking about having another child. I knew, at that point, that we really couldn't afford another baby. Our income was not really one that would allow me to stay home. Five day a week child care is REALLY expensive. Especially for a baby. So, the whole second child thing was put on the back burner.

Of course, everyone asked, "When are you going to have another?", and when I told them it wasn't really a good time, pretty much everyone said, "There's never a really good time." Or, "You don't want to have them too far apart, they'll never be close." Even, "Oh, just go for it, you'll figure it out."

Thankfully, Eric and I stuck with our plan of waiting. When we moved from Florida to Michigan we knew it was the right time. Of course, I worried that Emily wouldn't be close with her sister - being four and a half years apart. I spent the better part of my pregnancy thinking I should have gotten pregnant sooner.

I, and everyone else, could not be more wrong.

They are BEST friends.

Would they be closer if their ages were closer? Maybe? But seriously - how much closer can you get?

The moral - this worked for us. Having them closer in age may have worked too - but the stress of that would have been too much for our wallets, and maybe, even our family. You have to do what works for you, because, every situation is different. And that applies to just about everything - not just having babies.

Thus concludes today's lesson. :) Have a great Thursday!

{berry good memories}

2011-02-22T14:14:00.001-05:00

picked up some strawberries while i was out yesterday. pretty much every time i eat a strawberry, i can't help but think about my Grandma. she LOVED strawberries. she sacrificed for them. really. whenever we would take her to the store, she would always pick herself up a carton of these ruby gems. and if they were expensive, she would forgo something else. i guess they were that important to her.

when i was little, and i would stay at her house for the summer, she always took me strawberry picking. i, of course, ate more in those fields than i brought home. so much that, sometimes i had quite the belly ache. when we got back to her house, i helped her make jam - or preserves, or jelly - i can never remember which is which. all i knew, was that stuff we made with those strawberries that we picked, was some of the best stuff i ever spread on a piece of toast.

thanks for the berry good memories Grandma!

{MIA: green grass}

2011-02-21T12:01:00.000-05:00

So yesterday morning we woke up to almost no snow. All the snow from the previous weeks had just about melted - thank you so very much almost sixty degree temperatures - to reveal green grass, roads, and some long lost piles of doggy poopy. The last one is not such a fun thing to look at...but I digress.

And this morning we woke up to this:

It's not like we went to bed last night with green grass. It had snowed quite a bit before bedtime ever rolled around. And we know this because we were out driving in it. WHY, you ask? Because we are CRAZY and ADVENTUROUS. And, a little bit stupid. We went to Detroit to see Elmo and then had dinner with my Dad and his wife, Natalie, in Farmington. Honestly, the roads were not the biggest issue. Although, seriously, they were BAD. Our biggest issue was the windshield. The wipers kept freezing over. So much that they were completely ineffective. Eric had about a three inch square on the windshield that he could see through. Yeah, that's safe. So we cranked up the windshield defrost, to the point that the car was uncomfortably hot, and crossed our fingers that we would get home safely. We did...DUH!

Total snow accumulations as of this morning - about 10-12 inches.

I am thinking that green grass will not be in my future anytime soon.

Oh and do I need to remind you that our snow thrower is broken.......and the part to fix it is on back-order......thank goodness for neighbors that have let us borrow theirs!

{have a ....}

2011-02-18T14:38:00.000-05:00

great weekend!

{happy heart day}

2011-02-14T15:24:00.000-05:00

The heart cookie is compliments of my Grandpa. He's in the hospital, and he insisted that I bring this cookie home to the girls.

Happy Valentine's Day!

{from today}

2011-02-13T20:57:00.000-05:00

What do you do when it's close to fifty degrees but still snowy?

You go street fishing, of course.

{brain dead}

2011-02-10T10:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I was so involved in making a birthday card, I completely forgot that it was Wednesday, and Story Time at the library was at 10:15am. Eric actually, and I am still in shock over this, reminded me at 9:59am. I don't think I ever got Paige dressed that fast. I even got her to go to the bathroom. Thankfully, I had done her hair when I did Emily's hair earlier that morning. We made it to the library on time. I hate it when I forget things. It messes up my whole day.

I just could not get it through my head that it was Wednesday. I kept thinking it was Tuesday. Does that ever happen to you?

These pictures have nothing to do with that story - but I thought I would share them anyway.
Have a great day!

{after the blizzard}

2011-02-08T22:10:00.000-05:00

there was sun. and there was play.

sweet baby girl - you have the brightest smile, a great sense of play, and the grace of a ballet dancer that flunked out in her first five minutes.....and I could not love you more.

I don't think you stopped smiling for the entire thirty minutes we were outside. I would have gladly spent an hour outside with you - but my fingertips felt like they were going to fall off. And I wasn't even playing in the snow.

don't stop being you. love you so much.

{the bean}

2011-02-04T08:40:00.000-05:00

I am not quite sure how it started, but lately, I have been calling my Emily, "bean". It's a shortened version of her full nickname, "Emily Jean Jelly Bean".

I am not sure if she really likes it. But since I am her Momma, I don't really care. :) That's what I thought parents were supposed to do - embarrass their kids. Daily, if possible. Right?

In spite of a really crazy class this year, the Bean has been doing really well in school. Her last progress report was outstanding. She still LOVES reading, and has delved into the world of Judy Blume. She just finished, "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing". One of my most favorite books. We had a whole discussion about it this morning, just like two grown up discussing the latest bestseller. I love that. Was it really that long ago that I read it?

She's growing, and getting smarter everyday.

And I am trying to be okay with that.

Have a great weekend!

{who wore it best?}

2011-02-03T15:06:00.001-05:00

Paige is growing like a weed lately. All her shirts are too short. And since it's February....what the heck happened to January...anyway...no stores are carrying anything the closely resembles winter clothes. what is up with that? Target has BATHING SUITS already. Bathing suits? I know people like to go to warm places this time of year, but, really...maybe they could put them in the back. It's just too cruel to the rest of us to put them right in the front. Right?

So I have been shopping for Paige in Emily's four year old tub of clothes. It's like a trip down memory lane with each shirt, dress or outfit.

AND - i thought, for fun, i would do a side by side of my girls.

Paige - 3 1/2 years old

Emily - 4 years old

They both love/loved this monkey shirt. This was, of course, before the aforementioned Target started carrying this line of clothing. It's from Bloomingdales...i think. it was a gift from their Auntie.

It's so much fun watching Paige wear my favorite Emily clothes.

{ohhhh....a video}

2011-02-02T12:26:00.000-05:00

Thought I would post a video of the snow. It is really snowing a lot right now. Big, fat, flakes. And our snow thrower is broken. YEA!! If you need me, i'll be out shoveling this mess!

{ho hum}

2011-02-02T09:24:00.000-05:00

So, I know this looks like a lot of snow, but really, I don't even think it's half a foot. Blizzard. I think not.

Since there's no school, I didn't even think it was worth clearing early this morning, but my little snow nerd husband got out there bright and early. I hope his boss is okay with him coming in a little late.

Because we live in a wind tunnel, and the snow is so dry and light, it didn't even cover our patio. Really, we didn't clear it at all. Thanks Mother Nature. You saved us 5 minutes!

It is still snowing. Eric thinks we'll top out at 10 inches. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Birthday to my Dad! Looks like and early spring as well! (one can hope!)

{sledding at stony creek}

2011-01-30T22:15:00.001-05:00

Today we decided that we had had enough of the puny little hill in Clinton Township, and set our sights on the bigger, better and more bumpy, I might add, hills at Stony Creek Metropark.

We had a blast. Although, I was a bit scared at first. As we were standing at the top of our first hill, anticipating our first run, in the distance, I heard an ambulance. I looked around....and the person standing next to me informed me that someone bailed really hard going over one of the moguls, and needed some medical attention. Oh goody....and with that, Eric and Emily took off, with Paige and I following behind them. I was trying so hard to steer that I forgot to hold on to my sled, and I too, flew off my sled after hitting one of the moguls. My hat and ear muffs flew off my head. But, I did not need medical attention. Paige was fine, and ready to go again.

And because we are such awesome parents, we sent the girls down by themselves this time.

And this happened. Paige was COMPLETELY FINE. But she did do a complete flip off the sled. She was laughing as she got up. And asked to go again.

And becasuse we are so awesome, we said, "Sure. You need a re-do."
You see that blue thing right below their sled? It's the hat of a man who seriously got the wind knocked out of him after crashing into someone who bailed in the middle of the hill, and then having one of his sled passengers smack into him while going over one of those dang moguls. He was left gasping for breath when he reached the bottom...so yeah, maybe sending the girls down again was not such a good idea....

And then Paige bounced out of the sled AGAIN. Yep. We were done with this hill. Again, she was COMPLETELY FINE.

So them we tried some of the little hills by the parking lot....a little too close to the cars for my liking.

After Emily did her run, we got back in the car and went to the west side of the park to check out those sledding hills.

Trying to get a picture of these too while Eric is getting the sleds out of the car...impossible. But it makes me laugh.

Paige kept trying to get all the things that were sticking out of the snow as we walked anywhere. Yeah, that's not annoying at all.....and definitely not SLOW.

This hill was our favorite. Long, not too steep. But after you get all the way down, it's quite the trek to get back up. But we did it, about four times. We talked Paige into riding on the sled to go back up - much faster. Emily was not a fan of all the walking. And she really wasn't a fan of the snow spray from me trying to not crash into a tree. I thought she was ready to go home...but then we found another hill.

At this point, my jean covered legs were very wet and cold (note to self: buy snow pants next winter). So, I just took pictures.

After about three, "Just one more time"'s, we left for home.

Did you hear that we are supposed to get around 15 inches of snow on Wednesday? We haven't had that much now here, in a single storm, since I was one. CRAZY.

Stay tuned. We already have plans to go back to Stony ASAP!

{my girl}

2011-01-29T08:00:00.005-05:00

loves to twirl.

Happy Saturday!

{okay...fine}

2011-01-28T18:09:00.000-05:00

I'll post pictures from our sledding escapade a couple of weeks ago.

So, the story is this. we have had the same gray plastic sled since we moved here. last year, we bought two more sleds - one long two seater from Costco, and an inflatable one - from Target, I think.

Eric does not like inflatable things. So, all last winter, it stayed in the box. Every time we went sledding, it stayed home. And I watched tons of people with inflatable sleds having a blast.

This time, I BEGGED him to inflate it. And he did. And, just so you know, we fought over it.

Below is the Costco sled. Warped from Emily using it as a surfboard.

that's Emily wiping out. she was just fine. i guess warping is not good for sleds.

Paige liked the inflatable sled too.

And now I need to go out and find another sled. Eric broke the gray sled. That's him below, wiping out.

We did go sledding with some friends of ours. I just love this picture of Emily and her good buddy holding hands as their Dads pulled them back to the car.

Winter doesn't totally suck.

{winter blahs}

2011-01-26T17:31:00.000-05:00

sorry for the lack of blog posts. it's not like we have been crazy busy. we haven't. it's not like we haven't been taking pictures. we have.

i am just suffering from a bad case of the winter blahs. it hasn't been real snowy here. just a lot of flurries. and that means a lot of gray skies. blah, blah, blah.

i don't feel like doing anything. and that means no excitement for blogging.

and since i have no idea if anyone is actually reading this....i guess it doesn't really matter. see - BLAH.

need some sunshine soon.

my kiddos are still cute though.

hopefully things will get better....soon.

{party}

2011-01-20T22:21:00.000-05:00

Eric had a very lovely fortieth birthday. He did have to work, but his food and present needs were taken care of for the day.

Presents from the girls - i took the pictures, but they each colored their own background. They are already hung up in the office.

Gifts from my Mom.

He got lots of other stuff - science experiments, clothes, dart refills for the Nerf guns, beef jerkey and a trivia book about Detroit....Lord HELP me.

And then there was cake....yellow with chocolate frosting. His request.

Happy Birthday to the best 40 year old I know.

{40}

2011-01-19T08:35:00.001-05:00

someone in this house is 40 today....and i'll bet he wishes this is what he could be doing right now.

{lazy monday}

2011-01-17T22:35:00.000-05:00

chilling out this afternoon. yes, her jeans and shirt are too short. she has gone thru quite the growth spurt in the past month. everything that fit her a month ago is now WAY too short. i had to dig into her big sister's four year old clothing tub to find things for her to wear for the rest of this season. obviously, she picked out her outfit this morning.

(also - if you are interested in seeing our 2010 video, email me. i will not be posting it on this blog.)

{happy Saturday}

2011-01-15T19:28:00.000-05:00

{happy monday}

2011-01-10T11:11:00.000-05:00

making snow angels on Friday.

(her tooth is getting MUCH better, don't you think?)

[new year's eve}

2011-01-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

the kids getting their grove on - Just Dance style. check out the littlest booty shaker in the front.....

Happy New Year!!! It was about 55 degrees at midnight. in Michigan. on New Years. what???

booty shaker passed out at 1am.

Happy 2011!!

{i wuv my girls}

2011-01-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

{the day after}

2011-01-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

wearing matching p.j.'s - thank you Auntie!!