It's just amazing what you can find when you look through a huge box of pictures

My Mom has this huge box of pictures - some old, some not so old. I have it in my basement because at some point I intend to go through it, organize it, and maybe even make some sort of scrapbook - or many scrapbooks - out of some of the pictures.


I could have sat and really looked at all the pictures for hours. I just got through about half of the box. I found some pictures of myself that I really should burn, and some that are so cute that I thought I would share.


This one is from when we lived in Northville, MI, in a little townhouse. Just me and my Mom. Not really sure what year this is....maybe 1980, could be 1979. I like the cars in the background. Nothing like cars to really date a picture.



This one is in honor of my sweet cousin Kelly's birthday. It's tomorrow - or today, depending on when you are reading this. April 9th in any case. This picture was definitely 1981. Whenever I stayed at their house, I always slept in Kelly's room. She loved to wake me up in the morning by throwing things at me from her crib. Maybe my hand is in there because I was putting something back in.....Happy Birthday Kel.



This one is of me and Kelly's brother - who is now a Daddy himself - Ryan. This was taken outside my Grandmother's house on Winston, in Detroit. My Mom grew up on this street. Not sure what year it was, but it has always been one of my favorite pictures. Love those jeans I was wearing. Ryan and I practically have the same 'do.



And to round out the family trend - here's one of all the girls - except my Aunt - at my Grandma's house. That's me in the back. That's Kelly in my Grandma's lap. And that's my Mom and my sister, Amanda next to me. I love this one because I can see all the things I remember about my Grandma's kitchen - the round green canister, the wood paneling, the bulletin board, and the radio that was always on playing music my Grandma loved. I even remember that needlepoint parrot that is behind my Mom's head. Such great memories I had from there. Miss you Grandma.


That's all for now. More later.

Emily's Musings

It has never been more evident than today, for me to be aware of what I say around my kids. No, Emily didn't say the "f" word - I do tend to keep it PG around the kids, so chances are, she probably hasn't heard that one come out of my mouth.

What she did hear, was me talking to myself as I was playing Yoshi's Island on my Nintendo DS. I simply cannot get enough of that game. I have been so totally frustrated with this one level, that I have been yelling at myself. I must look pretty funny doing this.

That being said, tonight, Emily was watching me play - she loves to sit right next to me, and watch for as long as I will let her. Sometimes, she is my good luck charm, so I let her stay as long as she would like. I guess she thought I looked like I was having fun, so off she went to get her video game - the Leapster.

While playing Go Diego Go, I heard her get frustrated, and then say, "Oh come on. You've got to be kidding me! What is up with that?"

So funny. So cute. So very Emily.

Weekend

Not a very exciting weekend. Well, maybe not exciting to most - but a little bit exciting to me. On Saturday, my Mom and I ventured out to the new mall with the girls. We have been there before, but not in nice, sunny, weather that does not require a heavy jacket, hat and gloves. It's an outdoor mall. Paige enjoyed her first real adventure in her new stroller. She did get a little antsy around naptime - our signal to leave. Emily had fun playing in the kids area - huge fruits and veggies that the kids can climb, jump, slide and generally be silly on.

Eric cleaned out the minivan - vacuumed the mats, and cleaned out all the winter dust. It's called Spring cleaning. It's about time.

We had a very nice lunch today with my Dad and Natalie at this super yummy restaurant, Brio. It was the first time we had all been there, and we are definitely going back. We went to celebrate my birthday from last week. They also brought a delicious cheesecake platter, and a gift that completely shocked me. Natalie went to a local scrapbook store, found a very helpful salesperson, and bought me two packs of the latest Basic Grey paper - paper that I literally had in my hand at Archiver's, and didn't buy because I didn't want to spend the money. So cool. Can't wait to use it. Thanks again!

This week Emily has only four days of school - parent/teacher conferences are on Friday. Looking forward to hearing about her progress.

Here are a couple of shots of Miss Paige. Her new name is trouble. Okay, we'll still call her Paige, but I am thinking of changing her middle name to Trouble. She's really taking a lot of risks with this whole standing thing, and this has resulted in a lot of falling - but she's quickly learning.

Can I also just say....what the heck is with those Detroit Tigers? As I write this, I am watching them lose their sixth game in a row. Something has got to give.

Friday Confessional

I am not sure if I am going to make this a regular thing - but for today it just seems right.


My first confession of the day is - I didn't go to jury duty last week. Just plain didn't go. The only excuse I have - and if you know me, I always have some sort of excuse - is that for some reason, going was making me have heart palpitations and break out in a sweat. So, my lovely husband of eight years, told me not to go. So I didn't. And, for what's more, I didn't even really feel that guilty about it. I did email them and said that I couldn't go because I am a stay at home Mom, and didn't really have child care - stretching the truth a bit - but they did send me a letter the next day excusing me for not going. So there it is. I feel a little better now.


My second confession of the day is that I am currently wearing a shirt that previously had a large amount of baby puke on it. Not like previously last week, and I washed it - previously, like from this morning, and I didn't take it off afterwards. I did attempt to wash it off - but it's still kind of there. Why would I do something like this? Because, I am wearing my most favorite brown and pink striped socks, and they don't really match anything other shirts I have. It's just like when I was little and I used to order a sandwich just because it came with a pickle. I guess I could have just asked for a pickle on the side with whatever I ordered, but I was shy and I didn't want to cause too much trouble. I guess I could just wear them with anything, and who really cares if they match - the only people who will really know are Eric, Emily and Paige - and none of them would probably even notice. But, changing my shirt would cause me to have to go against my OCD matching thing, and it's just too much trouble. So, if you see me today, don't get too close...I kind of have a baby puke perfume thing going on.

That's all I have for now. There are lots of other things, but it's Friday, and I think that's all you can handle.

Do you have anything to confess?? C'mon, you know you do.......

Have a great weekend!

Layout Thursday

Some samples of my "work" from the past few weeks. I have been trying hard to get just a little bit done each week. Have a great day!

Going to Australia

Emily is obsessed with Australia. I am not exactly sure where this obsession came from, maybe from the book, Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. This little boy has the worst day ever, and keeps saying he wants to move to Australia. I am hoping that Emily is not having a bad year and wants to leave us for Australia....I am thinking not.

Coincidentally, they are studying the continent and country of Australia at school. When I picked her up Monday afternoon, she said, "G'day Mate" with a perfect Australian accent. It was adorable. They will be having the animals of Australia visit them next week - she missed that last year, she was sick, so I am hoping that she'll get to see them this year.

She has also moved to the next to last shelf - the orange shelf - for reading. This is huge, as she is one of the only kids at this level - pre-schoolers and Kindergartners combined. She was pretty proud of herself. I was just excited that she actually told me something that was going on at school - a rare treat.

The weather is getting much better - we have even taken Paige on four outings in the past week - Red Robin, The Country Inn, Nino's and Target. This is probably more than she has been out all winter! I spotted some tulip leaves sprouting out of the ground this morning....it's just a matter of time until Spring is in full swing. Can you tell I am really ready?

She's got skills

Paige is learning a new trick everyday, it seems. She has mastered crawling. If you put her down, turn away from her for one second, she is not usually where you left her. She likes to follow me out of a room, usually crying or whining. It's pretty cute.

She has also pretty much mastered pulling up on all sorts of things - her toy box, my leg, chairs, her crib (on the outside), practically anything. I have even caught her standing all on her own for about 3 seconds. She's just growing up so fast - I can hardly keep up.

She has also really started to develop her language. In the last couple of days she has increased her babbling to include "ba" and "da" and "na". Of course, no Momma yet, but it's on the tip of her tongue, I can just tell. She has almost mastered kissing. She even tries to make a fish face - which just cracks me up.

I think this move towards independence has made her much more attached to me. She was even crying yesterday and today when Eric was holding her. She has the saddest little look on her face with her little arms stretched out to me. Oh goodie. It's great to be needed, but sometimes I need a moment.

So, in light of these things - this trend towards forward movement - we have a video today. Still pictures will no longer do.

Emily's first day back to school after her "spring" break is today. She actually got up all by herself, got dressed, and ate in a timely manner. What is up with my girls? Growing up so much, I don't know if I can stand it.

Have a super Monday everyone!