something to make you smile

Beautiful morning to walk to the bus stop.

My poor Emily was in much better spirits this morning. I am very sorry to say that I made her cry last night at dinner. No, she didn't get in trouble - she was very sad to find out, from me, that her teacher would not be coming back for the rest of the school year. I guess Emily didn't realize that having a baby puts you out of commission, as far as teaching first-graders, for a while. She totally thought that Mrs. Kalso would be coming back. She even asked if Mr. Kalso could just watch the baby while Mrs. Kalso came back to school. Poor thing. It would be a traumatic thing if it had happened to me as well. Mrs. Kalso should know she is loved.

Have a great weekend!

Go Paigey Go!

Paige has really taken off on her tricycle. She figured out the whole peddling thing about a week and a half ago, and has not looked back. She even went all the way around the block last Monday - and that's quite a distance.


It's a darn shame that the little bell is broken....but maybe that's why she can ride it now. No distraction.

After all that riding, you need to get in some swinging as well!
**Yes, I have a new watermark on my photos. It's just a little protective measure. If you print photos from this blog, (and with the crappy resolution, I don't know why you would) please let me know what photos you would like, and I would be more than happy to email you un-watermarked, higher resolution photos.

{10} on tuesday

I have seen this concept on other blogs, and thought it was a cool idea. So, I am giving it a whirl. And yes, I know it's not Tuesday, but I ran out of time yesterday....forgive?

1. I am almost done scrapbooking May 2009 - and since I have at least half of June 2009* already finished, I could be less than one year behind myself...and that pleases me to no end, as well as sounds very weird.

*I began this campaign last year to scrap recent stuff that was fresh in my mind...or probably more like, "Who wants to scrap snow and winter stuff in the middle of the summer??" So, I did some June 2009 stuff in July or August. I liked it, and I am probably going to continue that trend again. Which, totally goes against my strict code of not scrapping out of order....but, lately, I like to live dangerously!!

2. I love spring and summer, but it is so hard to get out of the habit of not having to worry about your feet and more specifically, toenails. I really need to remember that toes need to be repainted every few weeks during sandal season.

3. Emily has a very hard time eating breakfast in the morning, but when you tell her that she gets a doughnut if she finishes her cereal - it's amazing how fast she can eat.

4. Eric tried to help me out with laundry this past weekend, and instead of taking the CLEAN clothes upstairs to fold, he took the DIRTY ones with him. And I didn't realize it until the next morning.

5. Paige likes chili. Who knew?

6. I am really wanting to make a batch of homemade Oreos, but I only think of it right after I clean the whole kitchen. And, of course, I am thinking about it now, but I am busy doing this.

7. It seems as though all my new plants from last year have survived the winter - save for ONE out of five of these moss rose thingies - yes, that the scientific name. That's not too bad.

8. Emily starts gymnastics next Saturday....and she has asked me, "How much longer..." about 1,347,200,001 times. Do you think she's excited?

9. I think Paige is going through a very big growth/learning spurt. I just hope her clothes and my sanity hold out for a few more weeks.....

10. Emily's new book/toy/stuff shelf from IKEA.

It's a lot bigger than I thought, but I think that's just because we're used to something much smaller in that space. But she loves it, and that's all that matters.

Thus concludes the new feature of this blog.....

fish and swings

This morning, at around 6:05, I was suddenly woken up by a ringing alarm clock in Paige's room. Apparently, yesterday, while Paige was having a playfest in her room, she got a hold of her Pooh Bear clock, and set the alarm. Oh fun. So, I jumped out of bed, raced into her room, and shut off the clock. Paige was SOUND asleep.

But, the older child, was not. She was WIDE awake. Eagerly anticipating her stage premiere later in the day. Her class was putting on a trio of plays - Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Rainbow Fish, and Little Red Hen. Emily was in the Rainbow Fish - and she was none other than The Rainbow Fish herself. (actually, in the book, The Rainbow Fish is a boy, but that's just weird...)

Emily was dressed and ready by 6:45. We don't even go downstairs for breakfast until 7:30.....


She did a WONDERFUL job - as did all her classmates.



I was a proud Mama.

And I had Eric snap this picture of Emily and her teacher - Mrs. Kalso. Her teacher is VERY pregnant, and I am thinking this may be one of the last photo opportunities I will have before she has the baby and is on maternity leave. As it stands - she left right after the play this afternoon for the hospital...she was having some pains....

After dinner, I was fully committed to getting the girls in the tub, pj'ed, and in bed before 8. Then, I let Max out and it was BEAUTIFUL. So, we went out to play for a bit before bed.




I love happy girls!

spring outside our house

Yes, it's killing my sinuses. Yes, I feel like total crap. Yes, my two-year old has a bad skin rash. Yes, I have to wash her sheets practically everyday because she picks her scabs while she sleeps.

BUT....the flowers, the green grass, the leaves....

it's so PRETTY.

I forgive you spring. I don't really love you at the moment. BUT, I forgive you.

Have a GREAT weekend. I mean it.

so...

We went to IKEA last night, and I brought home my very own Viking.


Is this not the COOLEST hat ever? I am SO MAD that I didn't get hats for all of us. IKEA is about an hour away from us, and getting a few more hats is kind of a silly reason to take that long ride....so, I am just going to have to share this one.

Our actual reason for going was to get some bookshelves for Emily. When they get all put together, I will take some pictures and share.

Have a happy Wednesday!!

something....

Nothing really exciting going on around here. Just a couple of girls being cute. And some pretty nice weather. Not too warm, but warm enough to be out without multiple layers. And BLUE skies.
green grass.
interesting shows on tv.
that whitish spot is not a UFO. it's a bubble. the bubble machine is still a big hit.
Paige has finally figured out how to peddle on her tricycle. Very exciting. Now I don't have to follow her around and give her a little push every three seconds. Yea for both of us!

bubbles

When Emily was about Paige's age - 2 1/2, I remember that she used to love popping and chasing bubbles. My friend, and next door neighbor, Terry and I used to sit outside with our girls and blow bubbles for them to pop for HOURS. It was exhausting. But it made them both very happy, so of course, we obliged.

And now, of course, Paige has followed in her sister's bubble popping footsteps. And I have gotten older, and MUCH wiser. I bought a bubble machine. A very practical solution to the whole bubble blowing exhaustion. Everyone wins!!

(and Ginger...how much did you smile while reading this?)

Have a GREAT weekend!!

my other daughter...

I am completely aware that I have a lot of pictures on this blog of this girl. Which is really interesting, because she HATES the camera. I have to constantly think of new ways to get her to act natural around me and my lens. I am not expecting her to look at me with the perfect smile. Most of the time, I just want to capture the moment. But the minute she see me and my camera, she turns away, runs out of the room, hides, etc.....so, it's truly amazing to me that I have so many good shots. And, by the way, this one - not so great. You can see that annoyed look on her face right?



But this girl, can be bribed. And, yeah, she has chocolate on her face, but she's still so pretty. And I am so glad she can turn it on for the camera.


Right?

tigers...

As most of you already know, Eric and I went to the Tiger's home opener last Friday. It was freezing. I was sick. But we still had a great time. And the Tigers WON! WooHoo!!

The a couple days ago, my wonderful cousin Matt called and asked us if we wanted to go to the game on Wednesday....kind of short notice, but, luckily, thanks to my Mom, we were able to go.

We had super-awesome seats. Miguel Cabrera was THIS CLOSE. Well, maybe not that close....but, close enough that he looks pretty big when I zoomed in!


Our pitcher for the day - Rick Porcello. He didn't have a great outing, but, he's still pretty fun to watch.

The view from our seats.
So, it was 7-3 in the bottom of the ninth...we needed those rally caps. Didn't help. We still lost. But, it was a BEAUTIFUL day. And we had so much fun with Matt and Sue. Thanks guys!!!
Go Tigers!!

driving...

Paige at the local library today for "Dancing with Ms. Lisa". She LOVED it. This is one of her most favorite dances.

my favorites from today

It's been quite the weekend. I have been on the mend from a double ear infection and a sinus infection. No doubt, brought on, or at least exacerbated by a thirty-eight degree game time temperature at Friday's home opener for the Tigers. And, just in case you are wondering....that's without the windchill folks. But, we still had fun.

Why all this sickness you ask? Well, Spring has Sprung in a BIG way. Everything is blooming at the same time. Pollen is at an all time high. My allergies - and Paige's as well - are going CRAZY. But, it's so beautiful.


Tonight, was one of those nights that you wished it wasn't a school night. It was sunny, warm and beautiful. Popsicles were definitely in order.

As were sunglasses. Mostly for protection from the wind. Poor Paige's eyes has been red and swollen.


She's just so STINKIN' CUTE!!!!!
Have a great week!

capturing...

It's Emily's spring break this week. I am feeling kind of bad that we haven't really done anything too exciting. But, unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of working for yourself, is that you don't really get to have time off. Oh sure, we can take a day here, an afternoon or a morning there, but to take a week or a handful of days off, it's really hard.

Plus, the weather has been really crappy. Earlier in the week, it was sunny and warm out. But yesterday and today have been downright miserable. And there are no movies playing that Emily is even remotely interested in seeing. So, we are hanging out at home. It also doesn't help that I am not feeling so awesome - spring allergies. At least we are all together. Emily and Paige have been playing quite a bit.






Today, Emily called me to come upstairs and see what they were doing.....

Paige was hanging out in a box - filled with books, a flashlight, pillows and blankets. She was as happy as a clam. Better her than me. :)