{saturday}

Have a great week-end!

{right now}

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}

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}

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 ....}

great weekend!

{happy heart day}

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}

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

You go street fishing, of course.

{brain dead}

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}

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}

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?}

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}

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}

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!)