Things you should know about Spring.....

When you have too much of this:





Apparently you get this:


Emily has been sick for the past couple days. She woke up early Sunday morning with an upset stomach and a fever. She continued having a fever all day Sunday and Monday. She is feeling much better today and she went to school. Her biggest disappointment? Not getting to play on her playset while she was sick.

I went on a walk this morning. It's just beautiful out today. Blue sky, high 60's. All the bushes and trees are really starting to bloom. I took a few shots. Should be in full bloom in the next week.

The Sounds of Spring

It's that time of year again... Everybody looks forward to Springtime. For most people it's the sound of kids playing and birds chirping. For me, it's the sound of small engines from lawn equipment. All the lawn equipment came out up and down the block this weekend. I did my own ritual in preparation for lawn maintenance. The snow thrower, now emptied of fuel, is relegated to the dark corner in the back of the garage. The lawn mower and other power tools have been fueled up and tested. Perhaps all these engines make my carbon footprint a bit bigger, but if I didn't cut the grass just think of all the carbon dioxide it would give off (see comments). Everything has its balance. Yes, things are in bloom and the birds are chirping and all that stuff too. I can almost hear them in the background when my mower is running. Some of Eric's Spring photos above....

A New Playset

It was inexpensive. Then it when on sale. Then it was an additional fifteen percent off. How could we say no? So we didn't. My amazing husband put it together in just the better part of three afternoons. Emily is one happy girl. Finally, a playset of her own. That's the new addition to our household. Yea for us!

La La La La La La. Spring is Here! La La La La La

We gave Paige her first taste of Spring yesterday. I brought her outside and plopped her down on the almost green grass. At first, she was definitely not into it. She immediately started crying, and wanted me to rescue her. So, I just kept on trying. I held onto her and just let her toes touch the grass. She wasn't into that either - at first. After about a minute, she decided that this whole grass thing was not too bad and sat all by herself. She immediately grabbed a stray, dry leaf and put it into her mouth. Of course. After removing this from her mouth, she decided that she wanted to try the grass. Oh, it's going to be a busy summer for us - her putting anything and everything in her mouth, and me diligently retrieving it. Didn't have this problem with Emily - we never sat in the grass in Florida. Too many fire ants, and that St. Augustine (they call it crab grass here) grass is not exactly gentle.

Emily spent most of the day outside either playing with some of the neighbor kids, or just hanging out with Daddy. I had to drag her inside last night just a few minutes before bedtime. She was still shouting to all the kids outside from her bedroom window after she went to bed. She has already informed me that she is intending on spending the whole day outside today - and she doesn't have to come in until much later because today is Friday. Do you think she had a little cabin fever?

We have a very exciting new addition to the Gottlieb House that I will tell you about later - maybe later today, so check back to see what it is......and NO, I am not pregnant. Not even a little bit.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Just call me Mom

So, last night, we were on our way home from Erma's. I was a happy girl, I got my first cherry dip of the season, as did my oldest daughter - Emily. It was a beautiful spring night. The trees are almost in full bloom - almost. I was having a relaxing moment. It was just that, a moment.

Emily was being her usual self. "Mom." "Maauum." "Maaauummmm." "Mom, I have called you three times."

Here it comes - the zillion questions that I would have to endure in the car ride home:

"What does that sign say?"

"Why?"

"What does that thing mean by the steering wheel?"

"Why?"

"How do you know you need gas?"

"Why?"

"Is it November yet?"

"Why?"

"When is Hailey coming?"

"Why?"

"Can we go sledding next time it snows in the winter?"

"Why?"

"Maaauuuummmm - why are you not answering me?"

Why is it that it's always Mom she asks? Why not Dad? It's something I hear about a thousand times a day. Sometimes, it's just what I want to hear - but a lot of times, it's usually followed by a request, or a question. Both of which I don't always feel like dealing with at that time.

The funny part of this whole thing is this - right now Paige pretty much only says "Dada." Of course, she is just making sounds with no meaning. But what do I do? I say to her all day long, "Say Mama." I show her exactly how to form her mouth, and what sound it is that should come out. Am I crazy? I should be reveling in the Dada.

This motherhood thing. It's enough to drive a person crazy. And sometimes, I would not have it any other way.


By the way - the reason that she is asking about November is not because she is really looking forward to the presidential election, but because that's when I told her it would be okay to talk about her birthday. If I did not do this, then we would all have to endure endless questions about her birthday all year long. I know this may seem a little mean - and that's fine. If you wish, I can give Emily your telephone number, and have her forward all her birthday questions and requests to you. Trust me. You don't want that. So let's just keep it the way that I have it. And she's fine with it - really. She just talks about Paige's birthday. I'll have to put a moratorium on that on July 25th.

Some cute pictures from this weekend

So, we got to meet the newest member of the family - Emerson. We all went over to my Aunt and Uncle's house on Saturday evening for pizza, salad and baby. She's just adorable. Julie and Ryan seem to be handling the whole parenthood thing with ease. They didn't even look tired. Emerson apparently likes to sleep, so I think that is helping them out a lot. What a good little girl she is. I did get to hold her for a moment - until Paige saw me, and wasn't too pleased about that. Here is Emerson with her Great Aunt Carol - my Mom. Welcome to the family. Can't wait for our all girl shopping trips!!



Here's Paige climbing the stairs - her new trick. She did this quite a few times this weekend. She was very proud.


Here's her proud sister waiting at the top of the stairs.


"Look at me Mom. I made it."


Other than that, uneventful weekend. It was much colder, so no really going outside. I did see a 70 on the forecast for this week - and we will be out and enjoying that. Maybe a trip to the trails in Stoney Creek. Have a great week!

Busy Day

Today, Emily finally got her wish. Daddy took a break from work, and went to the park with her. It was not exactly warm, but it was warm enough for slides and jungle gyms, and general park fun.





When they got home, they continued to play in the backyard. Paige watched from the dining room. It needs to get a little warmer, and the grass needs to be a little greener, and then it will be Paige's turn to play outside. I know she is looking forward to it.




We also got to celebrate Kelly's birthday with her. My Mom and I made vanilla cupcakes with lemon curd, and homemade butter cream frosting. They were delicious!! Happy Birthday Kel!




And because it was so popular last time - here's a video clip of Miss Paige just doing her thing:


Have a great day!