chili and other stuff

Oh my goodness, I am becoming one of those once a week bloggers. Sorry about that. It must be that whole waking up at 6:30am thing, and by the end of the day, I am beat. No energy for blogging. As it is, right now, I am sleepy and may just doze off before the end of this post.

Enough rambling....here's some pics:

Today was the last full day of summer. The trees are already starting to show their fall colors. We have a couple leaves that have already fallen - so Emily thought it would be a good idea to make the very first leaf pile. It was so pathetic that she went off down the street to find more. This pile is the result. I guess she thought it was still pathetic because she abandoned it. Paige like it just fine.

Paige LOVES talking on the phone. She's not really into the whole conversation thing, but she will say "Yeah" to just about any question you ask of her.

Emily started swim class last Tuesday. It took a lot of convincing to get Paige OUT of her swimsuit. She thought she was going along with her sister to the pool. She settled for wearing goggles. Emily did just great in her class. I am hoping that she will finally pass level one. Fingers crossed....

Eric and I went to the Tigers game last Tuesday - my cousin and her husband invited us to go with them. We had a blast, but the Tigers lost quite badly. At least we had a streaker in the 7th inning.

Eric made this cabinet - it's going to hold all the recycling, cans and bottles as well as the small fridge. Paige likes to sit in it. She's going to be sad when the doors go on.

Swinging at Lowes.

Yes, I married this man.

And finally, the Chili cook off. It was Saturday. We had a blast....is that a good word to use with a chili cook off?

Anywho, the short story - because I am tired - is that I WON. Not fair you say....well, I made AWESOME chili and technically I didn't throw the party - Eric did. So, I think it's quite fair. :)

Oh, and my Mom came in second. We like to keep it in the family. :)

See ya next week...or sooner. :)

A Paigey Monday

Okay, so the first two pictures are not of Paige - but of her big sister. I took them yesterday when I was doing a photo shoot for her "Star of the Week" poster. We needed a picture of her with all her doggies, and one of her reading. The reading one is my most favorite.

Emily is loving first grade. This is, of course, after only the first week. But, if you know Emily, this will probably not change as the year goes on. My studious girl.



Okay - heeeeeere's Paige:








She has been quite the handful this past week. She can not stand to be without me. She has required a diaper change at the most inopportune moments - while in her bathing suit, at the Back to School Bash, and at Panera....and boy, that was FUN. I was out of diapers, and all my spare diapers were gone from my car. LOVELY.

She is not really into food - unless it's junk...BUT we did find out that she likes chicken tacos. She ate her whole one for lunch today and yesterday. It's a start.

She fell this morning on the way to the bus stop and scraped her little nose. Later on, she scratched her left ear to the point of massive bleeding - if you look closely in the photos, you can see her Band-Aid.

She keeps me on my toes, for sure.

Back to School Bash

So, today was the Back to School Bash at Emily's school. There were bounce houses, pony rides, cotton candy, dancing and the dunk tank featuring the Principal - Mr. Rose. Poor guy - he was dunked for one hour straight. To be fair - he pretty much let any kid dunk him. A good sport for sure.

Anyway, fun was had by all. And the weather was perfect - sunny, not humid, and not too hot. But, I will say that I am quite thankful for the Ojibwa water bottles and the free refills - much needed today.

Emily got to ride a horse for the second time in her life - I'd say, she's a natural - AND she got to ride my favorite horse - Dotty. Love it.

Even Paige got to ride a pony - Polo. She was WAY excited. But had no balance whatsoever. If I wasn't holding her, she would have fallen off for sure.
But, she was LOVING it.
Thank you POLO. And thank you Ginger for taking the photos. :)
Ahhh, it would not be a party without the YMCA. There was also the chicken dance, the macarena, and a bunch of others.
Oh, and how could I forget - the LIMBO.
UM, excuse me Miss, I don't think that's the correct form.......
Paige also experienced another first - the bounce house. She LOVED that too.

What a FUN day.

a few photos

Paige "helped" me make cupcakes for Emily - a special treat for the first day of school. Paige is not a big fan of the actual cupcake - she's a frosting girl - but she was a big fan of the beaters.



The second day of school. Emily's backpack was so loaded with stuff that her lunchbox would not fit. "No big deal, Mom, I'll carry it." Then of course she walked out the front door without it. Luckily, my brain was functioning, I did a quick re-arranging of her backpack, found room for her lunchbox - after I removed a box of tissue - and we were off.

BTW - she LOVES her teacher. She LOVES 1st grade. She practically JUMPS out of bed each morning. I know this excitement will wear off soon, but we are enjoying it while it lasts.

I met her teacher tonight at the Open house. And yes, it's true - this year will bring forth some challenges. But good ones. Her teacher is quite good, very experienced and organized. Yea 1st grade!!!

Paige insists on bringing ALL this stuff with her to the bus stop each morning. A baby, a bunny AND her purse. She also insisted on wearing her necklace. Quite fashionable, don't ya think?

Have a great weekend!!!!

first day - first grade

First Grade. Whole day. Lunchbox. Full Backpack. My little girl is not so little anymore.

This was the first day last year - see how much she has changed.....even her posture has matured.

Yea for First Grade!!!

That backpack is quite full - and I don't even have everything inside.

So full, that she could barely carry it all the way to the bus stop. She wore it on the front for a bit, then gave it to Eric. Pink is SO his color.

Running to the bus stop.
Getting on the bus.

Little sister waving good bye.

And she's off.
Now what do we do????

'twas the night before 1st grade.....

Just a few more hours left until my Emily gets on the bus and is whisked away to her very first day of FIRST GRADE. Her backpack is filled with all her school supplies. Her lunch box is on the counter, ready to be filled up. Her first day outfit is hanging on her closet door. And, the big first grader herself, is sleeping - after a whirlwind week of last minute summer activity.

A few pictures from the past few days:

On Friday, we took our last trip - for this summer season - to Eastwood Beach at Stoney Creek park. The kids played in the water and sand and had a blast.

My Paige is so good - she already knows the most valuable part of the Sunday paper - the TARGET ad.

Riding cars with Jenna yesterday. If you look back at last year's post - you can see a very similar picture on the last day of summer vacation.

Today, we made chalk outlines of the neighborhood kids. They colored themselves in - even Paige. But she was in no mood for pictures - so here's Emily.

Then we filled up over 100 water balloons - the last of our stash for the summer - and let the kids have at it.


After that, the thunder and lightning came around. We came inside, settled down, had dinner, got ready for bed and wished Summer 2009 a tearful goodbye. Looking forward to Summer 2010!!!!

I will be posting first day pictures tomorrow - check back!!!

before and after

The famous back to school school haircut. Complete with 2 balloons - one red, and one pink - and a watermelon sucker.

The countdown is on. Only four and a half days left. We found out last night that she has Mrs. Kalso for her teacher - a.k.a. The HARD one. Not a surprise to me, her kindergarten teacher eluded that this would be her recommendation. She said that Emily needed to be challenged. Should make for an interesting year.......