July 22, 2008

Summertime fun and finding things to do

Trying out the new bike

Not to be outdone is little sis Chloe

Every good show deserves to be seen through a swim mask

It looks pretty good through a toilet paper roll too

July 21, 2008

I like to always have a plan B, but rarely do I have a plan C. Today we needed one. We had our babysitter set up to watch the girls tonight while we went out to dinner. On Thursday she cancelled. So, I called in a favor to one of my friends and she more than stepped up to the plate. She also offered to leave work early and looked up movie times for us because she insisted we go see a movie too, she sent me a coupon for popcorn and told us to have the whole afternoon and evening while she watched the kids.
But, last night Chloe started getting sick. By this morning she had a 100.8 fever, she can't breath out of her nose and everytime she sneezes we have to sanitize the 10 foot space around her.
So, I called Melissa and told her thanks, but no thanks. It may only be a sinus issue which both girls get often, but it could also be a cold and I can't do that to her or her kids.
Now we've spent the morning trying to come up with a new plan. The new plan looks like I'll be having coffee at 5 so I can stay up past 9. The kids in bed by 8 and Mark and I enjoying a steak dinner he cooks on the grill after the munchkins are down and out. Light some candles, pour some wine and try to enjoy our 7th anniversary.
Sigh.

July 15, 2008

Madison had a really good morning today! The first words out of her mouth were, "I know what today is!"

This is her gift from Mommy, Daddy and Chloe

Mark always sings "You are my sunshine" to Madison and I happened to find a singing card that sings that song! She thought it was the coolest thing. She just giggled and giggled and it was contageous because then Mark and I started laughing just watching her get such a kick out of the card.

We'll head out to the pool party in a couple hours, but until then she's going to have to keep herself busy with all her new stamps from GG and Nonny & Pops. And she can start dreaming up what she wants to buy with all her birthday money!

July 13, 2008

We had a date scheduled for last night, but after I signed the girls up for Vacation Bible School last week we decided to cancel it. VBS is in the evenings, so we'll have 5 evenings alone this week. Well, I'll have 2 evenings with Mark, 1 evening out with my girlfriends and 2 evenings all to myself!
Quiet, peaceful, alone evenings.
It may only be three hours each night, but I intend to soak up every minute of it. I might just sit and listen to the sounds our house makes when it's quiet. I might crank up the music and enjoy the sound of my own off key voice. I might read a book or I might nap every evening after dinner. It starts tonight and after we drop the girls off we're coming home to grill some wings and if I don't decide to nap then we're going to watch Juno.

We ended up having a family night yesterday instead of a date and it was a lot of fun. A co-worker of Mark's decided to have a pool party and invited a couple families over. The kids had a blast in the pool, they made some new best friends and I got to enjoy some drinks and chit chat with the ladies. The other three women at the party are teachers at the school Madison will be going to so we had a lot to talk about. I'm bringing the girls back over there Tuesday to play in the pool and have lunch. The daughter of Mark's co-worker wants to make Madison a birthday cake which is just perfect since Mark will be working during the day and I really didn't have anything to do with the kids.

My little girl is going to be 5 on Tuesday and she is so excited. Since she started the countdown 18 days ago, she was thrilled when today meant it was only two days away! I wasn't aware this was going to happen so soon, but she's already starting to be embarassed by her parents. In the eyes of a kid, I can completely see where we'd be big dorks, but I never thought my 5 year old would roll her eyes at my corny jokes or get all embarassed when her mommy and daddy kiss and get playful. In many situations I'm noticing her reactions changing and her questions and comments are different as well. She's becoming more aware of things and looking at some everyday situations under a new microscope, but isn't sure yet where to put them in her head. She expresses that confusion and unknown with embarassment or shyness at that moment. It won't be long before she's asking me to drop her off around the corner from the birthday parties and using that famous embarassed tone when she says "Mahhhhhm"

I'm cherishing the times she runs up to me and wraps her arms around my leg, tells me I'm the best or asks if she can cuddle in my lap.
Those moments are priceless.
My little baby is growing up on me and it's not fair.

July 07, 2008

My mom came down and stayed two nights so we could have some girly crafty time. We both got the creative bug and I got the benefit of it! She pictured half curtains to match the valances I made and we started working on it the next morning. We were done by that night and I LOVE them!!

My mom has been making the girls some clothes and these are the two dresses she made. They both wanted hats to match so she made those too. They wore these to church yesterday.

We’re heading to our neighbors house this morning for a playdate and we have a friend coming over tomorrow for a playdate. Hopefully I can get the girls to the library again this Wednesday for story/craft time and I can continue to find things to entertain them without driving far or spending money. They both get bored easily, but they also find happiness in simple things like playing in the driveway or doing crafts with mommy.
Madison is getting better at entertaining herself and Chloe has always been great at playing alone, but put them together and it gets harder for me to keep the peace and make them both happy. I guess in that sense I find myself already looking forward to school starting. I don’t miss the rigid routine that school brings with it though.
Like the kids, I can’t be happy with everything!

June 26, 2008

Today I made this pillow. I need to get my mom to teach me how to stitch it up at the top though. I've gotten pretty good at using the machine, but I haven't hand stitched anything since my cross-stitching days.

June 25, 2008

Like most people, I've been trying to stay close to home lately because of the gas prices so I'm finding myself working on new projects. I made these valances today and I'm quite proud of them. I didn't use a pattern because I was kind of figuring they were pretty basic. I called my mom a few times, she walked me through some questions I had and voila! we have new color and new curtains in the breakfast area. The pattern on the front is called Americana Gingham and the color on the back is a solid deep red like the red on the front. It makes them a little thicker and since there's a room on the other side I wanted to have a color over there too.

I picked up some contrasting material to make placemats and pillows for the living room. Again, trying to tie in the colors in the other rooms. The main part of our house is all pretty open so my challenge is to find a decorating style that can be used in all the rooms without going overboard and it all looking too busy.

The girls oooh'd and aaah'd when they woke up from their nap and saw what I had finished. Madison said they were "beautiful" and Chloe said they were "amazing". That was the best!

June 17, 2008

She's such a sweetheart! As soon as she left Madison asked when we were going to go out to dinner so Miss Becca could come over and babysit. I have a very good feeling about this. Her first time babysitting will be next Saturday so I'll let you know if all goes well or if I find her hiding in the linen closet sucking her thumb when we get back home.

I have a Mommy PSA. One of the books Madison picked out at the library was a very cool one. Seussville has a new line of books out called the The Cat in the Hat's Learning Library. Madison picked up There's No Place Like Space and I have to tell you it is such a well-written book for her age. A couple times throughout the book she made comments like "Huh, I didn't know that", or "Wow, I thought the sun just came up!" I really wouldn't have thought to teach her about some of the details about the solar system but she's interested. I'm not sure how I'm going to keep up with these kids.
Some of the other books in the series are:
Fine Feathered Friends
Is a Camel a Mammal?
Oh Say Can You Say DI-NO-SAUR?
On Beyond Bugs!
and
Wish for a Fish

June 16, 2008

I'm not surprised anymore when simple things excite me. I'm meeting a possible babysitter for the girls tomorrow and I'm very excited about it. Our neighbors have used her before and love her. She's 14 and her parents made her get certified at the local hospital for babysitting before she took any jobs. She babysits at her church, her dad is the principal of one local elementary school and her mom is a Kindergarten teacher at another one. Her mom is also the teacher I have requested for Madison and was recently teacher of the month for our county and everyone speaks very highly of her.
I really think this is going to work out well so I'm excited to meet her and get going on having a babysitter!

June 13, 2008

We've had a pretty slow week here, but it's been really nice. We went to a birthday party on Sunday for one of Madison's friends. Monday I took the kids to a little mom-n-pop type store for their craft day. They were doing father's day crafts so the girls each got to make a cute little gift for Mark. You know the kind of craft that will make him smile when he opens it and he'll smile again when he finds it 20 years later at the bottom of his sock drawer with all the pieces falling off.
Tuesday the girls and I stayed in and just migrated from project to project. We played in the driveway, did some very random glue and scissor crafts, made some popcicles, watched a movie and we got some much-needed rain in the afternoon.
Wednesday I took the girls to the library for story and craft time and according to Madison is was the best day of her life. She snapped at me when I told her she was being a bit of a drama queen. I wouldn't have thought that a library card would have been so special to her, but it was. The librarian had a very serious talk with her and Madison had to promise to use her inside voice, her inside feet and to take very good care of the books she took home. Madison had to promise that if something happened to a book that she would do chores around the house for mommy so she could pay the fine that would be due. Madison just looked at this librarian like she was an angel with a glowing light behind her and she may have even heard a choir break out in song when the librarian told her that if she promised all those things that she can write her name on this form and have her own library card. Madison wrote her first and last name and was handed her card. I never would have thought I should have brought my camera for a thing like that. Words can't describe how happy she was. She had the cheesiest grin on her face and she quickly picked out two books to check out. She of course had to carry them herself and wanted to hold her card on the way home. She kept holding it up in front of her face and doing another one of her mantras.
"This is the best day ever!" "This is amazing!"

Thursday I took the girls to a park playdate with some other moms and brought a picnic lunch. The park was amazing, and they ran around so much that even Madison was asking for a nap on the way home. Chloe almost fell asleep on the drive.

Today has been another pajama day so far. I have a Tastefully Simple party tomorrow morning, so I'm getting ready for that and the girls have been watching tv and destroying the playroom. Chloe wants to do everything Madison does which quickly translates to a lot more work for mommy. They fight like sisters when they're playing, but are quick to cuddle under the same blanket with Chloe resting on Madison's arm when they watch a movie. This also means that I'm back to only showering when Mark is home. I've been finding scissors in the wrong hands and the fridge door open with little hands looking for goodies and pouring drinks.

He'll be home in two hours, so I'll smell better then.

June 09, 2008

The recital went really well and all the girls in Madison's class did great. As moms, we had no expectations in case they just stood up there terrified and maybe even cried.
After seeing the whole show, I can see why parents keep their kids in dance. It was completely cute and Madison had a great time. She kept saying "This is my night! I have to do my best!" She wasn't even talking to anyone, it was kind of like her own little mantra she started.
Both of Madison's dances were after intermission and since Madison and I had to be there an hour before the show even started, we were there for 3 hours before she went on stage. Mark stayed home with Chloe to give her a nap and my parents met him at the house. They all came during intermission and Chloe was crying when she saw Madison in her ballerina outfit. She was so sad thinking she missed it and told me she wanted to see Madison dance. My parents brought a beautiful bouquet of red roses and a teddy bear to give her and my mom went and got her off stage after the finale and her name was called. Madison is in love with the "trophy" they gave her. She's already told me she wants to do it again next year to get another one, I told her we would talk about it later.

June 07, 2008

Dance Rehearsal

Here's a video clip from Madison's rehearsal. There's a bunch of people walking around and talking but you can get the idea.
She's the first one on the left.

May 31, 2008

Girly Girl Fun

Ok, I'll have to admit, it was pretty fun dressing her up. I never thought I could get into the whole girly girl thing, but I can! I still didn't put mascara on her and I tried to make all the makeup look subtle. The second picture is her seeing herself all dressed up and made up for the first time.
Doing all of this last night was just to get the class photo done. We'll do it all over again next week for the actual recital.

May 30, 2008

School is out and the fun begins! It's been a week and I'm lovin' it! Not that the kids aren't driving me crazy at some point every day, I just love not having a schedule to keep or somewhere to be every day. No lunches to pack, no clothes to set out, papers to sign, money to give, etc.
We still have Madison's dance recital to get through, but that's fine. I'm already over the whole dance buzz though. She is able to participate in both dances, but now I'm running around trying to get everything she needs for it. The right color tights, the hair piece for the second dance, and she has to wear makeup! That's just foriegn to me. For the 3/4 year old combo class they have to wear foundation, neutral eye shadow, neutral lip stick, light blush and light mascara! I'll put some face powder on the child and some lip gloss, but I'm drawing my mommy line at the mascara, that's just stupid for a 3 or 4 year old.
We bought our tickets to watch her perform, we're paying over $100 for the outfits (not including the shoes, tights, and accessories) and we've been told to buy flowers to give her when she comes off the stage. She's probably going to be disappointed, but my little crystal ball is telling me we won't be going through this next year. It's been all she talks about on Wednesdays (the day of class) and for the last two weeks, she's been talking about the recital. I think it's too much for her age.

On the job front, I got my last 3 "thanks, but no thanks" letters from the school board. Since I didn't get called for a single interview, I'm still thinking they were filled internally.

The summer will really begin Sunday when we get on the road for Disney! I'm dreading the drive, but I'll take a breath when I see Mickey and the gang waving to us as we drive into the park.

Madison, being a girl after my heart, jumped for joy when I told her today was our first pajama day of the summer. She doesn't know that I'll secretly start packing us for vacation while she enjoys being a bum. Well, I'll be packing and breaking up the fights between the two monkeys. There was a time in the past I told Madison she better watch out when Chloe gets bigger.
That day has come and I really should have been warning myself.