This Weekend...

I became inspired, and made this...



I really like the way it turned out! I found three of the photos in Google Images, but I photographed the "V".

She's Ready!

First grade begins tomorrow morning for Emma and she is ready! After she was fed, bathed and tucked into bed with clean pajamas, I read "The Kissing Hand" to her. It's our tradition. I read this book the night before her first day of junior kindergarten and the night before her first day of kindergarten. It is such a sweet and beautiful story and I hope she lets me read this to her every year, up until the night before she leaves for college.

As soon as she drifted off to sleep, I got everything set up for tomorrow morning.

Her new outfit is now laid out. Her backpack contains her folder that holds thousands of completed forms and other paperwork we received from "Meet the Teacher" night.

Her lunch is made and put away in her lunchbox along with a special note written on a napkin.

Like I said, this girl is ready to go and is very excited.

Am I ready? Hmmm, I'll get back to you on that one.

Magazine Search

When John and the girls run errands, they frequently bring home little surprises for me. Last night, they ran to the drugstore to get a few things and decided to also pick out a magazine they thought I would enjoy.



At first, Lilly chose this...



Then, Emma suggested this...



After some guidance from John, they all finally agreed on this because, "Mommy loves food so much!"

They know me well! ;)

Summer Chore Charts

Before the summer began, I was worried that it would be difficult to have both girls home all day, every day. These little munchkins can really wreck a house in a matter of minutes, if you know what I mean. So, I really did a lot of planning and tried to figure out ways to keep my kids busy. There's a ton of stuff scheduled for children in our community, so I gathered all the information/flyers and kept them in a folder. Then, with that information, I started making our schedule for the summer. I also made each child her own chore chart. Now, I must admit I have tried charts in the past and I could never quite make them work. But, this time has been very successful. Oh, and my house has been much tidier. Huge bonus! Ruthie at Sugar Pie Farmhouse really inspired the look of these particular charts.

This is Emma's chart. It's fairly simple and she really enjoys checking off her accomplishments. If she completes her chart by the end of the week, we award her one dollar.

Here is Lilly's chart. I put pictures on her chart to make it easier for her. She is still a little young for the whole chart concept, but I didn't want her to feel left out. She really likes the routine of completing her chores.

Lilly's Sense of Style

Need I say more?

Emma, Lilly and "Pickles"

Here are my three children enjoying the fireworks on the 4th of July. It was a fun day full of celebration.

We have been busy, busy bees this summer and I have been slurping up every moment of it. This last month has been filled with gymnastics, playing, swimming and spending lots of time with good friends. Both of the girls are older and more independent, which makes for really fun interactions with them. I realize the word "blessed" is overused quite a bit, but it's the word I always think of when I look at these precious children. John and I are so incredibly blessed by these two wonderful, little girls. Yes, being a mommy can be quite painful at times (in more ways than one ;), but the intense joy I feel for these children outweigh it all!

New Kitchen = More Cooking?

I got a new kitchen update a couple of months ago and I love, love, LOVE it. This first picture shows what it looked like before we installed new granite counters, back splash, and sink. Being a loyal Baylor Bear, this Aggie-maroon kitchen was never my favorite room in the house.

Before

After

Oh yeah, this is very much an improvement. I took this last photo before getting all the drawers back in, but you get the idea. Many people ask me if I cook more in my new kitchen. Uhhh, honestly...I really didn't cook much at all in the beginning. It was so shiny and new, I didn't want to dirty it up. Actually, I found myself shining it several times a day. Eventually the newness did wear off, and I do really enjoy cooking in it.

Speaking of cooking, I'm off to prepare sloppy joes for my family. Have a wonderful Father's Day weekend.