Sunday, August 30, 2009

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".
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

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.

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Tuesday, July 21, 2009

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! ;)

Sunday, July 19, 2009

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.
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Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Monday, July 06, 2009

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!


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Saturday, June 20, 2009

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
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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.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Our Beautiful Dancer

Hello, sweet friends. Hope you haven't forgotten about me. :) Emma just finished up her 3rd year of dance. Her recital was a couple of weeks ago and we were so very proud of her. She seemed to have a lot of fun and was quite the performer. Her photos on stage were terribly blurry, so I apologize for the first picture.



Her daddy and her grandparents each gave her roses.

I enjoyed fixing her hair for the performance - it turned out really cute. I made two small topsy tails on the front part of her head.


Then, I put the rest of her hair in a slick, high pony. I sprayed the heck out of it to make the pony nice and stiff, then took small sections and curled them with a small-barreled curling iron. To add a little volume to the curls, I bobby-pinned several of them to her head.


Lilly will be starting dance in the fall and to say she is excited is an understatement. I'm looking forward to it, as well. She will be an adorable ballerina.
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Sunday, May 03, 2009

Perfect Photos

I have a certain file saved for pictures like these. You know what I'm talking about - special photos that will be proudly displayed only when our daughters bring boys home for us to meet. Yep, these will be perfect!
Ok seriously, my girlies look soooo cute in their little curlers! Lilly loved them right away, but it took a while for Emma to get used to them. She told me she looked like an old lady.

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Saturday, May 02, 2009

A Beautiful Easter

In addition to our fun and traditional Easter activities, Emma expressed a deeper understanding of why we celebrate Easter. Hallelujah, Jesus is Risen!





I love Lilly's expression in this photo. It cracks me up every time I look at it!



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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Green Potatoes

Some of you were asking if the girls enjoyed their green mashed potatoes.
They kept telling me, "Wow, I love these green potatoes, Mommy...MMMM...Thank you so much...MMMMM!" Hearing things like that does a Mommy's heart good.
 

 
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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

St. Patrick's Day

Today, the girls are proudly wearing their very own shamrock shirt creations. Lillybean and I went up to the school and had lunch with Emma. Here is a picture of them in the hallway. Notice that neither one of them is looking at the camera. It seems almost physically impossible for them to look at me when I am taking their picture.

The girlies painted their shirts last week. Emma had the flu, so this was one way to keep them busy and happy without having to leave the house.
 

 
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Tonight for dinner, I will be making our mashed potatoes green. I'm doing this to make dinnertime more fun, but I'm interested to see my family's reaction - they will either love it or flip out and not want to touch the entire meal because of the potatoes' moldy appearance. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Homework Time

I try to make a habit of having Emma complete her homework as soon as she gets home from school. Here she is, working very diligently on her assignment.
 

I can tell Lilly always feels a little left out during homework time. She frequently asks, "Do I have homewook?" I found a Winnie the Pooh color workbook at the dollar store and it has been perfect for her. While Emma is doing her work, Lilly feels very grown-up and important while completing her very own "homework."
 
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Friday, February 13, 2009

My Sweet Lovebug

I received these little notes from my friend, Kristen, who is a fellow mommy in Emma's class. Aren't they cute!
 


I placed one in Emma's lunch box this morning. When I picked her up from school, she immediately said, "Thank you for the note - I wrote you back." When I saw what she wrote, my heart swelled up so much I thought it was going to explode. She is my little lovebug.
 
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Thursday, February 12, 2009

Love is in the Air

Hello, friends! Hope everyone is having a good week full of hearts and sparkles. Valentine's Day (week) gives me another chance and opportunity to show my family how much I adore them. Here's some photos from last year. I began the day with heart-shaped pancakes and special treats waiting for everyone at the table.

Treat for John - Everything we needed for a cozy movie night


Treats for Emma and Lilly - Lots of girlie goodies



My parents surprised me with these ladybug and bee chocolate treats! Adorable!



This year, Emma and I made marshmallow pops for her classmates. I got the idea from Kristin at Grace Violet.


We wrapped all the pops and placed a personalized label on each one. I bought the labels from Kristin's sister. You can get them here.