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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

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...

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."

 

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.

 

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.

Color Book

Back in early fall, I helped Lilly create her very own color book. We went around the house taking pictures of items that matched certain color words. Then, we place the photos in a small photo album and matched them with the color words. Lilly loves looking at her very own book and is always so proud that she can "read" every page. I wish I can say that this idea came from my brilliant mind, but I got the concept from Make and Takes.

It was such a successful activity, I decided to create a book with Emma. It was the same as Lilly's except I had Emma write the words herself since she was learning how to spell all the color words in her kindergarten class. It was good practice and she did a great job!

The Perfect Coffee Cup

I was searching for a long time. I wanted to find my perfect coffee cup - it's a cup for me to cozy up with in the mornings. As I was searching, I had several requirements for it to be up to my standards. After all, it will be the first thing I look at most mornings.

Here were my standards in no particular order:
- It has to be large.
- It has to be girly and pretty.
- It has to look cheerful.
- It has to feel comfortable while holding it.

Yeah, it may sound a little silly that I put so much thought into it, but I like to add little things to my day that will brighten my mood.

So, here it is! I found it at Barnes and Noble.

Welcome To My Life

I believe Lilly possesses a very special gift. She can turn a perfectly clean and organized room into THIS in about one minute flat. I'm so proud, there are tears in my eyes...and it's not because I'm anticipating the amount of time it will take me to get this cleaned up.

Thank you so much, Lilly. I have been needing to reorganize your dresser for awhile and you have now given me a head start.

See how my two-year-old daughter is so talented and helpful? I know you're envious.

Christmas Organizer

A few weeks ago, I was pleased to find a blog named Controlling My Chaos. It's filled with great ideas and it even inspired me to create my own Christmas organizer. It was so, so fun to put together.




I even used my Fiskar's "Threading Water" border punch to create tabs for my dividers.


I will keep my organizer accessible throughout the year so I can add ideas as I find them.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Wedding Anniversary

John and I celebrated eight years of marriage earlier this week! People always warned me that the first years were going to be difficult, but they weren't. Sure, marriage takes a lot of work and we have to adjust as our lives are constantly changing. But, I really have enjoyed these years with my husband. I am so blessed to be able to share life's joys and trials with my best friend.

John, I look forward to what the future holds for us. You are a wonderful husband to me and father to our two, beautiful girls. Thank you so much for making my dreams come true.