I had meant to get here midday today to post my giveway, but Avery had other plans for me. She was fine as long as I was playing with her or right by her side. But let me start to do something else, & she would all of a sudden tell me "My tummy hurts. I want to hold you." We went to buy cupcakes...'boy' cupcakes (Transformer rings on them), & 'girl' cupcakes (pink & green iced with 'tons' of sprinkles). I thought that was only fair, seeing as Elliot always has to eat a "girl" cupcake. The girls chose mini cupcakes. I sat them down & gave them their cupcake, then turned around to get them a drink. Emily got down from her chair to help me. About a minute later, we all sat down again, & Emily looked so shocked. She looked around & said "Where's my cupcake???" Immediately, I knew where it had went. There in the place where her cupcake had sat, was her cupcake paper. Avery looked so guilty. Emily asked her "Avery, did you eat my cupcake?" No answer...so I asked her. She looked at Emily, & said "Yeah, I ate your cupcake." She had also eaten 'her' cupcake too...all within a minute! I got so tickled...I can imagine her reaching over, grabbing it, & eating it as fast as she could. She 'loves' food! Emily wasn't so thrilled that she had eaten hers. Even though hers looked like the rest, she told me "I picked the one with fluffier icing than the rest, & more sprinkles. Mine was prettier than them all." I guess Avery thought so too.

It's time for my September giveaway! This one celebrates fall. Since I've archived my posts, I'm going to paste in my 'rules' here for those that may have never read them or entered before. If you have read them, then skip on to the goodies...

1. You must leave a tag in my blog (either my Simple Woman's Daybook blog or here). This is your 'entry'. Each time you leave a tag, will give you another 'entry'. When you tag the first time, just mention that you want to be a part of my giveaway, so that I will know that you want to participate.

2. I want 'you' to give also. This will get you an extra entry. This isn't a requirement, but I hope you participate. I am a firm believer in 'giving back', & being a blessing to someone else. I am not speaking of giving monetarily (although you could if this is how you chose to give). Giving takes many forms, & sometimes the best of all is giving with simplicity. Something as simple as baking cookies for a friend, a neighbor, co-workers, even family. For years, I chose a family each week, & would bake an apple pie for them. I would drop it off at some point in the afternoon so that they could look forward to an after dinner dessert. Such a small gesture, but it meant so much to the receiving family. Dropping a 'thinking of you' note in the mail or via email. So often, the gift of words is the best gift of all. Going to Starbucks? Pick up an extra one to take to someone at work, or to drop off to a friend, a family member, a neighbor, ect. (I do this often). Better yet, call & ask someone to meet you there for an hour of chat (gifts of time are wonderful in these days that most are 'too busy'). Call someone, just to let them know you care, & let 'them' talk. While driving, let someone in front of you...happily. Smile at that grumpy salesclerk you may encounter (gift of kindness & patience) Call that tired Mom, & 'tell' her (don't ask her), that you are taking the kids for a few hours. Simple little ways of giving of yourself. If everyone would give in some form or fashion each day, just think of what a much better world we would live in. If you chose to do this, in one of your tags, please say "I gave". No need to let me know 'how' you gave, just that you 'did'. If you want to share, then please do.

3. If you win my giveaway, I want you to in turn give something to someone else of your choosing. By that, I mean that I want you to chose something out of my giveaway that you won, & give it to someone. A 'pay it forward', so to speak.

That's it. Some very simple guidelines, & a simple excercise that hopefully will make us all aware of how we can give each day.

Ready to see the goodies? First off, is a cute little raggedy scarecrow couple -



Next we have 2 fall candle rings with votive candles, 2 fall dish towels, a Home Sweet Home Yankee candle, & two Blossom Bucket figurines -



Here's a close up of the Blossom Bucket figurines



I'm also including a Willow Tree angel



Hope you see something that you like enough to enter. Emily will draw the winning name next Tuesday, & I'll post the winner before 6pm Pacific. Remember, every tag counts as another entry.

"A day is Eternity's seed, and we are its Gardeners." ~Erika Harris~



   

Simple Woman's Daybook Day

Monday    September 27, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Click on the link to the left if you'd like to visit. New fall sigtag is posted - link is to left. I'm ready to announce my September giveaway tomorrow - so I hope you stop in to enter. See you back here tomorrow. Hugs!



   

Girl's day

Friday    September 24, 2010

I had high hopes of getting to sleep in for a bit this morning, but Emily woke me up for 'cuddle time'...so cuddle time it was. I thought for sure that she would sleep in, because she got up at 2:30am wanting a drink, & then decided that she felt like crawling into bed with me & chattering for an hour. Anyway, it was just as well that we got up early, because I had a lot that I wanted to accomplish today. I've been on a fall cleaning kick this week, & loving it. Mike got home at noon - he surprised us...so after he arrived, he took Elliot to do some things & Emily & I took off for our girl time. One of our errands was to find some pumpkins. When we go to this one store, she always wants to 'drive' the "car cart" (she honestly believes she is driving), & I always smile when I see her & Lilly from behind. Today it hit me, that I had better capture that memory before she gets too big to 'drive' the cart -



She & Lilly get lots of smiles & comments as she 'drives' through the store. I get a kick out of hearing her honk her horn (it's more like a big squeaker sound) at customers if she wants to warn them that she's coming. I remember Elliot loving to ride in these too, & I'll never forget the day he tried to get in, & realized that he was too big. I think it hurt me more than it hurt him.

Emily & I ended up being out all afternoon/early evening. Mike & Elliot went to eat, & that meant I had a date with Emily (& Lilly) for dinner.



We rarely (if ever) eat out without Mike & Elliot, & it was sweet just having an 'us girls' dinner. The food wasn't that great - we deciced on Ruby Tuesdays, & wish we'd eaten somewhere else. I hadn't eaten there in years...now I remember why. Maybe it was on off night, but it bordered on horrible. During the meal, Emily said "Mommy, this makes me wish that we had eat at home."

Hope you all have a great 1st weekend of fall. I'll see you back here on Monday, at my Simple Woman's Daybook. Hugs!

"The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra." ~Jimmy Johnson~



   

Great start to Autumn

Thursday    September 23, 2010

Our first day of fall was a wonderful start to the season. As soon as we got ready this morning, we headed off to Starbucks. I don't think I was the only one that wanted to start fall with my perfect fall drink (pumpkin spice latte). It was 'packed', & that's what everyone was ordering. From there, we went up to Krispy Kreme. Elliot & Emily love watching the donuts get iced -



The fall donut was apple harvest, but Emily stuck with her regular -



See this sweet smile? He'll be "pingin' the walls' (as Emily says it) after the sugar from his donut hits him -



Emily & Lilly entertained us with a dance after she finished her donut. This was the finale. Emily calls it a "jumping twirl" -



After leaving there, we went to Michaels to pick up a 'few' more fall decorations. Elliot & Emily wanted to each get a scarecrow. I also wanted one. I'll blame the sale, but we got a few more than we had planned on -



Emily picked out 3 of those, & she's named each scarecrow that we got.

I think Tinkerbell is licking her chops because she wants to munch on the rafia -



Once we got home & sat out some decorations, we worked in our yard for awhile. While out there, the mailman brought me a surprise from a sweet friend -



Thank you Cindi! What perfect timing - right on time for fall! I love it, & Emily loves her gift too! You made her day (& mine).

Everyone voted on breakfast for our first dinner of the season, & it did fit well. We had the 'works', & it was so good! After dinner, we settled in for the evening. I am so happy that my fall shows are back.

For the first day of fall, I've added another sigtag to the other one that's being offered this week. If you want her, please specify hair & eye color. Link is to the left. See you all back here tomorrow!

"No Spring nor Summer Beauty hath such grace As I have seen in one Autumnal face." ~John Donne~



   

So Ready For Fall!

Wednesday    September 22, 2010

I am so happy that fall finally arrives tomorrow! It's my favorite season. Living in Las Vegas, & having the brutal summers that we do, has made me look forward to it even more. I am ready to greet it, & we will celebrate its arrival tomorrow. Even though we are supposed to hit triple digits, it won't prevent me from starting my first fall morning at Starbucks, enjoying my favorite fall drink -



You know it's fall when you have a pumpkin cheesecake roll! It's waiting to be enjoyed tomorrow -



With my pumpkin spice latte & pumpkin cheesecake roll in hand, I think I'll curl up with this, to see what Autumn Delights await me. I have saved it to open up tomorrow -



I've shared this picture before, but come to my door, & you'll get an Autumn welcome. I love the look of doors during this season & Christmas -



My fall Boyd's are taking center stage in the fall decor. These are 2 of my favorites -





Do you do anything to kick off each new season? I try to make it special, & a celebration. I'll be taking Elliot & Emily up to Michael's tomorrow to choose a few fall decorations. We'll stop by Krispy Kreme afterwards so that they can get a featured fall donut...I believe it's apple harvest. No matter what the flavor, they will be excited.



"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all." ~Stanley Horowitz~



   

Splish splash, they were taking a bath!

Tuesday    September 21, 2010

I wish you could have seen the bathroom (& me!) after the girls were done with splashing during their baths the other night! They had as much fun splashing me, as they did each other - maybe more. A simple time, but such sweet memories.





"Much of my reading time over the last decade and a half has been spent reading aloud to my children. Those children's bedtime rituals of supper, bath, stories, and sleep have been a staple of my life and some of the best, most special times I can remember." ~Louise Brown~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    September 20, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Click on the link to the left if you'd like to visit. New fall sigtag is posted - link is to left. See you back here tomorrow. Hugs!



   

Grateful for weekends!

Friday    September 17, 2010

We went out to eat tonight at a Mexican food restaurant. When we asked Avery what she wanted to eat, she pointed to this picture & said "Mmmm! I want that one!"



Out of all the food pictures on the menu, I cannot figure out why the chili stood out to her.

We went shopping for awhile aferwards, & then came home to relax. I bought Magic Mikes (microphones) for the kids, & 5 mintues after opening them, the thought hit me "What in this world was I thinking???" They were singing at the top of their lungs, & thought it was great fun to out sing the other as far a volume. I think Avery won in that area - she is 'so' loud anyway. When she arrives, you 'know' she's arrived.

Here's a few pics of them this week





Got cupcakes?



See you all back here on Monday at my Simple Woman's Daybook. I'll be by to visit you all this weekend. Hugs!

"There is no time of life past learning something." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for new finds

Wednesday    September 15, 2010

Avery picked up Tinkerbell today - a no-no unless I am there to watch her & teach her how to do it properly. She overheard Emily telling on her, & telling me that not only did she pick Tinkerbell up, she squeezed her. This is why she isn't allowed to hold her unless we are with her. So what did she do? She ran & 'hid'...she thinks that as long as her head is underneath the chair, then she's hidden well -



It's so funny that kids think they are hidden as long as their heads are hidden. It reminds me of a couple of years ago when we were playing hide & seek. I was the seeker, & this is how I found Emily (exactly where Avery hid today) -



We decided to try out a little Italian restaurant near our home tonight. It was delicious! So much so, that I think it will become one of our favorites. I wish we'd tried it out sooner. It's nice too, because it's 2 minutes from our house. Avery kept wanting to eat her pizza by leaving it on her plate & putting her face into it to take bites. We'd tell her to eat it correctly, & she would tell us "I wanna eat like a dog. WOOF!" Later, after her cupcake snack, she said she wanted to play dog & "eat Tinkerbell's food". Elliot was panicked - he said "I think the cupcake has made Avery crazy."

"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes." ~Hugh Downs~



   

Grateful for my little artist

Tuesday    September 14, 2010

Before I announce the winner of my giveaway, I want to first brag on my little artist. As most of you know, Emily 'loves' to draw! Today in our homeschooling, for art she drew a chicken -



Pretty good for a 4 year old - or at least I think so.

Now on to letting the pictures announce the winner of the giveway! Emily always loves me to take one picture of her before she draws. This is her 'silly' smile - Avery was doing something that got her so tickled -



Eyes closed, drawing the name



She always has to check out the name before she shows me, & by her expression, you would think that she can read the name -



Showing me the winning name



Can't read it? Here's a close-up



Congratulations Linda!! I would have loved to have seen you reading this. I can only imagine the squeals! If you were to know Linda, you would understand what I mean. We met in England 21 years ago, & our friendship has spanned time & the ocean. Believe me when I say, she 'squealed' when she read this post. I'll email your Amazon gift certificate tomorrow after you read the post, & send your package on the way to England tomorrow!

Time to go have some evening fun now...out to eat, followed by some not so fun stuff - grocery shopping. Although, we'll probably be so full after our meal, that we'll end up coming home with nothing from the grocery store. See you all tomorrow. Hugs!

"A friend accepts us as we are yet helps us to be what we should." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    September 13, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Click on the link to the left if you'd like to visit. Two new fall sigtags are posted - link is to left. I worked really hard on these two, & I think they 'scream' fall. Don't forget about the giveaway (see September 8th post)...Emily will draw the winning name tomorrow before 6pm pacific time. See you back here tomorrow. Hugs!



   

Grateful for school days

Friday    September 10, 2010

It may not feel like fall here yet, but it's beginning to 'look' like fall around our home -




Emily wanted to sit our fall angel out on our mantel...she loves this one because she loves fall -



Mike came home early today (noon), & he got a kick out of sitting in on Elliot & Emily's school time. He's never really sat in since he's at work during it, so he got to see a bit of what he misses. It's so sweet to teach them. Elliot 'hates' math with a passion, & Emily loves it. She loves doing what she calls "plus-es" (addition). Mike asked her how did she do it so well. She told him that she starts out by lining the numbers up in her head. As I said, Elliot hates, hates, hates math, & he doesn't think the numbers will line up in his. Teaching them is an experience that I wouldn't want to miss for the world. There's only one thing Emily would change about school - she says she wishes we would have it everyday, with no days off. These are sweet days with them.

Tonight was 'picnic' night in our family room. We do this sometimes with the kids, & they love it! It's something different & fun for them (& for us). After our picnic, we played some games with them, & then settled in to watch a movie of their choosing.

If you haven't seen the giveaway yet, please check out Wednesday's post. Emily will be drawing the winning name next Tuesday. Hope you all have a great weekend. See you back here on Monday at my Simple Woman's Daybook!

"Children will not remember you for the material things you provided but for the feeling that you cherished them." ~Richard L. Evans~



   

Grateful for simple joys

Thursday    September 9, 2010

Emily found a good use for a Whole Foods bag today...she told me that she wanted to have a 'sack race'...so that's what her & Elliot did. They had so much fun. I love the simple joys of childhood! Sorry these are a bit blurred...they were hopping fast

They were quite happy (especially Emily), when I surprised them with ladybug cookies tonight -



My friend Kat (click on her name to visit her Etsy jewelry site - Shiny Moonbeams) is having a jewelry giveaway at her blog. She does such incredible work. I've ordered from her before, & 'love' her work! Click here to visit her blog to see how you can enter her giveaway. You might be the lucky winner of two of her beautiful pairs of earrings! Below is a picture of one of the pairs of earrings that you could win -



Speaking of giveaways, don't forget about mine (see yesterday's post). If you want to enter, pleae let me know in a tag. Emily will draw the winning name next Tuesday.

"Jumping at several small opportunities may get us there more quickly than waiting for one big one to come along." ~Hugh Allen~



   

Grateful for new toys

Wednesday    September 8, 2010

Okay - I promised that I would share my surprise with you all today. At the end of our little party on Saturday, Mike gave me this -



An Apple Ipad! I have wanted one since they first came out. To say that I am 'in love' with it, is probably an understatement. This little gadget amazes me! Guess who wants one now? Yes, Emily. She dumped her piggy bank & asked Mike if she had enough for one. I had put so many educational games & other kid's games on my itouch, that I told her that she could claim that as hers now. She says she will use it until she gets her ipad.

After Mike got home from work today, while he & Elliot had their 'guy' time, Emily & I went off to the mall. I spent ages in Sephora (love that store!), & came away with a lot of goodies. Pennys was having a jewelry sale, & Emily picked out a new toe ring. She wants to be like me, so she's worn one since before she was 3. She was heartbroken when it broke when we were at Disneyland in May. I had promised her that we'd get her another one as soon as we found one she liked, so she was so happy tonight to have her toe decorated again.

With everything that was going on at the end of August, I didn't post the August giveaway, so I'm doing that today. It's a simple one, but one that I hope you all like enough to join in the fun. Here are the goodies for this one -



It's a Bath & Body Works one. In case you can't see the products, it includes Warm Vanilla Sugar shower gel, body lotion, & body spray. From the Summer Vanillas Line, there's the Lemon Vanilla shower gel & body lotion. There's a fresh market apple anit-bacterial hand lotion, along with a pocket size fresh market apple anti-bacterial hand gel. Then there's Cinnamon Stick room spray, & a Cinnamon Stick candle. Lastly, I am throwing in a $50 Amazon gift certificate. If you are interested in entering & not familiar with my 'rules', rather than post my them in this post, you can read them in my April 13th post. If you'd like to join, please tag & let me know that you're interested. Don't forget - each tag, gives you another entry, & giving in some way, also gives you another entry. Since I'm late in getting this posted for this week, Emily will draw the winning name next Tuesday before 6pm Pacific time.

"A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you're at home." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for parties!

Tuesday    September 7, 2010

Emily was so excited this morning. We woke up to this -







We so seldom get to see this, so I had to take advantage of it & ran up to Starbucks. I got to feel that it was fall for awhile - pumpkin spice latte with a pumpkin cheesecake muffin -



When I say that I got to feel like it was fall for awhile, I mean a very small while. The rain lasted a 'big' 15 minutes, & within an hour this was back -



We had a party for Avery Saturday night to celebrate her getting to come stay with us for the week. We had ice cream -



Her favorite candy



Her favorite cookie



Her favorite music



We included "slide time", as she calls it



We played games, watched...can you guess? Yep - her favorite, a Dora movie. We all had a lot of fun. I think one of her most favorite things though, was getting to do this -



It's the first time she's gotten to hold Tinkerbell alone. She has a tendency to 'squeeze' her. She did really well, & was so proud of herself.

It was a party for Avery, but I am the one that ended up getting the big surprise. Since this post has been long, I will share about that tomorrow.

"If you haven't time to respond to a tug at your pants leg, your schedule is too crowded." ~Robert Brault~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    September 6, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Click on the link to the left if you'd like to visit. New fall sigtag is posted - link is to left. See you back here tomorrow. Hugs!



   

Grateful for blessings all around

Wednesday    September 2, 2010

Today was a whirlwind of a day. Grocery shopping needed to be done, & Avery was thrilled that she got to go along with us. Here she is coming downstairs, all ready to go.



She said she wanted to wear her "king hat", so she did. She wore it in the store too. In fact she wore it until I took it, when she decided that she would rather eat it than wear it. If you look closely at it (above her left eye) in the picture of her coming downstairs, you can see that she began nibbling on it in her room.

Here's a couple of picture of the girls all ready to go -



Emily always has to give her a kiss on the cheek. Avery loves it on the lips, but she is a 'very' sloppy, slobbery kisser, so Emily tells her "Please just let me kiss your cheek."



On the way home from shopping, we stopped in at Starbucks. Emily's bird was there again -



She got to pet it this time, but I didn't get a picture of that. For some reason, she thought that the camera would scare it & make it "bite her" or make it "fly away". I was really disappointed after we left that I didn't get a picture of her with it.

Speaking of Starbucks...when we stopped by the other day, I saw something that made me so happy! Could fall really be near???



It made me feel that Fall is here...even if it is triple digit temps still. I 'love' the pumpkin spice lattes! So of course, I had to have one.

After we got home from the grocery store, we baked a carrot cake to surprise Mike when he got home from work. It did surprise him too...it's one of his (& our) favorites. He was so glad to be greeted with the smell of it just out of the oven when he got home.

The girls got cupcakes. They had ones with Hello Kitty rings in the icing, so Emily wanted to get them for Avery since she loves Hello Kitty. After dinner, time playing outside, & then bubble baths, they enjoyed them while Mike & Elliot enjoyed carrot cake. Here's Avery devouring hers. Notice that she eats all of the icing first, & she almost icings herself in the process!



These were just as important as the cupcakes to the girls!



"We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count." ~Neil A. Maxwell~



   

Grateful for busy days

Wednesday    September 1, 2010

I didn't make it here yesterday, & I almost didn't make it here tonight either. This week has been full! I started our school year with the kids on Monday. For the first 2 weeks, we're doing a refresher of what they learned last school year, so it's going to be an easy beginning. I thought this would get their year off to a good start. Emily 'loves' learning. The night prior to our start day, she couldn't get to sleep because she was so excited. Elliot thought it was the end of the world because he had to face school again. He said "School again? When do I get to stop doing this?" Sorry Elliot - but 2nd grade is a 'long' way off from being finished.

We've been busy for another reason too



To say that we're all so happy that she's here for a week, is an understatement. We got her Monday, & she gets to stay till next Monday. After not seeing her for 5 weeks, she already seems as though she grew.

We took most of the day yesterday & went to the dinosaur park.







Followed by eating out & letting the kids play in a kid's zone. Emily had an 'electrifying' time -



After that, it was off to Toys R US, to do some shopping to celebrate Avery. Elliot gave this stop a 'thumbs up' -



Today my son took Avery out for the afternoon. He said this was one of her favorite things -



Tonight, we all went out to eat at Chili's. Elliot & Emily came away with another balloon - Emily a bear, & Elliot a motorcycle -





My younger son & his girlfriend came over & spent the evening with us. They brought the kids each a gift. He made Elliot's week - he bought him lightsabers (oh joy! ) Avery loved them as much as he did. This picture turned out really weird - probably because of the speed at which they were using these things!



I'm sorry that this was so long. I wanted to give you a condensed version of our last couple of days. I hope to get around & visit with each of you tomorrow sometime. I am so behind in my reads. Have a wonderful day!

"Why try to be someone you're not? Life is hard enough without adding impersonation to the skills required." ~Robert Brault~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    August 30, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Click on the link to the left if you'd like to visit. New fall sigtag is posted - link is to left. I posted 2, but they are similar, one holding her pumpkin & the other with it beside her. Let me know which you want. If you want both, let me know. See you back here tomorrow. Hugs!



   

Grateful for fun outings

Friday    August 27, 2010

Mike took today off, so we made a run to the Air Force base here (Nellis). Elliot & Emily love going there. Elliot loves seeing the planes, & he & Emily love seeing all the jets take off. They love knowing that Mike flew these. Here's the 3 that he flew during his Air Force career -







This isn't the best picture, but Elliot & Emily loved getting to see the take-offs -



Just a few pics of them on our outing







Each time we go there, Emily has to ride this -



We shopped for awhile & then ate lunch there. It was a simple outing, but they had so much fun.

While there, I found some things that my sister loves from the Philosophy line - click here if you want to check it out. They really have some wonderful products. Anyway, I got her a few things, & Emily & I ran out to mail them out to her after we got home. She will be so surprised.

Mike bought 2 new video games for him & Elliot, so while they had their 'guy' time, Emily & I ran to Starbucks for a treat, then came home & had our 'girl time'. Perfect ending to a perfect day! Have a great weekend! See you all back here on Monday at my Simple Woman's Daybook!

"He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has." ~Henry Ward Beecher~



   

Grateful for fun summer days

Thursday    August 26, 2010

I got up early to run out to do some errands. Elliot wanted to do our routine stop at Starbucks - so we did. Here is is, giving a thumbs up for his vanilla bean frappuccino -



I felt so bad for him, because 2 minutes later our pugs were lapping it up. He dropped it, it spilled everywhere, & they were on it in a flash. So now we have a few more Starbuck fans. Emily told him "Elliot it's okay, you can have mine." He didn't take it, but I have a feeling that he wanted to.

We had more 'water park' (as Emily calls it) fun today.



Emily would swing for hours

She's a little slugger



Mike came home early, so after eating, we all settled in for another relaxing evening. I love these nights!

"The trouble with most people is that they think with their hopes or fears or wishes rather than with their minds." ~Will Durant~



   

Grateful for being able to surprise my sister

Wednesday    August 25, 2010

Right after breakfast this morning, I took Elliot & Emily outside to play. It was so hot (106F), so I was the designated 'sprayer'. I kept it set on 'shower' the entire hour that they were out, & that kept them cool. We had such fun. After we went in, it was time for baths & popcicles while they bathed. Oh to be a child again!

I called my sister this morning to wish her a happy birthday. She 'loved' her gifts in my box to her. She really loved the 'gift' from Elliot. He had gathered up about 11 cents, & as I was signing her card, he brought it to me & said "I want to give this to Jenny for her birthday." It really touched her. I also called a local place there, & had a birthday cake & ice cream delivered to her. I was on the phone with her when it was delivered, & it was funny to hear her suprise. I heard her ask "What is this?!! Who is this from?" She was told "It's from Judy, Elliot, & Emily." She was so happy, & I was even more happy to surprise her with it. I won't share her age, because I don't think she would want me to, but I thought it would be fun to call her that many times today. It made her laugh, as I'd call her throughout the day & evening & ask her "What are you doing?" It was a fun day, & one that I hope gave her good memories.

While we ate dinner tonight, Emily decided that we were going to pretend that we were having a meal on an airplane. Our destination? Disneyland. At one point, she told us that the pilot had just announced that we would be landing soon, "so please hurry & finish your meals". As we got up from our chairs after eating, she reminded us that we were getting off the plane, & to remember that we were going to Disneyland. So...our home was turned into Disney for awhile. Game night followed after that. Emily is such a little competitor. She 'loves' to win! Can you tell by this 'really' happy face?



"Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it." ~George Halas~



   

Grateful for long talks with my sister

Tuesday    August 24, 2010

After breakfast this morning, I took Elliot & Emily out to run some errands. They got a special treat when we made our stop at Starbucks. A couple were there having their coffee with their pet -



When they first saw it, they thought it had flown there by itself, & Emily was trying to plot out how she could lure it into our car. She was so disappointed when I told her that it had owners.

I got the prettiest candle in the mail today...so pretty, that I hate to use it, but I will. It's called cinnibun, & smells 'so' good!



It looks good enough to eat, so I had to explain to Elliot & Emily that it was indeed, a candle. Emily said "Oh! I was getting ready to ask you if I could could have a bite of it."

I called my sister today, & had a nice long talk with her. She received her birthday box from me last Friday, but I told her that I didn't want her to open it until tomorrow on her birthday. She said that every time she passes by the box, everything in her wants to tear it open. I think know that she's really going to love it. I spoiled her, & she deserves that!

We felt like going out to eat tonight, so Elliot & Emily wanted to choose the restaurant. They both wanted Chili's...it's become Elliot's favorite restaurant. We played sit down Simon Says while we waited for our meal (Emily's suggestion). She ended up being the winner, & she 'loves' winning!

We came home & settled in for a famiy evening. Elliot wanted to play video games, so he & Mike did that, while Emily & I watched some of her recorded children's programs. We ended the evening with cupcakes, but at least they were mini cupcakes. I told the kids that I was going to have to stop eating so many goodies, or I wouldn't be able to fit into my clothes anymore. Emily said "Well, it won't matter to me, because I'll love you no matter what you look like."

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." ~James Baldwin~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    August 23, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Click on the link to the left if you'd like to visit. Emily wanted it to be her turn today, so she dictated her answers to me. New sigtag is posted - link is to left. See you back here tomorrow. Hugs!



   

Grateful for evenings with family

Thursday    August 19, 2010

With Mike being away last week, & him having a very lax schedule this week, our schedule is so off whack. We all slept in till 10am this morning! That was nice, but I felt as though I missed half my day. Mike only had to go in for a few hours, so we went to Chili's when he got home. After our meal, there was a "balloon artist" (as he called himself), come by our table. These aren't very good pictures, & they really don't do the balloon shapes justice, but Elliot chose an airplane -



Emily wanted a fishing pole with fish attached



Such a simple little treat, but they played with them for hours.

After we left Chili's, we went shopping for awhile at Best Buy & Walmart, then it was on to home to let Elliot & Emily choose a movie to watch. It's been so nice this week - we've let them choose something each evening, & we snuggle up together to watch it. Emily & I also baked muffins for later in the evening. Monday night was a cinnamon streusel coffee cake, last night was cookies, & now muffins??? I've been in such a baking mood, but after tonight I need to stop before my scales stop being my 'friend'. Elliot told me that my stomach might get "squishy".

For a long time now, Elliot has been saying that he thinks he would like to be a doctor, a veterinarian, or a pilot when he grows up. He came to me yesterday & said "I know what I want to be now." He then said "What are you called, because I want to be just like you." I said "Honey, I'm a homemaker." He said "That's what I want to be too - a homemaker. I'm going to be just like you!" I know he will change his mind again next week, but I thought it was so funny & sweet.

"Regret for wasted time is more wasted time." ~Mason Cooley~



   

Grateful for sleep in days

Wednesday    August 18, 2010

I just sat here for over an hour writing out my post, but for some reason, when I went to save it, the server timed out. I am heartsick that I lost it, & it's too late to write it again, so you all get a break today. Oh the joys of computers sometimes! I'll see you all tomorrow.

"The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer, but rather what they miss." ~Thomas Carlyle~



   

Grateful for comfort food evenings

Tuesday    August 17, 2010

After Mike getting home on Sunday after being away all last week, & him taking yesterday off work, today was back to our 'normal'. My two little helpers & I cleaned house all morning, & then it was off to do some errands. We ended up being out until 6PM. While out, I had to mail out my sister's birthday gifts, so I put those into a bag & took them up to the post office to package them there. They were just closing when we walked in, but I was going to use the self mail anyway. I put her gifts into the largest priority mail box, but I forgot my tape. So it was back home to get that. Got that, & found out that the gifts wouldnt fit into the box. So I had to go buy a box. I won't go into my post office fiasco, but I ended up going up there & back home three times for that one package, before I got it sent on its way to my sister. We were driving along & I noticed that Emily didn't have her sunglasses on. When I asked her where were they, she said "Oh no! My sunglasses are at the post office!" So back we go again to get those.

We were going to go out to eat tonight, but by the time we got home, we wanted to eat here & then settle in to enjoy a relaxing evening. Elliot is a real homebody, & he was thrilled when we decided to stay in & have pasta, salad, & bread. He was even more thrilled after eating & playing games for awhile, when he & Mike smelled cinnamon streusel coffee cake baking. Emily & I had decided that would be a nice cap off to our evening as we watched a children's show with them. It definitely turned out to be a comfort food evening. And it was welcomed!

"You cannot always have happiness, but you can always give happiness." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    August 16, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Click on the link to the left if you'd like to visit. I'm so in the mood for fall, & you'll see that with the sigtag offered this week. Link is to the left. If you want one, please let me know if you want it with or without the wording. See you back here tomorrow. Hugs!



   

Grateful for lazy days

Friday    August 13, 2010

The kids & I slept in till a bit before 10am today! It was nice, but I felt like I had lost a big chunk of our day. I decided to turn it into a lazy day for us, so we chose a few of their children's movies & snuggled up on the couch to watch those. We then played games for awhile, read for awhile, & then caught up with some children's shows that I had recorded them. It was one of the laziest days on earth, but we so enjoyed it. I love having days that we do nothing but just enjoy time together. As we were cuddled up on the couch together, Elliot hugged me & said "I love you so much! You're sweeter than a cookie!" Emily said "I love you more, & you're sweeter than a cake. Cake is sweeter than cookies, right?" She can't stand to think that someone could love me as much as she does.

Hope you all have a great weekend! I'll see you back here on Monday at my Simple Woman's Daybook. Hugs!

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward." ~Spanish Proverb~



   

Grateful for my sister

Thursday    August 12, 2010

I'm glad you all enjoyed Emily's jokes. As you could hear, I can never not laugh when she's telling them. She loves jokes, & is constantly entertaining us with them. I'm sure she'll want to do this again very soon. And yes Toni, that was Elliot's voice in the background.

Denise asked me if that was my sister Jenny in the picture with me - yes, it was. She would be mortified if she thought I had put that on my blog, because it wasn't a good picture of her. I will have to share another at another time, to showcase her. She was 15 when I was born - I am the baby girl of 10 children. She always called me 'her baby', & still does, because she took care of me when my Mom had to go away when she had tuberculosis. She was hospitalized when I was 8 months old, & had to stay there until I was a bit over 2. I guess us kids couldn't see her, so my Dad would take us, park in the parking lot, & let her see us from her window. From what I understand, we didn't get to go often, because it was quite far. My sister says they would hold me up so that she could see me. My Mom said it broke her heart to have to be apart from "her babies". She was hospitalized (in a Sanitorium) twice for tuberculosis - the time when I was 8 months old, & before that she had to stay in for a year when Jenny was 2. I cannot imagine how hard that would have been for her - leaving behind her children & only being able to see them from her window. And for my Dad - to have to take care of all of us alone for that time. I asked my Mom once what that time of her life was like, & she told me that it was the saddest time of her life, & that her arms actually ached to hold us...she said that she would stand in the window & wave at us, but she told me what we couldn't see, was the tears streaming down her face. I'm sorry Denise - I told you a whole lot more than just answering your question about that being Jenny. She & I are not only sisters, we are best friends.

Yesterday was my shopping day, & today was cleaning day. Emily still loves to clean - I wonder if that will stop? I loved cleaning when I was a little girl too, so maybe she will always love it. I need to take a picture of her cleaning the floor 'Cinderella style'. She always wants a "rag", & she gets on her hands & knees to mop. Yes, we have a mop & I use it, but she wants to do it this way because that's how Cinderella mops. She also wants a "pucket" (bucket) as she calls it, because she says that Cinderella had one when she cleaned the floors. Tomorrrow she wants me to teach her how to mop with a real mop, to see which works better.

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing." ~Phyllis Diller~



   

Grateful for laughter

Wednesday    August 11, 2010

Today was our Costco run, & of course I left there with much more than I had set out to get. It's very hard to resist some of their deals that they get in. Elliot & Emily sure had fun - they love the free food handouts, & they ate their way around the store. So much so, that they were too full for dinner when we got home, so we ended up having to eat late.

One of my sister's childhood friends recently moved back to the hometown, & contacted her. She wanted her to come over & go through some of their photos, because she knew they had some of my family. Jenny (my sister) was thrilled to find quite a few, & will be going back to look through more. This is perfect timing for sepia Wednesday. This is one of the ones she found - can you guess who the little girl is? Yes, it's me -



It looks like I ate well as a child.

Emily learned some new jokes this morning, so she wanted me to film her & "put it on the computer for our frends to see." I know these are old jokes, but they are new to her. Each time she tells jokes, she makes herself laugh, as you will see. Enjoy being entertained by this 4 year old comedian -



"A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs - jolted by every pebble in the road." ~Henry Ward Beecher~



   

Grateful for rainy memories

Tuesday    August 10, 2010

Saturday afternoon it looked as though we might get rain, & Emily was so excited. We so seldom get it here, so when it rains it's a big thing. Especially to her. She would check out the window every half hour or so, & even though the skies looked like rain any moment, it never came. She was so disappointed. I put her to bed that night, & about midnight I heard the unmistakable sound of a 'huge' downpour, & I mean huge! It was pounding hard against the windows. I knew after Emily's hoping & praying for rain, that I had to wake her up. And that's what I did. I woke her, carried her to our balcony, & we stood outside in the pouring rain. Yes, at midnight. And yes, in the rain. I think it was sent just for her, because it went as quickly as it had came. Within 10 minutes, it stopped. It was so worth it waking her. I love making memories, & that night standing in the rain at midnight, was definitely a memory! I thought she might have trouble getting back to sleep, but she was having sweet dreams within 10 minutes of me putting her back in bed.

Tonight while we were eating dinner, Emily said "Elliot, do you know why Daddy has to work so hard?" He replied, "So that he can buy our food, our clothes, our car, & our home." Without missing a beat, she said "Well, that's all true, but the real reason is because Eve listened to that serpent & she ate the friut. Then Adam ate that fruit in the garden when God told them not to eat it. So because he disobeyed God, all the 'mans' in the world have to work hard now, & they sweat when they work." She then stuck her index finger out at him & said "Elliot, you better not disobey God!" She cracks us up.

Emily had left her beanie toy on the couch, & this is how we found Tinkerbell taking her afternoon nap today - arm wrapped around it -





Isn't that the cutest thing??? She is the sweetest little cat - soooo tiny!

"Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    August 9, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Click on the link to the left if you'd like to visit. Two new sig tags are at link to the left. If you want one or both, specify hair & eye color. See you back here tomorrow. Hugs!



   

Grateful for this weeks end

Friday    August 6, 2010

I am one that never takes a moment for granted. I 'love' life - every little (& big) thing about it. I love each day, & try to live each day to the fullest. Having said that though, this is one week that I won't be sad to see end. It's not been the best of weeks. Finding out that my nephew had died last Saturday, & trying to help my son through the pain of Lisa leaving him has been so sad & difficult. Seems like each time we would feel that things would be okay, she would throw something else at us. It's not been fun. He's getting more discouraged each day at not getting to see his daughter. 'We' are getting discouraged. And yet, we hope.

I'm sorry that I've not been around visiting this week. With so much going on, it was difficult to fit it in. I do want to stop in & visit you all this weekend. I need that - just to touch base & see how your week has went.

As always, Elliot & Emily kept me smiling today. Elliot with his antics of being a superhero. He gets so involved, he 'really' thinks he is one! He told me that he wishes he really was one, so that he could fly around & help me do things really fast. And Emily - she played the part of an angel all morning today. Little does she know, that to me, she 'is' an angel. She saw Shad sitting, & it was obvious he was very sad. Her in her wings, softly tiptoed over to him, & she asked "Shad, are you okay?" She then gave him a big hug, & she said "I can pray for you Shad. My prayers always help." And she did pray, & he said that they 'did' help. A little later, she had moved onto building something with blocks, & I noticed that she had hung up her wings. It made me smile, & of course I had to capture it & freeze this memory -



Elliot suggested that we have our slumber party tonight, even though it's supposed to be a couple more weeks until our next one. We thought that was a great idea! So off we ran to the store, & let them chose their slumber party treats. They chose pizza for the slumber party meal, so that's finshed, & now we're ready to start our fun evening. Shad is invited, & we hope he has fun. I know he will - you can't help but have fun on these nights. I'll see you back here on Monday at My Simple Woman's Daybook. Have a wonderful weekend. Hugs!

I had to come back here tonight. I mentioned above that this hadn't been the best of weeks, & how it was a week that I would not be sad to see end. After having our slumber party with Elliot & Emily tonight, I take that back. It still wasn't the best of weeks, but what a sweet way to end it. I 'was' sad to see tonight end. To have our home filled with the squeals of laughter as we played games or played silly, to see utter joy & excitement over every little thing tonight, & to be told that this was "the best night ever" put a glow on this week. What a wonderful ending!

"We're all kissed by angels but some of us never think to pucker." ~Terri Guillemets~



   

Grateful for the hope of seeing Avery soon

Thursday    August 5, 2010

We had to run out for awhile today to do a bit of shopping. We had hoped that Avery would get to come over tonight, so seeing as she is Dora crazy, we bought 4 Dora dvd's. We were all so excited, & had planned on going out to eat before we settled in for Dora. She didn't get to come, so we're hoping that tomorrow will be the day. We won't be able to celebrate Shad's birthday tomorrow either, because we have to give a 24 four hour notice for the cake. That won't matter though - if she comes tomorrow, we'll order it for Saturday. It will be celebration enough just to get to see her.

Elliot & Emily want to make a Starbuck pitstop every single time we go out now. The new favorite drink for them is the Vanilla Bean Creme frappuccino. I'm mentioned that Emily always asks them to draw a heart & a smiley face on her cup. Today Elliot decided that he would ask them to draw something on his. I thought it would be something simple, but he asked them for a dinosaur. The barista said he would do his best, & he didn't let Elliot down.



We had a relaxing evening. Mike had to work, so Shad & I went out to eat with Elliot & Emily. Shad feels so lost without Lisa & Avery, & I hurt for him. After dinner, he had to go on to his volleyball league game, & the kids & I came home & relaxed. Emily wanted me to read stories, so after about 12 of them, it was bedtime. Right before bed, she saw a moth & was concerned it was going to follow her up to bed. She wanted to know what they eat. She 'loves' butterflies, but she's afraid of moths.

"Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." ~Garth Brooks~



   

Grateful for birthdays

Wednesday    August 4, 2010

Today was my son Shad's birthday. He didn't get the gift that he had wanted more than anything, & that was to spend it with Avery. We are hoping that he'll get to see her tomorrow or Friday. If so, that is when we will really celebrate his birthday! We all want her included...afterall, this girl 'loves' to party & eat cake! This picture of her trying it for the first time, can attest to that -



We watched a movie tonight with Elliot & Emily - Ponyo. I had never heard of it, but Mike got if from Netflix. I was bored out of my head, & couldn't keep my eyes open. Maybe if I hadn't been sleepy to start with, it would have been better. Emily didn't like it either. Elliot loved it, but he loves movies.

Seeing as it's Shad's birthday, today's sepia Wednesday is 2 pictures of him taken when he was 2 weeks old. He is as sweet today, as he was then! Happy birthday Shad!





"Your birthday is a special time to celebrate the gift of 'you' to the world." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for family

Tuesday    August 3, 2010

Today was errand day, so we were out for most of the day. As we drove around in the 100 plus temps, Elliot tried to convince me that if we didn't hurry home, he was going to "melt". A vanilla bean creme shake from Starbucks prevented that from happening.

We had to do our grocery shopping too, & I always let Elliot & Emily choose a special treat. Elliot 'loves' Airheads, so that's what he wanted. He is laughing so hard in this picture because I told him a silly joke -



What do you think the little girl that has this word art in her bedroom, would chose?



She 'squealed' when she saw these!



She loved the rings - already, she is jewelry crazy



It didn't take her long to put a ring on her finger - she had to have one on before she began eating a cupcake -



I got some sad news Saturday night. One of my sister's lost a son. She always called him a "special child", because he was autistic, & she felt so proud to be "chosen" for the privilege of getting to raise him. And I felt proud to be his Aunt. He will be so missed.

As I was rocking & cuddling with Emily tonight, she said "Mommy, I know why God made me. He made me to give to you. He made me just for you."

"The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity." ~Seneca ~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    August 2, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Click on the link to the left if you'd like to visit. New sig tag is at link to the left. Hope you like him - he got into the strawberry patch & ate a few too many. See you back here tomorrow. Hugs!



   

Grateful for weekends!

Friday    July 30, 2010

Ready to see the winner of the giveway? As always, I'll let the pictures tell the story -




Emily's eyes closed 'real' tight -



Drawing the name



Trying to read the name - she told me that I should have printed it, because she can't read cursive -



Showing me the winner's name



Upclose view of the winner's name



Congratulations Susan!! I'll get your package out asap. Thanks so much to all those that joined in the fun. I'm already planning next month's.

Off to go out for dinner now. See you all on Monday at My Simple Woman's Daybook. Have a great weekend. Hugs!

"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." ~Victor Frankl~



   

Grateful for Minnie Mouse mornings

Thursday    July 29, 2010

Emily loves her Minnie Mouse jammies



so as we were lying in bed talking, I told her that we'd make it a Minnie Mouse morning & have Minnie Mouse pancakes. Okay - I know this is Mickey Mouse, but we 'pretended' it was Minnie Mouse. I just noticed too that this picture doesn't look so appetizing. They were though.



After breakfast, I decided to make this our 'big clean' day. It's normally on Mondays, but with all that went on this week, it got pushed to today. We 'really' cleaned. I got so ambitious I took everything out of our drawers in our bedroom & got rid of quite a bit. This led to other rooms too, & it felt so good to do some purging. When putting everything back in the drawers, I decided to switch things around a bit. Mike got home tonight, went up to change into his shorts, & after about 10 minutes, he called down "Where in the world are my shorts!"

In the middle of our cleaning, we decided that we needed to run up to Starbucks for a treat. Emily carried her Minnie Mouse themed morning into the day -



This boy was pretty happy with his trip to Starbucks - we all came home with cookies, & his new favorite drink is the strawberries & creme -



After our treat, Emily decided that she wanted to organize her crayons & drawing supplies. She was afraid that Tinkerbell would come try to get into things, so she said that she was going to draw a "scary looking, ugly spider hanging on a string", & she placed it by the door to the room. She thought this should do the trick in keeping her out. She told me that she hoped it wouldn't scare me as I passed it -



Did it do the trick in keeping Tinkerbell out? No.

Speaking of Tinkerbell - here's a picture of her & Emily this morning. She is so sweet. Look at those pretty green eyes -



Sorry that I shared so many pictures today. If you ever wonder why I tend to go on 'picture overload' on some days, it's because I want this blog to be a record of Elliot & Emily's days, & I not only want to tell them about it, I want them to 'see' it.

Don't forget the giveaway - still not too late to enter (see Friday's post). Emily will draw the name at around 4pm, & I will post the winner by 6pm. All entries up until 4pm will be counted. Can't wait to see who gets this one!

"Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don't do it." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for Princesses

Wednesday    July 28, 2010

Emily was a happy Princess today. She didn't know it, but I ordered her a Cinderella wedding gown jammies, & 'glass' slipper shoes. UPS delivered them today.



Of course, she wanted me to go to the ball (our dining room) with her, & at the strike of midnight, she flew to the stairs, & left this -



I then had to pick up the slipper, go knocking on her bedroom door, & try it on her to see if it fit. She never tires of playing this. She's already told me that we will play it again tomorrow. No complaints here, because life with a Princess truly is magical!

All Princesses must end their day in the royal bath, & she loves hers. And yes, it truly does say 'The Royal Bath' over her bathroom door. I love the wall art that adorns her wall by her bathtub -



For sepia Wednesay, I would like to share this picture of another Princess - Avery throwing a ball, that was taken in February.



Don't forget about the July giveaway (see Friday's post). Emily will draw the name on Friday, & the winner will be announced by 6pm Pacific time.

"The perfect shoes can change your life." ~Cinderella~



   

Grateful for talented friends

Tuesday    July 27, 2010

We had another fun 'slumber party' night. We got our snacks for ready for each of us - Mike & Elliot, & me & Emily. I had taken them to the store that day, & let them each choose their snacks. Emily is so funny when she picks hers. She only wants 'healthy' food, so peanuts was one of her snacks. She also decided to get a Reece's Cup - it's healty because it "has peanut butter in the middle, covered with dark chocoate, & dark chocolate is good for you." I told her that the chocolate on it is milk chocolate, but she's convinced it's dark. She'll also eat Almond Joys, because they have "a big peanut in the middle of them, & peanuts are healhty." Elliot has one criteria - sugar & chocolate! That's not a good mix with him because he gets hyper afterwards. Anyway, we got our jammies on, collected our snacks, chose our games & movies, & off we went to our rooms. Elliot was 'thrilled' that he got Toy Story 3 for the Play Station 3, so that made his night. These nights are going to be among our favorites nights in this household.

One of the sweetest memories of my slumber party with Emily, is my talk time with her. She had chosen a Wooly the Lamb movie to watch, & it dealt with the consequences of disobedience. After we watched it, she wanted to know if I had ever disobeyed when I was a little girl, & wanted me to tell her the story. As I told her, I could see her facial expression changing & her eyes welling up. All at once, she threw her arms around my neck, & broke down in tears. She didnt' like my consequences. She told me that it was too sad, & she was crying over what it had cost me. It took awhile to comfort her, & she felt better after I told her my happy ending a year or so after my consequence. I would tell the story here, but it might be too long. Plus, I don't want to be responsible for making you all cry too. She is so sweet - she will sometimes cry if I tell her a story about my childhood, because she didn't get to see it happen. Then she'll ask me if I have pictures of it so that she can see it.

I ordered Emily a pumpkin hat from Denise (click on her name to visit her Etsy shop), & isn't this the cutest hat???







We 'love' it!! She wanted to wear it out, but I convinced her that 113F was a bit too hot. She said she didn't care if her head got hot. Love this hat!

It's been a difficult week or two. Many of you have heard me talk about my DIL Lisa. She left my son last week, & it's been really hard. I wasn't going to mention it, because I was hoping she would come to her senses & come back, but I don't think this is going to happen. My son could sure use your prayers. My heart hurts for him & for Avery. I'm sad for Lisa too. It's sad to see this little family broken.

Don't forget about the July giveaway (see Friday's post). Only a few days away from drawing the winning name!

"Those who are brutally honest are seldom so with themselves." ~Mignon McLaughlin~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    July 26, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Click on the link to the left if you'd like to visit. New sig tag is at link to the left. Don't forget to check out the July giveaway - see Friday's post. See you back here tomorrow. Hugs!



   

Grateful for the blessing of giving

Friday    July 23, 2010

Mike only had to work till noon today, so he & Elliot did some things around the house while Emily & I ran out to shop for awhile. We decided that tonight would be their monthly slumber party, so after shopping, we ran by to pick up some snacks that each of them wanted for tonight. Then it was home to pick up Mike & Elliot, & off to Panera to eat. We also ran by Best Buy to pick up Toy Story 3 for Playstation 3. We thought that would be fun for Mike & Elliot to look forward to during their slumber party tonight. Two excited little ones here right now!

Time for my July giveaway! Instead of posting in my 'rules' here, if you haven't entered before, you can read my April 13th post to see them. I have decided upon a kitchen giveaway for this month. Ready to see everything? First is a snickerdoodle cookie mix & a peach ice tea mix -



A Willow Tree Angel of the Kitchen



A china tea cup with coaster/lid



Stoneware measuring cups



Two Yankee candles - Macintosh & Cinnamon & Sugar



Ganz measuring spoons



A $30 Walmart gift certificate to help you buy a little something to put in your kitchen -



Here's a group shop of all the goodies



If you want to 'enter', please leave a tag letting me know. Each & every tag you leave will count as another entry. If you give in some way, let me know just by saying "I gave", & that will give you another entry. I'll have Emily to draw the name before 6pm Pacific time next Friday, & announce the winner in next Friday's post.

Off to my slumber party now. See you all back here on Monday at my Simple Woman's Daybook. Have a great weekend. Hugs!

"All the so-called "secrets of success" will not work unless you do." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for quiet evenings

Thursday    July 22, 2010

Avery woke up bright & early - 4am was the first wake-up call, but she went back to sleep pretty fast. As I've told you, she 'loves' to eat - it's her life. Her first words when she woke up were "I'm hungry." I don't think you could ever feed her enough, & even if you did, she would tell you that she's hungry again within an hour. No wonder she is 2 1/2, & she wears size 5 clothing! She used to get Emily's outgrown clothes when she was a baby, but they have worn the same size clothing for awhile now.

She saw a picture in one of Emily's books & brought it to me, saying "Ummm! Cookie!" (Told you all she thinks about is food!). Here's the 'cookie' -



I didn't get to do a whole lot today except watch a few hours of Dora (Avery's favorite), play, & read stories. I think know that Emily felt a little bit jealous by the time Avery left. She said "You had to give Avery a lot of attention." I explained that she was a baby, but how in the world can she look at her as a baby, when she's basically the same size as her? Elliot said "She is a baby, but she's a really big baby! Like a giant."

Tonight I was cuddling with Emily & talking to her before I put her in bed. I looked down at her & saw that her eyes looked teary. I said "Baby, why do your eyes look like you've been crying?" She said "It's not sad tears, it's happy tears, because I love you so much." This little girl melts my heart 'everyday'!

I'm hoping to be able to announce my July giveaway tomorrow. Can't believe it's time for another one. Where are these months going???

"I'd give all wealth that years have piled,
The slow result of Life's decay,
To be once more a little child
For one bright summer day."
~Lewis Carroll, "Solitude"~



   

Grateful for time with Avery

Wednesday    July 21, 2010

Today was my errand day, but I had to cut it short because we had to get home to babysit for Avery. She got dropped off this afternoon, & she's spending the night with us. She's so sweet, & so funny. She lets it be known that she's arrived, no matter where she goes. She's a ball of energy! She loves this megaphone of Emily's, & for the first hour or two, she only talked yelled through it -



She had to have quite a few snack breaks - not to mention a large dinner. She 'loves' to eat! She attacks her food like she does everything else she does. Can you tell?



She loves Dora, so after we ate dinner, we all watched a Dora movie. If Dora is on, she sits down & gives her full attention -



After the movie, it was bathtime for the girls. They love getting to bath together! They both had their feet put up, & I couldn't resist getting a picture of their 'raisin' feet. Notice that Avery's feet are as big as Emily's, & she's almost 2 years younger -



These two are such sweet friends



Then it was on to bedtime snacks & a 'carnival' ride. 'Me' being the ride. I put my arms underneath their armpits & swung them around. They were squealing with laughter & saying "One more ride! One more ride!" All 3 went off to bed happy & played out.

"Any kid will run any errand for you if you ask at bedtime." ~Red Skelton~



   

Grateful for sisters

Tuesday    July 20, 2010

I found this post idea at another blog (thank you Mum!), so thought I would use it for today. Today I...

Got woke up early by a 'big' kiss from Elliot! It startled me, but what a sweet 'alarm clock'.

Had a wonderful morning visit with my son Brandon. I can't help but look at him, & wonder how my 'baby' sprouted up to 6'2"!

Read 'The Velveteen Rabbit' to Emily after breakfast.

Read her 5 more stories after that one - she 'loves' reading & books (just like me).

Made a quick sweep through the house. Not much to clean today, since yesterday was my 'big' clean day.

Called my sister Jenny to catch up (even though we talked on the phone yesterday..and the day before...and the day before...and, well you get the picture. Can you 'ever' tire of talking to your sister???

Chatted back & forth via email with my sweet British friend Linda. Hoping soon to be chatting face to face (right Linda???)

Went to a surprise 'birthday' party for me, thrown by Emily. (no, it's not my birthday, but I get a surprise party at least 3 times a week). This was my delicious birthday cake she 'built'



Was asked by Emily if I would like to see one of my 'presents'. She led me over to one of my Longaberger baskets & told me that she had wanted to make the lid look prettier, so she had drawn a picture of me & her on it...she was beaming!



Got to spend some time reading on my Kindle. I 'love' my Kindle!

Prepared a delicious Italian meal for dinner tonight. Elliot announced that I am "the best cooker ever!" Emily enjoyed it too, because she licked her plate.

Spent a relaxing evening with Emily while Mike & Elliot played video games.

"When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice." ~William James~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    July 19, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Click on the link to the left if you'd like to visit. New sig tag is at link to the left. See you back here tomorrow. Hugs!



   

Grateful for funnies from Emily

Friday    July 16, 2010

Today was another really slow day for us here. I got up with good intentions to clean house from top to bottom, but decided to let that go, & just enjoy my day with Elliot & Emily. We didn't venture outside at all - too hot. So it was an indoor day filled with playing games, watching a couple of their favorite movies, eating...all the fun stuff. Emily made me laugh today (as always). I gave them each a lollipop, & I only had two - a larger one & a smaller one. She wanted the smaller one, which was this -



Elliot looked at his wrapper & said "Oh goody! I got a strawberry one!" Emily looked down at hers & said "Oh no Mommy! I hope mine doesn't taste like wood, because I got a drum one." She then showed me the wrapper & said "See the wooden drums?" I hope that put a smile on your face, as it did mine.

She also told me today that she couldn't wait until she was big enough to reach the sink, rinse the dishes, & put them into the dishwasher. She then gave me a big hug, & said "Then you can rest while I do work, because you won't have so much to do." I've always let her help me, but she wants to do this all on her own. She does a great job, & has come a long way from this picture that I took when she was 1 year old. I was letting her help me put some small things in, & when I turned around, this is what I found -



I guess she must have thought her shoes needed washed too. I'm so thankful for all the picture memories that I have.

I will see you all on Monday at my Simple Woman's Daybook. Have a wonderful weekend! Hugs!

"We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~



   

Grateful for pj days

Thursday    July 15, 2010

After having to run out for some reason or another every single day for the past 2 weeks, we had a pj day today, & it was 'wonderful'! We slept in until 9am, had breakfast, cleaned up quickly, & then settled in to enjoy our day. A lazy day was so appreciated! After being out in this blazing heat (113 today) all day yesterday, we all really needed it. I don't want to wish my summer away, but I'm 'so' ready for fall. Elliot & Emily are even wishing for fall already. It's so hot, that it's not enjoyable to even go to the parks, so they are ready for cooler temps. Being Vegas, that's still quite a ways off though.

I think I lay wrong on my neck last night. It's bothered me all day, & has hurt into my shoulders too. I have kept an icepack on it off & on today, & that helps tremendously.

When my son Brandon came over the other night, he was trying to tell Elliot & Emily that he believed that his girlfriend was "the one". He then went on to explain to them how that meant that he loved her & wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Without missing a beat, Emily hugged me & said to him "Mommy is the one for me." She means it too - she loves me beyond belief, & it's so precious. I'll remind her of that statement in about 8-10 years.

"For you see, each day I love you more Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow." ~Rosemonde Gerard~



   

Grateful for a fun day with Elliot & Emily

Wednesday    July 14, 2010

Today was a whirlwind of a day! As soon as we finished breakfast, I took Elliot & Emily out for the day, & we ended up not getting back home until 9pm tonight. We have an outlet mall at the end of the Vegas Strip, & I wanted to take them out there to browse the Disney outlet (which they loved), & to ride the merry-go-round that's in the mall. They loved that too. It's funny how each child picks his or her favorite horse, & it must be 'that' horse. The lady that was operating it, said that 99% of the children that ride, has a favorite chosen before they get on. Some might settle if the one they want isn't available, but Emily will hold out until she can get hers, even if we have to stand in line 2 or 3 times. She called her first choice, her "American horse". It was decorated with the American flag on both side of her saddle. Her second ride, she called her "flower & angel horse". Her reasons for her choices? She said "I love America, flowers, & angels." Being a boy, Elliot went for the animal themed ones - a huge eagle, & second was a squirrel. After their merry-go-round time, we ate lunch, rode some arcade type rides, & shopped.

I decided to take them for a drive down the Vegas Strip while we were down there, & that always facinates them. They can't get over all the different themes - New York, Paris, the castle, the pirates, ect. Emily cannot get over the Statue of Liberty, the Eifel Tower, or a pyramid being down there. Today she said "I thought only Egypt had pyramids." Elliot asked me if we had one because we were a desert like Egypt.

Tonight we went out to dinner & then to see Toy Story 3. I wonder if I am the only adult that was happy the lights were out at the end, because I was sitting there crying?? I'm so soft-hearted, & it tugged at my heart. As Andy was giving his toys away, I looked over at Emily holding Lilly so tight (as she always is), & the tears came. She was fighting back tears too. We had such a sweet day today. As I was tucking Emily in tonight, she asked me "Could we start today over, tomorrow?"

I'll share two photos for Sepia Wednesday. These were taken today on our outing. I think the sepia effect goes so well with carousel photos.





"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." ~Nelson Mandela~



   

Grateful for God's protecting Hand

Tuesday    July 13, 2010

I am so late in getting here for today, so this is going to be a short post. My youngest son Brandon has been over this evening. He's had a rough past almost 24 hours. He wrecked his Harley last night, & thankfully he wasn't hurt - just a few scrapes & bruises, but it sure scared him enough that he just wanted to talk a lot out. He's only had his bike a few months, & was going to trade it in on Thursday for a car, so he's pretty discouraged right now. I think he's got the 'bike phase' out of himself now...he has no interest in ever getting on one again. He says that it locked up, so that is being checked. I told him that he needs to focus on the fact that he's okay, & by the time he left here tonight, he sees that.

Elliot lost another tooth tonight - his 5th. I am so relieved! He wiggled it 'all' day today, & wanted me to check it every hour. If he feels one loose, he wants it out 'now'. Brandon brought him over 2 new toys tonight in celebration.

A few days ago we were having spaghetti for dinner, & I wore on of my favorite white linen tops. Of course, seeing as I wore white, I got some on me. I looked down, saw it, & said "Oh no! I got sauce on my top, & it's my favorite!" Emily looked at it, & said "I don't think it looks bad Mommy. It's okay. Everyone will think you just have a little orange button on your shirt." Since she said that, I had to document it with a picture of my "orange button" -



"Feelings are much like waves, we can't stop them from coming but we can choose which one to surf." ~Jonatan Mårtensson~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    July 12, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Click on the link to the left if you'd like to visit. I posted 2 new sigtags today also - link is to the left. If you want one or both, let me know. See you back here tomorrow. Hugs!



   

Grateful for weekends

Friday    July 9, 2010

Today was going to be an all day at home day, but that didn't happen. Mike was coming home early to do some things with Elliot, so Emily & I decided to run out for awhile. We went over to Joann's & I found a couple more things to go in my Americana laundry room. For right now, this little pillow is hanging on my cork board -



I love this!



Not too bad for just a few dollars! I love the after holiday sales!

Even though Emily is only 4, I've been teaching her to keep a prayer journal. Of course I have to do all the writing for now, but that's fine. For each day, we date the page, she gives me her requests, & then we pray for them. I'm teaching her to put symbols beside the answered prayers - of course she chose a heart, & the date of that answer. I also have her to give me at least 3 things that she is thankful for on that day, & I write them in her 'blessings' or 'gratitude' section. I have her a 'praise' section too. Each journal will have an entire year's worth of requests, blessings, & praises. Today when we were out, I told her to pick out a brand new prayer journal notebook, & she was so excited about this. I think this little book will be so neat for her to be able to look back upon. It will be neat for me too. How I wish that Mom would have done something like that for me! Can you imagine being an adult & being able to look back upon the things that you prayed for, & the things that you were thankful for from the time you were 4??? I would love it! Of course, with Mom having 10 kids, that would have been a lot of work for her. Elliot hasnt' really wanted to do this yet, but I'm having him to start one too. He's getting excited about it also.

We babysat for Avery tonight, & for once she didn't run non-stop. She was tired, & wanted to sit for most of the night. She loves dressing up, & this is how she spent most of her evening -



Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. See you all at my Simple Woman's Daybook on Monday. Hugs!

"Prayer is as natural an expression of faith as breathing is of life." ~Jonathan Edwards~



   

Grateful for finds & birthdays

Thursday    July 8, 2010

Guess what I found today?



I called a HomeGoods on the other side of town, & they told me that they had one left, so the kids & I jumped in the car & took off to get it. It looks a little bare right now, but will soon have pictures tacked to it, & whatever else we decide to use it for. I am going to look for some Americana stick pins. I really do love this - it's quite large too - 44 inches wide, by 33 inches in height. My Americana laundry room is coming right along. Here's a few pics of some other things I've put in there - first is this Uncle Sam that I got at Michaels for $2. He was marked down after July 4th -



I got this for $2 also from Michaels, & decided to hang it on my laundry basket -



I'm not finished with this yet - I need to find & add some things to my shelf -



Gotta have a few of my Boyd bears in there!



I'm using this Longaberger Americana basket for keys. I might add too, that even with using a key basket, Mike is constantly trying to find his keys, because he never puts his keys here.



This is an Americana cow that my son Brandon got me for the 4th of July a few years ago...now she has a home.



One of quite a few Americana cross stitch projects that I have done -



I have always loved my Lang calendar holder, & this month's calendar picture really fits in -



This isn't really Americana, but I wanted to share my Mickey Mouse towel holder that I got years ago from Disney. His home has always been my laundry room. I 'love' him!



Sorry for so many pictures, but wanted to share a bit of my home with you. The room looks really cute, & with the red washer & dryer, the Americana theme flows together so well.

Even though Mike's birthday isn't until next Thursday, we went ahead & celebrated it tonight since he will be out of town. We went to one of his favorite Mexican restaurants (Ricardo's), & I baked him the chocolate cake that Toni shared on her blog. What a yummy cake!! So rich! He loves chocolate, & I knew by the recipe that this was 'really' chocolatey(is that a word? If not, it is now), so he was in chocolate heaven. We all settled in this evening & watched 'The Wind In The Willows'. Elliot & Emily laughed & laughed at Toad's antics.

"Middle age is the time when a man is always thinking that in a week or two he will feel as good as ever." ~Don Marquis~



   

Grateful for my breakfast dates

Wednesday    July 7, 2010

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I had a date this morning! We got up early & went off to IHOP for breakfast. Normally they are packed for breakfast, even during the weekdays, but today it was quite empty, & that made it nice. If the meal is a 'face', Emily always goes for it -



I remember the days in which that was the meals that attracted Elliot too, but he's growing up. He now goes for the 'big boy' meals, because as he told me "I'm not little anymore. I'm a big boy." It was so sweet to sit there & talk to them about whatever they wanted to talk about. Life is just sweet with them!

After we left there, we spent most of the day out & about with errands & shopping. I wanted to go to HomeGoods to pick up a red framed cork board that I've been looking at for 8 months now. I liked it, but wasn't sure where I would put it. Well now I know where I want it to go. And now that I know, it's gone. They aren't sure if they will get anymore in, so now I 'really' want it. Why is that?? Since we bought the red LG washer & dryer, I've turned our laundry room into an 'Americana' theme, & it's really cute. Elliot & Emily call it our "America room'. I used to always have one room devoted to this theme, & decided on July 4th, to do it again. Anyway, I want that framed cork board to hang in there. Knowing me, I will fill it with pictures. I have 2 more HomeGoods stores to check tomorrow, so hopefully I will find one.

We can never run out without stopping in at Starbucks. Each time we stop, Emily gives her order, & then says "with a heart & a smiley on my cup please." At Christmas it was "a smiley & a tree". She once refused her drink last Halloween because they drew a little ghost on it. They then poured it into another cup & drew her "heart & smiley face".



For Sepia Wednesday, I want to share this picture of Emily & Avery. I'm sorry about the distorted flag - Avery wouldn't stop waving it.



"You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for good old fashioned fun

Tuesday    July 6, 2010

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. On Saturday, our neighborhood park put on an incredible 4th bash. It lasted all day, & ended with fireworks at 10pm. We watched those from our balcony, rather than deal with the crowds. The park is behind our house, so we have a perfect view. These aren't the best of pictures, but here's a couple of Elliot & Emily enjoying the show -





After having a cookout on Sunday, which seems to go hand in hand with the 4th in America, there were fireworks all over the valley, so we watched another 'show' from our balcony. We could see the Vegas Strip fireworks, as well as many more throughout the valley. Many have ask me how far we live from the Strip since I have mentioned that we can see the New Years fireworks & the 4th fireworks. We're about 12 miles away, so it's not like we are up close, but we 'can' see them. Especially with the huge way that they do them down on the strip. Here's a view from our neighborhood -



Does that make you homesick Linda?

Our neighborhood also had fireworks, & you could hear them still going off at 1am. We bought Elliot & Emily sparklers (which we had to search for, seeing as most places were sold out). Again...not the best of pictures because of the smoke from the sparklers, but I love Emily's face in this -



I decided to let Elliot & Emily have fun today like the type of fun I had as a child...I hooked up the good ol water hose with the sprayer, & let them run through as I sprayed them. They had the best time - good old fashinoned fun! I had bought a sprinkler over the weekend, but it was a bust...the water dribbbled from it instead of the huge spraying that the box showed. I wish I could have gotten pictures, but I was the designated sprayer, so it wasn't possible. Afterwards, I took them to MacDonalds. I did take pictures of that, but I will spare you.

Off to bed now, because I have a morning date with 2 little ones at IHOP. See you back here tomorrow.

"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability." ~Sam Keen~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    July 5, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. It was Emily's turn today, so enjoy this post from a child's eyes. I posted 2 new sigtags today also. If you want one or both, let me know. Specify hair color for the girl. See you back here tomorrow. Hugs!



   

Grateful for America & freedom

Friday    July 2, 2010

Today was a really relaxing day. Mike took the day off, & he & Elliot have been having their fun - video games, eating, movies, ect. That left Emily & I to have our girl fun. Girl fun usually involves going out to shop (we did), going to Starbucks (we did), chatting away (we did), lots of laughing (we did), & eating some goodies (we definitely did!). She loves it when it's just the two of us, & Elliot loves it when he has Mike all to himself. This picture shows how much laughing we do, as she waits for our Starbucks order -



While out, she got one of these



In fact, I am being serenaded by harmonica music as I type. I have been serenaded a lot today. She's wanted one of these for quite awhile, so she's making up for all the lost time, playing it.

This afternoon I was able to print out quite a few pictures to put in frames. At the rate I take pictures, I'll never be able to have all the ones that I want out, actually put out. While I did this, Emily sat across from me doing this -



I've been working with her on the computer, & she's really picked it up quickly. She has her own favorites folder now - Sprout, Noggin, NickJr, PBS Kids, Disney, ect.

I'm off to digiscrap! Hope you all have a wonderful & safe 4th! See you all back on Monday at my Simple Woman's Daybook. Hugs!



"My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!" ~Thomas Jefferson~



   

Grateful for the fun of the 'terrible twos'

Thursday    July 1, 2010

Emily 'loved' Lilly! She was so happy & excited. She always sleeps with her, so I took her out of the bed before I woke her. I wanted to be there when she first saw her. I led her to our living room, eyes closed, & then told her to open them. She started laughing when she saw her, & she kept saying "Lilly's fluffy again! Lilly's fluffy again! I love her!" She then wanted to know if I thought Cinderella (at Disneyland) would remember what she looked like, because she can't wait to show her again when we go back. It was so sweet to watch her with her all day - she was so protective over her. Her fear was, that she would get "squished" again. Here are a few pictures from this morning when she first saw her -





Giving her a kiss -







We ended up spending the rest of the day cleaning. I wanted to get all the things down from our 'school room' walls, since we'll be putting up new things in August. That led to me wanting to clean more. I was so ready to sit back & enjoy a quiet relaxing evening after we finished. Then I was reminded that I had said I would babysit -



Well, there went the quiet, & there definitely went the relaxing. That's fine though - she makes us laugh, & we love building memories with her. She is a little tornado. She wanted a drink, so in between me walking to the kitchen, & getting her cup, I hear this 'scratching' sound on the family room wall...as soon as I hear it, she says "I make wall pretty!" She had taken a pencil & scribbled all over one area.

Emily had the idea that if she got her Dr. kit, it would keep her busy, & it did. I had to be the first patient. Here's a shot that I look while lying down while she checked my heart (stomach) -




I asked her if I was well. She said "No, sick. Avery 'hassa' 'fick' (fix) you. Shot!" She then gives me a shot as only Dr. Avery could. She plunged the toy syringe into me like a knife, then she annouced that I was "ficked".

"Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for fluff & stuff

Wednesday    June 30, 2010

Today was my weekly errand day, so Elliot, Emily, & I were out for most of the day. It was blazing hot, so we would have much rather been relaxing at home. Elliot loves plaing XBox & Play Station 3 now, so he was one happy boy when I asked him if he would like to stop in at Game Stop. He found him a new game, & that made his day. He & Emily (& me) needed to cool off, so we made a pit stop into Starbucks, then on to home to get things ready for a cook out tonight. In this heat, it's so much better to cook out as much as possible. That way, we avoid the heating up the kitchen.

I decided a few weeks ago that it was time for LillyTrixieLilly to have cosmetic surgery. I have tried to prepare Emily for this, by telling her that it would be nice if Lilly were 'fluffy' again, & if her head would stay up by itself again, ect. She wasn't too keen on this, & she would have 'really' not been keen on it, if she knew that this would involve 'cutting & stuffing'. I could have never let her know that. With the new washer & dryer, I told her today that they worked so nicely, that if we were to let Lilly have her 'bath' in them, it would help to 'fluff her up' again. So we 'bathed' her, & she wasn't quite dry when it was time for Emily to go to bed. She wanted to wait on her, but I told her that she would be dry very soon, & that I would bring her up when she was finished. I was hoping she would fall asleep, & she was fast asleep within 10 minutes. So tonight was the night - I put on my surgical gloves, & Lilly went under the knife. She did quite well. I cut (I don't know what Emily would do if she were to know that!) a little inch incision on her tummy, near her back legs. I didn't take one thing into consideration though. After stuffing her, she was so fat, that I couldn't get her underneath the sewing machine arm. I hadn't even thought about that! So I had to sew her up by hand, & try to arrange some of her raggedy flat fur over her incision. I hope that Emily 'never' finds that! I really plumped her up...so plump, that it was even difficult to sew her by hand. When you saw Emily holding her in pictures, you really couldn't tell her her stuffing had shifted from her neck & her 'waist'. That's because Emily always carried her with her arm around those areas. She was in dire need of fluffing up! Ready to see the before & after? Here's the before -





Here's the after -





Aside from her fur being loved flat, she looks like she did the first day we bought her. I sure hope Emily likes it. If not, I will put her under the knife again, & remove most of the stuffing. I honestly had mixed feelings about doing this - I was very torn...I love the 'character' that this little friend had devoloped, but I was afraid that she was going to be as flat as a pancake if I didn't take some steps to remedy it. Did I go overboard on the stuffing? Notice the bow on her neck? I couldn't tie it because her neck was too fat. I'll let you all know Emily's reaction.

Today for sepia Wednesday, I would like to share this picture of Elliot with a bit of color left in.



Seeing as I always end my posts with a quote, I thought it fitting to end with one from 'The Velveteen Rabbit', seeing the majority of this post was about Emily's constant companion. It's long, but so fitting, & I have always loved it. So sorry for this super long post.

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." ~from The Velveteen Rabbit~



   

Grateful for slumber party memories

Tuesday    June 29, 2010

Our 'slumber party' was a huge success! Elliot & Emily had so much fun, & so did we. We are going to do this once a month, but I don't think that is enough for them. Both of them ask a few times a day "when will our next slumber party be?" I take more pictures than anyone I know, but I ended up with only a few pictures of our night, & I regret that so much. It was hard since we basically had separate parties - Mike with Elliot, & me with Emily. I did get this one, after Emily called to me & told me that Lilly was eating chips -



We get a kick out of the things that Emily has her to do.

It was so sweet to be in Emily's room across from ours, & hear Elliot's bursts of laughter coming from our room. Mike said the same about Emily's laughter coming from her room. Elliot ended up coming into Emily's room at 9:30, to tell me that his "eyes were sleepy", & that he wanted to kiss me goodnight. And Emily? At midnight I finally convinced her that we really should go to sleep. She said "But there's still so much party to have." You would think after a night of games, playing, movies, stories, ect., that she would be more than ready to call it a night, but if she thinks there is an ounce of fun still left to be had, then she wants to have it.

This girl likes to have fun too -



She's doing her new thing here. She takes a bite of whatever she's eating, says "Ummmm! That's delicious! See?" She then opens her mouth as wide as she can to 'show' you that it's delicious. Not a pretty thing, but it makes us laugh.

"Children are not casual guests in our home. They have been loaned to us temporarily for the purpose of loving them and instilling a foundation of values on which their future lives will be built." ~Dr. James C. Dobson~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    June 28, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. I have a little patriotic siggy posted too - link is to the left. Hugs!



   

Grateful for slumber parties!

Friday    June 25, 2010

I'm going to something that I haven't gone to since I was a teenager. I'm going to a pajama party, as Emily calls it! We called them slumber parties when I was a teen. She is so excited! I'm going to spend the night with her in her room, & Elliot is going to spend the night with Mike in our room. We're planning food - snack like things. I'm not sure what all Mike & Elliot have planned for their night in our room - I know there will be video games, eating, & a movie. Emily & I will be playing with toys, watching a movie on Mike's laptop since she doesn't have a tv in her room, reading stories, playing games (not video games), playing dress up, & whatever else she wants to do. We're going to run out & let them each choose some snacks that they would like. I decided that this is something that Mike & I will do with them once a month. It will be a special time that I hope they will treasure as time goes by, & I know we'll build some wonderful memories with these 'pajama parties'. It's always good when we can give them one on one time. Anyway, both of them are 'so' excited over tonight.

Ready to see the winner of the Canon camera? As always, I'll let the pictures tell the story.

Names in basket



Emily drawing the name



She always tries to read the name



Showing me the name



Close-up of the winning name



Congratulations Kathy! You are going to love your camera! Please email me with your address, & your camera will be on its way!

Hope you all have a blessed weekend. We're off to let Elliot & Emily pick out some snacks for our slumber party tonight. See you all on Monday at My Simple Woman's Daybook. Hugs!

"What a child doesn't receive he can seldom later give." ~P.D. James~



   

Grateful for the sweetness of childhood

Thursday    June 24, 2010

I think it's official - Elliot is having a growth spurt. This boy is hungry. All. The. Time. Honestly, it borders on ridiculous. He will eat, & within an hour or two I hear "I'm hungry." He'll eat again, & within an hour or two - "I'm hungry." This goes on all day. This is how my days have went with him for about 2 weeks now. If he continues at this rate, I will have to buy stock in Walmart - I'm there buying groceries 2 or 3 times a week! He is such a sweet boy, & growing up so fast. I see changes in him since the beginning of the year. He has lost that little boy look, & that makes me sad. Emily made us laugh. She looked at me & said "You know what - I think Elliot is kinda getting handsome." I think so too.

I had to bath a mermaid tonight & get her out of the tub, dry her, & dress her. I wish I could have shared pictures, but it would have been hard since she wasn't dressed. It was so funny. She had me laughing. This mermaid, is Emily of course. She was really acting the part well. She kept kicking her 'tail' - or "big fin" as she calls it in the water. I can't even explain how she was holding her legs to make it look like she had one "big fin", but it was funny. After I dressed her, brushed her teeth, & told her "let's go downstairs", I was informed that memaids can't walk. Ever carried a mermaid flopping her "big fin" around wildly? She kept at this until I tucked her into a "clam shell" (a blanket) at bedtime.

My domain has a site tracker that details the number of visitors I get daily for each page on my website. I checked this out to see if it's really registering right, by checking certain pages, seeing the number of visitors, & then visiting that page a certain number of times. Sure enough, it showed my visits. One thing I find hard to believe, is the number of blog visitors it shows that I get daily. It shows that I got 377 visits to my blog today. Yes, 377! Yesterday, I had 294 visitors. According to the site tracker, this is pretty much common for my blog. That's so surprising to me. If this is true, why don't more people leave a comment? I sure wish they would, because I would love to get to know them. I have been enjoying meeting new people. Some have become new friends. There's some wonderful people out there! Friends waiting to be made!

Don't forget - Emily will be drawing the winning name for the June giveaway tomorrow. I will announce the winner via pictures by 6PM Pacific time. I can't wait to see who it is. If you haven't entered yet, see my last Friday's post. I'll check into my blog tomorrow before the drawing, to make sure that all entries are counted.

Did you notice I didn't post pictures tonight? Do you know how hard that was for me to do? See you all tomorrow with the winning name!

"We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~



   

Grateful for fun times

Wednesday    June 23, 2010

Today was my weekly errand day. We had to make a stop at Whole Foods - one of Emily's (& my) favorite stores. One of the reasons she loves it is because she has her very own cart there -



When it's check out time, she loves getting everything out too. She picked this up, & asked me "Would you please buy me this giant plum?"



After errands, we got home in time to prepare dinner. I fixed a family favorite - chicken fajitas. Remember the 'corn on the cob face', from yesterday's post? She is also wild for guacamole!



And no, she doesn't get that dirty when she eats it. She was helping me make it, & afterwards when she was trying to scoop the remaining bits out to eat, she decided that by sticking her face into the halves she might get more out.

Tonight for awhile, our entertainment was watching Elliot play video games. His facial expressions can get 'so' animated when he plays! After watching him awhile, I realized that I had to sneak & get the camera to record these times for him.







Victory!



Always fun times in this house! I won't do my sepia Wednesday this week. I think I've shared far more than enough photos for you all as it is.

If you've not entered the giveaway, please check out last Friday's post. I can't wait to see who wins!

"Every day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for sweet words

Tuesday    June 22, 2010

I had to get up bright & early today to accept delivery of these -




I 'love' them! I have wanted these cherry red ones since they came out. There was such an incredible deal on them, so we decided that we would put our Whirlpool frontloading washer, dryer, & pedestals on Craig's List, & if they sold we would get these. We had 10 people that wanted them within 10 minutes. I think laundry will be fun for awhile.

Can you guess one of the things we did yesterday?







Can you tell this child loves corn on the cob, & do you see why she has to wear a bib when she eats it?



Elliot has loved the way I smell from the time he was old enough to voice it. The other day, he was sitting beside me & after giving me a big hug, he said "I love the way you smell! You smell like an angel!" I smiled & said "How do you know what an angel smells like?" He replied "I don't know, but I bet they smell like you." I treasure all these little everyday memories.



"You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again." ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762~



   

Grateful for a new season

Monday    June 21, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. New summer sigtags are at link to the left. If you want one or both, please let me know. Also - please don't forget the June giveway. Info on that is in my Friday's post. Hugs!



   

Grateful for the blessing of giving

Friday    June 18, 2010

I woke up early & decided to run down to my doctor to pick up some vitamins that I just ran out of. He's on the other side of town, so depending on traffic, it can take me 45 minutes to an hour to get there. I called him a dozen times before we left so that they could have them ready to go when I got there, but each time I got a busy signal. When we got there, he was closed for the day. I 'took lemons & made lemonade' though - no need to complain or get upset. We shopped for awhile in the area, & the kids had fun. They said that I "make everything fun"...wonder if they will still think that in a few years? I hope so.

When we got home, Emily wanted to work on a 'card' for Mike for Father's Day. It turned out to be more of a drawing. She tried to fit in things that he likes. She put him & her in there, & notice LillyTrixieLilly? Up in the right hand corner, is Mickey & Minnie Mouse. I think it's so sweet -



I took a picture of the back, because she ran to me so happy, saying "I learned to make the 'and' sign!" -



I'm not sure what we are going to do for Father's Day. I was going to prepare him one of his favorite meals, but we might cook out. It seems like the 'guy' thing to do for him.

Ready for the June giveaway? I really debated on this one, because I wasn't sure how it would be taken, since this is something that has been used. It's like new condition though. I'll put it out there for anyone that might want to enter. If you don't want it, but have a family member or friend that would love to have it, feel free to join in. Ready to see it?





You've all seen the pictures that I have taken before I got my new digital SLR, so you know it takes good pictures. I haven't taken a picture with it since I got my new one, & I don't think I will. Mike & I talked about it, & I really don't want to go through the trouble of selling it, & he agreed with me when I told him that it would be fun to offer it on my blog as a giveaway. It's a Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital Elph - 8 megapixels. It's one year old. Here's a link (click on the word 'link') if you would like to read up on it...you can click on the brown color to maybe see it a bit better. Once again, since it's a single item, I can't have my normal 'rules' - which is that you have to give something from the giveaway in order to 'give back'. The other 'rules' still apply - if you want to enter, let me know in your comment. Each time you visit & leave a comment, will give you another entry. If you give in some way, that also gives you another entry. You don't have to tell me what you gave, just state 'I gave' in your comment. Emily will be drawing the name next Friday before 6PM, & we always look so forward to announcing the winner. I hope lots of you join in the fun!

Have a wonderful weekend! I'll see you all on Monday at My Simple Woman's Daybook. Hugs!

"There is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving." ~Henry Drummond~



   

Grateful for craft ideas

Thursday    June 17, 2010

When we went to the store yesterday, Emily saw some buttons in the craft aisle that she loved & wanted. I told her that I didn't know what we would use them for, so we decided to wait until we came up with something. As we were walking out of the aisle I saw a small purse, & I asked her if she would like to get it so that we could make it a project by sewing the buttons on it. She loved that idea. I let her decide the button placement, & I think she did a great job on it. It's not a crafty craft like you see on some of the craft & homemaking blogs, but we think it turned out really cute. She loves it. Here's the front & back 'before' pictures -





Here's the 'after' pictures -





While there, we saw so many buttons that were super cute, & she wanted a lot of them. I think we'll go back & get another purse & some different buttons & do another one. Maybe I'll pick up a t-shrit for her & do something with buttons on it too. When's the last time you looked at buttons? There are some amazingly cute ones! My DIL Lisa has a real thing for buttons, & has tons of them, & I think I get it now.

"There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm." ~Willa Catha~



   

Grateful for my kitchen helper

Wednesday    June 16, 2010

Today was such a busy day. It was my errand day, plus we decided that we were going to cook out tonight, so that meant a trip to the grocery store too. I picked up the ingredients to make a dessert, & surprised Emily with something that I've had hidden away for a few weeks now. As you know, she 'loves' helping me cook, so she was so thrilled when I presented her this little something from the Martha Stewart children's collection -



No, nothing's wrong with her left foot in the picture. That's her 'modeling' pose.

She was squealing "A chef's hat! A chef's hat! My very own chef's hat!" It was so sweet. Only problem is, remember how she believes with all her heart that she can now drive a 'real' car, since she can now keep her battery powered Princess car on the sidewalk? Well now she thinks she can bake & cook everything. All by herself. After eating the desset tonight, she informed me that she wants to make it again, but this time she wants to do it all. I always let her help me in the kitchen, & she did really great today. This was the first time that she was able to break an egg without crushing it -



She was stirring so fast - see the blur of her hands -



Of course, she had to keep watch on her cake -



If you are interested, here's a Smilebox recipe card with a couple more pictures of the 'chef' -

Free digital recipe page created with Smilebox

Today for Sepia Scenes, I'm sharing another photo of Chef Emily - one sepia, & one sepia with some color left in -





We ended our day with another relaxing family evening. Shad & Lisa bought some ice cream & root beer for root beer floats again. These are Elliot's favorite. He wanted to watch a movie, & he ended another day with his belly laughs. When something is funny to him, his loud laughter fills this home. Such a sweet sound.

"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence." ~Frederick Douglass~



   

Grateful for scraping memories

Tuesday    June 15, 2010

After having a lazy half a day, the cleaning bug hit Emily & I, so that's how we spent our afternoon. When we were almost finished, she told me to not come downstairs until she called me, because she had a surprise for me. I waited till I heard her call up to me to follow the papers with "pointers" on them. When I started downstairs, I found a trail of these "pointers" -



This paper trail twisted & turned until I got to this -



She had told me that when I got to the paper (heart balloons with clouds) that would show me that she loved me, then to look over to my left. I did, & found this -



She had me a 'present' wrapped in the blanket. I told her to unwrap it for me, & this is what she had put together for me -



My flower is sitting on my desk now, & It makes me smile with the memory of the time she took to plan my surprise & to make the 'trail'. She's always doing things like this for me, & I love it. She's so precious!

After dinner tonight, we let the kids choose a movie. It was a relaxing way to end the day with them. Elliot laughed & laughed, & when he laughs, he 'laughs'. What a sweet way for a child to end his day - an evening of belly laughs.

I'm off to work on a digi-scrap page. I got my digital scrapbook things all organized on my computer this morning, & it will make it much easier to find what I want, when I want now. I have really fallen in love with this hobby again. So much so, that I've been staying up till past midnight each night to work on a page. Once you start on a page, it's so difficul to pull yourself away from it. Elliot & Emily are always so excited to see what I've done each morning. See you tomorrow!

"Just as pieces stitched together in a quilt warm our bodies, scrapbooks bind together memories to warm our hearts." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    June 14, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. I have 4 patrotic/4th of July sigtags to offer - really cute ones. Link is to the left. If you want one, two, three, or all, let me know. Hugs!



   

Grateful for a cool weekend

Friday    June 11, 2010

The kids & I woke up this morning ready to attack our housecleaning with gusto. Well...I take that back - Emily & I were ready to attack. Elliot was trying to get out of more work as soon as he finished in his room. He is greatly opposed to cleaning house.

Mike surprised us by coming home for the day at noon. He also surprised us with this -




We also surprised him. We had just finished eating. Any other time I would have been thrilled, but today of all days, we ate early. Emily said that she could eat "just one fry". Elliot looked pained, & said "I'll try to eat my hamburger, but I don't know." I said I couldn't eat a bite, & I'm embarrassed to report that I ate my entire cheeseburger & nibbled on fries. If you've ever had In-N-Out, you would understand. Needless to say, I didn't want dinner tonight.

I am so happy tonight! Our high temp is supposed to be 79 tomorrow! If only that could stay awhile, but we'll be right back up to 'blazing' in a few days. I will take as many days as I can get of this cooler weather.

I've been having fun doing some digital scrapbooking pages tonight. So much fun, that I went shopping online & purchased quite a few more kits. I haven't been able to do as many as I would like lately, but my new goal is to do at least 3 pages per week.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I'll see you at my Simple Woman's Daybook on Monday. Hugs!

"Time is what we want most, but... what we use worst." ~William Penn~



   

Grateful for snips & snails, & puppy dog tails

Thursday    June 10, 2010

There's something so sweet about the relationship between a little boy & his dog. Elliot 'loves' our dog that he claims as his own. From day one, he has been her buddy. Since this blog is a record of our days & a place that I share & keep so many memories about Elliot & Emily, I decided to devote this post to a poem & a few pictures of him & his 4 legged friend.

A Boy and His Dog
Edgar Guest

A boy and his dog make a glorious pair:
No better friendship is found anywhere,
For they talk and they walk and they run and they play,
And they have their deep secrets for many a day;
And that boy has a comrade who thinks and who feels,
Who walks down the road with a dog at his heels.

He may go where he will and his dog will be there,
May revel in mud and his dog will not care;
Faithful he'll stay for the slightest command
And bark with delight at the touch of his hand;
Oh, he owns a treasure which nobody steals,
Who walks down the road with a dog at his heels.

No other can lure him away from his side;
He's proof against riches and station and pride;
Fine dress does not charm him, and flattery's breath
Is lost on the dog, for he's faithful to death;
He sees the great soul which the body conceals--
Oh, it's great to be young with a dog at your heels!



















"Give a boy a dog and you've furnished him a playmate." ~Berton Braley~



   

Grateful for kids and the things they say

Wednesday    June 9, 2010

Today was supposed to be a lazy day for us, but it ended up being that way for only half of the day. Mike came home early & we ran out to eat & to do a few things. After we got home, he & Elliot watched a movie while Emily & I had our girl time that she so loves. She has wanted a hammock for so long, so I had to help her rig one up tonight. It wasn't easy with a blanket, a coffee table, & couch, but she had a little hammock for awhile. It was so funny, because she had to lay very still, or it would have come down with her. So there she lay, hands behind her head, as still as a mouse. She kept saying "I can't believe I finally have a hammock!" I should have taken a picture.

Today for sepia scenes Wednesday, I want to share this picture of Emily. She loves finding dandelions & blowing on them. I left the dandelion color & the color of Lilly in -



I mentioned Emily & my girl time. We normally end that time with either a bubble bath together at her request, or a shower. She loves this time, & so do I. We talk about whatever she wants to talk about, or we play whatever she wants to play - we make it a fun time. I have so many sweet memories of this time of ours together. She makes me laugh so many times by the things she says. In ending this post, I will share word for word, a little part of our conversation while we showered. She had a few of her toys in the shower & dropped one, & had to go behind me to get it. I hear this little voice back there -

"Mommy, when you were a tiny little girl, did you have a little rump?"
"Yes. Everyone has a little behind when they are tiny Emily."
"Oh. Cause it's really big now."

Maybe I will stick with the bubble baths with her from now on.

"Pretty much all the honest truth telling there is in the world is done by children." ~Oliver Wendell Holmes~



   

Grateful for good food

Tuesday    June 8, 2010

Even though I posted on my Simple Woman's Daybook yesterday that I wasn't going to venture out into the 110F temps, I did. Mike called from work & said that he wanted to go to the Aliante Station buffet. They are having a 'buy one get one free' buffet all month long, so off we went. Elliot & Emily 'love' this buffet, so heat or not, they were happy. We rarely go to the buffets - we try to limit them to once every month or two, if that. While there, I started thinking that many of you have probably never been to Las Vegas & experienced a Vegas buffet. Before my sister came out to visit, when I would talk about them, she was thinking buffet as in 'Golden Coral', ect. When she actually saw a Vegas buffet, she almost fainted. Anyway, I am going to take you to a Vegas buffet today! To one of my readers (Linda), this will be one time that you go, in which you won't be ill afterwards.

Okay - ready? This is the view of the salad/fresh fruit bar as we walk into the buffet -




At some buffets, the food is divided into stations that focus on a region or theme. This is the American station. They have the carving stations here - prime rib, turkey, ham, ect. This is also where you get about every American style food you can think of. This is Elliot's favorite stop - he gets turkey, dressing, mashed pototoes, & all the 'Thanksgiving' fixings that go with it. Every. Single. Time.



Here is the Tex-Mex station, with chimichangas, tamales, enchiladas, fajitas, tacos, rellenos, & that's just a bit of the Mexican fare that you can enjoy.



On to the Italian station. This is Emily's favorite stop. She likes loves pasta alfredo, so she has that each time. She's not allowed to lick the sauce off of the plate here, & that is so hard for her. She also loves the pizza at this station. This is one of my favorites stations too.



On to the Asian station. I love this station too. So much good Chinese food to enjoy!



Next stop is the BBQ station. Notice Mike & Elliot to the left. This is their first station that they hit, before moving on to the American station -



Ready for dessert?





You can get hot dessert at the Pastries station - cherry cobbler, apple cobbler, lava cake, bread pudding, to name a few -



We can't leave out Emily's favorite desert from the Breyers ice cream station. You can choose every topping imaginable. Emily always chooses sprinkles. There's something so sweet about seeing a child peering through a case looking at ice cream -



Just to give you an idea of just how big these buffets are, here is a picture taken from the dessert station. See the BBQ station way down there on the other end?



This at least helps you to get some excercise to walk off a few of the calories that you might consume. Believe it or not, this buffet is smaller than some here.

I hope you enjoyed your buffet. I know this was picture intense, but I thought that for those of you that have never been here, you might enjoy it. After posting this, I think I'm ready to go get some lunch. See you tomorrow!

"Show me another pleasure like dinner which comes every day and lasts an hour." ~Charles Maurice de Talleyrand~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    June 7, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. I have a new look there! Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. New summer sigtag is also posted under the link to the left. Hugs!



   

Grateful for weekends

Friday    June 4, 2010

Elliot & Emily woke up ready to take off to the dinosaur museum as soon as we finished breakfast. They had added a new exhibit - 'Treasures of Egypt'. This included King Tut's tomb. It was interesting, but probably not really a big hit with 7 & 4 year olds. Although they did enjoy posing with a couple of things - the only reason Emily wanted to get a picture taken with these, is because they were "golden" -



Elliot enjoyed 'scanning' a mummy replica in real time, & view actual medical imaging taken of a real mummy -



Elliot was in such a silly posing mood. He had me to snap numerous shots like this -



After we left there, Mike asked them where they would like to go eat. Both squealed "Buffet!", so that's what we did. On the way there, we saw a horrible accident, & was so fortunate not to be involved. We were driving along the interstate, when all of a sudden a car behind us tried to get over 3 lanes to make it off an off ramp. He was going too fast, which made him hit a wall, which then threw him back into traffic. He missed us by maybe 15-20 feet, & it was scary! He spun around a few times, almost hitting a few other cars, & then slammed into another wall, & went onto his side. It was hard to believe that no other cars were hit. Luckily, the traffic was pretty well spaced out. It was surreal that the accident happened before our eyes. It shook Elliot & Emily up, & us too.

The heat was so brutal today, that once we got home, we didn't want to move. Except for Elliot. He wanted to go over to Lisa's parents & swim with her & Avery -



There's a heat advisory out until Monday, so I am hoping we can stay inside & stay cool. This is the first heat advisory of the year, but there will be quite a few more with summer coming up. The saying you always hear in Vegas, is "but it's a dry heat"...when it hits, 'dry heat' or not, it's not fun.

See you all on Monday at my Simple Woman's Daybook. Have a great weekend. Hugs! "If you cannot be a poet, be the poem." ~David Carradine~



   

Grateful for happy days

Thursday    June 3, 2010

We spent the morning at the park today. It was so hot, so I thought it would be fun to take Elliot & Emily & let them play in the water -







Does he get bigger each time you see him? -



I love this one with her in mid-air -



They had so much fun, but even the water didn't cool them down enough. They want to do something fun indoors tomorrow, so we are going to go once again to the Dinosaur Museum. They love going there, & never tire of it. Mike has taken the day off, so there is a little boy that is super excited.

After baths, lunch, & popsicles, Elliot played video games with Mike, & the Princess wanted to take her 'car' out for a spin -





She can drive it now without zig zagging all over the place. She is so happy that she can keep it on the sidewalk (so am I). She was driving along, laughing, & said "Look Mommy! I can drive good just like you now!" She actually believes that she can drive now...a 'real' car. And she wants to give it a try. Tomorrow.

After a dinner of pasta (alfredo for Emily), bread & salad, an evening walk, The Bee Movie, & scoops of ice cream during the movie, we had 2 tuckered out children. They were more than ready for bed, so that they could be ready for their outing tomorrow. There's never a dull moment here. Life is so sweet with them!

"“One of the most obvious facts about grown-ups to a child is that they have forgotten what it is like to be a child." ~Randall Jarrell~



   

Grateful for air conditioning

Wednesday    June 2, 2010

Today was my weekly errand day, & that seems to always end up taking half the day. Elliot is such a homebody, that he asks every 15 minutes or so if we can "please go home now". I hope he always loves home as much as he does now.

It is full fledge summer weather here now, with temperatures nearing 100F. On Friday were are supposed to top 100 - it will be 105F. Once we hit these temps, our air conditioner never shuts off, which brings a hefty bill with it. But this is desert living, so what do you do but pay the price.

For sepia scenes Wednesday, I am going to share this picture of Emily that was taken in April. We had come out of a restaurant & I was getting some shots of her. She was walking along merrily, & then sighed & said "I wish my shadow would stop following me everywhere!" It's not that great of a photo, but it is memory that will always make us smile -



"Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still." ~Dorothea Lange~



   

Grateful for caring friends

Tuesday    June 1, 2010

Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of my brother's death. I expected the day to be a bit hard, but not as hard as it was. Tears were never far from the surface. I also found that some of those feelings followed me into today. Loss is difficult, & even though time does help soften that sadness, I don't think time ever completely heals those wounds of loss. I am feeling much better this evening, & I want to thank those that left me sweet comments & sent emails. Friends truly do help you get through hard days.

We had a relaxing Memorial Day. We decided last minute to go out to eat at Famous Dave's instead of our original plan of cooking out. Seeing as it had been a sad day for me, Mike thought that would be nice. Later last night we had root beer floats. I have taught Emily from day one about nutrition, & have never let her drink soft drinks. She kept saying "But I thought you always told me that soft drinks aren't healthy?" She couldn't understand why we were having them (I think I've taught her a bit 'too' well). Anyway, I made her one, & I had camera ready to watch her drink her first one. Here's her opinion of root beer floats after one drink -



Needless to say, she didn't like the taste at all, & only had that one drink.

When we were at Disneyland, I bought a Minnie Mouse dress for Emily & Avery, so this weekend I decided to try to get some pictures of them in them. Taking pictures of 3 children & trying to get them to look the same way at the same time, is virtually impossible! Especially when Avery is in the mix. She's such a live wire. Here she is alone, interested in trying to see me behind the camera -



Again with Emily. Notice how she looks 'at' the camera when I told her to look at Emily -



Here's a group shot. She had Elliot & Emily so tickled with the silly noises she was making, but at least she was looking at the camera -



Did you notice her 'tattoo' on her arm? She has to have one on each arm at all times. As soon as one starts washing off, she has to have it replaced. When she goes to a store, she will say "Avery buy tattoo". She is so funny.

I love this one of Emily (notice Lilly's hair/ear clip Denise?)



If you want a summer sigtag, don't forget to check the sigtag for this week. See you all tomorrow. Hugs!

"A child seldom needs a good talking to as a good listening to." ~Robert Brault~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    May 31, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. New summer sigtag is also posted under the link to the left. Happy Memorial Day! Hugs!



   

Grateful for the joy of giving

Friday    May 28, 2010

It's time to announce the winner of my May giveaway. Emily decked out her tiara for the drawing, by hanging necklaces on it, just in case you're wondering what in the world she's wearing on her head. As always, I'll let the pictures tell the story -

Names in basket, ready for Emily to draw -



All smiles - ready to draw -



Eyes closed 'real' tight, drawing the name -



Trying to read the name -



Showing me the name -



Close-up of the winning name -



Congratulations Alice! The Amazon online gift card is on the way to your email addy! Thank you to all that joined in the fun of this. I am already looking forward to June's giveway.

Since this post had so many graphics, I'll end here & wish you all a blessed weekend. See you all on Monday at my Simple Woman's Daybook!

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present." ~Babatunde Olatunji~



   

Grateful for playtime with the kids

Thursday    May 27, 2010

I was awakened this morning by a 'rooster'. Emily crawled up into bed with me, & did her best "cockle doodle doo!" It was so sweet to start my day like that. She made me laugh. That set the tone for the day - we had fun. As soon as we finished breakfast, we went outside to play for a few hours. Emily wanted to play 'Disneyland', in which we turned all of the play equipment into a Disney ride. Our trip to Disneyland is still talked about non-stop by them. After playing, it was inside for baths. It was very warm today, so I gave them a popsicle to enjoy while they soaked & played. I probably should have put the baths off, because we had lunch right afterwards, & watermelon followed lunch. I couldn't resist taking these photos in sepia & putting the color of the watermelon back in -







I was so happy with the American Idol results! I enjoyed the finale show. I will definitely miss Simon next year - I can't imagine it without him.

My saybox has been down all day. It was supposed to be fixed this morning, but that didn't happen. If anyone has tried to leave a tag, I'm sorry.

Emily is excited that she will get to draw the winning name for my May giveaway tomorrow. I will post tomorrow by 6PM Pacific time, so be sure to check in & see if you are the winner of the $100 Amazon gift certificate.

"All the so-called "secrets of success" will not work unless you do." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for blessings

Wednesday    May 26, 2010

For Sepia Scenes Wednesday, I want to share two photos. Emily said that we had to show both, so both it is. These are pictures of some of the flowers we took while at Disneyland. I did both, leaving some color in -





I love the leaving in a bit of color effect - espcially for flower shots.

I have to admit, I was very disappointed with the DWTS results. In my opinion, Nicole is a dancer - even though she says she wasn't, so of course she's going to do great with the dances & get all of these rave reviews. Evan had never danced in his life (or so he said), & he deserved to win. It seems so silly to put a 'dancer' in this competition anyway. It's unfair to the other competitors. I allowed Emily to stay up & watch the results - she wanted to see it in 'real' time, so knowing how much she loves watching, she got to be a 'big girl' & stay up. She cried so hard when Evan lost. What 4 year old gets 'so' into the competitors??? She loved Anna.

If you haven't been by since I posted my May giveaway, check out last Fridays' post.

"Don't expect anything original from an echo." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for sweetness of friends

Tuesday    May 25, 2010

This morning was my errand/grocery shopping day, which always ends up taking half the day. We go through so much fruit in this house, that I have to go 2 or 3 times a week just for that. Today was a good 'fruit day'...we came home with blueberries, strawberries, bananas, watermelon, pineapple, & cantaloupe. Did I mention that we eat a 'lot' of fruit in this house??? Lots of yummy smoothies to be made!

Denise, from Den's Daily Life has started selling some of her knitting on Etsy. I recieved my wash cloths on Saturday, & I 'love' them! They are so soft...very spa like & so beautifully packaged -



Along with those wash cloths, she had tucked a little gift inside the box for Emily...she knitted her the sweetest hat with a flower clip. She even included Lilly in this, which thrilled Emily beyond belief. Here she is hugging Lilly after seeing how cute she looked with her flower clip -



Isn't this the cutest hat?!



She hadn't seen what she looked like in the mirror, so I had her to close her eyes while I got positioned with my camera - here's her reaction upon seeing it on for the first time -



She is so in love with it (so am I)! If & when you decide to offer these on Etsy Denise, I have a feeling that you are going to be getting 'lots' of orders! It's adorable!



I'm looking forward to the finale on American Idol tonight. It's going to be a very close one. I also can't wait to see who wins the 'mirror ball' on DSTS tonight. I hope it's Evan.

Don't forget the giveaway! If you missed that, check out last Fridays' post.

"The fragrance of what you give stays with you." ~Earl Allen~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    May 24, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. It was Elliot's turn to answer the prompts. Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. New sigtag is also posted under the link to the left. Don't forget the giveway - see last Friday's post. Hugs!



   

Grateful for life & giveaways!

Friday    May 21, 2010

It was such a sweet day with Elliot & Emily. We were looking at our Smilebox slide show of our Disney trip (they could watch it 50 times per day!), & I began to feel so reflective. I told them "I wish we would have went slower & enjoyed every single moment even more." As soon as it was out of my mouth, I thought "I wonder how many of us will have that exact thought at the end our life?" I have always enjoyed life to the fullest. I'm one that has always been aware of how precious life is - it's a gift. The older I get, the more I realize that I want to live in the moment, & take it all in. Sad, but most are rushing through hours, through days - through 'years', & not really taking the time to savor their moments & their journey here on this earth. I love life with a passion, & I love to laugh & have fun, & if you are with me, 'you' are going to laugh & have fun (right Linda?). I find such joy in the simplest of things. I am trying to live in the moment more, to focus on it & not let my mind wander to what I have going on later. Anyway, since I had told Elliot & Emily that I wish we would have went slower, I thought it would be a perfect teaching opportunity. We discussed how we need to be aware of things, of life, of people, ect., & 'really' take it in. I said "Let's take a walk through our home, & I want you to walk slowly, look around, & take it all in. Look all around, up high, down low, look at everything." So off we went, & it really turned out to be a great exercise. One that I think will stick with them. It was funny & sweet, because as we walked through, there were more than a few things that caused them to say "I never looked at that before!", or "I never saw that before!", & that was in our own home! We went out later, & I continued the lesson. I tried to open their eyes to things, that even though they see them everyday, they probably didn't really focus on before, or give a second thought to. I may have carried it a bit far, but I made them pay attention to their meal too - to 'really' look at their food, pay attention to the taste, the texture, the colors, the smells, ect. They really did enjoy doing this, & I hope it does stick with them. I don't ever want them to take a moment or a thing, for granted. Sorry - I didn't mean to go off on all of that, but as I said, I've been reflective today.

Now, from that to this...it's time for my monthly giveaway! I couldn't decide between two things, so I am going an entirely different direction with this one. It's a simple one, but a good one! The winner will get a $100 online gift certificate to Amazon. I 'love' shopping on Amazon! The rules are a bit different with this one too. I always request that you give something from the giveaway to someone else, but I'm not requesting that with this since it's an online gift certificate. I do hope that you will give in some form though, & mention it in one of your tags. You don't have to tell what you gave or did (unless you want to), just say "I gave". If you haven't read my rules before, I explain the giving in my April 13th post. As always, each time you tag, will count as an 'entry', so if you visit & tag 5 days, you get 5 entries. Giving gets you an extra entry. If you want to enter, please let me know that when you tag the first time. I will have Emily to draw the winning name next Friday afternoon, & will announce the winner before 6PM Pacific time next Friday. I am excited about this! I hope you are too.

I think I babbled enough in this post. Sorry it went long. I'll see you all on Monday at my Simple Woman's Daybook. It's going to be Elliot's turn to answer the prompts. Enjoy your weekend & your moments - take time to 'really' absorb it! Remember to...

"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can." ~Danny Kaye~



   

Grateful for photo memories

Thursday    May 20, 2010

Will I ever get back to my normal routine after getting back from Disneyland??? I know I will, but it sure is taking some time. I think once this week is passed, & Mike is back on a normal work schedule, it will finally fall back into place. I sure hope so!

My son & a friend came over tonight, & we went out to eat at TGI Fridays. 'Drinks were on Mike', as I knocked over my completely filled glass of lemonade, soaking his lap in the process. We all gathered here afterwards & enjoyed our evening. Emily entertained us all, as she always does. Never a dull moment with her!

I have another Smilebox, but it is a bit lengthy. I timed the length, & it took me 9 minutes to watch it. You can click past all of Emily's Princess photos, since I put them in the Smilebox on my blog yesterday. I'm sorry it's so lengthy. I did my best to cut back the photos. I did pretty good (148 photos), considering I took 1000 photos. It was so hard to decide how to do this, & I finally decided that the Smilebox would be best. You might want to click on 'full screen' when you view it.

Personalize your own digital slideshow

"Indeed, man wishes to be happy even when he so lives as to make happiness impossible." ~St. Augustine~



   

Grateful for my little Princess

Wednesday    May 19, 2010

This entire week has felt thrown off balance. Not only am I trying to get back into the 'real' world after our vacation, but Mike works only half days this week. Today when he got home, we went off to Olive Garden to eat, & then made stops at Best Buy, Costco, & Wal-Mart. It turned out to be one of thoese days that I seemed to be out, more than I was at home.

I did manage to make a Smilebox of Emily meeting the Princesses at Disneyland. I will try to get more pictures posted tomorrow, but this is a start. I hope you enjoy watching this. You might want to click on 'full screen' when you view it. Also - if the slides move too quickly for you, if you click on 'pause', you can manually click through each photo -

A photo slideshow by Smilebox

Today for sepia scenes Wednesday, I would like to share this photo of Emily. She was waiting to see the Princesses -



I'll see you all tomorrow, with more photos!

"He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away." ~Raymond Hull~



   

Grateful for slowly getting back to my routine

Tuesday    May 18, 2010

I had meant to get some pictures posted today, but with having so many to go through, I'm still trying to figure out how to post a select few. I don't want to over-whelm with photos, & it's been quite a job to go through them all & sort through things. Not to mention the fact of me still feeling as though I am in vacation mode. I 'forced' myself to get back into a routine today, so it was a busy day of cleaning, laundry, & all of that 'fun' stuff. I'm sure it will take the rest of this week to fully get back into the groove of things again.

I will go ahead & tell you how we told Elliot & Emily about their surprise. We couldn't decide how to tell them, & we knew as soon as they saw the luggage, they would guess it. I decided to hide the tickets underneath a pillow on our couch, & after asking them what they thought our special surprise was, & their guesses (dino park, dino museum, a restaurant, Toys R Us, ect.), I told them to look underneath the pillow. Emily erupted in screams & squeals, & began jumping up & down, & running. Elliot kept saying "Disneyland?! Disneyland?! Disneyland?!" It was so funny. I am really disappointed, because I had filmed all of it to share with you, but it didn't turn out good enough to share. With the new camera, my memory card has to be a class 6 or more (I didn't even know there were different classes of memory cards). If not, the movie would do just what it did - stopping, choppy, static, ect. The camera records movies in full HD, so that's the reason it needs a class 6 or higher memory card.

I was also going to post the giveaway for the month of May today, but that will be pushed a day or two also. I haven't completely decided yet, but this giveaway might be a bit different, in that it might fall under the 'white elephant' category.

I'm hoping to have a few photos posted tomorrow. So I'll see you all then.

"Sometimes...when you hold out for everything, you walk away with nothing." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    May 17, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. New sigtag is also posted under the link to the left. Hugs!



   

Grateful for wonderful vacation

Friday    May 14, 2010

We got home a bit late, so just stopping here to let you all know that we had a wonderful time at Disneyland! I will try to go through my pictures this weekend, & post some next week. We are already wishing we were still there. It was such a great time. I brought a bit of Disneyland home with us, so going to go & have this now -



I can't wait to catch up with you all this weekend as I blog hop. See you all on Monday at my SWD. Have a great weekend!

"If you come home as happy as you leave, you have had a good vacation." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for getaways!

Saturday    May 8, 2010

We're in Disneyland! My Simple Woman's Daybook is posted for the week - Emily answered the prompts, so it was fun. Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. New sigtag for the week is also at the link to left. Happy Mothers Day to everyone! See you all on Friday. Hugs



   

Grateful for sweet surprises

Friday    May 7, 2010

I cannot wait for this vacation! This entire week has been filled with getting ready to go, & it will be so nice to be on our way Sunday morning. Elliot & Emily are so excited, & keep asking for hints. I told them today that I would give them just one...a big hint. They both were on the edge of their seat, wide-eyed, saying "Oh tell us! Tell us!" I said "You're going to have LOTS of fun! That's the only hint your getting." They both squealed with laughter. If they only knew! If you hear two big screams Sunday morning about 9am, it's probably them realizing where we're headed. As soon as we get on the interstate & pass the strip, they are going to know.

I got a wonderful surprise this evening. The kids & I were out when Mike got home, & when I came into my computer room, there sat a package on my desk. I asked him "What's this???" Grinning, he said "I don't know. Why don't you ask Elliot & Emily." They picked it up & came to me, grinning from ear to ear. Emily said "Happy Mommy's Day Mommy! It's not really Mother's Day yet, but we want to give you your present!" I had told Mike that 5 days at Disneyland was more than enough of a gift, but he said that this was from Elliot & Emily. So I opened it, & it was this -



I have been wanting a digital SLR for quite awhile now, so he thought it would be the perfect timing, seeing as we are going off to California for 5 days. I wish I had a bit longer to learn more about it before we leave, but I played around with it tonight & did okay. The picture quality is 'unreal' compared to my point & shoot. I LOVE it! Emily thinks she's getting my other one - she loves taking pictures, & actually does well.

As much as I love my camera - I love this more -



Emily found these in our yard, & picked them. She came in, hand behind her back, & said "Mommy, I have to give you something now, because if I wait till Mommy's Day, they will die." We put them in a little crystal vase. When she picks them, she leaves the stem in the ground, & takes the top. The photo was taken with my new camera.

After I opened my gift, we then went out to shop for a bit & ate dinner out, before coming home & settling in for the night. Tomorrow will be busy with getting packed & doing some last minute things. I am going to have to pack when Elliot & Emily are sleeping. If they see the suitcases, they will know right off the bat where we're going.

I'll have my Simple Woman's Daybook posted here on Monday - actually Sunday. It's going to be a bit different this week. I'm going to read the prompts to Emily, & she's going to answer them. I will be posting her answers. I let her answer one prompt last week, & began thinking how neat it would be to let her & Elliot answer these prompts, & see things through their eyes. Elliot will do his in a couple of weeks. This should be interesting, but really sweet. Other than that post, I will see you all next Friday some time. depending on when we get home. Have a wonderful Mother's Day!

"Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, since the payment is pure love." ~Mildred B. Vermont~



   

Grateful for words that warm my heart

Thursday    May 6, 2010

I cleaned house all day today...a major clean. We're leaving Sunday morning for Disneyland, so I have to leave the house spotless. I wondered if I was the only one that does that, but I emailed Dru, & she was doing the same thing. She's coming to Vegas, & I'm going to CA. At least we'll both come home to sparkling homes. Elliot & Emily have no idea that we're going. We told them that we were going to do something special, & they're both guessing the park. They will be so surprised! We try to go one or two times each year, & never tire of it. We're going to stay at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel this time. We can't wait! I'll have tons of pictures to share when we get back.

I have mentioned before how we start out every single day, with cuddling & talking in bed before we get up. This morning as I was cuddling Emily, I said "Emily, I couldn't imagine not having our cuddle time before we start our days. The day just wouldn't be right. " She replied "Me either. Our days would feel crooked." I 'love' the things she says...just the way she puts things. Have I ever told you, that she says the reason she hates to go to sleep at night is because - "I don't want to close my eyes, because I wont get to see your face." Most nights before bed, she tells me "I can't wait till it's morning, so that I can see your face again!" She does make me smile!

Emily also wanted me to post a picture of her new dress. She fell in love with this. She is curtsying in this photo -



Elliot rarely asks me to put post a certain photo, but he wants you to see this one. He wanted an egg for breakfast, & when I broke it into our egg pan, this is how the yolk looked -



Pretty fitting since we're going to Disneyland, don't you think? They both squealed with laughter at his 'Mickey Mouse' egg. Only problem is, they now think I can do this every time now.

Tinkerbell is fully recovered from her pie feast. It was wonderful seeing her play & be her regal self around the house again.

"I would not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum." ~Frances Willard~



   

Grateful for my fur baby

Wednesday    May 5, 2010

I had decided that today was going to be a pj day, & a time to catch up with things around the house. That was before Mike called me & told me that I had to take my car in to get it smogged today. We got ready, got to the smog station, & he called me & asked me if I had anything else I wanted or needed to do, because he was waiting on someone from the DMV to call him back. I told him that I could go to the mall & shop, so that's what we did. Our car is 1 year old, so it shouldn't need to be smogged, but the DMV had told us that it did. Anyway...it's been a run around, but they told him that it was a mistake on their part - that it didn't need it this year. I could have had my pj day afterall, but it worked out...I got some new clothes at the mall.

Tinkerbell was better today, but still not 100%. She didn't want to eat this morning, & she only ate about half of her dinner. As much pie as she ate, she's probably still full! I still cannot believe she did it. As I've mentioned, she is so tiny, & after she finished her pie feast, when I picked her up her tiny tummy was bulging.

Today is Sepia Scenes, so in honor of our little pie bandit, I did this photo of her in sepia. Isn't she a cutie? She's so beautiful, that she doesn't seem real at times. We are quite 'smitten' with her, pie bandit or not.



"A photograph is like the recipe - a memory the finished dish." ~Carrie Latet~



   

Grateful for productive shopping day

Tuesday    May 4, 2010

Today we finished up the shopping for Elliot's summer clothing. As soon as we finished breakfast, we took off, & was out for most of the day. I left here intending on being gone for 1 hour, & coming home with just his summer clothing. I ended up coming home with clothes for me & some more for Emily too. She found 2 summer dresses that she fell in love with. I got some Skechers Tone Up sandals. They are supposed to help you tone, firm up, & lose weight as you walk. I bought the Skecher Shape-Ups tennis shoes last year, & 'love' them. I wasn't even aware they made sandals, so it must be a new product.

Tonight, we went out for dinner at TGI Friday's. There's a big resin swordfish on one of the walls, & Emily calls it a "stick fish", because according to her "they stick you with their nose". Coming home to settle in for American Idol & DWTS was so nice after being out for most of the day.

Thanks to Tinkerbell, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night. We had family over last night, & ended the evening with coconut cream pie. I decided to go on to bed, & after I had fallen asleep, one of my sons came into our room & woke me, saying he needed to talk to me. It startled me, & then concerned me - I thought something had happened. He was in a panic. He had sliced him a 'huge' piece of the pie, & then sat it down for some reason. Twenty minutes later, he remembered his pie. When he went to get it, Tinkerbell had gotten it, & eaten over half. Her face was covered in whipped cream - it was all over her. He felt terrible, & was so frightened that it was going to kill her. He was so scared, that instead of waking me, he almost took her to the 24 hour animal hospital - he said he thought maybe they could pump her stomach. She's so tiny - 2 1/2 pounds, & I cannot believe she got into that pie, & ate that much. She didn't feel well all day. I called her vet, & she said that it would take her 24-48 to feel 100%. She's still not eating, but she's acting more like herself tonight. That's the first 'human' food she's ever eaten, & she obviously enjoyed herself immensely! Here's our little pie bandit -



"It is impossible for a lover of cats to banish these alert, gentle, and discriminating little friends, who give us just enough of their regard and complaisance to make us hunger for more." ~Agnes Repplier~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    May 3, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. New sigtag is also posted under the link to the left. Hugs!



   

Grateful for great start to the weekend

Friday    April 30, 2010

Mike took today off from work, & we have had such a relaxing day. He & Elliot played video games for most of the morning, while Emily & I had our girl time. Emily decided that she wanted to make LillyTrixieLilly look like she had pigtails -



How she loves her constant companion! It's so sweet. I have to admit, it wll be a sad day when she puts her aside for other things. She will always hold a place of honor in our home though. I will set her up with my collectible bears. Even with her being a dog, I think she would fit in just fine.

Emily then decided to take her hair clips & attempt to style her hair in pigtails. I thought she did great, seeing as this was her very first attempt at this -



Later, we made vanilla milkshakes for everyone. Yes, including LillyTrixieLilly -



After a majorly lazy fun day, Mike ran out to get us this -



We love In-N-Out! Or 'crabby patties' (from Spongebob Squarepants) as Emily calls the burgers. She won't eat them, so we thought if we called them that, it would make them more appealing. It did, for a few times. I guess it might help if she liked Spongebob, which she doesn't. The 'crabby patties' name stuck, so that is what they are. She will eat the grilled cheese from there, but her favorite is the strawberry milkshake, & these -



You can't tell it by this picture, but trust me, Elliot was excited over In-N-Out night -



Off to watch Toy Story 2 for the 100th time with everyone. It was Emily's night to choose the movie. She chose it the last time it was her turn too. See you all on Monday at my Simple Woman's Daybook. Have a wonderful weekend. Hugs!

"The stars are the street lights of eternity." ~Author Unknown~



   

Grateful for cooler temps

Thursday    April 29, 2010

What a weather change here! The winds have been blustery all day yesterday & today. I don't mind them - at least it has cooled things down here. Tonight it is supposed to get down to the 50's! It will warm back up to normal everyday temps next week though - 90's. I am going to enjoy every minute of cooler weather that we can get.

Emily loves flowers, & has been wanting to plant some seeds in her very own little flower pots. We picked her up 2 pots that were complete with the soil & the seeds. She was so excited - all smiles as she waited for her soil to get moist before she could put it into her pots -



Then came the reality - that she truly had to put her hands into the dirt! For this Princess girl, it was "yucky" -









She wasn't exactly thrilled about having dirt on her hands -





She finally got her seeds planted



Then she told me "I have to talk to them to make them grow, because I saw that on tv." You should have heard this 'conversation' -



She asked me "Are my hands going to turn green? Some people say that if you can plant flowers, it means you have green hands." I explained to her about the 'green thumb', & assured her that she needn't worry about her hands or her thumb changing colors. She's so excited to see if her flowers grow. She wants to check the pots a dozen time a day. I'll be posting pics as soon as we see growth.

"Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden." ~Robert Brault~



   

Grateful for photo memories

Wednesday    April 28, 2010

We all slept in till 9am this morning. I couldn't believe that Elliot slept in too. Emily will do this sometimes, but he has always been an early riser - sometimes as early as 6am...or even earlier. It was so good to get that extra sleep time. Great start to our day!

As soon as we ate breakfast, we got ready & went out to shop for awhile. We went to Homegoods, but left there without anything. When we were there last week, I saw 2 things that I wanted to think about before I purchased them. I decided that I wanted them, but they were sold out when I went back today. Things sometimes sell out quickly at that store, so it's a chance you take if you pass something by.

While out, I did buy something that I really didn't need. A coconut cake with coconut cream filling. It will be for dessert tonight. I tried to resist, but my willpower weakened. Mike 'loves' anything coconut, so it's really for him. I confess though - even if he didn't like coconut, that cake was coming home with me.

Today is Wednesday, so it's Sepia Scenes day. As you will find out, I am sure that 99% of the time, the photo that I make sepia will be of family. This week, I want to share this one of Emily. It was taken in June of 2008, & has such a sweet memory for me. I had been snapping shots of her (got about 15 in this setting), & all at once she did this little thoughtful look, & told me that she was thinking. I asked her "What are you thinking about Sweetie?" She replied "About how much I love you." I have so many memories like that, that I have been fortunate enough to have been able to capture a photo that went with it.



Off to enjoy a great evening with my family. We are going out for dinner (Chili's), then coming home to settle in to watch American Idol. I think the coconut cake will go very nicely with that! Hugs!

"For you see, each day I love you more. Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow." ~Rosemonde Gerard~



   

Grateful for end of bug

Tuesday    April 27, 2010

Emily's little bug didn't even last 24 hours. She woke up Saturday morning, wanting to know if we could go out & shop, so shopping we went! We ran to a local furniture store (R.C. Wiley), & bought a new coffee table & end table - from the Paula Deen collection. Which made us now want to get a new couch & loveseat to go with them. One thing always leads to another. Even though it's a furniture store, the kids love going there. I think the little cafe inside the store has something to do with it. They sell really yummy cookies! They also love the kids bedroom section - always new neat stuff there.

After we left there, we had lunch at Mimi's before we finished our shopping day. Emily found her a new dress & new sandals, that she fell in love with. She wanted to model them - this is her modeling pose -



She said that she loved the dress because it made her look like she was from "Hoo-Wa-Wii".

The stomach bug that started with Avery & stopped to visit Emily, got Elliot last night. Whatever it is, it's very strange. Playing one minute, & then 'getting sick' the next, with no warning in between. It hit him out of the blue, just like it did with Emily. We were eating & talking, & he got this look on his face, & said "My stomach is feeling weak". A minute later he was running to the bathroom. He was fine this morning after a good nights sleep.

New sigtag for the week is at the link to the left. Hugs!

"A lie has speed, but truth has endurance." ~Edgar J. Mohn~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    April 26, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. Busy, busy weekend, so new weekly sigtag will be posted tomorrow. Hugs!



   

Grateful for weekends!

Friday    April 23, 2010

I had meant to get here today way before now, but this day got away from me. I woke up in the mood to do a 'major' housecleaning. One of those cleanings that I go through everthing, & end up with lots to give to Goodwill. I was really ambitious today. Until...Emily, as you know, loves cleaning! When she woke up this morning, she told me that her tummy felt "yucky". I told her that she probably just needed to eat & then she would feel better. She really didn't want to eat, but I told her that she had to eat a little something. So we are cleaning, & she's right alongside me, talking up a storm (as usual), & mid-sentence, she 'got sick' everywhere...& I mean everywhere! After the initial 'getting sick', I told her to run to the bathroom...she did, but didn't make it. It was strange, because she wasn't expecting to get sick...I could tell that by the shocked look on her face when it happened. Afterwards she told me "My tummy felt jiggly & squiggly, but I didn't know it was going to throw up." She felt fine afterwards, & was her normal self - cleaning, playing, ect. She didn't want to eat all day though. Right before bed, I told her that I wanted her to at least eat a yogurt. Again, she really didn't want it, but she ate it. Lesson learned...'listen' when a child tells you that they don't feel like eating! 20 minutes after she ate, right as she was getting ready to go up to bed, it was a repeat of the morning, but worse. She knew this time when she felt that feeling, so she 'flew' off to the bathroom, but didn't make it by about 6 feet. So again, it went everywhere. I tried to get her into the bathroom after the first stop, & as soon as she got into the bathroom, it happened again. I'm sure I've told you more than anyone would really care to know, & I sure hope no one reads this before, during, or right after a meal. She was fine again afterwards. So fine, that she didn't want to go to bed - she wanted to stay up & play for awhile. I convinced her that she needed sleep though, to make sure she was well tomorrow. She told me "I know what will make me better." I said "What?" She smiled & said "If the most precious person in the world holds me. And that is you." So needless to say, I held her & rocked her. I know she will be fine tomorrow, because Avery had this same bug last weekend - exact. After reading back over all of this, I was tempted to delete it all, but this was my day today. Life happens, & it's not all pretty.

I don't want to end this "yucky" (as Emily would say it) post, without adding something positive, so I will end with two pictures of Avery that we took the other day. She 'loves' riding this frog, & when she rides, she rides! You can tell it by her hair, so here she is before she began riding, & after she took off -





See you all at my Simple Woman's Daybook on Monday! Have a great weekend!

"The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket." ~Frank Hubbard~



   

Grateful for the gift of a rainbow

Thursday    April 22, 2010

Emily & I had a hair appointment this morning - just a trim for both of us, so no major changes. Well, there was one change -



This was the first time she was able to get her hair washed like this. Normally, they had her to get on her knees & face the sink. Today she crossed another line on the way to growing up. She had to have a booster seat, but still. I see her growing up more & more every day, & I want to slow down time. Never would I have dreamed I would have gotten to raise a little girl, & it's been a ride that I wouldn't have missed for anything. Growing up or not though, one thing that still hasn't changed, is that Lilly has to be included on 'everything' in her days -



She wasn't too crazy that she had to tuck her underneath her cape, but after being told that Lilly would get hair all over her, she decided that she would be safer there.

While there, the skies burst open with a downpour! It was wonderful just listening to it, & even better getting to look out at it. We get that so rarely here, so when it rains we really enjoy it. Sad thing is though, it ended after about 30 minutes, as quickly as it came. Emily is convinced that God sent it in order to give 'her' this -



The other day she & I talked about rainbows (she 'loves' rainbows!), & she told me that she wanted to see one so badly. I told her that we would have to have rain, & she said "Let's pray for rain then." We did. On the way home, all at once I hear her 'squeal' - "Look! Look! It's my rainbow!" And sure enough, it was. She then asked me where it ended, & said "I hope it's at our home." When we turned to go down our street, it looked like it was ached over our home. There was one very happy little girl when she saw that.



She & Elliot insisted that I get a picture of them "under the rainbow". I tried to explain to them how I couldn't get the rainbow in the shot. Emily said "That's okay, I just want a picture to always remember that God gave me a rainbow today, & that it was over our home."



Our family took a really sweet friend out to eat tonight. She was my youngest son's girlfriend for years, & even after they broke up, she remained so close to us. We love her too pieces. She is leaving for Mexico & will be gone for 2-3 months. We will miss her.

After eating, we went to Homegoods ('love' that store!), & shopped for bit. We were so thankful to get home tonight, because we had ended up being out for all of the day except for about an hour.

"Rainbow`s are a bridge between Heaven and Earth." ~Author Unknown~



   

Grateful for relaxing days

Wednesday    April 21, 2010

Yesterday was my errand day, & since my stops were spread out all over town, we ended up being out for most of the day. This afternoon...nothing is on my agenda, expect for a cup of tea (or two), a good book, & relaxing. I take that back, I do have one thing that takes top priority - Emily is having a bow party. She has bows in her hair, around her waist, in my hair, on her toys (the ones that are invited)...everywhere you look in this room, there is a bow. She has her Princess tent set up, & that's where the party is taking place. I've had to gather snacks for this party, so that will be my next hour or so. Elliot has zero interest in attending ("yucky girl stuff"), so he's busy in make believe with all his dinosaurs. In the interest of being fair, I will also have to go to his room & play with a dinosaur or two. The differences between little boys & little girls never cease to amuse me. Emily is 'all' girl - "Princess" from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. Elliot is super heros, Godzilla, & dinosaurs.

I want to participate in Sepia Scenes again. This photo was taken on Emily's 2nd birthday...she was quite amused with herself in the mirror. I wanted to do an effect that mixed sepia with color -



I'm off to a bow party now! See you all tomorrow!

"The laughter of little childen is, & ever was, among the most delightful sounds on earth." ~Author Unknown~



   

Grateful for all that joined in the fun

Tuesday    April 20, 2010

Time to announce the winner of the give away! As always, I will let the pictures tell the story. First we put the names in a basket & mixed them around really good -



Emily closed her eyes 'real' tight -



She drew the name out -



All smiles - she shows me the name -



Close up of the winning name -



Congratulations Kia! As soon as I hear from you to let me know your address, your goodies will be on their way. This was a lot of fun for me. I'll be announcing the next one in May, so hope you will all join in the fun again. Emily cried when she realized that only one could win, & I felt the same way. I wish every single one of your could win it.

Emily is convinced that she saw a frog in our house (she didn't...she saw a grasshopper). In fact, I don't think I have ever seen a frog here, so I wonder if we even have them??? Anyway, she tried to convince me that she saw one, & was trying to show me what it looked like. She said that he had "a yucky frog face, with eyes poking out", & that "his legs & arms looked just like a frogs when he sits". She then asked me to take a picture of her, so that she could look at it, & make sure she was showing me the correct look. I had to take 4 or 5 before she told me that this is what he looked like -



She also drew this picture so for us to keep out, so that we would make sure we knew him if & when we see him -



There is never a dull moment with Emily - she makes me laugh everyday.

"Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things." ~Author Unknown~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    April 19, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. New sigtag is also posted under the link to the left. Don't forget - Emily draws the giveaway name this evening, & I will post the winner tomorrow! Hugs!



   

Grateful for 'Unbirthdays'

Friday    April 16, 2010

My birthday was in February, & Emily had told me that she was going to get me a ladybug cake. She prayed so hard that there would be one when we went to buy it. There wasn't, & it hurt me so bad for her, because she believed with all her heart that it would be there waiting for her. Last night we had to go to Wal-Mart, & as always, she wanted to go look at the cakes. And guess what? Her ladybug cake was there. She squealed with delight & said "Look! A ladybug cake! God answered my prayer!" She said that we had to get it & have my birthday again. So, I had an 'unbirthday' last night! Can you guess what Emily had them to put on the top of the ladybug cake -



She insisted on getting me a balloon -



Elliot & Avery were happy to hear the word "cake" -





She had 'birthday' games planned. Musical chairs was a favorite - wish I had pics of that. I thanked her for making what started out as an ordinary day, turn into an extraordinary day (she's very good at that) -



My happy evening, ended with a sad note. I don't know how many of you read Brenny's blog (My Island Home) - her linkie is in 'my reads' section to your left. She left her last post because she is dying. I am so sad about this. She gave me many smiles & no matter what she may have been going through, she was an encourager. She was a sweet friend to those in the blogging community that knew her. I'm not sure if she will be checking her blog again, but it would be nice if you could all drop in & offer some encouragement or a kind word, just in case she does check.

I'll see you all on Monday at my Simple's Woman's Daybook! Please don't forget the give away. Emily will be drawing the name on Monday afternoon, & I'll announce the winner here on Tuesday. Have a wonderful weekend! Hugs

"Now blow the candle out, my dear, And make your wish come true! A very merry unbirthday to you." ~From the lyrics of the 'Unbirthday Song', Alice in Wonderland~



   

Grateful for photo memories

Thursday    April 15, 2010

Elliot spent the morning with my son & Avery, so that meant a 'girl's morning'. Emily & I started the day off by running out to one of her favorite places -



She loves watching through the glass as the donuts go by, but she loves looking through this glass more -



More fun than that? Spotting the donut that you want -



She always tells the "donut woman", as she calls her, that Lilly loves donuts too...& LillyTrixieLilly must 'eat' her donut -



As you can tell, I take my camera everywhere. I document every little thing in pictures, because I want to preserve these memories. Once that moment is gone, it is gone! There isn't a day that I don't take pictures. Mike got a server for our home, & after it backed up all of our photos, it told us how many we had. Would you believe over 25,000 in the past 4 1/2 years alone? I love the digital camera age, because I can guarantee you, I wouldn't have that many if this would have been film. I have them backed up on 3 different hard drives, just in case one would crash.

Being girls, we ended up being out longer than planned because of some unplanned shopping stops. After we got home, the rest of the day was lazy. We played games, & then cuddled up on the couch to watch some children's shows on Nick Jr. Emily loves the smell of freshly washed clothes, & as she snuggled up to me she said "You smell so good! It smells like you were in the dryer for 100 years!"

Don't forget the give away (see Tuesday's post). Emily's already asking me when she gets to draw the name.

"Every picture tells a story." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for blogging friends

Wednesday    April 14, 2010

Welcome back to blogging Toni! I love your new blog, & I'm looking forward to all the sweet posts that you will have for us. You may have been gone a short time, but I missed you! I don't think I am alone in saying that.

I loved Toni's sepia photos, so I think I'll join in Sepia Scenes today since it's a Wednesday meme. This is a photo effect that I love doing. One that can completely change the look of a photo. Can you guess what mine are of today? I thought so! This first one is of Elliot taken in October 2007. It was his first cowboy hat, & he was 'so' proud. He wanted me to take picture after picture. I look at his face, & cannot believe how much he has grown! Where's my 'little' Elliot???



This is a picture of Emily, taken in July 2008. It's one of my favorite photos of her. She was trying to whistle, & almost 2 years later, she still hasn't managed to do it! Again, where is my 'little' Emily???



Looking at these photos makes it hit home even more, about how fast life goes by, & how quickly chiidren grow up. You may all get tired of me saying it, but record, record, record! Take as many photos as you can, & keep a record (blog, diary) of your days. 'Nothing' is too small or insignificant to record, & it's never too late to start. You will never regret doing it, but eventually, you will regret big time that you didn't.

I'm sorry - I didn't mean to go on like that. I had meant to welcome Toni back, post the photos, & write a few sentences about each. I am too wordy. In closing, please don't forget the giveaway (see yesterday's post). My British friend Linda asked me in her tag yesterday if she was allowed to enter. Yes, I want all my readers to be able to enter, whether you live in the USA or over-seas. I don't want anyone excluded.

"A photograph is memory in the raw." ~Carrie Latet~



   

Grateful for giveaways!

Tuesday    April 13, 2010

We finished the wood flooring over the weekend, but still are in the process of getting everything put back into the 2 rooms that we did. I am so glad to get the carpeting out of there! Four more rooms to go, & our entire home will have wood flooring. Mike does it, & really does a great job - here's a picture of his handiwork in one of the rooms -



Anyone ready for another giveaway? I am! I have decided that instead of doing big giveaways 3 or 4 times per year, I want to start having a smaller monthly giveaway. For any that have never entered one of my giveaways, I will paste in my 'rules' from my very first giveaway post -

1. You must leave a tag in my blog (either my Simple Woman's Daybook blog or here). This is your 'entry'. Each time you leave a tag, will give you another 'entry'. When you tag the first time, just mention that you want to be a part of my giveaway, so that I will know that you want to participate.

2. I want 'you' to give also. This will get you an extra entry. This isn't a requirement, but I hope you participate. I am a firm believer in 'giving back', & being a blessing to someone else. I am not speaking of giving monetarily (although you could if this is how you chose to give). Giving takes many forms, & sometimes the best of all is giving with simplicity. Something as simple as baking cookies for a friend, a neighbor, co-workers, even family. For years, I chose a family each week, & would bake an apple pie for them. I would drop it off at some point in the afternoon so that they could look forward to an after dinner dessert. Such a small gesture, but it meant so much to the receiving family. Dropping a 'thinking of you' note in the mail or via email. So often, the gift of words is the best gift of all. Going to Starbucks? Pick up an extra one to take to someone at work, or to drop off to a friend, a family member, a neighbor, ect. (I do this often). Better yet, call & ask someone to meet you there for an hour of chat (gifts of time are wonderful in these days that most are 'too busy'). Call someone, just to let them know you care, & let 'them' talk. While driving, let someone in front of you...happily. Smile at that grumpy salesclerk you may encounter (gift of kindness & patience) Call that tired Mom, & 'tell' her (don't ask her), that you are taking the kids for a few hours. Simple little ways of giving of yourself. If everyone would give in some form or fashion each day, just think of what a much better world we would live in. If you chose to do this, in one of your tags, please say "I gave". No need to let me know 'how' you gave, just that you 'did'. If you want to share, then please do.

3. If you win my giveaway, I want you to in turn give something to someone else of your choosing. By that, I mean that I want you to chose something out of my giveaway that you won, & give it to someone. A 'pay it forward', so to speak.

That's it. Some very simple guidelines, & a simple excercise that hopefully will make us all aware of how we can give each day. Here is what the winner will get -

A Willow Tree Angel of Spring



A Longaberger Boardwalk Basket (can be used as a tote or purse) with Longaberger Fruit Medley liner & protector, a Paula Deen Creme Brulee candle (my favorite), & The Smell of Spring votive candle with room aerosol spray.



I'm choosing the winner the 'old fashioned' way. Each time you enter (tag), I'll write your name out, fold the paper, & put it in a basket. When it's time to draw the name, I'll shake the slips of papers around, & then have Emily (with eyes closed) to draw out the winner. We will be drawing the winning name next Monday night, & I will announce the winner on my blog in my Tuesday post. I hope you all are as excited as I am! Emily is even more excited - she 'loves' drawing the name out!

" You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give." ~Unknown~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    April 12, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. New sigtag is also posted under the link to the left. Hugs!



   

Grateful for little jaunts

Friday    April 9, 2010

I had planned another surprise outing for Elliot & Emily today. I took them to a little Western Old Town (Bonnie Springs) about 15 minutes outside of Las Vegas. Yes, Las Vegas does have things other than the Strip or casinos. We have been there a few times before, but thought they might enjoy it more since they are older.





We invited Lisa & Avery along, so I knew we'd really be in for an adventure, because Avery is a little handful. Lisa says she will never live through the terrible two's with her. Can't you tell that she's ready to tear through the place?



Here's a picture of her, Elliot, & Emily - seldom can you get the 3 of them to look in the same direction -



Emily wanted to 'pet' the swan -



Her reaction after the swan tried to bite her -



A white burro that the kids fell in love with (Avery gave it a kiss after we took this) -





This is Half Pint - the cutest little miniature horse. As soon as Elliot saw it, he said "Oh look! A little woman horse!" I asked him why he thought that, & he said "Because it has it's legs crossed." It never moved from standing like this.



Of course we all had to put our faces through the cut out people, & Emily insisted on this one -



Avery got them all put in jail -



You've all heard me talk about my DIL Lisa, so I think it's time I introduce her to you -



I am keeping my promise to Emily, that I will be in more photos with her -



As you drive to & from Bonnie Springs, burros will sometimes be walking along the road, or in the road (remember this Linda?). We saw them going in, & when we were on our way back into Vegas, we had to stop because they were in the road. They came right up to our car (they want food) -



As soon as they see you have no food, off they go -



Once again, I'm sorry to post so many photos, but it's difficult to condense an outing into one or two photos. We had a fun day. I think the kids most favorite part though, were the burros coming up to our car.

Hope you all have a blessed weekend. See you all at my Simple Woman's Daybook on Monday!

"A good snapshot stops a moment from running away." ~Eudora Welty~



   

Grateful for a day in the park

Thursday    April 8, 2010

As I was visiting some new blogs last night, a blogger put an idea in my head. A picnic 'breakfast'. That set the planning wheels turning, so we took off as soon as we got up & got ready. With our 80 degree temps today, it was the perfect day for it. I want to share some pics from our day - a lot actually. I don't have any of us enjoying our picnic...it was a little too late to remember that 'after' it was eaten up. First stop was....Starbucks, of course -



Emily wanted to swing as soon as we finished eating. I love these shots of her. She wanted me to push her "higher", but had second thoughts once she was up in the air - you can see that on her face. Just starting - not too bad, so "push me higher!"



A little higher, & reality set in. She let out a little scream -





Same pic as above, just close up to see that uncertainty -



Coming to a stop -



After a few more times of "push me higher", she was a pro -





Elliot loves the tire swing - no fear here! All squeals & toothless laughter!







Emily saw this on the ground, & said "Ooooh! What kind of animal is that!??



She insisted on a picture of us -



One last one - a little girl & her constant companion, running to another adventure. I love seeing Lilly dangling from underneath her arm, from the back -



I'm sorry this is so many pictures to wade through, but I wanted to share our park time with you. I wish there were more pics of Elliot, but he was on the go! Ever tried to keep up with a little boy to get pictures at the park??? We made wonderful memories today!

"When was the last time you spent a quiet moment just doing nothing - just sitting and looking at the sea, or watching the wind blowing the tree limbs, or waves rippling on a pond, a flickering candle or children playing in the park?" ~Ralph Marston~



   

Grateful for the little things

Wednesday    April 7, 2010

Today was such a sweet day with Elliot & Emily. During breakfast we laughed more than we ate. They were in such a silly mood. We took a break from the schooling today, so cleaned house after we ate, played games, read books, & watched a Disney movie. I love these semi-lazy days with them.

As we cleaned today, Emily asked me if I could please buy her "a bucket, a broom, & a rag for the floor". She wants those things because she said that Cinderella cleans the floors like that. I told her that we have a mop, & she said "But Cinderella uses a rag, so I want one." This little girl is 'so' into being a Princess! I just thought it was so sweet. She then showed me how she had to clean, & she got down on one knee so delicately - just like a Princess.

We still haven't started putting the wood flooring in the other room. I sure hope we can do it this weekend, because I hate clutter with a passion! Everything from that room is scattered everywhere. We had hoped to finish it last weekend, but that didnt' work out. I can't wait until every room in our home has wood flooring.

I've mentioned before that we have a 'comfort food' night once a week, & tonight was the night. Everyone wanted a breakfast for dinner, so that's what we did. Eggs, homestyle potatoes, biscuits, & pancakes. It was so yummy!

Before I go, I want to share something that Emily said today. She was carrying Tinkerbell around & she said "Every time I hear the word 'cat' or 'dog', I can't stop thinking about chocolate." I thought she was trying to come up with a way to get an extra piece of her Easter candy, so I asked her why. She said "Because dogs & cats can't eat chocolate." Maybe it's just me, but I thought it was so funny. That little mind never stops!

"We have no right to ask when sorrow comes, "Why did this happen to me?" unless we ask the same question for every moment of happiness that comes our way." ~Author Unknown~



   

Grateful for celebrations

Tuesday    April 6, 2010

Today was our anniversary. We had decided to celebrate it yesterday, & we went to Olive Garden. Emily had asked "where are 'we' celebrating 'our' anniversary, so we included her & Elliot. This is how we prefer it anyway. Today, Mike came home with these -



He then informed me that we were going to go eat at Outback....so off we went to celebrate 'again'. And yes, we had our sidekicks along - they wanted to celebrate again too. Emily told Elliot "Elliot, it's our anniversary again!" LillyTrixieLilly always eats out with us too, & she must always have a plate & a little something to snack on. Emily gave her a piece of bread, & asked us to please put a little butter on it because "Lilly loves butter!" -



After we ate, we came home & settled in to watch American Idol. Once again, my favorties were Crystal, Casey, & Lee.

One more picture to show you the indignities that Tinkerbell must indure...being fed one of Emily's baby doll bottles after she had been pushed around in Emily's doll stroller -



"The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't." ~Henry Ward Beecher~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    April 5, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. New sigtag is also posted under the link to the left. Hugs!



   

Grateful for our new floors

Friday    April 2, 2010

We have had a full, busy day. The wood flooring that we were supposed to put in 2 more of our bedrooms last weekend, got pushed to this weekend. We started this morning & worked till 8PM, & still have the baseboards to put up in the first room, & haven't even started on the 2nd room. It's a hard job, but looks so beautiful. Our goal is to have wood flooring throughout our house. Four more rooms to go, & we will have accomplished that!

Shad & Lisa helped, so I had Avery duty. Lisa told me that laying the wood would be easier. She's active, but so sweet. Her & Emily are either always holding hands, or have their arms around each other. It's sweet.



Hope all of you have a blessed Easter, & to Dru & Annie - happy Passover. See you all on Monday at my Simple Woman's Daybook.

"Earth's saddest day and gladdest day were just three days apart!" ~Susan Coolidge~



   

Grateful for lots of fun in this household!

Thursday    April 1, 2010

I decided to give Lisa a break this morning, so I took Avery for a few hours. This picture pretty much described her this morning -



Now you see how she decapitated Mickey Mouse. Not once, but twice. She was a blur as she flew from room to room, getting into everything that she could.

We did get her to sit down for a little while. She loves Dora, so we put on a Dora movie. After about 10 minutes, she decided that it was more fun making me chase her. Emily then let her play with her Leapster, so she & her bunny were content with that for maybe 5 minutes. She's giving this picture her best pretend smile -



Emily pretended she was throwing a party today, & this is how I found my Pooh figurine (in what used to be my Classic Pooh room, but is now a 'school room').



Why is he dressed like this for her party? Because "he is a cowboy & it's cold outside". He's a "cowboy in the winter".

Mike came home from work early, & brought home Chinese take-out from our favorite. Emily had also requested ice cream, but she wasn't too convinced that he had heard her. Because of this, she told me that we needed to pray for it, just in case he forgot. When he showed up with it, she didn't consider that he'd remembered. She immdiately squealed "He got it! God answered our prayer!" She went to bed very excited, because I told her that we would make strawberry milkshakes tomorrow with the remaining ice cream.

Elliot said the sweetest thing tonight. After he finished his meal, he opened his fortune cookie. It said 'You are going to aquire a friend that will bring lots of fun'. Without even hesitating, he beamed & said "Oh it's Papa! It's talking about Papa!" He then flew upstairs to tell Mike that "the paper" said they were going to have lots of fun. He is a Papa's boy through & through.

"Know thyself, or at least keep renewing the acquaintance." ~Robert Brault~



   

Grateful for sweet Avery

Wednesday    March 31, 2010

I've mentioned many times about how big Avery is. She's 2 years & 1 month younger than Emily, & yet heavier than Emily & just a bit shorter. In this side by side picture, you can get an idea how close in size they are -



If you were to see how much this child can eat, you would understand why she is so big. She's the sweetest little girl, & brings laughter wherever she goes, with her silly antics. She & Emily are friends, & I hope that will always be. Elliot loves taking on the role of big brother to her, & she adores him. The picture below is blurry because of the speed she was moving. She gives new meaning to the 'Princess & the frog' -



Lisa gave this picture to me tonight. She said that she wore Mr. Potato Head's glasses for hours -



This is how she loves to wear her "king hat", as she calls it. It never seems to bother her that she can't see -



I love seeing Shad & Lisa get to experience all the fun of this age with her. I also love it that we get to relive these sweet baby things once again. I have a feeling that it's going to be an adventure watching her grow up!

"Just about the time a woman thinks her work is done, she becomes a grandmother." ~Edward H. Dreschnack~



   

Grateful for my new frig

Tuesday    March 30, 2010

We woke up Saturday morning to a refrigerator that had decided to go kaput during the night. The freezer side was fine, but the other side was showing it was 54 inside. We managed to get some of the things out & put them in coolers. This wasn't an old frig - it's only 5 years old. We called a repairman, but he said that he couldn't make it out until Sunday afternoon. So off we went - refrigerator shopping. I have wanted a french door style since I saw them when they first came out. We bought one, but it couldn't be delivered until today. In the meantime - the repairman came out & fixed our frig. It was just a switch that had went wrong inside. Then came the dilemma - cancel our order, or let my dream frig come. We decided to let it come, & the other one will go to Shad & Lisa. The new one came this morning, & we love it. There is 'so' much room in it! I love having the freezer on the bottom too. The only thing that might be a bit difficult to get used to, is that our other one had wood panels to match our cabinets, so this one is a big white elephant in the kitchen. LOVE it though!

While the guys did their thing & got the frig settled into place, the girls made a trip -





I have dvr'd DWTS tonight, so can't make blog visits till we get that watched, for fear I'll read who went home. I 'loved' Lee & Casey tonight on American Idol. They were my favorites. Emily loved Simon's white shirt.

" Faith is like radar that sees through the fog." ~Corrie Ten Boom~

   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    March 29, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. New sigtag is also posted under the link to the left. Hugs!



   

Grateful for milestones

Friday    March 26, 2010

Elliot is now qualified to sing 'All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth' -




I 'love' hearing him ask for "thoup". I feel like this is a milestone for him. He 'thinks' he's a big boy now, he seems bigger, & he acts bigger. Ready or not, he's growing up!

It's warm, but so windy here today, so my plans are to stay tucked away inside & enjoy Elliot & Emily. I love those days. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! See you on Monday at my Simple Woman's Daybook.

"There aren't enough days in the weekend." ~Rod Schmidt~



   

Grateful for friends that share their creativity

Thursday    March 25, 2010

Today was grocery shopping day - a day that Emily loves. We always stop by Costco, a place where she loves all the food handouts, & a place that I always leave with much more than I intended on buying (see quote below). It's hard to pass up some of the the things they get in. If you do, sometimes you will go back to get it, only to find it sold out. I've told Mike this 'many' times when I've come home with a 'find'.

Right before we left, we received our jewelry order from Kat in the mail (click on her name to see her Shiny Moonbeams jewelry website). This was my first order from her, & am so happy with it. Beyond happy! The pictures on her website don't do her jewelry justice. The pieces are beautiful on her site, but 'so' much more beautiful when you see them in person! Emily is over the moon with the bracelet she picked out -



Click here to visit her Krystal Kat's website. This is the site that Emily's bracelet came from. It is made with the most brilliant Swarovski Crystals I have ever seen. When we were out, she got more than a few compliments on it.

Needless to say, I love my bracelet & earrings -



Thank you Kat for creating such pretties to adorn ourselves with!

I want to share this picture of Emily & I. You will notice that we 'match' - she dressed us. I am not fond of getting my picture taken, & I'm always behind the camera doing the taking. Anyway, Emily is always telling me that she wants more pictures of she & I, so today I granted her wish. After seeing the happy, happy look on her face because of her & I in a picture together, I have promised her that I will come out from behind the camera more often. She told me that she wants to fill her room with pictures of me.



"The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with only a loaf of bread are three billion to one." ~Erma Bombeck~



   

Grateful for being able to laugh at mistakes

Wednesday    March 24, 2010

Elliot was so excited all day because we had told him that he had a surprise waiting for him tonight. It was like Christmas, in that he would ask me every hour "is it time yet?" This was a night out for the 'guys'. Mike took him out to eat, & then they went to see the arena show 'Walking With Dinosaurs'. There were 15 life-size dinos for him to enjoy. Click here to see a very small (few seconds) clip of them in action. We knew this would be something that Elliot would love, & he did. He came home 'so' excited - talking a mile a minute. I think know we'll be hearing about it for a long time to come. I sent my camera with Mike, with orders to get me at least a few good pictures. He didn't have much luck - you weren't allowed to use flash, so most were pretty bad. I asked him to get lots of Elliot, & he came home with 3 (yes, I told him "lots") pictures - all of him with his snow cone -



This was one of only a few of the dinosaur pictures that turned out, but at least we got them for Elliot's memories -



Emily & I would have been part of this 'dinorific' evening, but I didn't think it would be her cup of tea. I was afraid that it would frighten her. Rather then wasting the money, I took her online to see some video info on it, so that she could see if she would like it. When she covered her eyes & said "Please turn it off", I knew that we would be having a stay at home girl's evening. That was fine with me. She is very good at keeping secrets - she didn't utter a word to Elliot about this, & she has known he was going for days.

My DIL Lisa was telling me how she & her Mom spent all evening tonight getting their cakes baked & decorated for Easter. I said "For Easter? Why so early?" She told me that her Mom wanted to get them done before Sunday, seeing as it was Easter. I said "Lisa, Easter is April 4th!" She called her Mom, & her Mom was laughing at me because I had my dates wrong. She would't believe it until she checked the calendar. At least they were able to laugh about it. I told them that this will be lifetime memory, & one that they will always laugh about. The funny thing is, 'both' of them thought that Easter was this Sunday.

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly." ~Richard Bach~



   

Grateful for each new day

Tuesday    March 23, 2010

Everyone that visited my Simple Woman's Daybook, left a comment telling me that they could see Emily in the picture that I posted of me. I hear that all the time. My family tells me that she is me "exact" when I was a child. Only difference is that she has red hair, & I had black. Funny thing is, she is also just like me in the things she does, the way she feels about things, the way she sees things, ect. I understand her so well when she tells me things, because I can remember feeling the same way. I am sharing this picture of her that I sent to my sisters, & they told me to make it a black/white because one of my sisters had a picture of me that she wanted to send me. This is Emily at 3 -



This is the picture that one of my sisters had of me at age 7 -



Maybe you don't see a similarity, but family were amazed when they saw it. Could you see her looking like the picture of me in about 3 years?

I really enjoyed DWTS last night. I 'cringed' for Buzz Aldrin. It was almost painful to watch. I think the best performance of the evening was Derek & Nicole. I'm not sure who I am rooting for yet. I take back my earlier statement - I got to watch the best performance of the night in my own living room. Emily had to put her gown on, & follow along with every dance. Here she is with Lilly, doing the Viennese Waltz. I gave her a 10.





Tonight wasn't the best of nights on American Idol. I did love Crystal. She seems to be so consistent in her performances. If I had to judge on tonight's performances, I think Paige may be the one going home tomorrow.

"Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us do." ~Jean de la Bruyere~



   

Grateful for a new week

Monday    March 22, 2010

Today is Monday, so it's My Simple Woman's Daybook day. Link is to the left if you'd like to visit. New sigtag is also posted under the link to the left. Hugs!



   

Grateful for cooler temps

Friday    March 19, 2010

We finally got some cooler temps, & they were so welcome. It was such a beautiful day today. It was more in line with Spring. Very windy, but that kept it cooler, so I will take the wind. We were out for hours, running errands, so it was a nice day to run about.

While we were out, I called my sons & ask them to meet me at Chili's for dinner. Can you tell what Avery's favorite part of her meal was?



That child 'loves' to eat! No matter what's on her plate, she attacks it with gusto. My DIL Lisa had a 'first' while there...the waitress called her "Mam". I don't think she is ready to be called that.

Have you ever noticed that you don't have to spend a fortune on kid's toys? Just give them a big box, & they will find ways to entertain themselves for hours -



I had to join in too - I took their "tickets", & gave them a fast, swirling 'carnival' ride. Emily told me that it was even more fun than a carnival. I was told not to throw the box away, so I think there's more fun days planned.

When we were out, Elliot wanted me to buy him some Spiderman bubblebath. He 'loves' his bath playtime. We were checking out & he wanted to smell it, so I let him. We finished checking out, put the groceries in the car, got home, started unloading the groceries, & I noticed 'stuff' all over the carpeting in the car. I picked up the bag, & the bag was also filled with 'stuff'. It was his bubble bath. When he smelled it, he didn't snap the lid back down. What a mess. I cleaned & cleaned the carpeting in the back of the car, but the more I cleaned, the more foam it created. He felt so bad, & I felt bad for him. I told him that at least our car will now smell like strawberry bubble bath.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me." ~Author unknown~



   

Grateful for family togetherness

Thursday    March 18, 2010

We had another really hot day here today. It feels more like summer instead of spring - way too early for it to be this hot. Such is life in Vegas though. This is just a prelude to our scorching summer temps. No matter how long one lives in Vegas, I don't think you ever get used to the summer heat.

Today was my errand day, so it seemed we hopped from one place to another. After we finished up, I called my son Shad, & had him, Lisa, & Avery to meet us at a new Mexican restaurant that just opened up near our home. Have you ever walked into a restaurant & your first thought was that you should probably give it a pass, but you eat there anyway, just to try it? Well, that was this restaurant, & believe me, I wish I had paid attention to that first thought! The staff was so disorganized, & they had 2 drinks (Sprite & Coke), because they said the other fountains were out of order. Lisa asked for a highchair for Avery, & the waiter had to get someone else, because he didn't understand what she wanted. He spoke so little English. We got our meals, & they were not that good. The funniest thing was that we were eating our chips & salsa, & I found this really huge 'chip' at the bottom. I pulled it out, & it was a deep fried TACO. Not a taco shell. A TACO.

I am so tired tonight. I was awakened at 4:30am by Emily. She wanted a drink. She 'never' does that, & of all nights for her to do it, seeing as I had stayed up till 2am. We went downstairs, got her drink, & since Mike is out of town she decided that she wanted to crawl in bed with me & have a conversation. She would talk, & talk, & talk, & then yawn & say "I'm so sleepy!"...then she would talk, & talk, & talk....I think we finally fell back to sleep at around 6am. It was a memory though - her cuddled up in my arms, jabbering away about everything.

"It is with words as with sunbeams. The more they are condensed, the deeper they burn." ~Robert Southey~



   

Grateful for park days

Wednesday    March 17, 2010

Weather wimp here almost turned on the air conditioner today. It was in the 80's, & in a couple of months here, I will be longing for it to be that 'cool' again. Vegas summers are brutal. Since it was such a beautiful day, the kids & I had a park afternoon, & they loved it!





Avery joined in the fun too -



We played, played, played! I had to convince them, that yes, we really did need to go home & eat dinner. After a meal, it was baths (or 'swimming' as Emily pretended). I surprised them with popsicles to eat while they each bathed. You know it's really warm when you pull out the popsicles! There's something so sweet about a 'tuckered out' child at the end of a full, fun day. They were more than ready for bed by bedtime.

Emily managed to make it through American Idol even though it ends at 10pm - there was 'no' way that she was going to miss Simon. I dvr it, but she wanted to watch it 'live'. She cried when Lacey was sent home - she was one of her favorites. She had such a unique voice, as did Alex that was sent home last week. I really would have loved to have seen Alex 'ripen' as a performer as the weeks went on.

"An optimist is the human personification of spring." ~Susan J. Bissonette~



   

Grateful for do nothing days

Tuesday    March 16, 2010

The last few days have been so laid back. Mike is out of town, so the kids & I have slept in till 9am each day. When we get up, we have been greeted by the most beautiful Spring weather! It's gorgeous here! Spring has definitely sprung in Vegas.

Elliot has caught a cold from Avery, so yesterday & today we didn't do a lot of anything. All he's wanted to do is hang out on the couch, & that's pretty much what we've done. He has a slight temperature today, & is feeling pretty miserable. Sometimes he says the funniest things. I mentioned this a long time ago, but he's always had this like for Elvis. This goes back to when he was only 2. I'm not sure where he got it - it's not like he's seen his movies, ect. He saw a picture of him, asked who he was, & he's liked him since. For some reason when he was about 3, if he would see a picture depicting Jesus, he would say "Look, it's Elvis!" I never did figure that one out! Not a clue where he got that! Anyway, this morning we were watching one of his fav PBS shows (Dinosaur Train), & one of the dinosaurs was called "Elvis". This character sang & talked like Elvis, & Elliot was loving it . He asked me "Have you ever seen Elvis?" I told him that I had only seen him in movies & in pictures. He replied "Are you going to see him?" I said "Honey, Elvis is dead. He died a very long time ago." If you could have seen the look on his face - total shock. Wide-eyed he said "Elvis is DEAD!?? Boy, I didn't see that one coming!" Little Miss Emily said "Elliot, just because we see people on tv or in books, doesn't mean they are alive. Remember when we saw Michael Jackson on tv? Well, he's dead." She has an answer for everything.

Elliot lost a front tooth this past weekend. Thank goodness, because he had been wiggling it around for weeks. He is in absolute dread now, because he said "I don't want to get big man teeth." He didn't like this picture that I'm sharing, because he said he looks silly without his tooth. I told him that everyone would think he was very handsome, & then he was 'really' embarrassed.



Emily had a tea party, & she wanted me to share this picture of her special guest -




Each time she gets out her tea party set, Tinkerbell runs to her, & she will sit there until everything is put away.

I can't wait to see the American Idol contestants tonight on the big stage! And of course, Emily is counting the hours until she gets to see Simon.

"Is there anything more adorable than a toothless grin?" ~Anonymous~



   

Grateful for friends

Monday    March 15, 2010

I have went back to doing the Simple Woman's Daybook on Mondays (link is to your left). Please pop over for a visit.

There's a new sigtag for all that would like to have one (link is to the left). I got a bit carried away adding things, so hope it's not too big for a sigtag.

   

Grateful for glue - lots of it!

Friday    March 12, 2010

Not a whole lot happened here today, besides cleaning the house from top to bottom. I normally do this on a Monday, but decided to go ahead & do it today. Of course after the weekend, I will most likely have to do it again on Monday anyway. Emily was happy that it was cleaning day. She loves cleaning, & she can clean! Elliot is so different - his idea of cleaning is putting everything under his bed, until he figured out that I check under there.

Remember this picture that I posted about a year ago?



I put Mickey here for a touch of whimsy. This is the view looking up from downstairs at him. It always makes me smile to see him barreling down the hall (on his way to the kitchen to get some cheese!). Anyway, if you recall, Avery decapitated him last year. I glued his head back on before I had thought to take a picture of my headless Mickey. Well guess what? Ooops, she did it again, & this time I did remember to get a picture -



Sooooo - I will glue his head on again, & hopefully he will keep it this time. This is one of the Disney big figurines, & they aren't cheap, but mistakes happen. I've had him for about 10 years. I couldn't be upset with Avery. It's just 'things', & yes I have things, but things don't have me. I know we will smile over it as years go by. In fact, she made me smile right after she did it. She 'flew' to me, eyes big as quarters, arms wide open, & said "Sorry. Mickey. Mickey fall down." I told Shad & Lisa that I know one of the things I will leave to her one day.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I don't want to close this post without saying "thank you" for the sweet welcome back you've given me. It's great to be back! See you all on Monday!

"Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life." ~Sophia Loren~

   

Grateful for lazy days

Thursday    March 11, 2010

Emily woke me up this morning, & immediately asked me "Is Simon on tonight?" "Simon", being Simon on American Idol. As soon as I told her "yes", she erupted into squeals & hand clapping. Last week she over-heard me telling someone that she had a crush on Simon. The other day she heard me talking to someone about American Idol, & she announced to us "I have a crush on Simon!" I asked her "Emily, what does 'crush' mean?" She replied "I don't know." I explained it to her, & she agreed that she does indeed have a crush. I think so too. A major one!

Today, was a really lazy day. Well - as lazy as you can get with 2 kids. We slept in till 8, & soon afterwards Mike called & told me that he would be home by noon. Elliot was thrilled to hear that news. He knew that this would mean playing the WII with him. I decided to give him a break & let him take a day from homeschool, & then he was even more thrilled. Later on, we decided to get take-out, & then it was my turn to be thrilled!

Mike brought home four boxes of Girl Scout cookies - my favorite - Samoas (Caramel delites, as they call them now, but they will always be Samoas to me). I try to avoid eating sweets, but I couldn't resist these. My goal was to have 2. I had no trouble meeting my goal. Let's say I surpassed it. I won't tell you how many I really had.

I can't wait for American Idol to move to the big stage next week. I was so surprised that Lily got voted off. Poor Alex - I really did want to see him 'ripen' more (in line with Ellen's comparison of him to a banana ripening). I think this is going to be a good season.

I don't want to bombard you with pictures my first week back, but I do want to share this one. Here is Princess Emily, bestowing a kiss on Princess LillyTrixieLilly's head. (Lilly, for short, as Emily tells everyone). She is still Emily's constant companion. The first picture was taken when Emily was 2 1/2. I have that image on my Captial One credit card. The second one was taken recently. It makes me realize how much she has grown, & how quickly. Slow down Emily! I want to freeze time! I am using a quote below in honor of Lilly, & the sweet companion she has been for Emily.





"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." ~Velveteen Rabbit~



   

Grateful for sound of children's laughter

Wednesday    March 10, 2010

We've had such a blustery day, & as I type this tonight, I still hear the wind howling outside. It's been a day to stay in & cuddle up with a blankie, but I had to do one of my 'favorite' things today - grocery shopping. Emily was 'terrified' that LillyTrixieLilly was going to be blown from her arms.

Thank you for the comments on our newest family member. I wish you could feel her through the computer. She is the softest, fluffiest little thing! At first we had concerns since we have the 3 Pugs, but she set them straight right off the bat. When we first got her she was only about 3 inches tall & she was 10 ounces. She met the 3 'amigos', looked them over, & then stuck out her right paw, while run/hop/skipping on the other 3 paws, towards them. I don't think she had her paw stuck out to shake their paw. I think she had something else in mind. What did they do? They ran like scared rabbits. As soon as she saw that she could have the upper hand, she was nice to them. It was so funny to see this teeny ball of fluff, set down her paw as soon as she got here. They like her, & she tolerates them. My DIL Lisa got me a wall hanging that says "Dogs have owners, Cats have staff". She is such a sweet addition to our home. She 'loves' her weekly baths, & she loves getting blow dried. She lives a pampered life.

Now for my Emily story. I had seen a really sweet wall hanging with a writing on raising children. I knew I had a coupon at home, so ran home to get it, & then told Emily that we needed to run back out so that I could pick up something that I really loved for the wall. She asked me "What is it Mommy?" I replied "It's a writing on raisin' kids." She wrinkled up her nose & said "What's a raisin kid?" Lesson learned - use proper grammar. At least around Emily.

I want to share this picture of Emily & Avery. These two are always lost in giggles over something. Not sure what Avery is so tickled about here. When she laughs, she laughs. It's so sweet to see them together.



"A good laugh is sunshine in the house." ~William Makepeace Thackeray~



   

Grateful for our fur baby

Tuesday    March 9, 2010

I promised you yesterday that I would introduce you to our newest member of the family. Ready to be introduced to Tinkerbell?







She has everyone in this house wrapped around her teeny tiny paw. She's a teacup silver Persian, & so tiny. We got her in September at 10 ounces, & she's now 2 1/2 pounds. The kids are so in love with her. Emily pushes her around in her doll stroller, & Tinkerbell loves it. She is spoiled!

Emily has her first crush, & I cannot believe on who. Simon. Yes, Simon on American Idol. She talks about him every single day. Yesterday she was talking about him, & she said "I'm crazy for him!" She cried when she found out that he is leaving American Idol, but dried her tears when I told her that he is going to be on another show. I would have thought that her first crush would have been someone a little bit closer to her age. Please - shhhhhh - don't tell her that he's engaged now. I think Princess Emily might like older men - ready for another one that she thinks is "handsome"? Dr. Oz. She's too funny!

"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~



   

Grateful for encouraging friends

Monday    March 8, 2010

Honestly, I don't know where to begin. I never dreamed when I took time off last August (thinking I was going to return in September), that it would be 'this' long before I showed up. So many times I had wanted to get back to blogging, but I would always get busy & put it off till "tomorrow". The more 'tomorrows' that passed, the easier it was to get into a routine of not posting. I have been reading my blogger friends blogs from time to time, & each time it would make me ache to get back to blogging. Last night, did it. I visited all my reads to catch up on your lives, & it made me feel so sad that I've missed so much. I may have been absent, but I truly did miss you all. I want to say a big 'thank you' to the ones that have emailed me & encouraged me to come back. I must admit, it feels good to be missed.

As I mentioned, I don't know where to begin. I think for this first day back, I will share a few pictures of the kids. As you know, I never tire of talking about them. My days revolve around them. So here we go -

Elliot turned SEVEN (I cannot believe it!) on February 12th. He is my sweetheart. He still loves his Super Heros & dinosaurs. Sugar still, in Emily's words "makes Elliot ping the walls". He is learning to read, although he still tries to convince me that he doesn't need to learn how to read. He has a new like love - playing the WII. He's growing up so fast, as you can see below -



Emily is still a Princess. She turned 4 in November, so the little Princess is growing up. How I wish I could freeze time! I love this picture of her when she first saw her Princess birthday cake -



And guess what? The Princess got her own wheels for Christmas!



She still hasn't quite got the driving down(she doesn't drive, she 'swerves'), but she has fun. She asks me "What would happen if I push on the 'gas thing' too hard, & it takes me really fast & I can't stop, & can't get out?" That's at the back of her mind each time she 'drives'. Her 'car' has a working radio too, so she is set!

Avery turned 2 in January, & is 'so' big! She weighs more than Emily, & is only about 2 or 3 inches shorter than Emily. She is so sweet, & she never stops!



Notice the 'tattoo' on her arm? She loves tattoos & she loves motorcyles. Her little riding toy is a motorcycle. She & Princess Emily are like night & day, but they are sweet friends.

I will share more pictures tomorrrow. We have a new member of the family that I cannot wait to introduce to you! It feels so good to be back! I have a little St. Pat's sigtag to offer (link to left) - if you're interested, let me know.

"True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost." ~Charles Caleb Colton~