through her eyes

What you get when you hand a 4 yr old a camera.

wordless Wednesday

post makeover pics

Even R2 got in on the action. 

makeover day

Thursdays are the new Kid's Day.  Each girl gets to pick something fun to do with Mommy (and Daddy if it ends up being an evening activity).  LE opted for making chocolate chip pancakes and Bella decided she wanted makeovers.  Makeovers is not a common event in our house, so we went all out.  We got manis, pedis, hair, makeup & fun outfits.  The girls also got free reign of the camera (which proved to be my favorite part later looking through the photos).  They both went with multi-colored toes and fingers and wanted their hair curled.  LE wanted cool clothes and Bella went with a Cinderella ball gown.
I am told all of the time how beautiful the girl's hair is, thus the reason I avoid Daddy's wrath and have agreed to not cut it.  But come on, they have perfect hair, I call it bridesmaid's hair.  It is so not fair!
Bella did not get burned (crying picture), she is mad b/c I pulled her hair.  Leave it to her sweet sister to catch that pic for me. 
It was a fun morning, one we will definitely do again, but not after they turn 14.

the little things

LE has been asking for a diary.  Recently I found a pink journal of mine that I had started but only used a couple of pages that I told her she could have.  When I went to check on her ealier she was curled up on the top bunk busy writing her first entry.  The topic - ideas for her next birthday.  The theme - an art party.  I cannot wait to see what this artist comes up with.

for his princesses

Not sure I know many fathers who would spend their Father's Day installing a chandelier in their little girl's room, but that is what makes this Father a Daddy. 

The girls saw a sign recently, I found my Prince...I call him Daddy.  They insisted we give it to him for Daddy's Day. 

Happy Father's Day Ben!

ice cold family time

happy anniversary!

All because two people fell in love.

facebook rant

Do you facebook?  I used to joke when my friends joined "welcome to the dark side."  At the time I was spending hours on the social network, not socializing but stalking (term for looking at friend's pics, status...)  But, lately when I log on, I am just getting more and more frustrated.  I have become quite sick of it to tell the truth.  I hate the sense of false friendship, the sense of you are a part of someone's life b/c you see them on FB.  My friend Erica blogged about this not too long ago & maybe it was the key opening the door, but really I am done with it.  I still have to use it for communication purposes b/c I do not have people's e-mails (b/c of my google acct getting hacked). 
I also hate finding out news via facebook.  I guess it could be extended to blogs, but maybe it is b/c my closest friends seem to have blogs and I still get to see them and communicate in real time.  Blogs seem to go into deeper details and if I don't feel like reading a blog I don't have to.  On facebook 1) info is so vague and 2) let's be honest do I need to know every time your kid sneezes?  3) Do I really even know 600 people? and 600 people can be a wee bit noisy (I tried eliminating friends, but still noise pollution galore with tweets and retweets). 
Yes, I am in a mood, and maybe facebook is the brunt but I have blogged this post multiple times and then deleted it.  I wanted to let those of you whom I see on FB I am trying to not be on there, so if you want me to know something please pick up the phone b/c I will not be scrolling pages upon pages to see what's going on any more.

wordless Wednesday with words

It says a thousand words to me, but not sure it will to others. 
She is a reading fool. 
Kawaii's Shaved Ice. 5 year old's heaven

Joe McDermott

We headed to the public library for a special afternoon concert with one of our favorite performers.  This year we were a little more prepared since we know almost all of Joe's songs now.  The girls were front and center, and the girls took the camera with them.  R2 even enjoyed it and was rocking back and forth when Joe was strumming the guitar.

date night

The girls prepared a special treat for Ben and I when he got off work.  They wanted us to have a special date night.  LE was the waiter and Bella was the chef.  The menu was sweet tarts shaped like hearts.  Ben and I were both touched. 

1st attempt at sewing

We read the book Jenius, the amazing guinea pig, after we finished Babe (same author).  The girls have been wanting a guinea pig, but with 2 dogs and 3 monkeys I figured the zoo expense was tapped.  We visited the pet store and then we found this cute pattern at Organized Chaos. 
We made ours out of felt and LE cut both guinea pigs out.  Bella needed some assistance with the stitch, but LE had no problem using embroidery floss.  I first used my 1/16" Stampin' Up hole punch to punch holes around the edge, it made it super easy to thread, plus she had a pattern.  We stuffed them with cotton balls, and embellished with slick paints. 

my girls said...

Bella listing the names of the 7 continents, North America, South America, Syrup (better known as Europe), Africa...

LE informed that fruit snacks (chewy fruit snacks that she only gets at Mimi's) are made with real fruit, so now she can have as many as she wants.

Bella asked why LE did not like girled cheese sandwiches; there made of cheese and there for girls.

chocolate-covered pretzels

Mimi got the girls a new cookbook, Paula Deen's Cookbook for Lunch-Box Set. For Girl's Game night we made a yummy treat out of the bake sale section. This was a super easy treat and it made several days worth of snacks for us.

The recipe is for a bake sale batch, so we cut it back for our needs.
15 large pretzel rods
6 ounces chocolate chips (we used semi-sweet chocolate bars)
1 T. butter
rainbow sprinkles
wax paper

Melt chocolate and butter for 1 minute in microwave safe bowl. Remove from microwave and stir. Continue cooking for 30 more seconds, stir again. Dip pretzels into bowl (I helped by using a spatula to get the chocolate higher onto the pretzel.) Lay the pretzels onto the wax paper and then sprinkle with the rainbow sprinkles while chocolate is still warm. Allow to cool (if you can) for one hour before serving.

HaPPy BIrThDay PaWPaW!

strawberry bars

Sweet and Tangy Summer Treat

1 cup granola
1 cup fresh berries (hand-picked strawberries taste best)
1/3 cup agave nectar or honey
1 T vanilla
3 cups greek yogurt

Pour granola on bottom of foil-lined 8x8 square pan.  Blend remaining ingredients and pour over granola.  Freeze until starting to harden (around 2-3 hours), remove and cut bars into squares.  Return to freezer until completly frozen. 
I cut the bars b/c they will freeze solid and it seemed impossible to cut apart.

thumb sucker

LE was a binkie baby, Bella had nothing to do with one, and now after 6 months, Read has taken to sucking his thumb (I think it could be tooth related, but it definetly soothes him, so it may stick). He also covers his eyes when he sleeps (see reflection). I cannot tell you enough how good of a baby this kid is! He has started napping, but he still sleeps through the night. If I have to wake him, he is all smiles. I put him in his bed, he smiles at his mobile. He starts singing, not crying when he is sleepy. I cannot believe how blessed we are.
I have actually had those thoughts, you know those thoughts, although I have yet to speak them aloud.

for a job well done

The girls earned all of their tokens and in record time.  This time's reward Chuck E. Cheese or Pajama Pizza Party with the Parents, the verdict - Pajama Party.  I was actually flattered we were chosen over the mouse and with such enthusiasm too. 
Party included all sorts of P's - pizza, popcorn, pink lemonade, pajamas, Babe (the pig) movie, on a picnic blanket with the parents. 
Last week we read Babe, the Gallant Pig and as part of our reward we got to purchase the movie.  Of course the book and movie were different, but I was so surprised how much of the book they actually retained.  It was their first experience with a book without illustrations.

new neighbors

We finally have neighbors, or at least some with children! They have two young boys, a little younger than the girls. As soon as we saw someone moving into the house LE declared we needed to do something for them (not even knowing they had children). Bella wanted to make them cards, and we decided we would bake cookies. The girl's first friend was our first neighbor, Connor and it has not been the same not having him across the way. I know no one will be able to replace our old neighbors, but I secretly hope for a new special friend too.

biopsy results

Frank got the results back from his biopsy and there was no sign of cancer in his kidney.  He will be meeting with his doctors next week about the cancer in his blood (it is not leukemia) to make a decision about what route he will take.  He is in great spirits and actually feels great too.  Thanks for the prayers.

wordless wednesday- cousins