organized chaos

summer field trip

2010-08-17T22:10:00.066-05:00

I told Audrey that we would go to Deanna Rose Farm before the summer was over. I told her to quit asking every day, that we had plenty of time before school started. And then of course, I had to take off a day from work because before I knew it, we didn't have any more weekends left. Summer just flew by this year. It was one of the hottest days of the year but we went anyway, a promise is a promise.

swim

2010-08-15T21:46:00.001-05:00

girl power

2010-08-11T22:03:00.000-05:00

After almost every photo shoot, the girls have managed to dress up somehow and beg for their own turn on the backdrop. This one was just too cute to not share...

I had to be very careful because I soon figured out that Lucy wasn't wearing any panties

She's one tough cookie.

Audrey's super power moves were more "cheerleader-ish"

It took her a long time to figure out how to punch and look mean.

Girls rule!

quality time

2010-08-08T13:31:00.003-05:00

Remember that time when I said I was going to take the summer off from blogging? Yeah me neither.
One day I was thinking to myself that I needed to get an end of school post up and then next thing I know, I'm in Target with the girls buying school supplies for the next year.
This summer has just flown by.
So what happened:
Tons of vacations? No.
Impromptu field trips with the girls? No.
Weekly arts and crafts projects? No.
Complete home remodel? No.
Marathon training? No.
Weekends at the lake? No.
Keeping the laundry caught up? Nope, not that either.
Turns out regular, boring, normal life is. just. busy.
The girls might get the summer off but I don't.
And all those plans in my head to make the most of summer slowly slip away.
We make the majority of our summer memories outside in the evenings after work.
And it might not be the picture perfect summer that can be seen in a magazine article, but it still counts as quality time in my book...and hopefully in my girls' books too.

Keep scrolling down for some summer catch up blogs. I might not be posting, but I NEVER stop taking pictures.

p.s. is anyone still out there?

july catch up - 4th party

2010-07-10T21:57:00.145-05:00

I would have to say that 4th of July has become one of my most favorite holidays...

Good friends. Good food. Good music. Great location. And the best neighbors ever!

I'm thinking that all parties should be color coordinated like the 4th - wouldn't you agree? Everyone looks so festive and patriotic!

We didn't let the rain stop us!

Dance! Dance! Dance!

Now it's time to let the kiddos play with fire...

I swear the flames didn't look that big in person.

The biggest kid of them all.

take over

2010-06-30T17:21:00.001-05:00

This would be my girls taking over the neighbors lemonade stand...

june catch up - vacation

2010-06-20T19:12:00.004-05:00

Lucy running away from the fish. Audrey not so sure either.

Vacation was some good fun family time. Lots of relaxing and swimming and playing and nature walks and fishing and campfires and digging in the dirt. No agenda whatsoever. And we all needed 10 days of that.

may catch up

2010-05-31T03:20:00.000-05:00

sentence structure

2010-05-15T02:10:00.002-05:00

The blue fish can swim.

The hen has an egg.

The kids can dance.

The blue bird flaps his wings.

The cats can sing.

Pam is sad.

my cat is dead

Thought for sure we'd get a note sent home about this one. All she said was "well, that's a good reason for someone to be sad" Notice the river of tears and the xxx over the cat's eyes and mouth. Nice details.

april catch up

2010-04-30T01:47:00.001-05:00

3 years 1 month 3 days old

2010-04-04T21:13:00.008-05:00

Today Lucy is the exact same age that Audrey was the day she became a big sister. It is so amazing to watch the two of them growing side by side. How different they are. The way they learn, the way the react to situations, the way they communicate, they way they love and want to be loved. It’s hard not to compare. I will never forget that day. Sitting in bed holding my brand new tiny baby. And looking up to see my firstborn had grown into a little girl right before my eyes. What a surreal feeling that was. So bittersweet. Here we are, 3 years 1 month and 3 days later. And when I look at Lucy I see the things that she has learned from her big sister wanting to be a big girl herself. Things that make her seem older than 3. But then at the very same time, I see the things that will make her my tiny baby forever. And for now, those are the things that I cherish the most.

just one more...

2010-03-30T20:25:00.004-05:00

...a little closer to home.

photog field trip - west bottoms

2010-03-28T18:08:00.007-05:00

A couple of weekends ago, Nickie and I took our munchkins down to the West Bottoms to scout out some photo opportunities. This was to be the final installment of my Audrey 6 and Lucy 3 pictures. Conditions were not exactly favorable...but we are die-hards and we were going to make it work no matter what...meaning...we aren't ashamed to bribe our children for a good pic.

Look closely and you can see Nickie in action with her kiddos...

We did stop and take a lunch break...full bellies make for happier kids (and moms) The kids were troopers, considering it was cold and wet...and for 5 hours they were promised candy and lip gloss that didn't exist. But in the end, we were all treated with ice cream and finished up the day with some much deserved play time. What a great day out!!!

copy cat

2010-03-18T22:05:00.000-05:00

somebody has been watching Grandma put on her eyebrows...

sisters vs. pets

2010-03-12T22:10:00.000-06:00

"pets are fun"

"fish-is are fun"

"Lucys are not fun"

you are my sunshine

2010-03-10T18:40:00.000-06:00

3 years old

2010-03-01T21:50:00.000-06:00

Lucy's party was a little more low key...but then again, Lucy is a little more low key in general. can't forget the chair picture!

snow bunnies

2010-02-27T21:30:00.000-06:00

The official photos for Lucy's 3 year and Audrey's 6 year, shot and edited by yours truly.

cabin fever

2010-02-21T20:39:00.000-06:00

You know it's been a long winter when 40 degrees and sunny screams
"LET'S PLAY OUTSIDE!"

outtake

2010-02-17T20:43:00.000-06:00

sometimes...we joke...that when she makes her funny face...she looks like Chunk from 'The Goonies'

happy valentines day

2010-02-14T12:00:00.003-06:00

Love,
Audrey and Lucy

fashion party

2010-01-31T08:56:00.001-06:00

This was the first year that Audrey wanted to invite her school friends. It's a weird feeling really, inviting a bunch of girls that you don't know to come over to your house for 2 hours. Audrey decided that she wanted to have a fashion show party which was perfect, really, considering the amount of dress up clothes we own could outfit a small town for Halloween.

I ended up turning our dining room into the "backstage" , then making a pink runway to the posing area:First we played "stick the cell phone on the teenager":

Next I handed out the favor bags which included: a pink boa, bracelets, sunglasses, nail polish, cell phone lip gloss, and a lip whistle. And the girls went to town:

This is Audrey explaining how to "walk the runway":Then it was time for "cake":
The party was a success! See those two taller girls? Those are Audrey's 4th grade friends (our neighbors). She "hired" them to be party helpers and quite honestly, they were a huge help painting nails, doing makeup, handing out cookies, etc. And speaking of "I couldn't have survived this without you"...thanks to Nickie for taking all of the pictures! I'm sure the parents thought I'd hired a photographer she did such an awesome job!

Now the big question is: how exactly am I supposed to top this for next year???

6 years old

2010-01-27T20:31:00.000-06:00

never would I have ever guessed that this:would someday be this:
Happy Birthday Audrey Grace

we love you!

co sleeping shuffle

2010-01-22T18:36:00.000-06:00

Last week Lucy climbed out of her crib for the first time. It's no big deal really, I mean, she is almost 3 and all...but it kinda defeats the purpose of a crib if she can climb out of it. So on to the big bed it is! We saved our old queen mattress a while back knowing that it would fit under this bunk. We bring it upstairs, put the bedding on it, and *here's where the story gets interesting* Audrey falls in LOVE.
It's no secret that we are a co sleeping family. This isn't something I preach about but it's not something I hide either. It's wasn't something we planned exactly, but it's what has always worked for us. Lucy told us that she needed her space at 18 months and moved into her crib no problem. Audrey, well, we were thinking it would be more like 18 years for her. See that top bunk? That was bed #2 she told us she would sleep in if we got it for her :)
So the first night Audrey tells me that after we rock she wants to go in the new bed and of course I agree. I always agree. I've heard this from her before and when she comes back into our room 20 minutes later I don't give her a hard time I just tell her it was a good try and we get on with our night. But that night....she didn't come back! Or the next, or the next, or the next!
*now ready for the twist in the story?* Lucy, the one we weren't worried about, has been in our bed by midnight every single night since. Little booger.

I guess the girls decided it was time for a trade :)

shoveling in style

2010-01-17T21:23:00.000-06:00

Looks like Lucy has picked up a few fashion tips from her big sister. I have to admit this scares me a bit...however I am loving her desire to always help out.

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

2009-12-29T19:48:00.000-06:00

co stars

2009-12-21T18:27:00.002-06:00

Ok so the videos are blurry by no fault of the videographer. I can't for the life of me get good movies at these recitals. But I still had to post them....they just too cute not to.

tap dancer

2009-12-20T18:09:00.001-06:00

My pictures of Audrey aren't quite as good. To be honest this was the first time I used the zoom lens with no flash and relied solely on ISO. And Audrey's dance was much faster moving than Lucy's. Audrey did a fantastic job I was so proud of her! She has quite the stage presence. It's funny because we joke that there's and age where the girls stop looking "cute" and start looking "awkward" and if they aren't good by then, it's time to pull them out. That age is coming up quick and Trav and I were thinking that we wouldn't be paying her dance bill much longer. I think she might have proved us wrong with this dance. She loves tap and it shows!!!

tiny dancer

2009-12-19T20:29:00.001-06:00

Lucy's survived her first recital. She did great. And by great I mean that she stayed backstage without a parent, got onstage without crying, and didn't poop in her diaper. The toddler class is everybody's favorite class to watch. They are so cute and no one expects them to actually know the routine. In fact, Lucy chose to do ballerina twirls the majority of the song.

reindogs

2009-12-13T20:07:00.000-06:00

he'll give you candy

2009-12-10T20:03:00.000-06:00

that's how I got Lucy to sit on Santa's lap. Truthfully, once they both start smiling the stories won't be as good. Oh, except for Audrey asking for a real unicorn to ride on and Lucy asking for a merry go round. Hopefully this year they saw the magic Santa.

citation

2009-12-07T18:46:00.003-06:00

After being told that I'd heard enough taddeling on her sister, Audrey proceeded to go and get a pad of paper to write "tickets" for all of her wrongdoings: productive use of her new sentence skills if you ask me.

semi homemade

2009-12-02T22:43:00.001-06:00

In my attempt to not pay for personalized pottery barn kids stockings, I purchased stockings from Hobby Lobby and spent 4589 hours personalizing them myself. I loved that they had 2 different girls. I didn't think it was going to be very fair to let one sister be the ballerina and one be the anythingbesidestheballerina.

The most obvious thing that needed to be personalized was the yellow hair. Second was that they were very pink and pink and not so much red and green.I didn't let things like "what show are those girls from?" and "agggh I wanted one than sings" and "why can't they have snowflake eyes?" and "mommy you forgot to feed us lunch" and "honey I don't have any more clean socks" stop me. I was on a creative mission.The names were the hardest part. Hello, that's what got me in this mess in the first place was the catalog that has all of the stockings with the perfectly monogrammed names that I've been drooling over for years and years. I think I tried at least 5 different ways (one of which resulted in a quick re purchase and start over on a stocking) before settling on this.My favorite part? That I'm done. I hope that the girls will love them and want to use them from now on.

At least they better.

what i've been doing in my spare time part 4

2009-11-29T11:19:00.011-06:00

And last but not least...our girls

*spoiler alert* this is our Christmas card picture

what i've been doing in my spare time part 3

2009-11-29T11:02:00.004-06:00

Lily

what i've been doing in my spare time part 2

2009-11-29T10:30:00.009-06:00

Trav's mom bought matching Christmas outfits for all of the grandkids. Getting 6 little ones to sit still and look the same direction is quite a process. In my opinion, the bad ones are just as fun to look at as the good ones and usually end up showing more individual personalities albeit not all on the same shot. I ended up making a frame out of the outtakes for the finished product.

what i've been doing in my spare time part 1

2009-11-29T10:14:00.006-06:00

During our October family get together, I took school pictures for my nieces and nephew. The lighting was absolutely perfect that day. And they were so very easy to work with...

halloween

2009-11-02T21:50:00.000-06:00

Audrey as a fashion witch and Lucy as a care bear.

Jody as Sharpay and Honey as a bee Lucy "growling" at the trick or treaters because she's a bear.

jack o lanterns

2009-10-26T22:50:00.004-05:00

This year we decided to carve our pumpkins. We got one of those design books and let the girls each pick out their own. Lucy picked out a level 2 fire face and Audrey picked out a mummy that seemed like a level 99. Lucy digging in

not so enthusiastic about the pumpkin guts Seriously...who's kid is this???

Lucy posing with her pumpkin while Trav was sweating over the level 99 mummy even though Audrey had already lost interest and gone upstairs only to yell down every once in a while "are you finished yet?" he he he

Here are the girls showing off "their" finished products

public service announcement

2009-10-25T23:05:00.003-05:00

I now know why people get their baby's ears pierced. It's not that I was ever against it. I just thought it would be fun to wait until the girls wanted it done. You know, like a special treat.Lucy picking her studs out...

...Audrey in awe of the thousands of earrings that could soon be her very own
Oh and we've been down this road before. Audrey has sat in the piercing chair on more than one occasion only to chicken out. "I think I'll wait 'til I'm 5" turned into "I really should wait until I'm 6". The thought was never far from her mind. One more part of her body that could sport a fashion accessory - seriously what could be better? The problem was that I wasn't willing to lie about the fact that it hurt. Because it does. And because it wasn't a necessity like a immunization I thought it was only fair for her to make the decision on her own. She'd talk about it sometimes like "maybe tomorrow" and I'd always tell her that I'd take her whenever she wanted and move on knowing that tomorrow would be a different story but never letting on that I doubted her plans. Then something happened. Lucy started talking about her earrings too. "Where's my earrings mama?" she'd say, or "look - Dora has earrings". You think peer pressure is hard well little sister pressure is like 10 times worse. At least.

One evening we were sitting in the rocking chair about a week after the dreaded flu shot. The "but the nurse said my kindergarten shots were the last shots I'd have to get" flu shot. Agggh. Audrey turns to me out of the blue and says "does getting my ears pierced feel like that flu shot?" and I said "yes it sure does Audrey, it hurts pretty bad but then it's all over" and to that she replied "oh, I can do that, let's go tomorrow". As usual, I agreed and went about like normal. Then the next morning she woke up and said "guess what today is?!?!?!!!" uh? oh, you mean we're really doing this? Well, ok, let's go then.

Then we walk in the door and she says "Lucy can go first".

Nice.

Trav pulls Audrey aside and tells her "If you make your little sister go first then I'm telling you right now that there will be NO chickening out"

"ok, whatever Dad"

Has no clue what is about to happen"wow, she's so calm" the lady kept saying.......and this would be me dropping the camera because they just pierced my baby's ear wrong when she jumped...
...and this would be Audrey FLIPPING OUT because she just witnessed her sister get pierced, picked apart, and re pierced again...
...and this would be me accepting my mother of the year award when I still made Audrey go through with her promise while she was screaming and I was holding her head so she didn't jump too...
...and this would be Audrey's face 3.25 seconds after it was over......and Lucy still not quite sure what the heck just happened in there.Seriously, like the longest 15 minutes of my life in there. All is well now. Audrey, that's just pretty much how she is. I'm pretty confident that she would have screamed just as loud if she would have waited until she was 12. Maybe louder. I think the right thing to do was to just get it over with. She is anxiously counting the days until she can get her hands some hot pink cheetah sequin feather earrings (or any other hideous combination that she can think of). And Lucy, well, let's just hope that she's young enough to not remember. Some special treat huh? :)

pre halloween art

2009-10-22T23:03:00.002-05:00

"pumpkins, oval and round, Halloween is fun when you are around"

"monsters"

forever a girl scout

2009-10-20T23:02:00.004-05:00

Tonight was Audrey's Investiture Ceremony for Girl Scouts. The leader had put together a beautiful script explaining to the girls what the promise means and the history of Girl Scouts. Audrey invited all 4 of her Grandparents for this special occasion along with her parents...

and Lucy.

Yes that would be lil' sis rolling on the floor during the ceremony.

The girls each lit a candle while they repeated a line from the Girl Scout law.
Getting their pin.

Honestly the majority of the time it seemed like the girls didn't really know what was happening. I didn't let it bother me I just kept reminding myself that they are in Kindergarten. Afterwards, I expressed to my mom that if might have gone a little smoother if we had practiced beforehand. And that's when she tells me "the girls might not have seemed like they were processing everything per say, but as they look back and remember later on in life they will be appreciative that they were made to feel special and so very important". And that's when it hit me, Audrey had not invited everyone to witness her sitting under the table and talking through the song and whining about not getting the right patches. Audrey had invited the most important people in her life so that they would be a part of her memory.

tap tap tap

2009-10-20T22:47:00.001-05:00

This is Audrey's 1st year in tap. She has been so excited to get in those shoes ever since she started dancing.

Watching herself in the mirror...
I love this picture.

The day before at Lucy's watch week I got up and danced with her at the end of class. So when that time came in Audrey's class I looked over at Trav and said "today's your turn"...and he got up! What a great girl Daddy he is!!!

watch week *revised edition

2009-10-19T22:43:00.002-05:00

Ok. This week is watch week at dance. Parents are invited to come into the studio for the last 15 min of class. (normally the door is closed and the girls focus better that way) so here I am taking advantage of my “flexible work environment” and planning to take a long/early lunch to see Lucy. You know, trying to be the involved parent in the middle of the day even though I’m a working parent…and everything parent related is at least 40 min away from me…

So I think it's supposed to go a little like this: Wake up a little early to be sure to have enough time to get myself and my camera ready. I float into work at 7am, avoid chatting to make sure that I get a solid start on my day before I slip out for a bit to watch my little ballerina. Take some pictures to capture the milestone, join Lucy and my mom for lunch at McD's, then get back to work telling myself that all of my SAHM dreams are unnecessary because I've got this juggling act perfectly under control.

But here's how it really went: (copied and pasted from an actual email to Nickie)

1st - wake up late, get to work at 8:30 – the entire way in I’m thinking I should have just stayed home until dance, why did I even bother to make the drive this late.
2nd – leave work at 9:50, need to get gas in order to drive more than 5 miles, get back on the road and grab my purse.
3rd – can’t find my little camera/video, remember that it’s in the pocket of the coat I wore yesterday and left in my mom’s van.
4th – call my mom to ask her to unlock the van so I can grab my camera on the way in…a) I can hear the class and she tells me that they get to watch the whole hour and b) she took the coat (and camera) out of her van and it’s sitting on her kitchen table so that Trav can take it home tonight
5th – now I’m speeding, missing the whole flipping thing, deciding if I should stop by mom’s house and miss even more to get my camera.
6th – I remember that Trav has the day off…I call him to ask him to run the big camera up to me at dance…he tells me he’s not home…at 10AM...already out and about.
7th – pull into dance at 10:40…have to walk across the entire studio to find a place to sit, Lucy see’s me and stops dancing. Just stood there the whole time with her fist in her mouth.
8th – I took a few pictures…….with my PHONE!!!
9th – was back in the car by 10:55…drove 40 min back to work.
10th – now I get to stay until at least 5 to make up for my sleeping mishap and my super mom attempt.

WORTH EVERY SECOND!!!

the princess and the queen

2009-10-18T22:41:00.001-05:00

all fancied up

2009-10-16T22:40:00.006-05:00

I came home Friday from work to the girls all ready to go out for a nice dinner...in their own creative way of course!It's the litle moments like these that I cherish the most. As important as the milestones and traditions are, sometimes the expectations for a picture perfect memory overpower my ability to step back and just live in the moment. I have really enjoyed unloading the pictures from my "purse camera" and the unexpected opportunities that I have had to capture snippets of our everyday chaos.

frozen pumpkins

2009-10-11T22:17:00.003-05:00

Remember that one time when I was complaining that it just didn't feel like fall because we were wearing shorts to the pumpkin patch? Well, be careful what you wish for!!!

The weekend before was beautiful. 70s. Perfect. Good thing we waited for the Girl Scout outing :)
Lucy did get to ride her first ponyWe all rode the hayride down to the pumpkin patch...neither of those pumpkins actually came home with us.

hot stuff

2009-10-10T22:15:00.001-05:00

putting on big sister's dress makes little sister just as sassy...

daisy

2009-10-08T21:35:00.000-05:00

Audrey had her first Daisy meeting this week! She had a blast and so did I. I'm afraid that I'm guilty of living vicariously through my girls when it comes to extra curricular activities. Not that I expect them to continue with every single activity long term...but I do feel personally responsible for giving them ample opportunities to find their niche.

Did I mention that I put the patches on all by myself???
Friendship circle...the girls all looked so cute in their little smocks.

child labor

2009-10-04T10:26:00.001-05:00

"I can't wait until Lucy turns 3, then I can make her my servant."

- Audrey Menzies

get well soon

2009-09-27T10:15:00.000-05:00

(as we are getting in the car I'm being bombarded with the usual 35 requests/demands all before I've even turned the key)

J: Wow Audrey, I can tell you're feeling better, you've got most of your bossy back
A: Mom, this is just the way God made me, you are going to need to learn to live with it

she kinda has a point.

clowning around

2009-09-10T06:03:00.001-05:00

I sure do love this crazy kid!

two and a half

2009-09-01T21:51:00.000-05:00

Sitting still was not in Lucy's agenda for today :)

gray area

2009-08-31T20:00:00.004-05:00

A: I had to flip my clip today
M: really, what happened?
A: I don't know
M: well, what were you doing right before your teacher told you to flip it?
A: telling Mackenzie something
M: Audrey, did your teacher ask the class to stop talking?

A: but mom, I wasn't talking...I was whispering

kindergarten

2009-08-28T22:21:00.000-05:00

The first of 13 "first day of school" pictures with Daddy
(replacing the "chair" pictures)

Walking to her classroom

Putting her things away in her cubby

Sitting at her desk

Writing her name

(I have to note here that Lucy also took a seat, got out the box,

looked up at me and said "Bye Mom")

waiting for class to start

there's no lookin' back now

Well, we survived the first week of school. Audrey did so well. She is in a brand new school with a brand new teacher and I was holding my breath just a little I must admit. She is there all day and stays busy with separate teachers for art, music, library, PE, and computers along with all of the regular Kindergarten stuff with Mrs. Grabel.

We had a little bit of a bus issue at first. My mom was supposed to pick her up every day except the first day she could ride the bus home because I had the day off. On the second day when she didn't get to ride again she was very upset. See, that was the only time all day she got to see her friends from the neighborhood because they are all in different grades. So Audrey and Grandma have worked out a deal where she is now waiting in our driveway for Audrey to get off of the bus. Seriously.Spoiled.Rotten.

Lucy was so happy to see her sissy home!

defeated

2009-08-22T14:15:00.001-05:00

The closer it gets to the first day of school the more anxious I become. And it's not even about Audrey being gone all day, I've already got that down pat since the girls are with my mom while I'm at work. Her being at school won't feel any different to me than her being with Gma...during the day at least. It's the evenings that have me raising my arms in defeat. With big girl school comes big girl after school activities. And I'm not exactly sure how I'm supposed to fit dinner, homework, playtime, dance, girl scouts, bath, reading, laundry, picking up, cleaning, shopping, etc, etc, etc within the hours of 5:30 - 8:30. I'm not sure exactly how to do it ALL.
The past few months have made me realize how precious my time really is. How they are only going to be this age once. And little by little I have sacrificed getting things done around the house to spend just a few more minutes with them. We have gone without bread or milk on more than one occasion because we didn't get to the store. We have dug in the back of our closets for something to wear because laundry was piling up. We have made the time to pick up and saved the cleaning for the next day only to realize we needed to pick up again.
So...
Today I interviewed and hired a house cleaner...and for the first time in a long long while, some of the weight has just been lifted off of my shoulders.

polka dots

2009-08-16T09:18:00.001-05:00

As I expected, our weekend project turned into our summer project. I still have a few little things to do (like put pictures into the frames) but enough is done that I can finally post a peek:

"no boys allowed" I replaced the closet doors with dark pink gingham curtains. One reason because the closet doors are always left open into the middle of the room and the other reason because I wanted to put the chest of drawers in that corner.
I made this lamp shade myself. I'm kinda proud of it.
At the last minute, Lucy decided she still wanted her crib. We refer to it as her "cave". Eventually there will be a queen sized mattress on the bottom with a matching quilt...

in the meantime, the girls are using the extra space as a cuddle corner.
doesn't look like Audrey will get lonely up top.
The green doll cabinet and cradle were made for my mom by her daddy. I used them too and now they have been passed down yet another generation.
Every girl needs a hot pink vanity don't 'cha think?
The bookshelf is also 3rd generation. I saw the blue drawers and thought they would be perfect for lots of little jewelery. And the ice cream chair was definitely my favorite antique store find :)

Seriously...where else but Hobby Lobby would there actually be polka dot crosses?

I hope the girls can enjoy this room for many years to come. Thanks to Mary Ann for the wonderful paint job!

jump again

2009-08-04T18:49:00.000-05:00

On an average swim night. Lucy jumps in the pool about 537 times. Sometimes with a running start. Sometimes with a "watch me". Sometimes with no warning at all. She just loves to jump. Needless to say...Lucy gets her life jacket on before we even open the gate. That girl doesn't care if someone is there to catch her or not. Over the course of this particular evening, I was able to take several pictures of some of the jumps and put them together "flip book" style:

"jump again"

swim night

2009-08-02T19:18:00.000-05:00

We have made a habit out of going to the pool on Saturday nights. On most occasions, we have the pool all to ourselves...seems other people in the neighborhood have a life :)

"superstar" The differences between the girls are the most obvious in the water. I will never forget the first time I walked around the corner to witness Lucy being thrown into the lake...and loving it. Such a shock after years of being careful not to splash with Audrey.

the stair jump

the slide in

Audrey getting brave

girl talk

2009-07-26T20:50:00.000-05:00

Ella: do you know who the Jonas Brothers are?

Audrey: yeah! which one do you like?

Ella: the one in the gold jacket.

Audrey: that's Joe! I love Nick!

Ella: oh yeah...

Audrey: he's the one with the curly hair and diabetes.

First of all I love that they have both seen the same ONE video where apparently Kevin was wearing a gold jacket. And then of course who could miss the diabetes comment. Who'd have known that was a reason to crush on a rock star.

(thank you Nickie for making sure that I blogged this for future teenage humiliation)

peer presure

2009-07-24T20:49:00.000-05:00

Did anyone tell you that peer presure doesn't stop at graduation? Did anyone tell you it actually gets worse? Case in point:

The I phone.

I avoided this for quite a while. Some of the reasons include not wanting to spend the money, not wanting to be one of those people in line at the grocery store, and of course....the whole mac vs. pc thing:

Sorry PC.

bubbles

2009-07-21T06:15:00.000-05:00

blink

2009-07-20T06:13:00.000-05:00

don't 'cha just hate it when you blink in a picture?

ladies and gentleman

2009-07-16T06:53:00.002-05:00

we seem to be experiencing some unexpected delays...our weekend project has turned into our summer project. I have one piece of furniture left to paint and a few odds and ends left to hang on the walls. But I promise, we are almost finished with the girls' new room. No really, I mean it this time.

pop bang boom

2009-07-07T06:14:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures from our annual neighborhood 4th of July shin-dig...

decisions...decisions.

Jill brought out her margarita, I mean, snow cone machine.

no outfit is complete, without a little cheetah

Sydney and Lucy stompin' some poppers

before...
...after

great weather! great food! great friends!

(and no injuries this year - a hem, a hem)

sleepover

2009-07-03T22:40:00.000-05:00

Audrey had her first sleepover with her cousin Abby this week while away.

"Did you have fun?"

"Well yeah, except we kept watching really scary movies"

"Really? Like what?"

"Care Bears...and Little Mermaid"

so quiet

2009-06-29T06:31:00.001-05:00

We are back from our Branson vacation...sans kiddos. They are staying the week with Trav's parents. The house is soooo quiet. It's almost like we're getting that vacation from our vacation that you always wish you got when you are home from a trip and more exhausted than when you left. (I think here is where I'm supposed to throw in that I miss them already) We have a major project to accomplish with our freedom, oops I mean boredom, in the evenings after work...turning the nursery into a bunk bed room. Pics soon to follow - hopefully.

formal

2009-06-24T06:30:00.000-05:00

this one reminded me of a boutonniere...

bye bye barbie

2009-06-23T06:34:00.002-05:00

So my mom doesn't get rid of much. In fact, not too long after Trav and I were married and settled into our first home I was greeted at the front door with 6 tubs of Barbies, 3 tubs of baby dolls and 1 huge tub containing my doll house. Did I mention we were newly weds and we didn't have any kiddos yet? My mom had figured out that she could get credit for getting rid of things by giving them to me, but since they were now in my basement she wasn't actually getting rid of them. Oh yeah and maybe she thought I really did want them. And maybe for a while I did too. I mean, they were in our 1st basement for 4 years, our storage unit for 1 year, and our 2nd basement for 3 years. I have 2 girls after all. Well, turns out they want NEW Barbies of their own. And who can blame them really? The modern 5 year old doesn't exactly appreciate the value of a good Barbie and the Rockers tape. Or a 3 story cardboard house complete with an orange string-pulled elevator. Or an ankle length crimped hair do.
So in the midst of my week long rampage through every nook and cranny of the house in the name of uncluttering and making a little moola...I decided that biding farewell to the Barbies was long overdue. I didn't even open the tubs. I didn't want to spark any childhood memories or feelings that would cause me to want to keep them. I slapped a sign on them in the garage sale that said "$10 a tub or $50 you take all". And nothing happened. Now I'd taken a vow that the garage sale items would NOT go back into the house no matter what and I'm facing 8 more years only this time with a Barbie tub tower in the garage. Then craigslist came to the rescue. I posted the above picture and a price of $75 (knowing that I would be talked back down to $50). And I had a bite. A very complicated bite. She wanted me to open the tubs and take pictures of the contents. Honestly I was a little scared. I have hording in my blood and as hard as I work on not following in my mother's footsteps I still get caught off guard every once in a while. But something very strange happened. Nothing. I opened the tubs and snapped the pictures without even one little ounce of regret. It was so refreshing. So powerful. After seeing the detailed pictures she offered me $60...and since the tubs were now unsealed and opened, I decided to dump everything into trash bags and keep the tubs. The tubs that cost more than $60 alone. Score.
Although I appreciate all of the effort my mom went to for what she believed was my best interest, it was so huge for me to be able to have them GONE. Huge for me to open those and feel nothing and know that for my own girls the rules for saving keepsakes will be different. Quality over quantity. Less is more. Memories are forever. People are more important than things.

tippy toes

2009-06-22T06:31:00.002-05:00

this one reminded me of a ballet slipper...

summer time

2009-06-17T18:33:00.003-05:00

So I'm not blogging a lot lately. Besides the 2 weeks that the garage sale consumed my every thought and action, I am also planning/packing for our upcoming vacation. Oh, and then there's the driveway. We spend every single night in the driveway talking and playing and people watching until it's dark. Most nights dinner consists of a quick PB & J break if we can get the girls to slow down for even that long. All of the neighbor's and their kids seem to end up at our house and I absolutely love it. I have always wanted to be that house. Post garage sale we still had the couch for about a week before a craigslister came and got it. We spent that week lounging in our temporary outside living room. So comfy I was almost sad to sell it.
Probably a good thing we did though, people were starting to stare.

commercial break

2009-06-10T18:48:00.001-05:00

days spent deciding to have a garage sale - 3
nights spent preparing for the garage sale until at least midnight - 4
number of unpacked boxes gone through from the move (4 years ago) - 10+
tape rolls used pricing every single item - 2
times girls were threatened not to drag stuff back into the house - 55
big ticket items also posted on craigslist - 7
impromptu items sold that weren't set out - 1 (thanks Tracey!)
net profit made from sales - 650
days spent bagging up the garage sale leftovers - 3
trips to goodwill - 2
knowing that that was most likely our first and last garage sale ever - priceless!!!

first bloom

2009-05-20T05:55:00.000-05:00

The roses survived the winter. All but one that is. RIP Mellow Yellow. Pretty good ratio for my first season if you ask me. I mean it's not like we're talking pets or kids - right?

grad

2009-05-18T12:46:00.008-05:00

Next year is the real deal...

spoonful of love

2009-05-12T17:13:00.006-05:00

Here is my Mother's day present that Audrey made at school - what's left of it that is. It was two hershey's kisses wrapped in the fabric. As I'm opening it Audrey is telling me:

"The two candies are for me and Lucy, and I want the hankerchief too, but mommy you can have the spoon."

green

2009-05-08T17:12:00.002-05:00

(as we are getting in the car)
A: can we watch a movie?
J: no, we're just going down the street, why don't you look out the window
A: agghhhh, mom, you know I don't like nature

go big

2009-05-04T06:00:00.001-05:00

L: mama, can we go outside?

J: no, it's raining

L: ok....can we go shopping?

J: no, it's almost bedtime

L: ok....can we go to Disney World?

kindergarten discovery day

2009-05-01T17:09:00.000-05:00

J: Audrey this is a very nice picture
A: thanks mom
J: did the teacher ask you to write your name?
A: yeah
J: what happened?
A: it just sounded so lame to me

beauty marks

2009-04-26T19:03:00.000-05:00

Apparently while I was in the shower, Lucy found a pen and went to town. She hears the water turn off, runs into the bathroom and says:

"Loooook Mommy - I so pretty!"

walk for babies

2009-04-22T20:00:00.000-05:00

To all of you - past, present and future - who have donated to the March of Dimes I want to Thank you!

Here is Audrey's story:

After multiple failed pregnancies it was time to switch to a specialist. We walked into KU Med, gave several viles of blood, and soon thereafter I was pregnant once again and this time on prometrum for what turned out to be a low progesterone count.

16 weeks into the pregnancy we looked over at that black and white screen holding our breath and saw our Audrey Grace for the first time.

Everything seemed to be falling into place.

From my 20 week appointment to my 24 week appointment things had changed. My blood pressure was elevated and my feet were swelling. I graduated to bi weekly appointments and went about my normal routine.

At my 28 week appointment (which happened to be on Trav's birthday) I was told that we needed to go straight from the office to the hospital. They monitored me and Audrey throughout the night and the next day I layed there while my Dr. and the Perinatologist discussed if immediate delivery was necessary right in front of me.

With a diagnosis of pre eclampsia I was sent home but told I was on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. I graduated once again this time to weekly appointments. Although my blood pressure was going higher and higher and the swelling was more and more I was still producing normal urine and was sent back home week after week. I was miserable but knew that the very best thing I could do for Audrey was to hold on as long as possible. That every single day made a difference.

At my 33 week appointment (Mon), protein was found in my urine. My Dr. looked me straight in the eyes, told me to go home, get in bed, and not get out again until my next appt which was to be on Thur. That night I could not sleep, I was having such a hard time breathing that I was afraid if I fell asleep I would not wake up. I sat there all night and waited for Trav to wake up. He ran and got his cuff and took my blood pressure, it was 224/110, I was not going to make it until Thursday. He called the hospital and we were on our way. I entered the hospital in the beginning stages of kidney and liver failure. I was given magnesium sulfate and patocin and the labor process had begun.

Around 6pm my Doctor comes in to check me. Although I am having contractions, Audrey has not even dropped yet. He tells me that it would probably take me 3 days to labor and that we need to do a c section.

Audrey Grace was born on January 27, 2004 @ 8:31pm weighing 4 lbs 7 oz

She was immediately taken to the NICU for evaluation. There were some minor issues but overall she was perfect - just small. She did have to be fed through a NG tube because her suck reflex had not yet developed and was still learning how to remember to breath all of the time. She was in the NICU for a total of 13 days, but we were so blessed, so thankful for my Doctor's diligent care and knowledge, so aware that if she had been born at 28 weeks we might not be telling the same story.

Audrey's story is a story that shows that not all March of Dimes research is done for babies that were taken from the womb too early, that March of Dimes research is also to help keep babies in the womb longer, that every additional day is a precious gift.

This year's walk is Sunday May 3rd

panic

2009-04-17T19:11:00.000-05:00

A: Mom, I had a horrible nightmare last night
J: really? what happened?
A: I dreamed that Daddy got arrested and Grandma got a job

To a 5 year old - these are both equal reasons to panic...

the hunt

2009-04-14T19:04:00.000-05:00

We spent Easter weekend at Trav's parent's house and church. Trav's entire family was there from his mom's side. We had a nice time visiting and...the girls are FINALLY old enough to pretty much go off and play on their own with their cousins!This is the only picure I have of Lucy without her sweater on
Audrey made sure to accessorize her dress
Abby and Audrey are attached at the hip

Let the hunt begin

What happens when I ask the girls to stand next to eachother and smile

recognize

2009-04-04T09:14:00.002-05:00

While driving to dinner with my parents, Lucy points to the delivery truck in the next lane over and yells:

"Hey! Dat's my Daddy's drink!!"

dress up

2009-03-30T20:37:00.001-05:00

Who am I kidding I would totally let them wear this out and about :)

sister love

2009-03-23T18:57:00.019-05:00

round two

2009-03-21T13:42:00.003-05:00

Yeah, I'm totally rockin' in my second minivan right about now. Don't be a hater.

P.S. ditched the Dodge and went for the Kia this time around - so far I'm loving it. Also feeling like my coolness factor has gone up a bit. Well, as far up as the minivan will allow it :)

two lil' monkeys

2009-03-19T20:34:00.001-05:00

tea party

2009-03-18T20:27:00.001-05:00

We had a photographer come to our house for the girls' 5 and 2 year pictures. She did a wonderful job. I will be sharing more pictures with you throughout the week. Especially since I am suffering from a major lack of creativity lately.

official family picture 2009

2009-03-16T20:25:00.000-05:00

skins

2009-03-09T19:54:00.009-05:00

Lucy is learning how to take off her own clothes. If you leave her alone, when you return you see this: Seriously we just got Audrey out of this phase... Hopefully summer is right around the corner.

look who's two!

2009-03-01T14:32:00.014-06:00

The many faces of Lucy Elizabeth

Happy Birthday Sissy, we love you like crazy!

best of both worlds

2009-02-28T08:48:00.002-06:00

There is so much else going on in this video besides the girls singing. It makes me laugh every time I watch it. Enjoy!

ft menzies

2009-02-26T19:01:00.007-06:00

Audrey had been making "forts" with the couch cushions and pillows. This had only consisted of her putting everything in a pile and laying in the middle of everything to watch TV. In walks Daddy. He proceeds to get out every single blanket we own and use the couch as the main support. Before the night was over there were 2 mop handles and countless twist ties used for reinforcement. Sadly, the fort didn't make it through the evening, the "entrance" required you to crawl through only, Lucy did not quite comply to this rule...
Night 2:
So I guess Travis aka the fort architect slept on it and came up with some new design ideas for the girls to try again the next night. Notice how the new fort is in the middle of the living room now instead of on the couch. Also notice that tape is now being used in addition to the ties. Oh and now the fort has a name "The unicorn friendship boys and girls club, no strangers allowed". This fort lasted the whole rest of the week. The girls (and Travis) had a blast.

2009-02-23T20:54:00.000-06:00

Things have been moving slower than usual around here lately...

...the web master is looking into it.

staycation

2009-02-16T09:46:00.009-06:00

This weekend we packed up and headed out east all of 20 miles to Coco Key Water Resort.
Sometimes it's nice to get away even if it's just for a night.
We had so much fun just the 4 of us, splashing a playing and exploring the place.
I forgot my camera, yet again. And I was ok with that. It let me enjoy the moments with my girls rather than wait for the perfect shot.
Funny thing is though, Audrey packed her camera - which is my old camera - so Trav did get it out while we were at the baby pool on the last day.
It is always interesting for me to see how differently the girls handle the same situations. Audrey is very fearful of the water and it took her most of the day to warm up to the slides.
Lucy was by far the smallest one on the slides and had absolutely no fear of the water at all. She was climbing the stairs all by herself, Audrey could get about 3 slides in to Lucy's 1.
Every time Lucy got to the top Audrey would announce to the rest of the kids "let my little sister in" she was such the line cutter.

shoe whites

2009-02-12T17:48:00.001-06:00

Lucy got these "dress up" shoes for Christmas from her Grandma Cheryl. They are actually from the Snow White Halloween costume set. She absolutely loves them. She calls them her "shoe whites" and there is a very good chance that if you came over, she'd have them on.

valentine's

2009-02-11T18:31:00.007-06:00

I try to send out Valentines every year. I am not as obsessive about them as I am the Christmas cards, but so far I think I have done pretty good at sending them out.

This was a big year for us. Not only was it the first year that Lucy "participated", but it was also the first year that Audrey wrote her own name. 34 times.
That's thirty four times.

We actually started on this about 3 weeks ago and have been writing a few at a time. Last night was the push for the grand finale. I heard things like "my hand hurts" and "I'm tired" and "I don't like him I'm not giving him a valentine" and even "It's not fair that Lucy's name is easier than mine" it was a very valentine-y evening.

She did enjoy sealing all of them with stickers.

Here's a picture of some of them before they got sealed. I love seeing the variety in the way she writes her name.

2009-02-11T08:51:00.001-06:00

Email from my mom:

Lucy's new phrase today: "oh, my g'nuss!" "g'ma! Oh, my g'nuss!"

surender

2009-02-02T08:27:00.004-06:00

After years of struggling with the finances, I surrendered control of the checkbook to Trav. My mommy brain just couldn't focus on something like that anymore. My all or nothing attitude had caused me to get frustrated more than once and therefore just give up, put everything on auto-pay and basically ignore the rest. In a a few short weeks Trav had managed to get us pointed in the right direction and we were actually starting to get ahead.
While in Oklahoma with my parents and the girls for a funeral I get a call. Travis is okay, the car is not. It's totalled.
I guess maybe this is God's way of telling us that getting ahead is not necessary right now. That maybe keeping up is just fine for a while longer.

the chopstick place

2009-01-28T20:49:00.000-06:00

The tradition in my family has always been that on your birthday you get to pick where you want to eat. Whatever you want. I can remember as a child many years spent at McDonald's, ShowBiz Pizza, and then in my more sophisticated days - Shoneys. This year Audrey chose BDs Mongolian BBQ which she refers to as "the chopstick place". Luckily I remembered to tuck a candle into my purse because this wasn't the type of place that came out from around the corner clapping and singing. And of course I can't leave sissy out...