Oh Yes We Did

...get a new car. Holy Crap.

Bitter Bullets

• I just paid 4.03.99 for gas, for the "cheap" stuff. I am totaly bitter. Still.


• Aubrey has had diarrhea the last few days. A bug she picked up last weekend. Waiting for the other members of our family to fall...



• Still sleepy from last weekend, haven't recovered.



• Work has been CRAZY but really good. Monday morning we are in our new office space downtown. The company has doubled in size since I started 3 mos ago.



• My house? A complete and total disaster and I don't know how that happened... well, yes I do. Doug was home with the girls Tuesday and home with Aubrey on Friday.



• Cooking? Not so much.



• Diet? Not so much



• Blessings? Abundant.



• The last few blog posts... done on a "take control evening" where I did laundry, cleaned, organized, and did 5 posts scheduled out for a few days. Sorry :)



• I need to prune a few plants but the information I found for one of them says NOT to... dude the thing is HUGE...

Diggin' in Dirt in Dresses

What I love about these pictures is the 20 minutes it took to get outside because the girls were changing their clothes every 3 minutes until they had the perfect dresses on...to go outside and ride bikes and dig in the dirt.

Bike Swap

One of the things I might not have mentioned in the earlier post about the weekend was the wicked cool 4th annual Optimist Club Bike Swap at the local high school last Saturday. People were to drop off old bikes at 9am and come back at noon and based on your "number" you were called and got to pick up any of the bikes left.

So we dropped off 2 old bikes at 9, we were number 13. And at noon I went back with the girls and let Aubrey pick a bike - there were like 50 kids bikes. And I let Molly pick one and then we crossed our fingers and hoped that when they called our number those bikes were still there.

They were!

Aubrey rocks that bike! She is a pro and cruises around the driveway and around my car and so far hasn't hit here sister, her parents, or the dog.

Pool is OPEN!

Sunday and Monday we hit the pool for a few hours... these pictures are the first few minutes of the first pool day of the season. My girls have NO fear!

Baby Birdies 2

Tuesday evening I was out riding bike with the girls and I wanted to see how the birdies were doing... I found this:

As I was writing this post I wanted to see how the birdies were doing 25 hours later, I found this:

How cool is this? Here is the original post when I found the eggs.

So Pretty

Randomly was taking pictures Tuesday night and took this, thought it came out very pretty!

Happy Memorial Day!

Exhaustion does not even come close to describe this household. We had a fabulous, family filled weekend. 6 Parties, the Pool, Cousins, oh my.



The girls had a great time and are very brave in the water (read: reckless). Hanging out with them is a very physical. This was proven and give public display at my niece's graduation party. There was a dance floor and a trampoline. Aubrey (with her cousins Anna and Caleb) were on the trampoline the majority of 4 hours, breaks only for dancing, and eating cake. Insane. And Molly Moo was shaking her groove thing ALL night on the dance floor - SO FREAKING CUTE! Both my girls were up past 9:30 and were a joy the entire time. Oh, did I mention that prior to the party they were at the pool for 3.5 hours?



Then, when we got home last night, some strage dog decided to camp out on our front porch and bark all night. By 5am Doug had had it and loaded the dog up in the car and went searching for the farm the dog's tag said he was from (after attempting to call the number on the tag all night). He found the dog's home. Not before the dog dog big holes in my front garden.



Oh wait, did I mention the GREAT trip to the grocery store? Yeah, I took both girls. And we got the 'car' cart - both girls got to sit in the car and each had a steering wheel. Until Molly climbed out in aisle one after the produce section. And then I tried to get her to sit in the front cart seat and she threw a COMPLETE tantrum, kicking, screaming, flailing. I tucker her under my arm and kept shopping. As she continued her tantrum, Aubrey started yelling from the car, "mommy I'm trying to talk to you". Over. and Over. and Over. I am calmly walking through the store putting items in my basket as the above continues through the store to the milk aisle. People are LAUGHING out loud as I have Molly in my arm, flailing, and I am saying in a very conversational tone, "Molly, take a deep breath, use your big girl words and tell me what you want", putting items in my cart, while Aubrey is trying to tell me something - well actually just telling me she is trying to talk to me...loudly After I get the eggs in, Molly says, "car please". I put her next to her sister and get them some "fruit" snacks and we go check out.



No lesss than 5 mother's came by while I was in line to let me know I was not alone and that they thought the girls were adorable. Yeah, at that moment adorable was NOT the word I had in mind. It was pretty hilarious!



But after a morning nap where the girls slept for a few hours, we headed back to the pool and then Aunt Debi invited us over for dinner. The girls fell asleep in the car at 6:15.



But it was fun, the weather was FANTASTIC! And tomorrow my niece graduates! So exciting.

Things to Think/Sing About

This song? Can't get it out of my head. I felt the need to share it because I love it and find it to be the perfect summer song and one the kids will love to sing and dance with me. And I love it so much I fought with YouTube to FINALLY embed a video IN my blog. This was no easy feat. I had to copy the "embed" link spend 20 minutes trying to figure out why the hell it wouldn't paste into the edit window. Paste it into Notepad, then copy and try and spend 5 more minutes, than I hit the Edit HTML tab in blogger and it pasted fine. But then there was a red X so then I did it 3 or 4 more times and hit preview and it was there. That is how much I love this song and needed to share it. Yes, I am a dork. No, you don't need to tell me.

What is your favorite summer song?

It is such a neat time of year. Graduation. We have a number of graduation events going on this weekend and family in town as our niece, Sarah is graduating. She is going to Michigan!

LA's son is graduating, going to Maryland (GO TERPS), and Doug and I had the privilege of going to his Eagle Ceremony last night. I am so glad we were 1) invited 2) found a babysitter and 3) went. It started with everyone standing, the Pledge of Allegiance (who knew I would still know all the words), the Lord's Prayer, and then 50 scouts, of ALL ages saying the Boy Scott pledge. There were speeches, slide shows, candles, TEARS, thank yous, state delegates, and cake. Chris (the Eagle Scout), made what could have been a very long and boring ceremony :) very interesting, funny, and we all learned what a fantastic sense of humor he has about himself and just how great a man he is and will grow to become.

And tonight we start with the first of 5 parties this weekend. I was walking through the weekends schedule with Aubrey and she said, "Mommy, that is TOO many parties". Yup. But it will be fun (read: exhausting).

Also, new post up at Dueling Banjos

And please don't forget the reason for the 3 day weekend! Remember what it takes to be free and those that sacrifice for us all.

Where Are They Now

I found a gray hair. I pulled it out. I was suprised that it was a different consistency, more wirey and "rough" than my real hair. It was shorter and had NO color anywhere on it. I was shocked. I immediately started googling to find out why this happens. Apparently from the time you find your first gray it is 10 years until you are fully gray. But I don't believe this. Also, women, on average start graying at 35.

All that previous talk about season endings not being as exciting, crap. Because NCIS last night was good. And I can't find ANY information on contracts being up so I do have to wait for next year. BLAH.

Here are all the Favorite Recipes that were posted!

Amaretto Cheesecake.

Spicy Basil Tomato Soup

Sangria

Hot Crab Dip

Becky's Fajitas

Lydia's Fried Rice

Anne's Brushetta Chicken Bake

Jen's Yummy Easy Dinner

Garden Status

Baby Birdies

We have 3 Fuscia Hanging Plants along the front of the house. And in the middle one we have this:

It is a VERY small nest and tiny eggs! The mama is a little bird who is getting more brave about hanging out as we go in and out of the house.

The Instigator

Exhibit 1A: Molly begins splashing and all other children back away.

Exhibit 1B: Aubrey joins her sister in the splashing and now it is funny.
Exhibit 1C: All 3 cousins are splashing and soaking themselves, making a muddy mess in the yard.
Exibit 1D: Molly turns and smiles and seems to say, "Oh Yeah, I did this, it was all me"

Pregnant Aunt Erica, we are sorry we got muddy hands and footprints all over your house.

Arley's Two

If you say, "Hey, Arley, smile for Aunt Emily" you get this:


And then if you ask Molly to smile you get this: Is it the age?!?!?

*****************************

PS new post up on Dueling Banjos

TV and Music

I watched a penultimate and finale episode for 2 shows this week (Bones and CSI). And with the internet it seems like there is much less "OMG, what will happen" tied up in those shows.

I find those shows interesting and I like the shows so I will keep watching next year but I am not freaking out like I did when 1) I was yonger and 2) it was Friends. Maybe my age? Maybe the internet where I can actually find out if the person that got shot has renewed their contract or not? Maybe a combination? Regardless, season finales don't have the draw for me they used to.

Just found the need to write that.

I got this CD for the girls last week and they LOVE it. "The birdie song and the garden song" are their favorites and they keep asking for us to play it. I also found out that BNL has a new kids album out, so we downloaded that and I am not quite sure how much we will be using it RIGHT NOW but it will be interesting to see if they like it.

I love that bands we used to listen to - like Barenaked Ladies or They Might Be Giants - have kids albums! Is this a fairly new trend?

Haiku Friday

A rainy day here
The weekend is upon us
Would sleep but got kids

OR

Puddle Jumping Calls
In the rain we have a ball
So raindrops can fall

OR
Birthday parties here
2 or more is what I hear
But will there be beer?

OR
It's TGIF
This week has put me on edge
Margarita, please

NOTE: Becky's Fajita recipe is up.

Birthday Baby

UPDATED: REAL birthday baby news!! Kyle Michael was born this morning! My cousin had a baby boy! YAY :) Everyone is doing OK and we can't wait to see the newest addition to the family!

My hubby has a birthday this week. Birthdays are a very big deal around here!



Doug,

Happy Birthday. I love you. I appreciate everything you do around this house and for me and for our girls. You are a great husband, a loving father and you keep us all laughing and enjoying each day together.

Also? You are a great fisherman, the best in your family.

I love how organized you are and how you take the time to deal with all the customer service ins and outs (and totally think you should start a blog on that kinda thing). I love that you want us to have the best of everything and provide us with all they we could need or ever want. I love how easily you laugh at yourself and me and that you still pants me in the kitchen (although teaching Molly that is NOT cool).

I love how much you love birthdays and hanging out with us and keeping in touch with your friends. I love how you found your passion for swimming and head in whole heart. Just like you jump into everything! I like how you know the right gadgets and get the right gadget for every job.

I love you. And this week, we honor you and your birthday!

Thanks Betty :)

Love,

Emily

Yes, You Are Still the Flower Girl

A few months ago my cousin asked Aubrey to be a flower girl in her wedding. The wedding will take place in the Summer of 2009. Since the day she was asked to be a flower girl and told that she will have a beautiful dress and beautiful hair and carry flowers she has asked me, DAILY,

"Mommy, am I still the flower gulr?" .

"But Mommy, am I the flower gulr now"
"Mommy whose the flower gulr I am for"

"Am I still Todd's flower gulr... and Headder"

OMG, yes child you are still the flower girl. You will be the flower girl forever and ever.

I am not sure if I can stand to be asked this more than 400 more times. Seriously.

Feelin' Better

So who knew what a little iron sulfate twice a day could do for a gal?

Monday, headache gone, I hit the gym at lunch and actually RAN for a little bit. Turns out the shortness of breath was part of the iron issue.

I am a much happier girl!

So... 1 out of 5 women is anemic. If you have frontal heacaches, exhaustion, irratiblity, shortness of breath... talk to your doctor!

I am now motivated to get back to working out, to general be a happier woman, and to not go to bed at 8pm.

Favorite Recipe

In an effort to get Becky to share her fajita recipe... the Mom Lady had a brilliant idea.

So this week, post a favorite recipe and let her know! She posted one for an Amaretto Cheesecake.

I am posting the recipe I always post!
Hot Crab Dip
1 lb lump crab meat
16 oz softened cream cheese
8 oz sourcream
1 TBL Worcestershire Sauce
1 TBL Old Bay (or more... shake in whatyou like!)
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Mix all ingredients except crab and cheese
Fold in Crab
Top With Cheddar
Bake 350 for 30 minutes, no cover
Serve with crackers, bread, pita chips, or carrotts and celery.


Recipes Posted:
Amaretto Cheesecake.
Spicy Basil Tomato Soup
Sangria
Hot Crab Dip - right above this list
Becky's Fajitas
Lydia's Fried Rice
Anne's Brushetta Chicken Bake

Logic

Aubrey (holding her camera): Mommy, is this a toy?
Mommy: No, that is your camera. It is a real camera.
Aubrey: Then I can take this to Ms. Lori-Anne's, cause it is not a toy, right?

That sneaky girl... she tricked me! But I did say no, she can't take her THINGS to Ms. Lori-Anne's.

Updated - if you don't know - the kid is a little over 3.5 years old.

Happy Mother's Day

What a wonderful weekend so far! Yesterday was a rainy morning so the girls and I made play dough and had a blast playing with it - so easy and not messy! The whole family "helped" clean up the laundry room and pack away clothes that don't fit anyone. Then we headed over to Grandy and Granddad's house for a fun few hours, chinese take out, destroying the basement, running around in some sunshine (finally), and a vodka drink. Lovely!

This morning I was greeted to silence upon waking up. In my bed, at 7:20, with no one to be found. They were all downstairs cooking breakfast, quietly. My hubby handed me a cup of coffee and then PRESENTS! A BEAUTIFUL blanket (thank you Ms. Lori.Anne). And some fancy jewels from hubby (a necklace and earrings). Everyone left me home alone to go grocery shopping and then we are having brunch with the Craigs at the club. Color me spoiled.

Isn't this cool!

Butterfly made from hands and feet prints!

Hand Print Hearts

Hand Print Flowers

Doing Something Right

Aubrey: Mommy, I want to get married.

Me: Why do you want to get married, Aubrey?

Aubrey: Because I want to be loved.

Me: Well, OK, who will you marry?

Aubrey: Actually Mama, I am marrying you, of course.

Last night after we put Molly to bed, Aubrey and I were laying in the hammock outside with her snuggle blanket and a gray sky overhead. I started crying and had to hide that from her. But it was such a sweet moment. I did go on to explain that I was married to daddy but that I loved her very much and always would but she said she didn't mind if I was married to her and to daddy because she loved me. No need to argue over that, right?

Something Wrong With My Eyes

- every time I turn to look at my Aubrey Girl I only see a young lady, the baby is gone.

- every time I turn to cuddle my new baby She is running away laughing

- every time I turn to see my boyfriend A man, a husband, a father is standing there making someone in my house laugh

- every time I look at my life I can't see the girl I was because the mother and wife I am is everything.

Happy Mother's Day!

Enjoy what you can see today because tomorrow it has changed.

Not Just Because...

Not because I have 2 beautiful, high energy, vibrant daughters.
Not because I have a full time job.
Not because I have a house or a dog or a husband or family or friends or am lazy or can't keep up...

Nope, apparently my exhaustion, headaches, irritability... yup all of that... cause I am anemic.

Sometimes, regardless of the answer, it is nice to know that how you feel is not because of some innate inadequacy you see against all those around you - the lack of energy the feeling of not being able to keep up - there is something physically wrong, YAY. And best of all it can be fixed, easily.

But of course, the root cause of the anemia, that is another issue and unfortunately one not easily fixed but at least maybe I can start to have more energy while trying to fix that other issue.

McDonald Mommy

My husband jokes that my nickname should be "McDonald Mommy" because whenever we go to McDonald's I act like a whole new person - he says I laugh, I get a burst of energy, I joke and am silly more than usual and that I become in the BEST mood.

And he is right. For some reason a very simple hamburger and a small fry makes me happy and silly. I don't know why.

Is there something in your life like that - that makes you happy for no reason? Besides music?

Dirty and Bruised

They were sent home covered in dirt today
and that is how I know they were involved in active play
bruises all over and smiles so big
I love that they got to play and dig

At school they get dirty
But are never in a hurry
So much fun is had
how can that be bad?

Some other mothers amaze me
Or maybe it's me that's crazy
but happy and running and safe as can be
I love that they come home dirty and bruised and smiling at me.

News

Dueling Banjos is live and operational! WOO HOO. Very cool. Thanks Cube :) RSS FEED

******************************************************************************
And this evening as Molly was being carried up to bed after being, well, Molly... I turned to Aubrey and said, "Aubrey Girl, what are we going to do about that Molly". She replied, "Well, maybe she can go live with someone else".

And then Aubrey went outside and I jumped into the hammock and Aubrey wanted to play hide and seek. So I counted, and Aubrey hid and then I said, "are you behind the tree" and she giggled and jumped out and said, "Let's do it again". So without leaving the hammock, I was able to play hide and seek :) YAY ME.

And I really think it is un-American if you don't have a Corona on Cinco de Mayo... don't you?

This Beginning Reading website has some great free worksheets!! We have been enjoying them. Any tips on your side for that kinda thing?

And one more thing... I just ordered this CD that I read about here. Go to the website and listen to the songs!

How Does Your Garden Grow

We spent the day outside! It was beautiful. It started at 7am with the girls and I out weeding and then we ran to Lowes.

Aubrey is taking over "bob's garden" and we planted a big packet of wild flower seeds, some pink impatients and some Mint. She is very excited - here is the "before" picture and I am hoping I will keep up with pictures as it grows in for Aubrey to keep.

We also planted tomatoes and an herb garden. I am excited to see how this comes out! Cherry Tomatoes, Big Boy Tomatoes, Rosemary, Cilantro, Thyme, and Basil.

The Front Door

The Dog

Prom Party

Hey guys, Sunshine is doing her annual prom party and it ROCKS! And of course I want to be voted for something... so head on over and vote for me for Most Likely to Arrive "Fashionably" Late!

And in a related note... my niece has her prom tonight. 1) When did they start happening so early in May and 2) Am I old enough to have a niece going to prom? I don't think so!