Just a Swingin'

We're ready...

for more sunny days...

for time outside...
For warm breezes that blow through our hair...
For crazy, fun, outdoor adventures..

So Bring It On...

Because We're Ready!

Note: Steve dressed her, which explains the stripes and flowers combination.

Eggstravaganza - Part 1

Most of the egg hunts in our area were rained out, but the girls did get to go to the Easter party at their daycare. It was my day off, so I got to tag along and enjoy the fun, which was nice.

I love to watch the girls interact with their little friends and their teachers. My babies are growing up and I'm always amazed that they have friends and they actually have little conversations (Kate more than Ellie, although Ellie could talk to anyone...that girl has the gift of gab). Kate has always been shy, but she is really starting to blossom this year, which makes me so happy. She talks about her friends and makes all kinds of plans to hang out with them...most of which never happen, because they involve sleepovers and vacations and camping adventures (and I have to explain weekly that we just can't take her friends to the beach with us and I don't think they're ready to spend the night in a tent in the backyard at age 5!). She just looks at me like I'm so boring. Ha! I can't wait to see what she thinks of me when she's a teenager and I say no to her many schemes! But for now, I'm just happy to spend time with my girls, hunting for plastic eggs and dreaming of the chocolate treasures to be found inside. Is there anything better?



P.S. In the car after the egg hunt, I told the girls they could look inside the eggs, but they couldn't eat the chocolate. A few minutes later I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw Ellie with chocolate all over her face. I said, "Ellie, no eating the chocolate." She just smiled and said, "I know...but we can lick it." Note to Self: Must be more specific with Ellie. Ha! Wish I had a picture of her chocolate-covered face.

Happy

We've had a wet, soggy spring so far, but there have been brief moments filled with warm breezes, sunshine on my face, and beautiful flowers in my yard. These moments make my heart so happy!

Beauty and the Weeds...

Kate's favorite activity these days is taking care of her garden (i.e. a field of weeds).
She waters, digs, replants, and waters, again.
Her favorite flower in the garden is the dandelion.
It took a sweet little girl to show me the beauty of a dandelion.


Steve is harder to convince, though, and the day after Kate tended her dandelions, he sprayed them with weed killer. Let's just keep this between us, okay? I know it would break her little heart.

Friday Night Fun...

Do you remember when the typical Friday night involved dinner, a movie, hanging out with friends, staying up late? Times have changed, ladies and gentlemen. Our typical Friday nights involve bacon, pancakes, and animated films featuring a princess or a fairy or a mermaid (or, on the rare occassion, a cute and cuddly animal). Did you know that I have memorized the theme song to Strawberry Shortcake (and I'm pretty sure that Strawberry could kick Barbie's butt any day). Motherhood has turned my brain to mush, hasn't it?

Where were we??? Oh yeah... Movie Night (or "Newbie Night" as Ellie calls it) has become a much loved family tradition at our house. But tonight we got a little wild and crazy. We skipped the pancakes and bacon in favor of granola bars and gold fish crackers this evening. Healthy, I know. We put the movie on hold and we colored Easter eggs. We even broke out the glitter. I'm telling you...we're shaking things up around here, but isn't that what Friday nights are for?







I hope your Friday night had a little "wild and crazy" in it!

Play Ball...

Remember my athletic ability? Yes, cheerleading (it counts. really). Anyway, I think I failed to mention my superb softball skills...probably because my softball skills were a little less than superb. I played first base. I could do a split (emphasis on the word could), which meant that I could also stretch really far and catch a ball, while still keeping my foot on the base. Once again, those cheerleading skills came in handy. Oh, is there no end to my athletic talent? Despite my limber first-base skills, I stopped playing softball at age 13, which is when slow-pitch turned to fast-pitch. The idea of large balls flying at me at high speeds was, well, frightening, so I stuck with cheerleading and retired my ball and glove.

Until recently, when my sweet girl decided it was her turn to take up softball. She has a pink glove and a pink bat and a pink ball...and her team is purple. Could it get any better than that? Steve is the assistant coach (after much nagging and arm twisting on my part) and I am team mom (the keeper of the snack schedule).

It has been so fun watching Kate try something new. She has the attention span of a gnat, she dances and twirls and digs in the dirt while she's on the field, she pretends to have sword fights with her teammates during batting practice, and her favorite part of practice is snack time. She's quite dedicated to the sport...Ha! Now, if only we could get her to swing that bat with a little oomph. My girl is dainty, girly, petite. When we practice in the backyard, she hits (and by hit, I mean taps the ball off the tee) five times, max, and then asks if she can search for fairies in the yard (or blow bubbles or swing or pretty much anything except hit the ball). Did I mention that she's dedicated? Ha!






Kate is very lucky to have a personal assistant on the field. Ellie loves to chase the balls and set them back on the tee for Her Royal Highness Kate.

It should be noted that Ellie is not dainty. We handed her the bat and she proceeded to smack the balls across the yard, over and over again (while Kate was searching for fairies). They make a great team. A few weeks ago, Kate asked me if God forgot to give Ellie any talents, because her artistic skills (coloring, painting, etc.) are a little lacking at this point. Kate is a good artist and she felt bad that Ellie didn't get any talents. I don't think she needs to worry about little Ellie and her talents...that girl can hold her own at the softball tee!

Kate's opening day and first game were both rained out, but I had to snap some pictures of her in her uniform last week...so stinkin' cute, don't you think?

And of course, Ellie had to take her turn trying on the hat. Steve always looks at poor Ellie and sings, "Put me in coach...I'm ready to play..." I love that my girls are so different and that they are not afraid to try new things, no matter what talents God gave them.

I can't wait until our first game. It might last five hours, the way these girls play, but I'm ready! Let's Play Ball!

It's in the Genes...

Did you know that I come from a long line of...Bald Men? Try not to be envious, although I know it is definitely a trait worth envying. Ha! But it is true, male pattern baldness runs in my family. And apparently, it's effects run deeper than I originally thought. Meet the newest members of the family...our Garden Greenies. Do you see the family resemblance? Ellie's Garden Greenie is on the left and Kate's is on the right. Notice the interesting hair growth?

And poor Kate's little Garden Greenie only sprouted one hair in its first two weeks.

Despite the odd hair growth (and an eye that somehow went missing), the girls decided it was time to give their Greenies a little haircut, just to prevent the much dreaded comb-over (which my father proudly sported throughout most of my teenage life).

If you're looking for a fun, spring project that your kids will love, try making a Garden Greenie. All you need is:
Knee Highs
Grass Seed
Dirt
Wiggly eyes and face decorations
rubber bands

Just dump about 1 Tbls. of grass seed in the bottom of a knee high (and more is not better...we learned our lesson. More seed prevents proper hair growth). Keep the grass seed at the bottom of the knee high and put dirt on top (if the grass seed moves, you'll get "hair" growing from your Greenie's nose, mouth, ears, etc).

Tie the knee high in a knot to keep the dirt in place and shaped into a "head." Then use the rubber bands to pull out some dirt and tie off a nose and ears (as shown in Kate's Greenie) or just glue on a nose and ears (as shown in Ellie's Greenie).

Water the whole thing and then put the bottom in water. The knee high "stem" will work as a wick to draw the water up to the top (although I still water the top occassionally). Rewater every day. Ours have lasted for three weeks and they're still sprouting new hairs every day! Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the Bald Men in my family : )

Fare Thee Well...

This is Ellie...

This is Ellie's new trick. Nice, huh? We were planning to keep her in the crib until she turned ten, but obviously, our strong-willed, dare-devil of a child had different plans. At first, we told Ellie that she could only climb out of the crib in the mornings when Mommy came in to her room to get her. She listened...for a week or so. But I knew that my luck had come to an end when I woke up from a brief nap to the sound of Ellie, right in my face, saying: "Only climb out of the crib when Mommy is there." At least she could recite the rule...even if she did blatantly ignore it. This is the last picture of Ellie's crib before it was converted to a toddler bed. It makes me a little emotional, because it could be the last time a crib resides in my home : (

Now you know why I haven't had time to blog. I'm busy "reminding" a certain small red-head to GET IN HER BED...RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE. Do you know that Kate still calls for me every morning to get her out of bed. I NEVER worry about her wondering around the house. She doesn't even get up to go to the bathroom at night. It seems that compliant, rule-oriented gene skipped right over little Ellie. Steve and I are in for at, I just know it.