sundays

little feet tiptoeing in the earlyish hours of our sunday mornings. from one side of the house to the other....our meeting spot.

"daddy!!"....."mommy!!"...."can i get in the middle?"

and before you know there is squealing and giggling which spouts from the FULL ON tickle fest that occurs shortly after 2 little ladies have wiggled their way in between their parents.

would you be upset to be awakened by this in your face?

or these kicking you in the face?

NOPE cause it's our sunday morning tradition......the ONE day (unless i work) that we are NOT awakened by a machine yet the natural energy of 2 girls who bring SHEER joy into this house!!

and shortly followed by the 1 day of the week that i can go straight from the bed to the couch waiting for my cup of beloved coffee made and served by the ONLY male of this house.

mmmmmmmm........how i LOVE you sunday.

"THAWING OUT"

was a newspaper headline suggestion of a friend! INDEED SOOOOO TRUE!! This last weekend brought beautiful weather.....giving us that little bit of hope needed that spring is truly within reach! I do LOVE me some seasons but when it's cold and NO white fluffy stuff AND dark.....we're gonna scream for some spring around here!!!

it was dreamy.....sunny blue skies

perfect for flying kites

and carousel rides

celebrating this sweet boys 2nd year of LIFE

giggling and gabbing like teenage girls over icecream

and ice cream cone cupcakes

AND testing your LOVE!!!

it was an afternoon of relaxing AND laughing AND playing AND talking AND smiling AND soaking up ALL THE SUN WE COULD...knowing that it may very well turn in to a COLD COLD week BUT we can survive a few more weeks with spring just around the corner!

is a pelican a bird or duck???

Emery and I were sitting together on the computer looking through some pictures of our friends who are vacationing in the Keys. They had a pelican surprisingly land on their pool deck and were able to capture the moment!!

This 4 year old brain quickly began turning....."is a pelican a bird or duck"? Let's research......and we found them to be birds....which led to "do they fly or swim"?......both....which then led to learning about webbed feet both on this bird and humans! The human webbed toes were MUCH more intriguing to her and we revisited that photo a few times!

this is the largest pelican.....a dalmatian pelican (not the one our friends saw!)

And just as quickly as that brain turned on it turned right back off. OK LETS GET DRESSED AND GO RECYCLE!!! So we're off....we've learned some about a pelicans this morning and now we're off to help keep this world a better place! Loving and appreciating the mind of my 4 year old today!!!

"is it time??!!!....is it time?!...IS IT TIME??!!!"

these words were heard just a few (or 32) times throughout our yesterday in ALL the anticipation of our valentine tradition.....a candle lit dinner.

a few small special somethings by each of the girls' plates

along with some handmade decorations AND it's a fancy meal for 4!!

on the menu:

*baked rigatoni with onions & parmesan (delightfully simple & yummy)

*roasted eggplant & asparagus

*ciabatta

*sparkling apple juice

AND

*chocolate dipped (or drenched) pears and bananas!!

this has become our "heart day" tradition for a few years now.....the girls LOVE it

and for the parents it's relaxing.....there's something peaceful about eating in the dark with only a few bee's wax tea lights to distinguish faces, utensils, and food!

*yet another reminder of how simple gestures can be SOOOO fancy and exciting in the eyes of a child*

RED, WHITE, and PINKS

have exploded into some valentine craftiness in this house!!! hugely due to "heart day" being a favorite holiday for my girls!

piles of felt hearts for some garland hanging on the mantel

along with handmade valentines for the girls' school friends

i've become (secretly) obsessed with this crafty girl

these are her "candy bags"

with vinyl inside

which will house yummy treats for some special women (mom/sisters) in my life

also check out her soooo easy and inexpensive to make wreath.....mine is made out of lima beans. add some red spray paint and it's gives the perfect valentine touch to our front door (can you see the snow falling.....yeah for snow AGAIN!!!)

(i made the mistake of spray painting mine outside on a windy day and it sadly caused the paint to bubble up.....don't make my mistake!!)

a felt heart/circle head band inspired by another crafty lady except i sewed elastic to mine and they were a HUGE hit with the girls!!

i'm a knew knitter so at this point i've just been perfecting my dishcloth's which will be gifts for my inlaw's

there's lots of LOVE around here!!! XOXOXOXO

Dancing for the old....

bring HUGE smiles to their faces! I will admit that going in to a nursing home makes me sad......seeing people age, unable to care for themselves, locked in to a place that has become their house but is not their home, eating cafeteria food 3 times a day, surrounded by people who are not family but become the familiar faces they must live with each day.....in and out. But growing old is a season I will face and being placed in a nursing home may be my reality one day. I have found that simple gestures, words, or actions bring SHEER joy to these, appearing lost and lonely, faces.

Once a year the girls' dance studio visits a local nursing home to put on a short performance!

a few silly faces.....

twirls.....

......and whirls

are the highlight of these sweet onlookers!

AND while we had the freedom/ability to leave and drive to the safety and comfort of our homes at the end of the night.....

these women and men did not. Yet wheeled into a small room with a "roommate" they do not know. I want to make a BIGGER effort to stop in on a regular basis and bring some happiness to a place that could use it.......a NURSING HOME!!

WHITE STUFF and SPARKLES

COMPLETELY unexpected we were hit with a WINTRY BLISS of a weekend! AND we took FULL advantage of it!!

from catching snowflakes on tongues

to watching the snow which sparkled in the reflection of the moon (it's completely dreamy to me to be snowed in since this NEVER happens!!)

and jumping back into the snow early saturday morning

for sledding

and laughing.....

even through the back sided pain of going over the curb and hitting the road

and doing it OVER and OVER again!!

then on to being pulled on a sled through the neighborhood roads

until we landed back home to roll and roll

the silly guy up!!!

and we ended the weekend up on a mountain (for a 3 y/o's b-day party which, funny enough, was to be a snow themed (they bought fake snow......what are the chances it would have REALLY snowed???) party)

and as we got to the top of the mountain all that came out of this momma's mouth was "OH. MY. GOODNESS. THIS. IS. SO. PRETTY"....over and over and over again! and i was quickly informed by the the oldest that i was sometimes "weird"! maybe weird is the new "COOL"??

BUT.....REALLY what else is there to say when NOTHING but GOD'S handy work created SUCH BEAUTY!!!!

if we are blessed with more snow i will be OVERJOYED.....but if this is all we see for 2010 i'll be content with the fact that we had a beautiful white sparkly weekend!!