♥ Girls Just Wanna Have Fun ♥

Saturday, January 29, 2011

3 for 3

Ok, let me just say, it has been a few hours since "the incident", and I am in a much better frame of mind now. My neck, however, still hurts from rotating 360 degrees on my shoulders. Whelp, we are now 3 for 3...3 out of 3 girls have cut her own hair. At least we're thorough!...we never do anything just half way around here!

Grady discovered a wad of hair on the floor and asked Emmy about it. Then he yelled at me to come and take a look. (I think this is when my head spun around on my shoulders.) I thought I could magically fix it or at least make it look better but, nope, nothing was going to fix this! I was upset and asked her, "WHY did you cut your hair?!!!", she said, "let me think...", then I said, "no, WHY did you cut your hair?!!!", to which she answered (in a teeny, tiny voice), "because I just wanted to". So, there you have it. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. I look back at it now and am thankful that she didn't cut herself. Grady and I even laughed about it...after my blood pressure came back within normal sub-hypertension range.

Can you believe she allowed me to take these pictures and she even SMILED and POSED while I took them?! She is such a diva. The things that happen when I go to the grocery store! Oh, the joys of parenting!

Look what I did!

Another view of my handy work!

My mommy says it looks better like this.

I think I did a great job! What do you think?☺

Bubbles in January...Pretending it's Spring!

We got one Spring-like day yesterday and Emmy couldn't resist getting out the bubbles. And I couldn't resist getting out my camera...

Friday, January 28, 2011

S is for Sunflower

Jolee's 1st grade class performed their class program last night entitled, "S is for Sunflower". It was a great program that was all about our great state of Kansas. Did you know that tomorrow is Kansas' 150th birthday? Yep, Kansas entered the union on January 29, 1861. Ok, back to Jolee...first of all, she was SUPER excited about her program and she had been practicing her speaking part for weeks. She had quite the tongue twister to memorize, here is her line: "On a classic Kansas day, you'll fly your kite with ease, zipping through the blue on the zesty Kansas breeze". And, she nailed it! It was so FUN watching her perform, she REALLY got into singing, the hand movements, dancing...she was not shy at all. I think we have found our theatrical talent in the family! So proud of her!

Look how everyone in this picture is blurry except for my little sunflower. :)

Speaking part!

Top row, 3rd from the right

Sunday, January 23, 2011

It's the Little Things

It's a cold, snowy Sunday. Grady is on a plane on his way to WARM Tampa, FL. The girls are listening to music and dancing in the living room. I'm sitting here enjoying my hot coffee and feeling really blessed today. Too often I spend my days busy, stressed-out, running here and there and everywhere, dropping someone off or picking someone up, and planning this and that. But today, there are no schedules, no homework to be done, and, since Grady is out of town, no meals to be cooked! Yes, I still do plan to feed everyone, however! I promised the girls I would take them swimming at the gym today, then we will probably go for icecream later. Even though summer is not here, we can always pretend, right? Anyway, I happened to see this gorgeous cardinal this morning at the birdfeeder and snapped a picture of it. When I looked at this shot, I thought it totally sums up today and what I'm feeling right now...stop and enjoy the little things...so that's what I'm going to do!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Snow Day...again!

Last night we got between 7 and 8 inches of snow, so there was no school...again! Today is the 3rd snow day this month. This morning I worked out (aka shoveled snow), Emmy and Jolee sled down the slope in the front yard, and Macey worked on her igloo in the backyard. This afternoon we have made hats out of pipe cleaners and made icecream sundaes out of playdoh. I think my favorite part of today was opening the front door to let the sun shine in and basking in the sun right next to Max...ahh...the life of a cat!

Modeling their hats and keeping warm in the sun!

Relaxing in the sun...

Some days I wish I was a cat...

Macey's igloo...in progress

Emmy made this for me today. She said, "Mom, this is for your marathon". I love that she relates this ribbon to my running...smart little girl!

♥ Sweet ♥

Friday, January 14, 2011

2011 Spelling Bee

For the 2nd year in a row, Macey has made it into the Spelling Bee at her school. In order to qualify, each classroom holds their own spelling bee and the top 2 spellers in each classroom go on to compete in the all school Spelling Bee which includes students from grades 3-5. There were 26 students in this year's competition. She did FANTASTIC! She was knocked out in round 3 with the word "significant" and she only missed it by one letter....so close! She finished in the top half and Grady & I couldn't be more proud. She was very nervous all week, but I told her this morning before I dropped her off at school, "No matter what happens, be proud of yourself. Just making it into the Spelling Bee is awesome!".

Emmy was sitting between Grady & I watching. She was so cute because when the speaker announced the words, Emmy would tell us the first letter of the words! Hmmm...future Spelling Bee contestant? ☺

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Double Digits...sniff

Yes, I'm a couple weeks late on this post, too, but better late than never! Now that I have a laptop, I hope to blog more.

Macey is 10. I can't even believe it! I know I say this every year, but I can remember being in labor and Grady driving to the hospital on Christmas night (in a blizzard) like it was yesterday. I am so proud of her I could just burst. She is such a funny, smart, talented little person! In two years, she will be a babysitter, in 4 years she will be getting her learner's permit to drive, and in ten years she will be going on her first date. hahahaha! I know that's what her daddy wishes!

She had a swimming birthday party at our gym. A blast was had by all...and I didn't have to clean up afterwards!...bonus!

Playing Guitar Hero on the wii...future rock star?

Friday, January 7, 2011

The White Christmas of 2010

Wow! Where did 2010 go? The first week of January is over and I am just now putting up my Christmas post. This past Christmas we decided to travel to Atlanta to get away from the bitter cold and snow and to visit Scott and Megan. We had a great time in Atlanta visiting the Georgia Aquarium, competing in our annual bowling games, and spending time with family. Did I say we went to Atlanta to get away from the snow? Well, on Christmas day we were scheduled to fly back home in the early afternoon so we could still have a "mini Christmas" at our house letting the girls open presents from us and Santa. However, the one year we go to Atlanta was the 1st year in 128 years (yes, that's right, I googled it!) that Atlanta had a white Christmas! And yep, you guessed it, there was NO snow back home! Our 1pm flight was cancelled and we were moved back to 7pm. I was hoping and praying that THAT flight wouldn't get cancelled! Well, everything was on time and we boarded the plane. The wings needed to be de-iced so nearly 3 HOURS later, the plane took off. We made it home at 11:30pm on Christmas night, let the kids open presents, and then we all passed out! Overall, the trip was great, Scott & Megan were great hosts, the kids had fun, and we had a lot of family togetherness! The only thing that would've made it perfect for me is if my family would've been there. I really missed my mom, dad and brother. Maybe one of these days we'll all live closer together...

♥ Grandma Judy and her whole crew ♥

Annual bowling trip

Little hands, little ornaments...I ♥ this picture

Sunday, November 21, 2010

...And Still Clicking Away!

What a beautiful Sunday afternoon! I have a feeling that this was our last warm weekend of the year, so the girls and I took advantage of it! I'm still learning all of the settings on my new fancy-schmancy camera, so I decided it would be fun to have an impromptu photo shoot...

Friday, November 19, 2010

Click, Click, Click!

My birthday isn't until next month, but because my husband is so sweet, I got my present early. A new camera! It is WAY more camera than I know what to do with right now, but I'm learning! Today, Emmy had her friend Vincent over to play, so I had cute little "models" to practice on all day! My favorite are the black and whites. Here are a few random shots I took today.

Dialogue with Emmy

"I love you with my most loviest heart."
Whenever she finds a coin on the ground she says, "Look! It's my lucky day!"
"Once upon a time there were 2 little girls: Mommy, Daddy, Macey, Emmy and JoJo"...
"Mommy, I love you every single day."
When asked, "How old will you be after your next birthday?", she replies, "Free".
Emmy: "I love you!" Mommy: "I love you, too!" Emmy: "I love you MORE!"
Favorite questions: "Why?", "Because why?", "What?", and "What's that mean?"
She's been saying this A LOT lately-- "I'm more hungry"...every 15 minutes!

Jolee's Funny Quotes & Questions

"I don't have peanuts, I have a vagina!"
Grady said: "Jolee, you have school tomorrow", Jolee said: "Oh, the PAIN!, THE PAIN!"
"Every time I push my belly out, my pants pop open!"
"Daddy, I love you so much that I can't let you out of my sight!"
"I'm warm...like a piece of toast."
"I have never, ever, EVER tooted in school!"
"Don't eat the yellow snow!"
"If we had a boy cat AND a girl cat, and they kissed...that would be GROSS!"
"Sometimes the world is a mystery..."
"What are bees' feet called?"
"Zip your lip and throw away the key!"
"Mom's the Mystery Farter!" Note: I'm sure it wasn't me...must've been Daddy!
When deciding whether or not to add chocolate to her ice cream she said, "I'm gonna go for it!"
"It smells like there's a butt in my nose!"
"Mom, I ROCK at this!"
"Tell it to the Judge!"

Macey's Corner: New things I've learned in school

In a handful of soil, there are more living organisms than there are people on the planet.
I have learned multiplication facts by two, three, four and five and division facts by two.
To reduce pollution when shopping, purchase items that are not in a box or that have little packaging.
A refuge is a place where animals and plants are safe.
In statistics, "mode" is the number that appears most often, "maximum" is the largest number, "minimum" is the lowest number, and "range" is the maximum minus the minimum.
A menorah is the candle holder in Hanukkah celebrations and a kinara is the candle holder in Kwanzaa celebrations.
In English, the days of the week start with a capital letter, in Spanish they don't.
In Germany a Christmas tree is called a Tannenbaum
Germany is a country in Europe.
Kwanzaa is a seven day holiday honoring the ancient African tradition of celebrating the year's harvest.
There is a difference between a food chain and a food web. Food chains follow a single path as animals find food and food webs show how plants and animals are connected in many ways to help them all survive.
Another word for collar bone is clavicle.
Not all spiders spin webs to catch food, some dig holes.
Today I completed 100 math facts in less than 5 minutes.
Amphibians are cold blooded animals.
In a math addition problem, if there are more than 2 numbers, find the facts of 10 and then add the others.
A fish that has spikes and puffs up is called a Puffer Fish.
Veteran's Day is also known as Armistice Day.
The phalanges are bones that make up our fingers and toes.
Check back often! Macey will populate this list.

Savin' Green, Bein' Green, Gettin' Lean

No Paper OR Plastic: Instead of buying giftbags for Christmas or birthday presents (especially for adults), buy re-usable grocery bags that the recipient can use everyday.
Cut it Short: In ALL of the baking I do, I always use less sugar than the recipe calls for. Even if you cut it just a little bit, every little bit helps. And, we never miss it!
No More White Stuff: The next time you have to buy flour, buy whole wheat flour. I use it in all of my baking and my family can't tell the difference!
Challenge Yourself: I got this idea from another blog I visit daily. Challenge yourself to not go to the grocery store for an entire week. This forces you to be creative with what you have on hand. It's also a great way to use up the odds and ends in your pantry. It got a little difficult at the end of the week, but we did it! Plus, the savings from that week were very noticeable on our grocery budget!
Rewards Cards: Take advantage of the rewards cards at stores you shop at often. For example, we use the Office Max rewards/recycle program and are able to get free stuff there with the rewards we've accumulated. I also get special discounts at Dick's Sporting Goods which comes in handy buying my running shoes every six months. Other cards I have are for CVS (they give you money to use on your next purchase), Hallmark (free coupons), all the grocery stores (you get the store's discount plus sometimes discounts on gas), shoe stores (special coupons), you get the picture.
Free Movie Nights: Do you have a Redbox kiosk nearby? If so, you can find Redbox codes online every Monday and Wednesday to get a free movie. And, even if you don't get the codes, movies are only a buck! Bye, bye Blockbuster!
Soccer Mom Must: Car pool, duh!
Don't be a Heel: Don't throw away the heels from your loaves of bread. I don't like eating them as sandwiches, either, but toss them in the freezer until you get several of them. Then, toast them in the toaster and throw them into your food processor...wala!...whole grain bread crumbs! And, they're a lot healthier than most of the breadcrumbs you buy at the store.
Behind Bars: Our family goes through granola bars like you wouldn't believe. I love that my kids like to eat this healthy snack, but I don't like how expensive they are. I found a great recipe that is so versatile you can tailor it to your own likes and dislikes. One pan costs pennies and makes 16-18 bars. Recipe is found above in "Janie's Kitchen".
101 Uses for Vinegar: I use it as a fabric softener (and no, our clothes don't stink!), mixed with water it is WAY better than Windex, my friend Stacy uses it to kill her weeds, I spray it on the counters to help get rid of ants, and this is just a few of things I can think of off the top of my head! Google it and have fun!
Stacking Coupons: Did you know that you can use a store coupon (ie. Walgreens, Target, etc.) AND and manufacturer's coupon for the same item? For example, you can print Target coupons (good only at Target) and clip your mfr. coupon to use on the same item. If you do this when the item is on sale, it's an even bigger bonus...many times you can get it free or almost free!