3 Small Steps

can change a life
give you the courage to try new things
make even big dreams seem within reach
remind you to get back up when you fall
make you smile

we love you Aubrey Kate

Feeling Bored.....

...with my Blog!:)

anyone try one of the new "designer templates" in blogger yet??

I have been playing around on a practice blog

but haven't made the leap yet.

looks pretty neat, with tons of options

I think we are taking the day off from Craft Wednesday so I can play....

i did manage to make this on scrapblog....

I think if I am going to do anything computer related
a lot of grace is needed!

Enjoy the day!

Sweet Simple Tuesday

the big girls slept in again today
which gave Aubrey and I a bit of morning play time alone

it was really nice

and quiet

do you know that my 13 month old has a MOLAR!!

she was acting fussy

and I kept checking for teeth

but I never thought to look in the back?!?!?

silly mommy

sweet smile huh...but it wasn't for me...

her sister just came down

the morning quickly got kicked up a notch or two

with some good ol' dancing to VBS music

those tunes are absolutely the best

and can turn any day around

after swimming lessons we went to McDonalds for lunch

because the Happy Meals have 

Littlest Pet Shop toys of course

I apologize for the rather blurry picture of Aubrey

but do you know how hard it is to catch her blowing kisses???

she loves playing in the basement 

with all of the "Big Girl Toys"

you can guess where a lot of them end up....

but she could play down there forever

if i would let her

after a quick bath

we headed out for haircuts

aren't they cute??

and then off for another night of VBS

Hope you had a sweet simple Tuesday too

Enjoy the night

Bake and Share Monday ~Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins~

I think Dave might have felt a bit like the Little Red Hen this week
you know the story...
no one wants to help with the muffins
they only want to eat the muffins

but I guess wanting to veg in front of the TV watching Arthur
is understandable after a hard morning of swimming lessons

I think it was the aroma drifting from the oven that finally got them in the kitchen
boy were they yummy!
thanks babe, breakfast is going to be sweet tomorrow

Happy Monday!

Bake anything yummy lately?

Aubrey

{photo by Riley}

Have a wonderful Friday!

It's the weekend...in my book anyway!:)

Craft Wednesday ~Butterflies~

It's Wednesday!

Time to be crafty!

I know we have done butterflies before...but in our home, you can never have too many of the 

flighty little beauties.

I found the inspiration for this project here while I was surfing around one evening.
 Riley decided it was perfect for this weeks activity.

We didn't have a canvas to paint on so we just used regular paper.  We decided to soften our colors a bit with white (I think mixing the paints is more then half the fun) but we thought a brighter version would be great too.

First we painted the background, then we sketched our designs with pencil (press lightly if you are using pastel colors). Then we added the painted details and finished up with tracing the lines with a black sharpie. {Janey decided she liked the look of hers best without the black lines.}  I think part of what makes this project look so "professional"  is the lines around the edges. We used a 1 inch foam brush to try and get a uniform look. 

This was a pretty easy project and could be adapted to almost any decor in your child's room.
I think they came out simply adorable.

Hope you had a creative Wednesday!
See you next week!

Tell 'Em How You Feel

Riley was so excited to get the new American Girl catalog in the mail today.  As she was reading it to Janey in the back seat, I heard talk of some new and exciting thing...an on-line world where you could interact with your dolls...oh goodness!  They were so excited about this and planned out their computer time for as soon as we got home.

But sadly, as they ran upstairs to search for the "code" on the dolls they already have, they discovered that this new interactive world needed a new doll !!!  Oh the tears of injustice that followed!! 

Being at a loss as to what type of advice to offer after the typical "Honey, sometimes life is like that, remember, they are a company trying to sell you a product...blah, blah, blah"  was getting me nowhere, I suggested she write a letter. And she did.

It didn't get her into this "new world" but I think it made her feel just a little bit better.

Janey once wrote a letter to General Mills asking them to make a box of just the "pink Cheerios" when she was in her "I'll only eat the pink ones" phase.  Sadly they replied with a very polite No!:)

Have your kids ever written a letter to a company before?

enjoy the day

Good Luck Charm

...I just had to pause today to capture this sweet moment...

Dave went out of town this morning and

last night Janey picked a flower for him to bring along as a "good luck charm"

this morning she found that flower 

withered up and forgotten on the table

can't remember the last time she cried that hard

we quickly called daddy 

(who didn't know anything about the above mentioned flower) 

and through the tears she explained

this picture we sent to daddy is his

 new and improved good luck charm

I love you so much Janey Brooke

your sweetness and thoughtfulness touch everything you do 

you are a very special little girl and I love being your mommy

I am linking up with

Sweet Shot Tuesday at life with my three boybarians

and Tuesdays Unwrapped at chatting at the sky

pop on over for a look

you'll find many more sweet moments there

enjoy the day

Bake and Share Monday ~Brownies~

...from a box...

what can I say

today was pretty much nonstop 

grocery shopping, swimming, tumbling, fertilizing the lawn and Dave packing for a trip out of town:(

so we were a little lacking in the creativity department

but they got to stir and mix and lick the bowl

all the important things right???

and they made them with Daddy

{while I was at Target...alone...bad me!!:) }

and if I have to have brownies from a box it has to be these...

I LOVE Ghirardelli 

I hope your Monday was a little less hectic and filled with deliciousness

with or without the box

Happy Monday!
Bake anything yummy lately?

Day With Dad

Over the weekend the girls had a little mini adventure with Dave.
They went to a near by park to hike and explore.
Of course just the  mention of the word hike had them running for their back-packs to fill them with all of the things they thought they might need.  They packed an outdoor journal (thanks Mimi) and pencils, snacks, water, binoculars, band-aids and a favorite stuffed animal.  Mind you they were going less then 5 min. from our house, but like they said, "A hiker always has to be prepared". :)

They came back filled with smiles and lots of great stories.

Oh...and of course slurpees...did I mention it was HOT??:)

Any weekend adventures in your neck of the woods?

We Are Enchanted...

...with this new little book we found


we just started reading it together yesterday and we can't put it down
you know that kind of book...when you say
"Ok, one more chapter, then bedtime"
and then when you're done they BEG for more!!
this is that book.

and you know what's really cool?
the author has a web-site and a blog where the kids can leave comments
and she actually replies!!!
my girls are loving that

if you are at all intrigued
and decide to start reading this book
be ready for this...

little notes, cheerios and teeny tiny cups of water left in doll houses...
for the mice:)

What books are you and your children enjoying these days?

Craft Wednesday ~ 3D Flowers/Snowflakes~

It's Wednesday!

Time to be crafty!

It was Janey's turn to pick this week and boy did she pick a doozie!!

She made this last year in school

and decided she wanted to teach us all how to make them...yikes...

so I did what all good Mommies do...I Googled it

and found it here

this project meant so much to my sweet little girl

so we took a deep breath, read, studied and got busy

of course it being summer and all, our snowflakes became flowers

and quite beautiful flowers too I might add

Hope you had a creative Wednesday!

See you next week!

Five Things That Make You Happy

well after yesterdays party and the inevitable sugar induced grumpies that followed
{thanks Jen for reminding me where my grumpies were coming from}
i decided we could all use a little dose of happy

so this morning the girls were greeted with a blank piece of paper and a pen
i told them to write down five things that would make them happy

they had to be ordinary everyday things...not a trip to disney or a new puppy
i told them i would do my best to fulfill their wishes
i was a bit surprised by what they wrote

Janey's List

1. jokes

2.snuggle time

3. play board games

4. tv tag (playing tag and saying a tv show title before you are tagged)

5. crafts

Riley's List

1. drawing

2. climbing

3.playing with everyone

4. tag

5. crafts

My list would probably look something like this:

1. kindness and good manners

2. helping each other with a happy heart

3. snuggles and hugs

4. giggles and laughs

5. everyone has quiet time alone :)

today I am going to do my best to fulfill their wishes

and the funny thing is, i have a feeling mine will get filled in the process

oh...Aubrey's only request would probably be to get rid of her ear infection an early morning trip to Convenient Care just diagnosed...ouch!!

dave...I'll ask him tonight!

what 5 things do you think your loved ones would write down?

have a happy day!!

Happy Half Birthday Janey Brooke

for about 3 years now we have been celebrating half birthdays
i think it all began because the girls were always obsessed
about getting that "half" added to their age...me not so much

yesterday was Janey's special half day
according to tradition, on your half birthday you get a date with the parent of your choice,
{we try to do those every month on the date of their birth...some months go better then others!}
you can choose dinner and a homemade dessert
and the surprise gift is a new book

Janey chose putting and the park with Daddy
fried cheese and mandarin oranges
and a rainbow cake

her date was perfect

and her dinner was gobbled up with no complaints about "thank you bites"

she received one of her favorite new books we discovered at the library, A Friend (love it!!!)

and the cake was a delicious "rainbowy surprise"

we love you so very much Janey Brooke

Bake and Share Monday ~Janey's Rainbow Cake~

Well...it's Monday

time to Bake and Share!

Today Riley and I made a rainbow cake for Janey's half birthday.
Not this rainbow cake.
{maybe we will try that one as a farewell to summer treat???}
Per Janey's wishes, ours just had a rainbow on the top. :)
We got the recipe from this book.
It's great for when you want to add a little homemade taste to a cake mix.

Riley was a great little baker today.
She did almost every step on her own and the finishing touches
came straight from that wonderful imagination of hers!
It was quite a beauty and it was equally delicious.

Happy Monday
Bake anything yummy lately?

Weekend Glimpses

Wow...what a weekend!

it seemed to pass before my eyes in one big blur

I know I didn't do any of this

but we watched this guy

build this

in the Aspen tree outside our family room window

we watched these two goofy girls

build this in the basement

they worked and played together for over an hour designing and creating this castle 

complete with doors, windows nightstands, snack trays and pillows

we read a lot of these

and spent endless hours with this little girl

We did accomplish one MAJOR thing on our To-Do list

we moved this guy

{sorry bad pic!}

7 inches further away from the stove

This was a biggie!

it has been bothering me since the day we moved in and now 

it feels like a HUGE new kitchen!

And it was  free!!

Thanks babe!

Now we are thinking of covering it in bead board and painting it a different color

...someday soon.....

What did you do this weekend?

Hope it was a wonderful one.

Vanilla Pudding with Purple Sprinkles

That's how Riley described Aubrey this morning in her new jammies.

Isn't she just precious?

I know I could just eat her up!:)

And she's standing too

 on her own

Which makes her "vanilla puddingy" self all the cuter

~sigh~