{make it so}

feeling a bit out of it today

didn't jump out of bed with my usual spring

hoping to shake it off this morning with a good dose of this or

maybe a drive through our favorite park after morning drop-off

maybe a trip to a cool new home shop i just heard about or

a lunch date at school with riley {janey was last week}

playing babies with this little bundle of love always helps too

hope your wednesday starts off wonderful
or if not
you make it so

have a happy day,

cindy

{Weekend Glimpses}

what a wonderful and crazy full weekend this was.  janey and i walked in a parade saturday morning.  this was janey's first parade. lets just say she was a wee bit excited. could have been throwing all that candy.  i think it was more about waving to her sisters. dave snapped a few pictures from the sidelines. aren't small town parades fun? 

janey had a handful of candy all picked out (just the right blend she said) waiting in her hand for like 4 blocks. it was a special handful just for her sisters.  we walked past lots of "hungry-candy-wanting-kids"  but she kept that special handful ready till she saw these two.

after the parade, we raced to a soccer double header and then i snuck away early with aubrey to get my hair done. (yes...those hideous greys pictured above were washed away!!) she was so cute waiting in the salon for daddy to pick her up.  she had her baby in her lap and her blankie on her shoulder.  she was so good.

we had a fancy smoked pork dinner and then played outside for a bit. the days of popsicles on the tramp are shortening i think.  we had a few "chilly-ish" mornings and i have a feeling fall is knocking.

sunday morning was kind of lazy in comparison. it felt good. dave made this. it was warm, gooey and delicious. perfect for a sunday morning. we had been promising the girls we would take them to the pool all summer. we finally delivered. they were overcome with pure joy!!:)

we have to divide and conquer when we head to the pool.  dave takes the big girls because basically i'm not really a water person. love the beauty of it and all.  love sitting near it.  but actually getting wet is not one of my favoirtes.  weird i know.  especially for a fl girl i guess. we had a pool in our first house that was so beautiful.  dave jokes all the time that i was probably only in it like 10 times!
anyway.....i spent the day following this little cutie around.

to say she loved it was an understatement. just look at that face!!!

she splashed, ran in and out of the water over and over, said "tum on mommy" as she grabbed my hand, slid down the slide countless times and had a wonderful day.

taking pictures of a toddler at the pool is hard stuff. can't leave them to go grab your camera. and once you get it...who wants to bring it around all that splashing and squirting. but i did manage to capture this one while enjoying a shady snuggle with my baby. ahhhhhh....sweet bliss....

meanwhile....on the other side of the pool...the big girls were walking up and sliding down more times then they could count.

practicing swimming and enjoying their daddy.

a family picture would have been great. this is about as close as we got.

wish i could have bottled up a bit of this day. it was filled with more laughter and smiles then chores and to-do lists. we all can't wait to go back again.

hope your weekend was perfect too,

have a happy day,

cindy

{inspiring}

A friend sent this to me taken from a birthday interview Oprah did with Maya Angelou.  I thought it was beautiful and worth sharing.  Here is a bit of what Maya Angelou had to say:

'I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.'

'I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.'

I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.'

'I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life.'

'I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance..'

'I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back...'

'I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.'

'I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.'

'I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back...'

'I've learned that I still have a lot to learn...'

'I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'

 

have a happy weekend,

cindy

{Story Time}

aubrey and i went to story time yesterday
it was so much fun and brought back a flood of memories
the big girls and i visited the library at least once a week for story time until they were in school
we still frequent the place to get books, but it's not quite the same.

i have seen this CD a few times in blog land, but i finally checked it out yesterday
it really is good!
when i put it in to play, aubrey quickly said "no mommy music, aubrey music" when i tried to explain this was new aubrey music...she still wasn't buying it....we put raffi back in

but i  did sneak it in during lunch time
i knew once she gave it a chance she would like it
sometimes new music can be tough
the old familiar stuff is alwasy better right?
but her toes were tappin and swingin in no time

i think she liked it

we spent the rest of our afternoon playing

this girl is pretty awesome with blocks

she has lots of patience
and rarely gets sad when they tumble
it's that wiggly carpet that gets her everytime

then she found my lenscap

and mama found a hairclip
taking pictures of little girl's faces can be tricky
always lots of hair involved

i love when she walks up and says
"dupdake mommy?"

checking to see if it's in the "right" place

aubrey....where's your pretty smile????



 there it is....

love you sweetie!

have a happy day,

cindy

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

please excuse my blog while it goes through some changes

just bored with it i guess

trying to figure out how to layer pictures in that new header...anyone have a clue?:)

{summer reading}

the girls have done a lot of reading this summer
me?
sadly, not so much
i plan to get better
someday
i used to love to read...still do...
it's just finding the time and making it a priority i guess
like anything right??
here are just a few of their summer favorites...

Riley

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Then Again Maybe I Won't

Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great

Superfudge

Doublefudge

Palace of Laughter

Memory Bank

Dragon in the Volcano
The 100 Year Old Secret Sherlock Files
Dying To Meet You Book 1 and 2
Ally Finkle Rules for Girls series

Liberty Porter First Daughter

and really so much more..there was hardly a day this girl didn't start and finish something wonderful
and there were many a night we went to bed at 9:30 and she was still up reading...but it was summer so that was ok right? now we are fighting that "close the book, time for bed" fight now...the school year beginning is tough

right now Riley and I are reading
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon together


Janey

Rainbow Fairy series

Summer According to Humphrey
Cobble Street Cousins Series
2012 Monarch Book Award List

Let's Talk About When You Have Your Tonsils Out
and many other Let's Talk About Books....Janey loves to read medical nonfiction :)

right now Janey are I are reading Gooseberry Park together

Aubrey

Which Shoes Would You Choose?

Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat books 

Brownie and Pearl series
Quick as a Cricket
and practically all the Harper Growing Tree books

i already miss those lazy summer mornings when everyone is curled up with a book

 

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

it was monday yesterday and dave and i finally got our "date"

now that the big girls are in school

we drop them off in the mornings and

head to the grocery store
we take our dates where we can get them around here

later we went to lunch

today we did mexican

remember how much aubrey loves the chips and salsa?

later i slipped out for a quick shopping trip before picking up the girls

dave made muffins for school breakfast tomorrow (he already washed my car earlier)

forget flowers and jewelry

that's love in my book

thanks baby!:)
can't wait till next monday

{Weekend Glimpses}

pioneer woman's lemon chicken

outside play

giggly hugs

standing on a stool reaching for lollies

playing doctor

reading a new book

yard work

popsicles

washing bikes

riding

practicing kicks

hose fun

new family rules

hope your weekend was a happy one,

cindy

{First Day of School}

the first day of school has come and gone and we are all still smiling
our first day only lasts until 10:00
just long enough for the teachers to get some supplies put away and do an activity or two
a good easy way to start i guess

we had these muffins for breakfast
boy are they yummy
we used chocolate chips instead of the cinnamon ones
i have been looking for a good basic muffin recipe that we can add a variety of things to
this is it without a doubt

had to wake janey up this morning
doesn't she look sleepy...poor baby!

riley decided she wanted to wake up to an alarm clock this morning
why do they have to go and grow up on you like that
i don't really like the idea very much
i like kissing that sleepy under the cover head in the mornings
she said it was "ok" to wake up to that "beep beep beep" noise
we will see how long that lasts

one last read and snuggle from big sis
aubrey is really going to miss them

riley ~ fourth grade

janey ~ second grade

aubrey ~ mommy

{note to self....color hair before school begins! :) }

booster seats are gone this year

they said it was time

although janey is still debating

she likes to be taller and see way far!:)

loved walking janey in this morning

she is so excited about having her very own desk this year instead of just a big table

the first thing she said when i picked her up was...you should see my desk!

a girl after my own heart

riley said no way to me walking her in

she wanted to go in with her friends instead

sigh...sniff...sniff...boo...hoo...

 

tomorrow they will be gone all day

tomorrow i have to pack two lunchboxes

tomorrow aubrey and i will play and clean and snuggle

i will miss them for sure

but at least it's friday!

have a happy day,

cindy

first day 2010

{Yesterday, Today and Farewell to Summer}

well we made it
school begins tomorrow
the end of summer is here
we had an amazing one that's for sure
so much fun i've barely had a chance to blog about it all
but i know that's a good thing right?

yesterday we tried to make the most of our last summer tuesday
we had lunch out and
watched the trains go by
it was peaceful
easy and
perfect

then we headed to our favorite downtown cupcake shop

we just love this place
it is quaint
charming and
full of all kinds of girly goodness

mason jars filled with goodies
spools of colorful twine
lots of twinkly lights and gauzy fabric

wish i could have taken more pictures
but we were the only ones there and i felt a bit silly :)

aubrey and i enjoyed a chocolate one and riley and janey picked vanilla

the girls loved sharing my camera and taking all kinds of pictures

i think i had to delete like 40 or so

from a 30 minute cupcake date

but they had fun

goodness how i love these girls

we ended the day with haircuts for the girls and

our annual back to school social

lots of bounce house fun and a great evening to play outside

see old friends,

previous years teachers

and new ones too

we have a feeling it's gonna be a good year

today we woke up early

and headed to panera

it was our last weekday breakfast for awhile

it was fun and tasty

lots more camera fun was had

they love my camera

can you tell?

we spent the rest of the day labelling school supplies,

swimming in our neighbors pool (big girls, not me) and

getting ready for soccer practice

whew....busy day...

farewell to summer you have been good to us this year

just a few lovely memories that never got photographed that we just don't want to forget:

sister sleepovers

chat time

chuck e cheese

way too many mcdonalds ice cream cones

indoor park

listening to zac brown...over and over

picnics

lemonade stands

hose on the trampoline

pool under the slide

bike rides

hawaiian ice 

trips over the "bumpy bridge"

pretzels, candy store and carousel days

hope your summer was sweet too!

have a happy day,

cindy