{Today}

aubrey and i spent a quiet morning playing

i love watching her imaginative play grow
she is actually using different voices and "talking" for her friends
one of the many benefits of playing with big sisters

we were enjoying the morning sunshine coming through the windows
and the quiet

elmo's fine in case you were wondering...

aubrey is at such a fun age right now
"mommy sit wit me"
"mommy go for a walk wit me"
"mommy play houses wit me"

but then it's quickly followed by "no, no I DO IT!" and "no i won't"
gotta love two

after our quiet time we decided to head to target
i seriously should have 4 kids already....
this is what has to be brought into the car
every
single
time
we leave

diaper bag filled with books, "cell mone" and friends
baby kate and
her car seat

goodness
like i said...gotta love two

target was so much fun
we got our few things then spent close to an hour in the toy aisle
yes i am one of those moms who lets her kids play with all the toys
but we always put them back!:)
she is pretty good at finding those little holes in the packaging you can stick your fingers through to make the noises
at one point we had every baby doll in the aisle laughing, cooing, jumping and saying "mama, mama"
it was pretty funny

home for lunch
max and ruby and
nap time

anyone else watch parenthood?

love, love, that show 
i usually always dvr, but last night i just had to watch the first segment
cried like a baby when adam and kristina found out they were having a girl...
can't wait till tonight to finish...dont' give anything away k?

well, there you have it
a look at the simple and the ordinary
or the boring and the mundane...depending on how you choose to look at it
i think you know which way i choose??:)

hope your day was a simple one

have a happy day,

cindy

{Weekend Glimpses}

there was a lot more to our weekend then just birthday goodness
here are a few of the highlights

we wrapped up our soccer season
the girls grew a lot this year
thanks to that awesome coaching

riley had a heartbreaking loss that kept her team out of the tournament
janey made her the sweetest card when she got home
complete with trophy and medal

made us all smile
especially riley

someone got a new bike on my birthday
and it wasnt' me:)

our awesome new biker has pedaled quite a few hours already

great school morning motivator i am finding too...."if you are ready for school and your chores are done....you can ride your bike before we leave".....score one for mommy!:)

dave made lots of yummies this weekend

check out this, this and this

they were all pretty scrumptious

growing up

it just keeps happening doesn't it?:)

my sweet baby looks sleepy....

must be all the soccer

we got out the fall boxes too

the weekend weather was perfect for it

it's really no fun decorating for fall when it's 80 out!

more inside pictures to come.....

hope your weekend was a good one,

have a happy day,

cindy

{44}

i am now 44
not quite sure how i feel about that number
i certainly don't feel that number
so i guess i'll just ignore it....how's that??

we had a beautiful day together



dave made me one of my favorite dinners,
it was oh so yummy

the girls had fun decorating for our little party with friends

after dinner i had just a brief moment to sit on the porch and
watch my world

it's not often that we get a moment to really just sit and take it all in
really look and really see all that we have to be so thankful for

they weren't doing anything different then we do most nights after dinner
but it sure was special
they are all mine and i am truly blessed
i think this was my favorite moment of the day

i love the mesmerized looks kids get on their faces when lit birthday cakes are around

janey explaining to me how to make that perfect wish

i think i got it!

let's just pray i get it!

thank you for a wonderful day

and for all the sweet cards that came my way.

here's to being 44 and

 here's to the best year yet!

have a happy day,

cindy

{She Did It and Soup}

after months of trying and practicing
after hours spent running behind her
last night she hopped on and
took off

i love it when learning happens that way
in the blink of an eye
and all on their own

now she really needs a new bike!:)


it was my turn to get the sickies yesterday
my fever never got above 99 but i can't even remember the last time i had a fever
even 99 was kickin my butt
what a wimp!
so riley and daddy made soup
complete with homemade stock and loads of fresh veggies
and guess what?

i feel 100% better this morning!

have a happy day,

cindy

{Step One...Check}

the first item on my "really long memory restoration project" is complete
i have uploaded all of my old photo cd's to the computer
the are saved
cataloged and
ready for use

goodness that was a lot of cd's
kind of strange having three years of your life literally flash before you

funny story...one of the cd's i uploaded had a huge amount of photos on it...like 300...when i opened the pics, they were not ours! for some reason i must not have opened this cd when we ordered it years ago. we got to see a bunch of rowdy young people enjoying a trip to ireland. (was that wrong of us to look???) boy i bet they were disappointed when they opened up our cd to find pictures of two little girls in princess dresses running around! i really hope they somehow got their photos back...that would have really stunk!!

one of the things i have always wanted to do was have a bunch of our old and new favorite photos playing on our desktop slide show. i am proud to say that slide show is now up and running. it really is impossible to walk by the computer without pausing for just a moment.

whenever we are in the kitchen (inevitably trying to cook or prepare something) we keep hearing "mom/dad...look!" . it's fun and it makes for great dinner conversation as we sit there and watch the photos flash by. i think aubrey likes seeing her sisters as babies the most.

on to step two: uploading and printing, this one unfortunately is going to cost big bucks!
speaking of big bucks, we finally heard back from the company we sent our old mangled hard drive to. we found out how much it will be to "try" and retrieve our data. want to even try and guess.....$1500!!!!!!! needless to say we are seeking a second opinion and considering a photo only retrieval. moral of the story again...back up people...back up!! i am now in the process of looking into printing all the photos that are stored in my google web albums. (the ones that are on my blog) anyone have any experience with that?

on another note, my sweet little janey is now sick.

i guess that's the way it works in a house full of girls who love to kiss and hug

we spent another day snuggling in front of the tv

i am so thankful my older girls are totally ok with watching toddler/preschool television

it makes my heart happy that they are still innocent like that

goodness this one cracks me up!!

hope everyone is well in your home,

have a happy day,

cindy

{Weekend Glimpses}

our great weekend started friday when the girls each had a friend come over after school.
sometimes when just one friend comes over...there can be "trouble"
but this time, they each had their own...it was perfect.
we came in and each set headed to their designated rooms to play
it was quiet and peaceful
aubrey and i were left to continue our max & ruby cuddle fest.:)
{her fever was gone by 9 that morning and she is back to her spunky self}

later they went to the h.s. football game
it was homecoming so it was extra exciting
like only h.s. homecoming football can be



oh i wish i could have been there
they actually called me when the band marched in so i could hear it
see...i was a band nerd
(except we were not nerds...coolest group in the school actually...and coolest band ever)
something about that feeling
being part of a sound like that
thrilling
they both came back so pumped up about it all
i am hoping they catch the music fever soon
i would love to be a band parent someday!!:)

saturday we had beautiful weather for our soccer games
not a cloud in the sky
lots of running and cheering

sharing the all important after game snack
and a little blanket playing on the sidelines too

after lunch janey and i headed out to pick up a birthday gift and
to do a little clothes shopping
we stopped in this antique store that i have been wanting to visit
it was so charming and filled with goodies
janey was in heaven
she told me over and over how much she loved this place
i think she might have actually picked up or touched every. single. thing. in the store
my friend pegged it....it's a store filled with nothing but "saved things"
and we all know how much janey loves to save things
she was in heaven

the saturday rushing around that a double header soccer game, late lunch, late nap time, and unsuccessful mall experience can bring left me drained and ready for a stay home day
a day where no one leaves the house
sunday brought just that

we tried a new church last week when my parents were here
it was a tough decision
especially when you involve the girls and their friends
but we did it and we know we made the right choice
it feels like a good fit and as grace would have it
the girls have found new friends and familiar ones too and
life is good

they presented bibles to the second graders this week
i was touched they thought of janey and remembered her after only being their once before
she was so proud

we spent the rest of our stay home day
doing a whole lot of nothing...which was really something...

puzzle building marathon

painting "ningernails" orange

snuggling, popcorn and sarah 101 from hgtv

creating

whoonu

hope your weekend was a happy one,

have a happy day,

cindy