A Collection ~ Theme Thursday

Today’s Theme Thursday is collection. Besides my collection of dust bunnies, I’m not really collecting anything right now. I did collect spoons when I was little but I think they are somewhere at my parent’s house now, in the basement perhaps? Since Em is a bit of a hoarder (she has piles of scrap papers, all kinds of piles of stuff, and will not throw anything away) I am not surprised that she has already found something to collect.

Our trip to Hawaii pushed her occasional infatuation with the “smashed penny” into a full-fledged obsessive collection. So now we collect “smashed pennies” wherever we go. You know the crank machine where you put in 51 cents and get a penny imprinted with a logo.

Daddy found the cool little folder to keep her pennies in, and she likes to rearrange them and tell us how many spots she has left to fill. Finding a penny is never a problem, unfortunately we always see a machine when Mommy never has any quarters. I’m tempted for her birthday to get her a roll of quarters and a roll of pennies to drag around in her purse so we always have some.

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Don’t forget to stop over to the Land of K.A. to check out what everyone else is collecting.

Crafty Tuesday

Check it – two weeks in a row that I have something for Crafty Tuesday! I’m psyched about these layouts, too. I really like them.

I was looking through Em’s baby scrapbook and one of the layouts I did for Em I called “A Year of Emma Grace” and I had scrapped a photo from each month of her first year. I liked ending the book like that, so I decided to do a similar one for Addie’s book.

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This may be one of my favorite layouts of all time. I really love the paper (click it to see it up close) and of course it has some of my favorite baby Addie photos. So I’m very pleased with how that one turned out.

I also like the other one I did on Saturday night. The title reads “The Perfect Summer Day.” The photos are from one of our Sunday trips to the beach last summer. And now that it was almost 90 degrees here today, I’m hoping we get back to the beach…soon!

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What sort of craftiness did you partake in this week?

Mountain Road ~ Best Shot Monday

I have some Easter shots to get up still, but this is one of my favorite photos of the weekend.

I took this after our egg hunt on Saturday, as the girls ran up the mountain road ahead to explore on their own. Watching them together like that stirs up all kinds of emotions in me. On one hand my heart breaks as they leave me behind, ready to be free, and off to do their own thing. I am also proud that they are such confident, secure girls that they know I am here, always watching and waiting for them to need me again. But mostly seeing the two of them makes me excited for all of the fun adventures they are going to find together someday.

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Check out Tracey’s today to see what emotions others are stirring up.

Some Days…

…it is so easy to be a Mom to these two girls. I think God realizes that you have to have some really, really, good days sprinkled in with the bad ones, otherwise nobody would ever have more than one child!

But we have had a really lovely – very busy – but lovely week. Pretty much a 180 from last week. Although J. did come home one night this week and asked if our courtyard was part of a crime scene.

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I was tempted to make so many wise-cracks, but it kind of makes me hyperventilate to think of anything related to that – so I will not go there. Em just wanted to make “snow angels” in the courtyard – don’t argue with the logic of an (almost!) five-year old. So she drew Addie, and I helped Addie draw her. Can you tell which is which? 🙂

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We took our friends Michelle and Emma Louise to the zoo. It is always a treat to meander through the zoo and take in all of the sights and sounds of the animals. And it was perfect timing, not crowded at all, and the girls were able to run around and check out what they wanted to see. They found this koala bear asleep in the tree…

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…checked out the new Gorilla Reserve (so very cool!)…

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…and Addie had her own little animal encounter.

This meerkat was fascinated with Addie! He was right in front of us and every time she would say something or move, he would just stare at her.

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She was delighted, of course. He looks a little like a real kitty, so he was “ok” in her book.

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And then, there is a park that is about halfway between Em’s school and our house and we have been anxiously awaiting its’ unveiling. They have totally redone the playground and every time we go past it, one of the girls will pipe up with a “Hey, Mama – it looks like the park is almost done!”

So yesterday, after we dropped Em at school, we were driving past it and Addie says the line on cue. And I realized that there were kids on the playground. So she and I did a little “test drive” of all of the new playground equipment.

Addie thought it was cool that she got to go to the park first, but when I suggested we go pick up Em from school and tell her we have a surprise for her and bring her back, she was over the moon with that idea! She could hardly contain herself as we waited for 4 o’clock.

She marched into Emma’s class and gleefully told Emma, “We have a surprise, and I’m not telling you! Come on we have to go!”

So we went to the park. Again. But, man, it is a totally fun park! Very different and fun toys to play with and on. The girls had a blast and Addie told me, “I love this park, Mama. It is my favorite!” Of course, she says that about a lot of parks, but I think it might be Mama’s favorite.

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Em was climbing all over the jungle gym thing-y, and was pretty high up, too. I’m still not used to her being so agile, courageous, and able to get so high up, so quickly. Did I mention that she looked like she was so high up? I told her to be careful and she said,

E: “You want to see how I got up here, Mama?”
M: “Sure. How?”
E: “I just put my leg here and then did this…”
(And she hiked her leg up and scrambled up to the top.)
E: “Hey, I think I got the hang of it, Mama! (Then she laughs as if she has just told the funniest joke!) Hang of it! Like I’m hanging! Do you get it, Mom?”

I got it. Funny monkey.

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Self ~ Theme Thursday

So our “assignment” for today’s Theme Thursday was to take a self-portrait. Blech.

This is how I feel about taking photos of myself…

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Not a fan. Very rarely do I see a photo of myself and say, “Hey! Look at that – that is a pretty good shot of me!” In fact, I don’t think I have said that since possibly this photo.

But, being a good sport, and knowing that I can’t always be behind the viewfinder, I do want my great-grandchildren to know that their grandmothers actually had a mom. So we hauled the camera and tripod out to the front yard today. It was nearly impossible to get a photo with just me. Apparently my girls are fond of getting their photo taken, Em wanted to play with the camera remote, and she also wanted to show off her curly new ‘do.

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When I told Em that we had to use the remote for the camera, Addie took off into the house and then returned with the television remote. “Here you go, Mama!” She is so sweet. Remotes for all!

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Later on when Em was at school and Addie was watching Ariel (for the 40th time this month), I slipped into the dining room and tried again. I am “ok” with this one, and it’ll be my submission for today’s theme.

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Check out how everyone else fared over at The Land of K.A.

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Also! If you have a minute will you pop over to my friend Vic at Life As I Know It and wish her a very happy birthday? Wow, all my beautiful friends are turning 29 this year! How fun! 🙂 Have the happiest of Birthdays, Vic!

Dis-enchanted

The disenchantment with her straight hair has begun.

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Em has been having either Denise or I put braids in her hair while it is wet at night so she will have “wavy” hair in the morning. The braids actually frizz her hair out a bit and make her look a little like a poodle, but she really likes it.

I put my hair up in velcro rollers the other night before we went out, (No, I’m sorry – I didn’t get a photo of J and I – and the dress. I’m in anguish over the whole thing, since it may have been one of the few times I would have liked having my photo taken. I’ll try to throw it on again soon and snap a photo.) and anyhow – now Em wants to try curlers and see what her hair will turn out like.

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Those of you blessed, or cursed as you may see it, with straight hair will recognize the little foam curlers we all used to sleep in to get luxurious, curly hair.

I did vow to Emma tonight that I will not, under any circumstances, participate in any home perm activities with her gorgeous hair. I’m sure my mom is reliving my frightful perm experience.

Yeah, I did the “perm” thing many times in my teenage years, but you know which one I’m talking about, Mom.