Can you spot the trend…

…in ALL of these pictures?

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skirt_1.jpg

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Ding, ding, ding. Gold star for you if you answered that they all contain an impossibly cute child.

BUT, extra credit for those of you that noticed she also happens to be sporting the (insert expletive here) “Cinderelly” gown. In. Every. Single. Picture.

This is actually the second Cinderella gown. Well, just the bottom half of the gown, if you want to get technical. She needs to wear it everywhere. For a few days it was the absolute first thing she put on in the morning and the last thing I peeled off of her before bath at night. She does get quite a few admiring glances and comments when we venture outside of the house. A few strange looks as well, but it really isn’t worth the fight. I simply let her wear it, it isn’t hurting anybody.

She also insists on putting it on herself. “I do it, I DO IT!” as she throws it over her head. She pulls it over her upper torso til it reaches her hips and then she pulls her arms through. Which I think was the demise of the first gown. The elastic was so stretched out that it wouldn’t stay up, yet she continued to wear it and just did everything right-handed since her left hand was busy holding the skirt up.

A few nights ago I told her I would fix it for her and suggested she wear the other little Cinderella bottom that we have. She was not very happy. The second, new skirt has a cute, little tulle overlay over the satin skirt. And she “don’t yike that!”

But then she figured out she could turn it inside out (yes, that means the itchy tulle is next to her skin) and it looked just like the first skirt. Now she has a “puffy” skirt.

So the new skirt has passed the very discerning fashionista’s test, and it is in heavy rotation. Well, I’m not sure if you can even say it is in rotation, it now goes to bed with her. She takes naps in it, she sleeps with it on at night, she only takes it off to bathe, or change her clothes that I insist she has to wear underneath it.

Yesterday, when she didn’t want to nap, and I think was a little bored, she took the skirt off along with her sweatpants, t-shirt, and pull-up. When I finally went up to let her out of baby jail, I opened the door, she was standing up in her crib. Naked. I said, “A. what are you doing?”

She looked down and then said with pure surprise on her face and in her voice, “Oh! Mama! I nakey!”

And she quickly reached down to put “Cinderelly” back on.

A confession.

So I have a confession to make.

Yesterday, as I was driving along – sans girls, I realized that the High School Musical album was still cued up and playing on my iPod. (It is the ONLY thing we can listen to in the car these days. “High School Music-school, Please, Mama!”).

I realized that it was still on, I didn’t have to be listening to it, and (here is the horrifying truth)…I didn’t change it.

In fact, to make matters worse, I found myself singing along. Now, not only has Disney managed to turn my children into living, breathing, walking advertising magnets, who are sucked in by “all things Disney,” the marketing geniuses over there have somehow figured out how to infiltrate my subconscious, too.

They do have some darn catchy tunes, though, I must admit. “When I hear my favorite song…I have to sing along… “

I’m back, Happy Birthday and Crafty Tuesday all in one…

I have so much to tell you! I am sitting contentedly writing on my very happy laptop with a ton to do, but I don’t care – I’m soooo happy to be back up and running.

Thanks to my sweet husband, who tirelessly worked on my laptop in between all the visits to the Apple store this weekend and last night, we figured out that it was the memory we had installed last year that made ‘ol Mac here very unhappy.

So I just installed new memory in my laptop. Me. How much of a geek-nerd do I feel like telling you all that? But, I am so very proud. Thanks to the tutorial last night from J., and the Apple store wanting to charge me $40 to take the old memory out and pop in the new, I just decided to do it. Five minutes later…all done. Whew. Now we are zipping along and just so, so happy!

Did I mention I was happy?

J. is traveling tonight and tomorrow night so I’ll have time to reset my stuff up here and catch up on all of your blogs! Plus have time to update you on all of our chaos, too.

But first, please go on over to my sweet little godson, Will and wish him a happy 1st birthday! He is one already – man, that is insane. And I haven’t been over there yet, but I’m sure Kim has some fun Tuesday craftiness, too.

Here is my one and only layout from the week. I told you it was nuts around here. But I do love this one. The pics were from one day after Em’s 2nd birthday, which would make her the age Addie is now. It is so weird it seems like yesterday, yet so long ago, too. I was only halfway through my pregnancy with Addie when I took these. (Yeah, I took all the photos, so no pregnant belly photos there – but I’m working on that stupid meme, so maybe you’ll get some.)

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Happy, Happy Tuesday!

I’m back, Happy Birthday and Crafty Tuesday all in one…

I have so much to tell you! I am sitting contentedly writing on my very happy laptop with a ton to do, but I don’t care – I’m soooo happy to be back up and running.

Thanks to my sweet husband, who tirelessly worked on my laptop in between all the visits to the Apple store this weekend and last night, we figured out that it was the memory we had installed last year that made ‘ol Mac here very unhappy.

So I just installed new memory in my laptop. Me. How much of a geek-nerd do I feel like telling you all that? But, I am so very proud. Thanks to the tutorial last night from J., and the Apple store wanting to charge me $40 to take the old memory out and pop in the new, I just decided to do it. Five minutes later…all done. Whew. Now we are zipping along and just so, so happy!

Did I mention I was happy?

J. is traveling tonight and tomorrow night so I’ll have time to reset my stuff up here and catch up on all of your blogs! Plus have time to update you on all of our chaos, too.

But first, please go on over to my sweet little godson, Will and wish him a happy 1st birthday! He is one already – man, that is insane. And I haven’t been over there yet, but I’m sure Kim has some fun Tuesday craftiness, too.

Here is my one and only layout from the week. I told you it was nuts around here. But I do love this one. The pics were from one day after Em’s 2nd birthday, which would make her the age Addie is now. It is so weird it seems like yesterday, yet so long ago, too. I was only halfway through my pregnancy with Addie when I took these. (Yeah, I took all the photos, so no pregnant belly photos there – but I’m working on that stupid meme, so maybe you’ll get some.)

sm_joy_layout.jpg

 

Happy, Happy Tuesday!

I’m Crippled.

My laptop is dead. Has been all weekend and is going into the doctor tomorrow, hopefully we’ll be up and running again soon. I’m borrowing J.’s right now so I can post my Best Shot Monday. I have one for Crafty Tuesday so far, too. So I’ll have try to update when I can.

I’m going through serious withdrawals right now. I won’t be able to read all of your blogs for a few days, but I’ll be back soon. Can you please say a little prayer for the quick recovery of my poor little Mac!

I’m Crippled.

My laptop is dead. Has been all weekend and is going into the doctor tomorrow, hopefully we’ll be up and running again soon. I’m borrowing J.’s right now so I can post my Best Shot Monday. I have one for Crafty Tuesday so far, too. So I’ll have try to update when I can.

I’m going through serious withdrawals right now. I won’t be able to read all of your blogs for a few days, but I’ll be back soon. Can you please say a little prayer for the quick recovery of my poor little Mac!

No tears this time around…

…for either Em or Mommy.

J., Addie and I just dropped Em off for her first official day of preschool.

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She and I went to meet her teachers on Tuesday evening and to see her room. Em got very anxious and worried because there is another Emma in her classroom. I told her that there would probably always be another Emma in her class from now until she graduates, it, alas, is a very popular name. I think she was a little tired, and a little overwhelmed, and a little shy (I know?!), but when one of her teachers asked Em if she was excited she just looked very, very distressed. So I suggested maybe the class could call our Em, “Emma Grace” and the other little girl just “Emma.”

Em’s teacher thought that would work and it seemed to pacify Em, too.

Then today when we got to class, her teacher said, “Now are we going to call you Emma or Emma Grace?” (I was very impressed that she even remembered our exchange amidst all of the chaos and other parents and students from the other night.) Em said, “I think Emma Grace.”

And that was it. She went tearing around the room, exploring and was completely happy to say goodbye and start her school career.

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I have such a good feeling about both of her teachers. I think she is in for a fantastic year and I’m so excited for her.

When I asked her at lunch if she was excited to go to school, she said, “Yes! Mama, remember when we met my teacher Miss Marie Rose? And she asked if I could give her a hug? I liked that hug. I liked the way she felt.”

And I liked the way I felt when I walked out of the school, a Mommy of an official “preschooler.”