A hose-wielding toddler

You think an umbrella is going to save you?

Perfect shot!

Oh, how the tables have turned…

Check out more Wordless Wednesday fun.

Imagine a long weekend filled with “tiny whinys” and constant (I am not exaggerating -from the very early minutes we got up until the moment they fell exhausted into bed) bickering. There was a lot of love lost between the two girls this weekend.

And then they pull a moment like this –

– and I almost forget the arguing. Almost.

But this sweet moment was forgotten just moments later, and the antagonizing continued for the rest of the weekend.

And then, I open this photo.

*sigh*

She is so gorgeous and so sweet. I can’t possibly be upset with her, can I?

I’m getting ready to print some favorite photos out. Do you like this one in color or in black & white? I can’t decide. Possibly I will just print both – I’m sure I can find a spot for both of them!

Make sure to stop by Tracey’s for some other sweetness this Monday morning.

Whew, it is back, with a vengeance! The past few years I specifically remember the first few weeks of May…for some weird reason they are always a little chilly with a nice thick marine layer that never quite burns off.

And then…

We get the full on sunshine and 90 degree days that do not stop for months on end. Gotta love living in L.A.

So on Saturday, when I read that this week’s Theme Thursday was sunshine, I was a wee bit worried since we were in the middle of our cold snap. (Hee…our “cold snap” just means we need a sweater, I mean it was only 60 degrees the other day. It is all relative, I guess.)

But then Tuesday, the sun found us again. Addie and I ventured out to examine our garden, do a little watering (She is a tremendous help in the watering department, let me tell you!), and soak up some sunshine.

This is what the sunshine brought us…

Couldn’t resist plucking one a little before its time…

And do a little “taste test” …

Addie has been back out there at least twenty times to check to see if the others are “ready.” I told her that they need some water, sunshine and time to get nice and red and BIG. I told her it may take a few weeks for them to be ready.

About five minutes passed and she hopefully asked me, “Are they ready now, Momma?”

Strawberries clearly do not operate on the toddler timeline.

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Stop over to Stacy’s to see how sunny days have inspired other photographers as well.

(I love how not only is Swiper lined up with the jungle animals, but also the farmer and Santa. Planning to storm the barnyard and take over! I honestly wasn’t really listening to the plot, so I’m not sure what is happening here.)

I have two measly little “cards” – technically I think they are more like gift tags – to show this week. I have spent every available “free” moment working on my project due next Monday. Between that and the plague that has descended upon our house, unfortunately crafting has been pushed very low on the priority list.

Em and I did make these little ladybug cards for her friends Kate and Chloe who both had birthdays last week. The girls were at Em’s party and have apparently become as obsessed as she has with the ladybug hunting. So we found some fun bug books for their adventures and used a bunch of my scrap paper for the ladybug tags.

BUT my sweet friends were very good to me for my birthday and I have some fun new scrap stuff to play with!

I have imposed a self restriction (since I’m a bit of a paper fiend) on buying any scrap materials.  And it really isn’t just paper either, I have drawers of embellishments and the ribbon…my heavens, the ribbon drawer is ridiculous.

Plus, not only that, but we don’t have any really great scrap stores out here. No Archivers. (Oh, how I long for thee!) No Arnies.

But leave it to my “peeps” to pull through for me. My friend Michelle gave me some very fun embellishes…

How cute is the bikini one?!

And my friend Kimmer sent me a packet with this fun included…

The sticker letters are great and those are JEWELS! Hmmm…do you think I could possibly find some sort of girly photos to include those on? And she sent some amazing paper…

You can’t see in the photo very well, but there is all kind of “bling” on these papers. The green paisley actually has glitter paisley and little jewels embedded on it. It is tied for my favorite paper. (Although I’m really into polka lots right now, too!) But the green is tied with my other favorite paper…

Yeah – brown, pink and cream. Three colors that look so yummy together! And check out the name of the paper – White Chocolate Bunnies. So appropriate.

It’s incredible how well Kimmer knows my style to be able to pick out paper that makes me so giddy, I want to run into my room and start scrapping immediately!

So stay tuned for some good stuff with my new inspirations…I’m not even going to say maybe next week, but soon! Probably very soon because I can’t wait.  How about anyone out there? Any fun stuff this week??

Last week was a very rough week for our little Em. Not that great a week for Mommy and Addie either. It started out as a bit of a sickly week – both girls were in the pediatrician’s office at 9am on Monday morning. Addie had been battling a cold for a week or so, and Em had a bit of one, but it didn’t seem nearly as bad as Addie’s.

Until Sunday when I suspected that Em may have a little bout of pink-eye and I was unfortunately correct. Plus, she also had an ear infection on top of it. So a little stop at the pharmacy and a lot of rest and mid-week we all seemed to be doing better.

Then Friday morning Em made it into my room to tell me she was going to be sick, and back into the bathroom before throwing up (ah, such a good girl!). We thought it was just from coughing, a lot of times she makes herself sick, I guess she doesn’t have a very high gag reflex.

She assured me that she was fine and could go to school that day. Why? Because her Spring Program (that her class had spent months practicing for) was Friday evening. So we skipped school took it easy and rested instead, and were able to make it to the program.

So, last week did not provide a lot of inspiration for photo-taking. We were very, very light in the photo department. And all weekend we just sort of hung around – I think my camera and I just kind of needed a little break. I did get this shot while the little starlets were waiting to take the stage on Friday…

(L to R: Chloe, Em, and Ella)

This is part of Em’s little “clique” at her school. There are five girls who have really become fast friends and they are all such sweet girls and so very kind to Addie when she tries to tag along with the “big girls.” And more importantly, their moms are also so awesome. I really look forward to school, dance and playdates, almost as much as the girls do.

Oh, yeah – and the Spring Program! It went off without a hitch and Em did great. J. actually snuck up front and got some photos and video so I’ll try to get the footage off of his camera and post it so you can see our little cowgirls in action. (They did a Bible verse, the days of the week in Spanish, and sang “Turkey in the Straw” complete with cowboy hats…it was mighty cute!)

Hopefully this week we will get back into the land of the living and have some good stuff for you. Meanwhile, don’t forget to stop over at Tracey’s and see what everyone else has been up to this fine Monday.

Focus is today’s Theme Thursday.

“Please, focus here, Emma Grace! Concentrate. Listen up.”

I can’t tell you how many times a day/week/month I say this to Em. She has definitely fine-tuned her ability to block the sound of mom’s voice out. And I’m certain that I sound like the teacher from Charlie Brown to her.

“Wah wah wah waaah, wah wah, wah.”

Yesterday the focus was all on Em because we had her first parent-teacher conference.

I know she is a good girl, and she just pushes me because she can. But it was still good to hear that she is a great student. Her teacher said she is a joy to have in the class, very polite, attentive and always focused. And she never has to tell her anything twice.

She also appears to be in with the “in crowd” of girls at school. She is coming out of her “shell” and confident in both leading and following. I think she will be demanding the center of focus for a long time to come.

Focus up on some other great shots at Stacy’s new home for Theme Thursday.

Sheesh. Yes, we have had a LOT of birthdays lately. Today is Nana’s birthday, and we are not done for January, yet!

Apparently, one of the many things I learned from my mom was how to elude the camera.  This photo was taken the day Addie and I came home from the hospital, the day after she was born. That would be two years and four months ago. (But tell me Emma isn’t freakin’ a-dore-able in that photo!)

I just don’t have many pictures of my mom to choose from, but every one that I do have she is either cuddling up with one of my or one of Meesh’s girls. I think it is safe to say that she loves being a mom, but she adores being Nana.

What is that saying?  You can’t really appreciate someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes? Um, maybe I just pieced two different sayings together, I’m not sure. But at any rate, I think I have always had a healthy appreciation for my mom, but after becoming a mom, that appreciation has risen to a whole different level.

She has taught me so much about being a mom. And she passed on to me, some of her creative genes. (You think I’m crafty? There is not a craft that this woman has not tackled, and been successful at!)

Today we celebrate our Mom and Nana. And we are wishing you many more happy years. I’m hoping for a lot more time to learn even more from and with you.

You should probably know, though – the camera is coming out next time we are together. And I will get photos. 🙂

Happy Birthday, Nana! We love you.

I am not quite sure why, but it is so incredibly satisfying and sweet to see your parents playing with – and really enjoying – your children. Maybe it is that whole “full circle of life” thing or something, but it really makes me so happy to see how excited my parents get when the girls visit.

(Yeah, I’ve so been replaced. I could ship the girls back to Michigan without J. or I, and I don’t think anyone would even notice! But you know, I’m ok with that, too.)

As a father, my dad is great.  But he is an even better “Papa.”

All of his girls adore him.

And today we are sending him lots of birthday love. And good wishes for a great year.

Happy Birthday, Papa! We love you!