POTD Challenge 4/18-4/4/24/2010

Sunday reading...and for the record, after church on Sunday is the only day I could care less what the girls wear...which is why Addysen is sporting that getup. I vividly remember Elodie at 2 being very persistent about what she wanted to wear. Addysen is following in Sister's footsteps on that end!


Kindergarten Bake Sale...


Figuring out the potty...I made the mistake of giving her a cookie to keep her on the potty...now she thinks everytime she sits on the potty she gets a treat! You'd think I knew better since this isn't my first go around!


Earth Day- Elodie had Thursday and Friday off for "April Break". We went out to the park behind our house and Elodie picked up a bunch of trash. She is very much aware of littering and can't understand why people would leave their trash on the ground. The whole time she was picking up trash she kept saying "Mom, there's a trash can RIGHT THERE!" I can't decide if I'm creating a conscious child or a snotty one. I tend to walk the line so she gets it honestly!


This is nothing new in our house but I'm glad I thought to take a picture...we have 3ice-cream scoopers and it's not unusual for all 3 of them to be in the dishwasher at the same time. We just love ice-cream! My latest favorite is chocolate with peanut butter cup..which is weird because for a long time I didn't really like the flavor of peanut butter and chocolate...and no, I'm not pregnant!


Another Hair-cut picture...this girl cracks me up!

POTD Challenge 4/11-4/17/2010

Addysen staked her claim on Elodie's old Care Bear suitcase. She pretty much carries it around everywhere she goes and insist on taking it with her when we go places. You should see the stuff she puts in there....a pack rat in the making...if that were even allowed in our house!


She wasn't up for a picture but this is what I mean by pack rat...she was upset because Chris and I weren't letting her take all this stuff with us when we went to lunch. Heartbroken!


Here you will find the Minnie Mouse Elodie got from our trip to Disneyland 2 years ago, an Easter bunny she got a couple of years ago from Grama and Papa Yarn, a brown bear that Uncle Caissy and Aunt Regina gave Elodie the year she turned one, and the ever important, can't sleep without Hello Kitty from her 5th Birthday party at Build-a-Bear Workshop.


I had to take the girls with me on a photoshoot. I was doing Chris' cousin, Taylre's, senior pictures and since she is family she didn't mind the tag alongs. I loaded the car with movies and popcorn and the girls were in heaven...up until the 2 hour mark when they insisted I be done! They are good troopers!


The beginning of spaghetti...I was making this the other night and it got me thinking about things I do that my mom does and I do them without knowing or bothering to ask why she did them. My mom always added carrots to her spaghetti. After Chris and I got married I did the same thing. It wasn't until a few years into our marriage that Chris' sister asked me why I did this. I didn't have an answer for her so I called my mom. Turns out she did it because she wanted to add more vegetables to her spaghetti. And all this time I was just doing it because she did it! That and because it taste good! I can't imagine our spaghetti without!


Park Tricks, she gets braver every time we go outside! Since this picture was taken she has started going down the big slide head first, on her back!


Elodie's last soccer game....

Just in time for summer...

I'm pretty much on an unintentional mission to try every recipe on the Our Best Bites website. It's going pretty well for me so far! The other night I tried this salad and it.was.AWESOME! Seriously. I'll definitely be adding it to our summer menu! Even the girls liked it! BONUS! On top of that...because it has bacon in it, it stands alone! I didn't grill any chicken or anything! Just popped some french bread in the over and DONE! And in case your interested on how I serve my french bread. Cut it open, slather with butter, garlic powder, and load it up with freshly shredded mozzerella cheese. Wrap it aluminum foil and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes. What you get is ooey, not good for you, goodness!

Spinach Mandarin Poppy Seed Salad
Recipe from Our Best Bites

8 oz. (1/2 bag) of baby spinach
1/2-1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 thinly sliced medium red onion
1 large avocado, cubed
8 oz. mozzarella or Swiss cheese, shredded
1 12-oz. package bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 large can Mandarin oranges, drained
Poppy Seed Dressing, to taste
Combine all ingredients except dressing in a large bowl. When ready to serve, toss with desired amount of salad dressing and serve immediately. If you anticipate leftovers, just let your eaters dress their own salads because the dressing will make the greens wilt.

Poppy Seed Dressing
Recipe from Our Best Bites

1/3 c. white vinegar
1 tsp. Kosher salt
A few turns of freshly ground black pepper
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. mustard
1 green onion, ends removed (both the "hairy" end and where the green part starts to get floppy)
1/2 c. vegetable oil

In a blender, combine vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, and mustard. While the blender is running, add the green onion. Continue running the blender and add the oil in a steady stream and is fully incorporated into the dressing.

Pour the dressing into a serving or storage container and whisk in poppy seeds. Serve over leafy greens.

Haircuts...

This was no big deal for Elodie. She was in and out of the chair super quick....doesn't she look SO CUTE!?!

Before...


After...



Addysen on the other hand...I purposely got Elodie's haircut done first so that Addysen would feel comfortable in the room. She watched sister get her haircut and didn't seem at all bothered being there. Once we got her in the chair was a whole other story! She is by no means a difficult child but this was her first experience with a haircut! She sat still throughout the whole cut but she let us all know she wasn't happy about being there! She wouldn't even let me get a good after picture! GASP! The nerve of my 2 year old! Regardless, she too looks super cute with her new do! Her hair was getting a bit out of control and was in desperate need of a good trim! Mission Accomplished!

Before...I was going for the most dramatic before and after pictures!


First cut!


Getting use to the idea..with the help of sister!


Doing better...


Back to not being so sure about this...


And then back to crying...


AFTER!! Pouty face and all! Nothing a sonic drink can't fix! I just love the first haircut experience! The change from baby to almost big girl is priceless.

Kindergarten Bake Sale

The 2 kindergarten classes at Elodie's school hosted a bake sale. Well, I should say the MOMS hosted a bake sale seeing as we were the ones who baked all the goodies and sold them during lunchtime! Either way....I was able to help out 2 of the 3 days and it was so fun to watch all the kids walk through the line all googly eyed! Such a treat for them! It was a 3 day event and by the end of it, I had given Elodie ALL the quarters in our stash. She was in heaven!

Soccer Wrap Up

Elodie had her last soccer game this past weekend. As much as we enjoyed watching her play and going to her games we are also happy to see the season come to an end. 8am games on a Saturday morning was NOT our favorite part of the season!

She really enjoyed playing and even scored a goal during the last game. Her first goal of the season! And while we never brought it to her attention, she knew she had never scored a goal and really wanted it during the last game! Mostly, we are so proud that she stuck with it and never gave up! She never got frustrated if she didn't get the ball and was always willing to go in when the coach told her to! She had a lot of fun and made some really fun friends we may see again in the seasons to come! After her game I asked her if she wanted to play soccer again. She thought about it for a minute and said "Not right now, I want to do gymnastics!" So that's the plan for this summer.
These pictures were taken on "picture day". March 27th.


I snuck in and got a side angle shot of the whole group....

The girls loved to watch the boys playing while they were waiting on the sidelines...


Below are from this last Saturday, April 17th,2010....some "action shots"




Go Purple Dragons!

Good Game,Good Game,Good Game....

I won't bore you any longer...

I FINALLY transferred all of my "photography" to it's own blog! It's nothing fancy. For now, it's a way to keep it all in one place! I'm hoping to tweek it as I go and as I learn more about webpages. Another thing to add to my ever growing list of "to do's". Isn't that life though? Or maybe it's like Chris told me yesterday- "You try to squeeze 10 things into a time when you only have room for 2!" Isn't that all women though? Right?

You can check out the photoblog HERE. I won't be posting any other photoshoots, besides my girls, on this blog so take a peek every once in a while.

Better yet....if you want a photoshoot or know someone who needs an updated family picture send them my way. I'm still only charging $25 for up to 6 people, $50 for more than 6 people. Pretty unheard of in the photography world!

POTD Challenge 3/28-4/3/2010

PawPaw's Dress...

We got a nice surprise when a pink flower bloomed amid all the yellows ones.

Kindergarten Egg Hunt...

The reason I can never leave my job at Kohl's. 10 pairs of pants and 2 decorative sconces for $10. I saved like $175. I got Elodie 5 pairs of school pants for 1st grade and 5 pairs for 2nd grade. She's set for the next 2 years! Each pair was $1.90. With my discount and a $10 off coupon, I totally scored!

A stroller isn't just for babies at our house!

The girls Easter baskets...we had planned this really fun scavanger hunt for Elodie to find both baskets. What we didn't think about was her finding the last clue (which was tucked in the entertainment center of her tv) and going straight to the baskets from there. Bummer! Next year we will hide the clues AFTER she wakes up!

Lately...

(Easter Sunday after eating some chocolate)

She thinks tormenting Ginger is fun. Her latest trick is taking Ginger's bone and hiding it. Her favorite hiding spot is on top of the windowsill in the dining room. Ginger will sit there forever looking up at her bone just waiting for one of us to walk by and knock it down. She is slowly learning that Ginger will retaliate if pushed too far.

She has added to her entourage. On top of totting 2 tutus and Baby Daughter, she now likes to carry around Elodie's pink bear.

We have a tape of children's songs we play in the car for her. When she wants her music on she says "Turn music OFF!" She pretty much has the tape memorized and will start singing the next song before it even comes on!

Her new favorite cereal is Fruit Loops and she calls them "Fruit Poops"

She insist that Elodie hold her hand in the car.

She calls Outside, Outerside.

She has gone potty in the toilet lots of times but goes in spurts between wanting to use the potty and only wanting to wear a diaper.