Recently Enjoyed Things!

The amount of generosity during the holidays never ceases to amaze me. The below is what the girls brought home from daycare after their Easter party.

 And we found the below left on our doorstep from our neighbors. My girls sure are spoiled but it makes me feel good too.

 I realize that I've already posted stuff from Easter but I love the pictures Dusty put together below. We had a really good Easter. 

 The girls enjoyed their last meal on our old table outside during our yard sale. I needed to feed them lunch but wanted to be able to keep an eye on them during our yard sale. We were selling our dining room table because we just got a new one so I thought, "why not!" It looked funny for the girls to be eating lunch in the front of our house.

 Morgan filled out the below for me for Mother's Day. When I picked her up from Campus Club she came running to me and wanted me to read it right away. I teared up when I read it. I was so impressed with how well she actually knew me for only being 5 years old. The thing she listed for "what I'm really good at" cracked Daniel and I up! I'm going to keep this forever. 

 While watching tv with Charlotte on my lap the other day, I couldn't help but admire her hair. She has yet to get her first haircut.

 She's into this thing recently where she likes to put baindaids on herself for no apparent reason. We let her wear them to daycare because I don't think it hurts anything.

 When I went in to get her the other morning this is what I found.

  What was she doing to her poor babies?

 "Take a picture of me mom!" Morgan was proud because she had done her own hair.

Not All Bad!

While reading my blog recently I've noticed that most of the pictures of my girls eating are of them eating horribly unhealthy things like McDonald's and sugary sweets. For the record, my girls eat a decent amount of veggies and eat their weight in fruit. They eat so much fruit that I'm even making an effort to buy organic when I can. And just so I can rest easy I've provided proof below.

There's a fruit stand between Charlotte's daycare and Morgan's school. Morgan always asks to stop so we stopped the other day and she picked out strawberries and sugar snap peas. The peas were the best I've ever had.

 Again, so I don't feel guilty about their macaroni and cheese consumption, I always add veggies and fruit to their plate.

 I caught Charlotte red handed the other day helping herself to some strawberries that were in the refrigerator.

"Oh, hey, mom!"

 "I was just ahhhhh..."

 "I know I'm not supposed to get in the refrigerator by myself but aren't I cute?"

 "I mean, look at how I'm tilting my head. Don't I look innocent and sweet?"

 "No? Okay, I'll just smile at you again."

 I have to closely monitor the amount of blueberries my girls eat. If left alone, they'll eat the entire container in one sitting.

I buy one box of corn dogs every few months for the girls because they're just so darn quick and easy. I'd buy them more often if I didn't know better.

Spring To Do List!

Before each season I write a to-do list complete with ideas from Pinterest. Here’s my list for Spring:

-Plant Garden

-Spring time pictures in wildflowers

-Paint Pots/Plant Flowers

-Yard sale

I’m proud to say that we accomplished all of the above. Of course, that list is pretty simplistic but regardless, we did it! This past weekend the girls and I painted flower pots and then planted some succulents in them. I’m hoping since we planted succulents, they have a fighting chance of surviving. I got everything set up and the girls and I got busy. I was so impressed with Charlotte because she so intently and contentedly painted her pot. She was so calm and quiet and focused for nearly an hour! I was so blown away with this because she’s two! 

I didn’t realize a two year old could be so focused, calm and content doing one activity for that long. I watched her little face so calmly focus on the pot and her task. She steadily would put stroke after stroke of paint on just trying her best to cover that whole pot with the “purr-pole” paint she chose! It made me aspire to do more creative art/craft projects with her.

I was also impressed with Morgan. Matter of fact, she immediately turned her pot over to start painting it and I was like, “Oh! Hey, that’s a really good idea!” and I quickly followed suit. It cracked me up that I was following the artistic direction and know-how of a 5 year old. Thankfully she’s been exposed to lots of arts, crafts and creative outlets through her daycare, school and Campus Club. She immediately picked her colors and got to work. She drew 2 flowers and then began painting pretty stripes. She worked diligently and then was quickly done with her task. While we were all painting, we were all complimenting each other on our work. It was fun and makes me smile thinking about it.

I happened to be tinkering around on Pinterest the day before our project when I saw this idea for painting a pot. I thought it was a watermelon and really liked it but after looking back at the pin I realize it was supposed to be a strawberry. Either way, I really like it. It was fun! We let our pots dry and then later that day we planted our succulents. I loved the way they turned out. Oh how I love being home and doing all the things that can be done in the safety and comfort of our beautiful walls!

Out and About With My Girls!

I sometimes joke that our girls don’t get out much. Thankfully when I look at this blog, I’m reminded that that’s not really true but what I mean is, because I’m a working mom, the girls often teeter between school/daycare and home and that’s basically it. If I have errands to run, I try to do them during my lunch break because let’s face it, it’s just easier that way. However, sometimes I feel guilty about that. With that in mind I decided to take the girls shopping with me at the mall this past weekend. There was some stuff I wanted to get at JC Penny so I decided to take the girls and make a day of it. After ballet, we headed over to the mall. 

I was a little shocked at how full the parking lot was which also painfully reminded me that I had forgotten the stroller. I wasn’t worried about Morgan of course but having a two year old loose in the mall was risky (at least for me). The girls did “fine”. I was impressed with Morgan and thankful she was there. She’s protective of her sister and helps keep an eye out for her even at her young age. There were a couple of times that she’d say, “Mom, Charlotte is walking away.” I’d quickly glance up to see Charlotte taking off. The mall was packed because it was the day before Mother’s Day and EVERYONE was there shopping for their moms and wives. We survived, the girls had a blast and I got what I needed. 

We headed over to the food court because we were all starving. This was my girls first trip to the food court. I don’t even like the food from there but for some reason, I see it as a rite of passage. Shouldn’t all kids have at least one food court experience? Plus, I was craving a fresh lemonade from Hot Dog On A Stick. We got corn dogs, fries and fresh lemonade. Charlotte didn’t even touch her food for some reason.

Both of my girls separately commented on how loud it was which is funny because I’ve never thought about it before but they’re right. With so many people in one place with the tall ceilings, noise really echoes and carries there. 

 After lunch, we headed over to the play area. This too was a new experience for at least Charlotte. I think Morgan has been a couple of times before. After all of that, we were all happy to head home. Matter of fact, both girls asked to go home! Maybe I’ve gotten them too used to relaxing at home during the weekends. Hey, we pay hard earned money for our house, we better enjoy and appreciate it! I really enjoyed this day and am so thankful we went. 

 On a random side note, I recently made vegan sandwiches and they weren't bad. I was proud because I even included beets. My mom would have loved the sandwiches! I thought of her while making them.

Life Lately!

Eating al fresco, Hollywood style!

 Enjoying Springtime showers.

 It was all fun and games until someone decided to take their boots off and get soaking wet. It was cold enough outside that this wasn't a good idea. 

 A few days after Easter, I let Charlotte bust out her chocolate Easter bunny. This one loves chocolate like her momma.

 Love the below picture.

 Pre-bedtime cuddles. Poor Daniel and I are just wiped out at the end of the night.

 Aren't these gorgeous? I've been noticing these plants growing all over town lately but I have to say the ones growing in our front side yard are the prettiest and healthiest I've seen. 

 We recently spent a beautiful weekend where the girls bonded more than ever before. All weekend I found them together playing and loving each other. I walked past Charlotte's room one time to see them sitting together reading. I peeked around the door to witness Charlotte look up at her sister with such admiration as she reached over and gave her a hug while smiling this adorable smile. I could just read her mind and it said, "Sister, I love you soooooooo much!"

 Morning time play and building in the playroom on a lazy weekend.

 In attempt to finish off leftover Easter peeps, Morgan helped me make some s'mores.

 Yep, we went there. Charlotte thoroughly enjoyed hers. 

 I so enjoy the art the girls bring home. The below picture was actually part of Morgan's homework one night. I told her to finish her homework and this is what she came back with. This was part of a book report she did on a book she read about a cow. I was so impressed with this silly cow!

 Our garden is thriving!