Halloween

I have to post about Halloween too!  I am on a roll folks!  Macie was Hannah Montana.  No, she does not watch the show, but the girl is everywhere.  But, yes, she loves "The Best of Both Worlds" and "Party in the USA".  ANYWAY....

I made her costume, cuz we couldn't find the one she wanted in her size.  The wig was a nightmare and was soon tossed after this picture.  She looked much better without it and later had her hair sprayed purple.  She really only wanted the headset microphone thing anyway.

Maris wanted to be Cinderella even before she really knew what was going on.  I had bought her a costume but she thought it was too itchy.  I borrowed one and that was too big and too itchy too.  SO, the night before she had to wear her costume to school, I made her costume too.  I had most of the stuff.  But, I bought some trim and copied the tutu idea from here. Then, I bought a cream colored outfit at Walmart and dyed it blue and added some of the stuff from the skirt.  Aren't I talented?  I was so excited and surprised that it turned out half way decent.  It's not perfect but, IT IS NOT ITCHY!!!! 

My sweeties:

The Recital

OK, it was SOOOOO cute!!!  The video quality is not very good.  I want one of those new video cameras that Luke showed me now!  And, partly due to operator error, the video misses Maris striking a pose when she first came out on stage.  So, here is a picture. 

No one told her to put her hand on her hip like that.  Party in the USA was playing when they walked out and she thought she was HOT stuff.  All of the little girls did great and they couldn't wait to get on the HUGE stage.  Without further delay, here it is.......

Wednesday

Last Wednesday, it was a typical rushed day.  I needed to run to the store after school and after a pre-planned playdate.  But, I was tired and didn't feel good. So, John said he would bring home pepperoni rolls.  So, I had some time to just hang out with the girls.  Macie wanted to do her homework outside.  When we were out there, this little butterfly kept coming around, fluttering right by us, landing on us even.  It was so fun to watch it and try to get it to land on us.  Macie had just checked out this book from the library about a girl who plays with a butterfly and then can't find it the next day.  Maris just happened to take it outside that day. Here is a picture of it on the book!

It was fun and relaxing watching that little guy!  I did not take this moment for granted at all! 

Our Fall

I have been too involved in other things to keep up with this blog. But, I have decided that my life is so interesting, that I must share! Hee hee. It has been a crazy October. I love the fall, but it gets so busy.  Shara came down and we went to the fair and After Dark in the Park.  Our family also went camping at Mineral Wells State Park and rode our bikes all around Clark Gardens. It was fun, girls did great sleeping in the tent.

We saw this little guy on our bike ride....

They loved hiking too and climbing on rocks.  Although, Macie and I decided to take a hike by ourselves that turned out longer and scary than I had anticipated.  WE SAW A SNAKE!  Ugh.  But, we made it.  And, a spider attacked me at Clark Gardens and in an attmept to shoosh it from me, I think I broke my hand.  Seriously, I couldn't use or let it hang down for the rest of the day.  And, it STILL hurts three weeks later.  Dork!

My spooky food for fall:
Sheperds Pie

Maris's opinion of spooky sheperd pie

(wow she looks terrible here.  She really is cuter!)

And, this is the pumpkin cake.  Hee hee.

 
During John's 3rd consecutive weekend of camping, I had a mini craftie night with Priscilla.  We made this lovey wreath. 

It is made of burlap.  We also then took a little square of burlap, embroidered our initial in it, glued it to a page from an old law book and framed it.  That was just so we could say we did two crafts.  But, it did turn out cute.

While I am talking homemade stuff, here are my curtains and window mistreatments.  I think I don't like it.  But, I guess it will stay a while.  Shara helped me with the blind mistreatments while she was here.  I have a little more to do, and of course they need the wrinkles removed.  You can also see in this picture, that I painted my estate sale table and chairs red.  I like it.  (And, you can see, just as I did, thru the camera, that Maris is picking 2 of my 5 lemons before they are ready!!)

Last but not least, we went to 6 Flags tonite.  It was crowded but girls had fun.  We were just yards away from the WORLD SERIES!  We could see the homerun fireworks from the cowboy boot ride!  Go Rangers!  Oh, and there were people in the 6 Flags parking lot (really close to stadium) with their big screen tvs, hanging out watching the game.  I don't get that at all.  Wouldn't you rather be at home?  But, whatever I guess.

Tomorrow is Halloween, so maybe I will be moved to post their lovely costumes.  Oh, Maris has a recital.  I will just have to post. It will be too wonderful not to.

Shaving Cream

It has been a million years since I posted. Too busy with other stuff, but tonite I am moved to post. Ha! I read about this messy craft in the FW Star Telegram. You put shaving cream in a cookie sheet and smooth it out with a squeegee. (at least the new squeegee I bought for girl's bath came in handy..ha). Then, you put several dots of food coloring on the shaving cream and swirl it around with a stick. Lay a sheet of cardstock on top of the cream and press lightly (or not if you are Maris). Take up the paper and use the squeegee to scrape the shaving cream off. It made a cool print. The newspaper suggested doing this outside. As soon as the paper was out of the tray, the girls could not wait to get their hands in it. The pictures tell the rest of the story. I just hosed them off and then it was bath time. Very fun. Would do it again.

today

In some ways, I hesitate to write this post. My blog is kinda like a journal I guess. Part journal, part sharing with y'all what is going on in our lives. Anyway, here we go....

Today, I went to a funeral of a 62 year old woman who had been suffering with Alzheimer's disease for 10 years. Her daughters are my age, her grandkids, my kid's ages. I hardly ever cry anymore. In fact, I think it has only been once in the last 2 years. So, I was shocked that this service moved me so much. When I pulled into the church parking lot and saw the hearse and limousines, I felt myself tearing up. I had barely sat down in the pew when tears were pouring out of my eyes. Thank goodness Alisa had klenex! I sure hadn't thought of bringing them. I was moved by so much. First, the outpouring of support in that auditorium. People who had taken off work, taken their kids out of school, made time out of their day to come and pay tribute to this woman and to support and show love for her daughters, husband and parents. I felt so blessed to be part of that community. I then thought of how it must feel to bury your spouse, your mom. The pain must be horrible.

Over the past couple of years, several people from our church have been providing weekly meals for the woman and her husband. He kept her home with him the whole time. For the past year or so, he has had to feed her, do everything for her. In the last months, she wasn't even able to eat solid food. Every time I took them a meal, incredible emotion filled my heart. He was always so pleasant and positive, appreciative, loving. He loved her so much. I would think of all their dreams turned upside down. How life was not supposed to be like this. They weren't supposed to spend retirement this way.

Hearing her family and those closest to her, describe her and her life, make me want to be a better person. I want to be a better mom, daughter, and wife, and Christian. I guess that is why I wanted to write this post. I wanted to put it in writing to remind myself, but also to share with you. I really didn't know her. But, her life and the love that her family has shown, inspires me.

We sang this song at her funeral and I just love this song.

Macie's Ears

She got them pierced!! We were on our way to buy shoes for her on Saturday and she asked if we could go to Claires. I said "I don't know, I don't think we need anything from there." Then, she said she wanted to get her ears pierced. I jumped on the chance, because I really thought she wouldn't get them done until she was much older. I had mentioned it a couple of times and she was very opposed to the idea. We seriously had not talked about it in a year, so I think it was a ploy to get me to go to Claires. It worked! And she left with 3 sets of other earrings too! The ladies were very nice. Two ladies did both her ears at the same time so it was all over in a quick little click. No tears. Right after it happened, I almost cried. Ha! This is a big deal! She is growing up! She'll have them forever.... Anyway, whatever.

This is an example of how she looked for 2 wks.

An update on the tutu obsession... Maris ended up wearing the thing for 2 weeks straight. Then, magically, one weekend, she decided it was OK to go without it. She still loves it and finds it and wears it quite often, but she is OK without it too. She is so picky about clothes though. It is annoying. Today, she was actually wearing a cute shorts outfit. UNTIL... Macie, who is home sick (fever and vomiting, yea!) came strutting out in HER pink tutu. So, now Maris is sound asleep in a sweet little tutu.

Oh, and Macie had her debut performance in the kindergarten circus as the silly dog. It was great! I can't figure out how to get the movie on the computer though. She did so well, I want to show you how great she was. Maybe I can figure it out. If not, be sure when you visit, I will be pulling out the DVD!

Obsession

I have always heard of toddlers who had a favorite shirt or some article of clothing they loved. Maris has an obsession. She had a short, but crazy obsession with plastic princess shoes for a while. Aunt Sandy got her a whole set of them for her birthday and she was hooked! She was wearing them EVERYWHERE, running in them, SLEEPING with them tight in her grasp, throwing a fit when forced to put on regular shoes. It was kind of funny at first, but it got out of control! Now, we have moved on to tutu and "na na" shoes. She has been wearing the same tutu and shoes (w/o socks) for 3 days straight, only taking them off to take a bath and then immediately finding them and putting them back on. The other night after her bath, she was delighting in watching her naked shadow dance. Then, all of a sudden she said, "Oh, my na na shoes!" and ran to get them on. Her na na shoes are ballet-looking pink shoes from Payless. She calls them na na because that is what she sings when she dances in them.... "Na, Na, naaa naa...." I will admit, I have not pushed the issue terribly yet. But, her feet STINK! Really bad. So, I'm going to have to do something. Plus, she has several cute dresses and outfits that just don't work with a tutu. Most of the time she is happy just wearing the tutu over whatever else she is wearing. Before this particular tutu, she was wearing tutu-like skirts from her wardrobe that satisfied her. I even convinced her one day that a normal looking skort was a tutu. No such luck the last 3 days. John has put her to bed the last two nights because I was gone. One morning she woke up holding the shoes. I ask him about it and he said she threw a fit when he took them off and he finally just gave them to her in the bed. This morning when she woke up, she was wearing them. So, I don't know if he gave up and let her sleep in them or if she put them on before I got in there. And, the thing is, she gets so much attention when we go somewhere. Everyone comments on the shoes AND the tutu. They tell her she looks like a princess or ballerina, which of course she LOVES. Which reminds me, yesterday I was getting her out of the car and I said, "come on out stinky feet" and she said, "I not Stinky Feet, I baby". Ha!!!

She is a hoot I tell ya! When I picked her up from school the last two times, they said she spent a lot of time doing her ballet moves in front of the mirror. She is funny! Anyway, I figure it won't last too long and it is pretty much harmless......

This is a picture taken with John's phone of Maris clutching to her princess shoes for dear life while reading her bedtime story. Notice she is also wearing the current obsession, the tutu. I don't have a picture of her new na na shoes and tutu combo yet.

Another picture of the princess shoes. Just a typical day at play......

Random Post

I am posting this little story, because I wanted to share with you about Macie's hearing, but also because of 2 funny related stories. I took Macie to the audiologist to get her hearing tested yesterday. She has had a few infections since her tubes fell out. And, since Christmas or so, I have felt like there have been times when she isn't hearing as well as she should be. Anyway... my friend who is an audiologist, urged me to have her professionally screened. (She had been tested at school and pediatrician's office). So, yesterday we went and she has moderate to mild hearing loss, below normal. While at Maris's 2 year check up today, I talked to the Dr about it and she suggested some nose spray and an antihistamine to dry up the fluid in her ears that is causing her not to hear well. I was explaining this to Macie and telling her about the medicines she had to take. I told her they would help her ears get better and she could hear better. She replied: "Then, why am I spraying it up my nose?" Ha! It was so funny! THEN.... after church tonite, Maris was very tired and cranky, but I wanted to stop by the Walgreens drive thru to get the Rx. I took Maris out of the car seat while we waited for the Rx and she was of course not happy to get back in. As we are driving off, she cries: "Where fries??!!!" Ha again! My children know that fries come thru drive thru windows. Oops. Oh well. It's a fact of life, they do come thru drive thru windows, they may as well learn it now. Hee hee. But, back to Macie's hearing... It will be fine once the fluid is gone. If the drugs don't work, she will get tubes again.

And, because I love pictures I am posting some random ones here too.


Macie and Maris at the Livestock Show in their Rodeo shirts.

My little cheerleaders! Eleven 5 year-olds, people!!! They drove me crazy at times, but I loved them! We had a great little season that ended last night with a cool awards night complete with Mavs Man. One of my cheerleaders won a gift card to Target and one won 2 tickets to a Mavericks game.

Maris: "You want me to knock the whole plate off or just throw down the meat?"

That's all for now!

Maris' 2nd Birthday!

I know you expect this, but... I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE IS 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She had a fun day. After a good nap, our family came over and showered her with gifts. We had dinner and then she got to blow out her candle and eat cake! (or lick icing off a cupcake is more like it) She did a great job blowing out the candle too!

(For someone so picky about shoes, she really can work these heels! A great gift from her Aunt Sandy & Uncle Mike).

I had made Macie a ruffley skirt from this site and Maris just loved it. But, of course it was too big and she would get frustrated because it didn't fit her. So, at the last minute, I decided to make her one for her birthday. She loved it! She wore it to Macie's Upward cheerleading game and pranced all over the place. When she got up from her nap and saw all the decorations and cake and stuff, she loved that too. That made me happy, cuz then maybe the two year birthday isn't all for the mom afterall. Ha! Oh, I just love her!

Poor trees!

This is terrible! But, I am thankful we still have our electricity. A bunch of people in the area are out. The snow is really deep and pretty, but oh the poor trees! I don't even think the pictures really capture how bad it is. I am scared more are about to fall. The one on John's car had not fallen at 630 when he checked and then at 7, there it was. We both have colds and he is out there trying to clean it all up. Ugh.

Snow Day!

Oh my goodness! It has been snowing in Arlington ALL DAY! It is so pretty, but is now causing some issues. I couldn't get 5 feet from my drive way today in order to pick up Macie, Mica and Logan. My neighbor had to drive me up there in her pretty new Lexus. I felt so bad with 4 wet kids in there! The truck would just not drive on the slushy snow. Now, tree limbs are falling left and right. I'm not just talking small little limbs! Big huge, half of trees. It's really scary. Almost 1/2 of our tree in the front is covering half our street. And, another huge tree from our house just hit our neighbors house. Our neighbors on both sides have HUGE parts of trees down too. I am sad and scared. I love our trees, so I want them around. But, scared that one is going to come crashing through our roof! Or, smash John's car. (maybe not such a big loss there!) Literally, as a I sit here, I am hearing limbs crash and hit our house with a big boom. Anyway, just writing, cuz it helps me to vent I guess. Here are some pictures of the fun and the ugly. Poor Maris hates the snow, or maybe she just hates that jacket. Ha! We took a big bubble bath after they played in the snow a little.

Broken Bow

Our family needed some refueling and reconnecting! Macie had a 4-day weekend, so we decided to go to Broken Bow, OK. We almost didn't go because of various issues, but I am so glad we did. Sara had suggested (insisted) that I watch Oprah the other day where Peter Walsh was on there helping a family reconnect. We didn't have the same issues as that family, but at the same time, it still hit home. John and I watched it together and (I) decided to make this family trip a reconnecting time. In the show, the family had to go without any tv, computers or cell phones for a certain period of time. So, even though we rented this luxury cabin with FOUR flat screen tvs, we decided (I decided and John agreed) no tv all weekend. Except for the Cowboy playoff game, which I think John wishes he missed. But, anyway, can you believe we did it? In the show, the family was also given 4 other rules to live by. At the end, the family tweaked the rules for something that would work for them. We used this model and came up with our own 5 rules.

We also read through Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. I was always kinda reluctant to read his stuff and John was too. But, we needed something and several people reccmended this. It was a great book! We are going to be putting his ideas into place in the coming month.

I really hope we can stick to all of our little "resolutions" we made this weekend.

So, here are some glimpses of our weekend. It was really fun and I highly reccomend going. We ended up staying an extra night because we loved our cabin so much. Ha! It was a splurge, no doubt. We will have to figure out in our new money makeover how we can do it again though!

We were greeted by this cat at our cabin. At first, we thought it was wild. Obviously, it was not. But, I don't think it had an owner. I was totally going to bring her home! I think I could have convinced John, don' t you? But, she was gone the next day after our bike ride.

This was in our backyard. Blury picture. We roasted hot dogs. Girls got too cold, so we had to do the smores on the inside fireplace.

Picnic in Beavers Bend State Park. Beavers Bend park has rolling rivers with trout fishing and rock throwing, a big beautiful lake, hiking trails, a museum and massive network of ATV trails. There is camping too, but the nearby abundance of "luxury cabins" are just too fun!

We tried a few off-road trails, but bikes with passengers just aren't made for mountain biking. We took these roads through the state park campgrounds. No one was there. We saw a bunch of deer. It was beautiful and fun.

The front of our cabin.

The above 3 photos were all taken with the self timer. We were pretty proud of ourselves. Ha!

All that fun stuff to do, and all Macie and Maris needed was a bucket and some rocks and plants.

Our cabin also had a hot tub. We all enjoyed that every night too. It was chilly outside and it felt great. I usually don't like em and I thought Macie and Maris would hate it. But, I was wrong!

So, have I convinced anyone to go any time soon? If so, let me know, because we left our pack n play there and I want it back! Ha!

Macie's pictures from Broken Bow

Here are some of Macie's photos from our trip:

This is a view of our cabin from the loft.

This was the coolest tree. We saw several like this, growing horizontal and then straight back up.