Oh Really?

This conversation really happened:

Me: "Lexi, how was school today?"

Lexi: "pretty not great"

Me: "oh no! What happened? You were the Super Kid today! You brought grapes for snack - it should have been an awesome day!"

Lexi: "Well . . . . when we went to snack time, the other kids saw that I had grapes and they said, 'Gross! We want chocolate chip cookies! Lexi - don't ever bring grapes again . . .  or else!' but I said, 'guys, it's ok - grapes are delicious' and they said, 'no!' and then they put my teachers in jail in a witches tower and used their terrible magic so I couldn't help them escape and then they used their terrible magic on me but I had sparkle magic that I had to use to save the teachers! But I used my sparkle magic to spell the other kids so they wouldn't have terrible magic anymore and then they thought the grapes were delicious and we all lived happily ever after."

me: "WOW! That was quite a day! Did all that really happen?"

Lexi: "yes."

Me: "I wish you would have come and gotten me so I could help"

Lexi: "But then the kids would have used their terrible magic on you. And I can't find your classroom by myself"

Me: "ok. Well did anything else happen?"

Lexi: "no. The end. I need to rest my voice now."

One down, 35 to go . . .

. . . . Because a school year is 36 weeks long, you know. Oh you didn't know that? You must not be a teacher and have to enter grades every week with assignment titles like "Journal Week 1". This is neither here not there - there are 36 weeks in a school year, and my point is that we have made it 1/36th of a school year. 

How did it go? 

Since I am only working in the afternoons this year, my babies get to sleep in and we get to spend a lot more quality time together.

 So we can read books . . .

 and play around with the camera . . .

 and give Lexi lots of time to wake up. 

Lulu is not a morning person. Trying to wake her up, dress her, make her eat breakfast, etc. all before 6:45 a.m. last year about drove Paul and I crazy. She will not be rushed, and she will not cooperate early in the morning. So our arrangement this year is blissful. She wakes up on her own (around 8:15), meanders down to the couch for 30 minutes, and eats a leisurely breakfast. 

This works SO much better for us.

And our weekend rocked. 

We got to spend a lot of stress-free time as a family. 

Things are going very well for us so far this year. 

To celebrate, my chick-a-dees wore their matching jammies.

 I love matching jammies - this is known. 

Lexi also worked on her Pre-K homework. Coloring, cutting, and gluing (did you know that there is not an 'e' in gluing? I just found that out). 

Daddy assisted. So precious. 

Maybe not a masterpiece, 

but she's come a long way in the staying-in-the-lines department. 

I particularly enjoy the purple squirrel and pink owl - it's so Lexi.

Happy weekend, everyone! 

I hope your first week back to school went as well as ours!

First Day of School! First Day of School!!!

Lexi started 4 year old Pre-K today. She was SSSOOO excited, and as proof of this she actually cooperated with the first day of school picture taking.

What a cutie!

 She is going every afternoon and has the same classroom and teacher as last year - and this is the main reason she was so excited for school. She adored preschool last year - she's been talking about Pre-K for months. She loves school.

 We had some mild drama last night. On the first day, everyone gets to bring their "lovey" - that one special security item that they love the most. For Lexi, it's always been her 'baby' - the pink blanket bear she's had since forever. 

Well Baby went missing yesterday. Emma hid it somewhere at the babysitter's house and since Em can't communicate real well yet no one knew where it was for a tense 10 hours. I got a text from our sitter at around 9:45 last night triumphantly proclaiming that she found it . . . hidden in the fold of a curtain. Oh Emma . . . 

Anyways, the crisis was averted. Lexi was able to take her Baby to the first day of school and she had a blast!

 I hope she is always this excited for school.

Blowing kisses to Mommy and Daddy!

All good things . . .

 With summer winding down, I realized I needed some updated candids of my babies. We have a had a wonderful, relaxing, fun summer but school starts tomorrow so I guess the party is officially over. 

I am so lucky! This year I get to work part-time. That means that I will only be working in the afternoons which is when Lexi will be in school (she is going to Pre-K every afternoon). Emma will go to our same babysitter - who she loves now - for a few hours every afternoon, but that means I only miss lunch and naptime with her. 

This is the perfect situation for me - last year I was about in tears every day. I was getting my babies up before 6 a.m. to get out the door and across town to work on time. When we got home I was busy doing housework, answering school e-mails, making dinner, doing laundry, Etsy orders, etc. I barely got any time with my girls. 

They aren't little forever - so I am so thankful to be able to get a few extra HOURS every day with them. For the first time since Lexi was born, I'm not a crying stressed-out mess the night before school starts.

And so with a happy heart, I can actually say: 

Welcome Back to School!!!

Dance Party

It's no secret that my little chick-a-dees love a good dance party.

Paul can connect our TV in the basement to the internet (he's magic that way) and play youtube videos for the girls. Currently, our playlist consists of: 

Olympic Swim Team dubs Call Me Maybe 

Ice Age - Continental Drift Dance  "what's up my mammals??" - hilarious!

Starships - CLEAN version  (the regular version is not suitable for ears under 22 or over 28)

Party Rock Anthem  Lexi frequently tells us "everyday I'm shufflin" - funny stuff

Go for the GOLD

Here at the Holding House, we love - LOVE - L.O.V.E the Olympics. 

Lexi has caught the fever and I taught her to chant "U-S-A! U-S-A!" whenever she sees the American flag. Awesome! 

She has asked to watch the Olympics every night. 

I readily, eagerly, and happily agree. 

Because I ADORE the Olympics! 

I really, really do. 

Sometimes I cry when the USA wins and they show the medal ceremonies. 

LOVE. 

At dance class today, there was a mini Olympics for the girls - a few competitions in turns, leaps, etc. 

Lexi was SUPER excited! 

I had to go back to work today (sad), so my mom took Lexi to ballet and documented the festivities. 

 

She medal-ed! 

Ok, they all medal-ed. 

But MY hunny-bunny thinks she won the whole thing.

I'm a proud Momma, either way. 

When she got home at the end of a long, fun, exhausting day she was so tired. She fell asleep on the drive home. We woke her up enough to eat dinner and I told her that if she wanted, I would let her watch a movie after dinner. 

She requested the Olympics, instead. 

Oh yeah!

And she wore her medals all night.

Photo Shoot Friday

It's been a year or so since we've done a photo shoot Friday with Emma- time to catch up with this little 15 month old munchkin:

15 month stats:

Height: 31 inches - 75th percentile

Weight: 23 pounds 11 oz - 80th percentile 

Head circumference: 18.5 inches - 77th percentile

Em is amazing at following directions, but not great at talking. She only has about 15 words. The doctor encouraged us to make her say what she wants and yesterday she acquired 3 more words using this strategy. She's smart, she's just verbally lazy. 

She still loves to eat (evidenced above), 

is starting to sleep better and longer, 

has 8 teeth,

and continues to be afraid of all strangers. 

Emmy Jo loves her sister and is a complete dare-devil trying to do everything her 4 year old sissy does. 

She's standing on top of a box as a I type. 

Her eyes are still blue. 

Her smile is delightful. 

She melts my heart.

This Old House

We moved into our house 4 months before Lexi was born in 2008. Since then, almost every room has changed. 

Family room: 

2008

 2012:

 we haven't touched the paint in the family room (for obvious reasons), but new furniture and fuller bookshelves completed the room

Dining room 2008:

2012:

new paint, new table, new floors, new curtains

 Kitchen 2008:

Kitchen 2012:

new flooring continued, paint, and new stove

Kitchen 2008:

 Kitchen 2012: 

paint, more decor, new fridge

 Entryway 2012:

 Basement

 when we bought the house, this was unfinished. Paul took it from concrete and 2x4's to a playroom, bedroom, bathroom, plus some space left unfinished for storage

 2008:

 

 2012:

Upstairs

Girls bathroom: 

the floors still need to be refinished, but this is their girly pink bathroom: 

 Emma's room: 

When we bought the house, this room was cookie monster blue. We repainted it and Emma's theme is purple butterflies:

 Lexi's Room: 

Lexi's room theme is pink and brown with fairy accents (the non-Disney kind)

 My favorite thing about Lexi's room is her nightlight (or 'fairy lights' as we call them) - she has sheer curtains with white Christmas lights strung up underneath. It's lovely.

Master: 

not much drama here - we repainted, hung curtains - pretty basic and simple.

Love this sign!

it hangs in the upstairs hallway that connects all the bedrooms.

 Our office: 

This is supposed to be a formal dining room. We aren't really formal dining people, so we removed the chandelier, replaced it with a ceiling fan and thus our office was born. It's right off the kitchen.

 Office 2012 continued: 

The baker's rack to the left houses my Etsy shop. The bookshelf to the right is usually a crazy mess.

 Living room - (playroom) 2012

 Living Room/Office 2012

 So those are the highlights. I didn't photograph a couple bathrooms, staircases, closets, or garage. But ya get the general idea of our home. 

Home Sweet Home.