Monday, August 29, 2011

Just Some Things...

1. 8 days until Amelie is officially a first grader--I am going to miss her so much!! Also, I'm starting to wonder who is going to cater to Ezra and Maeve's every whim when she isn't around every day with us =)
2. Speaking of Amelie, she is sorting out her possessions and getting rid of them--which is great, only she wants to get rid of them by giving them to everyone in her family which means it's still ALL here, just in my room or Ezra's room instead of her's. Ha. Sweet little hoarder! =)
3. Ezra officially knows the words to Katy Perry's Firework. Gah. 
A) Amelie taught him the words 
B)my kids have no idea who Katy Perry is--but they do watch clips of The Singing Bee on Youtube and that's how they learned it. =) 
4. I went to see The Help with friends last night--it was very good, although I think the book was much better. Isn't that the way though? The book is always better! 
5. I took two days off from running because of the hurricane (it was nice yesterday but I was scared a branch was going to fall on me if I ran in all that wind). I went out today and was slow but still could run my usual 2 miles without stopping. It's amazing to me that I'm actually RUNNING further then I would have dared to walk just a few short months ago. 
6.Speaking of running, my jeans are nice and loose =)
7. I'm so glad the hurricane has passed--I spent so many days worried over it--and it was scary to see that there were tornados(es?) in our area but the Lord kept our basement dry (which is a miracle since even in light rain we usually get a puddle) and our trees intact. You could see on the radar (you know, since I watched the coverage all night to see if we had to run into the basement) that there was this little pocket of light rain/no rain right over our area. For most of the night our little area was protected--I don't know what that "means" other than the fact that it leaves me very stinkin' thankful. =)
8. I sold a bunch of stuff on ebay, which I'm very excited about, because my ulterior motive was to make money to buy new curtains for my kitchen. =) Yay! Can't wait to get back to Ikea!!
9. That's it! Happy Monday!! We're going to try to cram as much last minute summer fun as we possibly can!!!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

rainy days and earthicanes

Amelie woke up this morning and declared that it was "Earthicane Day." 
For some reason she has a hard time remembering hurricane....well, probably the reason is that 
HURRICANES ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO HIT NEW JERSEY. 
right?!
Please be nice to us Irene....and especially be nice to my basement--I'm kind of worried about it down there!! Also, those great big trees in my back yard. Thanks. 
Anyways....
Today I decided to sort through the fall/winter clothes for the girls (since that's a good rainy day task). 
I LOVE switching seasons and sorting clothes except today I realized:
1. There is no need to switch Maeve's clothes out to 4T since 3T is still big on her (there are still some lingering 18 & 24 month clothes in her closet that fit perfectly--I only switch them out because I can't stand seeing the same clothes forever Le. Sigh). 
2. Amelie's school pants (which fit her 3 weeks ago) are now ALL too small. Like way too small. Apparently she has gone through an epic growth spurt in the last few weeks and only has ONE pair of pants that will work for school. Gah. Just when I thought I was all caught up I'm not!!
Also, since we've been home today we've already:
1. watched videos of Wipeout online
2. dressed as Indian Princesses in homemade saris
3. made blueberry muffins
4. set up a giant train track
5. read books
6. watched cartoons
and there is still so much day and so much rain left.
=)
That's it for now! Our turkey dinner is all ready to go!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

My brain is jumbled today.
I can't stop thinking about the stinkin' Hurricane--two natural disasters in one week is a little much for my brain to process.
I need be less committed to the *worry* cycle and more committed to the *praying* cycle.
Anyways...=)
We had another happy day with dear friends at the Children's Museum and got home just in time to watch the rain start to fall in earnest.
So, we cuddled on the couch with a blanket and watched a movie.
Favorite.
During rest time today the girls made a surprise 
*Thank You Party For Mommy* 
(or at least that's what they called it. =)
They took care of all the clean laundry in their room, made their beds, put away the books and organized the book shelf, took care of all the toys and set up a "tea" (water =) party and brought me many handmade/found object presents. 
They are so sweet and I am so thankful for them!
And in closing, food for *my* thoughts:
Matthew 6
   25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?    28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

(Most Of)Today In Pictures

We had another great day (and no crazy earthquake excitement =)!
This morning I took all *three* kids grocery shopping and they were great! Ezra was a little screamy (happy scream not sad scream) but otherwise perfection. =)
We had an impromptu playdate at a new park with friends! It was great because it was pretty Ezra-friendly (he is a DAREDEVIL). He only almost died a couple of times which is much better then we usually fare. 
This kid is giving me GRAY hair!!
After lunch the girls were feeling artistic and Maeve made this:
(she says it's an airplane)
Amelie said, "Hey Mom! Look! I made the Statue of Libery!"
And she did! Ha!
She was feeling even more artistic later in the day when she Picasso'd her sister:
We had a cute girly playdate too!
We ended up going to the pool after dinner with Mr. Wonderful since we couldn't go this morning and Ezra finally mastered his Puddle Jumper/life jacket and was actually swimming with it! Too cute and a lot less stressful for Mommy!
Happy Wednesday!
(*T-minus 14 days and counting until school starts--totally. in. denial...)

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Day The Earth Didn't Stand Still

we had a lovely morning
with parks and friends and yummy lunch and happy playtime
(we're so lucky to have friends that love us and love spending time with us)
and then we came home and the littles napped
and amelie did projects and i rested my eyes
when LO
the house started shaking, and i thought it was a train because sometimes when a train goes by the house vibrates? jiggles? just a little bit
but then it wasn't a little
it was a lot and the lamps were swaying and the couch was JUMPING
and the ceiling fan was banging
and amelie yelped and jumped onto my lap
and then it was over
and i turned on the tv to confirm that it was what i thought
.earthquake.
it was weird and i didn't like it
and that was the most *exciting* part of my day
thank goodness =)

Monday, August 22, 2011

It was a lovely day here today--the weather was absolutely GORGEOUS!! Perfect, sunny, warm and not too humid! I love open-window-weather! =) It was our lucky day because a dear friend of mine, from high school, recently moved into the area and we got together today! Here's a picture of all of our cute kiddies! Thanks for coming over Em!
In other news, my little people are on a little people (as in fisher price) kick. Which I love because they have so much fun building cities and I hate because there are so many stinkin' pieces to pick up when they are done! Really though, happy kids = priceless!
Well, we just got back from a lovely family walk to the park and now it's bedtime--YAY!!!! =)
Hope you all had just as lovely a day!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

SundayThings

1. I can't believe that there is only one more sunday in August--Oh summer!!! Where did you go!?!?

2. I love that Amelie loves playing piano!
Even more than that, I love when she plays duets with her Daddy! Favorite!!!!

3.  Right now my husband is taking requests and playing whatever songs they ask for, for their impromptu dance party. Favorite again!!

4.I just listed a bunch of things on Ebay--not my favorite thing to do but Mama needs a new pair of curtains! =)

5. That's it. The weekend always goes much much MUCH too fast!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Friday, August 19, 2011

Window(s) Shopping: Super Cute Gymboree Fall-ish-ness









i woke up tired this morning
i really dislike that--i'd rather wake up and feel refreshed and ready to face the day but sometimes that just doesn't happen
i should have gone for a run but i didn't--just couldn't get going
yawn
everyone is resting now and of course instead of resting i am restless
just one of those days i suppose =)
it's actually sunny out today which is amazing given the week of rain we've had--yesterday there was hardly a break at all from storms and thunder and lightning.
i've quite enjoyed this week of rain and drear--but i am keeping my fingers crossed for a fun week of parks and pool dates next week as school is quickly approaching and summer is rapidly disappearing.
Meh.
Anyways, a few more pictures from OC of my sweet family:





Thursday, August 18, 2011

My Favorite Guy

I can't help it
I have to post a million pictures of him because
I love him so
The many faces of my Mr. Wonderful:




Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Today was a lovely day!
Granny came and watched the girls so that I could have an Ikea date with my friend and our boys!
We got there when they opened and I found everything I needed (and got ideas for the future too =). 
A new duvet cover (looks way cuter in person):
New Art Prints (LOVE!!!)
Cute Storage Containers:
Love. Ikea.
And we ate lunch there which was such a fabulous treat!! The boys were free and the food was very inexpensive and yummy and the company was wonderful! It was a really lovely treat and when we got home the littles took epic naps and Amelie did the dishes. Woot. =)

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Ezra spent much of our beach time in Ocean City running towards danger. =)
He isn't a huge fan of cold ocean water but that didn't stop him from running like a crazy-guy and crashing into the waves once in a while!
Although, you can tell from the pictures that he really prefers sand!





Monday, August 15, 2011

RanDom

1. It was my favorite kind of day--dull and rainy--we didn't go anywhere or do anything--just entertained ourselves at home. I did some projects around the house, Ezra and Maeve played trains and colored all day and Amelie wrote a book and sorted Box Tops for me =). Then there were the naps 
(book + couch + blanket x open windows and heavenly breezes = Happy Day!
2. We took time for manicures with my new favorite color:

3. We Halloween-costume-shopped online. =) The consensus so far:
Amelie:
Ezra:
Maeve:
4. Also, the most amazing sight I have ever in all my days beheld--the post office dropped off all of our accumulated mail from during vacation---JACKPOT!! There were packages and notes from friends and netflix movies and free samples and coupons and 10 magazines. Woot!
5. Last but not least, pictures from Wonderland Amusement Park--what a wonderful vacation we had!
Ezra's *watching* face
 My happy handsome boys!
 Amelie waving even though she was a little sad that she hopped on a non-moving carousel horse =)
 So cute! Serious flying going on here!
 I couldn't believe how much Maeve loved the spinning rides--her favorite was the tilt o whirl which I didn't get a picture of, but this was pretty spinny too!