Do you see that?

"Right there beside me." "That big furry thing" "Uh! could someone move it away?" Love these pics of Rosie, she was completely against the idea of holding a bunny for the picture, she actually wasn't too excited about a bunny in the picture at all! So we thought if we slipped it into a basket when she wasn't looking all would be good. It was until the bunny moved and she noticed it. So cool that Nichole caught these pics of her reaction. I imagine next year she will be holding the bunny without a bit of concern.

why one should clean an oven before the smell over takes you.

When I made french fries for lunch yesterday I noticed an odor, no I didn't torch the fries, but apparently it was time to clean the oven. So after lunch I decided it would be a good time to do this icky job. Ok , so all I had to do was push a button, but seriously cleaning the oven does not rank anywhere as fun for me. So I am sitting at my computer while the wee ones are napping and glance towards my kitchen only to discover it's no longer visible due to all the smoke now occupying the space, within moments all smoke detectors are now emitting their alarms, nice! it was naptime. So I start opening windows thinking, gee that oven was pretty dirty. By now the smoke is hovering just above my head and the smell is intense. I head back into the kitchen to check out the oven which still has smoke rolling out of it and notice the flames inside the oven. Well that can't be good. Did you know you can't open the door when the oven is cleaning, nor can you shut it off, double nice! Just then a daycare mom comes in who calmly tells me she sees flames often when she cleans her oven. Good so a call to the fire department isn't necessary, what a relief, not sure I want to explain that one. Still not too confident that the whole darn thing isn't going to simply blow up i watch it, with several containers of water ready... you know just in case. Did find myself wondering if the oven didn't blow if the fumes coming out of it weren't quite likely toxic and that would kill us. Sigh, always an adventure. Which brings me to the conclusion that one just simply shouldn't clean your oven...this would be why take out was invented. The smell in my house has diminished a bit, but parent's coming in today have been asking what I burned. Take out I tell you.

A lost tooth....

His first official lost tooth. Yes there are two gaps in that mouth of his but the top tooth was removed surgically when he was 3 so it doesn't really count. The tooth has been loose for weeks, just barely hanging in there. Since I seem to go weak knee and the world starts to spin as soon as I see a tooth dangling I was of no help to try to remove it for him. I relied on the theory that when! it was ready it would just simply fall out. Then hoped that he wouldn't eat the darn thing or lose it once he lost it. That would be a tragedy to the scrapbooker in me. Of course you need to keep that tooth, why it's a milestone. Last night out it came, perhaps not in a normal way, remember this is my house nothing is normal. Rosie (the little angel pictured with him above) head butted him. Don't be fooled by her picture she is more than capable. This time he barely registered being upset, especially when he had the tooth in his hand. Excited would be a better description. So after pictures, (of course I took pictures) we put the tooth in a cup and revisited the whole tooth fairy visit and speculated just what she might bring. Ok, inside I'm wondering what the going rate is on a tooth these days, yes it has been awhile. So as soon as Anthony goes to bed I slip the tooth into a memory pouch and put a 5 dollar bill into the cup. Which causes Cassandra to make mention of the fact that the tooth fairy definitely visits early it was a little after 8pm. Hey if I didn't take care of it immediately I would have most definitely forgotten to do it later. Timing is everything. She of course speculated that the rate for a tooth had definitely increased. ummmmm inflation perhaps? A very excited young boy here this morning.

Mud boots

These are the current footwear in our house. One of the most unfun things about this season is all the mud it generates. So in the quest to save shoes from being destroyed on a daily basis the kids wear these. Simple clean up, a spray with the garden hose and all is good, the boots that is not the kids. Not that they would mind to much, a hose equals water and that is the greatest play thing in the universe according to Rosie. She hasn't taken her boots of for days, (what is it about the girls in this house and their multiple days of wearing and item?) yesterday she had on a green sundress, matching green socks and hair bow with yep you guessed it those little blue bug boots, (say that 3 times in a row quickly :) She is a fashion statement that is for certain.

Easter Party

Yesterday was the Easter egg hunt for the daycare kids. The weather was beautiful sunny and warm. (in past years we have dealt with rain, snow and mud) What takes hours to prepare, (filling the eggs, and putting the eggs out in the yard) took minutes to finish. Love watching the kids scatter and laugh. Love seeing the colored eggs in the still brown grass, such a bright relief from winter's blah!

a walk by the lake

Beautiful evening here. Stopped by the lake on our way home, couldn't resist with the sun reflecting off the water, and the temps so warm it was the perfect way to enjoy this spring afternoon. The kids enjoyed being outside and running up and down the path. Just think two days ago there was still ice on the lake, amazing what a couple of days can do. Love this time of year, love walking along the lake, love hanging out with these little people.

Easter Pics....

As promised more pics :) Yesterday we did the annual Easter pics at Nichole's. This year Anthony and Yahaira were super excited about the bunnies...Rosie was a wee bit apprehensive. Actually Rosie just simply refused to take any and all pictures at the start. She eventually warmed up to the idea and then didn't want to stop taking pictures, go figure. Moses had sat and watched throughout the whole process and when it was his turn, started crying. Murphy's Law at it's finest. All bunnies survived, as did all adults present. Love how they turned out, the hardest thing was trying to choose which pics to order.

Fog

Woke this morning to fog, heavy fog. Naturally I needed to be someplace, out of town by 9am. Driving was interesting and slow, very slow. Returning home was much better the fog had lifted and driving was normal. Coming into town I passed the lake, once again there was fog just above the surface of the water. A few days ago as the ice was breaking the entire lake was surrounded by fog, looked really cool. Just the lake had fog, 1/2 block away none at all. For just a short period of time each spring this happens as the ice on the lake melts and the temperatures are warm. So glad I caught it this year, naturally at the time I didn't have my camera, so today as we drove by the lake, I decided to run home and grab the camera. So above is what we saw. Pretty cool, I think.

Dancing

The latest fun thing to do? Dance to the Dora Dance Music CD. Sigh over and over, again and again. Of course to properly dance one needs to be dressed correctly, see above photos. Rosie seems to have a few difficulties, her dress is too long, but she prevails and manages to move quite well. Yes I have posted some pics of these two in the same clothes, what can I say this is what they wear, daily. For the record they begin in a different outfit each morning but inevitable they will switch to these. Naturally after they are done dancing the will need to change into an brand new outfit, my laundry is never ending. May your day be filled with dance and laughter.

the youngest photographer

in my house took these pictures. That would be Rosie. She found my camera the other day and started snapping away. She isn't half bad. Hey I was still cutting peoples heads of in my 30's, so she has a lot of potential. Of course removing the camera from her possession was nearly impossible, she takes this photography thing quite serious. Thank goodness for digital, I shudder to think what her hobby would cost me in film. Who knows maybe she will be world famous, or perhaps she will simply drive her family bonkers taking picture after picture.

the Princesses

are in the house. Ever since the Ice Show Yahaiara has been wearing her princess dresses. Naturally whatever Yahaira does her little shadow, I mean Rosie, does too. So throughout the day they will appear with their dresses and want help dressing, ( a princess quality), next they will ask for music so they can dance (some day's I would insert demand rather than ask, another princess quality?) Then after a bit they will request help in removing their dresses, and switch back to regular clothes. Only to repeat this over and over several times in the course of a day. Repetition is good, right? Love watching them dance, or walk, or spin in their dresses, love seeing the big smiles on their faces, love how Rosie looks up to her big sister. Just simply love these two little princesses everyday.

colors

These two budding artists, discovered the joy of a new box of crayons this weekend. They were so excited! Loved watching them "color" and bonus Rosie didn't try to eat any crayons. Naturally the finished artwork had to be hung on the refrigerator for all to admire. So many giggles, so much fun. Ok I wasn't so excited later when I found the artwork on the wall...someone decided the walls were their canvas and created a "masterpiece" love those magic erasers!

It is that time again...

Time to fill the eggs, that is. The daycare Easter Egg Hunt is next Sunday which means that bin of eggs needed some attention. Always looking for willing volunteers, well actually we will take unwilling volunteers too, there have been times in the past where bribes have been necessary in securing help to do this "fun" task. Yeah it's kinda a pain, but the kids love the whole hunting for eggs thing. This year I called Linda in hopes of recruiting her and perhaps some of her family. More hands make the job quite naturally go faster. This year Yahaira actually filled the eggs, last year she just consumed large amounts of chocolate, smart girl. This year that was Rosie's job...she just happily sat and unwrapped candy..ummmmmm was what was heard from her. Gotta love that enthusiasm :) This year was a rather small bribe, I just made dinner. Lot's of laughter made the job quickly done. Thinking I will be inviting them back next year.

love this picture...

Have a great weekend!

Girl Scout Cookies....

It's that time of year again, girl scout cookie time!
Ours arrived on Sunday, and yes there are still some left. Actually this year I have had very little desire to consume boxes of them in one sitting....so weird I know. I remember the years Beckie and Cassandra were girl scouts. The first year of selling cookies, Beckie was the top seller in our town. That wouldn't be the competitive edge her mother seems to possess now would it? 423 boxes to be exact. Amazing on paper, a nightmare in reality. When they arrived the reality began...there were boxes everywhere in my living room. We were surrounded by cookies, we lived, breathed, ate cookies for weeks. I quite simply once it was over would have not minded if I never saw another girl scout cookie for as long as i lived. If the volume didn't do us in, delivering them did. People not home, not wanting to pay, and so on and so on met us at every turn. Nightmare I tell you. So the next year I offered to pay the little darling to not sell, she of course sold, I wonder if she inherited a bit of that competitive edge from someone. Again the top seller. This year we were a bit more tuned, and ready...it wasn't quite as painful. By year three we were getting good at this whole selling thing...which opened the door for Cassandra's turn to be a bit of a fun activity, heavy emphasis on "bit". With Cassandra we discarded the door to door thing, sold primarily to family and friends, and simply purchased several cases of popular cookies, which we quite promptly sold as soon as we began to deliver cookies. Inevitably people would see the cookies and realize they had not ordered any or they would consume all theirs and simply want more. It was brilliant, if I do say so myself. I was of course relieved when my girls' run with girl scouts came to an end. Naturally it just led to more fund raising on a totally different scale, something I learned one will never avoid as long as you have a child living at home.

Pirate ship...

found this while shopping the other day. Anthony loves the Pirates of the Caribbean.
Thought he might enjoy this. It is truly a hit. Excited doesn't even begin to describe his reaction. One of his first comments was "Beckie is going to love this" ( so there you go Beckie, Anthony is waiting for you to come home so you can sail in the pirate ship together) I think they watch the pirate movie at least once when Beckie is home. fun times...Lot's of laughter...life is good!