Veggie Scarecrow

We took another idea from our Big Backyard magazine today and made lunch. Finn was thrilled at the prospect of having to cook for herself but she ended up enjoying the activity a lot!


Our ingredients: ham, cheese, red and green bell peppers, carrots, celery, cucumber


Finished products


Yummy! (and for those who might be wondering, yes they ate the majority of their veggies and did not need ranch dressing to dip it in)

This is how she sleeps...

We went to the beach, the beach, the beach....

There is an old episode of Wonder Pets that involved a hermit crab and a beach vacation (and yes we did indulge in a short lived Wonder Pets phase which we are way over thank goodness). In the episode, those crazy animals sing a tune that goes "We're going to the beach the beach the beach". So for the last few weeks as we prepared for our trip that song has been playing relentlessly in my head day AND night. We had a wonderful time, perfect weather, and lots of good food. I highly recommend the Parmesan Baked Grouper at Gulf Island Grille by the way.....







Kiddie Pool Fun--the water was very cold, maybe Finn is dancing to keep warm?










Well dressed beach babies- gotta love summer clearance prices on super cute bathing suits!








She ROLLED in the sand calling herself a sand crab. A funny sight to see but not so much to clean up, that sand was everywhere.

FFF- Hope

Louisa May Alcott:
Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow them.


The theme at Kiss the Frog 4 Me this week is hope. Hope is all around us. Every day I hope my girls are happy. Every day I hope I show them more than enough love. I hope I tell them out loud and often that they are special to me. I hope that someday somewhere they will be kind to someone else. I hope that if I am remembered for but one thing it is that I was a good mother. I hope that life is gentle to my girls and they are never given more than they can handle. I hope I never forget the sound of Finley's giggle or the twinkle in Chloe's eyes. All of these things and so many more are wrapped in those two little girls sleeping down the hall. When I was trying to decide on an appropriate picture of the thousands I have taken, I thought of two. Here they are:




We are heading out for a little vacation soon and my biggest hope for our time away---that the time spent in the car will be free of plat bucket usage. For those who may not know, a plat bucket is the pink, or sometimes yellow pan most hospitals give away to any and all patients. Carsickness- it works great. Finn's 8 day stomach virus in November 2007- it was my best friend. The day I spent in bed when Finn shared that virus- we were like sisters. So when we set off on our trip the plat bucket will be handy and I hope it comes home dry. The last tiny bit of hope I have for the next several days is this. I really hope I am lucky enough to win this giveaway at one of my fave blogs. I check on them frequently as they are some of the cutest kids I have never met. I would love to get some of those super cool shirts for my girls and if I didn't have to pay for them, even better!!!!!

Stealing Material

We are a funny household. We tell knock-knock jokes, we love to laugh, and as any great comedian does, we have our go-to punchlines. This is called our material, the stuff that never fails to get a laugh. When I have seen fit to do so, I have, on occasion, borrowed some of these very funny quips from Jeremy. Then I get called a "material thief" or get one of those disgusted sighs followed by "there you go again, always stealing my material." For the record, he does the same thing to me. Now it seems Finley and Chloe have caught on and they are now stealing material from their daddy. One particular funny involves the donning of rubber training pants on one's head and exclaiming loudly, "I have looked everywhere and there are no more rubber pants." Really, it is a sight gag so I can understand why you are not laughing right now. The other bit is more slapstick in nature. It involves taking socks (or rubber pants) and tossing them in the air as if you cannot hold onto them. They get dropped, picked up, dropped again, you know the drill. Wait, I don't hear laughter. You don't think that is funny either. Huh, well then you probably won't see the humor in wind sprints or Dippin Dots. Tough crowd.

Is there a farmer in the house? Ummmmm, no.

If I had left it alone for about six more months and heaped on a lot of fertilizer, I might have been able to feed a dwarf rabbit. And for those who cannot identify this pathetic excuse for a vegetable, it is in fact a carrot.

Crazy days and explanations

Yes Chloe is asleep in the chair!


Hiding places


and silly faces!


I see a copycat, do you?


What I saw in the kitchen this morning as I went to investigate the sound of crying.
(video below is an explanation of what happened---in case you cannot understand her, Finn says Chloe pushed me in the shopping cart and I boomed my head.)



Two birds one stone---water play and clean up of sand toys


Is there anything cuter than braided pigtails?

One Sad Ladybug

The World's Grouchiest Ballerina

Chloe had a hard time with Finn getting to go to class so a blue lollipop was used to stop her tears.

Monday Junk

It all started with Chloe deciding baby doll clothes make a good mask.

Then Finnie had to take her turn.

And finally it got very blustery and cold and she had to add a scarf.

Then it was outside for "art" aka "I'm not crazy enough to let you paint in the house after the Elmer's incident".

Making masterpieces

The gallery

Pure sweetness



Funny Chloe story coming right up. She is still having trouble falling out of the toddler bed. Last night, sometime between 11 and 2 she fell out onto her floor cushion. Then she rolled off of it under her bed. At approximately 2:30 she woke up and tried to get out of the very scary dark cave but the bed skirt was trying to eat her. I found her screaming, on all fours under her crib. I couldn't help but laugh.

FFF- OH BABY!!!!!!

This week's theme is old baby pictures so here you go. For more FFF fun visit Kiss the Frog 4 Me.



My Mom as a baby



My Dad as a baby with his sister



My mother-in-law as a baby



My father-in-law as a youngster with his sister



Jeremy as a baby



Me as a baby



Finley--only minutes old



Chloe--a few hours old and very tired

Pictures pictures and more pictures.....

These were taken last night during a bubble blowing bonanza. Enjoy!

catch it catch it!

I see one!

If I could save time in a bubble, I would keep you this age forever......

one more chance to catch it

"noooooooo, babies don't need bubbles"

finally a chance to show that crazy Finn who is the best bubble blower ever

"pbbbhhhhhtttththth"

when all else fails, just drink it

More Finley Art

Today we had art class or coloring time if you want. I showed Finn the following page from her Big Backyard magazine and explained to her how to follow the instructions. We went through each step and the picture below it is what she actually drew.



For the record, I love this magazine and will definitely be renewing the subscription for the girls. It is full of good ideas and great pictures.