School Days - A & C

For A & C week, we thought it would be nice to tie it in with Ashes (since Ash Wednesday was the day before) and Lent. So for A we did an Apple Craft...they cut open an apple and counted and found the seeds and then used those to make a paper apple. The apple was good for snack too! Then my friend explained to them about the Ashes and we took papers and drew sad faces on them for when we sin or make Jesus sad. Then to demonstrate how Jesus takes those and makes them go away we burned the sad faces in a bucket and made ashes. Angel was determined to end on a happy note though and wanted to draw a smiley face to make Jesus happy. Then for C we made a crown of thorns....twisted some grapevine together, and stuck wooden pins in it (40) and spray painted gold. The point is for Lent, each day if they do good deeds, acts of kindness or something that would make Jesus happy....they get to take a thorn out of the crown and hopefully by Easter they will all be gone!! It was a fun school day.

School Days - H & V

The letter sheets for H & V were fun because they had fun ways of learning the letters with drawing games. Angel likes doing the letters so then she can color the pictures. We had a coloring sheet of Saint Valentine for V and Valentines Day. Then we also made Valentine Heart (v & H) cookies and the kids LOVED decorating them. For H, I had them decorate little heart shaped boxes to put their treats in when we played a game. I cut out little hearts and put letters they knew on the front and numbers on the back. They had to Hop on the Heart when I told them a letter and then see what number was on the back and they got that many candy hearts for the box. We also had fun giving Valentine goodie bags!! Emma wants so badly to participate with everything but doesn't really have any interest in the "learning" parts yet....but she knows the letter O so I had to make sure I had enough O's in the mix for her to hop on!

School Days - F & T

We continue to do our preschool days together with a friend and Angelica loves it (Emma gets in on some of the projects too!). Our goal is to learn and practice two letters each time...read books that might go along with letters or themes we choose...and do a couple craft projects or games as well, then have lunch together. I love the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum...teaches them the correct way to write their letters but also a lot of fun ideas to help. Angelica loves the worksheets and we keep them all in a folder. For F we made Wire Pipe Flowers and I also made a fishing game. I cut out fish and taped a paper clip to them. On the fish were letters we had learned and a number. They went "fishing" for the letter we said and when they got the fish whatever number that was on it....they got to pick that many Goldfish out and put in a baggy for a snack afterwards. They loved it! For T - we had tortilla quesadillas for lunch!

Learning to Laugh

Every now and then Michaela lets out a real giggle, so cute, can't wait for more!

Papa's Girl

Hide NOT Seek

The girls LOVE to play hide and seek. However, they go and hide just fine but then when you are supposed to find them....they yell and tell you where they are so it makes it pretty easy!!

My Monkeys

This is what the girls decide to do when they are supposed to be getting dressed after their baths...I really do not want another broken bone.

Valentines Recap

We had a nice Valentines Day. The girls helped me make our Valentines Dots (sorry didn't get a final pic)...they love unwrapping the Hershey kisses (I was surprised how many they didn't eat) and putting them on the pretzels.

The girls kept calling my flowers, "Wedding Flowers"

Happy First Valentines Day Baby!!

A DELICIOUS Red Velvet Cake that my mom made (she did increase sugar to 2 cups, and used 1 cup oil instead of shortening), the frosting was the traditional red velvet cake kind and SO YUMMMY.

The girls got some bubble foam and decided it was a good idea to use BOTH cans that night in the bath!!

3 Months Old (2-10-10)

Big Sister??

...maybe not for long in size!!

Crowded

...in a good way...but this is when I wish we had a king size bed!...

Bubble Overload

....but that is the way they like it!...

Great Post on Tithing

Touching on Tithing

Some Worthy Reads

I think once you have been through pregnancy and childbirth that you love to read stories about them. Here are a few I have read recently that I would like to share:

-a funny one about feelings and appearances during pregnancy
As It Turns Out - Post Edit
-a beautiful post about childbirth especially with her third and ver premature baby
A Defining Moment
-about preparing for labor
Pain In The
-and this has been around lots of blogs lately....but one of the most honest and beautiful birth stories I have ever read about a baby born with Down Syndrome....READ IT but have tissues ready, beautiful pics too
Nella Cordelia - A Birth Story

Valentines Day Cards

The girls made their own Valentines Day Cards and we took some photos to try and get some to use on the cards: they turned out very cute!!

Silly Stories & Times with Angelica

Not thrilled

with tummy time.

Snoozin

A couple weeks ago we went to a new coffee house - indoor play area for kids in Gig Harbor called Play-A-Latte. The girls had a BLAST and Emma threw a fit when we had to leave. It is a bit pricey but nice option for when it is too cold or wet to play outside...but I would recommend being able to spend some time there and do not go on a Friday morning! Emma got a good snooze in the car at least and sunglasses are not a must-wear while we drive!

Alike

...you can tell they are sisters and related in this pic I think!...

Girls will be Girls

The girls have bath crayons that they usually like to draw all over the wall and tub with. However, Angelica decided that they would also work well as nail polish for the toes...so Emma followed suit and they now enjoy painting their nails while in the bath!!

Cradle Cap

Both Angelica and Emma had cradle cap as babies so I was expecting it to hit Michaela at some point. While it definitely is not as bad as the other two....it helps that she has a lot of hair to hide it. Burt's Bees Apricot Oil though basically clears it right up!! I just rub a good amount on her head and let it sit and soak in. Then while I give her a bath....take a baby brush and scrub the area really well....all the yucky skin will flake right off and yet the skin is soft with the oil. It works wonders and I love it...she even got to sport a little Mohawk hair-do!

Twirling with Uncle Casey

We went to Caitlin's big ultrasound day a couple weeks ago.....we are looking forward to meeting a beautiful baby GIRL in June! After that we went out to eat dinner and before we left we stopped at Caitlin and Casey's place. Emma and Angelica decided to wear Uncle Casey out by twirling around on the chair....we were all laughing because Emma would get so dizzy she could not walk straight!

Catching Up

Well, our January and February have definitely been a few weeks of colds and sniffles and trying to get better. These cold bugs have hit us hard. I had a sinus infection and since Sunday have been feeling yucky again and today think it is another sinus infection. Whenever I get a cold it settles in my tonsils and they get so inflamed and swollen and sore. I spent THREE hours at Prompt Care last week for them to say it was viral and go home! UGH. But thinking I may need some drugs now....
We also had a not-so-fun experience with poor Angel. So last month when we took the girls to Prompt Care, the doctor said she had an ear infection with her bronchitis. Well these past couple of weeks we had been joking that Angel was starting the "selective listening" game because she would not respond or was saying "what?" a lot! Well....one day she was acting a bit off and then I took her temp and she had a high fever and still the cold, plus had gotten a red rash all over her belly. So we took her to the pediatrician and they said that she now had a bi-lateral ear infection and that the right ear was REALLY bad....they said the Prompt Care doc did not write ear infection in her chart and that the meds she had been on didn't even treat the ear...so basically this infection had been there for so long and now gotten so bad and the reason for the rash on her belly. I was so mad and poor thing really couldn't hear with her bad ear infections!! Talk about mama guilt!! I guess we are not taking her to Prompt Care unless we have to, but only to pediatrician!! UGH.
I just took her in for a check up this week and ears are looking better, but still has a cold. I took Michaela in too because she has a yucky cough because of her cold. Everything from lungs to ears etc were fine though, so just the sniffles....PLEASE GO AWAY AND LEAVE US ALONE SOON. Ready to be better. Have a lot to catch up on!! It has been warm here and today the girls got to go to the park and run around and play, they loved it!!!

Good Morning Sunshine

Michaela is such a good sleeper. She has been going for 5-6 hours for several weeks now and sometimes even longer.....sometimes she needs to be cuddled but usually not fed so that is nice. She loves to be swaddled in the miracle blanket (which I like better than the swaddle mes) then cuddled into her boppy in her bassinet! So sweet. She does end up sleeping with me a lot when we fall asleep nursing...but I love waking her up in the mornings...she is all smiles...until she realizes she is hungry!!

Good Exercise for Rainy Days

Bunny Buddy

Bouncy Bed

Michaela has decided that her bouncy seat also makes a good place to take a nap these days....at least short ones for when she is just too tired to keep her eyes open!

Just Hangin Out

Everyone Needs a Potty Shot

Good Reads

Do You Make Your Husband a Better Father?

and

Do You Make Your Wife a Better Mother?

and

Mass Distraction

Sweet Innocence and Solutions

We have been praying a lot for the kids and people in Haiti recently. I have been careful explaining things to her so she has an awareness of what happened but that it doesn't become to worrisome or scary for her either, as she is one to worry and think too much about things!!!

My mom got a kick out of her last time explaining what happened: "The earth and ground shook and shook and shook and they got hurt badly and lost their homes. But I gave them money so they will get better and not be sad."

This morning after our morning prayers she told me:
"Mama, I think that the people in Haiti will get new houses because we prayed and God will give them new ones and also all their toys..."

Sweet girl, if only it was that easy...but the more prayers and trust like that the better!!

Goodbye Pull-Ups

These past couple of weeks I have still been putting Angelica in pull-ups at nights...but for 10 days now she has woken up completely dry. So with no accident in three weeks, I think it is time to say goodbye to pull ups completely...especially when this is what I am told this morning:

Angelica: "Mama, mama my bummy hurts."
Me: "Ok, run to the potty maybe you have to go."
After sitting and sitting I asked "Do you need to go?"
Angelica: "Um, I don't guess so...maybe it is just getting ready."

After another 5 minutes:
Angelica: "Mama, mama my bummy hurts again."
Me: "Angel do you need to go potty?"
Angelica: "Nope, I think it is because my bummy doesn't like the scratchy pull-ups on anymore at night night"

So I think she enjoys the soft underpants too much now that the pull ups are getting put away!

Found

Finally, Ameer and Emily, were found! You can read the article HERE, but their bodies were found in some plane wreckage and still strapped to their chairs. So we believe they must have died on impact. Thank you for all your prayers, at least now they can properly be buried and family's can have some closure. A MARINE buddy of Jason's has put in a request and plea with the MARINES to arrange them to fly Ameer's body back to NYC so his mother can have him buried. Hoping that works out. Ameer's facebook page has been inundated with people listing their memories and pictures of him, sounds like an amazing young man who could play a mean harmonica!! He will greatly be missed....I liked this poem that one of his relatives in Egypt left:

When this life I'm in is done,

And at the gates I stand,

My hope is that I answer

all His questions on command.

I doubt He'll ask me of my fame,

Or all the things I knew,

Instead,He'll ask of rainbows sent

On rainy days I flew.

Remember how the runway lights

Looked one night long ago

When you were lost and found your way,

And how-you still dont know?

And when the goals are reached at last,

When all the flyings done,

I'll answer Him with no regret-

Indeed, I had some fun.

So when these things are asked of me,

And I can reach no higher,

My prayer this day - His hand extends

To welcome home a Flyer.