round 'em up!

a certain someone was about too excited to go get a tour of her new school!  she is quite ready to be an official KINDERGARTENER...

it was sunny (yeah) but windy outside of school...

wren got to be the "line leader"...

and then off they went to tour the school!

jobs

there are lots of jobs to do for two young ladies who are helping prepare for grandad & grandma's

"annual bull sale". 

there is helping gram make the "lemon supreme pie".  (gram had already baked up the apple, cherry and pumpkin pie.  rumor has it that some of the people come for the quality bulls that grandadraises, but others come just for gram's pie!)

crunching up pecan sandies for the crust is such a hard task, you see.  and there was some "quality control" too - tasting to make sure all the ingredients were of the utmost quality!

and then there is watching as gram mixes the cream cheese filling (hoping to get a beater to lick when she is done).

then, the biggest job:  getting the "lemonade stand" stocked and ready.  this is linnea mixing up the lemonade.

"what would you like?  der's wemonade, tea and toda," linnea says.

"that's lemonade, ice tea and soda," wren parrots.

and they did such a good job letting all the guests know the selection.  and reminding them about the pie at the next table.  they took their job quite seriously, too.

oh, and before the serving of drinks, they had to go outside and see what was occuring.  see what there was to see.  and, of course, try out a donut.  or two.  never too much sugar to be had at gram's!

life ain't always beautiful...

life ain't always beautiful
sometimes it's just plain hard

life can knock you down,

it can break your heart

life ain't always beautiful

you think you're on your way

and it's just a dead end road

at the end of the day

but the struggle makes you stronger

and the changes make you wise

and happiness has it's own way

of takin' it sweet time

no,life ain't always beautiful

tears will fall sometimes

life ain't always beautiful

but it's a beautiful ride

but the struggles make me stronger

and the changes make me wise

and happiness has it's own way

of takin' its sweet time

no, life ain't always beautiful

but i know i'll be fine

hey, life ain't always beautiful

but its a beautiful ride

what a beautiful ride

- gary allan

they

they

did

not

have

any

fun

today

not even their ponytails

fast like a puma...

today after church and lunch at an actual restaurant...some members of our family needed new shoes.  the daddy needed new work shoes.  and since the store was having a "buy 1 get 2nd for 1/2-off", i took littlest to look at some shoes for spring running and soccer.  she only had a couple of requests.

pink and sparkles.

she has a couple of friends who have matching shoes and they are bright, lots of shades of pink and they light up.  but those aren't exactly soccer suitable.  so we compromised.  she got some pink.  she got some sparkles.  and the momma can now say things like:

  "you are fast like a puma!"

and she is quite proud of her new kicks!

the daddy's shoes had to be ordered, so i cannot post photos of his.  maybe at the end of the week when they arrive, okay?  his criteria was pink & sparkles, too "brown" and "not too casual". 

and so...since this is all about the littlest...here's a photo of our patio door.  one of my sisters gave the girls some easter window clings (over 2 weeks ago...and they looked good for a few days...and then the girls got to playing with them...and well...) and there is just one wee bunny left.  and nea decided that the bunny needed some spring flowers to bounce through:

she made them out of some of the "bend-a-roos"...i love her creativity!

irish eyes are a'smilin'

that's about as irish as we are

we did all wear green today

and we had corned beef, cabbage and carrots last night

(b/c i am working tonight...is it April 15th yet??!!)

**** 

and here is some utter randomness...

ruby, the lil dog

she enjoys story time almost as much as the girls.  all snuggled up with the daddy.  if ruby is not on one of ours laps, then we can find her snuggled up in our bed. (this would be pre-snuggled-down)

unless, of course, someone has left their circus up on the bed, in which case ruby will sit on her steps.  until it is moved.  all the way off the bed.  she is a bit persnickety.

but we love her anyways!

these are the girls' new rain boots.  wren had outgrown her old ones (and blew a hole in the sidewall...) and well, linnea made it clear that her "boy ones from a garage sale" were much better suited for doing farm work with grandpa james in a couple weeks...so they both got a new pair, because who would argue with that logic?

except that you cannot trust a 5-yr-old to tell you the truth about theirs fitting well.  b/c if you do not check for yourself, momma, you will then become slightly annoyed when your 5-yr-old is walking all weird and dragging her feet.  well, truth be told?  yeah, she was just trying to keep her new boots on and not fall!  so, wren actually had 2 new pairs of boots (shhhh, don't tell the daddy) - one that is the right size and one to grown in to...

today at bible study there was an "adoption drive" to find homes for some poor lost sheep.  two came home with us.  because, well....what's one more stuffy?

i do try to at least wash off the big crumbs from their faces before leaving the house.  this is marker.  because not only was it fun to use the markers to color her noodle necklace, apparently she tasted it too.  please note:  the markers that are scented are maybe not such a good idea for littles...they think that if it smells like a pineapple, it will taste like one, too.  thank goodness for non-toxic marker, right?

the girls still have christmas cd's in their players...so, yep, i finally decided it was time for some new cd's for them.  the company that sells these cd's has such a great concept (besides the obvious one...).  every cd has a 2nd cd that you can tear off and share!  so each of the girls have their own cd.  no deciding who gets it in who's room first.  and no "unauthorized duplication" being done.  and the girls are LOVING them!  linnea just came out to tell me:

"MOMMA MY TD IS TINGIN' ALL ABOUT JESUS!  DID YOU KNOW THAT??" 

i love how high-pitched her little voice gets when she is all excited!

that's what i love about thursdays...

craig morgan sings the song "what i love about sundays"...and he talks about going to church, being with family, enjoying some relaxation...and although we do love our sundays around here...it is our thursdays that this momma loves the most!

why?

because i schedule nothing on that day.  seriously...not.  a.  thing.  no preschool.  no appts.  no nothing.  mandatory nap time.  and there is a good reason for that:  the other days of the week we are going.  we have some place to be.  every morning.  between preschool.  bible study.  swim lessons.  tumbling.  church.  sunday school.  (shwooooo. makes me tired just to type all that!) 

****

we have been to the rose and enjoyed their production of "there's an alligator under my bed"...

the girls really like going to plays and musicals at the rose.

****

littest has been enjoying her tumbling class.  so much so that we may look into an actual gymnastics class.

****

big has been being her usual school-loving, buddy playing with self!  we have kindergarten round-up later this month and she is just about beyond excited.  me?  not so much.  i cannot wait to send my babe to school.  al day.  every day.  i promise i will try not to cry at the meeting.  i'll save that for the next day when she goes all by herself for an hour...

and, of course, we have apparently grown in the past few months.  busting the seams of our old swim suits.  so, new ones were needed for swim lessons.  and goggles, too.  some girls have assured me that the goggles will make them fast little swimmy fish.  even if it doesn't, they sure look cute trying, huh??!!

i was surprised that big did not choose a suit full of pink...but she loves the pretty flowers on this blue one AND that it is all "x"-y in the back...

littest went for the usual:  pink and hearts!  that's my girlie-girls.

****

aand wren has fallen in some deep love for her new phant-phant.  "pinky-ariel-phant-phant" is not only an adorable elephant, but!  she trupmets, giggles and blows lovey-dovey kisses.  almost too cute.  this was a late birthday gift from some friends and it has been a huge hit!  she has garnered the coveted snuggle spot right beside "lil white kee-kee".

****

and this is how our thursday is looking:

not that this thursday is without it's "stuff to do"...we have a couple desserts to make and a dance routine to practice for the preschool "talent show and dessert auction" tonight.  but at least we did not have to drive anywhere this morning in the fat, slushy, slickery snow. 

that's what i love about our thursdays...

meanest mom ever. that's me. fo' sho'...

yup, i have had it.  done.  not going to do it any more.  they are on their own.  seriously.  i am not kidding folks.  i am officially the "meanest mom ever".  and here's why:

i made my 3 & 5 yr olds make their own lunch yesterday.  yeah, that's right.  no more of me serving up a healthy, delicious made-by-momma lunch.  they are on their own!

and here are the photos to prove it:

happiness is a pb&j, folks.

i even made this one clean up.

she was quite thorough too i might add.

and she gave herself "two thumbs up".  wwhoa, careful there i see some pride spilling outta that 3-yr-old body.

heck, i even made the dog fend for herself.

it was a nice repreive from mothering.  sigh...