365/150 Puppy love

The Cousin dogs are in good hands. Don't worry Brent & Heather, your dogs getting good lovin' while you are away. The girls insist on climbing in the crate with them and both refused to go to bed without giving them kisses and hugs. 

Puppy love

365/149 Boatride anyone?

There's never an end to the creativity of my little boo's.  Saturday they decided to empty one of their toy bins, put it in on the couch, proceed to both hop in and pretend they were going for a ride together.  All this with the usual pose of sippy cup in hand.  Did we ever mention that we go through about 1 1/2 gallons of milk per day?  Even though they can be frustrating, as 2 and 3 year olds normally can be, how can you not just turn to mush when you have moments like this...

P.S.  Why do we continue to buy them toys when all they really need is the packaging and containers?

Boatride anyone?

365/148 Last day of calm for Ruby

Ruby is sound asleep on the bed, probably the last time this will happen for a couple of weeks.  We will be dog sitting the cousin dogs (Brent's dogs) until June 14th or so.  Ruby will be bouncing off the walls with excitement and if this time is like last time, Lilly will keep her off the bed for the duration.

Last day of calm for Ruby

365/147 First tails

I got lucky today, Syd let me put her hair in tails today.  With her curly hair they looked like little puffs, what a cutie!  I don't know where my girls get there slow growing hair from.  I see all these 2 and 3 year olds with long silky hair, and I'm in awe. It took MJ until 1st grade before she had hair past her shoulders and it looks like Syd and CJ are following suit.  So can you see why at 2 I thrilled that she has enough hair to put in tails.

  First tails

 And I saved the best for last.  This is my new favorite picture of Syd, what a cutie!

365/146 Her favorite place

It seems like every time we turn our back on Syd she is climbing on something; the arm of the couch, the dining room chairs and her favorite, her and CJ's table top.  She just climbs onto it and turns and looks at us just like in the picture,  I must remove her from here at least 10 times a day!  I hope this is a phase that her outgrows quickly:)

 Her favorite place

365/145 Replacements

For our upcoming annual garage sale I finally replaced the signs that we have been using for years.  They were getting really tired looking.  When I called my favorite sign shop in town he quoted me 80 bucks if he were to make the signs for me, whoa these are just garage sale signs!  He laughed and said that he could sell me the sign bases and stakes for 20 bucks, SOLD.  I had random colors of vinyl, my trusty Cricut Expression and thanks to Heather, a 24" mat that I have never used (she was sweet enough to share her double pack with me many months ago).  I finished them in a morning and will not have to worry about this task for a few years if not more.  A wonderful improvement!

Replacements

365/144 A Band-Aid Fit

Monday after I let the girls out of the van when we got home, Syd did her usual running everywhere but the way she is supposed to go.  She thought I was chasing her when I went to the trash can to dispose for the van garbage and tried to get away from me.  She fell and scraped up her knees and such,  she got up and whined a bit but went on ahead to the house.  I hauled the stuff inside and was putting it away when I noticed  blood on the floor.  Syd was wandering around and playing but not fussing so I was surprised to see it was her big toe that was bleeding.  When I scooped her up to investigate I found that she had peeled back the skin on the side of her toe (ouch).  When I put the band-aid on she started screaming,  I left it on for 15 minutes thinking she would stop crying in that time.  Instead she would just hold her foot up to me and cry.  She did not stop crying until I removed the band-aid.

 

 A Band-Aid Fit

365/143 Git

Sunday CJ kept sneaking off to be by herself.  Being that her nickname is Swiper, we all wondered what she was hiding.  Every time I came near her she would point and tell me to leave her alone.  She often goes off by her self, most of the time is it to conceal something that she is not supposed to have but today she just wanted to be alone as far as we could tell.  Sometimes it can take a few days to miss what she has taken off with and by then even she does not remember where she put it:)

  Git

365/142 The Party

Saturday we celebrated the girl's birthdays at our house with our extended family.  We have combined the girl's parties together since the beginning because they are so close, just a month apart.  I often feel bad that they will likely share birthday parties for many years but I do try to make a big deal of their actually birthday for each of the girls.  

They received many wonderful gifts from everyone, thank you all so much.  We got each of them a bike. Bikes have been something they both should have had a while ago.  CJ still has not got the hang of her pedals and feels more comfortable on Syd's trike right now. Syd does not mind sharing the trike, she does not ride it just uses the "trunk" to stuff her treasures in.  Them having bikes now will require me to let them play outside more often, Yikes. I only cringe because we have swarms of skeeters and the girls just swell right up when they get bit. Not to mention the wasps and bees that seem to love our deck and I will have to leave my air conditioned house, I really don't like the heat of summer! Maybe they can just ride them in the house:)  (I know my mother is rolling her eyes right now:)

The Party

365/141 Last Meet

Today was JD's last track meet.  At 2:15 I got a call from him asking me to come get him from school, he felt sick.  So while the rest of the team runs and jumps he sleeps on the couch.  By 6:30 he was back to normal and being a pain to his sister and annoying the heck out of us!  I'm glad he feels better but I'm sad he missed the meet.  

His last meet was Wednesday, a make-up meet in Houghton Lake.  He ran the mile in 5:39!  That was good enough for 3rd place, these boys are fast!  He has his hopes set on beating the Jr high school record that one of his team mate's father set many years ago of 4:57.  Now that is a lot of time to shave off in 4 laps.  His team mate is one the fastest on the team and he might just want to beat his dad's record as well.  They both have next year to beat it before that torch will passed along to the next class.  

Good luck my son, you will have some practicing to do before any records will be broken.

Last Meet

365/140 Pre-G-sale snag

Thursday while at Grammies, CJ snagged this helmet from the large stack of boxes that Brent and I have been off loading all week. This is only a quarter to half of the stuff I have to get rid of but I think Brent is done dropping off stuff.  CJ spotted the helmet sitting on top of the latest load from Brent.  She has wore it ever chance she gets, she even wore it when we went to town. I can only imagine what people thought seeing a toddler with a helmet on in her car seat.  Now she keeps looking for a bike to ride. (birthday party on Saturday, dad picked her up a Dora bike) Oh by the way Brent, CJ owes you 75 cents, she still has the price tag on it!

Pre-G-sale snag

365/139 Sneaky Swiper

Wednesday while folding laundry at the dining room table, out of the corner of my eye I kept seeing flashes of light.    The girls were watching Dora and I could see Syd's head but not CJ.  At first I thought the flashes were coming from outside or the TV.  So I stood there a minute and there it was again.  I peered over the couch to see CJ with Hubby's flashlight!  She had swiped it from the counter top while I was getting the laundry from the dryer.  She has been getting very sneaky about her swiping, the other day she went in to MJ's room with me to get Syd up and CJ volunteered to turn off the music.  We were not in there 1 minute,  and I got Syd dressed and put sweaters on both the girls.  Off  the van we all went, I buckled both of them up, nothing amiss.  A while later she pulls out a marker that she swiped from MJ's room.  Where she had it stuffed I will never know.  I'm going to have to start frisking her after she leaves a room!
Now that I think of it Swiper the Fox is her favorite character on Dora.

Sneaky Swiper

365/138 Welcome back

On Tuesday, some very good friends of ours brought their oldest daughter home from the hospital.  She is only 9 but has been diagnosed with a very serious illness.  Their week started with what seemed like normal flu symptoms and ended up with a week's stay at the U of M's Children's hospital in Ann Arbor.  I can only imagine what they are going through.  Our hearts go out to them; it is only the beginning of a long journey. I hope all the prayers of friends and family are enough to help her recover quickly and keep the "weird cells" in check.

For more information on this family please go to this website.

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 Welcome back

365/137 A long day

Today has been a LOOOONG day.  I spent most all day hunched over the dining room table pricing garage sale items from the hallway of boxes.  I got most of it priced and sorted but wow what an achy back I have!  It was late when I realized I have no POD for today so Ruby was game for a picture or two.

 A long day

365/136 Can I have this?

Sunday we (MJ, JD and I)  sorted through their rooms to fish out the unwanted, unloved and out grown item they might have.  It was a long process but this is what we have to show for our efforts, a hall lined with boxes of things for me to price for our upcoming garage sale!

Now on to POD.  yesterday I was messing with my Simple Circle Cutter (Martha Stewart)

I really love this little item.  Even though I am not a big Martha fan, she does put her name on some great products!  

Anyway,  the circles I had cut were laying on the table after CJ woke from her nap.  She is the queen of  shapes in our house, she loves to call out the shape of all things, she can pick out the shape of most anything that I would overlook (capital A is a triangle to her, eggs are ovals and cucumber wedges are her triangle snack and on and on).  She was just giddy to see the circles cut out and could not stop herself from playing with them and trying to put them back together, over and over again.

Can I have this?

365/135 Competition time

Saturday we all piled in the van for an hour and half trip to Gaylord for MJ's first cheer competition.  All I can say is  WOW this is culture all of its own.  It reminded me of what you read about beauty pageants with all the makeup, glitter, and fake hair pieces.  MJ is in division 3 and for fair judging the division is divided into small, medium and large teams (the more people on your team the more fancy lifts you can do).  MJ's team was in the medium group.  I thought they were great, less polished than some of the groups but they did great considering it was the first competition for most all the girls.  They did not place and will not be going on to regional, but we are proud of our girl, she went out there with an injured ankle and all.  Way to go!

Competition time

365/134 Proving it

Friday at therapy  MJ was told with all the pain her ankle was giving her she should not compete in tomorrow's  cheer competition in Gaylord. She was in tears and begged me to let her compete.  I told her we would still go up and if she could do the practice session with them and we would see how it felt.  At therapy they gave a pain patch thing again,  it always makes her ankle feel better.  When we got home she tried on her uniform and I was just going to take pictures of her in the uniform. Like the photo below.

She had other plans though.  MJ wanted to prove to me that she could run through her routine without pain.  She did it, but I told we would have to wait until tomorrow to see is she was still feeling no pain.

Proving it

365/133 Hard at work

Thursday JD had English homework to do after track practice.  With all the meets away he misses 6th hour the most which has been hard on his English grade.  Only a few more meets left and then he will no more excuses and have to buckle down and get that English grade back up.

Hard at work

365/132 Little girl with big stick

We use yard sticks as a way to toddler proof our cabinets, running them straight down the drawer handle and through the cabinet locks.  It is a bit of a hassle to put things away or get things out of the cupboards. Which explains why they are usually laying in the counter top at least part of the time.   Every chance she gets, Syd loves to steal them and carry them around.  I have laugh as she walks around with it, swinging it into things and people without even realizing it. 

Little girl with big stick

365/131 The days are numbers now

The days that this boy will be riding a school bus will be over soon.  Not only is the school year winding down but he is less than 1 year from drivers training!  Once he gets his license he will never want to ride this bus again. But unless he gets a job to pay for a car, insurance and GAS he will have very few choices on how to get to school.  The bus will be the cheapest route.  I do remember this stage in my life, being one of a very few kids old enough to drive but having to ride the bus anyway.  In my case I don't remember many days of the bus once I could  drive (I got a job to get spending money @ 15).  Maybe he will get "it" and want to earn his own money soon, I can only hope:)

The days are numbers now

More photo's from Boyne

Jamie just emailed these to me.  

This is the only shot of us all together.

From left to right Maria, Myself, Lucy, Jamie and Jackie

This is Maria and Jackie showing off the matching sweatshirts they bought, I don't recall what the shirts said but it was scrapbook related and funny.  I do remember what Maria said after this photo was taking, "Whoa, I had my butt cheeks squeeze tight for that picture"  Maria is a real hoot and you can never tell what is going to come our of her mouth :)

Only 11 months and 15 days to go before Boyne 2011!!  I can't wait.

365/130 Bucket Heads & An Injury

While I was out picking up MJ from dance class  Hubby snapped this picture of the girls.  I could not help but to laugh.  I can't believe Syd  put this on her head and left it there.  What goofy girls I have!

 Bucket Heads

Today I took MJ to the Doctor.  She has been hobbling around for nearly a week, she had no idea what she did to her ankle/heel.  Diagnosis: Achilles Tendonitis.  She starts PT on Wednesday at the hospital. (Look out Lori here we come:)  Her chances to compete in her cheer competition this Saturday are looking pretty slim at this point, I hope she can be healed enough for dance recital in June.

365/129 Playing quietly

On Mother's day Hubby and kids took me to DQ for ice cream after lunch, my favorite.  Later in the day we took Subway over to his mom's for an easy dinner.  The girls played in the sunroom with Grandma's box of toys.  They were playing so good that they never knew I was taking pictures.

Playing quietly

365/128 Lu's Dance Recital

Saturday MJ and I had the pleasure of watching Lu dance in her first dance recital.  She was so adorable,  Heather told me Lu is liking dance class.  

I enjoyed sitting just being an audience member instead of being the parent worried about getting them there with all the costume parts and the hair and make-up just right.  Lu recital was a lot less hectic than ours will be.  Hers was one night at the Midland Center for the Arts.   MJ's is coming up in a few weeks and it will be 3 long nights.   It is all worth it though as long as the girls are having fun and enjoying themselves

Lu's Dance Recital

365/127 7 AM meeting

Friday Hubby worked from home and had a 7 am meeting that took over our bedroom.  CJ and I were vacated to the couch to catch a few more winks before Syd woke up. It looks like I did more sleeping than CJ did.  If I remember the kids turned on Nick Jr before they got on the bus and CJ was up and down and I barely got an extra hour in.

7 AM meeting

365/126 They love the outdoors

The girls love to play outside.  CJ is getting better about coming in when it's time but Syd will throw a fit like you have never seen before.  It sometimes makes me reluctant to let them out to play.  Today they were enjoying a wagon ride with big sis while we waited to go pick up JD from track practice. Going from playing to the van made Syd's fit very short lived.  Maybe that is what I'll have to do from now on, let them play before we have plans to leave to make it less of a pain for all :)

They love the outdoors

365/125 Simply pleasures

CJ loves to blow the dandy lion fluff.  She can stay outside for hours picking them and blowing them.  She tells me "Look Mom, it's snowing"  She has tried to show Syd how to "make it snow" but she just hold the weed and looks at it.

 Simply pleasures

365/124 Not a problem

Tuesday, CJ had her first dental cleaning and it went so smoothly!  She sat there like it was an everyday thing for her.  Yeah!  I doubt Syd will be this easy next year.

 Not a problem

 

JD had another track meet here at home and he ran a 5:47 mile!  It was good enough for 2nd place.  This is his fastest mile yet.  Good job buddy!

365/123 The spectator

Monday JD had a track meet in Sanford.  Uncle Brent and Lu came to watch.  It was the first time we let the girls walk and not ride in the stroller at one of these events.  Hubby is always willing to do this, I'm not crazy about it.  I can't watch JD because we are constantly corralling the girls, Syd mostly.   I did snap a shot of CJ calmly watching the runners but it too was short lived and we left early, there is only so much public chaos I can take.

 

 The spectator

365/122 The Challenge

I arrived home in plenty of time to watch JD and Hubby race in a local charity 5K. Hubby had challenged JD to this race weeks ago. JD came in first, beating both uncle Michael and Hubby. He was pretty pleased with himself! Due to a misdirection by the students stationed on the trails, the race was not 3.1 mi but closer to 2.3 or so. Hubby thinks he may have been able to take JD on the last mile which had the largest hill. He of course has requested a rematch but JD is not taking the bait and is loving his standing as the winner.

Hubby's note: I won my age group and finished 4th overall (small turnout).

I snapped a picture of the boys warming up before the race and Syd was right there running with them. She is such a happy toddler! Hubby will have her running before long :)

The Challenge

Finished layouts from Crop

Here is 11 of my finished LOs from the crop, I have a couple others that I need to get an additional photo printed (some how I forgot to add them to my photo cart)  I will post them when I finish them up.