Spiderwick Chronicles anyone???

I love this movie and the girls are into it too. We watched it at the theatre and just rented it a few nights back. Our next door friends had rented it too and all of the kids got together and watched it next door. When I came home from work Ruth was telling me how the kids convinced her to give them some salt, only to find it in the window sills:0 Maddie came running over to me with a backpack full of cans of tomato sauce, too cute. But the funniest thing I've seen in a long time is this picture of Bella with her Goblin seeing goggles on and CRAZY outfit!! I love it, it makes me smile every time I see it! She is a funny girl and those kids had a blast playing The Spiderwick Chronicles yesterday:)

Sharing secrets over a root beer

Madison

Maddie begged us for a snorkel and when I seen this one at the $ tree how could I resist!! She was afraid at first and wouldn't even put her face near the water. Then Michael went and threw some coin money into the pool and within ten minutes she had it mastered! That is Maddie in a nutshell, she will not give up until it is mastered. That is how she learned to ride her bike too, on a gravel driveway in less than an hour. I hope her drive to succeed stays with her forever!

Isabella

I just "had" to post this one of Bella, isn't she cute? She is not really crazy about getting in the pool but boy does she love to wear the swim suits!!

Maddie is a thinker....

I just love this outfit that Maddie decided to wear this day and the thoughtful look on her face. I'm not quite sure what she was doing, I guess I should start taking more time to just be with her and then I probably would have quite the story as to what she was doing.

This one is for you Mom and Paulette

My mom and Paulette were complaining that you couldn't see Bella's dress good enough, so here you go:))

Time, why does it pass so quickly?

I can remember the first day that I brought Madison home from the hospital, nervous, excited, and fearful. Fearful of not being a good enough mother or that I would be able to provide all of the things that she will need. Little did I know that all she would ever need was her mommy and daddy's love. Maddie has been an angel in my life, trying at times, but still my little princess. I remember saying to Mike, " I wonder what she will look like when she is 2 and walking and talking", now she writes sentences and reads stories and invents all sorts of things.

Wednsday was her kindergarten graduation and let me tell you it was a tear jerker. Her teacher was wonderful, we all love her. The kids did a play that they learned in fine arts and then Mrs. Foster played a slideshow with emotion filled songs that made all of the moms cry all over again. We each recieved a copy too. I came home, watched it again, and cried all over again. Here are a few pictures. Maddie's teacher is the one on the left and the teachers aide is on the right. The other picture is with two of her best friends, Elizabeth on the left and Matilda on the right. They were quite silly:)

This is Maddie and Shyla, another best friend.

And here is "Peyton" I think all of the girls talked about him;)

And of course Bella and I got dressed up for the occasion. Thanks Paulette for Bella's dress that is the only reason she would wear it, because "Pauyette" bought it;)

Maddie did it!!

Maddie has been begging to get her ears pierced for the last month now. We explained to her that she will have to earn it, she instantly ran upstairs and scooped the litter box, and a few other times too. She really did earn her new earrings, doing the dishes, cleaning her room, helping her sister, and putting her clothes away. I was very proud to see that she was willing to keep up her hard work for so long, seeing that it is not so easy to work for something you want. I thought that after driving 20 minutes and walking through the mall(I hate malls) that she would chicken out. She did at first then we walked around for a minute and she said she was ready. She did it, she didn't cry until it was all over, my very brave girl:)) She never forgets to clean them either. You can't really tell in the picture but the earrings are little pink and white daisies. Nothing like when I was little, it was just birthstone studs with really large posts...anyone else remember those beastly things?

Yard Sales and really good deals

Last weekend my mom and I went to a city wide garage sale outing. My very best friend Paulette came too:) We had a really good time, the weather was alot warmer than it was last year. I had to buy a pair of pants at a sale last year and put them over my shorts, it was that cold. So onto the deals... the first is this lovely set of dishes, actually it is two sets one is high dollar and the other is not. The asking price was $25 for each set, I offered less and the final price......$35 for all of them. Curious as to how much Churchill dinnerware retailed, I got online to find out that the pattern I have(peony rose) is selling for $25 a plate!!!! By far my best yard sale find of my LIFE! I have a $200 set of dishes plus another really nice set for a great price, made my day. I only paid $1 for the antique salt and pepper set and $2 for the candle holder. Another great deal I found was a jogger stroller for $8. The personal trainer has a daughter the same age as Bella and lives on the street behind us. She had suggested that we run together, "Oh I'd love to but I have no stroller for Bella" was my response thinking I am getting out of that one. Well when I seen the stroller for that price I just had to, can't wait to see her response when I tell I have a stroller now. The girls have been busy for days playing with all of the new treasures that I brought back for them. It was like Christmas in May and they know it when I pull in the driveway.

Mommy makeover day with Madison

Today I went to Maddie's school and got pampered. I had a manicure, massage and a facial complete with makeup. It was such a fun time. Maddie was in her glory with the makeup and looking around at the other mothers, she didn't do to bad of a job.

Mother's Day....bittersweet

Today my mom, my girls, and myself went up north to see my Grandma. It is always fun to go up north, the town where I grew up, and to watch my girls play and follow my grandma's husband LeRoy around.....just as I did when I was little. It isn't always easy to get up there and see her but a remark that she had made to my mom told me that I'd better get up there.

My grandma is a spunky old woman of 87 years, and after telling my mom of all her aches and pains she said "I think it's time I cash in". I laugh at this because I know my grandma and it is something she would say. She has lived a full life and never really skipped a beat. She had her last yard sale only 2 years ago. So the reason I put the bittersweet in the title is because when I seen her today I knew that she was just waiting to see everyone one last time, I think....she really was not herself and even my girls noticed and that is sad. I also know that I do not want her to be in pain everyday either. We took some great pictures today that I will forever treasure. I spent alot of time at her house when I was little, and to see my girls have a few hours of that same sort of time I had was unexplainable, amazing, and most of all a deep feeling of unconditional love.

Give me some love!

I asked the girls to give me some love and this is what I got:))

Enjoying the beautiful sunshine

We have been blessed with some very nice weather, 75 degrees almost everyday. It is so nice to get outside and enjoy some warm sunshine. Here are a few pictures of my girls and their friends from next door enjoying eachothers ourdoor company.

Look at this new smile

Yes Maddie had another visit from the tooth fairy, and her new teeth are already coming in. she is now busy wiggling the top two teeth that are loose! What a cute smile that will be:)

Maddie is also busy scheming up ways to get her ears pierced! I told her that if she really wants them done(which she does) that she will have to earn the money by doing chores and extra jobs around the house. She immediately went upstairs and scooped the litter box. So for her efforts I gave her 50cents, now she is not going to get that for every little thing she does, I just wanted to show her that if she helps out we will help her out. Yesterday she came home from school and headed straight upstairs....washing hands and potty I think, oh no she is scooping the litter box!!! She really wants this done and it is so exciting for her. It is really cute to see her trying to earn the money for it. She makes her bed everyday now too:) We will see how excited she is when the ladies pull out those ear piercing guns:0
I'll keep you all updated on this one.

Hello Again;)

Wow it's been a while since my last post, sorry.

So a few updates.... We went to Frankenmuth with my Dad and had a really good time. I didn't get too many pictures but Maddie and Bella did meet a few pirates and even recieved some "gold" from them. We spent the first day at an indoor waterpark called Splash Mountain, it was alot of fun. Brave little Bella went down the huge water slide that was pitch black inside, not once but twice, with Michael. Maddie would not even attempt the kiddie slide. The whole trip was a hit and we spent some nice time with my Dad and Mary. Thank you both, we really had a nice time. So here are the few pictures I did get. I will post more updates later. We are off to school.

A beautiful day and best friends......priceless!

Well it didn't take long for the gang to get together on the beautiful day we had yesterday. It is funny how they can hear another one outside no matter what is going on inside. Their little ears perk right up like radars, it really is funny to see. And what amazes me is that my girls will know exactly which child is outside without even seeing them, the ears perk up followed by "it's Sophie"or whateve or child it is!!! Here they are playing tag and tossing the ball over the fence. Love it!!! Ahhh spring!

Mail Call

We have enjoyed our next door friends for almost 7 years now. Time flies by so fast!! One of the best things about having a family of friends right next door are the bonds that our children have made with each other. There should be a worn path in the sidewalk that connects our driveways, as much as the kids run back and forth delivering letters, videos, costumes...you name it they have delivered it one way or the other. Here Bella just found and little card and decided right there that she was going to fill it out and take it over to Sarah, her best friend. I couldn't resist the Kodak moment, it was rainy and wet but still that doesn't stop the mail from being delivered.

A visit from the tooth fairy

What a magical night it was last night for little Maddie Mae. After we were done reading bedtime stories, Maddie was busy wiggling one of her loose teeth(she has 3 more). I told her to go look in the mirror at how it was turned sideways she was amazed! She exclaimed " I just know it is going to come out". Tooth wiggling is exhausting you know so she lay down next to me and did a wiggle with her tongue and not realizing that the tooth was out she flipped it right out of her mouth onto her pillow! Imagine her face when I said "Maddie you just lost your first tooth" Oh it was so fun to watch her jumping from mirror to mirror looking at that new whole in her mouth. I think I enjoyed it just as much as her. She excitedly called Granny and was trembling with excitement at the thought of a visit from the tooth fairy. After she was all settled in and sound asleep I (tooth fairy) snuck in and sprinkled glitter dust on her pillow, head and face and replaced the tooth with $1. It was a magical night for us all, I really enjoyed playing the tooth fairy;). Oh how I wish I were a kid again sometimes!!

Pictures

I had some fun with the photo editor and thought I would share. Enjoy!! Another post with more pictures follows, they wouldn't all fit on one post?....