I love this new smile!

Need I say more?

Finally.....

I have been waiting for almost two(yes that's 2) whole years to remodel our bathroom. We have been storing all of the stuff we needed to remodel in our garage for just as long, even two old mirrors I found at a garage sale for $1 a piece!! Well Michael had his cousin Bill come out and tile the floor, and he helped with everything else. Thank You Billy!!!!!!! If anyone in Michigan needs tile work done let me know, this guy is amazing at what he does. I really didn't get that many pic's of the before bathroom so I will give you all a little insight , we had berber carpet on the floor(a quick and cheap, move in fast fix), white paint on the walls and trim, a very tiny vanity that only came up to my hips if that, a medicine cabinet over the sink that was scratched and waaaay to tall for me(I had to stand on a stool so I could see to curl my hair), and no mirror over the old dresser, and a really bad shower head that was ready to fall off the wall at any given moment. So here is the new bathroom that I could sit in all day long if I could actually do that. Everything is new( well new to me) new vanity, toilet, shower, paint, mirrors, towel holder, tp holder, floor, and that pretty little light. Ahhhhh now all we need to do is put up the shower rod and we are golden!!! Here is a view going in a circle around our bathroom, it is quite big.

More pic's

A BEAUTIFUL sunset on lake Charlevoix

Vacation

My dad and I.
Lake Michgan.

My dad and stepmom were very generous letting us take our vacation at their place up north. We had a wonderful time visiting, relaxing on the beach and just "being". So here are a few pictures, my favorites....Enjoy!

Fashion show 2008

Well "the girls" have been seperated for a week(we were on vacation) and it didn't take them long at all to get back together and quickly put on a fashion show! I didn't even know they were doing this, but they sure did put on a cute show, I think they may be onto something,lol!! You have to click to enlarge and really see all of the "fancy" accesories!!

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.