Belated 5

 1.  Big move:  SJ's old room is now our room.  The office is now SJ's room.  Our old bedroom is the new den/playroom.  I love the new arrangement.  Or, I will love it as soon as we get everything organized.  Who knew we had accumulated so much stuff in the 7 years we have been in this house?  #1 is also my excuse for posting this late... my camera was buried underneath this mess (times 3). 

   

 2.  Father's Day.  Here are photos of the girls making special notes to put inside his new wallet.  (A whitewater center pass was also enclosed).

 

 These two sure do love their Daddy.  Who can blame them?

 3.  Family movie night...  Eating popcorn and watching the Muppets together is tons of fun.

 4.  Tennis:  Our summer schedule is a little more open, so I have time to play tennis.  I'll be taking a class this summer... went for the first on on Friday and loved it.  Learning to use topspin to hit the ball hard (and in) is very exciting! 

5.  Rehearsals:  Back in rehearsals for an extra summer Bel Canto concert.  We are singing for the American Guild of Organists Convention (sounds like a party crowd, I know!) These "extra" concerts make our family's schedule a little more hectic than I like, so I'll be glad to have this one finished.   

5 on Friday

 1.  Went to watch a baseball game with Greg's department from work.  C and SJ loved eating treats and watching the game  playing at the playground.

 

2.  C is taking a ballet/tap/tumbling class this summer, just for fun.  She had her first class this week and LOVED it!  (She is in the black leotard).

 

 3.  C had a stomach flu this week.  When I asked her if she was feeling better she said, "No my tummy is still all germy."  Another funny from C:  She snuggled up in bed with me one night and said "Now I'm all cozied up!"

4.  I just love a baby fresh out of the tub!

5.   I love the Farmer's Market!  Here are my spoils from this week...

5 on Friday

1.  Had chocolate fondue with strawberries for dessert

2.  Swimming lessons update:  C is working on freestyle, backstroke, and rotary breathing (kind-of).  I love seeing her improve and I especially love seeing this grin on her face every time she is in the pool.

3.  Had lots of fun on a visit to the children's museum.  Here are the girls in the vintage train and then the edible schoolyard, "mud pie" kitchen (see below).

4.  Miss Independent:  wants to dress herself, which usually end up in 5 or 6 pieces of clothing bunched up around her waist... this time she skipped over her dresser drawer and went straight for the dirty laundry basket.

5.  New hairdo's:  pigtails for SJ and short layers for C

5 on Friday

1.  My new toy

I told C not to touch it... only Mommy can play it.  

C:  How about when I grow up, then can I play the guitar?

Me:  Sure!

C:  Oh! Then SJ will have two Mommies!

2.  "Slippy Slide" (Slip-and-slide)

When we left for the beach the temps were in the 70's.  When we got home they were in the high 90's, and have remained that way for the majority of the week.  HELLO summer! We have gotten out the slip and slide 4 out of the last 5 days.

3.  SJ's funny book:  She calls the shower the "showie."  (First syllable is pronounced correctly, but she can't say her "r" on the 2nd).  IPA, for any other singing nerds out there... [show i]


4.  Clara's favorite movie, lately, is The Sound of Music. I also got her a CD of the soundtrack and I love to look in on her while she is listening to it during "rest time" in her room... singing the songs and acting out the movie.

5.  Memorial Day:  Had a fun cookout with friends.  Thought about Greg's brother (Jeff) and his family who sacrifice a lot for him to serve in the military.  Thankful for them and all of the others who make sacrifices for our freedom. 

Beach trip/ Five on Friday

Topsail Island, May 2011

5 photos from a great week!

5 on Friday (catching up)

1.  Strawberry picking... we brought home 15 lbs.  I think SJ ate 5 1/2 lbs before we even left the field.

 2.  A picture of me and my girls on Mother's Day

3.  SJ's funny book:  Greg was trying to teach her how to say "excuse me" when she is finished with dinner. 

G:  What do you say?

SJ:  (listing all of the good manners words she knows) Pweez? (please) Sawwy (sorry)? 

G:  Haha, Good try!

4.  Went to the Science Museum with the girls.  We saw lots of fun, hands-on science exhibits and C and SJ got to hold a turtle.  (SJ got scared and THREW the turtle... it survived).  One of the many exhibits is a music room, with lots of drums/found sounds and a giant keyboard on the floor that you step on to make it play. 

5.  Afterwards, I asked Clara what her favorite part was, and she said it was the music room.  I beamed with pride!

Tender Mercies

A few years ago, and apostle of the Lord gave this message in General Conference. Since then, the phrase "tender mercies" has become so commonly used (might I say overused) in our church that it is a running joke between Greg and I. However, yesterday I was the recipient of some very real and very needed tender mercies from a loving Father in Heaven.

We had just finished visiting the temple and had picked up the girls from the sitter (their sweet older cousin, Anna). We stopped to have lunch at a restaurant in Cary. We sat down to eat. I had taken one bite and then noticed Sarah Jane do a strange jerk. She didn't respond when I called her name or even when I touched her. We thought maybe she was choking, because she was struggling to breathe. We tried swiping out her mouth and doing the baby version of the Heimlich, but it wasn't helping. She was completely unresponsive and seemed to be having a seizure. We called 911. The paramedics were there in about 45 seconds. By the time they got there she was unconscious. They stripped her down and hooked her up to all kinds of monitoring equipment and gave her oxygen. At first they thought she was having an allergic reaction, but soon changed their diagnosis to a febrile seizure. Her fever was 101 degrees. We rode to the hospital in the ambulance. The seizure lasted about 5 minutes and then she was in a "post febrile state" (dilated pupils, unresponsive) for about an hour and a half. At the hospital, once she was responsive enough to take it, they gave her some Motrin to bring the fever down. They kept an eye on her and let her rest for a little while, but no other treatment was necessary and they classified her episode as a benign febrile seizure... something they see quite often. Very scary for the parents, but not harmful to the child.

So... about those tender mercies. Had the seizure happened 30 minutes earlier, SJ would have been with the babysitter. 30 minutes later, and we would have been on the highway in the middle of nowhere on our way home. We happened to be at a restaurant that was just seconds away from the fire/ambulance station. Although NOW I know that this was a condition that didn't require medical intervention, I certainly didn't know that while it was happening and was very reassured by the super fast response of the paramedics. Knowing she was getting help comforted me in this very scary situation. Not having medical help or not having been there when it happened would have been terrifying.

We live in a mortal world, where we must face health challenges and scary situations. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who offers a helping hand when we most need it and Who was most certainly watching over our family, yesterday.

Happy Mothers Day

For mother's day, I thought I'd share a couple of memories about my Mom from my childhood.

Here is a photo of my 5th b-day party, with a Hello Kitty cake, made by Mom.

When I was 6 years old, I broke my arm and had to have surgery. It happened on the last week of 1st grade, and I missed a whole week's worth of fun "end-of-the-year" field trips and events. To make me feel better, my Mom rented movies and bought me treats and gave me lots of TLC.

Thanks, Mom. Love you!

5 on Friday

1. Mischief: no amount of supervision can keep this girl out of trouble. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by her zest for life, these days.
2. Trail Half Marathon: Greg did a great job on this race... running the entire distance on some harrowing trails. Way to go, hon! Clara helped me make these signs and was a super-race-supporter.(We wrote, "Don't Stop Dad" on the stop sign. Clara asked if we could hold the "stop" side up to the other racers, so they would have to stop and Daddy would win. HA!)

3. Celebrated my birthday, this week: someone asked me how old I was turning and I said, 31... no, wait! I mean 32. It's getting hard to keep track. Had a concert that night... a wonderful friend from church watched the girls so Greg could come to the concert and then take me out to dinner at my favorite Greensboro restaurant- Green Valley Grill. Had lamb chops and chocolate cake and LOVED them.

4. Spinach smoothie: I have heard about these for a long time, but always just assumed they were yucky and only for super health nuts. I was wrong! Had some extra spinach in the fridge and threw it in to a smoothie and it was GOOD! I am especially excited because the girls loved it... Clara had 3 cups and I think that is more Vitamin A than she has eaten in her entire life.
5. I love hearing Clara learn new vocabulary. Recently, she called bacon "bakon soda" (because she had heard the word "baking soda" and didn't know what it was). Also, she called marinara sauce "sausage," when meaning just "sauce."

5 on Friday

1. Clara's preschool graduation... her last class with Ms. Shelley. After two wonderful years we were both feeling sad... Clara was even too sad to wear her cap. She cheered up for the super fun "after-party," though.

SJ didn't have a bad time, either.

2. Went to book club; this month we read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I really enjoyed it and especially fell in love with the character Huck, although I am glad I am a mother of girls and not rascally boys. This book also explains my questionable grammar, lately. (i.e.- I sent an email last week that said "What with all the pollen around.") I done liked the book!

3. Back to my regular work-outs after almost 2 weeks without being able to go to the gym because of sickness. It feels great to be sore!

4. Watched some of the royal wedding with the girls. Surprised myself by wanting to watch it and by getting a little (or a lot!) emotional. Love is a beautiful thing, and marriage IS ordained of God.


5. Greg turns in his last paper for his crazy semester, TONIGHT. Hallelujah! I have a dress rehearsal, tonight, and concerts this weekend. After this weekend, we'll never be busy again. HA!

Easter Dresses

Clara and Sarah-Jane modeling their new Easter dresses

and one more of SJ because she is just so darn cute

Easter Egg Hunt

2nd annual Easter Egg Hunt/Brunch at our house

Enjoying the spoils

Shakori Hills Music Festival

Took the whole family and met up with my brother, Sean. Heard the group Spirit Family Reunion (guitar, banjo, bass, drums, and washboard... yes, that's right... their 5th band member played the washboard with two forks... very skillfully, I might add). Loved it!!! Bought their CD but lost it on my way to the parking lot. Sometimes it is sad to be so absent-minded!

Greg and the girls square dancing in the children's tent

face painting