Homecoming

Last Friday we wore our green and blue so we could cheer on Daddy's school.  Lucky for him his place of work also happens to be his alma mater!  Our little girls loved dressing up and going out at the time they would normally be switiching into pajamas and going to bed.  They loved snacking on pretzels and candy corn and were a great little cheering section.

Hallie is totally nervous of being so high in the stands in this picture.

I got to wear Chris' lettermans jacket. 

Hallie was so scared of heights.  When we were high in the stands she kept whimpering. 

When we moved to the bottom row she announced "Now I'm not scared anymore!"

Claire loves football!  She loved the lights and the music . . . but not the fireworks. 

 Hallie enthusiastically asked us "Can I go out there and play 'fit'ball?"

When we got home, Hallie was in a deep sleep, but Clairey was still ready to party!

My own little best friend

I'll let you in on a little secret. When, I discovered I was pregnant with my first child an idea was born. Even though the baby had months left of gestation, in my head I had already delivered the idea of a beautiful blond baby boy. His name was Jack. I thought of Jack so much that on two occasions I actually called the unborn baby Jack. Imagine my surprise when the OB told me it was a girl! Ummm, what? I clearly remember thinking "What am I supposed to do with a girl?" This idea of a girl was so shocking I think I went into mourning a little. I wasn't disgusted with the idea of a girl . . . I just had to let go of the little boy I had pictured in my head. Two days later, I saw my mom for the first time since we found out the news. She embraced me and immediately said "I'm so glad you're having a girl! Besides your husband, your daughter is your best friend!" What an exciting promise . . . and really what a flattering compliment when you consider I'm her only daughter. The purpose of this reflection is not to dash boys. I married one! I have three brothers and I wouldn't trade any of them for a sister. One day Chris and I might be blessed with a boy. That will be joyous news. I'm just saying . . . Mom was right. Besides Chris, Hallie already is my best little friend. I still consider Claire my baby and not yet my little girl. Someday she'll be my other little best friend. What a joy! Thanks for the sage advice, Mom. I think about it all the time.

Reorganizing

Our spring threw us for a crazy-eight loop.  So much so, that six months later I am in the mood for spring cleaning!  Let's call it fall cleaning.  I am not a natural born neat- freak.  I have always aspired to be one but where it comes easily for some I have to try really hard (and keep trying again).  I knew there were more efficient ways to organize the little girls' rooms.  I kept thinking about it until last week I rearranged Claire's layout and this morning I reworked Hallie's closet.  Because neither bedroom is very large, we keep the bulk of the toys downstairs.  Claire has minimal stuffed animals in her room.  Hallie, however, needs more toys since she is not actually sleeping during nap time.  Her "quiet time" as we now call it is her opportunity to play toys and read by herself.  Therefore we needed to accommodate that need on minimal space. 

Here is Hallie's new closet.  I hope it will facilitate both organization and imagination.

 We bought Hallie a castle to house her princess collection as a birthday present.  It quickly become a source of contention for the girls.  Claire now loves princesses and calls them all "Rella" for Cinderella.  We knew this toy needed to stay in Hallie's room.  I needed it to stay on a hard surface because it just fell over on the carpet.  I lifted up the bottom shelf of her old bookshelves to create her new toy place.  There were no peg holes where I wanted to put the new shelf so I just created new ones with screws.

The white bottom was boring so Hallie and I painted it with acrylic paints.  It was a fun activity and it looks great, but I can tell you already it needs some type of gloss protectant coating on top.  It will be scratched in no time.

The next priority was going through her clothes and getting rid of stuff that didn't fit.  Afterward, we hung all the dresses and sweaters and made labels for the rest.  I had chalkboard containers already and created labels by cutting up a large chalkboard rub-on I purchased at Dollar Tree.

I used to put Hallie's jewelry in a small jewelry box.  This was sort of a disaster.  Hallie was always pulling them out and twisting her necklaces around furniture pulls.  So, I painted and distressed an old frame we never used and hung nails directly in the old black mat.  It just so happened I could write on the mat with chalk too . . . which matched my theme. :)

A new door handle, courtesy of Hobby Lobby

Hallie likes the results!  Exhibit A. Playing.  Exhibit B. Goober smile.

Above: The other side of the closet . . .  Below: Where her other stuff hides

After tweaking the furniture arrangement and moving a bulky dresser into the closet, Claire's room feels so much bigger now and is much easier to clean.  She also really likes to play in there more because there is more space to make messy!
 

 The trim is still screaming "Paint me white!  Paint me white!"  It told me that a year ago when we moved in.

Above:  Some of my favorite pictures I have taken of Clairey Bug.  Below: Her bed when she outgrows the crib.

    

I wanted to take a peak at Claire's bed time "must haves:"  Minnie is a requirement, the babies vary . . .

Below: The stuffed animal station (a.k.a where the tornado starts)

I think she likes it!

Now let's pretend that my reorganizing will always stay pristine and perfect.  And let's also pretend that I don't need to reorganize the rest of the house too.  Can you see I long to be a neat-freak? If only. . .

Halloweening Out!

I'll admit it . . . my true holiday geek side really comes out strong in October.  I can pretend that my motives are utterly selfless and that I go loony over festivities because I want to be a great mother.  Truth is, I want to be a kid again!  If the kids like all this stuff it is a great side effect.  Just my luck . . . they love it too!  Here is what we (and I do mean we . . . Hallie has the baking gene) have done so far this October.

Claire even helped us mix the cupcake batter.  It was her first time holding the mixer.

Girl time!

"Hey guys . . . I did it!"  Hallie was so proud of the outfit she picked out and changed herself into.  In fact, changing clothes is one of Hallie's favorite pastimes.  Each day, when I start work, Claire goes down for a nap and Hallie goes to her room for quiet time.  Our intention is that Hallie read books and play with her dolls and Care Bears.  That happens . . . some times.  But the majority of the time is spent tearing through her closet to dress her and her stuffed animals up.  When Chris arrives home from work and gets up the kids, it is always a surprise to see what Hallie is wearing.  And you should see the get-ups her giraffe and teddy bears get.

Hallie is loving preschool.  Two times a week is just her speed.  I love the co-op because I think it is good for her that there are only five other kids.  I particularly love when the preschool is scheduled at the house of a friend that lives close by.  Then we pile in our double stroller and walk to and from.  It's a great time with the two enthusiastic kiddos. 

Claire loves Hallie's preschool because it gives her a chance to be an only child (even if for a few moments).  This is particularly great for me because I get a glimpse of what her personality would be if she were our oldest.  Sometimes we think Claire is more "intense" than Hallie was but I find that it is because Hallie didn't have to share toys with anyone, so she rarely screamed.  Well, sure enough . . .when Claire has all my attention she is pure joy and giggles.  Normally, when we get back from the preschool walk I try get on the floor and just play with Claire for a half hour until I put her down for a morning nap.  On this day, Claire wanted to watch "Melmo."  So, she found her own pillow, enjoyed her "nacks" and watched some Sesame Street.  She was delighted!  I could tell she felt quite grown up.

I am a home body and am super content staying at home during the day.  But, every once in awhile, I get the itch to get out.  One one particular day, I took the car and went shopping and out to lunch with the girls. . .  my little girls that is.  They were totally cute little lunch dates.  A local restaurant has a kids eat free deal that is too good to be true.  Our girls agreed.  I ordered a great club sandwich while they dined on mac and cheese, multi-grain toast and fresh fruit.  We scored incredible clearance deals at Old Navy and Kohl's.  It was a great girl's day.  I look forward to many more as these sweeties grow up!

I'm at a point in my life where I feel like baths should just be part of the regular routine three times a day.  I need to throw them in after every meal more times than not.  As you can see, the bib was merely a decoration.  But she is so darn cute with those sparkly eyes and that toothy grin.

I was blessed with three brothers.  That's what I knew and loved.  I've gotta say . . . life with two girls is so much fun!

teamwork

We are such a good team.

We had a great General Conference weekend.  What a time to reevaluate and reset ourselves.  We made new goals both on a personal level and for our family.

Chris pulled out our old journals and we read and reflected on who we were.  I'd like to think I've always been a fairly nice person who tried hard.  But after looking at my old journals I realize I am so much better off since meeting Chris.  Just his existence motivates to do better to be more.

After this weekend, I have a renewed sense that together (and with our Father in heaven) we can do anything.  We could take on the world . . . we just choose to take on our own little corner of the world.

General Conference Weekend

I like these pictures of Hallie.  They are so hopeful and innocent. 

General Conference begins tomorrow.  For those of you not familiar with it.  It is a semi-annual gathering of leaders and members of our church for two whole days.  The meeting is broadcast live and anyone can watch it (go to http://www.lds.org/).  It is an opportunity to have two straight days of uplifting spiritual messages and to draw closer to our Father in Heaven.  I love General Conference.  It feels like such a fresh start.  I love great quotes and motivating reminders.  This is eight hours of that. 

General Conference is always an interesting gage of time.  It is interesting to see what happens in between April and October.  For the April 2009 General Conference I was days away from delivering Claire.  Come October of the same year, I already had a chunky five month old.  What a contrast.  This year, of course, has been the biggest change in between two conferences.  Days after last conference, we lost Chris' brother Mike.  At the same time, my Dad had an onslought of uncomfortable symptoms.  Those symptoms actually were maifestations of his gastroeintestinal system shutting down from a rare stomach cancer.  A mere two months later we were burying him too.  We've had a lot of shock and a lot of grieving.

But we have also had so much joy!  2010 has been so tumultuous but so tender.  The Lord has not abandoned us these months.  Quite the contrary -- he has carried our burdens.  We have witnessed miracles and tangibly felt his love.  So while we anticipate Conference tomorrow, I am proud.  I am proud that we had the faith to face the trials we did.  I am grateful that Jesus Christ heals as much as we are told He does.  He does!