Never Again.

Today, I was that mother. You know which one I'm talking about. The one in the store with the screaming baby (who is really not a baby, but a young toddler) who she is unsuccessfully trying to quiet. The one whose children every one knows the names of by the time she leaves because she has had to yell to them from across the store to come back to her approximately 2 million times. She's the one that all the other mother's say a quiet prayer for (and a quick thanks that it's not their kids acting that way). The one that the old ladies frown at. The one the cashier has to tell that her coupon is expired because she is too busy trying to control her wild children to check the date herself. Yes, today, I was that mother. And, my children will never being going back to JoAnn's Fabrics with me again. Ever. In fact, I am strongly considering not ever going out in public with them again. Well, I may let Lily out. But, Ava will be spending the rest of her life in her room...

Prayers of patience would be much appreciated today (especially by my kids), because I am not sure they will survive the day without some divine intervention.

I Know a Place Where a Kid Can be a Kid!

Well, as I am sure most of you know, it has been nothing but rain, rain, rain here for the past few days. Kim and I had planned on taking the girls to a splash park she discovered in Alachua on Tuesday, but, well, what with it being 68 degrees, rainy, and windy out, we had to come up with something else to do! We are both thoroughly bored with the swap and the museum (pretty much the only indoor things to do here in G-ville), so we ventured out to the Chuck E. Cheese in Ocala. It was only abot a 30 minute drive and I brought the portable DVD so the girls would be occupied. After a slight adventure (won't go into details, but we had to run to a Wal-Mart for new clothes and cleaning supplies), we got to Chuck E. Cheese. It was the first time any of the girls had been anywhere like this and they all had fun! It was nice because there weren't a ton of people adn they have the little Child Check system, so we didn't have to stay right on top of the kids.

Lily playing the dog feeding game.

The Monster Truck ride was a favorite of everyone! How funny is that!

At one point, Ava started walking around with her fingers in her ears. Guess it was just too noisy!

What a cheeseball!

Again, with the cheesey smile. Don't know what the deal with that is!

I think Ava's favorite part was eating. She was more than happy to sit by herself at the table after everyone had finished eating and wanted to play!

The girls on one of the motion rides.

Ava in the playground.

The Monster truck, again. I love this picture of Madison. She just looks so intense!

The girls all got microphones with their tickets. Here is my little Diva!

Here are some pictures we got at one of the machines. It was really hard to get he kids in the right position for them!

Crafty Goodness, St. Auggie Trip, Fun Skirts, and a New Hat

First up, I just wanted to post a picture of some rice heat therapy packs I made. The pretty one went to my pregnant sis-in-law as part of her birthday gift. The other is just a fun one for the girls (it is an old pair of baby pants). Lily loves these and they are great for all those mysterious pains that seem to pop up right around bed time :) I don't know if I have ever posted a tutorial for these, but you can find a great one here.


We headed into St. Augustine this past weekend for some get togethers that were going on. Our first stop was at my Nana's for my Dad's 50th birthday. It was just a small dinner (Dad's not a huge fan of birthdays). I had made some new skirts for the girls earlier in the week, so I had them wear them. They were so cute! Lily's is kinda from this tutorial and Ava's is from this one. There will definitely be more skirts popping up sometime soon. They were so fun to make and looked so cute!

She looks like she is doing yoga or somethign in this picture. She was having so much fun running around the backyard.

My sweet girls.

Lots of hugging lately, I love it!

Lily running a round with her new Dora radio (courtesy of Nana).

Lily always insists on being barefoot when we're at Nana's. I think it is because I can't let her do it here because we have so many sand spurs here. It always makes for some lovely feet, though!

Showing me her pretty flower.

The girls. All of us!

Lily and Ava playing.

The yummy Cannoli Cake that Nana got. It was really good :)

On Saturday we headed to a house warming party for a friend of mine, then to a get together at Nathan's grandparents' house. They have this amazing place on Salt Run. It's the kind of place that Nathan and I hope we can own someday...in the very distant future. Lily wore another new skirt that I made her. It is kind of from this tutorial. It was by far my favorite of the three. It was so twirly and feminine. And, just looked so sweet on her!

Checking out the Koi pond.

Running around the back yard.

Daddy and Ava on the dock.

A couple of weeks ago, I won a GC to Posh Toppings. I got this adorable little hat and some flowers that clip onto it. Well, Lily saw the flowers and had toa have all 5 of them on the hat and she had to wear it out to Publix! It is so cute, though! I can't wait till the fallw hen it will be cool enough for her to wear it! I think I am goign to have to find some little head bands I can clip those flowers on, though, for the summer. Oh, and sorry for the goof-ball pictures, she would not just look at me and smile! I think the sun was bothering her...

Cookie

Lily won the Cookie Club thing from Publix. She got a free 10 inch cookie with her name on it! So cool. We have put cards in a couple of times for it, but I was not sure they ever really did it and last week, we got a call saying Lily won, so we picked it up yesterday! Here is the only picture I got of it (I wasn't quick enough to get a picture before they started devouring it)!

Catch-Up

Here are just a few random things from the past week or so. First up, some pics from a walk we took down to Lake Alice. The girls had fun standing on the bridge and checking out the water.

Lily showing off her flower.

"Smelling" the jasmine. Love the piggies!

Here's a cute one of Ava from a mall trip last week. Love those big brown eyes!

And, another one of Ava, guess most of these are of her...She adores these soft blankets my aunt gave the girls for Christmas, her's is waiting to be washed right now, so she keeps stealing Lily's. She just loves to cuddle them and sleep with them. I think I may have to invest in a couple more so that they don't have to fight over Lily's Dora one!

Cirque du Soleil: Saltimbanco Review

As I have mentioned before, the great folks at MomSelect gave me the chance to review the show Cirque du Soleil: Saltimbanco here in Gainesville. Well, the show was last Thursday, so me, Lily, and our friends, Kim and Madison, got dolled up and headed to check it out.


It was really an awesome performance! I think the kids may have been a bit young for it still (they're three), and the bleacher seating was not the most comfortable (although, it was nice and close), but the show was amazing. There was a bit of "adult" humor that, had the girls been a little older, I would have been more concerned about. The whole show was in French which I didn't realize until Kim told me she had checked out the website (but duh, right?). They did not allow cameras in the show, so check out the Saltimbanco site for some pictures of the acts (you can also watch a trailer on the site that will give you an idea of some of the performances). Also, here is some info about the show and the meaning of the title from the Saltimbanco site.

About the Show:
" Saltimbanco -from the Italian "saltare in banco", which literally means "to jump on a bench"-explores the urban experience in all its myriad forms: the people who live there, their idiosyncrasies and likenesses, families and groups, the hustle and bustle of the street and the towering heights of skyscrapers. Between whirlwind and lull, prowess and poetry, Saltimbanco takes spectators on an allegorical and acrobatic journey into the heart of the city.

Saltimbanco is a Cirque du Soleil signature show inspired by the urban fabric of the metropolis and its colorful inhabitants. Decidedly baroque in its visual vocabulary, the show's eclectic cast of characters draws spectators into a fanciful, dreamlike world, an imaginary city where diversity is a cause for hope."

There was beautiful singing, fun dancing, and incredible acrobatics. The costumes were bright and just a lot of fun. Everyone involved in the show seemed to really enjoy what they were doing and they tried to include the audience as much as they could. One poor gentleman got called on stage to participate in a 5 minute long mime skit. He was a great sport about it and the audience thought it was hilarious. We had a blast (well, Kim and I did)! I would definitely recommend heading to check this out, but maybe leave the little ones at home!

I'd like to thank MomSelect for the opportunity for this great review!

7 Years

I've got a couple of posts to put up today, but first I wanted to mention a milestone for Nate and I. Yesterday was 7 years since out first date to my junior prom. I can't believe it's been that long! I love you, Nathan!

Mother's Day Interview with Lily

I saw this and thought it would be fun to do with Lily. The bold parts are the questions I asked her and the not bold ones are her answers. Here it is:

My Mom

I really love it when my mom gets me some games and my movie comes on. (???)

My mom likes to wear clothes.

My mom always tells me, “No, no. and to say 'Yes, Mommy.'"(Niiiiice)

The best thing she does is give me some ice cream.

It makes her happy when when I be a good girl. (Can you tell what we've been talking A LOT about lately?)

My mom loves to relax by by getting hugs.

I like it when she plays.

The best thing she cooks is pizza. (Funny, because this actually the thing that Daddy, always cooks.)

When my mom shops she likes to buy clothes. (Um, for her, maybe.)

My mom’s favorite household chore is cleaning up.

My mom’s favorite TV show is Mommy shows.

If she could go on a trip, she would go to Africa.

I love my mom because I love you.

Battling Boredom

This week, I have been trying to come up with ways to entertain the kids that don't involve u getting in the car and actually driving anywhere. Thankfully, we have been having absolutely beautiful weather! On Wednesday, we headed outside to let the girlies play with some finger paints! Lily loves to paint/ draw/ do anything craft like, so this is always a fun thing for her. I usually let her do it inside on a drop cloth during Ava's nap, but I decided to let Ava have a go at it. I was not brave enough, however, to let me 16 month old loose with paints inside my apartment (Lily was probably closer to 2 1/2 before we did paints, so it was a little different, not o mention there was only one of her to keep from smearing paint everywhere). The outside paint was a wise choice. We have some long rolls of paper and I just laid a big strip of it out on the sidwalk, sprinkled some paint all along it and let them have at it! It was fun to watch them. Lily used it as a cat walk, leaving little multi-colored footprints behind her. Ava was a little more cautious...although, she did end up using the paper/ paint as a kind of slip-n-slide...

Oh, I just love those fat little legs...

Oh, yeah, outside was a good idea!

And, this is what happens when you walk through the paint and slip and land on your bum...but, I think she can pull it off :)

Look at the mess Mom's letting me make!

Lily doing her catwalk. She's such a little diva.

Thankfully, the bottom was not s bad as the top. Nothing transferred onto my carpet (not that you'd relaly notice if it did with our nasty carpeting).

Big Sis' feet didn't fare much better.

I couldn't keep the whole long piece of paper, so I took pictures of some of my favorite spots...mostly, little hands and feet...








We also made our first trip to the pool today. Lily has decided she is going to learn how to swim this summer (which sounds great, because I have decided I am going to get a tan this summer). So, we went to the pool and Lily loved it. She had a blast, swallowed lots of water...Ava on the other hand...hated it. And, I mean hated it! It took me like 15 minutes just to get her in the water and in her float. Then, she spent the whole rest of the time we were there saying, "No. Done. Now." Yeah, she's not much of a little water baby. We will also have to work on that this summer :)