Soaking it All In

Here's what we've been doing in the last few weeks.

Summer is coming to a close quickly. A few schools & family members around the country have already started school.. we begin next week.

So we've been trying to enjoy every day, and squeeze in some fun things before we get back into our routine.

 

Ballet came to an end a few weeks ago.

The parents got to watch the final class.

There's my girl in the blue .... doing her own thing.. while all the other girls chose pink and purple.

I was a proud Mama for this.

 

 

Of course little brother just loooved watching...

He was pretty good.. he was even mimicking what the teacher was telling the girls to do. He is hysterical .. every.single.day.

Our summer garden fell victim to a lot of night rainfalls.. with little chance to dry out, thus, a lot of crops did not do to well.. mostly the tomatoes.. but we still have lots of celery, carrots, onions, herbs galore, and tons and tons of peppers of all varieties. Im hoping to make Jalapeno Popper Dip soon with our homegrown jalapenos

 

We have about 10 sunflowers lining our backyard fence, they all opened within the last 2 weeks, and they are so beautiful

We celebrated my lil sis's upcoming wedding with a beautiful bridal shower at my Aunt's house

The favors were adorable.. homemade jam.. so. good!!!

Samantha got to attend with me, she was so happy. She loved "helping" Aunt Shauna open all her presents & collect the wrapping..

More beautiful flowers in bloom in our backyard.

School Supply Shopping with SJ.

She had a list of things needed for this year. One of them was a notebook for writing which I am so excited to see as the year goes on. The program she is in is a very progressive one, which I a excited for. It should be a great prep for Kindergarten next year.

 

We picked up the traditional Tissues, Wipes, Folder, Notebook, and little school shoes that I think are so cute! And, the cherry on top, Mama even got a planner too! The past few years I've ordered an Erin Condren planner. But I found this rainbow one at Walmart... yes Walmart... and its the perfect size, fits right in most of my day purses/diaper bags. And it was $3.50. Yes I'll take it. 

 

We got together with some friends from preschool for a playdate last week

This is one of Sassy's best friends from last year. They wont be in the same school this year, but I hope we can keep the girls connected

 

Little Fish.

Only swimming with little water wings.. she is so so comfortable and brave in Grammy's pool. Im so glad. She came a long way this year. Next year I bet she'll be almost swimming by herself.

 

We made a trip up to Lake Ontario this past weekend to a little town that has an adorable little kiddie carousel/amusement park. We packed a lunch and the kids did great... (im always worried about AG... he gets pretty worn out sometimes, and cranky) But he did great!

This was his first kiddie ride ever, and he loved it.

I told the girl operating it that she may have to stop the ride if he started screaming, or jumping ship.. but he sat there laughing and smiling.. and threw a fit when it was time to get off.. 

This little queen is a veteran.. she loves all the rides...

The kids had so much fun!

And another party... Samantha's friend from preschool turned 4 and all the girls got together for her birthday party. There were 4 girls all from her preschool there, and they all got along great.

Samantha busted open the pinata, and they were all collecting the candy loot 

comparing candy bags... ha!

And that's what we've been up to.

Labor Day is right around the corner, and then school right after that.. summer is over (tear*)

Until next year.. But I think this summer we had lots of fun and we have some great memories.

Fall is my favorite, I just hope its a LONG fall..

MOPS

Today was the first meeting for MOPS!

Im so excited for MOPS this year. I joined last year at the end of the year pretty much to try it. And this year I decided to bring Samantha with me for the first time in a "classroom" setting.

I've never had her in daycare or a classroom type setting EVER. We just never had it as a part of our routine. My hubby and I came really close to putting SJ in daycare about a year ago when I went back to full time work, and we decided against it last minute. We have an amazing Nanny, and my Aunt who helps us 2 days a week, and it works for now.

But come next fall I'd like to send Samantha to Pre-School (3 year old program) 2 days a week. I feel like bringing her to MOPS would be a good thing to introduce her to "playgroup" without having Mommy right there.. Of course im in the SAME building as her, and they'd page me or come and get me if there was a real emergency. But I was still freaking out.

She walked right away from me, and started playing.. which I thought was GREAT! But the teacher said she did have a couple sad moments, and then she was fine for the most part. At the end she started crying when someone said "ok all the mommies are coming!" But by the time we walked outside to the car she was gabbing away about how much fun she had, and drinking her juice and acting just fine.

Ugh, I know its the BEST thing for her.. and I feel like it will truly help next year with Pre-School transition. So she did good.. Hey, she wasnt crying at the door and hanging on the gates, right? Must sound so silly to those of you reading who's children are well adjusted to this type of setting.. but its all very new to me! Any advice would be great.. but I think she'll adapt slowly.

On the way home I asked her what she wanted for Lunch and she said "ahhh Turkey".. so I said .. where do you wanna go for lunch? Her response was "Panera!" So I was feeling badly that she cried and had a little bit of a rough time, so I spoiled her and took her out for lunch.

Here she is telling me all about her playgroup and that her favorite toy they had there were the "trucks"
She was a perfect angel at lunch eating her turkey, carrots and bread.. so of course I rewarded her with a big pumpkin frosted cookie.

We headed home and she is now taking a lovely nap while I catch up with work, laundry and some phone calls I cannot make when she's awake!

Communion & Playdate - We are alive!

Slacker.. I've been MIA..

Here's a couple things we've done in the last week or so..

Sunday, we had a communion party for my cousin Abigail.

It was during naptime, so my Mom and I went..

I made Abby this cross to match her canvas I did for her room

She had two cakes! One chocolate and one vanilla.

{me and my momma}
It was a nice chance to sit and eat/talk with my family and not be running around after SJ, or worried about her eating/not getting hurt, or having stranger danger with all the people that were there.



Playdate
Last Thursday, we went out to my friend Julie's house for a dinner/playdate and to see her new 2 month old baby girl Annabelle! Julie and I have been friends since Kindergarden. And have gone to the same Grade School, High School & College together.

Now we're having kids together! ha! Its so great to have kept a long time friend. We always have a great time when we are together.. Mostly laughing about how silly we were when we were younger .. and all the funny/bad things we did! ha!

{Samantha enjoyed Jackson's little playhouse!}

She LOVED Annabelle, she was giving her the softest kisses, and she kept going over to her and SCREAMING... "BABY BABY BABY!" haha.

{fuzzy pic-- Annabelle, Momma & SJ}

I think we may need a little SJ Cottage for the backyard..

She would have stayed in there all day!

{sittin pretty - 5.12.11}

Of course I volunteered for desserts ....

I made Peanut Butter Cookie Cups with White Chocolate Buttercream..

And Samantha ate one WHOLE one by herself, after a double helping of chicken, broccoli and potatoes.. uhm, Growth Spurt??? I think YES....

My mom was just loving holding this little one..

{Mom and Annabelle - 2months}

And Julie's precious son Jackson - he's 15 months...

The weekend was a wet one, but we planted the rest of our garden, and I have my hanging plants on my front porch so that makes me smile!

A little of everything...

Gosh, I feel like I haven’t updated in a while!

Some weeks/days I get so much done, and have time for 2 or three blog entries..

Other days/weeks, Im forgetting to eat lunch,

get the wet laundry into the dryer, and yep, even forget to go to the bathroom!

Ever have days like this?

Here are a few things we’ve been up to since my last post:

Grocery Store Finds:

I was super excited to find these two things the other day:

Alphabet Pretzels:

We're working on letters and numbers with her constantly.. and she knows quite a few letters already.. this is another fun way to keep up learning I guess, and they're really good!

{top of our stairs..3.25.11}

Jamba Juice Bars:

I have no idea why they sell these here.. no Jamba Juice for at least 500 miles or more.. the closest I've seen one was in the Charlotte,NC airport..

yogurt and Sorbet.. and 90 calories? Yes Please!

I think they have 3 other flavors, Vanilla Pomegranate Blueberry was one.. mmm.

uhhh.. so good! I plan to try them all!!

Sunday Playdate

We headed over to my Mom’s friend’s house Karen’s for a playdate with my childhood friend Nicole! I cant remember the last time I’ve seen her.. maybe when we were in grade school? Anyhow, the Moms have remained close, and Nicole has a blog so I feel like I’ve re-connected with her in that way too. She had her daughter Avery 1 week before I had Samantha. The girls were so adorable together..

{samantha was especially fond of the giraffe .. seen in the background}

{Avery.Samantha.Hugs}

It was a fun time, and I can’t wait to get the girls together again soon! Thanks Nicole for having us over!

We relaxed the rest of the weekend, we did a little shopping yesterday and I picked up a gift for my friend Julie who had a baby girl a few weeks ago. I dont think she reads my blog, so I can show you the adorable MudPie socks I got for her baby Annabelle

Im slightly obsessed with MudPie...

I was just dying to find out if she was having a girl!

I've had my eye on these for months! - Julie HAS to have them!! ha!

I would not mind if I had another girl the second time!!

Homemade Sauce:

I made a HUGE batch of Homemade Sauce on Friday.

I froze half for later meals...

It was so yummy...

My secret ingredient to make it extra good is Sugar though.

Yep.. plain white sugar.. makes the sauce taste sooo yum!

Last night I made Eggplant Parmesan for dinner too

Eggplants are hard to come by I've noticed.

I went to 3 grocery stores looking, and finally found them at the 4th store!

They were pretty pricey too! But after I ate dinner, I have to say it was worth the $5.00 for 2!

Happy Wednesday though... its smooth sailing from here!

Onto another weeekend, and I hope to find something fun to do!

Girls in the Park

Last night Sam was pretty good sleepwise. Poor thing cannot breathe due to her 2nd tooth on the bottom almost popping through. I made her a nice big bottle last night with my milk... and she was NOT having it.. Threw a tantrum in a half! She was a hot mess... and I of course nursed her after there was NO WAY she was taking that bottle... sheesh.. my days of breastfeeding may slowly come to a halt soon... she just isnt liking the bottle, and I dont know of any easy other way to transition. But I digress...

We needed to GET OUT today.. for a much needed playdate with Livia who will be 1 on May 1st!


Its is so nice out today. So we finally had a playdate with Miss Livia! Its been too long! Sue and I met at Glen Park and walked/played/sat with our girls for over an hour! It was so nice to chat about the MANY trials and joys of motherhood with someone else. Especially since our two little girls are going through some serious teething right now.

The girls had fun, playing with each other's toys and munching on some snacks.
But then the good ole eye rubbing started, and we knew it was time for naps! Since Samantha hasnt been napping since she's all stuffed up from teething.. I am overjoyed that she is sound asleep right now! Yeay!!!

Here are a few pics of the girls in the park, I couldnt of course get them both looking AND smiling! ha!