She's the new background...

on our computer.

Love it.

A few things to say...

I've been offline for almost two days and what a nice break it has been! I love checking in with my friends out here in the blogging/FB world but it's also so refreshing to be away from it for a bit.

I've been running more lately and when I run, I think. I love to run and I love to let my mind wander. I come up with amazing stories when I run and sometimes wish there was an invention that could capture thoughts as you had them. Then I could come home and read my little stories to Jim or something. I don't know. I just think it'd be fun.

So I've been running more because it's good for my body and right now my body needs some exercise! I go with or without Sara depending on my mood or her nap schedule. I love to take her with me, bundling her up to the hilt and keeping her nice and warm. She usually drifts off within the first 10min. and it's so peaceful to know that I'm out getting the fresh air and exercise I so desperately need while she gets the rest (and fresh air) that she so desperately needs too.

We've started up at the library again for story time with the girls. We've been on a story time hiatus for about a year or so. In Maryland I had a lot of fun doing this with Matthew when he was younger. He enjoyed it so much too and it was such a fun part of our week. We quickly jumped into a routine here after we moved and it was preschool story time for Matthew that Ella Jane was able to sit in on as well. Now we're back to finger plays and nursery rhymes for Sara and I must say...it's A LOT of fun! Looking forward to that tomorrow.

We completed our first house project this weekend. Two upstairs light fixtures needed replacing so off to Menard's we went while our friends watched our kids. We've worked out a great schedule with another family of three (kids) like us to swap childcare for each other. What a blessing that is! It was nice to work on the house a little bit and was reminded of how much we did this kind of stuff in Maryland!!! Oh my. The house projects we did back then.

We watched the Superbowl today at our neighbor's house with a bunch of our other neighbors. Lots of fun to be social that way. And lots of fun to see the game on a huge theater screen in their basement.

And lastly, we have found a new church to go to! This is so exciting for me. After two years of hopping around I think we've found a place to call home. The kids enjoy it and Jim and I are refreshed at how it reminds us of how we first started out going to church together way back when, when we were first married and lived in Seattle. Having coffee with the pastor and his wife this last week was a lot of fun and made it feel that much more personal.

One more thing. This is a busy week for us. Which is funny b/c we rarely have a busy week. Really; we send Matthew off to school (now go to story time), come home to play, send Ella Jane to off to preschool, come home to nap/work/exercise/chill, pick up said kids and then move into dinner and bed. Really, we're home most of the time.

But this week.

This week is Kindergarten RoundUp!~ Oh dear, this means I have another school age child in my family! You mean to tell me that Ella Jane is old enough for Kindergarten? How? When? I can get that Matthew is going to be 7 (in the summer) but I can't get that Ella Jane is going to be 5 (in the summer). She's always been my little one. She was the youngest for the longest amount of time and ever since birth has been the smallest of our three. And now I'm registering her for Kindergarten? It makes these mornings home with her that much sweeter.

Even though she was super whiny tonight at bedtime and got scolded because of it. Sigh...

Tomorrow is a new day. A story time day!

So she needed a little help...

Sara.

The other day, she was playing dress up.

And she needed a little help.

See?

This particular dress gets caught on shoe straps easily but she still loves to wear it. She was much better after we got her untangled.

I opted out...

Recently our recycle bin has been overrun by the credit card companies offering amazing rates too amazing to pass up. (Note the sarcasm)

After spending a little time in one of my favorite books the other night; Easy Green Living (I would underline that but there doesn't appear to be that function on my toolbar) by Renee Loux, I discovered there is a way to opt out of all this nonsense.

And you can too! Just go here: http://www.optoutprescreen.com/ or call 1-888-567-8688.

While you're at it add your name to the Do Not Call Registry list at http://www.donotcall.gov/

Next up? Catalogs!

From their vantage point...

Every now and then I let the kids get ahold of my camera. It's interesting to see what they come up with. Some, I'm very impressed with and what caught my eye this time was what the world was like through their eyes.

Take a look...

I must seem like a giant towering over them! I only posted a few but they took about 50 or so of things that interest them. Like random toys on the floor. A balloon. A door. A lamp. I guess these things interest them. Or maybe it's just that they see me taking pictures of things around the house so they want to do the same.

I was taking pictures of Sara this morning and as soon as she spotted my other lens on the floor, she dropped her pretty ponies to investigate.

Take a look...


Glad they are having fun with one of my favorite hobbies.

My girls...

My two little beauties and my two mini-me's. At least by looks. When I was a child I was not in the least bit girly. Sure I had a baby doll and a couple of My Little Ponies but I don't remember needing my purse, lipgloss, earings, and wand to accompany me throughout the day.

I actually don't remember having any of those things when I was little. I never even had an actual purse until Ella Jane was nearly two years old. I always used a little travel wallet that I bought from REI.

I did have a sticker book though. And I used to trade stickers with my siblings and cousins. Remember when you used to trade stickers? It was like an event. "Do you want to trade stickers?" "Oh, no you can't have that one. Well, you can have that one if you don't trade it to anyone else." I still have that sticker book by the way.

Anyway.

My girls are pretty girlie. Ella Jane is the leader here because she is the older of our two girls and Sara just follows suit because she wants to be like big sister.

Ella Jane at age 4 is all about the dress up and tutu's. She was in both today in fact. This morning she offered me grape smelling, purple princess lip gloss which I happily accepted and painted my toenails with clear sparkly nailpolish.

This afternoon Matthew in his excitement yanked on her arm and tugged on her to follow him upstairs to play. It was a real quick interaction in passing where Matthew said "Come on Jane let's go play in my room!" And do you want to know what she said? Oh my. This is what she actually said. "I can't Matthew because I'm wearing high heels!" (She actually yelled it because she was mad that he pulled on her arm.) But she said that very thing none the less.

I didn't know she knew that word. I have high heels and I wear them about twice a year. The same goes for earings. I do wear necklaces from time to time but usually the jewlry I dawn are my wedding rings. So I'm not sure where she gets this girly thing but it's fun to watch all the same. Observing her go through her purse is a hoot. Right now her purse is filled with the new socks she got for Christmas, a few necklaces and a couple of trinkets.

Sara at a year and a half is at a gloriously funny stage.

Like Ella Jane at this age she likes to wear Matthew's old hats. Loves to go into his cubby and put this hat on. It's actually there just for her. In his cubby. Becuase she doesn't actually have her own, just a separate place for her shoes. Her coat and hat still hang in the hall closet with mine and Jim's.

Anyway.

I'll get her dressed for the day and there are times when she wants to put on another pair of pants and another pair of underwear so when I saw her walking through the house like this a few weeks ago I made a mad dash for the camera. She's so funny.

She's also learning a lot of new words. Verbal explosion I believe is the term for the stage of life she's in. She's got a new one every few days. Just recently she started saying, "Hi daaaad!" when he comes home from work and when she hears him coming, she'll stop what she's doing and say "oh!" and go running for the door. It's just so funny.

Tonight when I was cleaning up her room I was talking to her about her purse. She's got two and apparantly one was downstairs. Off she went all the way downstairs by herself and came back up with her purse. I stayed up in her room wondering what she was doing.

I was so flabbergasted and shocked. I squeeled in delight I was so excited that she had the need to go get her other purse and amazed that she would connect those thoughts. (Oh, mom's talking about my silver, sparkly purse but my purple princess purse is downstairs...I better go get it.) Seriously just so funny.

Her other funny thing that has me rolling every time she does it is tell secrets. The first time she did this I had no idea what she was doing. She came towards me and then stopped about two feet away and started whispering jibber jabber.

Jim told me she was telling me a secret which I was shocked about again and started laughing and then totally played it up so that she'd tell me more. So now, you can say "do you want to tell me a secret?" And she'll get a very serious face and start whispering jibber jabber and then leave in the middle of it to go tell someone else. I'm tellin' ya, it's the funniest thing you've ever seen.

Ahhh, I could say so much more. They both make me laugh on a daily basis and I'm quite certain that if you were here wiht me they'd make you laugh too!

And this is what they said...

Some fun quotes from this week include...

Ella Jane: "I can't eat it because it's too sour and sweet and too mixed up" (when given the opportunity to dip her crackers in a leftover burrito bean mixture)

Matthew: "I caaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnn't" (except that he could)

Family friend: "How many Carol's are running around here anyway?" (on account that right now Ella Jane and Sara are looking JUST like me when I was a little girl.)

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We're home from school today and I am guessing we'll be home tomorrow as well on account of the weather. It's supposed to be a HIGH of 0 degrees. So all the fun new snow we got last night is just going to have to look pretty because it's just too cold to play in. At least by my standards.

Matthew was conceived on the West Coast, born on the East Coast and is being raised in the Midwest. Perhaps he was made for this part of the country. Yesterday in 17 degree weather he hopped outside with no coat and hat and told me how warm it was. Sigh.....

In all fairness it was warm compared to the temps. we had been having. I even went for a nice long walk with Sara because it was so warm but I was also decked out in a hat, coat, and mittens.

So, here is to another day of hot chocolate and games. We got two new ones at the hardware store and I'm so excited to try them out today! So fun, so cheap, so easy.

New button...

Rejoicing in their joy...check out The Macs!