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preschool practice.

 

this is what she looked like before heading out the door for an hour of "preschool practice."  basically an hour meeting her classmates, checking out the room and one of her favorite parts, having a snack.  and juice!  juice is important as she really doesn't it get it often so it's quite the treat.

she had her backpack on - even though she asked me if she had anything to put in it.  we didn't.  kitty was in tow, even though she had to wait in the car while she was in school.  and the picture she was asked to create was in hand.  her teacher sent her a sticker sheet and asked that she create a picture and bring today.  C is going to a christian preschool so that's a jesus sticker that you see with some blue crayon.  i couldn't believe it.  my little queen of sticker sneeze used only one sticker?!  apparently she was going for the minimalist approach.

and she loved it.  she told me that i would tell her good-bye, she'd give me a kiss, i'd take ladybug to target and then come back and get her.  and so that's what we did.  when we picked her up she said she had so much fun and that she missed me.

our baby girl is going to preschool.  so very surreal.

summer reading.

 

at our house, we love to read.  the girls love to sit and look through books and go through phases of favorites.  right now, C is in love with a stack of vintage berenstain bear books that belonged to her aunt cuckoo when she was little.

when i saw that the local library program had a summer reading program that three year-olds could participate in, i didn't hesitate to sign C up.  she received a prize for every five books that we read together and if you read 40 books, you received a free book.  of course, when you have a competitive mama such as myself, there was no doubt that we'd be reading 40 books.  however to make it more of a learning experience, i made the rule that to be able to write a book on our list, it had to be a book we hadn't read before.

this ended up being a great experience for our entire family.  i read books.  andy read books.  nana, papi and grandma bunny read books when they visited.  grammy read books when she visited.  we reached 40 books with no problem.

exciting that by next summer, C might just be reading books to us instead of the other way around.

last night.

tonight was our last night of parent/tot swimming lessons together.  an event i celebrated!  after four sessions of class, i was ready to be done.  and then as we got into the water, i started to get a little sad knowing that we wouldn't be doing this again.

that changed when she started being super dramatic about not getting to hold one of the "cups" we use at one of the stations during class.  shrieking and all.

give me a week or two.  when she goes to her first class by herself (which she's more than ready for), i'll be wishing i was in the pool with her. 

menu plan monday : 8.22.11.

another week, another menu. as last week's menu was interrupted by the installation of new counter tops in the kitchen and then by lack of a functioning dishwasher, this week's menu looks quite similar to the one i posted last week.

meatless monday : spaghetti with fresh marinara. i originally had plans to meet with a friend for dinner but as she had to cancel last minute because of a sick child, it was noodles for everyone! this sauce is absolute favorite. and so easy!

i've selected monday as a night of the week for our family to eat a meatless meal as it tends to be more budget friendly as well as a friendlier option for the environment. my meat and potato eating husband tends to go along with this idea because i also make him a yummy dessert in addition to his meatless meal. what can i say, i'm nice like that.

tuesday : wraps. there are LOTS of veggies from the last CSA box to be put to use. thinking i'll likely roast a big pan of them for this. yum!

wednesday : chicken noodle lettuce cups. andy has been asking for lettuce wraps again so i thought i'd try these instead for a change of pace.

thursday : bistro chicken and garlic. a new recipe but i've yet to be disappointed with anything from this cookbook!

friday : pizza.

 

recipe review from last week

chewy chocolate-cherry oatmeal cookies - i made these on saturday and there are very few remaining. super easy and they've been great in the cookie jar as they haven't dried out whatsoever. will definitely be making again. probably as soon as this batch is gone.

weekly scrapbook layout : 8.21.11.

 

three layouts from the past two weeks.  and just realizing all are about miss C.  might need to make an L themed layout this week!  i'm finally getting closer to being caught up on editing photos - can't believe i got so far behind!  all three layouts are with 2011 photos.

C and i took a parent/child art class together at the beginning of the year.  what seemed like a good idea was negated when we met the teacher who had us call her "dr." because she has a doctorate in something or other.  and basically the parent was just there to make sure the child didn't injure them self somehow.  we were NOT allowed to actually do any of the art project.  but i digress...

Elle's Studio product used : Ledger Calendar Tags, Everyday Large Journaling Tags, Lil' Snippets: Days of the Week - Saturday and Pennants - Red.

Other product used : Studio Calico's Napa Valley kit.

 

andy took a week off around the girls' birthdays and he did all kinds of fun things with them.  one was building this ginormous snowman with C one morning while L was napping.  she loves getting dressed in her snow pants and boots and heading outside.

Elle’s Studio products used : Handmade Layers Journaling Tags, Handmade Layers Journaling Circle Tags, Summer Memories Large Journaling Tags, Vintage Mix & Match Numbers - Pink, Everyday Tiny Tags and Lil' Snippets: Date.

Other product used : Studio Calico's Boardwalk kit.

 

the first of a few birthday layouts, i'm sure.  using a sketch based on a layout by waleska.  always love her layouts.

Elle's Studio product used : 2011 Monthly Pennants, Lil' Snippets: Labeled - Yellow & Orange, Handmade Layers Pennants - Birthday and Handmade Layers Large Journaling Tags.

Other product used : Studio Calico's Boardwalk kit.

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as a side note, friday was my last day as blog contributor + design team coordinator with elle's studio.  i absolutely adore elle and her products as well as the design team she put together - she is one of the most kind women i've worked with in this industry.

i am thrilled to announce that i've accepted a new position with basic grey as their social media coordinator.  an exciting and challenging adventure for sure and one that i'm already enjoying.

17 months.

 
 oh how i love this little girl.  even if her daddy said she's really not a baby anymore.  i'll give him that her size doesn't lend itself to the notion of a "baby," but she is indeed my baby.

at 17 months, L :

• weighs approximately 32 pounds.  that's two pounds more than last month...
• nicknames : ladybug.
• has the best crazy curly hair.  she's the only person i know who's hair looks amazing in humidity.
• wakes up around 8a and goes to bed between 7:15 and 7:30p.
• wears 2T and 3T clothing so that everything can be covered.  she is so tall i'm not really looking forward to the winter months and finding clothes that are the right size.
• loves to sit at the play table she shares with her big sister to color and look out the window at the birds.
• loves the alphabet song and can sing a large portion of it.
• will pick cheez-its or animal crackers as her snack of choice each time i ask her what she'd like.  even if she doesn't get her way each time.
• i have to sing her "down by the station" - a song we learned at storytime - while i brush her teeth or she won't have anything to do with the activity.
• is obsessed with "em-ay em-ays" (m&ms) and requests them after each meal.
• finally calls the cats by the correct names.  and loves them both dearly.
• still adores swimming lessons and will have her last parent/tot lesson next week.  then she'll be on her own!
• is now pacifier free.  i took it away three nights ago and tonight she went to sleep without a peep.  she would ask for it when i put her in her crib for naps or at night and i didn't want her relying on it for a crutch.
• refers to her blanket as "pepa."  very similar to what she refers to her big sister as.
• has four stuffed animal friends she's become attached to - elle (her animal lovey), bear (a polar bear from grammy), elephant (the grey elephant she takes her photo with each month) and cuppy (a snoopy i just bought her last week).
• loves to say "1...2...3..." and then have whatever stuffed animal she's playing with "jump" from something.  just like she does at swimming lessons.
• always asks where her sister is whenever she wakes up from her nap or in the morning.

nine years.

yesterday was our anniversary. celebrating nine years together. NINE years? how is that possible? and really, i'll be honest and admit that i really celebrated the day with the girls. by cleaning out the toy box, waiting for the installers to come and put in the new kitchen counter tops and going to swimming lessons.

this guy and i celebrated with some mcdonald's drive-thru, an episode of big brother (we're a few episodes behind!), attempting to put our kitchen back together and this cake. which we ate approximately six minutes before our anniversary was over.

the cake is a new tradition this year. we got married on what would've been my dad's birthday. and this was the cake he always requested. so after getting the recipe from my mom, i've now dubbed it our anniversary cake. and put candles on it - one for each year. love the double meaning of the cake. and that our anniversary makes august 16th a happy day of celebration again.

and i still have a piece of our wedding cake in our freezer. each year i ask andy if he'd like some and he politely declines. but i think for anniversary number ten next year, it'll be mandatory...

menu plan monday : 8.15.11.

 

yes... a date late on posting.  i figured cinderella in a leotard took precedence in posting yesterday...

meatless monday : sweet potato + black bean burritos.  loved both the burrito and the side salad.  L also enjoyed it and ate half of a burrito.

i've selected monday as a night of the week for our family to eat a meatless meal as it tends to be more budget friendly as well as a friendlier option for the environment. my meat and potato eating husband tends to go along with this idea because i also make him a yummy dessert in addition to his meatless meal. what can i say, i'm nice like that.

tuesday : out.  we're celebrating our anniversary today.  and what did we have for dinner?  mcdonald's.  andy got home late and now he's reinstalling our kitchen sink after the new counter tops were put in today.  maybe we'll get to do something next year? 

wednesday : spaghetti with fresh marinara.  i've made this once before and it was delicious.  i will never buy jarred sauce again!

thursday : bistro chicken and garlic.  a new recipe but i've yet to be disappointed with anything from this cookbook!

friday : pizza.  this summer i've been loading our pizzas with lots of veggies - so good!

this week at dance class : cinderella.

sadly, today was the last day of fairytale ballet. C has loved every minute of it - well worth the money spent. today's story was cinderella. apparently last week's story was also cinderella part 1 as they danced with rags and their invitation to the ball. we were out of town, so C was none the wiser that she missed anything. so today it was all about the ball and they danced without one of their shoes and then "tried it on" as they do in the story with the glass slipper to see if it fits. the teacher's young son dressed the part of the prince and all the dancers enjoyed prancing around in their long tutus.

so now we have a few weeks off before fall dance starts. pre-ballet. with a real recital at the end. put this girl on a stage and i can't imagine what she'll do. especially when given a costume.

and that middle photo with her hands on her hips? totally not positioned by this mama. and totally telling of life with a three year old.

the rainbow cake.

 

so i've been taking it easy this week. a little vacay from the online world while spending time with family. hello rest and relaxation! well, not totally. but hello sunshine and the lake!

and then i upgraded to internet explorer 9 and have been having issues with sites displaying correctly. especially typepad. so now i'm finally able to get photos in a post and resume posting on a somewhat regular basis. (sorry about that, miriam!)

so while having a bit of extra time on my hands, i've edited april and may photos this week. may included a vacation to see my family where we also were able to celebrate our niece's birthday. being the doting aunt that i am (because i only have one niece and one nephew), i volunteered to make her birthday cake. she was having a difficult time deciding on what type of cake she wanted when i threw out the suggestion of a rainbow cake as i had been wanting to give it a try for a while now. it turns out she loves rainbows so it was the perfect suggestion and the perfect cake for her third birthday.

i love how from the outside, this cake is so unassuming. but as soon as i cut into it, everyone at the party oohed and aahed. i'll definitely be making this one again. i have visions of an orange and black halloween cake and a red and green cake for christmas... so many ideas, so little time.