Day 150

Happy Memorial Day! I saw a status message today on Facebook that read "Home of the free BECAUSE of the brave". Amen to that!


I finished editing Chad and Morgan's photo session this morning, just in time to leave for Mackenzie's birthday party. We stopped in Waupaca first so Jeremy could take a look at Mary's computer. The girls had fun playing outside there. We had fun at Mackenzie's party, too. The highlight was walking down to Grandpa's pond. We got to see a tiny painter turtle and a few toads. Ella & Claire had a blast throwing rocks into the pond, too.

When we got home today I was feeling grumpy and on the verge of a little mini fit. It's amazing how my attitude goes from grumpy and feeling short tempered to calm and relaxed when I pull one of my girls off by herself for some snuggles and reading. I love that my girls love to read and that they love snuggle with us to read. A perfect ending to this holiday weekend.

Day 149

Sunday Funday! We ended up hanging out with the Hoffmans until 1:30am, so my wonderful husband got up with the girls so I could sleep in. We went to church, the girls napped and I edited photos, then we headed to Oshkosh. Our first stop was Menominee Park to visit the zoo (or so it's called, not much there anymore) and the awesome playground. We only stayed for about an hour because the lake flies were horrid and we were ready for some supper. We ended up eating at Polito's and ordered the steak & fries pizza. Yum! After we ate we stopped by Eric & Mel's new house. While we were there Claire walked up to a ceramic crab sitting on their coffee table and opened it. It was filled with treats. How in the world did she know that? She's got the nose of a blood hound when it comes to treats! We just relaxed once we got home. The girls watched a movie and I edited more photos. Almost done!

Day 148

This morning all four of us went to the grocery store together for the first time in a month or so thanks to super busy weekends. Such a small thing, but it was so nice to get back into our routine. While the girls napped Jeremy and I decided to be productive. Jeremy washed the van and I cleaned the entire upstairs (minus the girls' rooms). This evening I met up with Chad and Morgan and their kids to do some pictures at Smith Park. We finally had cooperative weather and I am very happy with how the session went. It was wonderful to be back outdoors shooting. It leaves so much more space for creativity! On the way home I stopped to Corks & Caps to pick up some celebratory sangria. Kiddos are in bed and we're off to hang out in Doug and Sara's backyard and enjoy our first campfire in a long time.

Day 147

We have baby birds in our pine tree!

Day 146

We met the Rings at Memorial Park to play and then had lunch at Paradise Island. Ella was introduced to bubble gum ice cream, and I believe she's now in love.

As for today's photo, I think Ella's expression captures her opinion of Claire's driving!

Day 145

Maddy came to hang out with us this morning, so I took advantage of how nicely the girls were playing in the basement to clean out the storage room. Once a year I look at the mountain of things we've accumulated and think that I need to reduce the number of totes we have. So I sit down and go through the totes, pull out a few things, but in the end it's still the same amount of stuff sitting in there. Oh well. I did come across some old lesson plans and weekly newsletters that I sent home to parents and it made me miss some of the fun things I got to do with my classes. Sometimes I do miss teaching.

I hadn't left the house since Sunday, so this evening I ran a few errands. Alone. It was nice. And I tried out the new Frozen Strawberry Lemonade from McDonalds. Yum.

Day 144

We hosted our weekly playdate this morning. I've come to rely on these playdates very much as a form of therapy for myself! Then, this evening Heather and the kiddos came over for dinner and a visit. We played outside and attempted a walk. And of course there was dessert!

Tonight Jeremy put Ella to bed and she put up quite a fight. Unusual for her and I am assuming she was overtired. First she insisted that she wear her fleece footie jammmies. Then she said there were monsters. She would not stop crying until Jeremy laid down with her. That did the trick, because after a while I realized it was awfully quiet upstairs. I went to check on them and both Ella and Jeremy were fast asleep.

Day 143

We did absolutely nothing today. I did not put anything away from the weekend (aside from what was already put away yesterday). I did not do laundry. We stayed in our jammies. We played and had a tea party (with REAL tea and awesome tea cups and saucers thanks to the party favors from Lucia's party). Ella & Claire did discover that they fit into the doll stroller we have and took turns pushing each other in it. It was pretty fun to watch...until Claire pushed Ella so fast into the front screen door that I thought the entire door was going to pop out. It is good to be home.

Day 142

Oh, what a night! Jeremy and I went to bed around 11pm, only to have Claire wake up at midnight. From midnight until 3am Claire alternated crying, talking and trying to escape the bedroom. Jeremy finally got Claire to sleep, only to have Ella wake up and cry/carry on from 3:30-4am. We finally got uninterrupted sleep from 4-6am, then Claire was up for the day at 6am. Three hours of sleep is rough! So...the photo of the day is a tribute to caffeine!

Day 141

Day #2 of the Kalahari. After breakfast we ventured to the outlet mall and bought a few things for the girls and outfits for baby Olivia. We ate lunch at Subway and put the girls down for a nap in the hotel room, then headed back to the water park. Claire was not any more interested, though both of them did give the tiny slides a try. Progress. We had pizza for supper and got the girls ready for bed. Colleen stayed with the girls while Jeremy and I went back to the water park to ride a few water slides. A nice little mini date :-)

Ps. The photo is of Ella in her new swimsuit cover up from the Disney store. She didn't want to take it off! She even watched cartoons in Grandma & Grandpa's bed with it on.

Day 140

Today was a the beginning of our busy weekend. We had Ella's carnival/year end picnic at church this morning. Ella has an awesome time in the bouncy houses and Claire was pretty thrilled to try her first cotton candy and snow cone. She was a blue mess!

Around 1pm we piled into the van and headed off to the Dells. Larry, Colleen and Heather were already there when we got to the Kalahari so we unpacked and headed off to dinner at the River's Edge. The girls were soooo excited to head down to the water park when we got back to the hotel. The squeaked and squawked and ran around the room room excitedly as we got their swimsuits on. They ran most of the way down to the waterpark. They pulled our hands, propelling us along with them through the locker room. And then...when we'd finally reached the destination and they got a look at the waterpark, they paused. And refused to get near the water! It took Ella a few minutes to venture near the wave pool and play around the spouts. Claire wanted absolutely nothing to do with the water. She'd walk a little way and as soon as a drop of water touched her, she turned and ran. And not in excitement. We finally got them both to play in the kiddie pool area for a little bit and that was it. Maybe tomorrow...

Day 139

No plans today. Rare for us. I had some cleaning and packing to do though, so that was my goal for the day. It didn't really happen. Instead, I said forget it and we had Maddy and Lucia come over for a tea party. Much more fun than cleaning!

Day 138

Today was Ella's first last day of school. The school year went so fast and I am not sure what we'll do during the summer without school to go to. Well, I am sure we'll keep busy. But I know Ella will miss all her friends and Ms. Kristin. I thought I'd get emotional, but I didn't. Probably because I know she'll be at Hillside again next year in a room right next to her three year old room. It'll be her first day of kindergarten that will turn me into a sobbing mess I am sure.

After school we came home for quick naps and then headed to Memorial Park for a playdate with Dierdre. What a fun park!

Day 137

We met Mackenzie's class at the Greenville Zoo today and then had lunch with them at McDonalds. It was a lot of fun. I think the girls liked the train ride the best. Neither of them were very interested in the petting zoo. Ella said the bunny was too scratchy and Claire seemed pretty intimidated by the goats.

Day 136

Motivation arrived today after a rather long hiatus. I cleaned the upstairs, edited photos from the anniversary party, did some laundry, changed bedding and attended my first (of many) Hillside Council meetings. And of course played, broke up the never ending arguments and made lunch and supper. Gotta take advantage of the energy when it's here! The photo of the day is of Ella snacking on an apple while wearing her apple jammies.

Day 135

Today we celebrated Grandma & Grandpa Newby's 60th wedding anniversary. How amazing! They are truly an example of faith and love. All seven of their children, 15 of their 17 grandchildren and all 16 great grandchildren along with many members of their extended family and friends were there to celebrate.

Day 134

Ella is huge into dandelions lately and she couldn't wait to go to Grandma Brandl's to pick them, seeing as we have none in our yard.

Day 133

First corn on the cob of the year! And Claire's first cob of corn ever...she wasn't really a fan.

Day 132

We broke out the swimsuits today! It was a fun afternoon of water play. And then it began to hail. Crazy weather!

Day 131

Lesson learned last night. No caffeine at 9pm anymore. As I was finishing errands I grabbed a Pepsi and drank maybe 1/4 of the bottle on my way home. As a result, it was midnight before I could fall asleep. And it was my morning to get up with the girls. This makes for one tired Lindsay. Somehow, I made it through. We dropped Ella off at school, ran to Kohls (to use our 4th $10 gift coupon), returned glass knobs at Hobby Lobby and picked Ella up. Fed the girls lunch, gave them baths thanks to the mac n cheese hair treatment Claire gave herself. Tried to nap, but dear sweet Claire woke up after 45 mins. of nap. Watched Tangles, played playdough, made supper. And then, my knight in shining armor arrived home. Whew! Almost bedtime now!

This picture shows Claire's newest expression. Jeremy & I both think she looks like Duck Face/Walter off of Full House.

Day 130

No time with the camera today. I spent three hours at the Fox River Mall searching for an outfit for the girls and I for the anniversary party and then another 2 hours at the Oshkosh outlet mall to continue my search. I did finally find something that fits the criteria, but that was exhausting! I did snap a pic of the favor dish I beaded up for the party though.

Side story: Claire now calls any man older than their 50's "Papa", not just her Grandpas. Yesterday when we were putting her in her carseat after leaving Jeremy's office a man Jeremy works with got into his car next to us. She repeatedly said "bye Papa" until we drove off. A similar incident happened at Kohls.

Another side story: While we were waiting for Jeremy in his office Claire was yelling "dada". Ella looked at her and said "Ignore Claire. She's just constipated".

Day 129

What would a meal be without a bath immediately following? Today Claire's "hair treatment" of choice was blueberry applesauce. By the way, it looks like I may be the one holding the spoon to her forehead. Not true. This is all Claire's doing!

Day 128

Happy Mother's Day!

My day began with Ella waking me up at 7:30 am and telling me to come downstairs for breakfast. There, waiting for me, were pancakes that spelled out "mom", a card and Ella's gift she made me in preschool. After breakfast we got ready and headed to Sherwood to visit Mulberry Lane Farms. It was a great time. Claire was a little hesitant at first, but warmed up part way through the tour. Ella dove right in and was really into all the animals. Not even a trace of hesitation when it came to feeding the goats or riding the pony. We had a picnic on the farm and then visited all the animals one more time before heading home. The girls and I napped then we ate dinner and went for a walk to Everglade. It was wonderful spending time with our little family and all three of them made it a perfect Mother's Day!

Ps. I vote that the mommy pig at the farm gets the best Mommy Animal award for Mother's Day. She didn't seem to get a moments rest from all of her very persistent little piglets.

Day 127

A day early, but thank you, Ella, for making me a mommy!

Day 126

We had Callie & Wesley's birthday party today and we had so much fun. We played, planted a grass-erpillar, went on a treasure hunt and had a yummy lunch with cupcakes for dessert. Claire LOVES Sam the dog and gave Sam lots of loving while we were there. And Sam thought Claire was pretty great, too, since she kept leaving a trail of cupcake all over the backyard.

Day 125

Busy morning. We rummage sale-d, we went to Memorial Park, grocery shopped and visited with Grandma Jump & Papa Smith. Then when Jeremy got home we ate tacos to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and Jeremy brought home calla lillies as an early Mother's Day gift.

Day 124

Hello, gorgeous blue skies and new little tree buds!


It was a beautiful (and somewhat productive) day. After Claire & I dropped Ella off at school we ran to Kohls to use our 3rd free $10 certificate (thank you, Northland Ave. store remodel), stopped at a rummage sale and found a few things for Ella and then came home to pick up our picnic lunch and the stroller. It's so nice to be able to walk to pick Ella up! We had our picnic lunch at the park and the girls played for a little while. They walked the last 1/4 mile home, so thanks to the fresh air and exercise they both took amazing naps. Like an hour and a half longer than normal! It was great! I caught up on some things I needed to do on the computer, cleaned the rest of the downstairs and even had time to read for a while. We headed back outside after naps and played with all of the neighborhood girls (9 total!) and came home just in time for Jeremy to get home from work. We threw in a quick pizza and headed back outside for a nice long walk. The day ended with a bath and Ella helping to tuck Claire into bed. Then Ella and I had a little mani/pedi session. If I were brave enough to flash my toes online, that would've been my photo of the day. You can just imagine how, umm, unique my toes look. Anyways, kiddos are in bed and it's time for a slush. Good night!

Day 123

Seriously, is it really May 3rd today? If it is, then Mother Nature is pretty confused. We're now on a full week of rainy, gray and cold weather. And Jeremy said it was lightly snowing when he left for work today. We're all going a little crazy being stuck indoors since November with only the occasional chance to get outside. Thankfully we had a playdate at our house today so we could socialize with people who do not live with us!

Claire's newest thing when you asked her where something went is to hold her hands out and say "go?". Pretty cute. She did this during our entire dinner time tonight as she was watching the neighbor mow his lawn. Whenever he went out of sight she would get a confused look, hold out her hands and say "go?"

Day 122

Monday, Monday.

Today was our first "normal" day in two-ish weeks. Claire and I took Ella to school, came home to play and clean a bit, picked Ella up, ate lunch, napped, watched Tangled and played. We rearranged the playroom and swapped some toys out. Crazy how just moving a few toys around make toys that were ignored interesting again. While the girls watched Tangled Claire decided to crawl into Ella's lap. It only lasted 5 minutes, but that was long enough for me to run upstairs, grab the camera and capture the super-sweet, rare moment!

Day 121

Today was a pretty relaxed Sunday. Our first day at home in at least two weeks. We did join Ella during Sunday School today. Her class was class of the week, so families were invited to visit the classroom. When the big kids were practicing their singing Claire broke away from Jeremy and I to go stand by Ella. They stood there with their arms around each other for the rest of singing time. It was precious to see! Claire didn't want to let go of Ella and tried walking with/hugging her all the way back to the classroom. Mrs. Sherry then did an activity with the resurrection eggs with the class. Mrs. Sherry paused at the pronounciation of Gethsemene and Ella jumped right in to finish the word for her. I was even impressed with how well she knows the Easter story and all of the details. Ella sang with all of her Hillside friends during the church service and actually sang and did the motions instead of standing still like she normally does. After church the girls and I napped and then we all just hung around the house. Ella got to show Auntie Heather her new bedroom via Skype, which was pretty neat. We love Skype!

Day 120

Ella's reaction to seeing her new princess room!

Day 119

Jeremy took the day off so that we could redo Ella's bedroom into a princess room. Here it is...minus a few things that haven't made it onto the walls yet.

Day 118

Claire loves nanas!

Day 117

The girls ate lunch off their new plates from Grandma Jump & Papa Smith and they reminded me of little cafeteria trays. The girls thought they were pretty neat!

Day 116

My treat today for a busy morning and gearing up for round one of the rummage sale. Mmmm. One upside to a rainy, cold April day.

Day 115

Happy Birthday, Ella!

Well, kind of. Ella got to celebrate her birthday at preschool today since she has a summer birthday like mommy & daddy do. She will tell you she is four now, though. She was so excited to be the Super Kid. It is a lot of fun to spend time in her classroom and watch how she interacts. She is much more vocal than she was at the beginning of the year. Mrs. Kristin had lots of fun activities planned since Ella's class missed school last Wednesday due to a snow day. We had an egg hunt, made chocolate covered pretzel crosses and played in the gym. And the rainbow cupcakes I labored over (yes, very labor intensive) went over fabulously with Ella and her classmates. A wonderfully fun day!

Day 114

Happy Easter! He is risen! He is risen indeed!

We woke up bright and early to get dressed in our Easter clothes and hunt for baskets. Ella found Claire's right away (behind the Wii balance board), but it took a while for her to find her own basket (under the Little Tikes table). After an Easter egg breakfast we headed off for 8:30 am church then on to the first family visit of the day. We met Dad, Wes, Heather and G&G Schulke in Waupaca for brunch and a stop at Riverside Park to open some Easter baskets. The butterfly nets were a huge hit! Next, we drove to Mom & Bill's to visit with G&G Newby and Jim & Carol. More baskets to find! Finally, we headed over to Heather & Jerison's to visit with G&G Smith and some more extended family. The girls got Easter baskets number 5 and 6. They must be setting a record for number of Easter baskets received! It was a busy but great day!