Ten on Tuesday

1. This one discovered she can stand on the rocking chair. Thankfully she didn't fall. Although yesterday (or was it Sunday?) she was climbing on it and pulled it over on herself. Michael said she looked like she was in a cage, trapped under it. For the record, no crying occurred.


2. Emma is suddenly into me taking her picture. Like this, a self-portrait. I wish it wasn't blurry and that I could crop myself out because that's a really good picture of her.


3. Or like this. She asked me to take this.


4. But usually I get pictures like this. Where she smiles, says cheese but then doesn't wait for me to take it and looks away.


5. Mackenzie, just after waking up from her nap Monday.


6. Hanging out in our room. First Emma tried to shove Mackenzie off and when I yelled no and told her Mackenzie could climb on it she told me she had to share and they would sit together.


7. I'm doing a mini-album for Mackenzie this week, a "the week Mackenzie turned one" album. I'm taking lots of pictures of her throughout the day and writing down her schedule/what she eats/milestones/funny things she does. I'm putting up an album of the pictures over on the left if you'd like to see them. I'll post the album when it's done. Look for it sometime around, oh, late October 2009. Considering I still haven't done the journaling on the layout about Emma's first birthday. Seriously. I just got it out last week to finish it and it's just sitting there taunting me.

8. Michael and I went to a wedding in Pittsburgh this week. (Hi Leslie!) I only mention where it was because it meant we stayed overnight. Without our kids. Weird. Michael's parents came and stayed at our house. First night I've spent without Mackenzie. It was really nice to not be woken up in the middle of the night by crying (Mac) or bad dreams (Emma) and to sleep in. I got to wake up when I wanted to not when I heard crying (Mac wanting out of her crib) or lots of talking and singing (Emma). (In the interest of full disclosure, I don't get up early anyway. I wake up when they wake up which is usually around 8.) To eat without feeding someone else. It was wonderful to spend some time with just my husband. We hadn't gone out just the two us since our anniversary on August 9th.

9. I still don't know who I'm voting for.

10. We had our carpets and furniture cleaned today. Love having clean carpet and furniture. Hate waiting for it to dry. We spent a lot of time in the basement again. One more reason I'm glad we put carpet in down here this summer and turned in to more of a playroom/office/scrapbook space. Plenty of toys to keep them entertained and a soft and warm place for them to sit.

PS, I actually had a couple funny stories I was saving for today, and they weren't about my kids. Because really, I mostly post about them. And while I find them immensely interesting, it wouldn't hurt to sometimes blog about things other than my two wonderfulbeautifulcharmingfunnysillysmartadorable girls. But I forgot them. Of course I did. I forget everything. That in itself could be a blog post. But I'll probably forget to do it.

Menu Plan Monday

My friend Mary first introduced me to this idea on her blog and this week I'm officially starting Menu Plan Mondays. The girls and I went to the grocery store after lunch and I've got everything ready for the week. Well, except for the cube steak. But they didn't have any because the machine they use was broke so I have to go back for that. But other than that, I'm set.




Monday - lasagna and garlic toast

Tuesday - leftover lasagna

Wednesday - Famous Pork Chops, Crash Hot Potatoes, asparagus

Thursday - Baked Flaked Chicken, rice, green beans

Friday - meatball subs, chips

Saturday - pizza

Sunday - swiss steak and noodles, rolls


Check out more Menu Plan Mondays at
I'm an Organizing Junkie

Boo at the (really wet and cold) Zoo

So Friday night we ventured out in the rain and cold to Boo at the Zoo with our friends Lisa and Tim and their two girls Bree and Ava. It was cold. And wet. And the place was packed.

The evening didn't start out so well. Why? Because we got split up from Lisa and Tim's car on the way in. We didn't think that'd be a big deal, though, because we knew we'd see them in the parking lot. Except we had to park in the back parking lot. Waaaay in the back. Still, no big deal. I'll just call Lisa and we'll meet up in the zoo. Except I didn't have Lisa's cell number. And she didn't have mine. We never call each other's cell. (Although as Lisa pointed out, you think we would have put them in after the whole no-power-can't-get-in-the-house-because-I-don't-have-a-house-key-and-the-garage-won't-open-so-I'll-just-show-up-at-Lisa's-and-hope-she's-home event.) So there we are, walking up the big hill to the back entrance of the zoo not knowing how to get a hold of them nor where they are. We get to the entrance and I looked at Michael and said "Give me the key. Don't ask why, just give me the key." Why? Because I left the tickets in the car. So back down the hill, in the rain - did I mention it was raining and cold?- to the car. When I go back, Michael had come up with a great idea of getting Lisa's number and after a few phone calls, two conversations with her MIL (whom I thought was her mother but that's a whole other story) I got a hold of her. And an hour or so after we got there, we found them. Or, really, they found us. In the cold rain. Our husbands discussed how they couldn't believe we planned this without making sure we had cell phone numbers. We laughed at ourselves. A lot.

While waiting for Lisa and Tim to find us, Emma had her first treat of the night. (She's Abby Cadabby)


Mackenzie stayed in the stroller the whole time. Thankfully, she didn't seem to mind so much.


Me and Lisa. Wet and cold. Mackenzie's in there, although you can't see her.


Ava and Mackenzie. A cute little bee and an adorable little pumpkin.

Waiting to get in to see something, I don't remember what. You think I would since we saw all of 3 animals that night. They were smart. They weren't out in the cold rain. The girls were roaring. Lots of roaring.

Emma pointing at the animal I can't remember. Koala, maybe?

And there it is. Our first trip to Boo at the Zoo. It really was fun. It would have been more fun without the rain, but the big girls had a blast and the little girls didn't seem to mind it. So even though it started out not so well, I'm so glad we went as it turned out to be a fun evening. Oh, in case you were wondering, we didn't stay until the end. We went back to Lisa and Tim's and had pizza. And it was still raining when we left there. Seriously. It was only supposed to sprinkle a little Friday!

She's big on hugging

Emma is quite the hugger. In this example, it's her sister. She hugs her so passionately (meaning too tight, too hard, almost smothering) that Mackenzie ends up falling on the floor. Thankfully, their cousin Rachel was there to hold her up. But her hugging style is not restricted to just her little sister. I've seen it in action on her cousin Claire and our friends' daughter Ava. What can I say? She's very loving and not afraid to show how much she cares about people. That, or she just doesn't understand the word "gently".

Ten on the Wedding

1. So, we went to a wedding this past Saturday - with the girls. I'll be honest, I wasn't real sure how this was going to go. Would they sit still during the ceremony? Would they - okay, Emma -talk the whole time? Would there be any crying? Yes, No, and No. It went very well. We were so proud of them. We took coloring books and crayons, some toys with us to the church. Plus, they have little bags for the kids with activites to do during church. We sat in the back row, which while planned, was the only place to sit because it was completely full. Mackenzie struggled a bit with being confined to the pew for the whole time. But Emma had no problems. When we prayed, she prayed along with Uncle Marty (he's a pastor and performed the ceremony) repeating everything he said, along with a few loud Amens. Cutest thing ever. Then at the end when it was over she yelled out "Hi Marty!!" quite loudly, which while not loud enough for him to hear it, it gave everyone around us a chuckle. Oh, and who gave her the idea to yell hi? Her father.



2. Then it was on to the reception. I knew we'd be okay once we got to the dancing, but would they make it until then? Yes. It was a little harder than the wedding, but they still did wonderfully.



2. Bad mother alert: totally filled Emma up on snacks while waiting for dinner - food is guaranteed to keep a toddler quiet and happy. At least our toddler. Thankfully she also had some cheese, fruit and crackers along with the 5 cookies she ate. Of course that meant she didn't each much of her dinner but oh well, that'll happen.



3. More praying. When Marty gave the pre-dinner prayer, Emma prayed out loud with him, again with a big Amen at the end. Again, cutest thing ever.



4. And then they were free. The hall was separated down the middle by a huge dance floor. Perfect for toddlers and almost-one-year-olds. Up and down they went. I lost track of how many times I said "Emma, no running!" Mackenzie would try to keep up with her but she just doesn't move quite as fast as her big sister.




5. Dancing. Emma loved the dancing. We didn't leave until 9:30 and Emma's was so sweaty with a bright red face.


6. Michael was having this nice father-daughter moment with Mackenzie when...well, look at the bottom of the pictures.




She's a nut.

7. Then I was dancing with both girls, Mac on my hip and Emma with her face buried in my hip. Which is better than my butt, because she does that too. ;)

8. Half my family.

9. Self-portrait. I'd really wanted to get a nice picture of all 4 of us, the girls looked so cute in their dresses, but I never did.

10. More dancing. This was right in the beginning. I had Emma and Mackenzie out there when Claire (our niece) came out too. I was dancing around with her and Mackenzie in my arms for a song or two. One at a time isn't much, but my arms were aching by the time we were done! We danced and danced and danced. It was so much fun. I thought for sure Emma would fight leaving but I think by the time we left she was so exhausted she just didn't care. They were both asleep in the car minutes after leaving. I think we could've too, but ya know, someone had to drive. (Said someone being Michael, not me, I think I might've dozed a bit toward the end of the drive.)

Wordle

I may be one of the last ones to make a Wordle, but aren't they so fun? Now that I've made one, I'll have to make some more. Don't worry, I won't bore everyone with a Wordle-a-day, maybe I'll just stick them all in an album on the left.


(courtesy of http://wordle.net)

I did notice a few things after seeing it, though.

1. I obviously talk about Emma more than Mackenzie. That, or I only refer to Mackenzie without her name. Either way, she might need a bit more attention on the blog. We wouldn't want her to see this 15, 20, 25 years from now and complain about it for the next 15, 20, 25 years. Trust me, this happens. Ask my mom. Kids never forget. She's still hearing about naming my Alycea but calling me Erin. Seriously. You think I'd be over it by now, it's been 32 years. ;)
2. I think it's funny that crap is on here. I don't know why. And I know it's juvenile, but it makes me laugh.
3. I really say really too much.
4. Why is one so large? Maybe I should start saying uno.I do watch a lot of Dora.

If you make a Wordle, link me to it in the comments, I'd love to see them. :)

Ten on Camping

1. Mackenize and I got sick during our camping trip. Wasn't horrible, just made the weekend a bit uncomfortable. Mackenzie had a little trouble sleeping because of it. She ended up sleeping on my chest or right next to me most of the night Thursday night, two different times Friday night and once for a bit on Saturday night. Emma was all over the bed, which is how she sleeps at home, I woke up more than once with her feet in my side or her practically laying on top of me. One time she woke up and saw Mackenzie and said "Hi Mackenize, hi my sister." and another she heard me blowing my nose and started laughing loudly then went right back to sleep. (Michael took this before we woke up, he slept on the futon. While not the most comfortable, he was child-free at least.)


2. Random cute pictures from this weekend.

Emma looking quite serious.


Claire hanging out on the bench.


She's really into climbing. She kept getting up on the griddle.


Mackenzie after climbing up on the slide all by herself. Again, more climbing.


Emma loved all the crap there was to eat this weekend. Especially the chips.

3. Our annual picture in front of our cabin. I think it'll be cool to have an album of just these pictures and be able to see how our family has grown and changed year to year.

4. Down by the lake.

Another family shot.

Michael and his brother Marty.

Charlie (Michael's parent's friend who along with his wife Sue go camping with us every year)pointing out something to Mackenzie. I really don't know what it was. I should've asked. It was really cute.

Abby, Claire and Marty

Mommy with her baby girl.


A rare picture of just me and Michael.




5. Mackenzie's been doing this crouch thing for a while now. Michael calls it her catcher stance.

6. At the playground. It was right across from our cabins so the girls played there a lot. That's pretty much all Emma wanted to do. As soon as she woke she'd say "Mommy, Daddy, it's daytime. Can I go to the playground now?"

Claire and Mackenzie

Mackenzie's crazy hair

Emma can go on the big swings, but still likes the baby swings. Especially if someone else is using them. :)

Everytime she goes down a slide on her back her hair looks like this.


7. My Brunswick stew. I finally made it. 2 1/2 years after having it while visiting family in Virginia I made it. (Hi Kelly, Hi Shirley) It was really good. Although I will say, cooking it in my crockpot like I did the other week is much easier than in a kettle over an open fire.

Mackenzie really liked it. Emma, didn't eat any. I wasn't surprised, she didn't like when I madeit the first time in the crockpot. Which, by the way, was my trial run. To make sure it would turn out okay.

8. I made 3 attempts to get a picture of Grandma with her girls and this was the best. It kind of looks 3D, like Mackenzie's jumping out of the picture.


9. Daddy and his girls. Check out Emma's face. Her "say cheese" look.

10. And while not really camping related, here's some Mackenzie updates. She's walking all the time now. I think I only saw her crawl once or twice today and not at all yesterday. She's getting much faster and better and walking over and around things on the floor like blankets and toys. Which is good, because the family room floor is rarely clear of all objects. She's done with baby food. Gave that up last week. It was like one day she woke up and thought, I think I'll eat table food today. Because prior to that she was really fighting the table food, didn't want it. She's probably only about 50/50 when it comes to getting it in her mouth but so far she'll eat anything we give her. She won't take formula in a sippy cup. She threw it on the floor when I tried yesterday, little stinker. We'll see how whole milk goes in a couple weeks. I've got my secret weapon though - Nesquick. It worked with Emma and was doctor suggested. She still hates waking up in her crib. I really wish she'd wake up and just play or talk or lay there or something liked Emma does but nope. She cries and screams until you get her out. This weekend (see, it is camping related!) she learned to give a kiss and to share her cup. If you ask her to give you a kiss she'll open her mouth and lean in until she makes contact somewhere on your face or head. She had her cup (of water, not formula) and after taking a drink she pushed it to my mouth and after I pretended to drink it she pulled it back and drank it. We did this over and over again, very cute.

Ten on Today (since I'm not quite sure when I'll actually get this posted)

1.Sunday we went to this wonderful farm that has a fall family fun fest. It's huge. It was packed. And we had a wonderful time. There's a horse drawn hay ride; two corn mazes, one big and one small; a huge play area in the woods with slides and a big fort/wood bridge/play house; stilts; an area to paint pumpkins; concession stands with fair fries, fried apples and funnel cakes (those were really good!) two play houses, one like a school, one like a house; an area where kids can ride these wood cars where you steer with your feet and rope while someone pushes you and small figure 8 course where little kids can ride tractor trikes; tire swings and the best part was a huge pavilion with the floor covered in hay! You can also pick your own apples, or they sell them already picked along with pumpkins.

We went with our friends, David, Amanda, Brooke and Cheyenne. Here they are on the hay ride. Although there was no hay. So it was really a horse-drawn ride.


And here we are:


2. After the muddy and slippery corn maze, during which Emma tried to hug Brooke, causing them both to fall, I tried to take their picture. I'd say "Emma, stand by Brooke so I can take your picture." And she'd say "Can I stand here?" I'd say, "no stand back next to Brooke." And she'd move back two steps then say, "Can I stand here?" "How about here?" as she moved back two more steps. This was where she ended up. Silly stubborn, girl.


3. This had to be the best part of the whole farm - the hay pavilion. Slides, bales of hay, a hay free-for-all, jumping, running and utter chaos. Awesome. What kid wouldn't want to play here? I wanted to play here.





4. The really long slide. There were a bunch of slides in the woods, this one was built into the hill, there was one where you climbed into a hollowed out tree to get to and then farther down the hill there was this big fort with a wood bridge a house and a slide. So cool. Seriously, this place was a children's dream playground.

5. Mackenzie after I put her down a small slide in the hay play area. She actually was laughing when she went down but then she wasn't so sure about the sitting in the hay. Although she didn't seem to mind it when she was eating it earlier.

6. The figure-8 track for the little kids to ride tractors. Emma could reach the pedals though. In the back you can see the bigger track for the wood cars. The girls tried that but couldn't reach to steer since they're meant for older kids/adults. They were neat though.





7. The tire swing (that's in the hay pavilion). I couldn't get Emma to look at me. Well, eventually I did. But she was picking her nose, so I won't post that one. (Hey, you all know your kids do it too!) I love how Brooke is looking at her, totally laughing, yet looking a little scared! Kind of like "Hee hee, this is fun...I think!"


7b and stilts, just outside the hay pavilion (see how I'm tying these together so I can add one more number in my 10. Technically, I'd be at 11 now, but using a letter lets me cheat.)

8. Mackenzie just relaxing. And eating her sweatshirt. Because she eats everything. I used to say "everything but table food." but that's finally changing. And that's a post for another day. Crap, I just realized I never did her 11-month-old post.

9. And inspecting hay prior to eating it, as I talking about earlier. Check out how she's sitting. How in the world is that comfortable? She was doing it tonight, too.


10. So. As we were leaving, we walked through the store where they sell apples. Michael told Emma not to touch the apples. She grabbed an apple. He told her to put it back. She put it in her mouth. (Those who know my daughter and saying to themselves, "Of course she did.") I stood in line to pay for it but they were nice and said not to worry about it and Emma got to enjoy a really yummy Honeycrisp apple. She was kind enough to give me a couple bites on the ride home. She's all about sharing. Most of the time.