The Funniest Thing Ever...if You Know my Dog!!

Sammy has been spending a lot more time outside these days. Being a black furry dog in the summertime is hard. She's very hot and sheds a lot. So for the sake of our vacuum and for the sake of Sammy, we decided, for the first year ever, to have her shaved. OMG!! She doesn't seem to mind it at all, but she sort of looks like a dingo!

When we bought our house, I painted L's room pink...but she really wanted it purple. So the deal was that after she was successfully potty-trained, she would get a purple room...and she did!! Well, lavender really.

When we bought it...

Pink:

Purple:

These are the letters we painted to hang above her bed and her new lavender canopy.

Caroline's room when we bought the house:Now: (Note the hand-me-down crib, curtains, glider, paintings, etc.) I know the glider doesn't match, but I'm not too picky...it's only a temporary piece of furniture is how I see it!Sisters playing in Caroline's crib...And on Caroline's floor...Lily wanted me to take a picture of her pretty feet with Caroliney's feet.

The Birthday Hall of Fame

For my 3rd birthday, my mom planned a party, sent out invitations, etc. Right before the day of the party, she found out she had to go to a funeral on the scheduled day of the party. She started to make arrangments to postpone my party since she wouldn't be there. My Dad got extremely offended at the insinuation that he could not handle the party without her and insisted she not postpone it. The day of the party arrived and my Dad put my 5 year old brother in charge of games and my 7 year old sister in charge of food. My mom returned and asked me about my birthday party. I looked at her and, totally serious, said "It was the best birthday party any girl could ever ask for." So much for mommy guilt!!

For my 16th birthday, my mom planned a breakfast surprise birthday party. I got to wake up that morning to one of my best friends, Jess, laughing at me sleeping in the bed. It was a great way to start the day!! I think of that birthday party every time I see a commercial for Sweet Sixteen on MTV--no need to arrive by helicopter to make me happy!!

For my 21st birthday, I went out with my roommates and got very very drunk. I got so drunk that I remember thinking, OMG! I've got to get home before I puke or pass out right in the bar. I told my friend, Ashley, that I needed to go and she took one look at my face and knew I meant I needed to go NOW! She lead me out of the bar and tried to go back in to get our friends. Only, I was so wasted that I couldn't even stand still. I was flailing and stumbling about like a crazy person. Sweet and smart Ashley paid a homeless man to watch me and talk to me so that I wouldn't stumble into the street before she returned. I don't remember much after that. That doesn't sound fun at all to me anymore, but I'm pretty sure I enjoyed myself at the time.

Yesterday I turned 33 and I had a great birthday!!! I started the day by getting a card from Bryan and a card from the girls. Then Lily and I had a date. We went for her very first hair cut and then mani's and pedi's, which she loves to do! We had so much fun. Then Bryan and I went out for dinner--I can't even remember when we had our last date night, so it was badly needed. I bet you people out there didn't know this, but when you have 2 kids, you have even less time for each other than when you have one child...so it was great to spend some time without our precious girls. From start to finish, it was a wonderful day!

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted. Well, actually I can, considering how crazy things have been recently. I went back to work on weekends--I either work 1 or both days every weekend and Bryan stays home with the girls those days. I think it's a great learning experience for both of us. There are those in this world that may call me a control-freak. I have no idea where anyone would get that idea about me...I just like things done my way in my time frame all of the time!! So, it's good for me to let go and let Daddy have control. Frequently I get home and C is still in her PJs and L is in some crazy outfit, but they're always well taken care of. I think it's good for Bryan to get a taste of what my life is like every day. Trust me, when he's had them for 2 days, he is more than happy when Monday rolls around and he gets to go back to work!! Plus, I love my job, even when it's nuts, so it's good to get out of the house, use my brain and my degree and eat lunch without feeing anyone else, too!!

Lily's VCUG didn't really come back with the results we wanted to hear--she still has bladder reflux, but it's not so bad that it affects her kidneys. She's still on her prescription medicine and now is on 3 over the counter meds as well. We were hoping to get rid of all of that, but hopefully we will get to soon! The good news is that no surgery is needed and that's the biggest blessing! Her last day of school is tomorrow and I'm not sure who is more bummed out about that--me or her!! I didn't put her in Mommy's Morning Out for my benefit--I felt that she needed to socialize with kids her age and interact with other adults as well--However, I have certainly enjoyed my 2 mornings a week when she is there---I get to clean or run errands or anything that is easier without a 3 year old along. I love my little girl so much, but she does make getting things done a little more difficult. Plus, she has enjoyed schoool so much and learned so much!! She is really going to miss her friends! Yesterday, I went to her end of school party and, once again, it was so funny and cute to see her interacting with her classmates.

Can you see who didn't want to sit down for the group picture?!? Actually no one looks real thrilled. All of the parents had just arrived and the kids wanted to be sitting with us. At least I was able to threaten mine to sit in the chair--one little boy absolutely refused and so he's not even in the picture. He pretty much cried and threw a fit the entire party and has every time we've ever been there for a party. I try not to judge, because we all know sometimes mine is the one throwing a fit! When we left, I picked up L's school bag and his mom had stuck a note in her bag with her phone number for us to call for a playdate. I asked Lily if she wanted to play with him this summer and she answered a quick and resounding "No!" which made me giggle on the inside!!!

Amelia, Lily and Trevor--Trevor is her current "best boy." He loves her and she loves him!

Hearing a story from Miss Jackie.

Trevor talking to Caroline--they were all very fascinated with Caroline, which made Lily very proud!

Caroline is growing like a weed!! She smiles all of the time and laughs quite a bit as well. We have trouble catching it on film because she has already reached the stage where once she sees the camera, she likes to stare intently at it. She has finally noticed the dog and finds her fascinating. She sleeps through the night and the last 3 nights has done 11 hours straight!!!

As most of you probably already saw on Facebook, we are looking forward to going to lots of Daddy's softball games this summer. We've only gotten to go to one so far b/c of their schedule, but we plan to go to as many of the rest as we can all decked out in our Ten Men and a Bat gear.

We fenced in our backyard with the help of G-pa, Papa and Uncle Chris. It looks great and we are really enjoying it. We don't have a deck, but we still hang out there all of the time anyway. It's hard to believe we've been in our house over a year!! We re-did Lily's room and I'll post pics of that soon, as well as the rest of the house.

Before...

After...(Now obviously, this is after we did more than the fence--had trees taken out, stumps ground, planted grass seed, had some grading done, the gross patio taken out...still lots to do though!)

Lily and I have been busy making crafty things--something we both enjoy. Our most recent project was new letters for both girls' rooms. Lily's room is now purple, so we did purple letters for her, and we painted pink ones for Caroline. I think they turned out great!!