Emma - Jane Austin

My oldest is now 8! I can't believe it! And my baby is almost 4! Crazy how time flies!

So today we had a nice rainy day inside and I was looking through Netflix and saw the movie EMMA. My girls had never seen it, but I knew my already romantically inclined daughter would love it. She is so full of imagination and loves anything like Romeo and Juliet, or whimsical adventures. So I knew Emma would be right up her ally! She loved it.

After we got done watching it I had her try on a 50 cent dress up dress from a garage sale and I did her hair.... Little sis did not want to miss out on the fun so I did hers as well. They both wanted to look like Emma....

How nice! In a Lady Gaga filled world my girls want to wear pretty dresses and put there hair in ringlets. it is such a fun an innocent age! Now I sit doing laundry and cleaning with two little Emma's running around playing with their dolls. I hope they remember these days as much as I will!

WOW 2011 Already!

WOW! So this is what it feels like to neglect something! It has been almost 2 years since my last post! Shame on me! Must not have had many memories to report on the past two years!

NOT!!!! I have been so busy enjoying my girls that I forgot to record them! And that was shy I started this in the fist place! So i could look back and see just what fun we had together!!!

So here is to starting again!!!

A close to 2009

Wow! I can't believe another year has gone by! All I can say is I hope things slow down a bit!!! But somehow I think that will never happen!

We had such a great year! Awesome vacations and lots of fun play time! My 6 year old is soon to be 7 and my 2 year old is soon to be 3! Another stage in the MOMMY life!!!

Half of First Grade is over and I can say that I am excited for the end of the year..... only because I am looking forward to Second Grade!!!! I am enjoying my girls and homeschooling! For that I am grateful. There is something special about getting to see firsthand the progress that your child makes. Sometimes my house is a mess and I am not as organized as I would be if I put the kids in school, but it is so worth it. Every year things get a little easier and we get a better schedule.

So as I saw GOODBYE to 2009 and HELLO to 2010, just remember tomorrow will always be there but yesterday is done and gone........ Take the time to make it count!!!

Bath Time!

I am always looking for ways to utilize play time to my best advantage. Things that will keep the girls contained as well as minimise the mess. Something that I find useful are WATERCOLORS. Most parents don't give their children many opportunities to pain because it can turn out to be a messy project. So here is an Idea for you!

Let them paint in the TUB!!!

Yes!!!

It is a great way for them to be creative in a very easy to clean environment! All NON-TOXIC watercolor paints work great. My problem is that my girls can go through one set of paints per bath.... So I have invested in liquid watercolors. Of course I always grab them when I see them at garage sales or thrift stores too.

I am guaranteed at least an hour of water play when I bring out the paints!! It gives me time to clean up areas that need it and keep them entertained. Hey they also are getting clean at the same time..... so BONUS!!!

Yes I let them paint on themselves but I also encourage them to use the tub and tile for their masterpieces!!!

The only problem is when I get into the fun too! What can I say, I like to paint too!!

Pudding PlayTime

As I mother I know that sometimes it is hard to find the time to do sill things with your kids. It is either inconvenient or messy.

Well I am here to say let's just get messy!

Yesterday I had my scuba instructor over to finish up some of my advanced certification and I needed the kids to be occupied. Instead of trying to bribe them into staying out of the way I decided to give them something to do.

PUDDING!

Yes pudding. I made a batch of instant chocolate pudding and sent them outside in there swim suits. They had the most fun I have seen in a long time! I told them to get as messy as they wanted! Eat it, paint with it - whatever!!!




So here is the damage:

Pudding on the sliding glass door and on the cement outside. NO BIGGIE Just squirt it off!

Pudding all over the girls - NO BIGGIE extra long bath, BONUS!!!!

What I am trying to say is that sometimes it is OK to make a mess! And have fun doing it!

Time slipping away..........

There will be a day when she stops saying things like,

"Mommy will you dance with me?",

" Mommy can we play Lego's?",

"Mommy would you like to color just one page with me?"

"Can we go on a walk",

" Is today a good day for a tea party?"

There will be a day when my little girls grow up and do not want to spend there time with Mommy! So even on a day like today. When there is so much cleaning and laundry to do I could be up till midnight, I might as well stop and draw a monkey with my little monkeys while I can. Because I know one day too soon for my taste, the girls will be out of the house living their lives and I will have all the time in the world to clean and do laundry. But this time of our lives is but for a moment!

SUMMERTIME

Wow....... were has the summer gone! ....... Idaho.....Houseboat........Monterey.......Fresno.......VBS...Fresno Again.....Fort Bragg......SPORTS CAMP......Tahoe.

Oh, I guess that's what happened to summer!!!

This summer Clara has developed into her own little person! She is so fun to have a conversation with! Her depth of understanding just astounds me. Sometimes it throws me off guard! I hardly expect to be debating with my 2 year old about what form of punishment she should receive! She definitely is different from her sissy!!! She is also a LEFTY so Naomi and Clara have at least that in common! They both are very creative! Naomi and Clara have bonded more as sisters this summer. I think Naomi is starting to fill the role of a big sissy very well and Clara ( even though Clara is the born leader and Naomi the follower ) looks up to Naomi and wants to do everything big sissy does! But they PLAY together sooooo much better now. Clara is able to understand and communicate and role play and so they have had a lot of fun together!

Clara also has gotten over her fear of putting her head under water and with the help of a swimsuit with floats inside she is able to swim all around a pool and even jump in and go down slides on her own!!!!

Naomi is also a fish!!! She loves to swim and is going to be ready for some lessons through Dolphin this school year to refine her skills and make her stronger!!!!

What can I say Naomi is six going on 36!!! She is still my dress up princess and I love it! I am so happy to have girls who want to dress up and be feminine! Even if Clara wants to wear her bathing suit all day at least she chooses the cute ones!!! LOL


For those of you with kids that start school this week I hope you have had a great summer with your kids! I understand for some that is hard to do! For me I don't know what it is like for my kids to be gone and out of the house during the day. With homeschooling they are here 24/7. That might drive some moms a little crazy but I love it! We still have 15 more days before we get back into the routine of things! And for the last few days of summer vacation we have absolutely nothing planned and I love it! I have some much needed organizing to do in the house but other than that I just get to enjoy the girls!

SO even as you start back to the school routine, try to think of a few fun things you can do after school or on the weekends while we still have this wonderful California weather to enjoy!

A FEW IDEAS:
* After school Tea Party or Picnic ( Talk about how school is going, try to see if there are already personality conflicts that you can keep an eye on)

* Set aside at least 10 minutes for each child even if its for a snuggle!

* Look at some pictures from summer vacation and talk about some fun times you shared.