*grin*

Anyone in the mood for donuts now? I am!!

One week and counting...

In one week, Emily Grace is getting 12 inches of hair cut off her head, and will be donating it to Wigs for Kids. We started growing our hair out together 2.5 years ago, and WOW, has the time gone by quickly. Mine was cut and donated back in March, but we had to wait on Emily's to get through her dance recital (gotta have hair for a bun!). I'm going to miss her long hair, but I know the short style will be cute as well. She's very exciting to be at the point where she gets to donate!

Did you know that it takes at least 20 ponytails and at least $1800 to make a hair piece for a child? And did you know that Wigs for Kids provides these hair pieces to children FOR FREE? Please consider donating to Wigs for Kids (either with a 12+ inch ponytail, or financially). Every ponytail and penny adds up and goes a long way to help a child!

Wigs for Kids

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!

Dan and I moved into this house 9 years ago, and at that point, the sliding glass door was already hard to open and close. The track is all messed up and it's LOUD as the door slides along (the neighbors whose backyard bumps up against ours always know when their daughter has made it over here safely because they listen for the LOUD door as we open it to let her in!). I've begged, I've pleaded, I've tried waiting patiently, I've nagged, I've insisted, and FINALLY...FINALLY, I am getting a new sliding door. I bought the door Friday, Dan picked it up and brought it home Saturday night, and my Uncle Jeff is coming over later this afternoon to install it for us. I've got a permanent grin plastered on my face as I count down the hours. You have NO IDEA how excited I am!!!!!!!! (Or maybe you do, since I just told you...ha!). Having a door that opens without alerting the whole neighborhood that I'm going in or out of my home? Having a door that a person doesn't risk throwing their back out to open or close? Having a door that doesn't tip in it's track and create fear of children being squished should it fall all the way out? PINCH ME, I must be dreaming...

And you'd better believe I'll be sharing pictures!!!!!

I'm getting a new sliding glass door!!!!!!!!!!

Did you hear, I'm getting a new sliding glass door?!?!

Psssst! Guess what? I'm getting a new sliding glass door!!!!

PASS IT ALONG, I'M GETTING A NEW SLIDING GLASS DOOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quote of the Week

A baby will make love stronger
Days shorter, Nights longer
Bankroll smaller, Clothes shabbier,
The past forgotten,
And the future worth living for.
---------------------------------------

I came across that poem/quote when I was searching for something to use in a birthday card for a baby's 1st birthday, and while it wasn't quite what I had in mind for the birthday card, it works great for the Quote of the Week!

Oldies but goodies

Similar to last week, here's a typical (at the time) CHEEEEEEEEEESE picture of Jared, only this time, it's with the addition of dress-up clothes! Emily was much more inclined to play with Jared if he fit in with her level of play, so it was very common to find Jared dressed up in beads and hats!


I can't tell you how much it used to irritate me that he wouldn't ever just smile nicely, but how much I miss that little cheese-ball face now! He was so stinkin' cute!!!!

See, Cheeseball grin, beads...


BEEEEEEEEEEER! (I have this one on my fridge, still! LOL)


I probably have enough cheeseball pictures of Jared to warrant a short photo montage, but I can't quite come up with a good song to go along with them. (I'm thinking Frank Sinatra's "When You're Smiling", but I have to get my hands on a copy of it).


Tell the truth, you were smiling when you got done viewing those pictures, weren't you? He was such a goof! (Still is!!! ha ha!)

XOXO Jare-Bear!

Girly hair-style

With Wednesdays being late-start school days, I have more time in the morning to put extra effort into Emily's hair. With the days of her having LONG hair being extremely numbered (she's cutting and donating 12 inches to Wigs for Kids on June 22nd, which will leave her with about shoulder-length hair), I find myself working extra hard to carve out time for hairstyles, because I'm not sure how much we'll be able to do with it once it's short!!

Here's how she wore her hair to school yesterday...

From the back:




From the side (wow, you can clearly see what hair has recently grown out of her head, and what hair has seen a few summers!!)


From the front:

What's Cooking Wednesday

Shan hosts a weekly "What's Cooking Wednesday" segment on her blog and while I hardly thing that this "recipe" fits in with her geniusness, it's a HUGE hit with the kids, and I was in need of a blog post!

Octopus Hotdogs

you will need:
*as many hotdogs as you plan to serve
*a sharp knife
*pot of boiling water
*mac and cheese to serve them on, if desired

First, slice into 4-8 sections, only going about 3/4 of the way up the hotdog (cutting into 4 sections is much faster, much easier, and MY kids, at least, don't make issue that there aren't enough legs...)

example of 4 legs:


example of 8 legs:


Second, cut wedges for the eyes


Third, add hotdogs into boiling water (I only added one for picture purposes) and watch the legs begin to curl up


Last, serve them up! We like to put ours on top of Kraft Mac and Cheese...


Here is a closer picture of the final product (notice the eyes!)