Pre-school Days Photo Book

I thought I'd test out the "Share Project" feature on Shutterfly, which allows you to share projects you create with people who don't have accounts with their Web site.

I recently created this photo book to highlight the girl's two years of Pre-school. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Click here to view this photo book larger.

I'm not ready

It seems like just yesterday I was pregnant with twins.

It seems like just yesterday I was juggling two feedings at one time.

It seems like just yesterday that my babies started walking.

But it wasn't just yesterday that these things happened.

Where has the time gone?

I'm not ready.

I'm not ready to send them to Kindergarten.

I'm not ready to wave goodbye as they ride on the school bus for the first time.

I'm not ready to let them grow up.

And yet, I guess I have to be.

Friday is pre-school graduation. I'm barely ready for it. Once it's over, I have approximately two months to get myself ready for the next big step. And at the rate I'm going, it's never going to happen.

I want my babies back.

Sigh -- I know that's never going to happen, but I can still dream and relish the moments that went by way too quickly.

As you can see from the picture, my girls are growing up. And way, way too fast in my opinion. If only I could control time...

The latest photo shoot

If it seems like I've posted a lot of pictures of the girls this year on Facebook or here on the blog, it's because I have.

Miss Chasity, the girl's pre-school teacher also has her own photography business called Sugar & Spice Snapshots. So, we get lots and lots of photos taken at school, as well as some fun extras when we do a photo shoot with her. As you can see, she does great work. I especially like the quote she picked for this picture: "Our roots say we're sisters; our hearts say we're friends."

The 2010 Dance Recital is coming!

So the girls are in their second year of dance and seem to really love it. I know The Man and I enjoy watching them during class each week...

Little Miss pays attention and is all about perfection and smiles. And then there's Miss Independent who marches (make that, DANCES) to the beat of her own drummer. I'll be surprised if she remembers the steps to the routine!

If this year's recital is anything like last year, the class fees will have more than paid for themselves. It was a riot and a memory we'll never forget...especially since we have it on DVD!

This year's recital will be here in less than a month, but since yesterday was picture day, I thought you'd enjoy a sneak peek of the costumes and overall sea of pink cuteness.

Enjoy!

Tooth Fairy Trouble

So it finally happened...

Miss Independent started showing signs of truly growing up by losing her first baby tooth.

I was sad.

I was also frustrated that it happened while we were out of town and I was not prepared.

And here's where the frustration came from...

I was TOTALLY prepared for the event by having a little pillow and bag, journal, bedtime story and gold coins all ready to go since she'd been telling me her tooth was loose for two weeks.

Anyway -- Aunt Judy came to the rescue and we made the event special for Miss Independent.

Another funny thing that happened was that she REALLY lost her tooth. It's somewhere in my van, even though I told her the Tooth Fairy found it. I guess I'd better do some better digging before Miss Independent finds it. Somehow I just have a feeling she will since none of my "planning" for this event went right.

Oh well, at least I'll be ready for Little Miss to loose her first tooth. I hope.

VOTE for Claire and Sydney, beginning April 1!

Please vote for Claire and Sydney in the Shutterfly Birthday Photo Contest, which starts April 1, 2010.

You can view the photo, which was taken for their first birthday party invitations in 2005, at the link below.

The photo with the most votes wins $1,000, which I’d like to put toward their college fund.

Thanks for taking the time to check out the entry. I’ll post a reminder when it’s time to place a real vote.

http://contest.shutterfly.com/contests/showentry/208912

Thanks and wish us luck!

Missing Arizona

Several of you have asked me if I miss Arizona. And while much of what happened out there with The Man's job and selling our house still stings a bit, overall, the answer is yes, I do miss some things about Arizona.

While I was reminiscing about my time there, I came across some photos from one of the first Primary activities that Miss Independent and Little Miss went to on their own.

A dear friend convinced me to leave so the girls could enjoy themselves without me making sure they didn't run off for a swim in the lake (inside joke) and they had a great time.

The activity was at our neighborhood park, which is one of the things I miss most about where we lived. It was just a few blocks from our house and seemed like a little oasis in the desert.

Speaking of the desert - I grew to love it more than I thought I would. It's beautiful this time of year and you can even wear sandals since most of the daily temperatures are in the 70's.

Anyway, looking back, I will always cherish the time I spent there and will miss certain things like: the giant moon, wide open spaces, being closer to Granny and Papa, the roadrunners, Saguaro cacti, dear friends, my YW class, scrapbooking on Friday nights, and a backyard pool. :(

However, looking forward, there are many things I love about being back on the east coast. But that's a list for another day. Today is about remembering.

Turtles and Toddlers

Who knew a routine drive to preschool would turn into a rescue mission?

Just as we were arriving to the school grounds, we spotted him...

A little Eastern Box Turtle, upside down and alone in the road.

Thanks to some quick reflexes and slow traffic, I was able to grab him and take him to school with us.

Miss Independent quickly named him, "Ocka," and told her classmates every bit of turtle trivia she knew. She was very Steve Irwin-ish" (a.k.a. "The Crocodile Hunter") in her delivery, which seemed to come very easy to her.

Despite my strong desire to keep our little find, my sensibilities kicked in and I remembered some turtle trivia of my own...

Although cute and fairly easy to take care of, turtles do not appreciate being relocated. In fact, many of the species will do everything in their power to return to their personal habitat. (There's a real life message in there that I can seriously relate to, but that's a post for a different day...)

So Mr. Stephen (the school's director) and I took "Ocka" to a marshy spot near where the girls and I found him. And while I'll never know for sure, it looked like "Ocka" had a smile on his little orange face.

All in all, it turned out being a good day for turtles and toddlers.

There was, however, one exception. Through all of the excitement, none of us thought to take a picture. Thank goodness for the Internet!

Thankful Thursday times two!

After missing last week's Thankful Thursday post I knew I had to document TWO things that I'm thankful for. Luckily, the list is endless so it wasn't too hard.

Since "two" is a lucky number around here, I decided to share the cards that Miss Independent and Little Miss made for their TWO teachers this week. It's "Teacher Appreciation Week" at the preschool and the girls are very thankful for everything that Ms. M and Ms. T does for them.

Of course I'm thankful for them too -- much more than they know.

Now, back to the cards...

Can you tell which cards were made by Miss Independent and which ones were made by Little Miss? Be careful, it's tricky...

Thanks to ALL of the wonderful teachers out there.
We are so thankful for YOU!

Guess How Much I Love You?

We had a great Valentine's Day (make that, "Valentine's Week") at Aunt Judy's this year. The girls got to make Valentine's for their pre-school party, which gave me an opportunity to hear more about some of their classmates. They both had someone they wanted to give a "special" Valentine to, which was sweet. At least I thought it was sweet until I realized that one was a little boy!

Later in the week, The Man sent us a yummy Edible Arrangement (MUST HAVE MORE!), took us to dinner at a local seafood restaurant (we love "shrimps!"), ran countless errands with us and even helped me set-up the girls' Valentine's morning surprises. You know, he's good when he wants to be. :)

In honor of the big day, I made the girls pose for a picture or two. During the photo shoot I asked them if they knew how much I loved them.



Miss Independent (above) gave me a huge grin, while Little Miss (below) replied with a pose and comment. Take a look at her picture and see if you can "guess" what the comment was...




Yup -- it was "this much!" I couldn't have been more proud since that phrase comes from one of our favorite Children's books: Guess How Much I Love You. It was the girls nursery room theme and will always be a cherished classic. The Man and I love those kids to the moon and back.

Hope you all had a Happy Heart Day too!

The Trouble with Turkey

Think eating turkey on Thanksgiving Day is tiring?

Try making turkey cupcakes for a classroom full of pre-schoolers.

It seemed like an easy task, but after a few mishaps and having to juggle "the help," I was ready to "Do the U" (that's head to Ukrop's, my favorite grocery store, for some of their cupcakes).

However, Granny K and I practiced for a day or two and the last batch of turkeys were pretty tasty.

As you can see below, the girls agreed...


Happy Turkey Day to All!