Ash Wednesday

is today, the beginning of Lent. I know a lot of people who give up various things during this time of year. Well, I have decided this year not to give anything up. Last year I tried giving up sweets for the 40 days but ended up with the flu and that was really the only thing that tasted good to me. So, instead of setting myself up for failure I'm taking a different route. I'm trying new things out...living a little so to speak, stepping outside my box.

In fact today, I did something I have never done before in my entire life I went to our church's Community Lenten Service with my friend Wendy. It was a really neat service which ended with the Imposition Of Ashes. I have never participate in this but "Wow!" what a wakeup call. You truly realize how mortal you are when a minister smears the sign of the cross with ashes on your forehead and says to you "Dust your are and to dust you shall return." Talk about a reality check. Makes you think, don't it?

I'm not really sure if your suppose to walk around all day with the cross on your forehead or not, but when the service was over and I was in my car I wiped it off because I had a couple of errands to do before I picked up the girls and I wasn't sure what the reaction would be? But the way the service worked was different spiritual leaders from the community participated - the Catholics priests, Baptist and Presbyterian ministers, etc. It was a very moving experience for me. I sat there and realized that no matter how different each of us are, we are all on a pilgrimage. We are one and the same and everyone of us are at different places in our own spiritual journeys. It so exciting to me to see where my own personal journey is going and the things that I am learning on the way.

Lela's Is 6 Years Old Today!

I keep asking myself how did that happen? It just seems like yesterday she was born. My how time flies! We celebrated her birthday last night because we have a lot going on with dance this afternoon and then church. She was so excited because she finally got her Ninetendo DS. The poor child has been wanting one for months. It was so much fun watching her with cousins as they showed her how to play some of the games. She just acts so grown up at times, that it makes me sad. We just ate pizza, ate some cookie cake and watched Lela as she opened her presents. My how different our birthdays have become from having dressup parties to jumpie parties to now just hanging out with the family and having fun. Happy Birthday, Big Girl!!! We Love You.

Imagine It! Children's Museum Of Atlanta

The girls went to a birthday party at Imagine It! yesterday for their friend Mary Cate. She turned 4. Despite Lela still being under the weather she held up really well and seemed to have a good time. I am hopeful that we are on the upside of things. The swelling in her eyes, hands and feet have seemed to have disappeared except for the occasional red patch that pops up. All in all she is definitely looking like her old self again. Thank goodness, I am so ready for this to be over with.

The girls loved The Children's Museum running around going from here to there and back again. It's a great place to have a party because you can just let kids run wild and have fun! The girls appeared to really like the magic sand area. Basically what it is is that moon sand they advertise on TV, which just stick together kind of like snow or play dough but it has the texture of sand. In my opinion, every mother's nightmare. But isn't that always the case, the messiest thing to do is their most favorite? Oh, well such is life.

Lunch At American Girl

Even with all the drama of Lela's allergic reaction, we somehow managed to get her to American Girl to celebrate her birthday yesterday. She took her best friend, Katharine, with her to have lunch at the bistro and visit the store. We all had a lot fun! The girls enjoyed themselves seeing all the dolls and clothes in the store. It's such a girly place with lots and lots of pink everywhere. Lela and Katharine both got new outfits for their dolls. Lacey being the child that she is had to get a llama? Yes, a llama. I know, but that's Lacey. Even Katharine's little sister, Lily, got in on the fun and got her very first Bitty Twin. It's so much fun watching the girls get excited over all the neat stuff they have for the dolls. It only makes me wish that I had one to play with.

Allergic Reaction?

Yes, it seems Lela is a lot more like me than we would like to think. Last night the poor child was complaining of itching and her joints hurting. I really didn't think much of it until later when I got her out of the tub and she had red splotches on her body. It seems that she has is developed an allergic reaction to amoxicillin. I'm allergic to penicillin, so I guess her chances of having the same allergy that I have is pretty good. She has been on the medicine since last week when we found out she had strep. The poor child feels just miserable and is sleeping away. I just pray that it goes away quicky, I know all too well how she feels.

Pictures From Abby's Birthday Party

The girls went to a friend's of theirs birthday party on Saturday. Yesterday, Abby's mom sent me some pictures of the girls having fun at the party. I thought I would share them with you. They are super cute and you can tell the girls had a really good time.




Katharine, Lela and Megan smiling for the camera.







We did it!!!






Hey, wait here I come!!!





Who me? Lacey is looking a little guilty.

Jazzerthon For The Cure

Yesterday, I spent my whole entire day doing Jazzercise related stuff. Once a year in February we have what is called a Jazzerthon. Basically it is a fund-raiser for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. We Jazzercise for three hours and usually have a special guest. Well, this year our special guest was none other than Judi Sheppard Missett who founded Jazzercise 40 years ago. It makes for a long day but the cause is so worth it. I personally have known two women who have died from the disease and then there are a few at our center right now battling breast cancer. They are a true inspiration to me when I see them in my class knowing what they have and are going through. This year our goal was for $200,000.00. As of this morning I'm not quite sure what we collected throughout the Metro Atlanta area, but I do know for a fact that our center alone collected $5100.00. Not bad for a center of our size.

Here is an article from the AJC that was sent to me from our District Manager in regards to yesterday's fund-raiser.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I love Valentine's Day! It's such a sweet holiday to remember the ones we love. I love all the handmade cards, chocolates, cookies and stuff you can find out there. This is totally ideal for someone who likes to get creative.

Our Valentine's Day began with the girls and Kevin getting a little "goodie." Everyone seemed to like what they got, so I guess I did pretty good. I also decided to surprise them with pancakes made in the shape of hearts. They actually turned out pretty good considering I've never done that before. The girls have been busy today, going to Lowe's this morning to build jewlery boxes and then on to a birthday party. Gigi also stopped by and gave the girls a box of chocolates and new Webkinz. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family. My dear husband and girls totally surprised me with a new Pandora charm for my bracelet and a CD of the soundtrack to Wicked. I have such an awesome family! I love you!

The girls getting ready to build their jewlery boxes.

Lela and Lacey hammering on their jewlery boxes at Lowe's.

Lela showing off hers and Lacey's new Webkinz.

Parties and Snacks

It's Friday!!! Yeah! And next week is Winter Break and a definite break is what this family needs. The girls each had their Valentine's Day parties today and both seemed to have a really good time along with too much sugar. I have decided that is part of the problem right now, both are sleepy and grouchy. I think they're finally crashing from their sugar highs....that's always fun!

Lacey painting her picture frame as part of her Valentine's Day craft.

Lela enjoying her Valentine's Day snacks.

It's Back....

Yes, strep is back in our house. Here is the kicker we had no idea it was back. Lela has not complained once about her throat hurting nor is she running a fever. Last night when I got her out of tub I noticed an unusual rash on her stomach. I had remembered from the last time, when she had strep there was a definite rash on her stomach as well. This morning I decided that she probably needed to go to the doctor just to rule out anything. They took a throat culture which confirmed what I was afraid was going to be the answer....strep.

Cousins

I made this picture Sunday night of the kids at mom's house eating pizza. We had gotten to together to celebrate Laura's birthday. They were all so cute sitting there, I just couldn't resist. They are getting so big. My how fast time flies.

Is It Spring, Yet?

For the past couple days the weather has been teasing us; making us think it's April when in fact we are still in the first part of February. The girls and I have had so much fun playing outside and enjoying the pretty blue skies. Their favorite thing to do is run through the yard doing cartwheels and monkey jumps. I even showed them how dear 'ole mom still could do a cartwheel as well as a roundoff. It was nice to know I didn't break anything. I think Lela was surprised that I could do one as well as she does. I wish I could say the cold weather was gone, but I know better. So, for the time being we'll just let mother nature have her way and tease us a little longer.

Just A Few Of My Favorite Things

For a few months now I have been wanting to post a few of my favorite things. Every year Oprah has a show entitled "Favorite Things" where she shows the audience her favorite things and then passes them out to all the audience members. And let me tell you, those are some lucky people. I'm still bummed to this day that when I went to the Oprah show that I got nothing. Traveled how many miles to brave the cold Chicago air and all I got was about 3 seconds of air time. I guess I should be happy about that, right? I did make national TV.

Enough about that....here is a list of some of my favorite things as of recent.

Keurig Coffeemaker - I love this coffeemaker!! I can't say enough about our coffeemaker! We were introduced to it by Kevin's cousin in Texas during the holidays and I fell in love with it. I decided then and there I had to have it and we went on a search in Texas for it. We couldn't find one, so we ended up getting it here in town. It is so awesome! It only makes a single cup, so there is no waste involved other than throwing the little cup away that holds the coffee. You can make any type of coffee that you like - flavored, decafe, tea, hot chocolate, the list just goes on and on. My favorite is actually the Pecan Praline and the Italian Blend. Kevin seems to like the Kona Blend best. All you do is select your coffee, place the "cup" in the machine, press the button and presto your coffee is done. The water is already heated up so the coffee brews up very quickly and hot every time. Love it!!!

Lizard Thicket - Cute, funky clothing boutique that I have just recently discovered. And the best part is everything is extremely affordable. Got to love that!

Pepperidge Farm Baked Naturals Pretzel Thins - These are so yummy and they totally satisfy my salt craving. They are natural, no preservatives and only have 110 calories and 0g of fat in a single serving. These are definitely better than a potato chip any day.

Jazzercise - You should have known this would make my list. I have been Jazzercising since I was about sixteen off and on over the years. About 5 years ago this June, I decided to take the plunge and became a certified instructor with them. I love this program dearly and find joy in helping others realize their health goals. I don't like to exercise, but I love to Jazzercise!!! It's so much fun.

Pandora Bracelet - For my birthday last year, my mom started a Pandora Bracelet for me. It such a special piece of jewelry and I thoroughly enjoying wearing it. Every bracelet is unique to the person, each telling a different story. They are born of traditional Danish Design, with each charm being handcrafted in either 14K gold, sterling silver or both. I have quite a few charms each with a story behind it. For example, you can find a present on my bracelet which I got when I got the bracelet for my birthday, a seashell that I got when we went to St. Simons and collected actual shells on the beach, and I also have the girls birthstones on it. That is just a few examples of what you can find on my bracelet. (Maybe one day I'll post about my bracelet and the charms on it. You might find it quite interesting.)

Travel Cases

Yesterday I was somewhat creative. I really wanted to sit down and do some sketching but I never could seem to find quite the time to work it in. When I do get to draw my mind goes into a whole other world and I can just be in the moment. Well, being in the moment never really happened even though I left the kids in lunch bunch at school and didn't have to put them up until 2:00. What I did find time to do was a little sewing. That's another one of my creative outlets.

On Tuesday night of this week, Mom and I were at our monthly quilting class when of the girls in the class pulled out this nifty little case that carried her quilting supplies in it. We just fell in love with it. She made mention of the fact that the store carried the pattern. Mom turned to me and said "Hey, you need to make us one of those." So, that's actually what I did. I made us traveling cases for our supplies, so next month we shouldn't have to be digging around in our bags for rotary cutters, rulers, markers, etc. It can now all be found in our new little cases.

I've Been Tagged

You're probably asking yourself what is she talking about? Well, here are the rules once you've been tagged:

• You go to your 4th folder on your computer where you keep you pictures.


• Select the 4th picture from that folder.


• Post the picture with an explanation regarding it.


• Then tag 4 more people to do the same thing.

Well...here's my picture:

I don't remember even taking this picture, but I guess I did. If my memory serves me correct this was probably taken last spring just from the look of Lacey's hair. It appears that the girls might have been dancing on the coffee table from the looks of it. Lacey looks like a little ole' lady with her socks pulled all the way up. If you notice she also has her Crocs on backwards and pajama bottoms on inside out. Typical Lacey. Lela from I can gather stuck herself in the frame and tried posing, she obviously didn't want to be left out. Oh our crazy little girls....

"Jammie" Day

I have come to the conclusion that pajamas should be part of the dress code at school. Lacey had Pajama Day this morning. She was so excited about going to school that she basically ran to the door when we got there. Never in the entire time that she has been going has she wanted to go to school so bad. My mornings with her would be so much easier if she could just wear her pajamas and take her baby. I said something to the director if we could institute a new policy of just wearing pajamas that way Lacey might be happier about going to school three days a week.

Chocolate Brownies...Yummy!!!

I've been craving something chocolate. Yesterday, while I was on the computer somehow I came across this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies. (Thanks, Betty Crocker.) These were the absolutely easiest brownies I think I have ever made, not to mention they definitely curbed my craving. Just be sure to have a glass of milk on hand. Yum!!!

Morning Cup Of Joe

Staying true to my word I'm allowing myself to be more creative and explore. Yesterday while the girls were at school I pulled out my pastels and just messed around "painting" a cup of coffee. It was definitely a good exercise for me. Since, my pastels class finished up last week I have decided to forage on ahead by myself. I'm hoping to take some chances and just explore whatever comes to mind. It was nice to just sit and take in the moment, that is something I don't get to do a lot of these days, that's for sure.

Heart And Lollipop Flowers

I so totally ripped off this idea from Martha Stewart. I found it on her website and thought this would be a good project for the girls and they could give them to their friends for Valentine's Day. They are super simple and look so cute. We had a good time making them and it didn't take to terribly long to do.

Snow Mountain???

Yep, that's right Snow Mountain. Nope it isn't a typo. Stone Mountain has actually become Snow Mountain for the next few weeks and we took the girls so they could go sledding and tubing down the "mountain." Well actually it's the hill, where you watch the laser show. The girls had a lot fun playing in the snow, making snow angels and sledding. The weather was really nice with the temperature being in the low 60s by the time we left. What a nice family day we had!!!