gymdogs...in the making

this is what i pretty much deal with on a daily basis. lela doing cartwheels. she has now progressed to doing one handed cartwheels at the moment. not to be out done lacey has now gotten in on the fun. i feel as if i'm living in a gym. watch out gymdogs, here comes the daniell sisters.

our very first crop

here is a picture of our very first crop from the garden....two squash and one green pepper:


i guess you gotta start somewhere, uh? it's so exciting because we have squash, zucchini, green peppers, cherry tomatoes and tomatoes growing right in our very own backyard. i'm really enjoying myself and have even started thinking about next year's garden. who would have thunk it, me and a vegetable garden?

advice from lacey

this is absolutely priceless....

kevin, lela and lacey were on their way to dunkin' donuts this morning when lacey starts shelling out advice to lela. lacey had with her a "new" fleece baby blanket. lela was rubbing her hands on it and said to lacey, "i want one of these." lacey's reply, "if you pitch a fit about being cold mommy will get you one!" excuse me? i couldn't help but laugh. and i'm so sure the entire the time she is telling lela this she has her little mischievous grin going on. oh what a mess! she is too funny!

friday fun - lunch at the sundial

today i surprised the girls with lunch and a 729 feet panoramic view of atlanta. yes, i took them to the sundial at the westin peachtree plaza. the girls were so excited not only because they were going to get "cherry drinks" (shirley temples) but because gigi and evan were joining us as well. everyone seemed to have a really good time. the kids loved looking out over the city seeing turner stadium, the georgia dome, and the georgia aquarium. they were very well behaved and loved the fact the floor went around in a circle in order for us to see everything. i'm so glad that they had a good time. it brings me so much joy to share in new experiences with our girls...definitely can't wait for more.

my latest creation

it seems lately we've been under a lot stress and pressure. there just seems to be so many things going on and it feels as if we are being bombarded in all directions. when we get through one problem another one seems to appear out of nowhere. boy, it just wears you out at times. i think that's one reason why i've had the girls painting and just being creative. it keeps them and me busy. for me being creative has always made me happy. it brings me such a sense of peace and comfort i can't describe. when i'm in my groove, i feel as if nothing can bring me down. with all that said, i've been sewing quite a bit. well, at least as much as the girls will let me. i just finished up the coolest top ever! i've decided that i will be wearing my latest creation tomorrow on our friday fun field trip. here's a sneak peek:

creating more art...stepping stones

after yesterday's disaster you would think i would learn? i didn't nor will i probably ever. today we attempted to paint once again this time in the kitchen. I figured cleaning tiled floors would be a whole lot easier and less stressful than a rug. before we started painting in our art books, i found these stepping stone kits that had been stored in the laundry room just waiting for us to do. i drugged those out and we proceeded to make stepping stones for the newly landscaped areas of our yard. The girls had fun putting their hands in the concrete and then each decorating them as they saw fit. i must say it was a lot easier than i thought it was gonna be, can't wait till they dry and we find permanent homes for them.

art day...embrace the mess

i thought i had this great idea, but now i'm not so sure. i decided that since it's so hot outside (high 80s, low 90s) that the girls and i would have some art time inside. i spread out this old sheet in the great room and proceeded to show the girls we would be making background pages for artbooks. my idea is for all three of us to make these books with paint and found images. i was really excited and figured it would be fun to get messy and create all at the same time. boy, was i sadly mistaken. we all fun decorating our pages, and getting paint on ourselves but little did i realize that lacey and lela for that matter painted more on the sheet than the paper and the sheet became so saturated with paint that it bled all the way through onto the rug. we now have a black rug with hot pink, aqua blue and purple splotches found in the design. why me? why do i even bother? oh well, i guess now i can say our rug is definitely one of a kind...maybe next time we'll try the kitchen floor.

friday fun - fernbank museum of natural history

it seems we are developing a friday trend, where we take some type of field trip and yesterday it seems was no exception. we surprised the girls with lunch at mary mac's and then a trip down the street to the fernbank museum of natural history. my intentions were we would go the museum and then catch an imax movie, but as usual the girls had other ideas of their own. it was then and there i decided to call our trip "nightmare at the museum." lol.

we had prepared the girls that we would be seeing dinosaurs and they were really excited about seeing them, but i still don't think they quite got the idea that these animals lived here on the earth at one time, oh well does it really matter? we looked at dinosaurs, different "stuffed" animals and even looked at different cultures around the world. i found this exhibit to be the most interesting. they had jewelry, clothing, articles of faith, etc. all from different cultures around the world. it was just too cool for words. i have always found that stuff to be so interesting. maybe i should have majored in archeology instead of art?

when we brought up the idea of seeing an imax movie not one but both of the girls said they didn't want to go. are you kidding? they love going to the movies, what's up with this? oh well, needless to say we skipped that idea and headed to the hands on part of the museum where the girls went crabbing, camouflaged themselves and even planted and harvested a garden. they really seemed to have a good time. if the weather is pretty next friday, i already have our next outing planned. stay tuned to see where our next adventure lands us....

bathing in chocolate

when we got home from vbs this afternoon, i was craving something chocolaty. i checked in the pantry and decided that brownies sounded really good. i perceived to get the ingredients out when lacey appeared out of no where wanting to help. she then got the stool and climbed up on the counter to assist, the next thing i knew a bath was in order....

halfway there

i woke up this morning just feeling totally exhausted! i know i hit the snooze button at least a dozen times but i somehow managed to drag myself out of bed anyways. coffee and lots of it is what i need right now. this is what vbs does to me. it completely drains all the energy from my body and all the brain cells from my head, but it is fun. i can remember as a kid going and having so much fun making crafts, singing songs and learning about god. i think that is why i enjoy teaching vbs despite the fact my body wants to crash. it brings back such fun memories from my childhood and i want to pass that along to the girls as well. its so much fun to sing such songs as father abraham, deep and wide and b.i.b.l.e. just to name a few. i wish we could have "jammie" day today, but that's so not gonna happen....hopefully soon though!

vbs-camp e.d.g.e

experience & discover god everywhere is exactly what we are doing this week at vacation bible school. and every year i look forward to it with excitement and dread. talk about wearing you out. i always gain a new respect for teacher's after i spend just my measly four and 1/2 hours of herding kids from one activity to the next.

i'm having the pleasure of teaching one of the first grade classes this year. i've had this same group more or less since they were part of the four year olds, and every year they get easier and easier. it's been fun watching them as they grow. i absolutely can't believe how big some of them are getting. lela, of course, is part of my group. i honestly think she wouldn't know what to do if she wasn't in my class. i tried having her in a different class our first year and it didn't go so well. needless to say she has been in my class from then on.

lacey on the other hand is such a trooper. she had her very first day at vbs and was put into a group where she didn't really know any of the girls just a few of the boys. from what i was told by her teacher she was very talkative and would answer all the questions when they were asked. i was told to watch out because it appeared she would be valedictorian of the four year old class because she seems to know it all. lol.

around the world and back

that was the theme of the girls' dance recital this year. i honestly can't believe that it has finally come and gone. it has seemed like forever in coming and now here it is finished. the girls' did so good and we're so proud of them both!

this year i did something i had never done before, i volunteered backstage. it was fun seeing how things worked, but i honestly felt like i missed so much. i'm thinking next year i might pass if asked. i definitely thought it was good for lacey to have me there with her. she really surprised me and did exactly like she was suppose to do. yeah! i secretly think lacey likes all the attention but she will tell you otherwise. now we can take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the rest of our summer!

running on empty

there are days when i wake up and my feet hit the floor and i think "oh, will i make it through?" today is definitely one of those days. i'm extremely exhausted and the fun has just begun. we had two birthday parties today, not mention the dance recital is tomorrow and then on monday we begin VBS at church. i wonder will this madness ever stop? will i ever get to take a nap? when will my house get cleaned? when is my second wind gonna kick in? these are questions inquiring minds would like to know.....

oh and by the way here are some of pictures from one of the birthday parties i got to busy talking at the first one and forgot to take any. sorry :(

friday field trip

we surprised the girls with a field trip today. where did we go you are asking? why six flags, of course. the girls were excited! six flags is one of those places i could take it or leave it, but when you're six and almost four it's a pretty exciting place to visit. this year lacey was actually able to ride quite a bit more than last year obviously. if you ask her what was her favorite ride was she will reply, "i loved the water slide!" (otherwise known as splash waterfalls.) lela loved the monster plantation, which they have redone and it's actually quite enjoyable. i loved the fact that it wasn't too crowded and the waiting in line wasn't more than probably 20 minutes at the longest. needless to say when you are gone all day exhaustion is not far behind.

summer fun

playing at the park, having a picnic, getting wet in the fountain that was just a few of the things we did today. one of my friends and i finally found sometime to get the kids together to have some fun while we played catchup on all our happenings in our lives. we went to park so the kids could play in the fountain there. that was definitely a treat for all. it occurred to me though that i think in the few years we have lived here the fountain had either been turned off due to the drought or it didn't work. oh well, i'm really not sure which of the two. needless to say despite the heat of the day (it's finally starting to hit the uppers 80s and low 90s) we had a couple hours of summertime fun.

paper roses, well actually flowers

i just had to share a picture of my tissue paper flowers that i'm in the process of finishing up. they are for my sister to put in her office at work. they are so pretty and the best thing is you never have to worry about watering them. i love that part! it's so martha stewart. in fact it's one of her kits that i bought at walmart. so how about them apples, well actually flowers?

swimming

i finally took the girls to the pool the other day after lacey ran in the house and returned in her bathing suit only to play in the hose while i was working in the yard. i decided to take that as a sign that i had better take the girls to the pool before things got too muddy. i was a little apprehensive because a week or so ago my neighbor's kids got ecoli from what appeared to be the neighborhood pool. her poor kids were extremely ill, running fevers of at least 103 and throwing up. i talked to her yesterday and everyone seems to be on the mends but that was after many a trip to the doctors and urgent care. so, going to the pool hasn't' been much of a priority.



well, as of this morning we have been two times and so far so good. as cami told me last night the pool is probably the cleanest it has ever been. i have to agree with her. the first day at the pool lela was a little nervous about taking her floaty off, but after a while she decided to throw it to the side and try sticking head underwater. last summer she took swimming lessons but by the end of the summer she was scared to death of getting in the water especially the deep end. you know what's a mom to do? so i finally feel as if we are making progress. lacey is even making progress in the fact she is starting to actually put her head in the water as well.

where does the time go?

gosh, i just looked at my calendar and figured out that we only have 8 weeks until lela heads back to school in august. that's so hard too believe. what's even harder to believe is that during those eight weeks, we only have like three weeks where we have nothing going on. not much time to do much of anything. in my mind i have all this stuff i want to do but i don't feel like i'm making much progress. why does that happen? i'm toying with the idea of taking both the girls' to the sundial restuarant for lunch one day this week. lela still talks about eating there ever since she went back in january with her friend katharine. i honestly think we would have a good time even though the thought of riding in that glass elevator on the outside of the building still freaks me out. oh well, the sacrifices we make for our children. i haven't said anything to them because if you say anything to those two they will definitely hold you to it, that's for sure. here is just a small list of things/places i want to fit in our "eight weeks" of summer vacation:

• sundial restaurant
• providence canyon
• babyland general hospital
• callaway gardens
• georgia state capitol
• fernbank science center
• fernbank museum of natural history

coming up squash

Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity. ~Lindley Karstens

every couple of days i make my way over to the garden to see how it is growing. since this is our very first garden i'm not sure what the rules are on taking care of it. i think it's just plant and water. but like i said i'm new to this whole expericence so i'm just kind of going with my gut. how can it steer me wrong?

yesterday i made my way down to the garden and much to my surprise we have quite a bit of squash coming up. i got really excited because like i said i'm going with my gut on this one. it was actually nice to see our hard work coming to fruition. i have big plans in my mind for our garden. so, i'm extremely hopeful these days. what i would really like to do is start an herb garden in pots on the deck. at the moment the only herb i'm growing is cilantro in the hopes that we'll maybe be able to make our own salsa. (gosh, i didn't realize how martha stewartish i sounded these days.) keep your fingers crossed.


the "little" area under our deck and beside our patio is just about completely planted out. yes, my little hands did all the digging. as of this moment i have dug and planted 3 gardenias, 3 hostas, 4 carex grasses, 4 no make that 5 autumn ferns and 54 pots of mini mondo grass for a grand total of.....69 plants! talk about a sense of accomplishment! and all i have left in this area is just a few more plants and two big rocks, if you can believe that? bring'em on....

talk about the unexpected

i will have to say that when it comes to our girls they are constantly teaching me a thing or two. lacey in particular is constantly keeping me on my toes and today was no different. i had planned on us going to register lela for 1st grade and then if time allowed taking in the free movie over at the theater. i should have known that lacey would have other plans. she always does...

we get to the movies only to sit there long enough to drink half of a coke and eat a few handfuls of popcorn, when lacey announces she ready to leave because she is tired. i honestly couldn't believe my ears. much to my dismay i couldn't convince her otherwise, so we ended up leaving literally 30 minutes into the movie. i guess to look on the positive side is: 1. we have the movie at home (kit kittridge) 2. we can watch it anytime we want to and 3. it only cost me a coke, bag of popcorn and a pack of sour patch watermelons. oh well...

i then decided to run down to the bookstore and see if they had a book i had been looking for. we then get into the store and lacey announces to lela and me that she wants to get her ears pierced. i quickly shoot the idea down, because we had gone through this before and she totally chickened out. the whole entire time we are in the bookstore she is pitching a fit because she wants her ears pierced. mind you she is only 3 1/2 years old and pitching a fit is par for the course with her personality. lela and i then try using reverse psychology, everything you could of think of. nothing was working. ok, off to claire's we go...

i'm totally convinced at this point it will not turn out well and lacey will yet again change her mind, which i'm fine with. wrong!!! the child hops up in the chair, picks out a pair of pink rhinestone studs (which i kind of guided her towards), grinss from ear to ear as the lady pierce one ear and then the other ear. not one tear shed. not one peep out of her. i couldn't believe it...

i'm still in shock. the lady said to me "i guess she really wanted her ears pierced?" you think? lesson learned. like i said lacey is always keeping us on our toes...