Milestone Haircut

Lily has been way overdue for a haircut and with my surgery coming up (tomorrow), it seems like the time to take care of some things before I'm laid up for a while. We took the girls on Saturday and Abby got her bangs trimmed first to show Lily "how to do it" and then it was Lily's turn.

It turned out to be a major milestone haircut. Nope, it wasn't her first haircut. This was her first haircut and she HATED it. And, she has hated every single haircut since. Until this one. If you look at the pictures, you will see no tears. No screaming. Maybe some funny expressions, but that's it. She was all about the race car seat. The stylist gave her a car to play with to get her to look down, and she liked that too (I'm not sure it worked for its intended purpose, but whatever, she's 2).

I LOVE this first picture. Cracks me up.

Why America's Teachers are Enraged

Indiana, Wisconsin, and a few other states are in the middle of some pretty hot state legislation regarding collective bargaining. One of the professions that this includes is teachers. I have only been out of the classroom for 2 years and was an active member of our teacher's union, which was an affiliate of the National Teachers Association. It would be fair to say that I feel pretty strongly about the topic, and while I don't want to go on and on about it, I do want to share some opinion articles I found on CNN.com that I thought were spot-on. I posted them on Facebook, but if you didn't catch them there, here they are again. I really thought they explained it well without too much political mumbo jumbo. (both are by the same author: Diane Ravitch)

• Why America's teachers are enraged
• To my critics: Teachers deserve rights (a rebuttal to comments from the first article)

"If the voices of their teachers are silenced, who will stand up for students?"

EDITED TO ADD:

And, for another perspective that only he can add... May I give you Stephen Colbert:

‎"Those freeloaders with their cushy state jobs - like snow plow operators, prison guards, and teachers. Oh, they’re always driving around, lording their ’93 Nissan Sentras over everybody." -- Stephen Colbert

The Colbert Report

Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Wordless Wednesday

Smile!

Patching it up and a a couple quickie updates

This weekend I noticed that Abby had worn a hole through her most favorite pair of jeans. I imagine it was only a matter of time. I wasn't sure how I wanted to handle it, but after some thought I decided that this time I would try to patch it myself, using a strategy I had seen online. Here is how to do it....

I forgot to take pictures of the first step or two, but first I cut a patch (she chose a heart over a square, go figure) out of some scrap fabric. I also cut an exact matching shape out of Wonder Under (You get it at the cutting table at JoAnns- you can have them cut as much or as little as you need). Then, I ironed the Wonder Under to the patch, according to the directions. Peel off the Wonder Under backing, and iron it to the jeans over the hole. All of those steps are pretty much according to the Wonder Under directions, which you get when you buy it (if they don't give them to you, ask). This is what the jeans looked like:

Then, I took white embroidery floss (because it was all I had) and knotted it on the back side and made cute stitches all around. I had trouble getting a needle to go through the detailing that was sewn into the jeans so I just went around it. I don't think anyone will notice. I think if the stitches are a little uneven, it just looks cuter. The whole project probably took me an hour, the stitches took me the longest.

And, there you have it. Cute!

~

As for other updates, my knee surgery is in one week (the link has more info that I blogged about a week or two ago). I'm not really too nervous about the surgery itself, just the recovery. I'm very lucky that I have some friends that are coordinating some meals after my Mom leaves. Thank you Pam and Joy!!

I am a very happy girl as far as gadget-tech stuff goes because I FINALLY got an iPhone! I have patiently been waiting for Verizon to get the iPhone (for years!!!!) and yesterday Matt and I made it up the Apple store for some stuff and while we were there we splurged a little earlier than we were planning and I finally got my iPhone. So fun!!! Can you I just tell you how the Apple store just makes you WANT stuff?! Everything is so slick and cool, and as a Mac person, I just drool.

I'm sure you've noticed that I've been doing some work on the blog. I did some design changes and I also worked on creating Labels for my posts. Now, you can click on a label on the left and it will pull up posts that fall under that label. I haven't gone back through every post, but I've done quite a bit of work on it.

That's all I've got for now, on to my busy Tuesday. Have a great one everyone!

Weekend Recap

We started our weekend with a new dessert recipe... Waffle Iron Brownies! I saw something about making brownies using your waffle iron on TV and googled recipes. We ended up using this one. It was a fun new project. I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my traditional brownies, but they were fun to try.

Then, we hit the Children's Museum for a Member's Play Late special night. Because it was a Member's only event, it wasn't very busy, which was awesome. We finally got to see the new Dora and Diego exhibit, which the girls loved.

As you can tell, Lily would really like to be playing rather than taking a picture. I have about four more pictures like these two.

We also checked out the Barbie exhibit (again). It is fun, because this is probably the first time that Lily got to be out of her stroller quite a bit and really explore. Because it wasn't so busy, we were able to allow her a little bit of freedom. (Is it bad that I'm admitting that I am sick of the Barbie exhibit?)

She took us up on the freedom on the runway. It was hilarious. I helped her put on a skirt and she took off without a second glance for the runway all by herself. We ran out to see what she would do. She walked down the runway, stopped and just stood at the end. Forever.

Everyone once in a while, she would hike up her shirt in the front. And stand some more.

And stand.

And stand. No smiling. Sooooo funny.

DinoSphere...

And, bubbles.... Because it's always fun when you have bubble-hair, right?

We ended our Saturday with a fabulous get together with friends.... lots of laughs and snacks and hanging out for all. Good for the soul, I think. No pictures, but super fun times.

We're half-way back to the grind today. Abby has school because of making up snow days, but Matt has the day off.

Did you have a good weekend?

What Love Really Means

Happy Sunday-

This is a favorite of mine and Abby's. (Believe it or not, Abby knows most of the words.)

Enjoy!

Some inspiration for your Friday...

It feel like summer!

Yesterday, since it wasn't so cold and Lily was still napping, I thought I would walk down and meet Abby as she came off the bus. As I heard the bus come down the street, I slipped my Uggs on and headed to the door and she had run all the way from the bus stop and was already in front of our house! She yelled, "Mommy, it feels like summer!" Yes, it did. The temps were in the 60s. A far cry from the ice storm of 2 weeks ago. My, how fast weather can change in the Midwest.

Once Lily woke up, we made an effort to do some fun things. We ran a fun errand to Target and then came home and played outside a bit. We still had some unmelted snow in the back and ice on the deck, so we were stuck in the front (which isn't all bad). Plus, our grass is a soggy mess. There were lots of people outside in the neighborhood. We pulled out the trikes/bikes, chalk, and bubbles. What a difference for Lily since the last time she could play outside. She can actually do stuff now!

We also learned that Abby needs a big girl bike, like, now. I realize that this beautiful weather is fleeting, but I was planning on a bike for her birthday and I'm not sure we can wait that long. She looked ridiculous on the little one we have had for a couple years, even though she was quite content on it. I got Lily on the trike. We are working on keeping her feet on the petals. She got better at it even in the five minutes that we practiced.

It is supposed to be really warm today also, but breezier and not as sunny. Wonder what we'll do today?

Wordless Wednesday

Blissfully Normal

Waiting patiently on the doctor.

Lily had her 2 Year Well Child appointment today. I was a little anxious. As you know, Lily has been a little behind on many of her big developmental milestones and her pediatrician has told us that we have reason to be concerned, but as of yet, we have always been right on that line of "work on these skills and let's see where she is at the next appointment."

No more! We are now AVERAGE!!!! We still need to work on her vocabulary, but no more worry! I never thought I would be so excited to be average.

Spring Cleaning-Blog Style

I'm thinking it's time for a blog freshen-up. I kept the Christmas background because I figured it didn't look THAT Christmas-y and I liked it. But, now, I am ready to move on to Spring.

I've been perusing Shabby Blogs and trying out bunches on my Practice Blog- I read somewhere once that it is a good idea to have a practice blog, so I signed up for one (since Blogger is free), and I can try out stuff without messing up my real blog. It doesn't have any entries except one with gibberish. It turns out to be a really nice place to try things out. I highly recommend it if you are a blogger.

Anyway, so soon I will probably be giving my blog a facelift, new colors and such. It's always kind of fun. I just have to decide what I like before I do it..... So many choices.

Happy Valentine's Day and Shower Recap

Happy Valentines Day!!

We had a fun start to our morning here. I surprised the girls with a little Valentines's Day gift on their placemats when they went downstairs for breakfast. Plus, Abby got bacon with her breakfast as part of her Valentine's Day, so she was a happy girl. For those of you who don't know, bacon is her favorite. Matt is going to go have lunch with her at school, so she is having a pretty good V-Day. Matt and I are having our V-Day date for lunch also after he has lunch (he's not actually going to eat) with Abby, since her lunch is at 10:50 (crazy, right?).

We just got back into town last night because this weekend was my sister's baby shower! Here are some highlights:

My sister, Melissa, and I

(but my family calls her Lissy)

My Mom, Me, and Lissy

I wrapped water bottles and cans with scrapbook paper to coordinate with Lissy's nursery theme (owls). She's having a boy, so we used blue and brown colors. It turned out pretty cute. Mom made triple salted caramel cupcakes. Yum. There is also a punch bowl there, and some yummy cookies.

We also had fruit, deviled eggs, and meatballs.

Lissy has LOTS of help opening presents from Nolan, Abby, and Lily.

Maybe TOO much help.

Abby and Lily playing with the wrapping to pass the time.

The shower was lots of fun, and it is always a great time to see family. It seems that we only see each other when there is a major life event.... weddings, births, graduations, funerals (unfortunately), etc. But we always have such a good time. We are all so excited to meet this new little boy who is joining our family.

Ten on Ten

What is Ten on Ten?

Take a photo every hour for ten consecutive hours on the tenth of each month. Document a day of your life and find beauty among the ordinary moments!

Geez, let me tell you, you are getting ordinary from me. I kept thinking, this would have been way better any other day this week than today, because today was boooooring. But, this is what we got....

Here is Lily watching some Playhouse Disney while I shower up and have some "Mommy time."

I spend way too much time here some mornings. My beloved iMac. (and a desk in need of some organizing)

Lily making her way downstairs. She's got the bottom-scoot down pat.

Laundry, laundry, and more laundry today.

Lunch! (special spoon that some family may recognize)

Got a new Land's End catalog. I love their swimsuits. Mix and match for real bodies, but still cute. I may have to get a new one this year. I'm finally getting back to where I was before I had Lily. Finally.

Abby's home from school!

Ugh. Matt and I had Mexican all planned for dinner and then we were short on ingredients. Pasta it is. The girls loved it. Penne is their favorite. Seriously. Forget spaghetti, they are all about penne.

The girls dancing to the preview of Gnomeo and Juliet. Hilarious. Lily is starting to get her groove on recently. They LOVE the previews for this movie. I'm just not sure Lily is ready to sit through a whole movie though I'm tempted to try it.

And last not least, we finished up the night with bath. Matt thinks I'm a little risky by posting this, but our little streaker was fast enough that she's a blur so you can't really see anything. Yup, a streaker after every bath. She drops the towel and sprints off giggling. This isn't even the girls' bathroom, this is after I've chased her around the whole upstairs.

So, there you have it. Ten on ten. Do you want to try it too? Link up below if you already did, or if you didn't, do it tomorrow and then link up. It will be fun.

~
So, just for kicks, I'm trying something out today. If anyone else tried the 10 on 10 and wants to share their post here, you can link up your blog entry down below using the "linky tool." I know people read this, but I don't know if anyone will be up for trying this or not, but I thought it might be fun. It might also completely flop. We'll see. It it's cool, we can try it with other stuff. Come on ladies (and gentlemen), I know some of you blog! :)