MIR

February Month In Review

My favorite February pictures:

What a wonderful but very short month!

Goal Review:

1. Blog Book-HA. I went to work on it and something happened when I shut down the computer and erased 3 months of work I had done. I have yet to find the patience and time to work on it. This will be put on the shelf for a few months.

2.Pantry- Done enough. Have a few more boxes to cover but it's presentable and we're loving it so I'm not worrying about it.

3.Birthday Parties- Oh yes we are in full fledged planning. Lily's party is going to be on Mar 19th, so that Nana and Uncle Mark can be part of the festivities. Emma's is probably going to be Apr 23rd or 30th. A nice month gap between parties :).

4. Check Preschool-Yep still planning. My CP section in my notebook is getting plenty of use.

5. Dinner with Mike- Every night. No outings yet though. I will substitute this one for watching a FULL movie with him on a Sat night. We watched Inception :).

6. My house notebook- Yep, got it going and loving it when I am organized enough to use it everyday :).

Lily Memories:

-Conversations. Every car trip we have wonderful discussions about everything.

-Reading. She now pretends to read books and then realizes she doesn't know the words so she asks me to read it while asking me to teach her how to read.

-Logical. She amazes us every single day with how she can reason. But, providing a reason for everything is very exhausting and sometimes we wish a simple yes or no would suffice.

-Memory. Goodness it's amazing. Simply amazing. Thank goodness she takes after Mike!

Emma Memories:

-Hanging upside down and throwing herself backwards. -First ride in the wagon, and trip down the slide at the park. -Loves library class on Tuesdays and has captured many mommy hearts there with her sweet smiles and exuberant waves. -Loves to draw! Everything Else: -Stomach Bug -Reorganizing One Room At A Time -Flowers and Bows

Daddy and His Girls

Daddy loves getting to spend quality, solo time with two of his favorite princesses.

Lily loves her felt boards and is a great addition to our next stage of preschooler toys. While Emma is liking to color already! She sees her big sister and jumped right in. She draws on magna-doodles and has taken up coloring with crayons and pencils, when she doesn't want to put them in her mouth.

We love playing with Daddy!

Flowers and Bows

A little peek at what I've been doing instead of blogging :) I am getting ready for a consignment sale the second weekend in April. I contacted them and I am now the sole bow provider for their sale! So, in addition to this I have been making some for Pigtails and Crewcuts and their upcoming sale. Yay!

Bird's Nest

We had just made a quick run to Sam's club and the weather was pretty nice so Lily played in the front yard while I unloaded the goods. All of a sudden we were talking and she leaned against the tree and said "cheese". I laughed and she said, "Mom, take my picture". I had to run inside to get the camera. hahaha.

Her pose.

Between poses what did she have fun doing? Building bird's nests out of leaves and sticks. She said that it was like the one that Sid built. :) So happy these shows don't go out one ear and out the other. They have exposed her to sooo many wonderful things that we can build on. :) Like today it went into another conversation about animal homes and then into types of shelters.

I'm One Happy Mama!

Oh, and a day is not complete without a butt itch :)

Hahaha...too funny Lily.

For some reason discussions about nests and shelters stick but how little girls should act (like not picking their nose, scratching their behinds or lifting their shirt or skirt) does NOT!

Too, too funny.

Plate Time

Emma is our little bird. She loves for you to feed her and she stretches her neck out and opens her mouth just like a little bird. She also loves to use the little tray on her highchair so she can grab things and shove the food into her mouth. But lately, she has been pointing to her plate on the table and doing her squeal. So, we have upgraded to a plate. The second plate. We keep her full plate of food on the table and replenish food on her plate when she needs it. We're hoping this limits the food on the floor for Maci :).

So far so good. Great job Miss Emma.

**And, Daddy has started giving you a spoon and applesauce to practice on :) So far so good***

In Love

I Fall In Love With My Family More and More Each and Every Day.

Popsicles

No they weren't a treat. They were the only thing Miss Lily could have most of the day and keep down! She caught a stomach bug and it wasn't fun or pretty. Thankfully, the bug ran its course and after a day and a half of the BRAT diet :( she is back to normal! Thank goodness.

How Do You Carry Your Socks?

Emma loves, loves, loves to carry things in her mouth not just socks. She'll carry play food from the play kitchen, little people toys, tea cups, paper or really anything she can fit into that little mouth of hers. I know. Sometimes we see her walking around with her lips forced shut. We can now just say her name and put our hand out in front of her and she'll spit hair clips, play rings or small pieces of paper out into our hands. For some reason, it's really difficult to 100% Emma proof our house!

Pantry is Post Worthy

Still a work in progress but definitely ready to post this...finally...

Before:

ugh. can't believe we lived like this for sooo long

During:

I can't imagine renovating now...

My little bulletin board project:

We have had this plain jane cork board for so long and it's been several different places around the house. And, now that I'm obsessed with the plethora of craft blogs out there I got inspired to make something. I found this quatrefoil stencil and had to try it out. I'm pretty pleased on how it came out.

And, Ta-Da, The After:

The Right Side

What makes me love this side of the pantry:

-Baskets, Boxes and Can Risers

On the floor I have wire, stackable baskets that I put Sam's Club stuff in. The first shelf, the half baskets are snack baskets. One for Emma, one for Lily and one for Mike and I, no more boxes all over the shelf. Second shelf, a HUGE bread basket and boxes for small stuff and can risers on the next shelf. I am in love with using diaper boxes! I got an inexpensive canvas drop cloth at Walmart and covered boxes to store things in. (You can see on the top shelf and the box next to the bread basket)

Straight Ahead

The bulletin board is slowly filling up with business cards, pictures, phone number lists and honey to-do lists. The white cabinet holds odds and ends as well as table cloths and placemats. And, the throw rug we had prekids from Pier 1. But, again it's an ongoing little area that I'm sure will change a few times.

Left Side

This side contains "everything else". I found these bins at KMart for 2.50 a piece! So for that price I had to get over using them instead of pretty baskets I wanted to use. They do the job just fine. There are bins for bibs and bottles, summer fun stuff like bubbles, craft and seasonal decorating items, sunscreen, and one just for Maci. All of our summer beach towels, Maci mud towels, lightbulbs, toolbox, coolers, humidifiers and a cleaning station. Whew. Lots of stuff we have.

I am now in the hunt for a cool way to label the bins. I have stumbled upon vinyl chalkboard labels on etsy, but not sure the writing will stay put. I have also seen dry erase stickys, but I'm sure I'll think of something :)

Our cleaning station. Still need to get the metal clippy strip from Lowe's so I can just get them off of the floor.

I am completely excited about my pantry and yes, it looks like this all the time. It better.

New Shoes, Pink Shoes

Today was our day to go shoe shopping! I figured L and E's feet needed to be measured and yep, I was right. Lily was wearing an 8.5 Wide and now needs a 9.5 (non-wide!). Emma was wearing an old pair of Lily's which were a 3.5 and she now measures a 4.5!

So, this will be their Springtime shoes until sandal and Croc season!

A season I hope is quickly approaching even if it is only February still.

A Day Outside

Friday.

Mike's Day Off.

75+ degrees.

A full, no overflowing, shed that needs to be organized.

Hence, Family Day Outside.

Our Activities included:

Swinging.

Rides in the wagon. (and yes, Lily did have a good time haha)

Car rides.

And, fun in the sandbox.

Today gave Mike and I got a little glimpse of what our summer is going to be like and, it's going to be absolutely amazing! YAY!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We loved going out to dinner to celebrate. A very quick dinner and a yummy treat at Skinny Dip afterwards! All four of your girls love you so, so much. Happy, Happy Day to you.

Camera Fun

It has been awhile since Lily has played with the camera but thought these were just too cute. Looove the self-timer.

My Attempt...

...at finally becoming a grown-up.

I have to admit a few things:

1. I don't really like to clean at all but I do like a clean house.

2. I don't mind doing laundry but I don't like putting it away.

3. I really, really like to be organized but it's harder than it looks.

I have learned that keeping a home clean and organized is all about maintaining it and not letting the chore list get too long. Here is my attempt at doing this...

My Notebook.

(Well, right now it's a folder until I have all the kinks worked out and then may have it bound to keep it all together.)

I have my Daily Planner, the Weekly Checklist, and the Monthly Menu Calendar. I have fallen in love with the Simple Mom site ( simplemom.net) and have taken her notebook and adapted to what I think I can work with.

-I also have stopped with all of the notepads around the house and have started my own notebook where I write ALL of my lists in ONE place.

-I am now more in love with accordion file folders than ever before! I used them all the time in my classroom but now they're wonderful and they were in the $1 bins at Target. I have several.

-And, something we found out about on TLC's show about couponing...A coupon notebook! We have now an entire binder dedicated to coupons in sheets made for baseball cards. They are easy to find and keep track of. We also learned that you can order coupons online! We have ordered coupons from The Coupon Master and have saved a bundle already.

So far becoming a grown-up has been easier than I thought but thank goodness I have a good partner to help me through it :).

Happy Valentine's Day

I began my day again with a surprise trip back from Mike with my favorite Vanilla Latte from Starbucks. So thoughtful, love you.

Today was also a school day so off we went with treat boxes and balloons for Mrs. RedBow and Mrs. Baksa. Lily was so excited that she was able to get them balloons, all her idea! When we got to school she wanted me to carry them in but as soon as we got inside she took them and handed her gifts and cards to her teachers. She was greeted with huge hugs, ooo's and ahh's and Lily was smiling ear to ear.

Valentine bags and treats were to be brought in last week so that the teachers could organize and get ready for their busy, fun day today. I made heart birdfeeders for Lily and her friends in her class so that they could hang them on The After Christmas Tree in the playground. The tree is actually directly outside their classroom window and they looked great. I was also told that they threw one to a Mama Raccoon they saw over the fence looking for food.

Lily and Mrs. RedBow (lead teacher)

Last week I was also asked to join them for their Special Snack today. And, like anyone, I jumped at the chance to spend the morning with Lily in her class! I would be there everyday if I thought it would be OK! I was also under the impression that all of the other parents were invited but I was the only one there! We arrived at 1030, as soon as they were coming in from the playground, and stayed all morning until it was time to go home at 12. I am absolutely in love with Lily's teachers, this school and the very good possibility of preschool being my next venture (after kiddos).

Emma had a great time at school too! She fit right in, started playing and even wanted to play with Lily's friends. Well, maybe play isn't the right word to use but take and share. The little girl that Emma is playing with, Elena, is from Germany and speaks limited English. So, you can imagine the response she had when Emma began taking blocks away from her...yep, screaming! I, along with the teachers, just chuckled and diffused the situation but it was very funny.

Lily and her friend, Natalie. They play a lot together and Lily talks about her all the time. You can also see Mrs. Baksa in the background, wasn't able to get a picture of her and Lily this morning.

Lily always loves to get home, plop on the floor and go through the bags we got while were out. If we get to go clothes shopping, she goes through her clothes one piece at a time over and over again. Today was no exception. She had two bags full of treats, cards and little toys. She sat down and got busy going through everything and even shared with Em.

And, for Emma's school story. There's never a time where the Check girls can go somewhere without creating some sort of drama. :). Today, again, was no exception. During circle time this morning Emma fell into a wooden cubbie! Head first! Immediate crying, well screaming, and an immediate bruise and egg! I had to leave the room to calm not only Emma down but me as well. Luckily, they had frozen peas that I could put on her head while I distracted her to calm her down. She calmed down and we left shortly after with Emma and her first egg. Ugh. Poor girl. But, glad to report she's fine and it's almost completely gone!

Mike and I also received our very first parent gift from Lily! So we ate dinner (Subway, yes we had Subway...I didn't have to cook it was a great V-day) by candlelight. I think we'll keep it forever. It makes us smile and very happy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Bikes, Wagons and Slides

What a gorgeous day!!!

In March, Lily's school has a transportation day where kids can bring in their bike, trike or other ride-on toy. So, we have about a month to get our girl into shape :). We went out this morning and got her a bike helmet (yes, a youth size not toddler due to her large hard head!) and some pads (to wear while playing with her scooter from Kaylee). I had her put them all on and tell Daddy, "I'm ready to roll!". Quite cute and quite funny.

She even wore her new helmet in the car on the way to the park! So funny. And, can you see Emma staring at her like, "What is that girl doing?". Hahaha.

We worked a bit on riding the bike while Emma slept in the car. We did about five or six takes on going down this one sidewalk until she was done and wanted to go play. Don't blame her it was beautiful out and there were tons of kids on the playground.

We had lots of fun with the wagon!

Emma's first ride in the wagon! She couldn't stop giggling!

Gotta love going to the park as a family!

10 Months

Seriously, unbelievable...10 months!

Miss Emma is very much her own little person now and is very different from her big sissy in a lot of ways. Emma has taught us (we are very slow learners) that every child is different and comparing is dangerous. Not until a week or so ago did we realize to do everything completely opposite of what we did with Lily, and it will work with Emma. Way to change things up little miss.

Here's what we are learning about Miss Emma:

*Does NOT like baby food. Give her appropriate table food or anything Lily has and it's golden. I have been steaming a lot of her food in bite size pieces like squash, zucchini, carrots, apples, pears, and sweet potatoes. She also loves mac-n-cheese, chicken nuggets, spaghetti, noodles and sauce, Gerber's meat sticks (yuk), ravioli, peas, green beans, peaches, blueberries, yogurt, Cheerios and Kix, crackers, cheese, cream cheese toast, Gerber's snacks of any kind and lots of water and a little diluted apple juice!

*She has still been waking up at night (well around 4am). Ugh. I know. We don't like to sleep train but we did do a little with Lily. We try to do what's best for our girls and every stage seems to pass in their own time. This stage just seems to be taking a little time until recently. I started at nap time and she's been sleeping for 2 hrs after putting herself to sleep. At night, it still depends on the day she had but we are really trying to be patient and **knock on wood** she slept through last night :)

*We now consider Miss Emma a walker. She still continues to crawl places but only if she can't possibly wait and take the slow pace of her walking. She carries things, can squat down to pick things up over and over, climb up onto chairs and Lily's toddler bed, the bathroom step stool and has started trying to climb up the wooden gate!

*Recently I have had to extend the height on the back of her car seat to move up the shoulder straps. I guess she has gone through another growth spurt!

*In the video above, she is wearing a 6-9 mth top, a 12 mth onsie and 18 mth pants with the waist rolled! She is also wearing size 3 Stride Rite shoes and needs to go get her very first pair of walkin' shoes.

*Continues to love the bath. Takes one by herself mostly now since she and Lily are in completely different playing stages. She loves to splash!

*She loves the park, going down the slide, bubbles, our backyard swing, poking and petting Maci, playing peek-a-boo, clapping, waving hi, looking for Sissy and gets very excited when Daddy comes home.

*LOVES books and has started to point to things in books like kitty cats, dogs, items in Goodnight Moon, and people in pictures like Mommy, Daddy, Lily, Nana, Pa, and Maci.

We are very much in love with you little girl, Happy 10 Months!

"Reading"

One of the reasons why we are beginning Check Preschool ("preschool" here in the Check house taught by yours truly) soon. She's "Reading" and shows a lot of great skills already!!!

Please excuse the "Lily-tude" she's almost three and it seems to peek it's ugly head once in awhile :)

I'm completely in love with my Lily. Such a proud mama.

Check Castle

Emma loves to crawl under things. If we are sitting on the floor she ducks her head and tries to wiggle under our legs. Most of the time we have lift them up so she can go under but she will turn right back around to do it again. She also loves, loves playing peek-a-boo and hiding so we figured she would love this tunnel/tent system.

Although it's a tunnel on both sides that lead to the tent, Lily has been calling it a fort and a castle. At the moment we are calling it Check Castle and the girls are loving it. The best thing is, it came with a storage pouch and it folds up completely flat so we can hide it under the couch! Here's to many more fun times in the Check Castle.

So Much Fun

Our girls can play ball together!!

Lily is sooo great with Emma. She can be very patient, sweet, and so motherly. Well, until Emma tackles her to get the ball and then we have a problem :). We can't wait until this summer! It seems to just be getting easier and more fun!!

My Day

This morning I was surprised by my wonderful husband who went and got me a Starbucks Vanilla Latte to start my morning. It was followed by me having to WAKE up my darling girls at 8am, getting them ready (hassle free) to get out of the house.

We went to the Great Neck Library for a family storytime (the only storytime that is mixed ages). We got there late but had fun midway through anyway. We found some books including Clifford, Fancy Nancy and Ten in the Den. I also got some reference books helping me along with Check Preschool :).

After the library we enjoyed a nice time out at the park we started going to with Lily when she was Emma's age. They have replaced all of the old playground equipment and the mulch which makes for a lot calmer mommy. Emma is not a fan of the playground swings but had a blast on the slides. After a quick walk down to the water we went home for a nice relaxing lunch and a two hour nap from both of them at the SAME time. My day could not have gotten any better until I was sung Happy Birthday to by my wonderful husband and my Lily. Lily actually sang it to me quite a bit today which just made my heart melt. Happy My Day.

Preschool Update

I am very happy, proud and excited to announce that Lily is doing GREAT at her new preschool! There has been a complete change in Lily and the way she feels about school! School mornings are drastically different, she is excited to go and talks about it for the rest of the afternoon when she gets home! She never gives me a hard time about getting dressed for school and not one tear has fallen but instead she gives Emma hugs and says "It's OK Emma, I know you'll miss me but I have to go to big girl school." It's so sweet and I'm so thrilled that the transition has only been getting better!!

A typical school morning

top right: "Snow". They painted snow by using white paint and q-tips

top left: A winter collage

middle: dinosaur that she painted and is on a magnet (Lily wanted to hang it on the wall??) and a penguin that she colored with chalk

bottom right: A dinosaur stamp collage

bottom left: A Valentine drawing. In the middle she drew a heart, drew faces (And after asking multiple times, they always are the same: Nana, Pa, Emma, me and Mommy) She also wrote her name and has scribbled words, that she has told me are the names of her friends in her class. She definitely always has a purpose.

Sample notes home from her teacher

At pick-up I always get to chat with her teacher and/or the teacher assistant and they always have the nicest things to say about our Lily. The most common thing: She is so ready to help with everything, she is so good at cleaning up, we just love her! The most recent comments: Lily shared her snack today with her friends, Today Lily helped her friends wash their hands! I guess you can say she's the mama hen :) Who has only been there for a month!

The Steelers and Us

There is no secret that we are big fans of the Steelers. We wear our black and gold gear every Sunday, watch every game and Lily knows names of the players. But did you know that...

a. 2006- Steelers won the Super Bowl, Mike and I got married

b. 2009- Steelers won the Super Bowl, we had Lily

c. 2011- Steeler got to the Super Bowl, we now have Emma

Seems as though our big years are somewhat intertwined.

Wonder when our next big year will be??

And, congrats to the Packers! At least it wasn't the Ravens :).

Family Day

Today was a rainy day so we decided to make the most of it and explore an extension to the Portsmouth Children's Museum, Andalo's Clubhouse. It was a great morning and can not wait until the huge museum opens this summer.

Lily and Emma had a great time playing and watching the people that were there celebrating the Chinese New Year. Just gotta love family days!