2017 Week 11

Sunday, March 12

One of  the ways Josh occupied Ellie as they waited for me to retrieve Elaina from the Fairy party, and one of the ways we distracted Elaina from her upset tummy on the way home, was a Strawberry Shortcake app on his phone where you get to help her make a smoothie. They had such a good time playing the game, we decided to make smoothies for breakfast. They were a big hit--especially with the sprinkles. Later, we headed to the mall in search of new shoes for the girls, where they found some fun in a cutout at Claire's.

Monday, March 14

In true Midwest fashion, because we relatively little snow all winter, we finally got a decent amount just as I was beginning to daydream about open windows and short sleeves. On the bright side, we finally got to take the girls sledding with the new sleds Santa brought them for Christmas. It wasn't a ton of snow, and it was all but gone two days later, but we sure enjoyed it while it lasted.

Tuesday, March 14
To commemorate Pi Day, and to save myself from more ribbing from Josh's boss, I made a blueberry pie when our sledding festivities ended on Monday. Tonight, Josh and I enjoyed some of the leftovers after dinner.

Wednesday, March 15
Today was a day that, for a couple of reasons, I had been dreading. First, I had to go to a meeting downtown, which is always intimidating, and I had to present during that meeting to a group that can be somewhat intimidating. Thankfully, it went well, and my host and friend, Mark, took me out to lunch with a couple of co-workers. Second, Ellie's accident happened one year ago today. 365 days later and I am still haunted by that night, but thankfully, our little girl has been so resilient. Not a day has passed where she hasn't smiled or lost herself in a fit of giggles at least once. I am so proud to be her mama.

Thursday, March 16
Work has been pretty busy lately. I've been given new responsibilities, and it's exciting, but it can be a little overwhelming, too, and sometimes, the 8.5 hours I'm in the office just aren't enough to get done what needs to be done. Today was one of those days. So after working all day and then going to Pearce to blow off some steam, we came home and had dinner and I got back to work. Thankfully the girls were happy to watch some old episodes of Press Your Luck while I worked, and about an hour and half after they went to bed, I finally finished for the day.

Friday, March 17
Today our little sweeties were festive for St. Patrick's Day (thanks in part to an awesome clothing ad-lib for Elaina that Josh pulled off in the morning). In the evening, we headed back to school for Family Fun Night. The girls had a great time trying out the different games, seeing their friends, and buying goodies with the tokens they had earned.

Saturday, March 18
Today was BUSY. We went to Pearce, then took the girls out for lunch to Chic-fil-A because it had been awhile. (And it will be a while yet again--Ellie doesn't really like it, and whoa, that play area is a madhouse of unsupervised children!) Then we went to Carters, where I found shoes, tights, and a few other goodies for the girls. Then off to 3030 for coffee and to the grocery store to stock up for the week, and finally to Friar Tuck's to get some Guiness for a brownie recipe I wanted to try as well as the makings for a martini at home. Because that wasn't enough fun, I started the process of making rainbow cupcakes. I've made them almost every year since Elaina was 1, and every year they are just as tedious as I remember. While Josh and the girls watched Finding Dory, I listened along and filled 24 cupcake liners 6 times with layered colors. It was pretty exhausting, but you can't argue with the results.

2017 Week 10

Sunday, March 5
Today Elaina had a birthday party for one of her friends from school. It was held at one of the gymnastics facilities in town, so  I braided her hair to keep it out of her face. She really liked the look, and had a great time at the party. Meanwhile, Ellie got some one-on-one time with Mom and Dad, which included a trip to The Dollar Store and the grocery store, where she got to ride in on Josh's shoulders. After we picked up Elaina, we took advantage of BOGO macchiato sale at Starbucks and drove out to Detweiller to enjoy it. It was a good day for everyone.

Monday, March 6
Yesterday marked my 5-year anniversary at The Company, so today I got my pin during our team meeting. I have to admit that I'm a bit more excited about the extra week of vacation :)

Tuesday, March 7
Josh had to stay very late tonight, so I entertained the girls while we waited for him to come home. Ellie and I played a few rounds of Hide and Seek, which mostly consisted of her hiding and then shouting places for me to look from her hiding place. When she tired of that, she decided to read a Dr. Seuss book to me. Elaina was occupied almost the entire time by reading in her bedroom--she was bound and determined to work her way through a fairy book series we'd gotten her through Scholastic. Josh got home earlier than anticipated, and while we had supper, we facetimed with his parents, who were on vacation in Mexico. It was really nice to see them and the girls were ecstatic. Technology is great!

Wednesday, March 8
Josh heard a commotion this morning outside, and when he went out, he saw a hundred or more grackles swarming the skies around our neighborhood. He grabbed the camera to record it for me, and then manage to take a couple of pictures of our little cuties getting ready for school.

Thursday, March 9
I noticed the the sunset was looking very nice, so I grabbed the camera and headed outside. The girls waved from the windows, and then Elaina grabbed her coat and shoes to give it the full Vanna White effect.

Friday, March 10
Today was a day Elaina had been looking forward to for probably a month. She had been invited to an event called Frolic with Fairies, which included dress up, a ballet performance, dinner, and dancing. She was so, so excited. We dressed her in a pretty, lacy dress and accented her outfit with bat wings (she was a nighttime fairy, she said), and dropped her off for an evening of fun. Elysia decided to get in on the dress up as well and wore her dress to dinner, which was supposed to be to Chili's. It was entirely too busy, so she finally settled for a Happy Meal and acted as though it was the finest gourmet meal she'd ever been offered (I suppose that happens when dinner is a couple hours later than normal). Josh and I weren't in the mood for Mc'Ds, so we went across the street and had Moes, which also met with Ellie's approval because she got to share our chips and queso. Unfortunately, as we left, the mom of Elaina's friend called to say Elaina wasn't feeling well. I found her with Nikki and Brycelynn, who, luck would have it, were at the same event. We took her home and her tummy settled, and she handled it really well, other than being disappointed that she didn't get to ride home in a friend's car. I'm hoping next year is a more complete success, and Ellie gets to go, too!

Saturday, March 11
Today was another busy Saturday (the end of February/beginning of March has it in for us). It started in an interesting fashion when Josh and I were roused from sleep by the sound of a cough in the living room. Ellie had gotten herself up and was reading to herself. Wonder if it will become a habit! After some rather amusing dress up, we ran to Peoria in the morning and then headed to Steven's birthday party in the afternoon. We left in the midst of a rough parenting moment, which got worse before it got better, but the evening ended more smoothly. Josh and the girls made pizza, and after dinner we settled down for a family movie night to Toy Story 2. As we prepared to watch, I checked Mario and Rita's flight tracker and noticed they were right above Peoria, so the girls waved to welcome them home!

2017 Week 9

Sunday, February 26
Today we took an overdue trip to see Mom and Dad. It's funny--now that they're retired, they seem to be busier than when they worked full-time. Much of it, I know, has been taking care of my grammas, and, since Gramma Beck passed away, preparing her home for sale. So when they said they could make Sunday work, we said we could, too, and headed down for the day.

The girls got to enjoy pieces of my past in the form of barbies and suitcases of clothes that Mom had sewn for me and Rachel (true labor of love); Elaina showed Mom her Valentines from school; Ellie read to Mom; and Dad made me some popcorn. He also gave me Gramma's pie carrier, which made me cry. I am so happy to have it. I just wish it were still in her house for her to use instead.

Monday, February 27
Lately Elaina has been obsessed with jumprope. We bought a long snake bungee toy for Yuna, but Elaina has commandeered it much of the time. Since it's driving the dog crazy in the house, I sent her outside after school to get some jumping in. Ellie decided to join in, too. They're both really good at it with all this practice!

Tuesday, February 28
The weather forecast for today called for an enhanced risk of severe storms, and as Josh and I worked out at Pearce, the watches and warnings started coming quickly. I took a picture of the sky on our way out to the car, about 5 minutes before a storm blew in, and about 7 minutes before the tornado sirens went off in town and poor Elaina had a 5-alarm meltdown because of it. She was so scared, poor baby. Thankfully, we didn't even lose power, though the storm that had triggered the warning in our town created a damaging tornado across the river.

Wednesday, March 1
Earlier this week, Josh decided to dig around upstairs for some old new music to put on his phone. While up there, he found the CDs on which we had burned the videos for the girls' first birthdays. I am so glad we have copies of them, and the girls were, too: tonight we spent some time watching them, remembering and laughing. It seems like yesterday, and it seems like forever ago. Sweet little babies. So thankful for them.

Thursday, March 2
Given the mild weather we've been enjoying lately, it was almost inevitable that spring seems to have begun early this year. I noticed tonight when we got home from Pearce that my crocuses have started to bloom--they are such a happy first flower of the season. I just hope it stays moderate enough that our fruit trees have half a chance--early spring is nice, but only if it stays this way.

Friday, March 3
Josh and I had one of those common, amusing marital conversations tonight regarding what to eat for dinner, since we had not adequately prepared for the week. Ultimately, we decided to take the girls to Sugar for their Book-It pizzas, and it turned out to be a great decision. The girls loved their pizzas, especially the nutella s'mores dessert pizza, and I think Sugar may be the new Pizza Hut.

Saturday, March 4
Today began several weekends of busy-ness, so we tried to get as much un-rushed stuff done as we could. This included a trip to Pearce, complete with a basketball game which I think I lost, a trip to Costco, where the girls tried out the ginormous chaise lounges, a trip to hide the grey (me only), and some Finding Nemo for the girls. Later, Elaina came out from her bath ready to read (she can hardly walk anywhere without in a book in her hands these days). She decided it was important to don the appropriate headgear for such an occasion.

Elaina was much happier than she looked...since this was her idea and all...