Showers and Slumber

(this picture has NOTHING to do with this post)

Last night, Alan and I looked at each other after dinner and, though it was unspoken, we both said to each other "I am exhausted." The last few weeks have been tiring and stressful (I have been working on the girls' annual fundraiser at school (an auction)).

So after dinner, I stripped the girls, put them in the shower, and scrubbed them good with soap. Once they were sufficiently clean, I joined Alan on the bed to rest while the girls played in the shower. I don't know if it was the gentle sound of the shower, the extreme comfort of our bed, or sheer exhaustion but Alan and I were both drifting off to sleep. Luckily I caught myself....luckily because if allowed the McKnight ladies would stay in the shower for HOURS.

"We need to get them out," I whispered to Alan. He nodded, eyes half open. "In two more minutes," I said. And then we both smiled.

Pillow Pets cont. and other happenings

Is there some sort of unwritten rule that all recitals have to be incredibly unorganized? Ellery had her gymnastics "recital" this week. It was incredibly PAINFUL. Not because of the actual performances but because of the lack of organization. There were probably 100 parents jammed into a gym all waiting and waiting and waiting to watch their child skip across the balance beam for 5 seconds. Then more waiting and waiting and waiting to watch their child do a flip on the bar. Then more waiting and waiting and well, you get the idea. Ugh!

An update on the Pillow Pets...I walked by the bar yesterday and Ellery's Pillow Pet was once AGAIN hooked up to the cd player. Clearly this was not a one time thing. Alan asked her what was going on and she replied in a matter of fact tone that she "was charging" her Pillow Pet. Charging it for what?

Pillow Pet

Please meet Ellery's new Pillow Pet. She has not officially named this new addition to our family - but she sure does love it. I am not sure where Ellery heard about these pillow pets but she insisted she had to have one. The request was lost on me.

The thing is, the McKnight girls have Gagi. And NOTHING is lost on Gagi. So, Gagi found these pillow pets and ordered them straight away.

That is all well and good until I came across these pictures Danielle took. What the heck are Gagi and Ellery doing to the pillow pet? Is this some sort of electro shock therapy? It looks like they are hooking up the pillow pet to the cd player. Gagi - please shed some light.

Did the Leprechauns hit your house?

Did the leprechauns hit your house because they sure hit ours. They snuck in while we were sleeping and turned all of our toilet water green! Then when no one was looking they tinted our milk too. The girls were giddy, I was giddy....what a fun way to start off the day.

I had grand plans of serving green eggs - but the girls were less thrilled with that prospect.

Gagi did stop by to try her hand at nursing me back to health (I have been battling a cold for the last 6 weeks.) With her helpers by her side, she made her cure-all sliders and SOME were green!

I am already feeling better today!

FYI - Sliders are homemade flat noodles (a little like a dumpling.) YUMMY!

Winter Wonderland

As pretty as it may be -- I am ready for Spring. Come on and get here already.

Here comes the sun

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right

I hope you all are enjoying Spring - wherever you may be. Spring arrived here last week - what a relief from this cold, dreary weather we have had. And the kids were off for "Winter Break" which meant that it was high time to head to the zoo. Danielle took the girls for a full zoo day - picnic included. I stayed home and toiled away at the computer.

I love seeing pictures of the girls when I am not there to see things with my own eyes. I wonder what was going through their minds when this shot was taken. Sweet girls...they love each other so well (when they aren't fighting - ahem).

A little bit of this and a whole lot of that

Do you ever wake up amazed at how time has passed? Some mornings I stare at my children in shear amazement....when did this happen.

That is how I felt this morning when I opened this blog. Was my last post really in January? Those of you who have sent me emails nudging me to get busy....thank you. I am back - at least for right now.

Like just about everyone else I know, we have been busy. Busy with school, work, colds, the house, you name it. There is a lot to catch up on. So when I was trying to figure out where to start....well, Turks and Caicos seemed like as good of a place as any.

My parents graciously watched our little tasmanian devils while Alan and I escaped to the Caribbean. The weather was wasn't perfect but, in all honesty, I really didn't care. We spent a considerable amount of time under that cabana above -- reading books and sipping pina coladas (virgin for me, of course.)

It was just what we needed to recharge and escape this insanely cold, long winter. I was antsy to get back to the kids and I was happy that we were welcomed home so joyously (by both kids and grandparents:-))