ECW

(this picture has nothing to do with this post)

This week has been hectic. It seems like every week lately is pretty busy. While I have limited the girls' activities to ballet and soccer (and choir for Ellery), we still have something every single afternoon. By the time Thursday rolls around, I am ready to R E L A X. I am ready for the weekend. So when I glanced at our calendar and saw ECW (Episcopal Church Women), I was less than enthused.

Truthfully, I felt like getting the kids settled into their beds, plopping on the sofa, watching some terrible t.v. and (perhaps) flipping through the new phonics curriculum (Rocket Phonics) that came in the mail for the girls.

I had to go. I had RSVP'd that I would attend (don't these things always seem so much more appealing when you RSVP than when the event actually approaches?) I pulled it together, tried my best to ensure the girls were situated for the evening, and rushed out the door -- already 30 minutes late.

How did it turn out?

It was fabulous. I attended because I felt obligated;, I left feeling inspired, refreshed and optimistic. There was something magical being surrounded by 150-200 women of all ages, bringing their divergent experiences together to draw strength from one another and ultimately to do good as we work to serve others.

A group of women making a difference. This seems to be a pattern in my life right now and I have learned when patterns appear -- I need to stop and pay attention. I am about 80% (gotta love the Kindle) through reading Half the Sky and on Tuesday I will be blogging about The Girl Effect.

Check out the links and stay tuned!

Art

The girls LOVE art projects. They are satisfied with paint and markers. Sometimes we break out the beads and lately Ellery has been interested in friendship bracelets. I am always trying to think of new projects, new ways to engage them and nurture they creative tendencies.

Danielle has come up with some fabulous art projects this month.

Here she poured paint into popsicle molds and froze it. Then the kids painted with frozen popsicle paint.

It was a new way to use paint and the creations were pretty cool.

This one was my favorite. You drop food coloring into a rather large - wide mouthed bowl of milk. Then, you drip your toothpick in dish soap till it is saturated and dripping.

When the dish soap hits the food coloring in the milk it dances quickly away - leaving these awesome paint swirl designs.

Now - there is definitely a science lesson in here. Something to do with viscosity and surface tension. For us, we didn't take it quite that far....we just enjoyed the colors.

Any cool art projects you have been doing with your kids?

Ham for the Cam

Yesterday, I was uploading pics from my camera to the computer. I came across these.

One of the lucky bi-products of a nanny who is a photographer is that I often stumble across some of the most AMAZING photos.

And here we shall end with Vaughan's mean face. She's downright vicious, right?

Oh the imagination

Vaughan has an intense and quite extraordinary imagination. She can and will spend hours and hours either by herself or with Ellery creating elaborate games and scenarios. It is quite a privilege to listen in on her antics.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon this scene. She created "chairs" for each of her dolls and set them up to see "the stage." Woody looks like he is quite amused with the fact that his date has fallen off her chair.

I always get my princesses mixed up but I think this is sleeping beauty (wearing cinderella's dress). Looks like she took a spill on the cat walk....or maybe she just fell asleep?

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I guess superman and prince charming are pretty close buds. They decided to share a chair.

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In this shot, you can see both cinderella and snow white (to the far right for those not in the princess know) have urgent questions, clearly indicated by the elevation of their hands. Behind them, strawberry shortcake is giggling...she is probably about to get her name on the board. Or maybe this isn't school?

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Whatever it is these two need to invest in some sort of conditioner for their locks....that is some otta control hair.

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Here is the whole scene. In all honestly, I cleaned this up and the next day all of these peeps and accessories had migrated to our counter - leaving literally no place to eat or prepare food. After that was "removed" I found it had migrated to our dining room table. Seriously -- these are intricate set-ups. You never know what you are going to find or where you might them. That little Vaughan and her little peeps....right now she is asleep with about 10-15 scattered in the bed all around her!

We are off to Family Camp this weekend. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend too!

The first day of school came and went

Peeps - I am behind! The first day of school came and went. So lots of you are asking:

- How does Ellery like Kindergarten?

- Is Latham in school this year?

- How is Vaughan? Does she miss seeing Ellery on the playground

Well, my friends, I have the answers to these and other intriguing questions. But first, let's pause as we take a peek at Ellery on her first day of school.

She was SUPER excited. Her transition to Pre-First (that what it is called these days) was smooth. Although she didn't know anyone in her class, she made all new friends. She loves eating lunch in the cafeteria - especially because she gets to have chocolate milk everyday. Did I mention that Ellery is going to the same school from which I graduated? It's pretty cool that we have the opportunity to share a similar experience.

Vaughan didn't actually start school until a few weeks later. But, in all honesty, I didn't get a picture of that. So for the sake of simplicity, let's just pretend like this was her first day of school too. Vaughan has also adjusted well to school this year. Although I am sure she misses seeing Ellery on the playground she hasn't really expressed that. Because Ellery is in school most days till 2PM, I have a chance about one a week to have lunch with just Vaughan. It's nice to be able to focus all of my attention and energy on just her. By the way, she eats it up.

And you might wonder why Latham is still in her PJs? Honestly, we are still mastering the task of getting them all dressed, fed and out the door each morning. Many, many mornings sweet Latham is still in her PJs when we drop her sisters off at school. Latham is "attending" school this year. Though so far she has only made it twice for a 30 min stretch. She still takes a morning nap that is right in the middle of when she has school. So until she drops it - she will be attending sporatically and only for a short stretch.

There you have it folks. The first day of school wrap-up. Just like that - it came and it went.

Sisters

These girls. These girls. These girls.

They are the best of friends. Latham is FULLY in the mix now. She is a sneak. The second you take your eyes off of her, she sneaks into her sisters' room and sticks her pudgy fingers into Vaughan's jewelry box. She snatches all of Vaughan's treasures she has carefully stowed away and leaves then thoughtlessly strewn around the house. Somehow, Vaughan takes it all in stride.

Then while I am attempting to gather up all of the precious prizes that are littered about, she sneaks back in and grabs Ellery's American Girl Doll and marches out of the room with a proud smile on her face.

These girls!

I added these in not only because of the sheer joy on their faces but also because who doesn't love Latham in a bikini!

I'm Still Here

I'm still here -- just busy getting back into the swing of things with school. Hopefully I will be back soon with lots of fun things to share including: the playroom make-over, some delicious recipes, an iPhone app that you will not be able to live without...

and of course -- some cute pics! By the way, how sneeky does little Latham look in that photo above?