July 2007 Archives

Courtesy of Grandma McLochlin

Ethan's mobile! It's all over now, Mike and Kami!

We've taken some more video lately. Here are a few of our favorites:

First, Josie demonstrates her modeling poses. She started doing these poses on her own one day so we gave them a name. She now does them on command. She's so funny. Blue Steel is my favorite.

Also, we've got some video from Maddie's ballet recital in May. Instead of a big recital, Miss Mary chose instead to let the parents have an observation day where they could see all the skills the girls had learned throughout the season. Maddie LOVES doing arabesques.

This is what happens when you let them dress themselves.

- I've neglected the last few weeks, but I'm still grateful for so much.

- Finding a new playgroup. Recently, I met the mom of one of the girls in Maddie's class who is in a different playgroup. It's made up of moms from the entire county, as opposed to just Smyrna. I went to an activity today at Chuck E Cheese and got a chance to meet a few of the moms. Everyone was really nice, the kids were all around Maddie and Josie's ages, and the atmosphere was really relaxed. It's great because there are activities scheduled daily (park, puppet show, museum) and you can just show up at your leisure. In my previous playgroup, we met once a week at each other's house. Whenever the day came around for everyone to visit my house, I'd have anxiety all week about cleaning it up and making it presentable. That's more stress than is needed for a playdate! It's early, but I think I've found a good mix. The girls and I will get a chance to get out, to socialize a little more. I was starting to worry about their lack of interaction with other kids. They don't go to preschool and, even though they play really well together, I think it's important for them to learn how to make relationships with other kids as well.

- Iceland. Beautiful country. If not for missing the girls so much, I might not have come home. I'm in awe of people who live right next door to such natural beauty. Do they take it for granted? Do they look out their windows each morning and gasp at the beauty before them, as I did each day in Iceland?

- Seeing the girls again after a week away from them. They always look and sound so much older to me after I haven't seen them for a while (even a day). It's so fun to hear their stories and what they've done while we're gone. I'm with them all the time, so hearing about something new that they've learned without me is so fun.

- The True Colors concert on June 28th. Our favorite babysitter, Tanya, came by again so Bill and I could go to the concert. We heard Dresden Dolls(eh), Debbie Harry (not bad), Erasure (completely awesome!), Cyndi Lauper (pretty good, but no Erasure), and commentary by Margaret Cho (somewhat funny). It was held at Chastain Amphitheater, so Bill and I got to bring our little picnic basket and tray tables and a nice bottle of wine. It was a nice night for the two of us.

- Coming home. Bill's friend, Ben, took care of our house and dogs while we were gone and he did such a great job. Our ride home on Monday was so long and we were so tired and couldn't wait to get home and crawl into bed (poor Bill still had work to do). Lucky for us, Ben had already changed the sheets on our bed, washed the dishes, and cleaned the house. It was way more than he should have done, but I am ever so thankful for being able to just collapse into bed once the girls were asleep.

- Free mulch? I put a question mark because I'm not sure we needed that much. The city of Smyrna will deliver free leaf mulch to anyone who wants it. I called about getting some and they delivered it on Tuesday. It takes up the width of our driveway and then some, plus it's about 3 feet tall. No kidding. I spent the last couple of mornings (when it's not too hot) putting the mulch around our landscaping in the front yard and I haven't even made a dent in it. Once I put some in the backyard, I'm going to have to get creative about where to put the rest -- or call friends and have them come to get some as well. Want some?

- Summer hours. Turner lets their employees out at 3pm on Fridays during the summer. I love the fact that our weekend starts early and we get to spend more time with Bill.

- And you?

Thanks, mom!

My mom sent me this link so long ago that I've forgotten what the video is. Sorry for taking so long to post this, mom!