Monday, September 29, 2008

We Love Fairies!

Olivia lost her 3rd tooth! For this we are very thankful since she was starting to look like Nanny Mcphee. Teeth should never be horizontal. Last night we were visited by the beloved Tooth Fairy! Livie was showered with quarters and fairy dust, (complete with a trail that kept my little fairies busy all morning)!

What a way to start the day!






Sunday, September 28, 2008

B-Ball

Emerson might follow in daddy's footsteps and play basketball.



She loved rolling and bouncing the ball. She even had some good moves for a 22 month old. It's a shame Coach K doesn't coach girls, we might have a future Blue Devil on our hands. Go Duke!







Saturday, September 27, 2008

Spray Food

I was a skeptic of the spray pancake batter, but my friends I was wrong. The Batter Blaster really delivered. Organic spray food, who knew! My girls loved it. Not that pancakes are hard to make, but it was fun and very neat. Just shake,spray and flip. They wanted tiny pancakes and it was simple. The plate is actually a salad plate and each little pancake is about the size of a quarter. Adorable! Top with whipped cream and you have the perfect spray meal.





Friday, September 26, 2008

Bones

Today, Landon handed in her first project as a 3rd grader. She had to make and label a skeleton. Being a Biology nerd, I loved this assignment. I was a bit surprised that she would be memorizing bones at 8, since I never knew my kneecap was a patella until well into Middle school. The days of learning to color and cut, tying our shoes and napping on mats in Kindergarten is a thing of the past. I should have known 3rd grade advanced, too.


Landon decided to use pipe cleaners and straws to build her skeleton friend, Skelly. She quickly noticed the hands would be huge if she made each finger, so she opted to draw every tiny bone on a piece of index card and just attach it to Skelly. She needed to show every detail and spent many hours getting each one perfect. I was so proud of her. It looks great!


A Halloween themed project was perfect for Fall. Skelly will make a great addition to our decorations!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

3 Down

It was a very exciting weekend. After many hours working with Daddy, we now have 3 training wheel free bike riders (Or 2 wheeler riders as Connor proudly calls herself).

To get some good practice time, we went to the track to master our skills without fear of cars. No fewer than 20 laps later it is official. I now have thighs of steel (I wish) and a wonderful farmers tan to prove it.

I was very proud of the girls for riding so long. It might have had a little to do with the fuss I made while trying to fit 3 bikes, 3 helmets and a stroller in the back of the Mini, and something about this being a trial run, since these ladies can't make the 1/2 mi block ride in the neighborhood with out quitting. I think it might also help not having my helpful voice directing bike flow, like at home.

We even had fun playing with sidewalk chalk. They were very excited to know their cousins saw their art on Monday at school. Landon was sure to add her last name for clarity, in case they thought it was another Landon, Olivia, Connor and Emerson.

Olivia was the last to decide 2 wheels were better than 4.


Connor loves riding her 2-wheeler.


Landon, the old pro, enjoyed teaching her sisters tricks.








It was great to see how independent they are getting.




I'm the only thing holding Emerson back from joining her sisters in the wind. She tries to ride the "big" bikes and doesn't see reaching the peddles as factor. Until those little legs grow she is stuck in the stroller just along for the ride.





Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Wonderful Wednesday



For almost 9 years, once a week my best friend comes over to visit, gossip, watch TV and above all, play Aunt. We met in college 15 years ago and have been wonderful friends every since.



This week we went to Mama Fu's for great food and a million balloon sculptures. My girls had a blast goofing off. We left with 2 pink poodles, 3 swords, 4 crowns, 3 hearts and a lady bug. Just a few more things to keep away from the puppy.

Monday, September 22, 2008

We love Fall


Connor came home wearing this cute fall crown of leaves she made at school today.

Happy Fall!


This is what we did instead of napping today (dark circles to prove it). Fabulous Fall has arrived! Emerson was very excited to see pumpkins. She wanted the whole cart full of them. We are glad for sweater weather!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Only my Livie!

Olivia: Mom, did you know if Emma swallows a calipitter(caterpillar) she would burp a butterfly?


Me: Oh wow, let's not feed her any to find out?


Olivia: I'll try, but it would be neat to see!

She is clearly still pitching her theory of "uncontrollable" burps, to get the no-sodas-until-they-learn-control, freeze lifted. A+ for effort. If only she put this much thought into quietly burping.

Greek for a day!






Almost every year for the past 25 years I have gone to the annual Greek Festival to enjoy wonderful food and rich culture. I had a childhood friend who is Greek and she influenced my love for Greek food. We would watch her little sister dance for hours dressed from head to toe while we sampled every thing in site. She could pronounce things and always had a connection to get the best food.

I'm a Scotch-Irish-German-Irish with a touch of Indian, normal American Christian girl. Product of the American melting pot to say the least. We did not have a strong ethnic ties or "pure" blood line and I really admired her tight knit Greek community. The fact they had awesome food was definitely a bonus. She did love to come over and eat my mom's southern cooking (which is a heritage all its own). I wanted to be Greek and she wanted to be a normal American. (Rent, My big Fat Greek Wedding if you need a visual. It's so true and hilarious!)

I took my girls and for one more day, pretended to be Greek and had a blast visiting old friends and sharing their rich culture and mouth watering food.

Spanakopita, Greek salads loaded with olives and feta, souvlaki, and loukoumades, the most delicious donut holes covered in honey, cinnamon and powdered sugar. It was bliss. Not for the diet, gained 3 lbs! Double time on the treadmill for the next few weeks. :(

The girls loved the "guard" because he had a real sword. They kept saying, "He's real mom not an actor, REAL!" They loved Greece and want to go back next week when Daddy gets home.

My Little Tea Pot



This is Emerson singing "I'm a little tea pot" with her sisters. She is a bit confused with the "pour me out part" and "roll em up" from Pat-a-Cake. I can understand why since Connor sings it "when I get all boiled up, just tip me out." I guess she is tipped over.

Fitting that she has on her tea pot dress.

She is such a character and keeps us laughing.

Wow!

I have been slammed for the last month. Getting geared up for uniforms and all that the new school year brings still makes my head ache. We started on the 25th and have been racing around ever since. I'll post first day of school pictures and labor day pictures as soon as I get a break to upload pictures.