moving things around...

Gracie's play yard is now in our master closet (on Scott's side). She sleeps so soundly now. Our closet is off of our master bath---so she's far away from any noises. There are no windows, so she doesn't wake up with the sun either. I can hear her easily if she does wake up. Why didn't I think of this before?

The girls are adjusting okay. There are some minor issues, but I don't feel like getting into that right now. I think they will be totally fine in a couple of weeks. Ella especially is so very sensitive right now. Thanks to all of our friends that have called, commented on the blog, or left little notes on fb. We are so very blessed to have the greatest group of friends. :)

just pics for this Monday...

Somehow I captured Gracie and Cupid with the same expression (playing with my Sony cyber-shot):

And a few more pics (back to my big DSLR camera--nothing compares to the DSLR--just wish it could fit in my pocket):

Saying goodbye...

Missing him already...

Not in a blogging mood.

smoothies, meatloaf, and cake...

I'm lovin' my new Vitamix--and I'm rockin' the smoothies...



Alright, maybe Ella's getting a little sick of the smoothies...

Gracie's new #1 food is the take-home meat loaf from Costco...



We are making Scott's B-day cake a little early, so he can celebrate with us. The big girls love decorating cakes. :)




And where is Gracie while I'm taking these pictures?

In the pantry, no surprise there. ;)

And pics from tonight:

the joys of an 11 month old...

If I can't find Gracie, I know she's in 1 of 4 places: 1. the pantry, taking food off the shelves 2. the shoe rack-tossing all the shoes onto the floor, and yanking coats off the kid coat rack 3. in my purse, unloading the contents or 4. drinking out of the dog water.



(notice all the shoes off the shoe rack back in the entry) ;)

I took our recent good family photo up to Michael's to get it custom framed. I had no idea what a rip off it was to get something custom framed there! I was quoted a price of $212.76---and that was with my 50% off coupon!! Geez! If I spent that kind of money on the frame, I pretty sure it would put me in a bad mood every time I looked at it. So, I spent $14 on a frame that looks almost as nice, and I'm much happier. The picture is an 8X12, so I ended up with a 10X13 frame...and if I can find someone with a mat cutter, I'll cut my own mat, and make it look right later. I can think of a LOT of different things I'd rather do with $200.

And I'm hopping back on here to add a couple of pics from this BEAUTIFUL day here in Washington. Sunny, 70 degrees...just gorgeous!

quick visit from cousin Sadie...

Sadie had a job interview in Portland yesterday, which is just about 2 hours south of here. After her interview, she drove here to see us. Then she had to drive back to Portland this morning just after the girls went to school, so she could catch her flight. Selfishly, we would LOVE for her to live in Portland. :) Crossing my fingers, that this is the job for her. :)

rainy day...

My sweet Kate is growing up WAY too fast.

Gracie's got teeth #s 7 and 8 coming in now. (you can't really see teeth #s 5 and 6 coming down from the top). She's such a good baby...just complains when it really hurts. Today, I was putting away some Ritz crackers that Ella had out. Gracie started whining, so I asked her, "Do you want some of these?" She sort of nodded her head...and halfway joking, I said, "Say: yes, please."...and she did!!!...she said it back very clearly. Melts my heart. :)

It was raining off and on today, so I brought the trains downstairs...so much fun on the hardwood. The girls did this for hours. Tomorrow we get an estimate to see how much it would be to finish off our first floor in hardwood. Keeping my fingers crossed...I'd have the whole house done if I could. Scott likes carpet in the bedrooms though; This debate will continue with us for quite a while.


Oh, I've got a couple more pics of Scott and Kate, that last pic makes me laugh:

new toy in the kitchen...

My new obsession...making smoothies, finding new ways to sneak very healthy foods into my kids. This morning I made very healthy waffles with it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this thing. I've got so many things I can't wait to try.
Kiwi/Strawberry/Banana smoothies...

Waffles...

pretty day...

Outside enjoying a BEAUTIFUL day...sunny, about 70 degrees, no wind. Lovely day. :)

got milk?

I've been goofing around with a lot of photos lately, infact I've been working through photos in my photoshop program in my dreams the past couple of nights....this is a hobby that really sucks me in. Yes, I've got dishes to do, and piles of laundry to wash. I really, really love painting on the pictures with photo-safe oils. Oh, if I could only make the days somehow last 30 hours, I would. I just need more time. :)

looked out the back kitchen window....

I noticed it was pouring down rain, and the sun was shining. So I grabbed my camera, headed out the front door, hoping for a rainbow. It only lasted a couple of minutes, but I caught it on my camera...no pots of gold though. Happy St. Patrick's day! :)

And then goofing around with my photoshop, made it pretty fun. :)

family photo:

Fairies and Frogs Photography...same photographer I took Kate to when she was a baby. I've got a big one that I will get custom framed. :)

Happy day pics:

The big girls were both in the BEST moods after school today, so I snapped a few: