Summer Count Up 1

Hi everyone!
Here's our (short) week in pictures, one for every day we've been celebrating summer. I'll still have longer posts (because I have already taken 83 pictures and we've only been at the shore two days and I'm sure you can't wait to see those!) too, but here's our recent week in pictures:

Day 1 -- We planted tomatoes and learned that Lizzie is not a gardener. She hated everything about getting her hands in the potting soil. Hannah, on the other hand, stood underneath the topsy turvy planter and let the water drain onto her head. Then I told her that the potting soil had manure in it. Interestingly Lizzie was more grossed out by that, than Hannah (who then took a shower!)

Day 2: Hung out with Dad on the hammock: 

Day 3: Waited while Dad and Cash drove us to Grandma's house at the shore. Here they are conferring about the GPS coordinates and if it was shorter to go the Schuylkill or the Commodore Barry Bridge:

Day 4 -- celebrated Father's Day with the best dad in the whole wide world (which is exactly what Hannah wrote in her card). You'll see he's a great dad because he's actually wearing the tie that Hannah made for him:

School's OUT!!!

A few years ago I hated the summer. I didn't like the heat and Hannah and Lizzie drove me crazy. I used to count down the days until preschool would start and I'd get a break. About two years ago that changed. For some reason I don't mind the heat (that could be the air conditioning in my house and the pool down  the road!) and either I've gotten used to Hannah and Lizzie's brand of craziness or they've grown out of it.
So I think I look forward to summer vacation as much as they do. We've got a lot of fun stuff planned for the summer: the usual trips to the shore and the Poconos and afternoons at the pool, but also some other fun stuff: a trip to NYC to visit Grandma Connie and then a trip to visit the Garritys in Somers. We'll be going berry/cherry picking at a local orchard, eating water ice, spending the day at Hershey Park, taking day trips to parks, camping, riding bikes, having picnics, fishing, climbing trees, going to the library etc. etc. etc. If it doesn't involve getting up before 8 a.m. we're IN!
I've even got a couple of surprises up my sleeve!
And, since I KNOW you are all drooling with jealousy I thought I'd take my blog along on the adventures, big and small. So I came up with this idea of posting one picture every day of summer (there are 74 days before Hannah and Liz have to get up for the the bus). Now, we all know that I'm not going to post a picture every day, so once a week -- probably Sunday -- I'll post one picture of what we're doing from the previous seven days. Since my blog is partly for the relatives and partly for me to remember just what the heck we've been doing around here I figured it would be fun to have a daily record of what's been happening.
So I'll start on Sunday.
Until then, here are some pictures of Hannah and Lizzie yesterday -- after they got off the bus for the last time this school year and headed to the backyard for our annual picnic.

Here's Hannah playing with her dolls. She had just asked me to babysit while she played on the swings. I charged her $15.00:

The girls enjoying our picnic of cheesy bread sticks with dipping sauces, juice and potato chips:

Lizzie actually enjoyed dipping her potato chips in the sauces. Hannah enjoyed the swings while I babysat:

Here Lizzie is still enjoying the chips. She ate just about the whole bag, first with the marinara sauce and then with the ranch dressing. It was quite impressive:

True Colors

This past weekend was Hannah and Lizzie's dance demonstration aka recital. They had a tiny cheering section of just Rob and I, but we were very loud and clapped much longer than anyone else (and by we I mean ME!)
They danced to "True Colors" and, as you can see in the video below they actually create a rainbow through the dance. Their costumes are tee shirts onto which have been sewn ribbons of all different colors. They work more ribbons in their hair, too. Their teacher, Miss Bridget, is SO creative and she made the costumes herself. And then she let the girls all keep them.
Here's a shot of them all on stage:

Hannah is wearing light blue on the right and Lizzie is wearing pink on the left. They are both in the front row in the beginning of the dance and (horrors!) end up holding hands at the end of the dance. Only Miss Bridget could get them to do that.
So here they are with their post dance flowers:

And a closeup on their gorgeous faces, because I did their stunning makeup and hair:

And now, here's the long awaited dance:

Simple Woman's Daybook

For June 1, 2011

Outside my window... For most of the day it was in the mid-90s and humid, but now it's clouding up and I'm seeing the underside of the leaves -- a sure sign that a storm is coming. The breeze even smells like a cold front coming through.

I am thinking... how happy I am that school is almost over. I have been loving my "free" time with Hannah and Lizzie in the summer. I don't really mind getting up early for school, it's the 1-hour daily yell fest (get dressed, brush your teeth, what do you want for breakfast, what do you want for lunch, you can't wear that to school, no, I have to brush your hair, no I don't know where your shoes are) that I will not miss over the summer.

I am thankful ... for a husband who took good care of the family while I was sick this past weekend.

From the kitchen... Summer dinner!! I made a chicken salad and a three-bean (actually two-bean, corn and olives!) salad.

I am wearing... white shirt, grey pants.

I am creating... the girls' story for their teachers. It's been a lot harder this year because I've had to be so creative in so many different ways that my brain cells are fried. It's called The Very Bored Princesses and the Ghost in the Girls bathroom, so at least I know what it's about!

I am going ... to the last service unit meeting of the Girl Scout year. I've already got 15 of my 18 girls re-registered for next year AND I'm already looking forward to the fun we'll have. I think we'll try overnight camping in the spring.

I am reading... "The One That I Want" by a writing colleague of mine, Allison Winn Scotch. So far I love it, but I've enjoyed all her books. I've downloaded several classics (Jane Eyre, Northanger Abbey) to read over the summer, too. They were free.

I am hoping... that the work I'm doing to lose weight continues to work. I'm not talking numbers yet, but suffice it to say something is working. YAY!!!

I am hearing... SpongeBob SquarePants (big sigh) I'm not a fan of the sponge, but my daughters like him.

Around the house... messy, cluttered and messy. I had hoped to clean this weekend, but got sick instead.

One of my favorite things... this website. These are women in my Twins Club, and every Monday that have links to the free stuff for my Kindle. Other days they will have freebies and coupons, etc. I visit them every day AND like them on facebook.

A few plans for the week ahead... Well there's the SU meeting tonight, dance tomorrow, 2nd grade picnic on Friday (I'm making cupcakes, bringing plates and helping the set up the lunch), then the Blues Barbecue and the girls Dance Demo this weekend. That sounds about right for the end of the school year!

Pictures I am sharing... A few days after my mom passed away I had a dream/vision (I was meditating, although I may have fallen asleep as I was on the couch at the time and that's mostly what I do on the couch!) in which she came to me and told me that when I needed her she'd send me a swallowtail butterfly with blue on it. As I am not a lepidopterist, I even had to look that particular species up. I looked for those darn butterflies for several days thinking eventually that it was all just a dream, with no meaning.

So, flash forward to the day before my children made their First Holy Communion. I was feeling quite sad and fragile, as this was the first major "thing" where she wouldn't physically be there. I decided that a rest on the hammock would be a great way to get out of cleaning my house my funk but that meant I had to physically get the hammock out of the garage, drag out the frame, etc. Hannah and Lizzie decided to help, which made it that much harder easier. So as I'm unrolling the hammock I notice that a butterfly -- a swallowtail butterfly -- had somehow gotten into the garage and gotten tangled in the hammock. We let it loose and the butterfly followed us as we walked over to the hammock stand in the backyard and put it all together. It crawled up and down our arms, onto our shoulders and would start to fly away, but then come right back. It even posed for a bunch of photos. And if you look really closely, you can see that it's got blue on its wings. After the butterfly's visit, the weekend got a whole lot better. :) And it's nice to know that Mom still keeps her promises.

Talented Twosome

Hannah and Elizabeth's elementary school had their talent show tonight. I think I remember going to one that Casey was in a million years ago, but they haven't done one in recent history. Most likely because of the lack of talent in the elementary school. Yes, I said it. I went there. I have to give the kids props for sheer bravery. And to ME for sitting through the three hour show not once but TWICE. Lizzie was on fairy early in the show, and then Hannah was on fairly late in the show, so I was there for the entire dress rehearsal and then the entire show. But this post isn't about ME, it's about my two very talented daughters. In fairness (and for the record, I don't have to be fair because this is MY blog) but there were a handful of acts that were good. A pair of guys did the "Who's On First" comedy sketch that cracked me up, there was a gymnast who did a whole bunch of flips and a boy singer who stayed on key.

So now on with the show. Oh, and let me tell you the audience was R.U.D.E. I don't know if people never get out of their own living rooms, but the talking, laughing, running around, etc., was beyond annoying. And that was the PARENTS. Seriously! The kids weren't much better. I told one group of 6th graders sitting in the back at least 5 times to show some respect for the performers. And they would for about 5 seconds until I was over there again.  So, that's why these videos have a bit a background noise in them. Here's Lizzie playing "Indian Dance." She messed it up (she said, I didn't notice) during the dress rehearsal and left the stage in tears (which I did notice), so she was very proud of herself for getting through it so well.

And then there was Hannah singing her "Talent Show" song, "Love Will Find a Way." I tried and tried to get her to sing either "Amazing Grace" or "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" but she wouldn't budge, and I am NOT a good stage mother and gave up after suggesting it three times.

 It was great, as usual, and I was very proud of her. She was very blase about the whole thing and was mostly mad at me because I couldnt find my hot rollers and so she was forced to have straight hair for her debut performance at school. So, I apologize for her straight hair. She did tell me that she's pretty sure she's going to be a famous pop star in her school tomorrow, so we'll see if that's true. :)

Camporee

NOTE: If you haven't been to my blog for awhile, due to lack of posts (!) this is my second post in two days, so scroll down to see pix from First Communion!

Some of my happiest memories of childhood are of camping with the Girl Scouts. So OF COURSE I was looking forward to our Service Unit's Camporee this past weekend. Woodsmoke, songs around the campfire, s'mores -- what's not to like?

And while that is mostly true, I discovered this past weekend that my happy memories are in the past, so is my youth. NOW, it is not so much fun to sleep on a two-inch mattress supported by a plank of plywood. I fear after two hours of sleep (all I got) on that cot my neck will never be the same. However, I also learned that it's really ALL worth it, to see my happy brownies making those same memories I loved as a girl.

So ultimately, Camporee rocked -- even if my neck will never be the same.

The theme for Camporee was "Get a Clue" and most of the activities had to do with that theme. Here my troop was playing a magnification game where they looked at blow-ups of items and had to guess what the items were. They were rewarded with Twizzlers and Starbursts. I did not participate in the game, but I did have some licorice. That's why it's fun to be a leader.

Of course there was a place to have your  mugshot taken. Let us hope that these are the ONLY mugshots we ever see of Hannah, okay!?!

Here's half my troop in the lineup. They are wearing tee-shirts that were designed by Hannah:

And here's the other half of my troop. This was at the end of the day and they were EXHAUSTED!!

This is my assistant leader Amy. She did not have to sleep on the tiny cushion and plywood. Because she is much smarter than me.

Every time girl scouts get together we do a service project. This  year's project was to fill backpacks that will be given to children who end up at a local battered woman's shelter. Each troop in the Camporee donated items. Our troop donated 20 boxes of crayons, while others donated blankets, or toys, stuffed animals, toothbrushes or coloring books. At the Camporee the girls took a backpack and filled it with one of each of the the items. This is Lizzie and Charlie working on their backpack:

This is a picture of the opening flag ceremony. It was great. Each of the girls said a poem about the colors of the flag (and the stars) and then put ribbons or stars into a bucket. Then one of them stirred the colors with a big stick and the flag was taken out of the bucket and raised. You can see that some of the girls are wearing rain gear. We did have some heavy sprinkles throughout the day, but it mostly stayed clear and cool, which was good weather for traipsing around the woods.

Here's part of my troop waiting for the flag ceremony to begin. They are standing with my troop treasurer Teri, who came along to help out because I was on the Camporee committee and was often called away to check on the food/dining hall (that was my area on the committee and I must say the food was delicious!)

Here's Hannah wearing the tee-shirt (at the flag ceremony) she designed with a couple other girls from my troop. Grace and Karissa are wearing the gifts we gave each girl who attended camporee. It was a combination whistle, compass, flashlight, magnifying glass:

Oh and here I am. I took this picture while I was waiting for the day bus to come pick me up. You may notice that I have badges on my hat. That's because I was the camp detective in the little mystery I wrote for all the girls to solve. That was a fun part of the camporee. Right after I took this picture I put my camera down and then when I picked it up I noticed I had put it down in a bunch of poison ivy, which was NOT a fun part of camporee.

Here's another picture of my troop. When I seem them all together I'm impressed by how OUTNUMBERED I am! But Camporee was fun. In addition to the magnifying glass game, we also played Pass the Dynamite, What's That Smell (where this picture was taken -- the scouts leading the activity had put things like sweaty socks and rosemary into little bundles and the girls had to guess what they were), went on a scavenger hunt and decorated magnifying glasses. It was a busy, busy day! I had to put them on the bus at around 5 p.m. and several of them were crying (including my two) because they were SO SO SO tired. I was NOT crying, because I decided that I was just going to stay for the campfire (where the thief who took our Bingo prizes was going to be revealed, although by that time all the girls had guessed whodunnit!) and then go home to sleep in my own bed.

Here's the campfire. I played my guitar for the Camporee and sang "Magic" a camp song that is often used to end campfires (not when I was a girl though -- the song was written in the 1980s) and is sad and sweet. All the girls had learned it and I led it on the guitar. It was a lovely moment. I really wished that my troop could have stayed, but they weren't ready  (or maybe it was ME who wasn't ready) to stay overnight at the camp.

I got home late Saturday night and began the process of healing my sore muscles and gearing up for our next camporee (in three years!!)

First Holy Communion - Finally

I know I promised First Holy Communion pictures at least a week ago. So here they are ... better late than never, right? The day was wonderful, with great weather, great company, great food and, speaking for Hannah and Lizzie, great gifts!

I have to admit to missing my mother a lot during the weekend, as she would have loved seeing the girls in their dresses and seeing them receive this sacrament == but I had to keep reminding myself that she had the best seat in the house for the First Communion, even if she wasn't there to yell at her grown children for laughing and making snide comments during the service!

So here we all are just after the service. It's a rare picture of the four of us, so I thought I'd include it, even though I clearly forgot to do anything with my hair!

Grandma Connie was there, even though she was leaving the next week for her FOUR MONTH ADVENTURE in NYC. Oh, and they are standing by the statue of St. Thomas More, for whom the church is named. It's always interesting to me that St. Thomas More is the patron saint of lawyers (of which I am certain Liz will become!) and the patron saint of adoption!

Here's a picture of four of my favorite people in the world, my girls and their cousins Brenna and Tommy. Last year we were at Tommy's First Holy Communion and in a couple (four?) we'll be at Brenna's. Time marches on!

Lizzie and her BFF Keira after the service. The Church donated the veils to the girls (and the ties for the boys) which is why they are all the same. Keira and Lizzie have been friends since kindergarten and have somehow managed to be in the same class each year. They are already planning on being heartbroken and crying all the time if they are in different classes next year (which is likely, although I haven't told them that!)

My darling Hannah was chosen to help bring the gifts up to the altar:

Here's the whole group of First Communicants. We have a fairly small parish and many of those in the picture are in the girls' elementary school!

Here are the Garritys with Hannah and Liz. Uncle T.A. looks thrilled to be there, as always... :)

Back home we had a little family celebration that included sausage and peppers, pasta salad, green salad, lemonade, and lots of bubbles! Here the girls show off their bubble blowing prowess to Uncle Dude (you can see how quickly they got out of their dresses):

Brenna got in on the bubble-blowing, too.

The Bentleys arrived at the party and this is the best picture I got of them. I think there are only two or three pictures of them when they are all smiling WITH THEIR EYES OPEN. But since I didn't take THOSE, this will have to suffice:

Aunt Beanie is MUCH better at posing for photos. I think she should use this on her Match.com profile. If she had one, that is...

Oh and we mustn't forget the desserts! Here's the cake that I ordered all of 24 hours in advance.

And the very popular chocolate fountain. Tommy discovered the deliciousness of putting the cake in the chocolate fountain. Now we're thinking of naming our next pet after him. DELICIOUS!!! Here's Aunt Beanie dipping her cake:

In between all the dipping and eating, there was some time to relax, as you can see by this picture:

A beautiful day was had by all!