A Day...

From my journal:

Tuesday, June the 29th, 2010

It was one year ago today my Grandpa had his stroke.

1.  Watered garden.
2.  Made strawberry banana smoothies for everybody.
3.  Read to Caroline- 2 books
4.  Played outside for 2 hours- "cooking" and setting up a tea party with the kids.
5.  Served kids lunch outside.
6.  Froze (on and off all day) 2 flats of blueberries.
7.  Had kids (Jenna) help clean up mess.
8.  Read another book to C-rocked her to sleep.
9.  Told Jenna a Little Squirrel story.
10.  Took a nap- 25 mins.
11.  Worked out P90X.
12.  Made supper while helping the kids set up a hospital.
13.  Took kids to Mom's house. 
14.  Agreed to take a stray dog home.
15.  Ran at the track with my husband--fast. 
16.  Visited w mom--gave her a hug.
17.  Cut and dried hydrangeas from Mom's yard. 
18.  Took kids to get Paradise Snow.  Stray dog rode in the back of the truck. 
19.  Made cinnamon milk for the girls.
20.  Laid down with Caroline (Jenna already asleep). 

Having Girls

I'm sure I will tell you both this someday anyway--I always imagined myself having boys. Boys would be "easier" (whatever that means--maybe less pressured by culture in terms of their looks? maybe a tad less dramatic or emotional?) I thought each of you was a boy early on in both of my pregnancies.

But girls I have!  And I am so, so, so thankful.

I never would have dreamed how awesome it would be to watch your sense of style evolve.  Jenna, you love accessories and clothes right now. You always pick out your own--I rarely give input because it isn't needed or wanted--and you almost always style your own hair. And sometimes we go out in public like this:

On this particular day, you got dressed to go visit Pop and Grandma Rita

Or how fun it would be for us to dance. Like all the time. Passionately, slowly, silly, super-fast, etc. etc. Um, Carnie, you love "your tutu," which is actually Jenna's tutu and you prefer not to wear anything else with it, not even underwear.

Or how cool it would be when my older daughter, after telling me how pretty I looked for a date with daddy, ran to my jewelry box to get me a great pair of earrings.

Or how awesome, awesome, awesome it is to hear uncontrollable giggling.

I did, however have a sense of how much fun it would be to watch you play with this:

Carnie: "Mama, you wanna play peoples with me? Sit down. Siiiitttt down." Or Jenna: "Pretend the mommy is having a baby at the hospital and the daddy doesn't know it yet."

Lucky me.

A Day

This will be posted a few days after the day" I am referring to which is actually Friday, June 25th.

Today...
Visted Grandma Virge at her house. You both gave her big hugs when we left. She grinned from ear to ear, commenting over and over about how "sweet" and "precious" you both are. Caroline showed Grandma her boo-boo and then climbed all over a chair. Jenna showed off her bathing suit. Jenna glowed from Grandma's praise. Grandma told me I was "very lucky." I agree.

We went to the "library park" to play. We had it all to ourselves and we played a combo of "laura and mary" and the "White Witch." Caroline threw in another character occasionally, telling us to "pretend I Baby Maddie." Jenna imagined we found a "trap door" to snare the white witch at her castle (the gazebo).

We went to the city pool and swam for an hour and a half with the Maurer boys. The girls loved it. Caroline floated on her own for the first time wearing arm-wings. Jenna gets more comfortable in the water all the time.

We packed cream cheese "pizza" with broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. You ate it on the way home. Caroline fell asleep. Jenna wanted to.

You are now both sound asleep in the cool air-conditioning. That is a fine summer day, if you ask me.

Jenna woke up and played with the dollhouse in the living room.

When Daddy came home, we all went to Blueberry Hill for our yearly stash of blueberries. You guys munched on them the whole way home.

A few things we have been up to this summer

1. Planning/Dreaming about our own chicken coop. We all visited Chris and Debbie's chickens one afternoon and loved it.
2. Expanding our garden. This picture was taken in the beginning of summer. It is much more impressive now. We've decided to expand the fence.

3. Bedtime stories, sometimes with "Laura and Mary" caps on, usually with warm milk and cinnamon.

4. Watermelon eating...with an occasional contest with Dad.

5. Watching the Blue Angels with Grandma Susie and Billy in Cape Girardeau. "I want to pet him" Carnie told us when she saw the first plane. Then she started asking if she could ride in one. It was hot, hot, hot, but so awesome.

6. Berry picking. Blueberries near Glendale and Blackberry picking around the farm in the evening. Caroline's basket never has more than a couple of berries in it. I think that's why she loves Blueberries for Sal so much right now.

7. Cooking with fresh ingredients from the garden (love doing that). We all love pesto, and I make it often for lunch. The girls devour it.

Five

We spent the day Jenna-style. She chose the day's events.

A big breakfast to eat and a mama-made crown to wear....presents included a vintage suitcase with key, a "Laura" book from Caroline, ribbon ponytail holders that I made, and a pair of flip-flops. She'd been asking for a pair for a couple of months now....

followed by a lazy and perfect swimming day at Lake Glendale with a few friends and chocolate cupcakes to snack on....
followed by a party of family at our Lake Glendale campsite....concluded with tent fun. We all laid on a slowly leaking air mattress and read a chapter of Little House in the Big Woods, laughing out loud at the Grandpa/pig-on-the-sled story. I told a "long Little Squirrel story" and then we all closed our eyes to go to sleep.  This is the point when Caroline began coughing, and continued to the point until she gagged and vomited.  Caroline and I decided to go home.  I spent the night sitting up in the bed with Caroline propped against me in an attempt to minimize coughing.  She finally fell soundly asleep around 2 am. Bryan and Jenna stayed the rest of the night in the tent, with Bryan's side of the air mattress fully deflated by 5am. :) They still had a wonderful time).

It was really a wonderful, wonderful day.

Jenna, you are such a joy to be around every single day. I can't believe I have been your mama for five years now. You are so awesome and precious.

A Recital

We (meaning Bryan and I) had mixed feelings about Jenna starting dance classes, and by the last two months (after loving it for the first few), Jenna had grown weary of it herself. But then she got her costume. And the idea that she would be performing for lots of people on a stage began to sink in (cause Jenna's love of dance right now is second only to her love of performing!).

She was mesmerized by the older girls, in love with the costumes, and she soaked up the poses and faces and twirls like a dry sponge. By her second performance, she was oh-so-confident, shouting the words to her song, and even throwing up a wave when Billy's granddaughter, Vanessa, yelled her name from the crowd.
She wants more of this recital thing. And lots more costumes. The dancing around the house has been upped a notch too. As for next year, the love of the recital might overpower her desire to skip dance lessons. Might. We'll see.

A close-up of the "do" Grandma Susie managed, despite squirming, occasional jumping and premature trips to the mirror.This little one in the crowd was watching very closely too. She totally cracked us up several nights later, dancing naked except for Jenna's tutu, and unsuccessfully trying to grasp her ankle and pull it high over head.

The Big Easy

Loving the masks

Dancing to zydeco music playing in a little shop

Mimicking a "silver man" we had watched minutes before who was also wearing sunglasses

Riding the streetcar to the WWII Museum

Summer Plans

COOKING
Strawberry Leather
Raspberry Lemonade
Fundue with fresh fruits and veggies
Homemade Ice Cream
Materials
Vanilla Extract, Small Ziploc Bag, Large Ziploc Bag, Sugar, Half and Half, Salt (rock salt is best)Ice, Extras such as fruit, chocolate chips, etc.


Mix ½ tsp of vanilla extract with 2 tbsp sugar and 1 cup half and half in small Ziploc bag and seal tight. In the larger bag, add ½ cup of salt and enough ice to fill the bag about half full. Put the small Ziploc bag inside the larger bag and seal shut. Shake the bags for 5-10 minutes until the mixture becomes hard. Remove the small bag and add any fruit or special extras and enjoy it out of the bag! (one bag for each person)

Projects
Bubbles
A boat from the George the Monkey book
Sidewalk chalk paint
Rocks to Paint and more rocks to paint and collect
Ice Necklaces
Newspaper hats
This Weaving: God's Eye.
Newspaper Beads
Fabric Necklaces
Boats for the creek or lake
Here are some friendship bracelets with a video at the end
Travel Ideas
Memory Jars

Ideas for Me:

Making a Doll quilt to practice quilting
These dolls for the girls
More braiding with a bag

A Link to Other Great Projects

*Could make C. a cardboard dollhouse for her birthday.