I ♥ Faces... Blue

If I'm ever going to really learn how to take great photos I've got to practice. I ♥ faces is a photography blog with weekly contests/challenges that I'm going to start entering. This week the theme is Blue. I've posted this 'happy, snappy' shot before and wish I could have had a new, technically correct photo to enter (with a focused face!), but I told myself I was starting this now, so here goes... Hopefully I'll improve as the weeks go on!

The Neighbors

How do you like your neighbors? We are so lucky to have really wonderful neighbors. Tonight we had our next door neighbors over for dinner because they are moving. They've bought a great old house and have been working night and day renovating the place and it is looking super. I'd say we are going to miss them, but fortunately their new house is right across the street!

It is cool and rainy so it was nice to have the oven on warming the house a bit. First, I put a blueberry pie in the oven to bake while I prepped our meal. I'm usually not a casserole kind of girl but I chose an old family favorite, Chicken Divan (Or "Chicken for Dan" as my brother-in-law Dan would say). Add some rice and an arugula salad and we were good to go.

I think everyone liked it!

Ugh! It only took two weeks.

Band-aid fun!

I know they say attending school will help build a child's immunity but I was hoping it would take a little longer than this. My dear little A caught a bug and didn't feel well all weekend. Sunday was the worst, with a fever and coughing. Monday was much better and she was able to go to school today. When I asked how the day was I heard about playtime, art projects, snack, and the little girl who threw-up on the rug. Lovely. I have a feeling we might be in for a rough weekend.

Change of Season

Fall. I think it is my favorite season. Bring on the color!

While Mommy does the laundry...

This morning while I was sorting clothes and throwing in a load of wash, A&O were busy in their bedroom. Apparently, they were getting their hair done.

After the fun of that wore off they made their way into our bedroom where I was folding laundry. Within seconds the laundry basket became a great source of fun.

It reminded me of when my big three year olds were little not-quite-one year old babes.

We've got relatives in town for a cousin's post wedding celebration so we've got a big family dinner tonight and the big celebration tomorrow night. What are your plans? Have a great weekend!

And Another First!

Last week Tuesday was A&O's very first day of pre-school! In preparation we had a private meeting at the school the week before to meet teachers "Miss Sandy" and "Miss Ellen" and to see the classroom where all of the fun and learning would take place. We also made a paper chain to count down the days, so A&O were really eager to get started!

As hard as I tried to keep things super calm and orderly, the morning of the first day felt a little too rushed for my liking. We didn't get to take the official first day photo before we left the house, and once we got to school O wanted NOTHING to do with my camera. The best I could do were these shots from the front seat of the van!

Fortunately, our girls were happy (a bit shy, but happy) as we entered their classroom. I got a bit flustered when a boy in the same classroom clung to his father and screamed "DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!", but A&O found that scoping out the fun, new toys was more interesting. I actually had to interrupt them to get a kiss and hug good-bye!

Kevin (who took the day off from work) and I hung out in a lounge at the school for about 20 minutes just to be sure there wasn't any 'delayed separation realization' before heading home. I have to say it felt quite strange to be at home with Kevin and no children. That hasn't happened in over three and a half years! I was feeling emotional but did all I could to keep from falling apart. Kevin mowed the lawn while I did the morning dishes, made beds, and threw in some laundry. When Kevin came in to see if I was ready to head back to pick the girls up I took one look at him and I couldn't keep a few tears from falling. They are just growing up too fast! And with twins being my only kids it was like a double whammy!

We were thrilled to find our girls engaged in an activity when we arrived back at the school. They were happy to see us and excited to tell us all about their day. And there was even talk about going back. I'd call that a super first day!

Another First

Last summer, after learning of Stephanie Nielson and her almost fatal plane crash, I began reading all of the archived posts on her blog NieNie Dialogues. I just love the way this woman views Life and her role as a Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister and Friend! I have bookmarked many of Stephanie's posts with the thought that I could borrow some of her wonderful ideas and incorporate them into my own family life.

One of those ideas is the tradition of a Family Back to School Feast. Since A&O were starting Pre-School I thought this was the perfect time to start our very own Back to School Feast tradition. Since we were dealing mainly with three year olds, I didn't go too crazy. I hope to create some special crowns that will be presented on Kindergarten Eve (with the thought of using the same crowns each year but adding a little something to them to remind them of each grade).

The table: brought out the good china!

Big half sister J (I'm thinking this is her debut on my blog!)

O enjoying her meal!

A loving her milk out of a glass goblet!

We all had fun and look forward to a great school year!