Day 27 - Haircut

I finally got my act together and got Jack in for a haircut. It had been a couple months... too long for a boy. Now he's all cleaned up, just in time to visit Grandma & Grandpa in CA.

Day 26 - Bathing Beauty

More fashion shows! We are getting ready to take a trip to CA to visit my parents. The kids love to swim in their spa, so we always pack a swimsuit. Caroline demanded to bring the Daisy Duck swimsuit, but first had to try it on! Now we just need to work on the cheesy smiles. :)

Day 25 - PJ's

Today Caroline and I headed to Target for a few necessities. As I was turning to go down another aisle I spotted a clearance display of PJ's! Can't beat $3.48!! We picked up 3 pairs. She wanted to wear them as soon as we got home, so here she is posing in them.

Day 24 - Painting

Jack painted this picture of "Dady" today... so cute. The hair reminds me of a Rastafarian! Caroline was napping, so we needed a quiet activity.

Day 23 - Jedi

Jim and Jack watched 2 Star Wars movies yesterday... we're both sick, so we needed the down time.... and after dinner, Jack was practicing his Jedi moves! We bought the "light saber" when he was 2 years old, for the Obi Wan Kenobi costume Jim made him for Halloween. He's finally old enough to be interested in the movies, but still doesn't quite get it. :)

Day 22 - Cupcakes

Caroline and I made pink cupcakes today (with bran... hee hee... got to get fiber in these kids!). She was staring at the oven window, and waiting very impatiently for her Pinkalicious cupcakes! If you haven't read the book, it's pretty cute... they make pink cupcakes too. :) I should have used a little more food coloring... they turned out a little "Peachalicious", but oh well. By the look on her face, I don't think she cared.

Day 21 - Weeding

Today was in the low 70's, so I got myself outside to do some weeding. It was long overdue! You like our high tech gardening gloves? Couldn't find the real ones. I still have a little bit left, but my "helper" decided to try long-jumping, and hit the metal border you see in the picture. Just a little ankle over-stretching, but enough to be upset and end my progress.

Day 20 - Daddy Time

The kids always LOVE to play with Daddy. Maybe because he has a much better imagination than Mommy, and actually knows how to build real things out of Legos & Lincoln Logs. Cinderella was very excited to see the progress on her log cabin.

Day 19 - Tub

I always seem to be fighting daylight or bad light, but I was able to get this cute close-up of Jack when he first got in the tub tonight. I used some of Pioneer Woman's actions on it too. Bring Out the Eyes & Seventies. If you haven't seen her blog, I recommend it!

Day 18 - Xmas 2.0

Due to some Amazon Wishlist issues, we had some Christmas gifts arrive yesterday! The kids were very excited, and it was perfect timing with everyone home for the MLK holiday. Maybe we should do it this way every year! The 3rd photo is Jack next to the sign he made and taped to the wall without me knowing! He said it was the sign to let people know they can come through here if they want to hear "I love you". It's on the wall next to the hallway to his room. So sweet.

Day 17 - Mommy & Daddy

Taking photos of Jack has become quite difficult. All he wants to do is make funny faces and immediately see the result on the back of the camera. So tonight the tables were turned, and we gave him a taste of his own medicine. These photos were taken by Jack... age 5.

Day 16 - Silly Habits

As soon as bath time is announced, the kids go running to their favorite spot to "hide". They like to play around and then whisper when I come into the bathroom. Sadly, the lighting in there is horrific, so I got a blurry pic of their great smiles, and then decided to "give up" and use the flash for a more focused shot. They were playing drums on the wall and cracking up. And yes, we stayed home all day dressed like rag-a-muffins. :)

Day 15 - Sticky Buns

I had been planning to make these all week, but for some reason just never got to it. So Friday at lunch time seemed like the perfect opportunity to prep some sticky buns for dessert! It felt like the right thing to do at the end of the week. Now I just have to make sure there's at least one serving for Jack in the morning... we promised.

Day 14 - Caroline-in-the-box

We've got plenty of these of Jack, but here's finally a Caroline-in-a-box picture taken while out at a play date. I can't believe how long her hair is getting!

Day 13 - Stickers!

This afternoon the kids played with stickers while I made dinner. Jack was intent on choosing the right order to put the stickers on his paper, thus, refusing to look at the camera. Caroline was only looking at the camera in exchange for more stickers... haha!

Day 12 - Smocked

My mother-in law made this adorable dress for Caroline. She is learning to smock by hand! This was her first attempt, and I think it is pretty great! Caroline loves the dress, and it is perfect for twirling and feeling like a princess. I played with these in Photoshop a little... just for fun. I brightened her eyes in the first pic, and made the second one look a little more antique.

Day 11 - Change of plans

My plans for the morning included a trip to the grocery store and putting away laundry. But, a very cute little girl in my house convinced me her plan was better. So here is what our morning consisted of...

Wearing lots of dress up necklaces & changing outfits twice.

Lunch in the backyard with brother & doggy...
Feeding & changing the babies...
And finally, helping sister eat her lunch in the dining room.
Sometimes you have to throw your plans out the window and go with what feels right. :)

Day 10 - Sunday Dinner

Every Sunday we have dinner with my sister-in-law Martta. We alternate houses each week, and spend a few hours talking, eating, and this time of year, watching football. Tonight she made a really yummy white bean chicken chili with fresh bread. Yum! Caroline got some much needed tickle kisses from her Auntie Martta, and I caught the cutest laughing face!

And because I feel guilty about Jackson being disproportionately represented on this blog, I had to include a picture of him too. :)

Day 9 - It's Cold!

I know it's much colder in many parts of the country, and the world for that matter, but it got really cold here in the Austin area last night! I believe it was about 15 degrees, maybe colder. We woke up to a pretty thick layer of frost on Jim's car, and a frozen hot water pipe that feeds the kitchen sink, and one bathroom upstairs. I need a handbook for cold weather living! Who knew you were supposed to let your faucets drip when a hard freeze is expected? Not this Southern California born and raised girl. Thankfully there are no signs of breakage, so we will be letting the faucets drip tonight! Where the hell is Spring??

Day 8 - Electric!

Even with the humidifier running, this little monkey still gets the worst static from our couch!

Day 7 - Good Start, Bad End

So this is where my day started. My Uncle Dennis came for a detour visit to Austin, during his trip to Dallas for a friend's wedding. We walked around the Capital building in Austin, where I took this picture of the beautiful rotunda. It was about 30 degrees outside, without the windchill, so we did a driving tour of the rest of the city.

Here is where my day ended. Dell Children's Hospital ER. I won't be discussing why we were there, but just know my sweet pea is just fine. No blood, broken bones or brushes with death, so don't worry. Taken with my husband's cell phone.

Day 6 - The Dress

You may have noticed my daughter wearing the same blue dress in several of the pictures I've posted. No, I haven't posted pictures from the same day claiming they were from the current day, and no, I haven't been pulling pictures from last week, month, or even year. She insists on wearing "The Blue Dress" everyday. Yes, everyday. I beg, plead, bribe, and even tell her it's dirty, just so she will choose something else to wear!! Most of the time I just let her wear the dress, because soon it will be too small, and this is what really makes her happy. It is her "Blue dress like Cinderella". So thank you to my parents for buying this dress as her Easter outfit last year... it is what makes her day.... everyday.

Day 5 - More Color

Today I grabbed my camera and decided to catch a few shots between cleaning the bathroom and putting away laundry. The light in the kid's rooms was great! And thanks to their colorful bedding and clothing, I got some great color in my photos too!

Even though I caught them jumping on the bed, then trying to hide when they heard me, I'm so glad I had the camera for this sibling love!

Day 4

Caroline woke up with the worst static in her hair! I love that her finger is sticking out like she stuck it in the socket!

This is the candy bar my sister sent me from her trip to NYC recently. We tried visiting Dylan's Candy Bar when we visited NYC together in October 2008, but alas, it was closed for the night. Apparently my love of bacon is well known. :) It tasted like chocolate with a hint of bacon... yummy! I don't like the yellow tone in this picture... The only light I had was the kitchen lights, and thus, not ideal. I'll have to start using Photoshop on some of my pics before posting.

Day 3

Jack and Caroline curl up on a cold morning to read the magazines and American Girl catalog after a "healthy" donut breakfast provided by daddy.

Day 1 & 2

I've decided to start a 365 Blog. I've followed other 365 blogs in the past, but never felt it was the right time for my own. This is my chance to improve my photography and share it with others. I've enlisted my husband to help out when I am not feeling inspired, so look for his pics too! In fact, he took this picture of our daughter Caroline. She said, "Daddy, I'm a cheese head!" I swear we don't force her to watch Green Bay!

This is from today... we said goodbye to our Christmas decorations for another year. This is the gingerbread house we made for Martta's Annual Gingerbread House Party. It's really more of a cutthroat, one hour competition, with 4 teams participating this year. We took the big prize! Bragging rights for a year, and adorable gingerbread men ornaments.