10 Smile Tuesday

So many smiles going around our house lately. Admittedly, some hard times too as we continue to face the struggles of three year old tantrums, baby bawling and mommy meltdowns. But that is what the best part of doing a 10 smile Tuesday is, although no one else in the wide world may see it, I can look back and remember the good things that happened, the smiles that we shared and the blessings God has given my family over the past week. Now that is something to smile about!

1. Today was Anna's first story time at the library. You know I had to take a couple of pictures, but that camera is in the car so you'll have to use your imagination on that one and trust me that it really was very sweet. Especially when the song required clapping and Anna got so excited she could do something and just giggled away, clapping and laughing the whole time!

2. Lilla also started a special storytime today, as she is in the preschool one now and goes all by herself. I actually didn't realize it until the teacher told me when I walked in the door. Although she couldn't tell me what they did she seemed to enjoy it, such a big girl!

3. Gymnastics. Lilla absolutely loves it. She has such a great time each week, although it gets her a little too excited some times. It's just so cute to see her in her little outfit, doing the balance beams and bars. It was something I always wanted to be able to do as a child, and never did, so I'm glad she has the chance. Such fun!
4. The park. We go to the gymnastics at our local parks district so the playground is just a short walk from the building. Every week Lilla asks me if we can go visit and this week we did with some friends who go to gymnastics too. We had such a nice time just hanging out for a bit with our kiddos and enjoying the warm weather. Such a nice unexpected visit!

5. Chicken Parmigiana. You know, I just have to mention some delicous food I've had in every 10 smile. Apparently, eating brings me smiles! Anyway, Michael got a gift card for his birthday so we got to go to Carrabas on Saturday and eat way yummy food! If you have one near you and have never been, do yourself a favor and go! Their chicken parm is just fantastic...mmmmm!!

6. Vacation. For labor day weekend we were just going to take a short trip down to Tennessee to see my dad. Well, the three days wound up being 7 days, crazy I know, but it wound up working out because of Michael's work schedule and being able to take a couple of extra days. It was a free trip down and free accommodation, so it was kind of silly to say no. And sometimes it's just nice to get away...the kids had fun too!

7. Lilla got to go on rides...
Michael did too...

8. There was lots of swimming, thanks to my aunt and uncle and their timeshare.

9. We got to spend time with my dad, his new wife and my aunt and uncle. They got to love on Anna and watch Lilla make up all kinds of songs and dances.


10. And we enjoyed the apple barn on more than one occasion. If you have never been to Pigeon Forge and don't know the Apple Barn, I'm very sorry because you are missing out. Mmmm...apple fritters with apple butter, gosh they are gooooood!

I've got some bonus smiles too...

Free tickets to Dollywood.

Free tickets at an amusement place where Michael took Lilla for some rides. They had buy one get one free tickets and then a lady that was leaving just handed Michael some extra ride tickets for Lilla. Love free!

Watching everyone dry off in the "heater" after Lilla convinced everyone to go on the water ride on a chilly, overcast day.

Seeing how much courage Lilla had as she went on every ride they would let all 37 inches of her go on. Amazing to see how she just has no fear!

An impromptu day spent with my sister's family when we went to pick up our dog. They live an hour away so we don't get by much these days, so it was nice just to sit outside on the swing and chat, eat homemade pizza and play Clue. Good times.

What are you smiling about today?

In Concert

So the other day Lilla starts making up songs, singing along to the beat of her own drum. Singing something along the lines of, "Anna. You sleep. Anna. You eat. Anna, you poop. And then dad cleans out the tub." (Long, grosser than gross story there.)

So she wraps up this tribute to Anna and then looks at me and says, "Aren't you going to clap for me?"

I, of course, ablige.

She then asks, "Why are you clapping?"

I say, "Well, you sang that song. You know, Anna, you sleep, you eat..."

She says, "Oh no, you can't sing that. That's a concert just for me."

Because, you know, my 3 year old clearly knows what a concert is.

Saturday Photo Hunt - Surprise

I love taking random pictures of people/places. This one I took at the Indiana State Fair last week. I thought this little old man just screamed the state fair. He was so adorable eating his ice cream from the Dairy Barn. However, immediately after I snapped this picture he looked up at me with the oddest expression. He was certainly surprised by me taking this shot!

This photohunt meme is sponsored by www.tnchick.com ...stop by and visit and join in the fun!

10 Smile Tuesday

Another week has gone by, and what good it does to sit back and remember what has brought joy and smiles for the week. It can be very hard to be a stay at home mom, when the days seem so long sometimes and you feel like you are waiting for nap/bedtime. Yep, I have those days quite often. Lilla still has a hard time with me giving attention to Anna. If often results in negative behaviors, discipline and just sadness all around. Don't get me wrong, she loves Anna, she just wants to be my whole world, and learning that she is not has been a constant struggle for us. So, I give her an extra cuddle or hug here or there and am forever telling her I love her. However, I am trying to also be mindful to remind her that I love Anna too. Quite the balance my friends, quite the balance.

1. Hammock. On the note of peace, I have to say my first smile would be my hammock. Yesterday, Anna was taking a nap and Lilla was watching a cartoon while I worked in the yard. I decided to take a short break so I layed in the hammock and I just starred up at the clouds looking for funny shapes. Ahhhh...the refreshment that brought to me to even have five minutes to just lay there. Very sweet smile indeed!

2. Tomatoes. Holy cow, have we got tomatoes! Even though all of our plants have been through heck and back this year due to all the rain and odd weather, we still have lots of tomatoes! So, I have made pasta sauce for the winter and a ton of salsa that I passed on to Michael's family. The cherry tomatoes have been my favorite, mmmm, to pop them in my mouth straight from the garden. Good eats!

3. More tomato. Speaking of tomatoes, I put Anna down next to the garden on Sunday, and she suddenly grabbed a tomato and just started chomping away. I was trying to get a good pic but unfortunately had the long lens on so I didn't get quite it. Hilarious though to watch her just having a ball with a big, red juicy tomato!

4. Free. In last Sunday's paper they had another free coupon for the state fair, so back we went. You can't beat free! Although of course it doesn't wind up being free when you have to pay for the food, rides and if you are like my husband, a rubber kind of broom that honestly does sweep better than I thought it would.

5. Ferris Wheel. Which, unfortunately I did not get a picture of us on. Lilla and I rode it for the first time together, and she loved it! She laughed and got excited...I of course, wondered if we would tip, when the wheel stopped us at the top. Whew, exciting stuff! Ha, ha!

6. My new ride. A couple of weeks ago Michael's car, which we bought used 6 years ago, started going on the fritz so we decided it was time for a minivan. We'd been talking about it for awhile, we just didn't want a car payment again. We decided on a very used one with a very low payment. So, it's nothing fancy, but it is super nice to have so much more room and not feel so overcrowded with the baby gear!

7. Preschool. Lilla is loving the start of a new school year for us. We worked a little this summer but not much. So we have been doing a lot more this last week, working on the letter E, tracing, cutting with her very own scissors. She just begs to do more. School definitely makes Lilla smile! And makes me smile too as I see her enjoy it so much.
8. Growing up. I can hardly believe how much Anna is growing up all of a sudden. She does a walk crawl now and will stand on her legs if you pull her up. She's babbling all kinds of syllables and is getting into everything these days. It's all going so fast and I can hardly believe in less than four months she will be 1!9. Flowers. Suddenly these lovely little flowers have sprung up around my deck. I just love seeing their bright shiney faces when I open my window in the morning!
10. Delicious! We gave my best friends inlaws a bunch of stuff from our garden and they (who are Italian) brought us back fried zucchini and eggplant parmigiana with garlic linguini. Oh my goodness...yummo!! Even the girls were munching away at it. Mmmmm....

What are you smiling about today?

Just a taste

These past couple of weeks has just contained milestone after milestone for Anna. She started out scooting toward a cup for a drink. Within days she was moving across the floor and now can get anywhere her little heart desires. I had her at the library last week and she was practically doing laps around the bookcases to get between me and some friends.

She then started saying, out of nowhere, "Mama". A week later I promise I'm hearing "Hi" and "Dada." She is singing, humming and screeching in large rooms just to hear the echo.

Today, she has decided to start pulling up on everything she sees. She wanted to get to Lilla's puzzle and she pulled up so hard on my leg she was standing clear up on her feet to get over my leg. She throws her body anywhere she wants to go and she is fast I tell you!

She is also eating anything and everything she can. Today she was mowing on spaghetti, pizza and macaroni and cheese are also some faves. Peas and blueberries are always yummy. She is just loving tasting it all!

Oh...and the cute factor has only increased...

Down on the Farm

This week we went to the state fair. Always a fun time I look forward to every year. Lots of animals, fried foods, people, music and random eye candy to boot! Of course I took lots of pics, so I thought I'd share a few.

That family shot...gotta do it!

Giddy up

First time eating that yummy corn!

Smooches

Taking a rest before the next exhibit

Little hands on the farm. The kids get to be farmers!
The sister shotIt''s great to be a kid!

Tick. Tock.

And so the days go. One by one. Faster all the time. Yesterday Anna clapped for the first time. She’s getting better and better at crawling every day. She started saying, “Ma, ma” at the beginning of the week.

Lilla eagerly looks at me with pride as she shows me how she is writing, very legible, D’s now. She uses the word please without prompting. After weeks of repeatedly asking, she was baptized on Sunday.

Yesterday, my husband turned 35. I just thought, wow, how can we be half way to 70 already? I often still feel like a 20 year old. Shouldn’t I be sitting in a lecture somewhere finding out about Pavlov’s dog? Who the heck would give this little girl two kids, a husband and a house to take care of?

It’s just amazing how these years have gone. Our family has grown. We’ve lived in our second house for over 2 years now. It’s been two years since we’ve been to Hungary.

I’d just like to stop time for a minute. Maybe sip some lemonade as I lay in the hammock, enjoying my still small children and NOT watch the world go by!

Free

Inexpensively is having a $25 gift card giveaway and I'd like to win it. How about you?

10 Smile Tuesday

Whew, I'm getting this one in just under the gun! It's almost Wednesday already and so I just wanted to post a quick 10 smile look at some of the great things that have been going around in our neck of the woods this past week.

1. VBS...wow! What a fun and encouraging week we had. I took the pictures for a slideshow we did on Friday and Michael was the bible teacher for the kids. It was awesome and fun and crazy and...oh, so full of memories! If you've never experienced one before, please consider volunteering next year. Well worth all your time!


2. Grub. One of my friends just wanted to do something nice for me today so she prepared a delcious meal and then came over with her two kiddos, who are the same age as mine, and we feasted together. It was just a lovely time, even though both our kids were off the hook. That's ok, adds to the memory!

3. Slip and Slide. Lilla has been asking me for days to haul out the slip and slide and I kept procrastinating. Today I decided to bite the bullet and I'm so glad I did. She had a blast on it, even by herself! Hilarious since she just runs all the way to the end and then hops in the puddle at the end.


4. Garden of Plenty. Our garden is starting to burst with some summer veggies now. Cherry tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, green beans, broccoli and zucchini! All just yummy and wonderful have plenty of!


5. Warm weather. It has been so chilly here this summer. So much so that we have barely used our pool at all. Well finally it has warmed up this week and we are taking full advantage of it. Such fun to be able to enjoy the sunshine and warmth of a summer day!

6. Sweet rest. Yesterday, the girls and I just layed in the hammock while we cuddled and talked for the longest time. It was one of those sweet moments you just want to capture in a bottle!

7. The Hubby. I just have to brag on the big guy for a minute. Pretty much every year he takes off at least a week to focus on missions. This year we couldn't go anywhere with a small baby so he decided to focus on VBS for the week. He really put so much into it and it was wonderful. I am really proud of him for all he accomplished and the seeds he planted. Not only that, but he got to reap some too as he led several kids to the Lord this week!

8. Yum! The Chocolate Chip Zucchini bread I made today. Can I just say yum? I got it from Paula Deen on the food Network website. It's fantastic and if you are like me, it's one great way to use up all of those crazy growing zucchini!

9. Popsicles. Since the weather has been heating up again we just had to pull out the popsicles. Of course Anna had to get her first taste, which was so cute! She was diving after it after that!

10. Crawler. Speaking of Anna, guess who has learned to crawl? In the past week she has really started moving and grooving. From backing that thing up to going forward four steps...whew, she's on her way!

11. Sweet Girl. And one for the road! I've been so proud of Lilla this past couple of weeks. She's been talking more and more about wanting to be baptized so she can follow Jesus. (Which I have never talked to her about) She's been wanting to pray for friends and she's really been helping out a lot. Oh, and she's also writing her D's legibly! :)


What are you smiling about this week?

Ambiguity

Ever have one of those moments that you just know you'll remember forever? Like when you first saw those two blue lines or you got a letter telling you that you did not get in to your first choice school or the day the man of your dreams got down on one knee?

Well, yesterday was one of those days for me. My husband, kids and I were sitting down to lunch at a local pizza place when the cell phone starting buzzing.

Me: Hello

Woman: Ms. ....

Me: This is.

Woman: Hi, this is Kelly at Dr. ... office. I was just calling to tell you that the x-ray showed the nodule on your lung is new since November. You'll need to schedule a CT scan. I'll transfer you now.

Me: (Looking at my two babies, just enjoying their pizza) Huh???

Now, to give a little background. I get pneumonia pretty easy so when I was coughing quite a bit last week, I just told the doctor to give me an x-ray so if it were pneumonia we could nip it in the bud. When they called me a few days later and said there was a nodule on my lung and did I know anything about that, I was so confused.

I mean, really, what the heck is a nodule?

They don't know. I don't know. Hopefully, on Wednesday (well, sometime after Wed) when I get the CT scan, more will be known.

10 Smile Tuesday

Another week has come and gone, and it is now the middle of July?!?! Where did June even go, my goodness this summer is going fast. It's been so cold it actually has felt more like a long spring. And wet too! Wow, we've had the rain this year. Usually by this time the grass is getting brown, but not this year. It's green and healthy and boy is it growing!

So, I haven't posted smiles in a while, so I wanted to do it while I had a chance today.

1. A big smile right at the moment is both girls taking a nap at the same time. We have had a lot of sickies in this house for the past few weeks, so I think both bodies are just worn down and needed recoup time. Nice for me to catch a little, unusual, break during the day!

2. The individual blueberry cobblers baking in my oven right now. Thanks to the Pioneer Woman, she has this very simple and delicious sounding recipe posted for them. She actually made them with raspberries but blueberries are what I have on hand, so just 11 more minutes and mmmmm...mmmm.....
3. Going to the children's musuem last Thursday. The girls and I had such fun with a friend and her children. Haven't been since the new year so it was fun to seem some changes and spend the afternoon exploring and pretending all kinds of things!4. Gymnastics. It was Lilla's last day for this class, she'll start again in August, and we just had so much fun. Lilla is not the most balanced person, but what she lacks for in balance, she makes up for in spirit. She is just ready for anything when it comes to tumbling and I love to watch!

5. Births. On Thursday, a third friend in two weeks will have had a baby. It's like a baby boom around here but it is so exciting to watch new life starting and families growing. Lovely.

6. Maternity shoot. Last week I had a chance to take some maternity pictures for one of those friends the day before she gave birth. I had fun doing it and thought at least a couple of the shots came out pretty well.7. County fair. Sunday we went to the parade and county fair in our little town. The parade is actually quite big and Lilla got ridiculous amounts of candy, which she really enjoyed. We then went over and visited the animals and exhibits and watched a llama dress up show. Not bad for a free day of fun!8. The bounty. Our garden is starting to bloom something serious. I see watermelons, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, cucumbers....so much good stuff! We are already harvesting some and having a blast doing it. There is just nothing like enjoying those fruits of your labor!
9. The big cut. Lilla got her first big girl cut this week. Of course I cried, but doesn't she look beautiful? And way too old! Good-bye little girl locks, I will sure miss them!10. Having the windows open. The wonderful thing about the weather being cooler is that the air doesn't have to be on and it's perfect weather for the windows to be open. I love the coolness of the breeze coming through and the freshness of the air!

What are you smiling about today?

Being present

As you may, or may not, know, I am an internet junkie. I get all my news, local, world and entertainment from the internet. I find phone numbers and old friends, pool care tips and devotionals, music and a history lesson, all in one place: the internet. I'm always jumping on to find some other little piece of information, updating my facebook status or checking what people are talking about on twitter. It's just a little jumping on here, a quick sign in there. Maybe while I'm nursing, or the peanut is playing dollhouse or I need a new recipe, it makes life so easy...right?

Well, maybe. Or maybe not so much.

The last few days as I've checked my twitter account, I've noticed a lot of moms with a whole lot of posts. Things like, "Just at the park with the kids...such and such just went tumbling down a hill. Ha, ha." Or, "Out for a date with hubby, checking email." Just updating their lives away.

As I was reading these posts I was just struck with the impersonal nature of the whole situation. I mean, where does the time begin where our very presence is given wholly to the other person that we are with? Where we are not concerning ourselves with having to write down every detail of what is going on, but start to live all those details instead? Don't get me wrong, I am all for journaling, I've done it my whole life, but I don't feel like that is what this is.

I know many see it as a way to socialize and be a part of something bigger than themselves. To reach out to the masses of people reading. And don't comments somehow make us all feel somewhat validated?

But, I just find to really be a part of the moment, these all too fleeting moments, maybe putting down the itouch or blackberry and not taking time to think about the funniest way to say your child just landed on their peanut butter and jelly sandwhich as they leapt from the second stair, off of the couch and onto the kitchen table, but just being present in that moment. Laughing, enjoying, crying...without ever having to update. Maybe it's that kind of prescence that we all really need.

Hope your days and nights are filled with others being present with you too!