craft time

When Andie came to stay she bought the girls lots of gifts. One of which was a this.


I was bombarded by some nasty stomach bug yesterday and the Hub's was not home. I put a tacky old table cloth on the table and let 'em at it whilst I crawled back to the couch. Every now and again I would crawl back into the room, snap a picture, assess the damage and crawl back under my rock.

Rosie was very serious about yellow

Lily was more detail oriented







They had such a great time doing it and they came out really well. Today we will plant the seeds and grow some mystery plant.
Thanks Annie, Andie. A huge success.

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat.

When Andie comes to stay we have fun. Lots of fun and many giggle fits. She thinks life in this part of the world is crazy and moves at an insane pace. I agree with her. She also thinks my life is particularly nutty and she is right. If something needs to be done, I have to do it right away so add that to a fast paced society and you have bedlam. She likes a quieter life and loves large open spaces. I do too but it isn't happening here.

She knew that both girls would be in school last week and that Jacob and I would be working but she didn't care she came anyway. No quick trips away for us this time around just the everyday stuff.

On Friday I dropped Lily at school and then headed off to renew my driving license. To my delight it was uneventful and I left with a temporary license and was back home in record time. Next on the agenda as far as jobs was to pick Lily up from school early as she had a doctors appointment. I have only ever pulled Lily out of school early once before so I am not used to the protocol.

I grabbed my keys jumped into the car and headed to school where I raced into the office and was asked for I.D. Uhh, not a face in the office that I recognised and I know everyone there. I saw the assistant principal 2 seconds before but he was gone. I raced back to the car with Rosie and Andie in tow and headed home for my license. Then we returned to school I handed over my I.D. and they went to get Lily. Mr. P reappeared and asked if I was still waiting and I explained that I had forgotten my I.D to which he replied, I know you. Thanks, very helpful now! I am thankful that the school insists on I.D. and so I wasn't upset just a little pushed for time at this point. After what seemed like hours Lily appeared and we raced back home so that she could get changed and have a snack.

We left the house in a rush and drove to the eye doctors. I also know everyone at the doctors office as I have been a patient there for a long time and seem to be there all the freaking time due to my eye. I am unsure of what is worse, trying to find a parking space at baptist hospital or trying to get in an elevator. We were lucky on the first count but not so much on the second. As we are waiting Lily is reading all the doctors names and I point out that one is also in the office where she is going so we need to go to that floor. I said, "thats William T, but he is called Billy Boy cos his daddy also works there and he is Henry" then I point out Jack and say, "he used to date the doc I used to work with" and then we find Dr.S's name but before I can say anything a man in scrubs with a surgical cap walks forward and introduces himself as Dr. William T. He had heard the whole conversation and "Billy Boy" wasn't impressed. Andie and I cracked up laughing and fortunately the lift arrived at that moment and even though it was going down we hopped in. Unfortunately as we went back up we stopped at the same floor and "Billy Boy" hopped in. Andie and I were hysterically giggling but I was able to hide behind a tall guy so "Billy Boy" couldn't see me. My doc calls him Billy Boy and I have seen him many times as a patient and we have talked about it however I guess he doesn't want the world to know it.

As we are chatting with the office staff I realise I have forgotten the paperwork that the doctor has to sign. URGHHHH. I leave Andie with Lily and head back to my house in Friday traffic. Oh and my gas light was on at this point but I didn't have time to stop. Yeah, I know that makes no sense at all but it did then.

We get home AGAIN, I grab the papers and a huge bag of chocolate and head back to the office. Lily was in a room and waiting to see the Doc. After a few minutes he comes and announces Lily needs glasses. She is not happy about this but in my absence Andie has had her try a few pairs on and she is warming up to the idea.

I just needed to get out of there. The day just kept repeating the same task and I was fried. Before we headed home for the day we stopped at an eye glass place and she filled the script. She looks so cute in them and is now looking forward to them being ready.

If I have another day where I just keep re-tracing my steps like that I will go mad. I am usually very organised. And just for the record, yes I do know it is the law to carry I.D, but I never do when I run to school. It's a mile away and I leave my phone and wallet at home every single day. If you think I have learnt my lesson, think again, it's me!

Mothers Day

Thank you to both of my little girls for allowing me to be their Mummy. Thank you both for putting up with just how much I love you both, I am sure sometimes it is stifling. Thank you both for making my heart whole.

I love you more than you will ever know.

This was a perfect Mother's Day. We all slept late, that alone is a gift more precious than diamonds, well nearly but let's not be THAT silly. The girls and Jacob went all out in the gift department. Both girls had made things at school and Jacob shopped heavily. I love my gifts but they are not necessary, really they aren't. We had a huge breakfast and then decided to go for a swim. I enjoy being with my girls and spending time with them so the idea of spending time alone on Mothers Day is not for me. I also don't want to do anything that I would enjoy more than the girlies as if not for them I would not be celebrating this day.

We were in the pool for a couple of hours, just being silly, splashy and having fun. There was a little competitive spirit to be found by 2 certain people who both won medals, in their day, for swimming.

Not sure what is with Rosie's face

Never let life get too serious
Crazy face day
Underwater

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

After a quick lunch the fun ended rather abruptly as we had to take Andie to the airport so that she could head home. That's the absolute worst part of having family come and stay. It doesn't get any easier either.

The girls are going to miss her so much. Andie, on the other hand, really needs a rest. She is an energetic sort and is used to working 24 hour shifts, the kind they throw at you in Iraq and Afghanistan but she isn't used to 2 kids who never slow down.

At the airport we used a baggage tag to tie up Lily's hair and told her we were checking her as luggage and sending her to Grandpa's.

Uh oh, good bye is getting closer
Bye, we are going to miss you, lots.

We left the airport and drove home to a quiet house. Tonight I hugged the girls tighter than usual and told them again, how much I love them and thanked them for all the gifts and homemade cards and all the times they wished me, A happy Mother's day but most importantly I thanked them for being mine.
I really am so thankful for my girls.

Keepsake moments

Today I asked the girls what they wanted to do with Andie and I threw out a few ideas. I honestly didn't think they would want to do anything other than swim. Must have been my lucky day cos they chose, Kennedy Park and A.C.'s icee's followed by dinner at an absolute dive called Scotty's Landing, a fave of ours because of it's atmosphere and location.

We headed out and within moments both girls were fast asleep in the car. (They were exhausted from yesterday and I will post about it soon. Let's just say it was an insane day filled with many hilarious moments.)

First we headed to the park and once we had explored E.V.E.R.Y.S.I.N.G.L.E inch of it, stopped for an Icee.








Anybody know what sort of bug this is?





Then we headed into the Grove proper for a walk around before heading back to Scotty's for dinner.








We walked past here on our way to dinner

All of the parking spaces outside are marked for various staff members from Mayor to the commissioners but my absolute favourite is this one

I can't help thinking, what with this being Miami and all, that this space must always be vacant ~ snort.

And finally I will leave you with a Public Service Announcement.

If you DON'T wear sunscreen and you insist on soaking up the sun you will end up looking like this.

Click to enlarge.
Such a fabulous day. We are all in denial about Andie leaving tomorrow. But I have lots of posts to do that include her and the trouble we managed to get in to.

Easter Weekend.

This weekend has been so much more fun than any other Easter because Jacob was actually home with us the whole time and that is a first. He was with us when we dyed the eggs and when we filled the baskets and to top it off Andie is here to. Yesterday we dyed the eggs with the girls and Andie joined in as this is an American pastime so she has never done this before. We made lots of mess as always and then the girls used the dye to dye seashells. Well, whatever works for them, they were having lots of fun.









This morning when the girls woke up the Easter Bunny had already been here and left them both a basket so they were very happy and excited.



Having sweets for breakfast is a surefire way of keeping them excited! The Easter Bunny doesn't tend to leave much candy in their Easter baskets he usually leaves them a toy and this year he left them both Zhu Zhu* pets. Oy vey! We have an annual date with our friends Ed and Jen for breakfast at their house followed by an egg hunt because it never fails the Easter Bunny always hides eggs in their courtyard whilst we are eating, yet we have never caught him in action.

I love watching the kidlets hunt for eggs in the courtyard. The Easter Bunny is very creative with his hiding places and the kids spend quite a while searching. This year lots of Jenny's neighbours, (our old neighbours) came out to watch them.

My favourite part of this annual tradition is lining up the children on the bench and taking their photos. We can see not only how much the kids have grown but how our families keep on growing.
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