The girls "setting up"

Last week I was cleaning my bathroom and they decided they wanted to clean the toilet and wipe the bathroom with cleaning wipes too. So, I sent them to the other bathroom with cleaning supplies. After they were done with that they came and shut the bathroom door to the bathroom that I was in and told me not to come out because they were "making a mess". I knew they were up to something. They like to surprise me every now and then by cleaning up a room or two but this time they wanted to trick me into thinking they were making a mess, probably because I'm constantly telling them to please NOT make a big mess. So, I stayed in the bathroom and kept cleaning while listening to them giggle and laugh and talk about how surprised I would be. They finally came and got me to show me the "mess". Of course, they had made my bed and picked up both of their rooms and made their beds. I took pictures of their beds because it cracks me up how they "set up" their beds. They like to organize things all in a row or make them look neat, even though they're not exactly in the right places. Here are the few pictures I took. They're so funny, at least to me. Look at the pillows on their beds.

Elye Kate at 9 months

Here are the pictures Joni and I took of Elye Kate for her 9 month "photo shoot". They were taken at The Factory in Franklin. I did send these 5 pictures to a friend that has photoshop. I've included a couple of the before shots so I can see the difference. They're subtle differences but they do change the picture for the better, in my opinion. I would LOVE to have a new computer with photoshop on it. I would probably spend way too much time playing with photography though. Who knows, maybe one day I could know enough to make a business out of it. That would be a dream job in my opinion.

Before

After

Before

After

Baby Easton Daniel - the golden child

Well, it finally happened. After 3 daughters (me, Julie and Joni) and 4 granddaughters, my parents finally got a boy. Easton was born on Feb. 3rd and was 5 lbs 15.5 oz. He's a tiny little thing but perfect. He's a great baby and doesn't get mad very often. The girls loved seeing him and we had to have timed turns to hold him. It amazes me how long Lyla will sit perfectly still to hold him. Lyla and I went to the hospital on the Friday after he was born to visit and keep Julie company. Lyla practically held him the whole afternoon! He's adorable with lots of dark hair. I wish we lived closer to Julie and Jason so we could see him more often. Here are some of the pictures that I took in the hospital.

The Big Snow of 2010

We finally got enough snow to actually have a good reason for school to be cancelled. The roads were covered and then iced on. The next morning the snow was so frozen that the girls could walk on top of the few inches of snow and not even sink. This made for really good sledding conditions. The only problem...no sled! This year I will buy a sled or two when we don't need them just so we'll have them when we do! We found a big hill in our neighborhood and took a couple of lids from big plastic tubs hoping that would work. It didn't work, but, there were some very nice people around that let us use their extra sleds. Whew! It was fun. The girls liked it. We went pretty fast. We fell over several times. We finally went home because our fingers were wet and that made them VERY cold. The girls missed 3 days of school! It was a good snow.

Lyla's new Scooby shirt

While we were at Goodwill looking for a cane for Grace's 100 year old costume, Lyla found this wonderful Scooby shirt. She thinks it is just great. I'll keep my opinions to myself. She actually wore it to preschool 2 days in a row this week! I know there are some moms around here that wouldn't let their children be caught dead in a "character" shirt. I agree, they aren't the most attractive, stylish clothing. But, I want Lyla to be herself. I want her to learn that looks aren't what matters. I want her to learn to make her own choices. I want her to be free to express her own style and personality. I don't want her to learn that she has to dress a certain way to fit in. I don't want her to learn that she has to wear a certain brand of clothing to be cute, pretty, cool or whatever. So, to the moms that can't stand "character" clothing...please, just look the other way and keep your comments to yourself.

The 100th day of school

The first grade was supposed to dress up like 100 year old people for the 100th day of school this week. I tried to find a cane for Grace to take but they are more expensive to buy than I would have guessed. Goodwill didn't even have any. Oh well. So, she wore a flowery dress, shawl, pearls, make-up, white hair and a bun, and pantyhose that wouldn't stay up. I thought she looked pretty good.