At the Transportation Museum...

Riding the street car, wearing some pearls. Life is good.

Latest Applique Project

My playgroup has a baby shower a few times a year for the current expecting moms in the group. This go around, there were 4 of us and I thought it might be fun to give a new applique project a try as a little gift for the other mommas.

I like how they turned out and they were again super easy! There are two girls on the way and one boy (hence the two swimming suits and the only super manly frog tie).

This was my first attempt at this project and think it will be fun to play around with all of the possibilities!

A Clean Shave

Amelia's pre-school using the "Handwriting without Tears" program to teach children, well, handwriting. I don't know much about the program, but I do know that it means the kids get to practice writing letters in fun mediums like shaving cream and salt.

In her last newsletter, it was suggested that parents give shaving cream a try at home with their kids too. So we did and it was fun!

When we got sick of drawing shapes and letters, we reached for the food coloring. To start, I put a little of yellow on one side and a little blue on the other. Amelia is convinced magic is what turned the shaving cream green!

This was a fun activity and actually not TOO messy. The best part though was that we both smelled super clean by the time we were done!

Sleepy Susie

Well, well well....look who finally decided to take a nap. I guess that opening her blinds, changing her dress, putting on tights, and finding the right shoes (which still have the tags on them and the elastic band between them) to match her ensemble made her tired enough to fall asleep--right in the middle of her floor!

Toddlers & Tiaras

Great Outdoors

Every day after picking Amelia up from school, we pass by a local park. Since I pick her up at lunch time, we are both starving by the time we got home. I thought that maybe one day I would pack a picnic and we could eat it at the park on the way home.

Last Thursday was that day! I only told Amelia that I would have a surprise for her when I picked her up. She was so excited when she saw GG in the passenger seat! Not excited enough to think SHE was the surprise though! She immediately got in the car and said, "What's my surprise, mommy?". Before I could answer, she spotted the blanket and the picnic basket and asked, "Are we going on a picnic?".

We had asked a family friend, Linda, to join us. She was babysitting her 3 month old grandson, Donovan, so he joined us too! When we got to the park, Amelia picked a spot and we set up shop.

Amelia loved getting to visit with Baby Donovan (actually, everyone did!). Amelia took it upon herself to snap some pictures while we were finishing up lunch.

Amelia was pretty antsy upon finishing her grub. Luckily I packed a huge bag of bread crumbs so that we could feed the turtles and fish at the pond. (There are no longer ducks there, rumor has it that the turtles were biting their feet and they found a new pond to call home).

I was so proud of Amelia when another little girl walked up. She said, "Hi! What's your name? I'm Amelia. Do you want to throw some bread too?". Sharing has been a very difficult concept for her lately and I was glad to see her approach the little girl in such a socially acceptable way!

The turtles and fish were glad she shared too!

After a few rounds on the 3 play areas, we decided to head out. I had one more surprise up my sleeve. We stopped by Paul's on the way home for some ice cream. Amelia's only requirement was she wanted her ice cream to be PINK!

I promised Amelia that we would do a special surprise like this again. And, so everyday since the picnic, when I have picked her up from school, she immediately asks if we are going on a picnic or if I had a surprise for her!

Quick Draw

Amelia's portrait of her father....

I love that she even captured his eyebrows. Under that red puppy he's carrying, you may even be able to see the arms and legs she drew. Below the puppy there is some orange, those are "daddy's boo-boos".

Amelia even gave her best attempt to write the word "DAD". She is a pro at writing the letter "H", but just can't get them to connect at the top to make an "A". As you can see, we are 50/50 on the letter "D".

Cuivre River State Park

Some moms from my playgroup have taken the opportunity to head to Cuivre River State Park in Troy a couple of times this summer. Their final visit was scheduled for last week and Amelia and I decided to tag along. I am so glad we did!

I hadn't been to this particular watering hole since Jason and I were dating. It hasn't changed much and I could not have asked for a better day with our friends! The weather was great, the beach wasn't too crowded, and Amelia had a fantastic time!

She would be hard pressed to pick what she liked better--playing in the sand or playing in the water. In fact, three days and two baths later, I am still trying to get all of the sand from her scalp!

She even found some shells! She looks less than thrilled here about them, but rest assured it was pretty exciting for her. In fact, they are still nestled in her car seat and travel with us wherever we go.

If I wouldn't have been so comfy resting under a huge umbrella in my beach chair, cold beverage in hand, I may have gotten some more pictures from the day. But alas, I was pretty preoccupied with catching up with friends and snacking in the shade. Just trust me when I say, a wonderful day was had by all!

Something Old

The nesting has begun at our house and we've been busy cleaning out the office (soon to be referred to as "the baby's room"). Since this room as pretty much been a dumping ground for an assortment of items over the last 2 years, this is quite a job!

Upon other treasures, Amelia came across my wedding veil, so of course we both had to take turns trying it on. Yes, I have a death grip on Amelia's arm as she is standing on the bathroom counter to get the best view of herself. And, yes, I am wearing a pair of Jason's shorts, since only one pair of my own still fit and those happened to be dirty.

In Amelia's veil picture, you may also notice that she is sporting a Christmas dress as well. This is a size 18 month dress that she came across that STILL FITS HER BODY! She is so long and lean! Of course, it just barely covered her belly button, but I was shocked that she could actually put it on, so to speak!

Lawn Girl

Jason snapped some pictures of Amelia helping out in the yard the other night. Perhaps these are the best pictures of the new do---these are the first ones on the blog that are post professional haircut.

She is the one and only reason that our flowers are still alive this late in the summer.

Amelia's patented "I don't get it" face and body language.

Straight from the Teacher's Mouth

Not that I'm a proud mama or anything, but I got this voicemail message from her teacher one week into preschool. And, in case you were wondering, yes, I did dictate it word for word. You got a problem with that?

Hi Jodi,

This is Amelia's teacher, _______ ___________. I just wanted to call everyone and let them know how their kids are doing. Amelia is doing fantastic! Its like she's been coming to pre-school for years. She comes in with no separation anxiety, understands to hang her backpack up, and just follows the routine so well! She easily goes from activity to activity and helps us sing our songs and things. When she gets to school, she often goes to the writing center or sensory table. And she also likes to play with a little doll house during our free choice time. But she is doing a great job, it doesn't seem like she is shy or hesitant or anything--doing wonderful with everybody. Just wanted to let you know what a great job she is doing with everybody and we'll be seeing you through the year!

Yep, that's 2 greats, 1 wonderful, and a fantastic for good measure! So far so good....

Peach Picking

The weather was perfect and we had nothing on the old calendar last weekend, so we decided to give peach picking a go. We headed again to Wind Ridge Farm.

We started out with a quick stop at Paul's Donuts--always a treat!

Amelia and I riding the wagon out to the peach trees--the other option was to walk three rows down, but we opted for the wagon ride instead.

With lightning speed, Amelia picked a peach and began to chomp on it.

She ended up eating three peaches in the field! Needless to say, she was a sticky mess by the time we headed back to the car.

Our box o'peaches. We had high expectations for making peach cobbler and the like, but after only 6 days, we had eaten through them all. Peaches are about the closest thing I have had to a craving this pregnancy. And these were some seriously good peaches.

In an effort to wear our little girl down, we decided to come home and swim a little in the backyard. This was followed by a special picnic lunch, executed by Jason. But, despite our best attempts, she STILL didn't nap! But all in all, it was still a great time!

Just Skewer It!

I'm slowly trying to ease my way back into doing fun things with food for Amelia. I have been so freakin' tired the last few months that it was really all about survival. I saw this somewhere and thought it would be easy and relatively mess-free. Amelia threaded grapes on a kebob (did you know there are like 8 different ways to spell this??) stick (from Michael's) and then we froze them for a delicious, frozen treat!

Of course, when Amelia was placing the grapes on the stick, it was more like thread one, eat two.

All in all, it was a success! Although, I think she liked the regular grapes more than the frozen ones!

A Second Look at the Haircut

Another view of the pre-touched up damage from the night of the massacre....sigh...at least SOMEONE is happy about it....

A Beary Special Lunch

The Great Hair Massacre of '09

Sigh, it still hurts to talk about this....but for the sake of proper documentation of all things Amelia (both good and bad), it has to be done.

Last Thursday, while reading downstairs minding my own business, I was greeted by a chipper 3 year old who should have been just waking up from her nap. Upon looking up from my book, I noticed said 3 year old looked a bit different than the last time I had seen her, a mere two hours earlier. Sure, she had on different clothing than when she went in her room for a nap (numerous outfit changes are standard practice at our house during nap time), but it didn't take me long to realize that the clothes were not the only thing different on the little lady standing in front of me wearing a huge, sheepish smile. Her hair, yes her lovely straight golden locks of which I am constantly complimented on, was shorter. A lot shorter. Mostly in the front and upon further examination, the sides. Mullet-like, if you will.

Disbelieving, I asked, "What happened to your hair?". Perhaps she placed some sort of baby oil or lotion product onto her head that gave it to illusion of being shorter. Surely that was it. Nope. "I cut it!" she replied proudly.

Instant freak out mode set in, which included hyperventilating, dizziness (most likely from the hyperventilating), tears, and lots of rushing around the house looking for the evidence that surely wouldn't be there because this had to be some kind of mistake.

Or not. Upon entering Amelia's room, it was pretty apparent that sometime during her "nap" she had confiscated a pair of scissors from the office across the hall. And, although they were only kid scissors--safety scissors I even think they are called--some serious damage had been done during this supposed nap time. A treasured book from Jason's childhood had been cut to shreds. One of Amelia's beloved pillowcase dresses had been snipped at the shoulders. A wooden necklace she threaded with her own hands had been dissected into many pieces. And on the floor near her trash can lay several large clumps of hair.

I immediately dialed Jason's number--both cell and work and did not get a response on either one. Then, I dialed my mom, desperate for someone to tell me that was a quick fix to this dilemma. A sort of hair glue that I had never noticed before or super kid-friendly vitamins that make your hair grow overnight. After my mom didn't answer, I gave my friend, Susie, a call. She is a nurse, after all, she will know how to fix this emergency!

Three people called, none an

swered. My mom was the first to return my call minutes later and she could hear the panic in my voice. By then, I was a mess--a pile of tears which quickly reduced Amelia to a pile of tears as well. With her lip quivering and tears in her eyes, she said to me, "Mommy, don't cry. Come downstairs and color! That will make you feel better". Despite being back in town for only minutes, my mom declared that she was coming over. Finally, someone to fix this problem!

My mom came in bearing a cheap comb and hair cutting scissors. These were not the magical tools I was envisioning. The first thing out of her mouth? "Oh Jodi, it doesn't look that bad." Upon further examination, I think her assessment may have changed, but even I had to admit that it was alarming how incredibly straight Amelia managed to cut her bangs (if you can call them that). In fact, when it was all said and done, it took me 5 days to even decide that maybe some of the damage could be evened out a little with some extra trimming.

Part of my panic, of course, stemmed from the continual thought that in almost exactly 3 months, Amelia was to be a flower girl in a wedding. (And as a side note: Jason was the ring bearer in the bride-to-be mom's wedding many years ago. Guess what he did right before the wedding? Yep, snipped his hair. Do you think there is some sort of gene?) Several people have told me that 3 months is a long time, but I can tell you that it certainly is not long enough to undo the damage that my little one did. After catching my breath over the wedding panic, a new wave of dread washed over my body when I realized that Tuesday was pre-school picture day.

Needless to say, we've survived this "tragedy". I feel a little silly having to remind myself that there are way worse things in life than a 3 year old giving herself a haircut. Hey, I've even been able to laugh about it a tiny bit. Some women in my stroller aerobics group had the nerve to say they thought it looked cute! Cute?!

In a final attempt to normalize her appearance, I decided to take her to a professional on Monday afternoon just to see what she could do. She shortened the back and gave her a little bob and then made a very few minor adjustments to the (very short) top and sides. It looks better, I guess, almost intentional.

But I miss my little girl's hair that was all one length. The hair I could stick a bow into without having to search and search for a long enough strand to make it stay.

And about those school pictures on Tuesday--I found out when I picked her up that she didn't get them taken. Apparently I didn't return the necessary form (mostly because I never got it!). So much for documenting her first school picture and her first self-given haircut all in one.

But, really, that's okay with me.

Amelia the night of the Great Hair Massacre. I realize it isn't the best picture, but remember that every picture on the blog from here on out will be further documentation of the incident.

Applique: Part 2

If this project took me 10 minutes, then this next one only took 5! Seriously, it could not be easier. The shirt is an inexpensive, but fairly high quality selection from Target (check out the puffed sleeves). The material came from my mom's scraps. This will be part of a birthday present for a little girl who recently celebrated her first birthday! Hopefully I get the gift to her before her mom spots this post!

I would love to whip some of these up for the baby--something neutral, of course!

A Spoonful of Sugar

Mary Poppins is a big hit at our house!

Its nice to see that there is life after Arthur, Clifford, and those darned princesses!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Pie

You may have noticed that I am not one to post many recipes on the ol' blog. That is due, in part, to laziness and also just a blah feeling about cooking in general. It is certainly NOT my favorite thing to do--not even in the top 25.

And for the record, I didn't actually make this recipe either--Jason did (I know, big surprise). But, I felt so strongly about it that I couldn't keep it a secret! I didn't actually take a picture of the end product (it was destroyed too fast!), but as you can see from the look of pure joy on Amelia's face, this thing was GOOD!

Without further ado:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Pie

1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk, divided

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1-9 inch graham cracker crust

1-8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups frozen whipped cream, thawed

Combine 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. Place 2 tablespoons of the chocolate mixture in a resealable plastic bag for drizzle, set aside. Spread remaining chocolate evenly over bottom of pie crust. Chill for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat remaining condensed milk, cream cheese, and peanut butter with a mixer until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon over chocolate layer.

Cut corner off bag with reserved chocolate and drizzle over pie.

Freeze for 1 hour or until firm. Makes 8-10 servings.

What's great about this recipe is that even though we shared the pie with 2 other people, it was still too much. I stuck it back in the freezer and it kept great....for a few days...until it was GONE!

Relaxin' in Innsbrook

I have an aunt who lives in Innsbrook and we were lucky enough to be invited out for a day at the pool. My cousin's son, Max, was also in town visiting from Washington, DC, so Amelia even had a built in playmate for the day!

I had to drive my car to the pool as it was filled with all of the much needed supplies for the outing--swim noodles, snacks, cooler of drinks, towels, and more toys than two kids could possibly need. But, GG, Amelia, Max, and my aunt Phyllis got ride in style and take the golf cart down the pool.

The kids enjoyed using the Funnoodles as fishing poles. Here, Amelia has caught a whopper of a fish. Check out how impressed aunt Phyllis is with her snag!

More fishing....

Nothing like a little quality time in the pool with GG!

Max decided he would hang out at the edge of the pool for fear of sharks suddenly appearing on the premises. Luckily, he still managed to get plenty wet (and plenty of other people wait) despite actually entering the pool.

A little hand holding after a day at the pool!

Thanks Aunt Phyllis for a great time!