Project 365 & Randomness

It's Wednesday again, time for Project 365 & Randomness.

Thurs. Jan. 20, 2011: Mariele's 2nd birthday! The birthday girl in all her cuteness.



Fri. Jan. 21, 2011: The squirrel baffle. Background: We live in a little wooded community with a higher population of squirrels than people. A year ago, we had to hire a carpenter to fix the eave of our house when the squirrel had literally gnawed a hole. We have a bird feeder for the intention of feeding birds, but the squirrels tend to hog most of the seed. We've tried all different kinds of supposedly "squirrel proof" bird feeders. Yeah, there is no such thing. So we decided to try the squirrel baffle, a cone-shaped device that goes on the bird feeder pole. From this photo, you can see just how well it does not work.



Sat. Jan. 22, 2011: Analese's favorite hairdo as of late - the bun.



Sun. Jan. 23, 2011: Packed for the arctic tundra....ummm, I mean Little Rock.



Mon. Jan. 24, 2011: This one just might be photo of the week. My loves splitting a double chocolate shake, extra thick, no whipped cream, from the Dixie Cafe. That was their half. I had my own half on my side of the table.



Tues. Jan. 25, 2011: Lee is helping both of our mothers with some home improvement projects while we are in Little Rock. He has a special little helper who I just could not peel off of him.



Today: Sleeping in at Grandma Linda's. Analese stayed up until 11:45 with me last night playing Life on the iPhone. She even beat me.

Mariele's party

Well, it was really a small celebration with close family friends, but they have 3 kids, so if you combine that with my two, there is certainly a party atmosphere. I made these "pupcakes" for Mariele, and I must say that I am super duper proud of myself. While I was decorating them, Mariele was on a chair scooted up to the kitchen island so she could watch. She was just delighted as they transformed into little puppies. She kept cheering for me! It was the sweetest thing. She would clap her hands and cheer, "YAY MOMMY! YAYYYYY MOMMMY!" She is my little petite cheerleader. What a sweetheart. Anyway, here are the best looking things I will probably ever decorate. Tada!



Poor Mariele is terrified of a candle flame though. Seriously debilitated over it. Poor thing. Analese again blew out the candles for her.



She does get really into opening presents now, though. She could not wait to rip open those gifts.



She got a little princess piano that she really likes.



I just love my sweet little 2 year old so very much.

Mariele is 2!

Today was Mariele's second birthday! I got out the camera to capture her waking up.



"What? Huh...What day is it?? My birthday? What the heck...."



"YAWWWN"



"OK! I'm awake now. Let's go wreak some havoc!"



Another cute bed snuggle shot. "This day looks promising!"



I utilized one of the great homeschooler perks today and declared it a school holiday for Mariele's birthday. We dressed cute and went to town!



I made Mariele's favorite dinner tonight "Noonles" (how she says noodles), specifically bow tie lasagna. Then I served some mini cupcakes that I picked up at the store earlier today. Her official homemade cupcakes will be served on Saturday evening when we celebrate her birthday with friends. She would not blow hard enough to blow out the candles. Then she started to act scared of the candle flame, so Analese blew them out for her.



She is just so cute and lovable!




She opened a few presents. Analese got as "into" the present opening as she did.





It was a nice day, and she seemed truly excited to be celebrating her birthday.

Project 365 and Randomness

I've decided to start this weekly blog feature. I am doing Project 365 through an iPhone photography app. I take a photo every day. Some photos are taken with my camera. Others are taken with my iPhone camera. But the general premise is that I take one photo a day as sort of a souvenir by which to remember the day. If I post these photos on Wednesdays, it will also lend itself to some randomness. It has been hard to find the time and inclination to blog lately. I get so busy tackling the day to day stuff, and it is hard to have time and energy left over. So here goes:

I stared Project 365 on January 11th. 1-11-11.

Tuesday, Jan 11th, 2011: This one is called "Princess at Play." Analese loves to dress up in her Southern Belle costume from Halloween. She was playing during quiet time, a.k.a Mariele's naptime.



Wednesday, Jan. 12th, 2011: I always let the girls watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in bed in the mornings while I get ready for the day. They sleep together in the queen sized bed in our guest room, which is now known as their sleeping room. I went in there after I was dressed and ready, and they were all snuggled up together. It was the first time that I had seen them snuggle up together like that, totally candid and unposed. It kind of melted my heart, of course.



Thursday, Jan. 13th, 2011: Analese was in her Southern Belle costume once again. This time the Princess was playing Wii. I wish I had photographed her doing yoga in that dress. I will try to get that one next time.



Friday, Jan. 14th, 2011: Show day at The Little Gym. This pic has already been posted in the previous blog post, but it just screamed photo of the day. Oh, I just love this kid. So so proud!



Saturday, Jan. 15th, 2011: I somehow forgot about my Project 365 until the kids were already in bed. The only photo I took that day was this one of the mysterious rash on Mariele's leg. I still have no idea what caused it. It is better now.



Sunday, Jan. 16th, 2011: I really do have girly girls. I did not give birth to any tomboy. Mariele has discovered jewelry lately. She gets the costume jewelry out of Analese's jewelry box and gets all gussied up. Silly baby!



Monday, Jan. 17th, 2011: Martin Luther King Jr. Day. During quiet time, I watched "Driving Miss Daisy" while I folded laundry. Analese played with blocks and was really getting quite creative with them.



Tuesday, Jan. 18th, 2011: I snapped this pic of Analese doing her school work. I really am working my dream job every Monday through Thursday morning. I just love being able to school her at home. It is so much fun!



TODAY: We went to Chuy's for dinner and had yummy vegetarian fajitas. Chuy's has the best vegetarian tortillas in the world. When we were leaving, the full moon was rising over the parking lot. It was huge and orange.



Tomorrow: Mariele's second birthday!!

Gymnastics Show Day

Today was the gymnastics show for both Mariele and Analese. Mariele's was first. She has really developed over the semester which started in August and ended today. I am a true believer in developmental gymnastics. It is so good for developing them physically. Mariele loves swinging on the bars and pulling herself up. She is amazingly strong.



She also loves hanging out in the "hot tub."



And I would be remiss to not post a pic of the infamous water fountain that has distracted her all semester long.



Mariele's favorite part of class is the part where they play with all of the balls.




She received a certificate in the awards ceremony.



She was supposed to hold it up in triumph and look all proud. Instead, she had this bewildered look on her face, like "What am I doing here?"



Analese's show was next. I was so very proud of her performance. She is the oldest one in her class now, so I'm sure that factor played a part in her confidence, but she pulled off her routines flawlessly. And I could tell that she knew that she was giving a flawless performance. I give her an A++++ for confidence and skill both! She received a medal in the awards ceremony.



She is the one clowning in the group picture.



This was my favorite picture of the day.



Here are some cute ones of the girls together.




Analese on the bars, floor and beam.

Baby it's cold outside!

We had a hard freeze last night. While the rest of the country is enjoying snow (and ice, although not sure anybody enjoys that), we are lucky enough to get just pure, unadulterated cold. No pretty snow pictures for me today, but I did walk in on my girls snuggling in bed this morning. The reason these pictures are so undeniably precious is they are completely candid. This is the first time I've seen my girls just snuggle up to each other like that, totally unposed. It does my mommy heart good! They were watching the morning episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that I allow them to see each morning while I get dressed and ready for the day.

Happy New Year!

I know, it is January 4th already. I wish I could say that I have a resolution to blog more often this year, but I don't make resolutions unless I know that I can stick to them. I will still be blogging as time permits.

Resolutions that I will stick to no matter what:

My Bible reading plan. I've done a Bible reading plan for about 8 years straight now. I always complete this goal. It keeps me spiritually grounded and I am able to more effectively face other challenges that life throws my way when I make this my #1 goal every day.

Exercise with MOVE IT 2011. I completed 500 in 2010, so I'm sure I will be meeting my exercise goals this year, also. I have to take care of my physical body and my health in order to be the best mother and wife that I can be. I love the feeling of vibrancy that a regular exercise regimen allows me to have.

Goals I am going to try to accomplish day by day:

Good meal planning for my family. I will encourage my daughters to eat a balanced and healthy diet.

Take some nice photos with my camera.

Try to have more fun with my family, even if my to do list is incomplete. I want to embrace the moments and just simply enjoy life.

Be more efficient with my time and my space.

Make a conscious effort to make more social connections.

Find small ways to recharge my battery each day so I can be a better mother/wife/homeschool teacher.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2011!