A Week in the Life (v.2015.12)

Finn's School Daze 1.2 (week.day) 

 Fish on Finn's second day of school.  He was really excited until he got pulled inside when she got to go for a ride (to school).

 Finn's School Daze 1.3

We broke out the Halloween decorations last week.  We have an owl that is motion detected and we were seeing if Fish would be as scared of it as Finn was at that age.  Answer...  Yes.  Sort of.

Selfie Time!

We also made "monster cookies" over the past weekend.

Auntie Anita's birthday was also last week and so we lit candles in her honor and got to blow them out.

School Daze 2.1

School Daze 2.2

We also got a package last week from Mimi.  It was a Halloween package, but it had some extra goodies in there for the kids.  Fish got a backpack.  Is he excited about his backpack?  YES!

Finn got a Frozen dress that she was OVER THE MOON about.

Last weekend, we were lucky enough to puppysit for Lona, who was a 13 week old Border Collie owned by one of the guys that works for E.  She was a riot.  The kids loved her!

She loved the kids.  This is her on the first afternoon.  The kids did a good job of tiring her out.

Fish couldn't understand why we let sleeping puppies lay.

So he got in her crate instead.

The best of friends!

Mornings are always better in our robe (especially when we have a little puppy that is still working on not jumping).

So this is the two of them at the beginning of the weekend.  Lucy was NOT about to have a rambunctious puppy in her house. (Lucy is on the right about 20 feet away from Lona).

School Daze 2.3
It's wonderful to see her SOOOOO excited about school each day.  I think we picked the right school!

This was Lona and Lucy by the end of the weekend.  Apparently, Lucy has a soft spot for cute, cuddy puppy (kind of like me).

Over the past weekend, I also finished re-upholstering my sofa.  I LOVE IT!!!! (and we hung up some photos)  Now I have the chaise, the rocking chair, the ottoman, and the sofa done.  Along with all the pillows.  Now I just have to finish reupholstering our two wingback chairs and I'll be ready to show you photos of our new living room!

Granny and Opa also visited for the weekend!

School Daze 3.1
Notice Fish's backpack!  He HAS to put it on every single morning.

Their back backpacks.

Going to pick up Sissy at school.  Notice the backpack (every time)!

School Daze 3.2
Fish is trying to stand like Finn (liking his sock with sandals, no?).

Pinky & the Fonz

Back in August on my birthday, we decided to run down to the Flats in Cleveland and relive one of my favorite photo shoots that I have done of Finn.  She was 18 months old when we did our first Pinky Tuscadero photo shoot.  At the time, I was about three months pregnant with Fish, so he was also in the family photos -- only nobody knew about him yet.  And now being that Fish was exactly the same age, I wanted him to wear the leather jacket as well.  To say that the photos are pretty spectacular is an understatement.  This was the best birthday present that I could have ever asked for.

   

First Day of School!

On Monday, Finn had her first day of preschool.  Monday morning was also the morning that E unloaded our last moving truck worth of stuff from Cleveland.  So I'm STILL knee deep in boxes!  Will this madness ever cease!!!  Back to the subject at hand, Finn's preschool.  We were lucky to find amazing neighbors that have their kids in the same preschool and that preschool had an opening, so within a month of arriving in Doylestown, she is starting up in school on the first day, just like everyone else.  I thought it was important that she started on the same day as all the other kids, so that I could tell her that while she is nervous and scared, so are the other kids, because it's their first day as well.

It worked wonders!  That and the fact that we were able to visit the school three times before classes started (twice with me and the kids while speaking with the director and once at orientation with both E & I there).  She was super comfortable in the classroom on orientation, sitting front and center when the teacher wanted to read the kids a story and piping up as the teacher asked questions -- it was a delight to see.  There were no tears from her on the first dropoff either, which E did.  We all drove to the school and Finn picked Daddy to walk her into the school.  Fish on the other hand was full of tears.  He wanted to go to school with his sister and told me the ENTIRE time that E was in dropping Finn off.

We have had two days completed at the time of this post and she is still loving school.  She goes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings only.  And tomorrow, the theme is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom -- she is OVER THE MOON about it.  When I was talking to her on Sunday before school even started, we went over the entire week. When I got to Friday and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, she said "I have that book!!!  It's upstairs!!!!  Should I go get it?!?!?!"

And upon pickup both times, the teacher said that she did great and that she was a real sweetheart.  In fact, yesterday, she didn't want to go to me immediately.  She was too busy trying to tell the teacher her new address.  Of course, initially when I ask her about her day, she is always really glum about it and says that the kids were mean to her -- but the more that I pry about her day, the more excited she gets.  And by the end, she doesn't even remember telling me about the mean kids (which I think may be a little dramatics on her part due to the facts that she gives about those "mean kids").  Overall, she is loving school and is super excited to be a "big girl"!

MONTHS in the life (v.2015.11)

So, yeah... July and August happened to us and hit us like a ton of bricks...  And now it's September as we are still reeling slightly from them.  I'll try and put as many photos and videos from the last months here.  I'm hopeful that now that we are moved and settling that I will being to update again.  I have photos up the wahoo that I'm really excited to share.

Near the end, even Lucy was saying "This moving sh*t is for the birds..." 

Someone was trying to weasel her way to out going to sleep.

This is the only reason why I go back to Iowa in July.  My brother is kind enough to give me all the peas. 

Someone isn't necessarily a morning person. 

We started practicing "Elsa" braids.  I'm not very good at them yet. 

My future is so bright, I have to wear double shades.

God's country

Sick boy 

My final piece of Iowa... Breakfast pizza. 

Her first of many, many, many rainbows.

Being an amazing big sister

Singing happy birthday

The sleeping positions of my kids -- Photo #ALOT 

Someone was super excited about the mall train.  Like SUPER EXCITED.

He absolutely LOVED it.

Another photo of the sleeping positions of my kids.  Can you tell that I'm infatuated? 

Trying to work the computer like Mommy 

In the middle of the move crisis, one day, I thought that I was gaining stress weight and at 11pm that evening, I realized for the first time that my pants were on backwards the entire day.  Good times. 

One final photo of the place where my babies came into the world. 

Our move was an entire disaster.  We were promised a 53' semi trailer entirely for us and this is what they show up with -- at 7:30pm! 

More sleeping positions of my kids... Are you tired of them yet? 

Oh, and the moving guys?  They ran into our house! 

This photo makes me sooooooo sad. 

Every night, she must read me a bedtime story.

Goofy boy! 

But we made it to Bucks County and they have amazing parks.  We hit this one up with my parents in first couple of days here. 

This is the monstrosity in its entirety. 

She made her own computer out of her record player and a kiddie toy tablet. 

Playing at the same park from above.  E's sister came to visit the next weekend. 

Having fun at the park! 

Loving on Auntie Anita! 

The kid was taking bites out of my burger!!!!! 

Our new kitchen light fixtures! 

We have a pass through fireplace between the living room and the kitchen which you can barely see at the bottom of the photo -- this is the mantle in the kitchen.

A photo from the other side of the kithen. 

The kids eating lunch in their play room. 

I'm a moron and decided to reupholster every single piece of furniture that we are going to place in our living room.  But I have an amazing vision that I'm super excited to show you.  This is Crystal Blue Persuasion -- which is the fabric for our sofa.

Our Labor Day weekend started like this!  With a BANG!  POW!  ZING! 

Asleep in the car on the way up to the Catskills.

She fell asleep watching Frozen.  Too cute.