Nutcracker!

Abby was a snowflake in the Nutcracker production with the Moscow Ballet this weekend. It was amazing to watch and the girls from her studio that were involved were brilliant. It was crazy how talented the Moscow dancers are! I got to help with the costumes and stay with the girls for the rehearsal. They were in awe of the performers. The show was nerve wracking until Abby's part was over though. Next year she wants to do it again!
I can change my wrapping percentage to about 96%. I have some helper elves this year. It does tend to add to the quantity of paper that we need...but they are enjoying being a part of it. I have one gift left to buy. Next year Mark is going to pick what he wants me to get for certain inlaws (who will remain unnamed)....in august! He is the master of indecision and of course I have my smallest helper elf to drag around during the craziness of shopping a few days before Christmas.

68% wrapped!

Usually I let Mark do all the wrapping and decorating. I don't know if it because I get so much more sleep now that everyone sleeps in their OWN beds or what but I am on a roll! I have so much wrapped! I still have to do Jenna but she has been home sick for the past two days. I am of course waiting on a few boxes that have shipped and are on their way! (i have even wrapped the gifts that Bear had shipped to me ;)

We dropped the price on the house because the house that we are hoping to buy came down on their price. Hopefully we can offer them less and still make it work.

The above pic is of our "Christmas card photoshoot!" It gets exponentially harder to get them all looking in the same direction and happy too!

Christmas trees! and boxes

Ack! The tree is up! The lights are up! I am ready! We spent the weekend visiting family and getting the Christmas stuff up. Of course that also means that we have to move furniture and go through a hundred boxes to find stuff. Selling a house is evil business.

The girls are trying to get back into the swing of school. Abby went to Adventure Park with a friend yesterday and they had a blast playing laser tag. Jenna went to Haley's and visited her brand new baby brother Keegan. Aw! He is the cutest, super soft and cuddly. I'll post pics later.

Tomorrow is Happy Birthday Bear day ( according to Katie).

I have to be out in the middle of the day for a showing. Not that it would matter... I can predict the feedback. House lovely and clean. Simply too small for our buyer. (ARRGHHH!)

Good luck finding a ginormous townhouse around here.

Off to mediate the screaming/smacking/hairpulling that is going on upstairs.

Spot the cat!

Not too much going on here. It's super cold and the girls and I are hibernating. Trying to fall into the rhythm of vacation.

We just found Kate in the cat's bed. Other pics show Simon looking accusingly at Kate. He is clearly miffed.

Happy Turkey Day in advance!

Gymboree~

I have a new online obsession. Sorry Jenn it's not Facebook! I found a website with other Gymboree obsessed moms...they even have a section about what gymbo your kid is wearing today :)
Perfect for my collection needs! Katie is the smallest princess and still really does not care what I dress her in.
If you read this and participated in my house party make sure you answer the survey!
Off to scour the website for the newest lines and BF deals...Gymboree opens at 8 am! The outlet opens at midnight ....excellent!

Halloween and elephants

I am not even going to talk about the house on here again until we have a signed contract in our hands!

The girls are ready for Halloween. Mark is coming home to carve pumpkins with them. It is sort of like decorating the Christams tree in our house. Totally up to Mark and the girls. I think Katie is going to really get a kick out of both things this year.

She is ready for her birthday. She is "two" if you ask her. well ok and maybe three...sometimes. I think she just keeps counting :) I wish that her birthday wasn't so close to Christmas. I want it to be exciting for her and not an afterthought. She is ready for her "elephant party!". I think we are going to take her to Build a Bear afterwards to build an elephant! I have the coolest present in store for her!

This weekend brings the fun of going to the basement to sort through every box we have and relabel them. It appears that certain key boxes are MIA! (Like the one with Mark's winter coat in it!) I am hoping to take stuff to Goodwill and get ready for a yard sale. At least I can seperate it and make a stack for the sale in the spring. I am also hoping to get all the girls clothing bins all together and labeled accurately.

"i like it. Move it!" Katies favorite song is the Move it song and she loves to rock out. She "shakes her booty"

Nothing exciting

Nothing to post about the house. The economy is crushing our hopes slowly.
The girls are great!
I'll think of more exciting things and post them.....

Goldfish and drama

We got the fish. I think that Abby might be more excited than any of the others! They are doing well so far. The tank has a history of offing fish (it was a hand me down).
Jenna has decided to forgo her dancing this year. I guess I have to let her make her own decisions. She says she does want to go back to twirling when the competetition season starts up again.
Abby is surprised by how hard the lessons with Nella are. She is getting to the point in dance where you either stick with it or bail. There are a few girls in her class that are in it for the long haul. Nutcracker practice is going well. They are looking forward to the practices that involves everyone.
Katie is talking so much. She has the funniest things to say too. My personal favorite right no is "no fang drum" . Mark always plays her teeth like a little drum hence the fang drum. Also her sisters have "butt tails" because of the adorable storybook "Tails" . I asked her where her tail was...on her butt! She goes around saying either....Abby butt tail or Abby push me. Umm.. i always have to remind her that Abby is as school. Makes it sort of hard for Abby to push her.

We showed the house on short notice this weekend. The feedback was that the people were not highly motivated to move....Ok then why did you need to get in my house at 10 o clock on a sunday? Why are you looking at houses period? People really don't get that you spend hours getting ready regardless of their intentions. It really makes me crazy.

We found a house that we really like and I really hope we can get this done soon. I hate to think that we will still be here at Christmas.

Updates...for grammy

Well it's not too exciting over here. The house is still sitting. I am still cleaning endlessly. The girls are still enjoying school and Katie is a little bored without them. Abby is enjoying her Nutcracker practices and is glad that her regular dance class has started again. a
The girls have a fundraiser that we have to finish up and send in. I am going to end up with magazine vouchers again! It's the only thing I can justify.
Mark has been super busy at work and TRowe. We have not seen too much of him recently!
We are getting goldfish tonight. Jenna wants one that looks like an oreo cookie?! I guess I will find out tonight what that really means.
I took Katie for pics at Sears today. She did really well. She is so darn cute anyway! I hope to be able to post them later. She got a few compliments on the dress from the parking lot to the portrait studio!

Deep sigh

Still have the house on the market. Deep sigh...we did find one that we really like though. Adorable house and the right school district. The owners are going through a nasty divorce and it could be problematic with the offer. Of course that is provided we get an offer here sometime THIS YEAR!!!!
Abby is enjoying the Nutcracker stuff. One of her friends parents spent 1200 on tix for the show for her and her family. We seem to be the only family involved who worries about our budget! This same family ordered sweatshirts , tote bags and posters already.
Volunteered at the consignment sale on Friday. That was so fun! A real girls day! I got so many cute things for the girls. I did take them back later and they picked out some things for themselves. Kate got a Mickey Mouse phone ( HEwooo! Mickey Mouse!)
Also an update on the fridge magnets...I bought some at the sale on friday ( the letters and the farm ones) ...found ours on saturday! Mark was thrilled :)

Shoes and other girly things

We have a shoe problem over here. They always seem to need them...dance shoes, sneakers, crocs, sandals, boots, etc... I just can't keep them from exploding all over the house. They are good about putting them away , it just seems like them might creep out at night or something! Hairbows and ponytail holders are the same way. I have designated spots for both things. They are just always all over the floor. It makes me crazy!
Abby has her second nutcracker practice this weekend. Hopefully I 'll have more to report after that.
Happy birthday to Rachel...heheehee. This much closer to 30!
Webkinz world now has a travel agency. Striper is on vacation in a tropical island. I'm really jealous of him right now!

Number 30...is in!

Abby auditioned for the Nutcracker production that is being put on by the Moscow Ballet. She got a part as a snowflake! The performance is at the Lyric in Baltimore. She is beyond excited! I can't wait till they give us more info. The packets are due at the practice next week. The only thing she knows besides part of her dance is that her costume has a crown. I am so proud of her!

Maybe not so genetic

The girls had their second riding lesson last night. It seems like the whole thing makes Jenna "nervous". Her words! Poor Abby had a scare with Rosie acting up and now she is unsure if she wants to go back. Part of me is happy. I had forgotten how danger was in every part of being around them. They look so small that it stops my heart constantly. The other part wanted them to like it as much as I do.
It seems like we might be piano shopping this weekend. At least a piano won't toss you to the ground and stomp on your head. (mark's words:) Jenna has vetoed the lessons in favor of cheering or gymnastics.
Katie is talking so much it just kills me. She is so funny. The other night she put her hands on her tummy at the table and makes this face. "I'm full!" She is into fridge magnets. Mark has spent several hours looking for the box that has the Leapfrog ones. It is driving me nuts...not being exactly sure of where our stuff is.
School is going really well. I am so proud of Jenna. She has turned into this confident little girl. I really think the structure in kindergarten is much better than the craziness of her preschool. I think she really enjoys the direction. Preschool stressed her out because the other kids were wild and the teacher let them run loose. We will be looking into other preschools for Katie in a few years.
The girls are having a cousins only sleepover at Aunt Kristen's to celebrate Jocelynne's birthday. Looks like it's no sleep for Aunt Kristen tonight!

First Day pics

They are home! Jenna sounded like she really had a good day. She enjoyed riding the bus home. I guess that can be a highlight! '

Abby is exhausted. Third grade is a lot of work she said. She knows lot of kids in her class and was thrilled about that.

The paperwork is minimal ...I was really surprised. Off to purchase the things on the list for donations.

Big Day!

It apparently never gets any easier to send your kids to school. I can't believe how small Jenna looked when I dropped her off. They made them go in the front door not the one they ususally go in when you drop them off. She looked worried and was holding tight to Abby. Abby was going to walk her to her classroom. I hope they let her! She will be upset if they didn't. Mark is home today and we are running some errands. I have a doctors appointment and we are getting the new Ariel movie for Jenna. She LOVES Ariel!
I'll post some pics when I stop crying.....

It's genetic!

Rosie...getting ready

Abby and Jenna had their first official riding lesson today. They loved it...it looks like despite all Mark's warnings at birth about no ponies they have taken to it. Check out their faces! Rosie looked a little bored. She has two speeds walk and stop. She prefers the standing around...regardless the girls were safe and thrilled beyond measure. Plus as a bonus Rosie took me for a few spins around the indoor. I am thinking about trading a child for a pony....

DONE!

I wish that the title referred to the house business. We have had an offer. An icky one from someone who wants to buy it to rent it back out. We countered and are waiting on his response. Liz thinks he will probably only be looking for the houses that he can get the cheapest. Mostly trying to catch people who are trying to avoid forecloseure. So we continue to clean and box. I cannot stress how much i want to be moved before christmas!

I have officially given up the leader role of my brownie troop. Abby has decided to try new things (piano, horses , 4H) and I simply couldn't take the drama that came with the 3 new co leaders this year. I know that I have been out of middle school for long enough that this stuff should not be bothering me! Yikes. I mean these women are in their 40s! I feel a great sense of relief.

Jenna is going to try gymnastics again. I am going to wait for the second session. I think we have to get settled into school first and then get going on something else. She also might try the cheerleading program they have there. I guess we will see what the schedule looks like!

Kate is talking in phrases now. Mommy get cup, Daddy wash it! That 's her favorite. Wash her paci...wash it , my paci! She has this little voice and the comands sound so funny. We are trying to remind her to add her please to the end.

Getting ready for the consignment sale. I have tagged a whole box. I am heading to mom's tonight to hit the bins in the garage. I guess the majority of it will wait for the spring. There are boxes I cannot even begin to get to right now.

We met Jenna's teacher and some of her classmates. There are 3 other kids in the neighborhood all starting kindergarten and they all got different classes! Jenna thinks her teacher is pretty and likes the cubbies for her things. I am so glad that they have seperate bathrooms and playgrounds. She still seems so little to me. I cannot believe I am getting her off a bus on Tuesday!

Abby knows quite a few kids in her class. I am so glad for that. She is excited and her teacher seems really sweet. It looks like I will be her room mother.
I can't wait for Katie and I to be able to volunteer this year.

Everything Tastes Better Mouse Shaped

Well, it's done. I have gone and turned 31. I even have a brand new licence to prove it. I spent two hours at the DMV with three kids! It actually isn't so bad though. I am just amazed at how ten years ago I thought turning 21 was going to be the best. I have much more to be thankful for now! I never thought I would have three smart wonderful girls. I am so lucky to be able to own my own house and cars. I have an awesome husband who works so hard for us. Now if we could just sell this house we own....
Jenna marched in the Hampstead parade on Saturday. That qualified as the longest, hottest and most boring parade. We waited to step off for close to 2 hours!
The girls went to a birthday party for Faith and Hope and had a blast.
My current obessession is tiny yarn animals and Mickey Mouse shaped kitchen appliances. I am hoping to press my crochet "abled" mom into service in the tiny yarn animal department. I just have to get the patterns! As for the Mickey stuff I am trolling Ebay looking for ways to make the food taste better. In my opinion EVERYTHING tastes better when it's MOUSE shaped!!!!

New baby pics

I went down to the hospital last night to see Rachel and the baby. She is perfect and just so small. I had those little flashes of want...I got over it! I am happy to be an aunt again and looking forward to more baby holding. She looks alot like Brianna. She also reminds me of Kate with her voracious paci appetite.

We can't wait for them to come home!

Julia Lynn!

The baby is here! 7 Pounds 8 ounces. I will get more details from my sister tonight when I go see her. The girls are so excited to have her come home so they can hold her!


The house that we were hoping to put a contract on has been rented arrghh! The owner is doing a rent to own. Oh well....we are just going to keep looking. I know we have looked at at least 40 houses by now. How depressing is that?

Down we go

Counting down to school. Dropping the price on the house. Counting down to new baby Julia. Counting down to being 31.

School is soon! Jenna is ready. She is so independent and smart. I can't wait to see what her year brings. We are hoping to have the class assignments soon.

Third grade for Abby. Ummm, sorry what?! I am not old enough to have a third grader!

Interest has increased on the house but still no offers. In today's market we have decided to go down and see what that brings us. We really would like an offer soon because there is a short sale house that we are interested in and we have to have a contract here to do one there.

Julia will be here Monday. Birthday week interloper! She might arrange to be here sooner if Rachel does not slow down! We can't wait to meet her. The girls are pestering Mark for "one more" baby sister. Even Kate gets involved but only because that is one of her favorite sayings....one more. She holds her little pointer finger up in front of her face and says one more....over and over! (disclaimer...i am not pregnant nor will I become pregnant again )

Ahh... the birthday month has begun. The birthday week will be here soon. I have no feeling about being 31 except the fact that I have to go to the DMV for a new liscense. Arrgh Who wants to take kids to the DMV?

Open house here this weekend ...Wish us luck!

The above pic is from our trip to the Smithsonian with Molly and Tricia.The girls had a blast!

Showings!

Lots of them recently. I get hopeful. Then I have a hard time waiting. So many of the houses we have been considering have already sold. It is hard not to get disappointed. Everything happens for a reason so I just keep my fingers crossed that we find the right house and the right buyer for ours.
I have been thinking alot recently about being in a rut. I am there in so many ways. I always shop at the same places. I sign the girls up for the same activities. I am hoping that we can break out of that this year. I think the girls are going to join 4H and enter the fair next year. We are still going to dance but Jenna wants to continue majorettes. I am hoping Abby will decide to skip Brownies this year. She is considering it but I will have to make a decision soon.
I even feel like I am in a rut when I go to the Grocery store!
Traveling to Virginia this weekend. Tax free weekend down there on school supplies and clothing. Goody!

Furniture

Furniture is heading out the door tomorrow. I am taking the mouse cabinet, a bookshelf, a sandbox and a table out tomorrow. I am also emptying out the laundry room slowly. I am half afraid to put christmas stuff in storage because we could need it before we move at this rate! We have two showings already scheduled which is positive. I hate when people want to come in the middle of the day though! Poor Katie always has to sleep in the car instead of our comfy bed!
I also conquered part of my desk. I have sorted almost all the paperwork into manila folders and a filing cabinet. I got behind when Katie started "helping".
Off to scrub some toilets...wishing for a housekeeping service

Webkinz

Well I am obsessed. The girls love them and play with them all the time but....well I can't stop! I even have a link to the webkinzinsider on my favorites. I am very excited about the new addition of flying and swimming pets! I can't wait for a manatee!
I am boxing again with a frenetic energy that I have not had since my Disney days. I am wondering how much I can realistically put away and not be annoyed that I have done it. I guess when we get to the new house we will have a giant yard sale. I do need more minions for the ordering though.
It is nice to be able to get rid of stuff now that Katie is outgrowing it. Abby has shot up recently and was wearing 7's in the beginning of the summer. I bought her 10's the other day. I spent an hour cleaning out her drawers and came up with an entire bin that was too small. Thank goodness Jenna can usually wear the stuff. Katie gets a new wardrobe every season. I use the proceeds from the previous season to fund it!
Tonight's project is the file cabinet. I am notorious for making piles and then not ever really sorting them out. I am hoping to get the computer desk out this weekend and boy! i am really tossing stuff now!
My buddy Kri, who lives in IA sold her house in 2 weeks. I am so jealous! They really never had the crazy market that we have here.

Full House

We took Katie to the Dr. today and everything is well. There is a reason that she loves those Pediped shoes though. The doc says that rigid shoes make it difficult for her to walk. Thankfully she will outgrow the problem and we don't have to do anything drastic to accomplish it!
We had fun at the carnival last night and Katie got to ride a few as well. She wasn't into anything but the Elephant ride and she was too small for it. That really ticked her off!
We are going to have an open house in August. Liz is trying to coordinate it with other realtors from the neighborhood. That way there will be several houses to come to and it should boost attendance. It could backfire and sell someone elses house though !
00000100000.

Again!

We are back from Deep Creek. It was hot! But there were yard sales...it probably balances out! I do love a good yard sale!
Mark rescreened the doors so there are no little finger holes in them anymore. He worked on some more trim and went shopping! I figured he was going to kick back with some diet coke and the Wii. :)
I had the best luck out at Lucy's in Libertytown finding clothes for Abby. Limited Too sets fro 11.99! Yeeha!
Jenna had her dental check up for school today. Perfect shiny little fangs. Abby goes in September.
We are doing majorettes tonight. Tomorrow night we are going to the carnival with Bear. Ride night and he got tickets!Since going to the carnival with three kids is roughly as expensive as going to a theme park I am excited!

Camp Rock

It has begun. We now shop at Limited Too. We need shirts with boys on them. I think I need tranquilizers. Courtesy of Camp Rock and Hannah Montana we are into the Jonas Bros. Did you know that for $2.49 you can have a composition book with a JoBro on it. Well I am sure it holds your writing much better than the .50 version!

The school supplies are rapidly filling the box. Like my buddy Jenn, I am slowly building up to the required 4 dozen glue sticks. You should have seen my dad's face when I told him that. I think we needed a few less supplies when Rachel and I were little! I also have to aquire a lunch box and tote bag for Roo. Thank goodness we bought LLBean for Abby. That will all be ready for another go around. Those LLBean bags are amazing! I still have mine from high school. It goes on vacation with us.

I am still reeling at the thought of Roo being gone all day. I am tired just thinking of the activities we have planned. The whole thing makes me sleepy. Katie is not looking forward to much of it either. We will have roughly 5 hours of dance practice a week. Picture me looking thrilled here!

Check out the pic above. That is my living room! Those of you who know me well would never believe it! There is only one visible Fisher Price product! Crazy...but hopefully it will being in the buyers!

Off to swimming with Bear tonight

Then to Deep Creek for the weekend, Mark will be flying solo. Home improvement projects beware!

Shattered Piglets Everywhere

Well Katie has officially entered the terrible twos a few months early. She got into my glass cabinet and managed to tip a shelf. It completely shattered and took with it about 5 of my pooh anf friends collectibles. Thank goodness she escaped with a small scratch on her hand. Pooh and piglet were not so lucky. I spent near to an hour sweeping up their little bodies. No chance of putting any of them back together. Plus now we have a cabinet missing a shelf. It was Disney carnage.
The girls have been playing with their American Girl dolls all week. It's so funny how every time you think they have moved on from an obsession they circle back. I was figuring Abby was outgrowing it. Now she wants some new things from there for Christmas. Jenna wants Kit's friend Ruthie and Abby is thinking about the 2009 doll. She has the doll from every year since 2005.
I have been putting much thought to Christmas this year. Mostly because Katies birthday is so close on the heels of Christmas. I want to be organized for her party ahead of time so she doesn't get shafted!
I have been considering a Pet Pet party (Wonder Pets) She really like those guys. The other plan is a safari party. She really likes elephants and is still dragging around her figure from the museum. She is less partial to the giraffe. If I do safari it will be fun to come up with decorations and cake ideas. I am going to get that Step 2 coaster for her whether we have moved or not. I think the Bitty Twins will make it to the top of her lists. She loves to Rock, Baby, rock, baby!

House woes~

No showings this weekend so far. I am getting tired of waiting! We found a few houses that we like. We just need to sell ours. THe problem is that there are so many for sale. There is just alot of competetion and people are waiting around for the best price! I know we can afford to wait but arrghh!

On the flip side we had a great time at the museum. Katie is reallllllly into Elephants. She a little plastic friend that she has been carrying around since yesterday. Abby enjoyed the minerals and rocks. Jewelry lover that she is. Jenna of course...the Dinsoaurs. She has a new Brachiosaurus that like to stomp heavily on the bubble wrap we are using to pack things up.

Happy Fourth...ok the sixth...

I got a picture before they messed them up! We went to a parade with majorettes...boy it was hot! The rain stopped just long enough for us to see the fireworks...to which Katie said COOL! Everytime one went off though. COOL!

Happy Birthday to Brianna (well it was the second) but we went to her party today. She is three and getting ready to welcome a new sister in about a month. She got some cool presents and visited with family. The girls had such a good time shopping for her. They filled a sand bucket with all the litle things they picked out (panties, cards, sand shovels etc..)

Recital pics!

Abby and her friends Faith and Hope in their jazz costumes...

Jenna's class of "Love Bugs" on recital day...

Abby, Faith and Hope get ready for Sleeping Beauty's Once Upon a Dream ...

Jenna...the main bug!

Abby is "True to Your Heart" in her jazz costume!

Abby in the "itchy and hot" costume...clearly a favorite!

Summer plans

This summer we are going to Port Discovery, The National Zoo, The Smithsonian and the Butterfly exhibit. We are also hoping to hit Deep Creek and Hershey Park. Mooching vacations are the best. We are hoping to get to WDW in December. I can't believe that Katies birthday is only 5 months away and that she will be almost 2 when we go. She is really into the characters now. What's funny to me is that they have all been into different characters at that age. Abby was into Peter Pan and Toy Story. I mean we wore those DVDS out! She wanted to wear clothes with them on it too.

Jenna was into Ariel and always wants to watch Little Mermaid...still! She had the best time during our last trip meeting her (see above)

Katie is into Pooh and "Mick". I can't wait for her to meet them again!

We are looking at one more house this weekend. Maybe it will be the one!

Recital Check!

The girls had a wonderful time at the recital. It seems they didn't even notice the lack of air conditioning that killing us stage mothers! It was amazing to see Abby and how much she has grown over the past 5 recitals. SHe really gets it now! Jenna was adorable in her bee costume and she was one of the only ones who did the dance the whole way through. I was very proud of both of them.

Katie and Mark had some fun at the mall and napping. It seems he hasn't lost his touch for turning them into Daddy's girls when I am gone. She was perfectly content to hang with him all weekend!

I have to nail down my summer plan before summer is over. I was in TRU last night and they already had backpacks out...eek. I mean in retail terms it is almost time for Halloween costumes.I am going to try to have them dress as a theme this year. Our favorite idea so far is Abby being a fisherman, Jenna being a mermaid and Katie being an Octopus. Wouldn't that be the cutest costume on her!

House stuff is depressing. I know I have to stay committed to selling if we are going to get a bigger house. I know that I have to be patient in this market but I am so sick of trying to make it look empty...we are moving becuase we are out of room! 5 people live here! We have neighbors who only have one kid and they want to move!

Wall e Day!

Today is Wall e day. We always try to go see the Disney movies when they open. A habit from when the company paid us to go see them. That rocked! I miss having TDS close by! I am going to have to drive to Columbia for my fix. We need figures and tshirts. It's a tradition!

Dreaded ballet dress rehearsal tomorrow. Arrghhh. I hate that it is hot in those rooms. Poor Abby had the worst bloody nose at the one on Weds.

I hope Katie likes the movie~

Ballet

Recital time is here. The girls had a four hour rehearsal last night and have an 8 hour run through on Saturday. It is the longest I will have ever been away from Katie. She does enjoy time with Daddy as long as its not bedtime.

The house is slowly getting emptier. I guess I have to committ to really picking a house and selling this one now. No way am I unpacking all this stuff into this house again!

We met with a contractor and are waiting for the estimate on the house that Mark likes. Hopefully we can get it all to work out. We have to be able to afford to buy the house and do the renovations/repairs too. Yikes. I would be excited to have a remodeled kitchen. This house is in desperate need of new siding too. I am hoping that we can do that as well.

Off to get some legos...

Boxing up stuff...

We have cleaned out his parents basement and are working towards getting more stuff out of our little townhouse. I am also taking some big bags to the mission. I have a tub of stuff listed on ebay and craigslist. Next step is dragging the bins over to his parents house with the kids in tow. Now doesn't that sound like fun!

Ballet today and poor Katie always falls asleep on the way down and gets woken up when we get there. Then she tries to fall asleep in the way home and gets woken up when we get home. She hates ballet...maybe she will want a pony. One can hope.

There is an open house in our neighborhood this weekend. I hope the people come to our house instead! I personally think it's much nicer than the other 12....aarghhh

Summer at last

We are officially on our suumer time now. The girls are staying up later and still getting up early. What a great combination! Katie is exploding with new words. Shoe, table, puppy, sit, help...the list goes on. The noise level is increasing dramatically around here.
We have started the summer reading program and the girls enjoyed the program kick off activities today. Abby is reading some of the books that Mark and I enjoyed as kids. Ralph S. Mouse and Ramona Quimby. It is quite a flashback.
Jenna is learning to write neatly and is working on letters and numbers. She also enjoys listening to Abby read.
The dance pictures are this weekend and the recital is the following week. They are ready! I am looking forward to a few weeks off from sitting there for three hours every week. I am quite sure Katie is too!
The house hunt continues. We have narrowed it down to 3 houses and they are all quite different. We are walking through with our contractor on Thursday. It will give us a better idea of the money that would have to be outlayed initially. All are in the school district which is good news.
We have had a few showings but no interest outside of that. I am hoping once we pick a house we can get more aggressive with our pricing here.
Off to list on ebay!

Majorettes and Sleep

Jenna has been enjoying majorettes! She has been in the Union Bridge parade and is looking forward to the parade tomorrow night! She and Ella are super cute in their uniforms~

Sleep is funny around this house. I have just uploaded a bunch of pictures of the girls. So many of them are of the funny ways or places I find them asleep. Somehow they all look so rosy and peaceful...it just makes it easier to not want to squash them the next day.

We have dropped the price slightly on the house and are hoping that that will encourage some lookers! I am still surrendering to the cleaning...although I must admit that for the first time I don't feel crushed by housework. I feel only slightly crushed by laundry.

Abby is looking forward to the summer. I am looking forward to having her home. I miss her during the day! I miss her little voice. I am sure that I am going to miss them both terribly in the fall. Jenna is excited but mostly worried about the style of her lunchbox :) Well if that is the worst decision she has to make.

Off to do something productive ;)

Almost summer!

The time is starting to fly by. That means summer is coming! Jenna has her last day of school coming up on Weds. They are having a pajama party and watching HSM. It should be lots of fun. They had to cancel their field day on friday due to weather and a power outage. They had it today and Jenna won first place in the relay! She was so proud. She also had her first majorettes practice tonight. She and her buddy Ella were marching their hearts out!

Abby is almost done with second grade. I still don't feel old enough to have a third grader....it's crazy. She is really working hard on her recital stuff and finally getting the jazz counts that they have been doing all year.

Katie is talking up a storm and has lots of "baby rules". She is really the boss around here. She makes sure that every one does her bidding.

It looks like our old guinea pig may be heading to the great beyond. Poor piggie!

Abby's new pig Racer seems sort of clueless so hopefully it is isn't anything catching.

No house nibbles....yikes...well things happen for a reason. It will all work out. I am not going to stress over cleaning quite so much anymore. I surrender to the house work.

Happy Birthday Abigail!

Abby turned 8 on Sunday!
We had a fun day on Saturday with all of the girls friends at Magic Elm. Abby was really getting the hang of it this time. She is still black and blue though. Jenna and her buddies were lower to the ground so less falling! They all had so much fun!
Sunday we went to Hershey's Chocolate World and Factory. They did the factory tour and we went on the chocolate ride twice. Katie thought the cows were funny and waved hewwwoo! every time we went by. Abby and Jenna really enjoyed the factory worker part. They are still wearing their lanyards!
Then we saw MomMom and Aana for Mothers day dinner. We also had Grammy over for cake and ice cream for Abby!
I will post some pics later!

A House Nibble

We got a house nibble on Sunday while we were out. Liz said they liked the house and it showed well. I was pleased to hear that! Now is just a waiting game. Waiting for someone to buy our house , waiting for the people to get desperate and drop the price on one of the houses we like.
Tomorrow is Mark's birthday. He is getting old! Hee hee!
The kids party is Saturday and they are excited! We got a Tinkerbell cupcake stand and I am trying to decide what to do for favors.
Abby is ready to be 8 she said. She will have to wait till Sunday though!
Brownies tonight. Octopii out of string and tennis balls. And puppets. arrghh

Updates!

Well, Mark finally downloaded the pictures so I can add them. I really have no patience for the process so I usually let him do it.

The first two are obvious. Jenna had a great birthday and she is thrilled to be five.

The last one is Katie picking flowers at the house we really like. I just love this picture of her!

It's really warm today and I feel bad i sent Abby in jeans. She really needs capris! The funny thing is that she will probably be wearing her windbreaker when she gets off the bus...regardless that it is almost 90 in the house today. I guess that make them wear them at school?

Off to stand at the bus stop...