Two Peas in a Pod

Caroline definitely has a kindred spirit in her sweet friend, Elyse. This morning these two did two of their favorite things...painting and singing some Hannah Montana karaoke.

I love these two cutie-pies!

The "good stuff" is coming...

When I picked the kids up after school today, Henry and his friend, Alex, were begging for a playdate. I had every intention to take Henry over to get his allergy shots, but for some reason, today I just didn't feel like taking 4 kids to sit in that doctor's office for an hour. (That means we have to go tomorrow. Bummer!) So, we played hooky today, and went on a hike instead.

Dave often takes the kids on hikes behind our house. There's a pond, a creek, a mini-forest...all fun areas that the kids love to explore. Today, feeling a bit of spring in the air, I decided to explore with them.
So off we went, Henry, Alex, Seth, Caroline, Evan and I. There were so many signs of spring... buds on the trees, grass greening ever so slightly, water running in the creek (nothing frozen in sight). There were so many discoveries to be made...five kids shouting, "Look at this! Cool! See what I found! Come over here and check this out!" There was climbing, jumping, shouting, running, studying, and just general joy in being outside.

Welcome Spring!! We LOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEEE you!!!!!

**I wish that I would have brought my camera on our hike. It was such a last minute decision to go that I forgot it! I snapped a few after the hike, including the one of Henry and Alex. Alex did have his coat on for the hike, but took it off when Dave started chasing the kids around the yard when we got back. So here's a couple more from after the hike...

Here's Evan digging for worms...

Daylillies peeking out...

One of the many reasons...

...my windows are NEVER clean.

It starts with the sink...

It's surprising how much a clean kitchen sink can inspire.

When clutter and mess take over at our house, many times I'll start things off at the sink. I'll wash all the pots and pans, and then scrub the sink until it sparkles. Even though it doesn't take a lot of work, it looks great when I'm done, and I'm often in a good mindset to tackle other areas of my house. (I can't lay claim to this idea...I read it once while visiting FlyLady.net , which is a website with all kinds of great ideas for housekeeping.)

So, today my kitchen sink inspired me to tackle the clutter and paperwork downstairs and the playroom. Tomorrow I'm bringing a bunch of stuff to Goodwill. One thing is leading to another, and that is a good thing.

Henry just got out of bed to get a drink, came to say good night to me again. He read the title of this post and laughed, saying that he might have to randomly say that in his most serious voice to his friends. How dare he make fun of his own mother when she's being all philosophical about her housekeeping?! Funny guy!

Daddy/Daughter Dance

So...you may wonder why Caroline is dressed as a witch in this picture. Caroline went to the Daddy/Daughter Dance for Caroline's Daisy Scout Troop, and all the daughters were supposed to dress as a storybook character. Caroline decided that there were a lot of witches in fairy tales, and in Norman Bridwell's The Witch Next Door, so this witch costume was her pick tonight.

All day long, Caroline was counting down the minutes until her special date night with her Daddy. She loves having her Daddy all to herself. I snapped these pictures right before they left, and soon after I took them, she was pushing Dave out the door!

When they got back tonight, Caroline was all aglow with the fun from the night: dancing the Hokey-Pokey, Chicken Dance, and line dances, as well as winning a door prize (a stuffed animal). Dave said they had a GREAT time. :) When I was tucking her in to bed tonight, she had a hard time settling down. There was just so much to tell that she had very little need for such things as sleep. She is a sweet, little girl, if I do say so myself!

What happens when...

...you ask your 3 year old to get the ice cream from the freezer after dinner...
Good thinking outside the box, Evan!

And if, after watching this clip, you are concerned about having dessert at our house in the future, please rest assured that we generally discourage the use of the ice cream container as a ride-on toy.

To Caroline's Tooth Fairy: Get ready!!

Back in May of last year, Caroline made an important dental announcement (click here to visit that post). Perhaps it was a bit of wishful thinking that she had a wiggly tooth back then, as it has taken just a couple of months shy of a year to get close to losing that same tooth. She has been so anxious to meet this milestone...she wants to use the tooth fairy pillow that she made when she was in preschool...she just can't wait until the fairy makes her first visit...and many of her friends have lost teeth.

She has been diligently working on increasing its "loose-ness," trying to eat crunchier foods and wiggling, wiggling, wiggling. As a result, said "wiggly tooth" is extremely loose now, and Caroline is one excited girl.

I went to check on her before I went to bed tonight, and noticed that right next to her tooth fairy pillow, she had written a little note to the tooth fairy. As you can see, on the note she wrote, "My tooth is get(t)ing loos(e)r tooth fairy." She also drew a picture of her teeth in her mouth with her fingers wiggling her tooth. I can't wait to see her reaction in the morning when she sees that the tooth fairy wrote a note back to her..."That (tooth) is getting looser, sweet Caroline! I'll be coming back soon! Love, your tooth fairy"

Poor Caroline!

Caroline had a great weekend...a playdate, a sleepover, a birthday party and the McCAP party. However, her week is not off to a great start. At midnight last night, she came down with the stomach flu. Ugh. She's been pretty low today, sleeping a lot and not being able to eat. Although I think she started turning the corner, she'll be staying home again tomorrow. Please say a little prayer that she feels better soon and that the flu stops in this house with her!

Here's our sweet girl at her sweet friend Sydney's party on Saturday. Caroline and Sydney have been friends 4ever (or since they were three!). The dalmatian that Caroline was sitting next to was a troublemaker...

I only caught the tail end of this, but this rotten dog kept trying to steal Caroline's cupcake. Caroline and her friends thought he was the funniest thing ever! :)