Giveaways

I have recently started looking at the hair blogs (there are a bunch of them out there) to find new ways to do A1's hair. I will start posting new hair do's as I do them, but for today I want to plug them many giveaways that they have going on. I just check the following blogs every couple of days to look for what they have going on:

www.shedoeshair.blogspot.com
www.hairandshare.blogspot.com (right now they are giving away a flat iron worth $200!)
www.pigsandponies.blogspot.com
www.girlydohairstyles.blogspot.com
www.cute2tryhairdos.blogspot.com
www.babesinhairland.blogspot.com
www.ohsogirly.blogspot.com


And there are many more! I love finding new ways to do A1's hair - it's my creative outlet.

A1 Gives In To Environmental Propaganda

I recently read Dr. Seuss' The Lorax to A1 and A2 during reading time. I love all the made-up words that Dr. Seuss uses in his books, and A1 loves the fun pictures and trying to figure out what a Bar-ba-loot is, and A2 just loves to sit with us and read. I also love reading environmentalist editorials dressed up as children's literature ("It makes me laugh," my sister told me a few weeks ago, and I have to agree).

I later found A1 sharing the story with her bear.And then I discovered that she had internalized the message: to save the environment, she now rides from room to room in our apartment on her bike, instead of using a gas-guzzler, like her feet.

My daughter: saving the environment one room at a time!

Happy Easter!

I know this is extremely late, but Cinco de Mayo makes me think of Easter and why I haven't posted pictures of our camping trip yet (it's because I'm a procrastinator - why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?). But I kicked myself in the pants and put myself in gear today (I got all the shopping done and cleaned the apartment!), and my drive to accomplish hasn't quite worn off yet (don't worry, it'll pass before too long), so I thought I'd share a little Easter joy during May.

Every Easter we go camping with my extended family (and I do mean extended - I believe there were more than 75 people there this year). Here's our small part of the clan at the BIG family dinner:

As R and I lived in New York for the past four years, we haven't been able to join the family for these annual camping trips, and our kids have never been camping at all. R, unfortunately, had to work over the Easter weekend, but that didn't deter me from taking A1 and A2 on their first camping trip. They had a great time, relaxing...

...and playing (A1 and her cousin Carmen riding Carmen's four-wheeler)...

...and just generally camping.

And the most anticipated tradition of the annual camping trip is, of course, the Easter Egg Hunt. It's nice to have little kids to share the joy with again (it was weird to do back when all of us were teenagers, with no little ones to actually find the magic of the Easter Bunny). A1 adored finding the hidden eggs, searching high and low to find them all...

...and A2 only needed a little lift to get into the action (thanks, Uncle Ryan).

Overall it was a great camping trip, and I look forward to doing it again next year. I just hope R can join us for the memories!

The Second Happiest Place on Earth

What trip to California would be complete without some time spent at the beach? We took Grandma and Grandpa and Andy to our favorite beach to show off our new beach toys. A1 built sand castles...

...while A2 just lounged with Grandpa.I can't think of a better place for family bonding than at the beach. Where do you do your best family bonding?

The Happiest Place on Earth

My parents came to visit a few weeks ago and decided to take us to Disneyland. My kids have never been and its been more than 15 years since the rest of us were last here, so we were excited to see everything and to watch the kids have the time of their lives.

The obligatory picture for entering Disneyland:
Can I tell you a secret about Disneyland? The lines are a lot shorter for the little kid rides, which were the only ones we could go on. It makes the trip a lot happier, I think. A1 loved the carousel...
...and Minnie Mouse's house...
...but the highlights of the whole trip (and what she talked about the most afterward) were the animal petting ranch...
...and meeting Tigger (which excited her SOOO much more than Pooh).
A2 had a much better time than I had imagined that he would (he was only 5 months old at the time), enjoying dinner.

The biggest surprise was his attention and excitement while on the It's A Small World ride. I have never (and I mean NEVER) seen him more riveted than while on that ride. We went on it twice, just to appease him.Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa and Andy for taking us the the Happiest Place on Earth and for helping it be the Happiest Day on Earth.

Photography Lesson #2

More attempts for our photography club:

Adventures in Babysitting

The other day I had to do a quick load of laundry, and I have learned from experience that I can't carry laundry and both kids to the laundry room (although that is a really good way to throw out your back). So I asked A1 to watch A2 for the 2 minutes it would take to start the load. When I came back, I found A2 lying on his back staring adoringly at A1, while she held his hand and sang, "I Am a Child of God."