World's Fair Do-Nut

We have always enjoyed walking or riding our bikes to World's Fair Do-nut.  It is a family tradition we will miss greatly when we move.  Today we took our last walk to World's Fair and even had the girl's picture taken with the owners!  If you are ever in South City I suggest you stop by for some amazing old fashioned do-nuts made with love by the owner, by hand, NO MACHINE!!!

TV on a school night- Gasp!

You know all kids and adults have thrown in the towel when Mom agrees to let you eat goldfish and Gatorade for dinner AND watch a movie on a school night! Lydia started puking on Sunday, Sylvia threw up at school today and has had a terrible cough for 4 days now, and I am sure Cecelia is not far behind. Thank goodness for an amazing husband who has stayed home thus for for the week. Tomorrow it is my turn to nurse the ill. Maybe I will get some packing done along the way, then again maybe I will just get a nap in to make up for the last 3 nights of lost sleep!

Craigslist Queen

As most people who know us are aware, Bob and I are cheap, we use the 3 R's, and we work hard to get what we want. I am beginning to see that this shows greatly in our house. In our 11 years together and almost 10 years of marriage we have bought 1 piece of new furniture (our couch) and received one as a gift from Bob's parents (the futon). All other furniture has been either acquired through estate sales or made by Bob himself!

In our new home we will need a kitchen table and chairs. The one we have now is great, but won't fit and has a bench that needs to go against a wall and there is no wall. I searched for days and scored the mother load! 6 leather chairs and a table for $100! Then we needed an new refrigerator for one of our rentals, yep 2 points for Em $50! Now keep your fingers crossed for 2 washer dryer sets I just inquired about!

We got them Woo Hoo!

Cecelia the Seamstress

Cecelia has been asking for a sewing machine for months. Last weekend for her 6th birthday she finally got one! Today was our first sewing project day. She wanted to make a bag for her Leapster 2 and games. She chose the fabric, measured it to another bag she had, and I helped her to make a "pattern". She then sewed it on her own with a little help from me once in a while to show how to guide the fabric. Here is a little snippet of Cecelia the seamstress!

First Glance

Today we were able to show our new house to Lucille, my mom, and the girls. The mom's loved it (even my mom who wanted us to move next door). The girls are very confused! A few quotes from the trip.

Cecelia: They don't have enough chairs for us at the table (kitchen).

Me: The kitchen table doesn't stay with the house.

Cecelia: What will we eat on then?

Me: We will buy a new one for this room so it will fit.

Cecelia: Hmmm. and she walks away.

Then upstairs....

Lydia: I want the room with the princess picture.

Me: That is a frame from their vacation to Disney World. They will take it with them.

Lydia (whining): But I want it!

Later in the Basement....
Me: This is where your toys will go Sylvia.

Sylvia: No, I got toys.

Me: Ya, your toys will go in here when we move.

Sylvia (scowling): I go upstairs.

This may be a rough transition!!! The house is pretty though, take a look!

Cecelia's Spring Party

Cecelia's family party was a Spring theme. Cecelia wanted to plan the entire thing. She gets it from me. She had many lists for food (pasta), party favors (umbrellas), decorations (to be made by the guests, and she designed her own invitation that was made from cut papers to make a spring scene. She even designed a cake for me to make so it would look like a sunflower! She did a great job as the party hostess and planner. Happy 6th birthday Cecelia Lorraine Hines!

Happy Heart Day

Cecelia's Birthday Party was on Valentine's Day this year.  It was a fun day of sugar, sugar, and more sugar!

I'm Gonna Pump- You Up!

Cecelia has 3 friends at school that all have birthdays within days of each other. This year the joint birthday party they had was at a place classed Pump It Up a huge warehouse like room filled with inflatable slides, trampolines, obstacle courses, etc. Really what more could a 6 year old ask for? As always, it was a fantastic evening with Campbell families. The girls had a blast and I'm sure tomorrow will start planning the next big party!

Birthday Blessings

Today was AMAZING! Let me start by saying Cecelia is 6, and while that makes me sad, her excitement to turn a year older grows each year. I am not sure she fell asleep at all last night in anticipation of turning 6 today. She was the first one up, dressed, fed, and ready to go so she could see her friend Kathryn! We got Gus' pretzels for her and Sylvia (Sylvia celebrated her (2 1/2 birthday since her birthday is on summer break) and off to school we went. Bob and I took the entire day off!

We spent the morning observing at Campbell and came to the conclusion that we are the luckiest family on earth to have been welcomed into Campbell's community. We believe greatly in what they stand for, how they teach, the school diversity, the academic excellence, high expectations, and most of all the beautiful children they nurture each day! I can't imagine our lives without Campbell. We were even able to be a part of the girls classroom celebrations. Sylvia and Cecelia's videos are attached. It is stunning to see the stark differences between them and to realize how much Cecelia has grown over the past 4 years and how much Sylvia has developed into her own person.

After observing we took Cecelia to lunch. She chose IHOP because 1. she can read the sign and 2. we told her it was a place where she could eat breakfast for lunch and have many flavors of syrup (it is the little things in life...). She ordered the happy face pancake.  The waitress surprised her with a song and an ice cream sundae. She was so red from embarrassment/ excitement/ bewilderment/ who knows what else that I thought she may burrow a hole inside me and hide!

Cecelia went back to school and we went on a house hunt. I had one I had seen and we saw about 10 total. After a full day of searching we came to the conclusion the one I had gone to see would probably suit our lifestyle best. We made an appointment to see it again and stayed for an hour. WE PUT AN OFFER ON IT!!!! Fingers crossed it all works out. And for Bob's sake finger's crossed that they leave the pool table!!!

Linda came over and brought dinner and an ice cream cake.  We will miss her so much when we move.