Challah

We had one of those summer Sundays with no set agenda today.  The to-do list was ignored (sorry Craigslist posts I've been meaning to get organized for weeks...anyone want a nice rocker/glider for a nursery?) and Alladin was played f-o-u-r times in our house this weekend.  Today, we hit the playground ("hello, 75 degrees, I love you"), went to the bookstore, and I introduced the kids to the theraputic joys of baking homemade bread. 

If I'm being honest, I think they really just enjoyed hearing about how the yeast eats sugar and burps bubbles into the rising dough.  Seeing it was even more fun.  Oh, and Wes says there was a golf tournament and a soccer game on today.

Couldn't bring myself to change this one to a monochrome.  Mmm, it is tasty.

(Note from Ella: Hers is on the left.  Michael's is on the right. Wouldn't want anyone to mix them up.)

Hilton Head 2011

Well I don't know if the washer and dryer are particularly glad to have us back home, but it sure will be nice to have clean stuff again after a non-stop week at the beach, hanging out with Wes' family.  The kids split their time between the resort pools, activities pavillion and the surf.

Per usual when there's a trip's worth of photos, I've uploaded a full gallery (CLICK HERE to see all of the photos) in addition to sharing some of my favorites below.  Ok, a lot of my favorites.  Happy scrolling. 

I missed 20 weeks, so here is 21 weeks (plus a little.)  Wes couldn't help but jump in this time.

 

A Few Before the Beach

Tomorrow, we head to the beach.  Which means tonight, I should be finishing packing and getting to bed early.  Should be.

Instead, I wanted to post a few pics before I fill up the blog next week with visions of sand and sun. 

At times, today was a trying day in the life of our two-year-old.  Here he is accepting one of the day's lessons.

After lunch, Ella and I headed up to see the Cuestas for a quick visit while their trip to Atlanta overlapped with us still being in town.  So great to see them - and to meet baby Gabrielle!  Little Julia was too quick for me.  :)

Loved the girls' matching outfits. 

I've been promising a preview of Pigeon's nursery for a little while.  Now that the kids' rooms are switched around and Paintmaggedon 2011 is finished (AMEN), I can share the work-in-progress.  Soon, I'll try to get the big kids in each of their new rooms as well. 

Happy 4th to everyone! 

Agnes Scott Discovery

Ok, so I probably should label something as a "discovery" when it's roughly 750 yards from the house we've lived in for over five years, but I ventured onto the Agnes Scott campus for the first time this past Sunday.  Turns out, it's not just a bunch of pretty trees and buildings that face the road...there's more inside!  Apparently all of those movie and T.V. producers who have been using the campus for location shoots have been on to something. 

I was there to take some photos of the lovely Kilfeathers, and little do my own children know, but they'll be meeting the same fate on that gorgeous campus in the very near future. 

Below are a few of my favorite shots from the shoot.

 

 

In other news, our entire house has been/is being torn up to accomodate repainting all of the interior walls and cabinets.  For two individuals as anal retentive as Wes and I, this amount of household disruption has us a little on the edge.  BUT, the rooms that have been completed so far...heaven.  Five plus years of dogs, little dirty fingers and general mayhem are being systematically wiped clean.  My soul understands the end of this project will bring me much peace and happiness.  In the meantime, however, chaos abounds.

Ella and Michael were more than willing to jump in and help with a few of the prep projects, including tearing cork board off of our playroom walls.  Here are our little helpers in action.

 

Pink-A-Ler in the Summertime

It serves a dual purpose really.  The kids get out of the house after dinner to blow off some steam, and the parched lawn gets a drink.  Mom and Dad get a few quiet minutes to sit on the porch (in between slapping mosquitos, breaking up fights, and ensuring Michael isn't chucking rocks at anything that breathes or constitutes valuable property.)

We love the pink-a-ler in the summertime.

Half suited up:

Take Two

I officially give up trying to figure out what happened to the last post and photos showing in multiple locations.  So good thing multiple posts are free.  Here's the belly for those who missed it last night (and care.)  Pigeon has a check up tomorrow and the 'big' ultrasound next week when we'll be at the half-way mark.  Three goes faster than two, which goes faster than one.  That's for sure. Maybe the rug I ordered in April for the nursery will show up by the time the baby is actually born in November.

Lake Hartwell

I learned something new this Saturday.  Lake Hartwell is on the border of South Carolina and we got there in under two hours.  Wha?  Might need to check out maps more often.  Aunt Kristi and Uncle David invited us up for a day of boating, BBQ and jet skiing (thank you K&D!)  The car ride home was mostly a conversation convincing Wes it didn't make sense to buy a new jet ski.

It's safe to say Ella's hooked on anything with a fast ride.  All of the excitement got to her, eventually, of course.

Earlier this week, the kids explored their many musical talents.

Little Pigeon's been kicking around quite a bit the past couple of weeks.  We'll call this '18 weeks.' (Taken last week.)

The Fort

I'm noticing a distinct trend lately.  One of my children - who shall remain nameless - is avoiding my camera more than the other lately.  So in case there are any vicious rumors of favoritism swirling about out there, let it be known, it's not my fault.  Or maybe I just need to adjust my bribery methods?  She's all grown up now and heading into Kindergarten soon, you know.

This past weekend, we traveled to Indiana to see family and had a wonderful time.  It's so green there, you think maybe you've stepped into a remote Midwestern rainforest.  Compared to the 95+ degree weather we've had here, it sure was hard to leave the 75 degree fabulousness.  

I've uploaded the full album into a MobileMe Gallery (CLICK HERE to see) and chose to post just a few here on the blog. 

We camped out at Lance & Chris' house who were so nice to let us stay while they were away visiting Nate, Heather & Hadley in the Carolinas.  The kids loved watching the birds in the backyard through the dining room windows.

Saturday, we spent the day at the Ft. Wayne zoo (which honestly puts our Atlanta Zoo to shame on several accounts - the kids have been spoiled now.)   Ella is way ahead in this photo riding Flash, while Michael brings up the rear on his pony, Cindy. 

While Ella and Nana rode the River Ride (think: Log Plume ride) Michael splashed around in a fountain and Granny and I took a much-needed rest.  Here is the realization of how wet he got while playing in the water dawning over Michael.  Sorry Bud, you're going to have to drip-dry.

Here is Penny, sitting in her place by Granny's side.  She and Abby share the same birth month and year.  Happy 14 years to both girls! 

Ella looked at me!  And SMILED. 

Baby Xave and mom, cousin Lizz, came to see us at Granny's. 

Hugs. 

Heading home, via Gate 6.

It never gets old

Bubbles!  If it's before 10 a.m., the good news is it's probably still below 90 degrees and we can hang outside a bit.  Yesterday morning, the kids rediscovered the bubbles we took down to Disney World (but were too distracted by, well, Disney World to use while in Orlando.)

Please exuse our son's partial undress.  Who gets ready before 10 a.m. on a weekend anyhow?

Oh, the kids rediscovered their Disney stickers, too.  The days are full of things that never get old.

Presets ARE Fun

Tonight after school, the kids earned some time out in the sprinkler (mind you, this involved an excrutiating 50-minute dinner period where either Wes or I had to give specific instructions to the kids on sitting in chairs, eating their food, not pointing their forks at family members, et. al., ad nauseum) and I took a few pictures. 

I only seem to get silly faces these days.  Even when they promised me some good smiles at bath time.  Oh well.  :)  More importantly (for this post) I downloaded some Lightroom presets tonight and wanted to try them out.  As I guessed, I liked them as a starting point, then spent a lot of time tweaking and adjusting until I liked them better. 

What do you think?  Any favorites?  (Hint: There is a correct answer.  Because I have one.)

A Little of This and That

At the end of each day I think back over the things I'm grateful for - maybe one day I'll be good enough to write it all down - but at the very least, it's what I think of as I fall asleep.  At the end of a day like Memorial Day, I add to my thoughts all of the servicemen and women who make our simple, happy, safe and healthy lives possible.  Puts you in the mood for some fireworks, doesn't it? Guess we'll have to wait until the 4th when our neighbors will continue their annual tradition of giving the fine men and women in blue of the City of Decatur some calls to respond to for once. 

Now going back a little in time...to celebrate the end of Pre-K, the parents hosted a small cookout at McKoy park for all of the kids last week.  Here's Ella and her friend Nekabari, both cheering everyone up in their yellow tops.

For a few weeks, there has been some gas line repair work in our neighborhood.   When the workmen have the good fortune to be working in front of our house, they also get an audience.

Thursday night, the After School Program put on a Talent Show - it was hysterical.  Here are some of the ribbon-dancing girls, Sofia and Ella, lining up for their performance.

At the very end, each child got a trophy (type thing) to commemorate their year with the ASP.

Today, we took the kids to see the Braves game against the Patriots. [Edited to add: This was a little joke for my husband who thinks I know next to nothing about sports.  He missed it, but I still got a laugh.] Holy crap it was hot.  And our seats were in the shade.  The kids lasted through three innings, not sparing a lot of time to watch the actual game but instead staying occupied by eating cotton candy and shelling roasted peanuts. 

This one, I'm going to file under "classics." 

For those who haven't had the joy of running into my belly here in Georgia, this is what 16 weeks looks like the third time around.  I'll be lucky if I can still fit in my car in November. 

Prima Ballerina

Ella made her Creative Movement I performance debut this week, and if we do say so ourselves, she stole the show.  Coming out of her shy-shell has been a process and we're really proud of her for getting out there, let alone sticking a few good twirls in the process.  Next season, we tackle Pre-Ballet.  Watch out, Decatur.

Naturally, I subjected her to a quick photo op before we headed out.  It was a little chilly outdoors.

So we moved it indoors, where my little goofball refused to give me a straight smile.  I'm kind of glad she didn't.

 

At this point, we were going to be running late for the show, so we headed out - and then Michael looked up and said "my turn!"  Dude.  He never wants to have his picture taken.  So at the risk of further annoying Wes who was waiting to leave, Michael got his turn. 

Okay, now we really needed to high-tail it to the show. 

Next up on my photography wish list is a nice zoom lens.  Can't go to another child's performance without one, I'd say.  You agree, right?  Tell Wes you agree.

Disney World Overload

We survived!  No one got lost, no one melted into the Orlando concrete (though we got close on one occasion), only one major freak-out by a child, and we accomplished everything on our 'must do' list.  We even had time to hit the pool each afternoon and snuck in naps on all but the last day.  All-in-all, a successful family vacation. 

On the ride down, it was Disney Movie Central in our car to set the mood.

"Halt.  I'm hydrating."

On the ferry to the Magic Kingdom; Ella was spellbound by the castle ahead.

Bippity Boppity Boutique, before the major freak-out.  All was well in the salon, but Ella had no intentions of being seen all dolled up at the park for the rest of the day.

We met about 30 characters - don't worry, I'll only post a few of the highlights.

 

Michael REALLY needed a hug.

Michael crashed and missed most of the Akerhaus Princess Storytime lunch. 

High fives from Donald.

On the safari at Animal Kingdom.

This one cracks me up.  You can see the kids were really getting comfortable around all of the characters by this time.

Awaiting our turn for the Triceratop Spin in Dinoland.

Michael, dreaming of the day he's big enough to ride Splash Mountain.

Woody and Jessie were at the top of the must-see list.

Followed very closely by these two.  Note to anyone going to Disney this year, plan on a good three-hour wait for the Tangled characters.  Eesh! 

Okay, now I need to go back and work on Easter and our trip to Texas.  Oh, and I should probably be working on my Lightroom workshop assignment.  Oh and I also need to go pay bills.  But it's Mother's Day.  Maybe I'll go nap instead. 

A new toy

So I downloaded Lightroom this week and am taking the plunge into the great unknown (to me) world...post-processing for photos.  Things may look a little goofy as I make some mistakes, try some new things out and decide what I'm happy with.  You may be relieved to know I'll be getting professional help starting tomorrow, in the form of a month-long Lightroom 101 workshop.  I'm sure I'll be the student putting the "101" in LR101, but hey, someone has to.

For those who have been following the exciting sprout in our kitchen, here's some recent progress.  Question for anyone who has a green thumb - exactly what do we do now?  I think this tomato baby's about to outgrow it's humble container.

The best play places are generally not the ones you buy at the store.  Why do we spend money on our playroom again?

Pudding break

Today, we hit the Dogwood Festival's 75th anniversary - and of course, had to partake of the King of Pops.  The only $3 popsicle that's actually worth $3.

Michael got to ride the zippy carousel - it was hard to grab a picture as they whizzed by each time.

Ella had her sights on a more adventurous ride.

Atlanta skyline from the top of the ferris wheel.

This little girl had NO fear. I, on the other hand...

Before heading home, we had to stop and see the disc dog competition for a little while.

More to come (maybe not still tonight.) We celebrated Easter a little early with Wes' family and got a few shots to share this evening.  Stay tuned.  Off to put the second little one to bed. 

If only the porch weren't coated in pollen

We probably would have spent the entire weekend out on the porch; unfortunately we've not been industrious enough to clear off the 1/4-inch of pollen that's coating every surface out there. 

Here is a rare glimpse of the kids playing nicely together building a castle of some sort.  Don't be too impressed.  It lasted about as long as it took me to grab the camera and take this shot.

This morning, the kids and I played out in the front yard (avoiding the aforementioned porch.) Michael ran in to get his juice which I let him do on his own.  Mistake No. 1 of the day.  I came in a short while later to find this scene in the kitchen.

Spring planting was finished up yesterday.  Now all I have to do is remember to water everything...

These little trees of pollen look so clever, so harmless.  So not true.

We took the kids to Holwell Park today for a picnic and some playtime. 

I should know better than to ask Ella to look at the camera for me.

Yes, I really should know better.

Easing Back In

I know, I know - it's been a while.  After traveling for work, it's taken me some time to even pick the camera back up but I'm sure I'll be annoying the kids daily again very soon.  Meanwhile, here are just a few shots from our lazy morning today.  The kids didn't seem to notice the incredible thunderstorms and tornado sirens last night, and so, they slept like proverbial babies.  Ah, to be so young and devoid of responsibility again.  Makes for some great 'bed head.'

A boy, half his jammies and a rake.  Couldn't get him to look away from Phineas and Ferb, unfortunately.

Acoustic Ella.

Rock n' Roll Ella.

Here is Michael trying to explain to me why I need to put down the camera and play catch with him.  (I did.)

A Sprout, A Cat and Two Drummer Boys

Elizabeth's newest school experiment is hanging out in our kitchen these days.  If I'm being honest, I was hoping it wouldn't work so I could toss the slightly moldy cup of dirt, but alas...

If you've ever seen Audrey Hepburn dance in the Parisian coffee house in Funny Face, you might recognize these following moves.   The part of Drummer Boy No. 1 is being played by Wes.  The bongos are just out of sight of the camera, unfortunately. 

Cat in the Hat day at school.

It might be fair to say that if you were anything unwanted, unneeded or unused in our home this weekend, you were fairly afraid of me.  Phase one of Spring cleaning is done; tax deductions are being noted.  The house lost some serious weight this week. 

This guy was happy to survive the household purge. Here he is playing the part of Drummer Boy No. 2.

Elizabeth didn't take a nap today, but it looks like many of her stuffed companions were very well-rested by dinnertime.

Crud.  Now it has a friend. ...Well, they are kinda cute.

Later, February

Nana and Rocket came to visit this weekend.  Even better, they came in carrying cupcakes.  Here's Michael giving a high-five for the sugary goodness:

Unfortunately for small children who wander away before they've finished, there was a cupcake monster waiting in the wings.

Somebody just woke up from their nap...

Watch out, Rocket!

Doesn't everyone wear their pink glitter shoes to the park?

A quick family portrait before heading into see Peter Pan at Pemberton Place.

Are you really here, Spring?

I don't dare hope it will last, but the 70+ degree weather this weekend was awesome.  What's not awesome?  The fact I still haven't started the big "what to do with our porch furniture?" issue.  This is clearly coming to a head soon.  Suggestions welcome.  Nana may be subjected to a Forsyth Fabrics run next weekend. 

The first undeniable sign that happiness is just around the corner:

Among many notable events this weekend was Michael's transition to themed underwear.  Here is some documentation of the exciting beginning.  We've had many successes, some failures, and lots of hope for a life out of diapers in the coming weeks. 

We also celebrated the upcoming marriage of Cousin Kate (the older, on the Manning side, not the younger on the Feighner side) and as you'll see, Michael and Cousin Austin made friends with the ivory and ebony that day.

My idea of "punishing" the kids by making them wash the chalk off the side of the garage didn't work out so well.  "Can we have some more water, Mommy?! We need more water!"

Acting like he owns the neighborhood, here comes Michael, heading toward some play time at the playground. 

Thirteen Photos for February 13

After nearly a whole week away from the family, I was begging the kids to bake some cookies with me (Wes was subjected to a board game last night.)  First, we went in search of the ducks at Decatur Cemetary with a bag full of bread to dole out, but they were no where to be found.

So we ended up at the park, instead.  Almost as good, according to Ella.

Watching the paddle beat the ingredients was quite a thrill.  No worries, I made sure no one sneezed into the bowl.

Making one batch of cookies has never taken so long.  I think we had to pause at least every two minutes to send someone to wash their hands, trade out a utensil that accidentally ended up in someone's mouth ("It was an accident, mommy!") or to mop kosher salt up off the floor before Abby tracked it all over the house. 

Waiting for cookies to bake can be very trying. The kids managed to entertain themselves, though.

Happy Valentine's Day to our friends and teachers!  Those peanut butter and dark chocolate cookies are delicious, but they can't stay in my house.  :)