peas in a pod

These two.

Peas and carrots.

They love like sisters.

And fight like sisters.

They are...sisters.

They have matching stuffed animals and headbands.

And like the same books.

And are fiercely protective of one another.

 They spend a ton of time together.

And when they don't, Ellie misses her.

We hadn't seen Nat in a few days 

and were driving home from somewhere 

and out of the blue

Ellie says,

"I miss my sis."

Natalie is also an only child so it's a good situation.

And I really like her parents.

Like, a lot.

 Thank the sweet Lord.

Yvonne and I also spend a ton of time together.

With and without the girls.

We share a love of thrift stores and wine and complaining of how they never get recess at school.

Usually in the same evening.

I'm glad they have each other.

And I'm glad I made a new friend in the process.

nearly 7

She's nearly 7.

 How on earth is that even possible?

She's all long legged and smelly footed.

And her hair has lost that softness of the very young.

6 has been great.

But has seen it's fair share of yuck:

Mollescum.

A teacher that yells all the time.

A surgery.

The loss of a kitty.

But 6 has also brought:

A spot on sense of humor.  She is so freaking funny.

A love of headbands.  It's serious.

Taking responsibility for things.  Like homework and feeding the cat.

The reading of chapter books.  Magic Tree House is the favorite.

It was the year she learned to ride a bike.

And turn a cartwheel.

And snap.

And do a backwards somersault.

It was the year she became a cousin.

Her first and second teeth were lost.

With two more very very loose.

Friends became important at 6.  What they thought became even more important. 

She hates to hurt their feelings, and can sometimes get stepped on in the process.

This is hard to watch.  And we are working on it.

6 brought a new and fantastic sense of fashion.

Think comfort meets patterns meets layers.

I often ask her if she likes my outfit, and value her answer.

She will throw stuff at me that I would never have worn together, and it totally works.

Love her for that.

But most importantly, this was the year I saw her as a friend as well as a daughter.

The year I truly started enjoying her company.

But I won't tell her that until she is older.

I am her mother first.

She needs to know that above anything else.

But I can see it.

I can see our future together as she grows up.

And it looks fantastic.

We have one more week of 6.

I am going to soak in every single second.

today in pictures

In no particular order...

 

Oh!  And I got BANGS.

Thoughts??

lately

We have had bonafide sunshine here in the Cleve.

I was beginning to think I may never see it again.

 It's my least favorite season.

Or my favorite season.

I can't tell which.

God Bless the Cadbury Cream Egg.

 We got good news.

No bump removal for a while.

Watching and waiting.

Ellie was so disappointed.

Not.

 We explored a new bridge.

Ellie took her bike and biked some.

I "ran."

I have another half marathon in June.

What in cadbury cream egg was I thinking??

 Ellie has decided to skip 7 and 8 altogether and look 9.

At least in this outfit.

Please pardon her messy hair.

She is allergic to brushing it.

She started an after school art program.

She loves it.

Here we have the Mona Lisa.

And an armadillo.

 And a wolf.

It's not awful that I go to the grocery whilst she's there.

It's a win/win really.

 

So that's about it.

Not much excitement happening around these parts.

 

Unless you want to talk blistered butts to do mollescum treatment?

No?

 

Or that fact that my car was so filthy that I didn't even want to get in it?

We (and by we, I mean Chris) cleaned it out for me this weekend.

No?

 

Um, that's it.

That's all I've got.

Happy Monday night!

did you know?

Did you know:

That mozzarella cheese and grapefruit are besties?

 

Did you know:

That my best friend turned 36 last week?

 

Did you know:

That mom's like oreo's for after school snacks too?

 

Did you know:

That little girl Sperry's are even cuter than big girl Sperry's?

 

Did you know:

That wellness programs at work which provide fresh fruit can be lifesavers to those of us that forget lunch?

 

Did you know:

That coming across something your mother wrote before she died will cause 5:45am sobbing at the dining room table?

Did you know:

A winter hike in the woods is just about the best thing ever?

Did you know:

I love this man?

 

Hm?

Didja?

valentines day 2013

It's not been great.

 

Today we found out Ellie has Mollescum Contagiosum.

Which isn't serious.

It's just really hard to get rid of.

It's a virus that is wart like in appearance which is very contagious to your own person.

It's contageous to others too, but mostly to oneself.

 

Yay.

Treatment could last upwards of a year.

Yay.

 

I also had a cavity filled and found out Ellie has her first cavity.

 

Yay again.

 

Is it summer yet?

 

BUT!

 

Let's focus on the positive, shall we?

I get to wake up to this girl every day.

And I sneak coffee dates with this guy as often as possible.

 And he is always willing to cuddle up when I request it.

I am indeed a lucky girl.

Who cares about warts and cavaties??

 

In other news, Ellie has started gymnastics and is loving it.

It is a serious place.

The first 20 minutes is all conditioning.

Running.

Sit-ups.

Push-ups.

Squats.

Serious Business.

 I saw a teeny tiny little thing do a front flip arial thingy last Tuesday and about had a flipping heart attack.

She couldn't have been older than 5.

We will stick to cartwheels.

Thankyouverymuch.

hello!

So apparently I can't work and blog at the same time.

It's impossible.

 

Ok.  Not really, but sitting down at another computer after being at a computer all day really is about the last thing I want to do.

 

And I only have, like, 4 hours between school pick up and bedtime to:

do homework

cook dinner (more on that in a minute)

tidy up

bath time

actually play with her

read books for school

etc...

Don't even get me started on art and gymnastics nights.

 

The only reason it is happening now is because we have a snow day and I have taken the day to stay home with her.

And loving every single second.

It is 6 degrees right now.

6.

 

There.  Am I forgiven for not blogging?

Ok.  Good.

Let's move on.

 

 

Cooking.

 

I have been lately. 

Really good stuff.

Like:

 

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/prosciutto_shrimp.html

 

and

 

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/mozzarella_stuffed_turkey_burgers.html

 

and

 

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/wok_seared_chicken_tenders_with_asparagus_pistachios.html

 

I don't know who has jumped into my body and started meal planning and cooking, but I really like her.

She is the bomb diggidty.

 

 

Exercising

 

I'm doing that too.

I signed up for my second half marathon.

I really don't know what I was thinking.

Except that maybe I need to move my body more, and this will guarantee that.

Or maybe it is the fact that it is in Canada and ends at a winery?

You be the judge.

 

 

Reading

 

I am not doing that very much.

And that makes me sad.

 

So there.

You are mostly caught up.

 

And where did this tiny little thing go?

I miss her.