It's Positive

Yes, we are.

Tulip

Mrs. O gave us some tulip bulbs as a house warming present when we first moved in. That was before we knew how many deer populated our area. They are everywhere - more visible at least then when we lived in Chelsea. Therefore, gardening, or gardening ideas are more of a challenge due to them eating EVERYTHING.

I had left the bulbs in the garage over the winter - I totally forgot to get them in the ground. I found them just prior to spring to be sprouting in the bags. I quickly got them into the ground thinking that it was worth a shot. It was definitely worth it. I have several clumps of Tulips growing and blooming. I can't believe it. I am looking forward to heading to a nearby nursery to get more things for our yard.

Here is a picture of my first blooming tulip.

Anna's 1st BooBoo

Anna loves her chalk - Whenever we go outside, she runs for her bucket of chalk and picks up a stick - one for each hand. However, she doesn't let go, even if she is falling. This is what happened when she got her first boo boo - she was running with chalk in her hand and tripped. Falling on her knees. She didn't cry - she just got up and made sure her chalk was still in her hands.

Here is a pick of the healing boo boo.


Here is a pick of Anna on her & Celie's little lady bug double chair - chalk in hand.

Shoe Fetish

I have to admit - at one point in time in my life I had over 50 pairs of shoes. I think I am now down to a total of 10 including 4 pairs that are for dress up occasions only.

Anna seems to love the idea of shoes as much as me. She loves putting on her shoes, Celie's shoes, my shoes, and she even tries Bob's shoes every once and a while. She will even try shoes on when she already has shoes on. She often brings me a pair of her shoes to me and gets very angry when I do not put them on her right away.

Bob and I couldn't help laugh as she had put my new black flats on (correctly) and was walking around the house. You can see for yourself. Sorry about the orientation - again.

Another day

Today was another gorgeous day - 74 right now at 4 pm. I will take that.

Yesterday was great as well. After Anna's failed attempt at a nap, I took the girls outside to play. I bought Celie & Anna their own watering cans. So, I fill them up and they "try" to help me water the flowers. They just really dump out the water and ask for more, but that is o.k. We are working on getting some of the water on the plants.

Here are some pics of the girls enjoying the sunshine.

Hips - Good & Bad News

The last couple of Dr. visits have been hard. Whenever we had to take the girls to the doc at UofM, it was always a 3-5 hour ordeal. Celie never had an easy time of the x-rays or the exams and Anna hasn't been to easy either.

Our last visit here in OH was o.k., but the x-rays were weird because the tech mad them both stand up. Well, this time we made sure they were laying down and had a shield on to protect their ovaries. (that is important because of how many x-rays they will be getting in their life time).

How about Good news first. Anna's hips were very iffy 6 months ago. Her hip pockets were very shallow and the Drs. were thinking that she might have to have surgery when she is 2 or so if the problem doesn't correct itself. However, not only is she growing like a weed, her hips have "hugely" (direct quote from the Doc) improved since her last visit. Her hips are still on the shallow side, but there is remarkable improvement with the hips forming a better socket than before. It was very clear on her x-rays - the before and after images. So, with Anna, we are on a wait and see basis. If she has the same/better results at her next visit in 6 months, then we will still have to watch her, but would probably go to a yearly basis and there wouldn't have to be any surgery.

Now for the bad news - well, it isn't horrible news, but it isn't great. Celie's hip socket seems to be working on getting deeper, however, the ball joint of her hip isn't really sitting very well in the pocket. It is definitely obvious from from x-rays. The doc wasn't quite sure if we should do some more wait and see type of thing - another 6 months and then decide or if we should decide to do something in the near future - this fall, etc. So, it is looking like unless Celie's hip gets better, she will have surgery again in the fall or winter some time to try to push her ball deeper into the socket. The Doc is going to take Celie's case to the group and see what the consensus is of all of the ped ortho docs. We should know something in the next couple of weeks - hopefully.

I am thankful that with both of the girls, the problems are fixable. However, with Celie, I can't help to think about pre-school that we were going to start in the fall - potty training - finally - so that she could start school, etc. not to mention the difficulty of having to move her in a spica cast when it weighs 20# and she is now pushing 45# herself. That is a lot of weight. I think about all of these things and they make me sad, but I have to remember that it is fixable and it will be o.k. I have to remember to live for today and the future will be o.k.

A Jaunt to the Zoo

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful here. So, Bob and I decided to take the girls to the Cleveland Zoo. Miss Katy, Mike's girlfriend, was so sweet and got us a family membership for x-mas. We decided to try to hit it when it opened so that we could get some time in before Anna's nap.

Boy, did we hit it perfectly. The morning hours make way for almost all of the animals being out and feeding. We got to see a lot of animals before we decided to head to the Rainforest for lunch. The Cleveland Zoo has 164 outdoor acres and 2 indoor acres - the Rainforest. It is a REALLY nice zoo. Bob and I were very impressed with it and happy to have a membership. The girls seemed to like it as well. I took a lot of pictures, more than I normally do. After lunch, we tried to find the gorilla's, but Anna became a little on the cranky side, so we decided to head home. Both girls must have had fun because they fell asleep on the way home. Yesterday was a great day!!


Bob & Anna gazing at the animals


Celie relaxing in the stroller.


One of the 3 elephants outside. They are working on a new home/site for them.

Pretty Flamingos - not to be confused with the Killer Flamingos - a good local MI band.

Boy, do I know how to capture animals interacting or what? I am glad that I didn't have to explain to the girls what was REALLY going on.


The sloth bear. This was Bob's favorite animal. Why? I have no idea.


Mr. Polar Bear enjoying a stick. 2 camels hanging out.

A Lick Deer. Bob and I thought they looked like a cross between a donkey and a deer.
One of 7 seals in their environment.

Giggles & Fun

Artistic Anna

Anna has definitely taken an interest in drawing. She is more content than Celie to sit and draw for more than 5 minutes at a time. She will usually draw for about 20 or so. Celie is bored after 5 minutes. I think this is great. I think Anna will be my partner in crime when it comes to making "things."

However, Anna has grown beyond just her drawing capabilities as of late. She seems bored by the images in coloring books and tends to be more attracted to a blank canvas. Her preferred medium is plain paper and, well, our new hardwood floors. We are trying to break her of it, even though I know that experimentation is everything.

An Anna creation.This was the beginning. We thought it was kind of funny - so of course I had to take a picture. Well, now, she hides crayons (because we limit her access now) and pulls them out when our back is turned and goes to the corner and colors on the floor. Thank goodness for Mr. Clean pads and washable crayons.

She DOES like chocolate

There was a time when we didn't know if Anna was really our daughter. She wouldn't eat anything with chocolate in it. How could that be?

Well, she must have come around because she definitely likes it. I am not sure that she likes it as much as Celie, but maybe she will grow into it.

Anna is enjoying a miniature chocolate bar that the Easter Bunny brought in her basket.

Easter Lily

Who knew that the Easter Lily dripped like this? It has been wonderful to have live plants in the house again. I haven't wanted to buy any until a lot of our renovations have been done. Now, I can.

Chilly Hunt

Easter is supposed to be a time of spring frolics, frilly easter dresses, sprouting flowers, and easter egg hunts.

Well, old man winter definitely has had his fun with Easter this year. The night before our neighborhood easter egg hunt, he decided to dump 6" of the COLD fluffy white stuff. However, as the organizer of the hunt said, "Snow never stops a true Clevelander." And the hunt went on.

So, we bundled up the girls and walked down to the park to participate in the hunt. I must say, they did a great job despite the snow. There was the Easter Bunny with a side kick, doughnuts & coffee and a small fire going in the portable fire pit. Instead of a traditional egg hunt, each child was able to pick an egg from a basket for their age group. One egg out of the lot contained a surprise - the winner won a gift certificate to Toys R Us. Celie didn't win, but was o.k. with that. She was more interested in playing on the slide and on the swings with the other kids. Anna, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with the Easter Bunny or the whole event.

Bob and I were able to meet a few of our neighbors that we haven't met, so it was a great time - though a little on the cold side.

Celie shaking hands with the Easter Bunny.

Anna and Bob with the Easter Bunny.

Kitchen Done - well almost

Today was the last day for the kitchen renovation. We are done, well, almost. I still have some painting to do - but it is done enough to be working away and I even have cabinet space to spare - not much though.

Here are some pictures of the new kitchen. I will also update once all of the painting is done. There is paint from the counter to the upper cabinets, but it is kind of hard to see. The color is called - Irish cream. YUMMO!!

The House that Mom Built

I asked our contractors if we could have one of the boxes from the cabinets so that I could make a house for the girls. I made a roof with skylights, a door with a window, 2 windows - 1 with a window flower box and a mailbox. Here are some pictures of the girls playing with their house.

He's Gone

I received word today that Charles died yesterday morning in the loving arms of his wife, Deborah. My heart aches for her & his two daughters Julia & Cayce. I used to babysit Cayce. They are having a memorial service this Sunday for him. I tried to figure out a way that I could go, but I just can't. However, they are going to have a Memorial Iron Pour and show of his sculpture in October in Tallahassee. I think I will try to make that. I think I might have to go buy some Hamms and have one in honor of Charles.

I am amazed

There are often days when I wonder if I am getting through to Cecilia. Does she really pay attention to things? Does she listen to what I say or does she pay attention to what I do?

Yup. she does.

She came up to me and said "Celie hungry." So, we went downstairs to get her a banana. Once upstairs, I started peeling it for her. I ran back downstairs for a minute - well, I thought for a minute - it must have been 5. Celie came down - empty handed. I asked her where was the banana as I had visions of mushed banana in the carpet in my bedroom with the peel in many pieces all over the upstairs. Her answer - "In my tummy," Good answer, I guess. So, I escorted her upstairs dreading what I might find. I found the door to "my" room (my craftroom/picnic area during our renovations) open. I went inside to find that she had opened the door and placed the banana peel in the trash can in my room. WOW!! She does pay attention.

Now, if I could just get her to stop dumping the goldfish all over the living room floor.

Kitchen Updates

I thought that I would post some before and midway pictures from our recent remodeling. The floors are coming out absolutely beautifully - at least we think so. They have all the coats on the dining room and will come back and put the final on the rest once the kitchen is in.

I think once you see the before, you will understand why we had to renovate the kitchen.

Looking from the foyer to the kitchen & hearth room area. Notice that lovely hood, the tile and the carpeting, oh yeah, don't forget the wallpaper either.


Same look but with our Ash hardwood floors and no more hood or wallpaper.

This is looking into the dining room from the stairs landing area. There were 3 sliding glass doors in the dining room that we replaced. That is a new chandelier too.

This is the view of the back wall - kitchen and hearth room area. Isn't it lovely?


Same view today. We replaced the one slider in the kitchen with a window to make way for more cabinets. Hardwood throughout.

Here is a picture of kitchen. This was all that we had. What you see is what the entire kitchen was. Oh, I am sorry, there was an 18" wide base cabinet of drawers to the right of the dishwasher. But that is it for counterspace and cabinets in the kitchen.


This is my kitchen as of today. I have a microwave and an electric skillet. Our refrigerator is in the living room. I have a sink so I can still do dishes - but that will be gone on Monday when they start installing the cabinets. I guess we will have to eat out then. Darn.


This is looking from the back wall to the foyer. The space between the kitchen and the fireplace we are calling the hearth room. They called it a family room, but it is too long and skinny for that. Notice the green paint? That is the same green as our Chelsea house - that used to be a lovely textured vinyl wallpaper. What are the two holes to the left of the fireplace? The one on the same side as the fireplace was an indoor grill (that didn't work). The other hole on the side was discovered when we removed the wet bar, it was the piping for the indoor grill exhaust and grease catch. Nice huh?


I can't wait to post updated pictures of the space as soon as everything is done. That will be around Easter, hopefully.

Hope you like what we have done.

Bears - 2 different views

Again, this a Celie's "people" thing. Celie had organized her bears so that they were taking a bath in her toy kitchen sink.

Anna didn't think they should be that way. She reorganized them like this:

Positioning Elmo

I know that I have posted before about how Celie will arrange her "people" in different positions and areas of the house. Well, here are some Elmo shots that I couldn't resist.

Elmos as Kilroy. Elmo & Cookie Driving Elmo's

Celie's ready for School

OK, I am a sucker for a sale and anything Disney - so they were having some super duper sales and I got a Princess backpack for Celie - justification - way on sale & she is starting preschool in the fall and will need one. I also got her a princess jean jacket - justification - way on sale too & she can hand it down to Anna.

When I unpacked them, Celie decided that she wanted the backpack on - she was watching Dora the Explorer and wanted to be like her. Then when she saw the jacket, she had to have that on too. I had to take a picture of her. She sat watching TV with her jacket and backpack on for quite a while. I am glad she likes them.