Okay, so these really didn't upload in the order I wanted them to, but it's 7 a.m. and I'm too tired to fiddle, so we'll see them as they come. :)

First, the girls' room. In this photo it's as done as it will be for a while. I'm going to get some ikea modular storage to make their toys look less cluttery, and we're getting Maddy bunk beds for her birthday in January (she's been wanting them for about three years. We told her we could talk about it when she was six. LOL) so there will be a great deal more floor space in here soon. I'll do an updated photo when there is one to give.
The ledge over the kitchen/dining entry. I've decided to collect Nativities (I have two so far) and they'll be displayed up here year round. On the left is the one my mother bought me- I think when she was pregnant with me. She'll correct me if I'm wrong though. On the right is the one that Jake's grandmother gave me for Christmas our first year together.
The girls'/guest bathroom. The only change in here since the photo is that the bath toys have been taken out of the trash can.
The kitchen and pass through into the living room. The ledge has Christmas decor on it right now, but will be completely empty the rest of the year.
The other half of the kitchen. Up on top of the cabinets is: (L to R) my cake stand, vases, serving tray, tea set given to me by Jake's gram which was brought back from Japan post-WWII, espresso/crystal stemware from my mom.

All the appliances are stainless steel. Fridge (with ice maker in the freezer) microwave, gas stove, and dishwasher. Granite counter tops in the kitchen and bathrooms. Washer and dryer in a tiny laundry room off the dining room.
The view! This photo was taken with NO zoom standing on my balcony off the living room.
I'll have more photos to share shortly. I need to organize the craft/spare/storage room today, and then EVERYTHING will be unpacked and put away.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Today, Laura turned four. She's getting so big, and learning so much! She answers most of the questions Maddy gets asked during lesson times. Here's a photo taken this morning, of the birthday girl in all her glory.

Maddy's first day of school...

Today was her first day of school, and she's off. She'll actually be home in just over an hour. She woke up at 6:30, all excited and ready to go. Took her shower, got dressed, and ate some donuts that Grandma and Pa brought. Then, Memere and Dziadziu got here, and we went out to wait for the bus. The following video is her getting on to the bus. I cried. Just a little.

6.9.09

Laura fell off the couch at my mom's house, and got this. I think it may become a black eye in a day or two. We'll see...

They've both been so funny today, that it's hard to pick just one thing. Maddyson at one point looked at her uncle Kyle and said "Hahaha, you're so funny!" and slapped her knee. That made us all laugh really hard.

Kyle is here overnight, and will be going with us to see Gg in the morning. Be back tomorrow!

6.8.09

Um... There's really no denying who Laura's father is...

Today Laura looked at me and said "Where's that pink car that I saw last Saturday?" Uh... What? She cracks me up. They both do. Today, Maddy has been super helpful, cleaning their room and making their beds. It made up for her spraying febreeze on the bookcase and ripping up a catalog on the floor of my bedroom. Why she felt the need to bring the catalog in there to rip it up, we may never know.

Currently, Jake is working a double. He'll bring the girls to my mother's house when he gets home, and then go straight to bed so that he can go back to work tonight. The girls will be home first thing tomorrow morning, and then in the afternoon, Uncle Kyle will come over to spend time with us all.

5.21.09

Today we stayed in. The girls were given an "ultimatum" yesterday. If they didn't behave, we didn't leave the house today. Well, they didn't, so we didn't. I wanted to go do laundry today, but couldn't very well go back on my word. Should have thought that one through a little better.

I didn't take a photo today, because it completely slipped my mind, to be honest. The girls were very well behaved though. Laura spent a lot of time practicing her name, and Maddy was "cooking" with their play kitchen off and on all day.

My migraine is gone, but it left me very tired today so I didn't accomplish much.

Tomorrow, we'll be going to Gramma's in the morning to do laundry and visit Uncle Kyle because he got home from college tonight. Later in the day, we'll be going to visit Memere and Dziadziu. The girls will be spending the night with them, so there won't be a blog post for Saturday.

My Apologies

For not posting yesterday. I had a migraine and nearly nothing got accomplished. Today we're all in better spirits, so there should be a decent post tonight/tomorrow morning about today. :)

5.19.09

Today was a rough day, so there are no photos. I was very productive. I got a lot of cleaning done, and knitting accomplished while the girls ate lunch and napped. But then, worlds collided, and Maddyson has been extremely difficult. She doesn't want to behave, or do anything besides yell, scream, and stomp.

Excitement for today? Laura can write her name! :)

5.18.09

Funnies:

Maddy sitting on Jake's shoulder like a parrot, and Laura "helping" Gg walk.

Photo:

Laura "reading" a knitting "how-to" book in Maddy's pj pants.

Today we:

Gramma called this morning, so we went out for breakfast with her, and then picked up Gg and Aunt Cathy, to take them shopping and pick up Gg's new glasses. After that, we went back to Gramma's house and watched some old Mary Tyler Moore episodes while the girls played. Then, back home to read with Daddy while Mommy makes dinner. Following dinner will be baths, story time, and then early to bed because the naps were skipped today.

See you tomorrow!

5.17.09

Funnies:

"Headbanging" to 90s hits.

Photo of the day:

This is actually from Friday, when we went to visit Jake's Grandmother and Aunt Terra.

Today, we did the laundry at Gramma's house. After lunch, they wouldn't settle down (they never do if they aren't home), so we came home, and they slept from 2-4. I made fried rice from scratch, and they each had two helpings, then a freezer pop. We went to visit Gg for a little while, and she gave me a bone crochet hook which belonged to HER grandmother! I feel honored that she'd give it to me. Tomorrow proves to be busy as well. :) See you then!

3.12.09

Funnies:

Laura's chipmunk smile, and Maddy's songs.

Photo:

They were playing "Rapunzel" on the couch with some yarn that I had to take out of a project I was working on. Maddy kept saying "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!" and then jumping onto the couch. Laura, in true mimic fashion would then yell "Punzel!" as she dove.

Today we...

Went to Gramma's to work on the invites for Gg's surprise 75th birthday party, and took long naps.

Wish Lists

For anyone needing gift ideas for any of us (birthdays, Christmas, etc.):
Veronica: http://www.target.com/lists/35MR1H0G6VIK0
Jacob: http://www.target.com/lists/3KVJS6PEPMDPH
Maddy: http://www.target.com/lists/3D9FIMSXUEURJ
Laura: http://www.target.com/lists/3JLO738FYR1OH

3.10.09/ 3.11.09

We spent time at Grandma's yesterday, doing laundry. Then we came home and the girls built a puzzle together. It was nice to see them work together for a change, rather than against each other as they seem to like to.

Dinner time went so much smoother last night than it has for quite a while. I think the hard learned lesson from the other night sunk in. At least for a few days, anyway.

Today we're starting a new schedule. Everything is accounted for and has it's own time, right down to toothbrushing. Hopefully this will help everyone stay on a more even keel, and have less meltdowns. Right now they're watching a movie while I catch up on emails, blogging, and today's scheduled cleaning (the bathroom, and the kitchen floor. What fun).

Friday or Monday there will be a new produce stand opening up in town. He's going to have fresh fruits and veggies at about half the price of the grocer! I'm really pretty excited about that, as I decided a couple of days ago that I'm not buying boxes or cans anymore. Fresh all the way! :) Jake and the girls aren't thrilled to be loosing all the preservatives, but I sure am!

3.9.09

I missed posting yesterday. Sorry about that, I wasn't feeling very well.

Funnies:

Today there were no funnies. Our day was a constant battle. One that I eventually won at seven tonight. More later on that.

Photo:

Today a package came in the mail for me, and the person sending it was sweet enough to think of the girls when choosing the things to send. Here they are, doing a photo "thank you" card to the sender:

Today we:

Battled all day over last night's dinner. I have finally reached the end of my rope with the eating issues we've been having. I decided that they ARE indeed going to eat what we eat. So, I put a little bit of each thing on their plates, and informed them that THIS was dinner. They didn't eat it. I then told them that they would be having this for every meal until it was gone. It took quite a bit of crying and screaming on their parts and saying "No." more times than I'd care to ever say it again on mine. At 7, they broke and ate it. As a reward, Gramma and Pa came to get them, and took them for ice cream at McDonald's. They'll be staying up late tonight obviously, since it's already 7:30 and bedtime is at 7. Phew... It was a hard won battle, but hopefully subsequent ones will be easier.

3.7.09

Funnies:

Today there were so many that it's difficult to pick what to post! Laura thought it was VERY funny that when you push on the nose of my tape measure (shaped like a pig), his tail comes shooting in (the tape measure).

Photos:

Today we:

We spent the morning cuddled on the couch, catching up on our TV shows, and spending time together. We missed each other after our time apart yesterday. Later, we went to a spaghetti dinner and reptile show, while Daddy slept for work. The girls were both very excited about getting to pet the snakes, and Maddy said on the way there that she wanted to kiss one. (She didn't)

3.6.09

Funnies:

Today, Maddy wrote "Cat" on a piece of paper. Great, right? Yes, but she spells cat "C-A-D". Struck me as funny.

Photo:

Being "talking heads".

Today we're:

Grocery shopping and other errands, Jake's phone interview with Aria (he thinks it went well. If it did, he'll fly out in April for a face-to-face, and then if he gets it, he'll be notified in Sept. We'll probably leave in late October/early November if he gets the job.), sleeping over Gramma's house.

3.5.09

Funnies:

Not from the girls, but caused by them. Today they were playing with their toy nativity set, and I actually had to say "You don't THROW the Baby Jesus!" Oh man... haha

Photos:

Listening to Daddy read Harry Potter before bed.

Things we did:

Today we went to Gramma's to play Candy Land in the morning, and then to Uncle Tony's and Aunt Alicia's for visiting and dinner. We had a lot of fun. Michael is getting so big, and is so fun to play with! Maddy thinks that their dog Annie is stinky though. She said "I don't want to play with a stinky dog!" That made Alicia and I laugh.

A Message for Memere and Dziadziu

From Maddy:

Once upon a time, there was a Laura and a Maddyson. And their Mom and Dad, named Mommy and Daddy. Maddyson and Laura were playing on the playground. The next day they were playing on the playground and other people were there. They were playing on the slide and the slide disappeared. The End.

3.4.09

Funnies:

Maddy: "I'm hungry. A-A-P." (She's learning to spell, but hasn't quite got it yet.)

Laura, showing her father her new haircut: "See? She didn't cut my eyebrows!" (This is a HUGE fear of hers. That I'll cut her eyebrows while trimming her bangs.)

Photo:

Maddy is in a mood. You know how that goes. Anyway, this is a picture she colored that she wanted to share. It's a present with a bow. Can you see it? Laura, as usual, was being a photo hog, and hamming it up for the camera.

Today we're:

Coloring, and spending time indoors, because it's too cold and the snow is too deep to play outside without snowpants, which we forgot to bring home from Gramma's house. We're getting ready to have lunch now, and then it'll be nap time. After nap time, Maddy is going to spend a bit of time learning to knit. She's doing really well with it so far! Then, they'll help me make dinner, have a shower, and off to bed after a chapter of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban from Daddy.

Welcome.

The plan is to post here everyday, with a photo of the girls, the house, or all four of us; something funny the girls have each said; what the girls are doing now; current events in our lives (i.e. Maddy's first day of school, dyeing Easter Eggs, etc.). Posts will not have witty titles like I attempt for other things. Rather they will be titled with the date. I'm hoping that this helps to remind me to post every day. This blog is a way to try to keep our family and friends, near and far, up to date on what's happening in our lives. Occasionally, there will be more than one post a day. These will be titled "A Message for..." and will be notes, stories, etc. from the girls to a specific person.