Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder...

I admit, there is a lot that I miss being an FTWM, and I'm sure there will things that I regret not having been able to do with my girls during these early years, but there is one thing that I get to have that SAHM's don't have.

Everyday, when I pick my girls up from the sitter, I get to enjoy lit up little faces as they come racing towards me from the play area, with arms wide opened, yelling, "Mommy!!!" and it lets me know that they've missed me today. That I'm still number one in their world and that they are excited to see me again.

It never fails to warm my heart to see my two sweeties racing each other to see who can hug me first. Almost makes it worth it to go away...

Easter Bows

Well, I don't have any Easter pics of the girls because someone (either me or Grace) accidentally erased them from my memory card. All is not lost, however, as we have a Mother/Daughter Luncheon coming up at the end of the month where they will be wearing their oh-so-sweet Easter dresses. Hopefully, this time sans the sweater.

However, I did pick up some clearanced Easter ribbon yesterday at Dollar General on my lunch break and the girls had a ball with it last night...all dollies, Barbies, Mommies & Daughters had bee-yew-tee-ful bows in their hair. Except, I think if I were to put a housecoat on Annie, she would look like a housewife/washerwoman from the old days. Her ribbon wasn't quite long enough to get into a bow and the result was so adorable, especially with that little curl on the right side...

Sometimes ya just gotta be silly with your gals, you know? I think this might be a new goal/mindset/resolution of mine. Take time to just do silly stuff.

Clint and I have been discussing the house and its future as we always do this time of year. Focus this May (again) is going to be to go through room by room and just clearing out the clutter that seems to accumulate in a small house with 4 pack rats. My aim this spring is to be ruthless about this project. If we don't use it, pitch it/sell it/donate it.

Simplifying will only bring a clear head, clear mind, ease in all things domestic and ultimately, (I hope!) more time to just be silly and play with my girls instead of having to worry about getting the dinner dishes done or picking up the house.

I highly doubt that, although I do think it's very important and healthy - mentally and emotionally - to have a clean environment to live in, I'll regret not cleaning more when all is said and done. I have to work full-time outside of the home, no question about that, which does make for a shortened time with the family at night so if I can lighten up the clutter at home, I'll free up the time to be with my babies and their bows.

Annie's Birthday Pics

Despite waking up with a 103 degree temp and a quick trip to the Urgent Care, or rather, the ER because I didn't realize that Urgent Care had been cut 6 weeks ago, Annie had a nice little party with the grandparents and the four of us on Saturday. Annie was absolutely darling, and as our house isn't exactly roomy, we don't entertain very much, so the girls are just thrilled any time someone comes to our house!

Her birthday gift from us was a cute little pink Radio Flyer trike, which incidentally, Grace has not stopped riding around the dining room table.

And of course, Dora was present thanks to our resident artist, Clint.

Grace did pretty well being the observant, yet oh so wanting to help tear off wrapping paper, big sister. It just blows my mind that I have a 2 and 4 year old now. My little blue-eyed and brown-eyed girls!

Annemarie Violet Young

Is turning TWO today. How is that possible?

2008 was a rough year for our family, undoubtedly. But one sweet gift came out of that year: my sweet Annie. It seems hardly possible that two years have passed and she is turning from my baby to my toddler.

Annie V gets so many comments on what a happy baby she is! And they are right, she has a sunny personality, a smile that will cheer up even the grayest sky and this girl is FUNNY. She is going to be our comedian, I can tell. She will be cracking us up at the dinner table with her stories and her facial expressions. I know, because she is doing it even now!

I love Annie's cuddliness, the feel of her little cheeky against mine at night when getting ready for bed. I love when she unexpectedly says "I yuv oo, Mama! I YUV OO!" I love how big her brown eyes get when she sees something she likes ("PACI!") and how is a complete female replica of her Daddy.

Annie is going to grow up to be a strong woman and a persistent one, one with a sense of humor and a big heart of love. I know, I've seen it all – in the past two years.

Happy Birthday, Annie Bannie! I sure do love you.

Waiting for Spring...

Could winter get any longer??? Seriously! Six more inches yesterday. Although, I must say I am particularly pleased that the Lord keeps melting most of the old snow before replacing it with the new inches. At least we aren't completely buried.

These winter doldrums definitely bog down the old mindset. Everything seems blah in the bleakness of winter and I find us drudging through the weekly routine always reaching for Fridays and the weekend. We've had some little bouts of sickness, but on the whole, we continue in good health.

I need some ideas to spice and jazz our daily routine up. We are fairly active on the weekend, but our weekdays are same old, same old. Kids thrive on routine but I need the change and variety. Otherwise, my mind turns to mush.

I think I actually just need spring! We had such a wonderful summer last year, I don't think I ever really adjusted to the fact that it was over...

Christmas Pics

Could they be any cuter? Seems like this Christmas EVERYBODY got them matching outfits. I'm sure they won't love it when they're older, so we're milking it now! Annie is turning out to be an even bigger ham than Grace! She cheeses it up for everyone, but the camera definitely needs to be QUICK!

Been a while...

Yep, it's been a while! And here we are, with a New Year upon us - 2010, who would have thought? And I have no resolutions firmly in tact! I have a few that I've contemplated, but nothing mapped out in place...other than, the inevitable Weight Watchers!

So, this will not be a resolution post, although it's my first for the year.

We had a fabulous Christmas this year. The girls were adorably cute through the December season. We decorated, we baked, we made candy, the only thing we didn't really do is go outside and make snowmen, etc...but there is plenty of snow still around. We'll get to it!

Annie has been consistently progressing in her speech. Every day it seems we get a newer, more complete thought out of her and she's not even 2 yet! Last week was marked by her "pinching" my *patootie* and saying "I got your biscuits!" This week was marked by, "I want a cheestick, too!" and "I don't want it" (after she took two miniscule bites of the cheesestick).

It's very fun to hear Grace and Annie talk with each other. I have full confidence that Annie is understanding everything now, as she responds appropriately. Next up for her will by potty-training! Woohoo :)

Grace is consistently surprising us with her speech, too. She constantly asks what new words mean and then tries to incorporate them into her speech as soon as she can. She has picked up "left" and "right" from somewhere and will be the kind of student in elementary who "gets" her teachers jokes - I can just tell! I always loved those kiddos! :) It's weird to be thinking about Kindergarten for her, but we are!

Clint has almost reached his 2 year anniversary at MPI. It will be 2 years in March. He is still enjoying it and we are so thankful for the Lord's provision for us in this job, while many are laid off in our area, we are both gainfully employed with excellent benefits. Although our house is small and the bills are many, we have so much to be thankful for!

So - that should catch us up to January 2010. I really didn't intend for a 2 month break from Blogland, but it happened, thanks to busy work, holiday, November doldrums and a crappy case of carpal tunnel! I like having a blog to chart things and times with the girls, so I plan to keep it up and if I could just get myself to the store and remember to buy a new memory card, lots more pictures of two of the cutest girls on the planet!