Earth Day 2012

I spent the afternoon watching the Rangers game at a friend’s place while Jonathan and B stayed home (she was ill). When I got home at about 4, they were both sound asleep! Like mother – like daughter (she loves to sleep at night!). Like father – like daughter (she loves to sleep during the day!). Well, no-napper me quickly got Jonathan up and told him we had to get out and do something for Earth Day!!! He tried to shoot down my enthusiasm by complaining of bad allergies, but I convinced him to at least fill the bird and squirrel feeders with Miss B so we could enjoy some of the Earth’s blessings on its designated day:

Please don’t judge my by the state of my backyard (hehehe). EVERY YEAR we both try to make a pact not to hire a lawn service to do the job of keeping our yard and beds in shape. It’s been four years now, and each summer we always break down and pay someone else. Not there yet in 2012, but I fear its coming . I’m just excited that I’m nearly done with school so I can finally go to out and get some flowers to put in my pots again. We love watering our potted plants in the summertime!

 

All God’s creatures came to help! Penny’s favorite is the squirrel feeder, and she loves it when Bridget gets to help…because that means plenty of fallen peanuts for Penny!

This squirrel feeder is the best out there. We love seeing all the furry friends that come to snack out of it!

My little nature noodle! Love having her to help

Catching Up: Egg Dying Volume II

We tried last year for the first time with little success (well, Mommy and Daddy did great…B wasn’t totally into it):

So I was excited to see how this year went. Another year makes such a difference!

Of course, we were thankful to have had great practice at our Good Friday playdate. So I had an inkling that this may be our year for success. And I bought these “no spill” dye kits and they actually worked really well!

She even learned from Daddy how to add illustrations to the eggs:

I was so happy with the vibrant colors! And (thanks to lessons learned from stupid Mommybrain last year) I remembered to put the eggs in the fridge so I could use them for Easter Egg Salad the next day . Phew!

The next morning, it was time for a hunt! I got a great video that I won’t subject you guys to…so here’s B with her first loot of the day:

These Dora eggs from Big Lots were the hit of the day!

Next up, the real reason to celebrate: Easter Sunday with FAMILY!

FINALS! You wish you could be me, of course :)

They are nigh upon me, people. Tonight is my first final of 3 before the END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. I've nearly survived it! I shouldn't put the horse before the cart, though. Tonight is the toughest one by far so my brain is complete mush but I just don't care. Nor do I really care about the two finals I have next week.

What do I care about? All the fun things B and I have been doing together in the last couple of weeks as my schedule has started to lighten up...and all the fun things we already have planned for the next few months. Someone even said to me yesterday upon mention of our aquarium trip we took that morning, "man, you guys go and do so many fun things!". I won't lie, I beamed with pride. Since I get myself into all these messes and wild schedules, I try really hard not to complain about being too busy and likewise pray for peace when I hear the little devil on my shoulder saying, "she's not that busy! why can't her schedule work with your's!". As I've said on here before, we all have our limits and the older we get the more we learn how to stay within them for the sake of our sanity. And relationships. And health. Plus, I've learned a lot from my friends who are better at saying "no" than me. If you're one of those friends, THANK YOU. You've really relieved a lot of stress over the past 2 years!

Up next for the dazzling 'damo duo:

Denton Arts and Jazz Fest
Fort Worth Zoo
Scarborough Fair (don't even get me started on how excited I am to go back to a childhood fav!)
Family Pictures

These will all be complete in less than 10 days. However, should the weather decide now is not the time for these outdoor adventures, I will most certainly not shed a tear. This woman knows to be thankful for surprise downtime! Oh, and yes, I do still have a husband and he will join us on a few of these trips of course. Plus, he gets the whole summer off to rest and relax and play with Bridget and me. Blessed are we!

Wish me luck tonight and next week. Then feel free to suggest a hang time. You know I'm terrible at saying NO :). Thankfully, I won't really even need to for a few months!

Hugs and Happy Friday to all!

(can you tell how excited I am to be finishing the school year??? AGH!!!!!!)

This place is still super hip :)

Yes, the Sandy Lake Fun Fest still exists. In fact, this was the 42nd year of the event – one that celebrates the joys of middle school beginner band. I still remember stepping on that rickety stage, hearing the thunder of sixth-grade feet stomping to the steady beat, and playing a very out of tune “Jurassic Park Theme” and having a blast.

Jonathan and his school had their Fun Fest Day this morning, so B and I took the very short drive to the park to meet him. She had a blast and was such a good audience member! We lathered up the sunscreen and hopped on her first “rides” in preparation for all the future deathtrap amusement park rides she’s certain to experience. I even got to give a hug to my middle school band director! He still recognized me after all these years and was so excited to meet my little booger bear. What a special day!

This cracked me up. There was a “Gum Tree” outside of each warm-up tent for kids to dispose of their “illegal” chewing gum prior to playing their instruments. Genius! Right up a middle-schooler’s alley!

Performance time!

Off to the rides with Daddy!

The (surprisingly fast) race cars were her favorite for sure:

This one, not so much. I heard “I no like this!” a few too many times. Since she was the only little one riding (the day was mostly reserved for middle school kids), they were able to stop it early for her. Phew!

But she loved the carousel ‘cause Mommy was able to ride with her! Man, do I want this girl to love horses like I did. Hehehe.

Her roller-coaster-hating Daddy got a chuckle out of B’s desire to ride this whopper. She was JUST tall enough to ride with an adult, so I got the fun job of being the giant to ride the kiddie ride. Nice. Check out our “roller coaster scream” faces!

A sip from the lion head water fountain:

And by the end, I had one sleepy doodle bug who didn’t even cry when it was time to leave. I was shocked! And she went right to sleep when her head hit the crib pillow. I guess we should visit Sandy Lake more often!

Happy Hunting!

Yes, yes. Perhaps I went a little overboard with the egg hunts this year. I just couldn’t help myself from taking every opportunity to have fun with my Noodle Doodle Girl!

Our next chance was at the Coppell Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday before Easter. A kindermusik parent invited us, and as soon as I heard the word FREE, I knew we’d be there if the weather complied…I just loved the pics and video I got of B last year at a similar event and couldn’t wait to do the same this year. And doesn’t she look pretty?? I was so happy to try on this pretty white dress I ordered online last September from Target…I got it on sale for $6. I outfitted her with summer clothes, most of which were under $5, at the end of the season and I’m TOTALLY doing that again this year. Super deals are my weakness!

Somebody just couldn’t wait for the buzzer and snuck out early. Hilarious!

Waiting patiently for the big moment:

She was a real pro!

Neither Bridget nor my Kindermusik buddy, Aavi, was too interested in introductions…they had loot to sort!

But we made sure to check out Mr. EB…from a safe distance (and I was more than happy to skip the insanely long line):

And also get up close and personal with Rojo the Firetruck!

I just can’t get enough of my sweet Spring Chicken!

More hunting was to come after lunch and a quick nap…it was the OWLS (Older Wiser Law Students) group event that afternoon and I knew I would get the major guilt trip for skipping. So I had Jonathan come with me to see all the other Law Babies. It was so much fun!

I was happy to get a chance to put me and B in our matching dresses. I bought mine about 3 years ago and still wear it all the time during the warm season. Imagine my surprise when I saw a 2T mini-version hanging on the racks at Divine Consign for $2…I nearly cried I was so excited! Don’t give me crap, haters .

 

There were pinwheels – a real fave these days (this one met a terrible end the next day. A good lesson in why Mommy doesn’t roll down the window!):

Arts and crafts with other Law Babies:

And “Face” painting! A first for B (though for kids under 3, it was arm painting only…even better, if you ask me!):

Being a musical genius, she was amazed by the acoustics in the Quad. Me, too, girly!

The best part, though, was the adorable hunt! She really knew what to do my this point. And even was willing to share!

We had so much fun that J and I weren’t ready for the day to end…sounds like a Gloria’s trip to me! They were so sweet to bring Bridget a special plate of fruit . Notice, she was not interested in having any of it and immediately shunned the gift. Jonathan and I were grateful!

The Easter Weekend was so much fun…and the big day was still to come! I think I’m getting the “enjoy every moment” hang of things these days. Don’t take any second for granted, friends .