HELP WANTED sign here!!

Grace and her Grandpa Bill on Easter.

Jenni and her Great Aunt Pat, their Birthdays are only 2 days apart!!!!

Grace found the most eggs, but we won't mention that Grandpa Bill "helped"!!

My Grandma Jean! I love her laugh!

She is getting so big! Even if she has a cheesy smile, I still love her to pieces!!!

My photo assignment was to shoot “princess for a day” my first immediate thought was to shoot the girls playing dress up. My next idea was to let the girls go all out on Daddy and make him into a princess for a day. Then due to procrastination and not getting any of these shots set up or taken, I had to think of a different route, what about Mommy as a princess. Lord help me, I am not a princess, lets face it I am not even a girly girl, I like getting dirty and playing softball and watching football! I forced myself to find something that makes me turn into a princess, feel un-mom like, and I thought of my “glitter shoes” (as the girls call them). This process made me realize I need to wear these shoes more often, I need some time off, I need to call in reinforcements, I need some backup…..OKAY I need H-E-L-P!

I don’t know about other Mom’s, but for me, I have a really hard time asking for help. I get tired, run down, exhausted and just plain worn out being a Mom. I don’t ask for help when I need a day off, because in my head Mom’s don’t get days off. Mom’s, especially stay-at-home Mom’s, don’t get days off, our jobs are 24-7 right? Well a super genius friend of mine(I will not mention that her name starts with a M and ends in a shell) yelled at me about asking for help. She helped me put motherhood into perspective, it’s a job and even jobs have days off. It’s ok to say I need a day off, it’s ok to want to get out of the house and grab a coffee ALONE, it’s ok to need a “me” day. To ask for help is like a weakness for me, it is hard to say that I need time to re-boost. I think that the fact that my Mom did it and didn’t have help makes me think that I have to do it alone too. I have to get it through me head that it’s ok to take a time out, I am not like my Mom, I am me and to make myself happy and keep my sanity and my kids happy too, sometimes I just have to suck it up and ask for a break. My girls are my everything (the hubs too) and to unplug once in a while is needed for them as much as it is for me.

Little girls in Mommy's big shoes, always make me giggle out of control!!!!

Her battle stance!

Playing with Daddy.

She amazes me!!

Our 'snuggle bunny'!

Well, I forgot today was Friday with all the Holiday Hoopla we have going on this weekend and Grace not having school today :) Grace started soccer last Saturday, she was really freaking out about it and after she got going and Daddy kicking the ball around with her for a little bit, she finally got into it!! We had a birthday party with Grace and some of her friends from school, she had a lot of fun, but when it was time to go home we had a bit of a meltdown, of course!

We are still waiting for the sun to come out and play, we are sick of being inside all the time! If anyone happens to know who didn't pay the power bill for the sun, let me know!

Have a HoPpY EaSteR!!!

She's 4, She's 4, OMG, She is 4!

This is her favorite picture because I made it pink for her!

This is the outfit she choose to wear to school for her Birthday, a pink dress!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy!

She looks so mature.

Playing outside while we had a beautiful sunny day this week.

I cannot believe my peach pie is 4 years old. She grew up so fast, I feel like I missed most of it too. Really I haven't missed much at all, I just feel like she went from 2 to 20 in about 6 months. She is a lot like me, she is totally independent, and strong willed, she is very smart and loves to use big words even if she doesn't know what they mean! She is an awesome big sister to Jenni, anytime Jenn bumps her head or is crying Grace is always right there to do something silly to make her little sister laugh and feel all better! She loves to get dirty in the garden or building something with dad, and yet she can put on her princess dress and be as glamorous as ever. She loves to help with everything, cooking is a big one, cleaning not so much! She loves going outside and this week she starts soccer, she has told me she also wants to be a cheerleader. These are so sporting activities I have never done, so I am loving this new adventure with her.

She loves school and making art pictures, which are then posted all over our house. For her birthday we didn't go crazy, we just got her a few things that she had asked for and needed. Her favorite thing was the movie Tangled, she had been asking for it forever! She also got a new dress, soccer shorts and socks she is totally ready to be 4, I am ready, only because I have no other choice! She amazes me with the things she says, and I don't think I could love her anymore yet somehow, every day I find more love for my curly haired Gracie Wacie (Jenni calls her that) in my heart.

Spring Break 2011

Grace at the library, she is sooooo a computer girl!

Jenn playing at the library.

Making bunny masks at the Library.

Grace actually asked me to take her picture! She was very proud of the train she built!

Spending a little extra time in our Pajamas!

Grace had Spring Break this week. I thought we were going to have a ton of things to do and I was really excited for it. Well, the girls vetoed a lot of what I had come up with and just had no interest in it. I wanted to play outside, it was horrible crappy weather this week! Basically what I am saying is that Spring Break was a bit of a bust!

The good parts of Spring Break, sleeping in (30 minutes more then usual counts!), staying in our pajamas all day, or at least til we had to go somewhere! We read a TON of books, we made beautiful pictures for Daddy, we went to the library, the girls even had a Princess dress up day. Overall we had a good week, my least favorite part of every week is how and when they fight! They fight over toys, or course, and how they always had it first, and then they yell at each other and sometimes they scream really loud, and then the crying comes. The crying is the worst part for me, it is totally exhausting, I despise it, I just can't understand it. When I ask Grace why she is crying she usually says "I don't know", this week she finally told me that her feelings were hurt and that is why she is crying. To understand now, why she cries makes the whole world in a new light for me. I am still working on how to solve the snatching and grabbing situations that happen on an everyday occurrence. I wonder if I am the only mom that has this issue, I hope that every day is going to be better then the last, sometimes after I put the girls to bed I just take the worlds biggest sigh of relief for I had survived that day.

I know they will only get older and that they will not be little for long, for goodness sake, Grace will be in Preschool for a full day in just 5 months, yes 5 months and then my oldest child will be gone all day. Then my really crazy, hectic life starts with school functions, sports, dance class, and all that good stuff. I know I need to take it all in, I know I need to stop and breath and be great full for the amazingness (I think I just made that word up) of the kids that I have. I try, I try so hard to remember these things, but sometimes I forget, I am not perfect, nor do I try to be (that might be impossible for me). But I know I love my girls and I know that they are teaching me more then I could ever teach them. They just won't know that until they are Mom's themselves.

The newest fans!

I couldn't decide which edit I liked best!

This is the seat I always sat in, on the end of the row and next the the pipes. BEST seat in the house!!!

Jenni loving the view from the stairs!

Grandpa and Jenni!

Grandpa and his newest Wings fans!

The girls liked the Zamboni's the best, so we went to get a closer look!

For as long as I can remember my Dad has had season tickets to the Detroit Red Wings. I remember lots of last minute phone calls of "Hey, what are you doing tonight? Want to go to the Wings game?" My Dad always took my brother and I to games, I even did homework at games because I had school the next day. I have tons of memories with Dad at Wings games, I even got to watch them win the Stanley Cup once. My Dad and step mom even bought a condo on the Detroit River that has a walkway attached to the Joe, I think he might just qualify as the biggest fan!

When I got a phone call asking if I wanted to take the girls to their first Wings game, I was so excited I totally could have peed in my pants. I really didn't think about the emotions I would have taking my kids to hockey game. This was such a huge part of my growing up and spending time with my Dad, it was totally a big deal! Walking in the Joe was a flood of memories, I haven't been there since Jenni was in my belly (which was totally uncomfortable walking up all those stairs!).

The girls had on their jerseys and Grandma even gave them pom-poms, we walked up the stairs to our seats and the game started! Grace was totally overwhelmed, she has only ever seen hockey on television, she was like a deer in headlights staring at everything. Then the Wings scored a goal! HOLY LORD, that was a little to loud for her liking, but she pushed through and handled it like a champion! Jenni LOVED watching the Zamboni drive around, she thought that was just the funniest thing. The girls actually sat and were extremely well behaved. Grace asked a ton of questions about what "they" were doing and seemed totally interested in the game.

When I put the girls in the seat that I ALWAYS sat in, I realized how much I have grown up, I have been going to games since I was like 10 maybe younger. If you ask my parents, they will tell you how I was at Olympia (the old place the wings played) when I was about 2 months old. They had to stuff Kleenex into my ears because every time the crowd cheered, I screamed!! Seeing my girls in "my seat" made me tear up a little, it was like my life has become a circle, and now the next generation will bring their own homework to Wings games. Life is so good!!

Sisters

A loving hug throughout the day!

"Camping" on the floor. Signing 'I Love You' to each other.

Daddy working hard, even on his days off.

Jennifer is a Daddy's girl anytime she can be!

These sister's totally LOVE each other!

I have a brother, he is two years younger then me, but he is a good two feet taller then me! He gives the best hugs in the world, and he is one of my best friends. Dave and I became really good friends when we were about 8 or 9 years old. We "found" each other because of a bad situation, I have forever been great full for my 'little' brother.

I have always wanted a sister, someone who understands me, someone who I can share clothes with and cry with over a boy. My brother made the best 'sister' he could, but it just wasn't the same. My girls are so lucky to have each other. My favorite time of the day (besides nap time!) is when they are laughing and smiling with each other. Yes they still fight over toys, and who gets to hug Daddy first when he gets home from work, but at the end of every day they are sisters. They have a bond I will never understand from the inside, I just have the outsiders perspective and I don't mind my view at all!!!!