rainy day

It rained ALL DAY Sunday and Paul had a 24 hour shift.  This makes for a LONG day for the Street girls, but we made the most of it...

Viv wondered why we couldn't go outside...

Emma Jane wanted to dress up and have a tea party...soooo...we did!

Vivi pushed her baby around in the stroller.

I also pushed her around in her car,

but she is just as happy to sit in it completely still

saying "vroom, vroom!" every once in awhile. 

Somehow, we managed to stay entertained. 

Thank goodness the sun came out today!

be mine

Our sweet girls had fun this Valentine's Day.  Emma Jane made LOTS of valentines for friends and family.   She was thrilled to finally receive some of her own from her preschool classmates today.  She also helped me decorate a shoebox to hold her valentines and couldn't wait to show me all the cards and candy inside when she got home from school. 

Vivian and I made a sweet handprint valentine for Paul. I like the way her fingertips look like little hearts.  She obviously has no clue about Valentine's Day, but she does know a whole lot about LOVE!  Vivi loves to cuddle, kiss, laugh, and hug all day...every day...and THAT'S what it's all about! 

crying, kicking, and kissing

Emma Jane's first soccer game...the pictures tell the story!

This is how the game started...

Lily got pushed down on the first play and Emma Jane decided she was NOT going to play AT ALL.

Instead of playing with her team, Emma Jane opted to kick the ball around with daddy.

No pressure when you're just hanging out with dad!

She finally decided to give it a try in the second half...

and pretty much thought she was a soccer star!

Ooops!  Hat malfunction!

Not sure about the conversation taking place here, but it was pretty serious and it was right in the middle of the game.  We're pretty sure she even gave Sawyer a kiss on the cheek!

All smiles when the game was over!

She thought running through the parent tunnel was super cool!

Vivian had a little fun, too!

The best part...frozen yogurt after the game!

The next game will be REALLY interesting. 

Paul is working and I'll be solo. 

Wish me luck...I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need it!

the ball wasn't wistening

Emma Jane had her first soccer practice last Wednesday.  She was very excited about this new adventure.  At the practice, she obviously had no idea there was any kind of instruction going on.  She ran around and kicked her ball all over the field.  She is a fast runner and a pretty good kicker, but she definitely needs to work on her listening skills.  On the way home from practice, we talked to her about being a better listener and doing what her coach asks her to do.  She promptly replied, "I was wistening!  My ball wasn't wistening!  It just kept wolling all over the pwace and I had to catch it!"  I think she really believed this was true.   

Ready for some soccer!

Greeting her buds, Lily and Savannah

Getting tangled up in the net

 Ready to kick!

Going after the ball

Not happy that practice is over

What did Vivi do to entertain herself?  Eat, of course!

the saggy baggy elephant

I'm pretty sure my love of reading began with Little Golden Books.  A few of my favorites include The Poky Little Puppy, Tootle, and The Saggy Baggy Elephant.  Emma Jane has just recently become interested in these classics and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading them to her.  While reading The Saggy Baggy Elephant last week, I told Paul how much I loved the illustrations and then the idea hit me!  Frame them!  We actually have two copies of Saggy Baggy (both brand new) so I didn't feel guilty about taking apart one of the books.  I already had one of those $1 paint-it-yourself wooden frames you can get at Michael's (you know, the ones without glass) and lots of paint to choose from.  It took me all of 5 minutes to paint the 4x6 frame a nice shade of sage green.  I then found an illustration in the book that would fit the frame, placed the frame on top of the picture, traced, and cut.  I mod-podged the illustration to a piece of cardboard I had also cut to fit the frame.  I then applied a coat of mod-podge to the top of the illustration so no protective glass would be needed.  I LOVE the way it turned out!  For the first time in a long time, this was not a Pinterest-inspired project, but an idea I had all on my own...gasp!   I plan to buy a few more of the $1 frames and paint them in other fun colors so that I can frame a few more of my favorite illustrations from The Saggy Baggy Elephant.  I think they will look super cute in the playroom or one of the girls' bedrooms.  The first picture below is my favorite illustration in the book.  Poor little Sooki is happily swimming in the pond before a great big crocodile sneaks up and ruins all of his fun!  This one is begging to be framed next!
 

we heart teachers!

We love Emma Jane's preschool teachers...all FOUR of them!  She has Mrs. Elizabeth and Mrs. Dorothy on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Mrs. Clarice and Mrs. Teri for Friday Friends.  Most importantly, Emma Jane adores her teachers, too!  For Valentine's Day I found a cool project on Pinterest that I thought would make the perfect teacher gift...a fun, personalized mount for post-its.  It was simple and inexpensive to make, and I thought they turned out pretty cute.  I even added my own spin on the idea and included different backgrounds that the teachers can change out with the seasons.  If you're interested in making this for a special teacher, here's what you need:

(1)  coordinating scrapbook paper

      (I used solid colors with embossed designs)

(2)  plastic 4 X 6 vertical frame

(3)  coordinating ribbon

(4)  package of post-its

(5)  package of alphabet stickers

(6)  foam stickys

(7)  paper lunch bags

I already had most everything on this list, so I only had to purchase the frames and post-its.

Cut the scrapbook paper to fit the frame.  Tie the ribbon around the top (I laced it through the middle of the frame so it wouldn't slip off and to make it easy to trade out the extra paper choices inside the frame.  I added the first initial of the teacher's name with a coordinating sticker.  Although the post-its will stick if you just remove the backing from the bottom, I added a foam sticky to be make sure the stack didn't slip.  I also used brown paper lunch bags to wrap the gifts.  I put the mount, extra stacks of post-its, and a handmade valentine from Emma Jane inside.  I punched holes at the top of the bag and laced cute ribbon through to tie up the bag.  Done!

sisters in the gardens

The girls and I took a walk through the botanical gardens last week.  It was a beautiful spring day smack dab in the middle (well, beginning!) of February.  It's turned colder again this week, but it gave us a nice glimpse of what's coming soon!