52:29:Count

Around our house...

We are learning to count!

Claire has been obsessed with counting lately!  My dad plays games with her that involve a "one, two, three" followed by tickling or flying or something else that will make her laugh.  Then Claire is exposed to about an hour of Sesame Street a day, and lately those episodes have all featured counting (and thankfully they have been low numbers).  So then Claire got these books as a special present from me, and she immediately pulled them out and started counting them.  She's pretty good, although the number four gets skipped sometimes (which is funny because one of our "favorite" Street episodes has a whole feature on this).  

She can count to five many times, grabbing up all five books she's pulled out and then trying to put them back to recount.  I've really embraced just working on whatever she's interested in, so now we're all about counting everything.  Unfortunately a lot of things are in pairs, so we hear a lot of "two"s around here.  And when you ask her how old she is, she insists she's two, not one.  Silly girl, she'll learn eventually we never lie about our age to make us seem OLDER. 

High Five for Friday!

Thank you, Friday!  You've brought us a lot of happiness!  I picked some fun ones this week with the goal NOT to have a picture of Claire... how did I do?

1. COOKIE MONSTER!  Claire suddenly started saying his whole name and it's so cute!  Pretty advanced I'd say, that's a big and difficult name!  So we celebrated by buying her her very own Cookie Monster--who was caught chilling in Claire's special chair where she left him.  How cute.

 

2.  House plants survive!  I bought these plants a while ago for my new classroom since I have beautiful large windows.  I have a bad track record with plants, I won't lie.  That's why I got these guys early, just to make sure I could handle the responsibility of caring for another living thing.  And apparently I've done well, because they're still alive and doing well.  They're prepping for their big move!  Can't wait to get cracking on that big luxurious classroom!

3.  Ceiling fan!  I eluded to the majesty of our new ceiling fan and dimmer light in the living room on one of my previous posts.  However, it continues to thrill us.  Movie time, game time, all times are now greatly enhanced by our favorite fan.  Claire also likes it and gets a little testy when it's not on.  Thank you, Dad, for putting this up for us!

4.  Cupcakes!  I attempted another Pinterest recipe for cupcakes.  These are peanut butter cup.  They have a Reece's miniature inside, rich chocolate cup cake cake, peanut butter butter cream icing, and another Reece's miniature halved and stuck out of the icing.  These are amazing.  They're really rich and I can't stand to eat more than one a day. But oh, what a day it is when I get to cupcake time!

5.  Rain!  I was so thrilled yesterday to see it rain (although I heard officially we got 2/10 of an inch or something very sad like that--not a drought buster, that's for sure).  I can't be down on the rain though.  It was nice to see and smell and hear.  Maybe if we all are very nice to the rain, it will come back and bring it's friends sometime very soon. 

Make sure you link up with Lauren @ From My Grey Desk Blog!  This is such a great blog idea to document the weekly wonders we all have!  So fun!

High Five for Friday!

Friday!  Just what I needed!  Are you linking up with Lauren yet at From My Grey Desk?  Just a darn good blog to read, if you ask me.  But enough about Lauren, back to ME!  (:

Here's what we're celebrating this week:

PINTEREST!  I finally stopped pinning and started doing.  My friend Anne and I had a little Pinterest get together.  We made crafties and ate good food.  These were my contributions:

Crayon wreath for classroom.  Learned how to make fabric scrap flowers, as well.  Learned a lot about how hot hot glue really is... OUCH!

Cookies and cream cupcakes (I pinned it, and looks just like these, so you can find the recipe).  These turned out delicious.  I want another one right now.  Darn me for giving so many away!

Blue Walls!  Matt and I had a lapse in good judgement and responsibility, left the kid on an overnight, and painted the entire living room and hallway blue.  I like it. But it is blue.  It's pretty.  And it does make everything look bigger.  We're not completely finished with upgrades around here... we just never have time.  But we have blue walls!

Do the blue walls make my fireplace look fat?  We actually thought it kind of helped make it look smaller. 

Reading!  I love how Claire doesn't really discriminate who she reads to or who she expects to read to her.  She brought her favorite book (the Monster at the End of this Book book) over to Wally and told him where to sit then started showing him all the pages and talking about it, kind of like reading.  She knows the pages to make a big fuss because I read it to her so often... so when it would get to a page where there is "intense" language, she would yell "WHOA" first.  Hilarious.  I think Wally actually enjoyed watching this.

People might make fun of Wally, but look at that guy.  He looks interested and everything.  Too cute.  You can tell he really loves her.

Yogurt!  I eat yogurt every day.  No big deal.  Claire has been going through an awful stage where she doesn't really eat anything.  We tried yogurt again this week (it went from the happy food to the bad food list a while ago).  Thankfully it was a hit, so Claire got to eat lunch.  Not so thankfully, Claire decided she could use a spoon.

Before you suggest giving Claire toddler spoons... you do understand that she doesn't BELIEVE she's a baby and only wants to use the stuff she sees Mommy and Daddy use, right?

Spaghetti!  We've been so carb deprived, when the option of... would you eat spaghetti? came up for dinner the other night, I jumped on it.  We made a ton for left overs and of course, Claire.  Claire who looked like this.  A theme this week... eating disasters?   Thankfully I had to give her a bath the next day anyway, so she had a nice evening bath and I had some help!  And now I have to clean the white bathtub that bath took place in... and I swear it looks orange this morning.  Whoops!

 The spaghetti was this good. 

All in all it was a great week!  Next week we have company coming, so I'm super excited for a whole bunch of new adventures.  Stay tuned! (and check out Lauren @ From My Grey Desk while you're at it!)

52:28:Investigate

Around our house...

We are obsessed with the Runge Center!

 Claire has been begging for flowers and turtles.  We talk about where we see flowers and turtles (I know it's the Runge Center) and Claire will just talk and talk.  She's also started talking about birds (at the Runge), frogs (at the Runge), and a lot of gibberish I can't quite decipher yet. 

Every time we see this turtle she screams and runs for him.  She couldn't give him a hug today because he was too hot, but she definitely told me all about him.

But I knew, from these chats, that she really really wanted to go back.  So we've been trying to get in some trips despite the heat.  If we don't walk the trails, I don't take the back pack (eek!) so I just kind of let her run wild. 

 

I got some good shots (with the good camera, too!) but I had a lot of derps plus a lot of pictures with no Claire!  She runs off before I can even get the shot off. 

I really wish the weather would just knock it off so I could get in another trip to the zoo.  I'm thinking she'd really love it now!

Flowers!!

July Birchbox

Whoohoo!  Birchbox is certainly spying on my blog posts, because I finally got mascara!  Joy!  This month's box was Glamour inspired to satisfy the senses.  Let's see what I got!

1.  Blinc Mascara--$26--It's hard for me to judge mascara because I have the world's saddest eyelashes.  They're thin, short, sparse... well, I might as well not have them.  I usually won't spend much on mascara because of this (because nothing helps, I know).  This promises to give a "sassy, extra glossy look" but I just found it to be really sticky and stiff.  I tried to curl my eyelashes just to give it a fair shake, and I curl them before and after mascara, but after mascara my curler flat out stuck to my lashes.  Of course, I had to try both eyes to make sure that was the case.  It was. 

2.  Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss--$20--really pretty gloss, not sticky, went on smooth.  SMALL sample which means I'll run out in no time and I probably won't buy it for $20.  But eventually, if I need to invest in something for my lips to look more lady-like, this wouldn't be a bad choice.  It IS really pretty.

3.  Manna Kadar sheer glo shimmer lotion--$29--WTF is this?  It SAYS it's a cream that adds a "supermodel-like sheen to [my] complexion" and I can use it with my foundation or apply as a highlighter.  This stuff is like... straight oil.  It's NOT a  lotion.  I read on the actual package you could use it all over your face but there's no way that would work (unless you're much much darker than me).  I tried it like a bronzer (I have a powder Bare Escentuals bronzer, so I get the point of a bronzer) and this didn't really do bronzing too well, either.  I don't see how it "highlights" anything because it's too dark to highlight.  Matt couldn't even tell I did anything.  This is best left to real professionals, I think.

4.  Oscar de la Renta Live in Love--$25-78--Pretty smell.  Says it's hyacinth and orchid over sandalwood and cedar.  I thought from that it would be pretty heavy floral, but it was nice.  Maybe not so much me, but this would be something I'd say someone like my mom would like (not an old lady perfume, just, something that she would like--it's not too "young" smelling). 

5.  Tea forte minteas--3 tins for $9.95--I already love my Tea Forte tea, so I was intrigued.  These are yummy and refreshing mints.  I'd like to buy these, just because they are in such a cute tin and do have a good flavor.  I hate to buy them now because it will take me a long time to get through all of them... but... what a tasty treat for my purse!

6.  Birchbox exclusive--earbuds (no listed price)--these are super cute and look super cute with my phone.  I already have the original ear buds for my phone which I fully believe are the best, but I think this would be nice to stash in my teacher desk for when I'm grading or working and want some tunes.  That way I don't have to drag my earbuds everywhere just in-case. 

So, it might not seem like I'm uber-excited about this box.  The mints and earbuds were a total nice surprise and win, in my opinion.  The mascara was fun to try, but it's no lifesaver (but like I said, I can't fix that).  I won't get the other stuff either probably, but it's fun to try new things (which is what Birchbox is all about, after all.) With that said, send more mascara, maybe something to plump and lengthen.  Thanks!

Do you get a Birchbox yet?  Remember, if you sign up, I sent you!

H54F!

Friday... I won't lie, this morning I thought you were Saturday.  I'm sorry.

What's awesome about this week gone by?

1.  Awesome new things in house!  The big one would be our awesome new ceiling light/fan in the living room thanks to my electronically-inclined father.  It is so beautiful and refreshing and has an awesome dimmer on remote that makes it feel like we're watching cool movies or something when we slowly turn the house lights back on.  While he was slaving away in our attic, I made what you see below.  It's from Pinterest.  It's decorated in pennies.  It's in my kitchen.  'Nuff said.

2.  Popsicles!  I know this was already my Project 52, but that doesn't make popsicles any less awesome.  Well, except when you drip your red popsicle on the deck so we attract every ant in a hundred mile radius, then step in sticky ant/popsicle mess when grilling later that day... but Claire likes them and has had one every day.  Except for bath day.  Because I forgot to do popsicle first and I am NOT cleaning her twice in one day.  Not that she gets super sticky with these... but you know the popsicle after bath would be the first time.

3.  New computer... I'm not so thrilled about this one.  And that's NOT actually my new computer in the picture.  My old laptop finally got funky so I had to get a new one.  Normally I'm excited about such things (and oh, this one is nice) but I really liked MY computer. So.  I'm kind of in mourning.  But Claire likes computers, no?

4.  Cute hair!  I finally worked up the nerve to try to style Claire's growing hair.  She'll let me play with her hair sometimes, so I put it in cute little pigtail buns.  Adorable.  Of course, the reason we stopped putting her hair up in the first place was because she'd pull it down.  And she did.  On the way to the Runge Center, which leads us to...

5.  Runge Center!  I love this place.  For those not local, it's a nice trail area with a nice indoor nature museum/information center.  The trails are wonderful and great for a toddler who loves walking on her own.  Yes, I'm that parent with the kid leash.... I've already discussed if you think this is terrible, come walk my kid on this trail.  It just helps me keep her attached to me, since she rarely wants to hold hands while we walk.  She was so stinkin' cute this week on our walk there, though.  We haven't gone lately because of our extreme heat wave, but she walked the 3/10 of a mile trail like a champ.  She even decided to take a break, patting the spot next to her for me to take a break, too.  And what did she do on the break?  Pointed at stuff and asked me what everything was.  Wish I knew more about trees and flowers, that's for sure!  And then the highlight of course is the inside area... where we saw turtles and fish and snakes and all sorts of stuff.  She's been so excited about turtles.  This was a big hit this week!

 

Don't forget to link up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk!  I sadly had a dream that I met her and her sister, Kate (follow both on the blogs, FB, and Instagram now).  And what did I choose to tell them in my dream?  "Hey, check it out, you totally just posted this and I went right out to buy the same eyeshadow, look!"  Yup.  I'm embarrassed of myself, even in my dreams.  But seriously, check them out.  

52:27:Slurp

Around our house...

we LOVE popsicles! 

To break the heat, Claire and I have taken to an afternoon popsicle for a nice cool treat.  She loves these things!  Surprisingly we stay fairly clean and as soon as I head to the freezer she's excited.  She scrambles up into that chair super fast, too.  ;)  Popsicles are yummy. 

High Five for Friday!

Friday, is it hot today or is it just you?

What a week!  First I'm posting from dear husband's computer because mine is being sad (time for an Ipad?).  And we had a holiday mid-week, which would have been a nice change of pace except for the extreme heat!  Of course, Claire was a champ, so that helped a ton. 
So here's what I've been up to this week:

1.  Ever just have one of those days when you try on clothes and for no good reason you look really really good no matter what you try on?  Monday was one of those days.  I got this awesome navy dress that reminds me a lot of Joan on Mad Men.  Love that show.  Love this dress.

2.  Spending time with my dad!  I finally got to go on a motorcycle ride (more on that for #3) again!  What a big hiatus... it's seriously been since I got preggers with Claire.  We had a lot of fun and I'm very thankful he's such a good motorcycle driver and has a sweet comfy bike.  We had a great time, thanks for taking me!

3.  Welcome home, heroes!  We took the bike on the Honor Flight escort ride.  The Honor Flight sends veterans to Washington DC free of charge to see their war memorial.  When they return on the bus from the airport, motorcycles escort the bus into the city to the drop off location.  This ride is crazy because it's in the middle of the night (like seriously, I got home at 3:30 am).  But it's also amazing.  Many of the veterans cry at their welcome home--this time there were officially 923 bikes to escort, probably at least 200-300 people out just to greet them... they had bag pipes playing and introduced every veteran by name as they got off the bus.  So inspirational.  I'm going to have to do this again!

A view of the staging area--this was the row we were in.  Lucky we got there early, right?

Two hot biker chicks... making the rounds.

A view from the drop off for the veterans.  They had a hot air balloon behind the bus.  I couldn't get great pictures though... mostly because I am so darn short!  I need to befriend a tall strong biker to lift me up on his shoulders.

4.  Patriotic Claire. She's been dying to wear this dress.  And no one was stabbed by a flag on this day.  But we did get hit a lot.  She was so cute, even with the heat, and she loved dancing downtown and spinning around in her pretty pretty dress.

5.  Fireworks!  Claire swapped laps part way through the firework display, so I took the chance to get a cute shot of her sitting with Daddy watching the fireworks.  I'm really glad she was into the fireworks... I was worried she'd get scared, but she thought it was awesome!  (and of course oohed and ahhed appropriately). 

52:26:Play

Around our house...

we play and play and play!

Claire never ceases to amaze me with her independence.  Sure at the park she still needs my help to swing or ride the frog that she calls a horse, but when it's time for the slides and the play area, I might as well just go take a seat.  Claire runs, climbs, slides, explores, and of course plays... all without me.  It's fun when other kids around her age are there, too, because then I might as well not exist.  She's such a people person.  She's just so adorable and completely fearless.  I just love this intense excited face.  I can't wait until the heat wave breaks so we can head out to the park for lazy (for me) afternoons again!