Olive's first haircut!

Well, it finally happened. I didn't want to admit it, but the girl desperately needed some shaping up. She was sporting a mullet and I couldn't take it anymore. Her hair was long but stringy. I knew I didn't want to get bangs cut since I'd (she'd) worked so hard on letting them grow out. At this point, she can tuck them behind her ears..but of course, she doesn't understand or know how to do that, so we end up pulling it back in a bow or ponytail holder. But eventually, she will understand, and since I don't like bangs, she doesn't really have a choice. Just like her Meme', she has a short forehead and looks better without them.

Before:

During:

After:

She did great at the salon. I took her to my hairdresser, who also does Spencer's hair. She sat in my lap and did just fine. It's the first of many (hopefully) trips to the salon/spa together. Meme' came to help out which made it even more special. 3 generations of beauties!!!

Easter 2008

We had a nice Easter! The weather wasn't the greatest, but the kids were able to have a few Easter egg hunts nonetheless. The Easter bunny delivered some yummy goodies and a few toys too. We had lunch with the Raibles at Larry's aunt Karen's house. Spencer and his cousins had Easter baskets waiting on them and had fun playing with new games and racing hot wheels cars. The afternoon/evening was spent at our house with Mom, Adam and family. Dad was in Mobile :( We tried to have an egg hunt and while hiding the eggs, it started snowing. The kids did the egg hunt anyway (very quickly). Crazy weather around here. Here is a collage of the kids throughout Easter weekend,

Updates after a Very busy month!

The last 4 weeks have been very busy for us. It's been a hard month and some good things and some bad things have occurred. We took a weekend trip to Nashville the last part of February and Olive took a fall and knocked her front teeth loose, and eventually they both had to come out. It was a horrible experience, and although not life-threatening, still very upsetting for all of us...especially me, I still have a hard time dealing with it. Luckily, her permanent front teeth were not damaged and should come in fine....eventually. Until then, we have the option of just letting her go without or having some porcelain partials made. I have chosen to go with the partials, for both aesthetic purposes as well as to help with her speech. The last thing I want is for her to have a "tongue thrust" or a lazy tongue that just hangs there in the spot where the teeth are missing. I also want to help her with the correct pronunciation of the "th", "f", and "v" sounds. The dentist said when her 2-year molars are completely in, they can attach the partial to them. So, it won't be long. Here is a picture of her before the tooth fairy came..

Something good that has happened this month has been the start up of our newest business venture: Mariposa Place. It has been very hard work...much harder than I imagined, but hopefully it will pay off in the long run. We have had 2 successful open houses and have another one scheduled for this coming Friday evening. Our Grand Opening is still scheduled for next Monday!! I don't know the status of how many clients we have signed up and ready to start, but I should find out more from the marketing team tonight. If you are interested in checking us out, our website is http://www.princecaregroup.com/.

Mariposa Place has kept us all busy this past month, even the kids put their own sweat equity in on many occasions. Spencer really enjoyed going there and would play with the other owner's children. Olive enjoyed scribbling on the walls with chalk (before they were painted). We basically gave the place a complete makeover. It was a huge transformation, and I am glad I was a part of that process. I didn't realize all that goes into starting a business, and even with 10 people working simultaneously, it is still quite a task. We also did this on a shoestring budget in a very short time period. It has been quite a ride and hopefully it is just the beginning!!

During the process of creating Mariposa Place, we were hit with one of the largest snowstorms we have had in a few years. A foot of snow fell on Louisville and even though it made the restoration process tough on us, the kids absolutely loved it. Spence and his neighborhood buddies had a blast sledding down hills and I must say, it was beautiful. Here is a picture of Spence on our deck the morning of the snow..

Sunday Dinner

Larry started a Pot Roast on the slow cooker this morning and I thought it would be nice to invite Adam and family over for dinner tonight. It was such a nice afternoon that the kids were able to play outside some. Olive was beyond tired and was running around like a little wild child, but she loves when Isabelle comes over and follows her everywhere. I think she knows she's a girl like herself. When she goes to the Raible's, she is surrounded by all boys, and only having a brother to hang out with, she enjoys being around girls. Somehow I don't count though,as she prefers Daddy over me any day.

I was able to get some cute shots of the kids. Lucien slept like an angel the entire time he was here. In fact, I had let him use Olive's old bouncy seat and Adam and Bev took it home with them. Evidently, he hasn't slept well in quite some time and the seat may be the cure. When your desperate, sleep deprived, you will try anything. I remember putting my kids in car seat carriers in the bed, in the crib, a bouncy in the bed. There comes a point when you are so tired, that you will do anything out of desperation in order to get the kid to sleep for just 2, maybe 3 hrs. straight. I remember with Spencer, I finally put him in another room, put earplugs in and said screw it.

Oh the good old days. I don't miss that part one bit, but I do miss having a sweet little baby to cudde with, but not enough to revisit those days again ;) I'm content with my 2 and thankful that they are good sleepers. And..Spence is my "best snuggler" after all, as he calls it. In fact, when he is upset about something, he uses it as leverage. He will say "well then I'll never be your best snuggler again...." It's his trump card....and it works. Normally he says it through tears, and it just breaks my heart. It breaks his heart too b/c he loves that more than anything. I will cry my eyes out the day he decides he's too big to snuggle with me anymore....unless he's like 15 obviously.

My Funny Valentines !!

When I woke up on Thursday, I had the best intentions of getting the kids dressed in their Valentine's outfits and getting some pictures. But, as usual, I was rushing, and it didn't happen. By the time I arrived home from work, the kids were already eating dinner....and spaghetti at that. Olive, who had on an adorable red/purple dress was covered in tomato sauce despite being a double bibber...Spence was at least salvageable.

Determined to get pictures for albums/videos (that I never finish), I cleaned them up as best as I could and took some snapshots. The one at the bottom left is of Spencer after going to sleep with wet hair the night before...this is a usual look for him on mornings after bath night and requires much hair gel to look halfway decent/presentable for school. The one of Olive in the box shows her favorite place to be...she climbs in, then out, then in, then out, then in,......

Recently, Spencer and I had been reading the book Charlie Brown's Valentine. In the story, Pigpen makes a special Crunchy Munchy Valentine Snack for the Peanuts' Gang. Spencer decided that he wanted to make the snack on V-day, so I picked up the ingredients for the crunchy munchies and we made them as soon as I got home. The main ingredient was marshmallows, which were a big hit with Olive (as seen above). I was also showered with wonderful Valentine gifts and cards from Larry and the kids. I received a Diamond heart necklace, a flower windchime and a cool ceramic wall clock/thermometer for the deck area..oh, and a whole bag of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolates. I can't wait until Spring to put out the clock and windchime!

Let it Snow!!

They are predicting anywhere from ...oh... 3 to 10 inches tonight. Who knows though....back in 1992, they predicted 1-2 inches of ice and we ended up with 22 inches of snow. The flakes began coming down around 4:30 this afternoon. Spencer was excited to go out and have a snowball fight. But...the snow was too icy and wouldn't cooperate. Olive made an appearance and liked walking on the slippery stuff too!! Hopefully there will be enough left tomorrow for the kids to ride the sled/saucer down the hill in the backyard...or at least build a snowman. I hope the Subaru comes through for me in the morning!!

Olive is walking!!

I haven't posted in a week. So much has happened, that I don't know where to begin. First off, the biggest news of the week is Baby Lucien entered the world on Jan 30th!! Mother/Father and baby are doing well. I will post some pics soon. Every time I go over to visit the little guy, I forget my camera.

As far as my crew, we have made it through another week, sickness-free! Although, Spence and I went to a birthday party yesterday at Gattiland, so that could all be ending soon. Say some prayers!!

This past week, the little Olive finally grew tired of crawling around and began taking steps....Watch Out World!!! She is growing up so fast now. I'm realizing how different boys and girls are. For example: Olive loves babies. She walks around the house babbling "baby baby baby". She carries any stuffed animal and loves on it. She also loves books. She brings me books to read to her. I used to have to literally hog-tie Spencer down to read him a book. Not Olive....she just sits patiently and then points to the pictures. She is a jealous little thing though, and doesn't like to share me with her brother. If I'm reading her a book and Spencer joins us, she hits him. Luckily, he is very easy going and thinks it's funny!