the lost dwarf

we went to walk trails this weekend, and before she ever got out of the van,

ali was "in jail". 

i hear her saying, "please, jail! can i get out? i'm really beautiful!"

well. no lack of self confidence there.

anyway, she gets out and is a sight to behold--

see, i know you've never heard this one before, 

and hearing it might shake everything you've ever believed about snow white and her seven little dwarf friends.

...now that you've been fairly warned, here is the secret--

there were actually eight dwarfs.

that's right.

and the eighth dwarf is a girl...

named ali.

i see these headbands around her and about die laughing 

while asking her what in the world she's doing...

and yeah, apparently this is dwarf apparel.

ouch.

christmas program

this year was the first year that the girls were able to be a part of the christmas program other than the small part the nursery kids do every year. the girls worked hard at memorizing their lines, and were excited to recite them--until we practiced at church.
when it was ali's turn, she froze. i could tell by the look on her face that she was going to lose it. she had a melt down and couldn't even recite them with angie's help. sydney was right after ali, and she did fine. once we got back to the van, ali cried all over again. she didn't want to do her lines, and we weren't going to force the issue.
the day of the program, she surprised us all.

the nursery kids went up to the front to sing away in a manger,

and then they sang happy birthday to jesus.

it must have made ali comfortable enough, 

because when it was her turn to say her line,

she did!

"I is for simply little old me. i'm the one he loves for all eternity."

we were so proud of her. i know several of us were teary eyed. ;)

syd was next:

"R is for rejoicing, that's what the angels did. it sounded heavenly and quite splendid."

we were so proud of the girls that we got them a little surprise later.

and in case you're wondering, they were spelling merry christmas backwards

as a kind of puzzle. =)

* i swiped the pictures from the ones the church posted on fb, i think. so, thank you! i was lame and forgot my camera!

time out

apparently someone was tired, and therefore acting out.

i think i need a time out...

or just a nap!

According to Ali

these are a few things heard around my house lately:

 "ali, it's time to take your nap."

"my watch doesn't have a nap time."

"well, mine does."

"you don't have a  watch."

***

"ali, do you need to go potty before we leave?"

"no, my tummy says (in a tiny, high pitched voice), "i don't have to go potty!"

"ali, your tummy isn't the one that makes you potty. it's your bladder."

"oh. well my bladder says (in the same high pitched voice), "i don't have to go potty!"

***

at supper time, we hear ali from the other room--

"my tummy says, i don't want to eat right now! i just want to walk around!"

and yes, it was in her high pitched voice again.

***

boxcar children

last week, we had a fire in the garage.

thankfully jason was outside doing yard work when it happened

and was able to put it out...

but he was pretty sick from the smoke and (who knows what that he inhaled from the burning stuff)

the rest of the day.

thankfully, we didn't lose much and he was able to keep it from causing structural damage...

but i have no idea how, because it started right in front of the far wall.

anyway, my dad brought over some new boxes to replace

the ones we lost, and to the kids (and cats), 

it was better than christmas.

in fact, they wanted to sleep in their boxes that night,

and since our stuff was still airing out,  

we agreed.

they both actually ended up back in their beds because they got too uncomfortable,

but it made for fun play time!

treasure boxes

i'm waaaay behind. 

i have a lot to post about, i've just lacked any motivation to edit pictures. =P

so, these are minimally edited because i had to...

but a lot of the more recent ones i will be posting will be laaaazy. and ugly--

because i made a deal with myself that i could take pics on auto...

and that's the only reason i even took any at all on the 4th...

small price to pay for an updated blog, no?

anyway.

here is one of our craft projects.

it's really pic heavy because i love the bright colors

*~enjoy~*

we used tempera paint and $1.99 wooden boxes from Hobby Lobby (that were 40% off)

to make these treasure boxes...

when jax woke up, daddy brought him out to say hello

 

i *love* her face when she's concentrating on art

it's so cute <3

the girls adored this project and wanted to paint another one after every surface of their boxes were covered.

the boxes now proudly hold their most precious possessions, and may have even taken the place of the

under-the-pillow hiding spot. 

that's huge. ;)

life with ali

free entertainment

"ali, come on, let's slide off !"

"hey sissy, whatcha doin'?"

"ali, he's here, are you ready?"

joke's on jax

it was fun for everyone until the camera came out...

and then one or two decided to show off and get wild...

so i had to quit taking pictures.

bubble painting

following the lead of meg from whatever, i compiled a list of weekly craft projects to do with the kids this summer. yes, we can do them all year around, but some things are just more fun outside...so i've planned mostly messy projects.

our first project was bubble painting

i mixed up some home made bubble solution, and colored it with food coloring,

but it's probably best to use powdered tempera paint. i just didn't have any.
 

the girls used their bubble wands to blow bubbles directly onto the paper

the object is to let the bubble pop on the paper, 

but when that wasn't working,

i opted for simplicity and just let them do their thing!

they did get a few good pops in!

(i think my bubble solution was partly to blame--dawn is the best and i only had ajax!)

after they dried, we turned them into birthday cards for papa.

it was a lot of fun!

10 o'clock snack

for her birthday, ali received a princess patio set.

monday morning, the girls were hungry and i told them they could have a snack at 10 o'clock...

so daddy put the patio set together while i got their snacks ready.

tapping into my roots as a server (and hostess), i sat the little ladies at their table

and served them their food.

since then, ali has called any food she gets in the morning her "10 o'clock"

it was cute watching them enjoy themselves and act like grown-ups.

thanks,

john, jess, kailen & kendra!

recap: ali's 3rd birthday!

ali turned 3 on the 22nd, and almost a week later, here is the recap of our celebration weekend:

the night before ali's birthday, she would.not.go.to.sleep.

i asked her if it was because she was so excited about her birthday, and she told me it was...

but when she woke up the next morning and i told her happy birthday,

she said, "it's my birthday?"

"yes!", i said, "you're three today!"

"i are three?!"

*

thankfully daddy had a pretty early finish up at work, and she opened her presents that afternoon:

ali thought she was slick and guessed what 2 of her presents were:

gum

and

a book! 

she didn't guess the stickers, though ;)

that evening, we went out to kimi & brett's

to celebrate, because it was brett's birthday, too!

it was a great time!

*
the next day we went to church and out to lunch with jason's parents, 

and then headed to the park to celebrate with ali's grandparents on my side.

it was supposed to be really hot, but it turned out to be nice, albeit windy!

what happens when i tell her to smile--

and now when she sees this picture she asks why she is sad!

jax and aunt madi

syd's favorite place

ali's favorite place...

but she said the swing "hurt her baby"

she's convinced she's pregnant...with a girl...

and don't try to tell her otherwise,

she even argued with the hairdresser.

someone please teach that child some manners.

happy birthday, ali! we love you and your little feisty personality!

planting seeds

after making our may baskets for grandparents,

i surprised the girls with their own little flowers to plant--

daisies from the $1 spot at target.

i love target.

oh, back to the daisies...

we put the little compressed dirt discs (?!) into cups of water

and watched it get bigger and bigger

then we fluffed it up with a fork

and dumped it back into its container,

making sure to get it all out.

we then pressed 5 seeds into the soil and

voila! 

and then they got knocked over like the next day...

so we planted more...

and syd's got knocked over again.

but i'm happy to say that ali has 2 little sprouts as of today!

rest

have a restful mother's day weekend!

(easter) sunday best

i spent a few afternoons this last week sewing up some easter outfits for the girls.

i had a blast doing it!

 

i made the skirts using this tutorial

headbands using this one

and i kind of made the shirts up using a tutorial for refashioning boxy tees into fitted ones and then one for making cap sleeves. i came up with the little chick applique after surfing etsy for ideas.

i love the internet...

and i love these outfits.

i'm already having sewing machine withdrawals.

i hear pillowcase dresses calling my name.

and here's one more, to include my baby boy...

who wanted nothing to do with getting his picture taken