Stylish Blogger Award

My friend Ginger (who also happens to be a talented writer) bequeathed me with the Stylish Blogger Award! You can read her often hilarious musings here. Thanks Ginger!


Along with the award comes a few responsibilities.

1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
2. Share seven random facts about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to five blogging buddies.
4. Contact those buddies to congratulate them.

Here are seven random things about me:
1. I have never, ever broken a bone (knock on wood!).
2. I have been scarred by reading--as a kid, I was running with a Dr. Seuss book, tripped, and it hit me in the eye. I still have a slight scar.
3. I hate activities where they ask you for your most embarrassing moment. Why would I want to share that???
4. I used to be allergic to strawberries. I have since grown out of the allergy, but since I never ate them growing up, I don't particularly care for them.
5. I once scored two meals on the same day from two different guys. Oddly enough, I never dated either of them.
6. I could live in flip flops all year long. Here in Texas I live in them for most of the year.
7. I knew that baby #3 was a boy long before the gender ultrasound because I lost my taste for Coke. None of the men in my family like Coke.

I'd like to pass this along to the following blogging friends:
Random Roberts Ramblings
A Breath of Fresh Air
Chad & Erin
Four Boys & Me (except you have a girl now, Sara! :)
Mom Has the Mondays

Chicago: Easter Sunday

We woke up early on Easter Sunday and were eager to get upstairs for breakfast. (We were sleeping in my grandparents' basement). I think Emma had forgotten about the Easter bunny, because Madeline was the first to find the Easter loot!

Never fear, Emma soon found hers.

Church wasn't until 1 pm, which gave us plenty of time to show off and play with our new stuff.


After church, we took pictures in our Easter finery. I felt bad for the girls--their dresses had been purchased at the end of the previous summer in anticipation of a warm Texas Easter! Instead it was maybe 50 degrees and windy.


The girls with their aunt Brittany. (PS. Brittany, your hair is looking a little feathery. Is it just the wind or are you wishing you had been born in the 80s? :))

The girls with their grandparents.

Me and the girls with MY grandparents.


We spent the rest of the day relaxing (ie, playing with Mumma's recliner chair and singing Primary songs with Brittany).

Chicago: Madeline's Birthday, Part 1

While we were visiting in Chicago, we celebrated Madeline's 2nd birthday with my family. First up was opening presents. Maddie has become a total pro and needed no help at all.


Then we have to show off our presents:


And of course we have to play with our new toys!

After some good playtime, we had cake!





It was a fun party, and only the first of several celebrations!

Chicago: Papa's Prerogative

We recently spent a wonderful Easter weekend up in the suburbs of Chicago, visiting my grandparents, parents, and sister. While there, we made several trips to our favorite bakery. On one such trip, I opted to stay home and take advantage of the one shower in my grandparents' 1950s bungalow while my dad took the girls. They came home with the most gigantic Mickey Mouse cookies you have ever seen. I didn't take a before picture, but here are the girls enjoying their feast:



The cookies had thick, colorful (maybe too colorful???) frosting. They were good, but as you can see, they left a trail behind them.

So what's a mother to do? Why, only give her kids half and finish the rest off herself during naptime. :)

Bluebonnets 2011

On April 16th we also embarked on the annual Texas ritual of getting pictures in the bluebonnets. It was a busy weekend, in a busy month, with kids who can't quite smile at the camera at the same time. Below are our best attempts.