so we're not weekend warriors.....but we're close!

Hate to always sound like a broken record but this weekend was AWESOME! We had Amy and Emeric over for a belated birthday party for E and had a great time!

The photo above was taken in the middle of our street around midnight (yes the girls came running out of bed and out of the house after we thought they'd gone to bed!) with a slow shutter speed and is completely unretouched or edited. Okay I admit, I'm a photo nerd but so is Amy so it works!

I had sessions this weekend and did some marathon editing while Royce kept the girls entertained. Have I mentioned how much I love my job?! Its so fun to get out and away and meet new people all over the cities!

We drove around Saturday night around the MN River Valley, which we found out last night is actually just down the road! It's beautiful! My goodness I've been sheltered away from the beauty of the south metro! We picked up take out from my favorite thai place on Grand and Royce and I relaxed while Sam entertained the girls across the street. They adore her! Rasa came running home asking me to put her hair in a pony asap because that's what Sam had :)

Today I had a session downtown and Royce brought the girls out for coffee (they had cow's milk). After I was finished we had brunch at Luce and then spent the day playing in the yard and running errands.

Royce is scrubbing the weekend dirt off of the girls as I type (literally!) so we're ready to settle in tonight and get ready for a good busy week ahead.

Everyday things

The things they say...

Last night in the tub:
Me: Who's getting teeth brushed first?
Adia: Rasa!
Rasa: Not me DUDE!

Today the girls were climbing in and out of the car through the window that was down and I told them to stop and that I didn't want them playing in the car.
Rasa: WHY?!
Me: Because I don't want you messing with all of the lights and buttons!
Rasa: You don't understand us mom. It's okay. It's not your fault

???!!!!! Seriously......

We were leaving the community pool after a fun time with a handful of other kids.
Me: that was fun! Those kids were fun too
Rasa: No, I don't like kids
Me: What do you mean? You seemed to have fun with those kids. You have friends and they are also kids. You're a kid, they're just like you.
Rasa: No. They are not like me. They scare me.

weekend fun!

Adia, Gabby, and Rasa eating snacks and watching Barney

Weekends are always so enjoyable it's sad Sunday night to say good bye! We spent most of this warm weekend outside, at our favorite pools, around the fire and with great friends.

Highlights this weekend were having our old friend Paul over Friday night, Saturday with no photo sessions, Saturday morning breakfast at The Grill, poolside afterwards and back home for family nap time :), Sunday early morning photo session, Big Bowl dinner and family car wash. We even managed to take down the laundry mountain and do a house scrubdown (of both the house and the girls thanks to Royce).

Best part of our weekend was hanging out in the old hood with some of our favorite people! Saturday evening we headed to Blaine and relaxed at Jill's house with her, Taylor & Chase, Patrick & Karley, Skip, and of course the littles. Jill set up the pool (that the girls deflated by jumping around it until 11:30 pm!), and spoiled us with treats and drinks. Thanks Jilly! The girls had a lot of fun playing, running the old street up to the hill, in and out of the houses back and forth, back and forth! It was fun to see them have such a good time and Karley and Jill kept them entertained all night so was like a night out for Royce and I!
Love you guys!! Can't wait until next time! It was totally worth getting home after midnight and the tired worn out kids today (seriously it was worth it!!).

Happy new week. Looking forward to whatever it brings! We're hoping to bring the girls downtown Minneapolis for the Aquatenial Parade this week. Should be fun and of course HOT!

long days...bright spots ahead

Huffington post shared an article of a Mom who wrote on her child's blog what a real day was like for them. It wasn't all rainbows and unicorns but it was a realistic look of her challenges with having small children at home. I don't write a whole lot about those kinds of days here, even though we have them more than not, mainly because at the end of my days when I usually blog my reflections are of our high points, honest and true. It's easier for me to recollect those times of our day than relive the tough spots.

With that being said we are definitely in a transitional stage here! The girls are more demanding than ever and sadly, lazy too. Not of fault of their own but because it's been easier for me to hop up and grab whatever they're asking for because I've always done it. Until now. I'm exhausted, my allergies are horrible and I'm drained. I can't keep up with two little girls demands every two minutes for things they can easily just get themselves. So we're making changes. We're talking about rules, respect and boundaries. We're pushing that "big girls' can put their plates in the sink, throw their trash in the bin instead of on the floor, dress themselves, get their own pillow or blanket etc. We're talking a lot about if they ask and we say no, it means no and no amount of whining or crying (as irritating as it is) is going to change the answer. We're talking about sleeping all night in their own beds, if they need to potty or a drink of water they have access and can take care of those needs themselves and then go back to sleep in their bed. We're praising helpers and thanking them for pitching in and helping the family.

Rasa is responding very well. She likes approval and she likes praise. Adia is getting it, slowly but surely. She will give up something she wants simply because I won't get it for her, even though she can easily get it herself. That's ok too. I'm not in a power struggle with her and she gets to choose when she wants to push her will. I like that about her actually. I'm the same way :)

We all need to work on respecting each other, talking lovingly, being more patient, and respectful. When we are crabby we need to put into words our feelings and they need to be validated, even if they are feelings of frustration, anger or stress. We all need to remember that every emotion, no matter what it is, is ok. It's not good or bad, it just is. Even happiness or feelings of being content. It's not better than the others, it just is.

We are a work in progress and we always will be and that's A-OK with me as long as we're moving in the right direction!

Everyday Things

*cute daisey hat crocheted by Nana!

Everyday Things

my goodness I love this man!

working at the car wash....

By far the easiest way to turn a grumpy afternoon into a good time has always been to "just add water". These are a few weeks old but the girls were out all afternoon keeping themselves totally occupied with water, a bucket, some old rags, a tiny bit of dishsoap and toys they already had that actually needed a good scrub down!

summer sun!

sand cakes for "somebody's birthday".....after, revealing it's her birthday!

To Rasa & Adia...

bedtime laments....

Adia insisted we close the window's in the girls room tonight at bedtime because if we didn't that the zebras were going to come in and get her. "I don't want the zebras to get in here and get me!!!" "Close the windows or the zebra's will get in!!!"

Even after I told her that zebra's don't live here, they only live in the desert, she corrected me to remind me that they do in fact live here.....at the zoo.

I promised her the zoo keeps them locked up and that they can't escape. It wasn't convincing enough, however, so the window's are in fact closed with the shades down "all the way".

Heheheh silly girl, like a window pane or shades will stop a zebra escapee from getting in here!

UPDATE: A cry from Adia to reveal a donkey has in fact made it into her bed. "It's a big one with a big scary mouth. And there's a little one too and it's scaaaaary" I asked if she got it out of her bed and received no reply so I believe we are safe at the moment....that is until another zoo animal makes an appearance (see I was right about the window and shades not stopping them!).

my sweet babes....couldn't LOVE them more

Welcome July!

We had a really nice 4th despite the fact it was 100 degrees with a 110 heat index! Even for us in the summer THAT'S HOT!
Nana and Grampa came over and brought a build your own sandwich bar (too hot to grill!) and we had a fantastic lunch....ice cream cake too!

The girls and I napped after they left and we woke up and watched a movie in the cool air conditioned house. The Secret Life of Arrietty is fabulous! The girls are really into Ponyo and it's the same creator. They are super sweet movies with lots of imagination and less princess fairy tale stuff.

About 6 we filled up the little pool with cold water and had some fun. Even I was sitting in that pool. In 100 degrees the only way to survive the heat is to sit your butt in ice cold water!

I got the girls all pumped up to see fireworks (sorry no pictures. fireworks were at 10 pm and I don't use a flash!). Royce and I were tired and we tried to talk the girls into letting us light off fireworks here instead but they were not having it.

We decided to see Richfield's finest and drive over to Veteran Memorial Park to see the fireworks display. Enter ignorance here: I honestly thought if we left the house at 9 (which we did) we would mosey on over to the park, pull into a parking lot and sit in a semi quiet park to view the fireworks. In actuality we left at 9 pm, drove to 62 and Portland to see a sea of people walking from MILES away into the park. The city had blocked off the roads within a mile radius and the neighborHOOD's (HOOD!!!! Next year bring a gun and some pepper spray....just kidding...we won't ever go back again lol!) were FILLED with cars parked down every.single.street. for miles. Welcome to the city, suburbanites! After a brief meltdown by me in the car that my sweet little girls weren't going to see fireworks we got lucky, found a spot on the street a mile away and hoofed it. The delight on their faces after the first firework was lit made everything completely worth it. Pure simple joy. It's addictive, I tell ya! The girls had a blast, loved the fireworks and didn't even bat an eye to the fact that Momma drove them to the ghetto and we sat in a park with easily a hundred thousand other people, most very different from ourselves, while teenagers talked about dime bags, and some poor kids begged for our food. Ah Richfield, you are a gem of a melting pot. Next year we will go to Minneapolis where it's safe and we fit in ;)

Snapped a few pics of our evening in the yard. Lots of nudity around here but we don't mind and seriously, check out Rasa's awesome farmer tan! Too cute, that little white booty!

The literal 3's....

Royce: Rasa, what are you an angel or something? Look at your pretty eyes!

Rasa: My eyes are blue!

Me: Yes they are blue and they're beautiful. They're blue like the ocean!

Rasa (looking at me with one eyebrow raised): But the ocean doesn't have eyeballs!

sizzle sizzle summer sun....

What an awesome weekend! We stayed in Friday night since I had a full day of work Saturday morning. After I finished my sessions we had Royce's Brother over and he and Royce fixed up our "around town" car. Royce's Mom made a surprise visit and entertained the girls with sidewalk chalk while the boys worked on the car. It was nice to see them.
Saturday night we were wiped and went to bed early. We were so excited for today!

I woke up this morning to the following conversation:
Rasa: Gabby's coming over!
Adia: No, Gabby's not comin' over 'til Sunday
Rasa: Adia! Adia! It IS Sunday!!

We woke up early so I could pick up bbq food and get the yard all set up. We had Jill, Taylor, Chase, Karley, Gabby and Isaac over for a pot luck bbq. The kids had SOOO much fun playing in the pool and the adults had time to catch up and relax a little. We miss living close to them but it's so awesome that our old neighbors are now wonderful, wonderful friends and it's such a treat to see them now. They're truly like family. We are going to plan another fun day very soon because we don't see each other nearly enough! It was HOT today, in the 90's! I think all of us ended up in the pool at some point!

Amy and Emeric stopped over at the end and stayed a few hours. Royce and Emeric were playing on an antique skateboard outside while Amy, me and the girls were laying on our bed enjoying the air conditioning! Amy & Emerica brough an amazing finish bistro cake that when Rasa saw it she said, "this is the most amazing thing I ever saw in my life!" It was though, she's right! As if the Whoppie Pie's Karley made that they had at least two each of weren't enough sugar for one day!

Royce crashed on the couch (beer+heat=more than he can handle, hahaha ;)) and the girls played quietly with books while I cleaned up the yard. I do have to say that Karley and Jill are the best guests because they left the place as clean as it was when they arrived and that never happens! Miss them already!

I have a feeling we will all sleep well over here tonight!