May 31

Obviously, I didn't take this picture. Amy took it with my camera. Since Amy never posts pictures on her own blog anymore and since this was the only picture on my camera for today, I thought I would post Amy's picture for my picture today.

We had a small group cookout at the Blakley's tonight. After we were done eating, us girls ended up in the living room watching The Bachelorette. Cael was my buddy and wanted to snuggle with me on the couch while we watched it! When Cael was a baby, I was one of his favorite people...but it's been a while since he has wanted to be my buddy again. So I enjoyed my snuggle time with him tonight!

Poor Daniel and Audrey had to stay home from the cookout because Audrey is sick. It started with a cough this weekend, then a cough and a very runny, snotty nose yesterday, and now it is a cough, a runny, snotty nose, and a fever. Daniel was kind enough to stay home with Audrey so I could get out and go to the cookout...what a good husband!! Hopefully Audrey will get over this sickness soon....being sick is not fun for her or for us!

May 30

We've upgraded Audrey's pool for this summer. Last year we had this tiny pool, and we were very jealous of Ava's pool with a slide and a fountain. So this year, Audrey has a pool with a slide and a sprinkler. Today we just put a little water in it, so she could test it out. She seemed to have fun for a little while, though with her ridiculously short attention span, she was quickly ready to move on to something else. It's a pain to fill (and then empty) the pool for just a couple of minutes of playtime, so hopefully she will play with it more as the summer goes on.

May 29

Audrey had a fun time playing outside with Grandma today. Then it was time to come back home and get back to everyday life. I'm ready for a real vacation. Our whirlwind trip to Keokuk (and Lima) was not long enough.

May 28

We are in Keokuk for a quick trip to visit my family. This afternoon we headed to the metropolis of Lima, IL (population: 125) to visit my dad and his family. We also got to go swimming in my dad's pool. It was a great afternoon for swimming! The weather was perfect, sunny and hot but not too hot. The water temperature was perfect too; I expected it to be cold since it is still May, but it was surprisingly comfortable. And Audrey loved playing in the water. In the past she has seemed a little scared in the pool, but today she was having fun splashing and jumping and even putting her face in the water a bit.

May 27

Today was the last day of Sprouts! We celebrated with a beach party. We encouraged the kids to wear their swimsuits, and we had lots of beach toys and decorations. Audrey really liked this intertube. She stood in it for the longest time, just looking around at everything and showing off her swimsuit (and her chubby legs and tummy!).

May 26

Today it stormed and rained even harder than yesterday. I heard one report that we got 5 inches of rain in an hour! I think that is a bit exaggerated, but still...I have never seen anything like it. Tons of streets in Springfield were flooded, including ours! This picture was taken at the end of our block. Good thing I didn't let Audrey go play in these mud puddles...she would have drowned!

(FYI: I have to give Daniel credit for this picture today. He went out to take a few pictures while the water was still high. I'm bending the rules and posting it, even though I didn't take it.)

May 25

It stormed earlier today and rained pretty hard, leaving a huge puddle right in front of our house. So Audrey got to play in her first mud puddle this afternoon! She was very ladylike about it, just walking around and stopping to touch the water occasionally. She didn't get too wet or muddy. But she must have been having fun, because she did not want to go back inside!

May 24

It's summer time!! The high was 91 today. Time to break out the tank tops and shorts!

May 23

Tonight was the series finale of Lost. We've been watching Lost for the past few years with a group of friends called the F.L.E.A. (Fellow Lost Enthusiasts of America) club. I have made several Lost-themed treats for various Lost season premieres and finales through the years. And I was feeling a lot of pressure from myself and others to create something extra special for the finale. I don't know if this counts as extra special, but this is what I made. It is a Smoke Monster rice krispie treat on an island of nuts, chocolate and leaves with two almond bark crashed airplanes (marked with the numbers 815 and 316). If you have never seen Lost, then you are probably very confused right now. But that's okay, because that is how we Lost fans feel all the time---confused!

For any Lost fans out there, here are my thoughts on the finale: I thought it was well done, and a good way to end the show by finding a way to bring back all the characters (especially some of our favorites who died along the way). I knew they would never be able to answer all the questions people have about the show, and I was okay with it. And I was satisfied with the whole ending up until the point where Jack's eye closed and Lost flashed on the screen. Then they had to throw in that scene during the credits. And that was just annoying. I think it was included for the sole reason of sparking debate among Lost fans. But I am refusing to participate in that debate and am pretending that the scene was never shown.

I started watching Lost out of peer pressure and for social reasons. Everyone else was watching it and talking about it, and I wanted to know what was going on too. I don't think Lost was the greatest show ever made, but it was a fun show to watch and discuss with friends. And now, we'll just have to find a new show to watch and debate together!

May 22

I have been searching for several months for a slide/climber for Audrey to play with in our backyard. She is still a bit tentative about climbing, so I wanted something small enough that she could practice climbing and playing on by herself without help. I've been stalking Craigslist daily and driving around to garage sales every weekend searching for a slide that was in decent shape and that we could afford (around $30). A few days ago, I saw a Toddler 123 Climber listed on Craigslist for $45. The original price was around $100, and I almost just broke down and bought the $45 slide. Even though $45 is out of our price range, it's still cheaper than buying a brand new $100 slide. But I held strong and stuck to the budget. And it's a good thing I did! Today I found the same slide at a garage sale for just $15!

May 21

Here are Audrey and Daddy blowing kisses to the camera before bedtime tonight.

May 20

Today is Thursday, and Thursday is Sprouts day. We only have one more week of Sprouts before we take a break for the summer. I'm ready for a break. Sprouts has grown into a much bigger playgroup than I think any of us anticipated. It's a lot of work getting everything set up the night before (late at night after our kids are in bed) and then dealing with the craziness while everyone is there (and usually dealing with a grumpy Audrey who is missing her morning nap) and then getting everything cleaned up afterward (it doesn't take long for 30 kids to make a huge mess!). I'm ready for a nap by the end of the morning! Even though I do complain about it some, I really don't mind the work. And I like being able to help provide this group for the moms and kids in our community.

So I'm ready for a break now, but I know I will be excited to start back up again in September! And hopefully by then Audrey will be done with her morning naps and will have more fun at Sprouts. Though today she was really good and happy and playful the whole morning, which made for a more pleasant morning for me. So I don't know why I am complaining about Sprouts in this post today, because I had a good time this morning. And now I am just rambling, so I think I should stop and go to bed.

May 19

Today I babysat Simon and Elliot all day. I have babysat them a few times before for just the morning, but this was the first time for me to be all alone with the three kids all day long! For the most part they did really well, and we had a pretty good day. But taking care of three kids is a lot different than taking care of one kid! I'm tired tonight!!

Yesterday, one of my friends had her second baby. And I was thinking, "Hmm...maybe it's time to start thinking about another kid." But after today, I'm thinking, "Hmm...maybe we can wait just a little bit longer!"

May 18

Audrey really likes chairs right now. Today she figured out that she can sit on the dining room chairs, and it was the best game ever. They are fairly big chairs, so she just can't quite get on and off them by herself yet. So it isn't really the best game ever for Mommy and Daddy who have to constantly lift her up and down. But seeing her so excited about something as simple as a chair is worth it!

May 17

I bought these books today. I have a small collection of juvenile fiction books, specifically Newbury Award winning books and books that I read as a kid. If I find any of these books for a quarter or less, I usually pick them up. I'm not sure why I collect these books, except that I am sentimental. And I hope that someday Audrey will read the books I enjoyed as a kid. And I am slowly trying to build my book collection to someday fill my library in my dream home.

Anyway, these books are obviously not Newbury Award winning, but they were favorites of mine as a kid. In fact, my friends and I had a club called the Friends-4-Ever club, which I am guessing was based off of these books.

I found the books at the Chatham library. Audrey and I ventured away from our normal library here in Springfield, and drove an extra 15 minutes down to Chatham. They redid their children's area last year, and this was our first time in the new area. It was really nice, and Audrey loved it. They also have a used bookstore (where I found the books!) and a little cafe. We didn't get anything at the cafe today, but it would be fun someday to stop and get some ice cream after playing and reading books at the library. Springfield friends: we need to have a playdate at the Chatham library soon!

And yes, I did just post another picture of books (See Random Note #3 from yesterday's post).

May 16

I have so many things I could/should be working on tonight. After Audrey's bedtime is the best time to get things accomplished without interruption. But instead, I'm going to go lay in bed and read this book. Because reading is much more fun than working!

Random Note #1: As I typed the date for this title, I just realized that May is half over. Seriously??? Where has the month gone? I'm not quite ready for our crazy, busy summer to start yet.

Random Note #2: As I was looking at this picture, I noticed that the title is not on the cover of this book. Harlan Coben is the author. The title is "Hold Tight". That's weird.

Random Note #3: As I was taking this picture, I wondered how many pictures of books that I have posted on this blog. A book picture is a good standby when I don't have any other pictures from the day. It is also very boring, but I am a boring person, so what do you expect?

May 15

Daniel and I went to see a local production of Company tonight. It was pretty good. I was not familiar with the musical at all, so it was fun to see something new. And it was nice to have a night away from home. Though it kind of stinks that we have to pay to go see the show and pay a babysitter while we're gone, so it costs twice as much to go out now! I suppose it's going to be that way for a while, so we might as well get used to it!

May 14

Poor Audrey took a spill on the concrete tonight and busted her lip. It looked bad when we put her to bed, and I have a feeling it is going to look worse in the morning. She didn't seem to be too bothered by it though. We let her eat a frozen Go-Gurt to "ice" it, and she was quite happy about that. I think it is bothering Daniel and I much more than it is bothering her. I wasn't with her when it happened, but I guess it bled quite a bit (that's blood on her shirt). This is her first real "injury", and it is killing us to see her scratched up and bleeding. Good thing Audrey is much tougher than her Mommy and Daddy!!

May 13

The theme at Sprouts this morning was balls. Audrey and I continued that theme this afternoon at home and spent a long time playing with her balls outside. Audrey was having fun throwing and bouncing the balls around the back patio, except for when the balls went into the grass. Our grass is a bit on the long side right now, and she was scared of it and refused to walk in it to get a ball!

May 12

My friend Katie brought her three week old baby Owen over this morning so I could take a few pictures. I've never taken pictures of a newborn before with this camera. Audrey was past the newborn stage by the time we bought it. So it was a lot of fun for me to take pictures of Owen! I'm pretty sure that I could work full time taking and editing photos, and I would love it. Several of the pictures from today's photo shoot turned out pretty cute, but I think this one was my favorite.

May 11

Tonight my piano students had a recital. They all did a great job, and I am very relieved that it is over!!

May 10

This morning I babysat Simon and Elliot. I tried to take some pictures of the kids playing, but the only picture that turned out decent was this one of Elliot. This only confirms my theory that he is the most photogenic kid ever!

May 9

Happy Mother's Day! And happy birthday to Daniel! We have had a good day around here. Daniel's parents (aka Mimi and Papaw) came up to celebrate the day with us. Audrey had her first tea party with Mimi this afternoon!

May 8

Today (Saturday) we went to the Chicago Children's Museum. Audrey's favorite part of the museum was the water play area. They provide these raincoats for the kids to wear to keep them from getting too wet. Here is Audrey's raincoat--too big and buttoned incorrectly--but she didn't care. She was having way too much fun in the water. And the raincoat didn't work so well...she was still soaked by the time we dragged her away from the water.

May 7

We spent the weekend in Chicago. Today (Friday) we saw my sister Elisabeth. Audrey really liked Aunt Elisabeth. She also really, really liked Ikea. I'll have more pictures and stories to post on the other blog or Facebook soon.

May 6

You know it's going to be a bad day when your day begins and ends with a trip to the grocery store. Well, at least for me that is the sign of a bad day. I hate the grocery store. Today I woke up and realized that we had nothing at all in our house for breakfast-no bread, no milk, no fruit, no cereal, no oatmeal. We did have a whole package of hot dogs, but I didn't think we wanted hot dogs for breakfast. So Audrey and I headed to the store at 7:30 am to pick up a few breakfast necessities.

But we really needed more than just breakfast food, so I also needed to make a real grocery trip to get more food and take advantage of getting $10 off a $50 purchase at Shop n Save (a deal that was only good today). I didn't get the chance to go back to the store until 8:30 pm tonight. And it was crazy busy. And they were out of everything I wanted to buy. And I was so tired I couldn't remember what I needed to buy. And I kept thinking about how much I hate the grocery store and how I had to make two trips in one day. Ugh.

In the end, I only spent $45 between the two trips ($5 under budget for the week), plus I got a coupon for $5 off my next shopping trip and a coupon for five free movie rentals at Redbox. Getting good deals helped to brighten my spirits a little.

Now, we have to pack and get ready to go to Chicago in the morning. We're going to visit my sister, go to Ikea, see my friend Katy and take Audrey to the Children's Museum. We're spending the night tomorrow night, so I won't post any pictures until we get home Saturday night.

May 5

After going to the doctor and getting more shots today, Audrey crashed for a three hour nap this afternoon. She was looking a little rough when she finally woke up!

May 4

I really do love this blog and the whole idea of posting a picture every day. But some days, I just don't have a picture to post. And today is one of those days. It's 11:00 pm after a somewhat busy day. I'm tired and my stomach hurts and I'm ready for bed. Trying to find something creative to take a picture of is the last thing I want to do.

But I'm stubborn about this blog, and the rules I have created for it. I have made it over 450 days posting a picture each day. And I'm not ready to give up on it yet. Therefore, with no furthur adieu or complaining, I present to you my picture for today:

Kellie, this is why we will probably never follow your lead and get rid of our dog. She is a great last minute picture opportunity when it's late, everyone else is in bed, and I have no other ideas for a picture for the day! I'd be curious to see how many times in the past 450-some days I have resorted to taking a picture of Maggie because I can't think of anything else.

May 3

Audrey turned 18 months on Friday and I meant to take her picture with Raggedy Ann then. But I forgot, so we took it today instead. As usual, she wasn't too interested in looking at the camera. Isn't she turning into such a big girl? It's hard to believe that she used to look like this!

May 2

This is the only picture that I have from today, so that's what I'm posting. I spent a lot of time today working on Stampin' Up! work. One of the thingns I did was create these two cards for a class I am teaching on Tuesday. Aren't they cute?? I especially love the piggy bank card...those are real coins inside the pig!

May 1

More garage sales today, more cheap VBS finds! Audrey's favorite was this gold bracelet. I think it will work well as Egyptian jewelery for one of our costumes. And for now, it will make a fun toy for Audrey. She just loved putting it on her arm, then taking it off, then putting it back on again...over and over! Every time she would put it on or take it off she would just crack up laughing.