Doing What She Loves

Maddie cools down Griffin

My dear friend, Jamie - a fellow PPM (Preschool Posse Mom) - was kind enough to invite Maddie over to her place to help exercise her horses. Maddie has taken riding lessons in the past, but we didn't really pursue her interest here in Virginia (I know, of all places, Virginia should have been THE place!). Anyway, Maddie has been having a ball being in the barn and riding all three of Jamie's beautiful horses.

Here, Jamie has some fun with the charming Thomas:



Jamie not only loves and keeps her three horses, but she also teaches lessons. In the photo below, you can see that Jamie is the only one that Maddie TRULY listens to!



If you would like to see all the photos from this morning (including Josie and new favorite friend, SweetPea!) Just click right HERE. Till next time...

March Madness

No, this is not a post about college basketball ... March Madness has a whole different meaning in our household. March is the month in which both our girls celebrate their birthdays. Maddie is at the end of the month, Josie in the middle. But, once the month begins, all talk is birthday related... Josie: "Mom, how many sleeps 'till my princess party at Grandmom's house?" Maddie: "I seriously need a new wardrobe for my birthday, Mom..."

March is also the month that my darling husband is reminded of how expensive daughters can be! James cringes when he sees the price tags at J. Crew, American Eagle, and Banana Republic. I don't blame him...

We visited my parent's place this past weekend to get an early start on the celebrations.

My Mom ordered this beautiful cake from a local baker:





Josie received wonderful gifts - befitting a princess. My Mom & I shopped all day on Friday at the outlets in Rehobeth. Josie caught on quickly - she was a size 4T. So, she searched the racks and pulled out every size 4T dress that she found. She then told us, "I like this one, we should buy it." The outcome was that Josie walked out of Gymboree, The Children's Place and J. Crew with a total of 4 bags of clothes. Needless to say, she is fully outfitted for the the spring and a majority of the summer!






Maddie and James joined us at the shore late on Friday night. Maddie had her first soccer game, which began at 5:30PM. It was snowing for most of the day... not the kind of snow that lays on the ground, but more of a snow shower. Either way, she froze her butt off! It was 31 degrees at game time. Maddie's team lost the game 2-0. However, James said they looked pretty darn good for a team that had only been practicing together for two weeks. Most of the girls on the opposing team had played together for years. The only disadvantage to being at a newly opened school is that it takes the teams a bit longer to find their 'groove'. We have complete confidence that in the coming years, this team will be one to reckon with!



In other news, we've been having a tough time adjusting to the crazy weather here in Virginia. March came in like a lion with 8 inches of snow falling overnight on March 1st. James actually insisted on going to work that morning, so I was out at 4:45am - documenting the snowfall:


This is our street - notice the steep hill...


Here's the house, looking lovely with all the snow falling.


Here's the backyard, photo taken from the deck.


And, here is Carson, our snow dog! You can tell he was born in Michigan... he loves the snow!


Here is our 'poser' daughter, Maddie. Snow is just another 'photo-op' for her!



And, finally, here is me wiping Josie's nose while shoveling the driveway. Note the red minivan behind us: it went back and forth for over an hour... the hill in front of the house was too steep for the van to negotiate. In the end, she had to be towed out. I'm still trying to figure out why she just didn't slide back down the hill and go home... Oh well!

Three days after the record snowfall, we had record warm temperatures. In the following pictures you can see that Josie was in shorts as she and her Dad visited the Smithsonian Castle's carousel and the newly re-opened Museum of American History:





That's really all for now. There's a whole lot more going on in the coming weeks: We have Josie's birthday celebration with her classmates on Thursday, a 'playdate' party with her friends next week and then we'll get into Maddie's birthday celebrations. I will be happy when March is over!!!

Donuts with Dad

Today, Josie's preschool has their annual 'Donuts with Dad' breakfast. From 8:30-9:00 AM they will share breakfast with all the other kids and their Dads (or Grandparents, Mom, etc). Josie was very excited. Last night she practiced introducing her Dad to her friends... "Emma, this is my Dad. His name is James." She also practiced shaking hands and saying "It's very nice to meet you."

Josie will soon be 4 years old. It is amazing to see the changes in her over the past year. She totally cracks us up. She sits at the dinner table and starts off with "So, Dad, how was your day?" She talks with her hands, which is incredibly funny to watch. Her two favorite things to say are "I'm just kidding!" and "Are you joking me?!"

The other night, James tripped over a pair of Josie's shoes (which are EVERYWHERE!) and yelled, "Josephine, pick up your shoes!" She responded, "Dad, I'm just a little kid, you don't have to yell!" Looks like I have a handful with that one!

Maddie is in her third day of conditioning in preparation for soccer try-outs next week. She has come home each night with bruises and muscle aches. She does her homework, takes a hot bath with epsom salt and goes to bed. At least she's not on the computer all night...! She is happy though. Quite a few of her girlfriends are trying out for the team, so she's really looking forward to playing. I'm pretty confident she'll make the team. She's been playing soccer since she was 5 years old. Maddie has a March birthday, like Josie. So, she'll be turning 15. I have no idea where the time has gone. She now towers over me, constantly calls me 'shawty' and when she's aggravated with me she says "yes, Mother". Arggggg! I feel old!



Until next time...

Seasons Greetings

I haven't posted since before Thanksgiving- it's been a hectic season. We've been having a lot of fun, so I'll give a rundown of what's been going on...

Back in early December, Maddie got a phone call from one of her middle school classmates. Jeri was responsible for finding 'elves' to help out with a Christmas luncheon being held for underprivileged children and their families. Two elves were unable to meet their commitment, so Maddie was asked to fill in. She departed at 8 AM the following morning in her elf suit. (of course, I grabbed the camera before she left!) Maddie had a wonderful time. She reported that the kids were just adorable and the families were so appreciative. I'm thankful to Jeri and her mom, Donna, for giving Maddie the opportunity to start off the season in proper fashion - it put things in perspective for her... We are so blessed with warm clothes, a comfortable home and loving family around us.

Moving on, last Friday Josie's pre-school enjoyed 'Breakfast with Santa Claus'. The children sang Christmas songs, had a light breakfast and then waited patiently to sit on Santa's lap.

Here's Josie and her classmates singing:





Here's Meghan improvising a dance to go along with the songs:



Santa caused a mob scene when he appeared on the balcony. By the time he made it downstairs to the party, everyone was so excited! Josie was literally jumping for joy!



Here's Josie sitting on Santa's lap. Have to give Santa his props - there were over 100 children present (all 3 and 4 year olds) and he managed to get time to speak with each and every one of them. Josie told Santa she wanted a Barbie. She's still a bit 'iffy' about the big guy, so when she sat on his lap- I was thrilled.



The following two days were filled with shopping and attending friend's Christmas parties. On Saturday, we joined Dave and Lisa and received a wonderful gift (I'll share a photo later) and on Sunday, we attended Ed & Martys annual Christmas gathering.

This week, we had Josie's class performance of the Nativity. Not many photos from that one, as I arrived only 15 minutes early and was only able to get a back row seat. Apparently, you have to stake your claim on seats at least an hour in advance. Also, Josie was not on her best behavior - I'll explain in the next post....

In two days (Saturday the 20th) we will be celebrating an early Christmas with my family at my sister Claudine's house in Maryland. My older sister, Sue, BIL Greg and our two nephews, Zack & Liam, will be driving down from Philly. My brother's family and ours will be driving up from Virginia and Mom & Dad will be coming in from Delaware. Should be a lot of fun. Josie is so excited to see her cousins! She asked if her other cousins, Alex, Brandon, Alicia and Zoe would be there. She was terribly disappointed when we explained that they lived in California and wouldn't be making the trip. So, for our family in CA - please know that we miss you and are thinking of you everyday.

Special shout out to my darling Mother in Law, Shirley, who broke her shoulder this past week. We've been checking in daily to ensure that she and Dad are doing okay. Please keep a good thought for her speedy recovery.

I'll have some time tomorrow to share more news and photos. Maddie has been on half days all this week because of finals. She has only 1 tomorrow - so she'll be around to lend a hand with Josie. This will give me a chance upload more photos and spend a bit of time on line. I hope that all of you are enjoying the holiday season. See you soon!

Birthday Cake Belly

On Friday we celebrated James' 47th birthday. It was a quiet affair... just the four of us, a pizza and red velvet cupcakes. Every year I try to make James a red velvet cake, and every year I mess it up. This year, I decided to play it safe. I ordered half a dozen cupcakes from our favorite cake shoppe. Everyone was happy, but Josie was thrilled. Cupcakes are her favorite thing in the world! (at least this week they are...) Here, she shows off her "Cupcake Belly":



We have all been incredibly sick for the majority of this month. It started with Maddie, she let herself get run down by not getting enough sleep, and the rest of us followed in short order. I thought I had dodged the 'crud' but this was not the case. Even James, who normally stays healthy, was down for a few days. It's been just terrible.

Worse of all is watching Josie suffer with a horrible stuffy nose and wicked cough. Her sleeping pattern has been disrupted- so I'm up most nights around 2:30 AM comforting her. When I get up, the dogs get up. So, in the middle of the night our house is lit up like a Christmas tree, the dogs are running around in the yard and I'm stumbling around, looking for the most promising option for temporary relief of coughing spells.

During this time, we also had painters in the house. We decided to lighten up the kitchen and family room areas - as I've stated many times, these areas are in the rear of the house. The yard is heavily forested so the house gets only filtered light for most of the year. Now that all the leaves are gone, we get a bit more natural light, but it's still not enough to brighten my rooms or my mood.

We will be celebrating Thanksgiving at my brother's home in the Richmond area. It's not a long drive from here and it's the first time in while that I don't have to worry about cooking. Josie had her Thanksgiving celebration at school last Thursday and the kids were just adorable. All dressed like pilgrims.

Thats about all from here right now. I would like to wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm thankful that you all take the time to visit us here.

Hershey Park

This past weekend, Josie, Maddie and I visited with Aunt Claudine. We drove to her house in Maryland on Friday after school. Grandmom & Pop-Pop drove over from Delaware to get in a quick visit with the girls. On Saturday morning we (Aunt Claudine, Maddie, Josie and me) drove up to Hershey Park, which was about a two hour drive from Claudine's house. The park was open for a special event - allowing only employees of Claudine's agency and their families.

The weather was beautiful as we departed Maryland, but the closer we got to the park - the more cloudy and cool it got. When we reached Hershey (where all the street light tops are Hershey kisses - really!) it was rainy and very chilly. Just about 50 degrees. The weather did not dampen our enthusiasm, though. We took the tour of 'Chocolatetown' and waited for the weather to clear.



Once in the park, Maddie and Claudine headed for the rollercoasters. Josie and I headed for the kids rides. I did persuade Maddie to ride the merry-go-round with Josie before making herself scarce. The picture above was the best one I could get... that thing was really spinning!

Josie rode a few of the rides by herself... Not willingly, but she did it! Worse ride was the kiddie 'pirate ship'. The pendulum effect always gets to my stomach, but I figured Josie would be okay on the kiddie version. I was wrong. In Josie's own words, she "freaked out a little". She was practically climbing behind the little girl next to her, hiding her face. Then she would hold the bar in front of her with a death grip and grit her teeth. There was nothing I could do - longest minute and a half of my life! Just as the ride was at a complete stop, she raised both her hands up in the air and came off smiling. Whew!

After riding on the antique cars we ran into the Hershey kiss. Josie was thrilled!



We returned to Claudine's house around 6:45PM and my Mom had made a delicious roasted chicken with stuffing, mashed potatoes and green beans. Awesome! Nothing beats Mom's cooking! Here's a photo of Josie with Aunt Claudine's 'baby', SoCo:



Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

NASCAR Chevy Rock n' Roll 400

From Race Day 08 9/7/08 6:21 PM

James & Maddie had their annual NASCAR race outing this past weekend. Originally scheduled for Friday night and all day Saturday, the events were postponed to Sunday - due to the remnants of tropical storm Hannah which hit us on Saturday. They both really enjoy this event, held at the Richmond International Raceway. They get VIP treatment, which includes meeting the band that performs before the race.

This year, the band was Three Days Grace. Both James & Maddie said that the band members were engaging and quite nice. They took the time to chat and pose for pictures. Last year, they were very disappointed with the surly Daughtry so, it was a great surprise when they actually got to converse with the band. The lead singer even gave Maddie one of his guitar pics !!

From Race Day 08 9/7/08 6:21 PM

From Race Day 08 9/7/08 6:21 PM

Because of the delay of the race, Chevy was left with a shortage of manpower... everyone had stayed in Detroit. This provided an opportunity for James and Maddie to participate in the introduction of the NASCAR drivers. James drove and Maddie rode 'shotgun' as they drove around the track with drivers Ryan Newman and Mark Martin.

From Race Day 08 9/7/08 6:21 PM

From Race Day 08 9/7/08 6:21 PM

From Race Day 08 9/7/08 6:21 PM

From Race Day 08 9/7/08 6:21 PM

From Race Day 08 9/7/08 6:21 PM

Mark Martin climbs into the bed of the Chevy Pick-Up:

From Race Day 08 9/7/08 6:21 PM

Ryan Newman hops onboard:

From Race Day 08 9/7/08 6:21 PM

Maddie snapped this shot while they were driving around the track:

From Race Day 08 9/7/08 6:21 PM

From Race Day 08 9/7/08 6:21 PM

Maddie was still smiling when they returned home in time for a late dinner with Josie and me. It's rare that a 14 year old girl gets to share this kind of event with her Dad - they both just love the races! James loves having the one-on-one time with Maddie and returns home feeling very proud of how all the folks at Chevy compliment him on his lovely daughter. Maddie, on the other hand, loves getting to go to the concert and meeting all the people. (She also confessed to liking the time with her Dad...) !!

More Good News about Mad's High School

There was another  story about Maddie's new High School on the news last night.  We are very excited that Maddie is attending this school, and from the look of things, so are a lot of other folks.  

(I tried to embed the video but couldn't figure it out! Please click on the link to get to the story - Thanks!)

A Beach Visit

We had nothing planned for a few days, so given the hot weather, we hopped in the car and headed out to see Grandmom & PopPop! It was much cooler at the beach. We kept ourselves busy picking peaches, going to the beach, going to the pool and feeding the ducks:



After posing on the beach for a portrait in mid-July, we thought Josie had resolved her issues with sand... We were wrong. She will walk on the sand with her sandals on, but insists on being carried to the shoreline. She doesn't like the waves and she will NOT go anywhere near where they might push up to her toes. It's a bit hard to handle, given all the kids in our family are part fish. However, I hold out hope that Josie will get over her dislike of the beach like her cousin, Liam did. When Liam was Josie's age, he hated the sand and all things associated with the beach. Now, he's a real surfer dude. So, we'll just bide our time and hope for the best...







Maddie, on the other hand, loves the beach, and doesn't care too much for the pool. But, she humors me and joins us for our visits to the community pool. She knows how much Josie loves being there. Josie is fascinated by the other children and does her best to make friends. She's a bit shy, but more times than not, her desire to play with others wins out over the bashful routine!

We were lucky that James was able to join us for two days while we were gone. Things are busy for him at work and we also have the issue of who will look after the dogs. My Dad is a total pain in the --- when it comes to the dogs. Oh well, that's the price to paid for a "free" vacation spot.







One of Josie's favorite things about visiting the beach (besides being spoiled to bits by Grandmom & her friend, Miss Mary!) is feeding the ducks. If you stand on the back deck, the ducks see you and literally come right over to grab a free meal. Josie grabs her bread (and her Grandmom!) and heads out back calling, "Here ducks, here ducks!' And, darned if they don't come waddling! Last night a Mom duck and her two babies came for a visit:






We're hoping to squeeze in a bit more beach time before the girls go back to school. That's right, !! Miss Josie is starting Pre-K classes this fall!! She will attend Tues/Thurs morning sessions in the 3 year olds class. We are very excited!! Maddie also starts at her new school on August 25th. We will attend the blessing of her new high school this coming Sunday and I can't wait to see how much things have changed since our last tour in April... till then, Hope you're all having a great summer!!