ballet

here are a few videos of my girls at ballet. Enjoy!

this is Elly

this is lucy

i love elly and lucy together in this one:)

We LOVE TOTORO (in a possibly obsessive way)

Where do I begin with Totoro? If you have seen Ponyo and enjoyed it you will love "My Neighbor Totoro". There is something about these Japanese cartoons that takes you to a fun place:) Maybe it is the Japanese in me and love for my Obason I have that makes me enjoy them a little more. I am not sure, but all I know is after I watch it I want to draw a big outline of Totoro on my kids wall, make bento box lunches for my kids and eat miso soup and yummy Japanese sticky rice everyday. Maybe put on some zodeez (what my grandma calls flip flops) and have green tea with homemade sukiyaki and gyoza! Maybe one day my dream of going to Japan with my grandma, having fresh vegetables from her brothers garden and enjoy milk baths will come true! Or if it is not in the Lord's will for me here on earth maybe He will have a true Japanese experience for me when I get to heaven:)

the many colors of george

laughing george

thinking george

this picture makes josh uncomfortable, but i think it is hilarious!

crazy george

excited to eat popcorn george

my george!!!!

bed by the living room window

the girls made a bed by the window

then it turned into a mountain

 

a little bonus for you...this wonderful look my son graces me with daily

while the sisters were playing....their little brother was taking opportunity to play with something they don't usually let him play with

checking to see if they notice his devious doing

but in all seriousness he really loves his sisters and is a sweety (95% of the time)

dancin' to back in black!

Today we just relaxed because we have had a ridiculously busy past 3 days. But as usual the kids still had WAY to much energy so I told them to dance to one of Josh's favorite songs- Back in Black.....it was quite entertaining

Annual Winter of my Discontent

Winter in Chicago is GLOOMY. A few girlfriends and I were talking about how this grey of winter makes you want to put butter on everything you eat and not get out of your pajamas! Usually I have a hope of California sun one time during the winter and that has sufficed to get me thru, BUT since that is not an option this year (for various reasons) I am forced to get creative and enduuuuuure! I have spoken with a few people about this recently and many of them have said, "This is the time of year i ask myself- WHY DO I LIVE HERE?!". This is a luxury I am not afforded because I know EXACTLY why we live here and moving is not an option. Thus I must figure out how to not just endure, but POSSIBLY find a way to enjoy the winter (my stomach turned as I typed that). But I have faith that I can creatively enjoy my life despite the dreadful grey of winter!
So I have made it a mission to figure out things to do.........I will keep you posted.

3 IDEAS:
1. One thing I have already discovered is "Zumba"! I have done this with my girls this week and it TOTALLY put a smile our faces:)

2. Be spontaneous!! Lucy was having a "cry about everything" kind of day. And I was feeling claustrophobic from the grey outside. So I said "LET"S GO THE MOVIES!!". Mind you this is not something we normally do and when we do it is always a special treat because the movies cost an arm and a leg now a days. Luckily my husband got us on the $5 club for our movie theater so we got in for way less. The girls were SO surprised and we just put comfy clothes on and were out the door in 10 minutes- it was so fun to just DO IT.

3. THANKFULNESS!!!!!! We can waste so much time thinking about what we don't have and miss enjoying all the things we DO have.
Psalm 100

No more paper towels!

I read an article that was about a lady making her kitchen "paperless" and I was intrigued because we blow thru paper towels like water and the cost adds up!

Here is the article - "how to create a paperless kitchen" and I am GOING FOR IT! I bought 2 bunches of towels(16 total towels total) from target for about $8 all together. 

I usually buy the big bundle of paper towels for about $13. So we are already saving! I am going to collect a bit more over time, but it will not compare to what I usually pay for paper towels twice a month. The article explains basically the method I am gonna go for. I have had them for about a week and it has worked quite well, I am pleasantly surprised! 

By the way: the article is from a new site I discovered and have been enjoying- simplemom