School Girls

Monday was the first day of school for these little ladies.



Also, It was my first day back at college. I have been nervous all week not because of school, but because I wanted to be sure that I got everyone on time to school. I kept thinking over and over about what time I needed to get up, get dressed, make breakfast, get the girls up, make lunches, and out the door at the exact time of 7:40! Whew....getting three people ready including my self in the morning is exhausting in itself. Not to mention all girls, so the hair, clothes, and shoes must be perfect! We did it all with a few minutes to spare to have a photo shoot on the front porch.

Lilah was so excited to be in the 1st grade. She kept telling me, "Mom I can't believe I'm a first grader." Celeste and I walked her inside the school and down the hall to her classroom, and then she told me that she wanted to go in by herself, and I couldn't take picture because it would "embarrass" her. Ok, then...I gave her a kiss and let her go in by herself to start her journey of 1st grade!

For Celeste, it was her first day of Pre-school! She goes to a day school 3 days a week for a few hours. She is such a big girl like her sister because she has a backpack and lunch box. She went right into her classroom, and started playing with her friends, and didn't even look back. After school she was so excited about all the things she did. Her teacher's name is Carol Ann, but she calls her "Claro Lann" Too cute! Her backpack looks so full of stuff, but is super light with just a blanket and pillow for "rest time" which she doesn't do much of.

And then me... for some of you that might not know, I started school years back, and took a break to have my babies and stay home with them, but now its time to finish up my degree. I plan to be a teacher, something I've always wanted to be. I think it's the perfect job for someone with children. I am going two days a week, and after just the first two days I am exhausted, but really excited about my classes. I am finished early enough to pick up all my children from school. It's going to be a great year and I am really excited about it.

And my mom insisted that I get a picture of myself on my first day. So here you go mom!

Sewing, Sunflowers and Ragamuffin

I have three girls, and I obviously love to shop for my little ladies. I really love it when I find something unique, beautiful, and handmade. I have always wanted to be able to sew beautiful dresses for my girls. I envisioned myself like Caroline Ingals in that episode when she stayed up late sewing two dresses for her girls for their special day at school. Don't you love Little House? Anyway maybe one day, but for now I just practice sewing blankets or pillowcases that only require simple straight lines with no difficulty.

Not too long ago I was reading Raechel's blog and read this post. She made this beautiful skirt, and I had to have one for each of my girls. I went to her etsy store and ordered 3. When I got my package I was so excited, and the (older) girls loved them! They are absolutely gorgeous, and she was awesome to work with!

Last week I dressed the girls up in their skirts, and on our way to church we stopped at a HUGE sunflower field on the outskirts of town, and in a hurry I snapped a few pics of my girls...

Have a beautiful day!

Wordless Wednesday

Upside- Down Deep Dish Pizza

We are super busy people in our house. Almost everyday something is going on around here. Between gymnastics, soccer practice and games, softball practice and games, and church 3 times a week we are always on the go. I love the days when we don't have to do a thing, and I can prepare a meal that requires lots of time, but I also love a meal that is quick, easy, and requires ingredients that I have actually heard of, and are in my own pantry. My mom gave me this recipe yesterday, and we both made it for our families last night, and it was soooo good, and EASY!

This is what you will need:

1 lb. ground beef (or turkey)

1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce

1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli thawed

2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

1 can (11 oz) refrigerated pizza dough

This is how to make it:

1. Brown ground beef (turkey) in skillet; drain. Season with salt and pepper (I added garlic powder). Stir in pasta sauce and bring to a boil. Pour into a 2 quart baking dish. (I used a large pie dish)

2. Top with broccoli, then cheese. Press dough over dish, sealing edges.

3. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until crust is golden. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Serves 4- Enjoy!

A Day Trip

It is sooooo good to have my computer back. The computer doctor found out the problem and fixed it super fast! I am now enjoying sitting at my computer this morning sipping on some coffee and reading some of my favorite blogs. Not too much has changed around here. We are still doing the finishing touches on getting ready for school. I totally didn't pay attention to what the last day was to pay my tuition, and I called the college and found out it was on July 31. Ooops! So without a computer to register again I was panicking. So I drove to my mother's house, and I was able to register for 3 out of my 4 classes, and paid! So starting Monday the 24th we will have early and hectic mornings on Mondays and Wednesdays.

So since there is still about a week left until school I'm trying to fit in lots of fun days for the girls. Last Thursday we went to Six Flags- Fiesta Texas in San Antonio to see The Wiggles. Yes, they were the "real" ones. I went with my sister-in-law and her two children. It was only about a 2 hour drive, so we decided to go just for the day. The road trip wasn't bad at all after the first 30 minutes of fighting between the children. Remember there were 5 small children in the back. We had to get to the park right when it opened so we could stand in another line to get the Wiggles tickets. So we get there right at 10:30 and walk super fast to the other side just to find a looooonnnnnnggggg line already formed in the HOT HOT sun. We got our tickets and stood in line for an hour.

Anything for my children! So here are some pics of the "real" Wiggles.

After the show we headed straight to Wiggle World which is a new part of the park where it is all Wiggle rides.

The girls loved this ride! Their other favorite ride is the log ride...

It was sooooo HOT. I didn't see not one cloud in the sky, so the sun was just beaming down on us the entire time. After a few more rides we decided to take a lunch break, and headed to the nearest air conditioned building. We ate, and let this little lady take a quick nap.

This park is nice because they have such a great water park for the children, and after such a HOT day we headed over there to cool off! As soon as we got there Celeste ran straight to the "big kid" pool, and she went out too far and started to go under. Good thing I saw her running because I took off after her and caught her before she was completely in panic mode. Swimming lessons helped because she started kicking and moving her arms. After that I put a life jacket on her so she could enjoy the water.

The girls loved playing in the fountains, slides, pools, and boat...

On the way out I wanted a picture of all my girls with some of the characters walking around, so We saw bugs and this was the best I could get with all 3...

So it ended up with just the two...

After we left we drove to the nearest place where we could get ice cream, and everyone got one including this tired tired baby!

A Quick Hello, And A Virus...

Well I know it's been a while since I blogged. Like many other parents I'm running around this city trying to finish up school shopping, back to school dentist & doctor appointments, school supplies, backpacks, lunchboxes, registration fees, shot records, open house, soccer sign ups, and all the endless things that come with the beginning of school. And if I haven't mentioned it before, I'm going back to school too. I'm finishing up my degree, and going to school a couple of days a week. Can't wait to be done!

A little summer cold slipped into this house and all of us got it, but no fever or body aches which is good because swine flu is still a threat around our area. I have so much to blog about, but my computer caught a little virus as well. Nothing terrible, but I'm having trouble doing "normal" things, like downloading pics, and surfin' the web, so to the doctor this computer goes on Monday along with my little girl who gets her 15 month shots. Ouch! So check back in a couple of days and my computer will be good as new, and I will have lots of exciting things to tell you about. And because I can't blog without a picture I will leave you with one of my favorites...