The Climber

This morning as I was rushing to make Elle's school lunch and get breakfast for everyone I saw Lily climbing up on to the kitchen bench. I hurried and told Elle to move the table. This is now what we have to do because Lily is a climber. She can get on to the bench all by herself and then she climbs on to the kitchen table. Then from the kitchen table she gets on to the pass-through wall. She has had 2 black eyes from falling from there. She will cannon-ball on to the sofa on the other side of that wall and sometimes she misses. Not good. I like the first picture. She's so proud of herself and is all smiles for the camera. Then this picture below is when she realized the table was moved. Her plan was foiled!

We're on to you, Lily.

Pretty

At a little antique shop that I like to go to I found these potted succulents. They were in old scraped up pots which I loved. The pots didn't have bases on them and since I knew I was putting them indoors I had to do something. I searched around and found some mis-matched things that I thought would work. When I saw this turquoise one and put it with the largest white pot it was perfect. On the other two pots I went home with I put vintage blue and white china plates ( 2 for $1) under them. Pretty.

Pure Love

I went in to wake Lily from her nap and found her just like this. She had opened the shutters and thrown all of her blankets out of the crib. Adorable. I love her so, so much.

My sweet, sweet Lily. I love being your mom.

Dear Leprechauns...

Here was Elle's attempt this morning before school at what she called "a leprechaun jump kick". She was jumping and trying to click her heels together. Apparently Leprechauns do that. Who knew?

Before bed last night Elle started writing a note that she said she was going to leave for the Leprechauns. She had a lot of unanswered questions. She asked me for an idea of something to ask them and I said to ask them how old they are. She looked at me with a confused look on her face and said, " moommm, everyone knows all leprechauns are the same age and they are all 105." I had no idea! I then offered the idea to ask them if they go on vacations and if so where do they like to go. She again said, " moommm, they stay at their rainbow and St. Patricks day IS THEIR VACATION and the place they go is to all kids houses all over the world." Ok, then. She then sat at the table and carefully thought up her own questions.

This morning, the first place she ran to was her note. And yes, the leprechauns did respond to her....in teeny, tiny writing since leprechauns ARE teeny tiny. Here were her questions and the leprechauns answers. ( I can not even describe the pure joy that came over her when she looked at the paper and saw that the leprechauns had answered all of her questions.)

Are you a boy or a girl? a boy

When do you take a bath? at night before I go to bed

What is your favorite song? It's Not Easy Being Green by Kermit the Frog

Do you know how to swim? no

How many houses do you visit on March 17th? 63,000,000,071 houses in one night. I'm tired

He then wrote to all three girls and told them to have a lucky day, not to forget to wear green to school and signed his name, Leo the Leprechaun.

I love my Ellers. She is the cutest, happiest little 6 year old. So imaginative and wide eyed about life. Did I mention that I really love her? I do. A lot.

Lily Pie: 20 months

She's growing up and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it either. It's fun to see my girls develop and change but at the same time I want to keep them as my babies forever. I love the first photo. That's my view of her all day. Lily - standing at my feet with her arms straight up wanting me to hold her. If she wants something she'll come and poke me with her finger until I follow her to see what she needs help with. If I'm on the computer she comes and puts her head on my lap while she's standing or if I'm doing dishes she'll come over and wrap her hands around my legs and stand on my feet. If I'm sitting on the ground helping one of her sisters she'll squeeze right in and plop right into the middle of my lap. It's cute. These pictures present a very mellow Lily but that is not the case. She is CRAZY BUSY and into EVERYTHING. She only knows one speed and that is - Fast. All of my girls have been 'busy' but I'm going to have to say Lily has set a new standard. She's a climber and I find her on top of our kitchen table frequently. It's scary. The only comment I get when I take her anywhere is, "you've got your hands full." Yes I do. My hands are full, no doubt about that and I'm exhausted by the end of each day but what is there to complain about when what they're full with are chubby cheeks, blue eyes and a bald head. Could be worse and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Family Room

I had to add this picture with my crazy gwenners in it. She was watching Beverly Hills Chihuahua when I was taking pictures...

I always hated our sofa in the family room. The day it arrived, years ago, I hated it. It came the wrong color and and with the cushions sewn in. I tried to return it for weeks but since it was "custom" they said no - they were allowed a 20% dye-lot gradient. It was more like a 100% gradient mix up but the answer was still, No. Nice. It was really ugly. I put up with it for too many years and then I came up with a plan. We didn't "need" a new sofa and so I felt frivolous getting another one. I then proposed to Jon if I sold the one we had and made the rest of the money myself I could then get a new one. One that I REALLY liked. My old sofa sold in one day on Craigslist. The rest of the money I came up with by selling other random things on Craigslist. Jon even threw in a few surfboards he didn't use anymore to add to my "frivolous couch fund". Just before Christmas and timed perfectly with Restoration Hardware's big sale I had enough money to buy my new sofa. To say that I love it would be an understatement. It's slipcovered in linen and slouchy and the depth is unreal. It is everything I wanted.

The room is definitely not finished. The chair on the side is waiting for a linen slipcover. The pictures are still at the height of our old sofa so they are a little high and need to be moved to the left as well. I would like a round table for the chandelier lamp...something more rustic but this table was in our garage from Jon's old office and will fill the void until I can come up with more funds. The lamp I found at a little boutique in Redondo Beach and fell in love. It's super old and I couldn't get it out of my head. A little much? Perhaps - but I love it.

Awesome

This morning I heard "this is awesome!!" coming from the shower. I went in to find Gwen in her swim goggles shampooing her hair. She HATES getting shampoo in her eyes and figured this little trick out on her own. Hilarious. I don't know what was cuter - how she looked or her pure joy and excitement. It made my day.

Loving these...

Getting Crafty

I was with my friend Sara one day and was admiring some pretty bottles in a store. I wanted them for my mantel but the price was crazy expensive. Sara then said, "you know - I know how to make those." That was all I needed. I said, "sign me up!" All I had to do was find some pretty sea fans or shells that I liked and the vintage bottles. The sea fans are easy to find in the local shops around here and the bottles I just kept an eye out for when I was in antique stores. Over the next few weeks I did my homework and then told her I was ready. Sara came over and we had them made in about 15 minutes tops. It was that easy! Here we are in action. Don't be fooled by the photos. In reality, Sara did most of the work. I have a third smaller bottle but we ran out of time and had to run to the school to pick our kids up but we'll finish it up next week. I put the bottles up on my mantel and they look so pretty. Thank you, Sara. I love them.

Ballet Girl

I started Gwen back up with ballet lessons. She was begging me daily to start again. I was just not wanting to add another place for me to be during the week. She would put her leotard and tights on almost daily and ask if we were going to ballet. I couldn't take it anymore, it made me feel pretty bad. About a month ago as I was tucking her into bed I told her that in the morning she would be going to her ballet class. She squealed with excitement. The next morning she had her leotard and tights on at 6am ready to go. It is totally worth the extra effort on my part. I mean, come on...look at that sweet, happy face. Love her.

Love

photo by Sue H

I love this photograph. Not totally sure why but I can't get enough of it. I am wanting to print it and have it hang in our kitchen. The colors, composition, well - just everything about it appeals to me. My sister Briar sent me this random website where people post photos of things organized neatly. It's strangely intriguing. That's where I ran across this image and fell in love.

Bunny in Thailand

Beam and Bunny

Remember Elle's Bunny? Well she made it all the way to Thailand and into the arms of this sweet little girl named, Beam.

When Allyson sent us the pictures last night, Elle and I both started crying.

It is something Elle will remember forever.

The details are on Ally's Blog...click HERE

Lily's Room

I moved Lily's furniture around in her room the other day. I couldn't take it any longer. It's a tiny room and it has function not only as her room but it's also where I keep Gwen's clothing and the closet doubles as our linen closet as well. Crazy. I knew I could rearrange the furniture to make things easier and I was right. I put Gwen and Lily into the crib and I moved everything with them laughing hysterically. They thought me moving the crib with them in it was the best thing ever. I even moved that big armoire by myself. When I get my mind set on something I just have to do it right then. I removed Lily's closet doors...the track and all and decided on hanging pretty draperies over it instead. I think it will look better and will be easier for me to navigate. I found some I love on etsy and am starting to save up so I can buy them. They're perfect. The best part though is how much Lily loves the little windows above her crib. She wakes up, pops the shutters open and is completely entertained. The lens I had on my camera made it impossible for me to get the whole room in one shot but I still thought the view from the hallway looking into her room was pretty. It makes me happy now just to turn the corner in the hall towards her bedroom.

French Toast

Yesterday Gwen was grumpy. I mean, really grumpy. I was trying to get her to preschool and she was just not cooperating. Everything was going wrong in her opinion and she was completely irrational. She hated her outfit, her shoes were itchy, the lunch I packed was gross, she thought Lily was being mean, it was just one of those days. I put her into the car and she was still crying. I finally pulled the car over, turned around and said, "gwenners. what's going on today. you can tell me." She crossed her arms, rolled her eyes and said, "you really want to know? are you sure? cause i'll tell you." I reassured her that yes, I REALLY wanted to know. She looked at me, started crying even harder and said,

"you NEVER, EVER make me french toast!"

What?

I couldn't help but smile (which didn't help things) because I had NO IDEA where that thought was coming from. She has never in her life asked for french toast. I would make it for her but it's just never come up. It was so random. So I said, "oh that IS pretty sad. OK, I'll make you a deal, if you calm down and bring the happy Gwen back I'll make you french toast tomorrow for breakfast." It worked. She was then totally fine. Her 4 year old mind was relieved.

And guess what my Gwenners got for breakfast this morning...French Toast.

Perks

There in one perk to having a sick baby. Just one, but it's a good one. When they're sick, they're extra cuddly. Lily is a sweet baby but she's also busy, busy, busy. She's been sick this week (and last) and ALL she wants to do is snuggle. It's super hard when I'm trying to get dinner going or like this morning when I was getting Elle out the door and making her lunch- - Lily just literally sat on my feet and cried. I couldn't hold her and it was so sad. I did get Elle off to school and came right back home - got Lily out of her carseat and back in my arms, hooked a happy Gwen up with all of her "baby stuff" (she's really into baby dolls right now) and headed upstairs to my job - AKA keeping this house organized. It's never ending but at least I have my sidekick.

Pretty Things

I'm a sucker for all things pretty. On the way to drop Elle off for swim team last week, I drove past the flower stand. These pussy willows were out and I knew I had to go back. I dropped her off and swung the car back around. I knew just where I could put them. Having fresh flowers in our home is something I have always done. I go about every other week and it makes such a difference. I don't spend much either. A lot of times the "filler" is prettier to me than the flowers. I'll just see what they have and then load up on bear grass, branches or just plain greens. It's really inexpensive and makes a HUGE difference for me in our home.

The pussy willows made it home and I love how pretty they look in our front room.

Our home is small and so I have to make every room multi-task. Yes, I had to put a computer in my front room/entry way (not ideal) but I've tried to make it as pretty as possible. The best thing for me is that I have noticed my girls starting to be aware of the pretty things around them. I got the glittery bird ornaments out this weekend and Gwen was fascinated by them. She loved how when the sun came in the window they got "sparkly". Elle asked me to cut off one of the branches of the pussy willows so she could carry it around. I did, and she loved feeling the fuzzy buds on it. I want them to grow up and appreciate the little thing around them that are pretty. I think that's important and it's so cute to watch.

Throw-up and other important topics...

The flu has hit our home. I have escaped but all 3 of our girls have had their turn with it. I have had some awesome experiences with throw-up and carseats and cribs and couches but I'll spare you the details. I didn't spare my sisters the details. I took pictures on my cell phone and texted them to my sisters - lucky them. That's what sisters are for. Anyway, it was unreal. After one episode I was power washing lily's carseat and clothing on our driveway because I couldn't even take it inside to the laundry room for fear of the mess just getting there. A lady I had never met before stopped her car in front of our house and said, "Oh sweetie-- I've been there. How are you holding up?" It was so nice of her. Really nice. I wanted to start crying but just then Lily came cruising down the driveway with crusted throw-up all over her and in just a diaper. All I could do was start laughing and I said,

"they don't pay me enough."

What else can you do but laugh? And for the record--threading, washing and re-threading a carseat 3 times in one week should earn you an advanced degree or at the very least an award of some sort (I'm going to look into that.)

I think we're on the mend but it's been one of those weeks for me.

Gwen and Jon were the only ones that made it to church this morning. Gwen was actually quite excited about that fact. She kept saying, "just meeee and dadda?!" She had Jon all to herself. I was rushing to get her into the car with no intentions of a photo in mind and she said,

"I'm cute! You can take a picture of me if you want to mama."

Jon was in a hurry and already in the car but I told him she REALLY NEEDED her picture taken. So this one's for my Gwenners - heading out the door on her way to church. She packed her church bag all by herself. I think it weighed more than she did. The bag was full of stuff to keep her reverent - books, paper, crayons. That bag always keeps her busy but we're working on the reverent part. You see, Gwen does not understand what the word, 'whisper' means. She does however understand what the word, 'cute' means. And yes Gwen, this morning you looked VERY CUTE.

Lily Grace

My Lily

I took these pictures of her this morning and the cutest thing to me about them are her little shoulders. Who knew shoulders could be so cute? I love my Lily-pie. I love that I'm her favorite. I love that when I'm working on the computer she will walk up to me and put her head on my lap. She does that all the time and it melts me. I love that when I'm holding her all I have to say is, "laaay down" and she will nuzzle her head on my neck and shoulder. When I put her down for her nap or at bedtime, she holds her sippy cup to her lips with one hand and the other hand she holds in the air and waves good-bye to me...every time. I often whisper in my girls ears, "out of all the babies in heaven, how did I get so lucky to get you?" I've started whispering that to Lily and she smiles. And I love her even though I found her in the bathroom this morning playing with my cell phone in the toilet. It's true love.

Circus Girl

Gwen has been on a little bit of a naughty streak lately. She does things she is not allowed to do and then charms her way out of them. Yesterday she was in the shower and she knows that it is a BIG no-no to waste shampoo. Jon and I have both had numerous conversations with her about dumping shampoo down the drain. I went to get her out of my shower and noticed the plastic bowl we have in there that they play with was extra, extra bubbly. I then noticed my shampoo bottle (not the cheap kids shampoo) was laying on the shower floor. I picked it up and sure enough it was empty. I told her she was getting dried off and heading to time out when she replied, "mom, I am trying to learn to be a good cooker! I was NOT being naughty I was just making soup." A good cooker? Where does she come up with this stuff? She still had to go to time-out but she did get a laugh out of me.

Today she got me again. I let the girls ride their scooters and plasma cars in the house. They love to play "freeway" around the kitchen island. It doesn't bother me and they have fun. I do draw the line however with bikes. Bikes are not allowed. This afternoon I looked down into our family room from upstairs and saw Gwen riding like a crazy lady all over the family room on the rug. She was doing dangerous handstands on the bike (it has training wheels) and other stunts. I came down the stairs and told her to get her bike into the garage asap. She then looked at me and said, "Mom, I am practicing to be a circus girl. Circus girls HAVE TO practice and I am NOT being naughty." I kid you not those were her exact words to me. I died. I also grabbed my camera. I then had her explain to me what she was planning on doing for the show. That last picture is of her explaining in detail the dangerous stunt she was practicing. She was dead serious. She then said she couldn't continue talking and taking pictures because she needed to exercise like dad and propped the back training wheels on to the 1 inch thick black granite fireplace hearth. It was enough to get the back wheel so that it didn't touch the ground. Voila...she had a stationary bike. She was peddling crazy fast and was staying in place. Hilarious.

Career Day

Elle's school had Career Day. She has always said she wants to be a teacher like I was. She went as a teacher last year too for Career Day but came home sad because "no one knew what she was". I told her I could figure something out to make it more obvious this year. The apron was full of pencils, post-it notes, a ruler and chalk. She carried a clipboard around and I pinned a name tag on her. The black rimmed glasses were her favorite part. She said her teacher wears clogs so those were an easy choice. I thought she looked adorable. She did too until it was time to get out of the car. She kept saying she was nervous and would NOT open the door. I told her it was no big deal because if she didn't want to be in costume, all she had to do was put the apron and clipboard in her backpack and she was in a perfectly cute and normal outfit. She agreed and hopped out of the car. Watching her walk through all of the kids was painful for me. I thought for sure when I picked her up from school that there would be NO sign of her costume. I was happily surprised to pull up after school to find her still in full costume. She said she had a really fun day. I don't know if she'll continue to want to be a teacher when she grows up but I do know she would sure make a cute one.

Elle's Bunny

Here's My Sweet Ellers and her cherished Bunny before school this morning...

I received an email a bit ago from my best friend Allyson who is currently with her husband and 6 children in Thailand. On what seemed like almost a whim, they bought 8 airline tickets to Thailand and took their kids to help in orphanages over there. You can read about their decision, HERE. They are an amazing family. They are currently still there and I have been showing my girls pictures of their day to day trips to the orphanages. Elle was looking at the photos and she said, "mama, I could maybe mail them a shirt of mine that I don't wear anymore." I told her that was a great idea and that we could talk about it in the morning. About a half an hour later I heard crying coming from her bedroom. I walked into her dark room and asked her what was wrong. Elle sat up in her bed and at this point she was bawling. I still had no idea what the problem was. She then buried her head down into her chest held her bunny up in the air towards me and said, "mama, please take bunny. send him to the kids in the orphanage." To know Elle is to know that this little bunny is HER BUNNY. She has slept with him every night since she was a baby. If we are on vacation, Bunny comes with us. Sometimes in the middle of the night she will come in my room and tell me she can't find her Bunny. I'll go into her room and usually he has just fallen between her bed and the wall. The point here is that this little Bunny is the most priceless possession she has. I tried to give her bunny back to her in between her sobs and she just kept saying, "please mama, just mail him. it's ok. they need him more." At this point I was crying with her. In the dark of her room she had realized that offering a t-shirt she didn't wear anymore was not enough. She wanted to offer up the one thing most precious to her for those little kids in Thailand. I thought it wasn't possible to love her anymore, but sitting on the bed with her last night my heart melted. I have emailed my friend Ally and she said that if we look at the pictures, Elle can choose which little girl she wants to send her bunny to and Ally will make sure to get her name and address. So we're going to do it. Bunny is heading to Thailand. I took these pictures of her this morning so we could add a picture of her with the bunny in our package. I know those little kids need a lot more than one stuffed bunny so we've also decided to sell cookies door to door in our neighborhood to make some extra money to send with our Bunny as well. I think more than anything this will be something my Elle will remember forever and I hope will be a way for her and all of us to do a little more for others.

Lily 18 months

I put Lily and Gwen in the shower with me this morning. Our shower is pretty much the family shower. The girls have their own but it is rarely (never) used. Our master shower is stocked with plastic ducks and turtles and of course kiddie shampoo (family fave...suave's kids orange mango. the best!) The kids smell soo good after their showers I want to just eat them right up. I wrapped Lily up and set her on my bed and then went back to get a shivering Gwen her towel. Gwenners ran off after her shower to choose her own outfit for preschool (always interesting) but Lily was content just like this on my bed. I can't get enough of her! Add her smelling like orange mango and I was a goner. To die for cute.

Boogie Shoes

Ever since Elle was a baby I have put on music in the morning during breakfast. I used to hold her and spin and dance. The same song every morning. Boogie Shoes. Totally random, I know. I don't even know how that song became the McGee Family's official "morning song" but it is. Now that she's in school, we still put on Boogie Shoes during the morning routine. Getting her out the door by 7:45 is a little crazy. There's always homework, papers that need to be signed, trying to remember what day her library book is due, getting her dressed and her hair done, shoes and socks (my nightmare...lots of fights in this department), packing her lunch and getting her breakfast all while I have two other very needy little girls. Putting this song on lightens the mood greatly. I can be completely losing it with the grumpy kids but as soon as I put the music on they are all happy. If there's still a frowny face, I just pick that morning's grump up and start spinning them, it's like magic. Impossible for them to keep the frown. The door was open so she could see when jon pulled up to get her. He leaves super early in the morning but since he works so close, when he can, he'll swing back home to take Elle to school. That's their time. I am usually way too all over the place to take a picture but I did catch this one of Elle this morning when she didn't know I was looking. A little blurry but what could I expect when one arm had a pack of turkey and bottle of mustard in it and Lily standing on my feet with her hands up in the air (her way of saying, 'hold me"). I know I could do a lot of this the night before but I'm just not that organized. There, I said it. So if I can make my crazy mornings at least, fun, I think we're good. I know inevitably this tradition will end some day but for this stage in our lives it works and is super fun. I feel like if I can get them to leave the house happy, that will set the tone for their whole day. How can your day not be great if it starts with a dance party? If nothing else, when they're older and they hear the song Boogie Shoes they'll laugh.

The McGees 2010

photo by ashlee raubach

McGee Christmas Card 2010

Since the year Jon and I were married I have made sure that we've sent out photo Christmas cards. I have been keeping them in a separate book. The main reason I started was to make sure that we have at least one good family photo each year. The deadline of sending out the cards keeps me on track. The book is so much fun for the girls to look through. Jon and I sent out a picture from our wedding day our first Christmas together. The very next year's card I am holding baby Elle in my arms (we didn't mess around). We have one where I am pregnant and puffy faced...I delivered Gwen 2 days after that photo was taken and the cards document it all. The book is and will always be one of my most treasured items. There's lots of empty pages in it still and I look forward to filling them up in the years to come.

All Smiles

Gwen has ladybug rain boots. She loves them but was really, really excited about getting the ladybug umbrella. Well, it arrived and she was all smiles. She said she did NOT want to wear the boots because the rain made her feet feel "tickely". And for the record, her smile under that umbrella was just as big as the one on top.

A Happy New Year

My sister Megan and her family came into town for a visit. We met them at the Terranea Resort for a few days. It was heavenly. A much needed break for all of us. Both of our husbands had to work so Megan and I had 7 kids between us to entertain. Our rooms were overlooking the ocean and the resort made everything easy. The kids had a blast at the pool complete with a waterslide (elle's favorite), sandpark (lily's fave) and kids jacuzzi (gwen's favorite). Megan and I sat with jackets and scarves on while the kids swam. The pools were heated but it was COLD outside. They rode their bikes on all of the trails and just had fun together. I loved hanging out with my sister and that my kids were with their cousins. It was a perfect way to start the new year. Here's to 2011!