Easter Morning

The Easter Bunny came to our home. Before bed the girls put their new matching easter jammies on and tore the last chains off of their "countdown to Easter" paper chains in their room. I still can't get over how excited they get about every single holiday. Easter morning is one of my favorites. The girls were thrilled with the little gifts and chocolates left in their baskets. Elle could not put her new book down. Gwen blew bubbles in her new silly straw cup and lily went nuts for her new little stuffed bunny.

Easter Sunday

Our very own Easter Lily was not interested in being in the picture with us - but we still love her

On our way out the door for church. I managed to wipe all of the chocolate off of their faces for this picture. They had just finished a healthy breakfast of sees candy, peeps and pez.

Real Home no.6

Our home is featured today on

stephmodo

I am a big fan (and follower) of Stephanie's beautiful blog and to say I am flattered would be an understatement.

Thanks to my good friend, Elizabeth

who came up with the idea of submitting pictures of my house and also for taking the time out of her busy life to take them

Easter's On Its Way

4 more "sleeps" until Easter. The countdown has been going on for weeks in our home. Elle and Gwen made paper chains that hang in their bedroom so they can be SURE to know how many more days until "THE BIG DAY". Elle made this Bunny hat at school and this morning I came downstairs to find Gwen watching cartoons with it on. Oh, how I love this 4 year old.

Love

~ my lily and my jon ~

Sea World

Gwen's preschool class had a field trip to Sea World. Elle was at school but Lily and I joined her. So fun. We saw Shamu do a flip and went to the shark tank. Gwen's favorite however was the starfish pool. Lily's favorite was the bag of popcorn she walked around with.

On The Inside

In my mind, Elle is still my baby. I can't get over how grown up she is looking lately. At times I'll look at her and get a glimpse as to how she'll look when she's older. I love babies but I must say Elle getting older is really fun too. She is constantly told how much she looks like her daddy. And it's true. She is a McGee through and through. A dead ringer for Jon when he was little and Jon looks just like his dad. The other night laying in bed she said, "mama, I know I look like daddy but I think I'm just like you on the inside." How cute is that? It's true too. She is is a lot like me.

As she was drifting off to sleep I told her she was perfect and not to change a thing. She whispered back, "mama, what if I get a new freckle while I sleep - is that ok?"

I assured her that a new freckle would be fine. She would still be perfect.

Besties

My best friend Allyson was in town this past week on vacation with her family. It was so much fun to see her. We met when we were just 5 years old on my driveway and were inseparable ever since. Hard to believe we've been friends for 31 years. I wish I had a scanner because I have some pretty hilarious photos documenting those years... grade school t0 college roommates to marriage, babies and everything in between. The best part however is that no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other we don't miss a beat the minute we're together again. Our brilliant plan in 5th grade to marry brothers and live on the same cul-de-sac didn't quite work out as we had planned. We've had to settle with meeting up on stolen weekends here and there... but we'll take what we can get.

Love you, Ally - here's to 31 ( + ) more years.

Silhouette

The silhouette of the little girl on our nightstand is me when I was 8 years old. I had it done at Disneyland and can still remember trying to sit so still for the artist. I was so excited when I found it the other day that I had to put it out. I have plans for this one and also for silhouettes of my 3 girls but until then this little one makes me smile.

Switched

I switched my lamps around last week. And to make it clear I do not have time for trivial things like this. I know this blog is quiet but my life is not. I do not putter around a quiet house with music playing switching things here and there. It's crazy around here all the time. When the idea hit me to move things around Elle and Gwen both had friends over plus we had 3 neighbor kids over, I was holding Lily and starting to make dinner. Did I wait until a more convenient time? Of course not. I had Elle crawl under the table and unplug the lamp, I had Gwen's friend hold the lamp shade and two more kids upstairs doing the same thing. They were all good sports and quickly ran back out on to our trampoline. Elle did tell me she thought it looked really pretty before she ran off. Thank you for humoring me, Elle.

Do you see what it's like living with me? Embarrassing - I just can't help it.

Gwen the Pirate

Gwen was invited to a Pirate Birthday Party last Friday. I remembered 5 minutes before she left that she needed to go in costume. We made it work and she thought she looked like a real pirate which was all that mattered. She was amazed at my skills. The costume in reality was a lame attempt on my part. I'll be sad when my girls start realizing that I'm not really as great as they think I am. I know that day is fast approaching. Until then - I'm soaking it up.

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.