No More!

There has been a request in the Sassy House of Spalding, No MORE Snapshots mom! To which I said, No WAY Sassy's! And so... this is what the camera captured today. These faces love the camera no matter what they say. Mommy loves you within each and every picture, you can see the love!
xoxo

Play Days

Today Gracie had her dear friend Lia over to play after school. She wanted me to go through their play day minute by minute so here we go:
3:05-3:12 : drive home in the car, Grace & Lia discussing what they will do when they get to the house.
3:12-3:14:  eat a quick snack of yogurt and fruit punch.
3:14-3:48:  played in the basement with the doll stuff and kitchen things; giggling loudly and playing tag with Kailee.
3:48-3:52: pestered mom and beg to frost and eat cupcakes (no they didn't win I told them after dinner).
3:52-4:09: played in the playroom with the zoobles and littlest pet shops.
4:09-4:13: pestering mom again about cupcakes.
4:13-4:29: played with mom's kindle (read the book Strawberry Day and played Angry Birds).
4:29-4:48: Kailee created a game; hide the squinkies, similar to finding Easter Eggs but better because it's squinkies of course!
4:48-5:12: Went through mom's Valentine stash and made out Valentine's for fun. (Who doesn't love giving and receiving a Valentine?)
5:12-5:14: Washing hands for dinner
5:14-5:30: Eatting dinner and discussing the fun that was had while playing here today.
5:30-5:44: Frosting our cupcakes and decorating with sprinkles!
5:44-5:47: Eat our cupcakes.
5:47-6:09: Play "Kailee's version of pictionary", which is similar to I'm drawing something random and when you guess something I want it to be, then that's what it is.
6:09: Lia's mom arrived to take her home. Hugs and thank you's for coming were said. Happy girls departed and quickly went to bed.
Good times were had in the Sassy House of Spalding!

Bed Time

 These precious faces are surprisingly tired at the end of the day. These little hands, feet and brains work very hard all day long by 6:30 p.m. these little Sassy's are ready for bed. By 7 p.m. they are cozy in their beds nestled in with sugar plums dancing in their pretty little heads. Some may think that it is too early for a child to go to bed, I feel that if a child wasn't tired, they wouldn't sleep! These little Sassy's sleep a good 11 1/2 hours every night! I believe that sleep is how they allow their little bodies to rejuvenate for the next day and process all that information that they learned through out the day.

Super Sunday!

 It's been a long 4 days for the Sassy House of Spalding! Momma has been busy studying for a huge exam. Daddy has been busy taking care of the house for Momma and the Sassy's have been being very good!
This is what happens when Momma is busy... daddy gets creative and tries all kinds of weird concoctions... this time you'll never guess what it is...

Chocolate covered bacon.

 Super bowl Sunday was spent roasting a chicken... the Sassy's were fascinated that this machine can turn that chicken without it falling off. It's magic! 

That chicken was well worth the wait! It was juicy, tasty and all kinds of yummy in the tummy.

Funky

"Sup, my name's G. G-Money."

This whole bunches of Sassy is all kinds of crazy funny when she's dressed up. Tonight's attire she was sporting... sunglasses, a floppy hat, a girl scouts vest, t-shirt and pj shorts. There was a gold cape at one point but she wanted the cool vest to be seen in the picture. This is how G rolls after school... LOVE IT!

Tuesday.

So we're going to pretend it's Tuesday when I'm writing this because it was so crazy yesterday that we never had a chance to write an entry!
This was our Tuesday:
Wake up at 6:45 a.m. (20 minutes late)
Breakfast
Get dressed
Brush teeth & hair
Go to bus stop
Wait patiently
Go to school and be happy all day.
Ride bus home.
See mom waiting in car and smile.
Come inside and eat a snack.
Start helping mom clean up the playroom... (more organization bins arrived in the mail - woo hoo)
Kailee gets upset and starts crying because she doesn't want to clean anymore.
So Kailee take a time away to think.
Gracie helps mom sort more toys.
Gracie then decides she needs a time away to think.
Mom is left to cleaning playroom (which is okay because mom wanted it a little more organized.)
Mom starts dinner.
Kailee and Gracie are still enjoying their time away spots. (Reading books)
Daddy comes home and puts steaks on the grill.
Daddy cleans out his truck... (it's an organizing kind of day!)
We watch as the sun disappears as the sky turns dark.
We eat dinner... steak, mashed potatoes and green beans.
(No dessert tonight because they choose time away spots instead of helping clean.)
Kailee showers first tonight because it's an odd night.
While she's showering Mom & Gracie shadow read Snow White.
Gracie showers.
While she's showering Mom & Kailee talk about what we should do for Kailee's birthday (Tea Party theme she has in mind.)
After both are snuggly in their pj's and in bed.
We read one story and turn out the lights.
Everyone is sleeping peacefully by 7:10 p.m.
What a full day!

Crisp Morning Sunrise

This morning we woke up to dark (what feels like middle of the night dark)... that kind of dark that makes it hard for everyone to get moving. So we had to get ourselves motivated for school by enticing ourselves with a little "go juice" a.k.a. hot chocolate. It's not a normal morning request but this morning with it as chilly as it was, I knew it would feel good to fill tummies with warm goodness while waiting for the school bus.

Do you see the tired? It's so hard to leave the coziness of our beds on cold mornings...

 

Just when we start to think the morning was so long... we see this beautiful sunrise while awaiting the bus.

This kind of beauty is our reward for getting out of bed.

We are blessed!

Heaven...

Picture it: (Gracie is laying on my bed, petting our cat.) 

Gracie asks, "Mom what do you think Heaven is like?"

"What do you think it is like Grace?" 

"Mom, I think it's like...." (before she can finish Kailee walks in and jumps on the bed.) 

Gracie asks Kailee, "Kailee what do you think Heaven is like?"

To which Kailee quickly replies, without giving it any thought or consideration, as if she's contemplated this question before, "Oh that's easy, it's perfect-ness. It's a place where people get to be together forever and not have to say goodbye."(I'd say she's definitely given this a lot of thought and she makes me so proud.)

Gracie replies, "Kailee that's a really good thought, but I just want to know will there be houses or do we live in clouds?"  

((I love them!))

 

A Sprinkling of Sparkle

 Guess what... it did it again... yes... it snowed! It was so beautiful outside, everything freshly sprinkled with the beautiful glitter of God. The sparkle that God sprinkled all over the yard was so clean and pure... it was nearly breathtaking. But it wasn't enough to get the Sassy's or myself outside.While we sat within the warmth of the house. Me with my coffee in one hand and kindle in the other, daddy bravely went out and shoveled the driveway. (Don't feel bad for him, he loves it. As soon as he seen it snowed last night, he got all twitter-patted and antsy about getting outside. I think he just likes a reason to wear his warm hunting boots - since he doesn't hunt anymore.) So... while daddy was shoveling away... (Note: Gracie made an observation... she said, it looks like he's pushing more than shoveling mom. Oh the humor that child has without even knowing it.) ... anyway... while he was "pushing" the snow ... the Sassy's and I were snuggled inside. We watched daddy shoveling , pushing for the longest while. Almost feeling bad... but not quite.

So while daddy was doing some daddy-duties, we were enjoying playing on the kindle. We listened to some books (Luna, is our newest favorite book - it's about a little girl who looks at the moon. It's really super cute.) and then we played Angry Birds and Words with Friends against each other. (These Sassy's are brilliant! They can come up with great words worth lots of points. We love waking up to the beauty of the sparkly snow... we love staying inside and being cozy just as much though.

Snowy Patches

 These Sassy's do not take snow for granted! They are trying to enjoy every last bit of it before it all goes away again! (Yes, mid-40's predicted for next week.) And this sunshine is melting it all away too fast! So, they played hard outside again today. There were so many smiles that the neighbors must be wondering if those little Sassy's cheeks ever hurt from smiling too much!
Between the sledding, the smiles, the sunshine and the continual up and down of the "yard hill"... they were exhausted when they came inside and didn't even want our Friday night movie... they wanted to lay in bed and have stories read to them. (Way less work than laying on the couch on watching television you know!) So, as they laid in their beds we had one book read to us from Mommy's new kindle. Then mommy read them a book from the kindle which was really good because we could zoom in on the pictures which really made the book way too much fun and took us about 20 minutes to get through the 10 pager! Awe well, the best times we have are with the Sassy's! xoxo

No one ever said...

Today I woke up to my little Gus-Gus in the bed next to me. I didn't even know she was there because she was either a) quiet as a mouse and snuck in under the daddy radar or b) mommy & daddy were so exhausted we would have slept through anything. Hopefully a) is the most likely! It was 5:22 a.m.(I know because I opened my eyes to see) and I was SO HOT! That little furnace, I mean body next to me was snuggled in so nice... how could I ever say she had to leave my bed. I mean it's not like she was jumping around... she was all cozy spooning me like we were born like that. It was precious. Her little hand draped over my side and her little knees all bony against my back. Those moments are purely heaven! People think I'm ridiculous, (I know I can be...) but, I will never tell my children they can't come to me in the night if they need me. No one ever said I had to parent a certain way. My goal is to love them, guide them, redirect them, and shape them into healthy adults. If Gus-Gus needs a little extra mama snuggle time in the night, so be it! I am not a fan of individuals who tend to regard my parenting style as a little, "selfish on my part". #1 I don't care what anyone thinks. #2 I think if it works for me and daddy then we are doing alright! (Before Jon and I married co-sleeping was one of the topics that did come up. Some people are completely against. So, I knew when he said,  he wouldn't mind - we were meant to be.) I really don't care what others say, if my little Gus-Gus or K-K need me in the night or wants to just come snuggle in to be a little cozy, to that I say, SNUGGLE ME! One day they may not want to come snuggle... but at least they can say looking back on their childhood and hopefully adulthood, "my mom and dad always made me feel safe and reassured me."

For My Sassy Spalding's

This morning Kailee asked, "What does 'Let Go and Let God' mean?" Well... my mommy answer was simple, "it means that after we do hard work and we are waiting for results, we have to be patient."

There's no great secret that life is full of ups and downs. There's no way to avoid said ups and downs... we take them as they come and we deal with it. I've been hearing a lot of people reflect upon "Let Go and Let God". While I believe this to be true, I also feel that if you never take the reins certain outcomes will not happen. I believe it's through our free will, our abilities, & our drive that the desired results take place. While I am whole heartedly a Catholic and believe Faithfully in the Lord. I also believe that we can determine our destiny and make decisions (good or bad) based upon on actions. I think God wants us to do the leg work, he wants us to put forth 100% 200% effort. We have the abilities to make great things happen because of God. I don't believe God wants us to throw our hands up before the effort begins and say "Let Go and Let God" I think that only applies AFTER you've done the work and are awaiting the results.

I'm writing this entry because I want my daughters to always know that the effort they put forth is a result of the death of Jesus. Not because God is controlling what we are doing. I think they need to understand that every good thing that happens is a result of the actions we put into motion because of our abilities. These abilities that we achieve while having God in our heart. I believe God guides us, if we listen and we make an effort to live by his example. Bad things happen sometimes, I believe those are a result of actions as well. Sometimes I believe it's just God's way of making us learn, see our faults and become better people. Sometimes I think it's just an unfortunate effect that occurs because of someone elses doing. I do not believe every bad thing that happens is because of God's punishment for doing something wrong. We are human, we have faults... our life and how we choose to live is a reflection of who we are.

Now, I want for my little Sassy's to be honorable, respectful, truthful, hard working, passionate, loving, caring women. I want for them to look back at their life and think, wow I made a difference or wow I really learned something. I want them to learn from mistakes and make changes in their life so they don't make the same mistake again. I hope that they want to be well educated, well read, & well informed individuals. I know they will be lead through life with God in their heart and family at their side. I also know that they will always be loved, more than they can possibly know. And I know that they make foot prints on the souls of everyone they encounter every day. These little foot prints will be their legacy, which started at birth. I want them to know that they will do great things in life, if they want to put forth the effort. I want them to never be afraid to say, "help me" or "guide me" because that is how we learn and grow. I want them to know that their family will always and forever be there to answer those calls when in need. Sometimes the answers may not always match up with the kind of help they were hoping for but in the end, one day they will see why that kind of "help" was offered and not the specific one they were looking for.

I also want them to have self worth and know what it truly means. I believe self worth gives people the drive to want more out of life. Not to say a person cannot be content with their life, but I believe that self worth gives the opportunity when the want arises to strive further. My Sassy's are destined for great things in their life, I can see it already. These children who inspire me every day, who make the effort like they do now, are definitely destined for something wonderful. Inspiration from these Sassy's is what brought forth this entry. I had to write it for them to read one day and I know they will treasure these words as much as I mean them.

Grace Elizabeth

You are an amazing little girl. You make me proud every day to be your mommy! I love you so much!!! Xoxo

Suddenly Sassy

These little Sassy's know how to Sass-ify anything! Fun follows them and I love them so much that my heart feels like it could burst it's so full of love.

Kailin JoyAnnalice

You are 1 of 3 that completes my world! I am so lucky to be your mommy! You will never truly understand how much you mean to me and how blessed I feel to be your mommy! Xoxo

Pitter Patter

2 a.m. I hear, pitter patter pitter patter. Then in a whisper I hear, "The aliens are gonna get me." I just moved over into the middle and that warm little body of Gracie's slides in. I hear her say, "Snuggle me mommy, just don't breathe on my neck." (Seriously? The child climbs into my bed, makes me move over into the cold middle and she tells me not to breathe on her.) Well, guess what I did since it was 2 a.m. I moved up in the bed so I was breathing on her head and in a sleepy yawny annoyed tone she said, "mommy now your blowing on my hair." Reminder, it's 2 a.m. and my bed. So in an equally sleepy yawny annoyed tone I said, "Gracie, if you want me to snuggle you, you have to deal with it." She sighed, *yes sighed*, and said, "Mommy, just put your face in the pillow, cause your breath stinks like garbage." SERIOUSLY! She's lucky she's mine and so dang cute!

More PHO107

Today I had the pleasure of taking more "rule of thirds" pictures. The girls are home from school - it's a "SNOW DAY" minus the snow? It's raining and 43 degrees (another January thaw?). So, I tried to do more photos for my class... here they are.

Updated: 1/26 More thirds

A purposeful over exposure.

House Full of Love!

Hearts are everywhere in this Sassy house. Today was spent "Heart'ing it up"! We enjoyed the company of one another and while Valentine's Day-ifying our home...  Valentine's Day-ifying our home means the craft cabinet! YES... in this special cabinet it contains special scissors, pretty paper, more and more glue and glitter like all get out! There are approximately fifty million hearts blessing our windows, walls and mirrors now... (Tomorrow there could be more.) All this festive heart making and valentine talk has me thinking... how will I top last year for these Sassy's? I have a few ideas up my sleeve... a crafty mommy gone wild is never predictable and so I guess the Sassy Sister's will just have to wait to find out. For now, our home is dripping with love... and well, it's simply lovely! Xoxo

Note: There were no pictures taken during the making of these hearts as a mommy only has two hands and they were full of glittery lovely Sassy fun.

Overnights

Tonight the Sassy Sisters are staying with Grandma Deb & Grandpa Lou. There is no doubt they are having tons of fun and are being "little angels".
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Update: Sassy's came home, smiling, exhausted and full of stories of the fun that was had at Grandpa & Grandma's house. I love their ever so sweet stories of staying the night there. They have such a beautiful way of viewing things... something as simple as coloring, wasn't just coloring, it was "making a heart shape decoration for the wall for Grandma so she can have Valentine's Day in her house." These little budding artists are way more powerful than they will ever know.

Appointment

Today we had Gracie's Devos appointment and all is well. No definites from the doctor, so it's a watch and see. Unless we choose to have some genetic testing done, which we're still in discussion over the best way to handle this. No matter what we do, we know God will guide us and hold us in his Loving Care. Either way, We have to make that drive once a year to go back to have the doc remeasure spots and just update about G's newest tricks! We go every year until she's 18. I pray these next 12 years go by real slow. I hate that I can only say 12 more years until she's 18. That number is all too close. I'm looking forward to what our future holds but I don't want to rush it. I want to enjoy every moment, no matter what the good Lord has in store for us. Here's a few fun pics from the interactive wall.

Snowy Day for a long drive.

Finally the Sassy Spalding Sissy's feel better and school is cancelled due to the inclimate weather. And we're in the car braving the roads on this very snowy hard to see day! Its so snowy that we can't even see the opposing cars coming. The Sassy's are being very good and playing ds and reading. -----
Only 4 hours in the car and we arrived safely! A beautiful room for cheap at the hospital is a blessing!

Day #2 of Sickies

The sickies are home again. We did not have a restful nights slumber... so home we're staying pj'ing it and then here shortly napping it too. I think sleep may be our only defense against whatever this is infiltrating our home. Kailee has a belly ache and had a slight fever again last night. Gracie is still coughing but the coughing only occurs while we're trying to sleep (or until she wants a cough drop). Cough has improved some though, she didn't sound like a chain smoker last night when we were trying to sleep; just like a little munchkin with a nasty cough (I'll happily take that over the chain-smoker sounding cough). She was exhausted and frustrated this morning at 5:30 when she came and snuggled into the warm and cozy bed with me. She said, "Mommy why does this cough not like me. Why does it wake me up every night when I want to sleep?" I said, "Oh little Miss Gracie it's not that the cough doesn't like you, it does and that's the problem. You need to drink lots and lots of water today to try and shake it." She was snuggled in so tightly against me, warm and cozy and then she says, "Like this?" and she shakes her entire body wildly and wakes up daddy who has slept through the conversation to this point. He just says, "stop it" and rolls back over. Gracie puts that little thumb in her mouth (yes I know... but it's her thumb and if she wants to suck it - the doctor said there is nothing wrong with it and so Jon and I are okay with that and that is all that matters) and she snuggled in and went back to sleep. We slept until 8:30, which was heaven because we never sleep that late (which is how I know she's exhausted).
Today we may try to eat something substantial for Kailee and Gracie is going to drink lots and lots of water and OJ because she said, "OJ is better than water because it has C's in it that help my body fight the germs." (She's too smart for her own good.)

Shirk or Work?

Today two little Sassy's are home with a variety of ailments. This list is long so get your cup of morning Joe and settle in for the long haul... ok it's really not that bad but to this mama who has more on her plate this week than she cares for, it feels like a lot. Which is why I'm considering the Shirk or Work philosophy.

Kailee woke up at 4:30 a.m. saying her belly hurt, seeing as it was still "night-time" hours I told her to climb into daddy's spot (because he had to go to work extra-extra early) and snuggle in. I woke up at 4:53 and heard the distinct sound of gagging. Poor child... then she started to get the chills... which led to some tears and (my favorite part is coming up next, though I wish it was not an encore to crying) more mama snuggling. So, it's 7:40 a.m. right now at this very second she has ate 2 saltine crackers and a sip of water. She says, "my belly is very hungry feeling" one second and then in the next she says, "my belly feels ger-rumbly-in-knots". So... we're sticking with little sips and tiny bites until the "ger-rumbly-in-knots" feeling passes.

Gracie on the the opposite side has this wicked cough. The kind of cough that makes a mommy stop and think "wow did that just come out of you?" So... when I have E.T.A. on daddy I will be calling for an appointment for G. We cannot make our trek down to Devos on Thursday with a child who is hacking like chain-smoker.

I hadn't planned on blogging about this but, I figure it's a part of Gracie's history and it needs to be documented just because I need reference for many things. I think it's important for children to know their medical history and maybe this will be important for her to know and remember one day. If my memory keeps going as it is I won't be able to remember much, but this will provide a documentation that will give us a little light when we need it. 

You're probably thinking why are you going to Devos Thursday? Well, we're going to the Neurofibromatosis Clinic to see Dr. Vanderland (spelling is questionable sorry). Since birth Gracie has had a large birth mark on her back (not uncommon or of concern). Well, the birth mark has grown in size and she has more of, what I thought were "birth marks" on her body (mostly belly & back). The doctor called them Cafe au lait (Ka-Fay Oh Lay) spots. These spots can be one of the "markers" for something called Neurofibromatosis, which is a genetic disorder that can disrupt cell growth in your nervous system. We're going down so G can be evaluated on Friday morning. It's not scary or invasive from what I've been told, it's a lot of chitter-chatter amongst adults and looking at spots on the child. We are hoping for a very easy, quick, not-to-serious appointment but also an appointment that will answer all of our questions... which are endless.

We have had a little insight into this disorder already because friend of Jon's has a daughter (named Gracie as well) with this disorder as well. Her mommy was nice enough to ease my fears and provide guidance on what to ask and then she even let us borrow their information regarding this; which was a blessing. I don't know how this family has dealt with this disorder for so long and not lost their mind but it sounds like they arm themselves with information, support one another, and do not dwell on it. I admire them.

I want to make sure that we do all of the same.
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So far, only 8:30 a.m. ... the shirking is feeling like work... belly aches = no fun.

Photography Class...

...so I'm taking an online digital photography class. I was hoping for an easy A... however it's looking like more work than I bargained for. Oh well, I'll suck it up and do my best. Anyway this week we're learning about the rule of thirds... so... yes... here's three of my five images that reflect the thirds rule.

Also, the purpose of this is to photograph things in a minimalist way... I'm not great... but it shall improve.

I know when the Sassy's read this they are going to say, "Why mom?" Well, Sassy Spalding's I want to show you what I was doing when I was outside wandering around the yard photographing things and then wandering around the house saying out loud, "how would I apply a third here"... to which you both looked at me like I was bonkers! I told you what I had really been doing at that time but you both just laid there in your bean bags watching "The Fairies Movie" with your goofy little looks and thinking I was nuts. I wasn't nuts... I was working!

When...

Today Jon and I spent the day together, traveling to and from my doctor appointment in Grayling. This is a funny'ish story... my doctor usually practices out of the Prudenville office, so Jon and I drove all the way down there... only to be told that we were suppose to be in the Grayling office.... (which is about 20 minutes North). So, we did a nice little jaunt down to Prudenville, back up to Grayling, stopping in Gaylord for a coffee on our way home... we did have a good day... When you leave me in charge of details, things like this is bound to happen!
While spending all this quality time together we started to discuss the "When's..." When we grow old we will buy a fifth wheel and truck and tour the country. When I get a job we'll buy a new vehicle. When the taxes come back we'll get a new mattress and put money in the girls savings accounts. Well, this talk inspired me to ask the Sassy's these similar questions...
...When you grow up what do you want to be?
Kailee: A vet.
Gracie: A kid doctor.
...When you make lots and lots of money what will you do with it?
Kailee: Buy some toys. Buy a dog. Oh and buy some toys for kids who don't have them.
Gracie: I would buy a goat. (oh great!)
...When you get old what do you want to do?
Kailee: I don't know. I don't want to get old.
Gracie: Go to heaven to be with Odie and Jesus. :(
That was the last of my when's because Gracie bummed me out. She was so sad when she said Odie... makes me realize how much she still misses that naughty cat. He's been gone for a year and he's still fresh in our minds. The girls even made us hang up his stocking this year. These kind and sweet one-on-ones with the Sassy's make me realize how important it is that we talk. My hope as a mother is to have the kind of relationship with my daughters as I do my own mom. I want them to be able to come to me with questions, concerns, anything! I always want them to know that no matter what they are loved and their feelings will be validated as individuals.

Grandma Debbie Days

Today Grandma Debbie came to our house. She is actually spending the night because she has a doctors appointment in the morning and Jon & I have to leave early in the morning so I can go in for a re-check at the ortho-doctor in Prudenville. The girls have had a wonderful evening of snuggling, more blog book reading and showing Grandma Deb the different games on the iPod. Daddy has made us a delicious dinner; a club sandwich casserole.... we'll see how it tastes...
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Club sandwich casserole had mixed reviews... turns out it's a little mushy... a little more breakfast'ish and a little bit more tomato-y than what Jon had planned for. Kind of funny considering he's the one who thought it would be fantastic.
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The Sassy's spent the evening playing "words with friends" against each other on Grandma Deb's iPad. Yep... I think that we may have to put the iPad on our "wish list" for Santa. It was nice to see how sweet they were to one another... and how well they played with Grandma Deb's assistance of course! Perfect memories made tonight.