visitors!

the girls got the surprise of a lifetime yesterday when we told them we were going to the airport to look for some planes. it's the simple things, they were excited!

however, we were really going to the airport to pick up mema and pittypat! what a fun moment when avery noticed them sitting on a bench outside :)

we stopped for lunch on the way home from the airport. it was a busy friday lunchtime, so we could only get two tables next to each other. zane and i got to each lunch together, and the ladies all got to each with each other and it worked out perfectly :)

yay for family visits!

enormous.

not the best picture, but when did they get so big?????????

dare i say it?

there's a chance (a pretty big one, but i won't say 100% yet)...

that i've finished my work (the big stuff) for classes this summer.

i just put the finishing touches on an 8 page research proposal and just have to tie up some loose ends (add publishers to my annotated bibliography) on my 11 page collection development project that i "finished" yesterday.

joy. that's an understatement.

there's also a chance (again, a pretty big one) that last week's foolishness and bad moodiness and over-all crankiness in this household are gone!

right now it looks like this upstairs:

we went to the res beach this morning and let the girls watch a movie upstairs with some conditions: they were to stay on the couch, with quiet mouths and hands, no fooling around. if they broke those rules, either one of them, they would have to go to their room and be quiet in their beds, where they've spent the last 4 "rest times" this week (though they've been louder than thunder and more obnoxious than...something that's stupidly obnoxious...when they've been banished to "nap"time.)

so this sight? with nola sound asleep and avery cuddled up and QUIET so that her sister can sleep? 

priceless.

we're going to get ice cream to celebrate the victories for everyone. 

ps, ha! you can tell when it's the end of a semester i guess. april i only had 5 posts all month. july, so far, only has 2 :)

summer, so far.

so far, i've been terrible about taking pictures.

....we've been to the res beach at least 3 times a week, probably more like 4 or 5.

....we've given the girls "sleep treats" almost every morning because they are going to sleep wonderfully!

....i've managed to not get too stressed out with my summer classes (although there's only 4 weeks left and an insane amount of work to be done, i'm trying to keep my cool)

....we've been to a new water park twice, and we all like it much more than the one we went to the last couple of years.

.... i've been slacking on running, and i really really hope to get in a better routine.

....the girls have two new nightgowns each for their awesome sleeping and there's few things cuter than little girls in nighties.

....the girls finished charlotte's web with zane and are onto the fantastic mr. fox (the dramatic reading of the last chapters of charlotte's web was a sight--zane and i both crying and the girls going about their business.)

....we found a new beer that we both adore--narragansett summer ale. in a pretty blue can.

....we went to see madagascar 3 in our local theater

....we finally had "dates" with the girls, something we've been meaning to do for months--i went out with nola and zane stayed home with avery and played a game. we'll definitely be doing more of this, it was great (and different!) to be one on one.

so far, i'd say we've been doing our part to enjoy summer :)

extremes. and sun.

 this is after a week at the res beach. with plenty of sunscreen. they've got pallesen skin that browns beautifully! :) the stripe on nola's back is from her swimsuit top that's a bit too short ;)

just a funny look at how knock-kneed nola is now (above) and how bow-legged she was at a year :)

all websites point to the fact that her legs will straighten out in a few years. will definitely ask at her 3 year appointment, but i'm optimistic. and, she's a faster runner than avery right now, so i'm not too worried ;)

jump those puddles!

so this is what nola looked like with the new "puddle jumpers" i got for the girls to wear at the res beach.

if i had a picture of avery in them, your computer might just blow up with pride and excitement.

she swims around by herself, introducing herself to any and every kid that's within ear shot (hi! what's your name? i'm avery!) and announcing to unsuspecting parents (usually of the kids she's befriended) "these are puddle jumpers!" and the adult says "what?!" and leans down and avery screams out her response again and then smile and nod, and zane and i giggle and beam all the while.

seriously. it's hyserical. slap these waterwings on our big girl and she's gained confidence that i didn't even know was lurking underneath.

luckily (for everyone involved) nola finally warmed up to the floaties and now enjoys "sloating" with avery and her friends :)

we *LOVE* the summer. we've already had our first heat wave!

and i've already skipped my first class! (i'm apparently avocado intolerant or allergic. i'm hoping it's just with extra ripe avocados.)

and the girls have stopped napping (because we said so) and last night they were asleep without a peep at 7, and tonight by 7:15. success!!

other than that, things are moving along. more to come later.

thanks to zane.

avery just came downstairs with a newscast:

"mom. i've got some good news and some bad news.
the bad news is that nola hit me right on the forehead with her dream lite.
and i said ow.
but the good news is that i punched her back."

it's open!!

happy father's day a day late! i'll post on that later, it was a good one (i hope!) filled with eating out for breakfast (we hardly ever do that, and nola actually ate!), a 3 hour nap (for the girls), a new hedge trimmer, and dinner out! there's no amount of gifts or words that could explain to zane just how much we love him and appreciate him and value his contributions to this family. we love you, love!

the girls think that since the res beach opened today, it's summer. i keep trying to explain that technically, summer isn't for a few more days. kids could care less about technicalities. so, even though it was in the 60's and the clouds took hours to burn off and relieve us from the chill, the girls and i went to the res beach today! either the woman felt bad that it was chilly or that i opened my big mouth and told her we weren't residents (they goofed last year and we saved over $100!), but she took $10 off our passes :) every little bit counts.

there was a camp there, and maybe one or two other moms with a kid or two. but for the most part, the girls had the entire place to themselves! it was a nice transition into "summer". later on this week it's going to be in the 90's, and i'm sure it won't be quite as quiet :)

and again, the power of a year is astounding.

ps, i finally, OFFICIALLY, got the job at the middle school library for next year, 12.5 hours a week. now if we could just get zane a job in this town we'd be all set! positive thoughts appreciated ;)

happy birthday, bear!

i will always be astounded at how this:

turned into this:

in just 3 short years.

when i dropped the girls at school yesterday, the two teachers there heard it was nola's birthday this weekend. when they asked how old she was going to be and she held up three fingers, they both said 'wait, what? i thought you were turning 4!' i thought they were just joking around with her, but i think they actually thought she was a year older. she's definitely the size of a 4 year old :)

happy birthday, nola bear. we love you more than words can say and hope you have a wonderful day! you and your sister deserve a birthday party everyday :)

(ps, last night the girls were playing with a pretend birthday cake that their school gave to nola for her birthday. they were taking turns "making" the cake and bringing it to the birthday girl, singing happy birthday and then distributing the pieces. avery had such a beautiful look of pride on her face when she was presenting the cake to nola. i was taken back 3 years ago when we had no idea how any of us would interact/react to the newest family member. we especially worried how avery would do not being the center of our everything. last night proved once again that it was one of the best things that has happened to us and we're all madly in love with our nola josephine.)

hair today, gone tomorrow!

we are almost ready for summer here! the girls got their hair cut today, i get mine cut on friday, we celebrate nola's birthday on saturday, father's day on sunday, the res beach opens on monday, i start school on tuesday and zane's last day of work is on thursday!

phew!

*love*

i'm trying to squeeze in much blogging as i can before my classes start in just over a week, blegh.

we were reading stories the other day before naptime and the girls have their particular spots on the couch on either side of me (or zane). this day, avery asked if nola wanted to come over to her side and when they got together, nola shared her blanket with avery, they put their arms around each other and kissed. i had my phone in my pocket so i jumped up to take a picture, figuring they'd stop as soon as i told them what i was doing.

instead, they asked me to take more pictures, but i only needed to take one :)

more sweetness.

we have pizza every friday night. last night, the girls were sitting "at the board" (a baby doll playpen with a board on top, make-shift tv tray on the floor that we use entirely too much) eating, when avery dropped a glob of ketchup. she said she needed a wipe, and i pointed her to where they are.

"noooo! i can't get up! i have ketchup on my shorts!"

no one said a word as nola got up with a smirk on her face. she ran to the table to get a wipe for avery and i said i was going to get her some stickers for her chart for being such a good helper. avery heard that and jumped up to get her own wipe (hoping for stickers probably)

nola got to them first though, and when avery said "nola, i can get my own!"

nola responded with "but you're my best friend" in the sweetest, most honest little voice ever.

(ps, this is what our dining room table has looked like all week, hence, the eating on the floor often. it was a rainy week and they LOVE crafts.)

g'night.

from avery:

"goodnight nola. sweet dreams, i love you!"

made my year.

1st day/last day

(by the way, i showed the "before" picture to the girls briefly before we left for school. when i was taking the "after" picture, i couldn't figure out why avery was standing like that-for multiple shots. then i saw the old one. she sure takes things in quickly!)

thought we were done...

...moving things around upstairs. but i've joked to zane that i wouldn't mind moving our bed into this room. love the simplicity and the colors and the peacefullness. pictures are kind of crummy, but the overall gist is there.
light gray on top, darker gray (that we also used in the sunroom) on bottom.
the closet is going to be cleared out and hold the upstairs vaccum and cleaning stuff, with a white curtain hung.
the futon is going to get a new cover at some point- i wanted plain white so we could bleach it if needed to keep it clean, but it's nearly impossible to find one for less than $80.
the unfinished "box" next to the futon is our old shoe bench that zane made. we're going to paint it white, again at some point.
the white shelf has an old monitor that we used in nh. we're going to hook up a desktop tower to it at some point so we can watch netflix in here.
we have a plethora of white frames in this house, so there will be plenty of things to go on the wall. i'm in no rush though, i like the bare walls for now.
this is going to (hopefully) be the room that the girls will get dressed in/get ready in the morning when i'm getting ready for work/practicum.

just to show you some of our paint. this all needs to go downstairs. and there are still some cans in the guest room. this was a BIG project, and i'm really really really happy it's done :)