Wednesday, January 28, 2009

A Violin Studio is Born


the teacher


the lovely student #1


Up like this...


Good posture!


Who's next? The lovely lady in green.


Keep the bow straight for a nice sound...


'Bravo!' says our captive audience.


Not bad for a second lesson! I couldn't be more excited to start teaching.

p.s. This is also an announcement I am now accepting students, as currently 2/3 of mine are my own children! :)

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Our Little Hobby

In an effort to steer L & M away from their princess fanaticism, it seems I have stumbled upon a new obsession myself.


Maybe it's her outfits...


Or could it be their clever wittiness, cute wallpaper and English accents.

At any rate, we're all about Charlie and Lola around here. I can't get over how much I love the artist's taste, not to mention the unique stories that always make me laugh. Oh and L & M enjoy this series too-they have been reading the books on repeat ever since I cleaned out Barnes & Noble on Saturday. Imagine my surprise when the girls asked me for some pink milk for breakfast this morning! And of course on weekdays the show is a refreshing break from my usual cleaning routine. Yes it's safe to say Charlie and Lola are here to stay.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Ahoy!



Today started out like any other morning, waking up to see that little Liv had pooped through her pajamas, her onesie, and my sheets? Sometimes cuddling with her is risky business, but yet I have never met anyone who wakes up so happy.
I was able to transport poop-strewn everything down the stairs before breakfast even started, like always, relying on my handy washer to soothe away my woes. Until it started making a funny noise...and beeping midway through the cycle. I take that back, it didn't make it midway through any cycle. It seemed to be stuck on the part where water is pouring in and pouring in, believe me I was watching it through the little window on the front. What is a desperate housewife to do but call her husband at work and have him give instruction. Surely Ryan can figure out the problem by not directly viewing it better than I, the one standing in front of it, can.
Well, the water kept pouring and Ryan finally asked, rather annoyed, if I wanted him to come home.
"I got it under control hon,"
I said as I flipped through the manual and made my next call to costumer service. As always, I had to talk to some automated robot first before anyone that could actually help. I was able to successfully relay my name, address, zip code and in an attempt to read off the model number--
"VF2200.."
"Is that BXQQOO..."
And then my conversation with the robot was rudely interrupted by a loud pop, a washer door swinging open, and a build-up of the last 20 minutes of water flowing through the laundry room and kitchen. Oh and there was some screaming too. (Note to self: never flip out in front of your kids, it only escalates their lung power!) I made one last call to Ryan, who in husband style drops everything to come rescue his helpless wife from the flood. Meanwhile, I was too in shock to figure out how to shut off the water, allowing another 5000 or so gallons to flow onto the floor before shutting off the back valve. Oh why isn't there some kind of handy man night school I could enroll in to be prepared for these situations?
Long story short, Ryan and I spent a morning of quality time bailing water out of our house with the wet/dry vac we have lying in our garage. I have to admit it was kind of fun, a surprise couple of mid-morning hours with the hubs, no kids allowed in the kitchen! And now our kitchen floor/laundry room/garage/under the fridge is really, really clean, and if only I could say the same for my language today, ha! Instruction manual, my left foot. Oh in case any of you are wondering, I finally made it past robot-lady and onto the next round of customer service, who kindly informed me they would get out a repair man as soon as possible...Monday!!!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

January 20, 2009

Today's conversation.
me: Did you know we have a new President?
London: Is it for London and Maddie?
(said at the same time as)
Madelyn: Is it for the baby Jesus?

me: No, president, not present, look there he is in the parade!
Madelyn: Can he come to our house?
me: Well. Maybe someday.



All my avid blog readers (all 1.5 of you) know I am pretty discrete about my politics. It's not that I don't have opinions, I just prefer to keep political discussions contained and exclusive to the people I know. I did, however think that today was a historical day in the history of our country. I stayed tuned to the tv all day, and even got a little choked up to see our new president walk in the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. It reminded me that no matter how I voted, I am proud to be a citizen of this country. I was impressed by the patriotism our nation displayed today. The millions united in our nation's capital and around the world in the hopes of getting a glimpse of the new president demonstrated faith in democracy, and in all the things our founding fathers fought for. Truly the great minds of those who formed this government were inspired by a higher power. In glimpses we see their vision of the future, the best of humanity united with hopes of a better world.
This may be the District Court Judge's daughter in me speaking, as my experiences of every holiday, national and religious, be it President's day, Thanksgiving or Easter, were not complete without a quote from Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, and the volumes upon volumes of Abraham Lincoln. My dad does love government; he loves this government from its very existence. It is for this reason I find it so very important to instill in my children a deep respect and appreciation for the blood that has been spilled and the history of our nation, so carefully orchestrated by our maker. I can only hope for London and Madelyn, today was the beginning of that sentiment.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Squirrel Pants Revisited

One of the few, the only chilly days in Austin, I found myself digging through bins to find something warm for my baby girl. And remembered--


Ah yes, the squirrel pants outfit I found in the boys' section at K-Mart almost 4 years ago!


The last wearers of the pants (I think they were almost a year old here)


Have passed on the torch, the squirrel pant responsibility, should she choose to accept it...


to Baby Olivia. Not even three months old and already passed up her sisters' weight combined at her age.


Oh what figure isn't flattered by a little squirrel?


Maddie, the original wearer. How you have grown.


And moved so quickly from squirrel pants onto frilly princess parties. Wow, time flies when you're a parent. I wonder who will wear them next?

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Lon Mad Liv



Here is one of the pictures James took of L & M & O around Christmas time. We ended up giving both sets of grandparents a version of this as a gift. I was surprised this photo shoot ended up happening it was so spontaneous, but sometimes that is the best outcome. And even though Olivia is looking kind of pensive, I want this one framed in every room of my house.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

New Addition

It looks like we finally caved and brought home a new four-legged friend.


Just kidding.
Rather, she came into the yard through that hole in the fence. I guess she was liking those hamburgers the kids keep throwing over and wanted more where that came from.
I have never seen L & M so happy to have a dog appear -literally-out of nowhere slash straight from heaven. She ended up spending the day in our yard because she couldn't quite manage to get back through the hole she'd made, and her owners weren't home.


So we spent the day playing with her. I like this borrow-a-dog for a day idea.



A note I composed for the neighbors door:

Howdy neighbor,
It appears your dog is stuck in our yard. Don't panic, we are overwhelming her with love. Feel free to pick her up when you miss her, or if she is hungry or needs to poop or a walk or brushed or bathed. We take care of enough little people around here for any dog responsibilities. However we would enjoy playing with her all day, just send her through the hole in the fence.
Sincerely, your neighbors

Friday, January 9, 2009

Evens and Odds

The year 2009 came in with a bang. Or a leak, gas to be exact. Two grand later, a thorough examination of my new Lester-mobile concluded she's not so much sick....


As terminally ill. Yes that's right folks this car needs a NEW ENGINE! Without one the prognosis is death, perhaps slow and painful but imminent. At least I hope it's slow, so far we've used it two out of the sixty months we will be paying for it.


I will be frowning about that for awhile...

Needing some cheering up, I know a few things do the trick every time. Namely:


Finding about twenty pictures like this on the camera, it appears London has tried her hand at photography.


Maddie, or is that a self-portrait?


The sink.

And about seventeen of these:

I wouldn't believe London had actually taken these pictures if I didn't see her little hand in the bottom. Right on, girl!


Baby Liv's smile sets my heart aflame, even larger than the heartburn she gave me in utero. Love these little bursts of happiness. Even though for Liv, 2009 has also brought RSV. Don't worry she is on the mend.


And Ryan called the other night to tell me about this gorgeous little hazy sunset. Now there is some cheering up.

And when the going gets tough, it turns out I am a scourer of households, a blaster of music, not to mention a shopper. I think we can get through this one. What else might this year bring?

Sunday, January 4, 2009

The Liv of our Lives

Thank you, family and loved ones alike for making the trip to P to the f for our newest little lady's baby blessing. It's a good thing Ryan and I measure our popularity by how many rows we take up in church (2.5 but who's counting?:)
Among those rows were my brother A.J. and dad, whom I couldn't be happier got to be part of the circle. And a whole bunch of uncles, aunts, cousins, and everyone else that got to witness how Maddie got that giant goose egg on her head. Aside from that, it was a beautiful day and we couldn't be happier to have the Liv in our lives.




We had two blessing dresses to choose from this time around. We went with London's. I wish I'd gotten a close up of Liv's little ballerina shoes.



Barlows on the porch. Of course L & M had to pull out their princess dresses!



We have loved getting to know our family here in Texas better. What a good looking bunch!


And their good lookin' kids. I am re-considering furnishing my front room in favor of filling the whole thing with toys (worst idea ever, I can't stand having it so bare). It does come in handy when we have groups like this. And I just noticed L & M aren't sharing their wagon...

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Perfect Day for a Canoe


While my parents were here, we decided we needed to show them some of Austin's best-that's right, canoeing at Zilker Park.


Jocelyn and Liv showed up to the event dressed alike. Heck, they could practically pass for twins! Which is not such a bad idea because Liv needs a sibling/friend for life. And the cutest picture I have ever seen of either one of them.


Somewhere along the trail London picked up a blue balloon animal, which popped about the same time we went under the bridge. Heather and I, not noticing part of the balloon was deflated, looked around to see who had SHOT at us! Noticing there were no gun-carrying civilians around, imagine our relief when we realized it was just the deflated balloon.


And two minutes off dry land Maddie comes up with an idea.
"Hey mom, why don't you get out of the canoe...."



"So that grandma can get in."



Meanwhile, the boys take a ride down more dangerous waters.


I love these shots Ryan got of the bridge at Zilker and downtown Austin.


As it turns out here in Austin, every day is a perfect day for a canoe.