Thursday, May 29, 2008

Anna Kate's Muffins

After we got home yesterday afternoon and finished dinner, Anna Kate and I decided to make some muffins. I had some bananas that I didn't want to go bad so we decided on banana nut and blueberry muffins. Blueberry is Anna Kate's favorite and I knew she would love taking them to summer camp for breakfast. I think I have a future chef on my hands :)





She really loves pouring all the ingredients in the bowl, mixing it up and spooning the mixture into the muffin pans. And I know she enjoys eating them - arter all, she has already consumed ten of the twelve muffins.

Summer camp is going well. So far no complaints. It's pretty much structured play time all day long. Her teacher said they will visit the library twice a week and have 'water day' once a week. Once a month they will have a huge, bouncy water slide for the kids. Now that will be AK's favorite day of all!

Before I close I HAVE to share a cute AK story. We were driving home from town Monday afternoon and while we were going up a hill when she said, "Mama, do you know why there are hills?" I responded with, "Well why don't you tell me" and she proceeded with, "Well, you know the road fixers? Well they put too much water under the road and that's what makes a hill." I asked her how she learned that and she said with utmost 'mama-you're-so-stupid' tone to her voice, "I made it up! You know I make up songs, stories and smart stuff. I'm good at it too." Alrighty then, I guess I'm a complete moron...crazy girl!

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Sunday, May 25, 2008

Mommy-Daughter Day

A few weeks ago I posted about Jeff & Anna Kate's Daddy-Daughter Day. They went fishing together on the boat all by themselves (without my supervision.) Well yesterday I decided Anna Kate and I needed our own Mommy-Daughter Day. After her nap we went to the nail salon and had a manicure and pedicure together. It was so much fun! I was surprised at how patient Anna Kate was. When I do her nails she is a total wiggle worm and is hard pressed to let them dry completely. Of course, since it wasn't mommy doing it this time, she was a perfect little lady :) Red polish with silver glitter was her polish choice and mine was nice pink. We soaked our feet in the pedicure spa bath, got a lotion leg & arm massage, had our toe and fingernails filed and painted and then Anna Kate finished up with a hand painted daisy on each of her big toes. This little girl is so proud of her toes! She has shown everyone she has seen. I predict we make many trips back to the nail salon as mommy and daughter :)

Claiming her spot in the pedicure massage chair.


Getting her fingernails painted.


Mommy & Daughter


The princess' hand painted daisies...



I wanted to add these other pictures of Anna Kate camping with my parents last week. Mom is sending me her pics so I will be adding those as they come in.

Posing before she roasts marshmallows

Roasting her very first marshmallow with 'Popsy'

Anyone who knows our family knows that pizza is a staple food no matter where we are!

I'm not sure what they're playing here.

And I'm not sure what Popsy is telling Anna Kate, but she's totally buying it.


Anna Kate cheering as we play the 'throw-the-corn bag-in-the-whole' game. Jeff is 'supervising'...

Looking SO CUTE as she cheers on mommy!

MiMi & Popsy playing the 'T-T-CB-I-T-W' game.

Jeff holding the pole up???

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Happy Birthday to one of my dearest friends........Spring!!! Hope you had a wonderful day. Love you!

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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

DAVID COOK WINS!!

My man won!!! Woo Hoo :-D I told Jeff that I will be first in line to buy his CD. Heck, I'm downloading all of his AI songs from iTunes now....



For the record, Jeff likes him too. And for any of my family and/or friends that know my brother Chris, doesn't David remind you of him?

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Sunday, May 18, 2008

Weekend Fun!

We've had a busy, yet fun weekend. My parents are down for the week camping in their motorhome so we spent the past few days relaxing at the lake. You want to know something? I truly think Anna Kate would live in an underwater world of her own if she were able. In fact, while she was swimming this afternoon she said, "You know what mama? I'm going to sleep in here tonight" and here I sit in the comfort of my living room, dry and warm and she is still with my parents camping. Ummmm, surely she's not still in the water... nah, I know she's not...

Anyway, we had such a good time. The weather was gorgeous; sunny with a wonderful, cool breeze and not too hot at all. We played a few games, one I'm not 100% sure what you call it, but to keep from embarrassing my brother and sister in-law in Kentucky, I'll just call it the 'throw the corn bag in the hole' game. Mom & I had the guys beat until Jeff pulled out 6 points with his last two bags. *Huff* Anna Kate was our cheerleader and informed me that she would cheer for me when I did good and not when I didn't. At least she was consistent. LOL.

Although Jeff & I had to come home since we have to return to work tomorrow, Anna Kate has the luxury of staying with her MiMi & Popsy for the week to enjoy camping, swimming, bike riding, swimming, roasting marshmallows, picnics, swimming and, did I mention swimming?! Fortunately, the campground is in our town, so if my parents start to lose their minds, we can rescue them, but I'm pretty confident that won't happen. So without further ado,



This girl LOVES to camp!






She learned to float today!


MiMi warming up her angel girl




My cute hubby!


Popsy enjoying the 'deep south' again!


Someone just woke up from a nap...




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Moving On Up!

Anna Kate's preschool had their graduation program on Friday morning. She was sooo excited to share her school, teachers, all her friends and everything she had learned with her MiMi & Popsy Miller, 'E' and Aunt 'D' (and of course mommy and daddy.) The children had been practicing for two weeks on the program and they really did a great job. Granted, the 3-4 year old classes (AK) had to stand on the risers for what seemed like thirty minutes straight singing their little classroom songs, during which time Anna Kate scratched every surface of her body, yawned numerous times, shifted from leg to leg, stared out into the audience in a trance, stared at her feet, adjusted her shoes & socks and at one point we literally thought she was about to fall asleep standing up. After about the third song, she had completely lost interest. It was quite comical. She wasn't alone in her boredom though, trust me. By the end of their 'performance' there were little boys pulling their shorts up as high as they would go, children counting each and every finger on his hands, endless yawning, etc. We were holding our breath for Anna Kate's BIG MOMENT. They sang a song and when it got to a certain part, each child recited their full name into the microphone. This is how it went:


Class Sings: I like friends. I like being a friend to you. Cats go meow. Dogs go bow-wow. Cows go mooo. Who are you?

Child Recites Name: Anna Kathleen Lee

There were approximately 25 children in the two classes, so you can imagine how long this song was. It was precious though. Some children barely whispered their names, some sang it, some screeched it and some SHOUTED it! Anna Kate fell right in the middle. She very politely and gently said, 'Anna Kate Lee' (guess she forgot her middle name is Kathleen.)

After they finished their part of the program they received their 'Moving Up' certificates. It was rolled up like a scribe with a blue ribbon tied around it....just like a little diploma. Each child was called down by their full name to receive their certificate. If the child was a boy, he had to bow, take his diploma and shake the teacher's hand. For a girl, same process except she curtsied instead of bowing. A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E!!!

Following the graduation, there was a reception for everyone. The tables were full of food and decorated with graduation themed decorations, complete with two graduate cakes (one boy & one girl). The children were so proud of themselves and you could see the sheer joy and utter relief on the teacher's faces. LOL.

Although Anna Kate didn't actually graduate from preschool Friday, I was still full of mixed emotions. Going through her decorated bag of items they made on their first day of school and comparing it to things she had brought home throughout the year and the recent past....it's amazing how much she has grown. I looked at the picture of her on her little 'name plate' for her cubby and she still looked like my little toddler with her chubby cheeks. Now, she looks like a little girl (but with the same chubby cheeks.) My how she's grown. Our tiny little baby has grown into a beautiful little girl and our hope and prayer is that she continues to grow into a beautiful, spiritual and faithful young woman. We're so proud of you Anna Kate!

This is Anna Kate's class before the program. We were missing 4 girls and 2 boy.
















'Jesus Loves the Little Children'
(in costume are the graduates representing their future careers)
















'Jesus Loves Me' in song & sign language
















Anna Kate's big moment (with the microphone)
















Anna Kate receiving her Moving Up certificate

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Prayer Request!

I won't go into a lot of detail, but my family is going through a stressful time right now. My dad is currently going through a series of tests that will tell us if he is battling cancer. Please say a prayer for him and our entire family. Waiting is torture and we need to feel God's strenth, love and healing power.

We love you dad!

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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Mother's Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing Mother's Day!

Sunday was a very nice day for me. Anna Kate and I woke up at the same time and just cuddled while she watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We noticed that daddy wasn't there, but he showed up with breakfast for us a few minutes later. Anna Kate wished me Happy Mother's Day and told me she loved me. I even got a card that she wrote her name on all by herself. So cute! We got ready for church without any major meltdowns and actually had a great morning. She was very well behaved in 'big church'..she really was an angel. Of course, you know 2 hours is as long as she is capable of going without there being a monumental 'something' that causes her to break down in tears. That day, is was the fact that I wouldn't let her go outside to play on the playground in her church dress (we were at Burger King). But, it didn't last long and she was back to being mommy's little angel :-)


This is the flower she planted for me in Sunday School























The afternoon was pretty quiet and I was able to get some things done (like reloading my laptop....grrr!) and then finish editing some photos. Later that evening, we headed over to friends house for dinner. Oh my it was delish!!! Thank you so much Tony. The salad and spaghetti was wonderful, and I have no words for the dessert other than, I WANT MORE!!!

My sweet angel girl!
























And now I'm going to backtrack a little - Anna Kate came home from school Friday so excited to give me the gift she made at school. It was precious - a 4x6 scrapbook with her hand print on the front. I can't wait to fill it with pictures of her!

Have I mentioned that my child is a water bug? She LOVES the water. She'll find any excuse to play in it. Well Saturday was the first sprinkler day of the year. We set up 'Mr. Turtle' and she was off!















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Monday, May 5, 2008

Just Doing My Part...

Today has been an interesting day. I got to work after dropping Anna Kate off at school and shortly after 11:00 her teacher called me. Anna Kate had been eating her snack and started throwing up. Needless to say I had to pack up my stuff and go get her. She's a few more episodes this afternoon and was extremely restless when she was trying to fall asleep tonight. She has been so pitiful. I hope she'll feel better in the morning. *Keeping my fingers crossed*

Now, if I can somehow get through the week without getting it, everything will be hunky dory. Mommy can't be out of commission...

This is my sick little girl during her 4 hour nap this afternoon:

















And while I'm at home, I've been doing some laundry. It occurred to me as I was putting the 4th load in the dryer, that it would be much more cost effective and earth friendly to hang some things outside to dry.

Jeff will kill me when he sees this...

















So there you have it, that's me doing my part to go green!

**Update** Anna Kate's virus kicked in with a vengeance at about 2am this morning. Poor thing is still throwing up.**

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