Mysterious

We have gone over 1 full year without a mysterious rash appearing on Ella's body.

Unfortunately yesterday a new rash suddenly appeared all over her skin.

Last year Ella had 3 different types of weird rashes. No two were alike but we kept on taking her to a local doctor to diagnose.

Then we were referred to an allergy specialist. Fortunately we were able to get in to that office fairly quickly and from all of his questions (and the lack of a rash while we were there) he didn't think that these rashes were any type of allergic reaction. His suggestion was to take pictures if a new rash was to appear.

That was over a year ago.

The new rash this weekend is not very red and the bumps are very small so I don't even think it would show up in a photo. But it covers the core of her body, front and back. It doesn't bother her, but it sure bothers me!

So now what? If the rash is still there tomorrow, I may be calling the local doctor to see what to do. Agh!

Good TV?

Is anyone else sick of all the crap on TV these days?

Seriously!

I feel like I am starting to sound like an old lady but there really isn't much that I enjoy watching on TV anymore.

So many new shoes are just filth and I don't want to waste my time.

I don't have many favorites but even those are going downhill.

Today is the first time that I haven't watched Grey's Anatomy. I have decided to stop watching that show.

It used to be one of my favorite shows but this season the new lesbian storyline is a bit much for my liking. I know that every show has to have their token gay story but I really don't need it to be in so much detail. Plus, it just seems to have the same stories over and over again. Kinda like ER. I haven't watched ER for several years now.

So really I only watch Heroes now. I occasionally watch Criminal Minds too.

No more CSI 'cause it's all the same stuff over and over.

No more reality shows...same reason.

I'm anxiously waiting for January when Lost and 24 will be back on.

For now, I will be watching The Office on DVD. I was saving the episodes for when I was on the treadmill, but what am I supposed to do all evening when John is working nights? And he usually works nights. But I gotta do something.

And I'm anxious to see what happens with Jim & Pam in Season 3.

What are you watching lately?

Practicing Piano

Brianna is 3 weeks into piano lessons and we are trying our best to practice each day.

I never realized how difficult fitting a little practice in each day can be. But I truly want to set a good routine NOW before it becomes a chore in the later years.

I have also been trying to practice for myself several times a week. I have not had a lesson yet, as it was recommended to me by my mother-in-law (who also teaches Suzuki piano) that it would probably be best to start in Brie's second year of lessons.

We listen to the Suzuki CD a lot each week and we are slowly learning the words to the songs. Actually, Ella is the fastest learner in our family when it comes to music. She knows the lyrics better than anyone! She claps out the rhythms and sings her heart out. I just love it!

Since we listen the CD so often, I am learning the songs in my head quite well (which is the whole point of Suzuki anyways). I have been plucking away at those ivory keys and have actually impressed myself with how quickly I am improving each week. I am FAR from playing well, but I am beginning to play with both hands and it doesn't sound completely terrible anymore. I have even noticed improvements from day to day which helps stress the importance of daily practicing for both of us!

Life is just getting so busy.

We have completed 4 weeks out of 10 for Music Pups already. We are having a lot of fun each Thursday morning! Ella has a couple of girl friends in class with us and they all have a blast together. Sometimes they are a bit of a challenge to rein in before we start another song, but the main thing is that they are having fun with the music. It's always fun to see how each week the kids have more fun as they know the songs better and are more comfortable with me as the teacher.

We are excited that Gymnastics finally starts tomorrow. It turns out that the high school will have room for us afterall. Ella is quite thrilled to be starting this and I know that this will be a great outlet for all of her extra energy. Sitting at home (especially with Brie gone during the day to Pre-K, piano and dance) she is getting bored.

Bored children drive me crazy.

Probably because I am a reformed bored child.

I am now a bored adult.

Which is getting much better since we are getting so busy!

Chef In The Making

Every time I bake or cook in the kitchen, Ella offers to help.

Most of the time it's really sweet.

Other times, like when I'm trying to quickly make something for supper because I've left it until the last minute, it's not so wonderful when she tries to squeeze her way into the kitchen, dragging her little wooden chair behind her and crying and whining when I don't let her help.

Really, I love that she loves to cook.

She loves pouring.

She loves stirring.

She loves turning on the mixer.

She loves getting out ingredients.

However, not all of the ingredients are tasty with whatever we are making.

Like today, for example. Today we are making pumpkin pies.

Mmm.....pumpkin pie. With real whipped cream. Mmm.....

Oh wait! I can't eat them yet.

Anyways, Ella thought that salt & vinegar popcorn seasoning would taste great in the pie.

Fortunately the shaker did not open and my wonderful pie is not defiled.

Here she is helping me today.

And this was taken last week when she helped John make a pan of brownies. He let her hold of the container of sprinkles. Note the location of the sprinkles. I could have predicted this outcome!!

It's just so strange. How does she know every single time when I am about to start baking? She shows up as soon as she hears me pull the mixer out of the cupboard. It's almost like her mind is ahead of me. Then the pulling out of ingredients begins. A lazy susan cupboard is nice, unless you have a very helpful 2-year-old and then it's a struggle to keep her out of it.

"How about this one mommy?" No, I don't think baking soda would be good in a quesadilla.

Ah, my sweet little girl. I don't know why she enjoys cooking so much more than her sister. I know that all kids like to help, but to her, this is a true interest of hers.

I look forward to the days when she is baking on her own. Hopefully there are no strange ingredients by that time and she follows the recipe EXACTLY as it is.

Field Trip

This morning Ella and I accompanied Brie and her class to the fire hall in town.

Being that we live in a small town, the fire hall was just a short walk away from the school.

All the kids paired up with each other and held hands for the walk there.

It's just so sweet to see that Brie has made some good friends in her class already. She was almost always holding another girl's hands the entire time.

During the walk we had to go past the RCMP detachment. John's boss greeted everyone with tattoos for later. On the way back home, John came out to say hi. Of course, Brie was absolutely thrilled to see her daddy at work. Unfortunately she lost the hand of her friend Ella M and was very devastated that she no longer had a partner. The problem was quickly solved though.

As a parent of only girls, I always find it interesting to see the vast difference between boys and girls. The girls were afraid of the loud sirens. The girls didn't want to try on the helmets. Boys, however, were full of detailed questions; "What happens if..." "Can you show us the...." I don't think there was a single comment from a girl the entire time. There were 2 classes of kids there. Both the pre-K as well as one of the Kindergarten classes went together. I can't believe that not a single girl had a question or comment. Very interesting indeed.


The highlight of the trip was definitely when Sparky showed up for a visit at the end. You could literally watch the kids' eyes light up with excitement and awe. How fun!

*****************************************************************
I don't think I was ever one of those girly girls. I didn't like dressing up. Actually I still don't really.

I had to dress up every day for work. That was enough for me .

Plus, none of those former work clothes fit me anymore.

I think that my closet must have "shrunk" them on me

Anyways, I have wondered if I will have girly girls or if they will lean more towards a tomboy style.

I was always more of an active girl. Playing sports when all my other friends were watching from the sidelines.

I'm not very coordinated or skilled with sports, but I enjoy playing regardless.

I guess you could say that I'm not your stereotypical girl. I like to do things that girls don't normally do. And DON'T try to tell me that I can't do something because I'm a girl. This just makes me more determined to do it.

Just the other morning I was getting ready and looked out into the backyard. I saw a rather odd sight...

We seem to have strange creatures visit us each year and this one was the strangest yet.

I ran to get the girls and told them what was in the yard. I told them to get their shoes so we could go outside and see.

Ella...the enthusiastic one of the bunch...promptly started to put her shoes on.

Brie...on the other hand...she wanted nothing to do with our new visitor.
Brie refused to even go outside if this thing was out there.

So just Ella and I went out.

What did we go to see?

A little gartner snake.

In MY backyard!

I can't say that I like snakes, but I'm also not scared of them so I decided to try to pick it up like you see on TV. I began to grab its tail and it turned around and lunged at me. (I later found out from John that garter snakes can and will bite...good thing this didn't happen to me!)

After several unsuccessful attempts to then pick it up with a stick I decided to just leave it in my bedding plants. Ella asked if she could touch it. So she stuck out her little finger and quickly gave it a gentle poke.

Then she said "Okay I'm done. Can we go back inside and watch Dora now?"

Ah, my sweet little girls. One has apparently picked up the paralyzing fear of snakes from John's family. The other has no fear but not much interest either. Oh well, it made for a fun story anyways!

Loving Fall

Well my number of posts lately has been low, but we've just been spending a lot of time outside enjoying this first week of OCTOBER with weather still in the 20s.

20+ degree weather!

In OCTOBER!!

This afternoon I spent some time just relaxing on the deck with a book.

It was absolutely fabulous!

The girls are loving every minute of this weather. Lots of walks, lots of trips to the park, lots of fresh air.

Poor Brie is getting sick, but even she isn't willing to stay indoors on a day like today. What a trooper. Actually she keeps begging for winter, which leads me to believe that she is in fact NOT my daughter. Seriously? Who begs for winter? Crazy child.

Ella, on the other hand, is definitely more like me. She is always cold. We are so very alike in this aspect. We love to cuddle together under an afghan on those cool days.

I have pictures to post, but I'll have to do it another day...more relaxation is calling me....

FREE Dove Body Wash

Dove is currently offering a coupon for a FREE Go Fresh Body Wash. Just click here for the link.

Yay for Dove!