Easter 2016

Mom is sick again.  It doesn't seem possible.  I'm on my third antibiotic in seven weeks and am tired of being sick!  The girls were on break this week and I had planned on staying home with them on Wednesday since we didn't have childcare arrangements.  Daddy ended up taking the day off to take care of us.  Here, the girls talked him into letting them paint his toenails.

 This year the girls decorated the Easter tree without me since I've truly been trying to rest.  I didn't leave the house for 4 days!  They didn't seem to mind doing this with daddy this year!

Both girls have been so sweet while I've been sick.  Here's a piece of cinnamon toast Stella made for me.  Or, maybe I should say here's some butter with toast Stella gave me for breakfast!

We've been planning an Easter scavenger hunt for weeks.  I just didn't have the heart to cancel the party but wasn't able to help much at all.  The girls did a great job helping daddy tidy up the house the best they could, thankfully our friends don't judge!  Daddy took care of all of the shopping and a big shout out of thanks to Aunt MJ for helping set up the party and taking care of all the food arranging so I didn't have to use any energy or, more important, spread any of my germs!  The girls had so much fun, I'm so glad 'the show could go on' so to speak despite my feeling under the weather.

Stella decorating juice boxes like bunnies for the party.

Before the Scavenger Hunt the kids
decorated bags to collected their eggs in.

Hidden eggs!

Garden Hunt

Getting clue #1

Searching for more eggs!

The whole crew

Stella's favorite holiday is Easter and this year was no exception.  She was super excited when she woke up to check out her Easter basket to discover some chocolates, a new notebook, and some shopkins.  This year the bunny also brought the board game "Mouse Trap".  Claire got some silly putty rather than a notebook, which she's been looking forward to.

After church we also checked out the backyard where some candy filled eggs were scattered.  Such fun!

Grammie and Pa met up with the Hooley's at the Perrin's for the holiday.  We were fortunate to be invited to Aunt MJ's for dinner so we headed there in the afternoon.

Afterward I spent a couple hours at the nursing home with Grandpa since he hasn't had many visitors this week.

Happy Easter!

The warm sunshine Easter morning came
very welcomed at our house!

Aunt MJ has some ducklings which she brought out after our meal.  The girls were intrigued!

The girls have had six days off from school, 10 if you count the weekends, and they are looking forward to getting back to see their friends and teachers.   Mom's been off work since last Tuesday too, so it will be nice to get back into our usual routine.

Leprechaun's and Easter Ornaments

 Stella and Daddy made a leprechaun trap for homework this week.  Both of the girls teachers celebrated the spirit of St. Patrick's Day with a messy, naught, leprechaun.  Stella didn't really get it and we didn't try to elaborate on these silly fables but they did a good job with the project none the less!

 Literacy Night at St. Lawrence Central Elementary!  This year the girls school celebrated literacy with a fun evening of games followed by an ice cream treat.  It was great to interact with their teachers and see some of the great things they are learning at school!

 Stella's teacher gave her students these cute little Easter baskets with a bonnet.  Stella was pretty excited about it!

Stella continues to love Mickey Mouse!
This is an activity she worked on at school.

 Stella absolutely loves Easter and tells us it is her favorite holiday!  This weekend we made some salt dough ornaments to hang on Trey's tree.

We also spent some time at Grammie and Pa's.  They'll be headed to Tega Cay to spend Easter so we snuck in a visit at their house to hang out, relax, play outdoors, and eat some pizza!  Grandma and I also did a little shopping and bought some new clothes for the girls.  They were so excited about the gifts!

 In other news: Daddy was at an AAU tournament for most of the weekend.  We stopped by on Sunday afternoon to play at the BMC playground and have some lunch together.

Unfortunately, Mommy is starting to feel under the weather again.  Hopefully it won't drag on as long as it did earlier in the month.

Oh, and Mom made blueberry muffins, from scratch.
While both girls tried them, they didn't love them!

Another Week Older

Stella is our little photographer and she takes pics with our phones every chance she gets.  Here we are at the Riverview waiting for our check.  Daddy headed out of town for the final four high school basketball championships so us girls headed out for dinner!  Lucky for us we ran into Aunt MJ and Uncle Neil, who not only sent dessert over to our table, but they picked up our bill too! 

This week the Pre-K classroom has been celebrating Dr. Seuss.  On Friday they dressed up like what they want to be when the grow up in honor of 'All the Places You'll Go!'.  Claire dressed up as a chef!


Warmer weather has brought welcomed requests to play outdoors!  In true form Claire went straight for the dirt busily making dirt pies.


Since Great Grandpa has recently moved to a nursing home nearby, and I haven't stopped by in several weeks since I've been so sick, today we had a visit.  The girls brought smiles to his face and they were treated with ice cream by the staff so they didn't mind being there at all!

Regionals, NYC & Sunshine

For the first time since we became parents basketball became a family affair this past week. While the girls and I have been to games and traveled to tournaments our enthusiasm and desire to see continued success for daddy's team has been different this year. We were so excited to watch the Panthers advance to the final round of the regional tournament despite it being a very late school night!

We were also so happy for BMC to have a Joe Jukoski award finaslist this year, a great honor in Section X basketball. 

Although the regional final ended the season with a heartbreaking upset, the girls and I were there cheering on the boys and enjoying watching them work together and bask in the sound of panther pride. There was a great turnout for the game and their season was something they'll all be proud of for many years to come!

One evening Claire asked if she could have ice cream right before dinner. We haven't been enjoying this treat much lately and I figured, why not have dessert first?!  She was a happy girl!


After regionals I headed out of town for a conference in NYC. Since my job is changing this was a good opportunity to get some new perspectives from colleagues across the Northeast.   There wasn't much time for sightseeing but I did manage to visit the Manolo Blanik boutique and St. Patrick's Cathedral and enjoy some Brazilian cuisine.

The Courtyard at Manolo Blanik
Boutique, NYC

While this particular trip was not bad in any way, one thing is more clear to me now than ever before: I am a country girl! The city is loud, crowded, and dirty. It's a real fun treat to visit and experience what the city has to offer but I'll forever appreciate what upstate is all about! I also don't love being away from my girls. Sunshine and warmer air has arrived and I'm looking forward to being home and maybe getting a bit of fresh air with them after being away for a few days.