Santa

Ruthie still loves santa and Lulu is scared to death of him. Lulu will wave if she sees him, and possibly give him a high five but that is it. Thankfully daddy got in the picture this year.

I am so excited for this christmas. The girls have really gotten into the spirit of the holidays and I feel like this is going to be our year fun and excitement.

This years christmas lists are.......

Ruthie

A BLUE ipod

A handheld video game

Buzz Lightyear and Woody

Lulu

Barbie camper

barbie

barbie

barbie

Could they be any different? I hope that Jacob our elf on the shelf has given Santa a good report and that the girls get everything they want!

Snow, Snow and more Snow

Well, the snow arrived in Michigan and we said our goodbyes to green grass and seeing the cement on the street instead of packed snow until April. We had a little bit of a thaw for a day and the deer came out like crazy.

I am worried that if they don't find enough to eat they are going to think our houses are tasty.

This picture was in the middle of the day of our neighbors house. We counted 8 deer sniffing around and eating right at the edge of their house.

Yowza!

The princess formerly known as LULU

It is with great sadness I explain........

Lulu has decided she wants to be called LUCY. Her name is actually Lucy Martin named after her wonderful uncle farty Marty. (we taught the kids to call him this. And yes, it never stops being funny). We always thought we would call her Lucy. Never was the name Lulu ever in our mind. Shorty after she was born, Ruthie started calling her Lulu and it just stuck! (well oddly, Ruthie called her "hussy" for a while and when she managed "Lulu" we obviously went running with that pretty fast.)

She was called Lulu so much she claimed that as her name. She wouldn't even so much turn her head if you called her Lucy. Her doctors call her Lulu. Especially since she deemed anyone that did not call her Lulu an outsider or better yet "the people" She started telling people please don't call my Lucy, my name is Lulu. She wore that name so well. She was Lulu with the Tutu. When I went to sign her up for school, I didn't even put Lucy anywhere on the registration.

So out of nowhere a few weeks ago, she started telling us all that she wanted to be Lucy. At first we didn't pay much attention thinking this was a phase, then she started telling everyone else call me Lucy. It is crazy hard to do, let me tell you. She even cried one morning before school proclaiming..."TELL MY TEACHERS TODAY I AM LUCY"

It is something that I will struggle with forever, but luckily she will be there to correct me.

Until of course next week, when she decides to change her name again...... I hear she likes the ring of "Princess Banana Hammock" **

**that is absolutely a friends tv show reference for you non- followers.

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Two Places at One time

Last night Ruthie had her parent night at Gymnastics and award night. (You would think for a small town we would get better at the scheduling of things...) Then Lulu also had her Dance recital the same night.

Ruthie did great. The teacher told us that she is incredibly strong. (not surprised at all) And that she really has limited flexibility. Again, these are things we already knew. It is hard trying to find something for her to exert her crazy amount of energy and strength on at this early age. I am thinking with her height and athletic ability...maybe volleyball? She is going to start taking tennis lessons after the new year, and we are going to just try and expose her to as many activities as she shows an interest. Also think that she would be a PRIME candidate for the X-Games! Anyone that see her tricks on a razor scooter and her bike know that she goes 100% ALL THE TIME!

The pictures did not come out from the gymnastics gym.

Lulu had her dance recital last night. Her class has 2 numbers. And thankfully we were able to get her in a costume and she watched from backstage during her classes routines. This was considered a HUGE win! She has ALWAYS been the crazy shy one. She has been crying in class lately when they have other people come in to the room to watch them practice. She has been threatening to quit dance because she doesn't like it when "people watch her". I just wanted her to get through last night. To see what dancing on stage really was and to hopefully get her to go dance again without the pressure of the stage. Only time will tell.

Check out the only present under the tree a pink snuggie I won at a girls Christmas party. Simon insists I re gift that so watch out....who is going to be the lucky one to receive that!

Best Birthday

Best Birthday for Sure!

Started with breakfast in bed, homemade waffles, bacon and orange juice followed by a wonderful present of toasty warm boots from the girls. Going to need them this winter!

Had an awesome pizza playdate with cake with a great new but feels like old friend and her son who is is Ruthie's class.

Made some brownies for dessert.

Watched High School Musical 3. My personal favorite, but I think I am going to have to go back and watch them all again. Somehow that one is on repeat in our house.

Had Filet's ready for dinner but we are in the middle of a blizzard so we ordered take out Chinese.

Neighbor's brought over a carrot cake and Beer.

So much of my birthday was what the girls wanted and how they wanted to celebrate and that was fun but I am so grateful for wonderful friends who know what I really want....pizza, cake, carrot cake and beer to make it all that special!

And to top it all off possibly a snow day tomorrow. Neighbors wrote in the snow.. Happy B-day in our front yard tonight. To bad It won't come out in the picture.

Night and Day

I don't think in the history of siblings there have been more diffirent sisters than my girls.

Ruthie - Lulu

Chocolate - Vanilla

adventurous - shy

blue - pink

loud - soft spoken

all things fast - beat of their own drummer

straight hair - curly hair

The list is endless.....

I couldn't help but snap this picture which is a typical sight on a school morning....

Ruthie in her cargo pants and spiderman shirt.....Lulu in the ever present Tutu and bow.

Who cares what dinner looked like...look what I made for dessert

Some days you win, and some days....well, there is always tomorrow.

Tonight for dinner, I threw a porkloin on the grill, steamed broccoli and made noodles. Problem, it was so cold outside, I didn't allow for extra time. So the broccoli and noodles were ready when everyone was starving and the meat was still raw in the middle. In comes frozen chicken nuggets in the microwave....Seriously, have you seen me when I am hungry? Times that by a million when dealing with 2 drama queens who are "going to starve" or my favorite from Ruthie..."I am so hungry, I am going to eat my feet".

So, to make things better I whipped up this recipe for dessert....... Carmel Pecan Sundaes...

Super easy, soooo yummy! Highly recommended.....

And while I was so focused on making such a yummy dessert.....I forgot about the pork on the grill.

Tomorrow's a new day to try harder.

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Cranky Hair

Lulu had a rough couple of days and just was crying about everything. At one point she just kept sobbing and she said she didn't know why she was crying but she couldn't make it stop.

Finally she says to me...... "My hair has been really cranky, I need you to straighten it with that thing the lady used at the hair place"

Looks like the straight hair straightened out her mood. God help me.

Look at the face that made a comeback! Oh how I missed that face!

Walk in the Park

We have been enjoying this beautiful fall weather and have taken a few walks in the nature preserve near our house. We are fortunate enough to live in such a beautiful state and have really started to try and take advantage of the wonderul parks and areas it has to offer!

The girls love taking Guernsey on their walks!

10 Year Anniversary Trip

Simon and I were lucky enough to have my mom come for the weekend so we could have a night away in Chicago. We had such a relaxing time. We spent most of the time shopping, walking around the city, and eating! I don't think Simon will go in a Nordstom again any time soon, but I loved every minute of it! We spoiled ourselves on purchases we never would have bought ourselves. shoes, handbags, makeup, coats, etc...so much fun!

Much like our glorious wedding day 10 years ago, the weather was 70 degrees and sunny (In November!) and it was just perfect!

Just a couple picks!