About Me

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I am happily married to Paprika, my husband of 21 years, and we have two beautiful little girls who joined our family much later than we anticipated, but we are eternally thankful they arrived. I am also a teacher/librarian with 20 years experience in public education currently working as an elementary school librarian.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Little Gymnasts

Every summer for the last three years, Sugar and Spice have gone to the Little Gym for classes. It's one of their favorite things about summer and they really look forward to going to their one-hour class each week. This year I've really been impressed with how much their confidence has increased! Both girls are walking on the high beam without assistance and jumping off the end and both of them can do a basket hang from the bar (hands and feet on the bar). See for yourself!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Spice Strikes Again

So we're in the local Wal Marts one day last week and we picked up a block of Monterrey Jack for some Chile Rellenos that Paprika was planning to cook up (yes, they were delicious!). I was focused on trying to find Sugar a pair of lightweight navy shorts that she could wear under her school uniform jumper. Suddenly Sugar comments that Spice (who was seated in the grocery part of the basket) is 'trying to bite that cheese'. I reach back and take the package away from her to find that Sugar has not quite captured the enormity of the situation with her assessment. This is what I saw:I assure you that I have not altered or intensified the results of Spice's efforts in any way. Notice the teeth marks?! To make matters worse, she continued to try to get the block of cheese back throughout the remainder of our time in the store. I'm thinking maybe I should schedule an appointment with her doctor....I'm sure it's a calcium deficiency.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Sugar Shaker!

Sugar received a hula hoop for her birthday last Friday, which she immediately identified as her favorite gift....along with her Belle doll, her unicorn, her Alaskan doll, her kitty, her new clothes, etc., etc. (She wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, dontcha know!) Anyway, she has been practicing with her new hula hoop every day and doggone if she's not hula hooping already!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

A Picture Paints A Thousand Words, Oh Yes It Does!

Both Sugar and Spice have now had their first experience at the wondrous place known as the Build-A-Bear Workshop. I took Spice for her birthday in April after she received a gift card from her uncle. May I introduce you to Princess Aurora Royale? No amount of coaxing could convince Spice that PAR needed any type of clothing, accessories, or other paraphernalia. She finally acquiesced to a small bouquet of flowers on her front right leg, but later had second thoughts and promptly removed it.
And, here is Princess Estella Royale. Sugar sincerely apologizes for the lack of fancy gold and silver sandals, a skirt, and several other items that her cruel mother would not allow her to purchase. Painfully, she was limited to only two additional items of dress and was thus unable to properly adorn her new companion.
Yep, these pics pretty much sum up my girls' personalities.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Cowtown Camera Girl Rocks!

A couple of weeks ago my friend and colleague Nell Valdez, who is not only a super librarian, but also an extremely talented photographer, got some new equipment. She offered a free sitting to someone who responded to her blog post and I won! Last Wednesday I took the girls to her new house (it's beautiful!) so that she could shoot them wearing some tutus that she purchased for her business. Here are a few shots from that session:
After the tutu shots, we went to a nearby ice cream store so that Nell could get some summertime ice cream cone pictures. I haven't seen those yet, but I'm sure that they will be just as good! Nell has lots of interesting ideas and an amazing eye for what will make a fantastic photo, plus she shoots her subjects very naturally so the finished product shows the real expressions and smiles that you love. You can see more photos from our tutu session, as well as more of Nell's work at here blog, Cowtown Camera Girl. Here's the link to the complete session!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Oh, Those Summer Nights!

Except for the unbearable heat, summer is my favorite time of year. Our schedule, which can be hectic and exhausting during the rest of the year, slows to a crawl. Or maybe it just seems that way because I'm not working! Anywho, today was one of those great summer days. After a relaxing afternoon, we took the girls to Burleson where we had ice cream for dinner....YUM!



















Then we headed over to the park to play until the sun went down.

Sugar and Spice especially love this particular park because it has two play areas separated by a creek, which of course is very nearly dried up at this point in the summer. Crosssing the creek, looking for animals, and throwing rocks in the water are just as fun to them as the slides, swings, and monkey bars. I just love these carefree days of summer....