Under The Weather.....

We've all been pretty under the weather this week. Keith and I both caught Ella's cold. When he came home yesterday, he grabbed his pillows, threw them on the living room floor and took a nap for an hour. When he woke up, Ella wanted to read him a "bedtime story". We told her to go pick a book out of her library and she came back with the "puppy book"......which is actually an old William Wegman address book. She loves to tell stories about what the puppies are doing in the book. She was so sweet laying on the floor while leaning on him. She made me feel better, that's for sure.

Playing Outside

I've had the lawn chair out so that I could get some sun since the weather has let up for the most part in the last week. Ella likes to put the two parts of the chair together and use it as a tent. I like to get close ups of her face all the time. I have always been into macros....plus I am not that good on getting "landscape" sort of portraits.

Stacy at The Land of KA and Christina at Momology do great at getting pics of their kids in action. They have beautiful images on their sites of their kids.


I cant seem to find that balance between the background and the actual subject. Maybe its becasue I need a DSLR.


Hey! Thats what I'll use as an excuse to get a new camera!


Ya right.....good luck with that one you say? Me too.

Our Father's Day

Fathers Day was very nice. We went over to my parents house and spent the morning with my Dad. Gave him his cookies and he just emailed me this morning telling me he thinks they are my best batch yet! He said he and my mom are having a hard time holding themselves back from eating them all at once. (insert Daddy's little girl feeling all over again).

Ella also spent the afternoon with her Daddy, but not feeling very well. She woke up with a runny nose and by later in the afternoon she had a little fever. She was totally clingy and whiny. But alas, we had to go over to Keith's Dad's house. Keith and his sisters all made plans to make dinner for their Dad. We went and had a very nice time. Ella got to play with her cousin's Jack and Everett, and I think it took her mind off of being sick. She was running and dancing all around the whole evening. Jack is only 10 weeks older than her so it is so cute to see them play together. Add sugar to the mix and anything is fun, no matter how you feel! Once we got home we put Ella to bed. She fell asleep immediately.

All in all, it was a wonderful day. Perfect weather and time with the Dad's that we love so much. Hope everyone else had a great Father's Day.

Show and Tell with Mel

So, what to get the Dad that has everything? Why, home made chocolate chip cookies, of course. I've been trying for a week to figure out what to get my Dad for Father's Day. He loves to game on his computer, and I cant tell you how many times I have gotten him a gift certificate to Best Buy so that he could purchase the next new game coming out. Except this year, I think my brother is already getting him a gift certificate. He lives in Florida, so its and easily mailed gift for him. So I didnt want to get him one too. Also, sometimes giving a gift certificate is just like giving cash. And who really has all that much of that these days. They constantly tell me that they dont need anything anyways, so giving them something like cash would just be silly.

So I decided to make cookies this year instead. Every Christmas I make chocolate chip cookies for my husband and my Dad (one with nuts, one without) and they really seem to enjoy them because it is the only time during the year that they get some fresh home made cookies. Also, it sort of makes me feel like a little girl again, making cookies for my Dad. I always get that 'Daddy's little girl inner joy' feeling when my Dad's face lights up because I made him cookies. Every year at Christmas, he acts surprised that I made them....yet I make them every year. That's a Daddy for ya. When I think of my Dad as a little girl, I think of all the quirky things he used to do. He always whistled the high pitched sound that the Starship Enterprise made when making a hail. He said words like "mayhaps", instead of perhaps or maybe and called hamburgers "hanka-burger-chinka-burger". (Dont ask me where he came up with that one, but we used to laugh when he said it.) His quirkiness makes him the Daddy I love.
Anyways, I was eating away half the cookies while I was making them and it reminded me of the time I brought Ella out to lunch with my friends from work. We went to a restaurant called The Good Earth. I had never been there before because they serve natural foods and I wasnt too sure I would like it. But we went and the food was delicious. We all got dessert afterwards and I ordered a chocolate chip cookie for her. Little did I know that the single cookie I ordered was going to be bigger than her head! As you can tell in the picture, she looks quite perplexed by it as well. No, she did not eat the whole cookie. I dont even think she ate half of it.

One last thing I wanted to mention today is how sad I think it is that NBC newsman Tim Russert died suddenly on Friday. If you dont know anything about him, he was the moderator for Meet the Press on Sunday mornings and had written a book about his father called Big Russ and Me. He had just returned from Italy to celebrate his son graduating from Boston College and with tomorrow being Fathers Day, I cant imagine how hard it will be for his family. So I hope everyone gets the chance to tell their fathers how much they love them this Father's Day and tell your husbands how wonderful they are as fathers too. You just never know.....Have a wonderful Father's Day.

Check out this weeks other Show and Tells.

Those Little Hands

She's been into puzzles alot lately, which make me watch her hands often as she tries to fit each piece together. Those little hands have been amazing since the day she was born. The little gestures she makes with them are done with such intent. When she is showing you something, she cuffs them and displays the item or person as if she is Vanna White. When she dances around they sway through the air with 'toddler grace'. When she rubs her Daddy's back, they push on his muscles with purpose. When she gives me a kiss, they cup my face with such delicateness. When she reaches for me, they call for comfort. When she sleeps, they are relaxed with perfection. When she laughs, they are in front of her face with excitement. When she plays her piano, one finger meticulously hits each key. When she holds her cousins hand, they have such sweetness. When she tickles me, they wiggle with such joy. When she colors, they hold the crayone with great form. When she holds her baby, they cradle her with love. And when I look at them, they hold the world.

Archives - Cleaning Out My Computer

I was taking some pictures off of my computer today so I was sorting through them and found some of these that I liked. The first two are of Ella watching her Daddy plow the driveway this past winter. She was so content to just sit there and talk to him as if he was right next to her listening. The second one was just last summer. I just love her sweet little face. Just wanted to share. :)






I really gots to get me a new camera. I am dying to get a DSLR. Funds are low right now. Just waiting to pay off the credit card from when we finished the basement over Christmas and then I am SO going to get me one! In the meantime, I guess I will just have to work with what I got (Sony DSC85 4mp)....Already started looking into them, but holy crap there's alot of information to take in. I think I really need to go to a store and handle one too. That will help me make a decision. I will just have to live vicariously through everyone else's DSLR images. So keep posting them. I love to look at every one's shots!

I've Been Tagged!

Ok, so I have been tagged by my new blogging friend DC for a meme. Here are the rules:

Each player answers 5 questions about themselves, then tags 5 people to play along. Post the names of the bloggers you tag, then go to their blogs and leave a comment, letting them know they have been tagged. Here are the questions:

1. Five things I was doing 10 years ago:
- Got engaged
- Moved in to my first apartment
- started builing a house
- had my first miscarraige
- went to Florida

2. Five things on my to do list for today:
- Clean my parents house (volunteer work for the elderly) :)
- Give Ella a Tubby
- Continue stripping an old oak desk
- Babysit friends kids
- Find something for dinner when our cabinets are bare

3. Five snacks I enjoy:
- Peanut M&M's
- Chips and Salsa
- Super Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cool Ranch Doritos
- Cashews

4. Five things I would do if I was a billionaire:
- All the IVF cycles I wanted
- Purchase an island
- Purchase a lot of land and build a new house in the mountains
- Pay off my bills
- Pay off my parents bills

5. Five places I have lived (unfortunately I have only lived in two places my whole life): (boring I know.....)
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota

Now for the 5 people I want to get to know better. (I have just started blogging again, so I am only going to pick 3 that I enjoy reading (and feel might actually want to do one of these....). I know, Im breaking the rules, but dont know who is/isnt interested in doing meme's. So like DC said on her post: (If, on the other hand, you find memes annoying, please just ignore this and don't be mad at me.) :)


Chicklet
Katt
Lori