A 3 year old throwing a fit because her towel "Just keeps falling!!!"
We shall hear that no more!
Towel Poncho Link
We shall hear that no more!
Towel Poncho Link
Ashe Background
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Towel Poncho
Do you want to know what is more annoying than leaving the pool with an exhausted baby, 10 lb beach bag, and cooler?
Monday, June 27, 2011
Mommy- Daughter Date
We are ready to go!
Enjoying some Root Beer
Gabrielle and Gracie enjoying the playground.
Gracie, Gabrielle, and Joanna
The girls with Pinkalicious!Wednesday, June 22, 2011
4th of July Craft
Today we made our 4th of July craft! Ethan had a blast and enjoyed it. Gracie enjoyed the first five minutes of the craft then threw a major fit. I mean head spinning, tearing off all of your clothes running around butt naked kind of fit. Seriously! I WISH I was exaggerating. That is why there is only one photo of her. She did eventually cool off, but unfortunately that was after we were all done. The 3 year old tantrums are kicking our butts in the Ashe household.
While we were waiting for our paint to dry we enjoyed some homemade blueberry muffins with strawberry butter. As we were cooking, Ethan says, "Mom, you know who would really love some muffins...Joanna (Our neighbor and Lexie's godmother). We should take some to her." I love his giving heart and once they were done he personally took some to her:) The muffins were soooooo good! Ethan couldn't get his down fast enough. After he was done, he told me I was "Awesome for making some yummy muffins". Who knew I just needed to make blueberry muffins to be an awesome mom?! When Eric got home, he ate two of them and these are the compliments out of his mouth. "Man, I sure hope my next wife can cook just as good as you" and my favorite "I am only eating another one just so you won't feel bad about your cooking". I was laughing up a storm. I always tell people that I married Eric because of his sense of humor and after 10 years of being together, he still makes me laugh!
Blueberry Muffin with Strawberry Butter....yummy!
Our finished craft!
I took a blank canvas, covered it with blue painters tape, traced their hand print and cut it out the tape using a exact-o-knife. Once the hand was exposed the kids were able to put the paint on. Once it was dry I took off all of the tape and wrote Happy 4th!
Craft idea- http://www.lilmagoolie.com/2010/04/01/get-spotty/
The Best Blueberry Muffin Recipe- http://ourvintagehomelove.blogspot.com/2011/06/homemade-blueberry-muffins-with.html
While we were waiting for our paint to dry we enjoyed some homemade blueberry muffins with strawberry butter. As we were cooking, Ethan says, "Mom, you know who would really love some muffins...Joanna (Our neighbor and Lexie's godmother). We should take some to her." I love his giving heart and once they were done he personally took some to her:) The muffins were soooooo good! Ethan couldn't get his down fast enough. After he was done, he told me I was "Awesome for making some yummy muffins". Who knew I just needed to make blueberry muffins to be an awesome mom?! When Eric got home, he ate two of them and these are the compliments out of his mouth. "Man, I sure hope my next wife can cook just as good as you" and my favorite "I am only eating another one just so you won't feel bad about your cooking". I was laughing up a storm. I always tell people that I married Eric because of his sense of humor and after 10 years of being together, he still makes me laugh!
Blueberry Muffin with Strawberry Butter....yummy!
Our finished craft!
I took a blank canvas, covered it with blue painters tape, traced their hand print and cut it out the tape using a exact-o-knife. Once the hand was exposed the kids were able to put the paint on. Once it was dry I took off all of the tape and wrote Happy 4th!
Craft idea- http://www.lilmagoolie.com/2010/04/01/get-spotty/
The Best Blueberry Muffin Recipe- http://ourvintagehomelove.blogspot.com/2011/06/homemade-blueberry-muffins-with.html
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Ruffles Galore!
I came across a ruffle shirt tutorial and thought, "Why not *shrugging the shoulder*, I need a new project?". Later I forget that carefree attitude when I am surrounded by a fabric/thread tornado and ask who's freakin' idea was this??? Anyways, I have a THING for ruffles (Like who doesn't?......seriously....not just a little crush?...LIAR!!!) Anyways again, having two little girls basically gives me the unalienable right to be able to dress them up! Since I made Lexie's first , you could definitely say that by the time I got to Gracie's I had figured out what I was doing ;) sorry Lexie. This will probably be the last ruffle project till Christmas because a ruffler foot is definitely on my Santa wish list! Hear that Santa? You won't be able to find one in Alamogordo but Amazon will gladly ship them ;)
There were a few snags along the way and a trip back to the fabric store (most annoying thing ever!) but we still came out on top because we have two ruffle shirts to show for it. I don't claim to be great at sewing and I am pretty sure an actual seamstress would probably faint/curse at my work but I tried and I think they came out great!
Here are my girls showing off their mommy's latest project. One is being motivated by food and the other is in desperate need of a nap! I dare you to guess!
Ruffle Shirt Tutorial....Shoot me an email if you are thinking about making one because there are few extra things that I have found helpful that were not in the tutorial. :)
There were a few snags along the way and a trip back to the fabric store (most annoying thing ever!) but we still came out on top because we have two ruffle shirts to show for it. I don't claim to be great at sewing and I am pretty sure an actual seamstress would probably faint/curse at my work but I tried and I think they came out great!
Here are my girls showing off their mommy's latest project. One is being motivated by food and the other is in desperate need of a nap! I dare you to guess!
Ruffle Shirt Tutorial....Shoot me an email if you are thinking about making one because there are few extra things that I have found helpful that were not in the tutorial. :)
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Thoughts of a Mom
Came across this today from our online hydro board and I just had to share. It reminds how important these families have become to me. I would be lost without them!
THOUGHTS OF A MOM
by: Maureen K. Higgins
Many of you I have never even met face to face, but I've searched you out every day. I've looked for you on the Internet, on playgrounds and in grocery stores.
I've become an expert at identifying you.
You are well worn. You are stronger than you ever wanted to be. Your words ring experience, experience you culled with your very heart and soul. You are compassionate beyond the expectations of this world.
You are my "sisters." Yes, you and I, my friend, are sisters in a sorority. A very elite sorority. We are special. Just like any other sorority, we were chosen to be members. Some of us were invited to join immediately, some not for months or even years. Some of us even tried to refuse membership, but to no avail. We were initiated in neurologist's offices and NICU units, in obstetrician's offices, in emergency rooms, and during ultrasounds. We were initiated with somber telephone calls, consultations, evaluations, blood tests, x-rays, MRI films, and heart surgeries. All of us have one thing in common. One day things were fine. We were pregnant, or we had just given birth, or we were nursing our newborn, or we were playing with our toddler. Yes, one minute everything was fine. Then, whether it happened in an instant, as it often does, or over the course of a few weeks or months, our entire lives changed. Something wasn't quite right.
Then we found ourselves mothers of children with special needs. We are united, we sisters, regardless of the diversity of our child's special needs. Some of our children undergo chemotherapy. Some need respirators and ventilators. Some are unable to talk, some are unable to walk. Some eat through feeding tubes. Some live in a different world. We do not discriminate against those mothers whose child's needs are not as "special" as our child's. We have mutual respect and empathy for all the women who walk in our shoes. We are knowledgeable.
We have educated ourselves with whatever materials we could find. We know "the" specialists in the field. We know "the" neurologists, "the" hospitals, "the" wonder drugs, "the" treatments. We know "the" tests that need to be done, we know "the" degenerative and progressive diseases and we hold our breath while our children are tested for them. Without formal education, we could become board certified in neurology, endocrinology, and physiatry. We have taken on our insurance companies and school boards to get what our children need to survive, and to flourish. We have prevailed upon the State to include augmentative communication devices in special education classes and mainstream schools for our children with cerebral palsy. We have labored to prove to insurance companies the medical necessity of gait trainers and other adaptive equipment for our children with spinal cord defects. We have sued municipalities to have our children properly classified so they could receive education and evaluation commensurate with their diagnosis. We have learned to deal with the rest of the world, even if that means walking away from it. We have tolerated scorn in supermarkets during "tantrums" and gritted our teeth while discipline was advocated by the person behind us in line. We have tolerated inane suggestions and home remedies from well-meaning strangers. We have tolerated mothers of children without special needs complaining about chicken pox and ear infections. We have learned that many of our closest friends can't understand what it's like to be in our sorority, and don't even want to try. We have our own personal copies of Emily Perl Kingsley's "A Trip To Holland" and Erma Bombeck's "The Special Mother." We keep them by our bedside and read and reread them during our toughest hours. We have coped with holidays. We have found ways to get our physically handicapped children to the neighbors' front doors on Halloween, and we have found ways to help our deaf children form the words, "trick or treat." We have accepted that our children with sensory dysfunction will never wear velvet or lace on Christmas. We have painted a canvas of lights and a blazing Yule log with our words for our blind children.
We have pureed turkey on Thanksgiving. We have bought white chocolate bunnies for Easter. And all the while, we have tried to create a festive atmosphere for
the rest of our family. We've gotten up every morning since our journey began wondering how we'd make it through another day, and gone to bed every evening not sure how we did it. We've mourned the fact that we never got to relax and sip red wine in Italy. We've mourned the fact that our trip to Holland has required much more baggage than we ever imagined when we first visited the travel agent. And we've mourned because we left for the airport without most of the things we needed for the trip. But we, sisters, we keep the faith always. We never stop believing.
Our love for our special children and our belief in all that they will achieve in life knows no bounds. We dream of them scoring touchdowns and extra points and home runs. We visualize them running sprints and marathons. We dream of them planting vegetable seeds, riding horses and chopping down trees. We hear their angelic voices singing Christmas carols. We see their palettes smeared with watercolors, and their fingers flying over ivory keys in a concert hall. We are amazed at the grace of their pirouettes. We never, never stop believing in all they will accomplish as they pass through this world.
But in the meantime, my sisters, the most important thing we do, is hold tight to their little hands as together, we special mothers and our special children, reach for the stars.
THOUGHTS OF A MOM
by: Maureen K. Higgins
Many of you I have never even met face to face, but I've searched you out every day. I've looked for you on the Internet, on playgrounds and in grocery stores.
I've become an expert at identifying you.
You are well worn. You are stronger than you ever wanted to be. Your words ring experience, experience you culled with your very heart and soul. You are compassionate beyond the expectations of this world.
You are my "sisters." Yes, you and I, my friend, are sisters in a sorority. A very elite sorority. We are special. Just like any other sorority, we were chosen to be members. Some of us were invited to join immediately, some not for months or even years. Some of us even tried to refuse membership, but to no avail. We were initiated in neurologist's offices and NICU units, in obstetrician's offices, in emergency rooms, and during ultrasounds. We were initiated with somber telephone calls, consultations, evaluations, blood tests, x-rays, MRI films, and heart surgeries. All of us have one thing in common. One day things were fine. We were pregnant, or we had just given birth, or we were nursing our newborn, or we were playing with our toddler. Yes, one minute everything was fine. Then, whether it happened in an instant, as it often does, or over the course of a few weeks or months, our entire lives changed. Something wasn't quite right.
Then we found ourselves mothers of children with special needs. We are united, we sisters, regardless of the diversity of our child's special needs. Some of our children undergo chemotherapy. Some need respirators and ventilators. Some are unable to talk, some are unable to walk. Some eat through feeding tubes. Some live in a different world. We do not discriminate against those mothers whose child's needs are not as "special" as our child's. We have mutual respect and empathy for all the women who walk in our shoes. We are knowledgeable.
We have educated ourselves with whatever materials we could find. We know "the" specialists in the field. We know "the" neurologists, "the" hospitals, "the" wonder drugs, "the" treatments. We know "the" tests that need to be done, we know "the" degenerative and progressive diseases and we hold our breath while our children are tested for them. Without formal education, we could become board certified in neurology, endocrinology, and physiatry. We have taken on our insurance companies and school boards to get what our children need to survive, and to flourish. We have prevailed upon the State to include augmentative communication devices in special education classes and mainstream schools for our children with cerebral palsy. We have labored to prove to insurance companies the medical necessity of gait trainers and other adaptive equipment for our children with spinal cord defects. We have sued municipalities to have our children properly classified so they could receive education and evaluation commensurate with their diagnosis. We have learned to deal with the rest of the world, even if that means walking away from it. We have tolerated scorn in supermarkets during "tantrums" and gritted our teeth while discipline was advocated by the person behind us in line. We have tolerated inane suggestions and home remedies from well-meaning strangers. We have tolerated mothers of children without special needs complaining about chicken pox and ear infections. We have learned that many of our closest friends can't understand what it's like to be in our sorority, and don't even want to try. We have our own personal copies of Emily Perl Kingsley's "A Trip To Holland" and Erma Bombeck's "The Special Mother." We keep them by our bedside and read and reread them during our toughest hours. We have coped with holidays. We have found ways to get our physically handicapped children to the neighbors' front doors on Halloween, and we have found ways to help our deaf children form the words, "trick or treat." We have accepted that our children with sensory dysfunction will never wear velvet or lace on Christmas. We have painted a canvas of lights and a blazing Yule log with our words for our blind children.
We have pureed turkey on Thanksgiving. We have bought white chocolate bunnies for Easter. And all the while, we have tried to create a festive atmosphere for
the rest of our family. We've gotten up every morning since our journey began wondering how we'd make it through another day, and gone to bed every evening not sure how we did it. We've mourned the fact that we never got to relax and sip red wine in Italy. We've mourned the fact that our trip to Holland has required much more baggage than we ever imagined when we first visited the travel agent. And we've mourned because we left for the airport without most of the things we needed for the trip. But we, sisters, we keep the faith always. We never stop believing.
Our love for our special children and our belief in all that they will achieve in life knows no bounds. We dream of them scoring touchdowns and extra points and home runs. We visualize them running sprints and marathons. We dream of them planting vegetable seeds, riding horses and chopping down trees. We hear their angelic voices singing Christmas carols. We see their palettes smeared with watercolors, and their fingers flying over ivory keys in a concert hall. We are amazed at the grace of their pirouettes. We never, never stop believing in all they will accomplish as they pass through this world.
But in the meantime, my sisters, the most important thing we do, is hold tight to their little hands as together, we special mothers and our special children, reach for the stars.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Baptism Shadow Box
I have FINALLY finished Lexie's Baptism shadow box. She was baptized 7 months ago so I guess I took long enough to figure out the logistics. Yeah right, it is really simple but oh so darling! Pretty much resembles the other TWO.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Pool and Paint
This week seems to have a theme and it was purely by accident. It started off with Mars and mosaics, then bowling and barbecue, and finishing off with pool and painting. On Friday we made our way to the pool for a nice relaxing morning with friends. I will have to remember to take my camera next time because Ethan was doing some crazy flips. It is scary seeing your baby try new, crazy things but knowing how much he embraces adventure makes me smile. He is a risk taker, adrenaline junkie! I see a lot of worrying in my future trying to accept his carefree attitude. I will also remember to coat myself with sun block too. I am always worrying about the kiddos and tend to place myself on the back burner. Well, that back burner is extremely hot so I am paying for it today!
Later that day while Lexie was sleeping away, I pulled out the paints, papers towels, decorative scissors and we went to town. The kids had a great time and really enjoyed the craft. After a couple dry runs, they started to get crazy with their designs and mixing their paint choices. Once they were dry, Ethan was already placing them in his envelopes to give away to all of his friends. He had them separated by gender and would explain to me why he was give that certain art piece to that certain person. Gracie wanted to tape her masterpieces to her door.
Monday, June 06, 2011
Mars and Mosaic
Mars Needs Moms has been a favorite in our house for about a year now. When I saw that they were making it into a movie, you can say I was a wee bit excited! Probably three times more excited than the kids. When I first read the book, I started to cry. Yes, I am emotional but it is such a sweet story. Unfortunately things kept coming up when it first came to the theater so we ended up missing it. However, our stars must have aligned because school is over and the dollar theater is now featuring it. Was it a good movie? Ethan and Gracie gave it 5 stars! They were in a trance the entire time. I would look over at my two 3D suited children and watched as they were slowly being sucked in by the big screen. Ethan would come to life howling with laughter whenever the time came up but other than that, glued in! Lexie gave it 0 stars and I am pretty sure that will be the last movie she is allowed to go to. While the other two were peacefully glued, I was busy walking around the back of the theater with Lexie. She did eventually fall asleep, 10 minutes before it ended. I have to say it was a really cute movie. I was quite pleased with their interpretation of the book. After that busy morning, we came home and commenced Ethan's loooong awaited favorite time....craft time! The kids each got to do their own mosaic masterpiece. I was quite surprised by how much Gracie loved it. I figured she was going to lose interest after 5 minutes but she did the entire thing. I think the fact that the mermaid's hair matches Rapunzel's hair was what did it for her. You have no idea how many times a day I hear, "Rapunzel, let down your hair." She will even walk around the house with a scarf around her neck just to see it trail on the floor behind her. Anyways, Ethan loved his race car and it is now hanging on his door as the "Key Code" to get into his room. I also got a chance for my own little craft time. I made a cover for my camera strap. I have a thing for rosettes and ruffles! You will have to stay tuned for a future project that I have in mind. Ruffles galore!
Can you see how excited he is?
Hard at work!
Gracie loving her mermaid
Ethan showing off his race car
My new camera strap.
Can you see how excited he is?
Hard at work!
Gracie loving her mermaid
Ethan showing off his race car
Lexie didn't make a mosaic but she definitely got herself into a pickle!
Her nickname is roly-poly!
Her nickname is roly-poly!
My new camera strap.
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