M+M Daily Favs 11.29

MN+MR=getting the dog

our family is proud to introduce Kodiak:

M+M Daily Favs 11.28

MN=going to the City Museum

MR=watching the videos

Even though it is less than 2 blocks away, we have only been to the city museum once. We passed the museum while were walking home from Public Market last night, and Bill checked the hours. It opened at 10 AM today and there was free admission! Bill brought the girls down for a little while this morning, and they had a blast playing in the children's room and doing totem rubbings.

I read about They Might Be Giants new science album, but with all the Thanksgiving prep i forgot about it until Bill emailed me yesterday about it. Last night we bought it on itunes and listened to the songs and watched the videos today, MN's fav is "I'm a Paleontologist" and MR's fav is "Meet the Elements". We have their ABC and 123 discs and were very excited to add this to our collection! Check it out!!

M+M Daily Favs 11.27

MN=Public Market

MR=sleeping on the floor in our sleeping bags

Thanksgiving

There isn't enough room to list all of the things i am thankful each and everyday of the year. Today, i was thankful for a warm home full of good food and great friends. For everyone who we wanted to be with but couldn't, we love you... we miss you!

M+M Daily Favs 11.26

MN=having Thanksgiving with everyone

MR=Thanksgiving

M+M Daily Favs 11.25

MN=cleaning

MR=cooking

me=spending the day with my girlies and getting ready for Thanksgiving!

M+M Daily Favs 11.24

MN=going to Daddy's work to say hi to my friends

MR=playing at home

M+M Daily Favs 11.23

MN=going to the field house and watching sissie play the Dora game

MR=going to the field house and playing the Dora game

M+M Daily Favs 11.22

MN+MR=sledding

M+M Daily Favs 11.21

MN=playing with D

MR=picking up Daddy at the airport and playing with D

We were lucky enough to find a babysitter early in the fall, as you can see the girls are very fond of her!

Boo Boos

MN get lots of tiny itty bitty little cuts that cause her a lot of pain. The pain is so intense that it can only be soothed by a rainbow band aid. We seem to constantly be running out, and i am trying to limit her to 2 band aids on her body at once. Although MR seems to fall and bump into things more often than her sister, she doesn't seem to require any band aids (although she desperately wants one!)

This conversation took place tonight after bath while we decided who needed band aids and where. Each girl went to bed with one on her knee.

me: Ugh, you kids with your band aids are killing me!

MN: Why are band aids killing my mudder?

MR: Why do my boo boos take so long to grow? I think it's because I'm tough.

M+M Daily Favs 11.20

MN=tumbling

MR=party

me=hearing MR's voice louder than all the others while the class sang their Thanksgiving songs and listening to MN whisper to her sister (who was already asleep)

M+M Daily Favs 11.19

MN=making Daddy's card

MR=playing my Leapster,

but the worstest part was when my Tag reader ran out of batteries

me=see picture

Usually when it is time for me to make dinner, there is lots of whining and begging for a tv show or one more snack... Today there was industriousness!

Happy Birthday...

to my dear husband! M+M and i miss you tons and can't wait to celebrate with you this weekend!!

M+M Daily Favs 11.18

MN+MR=snow!

Another fun time playing in the snow... Today, the girls made a snow slide and had a blast riding it. The slide was very short, but that didn't bother them at all. Must get them out sledding soon!

M+M Daily Favs 11.17

MN=playing in the snow

MR=going to dance class and playing in the snow

playing in the snow on the front porch

A quick walk in the woods...

On Tuesdays, the girls have dance class. This gives me a little over an hour to run errands or explore. Today, i chose explore...

M+M Daily Favs 11.16

MN=new tooth rinse

MR=Old McDonald's

me=shoveling

In an effort to get my girlies to brush better, today i bought the Listerine pre-brush rinse. They did attack their teeth with renewed fervor, let's hope we can keep it up.

Yup, Dad is out of town... So, Mom is taking the easy way out and hitting the McD's drive thru for lunch. Love those fries! ;)

Okay, it wasn't the shoveling part, but watching M+M play in the snow. We don't have a yard, so there really isn't anywhere to play; however, the girls were very happy throwing snow on their own heads and jumping into the piles that i made for them.

Weak Winter Sun

I know that it isn't technically winter yet, but it is a winter wonderland in Juneau thanks to about six inches of snow that fell Saturday. After shoveling the driveway and sidewalk Sunday morning, the girls and i headed to the gym/play place for a workout and some play time. We walked out about 11:30 am and here is what we saw:

In this picture, you can see how close the sun is to the mountains. Although we have some light until about 3:30 pm, the sun goes behind the mountains around noon.

M+M Daily Favs 11.15

MN+MR= helping Mommy shovel the driveway

M+M Daily Favs 11.14

MN=watching Bambi

MR=playing at home

Today was a crazy weather day, and we mostly stayed home and inside. The power went out at 7:30 AM. We thought it was due to the wind, but we found out later it was because of a mudslide downtown. We had power back before 9 AM. Bill had to run to work, we both went to the gym, but other than those trips out we stayed home and hung out with our "four family". When the rain switched to snow early in the afternoon, we didn't think much of it... However, it's still snowing! Earlier forecasts were calling for 1-2 inches, now 3-6 inches are predicted...UGH!! I'm happy it's snowing, but am not excited about the shoveling i will have to tackle in the morning (that's right, Bill is on his way out of town for the first significant snowfall... i think he missed it last year too!) I need to get a couple of kid sized shovels so M+M an start earning their keep. ;)

Good Vocabulary

When the girls wake up in the morning, we usually brig them in bed with us. Depending on how early they are up, they will either fall back asleep or we will just hang out and talk.

This morning, we were all hanging out and the wind was howling. There was a banging at the window, which scared the girls. We explained that it was gusts of wind pushing the tree into the window. MN piped up and said, "Gust is a little word for such a big wind."

M+M Daily Favs 11.13

MN=doing show and tell

MR=the buoy deck

Today was MN's show and tell day. MR's was last week, so MN was extra excited today to finally have her turn after "waiting for so many days!" She brought her stomping dinosaur to share and the girls said it was a big hit!

Dinner time found us at the Buoy Deck to meet friends from Bill's office for dinner. The kiddos had a blast running around the open space next to our table and dancing.

M+M Daily Favs 11.12

MN=Candyland

MR=going to school for the conference

Today we had M+M's second official parent teacher conference. Bill was unable to attend last year, so it was great that he was able to attend and hear the excellent report that we received! The girls were excited to tag along as they were going to school on a non-school day and got to play with all the classroom toys.

Even More Pink Palace

sitting room:

before moving in:

moving in day:

enjoying the icicles:

M+M Daily Favs 11.11

MN+MR=painting

M+M Daily Favs 11.10

MN=making Jello

MR=playing Candyland with Sissie and Daddy

M+M Daily Favs 11.9

MN+MR=going to school

I was able to help out at school today... I love watching M+M and getting to know their classmates! I was super excited because i got to do the craft table... Last time i helped, i did the work table and it was much harder to get kids to join me! ;)

M+M Daily Favs 11.8

MN+MR=celebrating A's birthday

Tonight went went to our friend's house for dinner to celebrate A's 7th birthday. We had a delicious dinner, yummy brownies, and a super fun time... Happy Birthday, A!

M+M Daily Favs 11.7

MN=going to the museum with Daddy; doing the art projects at the museum; having the wedding with Mordita wearing the yellow dress

MR=playing at home with sissie

More on the Pink Palace...

M+M's room

before we moved in:

moving in day:

MR asleep in her crib/toddler bed:

building the bunk beds:

i'd like to think their room has more personality than these pictures reveal,

but i don't take a lot of pictures upstairs.

i did want to document the move to big girl bunk beds... the switch was made in July.

M+M Daily Favs 11.6

MN=doing my "arts and craps"

MR=sharing my puppies at show and tell at school

M+M Daily Favs 11.5

MN=going to the store

MR=going ice skating

Happy Anniversary Pink Palace!

One year ago tomorrow, we moved into what we affectionately refer to as: The Pink Palace". In every room (except the kitchen and downstairs bathroom) there was pink carpet, the walls and ceilings are lighter shades of pink, the toilet, sink, and tub in the master bath are pink. When i first saw this house on Craigslist, i said "No way!" However, the house is a short walk to Bill's office, affords us phenomenal views of Mt. Juneau and Gastineau Channel, and is very charming (underneath all the pink!) I thought i would finally share some before and after pics...

This is the living room as viewed from the dining area.

The front windows look towards the channel.

Here is the room the afternoon we moved in.

We asked for the furniture and drapery to be removed.

Here is the same room with our new tv and stand

(tv purchased in Juneau, stand purchased in CT before the move).

Bill did an awesome job ripping out the carpet and shining up the floors.

Without the carpet, the pink walls and ceilings don't seem as pink.

The window shades are pink, but we rarely close them now.

Here is the room again, but now with our super comfy couch. If you sit in the corner, it is guaranteed that you will fall asleep!

Here is a view of the living area mostly set up and with the new carpet. Most of the girls toys are upstairs, but we move them around to different areas of the house.

Keep checking back for more before and after pics... Of course, the best way to see the changes is from inside... We hope you will visit soon! ;)

M+M Daily Favs 11.4

MN=going to the fire station

MR=dancing to Thriller

M+M Daily Favs 11.3

MN=going to the library

MR=dinner at the Blue Hangar

The library in Juneau puts on a great toddler program on the first Tuesday of each month. Tonight's theme was construction and building. We had fun saying hello to friends, building, and taking out a few books. After the library, we headed to The Hangar for dinner to celebrate the anniversary of or arrival in Juneau (we would have gone out last week on the date that we arrived, but Bill was out of town... better late than never!)

M+M Daily Favs 11.2

MN=making my turkey

MR=bringing Daddy to the airport

Today, we had our first homework assignment for school: to decorate a turkey. The girls and i used crayons and markers to color the turkey, then M+M added glitter, feathers, and pom-poms. There are two colorful turkeys drying on my counter!

Usually dropping Daddy off at the airport is not the highlight of our day... However, this morning there was breakfast in the car and a show when we got home (on a school day morning!), so the girls didn't mind saying goodbye so much! ;)

M+M Daily Favs 11.1

MN+MR=going to the playground

Early yesterday afternoon, despite the dampness, Bill took the girls to the playground. They left dry in warm coats and rain pants, and came home with damp heads, soaked mittens, and smiling faces.

Walking through the woods on a snowy morning...

We woke up this morning to big, fat, fluffy snowflakes! Snow on Halloween is strange for me, but living here i had to embrace it - it's better than rain!! I was about to hit the gym, but decided to check out one of my most traveled trails in the snow. I couldn't have been happier with my choice...

M+M Daily Favs 10.31

MN=trick or treating

MR=coming home

heading out:

our first stop:

waiting our turn:

meeting the Governor and his family:

The fever that consumed MN after our arrival home, hit MR a few days later. Between the fevers and the jetlag, it took the girls more than a week to get back to sleeping well. By the end of this week, poor MR was beat!