Day 22 - I think I Can, I think I Can...

I love that my girls are old enough to truly play together! The peace might only last for 5 minutes but it gives me hope for the future :)

Day 13 - A Taste of Spring

The weather today was fairly mild, so the girls & I spent some time outside after Anna was home from school. Needless to say, bedtime was very easy today :)

Day 9 - Blue Skies

With the seemingly ever present grey fog that sits over the UK during the winter, you learn very quickly to embrace what little sun there is even if it is a bit chilly to be out at the park!

Day 8 - Playdough Take 2!

I really doubted how long the playdough would occupy my girls, but so far I've been shocked by its success. At several points today, both girls have sat happily together each playing with their own stash of playdough for 30 mins-1 hour at a time! I hope this continues!!

Day 7 - Homemade Fun!

I was getting a little stir crazy today with the girls, so I decided I needed an activity that would occupy them for the last hour before dinner. Luckily earlier in the week I had remembered to ask my Mum to email me the recipe for homemade playdough that she used to make for us as children! So I pulled out the recipe, whipped up a batch (using almost every ounce of salt we had left in the house!), colored it into 3 different balls and let the girls have some fun.



Maya wasn't heeding my advice about not eating the playdough (perfectly safe to eat, just not very pleasant due to the amount of salt!) and as a result she spent much of the next hour like this:



Since the girls had so much fun with the playdough and it really costs very little to make, not to mention the benefit of having enough of each color for multiple children to play with and avoid the sibling fights (an hour of peaceful playing=priceless!!), I thought I would share the recipe!

Homemade Playdough (requires stovetop cooking):

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 cups water
2 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Food colouring of choice (I used gels, but liquids work well too)

Cook mixture in pan over medium heat, stirring all the time to prevent sticking.
Removed from heat when mixtures comes away from sides of pan. If you want different colors, separate mix and then add colour to each ball. Knead and store in airtight container. Keeps very well!

Day 6

Day 5 (I even posted before Noon :)!!)

Day 4 - Happy Girl

Day 3 - Snack Time

Day 2 - The Playground

The girls & I decided to take advantage of some nice (read: not totally grey & overcast when we LEFT the house) weather and head to the playground after running a few errands. Miss A decided that she was big enough for a regular swing and Miss M was not too impressed with having cold hands (note to self: remember to carry gloves/mittens for her wherever I go!!). All in all though they got to run out some energy, I got a much needed cup of coffee from the base coffee shop, and we all got some fresh air for a change!

59/365 - Playground Smiles

They love to climb. They love to swing. They love to slide. They love the sun!

58/365 - Spring is Here! (Maybe...)

I know it's early to think that spring might be here to stay, but today was one of those beautiful early spring days where it's still brisk out but the sun warms things up enough to give the hope that the real spring is right around the corner. Miss A seemed to love the bright sunshine and when Los asked if she wanted to walk to the mailbox with him, she laughed the entire way!

My only question is where did my baby (or for that matter, my toddler) go?!

52/365 - Miss A & our move

As our move gets closer, we've been telling Miss A more often that we will be moving soon and going on a plane to England. I'm not sure how much she really understands, but lately Miss A has been announcing more often that she'll be going on a plane (that is when she isn't "going shopping" - the photo on the left!).

48/365 - Baking & Time with Abuela

Today the girls had lots of fun spending time with Abuela (more affectionately known as WaWa). Miss M spent quite a while looking for birds and was hamming it up during snack after her nap - probably because Miss A was still sleeping so she had our undivided attention for a little while!



Later in the afternoon Miss A & I decided to make brownies together since we know they are one of WaWa's favorites!



This was the first time that Miss A really helped me in the kitchen so I figured she could have the fun of licking the spoon :)

47/365 - Back to Swimming

The girls are back to swim lessons (ISR technically) and so are the telltale signs:
1) Crazy, unruly hair
2) Stamps on both hands (during the summertime it was feet too - and legs, and arms, and every inch of skin Miss A could stamp before I caught her!)
3) and Miss M looking absolutely exhausted!



Miss A also spent some time taking photos like Mummy. Last week she saw me setting up flowers for this series of photos. Today she got her camera out and then had to "put water" on the flowers just as I did.

42/365 - Children's Song

Miss A learned a classic children's song today. Can you guess what it is?



Here's a hint - her English roots are starting to show! :)

I also sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider" for her today. My day is now filled with requests for the "spider song"!

And just one more set of photos from lunchtime today:

40/365 - Maybe I was wrong...

The other day I mentioned that Miss A was my "little mother" and that Miss M was the mischievous one. Maybe I was wrong and Miss M has a little of the mothering in her too:





She will not, however, play with her own doll and is on a constant mission to steal Miss A's baby when Miss A isn't looking!

39/365 - Valentines

Happy Valentines Day from Little Miss M (who hates wearing hats)!



P.S. I just finished this hat today for Miss M!

37/365 - When Snack Time Goes Awry

Snack time started like this today:

*Please note the oh-so-dramatic tear rolling down Miss A's cheek*


You may ask yourself what caused this melt-down - simply that we did not have anymore fruit snacks and apparently apple slices were a VERY inferior second choice!

Miss M was completely unfazed by all of this. As long as she had a snack she was happy - in fact she couldn't eat it fast enough.


As Miss M develops more of her personality, it's funny to see just how different the girls are.

Miss M is our mischievous one. Don't let the eyes fool you. She's trouble with a capital T!


Miss A is our little mother. She wants to take care of everyone and everything. In the photo on the left, she is making cupcakes using puzzle pieces - she has such a large imagination and most days she amazes me with the ideas she comes up with.

35/365 - Friends

Another snow day today, although this one was due mostly to the wind gusts that were blowing snow around. Instead of venturing out, we decided to invite friends in.