My Little Orphans

The girls thought they just had to go outside today. I assumed we would be out of school tomorrow, so my plan was to work on getting things organized around the house today, primarily the playroom, and playing tomorrow. Apparently the girls had other plans. On their own, they went and "got ready" to go outside. Aren't they beautiful? Yes, we have purchased real winter coats and adorably matching scarves, hats and gloves, however this was the attire they chose to head out in this morning. Notice that the are still in their pajamas with a few extras. It was cracking me up. I let them go out for a few minutes since they worked so hard to get ready. Needless to say, it didn't last long. We'll have to go out and enjoy the ice tomorrow, maybe some high tech laundry basket sledding.

Can She Really Be 4?

So, the story of Londyn. Let's just say she was the best surprise I've ever recieved. It wasn't exactly in the plan to have a second child quite so soon, but as always, God knows what he is doing. I couldn't imagine things being any more perfect. Skylar was about 8 months old when I found out I was pregnant with Londyn. At first, I was in shock, but my second thought was that I would never want one of my children to think they weren't wanted. Then I started thinking about the age difference and for a brief moment thought my kids would be the freaks that were in the same class in school but weren't twins. (Skylar has a September birthday, so she starts school late) Once I realized that wasn't the case, I was ok. It was hard to think about a new baby because we were so wrapped up in Skylar. I hoped the new baby would have a personality of it's own so as not to always be in the shadow. Without a doubt, Londyn came out with her own personality, and it was so different than Skylar from the very beginning. She definitely holds her own, and is growing up into the most precious little girl. They are so different and wonderfully unique. Londyn gives me a run for my money and tests me to the limits, but she loves unconditionally and holds no grudges. She is definitely the cuddly one. (Please excuse the teeny tiny pictures. I had to save from snapfish, and it would only let me save the small ones, and this post is already late, so I quit trying to mess with it.) Londyn in her first few days of life swaddled up at the hospital.
Londyn's first birthday picture. We took her to get her pictures taken, and while we were waiting, she fell of a chair and bloodied her nose. It made for great first bday pics.
Londyn's second birthday which was sort of a flop. I remember it was bad weather, so we had to reschedule, Kevin was sick, the food I ordered got messed up, and I remember I was crying by the time it was all said and done. I hope she forgives me some day.
Last year Londyn celebrated her birthday at My Little Doll House playing dress up with her friends and getting their hair and nails done.
This weekend we celebrated Londyn's birthday with a baking party. If you haven't already done so, check out the video below. My mom made half aprons and head ties for all the girls. The girls looked like a combo of Aunt Jemimah and Rambo by the time they had their head ties twisted and turned to suit them, but they were cute nonetheless. Thanks again mom for your hard work. It was adorable. Again Londyn, Happy Birthday!

Londyn's Birthday Baking Bash

Happy Birthday Londyn

Happy Birthday Londyn! I tried all night last night to upload the video I created from Londyn's baking birthday party, but kept coming up against many obstacles, so there will be more birthday posts to come. I just couldn't let any more time go by without at least acknowledging my sweet baby girl on her special day! We love you Londyn!

Flashback Friday

This photo was taken about 20 years ago, which seems completely insane to me! Anyway, this is me, my sister and my brother obviously standing around a snowman that we had built. I can't even remember the last time we've had enough snow for rolling, it seems like it's always ice. Click here to see other flashback Friday posts over at Bloggin' It From the Burbs.

Short and Sweet

I have the day off today, and the girls' school was closed, so I scheduled hair appointments for them. We cut their hair off for the first time last fall, but Londyn's was getting straggly again, and I thought Skylar could use a trim. Anyway, they both wanted short cuts, and Skylar wanted to make sure hers was shorter than Londyn's. Last time, Skylar didn't want hers cut short, and hers is a little thicker so it looks better long, but this time, she was all about getting it short. So, here are the girls in their new stylish dos. They're looking a little old if you ask me, and I probably should have titled the post short and sassy rather than sweet, because I believe that is where we are headed. Scary thought!

Saturday Summary

As many of you know and are probably tired of hearing about, Kevin is working ALL of the time, so the girls and I have Saturdays to ourselves. This is a bittersweet thing. I love them more than anything, but I really require some ME time. Anyway, the day went like this .........
We met some friends for lunch at Pei Wei, I took Londyn to the bathroom, I sat down and joined in the conversation, I took Skylar to the bathroom, I finished eating dessert, I took Londyn to the bathroom, I took the girls to the bakery to drop off her bday invite so they could match the colors, Londyn decides she no longer wants the cupcakes I ordered but would rather have a New Orleans King Cake for her baking themed party, we went to the movies, I took Skylar to the bathroom but she refused to use that bathroom because it was dirty, we sat down at the movies, after much begging which I could no longer stand we walked out of the movies to get popcorn, I took Londyn to the bathroom, we sat down again in the movie, the movie ended, I took Skylar and Londyn to the bathroom, we went to Stage, I took Londyn to the bathroom, we went to Hobby Lobby, I took Skylar to the bathroom. What a great day, or it would have been had I not spent most of it in the bathroom:)

Flashback Friday

This is actually my oldest flashback Friday post so far. This picture was taken about 11 years ago, a month after Kevin and I started dating during our freshman year of college. Several of us decided to go on a ski trip for Spring Break. It was my first and only time ever to ski, and it was a pretty random group. Kevin told me he knew how to ski and could teach me, but he apparently had downhill skiing slightly confused with cross country skiing. Needless to see we were neither one very successful as skiers, but I'm sure we enjoyed our time together. I also remember when we went to rent our skis, they asked how much I weighed, and I lied by about 15 pounds because I didn't want Kevin to know because at the time he was a scrawny 120 pounds. I was worried the whole time that my skis were going to break because I was too heavy for them. Click here to see more flashback Friday posts over on Melinda's blog.

Baby Tag

1. Were you married at the time? Yes
2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? Excitement of course! (the first time that is:)
3. How old were you? 24
4.How did you find out? Umm.... I took a test.
5. Who did you tell first? Kevin first, and then everyone else that would listen
6. Did you want to find out the sex? Definitely
7. Due date? September 12th originally, and then they moved it to September 20th
8. Did you deliver late or on time? late, Sept. 24, I thought she was never going to get here
9. Did you have morning sickness? I had sickness, but it was more in the evening
10. What did you crave? EVERYTHING! I ate a lot of egg mcmuffins
11. Who/what irritated you the most? Anybody that was skinny
12. What was your first child's sex? a girl
13. How many pounds did you gain throughout pregnancy? I stopped counting at 60
14. Did you have any complications during pregnancy? Other than being obese, no
15. Where did you give birth? St. Francis Hospital, Tulsa
16. How many hours were you in labor? 7 or 8 maybe
17. Who drove you to the hospital? Kevin
18. Who watched? Kevin and my mom
19. Was it natural or c-section? natural
20. Did you take medication to ease the pain? Without a doubt
21. How much did your child weigh? Close to 7lbs (I should really know that, huh?)
22. Did your child have any complications? Not really
23. What did you name her? Skylar Jade
24. How old is your first born today? 5, I can't believe it

I was tagged by Mandy, so you should check out her blog to read about her adorable little girl, Vivian. I'm a total sucker for tags, I would never want to let anyone down. Anyway, I tag Brooke (this would be about Anastyn, so it would qualify), Melinda, Jessica, Tracy, April and anyone else who would like to tell about the birth of their first born:)

Music To My Ears

Since we are not actually "doing" anything blog worthy, I thought I would post a few of the funny things I've heard lately (funny to me that is, they may be stupid to you). Some from my students, some from my own children.

Why I teach....

If you recall from some previous posts, I mentioned that I am teaching the decades this year which is fun, but quite overwhelming. One of my classes was doing their research and one of the girls asked me which decade I was born in. I told her the 70's, and then strongly emphasised it was 1979 almost in the 80's. She goes "Wow, that is really old. You don't look that old." I asked her how old she thought I looked. She said "Like a teenager, maybe 21, you look so young you could be a model." She quickly jumped to the top of my list of favorite students. (j/k, I of course don't have favorites, I love them all.) So, despite my overgrown eyebrows and the holiday tire sitting around my waist, looking young made me model material in the eyes of a third grader.

In one of my other classes, most of the kids had left and only about four students were left working on their research. One of the girls was looking at a page that had a list of fifties song titles, surprised I knew several of them, I burst out in song. If you know me at all, you know I only do things like that behind closed doors in front of people that are 11 or under. Actually, you may not even believe I would do it then. Anyway, one of my usually rambunctious boys says "You have a really good voice!" I of course had to laugh, and if you have EVER heard me utter a musical note, you know that could not possibly be true. However, it made my day. If only everyone could see and hear me through the eyes of an elementary school student it would do wonders for my self image.

Tonight while I was cooking dinner (don't get the wrong idea here, that translates into heating up chicken nuggets and making grilled cheese), I told the girls they had to go play for a while while I slaved away in the kitchen. They apparently decided to have a dance contest. Skylar demonstrated some of her best moves, and then told Londyn to do hers. Londyn was being her typical goofy self. When she was done, Skylar laughed and said "Those aren't dance moves, that's like crazy monkey moves."

In the car on the way home Skylar started singing the books of the New Testament. I was shocked, I didn't even know she had been introduced to that song. She sang through most of it, and I helped her out through some of what she couldn't remember. Londyn was listening, but had obviously never heard the song because when Skylar finished, she asks "Why did he bruise James?" (Hebrews, James..just in case you didn't pick up on that.)

Busy Season

I find myself having a hard time thinking of things to blog about. The thrill of the holidays has past, the company's gone, the decorations are down(as of today), and it's back to life as we know it. It was a little hard adjusting back into the routine after the nice long break. I always love the idea of a new year, and new beginnings. I love making resolutions, even though I rarely keep them. However, once January rolls around, I'm also reminded that the usual flow of things around the Lawrence house temporarily becomes very interrupted. For those of you who don't know, Kevin's busy season is January through March, which means he works pretty much all the time, and we see him on Sundays if we're lucky. I always seem to have a hard time adjusting to this schedule, even though I know it comes around every year. Anyway, add that to 8lbs of holiday weight resting around my waist, cold weather, and I get a little down in the dumps. All of that to say I have nothing to write about or pictures to post because not much has been going on this week. Is it sad that I try to think of things we could do that would make a good blog post?

Flashback Friday

So the theme for January flashbacks is snow. These were some of my favorite pics from the snowstorm we had in January of 2007. We had several days off school, and the girls and I had a great time enjoying the snow. I pulled them around the backyard with a scarf tied around the laundry basket and then we would come in and stuff our face with smores and homeade hot chocolate. Check out Melinda's blog for more flashback friday posts.

PBK Bedding for Sale

I am redecorating the girls' rooms, so I have this bedding that I love that I am looking to get rid of. I usually use ebay, but thought I would try the blog route first this time. The pictures are not very good, but if you are at all interested and would like to see better photos, email me and I will send them to you. Both sets are from Pottery Barn Kids. This set includes the ribbon sham, duvet, bedskirt and bolster pillow as well as the floral sheet set (fitted sheet, flat sheet, and sham) all for a twin size bed.

This set includes the quilt, sham, floral sheet set, 2 small pillows, and bright pink gingham bedskirt all for a twin size bed.

I would like around $125 for each set, but would be willing to negotiate:)

If you are interested in either of these sets, leave a comment, or email me at devin_l_lawrence@yahoo.com and I will answer any questions or send more photos.

The Whole Lawrence Family...

...In the Victorian Age Lucky us, right upon the entrance of Silver Dollar City there was Tin Type photo shop. We all made Kevin's Dad very happy by agreeing to take these old time photos. I'm impressed that they actually got everyone looking. So, this is the Lawrence Family Photo for 2008.

Branson Excursion

We spent a couple of days in Branson while Kevin's family was here visiting. We spent one evening at the Branson Landing eating at Joe's Crab Shack and doing a little shopping although it was a little too cold. We also went to Silver Dollar City for a few hours, but it was too cold for most of the crew, so we didn't stay to enjoy the Christmas Parade. The girls still had a good time enjoying the rides and hanging out with the family. The girls playing ring around the rosy with their cousin Jade while we were waiting for the shuttle to take us back to the car.

The only times the girls get to enjoy sweet treats when we're out and about doing vacationy sorts of things, so Londyn chose this massive cookie, and Skylar selected this delectible blueberry muffin.

One of the shows the girls got to watch at Silver Dollar City was Frosty the Snowman.

The family riding the roller coaster.

Me and Kevin posing for Skylar to take our photo.

The favorite part of the trip was the hotel as usual. Something about sleeping in someone else's bed is sure to bring excitement The family in front of the big blue tree at Branson Landing.