Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Eggs!

Today the girls and I dyed Easter eggs since we will not have time on Saturday.  I was a little worried about how it would all turn out considering I do not have the most patient toddlers on the planet but my girls have never been better behaved and excited at the same time.  They were fascinated with the entire process and were more than willing to sit and help me out. 


Aubrey only wanted to use the cup filled with pink dye but Lolo, as always, went with the flow.  She didn't care what cup I sat in front of her as long as she got one.  They let me do all the dipping and removing and they were very quick to tell me they wanted another egg in their cups.  We didn't do anything fancy as far as decorating goes.  The kit came with some stickers but once Lolo put her sticker on the egg she banged it against the table and it cracked.  I am pretty sure she did that just because she wanted to eat the egg.  Then of course once Aubrey noticed that Lolo was eating an egg she wanted to do the same thing.  They LOOOOOVE hard boiled eggs and would eat them every day if I let them. 


The eggs are now safely sitting in the fridge and at some point tomorrow I will peel them all so I can make deviled eggs.  I also promised the girls we could make some sugar cookies tomorrow as well.  They enjoy being in the kitchen with me and I enjoy them being with me when I am baking but not so much when I am trying to cook dinner.  Aub and Lolo can share the cookies with their daddy when he comes home tomorrow after a 3 night work thing. 


I hope everyone has a fantastic Easter while remembering the reason why we celebrate the holiday.   

Friday, March 26, 2010

Paris!

I have a confession to make and it actually embarrasses me slightly so please don't judge me too harshly.  I wasn't very excited to visit Paris!  I know!  How crazy is that?  At first I was very excited to go but then I thought well maybe we should just visit the Eiffel Tower and while we were at Disneyland I even told James that we didn't have to make the journey into the city if he didn't want to.  What was I thinking?!?!?!?!?  Paris is fantastic and I am now sad that we didn't get to see very much at all.  So I am going share some photos of the sites we were able to see.

Our first stop was the Arc de Triomphe which Napoleon had built to commemorate his victory at the battle of Austerlitz.  This was a site to see as the arch is very detailed and because traffic there is absolutely insane.  We were surprised that the Arc is right above the train station.  Since we had to switch trains here it was worth the quick stop. 


I am not sure why we don't have a better photo but James refused to share the camera so I didn't know what he had taken until we downloaded these at home.  Have I mentioned before that the camera is actually mine and that James insists that he is the better photographer even though he has no idea how to use it? 

The second stop was at the Eiffel Tower and it was as stunning as I imagined it to be. The walk from the train station to the tower was annoying because people are trying to sell you cheap miniature Eiffel Tower souvenirs and they are about 5 feet apart so it is non-stop harassment. As our luck would have it there was some work being done on the tower so 2 of the legs were closed and making the lines for the elevators 45 minutes long, as I mentioned above we were short on time and did not wait to go up. We could have taken the stairs but with the girls and a stroller I wasn't feeling that at all. Some may call me lazy but it was an honest attempt at saving my sanity.


Our third and final stop for the day was the famed Notre-Dame Cathedral. This beautiful building is over 700 years old and well worth the visit.  We arrived right before they closed the gates and so we only got pictures of the outside. Notice the scaffolding across the street? I swear every place we go something is covered in scaffolding and really screws up our photos!  At least the covering shows gives you a little idea of what you can't see.


As we made our way to the train station it was dark and we managed to get some decent photos considering we did not have our tripod with us.  It was a beautiful way to end our very long day!



Wednesday, March 24, 2010

More Disneyland Paris Photos

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Disneyland, minus the Princess pictures I posted the other day.  The Princess pictures are my favorites from the entire time at Disneyland Paris. 

1.  The entrance to the park with the famous Mickey face made from the shrubs. 
2.  The girls and me walking into the park for the first time.
3.  Aubrey driving the car at the Autopia ride.  She was sooo excited. 
4.  Lolo waiting in line for one of the rides at Walt Disney Studios Park.
5.  James on the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups.  As a child I used to love the rides that spin you all over the place but now they make me sick but we both ride them anyways.  You really can't go to Disneyland and NOT ride the Tea Cups.
6.  Walt and Mickey statue at the entrance to the Walt Disney Studios Park.

I will for sure add some pictures of our brief trip into Paris soon, hopefully tomorrow. 

Monday, March 22, 2010

Disneyland Paris

We have just returned from a short vacation to Disneyland Paris.  We celebrated Aubrey's 3rd birthday while we were there.  I can't believe Aubrey is 3!  Where has the time gone?  Anyways, Disneyland Paris is the perfect size park for toddlers, just big enough to keep them entertained but not overwhelmed.  Aubrey loved the rides and Lolo was a little afraid until things started moving then she had fun.  Both girls were super excited to see Ariel and Belle but had no interest in the other characters. 


We were pleasantly surprised to find that our room was actually a suite when we checked in and I really liked having all the space that we did.  There was 2 bathrooms, 2 large closets and a nice sitting area with a sofa bed and chairs.  We had breakfast every morning in the hotel but only had dinner there once because everything is crazy expensive.  There was a McDonalds in the Disney Village so we ate there more than James or I would have liked but the girls, especially Aubrey, love cheese burgers so it was ok.  There was also a Starbucks right there and that was just the icing in the cake for me!

I will try to post some photos of our quick little trip into Paris soon!  There is so much to see there and the trains are easy to figure out.  The only downside to using the trains is that not all the stations are equipped with elevators which made getting up and down difficult with a stroller.

Friday, March 12, 2010

General Hospital Weekly Post


Another great week on General Hospital!  Sonny is thisclose to telling Dante the truth about Claudia's murder!  Sonny doesn't want Dante to think that he would act so violently towards a woman.  Michael was whisked away from Port Charles in hopes of keeping him away from the murder trial.  I have a feeling he will be making his way back home soon.  He is very persistent and doesn't like being told what to do.  If Sonny tells Dante the truth do you think that will change Dante's opinion of his father?  Would Dante still protect Michael?  I would love to hear your thoughts!

I love that Diane is back in town for the time being.  Seeing Alexis and Diane together is always a bit comical and fun.  I hope she sticks around for a bit after Sonny's trial is over. 
I am hoping that Patrick gets his head on straight before he messes things up with Robin.  Spinelli and Maxie trapped in the storm drains was dangerous but Spinelli is always trying to prove himself to Maxie and I wish he would stop.  Maxie loves him and he should accept that he will never be a violent, gun toting thug!  At least that gave Spinelli time for his black & white dreams.  I miss those.

“I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other General Hospital branded items to facilitate my review.”




Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Scrappy Post

It has been a very long time since I have posted any scrapbooking layouts.  Honestly, I haven't been scrapping as much as I want to lately.  Time has certainly gotten away from me...it always does.  I finished both of these layouts after being inspired by the Cosmo Cricket blog.  Julie has been sharing sketches and encouraging readers to play along. 


This layout of Aubrey was made using the Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg Paper Crafting Kit.  I have had these pictures printed for a while now and never got around to getting them scrapped.  I love Aubrey's chubby arms and her confident steps.  The Nutmeg papers perfectly suited the pictures and I was extremely pleased with the finished layout. 



This layout makes me smile because I absolutely love the happiness on my babies faces!  While inspired by a Cosmo Cricket sketch I used October Afternoon papers and added some Kaisercraft pearls. 

These are the only layouts I have completed this year and I am very ashamed to admit it!  Things have been busy and I really need to upload and order some prints.  My little photo printer has been giving me some troubles lately so I need to start planning better before I place an order online.  It also doesn't help that my scraproom is a disaster!  I need to spend a day putting everything back in its place.  Now that James is home he can entertain the girls while I clean up. 

Thanks for looking!  I always appreciate folks stopping by my home in cyberspace!  Have a great weekend!


Sunday, March 7, 2010

General Hospital Updates


On Friday we saw Dante getting a lot of pressure from the new Federal Prosecutor to find out what Michael knows about Claudia's murder.  Dante has long suspected that Michael witnessed the murder but he has no idea Michael actually was the one swinging the ax handle.  Even though Dante has had this nagging suspicion right from the beginning he has wanted to keep Michael far away from the investigation because he feels Michael has suffered enough just being Sonny's son and doesn't want him to feel like he is responsible for putting his father in jail.  Dante is really a stand up guy who wants to protect the innocent people in Sonny's life while still doing his job.  At the end of Friday's episode Dante goes to Sonny's house and is talking to Michael when Sonny walks in and tells Dante to leave in a not so nice way. 

Should Dante be trying to take advantage of Michael's guilt?  Should he try to pull the "I'm your brother.  You can talk to me." bit?  Should Dante even be involved in any further investigation into the murder now that he knows he is Sonny's son?  I imagine Diane will bring that up during the trial considering most people would consider it to be a conflict of interest!  I would love to hear your opinions on this!

I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other General Hospital branded items to facilitate my review.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Bamberg, Germany


Not too much to say but I wanted to add a great picture taken in Bamberg when we visited last week.  James is a camera hog so he took this one but I like it so I am sharing it.  Bamberg was cute even though we went without a plan of what to do there.  Next time we will have a better idea of what sites to visit.  We are fortunate enough to live rather close so we can easily travel there again.