Our Take on Spring Break

We had big plans for Spring Break this year...all of which changed or were postponed for another time! Nevertheless, we had a great week - here are some of the highlights (or a lot of them, actually)....

The girls wanted to have a picnic at the park...but due to high winds we settled for one in the backyard. Hayden crashed the picnic and decided the "table cloth" was a blanket. Fun was still had by all!
We made lots of crafts....

Madeline's "collage"

We painted Madeline's room with lots of circles...

Tom's spring break craft project included finishing the rail...woohoo!

My favorite handy men! Hayden had lots of fun helping Tom out by handing him his tools (and trying some out himself).

We had a fun morning at "Pump-it-Up", all the kids got their wiggles out, which made for a wonderful afternoon for mom! :)

I think this is when Hayden was starting to "wind down"....

It was REALLY busy that day, but with the chilly weather that came our way, it was a great substitute for playing outside.

Meanwhile,

I started my over-ambitious project of sewing Easter dresses for the girls...whether or not they actually end up wearing them remains to be seen...

Madeline painted letters to hang on her wall.

But most of the time, we would find her in her room...reading the adventures of Edward and Bella. Yes, I'm afraid I have created another Twilight fan.

Madeline and Avery are participating in their school talent show next Friday. They will be performing a rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Madeline will be tickling the ivory's, while Avery belts out a tune! We painted these shirts for them to wear during their performance! (Stay tuned for that doozy!)

We had plans to go to the zoo, but we were hit with a blizzard on Thursday. It was time to send the kids outside to play in the white stuff! Hayden took the longest to get ready....

The girls had a blast building snowmen.

Hayden? Not so much.

It's a good thing he looked too cute for me to care.

Saturday was the biggest surprise of all! I took the girls on a mommy/daughter date to see Disney on Ice!

Avery gave it a thumbs up!

Madeline was so excited she was trembling!

The only picture I took before the camera went dead! Grrr! You will have to trust me, it was so fun!!

Our next adventurous post will probably involve kittens...so stay tuned!!

Pesky Green Friends

Apparently, if you are 9 and 6 and your last name is Helm, St. Patrick's Day is about one thing only....Leprechaun's. Today, Madeline and Avery could not stop talking about the pesky creatures. We don't really "discuss" Leprechauns much at our house, but they sure seem to talk a lot about them in school! So much so in fact, that the girls are determined to catch one in our backyard. They spent a good hour in the yard after school creating a "trap". It consisted of dirt, a broom, and a blanket. (Camera had a dead battery, darn it!) Somehow the dirt is supposed to lure the leprechauns in to captivity? Leprechauns are shifty characters. According to the girls, these are the naughty things the colorful creatures did today:

*knocked over Avery's chair at school
*attacked Madeline in her bedroom (she emerged unscathed, thank goodness) Avery said the leprechaun looked just like her picture... but REAL (see below)
*the girls said they heard distant "screaming" in the backyard, and they could only assume that a Leprechaun was kidnapping a neighbor.

Avery's Leprechaun

I guess Leprechaun's are also confused, because in between their mischievous activities, they also found time to be extremely generous and gave Avery candy without asking, gave her a gold coin, and according to her the above picture even "winked" at her during dinner. By the end of the day, Madeline wanted nothing more to do with them. We even had green "Leprechaun juice" with our dinner. Madeline said "NO THANKS. If it has anything to do with Leprechauns, I'm outta here!!" (She drank it anyway)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Confessions of a 2 year old

I hear "shoes make the man"...so I try. It hurts to be handsome.

I am drawn to sharp, pointy things that hurt. Even after countless "incidences" I can't get enough of them.
I dislike sleeping in beds at night, but give me a shoulder, a car seat, or a couch to lean on and Ta-da! Instant sleepy head.

I dabble with make-up here and there, you know, it's just a "phase". I think red is definitely my color.

They say video games are for the big kids. I don't buy it! They were made for ME.

I am a chocolate addict, but anything sticky, sweet, or that causes stains will do. This is especially enjoyable right after a bath.

I'm an exhibitionist, hey - if you got it, flaunt it.

I need my creative freedom. This includes, but is not limited to, using my fork as a choo-choo train, my spoon as a nose-picker, and my bowl as a hat. The mess is just added bonus.

Despite all this, I am obviously irresistable, because they sure like me around here!

(P.S. don't tell anyone, but I still live with my parents)