HE DID IT!!!!!

jackson is officially a preschool graduate! i'm so proud! now he can go out into the world and make something of himself!
it was a little haired there for a moment. we weren't sure if he was going to go through with it. but, instead we got a glimpse of what to expect in 12 or so years at high school graduation. we are raising the class clown. their school graduation is at the end of the year ice cream social at a local park. the whole school is invited. it was a lovely evening. we made it over and started to play at the park before the ice cream was ready. well, who wants to stop playing on the playground to eat ice cream?!?! not jackson! so first off he didn't really want to partake in the ice cream part of the ice cream social. but on the other hand his sister would drop anything to have ice cream was unfortunately not allowed to have any due to some earlier bad behavior and not finishing her dinner. so we have one child whining to go back to the playground and one child whining to have the ice cream that her brother is so willing to leave behind!

good times.

so we play a little more and then they make an announcement to gather around and we'll commence commencement. all the children (9 or so, big group this year) line up and sit on one side of picnic bench. they are given little mortar board party hats for the festivities which last a fleeting 1.2 seconds on jackson's head.

illustration No.1 of jackson's not giving a flying hoot to sit there and follow through this:


so they start calling names and each child walks up to the teacher and receives their medal and their framed diploma. eric and i are catching eyes and rolling them. no way j-man is walking up their independently tolerating this thing around his neck and not using his diploma as a frisbee. the little boy alphabetically before him gets up gets his things, smiles nicely for his mother and takes a seat. i hold my breath.... "Jackson Lippincott"
and voila!


the ham and a half goes to the middle of the group throws his hands up over his head and starts cheering! the crowd goes wild! i begin to wonder if it was all an act. throw us off with some obstinate behavior just to pull this silliness off! he knew what was going on and he knew he was the center of attention. he proceeded up to his teachers got his medal and diploma and ran back to dad to take his seat. not only can you NOT predict his behavior he goes above and beyond to keep you on your toes. he know wears the stinkin' medal everywhere!

let's take a look at well behaved jackson:


and here's the proud family:


all in all a lovely evening and a very memorable end to jackson preschool career. but i do glance to the future and worry if our hands are going to be a tad full.....

Happy Mother's Day

this is grace


this is grace on crack

what a little pistol. i believe the 2nd photos does her justice. she's in a screaming-for-no-reason phase. not a bad screaming. not tantrum screaming. just screaming. for screaming sake. for fun. she find great joy in it. we're currently working on "screaming is for games. go penn state", or "go penn STEAK" if you are grace.

today is mother's day. for a change we had a nice subdued mother's day. no traveling, no big plans. i'm learning that it's not what i WANT for mother's day more than it's what i DON'T want for mother's day. i don't care what we do, i just want a day off from taking care of my children. no potty trips. no cooking. no feeding. we did alright today. i got a lovely breakfast in bed. then we just caught up on my disney channel and tickle tortures in bed. we ran a few errands as a family. had lunch. took a nap. ordered in yummy sushi for dinner! and i'm in my pjs waiting for desperate housewives and brother & sisters. perfect day. i was even relieved of laundry duty.
not bad. not bad mom. not bad. a slow rainy family day.
i hope everyone was celebrated as they wished. i am surrounded by so many mothers. so many different mothers. i cherish them all and learn from them all.
Happy Mother's Day

school photos

i recently took pics at a local Montessori. 60 or so, 2-6 year olds, FUN! some kiddos i know from private shoots, and a lot i shot the previous year. so nice when it all runs smoothly and the teachers and parents are so pleased with everything. quite a compliment when even the shyest of children open up and get some good shots taken. of course with a small group i was able to offer some collages, not your typical school photo, but then again when you're dealing with little ones sometimes that's the best way to showcase their personality.



HELLO! do you not just LOVE her. such a cutie! which such a flare for drama!


yes, 1 child out of 60 actually took a bite of my apples!



could he be any more excited for his school photo!



i used a lot of this style collage for this shoot. seemed the best way to get the most out of their personality and it showcased siblings best too.

big top times

so, the follow up from the circus. it was a grand success! well, they had to get over the fact that there were not going to be any dinosaurs (we just saw the dino show at the same venue and they now believe the dinos live there) and we had to get over that we were not going to see a basketball game (we see many a game over the winter in the same venue) but once we were in and the crazy stimuli of the circus took over they we're quite excited to experience that too. don't go on their enjoyment from the photos, they were pretty much in awe. they really did totally enjoy themselves although it looks otherwise from the photos. didn't get any of jackson clapping his hands off! and gracie has found her new profession in life. sorry auntie caroline, no more "what do you want to be when you grow up? a soccer player" not it's "an elephant" which really means one of those girls in the great outfits that gets to ride on the elephants!

they took turns sitting with poppy and grandma and then back to mom and dad. it was funny at one point they were with mom and dad and poppy was at the end of our group sitting two seats away and he just looked like and old guy who went to the circus by himself! but i'm sure we looked silly when the kids were sitting with them. the show was that good though, that even though the kids were occupied elsewhere we were enjoying ourselves too.


gracie's new profession


me and J at the circus


J & G at the circus with poppy

things that make me happy...

seems with the nicer weather bringing a general uplifting of spirits everyone is doing a "my favorites" or a top ten post. i can classify something or start a list of random things, but all these other statements of joy led me to one of my favorite things this time of year. the dogwood tree in the front of my house. we've lived here almost 2 years. when we were just looking at the house the dogwood was in full bloom and SOLD the place! looking through my dogwood glasses i overlooked what it meant to live sandwiched between colleges students and right in the middle of the main drag the college kids walk to and from the bars (hello! what's wrong with the sidewalks you ungrateful, disrespectful, undisiplined..... rrrrgggg! i digress let's keep it PG) but every year, the tree begins to blossom and create a pinky purpley mask over our home. our home is super cute in the first place, the tree just makes it picture postcard perfect! along with this bloom is the increasing number of college kids who venture out in the warmer weather, to which i muster up a smile because it can only mean that the semester is coming to an end and they will all be scattering back to where they came from soon!!! i always questioned those who found joy in the departure of the students when i first moved here. but it wasn't long before i learned the blissful peace of our little town without roucus parties and the great ease felt when you can go out to your favorite restaurants WITHOUT a reservation!


our little flowering abode!

happy birthday to .... ME!!!!

yeah! happy birthday to me. i know i know, as you get older you're not supposed to look forward to your birthday so much. but i still like them. i get to chose the restaurant, i get to order what i've been secretly desiring (i.e. chocolate chip pancakes at the waffle shop this morning), i get to splurge on desert. what's wrong with that! every one's birthdays should make them feel even just a little special, FOREVER..... i mean as long as we're still having them we should celebrate them. why not! i have a wonderful family, great friends, and i look forward to this day (sometimes spilling over into the week) because i know what's coming, the guarantee that i will be calling, talking, emailing to most of them. happy day for me! this year's birthday wishes even started coming in early. it made me feel very special. my parents had come in on friday and made sure to stay until this morning. we had a lovely weekend. we got treated to dinners out without children. we had fun all around. it's always hard to have poppy and grandma drop the kids off at school because no matter how much you try to tell them they won't be here when i pick them up from school they don't always understand that and it's so sad when they come bounding in the house calling their name and then i'm left to tell them the bad news. any, that was a tangent.
birthdays are fun. i love getting birthday wishes from to top of gracie's lungs. she's very good at shouting, well, just about anything these days. and she as excited for me for my birthday as if it were her own. i think that helps my birthday enjoyment. today, i don't need any big bashes, no lavishes gifts. just a card from the children (one of which can actually sign his name now and one of which is absolutely convinced that a few scribbles spells her name) a little sweetness from a husband, and the noticeable lack of directions and instructions for the day, and some happy thoughts from my few but most amazing girlfriends!
oh happy day, happy birthday to me! i invite you over to the virtual coffee shop for a little snack and a little chat, that's the only thing that could top this day!

flashback!

first off, it's not enough that i have a mini me, but i have found myself unconsciously dressing her in outfits of my past! the weather is just starting to get nice here in the tundra and we've been layering. not quite ready for shorts, but too nice for long pants and long shirts. so short on clothes the other day i'm dressing grace for school and i reach for a skirt. cute, ok. with what? ok, found a shirt with one of the many colors in the skirt. good, but it's not THAT nice out today. ok, hmmmm, pink leggings, perfect. didn't think much of it until the 3 or so comments later that day on how cute she's looked, how she looked like a shout out to the 80s. take a double take, yeah, she does look like a sort of G rated madonna, it's the leggings and the skirt combo. one friend commented that she looked like her circa 1988! funny how i didn't even see it until everyone else noticed. i was just proud of myself to be able to find 3 pieces in her drawers that all coordinated!!! to boot it was hair-do Wednesday, so she was sporting a rather involved do. (her brother has a standing appointment Wednesday mornings so we always try do to a fancy hair do that will keep her occupied while i arrange it and out of the way of her brother's hard work!)

the sunglasses add that extra style!


a close up of my handiwork!