To smile - or not to smile - THAT is the question!

Tomorrow is the day. Oh, yes. Tomorrow is the day that will either spark my blooming Christmas spirit or take me over that final edge! Yikes! Each year we tackle the task of lugging the whole family into the city to have our pictures taken. As one would expect and as one would assume this should be an easy task. It's just pictures, right? Wrong. Here is where my OCD comes into play. Not only will we be tackling Christmas pics - we will also be forging ahead with that grand family photo - but don't stop there - oh no - that would be too easy! Let's go ahead and throw birthday pics into the mix as well! How I managed to luck out and have not one but TWO birthdays in December is beyond me. So - tonight I will diligently lay out all of our outfits. Dresses - check. Tights - check. Shoes - check. Birthday outfits - check. Clothes for mom and dad - check. Hair bows (a necessity in our house) - check. Mom's sanity - check. Well, I don't know about the last one - ask me tomorrow!

Wish me luck!

Did you know Julia doesn't have a wiener?

Yeah - seriously - did you know that? Well - now I do! While listening to Anna and Sophia in the bathtub tonight I was VERY enlightened! Anna says to Sophie - "Do we really know what Julia is?" Sophie says, "she's a girl - of course." Anna continues on (just teasing) - "Well how do you know for sure?"
Sophie (dead-pan), "Does she HAVE a wiener??"
What can you say to that?

Actually - I'm speechless - and how often does that happen!?! :)

No, No, No, No, No -no no no no no!

No! Such a simple word. It is only composed of two letters. One consonant - one vowel. So simple. Well - this word has now graced the vocabulary of our very one and only Julia. The first time this one syllable word was uttered by our smallest daughter it was quite possibly the cutest word that her sweet little face could muster. She said it with a little up-talk at the end - no-oh! So cute! Fast forward...

Julia? Do you want your cup? No-oh.

Julia? Come here. No-oh.

Julia? Close that drawer. No-oh.

Julia? PUT DOWN THAT HAMMER!!!!

Ok - So the last was an exageration, but you get my drift.

She does talk a lot so I hope we can move on to another new word soon.

Little stinker!! But how do you resist??

One Proud Momma

Today was Anna's very first piano recital. She was very nervous because she has only been playing since September. She did fantastic! She played the two songs that she has been working on and she even got to play them on a grand piano - how cool is that?!? Her teacher is Mrs. Knutson. She is a wonderful and caring teacher and Anna just loves her. Grandma Deena and Tricia came to watch, too. I think it makes Grandma Deena happy to know that her piano is being loved and taken care of. I was one proud momma today!

Anna at the piano during the recital.

Anna and her teacher - Mrs. Knutson

Anna at our piano at home before the recital.

Sophie-ism of the Day!

I have to say that my Sophia is always the one to say the darnedest things. At any moment - at any given time - she has been known to make me laugh until I feel as if milk might just spew from my nose (if I was drinking it). The things she says - we call "sophie-isms". These are her words and I love writing about them, because I want to treasure them as she grows up. These are the things that just might slip our grasp and we might forget them - how sad would that be. So here it is - the "sophie-ism" of the day...

Sophie: "Mom, when I grow up I want to be a vegetarian."

Me: "Sophie? Why do you want to be a vegetarian - you'll have to give up hot dogs and you LOVE hot dogs."

Sophie: "Why would I have to give up hot dogs to help heal animals?"

(The light is dawning now!)

Me: "Sophie - you want to be a vetrenarian." (sp)

Sophie: "That's what I said mom - a vegetarian."

Yeah... Well... So there.


Then she proceded to tell me that she was gonna work hard and make lots of money - then she was giving it all to me! I said that she didn't have to do that and she told me that I do so much for her that she was working to pay me back!

I LOVE that kid! (horns and all):)

What could be better...

What could be better than an old chalkboard and a nice new piece of chalk? Well - I'll tell you! It's a chalkboard wall! When I was a kid I LOVED to draw with chalk on the small chalkboard that my grandparents had in one of their spare bedrooms. It was fun to draw and erase over and over again and it always left such fond memories. I can remember leaving messages on the board for my cousins before we would leave to go home and then when we would come back months later there would be message from them waiting for me. What a great time that was!
Well, this weekend the girls and I were able to paint a WHOLE wall in our playroom with chalkboard paint. It was the neatest thing. I wrote their names at the top - stating that this was "The Gerling Girls Board". Then they took to drawing all kinds of beautiful pictures on the wall. They giggled and laughed and had such a blast telling me how "cool" it was. I hope this is a memory that they will treasure as they grow older as I have treasured mine. Who would have thought that something so small could end up meaning so much!

Woo Hoo!

It's Friday. It's Friday - that's all I have to say!