i most certainly did not...

send my second born to school today without shoes! we got about 2 minutes from the school and i realized that the shoes were still sitting in my kitchen! miss jeanine was really sweet about it...she said it gave her a great excuse to let them go to the soft play room today...instead of outside in the cold!!!!! i definitely should win some kind of "mother award" for this one!

i most certainly did not...

also allow my second born to wear footed pajamas all day long yesterday...because she looked so warm and cozy...and just smelled delicious!!!!!

i most certainly did not...

let my children have a sucker at 10:30 in the morning...as insurance against any major melt downs in the middle of the grocery store. desperate times call for desperate measures.

i most certainly did not...

slip and fall (imagine someone slipping on a banana peel in a cartoon) while trying to "shovel" ice/snow off my driveway so as not to slide into my garage door...and now feel as though i was in a traumatic accident!

i most certainly did not...

have to convince myself to only buy ONE box of sugary cereal while grocery shopping this week...and the cereal was most certainly NOT for ME only!!!!!!! (by the way...frosted flakes taste just as good in your 30's as they do when you're little!!!! cocoa pebbles are next...)

but if i did know someone that did these things...i totally wouldn't judge them...because i've been on the edge before too!!!!!! so for now...

i'm off to gaze at my "footed pajama'ed" little girl while nursing my aches with a big bowl of frosted flakes...right after i write myself a note to remember maddie's shoes on tuesday!!!!!!!!

hope you all have a gReAt weekend!!!!!!

a little something new...

for all you "bow heads"...or more importantly..."mommies of bow heads"!!!!! this is the latest from painting me happy...let me know what you think - i LOVE feedback! ***can you believe how many pink bows we have...and 50% of my children have NO hair with which to sport a bow properly...sigh***

i welcome any suggestions, as well, regarding items you would like to see done!!!! it helps get my creative juices flowing!!!!!

feel free to take a look here for more information about painting me happy...and don't forget, i would LOVE to help you create a special baby/birthday gift for someone special!!!!! all you gotta do is ask!!!!

"snow bunnies" in the making...

in an effort to avoid the 4+million people heading into our city this past weekend...we decided to head out!!!! since the mountains are just a mere 3 hours away, we made plans for the price family's first ever snow skiing trip!!!! it was an absolute blast...and as an added bonus...the spences joined us on the vacation!

we left on friday afternoon, just in time to avoid the majority of "going home" traffic in D.C. it was unbelievable to watch the temperature gauge on our rear view mirror dropping so drastically! when we finally arrived in mchenry, maryland...we registered at a whopping -7 degrees...just in case you missed it...that was NEGATIVE SEVEN DEGREES! folks, that's cold!

once we unloaded our things, the two families made our way to smiley's for some pizza & game playing! unfortunately our suburban does not have four wheel drive, i am from the deep south, & i am a bit of a "scaredy cat" when it comes to driving in the snow/ice...which made for a mandatory "driver change" on our way to dinner!!!!! thank goodness jane knows something about driving in these conditions...otherwise, we would NOT have made it up the steep hill!

on saturday morning, the daddies headed out for their first full day of skiing! jeffrey had never been snow skiing before so i was anxious to hear how he was going to do. one thing jeffrey is is competitive...one thing he is not... is cautious. i felt a bit compelled to contact an orthopedist before we left, but restrained, and it turns out he did really well!!!!!! jason was able to show him the ropes and jeff just faked the rest! as he likes to say - he just "tucked & went"! not the smartest way, in my opinion, but he made it to the bottom of the mountain with his knees & skis in tact!

the girls have never seen that much snow before and i was SO excited to get them bundled up and out to play! ella was her typical free spirit, immediately falling down in it to make a snow angel. madeline's face told me that she felt like telling this powdery, white fluff to get "back"...but was intrigued just enough to suffer through. it wasn't until she realized that it was edible that she really developed her love/hate relationship - and you should have seen her face when i asked her if m&m's were falling out of the sky!!!!!! (***i'll say just about anything to get my children to take a picture...and poor campbell thought i was being serious...i suppose maddie did too...she spent a lot of time looking up with her tongue out...i'm just wrong!!!!!!***)

i digress...

on sunday, we all decided to go sledding! we haven't had that much fun together in a long time! it was a laughingly, smilingly, fabulously fun time! both of the girls had a blast...but i will have to say - i think jeffrey & i might have been the ones that got the biggest kick out of it! it took me right back to my "snow days in louisiana" when you wrap your feet in produce bags and slide down the driveway on a card board box...except this was a million times better! jane & "baby spence to be" even took a little slide down the hill...it was truly a fun, fun day!

after another "daddy ski day" on monday, the rest of the pack met up with the guys so that jeffrey & i could take ella on the "snow coaster"! as jeffrey said, "my contagious laughter could be heard from the top of the mountain"! the roller coaster takes you up "just shy of heaven" (so it feels like!!!!) and gravity takes care of the rest!!!!!!! ella was adorable on this ride...she is just like her daddy and shows NO FEAR! once we were done with the coaster, we made our way to snow tubing! this was some serious FUN! ella & i rode this escalator up to the top of a mountain and then on two tubes tied together...sailed down the track! i was laughing so hard and telling her all in the same breath to "hold on, ella"!!!!!! we zipped down that mountain and came off the ground a time or two! miss madeline & campbell got to do a little tubing of their own...down the "bunny slopes"...and had quite a time themselves!!!!!!

the snow was so beautiful...and plentiful! it snowed every day that we were there and made cozying up by the fire with hot chocolate even more fabulous! the kids didn't think playing in the snow was all that fun after a while...so we did a lot of this...

and this...

i was hoping to make a "family of four" snowman village...but the snow was too powdery and my helpers were too cranky! maybe next time!

all in all, the trip was so much fun! we enjoyed our time with the spence family and look forward to many more ski trips in the future! hopefully next time, all of us will try our skills on skis...we definitely have the cutest "snow bunnies"...in my opinion, of course!

name this photo contest...

ok faithful blog followers...i need your help! i have seen this done on other blogs...with WAY more readers than the ole' price family has...but i LOVE it, LOVE it, LOVE it! please help me name this photo...and there might just be a little something from "painting me happy" sent your way! (yes, PMH still exists...christmas vacation just seems to be hanging on tightly...new items coming soon!!!!!!)

i know a lot of witty friends out there...and i can't wait to see what you come up with!!!!!!

have fun...and don't make me take a pic of myself doing this because nobody commented!!!!!!!

wordless wednesday...

just a "sneak peak" of our ski trip...

wordless wednesday...is back!!!!!

pj's & pancakes...

now tell me that doesn't sound like a dream turned into reality on a saturday morning...

but instead...

those are two words to describe my sweet girls' day at school today!!!! this is a day that i can literally say ella has been waiting for - for a year! the whole school wore their pajamas today and every class had fresh fruit, pancakes, & syrup for lunch! even the teachers got in the spirit and ella could not stop giggling at the fact that mrs. bradley was wearing her purple robe!!!

ella chose a very pink, very spectacular pair of fairy pj's to don for this momentous pajama day...and then there was the dilemma of what little miss maddie was going to wear! during the winter, my "babies" (yes, i know she's 2...but that just happened...i can't let go!) wear fleece, footed pajama sleepers...kinda hard to fit those puppies into shoes...so we had to dig into the recesses of the dresser drawer to find some 2-piece duds. well, apparently my child has grown a few inches since the spring! nevertheless, madeline wore a very spring like, flood water pair of pajamas...but she looked adorable and she wore them with pride!!!!!! after all, that's what counts!

due to the fact that ella was up in the 7 o'clock hour, there were no battles to wage upon getting dressed this morning, along with no major whines about getting hair brushed...i would say the girls were "uber excited" about the annual "wear your pajamas to school & eat pancakes" day!

now i just need to figure out how to make wearing regular clothes and eating a packed lunch from mom as exciting as today! any suggestions!?!?

our little m&m...

where do i even begin with our little madeline meredith?

it was 730 days ago...at 10:19 a.m. (to be exact) that i gave birth to my second precious daughter. just as they had when ella took her first breath, the tears flowed from my eyes. for yet a second time in my life, i could now say that i had witnessed a miracle. my heart was full...but something was different...it was like i was repeating the same dream...only this time, the ending was not the same. no doubt i loved that little 7 lb 5 oz bundle from the moment she was formed in my womb to the moment i heard her first cry...but it wasn't until the wee hours of the morning, as i was nursing her, that i really got to soak her in. it finally processed that she wasn't ella...she was our amazing maddie. her smell, her coos, her cries...all at one moment, literally took my breath away. i haven't been the same since.

madeline is exactly what we ALL needed. for starters, ella certainly needed a "princess in training"...i almost shudder to think about what their lives would be like without each other. ella said just the other day as she was kissing madeline, "you have no idea how much i love her"...tell me God doesn't know just what He is doing! i for SURE needed another baby girl...whether i knew it or not...she is like the dot to my "i" and the cross to my "t"...i'm just not complete without her...and jeffrey certainly needed another member of this family to fall madly in love with...he is a perfect daddy to little girls...and they love him endlessly.

maddie boo boo - on august 30, 2006, we found out that our second baby was going to be another precious girl...but to describe you as another may not sound fair...because you are anything but just another. you are another cheek to kiss, another hand to hold, another personality to fall in love with, another "little" to snuggle with in the middle on the night, another person to call me mommy...another person to share my infinite love with. i want you to know that your family thinks you are amazing from the top of your "not so much hair" little head to the bottom of your adorable little toes! there are so many things that make you YOU...but here are just a few of the things i NEVER want to forget...

*your absolute favorite thing to eat is "gunk" (aka junk)...which makes your dietitian mother berserk...but nonetheless, i cannot resist "your cindy lou who" eyes batting up at me...so you usually score at least a couple m&m's every day!!!
*your favorite book is "house" (aka "the napping house")...and you love to find the flea on every page!

*you love to walk like you are in the swimming pool by squatting and walking real slow with this adorable look on your face...i think you like the way it makes us laugh.

*your favorite song...well beyond the christmas season...is "holy night" (aka "silent night")...and you are quite particular about which version you will tolerate! you prefer mommy's soft nighttime version, but you will also peacefully listen to josh groban!

*you are the messiest eater i have ever met! (ok...you rival your daddy...but i still think you win 1st place!) however, your tremendous need for independence resists any help offered...so mommy just does lots of laundry...or you eat in your birthday suit!!!!!!!!!

*you suck your thumb and hold your "na" (aka lovie) in the most adorable way...nothing makes you look sweeter!

*you laugh every time i brush your top teeth!

*you love to "skip hop" instead of walk...it's sort of your trademark!!!

*ella is your favorite person in the world...besides mommy & daddy of course...and you want to do everything she does at all times...except be thrown up in the air...you'll pass on that one!

*while you have a strong propensity to choose "gunk" over health food any day of the week...you do have an affinity for hummus flavored with garlic and guacamole! who would have thunk?!?!
*you are your own person...and you are not afraid to tell someone to get "back"!!!!!!!!

i could go on & on...

i can hardly believe that you are 2 years old...my how you have managed to make a lot of people fall in love with you in such a short time. we are so blessed by you and i cannot imagine any other little girl that i would rather call my second born.

happy birthday little m&m!

i love you sweet pea...i get to be your mommy forever...and i could not ask for more.

our special m&m...

in order for all of our special family & lifelong friends to be able to celebrate with us, we decided to have madeline's 2nd birthday party a couple weeks early! since our little one LOVES m&m's, she's Madeline Meredith, and she's TWO...i couldn't resist throwing her an m&m party!

our little m&m

m&m world

maddie's fun m&m cake...made by mrs. walley

party time!

madeline's birthday invitation

maddie telling her "gigi" hello

coloring a little picture before we eat

lots of fun...but gotta have my "na"!!!

we decided that the best place to have the party would be our favorite pizza joint in town...johnny's...home of the best pizza EVER in my opinion!!!!!!! it doesn't hurt that our two girls can flat put away some good "pie"!

our little messy princess

the guest list was special...including friends that watched me grow up & sweet family members...and we were all there for one important reason. to celebrate our baby turning TwO...that simply can't be possible! madeline, of course, really had no idea that it was her party...she was just hysterical that there were m&m's ON THE TABLE...FOR HER TO EAT...AS SHE WISHED!!!!!! no gifts necessary for this munchkin...that was gift enough!

my favorite madeline in the whole wide m&m world!!!!

everyone ate some yummy pizza and then we decided it was cake time! i had just told a friend of mine that madeline loved being sung to...that would surely be her favorite part of the party (well...besides the already mentioned "all you can eat" m&m buffet!!!) well, maddie apparently changed her mind since she & i last conversed on the whole singing bit...as we approached "happy birthday dear madeline..." - she burst into tears!!!! must have been too much too fast for sweet booboo. she quickly recovered when the box of m&m bars busted open...and the overwhelming feelings quickly disappeared!

i'm not feeling too sure about this!

let it be over...let it be over!

all better!

maddie with one of her favorite people in the world!

the kids had fun running a muck - we may never be welcomed in that johnny's again - and laughing with each other! it was a fabulously fun party and one that i am happy to have shared with so many people we love!

madeline, hannah, ella, & alexis

thank you...honey, grandpa, "cookie", ella, carmie, nana, poppy jerry, "aunt mamie", "unc", nate, baby brother, jj, kk, "dodo", gigi, leelee, amanda, brent, burke, jen, rodney, ethan, kelli, laura, alexis, jess, "gran", "poppy", "big john", "sue sue", sarah katherine, hannah, mrs. dowling, & wesley...for celebrating with us. sharing these moments with you makes them that much sweeter for the price family!

and...

thank you daddy for helping me create the sweetest little "m&m" i know!!!!