ta da...

here are a few pics of what's been going on with the yummy strawberries!!!!!!

here is what the process looked like...for all you "worriers", the stove was turned OFF for this part - she loved helping!!!!!

5 cups of fresh picked "strawbs" homemade whipped cream

for good measure...here is what maddie was doing...hanging out in the swim ring...with no prospect of swimming in the near future...funny girl!!!!!!

berry, berry fun...

**sigh**

172 strawberries later we are home after such a FUN, FUN day!

we headed out this morning with berries on the brain and made our way to bluemont, virginia...home of the "u pick it" berry farm! i think it was my favorite day to date...except of course when anyone i know comes to visit!!!!!

it was the hottest day recorded for 2008...so we prepared to "sweat for the sweet" but it was SO worth it! great country farms is an organic berry farm with lots to offer the little ones! they have a petting zoo, lots of playground equipment made from old tires, a corn pit (basically a sand box filled with oodles of corn), a fishin' hole, a cow train ride, and lots of other attractions! due to the extreme heat, not all of the festivities were hopping...but we still had a blast!

while we were taking the hay ride to the actual strawberry field in the 100 degree heat...they mentioned that they use no pesticides or chemicals so the berries were "ready to eat" as soon as they were picked! ella got her game face on! madeline would have been double fisting regardless...germs, smerms! she & ella were like kids in a candy store!

price girls + berries = euphoria

at one point, jeffrey and i looked up and madeline was SEVERAL rows away from us - gorging her face with strawberry! it was funny but a bit alarming...it was as though she might not have ever been given these delicious little bundles of red, sweet goodness!!!!!! she was truly a sight to behold! we have NO IDEA how many or how much dirt she actually consumed!!! she seems no worse for the wear...just a little stained and full! word to the wise...

don't wear white to pick strawberries...you might stay cool but you WON'T stay clean!!!!

the strawberries grow on vines very close to the ground and they hide under the leaves. it was so neat to pick them ourselves...knowing we get to come home and make something really yummy! it felt so granola & earthy - I LOVED IT!!!! you may not know, but my secret desire is to be really "crunchy" and go totally organic! (jeffrey said on the way home...if you want to do that you either have to be loaded or have your own farm...here's to wishing!!!!) anyway, ella & i voted that a strawberry ice box pie sounded the best...other than eating them "a la natural"!!!

any recipe ideas would be greatly appreciated!

we are up to our ears in strawberries...but we are awaiting the blackberry season so we can go back and experience that!

our little shortcakes were tuckered out after a hot day in the sun...but we headed across the street to the bluemont vineyard because they said the view was not to be missed...they were correct. in a word - beautiful scenery...we definitely weren't in the city anymore! the girls enjoyed some dancing and then we made our way home!

such a fun day spent with my "berry favorite people"! if only we could have met strawberry shortcake...

confessions of a frazzled stay at home mommy...

my ideal day: start off with a personal trainer dragging me out of bed for a nice body toning work out, my house would be pristine & tidy, my children would be dressed with matching monogrammed outfits, & a healthy dinner would magically appear and miraculously, my children would eat ALL of their vegetables!!!!

fast forward to REALITY:


from my current view - there is a load of recently washed, unfolded towels piled up on my sofa (from three days ago), a tricycle, cozy coupe, over 8 pairs of shoes...ranging in size from itty bitty to really big, a kid's chair, sippy cups, a dirty diaper, books, & a stuffed bunny rabbit...and that's just in my living room...you haven't seen the rest of the house... and i don't have the energy to get up and do anything about it. i haven't in a couple of days.

i am having one of those weeks. i feel like i am in a fog...just flowing from one moment to the next. it is in these days that it is very easy for me to nit-pic my mothering and "wifing" apart. i don't feel like i am reaching that all consuming pinnacle of "perfection" that i have set for myself...which is really hard to admit...but is there really such a thing? i truly believe that most of us are doing the best we can to take care of our families & give all that we have. sometimes it is easier than others. it is not ever easy to admit when we are "low" and it is certainly not ever easy to admit that we are not perfect. but i am certainly trying to fake my way through it.

as i sit here and ponder on all the things that i didn't do today...i think about the things my daughters (if they could articulate them) would say about what i did do today. i took them to the park and did the "spider" swing with ella, i rocked my little maddie, i pitted cherries for them at lunch, i watched ella perform the same "magic" trick at least 10 times and acted amazed at each one, ella got to stay up "late", & i told them at least a 100 times how much i loved them and was proud of them. in their eyes...i suppose i was perfect. that is really all that should matter.

ella tells me all the time "thanks, mommy - you're the best mom i could ever have"... why can't i believe it?

the thank you really goes to them.

my children try to teach me so much - every second of every day. why won't i let myself learn more from them? madeline was fussing loudly as we set out for our adventure to the park today and i turned around and said "maddie, quit throwing a fit"...to which ella replied "mommy, she is not throwing a fit - she is just crying". that really stopped me dead in my tracks. she was exactly right...i was in such a "mechanical mommy" mode that i didn't even stop long enough to realize that madeline was doing exactly what she needed to do to express herself. i told ella she was exactly right, shut my mouth, & turned around to do what i could do best in that moment...chauffeur!!!!

i don't know why this week is so hard for me...i know there will be ones a lot harder than this though. i won't ever be perfect - who is? one thing i do know for sure is that i always try.

the love i have for my two daughters is perfect...who cares that the rooms in my house are not.

"mom, this is the best day EVER..."

this was ella's sentiment over going to our first spray park! it was really fun and ella & i were squealing before we got out of the car!!!!! she was in such a blissful state that she kept saying "i love you, mom"...ok, so ella - do you want to go to this park every day?!!!!!!!!!!!!? the spray part consists of water spouts coming out of the ground...and "sprouts" of water basically coming from the sky. there was even a bucket that would dump on your head for all of you "you can't do that on television" nickelodeon fans!!!!

needless to say...ella had a fantastic time...& i LOVED watching her have fun!

madeline wasn't quite as intrigued with the water...but she did manage to find the one dog in the whole park! that's my little madeline!

after a couple of hours in the hot sun, lots of snacks, & lots of laughs...we called it a day and headed home!

thanks megsy, william, carrie, & ava for joining us on this fun adventure! we enjoy every second we spend with you!

until next time...

wordless wednesday...

heard & overheard volume 2

ella: i just gave birth to a new baby.
me: you did?
ella: yea, it came out of my gut where i eat my food. it hurt really bad and i was crying.
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”mom, you’re the best putter downer in the world. please come get me "- her plea to get me to put her to bed one night when jeffrey wanted to
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while we were walking around the pond, she wanted me to tell this woman approaching “hello”. when i did, she said “good job sister friend!”…we just cracked up!
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ella: “i love you, mom"
me: "i love you, ella"
ella: "i love you all the time"
me: melt,melt,melt
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coming in from going to the park with dad…"MOM, we saw honeyknuckles & they were all dried up and didn’t taste good!!!!”
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ella was reading to her baby & was telling the story of the three “traumatizing” bears…that one just made me laugh out loud!!!!!!!
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ella has two imaginary friends…freddy & “izaleth” (aka elizabeth)
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after getting a push pop at the 7-11 (yes, those still exist in this part of the world) & eating the WHOLE thing...ella says to me "mom, this is not really what i had in mind"

I LOVE THIS GIRL!!!!!!!!! there are so many more that i can't even share because you would just have to be here...if only we were the "truman show"!!!!!!

maddie's new verbage consists of pointing to her toe so that you will ask her "does your toe hurt" to which she replies with "uh-huh"...hilarious... makes me laugh every time and she knows it!!!!! more to come i am SURE!!!!!!

the story of us...

jeffrey & i celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary today...whew, what a seven years it has been! if you would have asked me when we met if i would have EVER been living in washington d.c., i probably would have looked at you as if you had just dropped down from another planet!!!!!! time sure does change things!

our wedding was such an amazing event - i LOVED every second of the preparation, the planning, & the day itself! i was SOOOO nervous...i remember telling one of my bridesmaids that i just needed to see jeffrey and she said "do you want me to go get him RIGHT now"!!!! of course not...i had waited for the moment when he would see me in my dress for the first time for an entire year...i wasn't about to blow that one!!!!!! my mom had helped me plan every detail - right down to the ice cold milk served with the chocolate groom's cake. it is a memory that plays in my head like an old song...i never get tired of hearing it.

jeffrey & i knew pretty much from the moment we met each other that we would be together forever. i was so drawn to his charisma & zest for life. he is one of those "my cup is overflowing" types...he rarely lets life get the best of him. i knew he would make an incredible husband and daddy. we had so much fun together - laughing most of the time!

he asked me to marry him on may 29, 2000. he planned such a memorable and sweet engagement...perfect for me & very fitting for the two of us! he sent me on a scavenger hunt to all our "special" spots and he was at my final destination!!!!! with a ring!

our life together hasn't always been a fairytale, but it will always be a special story. like a good book that makes you want to curl up on the couch and get lost in time...& snort with laughter too!!! jeffrey makes me feel safe and he makes me feel proud. there is nobody else that i would rather call "husband".

jeffrey, thank you for choosing me to be your wife. you are all that i want and more than i deserve.

p.s. i love you...me