Pictures with the cell phone

Yes. that is a yellow streak in Morgan's hair~ only hair gel



I think I finally figured out my cell phone, so I took some pictures of the girls playing with the train set at the book store. The pictures turned out pretty good, considering they were taken with the phone camera. At least, now I will know that if I forget my camera, I always have my phone as a back up.

Model of the Year!

Colored Rice Pictures

I did these pictures with the girls the other day. Since I had a rough day at work, I don't want to blog about my rough day... So, on to happier times :0)
To make these pictures, the night before, this is what we did:
6 bowls filled with 1/2 cup white rice
add 1 tsp of vinegar and 6 drops of food coloring to each bowl of rice
These are the colors we did:
blue
green
red
yellow
purple (mixed the red & blue)
pink (put less red drops in the rice)

The girls each took turns stirring the rice to coat it evenly (or unevenly) with color. Then, we spread the rice on foil on a baking sheet. We kept our colors separated, so I had to use two baking sheets. Then, we baked it at 250 degrees for 30 minutes to set the color.

The next day, I put the rice into cups. I drew the hearts on their paper, and filled the heart with a thin coat of Elmer's glue. They did the rest themselves. They poured a little blue on, and then a little red, and so on. They loved this project, and the mess really isn't that bad (just a quick move with the hand vac).

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1-800-GOOG-411
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Slick Days

Yesterday was the start of the ice. These are all pictures from yesterday. Jaden called this snow, but I don't know, it was rock hard! LOL!!! Anyway, it was like this again today. Today we actually did see some snow in some parts on the metroplex. I got some pictures of the snow on my phone, but have no way to transfer them to here... So, all you get is yesrterday's pics.
This morning was horrible on the roads because they had what the call "ice fog". So, we had ice and fog at the same time with just over 0% visability... So, that was fun. It took me 3 hours to get to work (of course, I had to make 2 stops~ 1 to drop off LeCount at work & the other to drop the girls off with Grandma Leslie). The girls were with me in the car for 2 1/2 hours of the drive, and they were both ready to get out!! It is frustrating when you are just stuck and there is nothing you can do to get there any sooner.
We are home safe and sound now, and for that I am grateful!!

The Birthday Cake

Ok, I have to explain this one. Everyone was in the other room talking and someone had already lit the candles on the birthday cake. I knew that Morgan needed to blow them out, and that I had to get everyone from the other room into this one (we couldn't move the cake because of technical difficulties). So, I stood by Morgan to make sure she wasn't going to blow out the candles yet, and then, I called for LeCount to get everyone into the kitchen. When I yelled, "LeCount", Morgan burst out crying. I don't know what was going through her head, but whatever it was, it upset her. She didn't even want anyone to sing to her, and she didn't want to blow out the candles... That is, until, she heard Aunt Roxanne say, "Blow out the candles, and then, you can open up your presents."

A Wiggly Ballerina opening up presents

For those of you who are not familiar with the Wiggles, there is a character on the show names Dorothy. Dorothy is a dinosaur, and she usually has a tutu on. So, imagine Morgan's surprise when one of her gifts was a tutu! She put it on immediately & began twirling around! Then, she continued opening up presents with it on. She loved all of her gifts, and Jaden was even included on some of them. For example, matching shoes, outfits, and Aunt Amy is even going to make Jaden a tutu, so she can twirl with Morgan. They are going to go with Grandma Leslie one day soon to a ceramic store to make their own projects (that was the birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa).
Amy shared the link to the site with directions to make the tutu. Here it is:

Wiggly Party

Kacey and Jaden comparing Wiggles shirts
Jasmine with a sucker from her goody basket
Morgan and James
Morgan and Jaden
Morgan
James
Gavin playing with the Wiggly play-doh
Uncle Bryan and James making footballs out of clay
Morgan getting ready to blow out her candles
Morgan eating the yummy cake

We had a great time at the party! Morgan was very happy to see all of the people that came to celebrate her birthday! I still have more pictures & a couple of videos that I will post tomorrow. Just one more thing: I want to say thank you to everyone who came for their companionship, presents, and help in making the party a success!

Getting ready for the party

The items in the favor buckets
The favor buckets
Of course, the party has been in the works for weeks. Morgan said she wanted a "Wiggles" party, so I ran around trying to see what I could find. It turns out that none of the stores carry Wiggles party items anymore... So, that left me with the only other option~ get creative!
I started at Dollar Tree and picked up Valentine's Day items (the heart buckets and Valentine's Day candy). Then, I found the books there, too. Oh, right, I, also, got the cups (in Anthony blue), plates (in Jeff purple), napkins (in Murray red), and utensils (in Greg yellow)...
Next, I stopped at the Wiggly Play Center and found their Racing to the Rainbow tour shirts (which, incidentally was the tour they were on when Morgan was born) on clearance for 99 cents! So, I bought each child one for their bucket.
Then, I got the drinks, 2 of each:
Jeff is purple, so I went with grape soda
Greg is yellow, so I went with pineapple soda
Anthony is blue, so I went with blue powerade
Murray is red, so I went with fruit punch

My Wiggly Play-Doh was made so that if it was eaten, it would not be disastrous. You can find this recipe and other great ideas at Amazingmoms.com:

Play Dough Recipe

You'll need:
Flour 3cups
Salt 1 1/2 cups
Water 3 cups
Vegetable Oil 2TB.
Cream of tartar 1TB.
Food coloring few drops or unsweetened "Kool-Aid" 1pkg.

Mix ALL of the ingredients in a large saucepan.
Cook over medium low heat, until the dough comes away
from the edges of the pan and it becomes difficult to move the spoon. Remove from heat. Cool until it can be handled.
Place on counter or wax paper knead 3-4 times.
Store in an air tight container.

For the Wiggly Play-Doh, I used the 4 Wiggle colors in Kool-Aid:
Jeff is purple, so I went with grape
Greg is yellow, so I went with lemonade
Anthony is blue, so I went with blue rasberry
Murray is red, so I went with cherry

Grandma Leslie and Grandpa Lyale took care of the rest of the party! They got Morgan a Wiggles birthday cake (which was near impossible to find~ an adventure in and of itself), balloons to match the Wiggles colors, and LOTS of food!!! We all had so much fun, but I am saving the party blog for later because I have to go get ready for work.

My new venture~ Baby Pictures

First, I will start with Morgan's stats that we got from the doctor yesterday. She is 23 1/2 pounds (every half of a pound counts), 33 1/2 " tall, and she has an 18" head circumference. We are having her party today, so she is very excited about that. I got up at 5AM to get some things ready (some play dough and a few other activities).

We are leaving the house at 8AM because I have to be at work at 9:30AM! I am starting a part-time weekend job (to do along with the other stuff I do). I am hoping it will be fun and bring in some extra cash. I will, also be able to take on extra days during the week as needed. I like that kind of work because it allows for flexibility. If no one can watch the girls at the time that the extra shift is offered, then, I can't take it~ but, if I can find someone, that helps us make ends meet. So, it will be every weekend for sure that I will work, and then, during the week they will call me as they have extra days.

Hopefully, it will be a fun job that I will learn something from. The picture that I put on this post is a few of the picture poses similar to what I will be taking as a newborn photographer at the hospital. Now, they provide 4 days of training, so I guess, in that 4 days I will learn everything I need to know (*cringe*)

Anyway, I am anxious to start the new job, and hope that it helps provide for my family.

A surprise birthday cake!

LeCount came home at 4:30 PM yesterday with a birthday surprise for Morgan and me. A mini-birthday cake! So, he put two candles on it, and Morgan enjoyed blowing out candles again. We, also, opened our birthday cards that everyone sent. Morgan even gave Jaden one of her cards to open, so that she wouldn't feel left out! Wow!!! Where has the time gone, and what happened to my itty-bitty baby?!?!? I am taking her to the doctor this afternoon, so I will have her updated stats posted tomorrow.