Ten on Tuesday

1. Sorry that I haven't been blogging lately. I been going through a phase where I just don't feel like I have anything to say! But I am coming out of that now, so look out!

2. I have a black thumb. While I would love to have plants all over my house, I just can't seem to keep them alive. This summer I managed to keep a basil plant for several months, so when I saw tomato plants at Trader Joe's a few weeks ago I decided to give it a try. And low and behold:



And we even ATE them! ;o)

3. I could never grow enough tomatoes to sustain the amount we eat in this house. We all LOVE these bright red jewels!

4. Kids just love to pick things off plants - it amazes me how entertaining it can be!



5. Paige takes off her clothes on her own now. All.The.Time. So the above picture is how she looks most days, though she does manage to leave clothes on in public -- so far.

6. I got my hair done on Saturday, and I feel like it matches Paige's hairdo all too well. Much shorter than I was hoping for! When a hairdresser says, "We can get rid of the last of those layers by just going a little shorter," ask for a number. How much exactly? Because nearly three inches is not a "little shorter" to me. Not even close.

7. I am, however, still blond. Which is rare because usually in the fall I start leaning toward darker, richer colors. Maybe I am not this year because it is still over a hundred degrees out. Not very fall-ish, if you ask me!

8. I always thought blond ended in an -e, but Blogger's spell check tells me no -e. Weird.

9. No big news on the baby front. I will not start hiding anything now, we are far beyond that point! Believe me when I say that when we know, you'll know.

10. I went back and forth a lot with combining my blogs - but I have finally reached a decision that I am going to it. Thank you all for your input! *snerk* I got very little input. My confusion was all my own doing, but I read a blog a few days ago that made up my mind. I am going to give it a shot. I am planning to do an announcement on here soon... and that will be when you need to change your feeds. I won't promise a date because I am no good at keeping those promises! Thanks for loving me anyway!!!

Happy Tuesday all!

Shriner Circus

On Saturday we took the girls to their first circus! It was a smaller circus, and that made it all the more fun because we were able to be very close to the stages and it wasn't too overwhelming for the girls!

Lauren started the day with her first ever pony ride!

Then Paige hitched a ride as well. ;o)

Checking out the elephant ride...

Paige was mesmerized!

Then we grabbed a cotton candy snack and found some seats. Lauren has long forgotten the days of refusing to believe cotton candy is for eating!

Paige has never had such a problem!

One of the acts - too bad I didn't get a shot of him on the outside of the ring!

The huge black bears were amazing!

The girls were pretty wiped out afterwards - check out Lauren's sleepy eyes while snuggling with Daddy!

All in all, another fabulous Beeler Family Saturday!

Ballet, take two!

Well, we made it to ballet class just fine today! *whew*

Waiting to go in...

Do my eyes decieve me?!? Is this a picture where BOTH of my children are looking AT.THE.CAMERA?!? I actually did a little happy dance when I took this one. I am sure the other moms did not think that was strange at all.

There are six other girls in Lauren's class - one turns five tomorrow, but the rest are recently four. They are so cute and sweet to each other and you can tell they just had a blast! Please forgive the pictures and the bad reflections of parents observing, I did the best I could from our outdoor viewing area. Yes, out-door... in September... in Phoenix. Ugh. Being the only parent there with a camera, I tried my best not to obstruct anyone's view or make them think I was annoying any more than they already did.

Stretching out - Lauren is just to the left of the instructor.

Lauren practicing her pliet. She was actually really into this - I was pleasantly suprised!

They ran around the room doing different moves before landing on the dots.

Lauren practicing to be a butterfly while waiting her turn -

Listening intently to the instructor - what a bunch of cuties!

As she raced out of the classroom, Lauren shouted, "That was SOOOO fun!!!"

I think that means we might have a little dancer on our hands. ;o)

"First" Ballet Class - or not...

This face says it all...

Mommy messed up - big time. When registering my child online for the dance class, I failed to notice that though I went to the website of the community center we wanted, it still gives you a list of all the classes available in the city of Phoenix. So, I had signed up for a ballet/tap class in south Phoenix. Whoops. Oh well, I am sure it won't be the last time! We got it all worked out and she is going to her first ballet class (no tap in this one) tomorrow instead. She was still a little bummed that she got all dressed up to hang out in the lobby for 30 minutes while I talked with the ladies working the desk, but it was nothing a little dinner at Chik-fil-A couldn't fix!

Oh yeah, with ice-cream for dessert. Yes, life was good again! Plus, she was the star of the play-area because all the kids asked her about her outfit and this one boy kept telling her how pretty it was. She was all smiles for the rest of the night!

Paige was quite the happy camper as well -

That girl loves her some sugar! =)

Hopefully I will have some "real" first ballet class photos tomorrow! Goodnight!

Ten on Tuesday

1. We went to Payson this weekend and the weather was just beautiful! I just can't wait for fall to come to Phoenix.

2. While packing for this weekend, I forgot to bring my camera. Terrible, terrible Mommy!!! But the girls were both sick, so it's not like I would have taken any portrait-quality shots anyway.

3. The girls have taken to fighting, over everything. Even rocks. I need to find some sort of effective discipline for this madness.

4. A couple weeks ago, Paige was tooling around the house with Lauren's shopping cart full of all sorts of toys. Justin looked over at her and said, "She's practicing being a homeless person." It cracked me up and now every time she plays with it, I laugh all over again.

5. My dog is overdue for her shots. Now I hate to take her in because I know they are not only going to make me feel guilty for not having her teeth cleaned, but also for neglecting her shot records. UGH.

6. My women's bible study is starting up again on Thursday morning, and I am super excited!!! I really need that time with all those supportive, Godly women - it is a light in the middle of my week.

7. Lauren has taken to making sarcastic and snarky remarks. Not sure how to handle this one since I am sure she picks it up from me. Yikes!

8. I *think* the caffeine headaches might be over. They keep returning when I least expect it. But it should be safe to be around me soon. ;o)

9. Look for some big changes to happen to my blogs this week. I am excited to pare down and hopefully have more opportunity to share in the process!

10. Headed to JoAnn's today to bring out my inner crafter (after a quick stop at Sportman's for my hubby). LOL! I know she is in there somewhere!!!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! Happy four-day week!

Schedules

I have recently been feeling myself slack off in many areas of life. Sort of in a funk where I have little motivation to do much of anything other than necessary items - am I the only one who gets this way?

Today I might have pinpointed my problem. I am not on a schedule.

I am all about schedules... for other people. Namely, my children. From the time they are six weeks old they are scheduled - for feedings, naptime, playtime, outside-time, social-time, even television time. I do this because I realized very early on in motherhood that my children thrive under a schedule. They know what to expect from me, and I from them. That being said, I don't overschedule my children either, we try to leave room in the schedule for times where circumstances are out of the ordinary. If not, I believe my children would melt down when the schedule was not met. Especially Lauren, in all her first-born-ness. But that is a blog for a different day.

So, why not apply the same rule of thumb to my life - at least in general? The toughest part of being at home has to be the lack of scheduling of it all. No clock to punch, no boss to make sure you are at work on time, no real beginning or end of the workday. Now I am going to try to make myself a schedule, which I think is crucial at this time in my life because next year I will have to be more organized with my time since Lauren will be in school. At least I have a year to prepare!

So I have made one. Let's see if I can try and keep to it this next week! Within reason of course, because I don't want to be one of those women who turn down a morning of shopping with girlfriends because it is my day to wash the baseboards. That is just insanity (and yet another blog). I have this miracle invention called the iPhone, so it seems like I should be able to use it to keep my life more in order! I will let you know what I find, because I am betting the answer is not the general calendar function.

So, how do you all keep yourselves on track? Do you fly by the seat of your pants, or do you keep a calendar? I would love to hear any ideas!!!

And just because I hate to write without any sort of picture, here is a tidbit of my "Little Chef" helping with dinner the other night. I hope to instill a love of cooking in my children, and I think she is well on her way!

Ten on Tuesday

1.  We are back to bribing Lauren to take naps.  She gets a happy face on her chart for every day she naps, and when she has 10 she is headed to the movie theater!  Two down, eight to go!!!  It appears to be working... just wondering what we will have to bribe her with next!

2.  Speaking of Lauren, we signed her up for her first class - ballet/tap at the community center.  She starts in two weeks and I can't wait!  I think because it stirs up thoughts of pictures I have seen of myself at four or five in my ballet garb.  Plus, every girl loves an excuse to buy a cute little outfit.  ;o)

3.  Paige is teething.  Two year old molars.  After months without drool and teething rash, they are back with a vengance and I was not ready!

4.  I am proud to say we have now rid ourselves of all the plastic sippy cups and fully switched over to Klean Kanteen stainless steel.  Now I just have to find some small regular cups for Lauren to use at the table -- our Ikea ones have got to be just as bad if not worse than the sippies were!

5.  Speaking of going green (ISH), I am going to start making my own household cleaners.  Did you know you can clean nearly any surface in your home with vinegar, water, baking soda, and lemon juice?  I'm going to give it a shot after Justin leaves next week.

6.  Justin leaves NEXT WEEK?!?  It is September people.  I can hardly believe it!!!  While it is still blazing hot outside, September comes with the promise of a downward turn on the desert thermostat.  Even if it is only a little at a time, this makes me very happy.

7.  Doctor Hummus makes the.best. rosemary pita chips.  Not that I have ever had rosemary pita chips before, but these are amazing!

8.  Paige is obsessed with stickers now.  This would be fine, except we are at the oh-so-fun age of Mommy having to peel off each sticker for her since her chubby little fingers can't quite get it yet.  Makes the fun of sticker-time much less fun for Mommy.

9.  I have decided that there will be some blog rearranging going on soon.  I think in the next two weeks.  Please be patient with me while I figure it all out - hopefully for the better!!!

10.  Some friends invited us over for dinner tonight, and that makes my day automatically a good one!  I not only get to hang out with other people, but I don't have to cook with rugrats at my feet, or clean up the mess that follows.  Score! 

Happy Tuesday all!