My little bug

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Birthday Hugs from Little Ray!!

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Emerging....,

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Looking through my old photos, I've been having a little fun with Photoshop, making them a bit more interesting with a bit more pop. Here are two identical photos with different treatments....,

Thought both of these were fun.

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McClendon Maternity Portraits

Back in the saddle

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With the kids back in school, their other lessons and activities are getting back into full-swing too. And now that Rachel is five, both girls are taking riding lessons. Oh - and they are loving it...,

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Science - It's a party!

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At 7:00 a.m. I woke up with a messy house, the knowledge that 7 little girls would be arriving at our house at 2:00 p.m. for Rachel's science party - and absolutely no plan. No plan - just a theme.

OK - time to get moving. Dave and I gulped down some coffee, made our lists and shifted into gear. Several hours and one clean house later....,

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Daddy's Girl

For the record...,

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Do you ever look back at your life and wonder when the first time [X] happened?

[X] could be anything from the first time you played in the snow to the first time you road a bike--countless things and you'll never really know when they happened for the first time.

Well, let it be known, today is the day that Rachel got her first freckle. A cute little brown dot on the right side of her cute little button nose.
And today, instead of looking back, I'm looking forward and wondering how many freckles will follow the first.

PS: Love that little dimple too!

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Photo of the Day

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The baby birds born just outside our kitchen window have left the nest—venturing out into the big, scary world. Good luck out there little ones

(Click on the image to enlarge)

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Taking Flight

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Butterfly Magic

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Photo of the Day


And what a great day it was. Me, two kids, thousands of butterflies and my Canon D40. Good times!

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The Happiest Place on Earth

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Disney's California Adventure. Our first trip and it was GREAT!
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Rachel's Hart

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Rachel, our little artist, is in her 'Heart' phase. As her mom, I know it's not surprising that I like her work, but this one really struck me. I love it!

I love the colors, the big bold strokes. All of it. We're going to have it transferred to canvas and hang it in the house. 

Who knows - maybe she'll be an artist of some kind when she's older. If that does happen, we'll have to figure out where she picked up that extra special gene. I know it didn't come from me, and, as far as I can tell, it didn't come from Dave either.

Hmmmm.
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Rachel is over the moon. Today is the long awaited play date with her little friend, Alec. A cute little blond boy with big blue eyes and a sweet disposition, he is the object of her affections.

(Alec is the one in the front, on the right)

For the past two weeks, Alec has come up 50 times…,

• When is Alec coming over?
• I wonder what Alec is having for dinner.
• Do you think Alec is going to bed now?
• When is Alec coming over?
• Can I call Alec?
• I can’t wait for Alec to come over.
• Alec would LOVE this movie, I’m going to show this to Alec.
• When is Alec coming over?

And the day has finally come. Her little friend will be here in about an hour. I’m hoping her little head doesn’t explode with excitement before he gets here.

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Truth be told - he is a little cutie!

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Fun with Photos

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Mommy is playing with her toys again. Dressing up old photos...,

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One Tooth Less

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It's milestone time, and it's a big one.

Alex lost her first tooth and could not be more thrilled!! She's been talking about it, playing with it, and staring at it for three days. She even tried to take a picture of the little loose tooth.

She was playing with/biting on a string, trying to create a tea pot when the tooth just fell right out. She was so excited I thought her head might actually explode.


Well, until Daddy mentioned the blood. Then she started to cry.

(Oh, Daddy...,)

She recovered quickly and showed off her new trophy to her sister.

By the end of the day, Rachel was a bit 'over it,' as you can see from the photos...,

I think Lil' Ray was ready to pull her own tooth out so she could get a little attention and a visit from tooth fairy too.

Speaking of the tooth fairy - gotta run. I've got a job to do.

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A few minutes later…

OK. Soooo NOT sly.

BUSTED!!

It started off OK.

I sneak in, grab the special little tooth pillow, bring it out, and switch the cutest little baby tooth you've ever seen for 2 gold dollar coins. Feeling sly, I slip quietly back into the girls’ room. I quietly reach up to lift her pillow and slip the special surprise in to place. I accidentally touch her hand and up she pops! Wide awake and very curious.

My heart leaps and I catch my breath. Maybe she won’t see me – as I stand there stupidly frozen at her bedside.

God if she finds out about the tooth fairy you know her faith in Santa and the Easter Bunny will be on a weak tether. Seconds away from smashing the magic of her childhood, I drop the pillow and kick it under the bed. It's sticking out just a bit - but it should be OK.

"Mom, what are you doing? Checking to see if she's been here?"

And she lifts up her pillow. Nothing. She looks at me. Puzzled. She lifts the pillow again. Nothing.

"Hmm. Maybe it fell down - let's turn the light on and look for it," she says.

Ok - maybe I should have taken this route - but it seemed to me that it would cheating.

"No hun - we don't want to wake up Rachel."

"Mommy?" Ray's sweet little voice.

SH*T.

These two usually sleep like they've been drugged. What the hell??

"But Mommy? Why did she take it and not leave the treat?"

"I'm sure she took it and will be coming back with the treat. I'm sure she didn't forget and it's not lost. Maybe we just scared her away with all the noise. Don't worry. I'll bet it will be here in the morning."

"OK. Well come and remind me in the morning. OK?"

"OK."

"Mommy? Mommy? Can I have my dwink?"

"Sure Ray."

God - I'm never going to get to bed! The job of tooth fairy is not easy.

Off I go again. Waiting for the little ones to go back to sleep. Wish me luck.

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12:40 a.m. and Alex is still awake. Lying still, hoping to catch a glimpse of the tooth fairy.

I’m going to bed. She’ll find the little tooth pillow in the morning.

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5:45 a.m. and her head is now actually exploding. Mine is just too bleary eyed to think straight.

“Mommy!!! Mommy!!! She was here! She came last night and we didn’t even KNOW!!”

“whaaa?” Numb from lack of sleep.

“The tooth fairy, Mommy. The TOOTH FAIRY!! She came! She came! It was right there the whole time. It was on the floor. By my bed. She came! You have to come out. Come out to the living room. It makes noise. Come out and let’s see what it is!! Come on!! Shhhh, don’t wake up Daddy and Ray.”

Her excitement is contagious. I’m up and scrambling after her, with wonder and anticipation—what could possibly be in that little box tucked so neatly inside the pillow?

The gold coins put her over the edge! She’s so happy if she grinned any harder I think the rest of her teeth would have fallen out.

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This was a GREAT day to be a mom.

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She's a Party Animal

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After "partying hard" with all of her little friends, Rachel didn't quite make it into bed. This is how I found her when I checked in on her at about 11:00 p.m.


Look closely. She's standing up and sound asleep!

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New Year's Eve Kindergarten Style

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OK - Last minute party plans make for a fun time for the girls and their friends...,

Complete with noise makers, fancy glasses, bubbly juice...


and New Year kisses.

Miss Rene and Dylan

Nadine and Lil' Sammy

Miss Amy and Miles

Good times and great memories!

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It's Magic - It's Christmas

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In just a few short minutes...,

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This is how Santa left the place after dropping off gifts last night...,


And this is how it looked this morning...,



Christmas morning - chaotic magic with two small children....,

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Baking Day 2008

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Another annual tradition. Good times with Aunt Jane and Lil' Chewie--creating yummy Christmas treats.

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