Come on in, Tooth Fairy!!!

Libby is officially a big kid. She lost her first tooth yesterday!
She knew that I was really sad that I was missing it, since I was in Nashville, so she told Chris that she was going to hide it so that the Tooth Fairy wouldn't find it until I got home to see :)
It's all wrapped up pretty and safely under her pillow, waiting for the exchange. The Tooth Fairy has decided that it will be a family tradition for the girls to get a charm for a charm bracelet (the bracelet comes with a charm for the first one, then just charms)every time they lose a tooth. Of course they get some $, too. The Tooth Fairy will also be leaving fairy dust (aka blue and silver glitter) on her pillow and up on the window sill, complete with tiny footprints in the fairy dust (from a Barbie doll) for authenticity. :)
We also started the tradition of having a Tooth Fairy party when the girls lose their first tooth....I got an ice cream cake and Libby wanted pizza, which we had after she went for a manicure and pedicure :)

It was a wild, wild ride

My trip home from Nashville yesterday was like something out of a disaster movie...
I made it to Chicago O'hare just barely in time to get to my connecting gate to head home, only to get there and learn that the flight was canceled due to weather. I could get on a flight several hours later, but I assumed that the chances of that getting out on time (or at all) were very slim. I made the decision to rent a car and drive the 3.5 hours home. If you haven't seen the news in a couple of weeks, you've been missing some very serious flooding up here in Wisconsin. Up until very recently it was about 1.5 hours from my city.

As it was rush hour, I was stuck in very bad traffic for about an hour while trying to get out of Chicago. Once things freed up it was smooth cruising for a little while. Chris had told me that it was storming something fierce at home and to be careful, but neither of us had any idea what it would actually be like. Actually as it turned out, a tornado was sighted about a mile from our home earlier in the evening.

The weather did fine for the next half hour, then I started hearing about the tornado watches I was driving towards and the sky started getting darker and darker. By the time I hit Milwaukee the rain was so hard I could barely see the road and the lightning was spectacular. This was nothing compared to what I would soon drive into.

The storms grew stronger and stronger as I moved out of Milwaukee, continuing North. Soon the radio station had completely stopped playing music and exclusively covered the storms. As I drove into Waupun they spoke of severe flooding there and that the city had actually run out of barricades to block off flooded streets. I came upon a police roadblock, stopping traffic from continuing on...this is one of the major highways in Wisconsin, mind you....and they had closed a large stretch of it because it was under water in many spots. When I told the officer where I was going he told me, "you're in trouble, Ma'am" All of the larger highways were closed. He directed me to turn left and go to the cheese factory (only in Wisconsin, I know...) and take a right when I got there. That would take me on an INSANE ride down a county road. The water in the fields was up to the road, and covering it in spots. Thank God I was following a semi...I latched onto him and followed him for most of the rest of my trip. I could feel him just pulling me along, willing me to keep up and stay in his tracks...my huge, strong escort and savior.

Eventually we got to the next main town and headed back to the highway, only to find that they had extended the closed section. Mr Semi led me down the frontage road for a few miles, and eventually back onto the highway. Mind you, the storm was SEVERE and I could only see his lights...not the road, not the divider lines...nothing. The lightning was unlike anything I've ever seen. At several times on the stretch before reaching the next city we drove through water a foot deep. I was driving an Impala and more than once I felt it be pulled towards the shoulder by the water. When we made it to the next town lightning struck no more than 50 feet from me. I have never heard such a noise or seen such hot light. Whatever it was that it hit threw sparks high into the air like fireworks. I cannot begin to tell you how terrifying that was. Every time the sky lit up I flinched and gasped for a while...it was INCREDIBLE.

The radio guy said that the entire city had been closed and driving was not allowed anywhere in the city. The frontage road was a river and the highway had long stretches where the water was at least a couple of inches deep on the highway. Next the traffic came to a complete stop. There were emergency vehicles everywhere you looked. I assumed that they were either closing the highway again or that there was an accident. As it turned out, neither was the case...they were apparently trying to figure out what to do, because the water was very deep under the next overpass. I did get to continue on, but I was amazed when I passed that spot...the water was up to my car door!!! Things started settling down the closer I got to my city, about 20 minutes away...still storming but no flooding.

Nearly six hours after I left the airport I finally got home safely. Chris had the news on and they were showing photos of the flooding I went through one town down...I understood why they had closed the city. People were kayaking down the middle of streets, a full sized dumpster was floating down another road.... Countless towns had been completely shut down and no roads going in or out were passable. I have never experienced anything like this and it truly felt like I was living in some sort of disaster movie. I cannot believe that I made it home safely.

Please say a prayer for all of the people who have been left homeless or stranded. With more rain coming they will need all of the prayers they can get.

Happy Friday. Do something nice

Since Fridays are generally a pretty happy day, this assignment should not be hard to do. If you're reading this on Monday, even better. Any day is good.

Do something nice for two people who don't expect it. A stranger and a friend or coworker. I'm talking leaving a treat on their desk, or buying a soda for the person behind you in line for the soda machine... It's the whole 'random acts of kindness' or 'pay it forward' concept. Make someone's day a little better. It will make you feel better, too.

I go to Starbucks WAY too much, through the drive through. But every time I do, I pay for the person in the car behind me. Sometimes it's a tiny black coffee for pennies, other times it's someone picking up coffee for their coworkers in the morning.. I speed away because I don't like them to feel like they have to thank me. My Starbucks people know me by name and have come to expect it when I come through...the first time I did it with a different employee they totally questioned me about why I would do it. One day I actually went in to sit down with my girls and one of the employees came up to me and told me that one day when I did it it started a chain reaction of ten cars all paying for the one behind them :) THAT is awesome. It shows you how you can effect a LOT of people by doing something nice for just one person.

Do it. You don't need to spend money, either... you can cut a flower from the garden or write a note telling them that you appreciate them for something.

Go. be nice.

We are blessed

If we weren't certain before, there is no question anymore....we are truly blessed. On Tuesday the girls and I were in a bad car accident. Our vehicle was totaled. And the girls are completely without physical injury. I have head to toe soreness and minor injuries to my right leg and left shoulder, but nothing serious. I'm just gimpy.

We had just left daycare and were on a 55mph highway. There was a lot of oncoming traffic and I was at a full stop waiting to turn left. A car rear ended us at highway speed without ever touching their breaks.

Our back window shattered, the frame was bent, the back end was pushed into the rear tires, the roof and sides were buckled. My driver's seat was twisted and bent back from the force. There was a chair in the back (our time out chair...and one that I use in a lot of senior portrait shoots) and it flew up and ripped two big holes in the headliner and actually made a big dent on the outside of the roof.

When I went back yesterday to clear out my personal items and take photographs, I found glass on the girls' toys which were on the floor in front of them. The garage door opener, which is normally up on the visor, was underneath Amelia's car seat. There were cd's out of their cases and laying in the back seat. Chris had a hand held jig saw in the back, too....with an exposed blade. The thought that it could have hit the girls makes me sick.

Libby keeps saying that Rainey and Grace were there and kept the glass from getting on them. I believe her.

Making this situation even worse, Chris was out of state. He did not get back until late last night... so I've been dealing with the horrible emotional aftermath it's had on the girls and on me, the physical pain, the flashbacks, the Emergency Room, the logistics of insurance, police, etc.... without him. It's been a very rough week and now that he's back I feel horrible--I suppose it's complete and utter physical and emotional exhaustion and burn-out. The last two days it's really set in and I've been feeling very traumatized and depressed. I feel like a sissy for it.

Yesterday I brought home a new car. The bummer is that in any other situation I'd be jumping out of my skin with excitement about it. It is a 2008 Ford Edge Limited.....a VERY nice car.... but I just can't get excited. it's just a reminder of why I had to get one and I really did love my yellow 2003 Vue, 'The Hornet'. I picked the Edge because it has a 5 star collision rated and 4 star rollover rated. Yep, it has every bell and whistle imaginable, but I could not care less about that. I just wanted the safest tank of a vehicle there is. I love the car, don't get me wrong, I'm just not all giddy about it.

We are incredibly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. I could not have done this without them. My mother has been an incredible help with me getting insurance/car/etc taken care of...and offering support. Thanks, Mom. You have been exactly what I have needed.

Tina, Katherine, Norah....thank you. We love you and you are family to us. Seeing Tina walk up right after the accident was the most comforting feeling in the world. Thank you ladies for taking us to the hospital, feeding us, holding us, entertaining us, and loving us. ...and for letting me drive Audrey the Jeep. She's a smokin' hot ride. I still can't figure out why you didn't let me drive the Land Rover, though...I mean it's not like I've had bad luck with cars lately or anything.....

Some photos I took at the salvage yard yesterday...

Gnorm takes on Miami

Gnorm and I went to Miami late last week and managed to hit the beach for a few minutes....
He was very excited to find a ant-filled coconut and two pineapples laying on the beach. He also really liked the salt water until disaster struck....






































Gnorm wanted to be a lifeguard, but they said he was too small.






















Best friends, traveling companions.....






























































Well, there was a near fatal accident on the beach when Gnorm got too close to the water.... I lost a lens cap to the ocean while racing to save him. Small price to pay.

Big Girl Panties

wahoooooooooo! Monkey is wearing her big girl panties!!! There's been one accident, but so far, so good! She gets very upset when I tell her we need to put on a diaper, and is SO proud of herself :) We're just sort of jumping in head first on this. I told her daycare provider that she'd gone on the potty the night before, and when I picked her up she was wearing big girl panties and had been using the toilet all day long. I'm excited for her :)
I think Libby only had two or three accidents when she started, so hopefully this will be as easy :)

Growing up

Well, Libby goes to Kindergarten orientation tonight. Wow. I cannot believe that she will be in SCHOOL already in a few months!! I'm so excited for her and I'm all emotional about my little girl growing up!

She got a two wheel scooter over the weekend and took to it like a fish in water. I will show a photo. There are a bunch of fun new shots of the girls on my Soul Reflection Blog also

And my little Monkey is starting to use the potty!!!!! Wahooooooooooooo!!! I see a diaperless future coming at me!!!!!!!

Thank you!!!!

Thank you to everyone who supported me this year for the March for Babies! The weather on Saturday was very cold and extremely windy, making the run more challenging... but it went very well. I expected to walk some of it since I haven't been doing any long training runs, but ended up running all 12 just fine. If my back hadn't been screaming at me I'd have been great! I definitely could feel that I wasn't running alone, and I'm sure I had help from a few angels.
I raised $1550.00 this year for the March of Dimes, $550 more than my original goal.
I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate your support!!!!

Let's try this again....

I tried over and over and over again to load these yesterday, but Blogger wasn't having any of that. So lets see if these upload today.
Just some photos from the last week.

Greetings from Cleveland

I swear that this post begins my return to regular posting. I've been horrible, and I know it. :)

First of all, THANK YOU to all of you who have supported me in my fund raising effort for March for Babies. Due to the generosity of my friends, family, and perfect strangers, I have raised $1500 for the March of Dimes!!!!! That is 50% more than my original goal!!

March for Babies is on Saturday, and as planned I will be running 12 miles for Rainey and Grace. Every year I approach the day with mixed feelings. It's a very emotional day for me...the reason for the event, the reason I'm involved, all of the gorgeous babies around who have survived their premature births... It is also a very happy day for me, as it's the only physical thing I can do for my girls. I can't change their diapers or teach them to ride their bicycles, but I can run for them and raise money to help other families from losing babies.
...and then there is the actual running Normally I am in the throws of marathon training at this time of year, so I get through it pretty well. This year I'm not running a marathon, so am not running 15-20 miles every weekend. Well, okay, so I'm not running nearly that many miles. So this year it will be more challenging than most.

All is well in our little world...very busy, but good. Chris and I have not spent a week at our house together all month. He was gone for the first two weeks, now I'm in Cleveland. I'm sure he's enjoying the break from me :)

Libby has Kindergarten orientation next week!!! I cannot believe that she's going to be in SCHOOL in a few months. How did that happen???? She is SO ready for it, though. Due in large part to her amazing preschool (Katherine, Tina, Norah...we love you.) she is way ahead in her development. The words she writes and reads, the art she creates, the way she tries to be a mom to Amelia... She's smart and strong and funny and just plain 'Libby'. I am so proud of my girls for having the confidence to be themselves. I think that if they continue to be confident and true to themselves, and feel free to express themselves, that they will be happier for it. I'm pretty sure that my little freespirit will be the only girl in Kindergarten with a streak of color in her hair...

Amelia is getting so big, too. I cannot believe that, either! She is so funny and sassy and smart and pretty. I could stare into those caramel eyes for hours. Her conversational skills have developed so much--it's so fun to talk with her and hear what's going through that little spunky mind.

Okay...some photos, as always.
hmmmm, well there will be photos when it lets me upload them....

Free photo session

Thought I'd mention over here that I'm running a contest for a free session on the Soul Reflection Blog for a free session. There was already one step of the contest so head over there and scroll down through a couple of posts to find it!! Good luck.

Neglected

I have completely neglected this blog lately. I will be better, I promise.

I am getting ready for March of Dimes 'March for Babies' and thanks to my wonderful friends and family I have already exceeded my fundraising goal and there are still three weeks!! I'd love to keep going and blow my goal out of the water.

Since both girls have major sleeping issues we decided to move them both into one room and make the other a playroom. They do better now that they are together, which is great. We still are up a time or two each night, but nearly as much. And all of the toys are then contained in one room which makes it a little more manageable.

Yesterday we had a 60 degree day so we played outside most of the day. Libby shocked me with her baseball skills. She was hitting the ball HARD when I was pitching it to her. She's barely 5 and is hitting a pitched ball. And well. She can hit it even farther when she throws the ball up herself then swings. I'm amazed. And her arm is suddenly very good. I took her to a little baseball class last Winter and she had trouble hitting off of a tee. We have not practiced at all since then. Man, she's getting to be a big girl!!

Amelia is in a fun stage...the 'I'm testing you' stage. If she's being naughty and I ask, "do you want a time out?" she smiles and nods. Then she jumps off of the time out chair over and over, smiling at me with her devilish little grin. For Chris she does not do this. She also loves to see how fast she can make me run...by looking at me, giving the devilish grin, then running for the street.

A few photos from this morning. There are a lot of photos of the girls on the Soul Reflection Blog
from a little mini-session I did with them yesterday.

The Easter Bunny came to town

Happy Easter!
We have had a sugar-filled and laziness-coated day. No bellyaches yet, but I see them in our future.

Our big Easter tradition is to plant jelly beans the night before....and then run outside in the morning to see if they sprouted. Did you know that the night before Easter is the only time of the year when jelly beans grow into lolipops? Pretty magical. They are beans, you know...
The only problem was that the ground was pretty frozen at planting time and very frozen at harvest time.... There were a couple which did not sprout, too.

The Easter Bunny brought lots of candy and a movie for each little lady. Amelia got the Backyardigans and Libby got Enchanted. We watched Enchanted this morning and we all LOVED it. Chris and I want to watch it again later today. I had no idea it was so good! Really, I recommend it to anyone, regardless of age.

OH and I started out the holiday with a Bloody Mary for Chris and I. Now THAT is the way to start a Sunday. Again, I highly recommend it...but not for all ages, I guess.

I built a new blog for my photography business and I'm thrilled with how it looks. Much more 'me' and much nicer having a custom blog on my own server. The new url is www.SoulReflectionPhotography.com/blog
Check it out and let me know what you think!

And now, of course, some photos

Gnorm and the Girlie Weekend

woooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I took Gnorm along on a girlie weekend in Madison with my friends Megan and Dani, and he had a blast. It was pretty hard to get him to behave, especially since it was St Patrick's Day weekend.....
My gorgeous friends were willing to play model for me, too...I'll post some of those to my business blog