Day 11- "Discordant"

"Flaunt"- Day 19

We get to keep the one in white <3!

"Tendril"- Day 17

Daughter #1's prom last week...so in love with the dress, I want her to bring it to the beach for pictures this summer but bet she won't!  Would also be gorgeous at the winery for pictures!

There is a quote I have seen...something to the tune of "you didn't grown under my heart, you grew in it."  xo peace xo

Day 24- "On the Road"

This past weekend was supposed to be for two, but sometimes that changes because one of the kids needs us to come through for them because someone else isn't.  This weekend led us to a soccer tournament that luckily wasn't far from Kent Island, and that was the closest place to stay.  One of our favorite places to go for an overnight, especially off season.  We got to take one of the kids to one of our favorite restaurants (no, we don't eat out somewhere that expensive regularly...she was beyond thrilled to go to it)- great food and ambiance right on the water.  Dad sprung for the suite on the water that in-season we wouldn't be able to afford, and it gave some privacy to her and her friend who stayed over and then to us early morning (ok, they were not so amused when we returned via the balcony after hopping the balcony rails, but we laughed a lot).  We have friends on the island so we got to go hear some live music for the first set (love it because they go on at 8:30 and we can actually stay awake) with them.  All in all turned out to be a great 24 hours, and a great example of how we tell the kids that in some ways we are equal with all of them, ie. amount spent at Christmas, but at other times we give certain ones what they need at that time (in this case, some nurturing, not being the kid with no parent there, just support), and it differs for all.  The soccer tournament?  Two wins, one loss, freezing cold, but I got to take pictures; I have been note taking settings so I can try some shots out- worked on stop action this time (one I first started trying manually when my son had the photography project).  She loves to see herself that way, esp. when I captured one of her goals!  A few favorites (was really cloudy the first day so those pictures aren't the best)...

 

March Day 14- "Shimmer"

So lucky they shimmer in their own way, every day! <3 them both!

What a day!

Do you love our scoring "liters"?  What?!?  You didn't look at the heads and recognize that they are a decimeter cube, carefully cut and recut and wood glued and wood re-glued, nailed, sanded, painted, an ultimate labor of love that lasted longer than my second childbirth?  This was the Chemistry project for my stepdaughter this weekend, and let me say, WE better get an A!  The project in it's simplest form was make a decimeter cube with a grid and a label.  Decorate for extra credit.  Really be creative for extra-extra credit.  I am not a believer in extra credit for many reasons, #1 being that all children don't have resources like she does to get here...some to take her to Lowes and Michael's and spend $30, then to Home Depot when what we bought at Lowes was wrong, and thus another $12...no less than 8 hours of time of two parents tag teaming...parents who have a lot of tools and skills and a good saw and drill...and so on.  The world of extra credit just isn't a level playing field.  She decided to make herself in her soccer uniform, the other is her friend, who was also here for the duration.  Extra points for a creative name (that was me, the "Scoring Liters").  I truly don't know if she grasped the project idea from a chemistry perspective.  I truly hadn't planned to spend my Sunday on this project.  What did we get?  You might think two cute box headed soccer girls.  What do I think?  She saw I will come through for her in planning and getting materials, and sticking through it til the end, even when dad got frustrated.  I taught her to make yarn hair the easy way.  I showed her how to make a pattern, helped her saw and drill (dad helped there too)- but they did the sawing- so they know we believe they can do it.  I sewed little shoes out of felt in the simplest way, but you would have thought I bought her new Uggs.   I helped her take her idea and make it a reality, even though she could have made a box of paper and gotten an A.  We commended her for dreaming big, sticking it out even mid-day when she wanted to throw it away, and I know the dreams she has of Georgetown or JHU will probably become her reality in a few years.  Til then, she just came up and asked for help with government homework... :).  <3 my blended family.