1 MOTHER + 2 DAUGHTERS = 365 DAYS OF ADVENTURE

Birthdays, Birds, Haircuts, and Walks in Nature

2012-02-13T14:08:00.000-08:00

Maisie & Aqua

Juliette & Yellowie

Juliette adores our friend's baby girl Eliot and calls herself a "big sister"

Strike a Pose

Juliette poses for the camera

6 whole 6

Happy Birthday Sweet Juliette

Getting back to nature in the Frances Biedler forest!

Inside an ancient cypress tree.. too cool !!

Tree Hugger !

Our morning routine consists of the girls getting up on the kitchen counter and using the breakfast nook passthrough as their table. This tradition came to an end today, as demolition began to open up the kitchen and make room for a new breakfast bar... and mac daddy refrigerator that Kevin so desperately wants.

My brother... aka The Demolition Man

Love the look

My new office loft

I've moved my Airbnb.comhttps://www.airbnb.com/ office outside to the art studio. Its a work in progress, but I know it's going to feel great walking OUT of the house and going to work...as opposed to looking at all the dishes and laundry I have to do.

U2, Rock Star, Birthday Girl & a Bumble BeeBirtr

2011-10-28T05:41:00.000-07:00

Maisie at U2 @ Giants Stadium !!

Birthday Girl

Maisie is 8

My Little Bee

It's Killer Whale Time

2011-06-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

Summer is here... and to celebrate Maisie saying goodbye to second grade we've been having a series of "stay-cations"... checking into a couple of local hotels (complete with pools of course) and pretending we are on vacation. The girls LOVE hotels, because all the rules of home go out the window !! Lots of TV, junk food, staying up late and night time swims :)

Last Day of 2nd Grade

And... speaking of swimming... It's Killer Whale time. Practices are 6 days a week, with meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm officially a swim mom and I LOVE it. I was on a swim team throughout my childhood. Such great memories. I hope Maisie loves the sport as much as I did / do. She's really coming along and has even won a couple of ribbons so far !! I am so proud of her.

BFF's

First Ribbon

Backstroke

Eat my Bubbles

Swimmers Take Your Mark

Springing into Summer

2011-05-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

Bike Posse

We have decided that this is going to be the summer of bike riding and swimming. Our weekends will be spent biking around Charleston and lounging at the pool. We joined a neighborhood pool so that Maisie could be on the swim team. She is now an official member of the Northbridge Terrace Killer Whales. That's right... the Killer Whales. It is meant to be. She amazed me at her first practice, swimming like a champ. This is how I spent my childhood.. and I loved every minute of it. I am so happy that she has taken to the water and is really into being on a team. Jules is a bit too young yet, but over spring break, she did learn how to swim under water. I have two fish in our family and I couldn't be happier!! Learning to surf is next !!

1st Practice

Maisie & Coach Mike

Love this.. her hands are supposed to be above her head, but she's using the bells as a head rest

My Swimmer

Stop the Press

2011-03-27T15:30:00.000-07:00

The girls received their fair share of press during Fashion Week. Making it on the covers of Charleston's City Paper and Fashion Wire Press. Maisie was even stopped and photographed for her choice of couture during Saturday's bridal show.

My Fashionistas

2011-03-25T05:09:00.000-07:00

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Juliette's expression is PRICELESS !!

Juliette sees herself on the big screen

I love Maisie's flowing hair !!

Maisie's acting debut

2011-02-28T05:05:00.000-08:00

Maisie took center stage in her school play portraying "Little Red" a girl who is taken by the evil dragon and later saved by her sister who was born from a bayberry bush. After her bow, the actress wanted to wind down with some sushi. A good night was had by all !

Be very very quiet... we're hunting lizards

2011-02-28T05:01:00.000-08:00

On the prowl

Success

Juliette & her lizard pal

Freedom !

Rice

Soaking up the sun

Maisie's best boy friend came back into town for a little fun. I let the girls play hooky from school and we went on a nature hike. Lizards, rice & gators.... oh MY !!

Juliette is 5 Whole 5 !!

2011-02-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

The Lizard Cake

Happy Birthday to You !

Pure Joy

Juliette turned 5 on February 7th. I was in San Francisco training for my new job.. so we had a BIG party before I left. Lots of friends and family in attendance and Juliette couldn't have been more pleased to be the CENTER of attention.

When everyone began signing happy birthday to her, she couldn't hold back and just screamed at the top of her lungs with joy. What a heart-warming moment. To know that my child loves life so much.
She's a happy happy happy little girl who is LOVED and CHERISHED !!

Busy Week

2011-02-22T07:12:00.000-08:00

Last week I started my brand new job in the dot com world. I am proud to be part of www.airbnb.com

based in San Francisco. Airbnb helps people travel like a human. Check it out !

The seals of San Francisco !

Jules is now rockin' some stylish glasses... red like her mama's. To me she looks so grown up in her spectacles.

Maisie keeps losing teeth. 2 this week. The tooth fairy has been very busy!! At the moment she looks like Bugs Bunny!

Sisters

2011-01-31T04:49:00.000-08:00

Last night after putting the girls to bed I heard Maisie crying. When I went to check what was wrong, she was inconsolable about the fact that Juliette will be spending a week at her grandparents house (while I am in San Francisco training for my new job at www.airbnb.com.)

Maisie was sobbing... saying she didn't know how she would live for a week (acutally 4 days) without her sister. She told me her heart is empty. Juliette responded by giving Maisie her beloved "Beaky" (a stuffed toy dolphin) and climbing into bed with Maisie. The two of them stayed in this embrace as I left the room. So sweet and sad at the same time.

January in the Lowcountry

2011-01-31T04:40:00.000-08:00

We are so fortunate to live in a BEAUTIFUL city. We spent a lazy Sunday at the Pitt Street bridge... riding bikes and looking for nature (as the girls call it). I am happiest when I am with my family.

Weekend Fun

2011-01-23T10:45:00.000-08:00

Weekend Dance Party

This weekend I introduced the fam to the FANTASTIC groove music by Florence & the Machine.
Florence is from London... and she has a powerful voice that gets into your soul and makes you want to dance. So dance we did. We turned the volume up to 11 and got our boogie on.

The trick to making Juliette want to sit down and color or learn her letters and numbers is to make it fun. Coloring is hard for her... and to her it's a chore, not a joy... so how do I incorporate the much needed occupational therapy into her home life without making a huge deal about it.... I use number / color puzzles. At first she's really into it... but as her hand, arm and brain tire of this task... she starts to get a bit frustrated... demonstrated today by the statement:

"My head is about to come off my body!"

Sunday Morning Math Lesson

Mad Math Minute

Creative Play

Strawberry the Cardinal

As my girls do what they do best together... imaginary play... I watch my feathered friends outside my dining room window. Strawberry is one of our favorites... Maisie named him because he's plump.
Strawberry makes us happy.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

2011-01-21T06:02:00.001-08:00

Behind the Lens

Birds of a Feather

2011-01-20T15:46:00.000-08:00

Robins on a wire

Yesterday a flock of robins landed in my yard and literally took over. Hundreds of them perched in trees and wire all around the house. Their chirps were so loud that my cat wanted to get outside and take a look at what all the fuss was about. They were drinking out of our pond and pool... picking at bugs in the yard.

I hope this means that spring is just around the corner here in my neck of the woods !!

Flock-o-Robins

Bodhi & Friend

Friend

Black Capped Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

Chickadee

My little bird watcher

I am obsessed with birds. I have a dozen or so feeders around my house and I am going broke keeping them filled with seed and suet. I can't help it. I just love my feathered friends. I love watching them. I have names for them. The cardinal couple is known as the Castanzas (after George's parents).. I gave them this moniker because their chirps sound like they are constantly bickering with one another. I guess that's what happens when you mate for life.

We purchased a feeder that attaches to our dining room window and it wasn't long before our friends noticed. We've counted 17 different kinds of birds so far. Our favorites include the black capped chickadee and the tufted titmouse.

We also get the occasional squirrel who has managed to figure out how to use its acrobatic skills to hang on the feeder... but one word of warning for our squirrel friends... BEWARE of the curious cat... she will eat you !!

If you fall down... get back up again !

2011-01-18T09:58:00.000-08:00

Finding Balance

Losing it

Getting the hang of it

Down again

and again

Woo Hoo !!

Roller Disco
Maisie and her best pals

She made it under !!

On Monday, I took the girls roller skating for the first time. I wasn't sure how it would all play out. Maisie typically gets quite frustrated if she is not perfect the first time she does something... so it was a complete surprise that she not only took to the skates... kept falling down.. kept getting up again... and so on and so on for the better part of two hours. Not ONCE did she get frustrated. She kept getting right back up on her feet to start again... and by the end of our session, she had graduated from taking baby steps on her skates, to full on skating around the rink. What a great lesson for all of us to remember that when life knocks you down on your bottom... get back up and get rolling !!!

As for my sweet Juliette... she could not stop herself from SQUEALING with delight !! She LOVED every minute of her experience and even took part in the limbo contest. Everything made her smile... the disco lights, the music and all the other kids going super fast on their skates. Every minute or so she'd let out a pure scream of delight... so happy !

Imaginary Zoo

2011-01-18T09:45:00.000-08:00

Last week we were invited to Maisie's school to look at the imaginary zoo her class made. Maisie's exhibit was all about the rain forest. Each child had to make a habitat. Maisie used her pet shop toys and was quite proud of her accomplishment. So are we !!

THE CHRISTMAS CHASE

2011-01-04T11:34:00.000-08:00

ROCK STARS

2011-01-04T09:18:00.000-08:00

Parenthood is FUN.... and it's also funny. I love the little sayings that come out of the girls' mouths.
Juliette says "Nilk" instead of milk. She also says "What's that this is for?" The fact that there's an extra word in the sentence is so endearing to me. Maisie used to say, "Smease me" for Excuse me. She still says"Dad, can I tell you a question." These little nuances in language make me smile. But last night I had a LAUGH OUT LOUD moment when I heard the girls playing their guitars. One of the instruments is programed to sing Pat Bentar's "Hit me with your best shot"... but my girls think she's singing:

"HIT ME WITH YOUR BUTT SHINE"

It doesn't get any funnier than hearing two little girls singing about butt shines at the top of their lungs.

Man-o-man... do I love my children !!!!!!!!

CLUTTER CLEANSE

2011-01-04T09:09:00.000-08:00

January's article on NewbyMom.com:

Kitty Christmas Clutter

Laundry, dishes, bills, toys, shoes, books, cable news, loud commercials, screaming children, cell phones, computers. Oh My!

The endless supply of clutter that litters our lives and minds surrounds us everyday. If we’re not careful, we can drown in this cesspool of STUFF.

Webster’s Dictionary describes clutter this way:
[kluht-er] –verb (used with object)
1. to fill or litter with things in a disorderly manner.

There it is. We are littered with things in a disorderly manner. So, I guess if we keep our house clean and tidy we’ll feel okay. In my world, it doesn’t work that way. I can clean until the cows come home. Every dish can be in its place, every shoe in a closet, every child nestled, sleeping peacefully in her bed. Yet there is still clutter. Why?

Often it’s not about the physical things that surround us. It’s because we as parents don’t turn down the volume in our own heads and give ourselves time to relax. There is ALWAYS a project to do. Rake the yard, paint the trim on the house, fix a broken washing machine, go to yet another birthday party. The clutter of our lives seems endless.

So how do we break free? To borrow a phrase from a popular advertising campaign from the 80’s: Just say no. Does it really matter if the yard is littered with leaves or that you haven’t gone to the hardware store yet to buy paint for your home improvement? What matters right now is time. Time to spend with your family, and most importantly, time to spend on yourself. As parents (and especially moms) we put ourselves on the back burner to make sure everyone else’s needs are met.

Sometimes we just have to break the cycle. Like author Elizabeth Gilbert did. In her novel Eat, Pray, Loveshe writes, “If you're brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting, which can be anything from your house to bitter, old resentments, and set out on a truth-seeking journey, either externally or internally, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you.”

I’m not suggesting we pack our bags and leave the family for a far off land. But what we can do is free ourselves from the clutter that holds us back in our own lives. Get rid of the excess. Donate old books to the library, clothes to the Salvation Army or Goodwill. Give unused household items to Habitat for Humanity and baby items to the Florence Crittenton House. Charity begins at home, so why not begin your new year by doing a clutter cleanse and donating to your favorite cause? When your work is done, sit back, relax and give yourself a much needed break from mess that muddles your mind. You’ll have more energy and time to do the things you love for yourself and for others.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2011-01-03T04:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2011

Day 1 of 2011

The Fam on Folly

Macho Beach Nose Rider's in Training

Drummer Boy

Uncle Matt

Polar Bear Plunge

What a way to welcome in the New Year... my brother dressed up as a chicken with a mustache and plunged into the Atlantic. He (and all the people dressed in yellow) are part of a surf group called the Macho Beach Nose Riders... Maisie and Juliette are clearly in training ! We went out to support his crazy group. Maisie was the only one brave enough to dip her toes into the water.

Kevin got into the act by playing a drum before, during and after the plunge... I took the photos of all the crazies running toward the water. A good time was had by all.

Kevin captured our entire holiday with a stop still animation movie... click here for the link... and enjoy !

I am excited and optimistic about what 2011 will bring to my family. Happy New Year !!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T15:06:00.000-08:00

Willy gets a can of tuna in her stocking

Mermaid Barbie..... cool !

New Blanket

The Band

Right Foot Yellow

Maisie and her adopted whale "Yoda"

Cookies & Carrots

Willy checking out her stocking

Our take on Abbey Road
Maisie.Grammy.Juliette.Cana.Matt.Kevin

Partners in Crime

2010-12-21T05:03:00.000-08:00

Dangerous Boy & Daring Girl

Maisie has a true partner in crime and his name is Baze. She's known him her whole life. They dig for bugs together, search for "Bloody Mary", paint, play and run around like crazies. Baze is her best bud.
For Christmas she was insistent that we get "The Dangerous Book for Boys" for him. She as the "Daring Book for Girls"... so here they read together... then an idea is formed... "Let's go dig for bombs?" WHAT ?? I told them that it was highly unlikely that there was a bomb in our back yard... but that didn't stop them from finding the shovels and rakes and getting down to business. What ensued was lots of laughter, water, muddy clothes, cold and shivering children... and one beautiful hole.., minus the bomb.

Best Buds

Digging a hole

My daughter had the time of her life with her best bud Baze. It will be their last adventure for a while. Baze is moving with his mom to NYC and won't be back home until the summer. I don't think the reality has really hit Maisie. And if it has, she knows that every time he open up "The Dangerous Book for Boys"... her pal will be thinking of her. We'll miss you Baze !!

The finished product

Holiday Fun !

2010-12-07T08:16:00.000-08:00

Dad vs. Daughter

Maisie makes a Strategic Move

Ice Cream Licks

Necessity is the mother of invention.
- Jonathan Swift

The Inventor is pleased with herself !

Round and round she goes

Paper Chains

Apparently the Christmas Parade is a bit too LOUD for Jules

Adding just the right touch to the tree

Look at that smile. Jules is so happy !

Christmas Fun

Leaving shoes outside for Saint Nicolas

Happy Saint Nicolas Day !!

Breakfast Time - Hey, Hey, Hey

December is always a busy month at our house ! And it's a time for all of us to get into the spirit. We've been having fun making our own decorations and trimming the tree. Since it's so cold outside we've been trying to come up with things to do indoors.... and Maisie surprised Kevin with a challenge at the chess board. What Kevin didn't realize is that she'd been practicing the game on his iphone and when it came time to play she was schooling him on some sweet moves. That child NEVER ceases to amaze me.

Speaking of amazement... Juliette is REALLY into the holiday spirit. She is thrilled with all the lights, decorations, presents and endless amounts of goodies. The lightbulb has finally gone off and it is so rewarding to see how happy she is. She is constantly thanking us... and it's so sweet (and unnecessary)... "Thank you mommy for letting me sit in Maisie's car seat" "Thank you mommy for letting me decorate the tree" "Thank you mommy so much, I love you." "Mommy, we are a family"...
it is music to my ears. This child is so very sweet and loving (until her big sister comes home then the attitude begins).... aaahhhh sisters.

However, they do have fun together. The other day I was working on the computer and heard gales of laughter coming from their bedroom... when I went in, I found that Maisie had made a swing for her Orca that attaches to the ceiling fan... Willy was going around and around and the two of them were in stitches... sooooo pleased with their invention !

Saying Hello to Old Friends

2010-12-01T13:26:00.000-08:00

Barbie, Ken & Sally

I haven't been back to my mom's house in Ohio for years and I was looking forward to rummaging through an old trunk that is stockpiled with bits and pieces of my life. I always love to walk down memory lane but this time I was taking a few little friends with me. My daughters. I couldn't wait to open up the treasure trove and dig in... and to my delight both Maisie and Juliette stared in wide wonder as I brought out my baby shoes, baby blanket, report cards, and artwork (really mom, you saved all of this?)... but the piece de la resistance lay inside an old 1960's battered barbie suitcase. The gasp that left Maisie's mouth was priceless. Okay... it was more of a WOW !!!!

I just LOVE this vintage purple coat that Barbie is wearing.

Choices Choices Choices

Is there anything better than playing dress up with a Barbie?

And WOW is right... inside... vintage Barbie and Ken. Still tan after all these years strutting their stuff in old school 60's & 70's garb. I don't know who was more excited to play with them... me or the kids.
We all got right down to work spreading hundreds of outfits (many of them made by my mom and my dad's relatives) out on my mom's living room floor. And right there in front of a roaring fire, we spent HOURS and HOURS changing their clothes, posing for fashion shows and going on all sorts of adventures.

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I LOVED to play with barbies when I was a child, and apparently still do. It gave me such joy to be able to just sit and play with my own girls. This is what memories are made of !!