Top of a Hill

Story About a Girl and Her Bunny…

Maisie — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:40:56 +0000

When Izzy was a few months old, I bought her lovey (as people here call it). It’s a little pink square blanket with a Pooh bear head stuck to it. I bought two so I could rotate them in and out of the washer. Izzy loves her bears. One she calls “shakey bear” (because it rattles), and other one she calls “not working bear” (because the rattle doesn’t work any more).

When JoJo was a few months old, I also bought her a lovey. I bought two identical loveys. It’s also pink, but her’s has a bunny head on it. She calls it “bunny”, appropriate right? JoJo LOVES her bunny. She goes everywhere with bunny. If JoJo is crying, bunny makes all things better. About six months ago we lost one of her bunnies. It was a small disaster, but I took JoJo to Target to try to find that same bunny again. The bunny was discontinued, so she picked out a replacement “bunny”. A pink blanket with a giraffe head. It sufficed but she wasn’t crazy about it.

Skip ahead to last week. Tuesday afternoon. Her one and only, favorite bunny is missing. I couldn’t remember if bunny went to school that morning, but bunny didn’t come home that day. JoJo was a mess that evening, so I got online determined to find that exact bunny. I did. On Amazon. For $41… After picking my jaw up off the ground, I kept searching and found a handful on eBay. I promptly purchased two, for double what I originally paid for bunny.

Wednesday, we scoured the school for bunny and couldn’t find it. Thursday, my babysitter reminds me to look IN the school toys because JoJo likes to hide bunny. Lo and behold bunny is IN a toy at school. JoJo is reunited with bunny and is ecstatic. However, bunny needs a bath because it hasn’t been washed in weeks. So JoJo suffers through another night without bunny.

Today, two packages come in the mail. The eBay bunnies have arrived!! I give JoJo a bright white, clean bunny; confiscate old dirty bunny to run through the wash, and store the second new bunny away in a closet. As long as I can keep track of the bunnies, all will be okay. Fingers crossed!

Happy 4th Birthday Izzy!

Maisie — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:06:21 +0000

My little girl is getting bigger and older!! It’s hard to believe that it’s been 4 years since Isabelle joined our lives. On Izzy’s birthday, the intent was to fill her room with pink and purple balloons. Unfortunately she had a rough night so the balloons were outside her door when she woke up. I got to work in her preschool class on her birthday. That day my mom decided to surprise Izzy at preschool and stay for a few days to join in on the birthday party. Izzy was SO surprised and happy to see her “paw-paw”! It was a sweet sight to see my little girl so happy.

Later that night we asked Izzy where she wanted to go for her birthday dinner. It was like 50 questions trying to figure out where exactly she wanted to go, but we figured it out. She wanted to go for sushi! So that’s where we went for her birthday dinner. She had her favorite sushi (smelt roe sushi pieces), miso soup with tofu, soy beans and green tea ice cream for dessert.

That Saturday was her birthday party. Earlier we sent out these adorable invitations which we made with my awesome Silhouette Cameo. I planned seven activities since it was going to be a drop-off party (meaning parents could leave, ie. free babysitting!). We blew through all my planned activities, had a pink and purple themed lunch complete with purple bread, pink cupcakes, and strawberry ice cream.

Scroll through the pictures to see more!

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Craft: Mason Jar Snow Globes

Maisie — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 06:51:24 +0000

I was thinking about an easy and unique craft to do at Izzy’s birthday party. Here’s what I came up with. Click through the pictures to get a step by step for this fun craft. You can make it more “adult-ish” by using different figurines that you can find in the model train aisle of your local hobby shop.

Captiva

Maisie — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:30:28 +0000

Last week we returned from our family vacation to Captiva Island, FL. We planned this trip with our friends the Knechts, who have three girls around Izzy and JoJo’s age. We stayed at the family friendly resort of South Seas. If you’re a parent with young kids, you’ll take note of this resort. It has zero entry, heated pools, a couple water slides, suites with kitchens, extra bathrooms or closet space (which you can put a pack and play in), a kids indoor play center and daily kid activities like face painting or building sand castles. There’s a nature center with a big tortoise, a bunny, parrots, and a couple other small animals. The beach, with awesome shelling, was just a short walk from our rooms and there was a trolley that could take us across the resort. There was also a dangerously fun candy store and ice cream shop. There was also a bike rental shop and water sports rentals which we didn’t take advantage of.

We packed scooters for the three older girls which they rode through the resort. Every day, we would hit either the beach or a pool and watch the girls wear themselves out playing and swimming. Izzy and JoJo are complete opposite of each other in the water. Izzy is overly cautious and JoJo is overly zealous. Izzy wears a life jacket at all times, JoJo refuses and runs into the water until it’s up to her mouth. Izzy hates putting her face under water, JoJo would keep “bobbing” until I was afraid that she had swallowed too much water!

Part of Luke’s Christmas gift from me was a sailing lesson while we were at Captiva. We took Alex, and the two oldest girls with us on the 40 foot sailboat. The guys got to learn how to steer the boat, raise and lower the sails. We even spotted dolphins while we were out.

This trip was SO relaxing because we literally did nothing but sit at the beach or the pool. The weather was amazing, anywhere from 70-80 degrees every day. And of course we loved the company of our fellow vacationers. It was a cruel call back to reality when we landed in the 35 degree weather in Denver after spending the first part of the day at the pool in sunny 80 degrees. Now it’s back to real life and a normal routine.

This week, it’s Izzy’s 4th birthday on Thursday and her birthday party on Saturday. More on that later!

Merry Christmas!

Maisie — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:52:48 +0000

This year we were home for the holidays. It was nice to not have to travel and fight the crowds. We just stayed home, went to the Christmas Eve service at church, made Christmas cookies and opened presents on Christmas morning. I’ll admit it was somewhat boring, but it was nice to have this Christmas with just with our little family. I for one enjoyed a quiet Christmas =)

Bringing Gifts

Maisie — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:49:52 +0000

Every year I make gifts for Izzy’s teachers/coaches. This year, time got away from me and it was only last week that I realized that I forgot to get that together! This year I needed to include JoJo’s teachers meaning double the number of gifts. So I threw some things together. I bought some cute squatty mason jars, decorated them with scrapbook paper and filled them with treats. For the ladies I made a cinnamon sugar scrub (recipe below), and for the men I made peppermint bark (probably the easiest treat to make). For other random people like our milkman and postal carrier, a friend turned me on to gingerbread caramels (they’re addicting!).

Cinnamon Sugar Body Scrub

6 tablespoons sweet almond oil
1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, making sure to mix everything well. Label a jar with instructions to use in the shower or bath and to keep water out of the container to prevent unwanted bacterial growth.

In other random thoughts, while I was scrambling to get gifts together I happened to stop by Big Lots (otherwise know as the product graveyard) and browsed through their scrapbooking section. Typically I cringe at shopping at Big Lots, but this one tiny section is worth it. I scored some stamps, Martha Stewart labels and an acrylic stamping block.

And here’s what’s happening with the girls. Izzy and I spent some time together a couple weekends ago. We went to my fav spa in town and got our nails done. Izzy was SO excited. She picked out her favorite colors (pink and purple) with glitter! We’ve started talking about what she’d like to do for her birthday party in January. So far we have the guest list and the fact that everything MUST be pink and purple.

JoJo is the talk of the 1 and 2 year old class at her school. Every morning when we walk through the halls there’s at least one kid who will stop and greet her. Today, JoJo brought home a love letter from an admirer at school. This little boy in her class who is also around her age had his big sister help him write a note to JoJo (picture is below). Apparently Claude talks about JoJo all the time when he’s at home, and is constantly trying to hug her at school. It’s pretty funny because he’s 1! Hello!! I wonder what he’ll be like when he’s a teenager!! At this rate, we’re going to have to keep our girls locked up when they’re older!! =)

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Maisie — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 06:17:21 +0000

This year I was determined to have a “homemade” Christmas. That meant that I was going to make all my Christmas decorations, make all my ornaments, and make all the stockings. Originally, I thought it was a good idea, however once November hit, I realized that I didn’t give myself enough time to get everything done. So I pared it down. Here’s what I ended up with.

I’m Thankful For…

Maisie — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 06:16:46 +0000

Friends are such an important part of life. They are your community. They can be your lifeline. The best of friends will lovingly tell you how it is, call you out when you need an attitude change, encourage you to do the right thing, and stand by you during the hardest of times. This year I’m incredibly thankful to be surrounded by faithful friends who have challenge me to be a better mom, adopt an attitude of servitude and to pray constantly. So there you have it. I’m so thankful for each one of my friends this year, both near and far, who have challenged me to change for the better, prayed for me and spent time with me.

Thanksgiving 2011

Maisie — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 04:21:56 +0000

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone again! This year we had Luke’s side of the family in town to experience a really American Thanksgiving. Grandma Knowles came into town over a week before Grandpa Knowles and GiGi came. We were glad to have her around helping with the girls while I tried to prep for Thanksgiving. Cousin Steen also joined us for Thanksgiving.

Then, in true American tradition, I took Grandma Knowles and GiGi to Toys R Us on Thanksgiving night at 9pm for their Black Friday opening. It was pure madness. Something I will never do again!! But now my Canadian family has experienced a TRUE American Thanksgiving.

However Thanksgiving night, I received a text from my high school best friend, Julie Briggs, saying that her mom had passed away, without warning, before they sat down for lunch. Susan Hamel was a wonderful woman of God, who hosted us (loud and silly) teenage girls at her home so many times in high school, rented me her basement shortly after college, dedicated her time at the Life Network and who supported her husband through rounds of chemotherapy over the last few years. I’m so sad for Julie, her dad (Mike Hamel) and the rest of the Hamel family. Susan will be greatly missed.

Preschool

Maisie — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:10:58 +0000

Last week I worked my one and only preschool workday for the semester. I expected to be covered in paint, shaving cream and to be completed exhausted by the end of the 2.5 hours. Surprisingly, I wasn’t! Now that the kids have been in school for a few months everyone seems to have their schedule down and knows what to do and what not to do. When the kids were asked to clean up they all jumped up and cleaned up! When they were asked to sit on their little pillows they all sat. It was amazing. Now if I could figure out how to get that to happen at home we would be golden.