Not sure how I feel about this...

If I haven’t mentioned it before, I’m somewhat OCD, and my morning routine is no exception.  Once the girls are off to school, Chris is headed to work, and I’m finished feeding the animals (man, that sounds like I live on a farm), and checking email and Facebook, I put on CNN, grab my cup of coffee, and see what all has went on in the world while most of us slept. I’m not sure if you guys follow CNN or anything, but a story this morning caught my interest, so I thought I’d share.  They were covering some of the new "gadgets" introduced at the South By Southwest Conference, and while the app to meet the people on your plane before you get there is cool, I'm not sure how I feel about the company that's using homeless people as wireless hotspots.  Basically, this company handed out wifi devices to homeless people in Austin, Texas.  You pay the homeless person $2 per 15 minutes, or whatever you'd like over that, for the use of the wifi.  The company says it helps the person get their stories out, while at the same time, providing them with some income.  Seems simple enough, however, it sparked a plethora of questions for me, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it, so bear with me for a minute…

On one hand, it’s a really great socially responsible concept.  The people they’ve picked get to clean up, and that goes a long way in reestablishing a spike in self-esteem that might have been lost due to their situation.  All of that enables them to speak with people that wouldn’t ordinarily give them the time of day.  If they’re able to share their stories, hypothetically, couldn’t that lead to permanent employment for some?  If it does, it’s really a win win situation.  The company gets their name out, their services used, and people get a second chance.  That’s fine by me!  In meeting the few people in that situation I have, most of them just want the opportunity to work, to get back to “normal”.  If this gives them that chance, this could be the best marketing plan ever.   I could get behind that. 

Maybe it’s the Mom coming out, maybe it's be being a skeptic, but I can’t help but wonder what happens to the people afterwards?  If it doesn’t work out, do they just toss the people they’ve pulled off the street back onto it?  That doesn’t seem quite fair.  Also, did they do background checks on the people they've "hired"?  Do they know that they're going to use the money to better themselves?  I'm all for helping people, don't get me wrong, but I want to make sure that the people I'm helping use it for good, and not for slipping back into the same negative situation.  Believe me, living in Macon for school I came into contact with a few homeless people, and I can honestly say that I've helped those people who weren't just mean about it.  My husband hates this story, but I love it...One night while I was out getting coffee with a friend, one of the nicest men I've ever met asked me if I had anything to spare.  He talked with us for a while, and when we went inside, I bought him dinner in the coffee shop we were going to.  I didn't have any cash on me, so I thought it was the least I could do.  He took the food and was very appreciative.  The next time I went to the same place, the man was there again, but this time, he had a bouquet of carnations for me.  I kidded with Chris that the homeless guy I bought dinner for could give me flowers, but the fiancé couldn't...It was our running joke for years!  And just because I know everyone loves a happy ending, last I heard, the guy was given a job washing dishes for the guy that owned the coffee shop and got on his feet.  

So, back to the wifi hotspots.  What do you think?  Do you think it's exploiting the people, or do you think it would be a positive for them?   

Who Needs a License...

...When you have a lawnmower!

Yesterday was the first really pretty day we've had in a while that we actually had time to get outside and do a few things.  While Chris did homework, I mowed the yard, and afterwards, the girls decided to take 'er for a spin.  Funny thing is, EK isn't heavy enough to hold the seat down alone, so the girls devised a plan.  They took turns driving around the backyard, with one holding the seat down, and the other navigating.    They drove until it ran out of gas, then moved on to the rope swing that we've put up in the yard.  The redwood playset swing just doesn't go as high as EK would like it to, so she's begged for a rope swing out of the tree, so she can go higher (AKA scare the mess out of me).  Not only do we have a rope swing, we have 2.  Yay...Great...  

She can get some pretty good height out of that one, and loves to yell "Mommy watch!", as she's flying through the air, ready to plop on the ground at any second.  Then, I'm reminded that I'm sure I did all kinds of things when I was younger that would probably be considered child endangerment now :)

This is the look of Bliss...

Yep, I'd think so...

We're babysitting today.  Meet Princess FussyButt...Aptly nicknamed by me when she was born 2 years ago.  She's my best friend's little girl, who seems to fit in with EK and AG flawlessly.  Funny thing is, when we go out with all 5 kids (she has 2 boys that are EK and AG's ages, which is how we met), people often think they're all siblings.  You should see the looks we get when it's the 2 of us, the kids, and Chris.  It's quite amusing to us because we know they must be thinking.  I guess that happens when your kids look alike for some odd reason.  Anyway...

PFB spent the night last night, and Oh My...You should see how she and EK sleep.  I tried to get a picture this morning, but it just didn't work, as it was too dark, and I wasn't going to risk waking them up at 7.  Nuh uh, no way.  Sad thing is, they were all up by 8 :(  

It's funny, the thought of more than just my 2 girls used to scare me to death, but after having PFB here every day for a few weeks while her mom was at the hospital with her critically ill Grandfather, the thought didn't seem so scary.  Then...I realized that it wasn't full time.  It wasn't the same as actually having another child...the thought of which now makes me want to set my hair on fire (No.  It wasn't always that way, but we'll get to that).  I said it before, they just kind of mesh together.  It's actually really cute.  Like earlier, AG grabbed the last of the cheesecake out of the fridge, cut the 2 pieces into 6, and the 3 of them sat in the floor watching Princess and the Frog, eating and giggling.  Oh, and we can't forget about the HSM concert I got earlier.  The girls found the microphone that plays one of the songs, and if you put it against the Gabriella barbie's mouth, she sings...Hilarity ensued.  I promise...It was hilarious.  If only we could all get back to that frame of mind.  

Can They Turn Into Fish...

...by swimming every day for hours?  I mean, really, at some point, won't they sprout gills?  Since being out of school, I think my girls have been one track minded on how they can keep their bodies submerged in water the most possible amount of time.  Yeah, that has to be it...Because they've gotten it down to a science.  Breakfast, pool, lunch, pool, dinner, begging and bribing to get back outside.  But man, are they sleeping better than ever!

In all actuality, it's really nice..They swim, I read or swim with them, and we all get a few hours of independence.  Not to mention, it's really cute to hear some of the games they've come up with in the pool.  Like, being mermaids, or the evil queen that eats kids, or the shark...It's hilarious.  Not to mention, they're getting really good at synchronized swimming a'la noodles.  Like this...

This is possibly the one time of the day when all is right with both of their worlds...No fighting, no competing, just being.  It's nice :)

The 411 on the Little Ladies...

So, the school year has come and gone, and I now sit here looking at my First grader and Kindergartener and wonder to myself, "How the heck did that happen?".  They're still babies, right?  They can't possibly be that old. It just isn't fair.  I'm finding myself on this fence...One side is sooo thrilled about how awesome they are, while the other is really missing them being smaller.  Don't get me wrong, I really like this age of being able to do pretty much anything with them, but the independence kills me sometimes.  I know I'm not the only parent that's ever felt like this.  This whole parenting thing is nothing if not a learning curve.  But I digress...On to positive things :)

Emma's Kindergarten year puts her reading at an end of third grade level, excelling at everything, and totally ready to rock first grade.  She won the Citizenship Award for her class, and of course, I cried.  It was so different being in the "real" awards day program and not just picking her up from Pre-K.  Abs even went, even though Pre-K'ers aren't allowed.  The end of the year for Abby brought a fabulous report from her teacher, also.  She's totally ready for Kindergarten and writes everything.  Matter of fact, she almost has better penmanship than EK, who loathes writing.  Suffice to say, I don't think we have anything to worry about for next year...Well, except for Abby trying to bat her eyelashes and get away with everything.  Kindergarten better watch out!

So far, in the week and a half they've been out of school, we've practically lived in the pool and the air conditioning.  With temps being 100 + outside, the pool isn't even good enough to cool off some days.  I dread seeing our electric bill after the heat this month.  EK's read about 20 books thus far, and has a list of about 100 more she wants to read before school's back in.  Both of the girls came home with recommended reading lists for the summer, but my over achiever says we need to read all of them.  She's totally into the Ramona series, so now I'm worried about what she's going to read over the next few years if she's reading them all now.  Ugh!  Abby, on the other hand, could care less right now, and that's ok.  She's still enjoying being read to, versus doing it herself.

Both of the girls are swimming on their own, sans floaties, so that's a huge accomplishment.  Abby's starting off the summer already jumping off the side of the pool, so I'm guessing that by the end, she'll be just as much of a fish as EK is.  Fingers crossed, anyway :)

So, here's to a long summer of relaxing, reading, swimming, playing, staying up past bedtime, sleeping in, watching fireworks, and eating way too many icees.  Cheers!

Getting Back on Track...

I haven't blogged in, oh, 3 years-ish now, so I figured it's about time to pick it back up. Maybe, just maybe, there's someone out here in cyberspaceland that can understand the ramblings I have when even I don't...which can be often.

I hope to use this, too, to try to keep me more accountable for the things I'm trying to change, number one of which is to communicate better by being able to analyze things more before I just blurt them out. Some of the things I'll get to are probably going to be funny, but moreso, they're probably going to be personal.

So, if you're reading this, say hi...I like to know that someone's actually "hearing" my rants, raves, randomness, and emotional breakdowns.

To get things started, how do you guys have such pretty blogs? I need a crash course in pretty, please?

Intro to us...

Welcome to my ramblings! I'm Danielle. I'm 25, married to the love of my life, and mommy to 2 beautiful girls. We'll start with Em, since she's the oldest. Emma Kate was born November 3rd, 2004, weighing in at 5lbs 8 oz, and 18 inches. She spent some time in the NICU because she was a little early, but she's more than made up for it. She's got the fiery, stubborn, fearless personality, which I'm guessing is typical of a first born. She's a ball of energy that just keeps on going. She loves to dance, play barbies, and run around the back yard. This past summer, she's learned to swim without floaties, which was a huge accomplishment. Then there's Miss Abs. Abigail Grace was born February 24th, 2006, weighing in at 7lbs, 1 oz, and 18.5 inches. She's been the ying to Emma's yang. They're so opposite, it's like night and day. Abby is laid back, sweet, and hilarious. Of course, she has her stubborn streak as well, but usually charms her way out of being in trouble. They definitely keep life interesting around here! Look for my ramblings and silly stories about what they come up with that keeps up on our toes. Enjoy!