Close.

I love the posed portrait. I love getting everyone to look at me with a genuine smile (and I can tell when you are not using your real smile). This is mostly what I capture during a shoot.

But I'm also looking for that candid moment. The one that shows the relationship between the people in the pictures. This little girl and her mom are tight. I could tell that from the moment we met. And they were tons of fun because they like having their photos taken.

I hope this mom keeps this photo for a long, long time. Little girls grow up quick and I think she will enjoy looking back on this time with her bright, beautiful girl. And someday, this little girl is going to cherish this picture of her beloved mom. She'll reach an age when she realizes how adored she was, and how lucky she was. To have a mom who knew how important it is to be in the photograph with her child.

Sometimes I'm a little deceptive.

When working with little kids (which I do a lot), I am ultimately looking for a shot their mothers will love. That totally open, sweet face kind of shot. But to get there, sometimes I have to mess around with them for a while. Very few young children are able to stand and hold a sincere smile for more than a minute. If that. So I like to make the photo shoot more like fun than work.

When I sense boredom creeping in, I may suggest that my subject make a funny face:

Trust me on this: all kids love making a funny face. It is also fun to do this with parents, to loosen them up a bit. Once we go through some silliness, I can usually get something like this:

Because moms love that. Hey little girl, do something funny:

Perfect. And now I can capture this:

Which, frankly, I want to put on my wall. And she's not even my kid.

I travel light.

Although I have a full set of studio lighting, I rarely use it. I much prefer natural light, and so do my clients (whether they know it or not). I traveled to this family's home to do a family shoot and the mom wanted a photo of her girls to use for their holiday card. They were in temporary housing and the yard didn't offer many options for a natural setting, so we found the room with the best light.

I draped a piece of velveteen over their recliner and we positioned the girls. Then I just snapped away with the parents behind me, catching the attention of the girls.

I have done this many times, and I can see the doubt in the parents' eyes sometimes. I'm sure they think it will look like crap. But I shoot close and do a little editing for this end result. And they totally love it.

Happy birthday, beautiful girl!

Five years ago today you made our family complete. Thanks.

A personal favorite.

This kid, a neighbor and a friend, is one of my all-time favorite people to photograph.

She is too awesome for words. She knows exactly what to do, and looks completely natural doing it. She's a little older than a lot of kids I photograph, so that helps. And on every session with young kids I tell the parents to expect that their kids are not going to do what we want them to do when we want them to do it. It's just the way kids are, and I do my best to try to capture the kid at his/her best, whether the kid knows I'm doing it or not. I accept that it is my job to work around the kid, not the other way around.

But with this kid, I just say "stand there and smile" and she does. Beautifully.

Here's my favorite kid with her adorable baby sister. Babies this age are great because they can't walk yet. Which means they mostly stay put. Unlike two-year-olds.

This is the whole wonderful family together. Dad was not so crazy about having to be part of the shoot at first. But in the end, he told me he had a good time. I knew he would.

Photo time.

Last fall I was so busy with photo sessions that I never really had to time to show off some of that work. Since I'm already thinking ahead to booking for the fall, I thought I'd use the next few days to show you some of the families I got to work with.

This baby was just adorable. Tiny, sweet and slightly suspicious, which is a good trait to have.
I always like to get a full body shot in my newborn sessions.

And of course I have to get close-ups of feet, hands, ears. But especially feet. I love feet.

When I tell moms that they have to be in a few shots, they usually freak a bit. But look at this shot. What mom wouldn't want to have a graphic representation of the love she has for her children? What child wouldn't want to look back and see her tiny self with her adoring mom? It doesn't matter if you don't think you are a perfect physical specimen. It's important to have photos of you with your kids. Because they already think you are perfect.

I try to make my photo sessions relaxing and fun. And even though most adults don't like having their photo taken, almost all of them thank me when we are done. It's one of the ways I know I've done my job well.

Yay!!!! 100,000 visitors!

Yes, I stayed up a little late tonight to see if I'd reach the big number. Thanks again to everyone who continues to tune in. Tomorrow I'll start a series of some of my photography work. Hope you enjoy it.

Let's talk about ___, baby.

I'm not using the actual word in the title of the post because I don't want some freak googling that word and "little girls" and getting this blog. Yuck. But I do want to share that today during lunch Margret asked how "the baby gets in there." She knows how they come out. So I took deep breath and explained the whole "daddy has a seed and it fertilizes the egg" stuff to both kids. John has briefly covered it with them (they asked once when I wasn't home) but he bypassed the whole seed "delivery system". I gave them a few details and told them that I know it all sounds crazy. And just for good measure I threw in some "time of the month" stuff. Which frankly seems harder to explain that that first topic. They were curious, mostly Margret, and asked a few questions. I know this is just the opening of a much larger, longer conversation that will take place over several years. I think I'm relieved that it's finally out in the open.

I've also let them know that this is not a topic we discuss out in public, like over dinner or with friends. Or, say, at someone's wedding. It's private. Let's hope we can keep it that way.

Thinking ahead.

I'm already thinking ahead to my busy fall, with two kids in school and (hopefully) a full photo schedule. I will be booking times up until November 30 for family photo sessions. That should give you enough time to order holiday cards, if you need that. So. If you'd like to book a date with me, please email me at marci@makearteveryday.com with a day you have in mind. I can schedule a few shoots per day; when your day gets closer (and the weather becomes apparent) we'll talk about time and location. I mostly work on weekends, which is usually when the whole family is available, but I can also do weekday mornings. The earlier you contact me, the better chance of getting the date you want.

The fee for the shoot is $200 plus TN sales tax. It includes about 90 minutes of photo time, a CD of at least 20 images that you can reprint anywhere (in both color and b&w), an online slide show that you can share with your friends and family and a hardbound printed book from your session. Additional hardbound books can be ordered for $46 (and they make a nice gift for grandparents). I think it's a pretty good value, considering you get your images on CD.

I had such fun meeting new families last year. I'm looking forward to another great fall.

June 23: a photo retrospective.

We had a busy day today. Sometimes I forget how hard we work to keep this household running, so this morning I brought along my camera. After breakfast, general clean-up, a shower (for me) and getting dressed, I herded the girls into the car.

Yes, my car is dusty. I didn't realize how bad it was until I saw these photos. Ick.

My co-pilots look fresh and ready for our mission. We have packed snacks and drinks.

Our first trip was to the bank to get cash, and then to the shoe store. We needed flower girl shoes and I was able to find some sweet sandals in both their sizes. Since the store was having a "buy one, get one 1/2 price" I let them each pick out another pair. Audrey latched on to hers immediately (and frankly, if they had them in my size I would have bought them too).

Margret took fooooooorever to pick out hers. She has heard me say before that jellys make your feet sweat. Later I was proven correct.


We finally leave the shoe store and go to another bank for a deposit.

I take a photo of the camera that is taking a photo of me. Just because.

We leave the bank.

We arrive at Fantastic Sam's.

Miss Emma is not available so we opt for other stylists. It all works out.
We walk past this racket on the way to the Kroger pharmacy to pick up a prescription.

I stop and remember to take a photo of the girls' haircuts. Way cute.

Back in the car and over to Michael's. I need some frames and we pick up some stickers for Audrey's upcoming birthday party.

We also go on a secret mission that shall not be named or photographed.

Next on the list is dropping off a disk for a photo client. We drive through Germantown and note the painted horses. I had read something about them in the paper but I can't remember why they are there. But they are delightful.

We also stop by Walgreen's. They overcharged us for peanut butter yesterday and since I am a super shopper, I can't bear to spend $3+ on a jar of peanut butter. I can manage $1.67.

Since the girls have been really good, I offer to drive through McDonald's to pick up lunch. They think that would be a great idea.

We leave McDonald's and head on home.

This is how my purse looks after a morning of errands. Somebody's going to have to clean that thing out.

Let's do a quick check to see how my co-pilots are holding up. Uh-oh. Getting restless.

Hey! Girls! Snap out of it! Much better. And look, there's me!

We are finally back home. For a while. After lunch and some play time, it was back out the door and to the dentist for the girls. Our quiet time never really happened today, but that's okay. My girls have been super sweet and that's all I really need.

I love the quiet.

Even though school is out, I'm still getting up around 6:30 every day. I go immediately to my computer and read several blogs that I enjoy. Some days, the little girls get up early and play on the other computer or watch tv or whine about being fed. But today I've had a whole hour of quietness. And I love it.

One other note this morning: if you check out my stat meter (right column, scroll down), you'll see that I'm getting close to 100,000 visitors! I don't know why that makes me so happy, but it does. Thanks to all of you for stopping by -- those who have been here since the beginning and those who are new. I really appreciate it.

Grocery Game update.

I had a great trip to Kroger this morning. I prepared my list last night and there wasn't much on it. We have a family wedding coming up this weekend so I don't need to worry about a few meals. Instead, I'm relying on what I have on hand for dinners. So I mostly bought produce, Diet Cokes and a few things that were on sale. I spent $43 on $78 worth of stuff for 46 percent savings. That total includes $4 for the above; I found a few scrapbooking things marked waaaaaay down. It also included an extra newspaper ($2) and a donation to the Food Bank ($2). I may need to make a mid-week stop for milk, but we should have everything else we need. This is exactly the reason I love the Grocery Game. I'd also like to thank everyone who has signed up and put me as a referral. I've gotten several free weeks already.

Last week at Kroger I spent $99 for $167 worth of stuff (42 percent savings). Ultimately I'd like to get where I'm spending about $75 a week for our family of four. I think I'll get there. This week's Walgreen's trips were great. The first store didn't have all of what I wanted, so I had to make a second trip where I was successful. Because of the Register Rewards I earned last week and my rebate gift card, I spent $1 on $37 worth of food, household stuff and a few activity books for the girls. I have another trip planned for today or tomorrow. I've estimated it will cost about $18 after coupons, and I may be able to cover most of that from my gift card.

Here's a tip for the week: if you get Parade Magazine in your Sunday paper, look for a coupon for free cheese when you buy three Kraft, Nabisco or Oscar Meyer products. The key will be to look for low-cost products that may also have coupon available. Try checking out your grocery store ad (mine comes in the mail on Tuesday) and see if you can make your own deals. Or, check out the forums at Hot Coupon World for your particular grocery store. Good hunting!

Can I get an 'amen' for a $20 TV?

Shortly after John's car stopped cooling air, the girls' playroom TV stopped showing a picture. It wasn't that big a deal -- we have two other TVs in the house so no one was going to pass out from lack of television. But there was no way we were going to pay full price for a new TV. The old one was purchased in 1992, so I definitely got my money out of it.

We decided to take the frugal route and look for a good used one. We scoured some online resources and John made a list of garage sales that noted TVs. So this morning we woke the girls up early, withdrew $100 from the ATM and went on the hunt. The first stop had an old, beat up TV. No, thanks. The second sale had the above Sony for $20. With a remote. And a promise that it really did work. Sounds like a deal.

After a celebratory breakfast at McDonald's (one of the Summer of Fun things), we went home and John got it hooked up. He couldn't get the remote to work, but he was able to program the TiVo remote to operate the TV, so all is well.

Six months ago we would have bought a brand new TV and put it on a credit card. And we would have spent $1000s more on a car. But we've made a commitment to cut back where we can and eliminate all debt. Next week we will pay off two credit cards using mostly my freelance income. We still have two more to go, but the great progress we've made deserves a hearty 'amen', don't you think?

Holy Chocolate Bat Signal, Batman!

We are getting together with friends tonight for pizza and I volunteered to bring dessert. Since I've been Grocery Gaming I've gotten a bit overstocked with brownie mix, so I thought I'd put it to good use. The plain brownies are actually dark chocolate (mix), but they pretty much just taste like brownies. Maybe I could tell the kids they are dark and therefore "grown-up" brownies? Would anyone fall for that?

I got the idea for the Batman brownies from a box of regular mix. It included cardboard cut-outs of bats on the inside of the box and you just lay them on the brownie and sprinkle powdered sugar on them. Because kids need a little extra sugar with their brownies. Anyhoo. I think the kids will dig them. And the thought occurred to me that you could make the same effect with any type of cut-out. And if you have any large scrapbook punches it would be easy to do a whole tray at once (I did mine four at a time -- slow going). Just a thought.

Sometimes.

Sometimes I see my future sullen teenager.

And sometimes I see my sweet seven-year-old pop right back out.

Body of work.

One of my favorite assignments from high school art class was where my teacher said to divide a sheet of paper into 24 squares and draw an apple in each one. In a different way. So maybe there was a pencil sketch and a collage and a realistic apple and an abstract one. You could whip them out until you got to 10 or 12 and all of a sudden you had to start thinking in some new ways.

Yesterday during quiet time (which was actually loud-ish; the girls were just superchatty) Audrey printed out several coloring pages from online sites. She printed the same one many times, but she has colored each one in a different way. She worked on them before dinner and after dinner. She started in on them again as soon as she got up. And when we got back from swimming lessons, she was all over them again. I wish I kept track of the hours she's put in -- it's been substantial.

I love to see her go this deep into concentrating on one thing. She's a bit of a free spirit but when she has an idea in her head, she's got the perseverance to see it through. I hope she hangs on to that.

John just bought a $50,000 car.

And I'm okay with it. Well, the car probably had a list price of $50k back when it was new, but it's far from new now. It's a used Lexus, with a great reliability track record and a low, low price. Earlier this year, John's 10-year-old Mitsubishi had a major problem with the air compressor. Which controls the AC. Which is very much needed in a Memphis summer.

We took it to our favorite mechanic, who despite our willingness to pay, suggested that we not spend $1200 on the repair. He said that it would probably be the beginning of a series of costly repairs and we'd be better off getting a new car. And that is just one of the reasons we love this mechanic -- his surprising honesty.

So John began the task of looking for a new (used) car. We thought he found a good deal last week, but as soon as he drove it off the lot it started making an odd noise. He took it back and got his check back. John spent a lot of free time looking for cars online and driving to used car lots. He bought a Carfax membership and was able to rule out several cars because of it (we highly recommend Carfax for checking VIN numbers; you can find out a lot about the history of a car.). He also used MSN Autos to check on general reliability for various models.

We still need to sell John's old car and will probably try CarMax. He got an estimate a few weeks ago and we need to see if they will still honor it. We looked at buying there, but the minimum price is about $10,000, which is (way) more than we were willing to pay.

Here's hoping that the new (used) car will last us a few years -- we put less than 6,000 miles per year on John's old car in ten years. 'Cause we're all about not having a car payment.

ETA: new photo and correction on mileage.

Join Ebates and get $5 cash.

In addition to printable coupons (see below), I also love using the Ebates site. If you join now (it's free), you'll get a bonus $5 in your account once you make a purchase. You'll earn money back on your purchases through the site (varies by company) and you can earn extra money by referring your friends. One of the things I love is that it's so easy to use. Once you have an account, sign in and search for a company and make your purchase. Ebates keeps track of it and in a few days they'll credit your account. Last year I did a ton of Christmas shopping through Barnes & Noble, which is an Ebates vendor. If only I had known about Ebates! But now I do, so I think the shopping will be a little more fun this year.

If you want to join up, click the image on the right or click here. Happy shopping!

Let me share some coupons with you.

You know I love grocery shopping. You know I love the Grocery Game. You know I love coupons. See the ad box to the right? Now you can print coupons too. Go on. Take a look. There may be something there you buy. Or want to try. And if you can find that item on sale you'll hardly pay anything. Isn't it worth a shot?

Note to Mac users: I recommend using Safari as your browser when printing coupons.

A scrapping crossroads.

So maybe you've heard that Hambly is having a new Design Team competition? And that Cupcake Scrapshop has decided to close its doors? Those were the last two DTs I was on and I'm currently thinking through my next steps in scrapping. Surely you've noticed that I haven't been posting many layouts and projects here. That would be because I haven't been scrapping as much.

I've seen this happen to many people: the scrapping obsession takes hold and they join teams until they literally don't have a moment to spare because of all their obligations. And instead of scrapping photos because you want to, suddenly you are scrapping because you have to meet a deadline. You no longer get to choose what materials you want, because your team sends you what you have to use (there is an upside to this: many times you get new stuff you wouldn't otherwise have access to, and it's free). It's not exactly the worst problem in the world, but scrapping for an obligation is different from scrapping for yourself.

While I have loved being on design teams (especially those two above), I have decided for the time being that I'm not going to seek out new teams. I need a break. I need to scrap because I want to, not because I have to. I have so many photos that have been set aside because they didn't go with the materials I was sent. And ultimately, all this scrapping will wind up in the hands of two girls who won't particularly care that I had deadlines to meet. They'll just want to see their lives on a page.

The other downside of obligation scrapping is that I have not submitted pages to magazines in forever. I'd like to get back to that. And I have several projects for clients that I'm working on. Once I finish those, I'm going to crack open that new package of just-printed photos and let my imagination go to work. And I promise to post the results here.

Happy Father's Day!

Hope you are having a lovely Father's Day (Dad, I'll call you later!). The girls and I snuck out early to get a box of doughnuts for John. I'm getting ready to run to the grocery store to spend some of his money. I know how much he loves that!

For me.

In my quest to give the girls a super-fun summer, I haven't lost sight of the fact that I need to have a fun summer too. We did a lot of running around yesterday (I did some bargain clothes shopping, we picked up a few presents, Margret got her free book from Barnes & Noble, and we had lunch with some friends) and we worked on some Father's Day gifts, and by 4p I was worn out. So instead of eeking out some work, I decided to grab my book and lay down in my comfortable bed. I got to read, then I got a little nap while the girls watched tv. And it was so nice. And much more productive than trying to make myself do stuff when I'm run down.

A few minutes ago I whipped up some blueberry banana bread (I can smell it baking right now) with Audrey's help. It'll be a late breakfast but I had both bananas and blueberries that needed using. We'll say I made it for my family, but I truly just wanted to go bake something. 'Cause it's all about me.

And finally on the topic of my self-absorption, earlier this week I bought myself a new dress for my brother's upcoming wedding. This is my last brother to get married (I have four brothers and a sister, from two different families) so I thought the occasion deserved something special. I'm also the flower girl coordinator so I'm pretty sure I have to look good.

After I had the dress picked out, I suddenly thought about what shoes I could wear with it. Oh, sure, black shoes would have been fine. But the dress has some fuschia highlights, so wouldn't some sexy shoes be cool? Luckily, Steinmart has a shoe department, so I wandered over and found the above. Pretty and comfortable. And mine.

Swimgirls.

I finally remembered to toss my little camera in my purse so I could take some photos at the pool today. I think this may be my favorite.

I have had such a good time at the YMCA this week. I'm so glad we joined. Since we're members this summer, we go a little early and hop in the pool, then after the lessons, we swim for another half hour or so. Yesterday I even swam some laps while the girls were in their classes.

You have to understand that I'm not a patient mom. I'm not always good about being nurturing and attentive and all the things you think you are supposed to be as a mom. But these mornings in the pool have been great. Because I'm truly happy to be there with the girls. In spite of the fact that I don't like to be in a bathing suit in public. But there's something about laughing and joking and watching the girls jump in from the side of the pool (Margret can do it with no help; Audrey still needs a catch) that really makes me content. It may have something to do with watching them progress so rapidly in their lessons.

At the beginning of the week Margret could swim around under water a bit. Today she floated face down and began the motions of swimming freestyle. Yesterday was the first time she jumped in the pool by herself; now you can't stop her from yelling "cannonball" and leaping in.

On Monday Audrey was not too happy about putting her face in the water. Now she can do it and blow big bubbles. She can float on her back (she always has a pool noodle, shown above, but can get anywhere in the pool with it) and kick her legs for movement. She can push off from the side of the pool and start paddling. She can ease herself in the pool, alone.

I think I just love watching them learn new things. I don't know. It's just so much fun and I think it will be the thing that marks this summer in my memories.

Lambert's Summer of Fun.

I needed to update the list of activities we came up with, so I thought I'd post it here as well. We usually don't complete our list each summer; it's more of a jumping off point to remember some of the special things we want to do. Some things get completed more than once. Some things never come close to happening (I'm hoping that's where Chuck E. Cheese stays!).

Maybe you'll get some ideas and maybe you'll leave a comment with some of the things you're doing. Or want to do.

To Do
Zoo & butterfly exhibit
Incredible Pizza Company
Swimming lessons
$2 movies
American Girl movie
Wall*E
Kung Fu Panda
Carousel at Wolfchase
Brooks Museum
Pink Palace
Children’s Museum
Litcherman Nature Center
Botanic Gardens
Dixon (free 10-12 Saturdays)
Chuck E. Cheese
Go out for ice cream
Go through artwork
Lunch downtown/trolley
Baseball game
Doughnuts for breakfast
Go out for breakfast
Sunflower project
Play tennis
Driving range
Mini golf

Done
Nim’s Island
McDonald’s for lunch
Go to Y to swim with friends
Play games at home
Library Summer Reading program
Plant wildflowers
Make sundresses
Rent movies/dinner in the den

Free books for kids.

If your 1-6th grader would like a free book this summer, click here for Barnes & Noble's Summer Reading Program. Just read eight books and take the form to B&N for a free book. Margret has already filled out her form; we just need to go get the book.

We've also joined our local library's Summer Reading Program. Last year we went to the big Central Library, but this year I decided to go to the closer Poplar-White Station branch. It's smaller, but they have great weekly programs. And yesterday we brought in our reading lists. Since both girls had at least 10 books read (or read to them), they each got to pick a free book. Audrey got a great book on dinosaurs and Margret picked an American Girl book. Oh, and we also got coupons for free ice cream at Ben & Jerry's. They won't go to waste.

Now, if you like to help out kids who don't have books, Noggin has created a program to donate one million books this summer. All you have to do is click the link once each day and Noggin will do the rest.

My mom told me to update my blog.

Dudes. I've been busy. But looking back, I can barely remember what I did the last few days. Life at home with two young girls is like that.

We're still trying to stick to the quiet time routine, although sometimes we have to shift it around. On Saturday I had a photo shoot, and later we went to look for a car for John. Unfortunately his AC decided to stop working and our mechanic recommended not replacing it because of the expense. When your mechanic doesn't want to make the big bucks from you, you know you've found a good guy. So right now John is researching reliable used cars for a low, low price. His current car is ten years old, so you know that we will make the next one last. And even though gas prices are killer right now, we figure he has some leeway in that he works three miles from our house and will drop the girls off at school a mile away in the fall. And we barely use his car during the weekends. So no Prius for us (though we'd love it). Maybe an older, higher end vehicle instead.

I think we had leftovers Saturday night instead of going out. We're working hard on saving money and when you have a refrigerator full of food you're better off eating at home. And everyone found something they wanted.

I did the Kroger shopping on Sunday morning (spent $89 on $165 shelf price for a 48% savings). It was nice to be able to figure out a week's worth of dinner from what I had in the freezer. I did cook up a big Sunday dinner that everyone enjoyed. Especially when we had smores at the end. John, who is not a marshmallow fan, passed and went out to mow the lawn (it was maybe four degrees cooler than it was earlier in the day). I bathed the girls and we read books and most of us went to bed.

The beginning of this week started with swimming lessons at the YMCA. Let me just say again that I was amazed at how well the girls did with their lessons last year. Can't wait to see how they improve this year. I sat and watched them and they were both attentive (different classes), despite some kids in Audrey's class being a bit out of control. Afterward I praised Audrey for being so well behaved and being a leader in her class. She loved it. 'Cause she knew I was right.

After lessons, the three of us hopped in the pool and Audrey practiced jumping in and Margret practiced retrieving dive rings. And I truly had fun with them. The water felt great and they were having a good time. And I was smart enough to shower them at the Y so I don't have to give them baths tonight. Yay, me.

We had a friend and her baby come over this afternoon and it was truly a pleasure to see them both. Margret and Audrey tripped over themselves to play with the baby, just like I knew they would. They adore babies.

Now I'm ready to look over the list of work I need to complete this week. I have several projects and need to get organized. Swimming is going to take up our mornings so I somehow have to figure out when my work time will be. But first, I may take a short reading break. I have a book I want to start...

Be still my heart.

Last night we needed milk and frankly, I was tired. So I asked John to go get it while I laid in bed and watched "Freaky Friday" with the girls. I also knew he had run out of pickle relish and so I handed him a few coupons and told him to find a deal.

Look what he came back with: 48% savings! The relish he picked was $1 and he had a $1 off coupon, so that was free. And he checked to see which was cheaper: one gallon of milk or two half gallons. This week it was the half gallons. So he checked out for less than the one gallon of milk that he went to buy. He has learned well.

And I'm still holding off on checking the classifieds. Yesterday was a better day for us girls. We went to the YMCA in the morning and ran into a bunch of friends from first grade. During quiet time I wanted to clean up the house, so the girls had the option of being quiet or helping me. I had one of each, but then both girls wanted to help so the work went a little faster. Margret had a playdate with a neighbor and I took Audrey to Taco Bell for a snack and some playtime. She had cried over not being with Margret (which I totally love because I want them to have a strong bond) but she seemed pretty happy eating her cinnamon snacks. Today we are going out for the coveted lunch at McDonald's, and we will stop by Blockbuster to pick up a movie for tonight. Let's see if we can have a little smooth sailing into the weekend.

I'm ready to quit summer break.

Okay, it's just 10 days into summer break and I'm rethinking this whole stay-at-home-mom thing. I'll spare you the details, but the trip to the library this morning was a bit of breaking point with two girls who are completely unreasonable at times. Completely. Especially when their mom is trying to provide them with lots of fun activities.

You know, if I suggest that we take advantage of a special reading time that is occurring while we are at the library, you should trust that I'm doing that because reading time might be fun. Reading time is unlike having your hair plucked from your head, one by one. It can be quite pleasurable to have someone read a brand new book to you. And just because we are going to go to the branch that is closest to us rather than the bigger one that's farther away, it's not like I'm waterboarding you. This branch still has actual children's books to read. Good books. Books that you will enjoy. And when I tell you that you can check out ten books but you stop looking after you have four, you can't really blame me for it. But I'll be happy to lecture you all the way home on your ridiculous behavior.

The afternoon was an improvement. Instead of quiet time, we went to see "Nim's Island", which was quite cute. We missed it the first time around. Now one girl is in front of the computer and the other is in front of the tv and I'm going to finish up a client project. I'll hold off on the job search for another day or so.

Game time.

Shhh. It's quiet time. And I'm the only one allowed on a computer. Actually, I have let the girls turn on their CD player and play dress up, so it's not so quiet. At least I'll be able to get some work done. Which is the whole purpose of quiet time.

Before lunch today, Margret persuaded me to play a round of Battleship. Last week the girls pooled their spending money and bought Battleship and Hi Ho Cherry-O, probably because the friends we stayed with last week had those games. I thought they were great choices and the girls do love playing them. Battleship is still too hard for Audrey, so Margret frequently looks for a parent to compete with. Today we played, and I was victorious! Margret took it pretty well. It was a close game.

After we had lunch, Audrey challenged me to Hi Ho. You've got to watch that kid, because she thinks nothing of cheating. And she made up some weird rule that we both had to play two colors but we had to do the same thing with each. So if you spun a "2", you had to put two yellow and two green cherries in their buckets. Okay, chick. I was on the verge of losing but a few good spins and suddenly I was the winner! And, very surprisingly, Audrey took it well. She is an extremely poor loser. Maybe she was just happy I was playing with her.

Okay, I've got to run and get a few things done while the dress-up girls practice their dance routines.

Push "restart".

Okay. I'm ready for a fresh week. Last week had its ups and downs, and I'm looking for a few more ups. My cold has significantly improved and no one has thrown up in the last 36 hours. I struggled through a Kroger trip yesterday (paid $121 for $218 worth of stuff; a 45% savings) and am contemplating a Walgreen's and a Target trip. Not sure if there's really much I need from either. And I still owe you a post on how to Walgreen's.

The girls and I had a meeting this morning where we discussed our plans for the week. We're going to sign up for summer reading program, go to the Y (we just joined last week and the girls are excited to have pool access), see "Nim's Island" at the bargain theatre, and have movie night in our den. Today I'd like to get a jump on straightening up the house and dealing with laundry. And I need to get some client work done. And I need to post some new Cupcake Scrapshop work!

What are you doing today?

Audrey is a Cylon.

One of my latest obsessions is watching Battlestar Galactica. The new one. The one that is in season four for those who have been watching since the beginning. But if you have Netflix you can order up season one and start from the beginning. Like us.

I'm not a sci-fi lover. Never have been. But a friend told me that BSG is one of the best shows on television and I was intrigued. She said it's not really sci-fi. Just think of it as humans who happen to live on spaceships. And she's right. There are so many interesting characters on the show.

Right now we have watched the miniseries and the first 12 episodes. The other night we watched four in a row. Because thank goodness John and I share certain obsessions. Plus we both have awful colds and can't really sleep at night anyway. We might as well stay up to see if Starbuck really does fly that Cylon raider all the way back to Caprica to find Apollo's arrow. And pick up Helo while she's at it. 'Cause Boomer is totally freaking him out.

Last night we were up late again as our colds intensified. I seriously could not breathe at all out of my nose. Horrible. I laid in bed and watched a heavily edited version of The Sweetest Thing. Then I heard a very strange noise from the girls' room. I ran in to find that Margret was puking in her sleep. A lot. It was all over her, the bed, the bedskirt, the rug and the clothes she had neglected to put in the laundry basket. I screamed for John and we cleaned her and the room as best we could. Then we put her on the floor in our room, on a pallet of towels, and we fully expected to be up the rest of the night on puke patrol.

She slept the rest of the night, but we didn't. Even time she moved we woke up, expecting the worst. I flipped and flopped, trying to find the best position to allow any amount of air to enter my nostrils. John flipped and flopped, too. Until Audrey came in our room at 6:30a to announce it was morning. Then she skipped off to watch tv. Tralalaaaa.

We have often joked that Audrey is from another planet. She was a very different kind of baby than was Margret, and she's always had her own way of doing things. And she never gets sick. Or at least, very rarely. The rest of us can be puking our guts out and Audrey's asking for snacks. We all get colds, except for her. We all get tired. Except for her.

And this morning it hit me: Audrey is a Cylon. On Battlestar, Cylons are robots invented by the human race. But the robots rebelled and have improved themselves to the point that they now look and feel human. Technically you can destroy a Cylon, but their brains get downloaded to another model that looks just like them. So they don't really get tired or sick. Just. Like. Audrey.