The McLain Family

Molly's Mood

2011-03-15T12:39:00.000-04:00

While my mom and dad were here after Lindsey was born my dad gave Molly the nickname Crab. She normally has two moods happy or crabby. Nothing in between! Truth is she can turn on and off the emotion in a second and so you could see any of these faces in a matter of minutes. She is one crazy girl and I love that face!

I Really Like Tummy Time......

2011-03-15T12:26:00.000-04:00

Lindsey likes tummy time so much that she falls asleep. She will sleep forever like this. I am not sure how much practice holding up her head she is getting but baby girl likes her tummy.

Stinkin' Cute

2011-03-10T15:22:00.000-05:00

We were so worried how Molly would react when we brought Lindsey home from the hospital but she has been great!

She loves her so much and is always saying the Lindsey is "stinkin' cute"

Well big girl you are pretty stinkin' cute yourself!

Sweet and Sassy

2011-03-10T15:16:00.000-05:00

For Cora's birthday party she picked a few friends and we went to a special place for little girls called Sweet and Sassy. The girls got pedicures and manicures. It was so funny to watch them. They all loved every second of their time there. Happy Birthday!

Cora's 7th Birthday

2011-03-10T15:08:00.000-05:00

Last week Cora turned 7 years old! It is so hard to believe that she is this big. She was so excited to get her DS for her birthday! I loved the joy on her face when she saw what we had got her.

Crazy Sock Day

2011-03-10T14:56:00.000-05:00

Cora's school celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday last week and Wednesday was crazy sock day. My sister, Patty, gave me these rainbow toe socks a long time ago and Cora had a blast wearing them to school.

Lindsey Jane McLain

2011-02-04T15:43:00.002-05:00

More picture of Lindsey Jane

2011-02-03T15:18:00.002-05:00

Lindsey Jane McLain

2011-02-03T15:08:00.003-05:00

Welcome to our Family Lindsey Jane. We are so excited to meet you. You are 20 inches long, wieghed 6lbs 14 oz, you are already awesome and your dad is on top moon.

"We are Care Bears"

2011-01-09T18:33:00.003-05:00

Cora Mae and Molly were rockin' it out this evening. Just thought I would share some of the fun that happens here on a regular basis. Sorry it is so dark!

It hurts to look at it

2010-12-31T19:45:00.001-05:00

A month ago the girls were invited to a birthday party at the local bowling ally. Molly was having a hard time and it did not want to bowl. After sometime of coaching and talking, we talked to her in to participating and she wanted to bowl. She went down, got a ball, and than dropped it on her foot. Her big toe to be exact.

She cried and cried-and she should have it still hurts to look at a month later.

Christmas dinner

2010-12-25T15:00:00.003-05:00

Christina made Christmas dinner today and it was the best. I have attached a picture to show you.

1. You will notice the fine china we ate on. We have had it for 12 years
2. Coke a Cola-Love it nothing else needs to said
3. The ham was from the honey baked ham store in town. It took us 45 minutes of waiting to get it-so worth it.
4. Corn was from old recipe from way back in olden times. If you would like it than just look on the back of Green Giant Corn package
5. Mashed potatoes are from Heather's Mom Nancy-best ever made. Ms. Nancy-we love them sooooo much.
6. Rolls-just buy the Kroger brand still as good as ever

Quick easy no stress best Christmas meal ever.

Friends from Indianapolis

2010-12-21T18:11:00.004-05:00

Over the last three days we had friends from Indianapolis over at out house in Delaware. These are a couple of pic from dinner tonight. It has been great having them here.

Facts from weekend:
1. a bag of 96 pizza rolls does not stand a chance of surviving into left over stage
2. All kids in one room-no sleep needed
3. The friendly game of phase ten between the adults oddly turns very competitive.
4. why does every conversation eventually have the words boogers and fart in it.
5. Seven kids running up the stairs at one time feels like the house is going to shake off the foundation

All in all-loved every minute and so glad them came.

Baby Jude

2010-12-19T19:05:00.000-05:00

The girls and I headed down to GA over Thanksgiving to see this sweet little baby come into the world. Unfortunately we left Michael at home because he had to work. This little boy belongs to my sister, Judean. His name is Jude and we just could not get enough of him! All but Molly! She wanted nothing to do with him at all! Lets just hope that is not a sign of things to come.

Here are some of pictures we took at the hospital. We could not be happier. I am not sure how I manged to not have any pictures of Jude's sisters holding him. Sorry Peyton and Bayley!

Cora Mae COULD NOT get enough of him. She just absolutely loves him.

Here is Baby Jude with his beautiful mommy coming home from the hospital. Can't wait to see him again!

Your a mean one Mr. Grinch

2010-12-19T18:40:00.002-05:00

Today we went to a local nursery to see Santa. We love going to this place because there are very few people there and the girls get to spend as much time with Santa as they would like. Also they give out free popcorn and you know we love to get free popcorn! Each year The Grinch is wondering around also. Last year both girls wanted nothing to do with him but this year Cora was loving him. Molly not so much. I think that it must be so much fun to be the Grinch for the day because he gets to walk around with a bad attitude and know one even questions it. Really, he was funny and even though Molly did not want to have her picture made with him she liked him.

Boots or Boots

2010-12-19T18:27:00.004-05:00

Today we getting ready to go to church and it came time to put on coats and shoes. I do not know about other parents but for Chris and I this can take a long time accomplish or so it seems. Today our middle girl, Molly, was told to go get her boots. She disappeared and came back with no boots. Once again, Molly go get your boots. She looked at us with a look of accomplishment. Molly go get your boots! To Molly's credit she held up Boots. Boots from Dora the Explore and told us I got my Boots.

Well she did what we asked. Next time, go get the boots you wear on your feet.

Molly's First Field Trip

2010-10-25T16:19:00.002-04:00

Molly's preschool class had a field trip last week and it was her first time to go on a big girl field trip. She was a little unsure at first when we got there and saw her teachers and some of her friends. I think she was just a little confused about what was really going on. She quickly warmed up and had a blast! The kids were able to pick out a pumpkin and two ears of Indian Corn. We got to go into the field and pick them ourselves. She thought that part was great. There was also a straw maze just the right size for these preschoolers.

After our hayride out to the field the farmer told the kids how to pick their Indian Corn. No lie his name was Farmer Dale. I loved it!
Here is a picture of some of the kids in Molly's class. Sadly everyone did not get to go!
Me and my girl. I had such a wonderful time hanging out with her on this special day!

Molly and Wolfie

2010-10-23T18:50:00.002-04:00

On one of our trips to the zoo this summer the girls got to pick out a prize to bring home. Grandma was with us and she is so much more fun than I am! Well Molly picked out a red panda to bring home. She immediately called it Wolfie. I try to explain to her that it was not a wolf but a red panda. She refuses to believe this fact and to this day she does not let Wolfie get to far away from her. She is getting so big and I love this picture of her and Wolfie. She is wearing the fireman hat that she got a couple of days before when the firemen came to her school.

Upward Cheerleading

2010-10-23T18:35:00.002-04:00

We were so thankful that our church offers Upward Cheerleading in the fall along with football. Cora had so much fun learning all about being a cheerleader. It was great to watch as she learned and tried so many new things. She really has a lot of "spirit" to share!

"Rock This House" was one of the girls favorite cheers. Here they are rockin' it out!

Hello, my name is Christina....

2010-10-23T18:20:00.003-04:00

I thought that maybe I should introduce myself again since it has been so long since my last post. I know that it has been forever since I blogged! My sisters have been sending me texts every once in a while that just say "BLOG!" You would think that I would have gotten the hint but I did not. I have to say that I have missed it though so I am hoping to get back to it on a regular basis. I thought that I would start off by showing you some pictures of the girls. These were taken last Sunday before church. Enjoy!

Boy or Girl

2010-08-21T18:04:00.001-04:00

on Sept 16th we find out if it is a Boy or Girl. I can not wait.

50/50

2010-07-22T20:42:00.000-04:00

Today we went and got our first ultrasound done. I am so happy I have cried several times
today. I have seen the spine, arms, legs, face, and heart which is beating at 167 a minute (my favorite part) . Most
importantly I have seen God craftmanship. This is the third time for our family to welcome
someone into our family and yet emotions are just as strong today as it was the first time.

We have all experiance loss of friends and family but this-this-miracle-is a planned event
by God which makes me want to be closer to God. I know we see him everyday....no
we don't. We are busy. This makes me not be busy, this makes me stop. This gives me a desire to be closer to Jesus becouse this is a life God knows alreay-has talked with-seen-This is, yes a wonderfully made MIRACLE.

Thank you Chris for letting me hi jack the blog.

What is your opinion? Are going to meet
Granville John McLain or Lindsey Jane McLain

Extreme Makeover

2010-06-15T18:19:00.000-04:00

Patty and the boys are visiting us this week and while here Judah and Samuel got there hair cut. Judah's haircut was like an extreme makeover! Here is Judah before............

........ and after! He looks so handsome! There is a picture of some of our dad's brothers when they were really little and we really think that he looks like them now so much so that there may have been a few tears shed at the barbershop (and not by Judah)!

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-05-31T18:35:00.000-04:00

We had the wonderful opportunity to spend the weekend with some friends from church. Our Sunday School teachers graciously open up their home each year on this weekend for families to camp. This was our first year to go and we did not camp. We kept telling everyone that we are not camping people but we did spend two wonderful days hanging out with friends and getting to know new people. The girls had a blast! They have a big pond and a huge hill that leads down to it. Add a lot of plastic and you have one long slip and slide! Cora loved it! She went down it a million times. It really was a huge outdoor playground for kids and the adults didn't mind it either. We had church together on Sunday morning around the campfire. It was just a great time of fellowship!

Kindergarten Fun Day

2010-05-27T16:51:00.000-04:00

We had Kindergarten Fun Day today and boy was it fun! It was stinkin' hot but it was a blast. There were four stations set up for the classes to rotate through.

Then it was time for tug-of-war! This is Cora's class pulling as hard as they can.

They won this round and were so excited! Cora just had to show me her muscles when she was finished. She is obviously the reason they won.....look at those guns! Ha!

I'm here too!!!

2010-05-27T16:43:00.000-04:00

It seems like here lately all of my posts have been about Cora, but this little girl is still around also. I thought I would let you in on what is going on in the land of Molly. She is GROWING!!!!! She grew out of her white sandals in one week. I put them on her one Sunday and the next they were too little. She also is very clumsy all of sudden. You can see the big bruise on her forehead where she bounced off the bed and hit the wall with her head. But she is the sweetest little thing also. She can make your heart just melt. The other day she wrapped her arms around my neck so tight I could barely breathe and said, "Best Friends!" I love this kid!!!

She can't be this big.........

2010-05-27T16:13:00.002-04:00

A little while ago Cora started asking about getting her ears pierced. I told her that she could do it but I wanted her to think about it a little while longer. After a few weeks of her continuing to talk about it I knew that she was ready. She is so excited to have earrings!

Art Show

2010-05-26T13:09:00.001-04:00

Last week there was an art show at Cora's school. Every child at the school at least one piece in the show and let me just say it really was unbelievable. Maybe it is because I do not have an artistic bone in my body but I know that I would not be able to do half of what I saw displayed that evening. Mr. J, the art teacher, is really like a superstar at the school. All of the kids love him so much! He has high expectations of all of them and he is able to get the best out of them.

This is Cora's piece in the show. The lesson was based off of a book that they read in class about a little girl and her favorite stuffed animal. Cora drew herself and Marie, her stuffed cat from the Aristocats.

This is a piece that her entire class did together while they were studying Jackson Pollock. They had a wonderful time doing this piece. Cora talked about Action Jackson for weeks.

These are a few other pieces that we saw that evening. The halls of the school were filled with them! It was such a fun evening!

Final Night of AWANA

2010-05-26T12:50:00.001-04:00

As I have said before we are so thankful to have AWANAs at our church and Cora has had a great year as a Spark! She finished her book even though we started late and has learned so many things about the Word of God. It is really unbelievable. Ms. Dawn was one of her teachers this year and Cora really come to love her so much. On the final night, one of the games that they played was "Are you smarter than a Sparky?" Well I was on the parent team and Cora was on the Sparky team. I wish that I could tell you that the parents won but sadly I cannot. They beat us by one question. It was a sad day for the moms up there but we were so excited that our kids really know this stuff. Way to go Cora!

Cora's Poem

2010-05-26T12:24:00.005-04:00

Ok so I know that the video is sideways and not the best quality but I just had to put her poem on here. All of the kids were asked to write a poem about the beach and her's was chosen to be read at the concert. She said she was nervous but I think it is great.

Kindergarten Concert

2010-05-26T12:23:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago Michael and I got the opportunity to spend some special time with Cora at school. Before we went to hear the wonderful singing at their concert we had some special activities in the classroom to do. One of our neighbors was so kind to watch Molly so we were able to really focus on Cora and we all loved it. The concert was all about the ocean so we had some fun activities to go along with that. It is great to see how much she has learned this year!

This is Mrs. Hoopes. I do not think there could ever be a better teacher for my girl. She is just what she needs and I am so thankful for that. Cora loves her so much!

Our girl getting ready for the singing to begin!

Oh the joy!

2010-05-12T13:26:00.000-04:00

Yesterday while I was grocery shopping I was overcome with joy as I walked down the ice cream aisle. I almost did a thank you Jesus dance in the middle of the store just to show Him how thankful I truly was. You may be asking yourself what could make a normal person act a fool in the middle of a store. Well.......

this would be the thing that did it. If you are from Georgia then you are not shocked by the spectacle that took place in the middle of the store. You see 11 1/2 years ago Michael and I moved away from GA and we have had to do without all things Mayfield. My mom always stocks the house with some Mayfield Chocolate Milk when we come to town because of the joy that she knows it brings to us. So to see Mayfield Ice cream here in Ohio almost brought tears to my eyes! We celebrated last night by eating almost the entire container. We can only hope the milk will be coming to town next!

My Hula Hoopin' Girl

2010-05-12T11:35:00.002-04:00

My own personal grocery store

2010-05-12T11:04:00.001-04:00

When we bought our house I knew there were going to have to be a few changed made. One of the first that had to be taken care of was the pantry. We had a pitiful little closet that held absolutely nothing and if you know me at all then you know that will never work. I love my coupons and getting things for free way to much for a little pantry. So the laundry room that was directly off of the kitchen got turned into my own personal grocery store and the laundry room is now in the basement. Love it! It is perfect. I may be a little crazy but I am ok with that.

Sidewalk Chalk Girl

2010-05-12T10:53:00.000-04:00

My girl loves sidewalk chalk! We have been spending so much time outside these days because the weather is so beautiful and we just love it. Anytime that we are playing in the front yard Molly has out the chalk. Thanks Grandma for the new chalk!

Haircuts and Red Robin

2010-04-01T13:56:00.000-04:00

The girls got haircuts yesterday. They are super cute and I really like Molly's hair down even though it is not down in any of these pictures. Cora's hair is shorter than it has been in a really long time. I guess we are getting ready for summer! We then headed over to the Red Robin for lunch and we had a great time hanging out together.

Cora's Door

2010-04-01T13:50:00.000-04:00

We brought home some of the decorations from the party for Cora to use in her room and during room time one day this week she put them to good use in her room. Then she wrote and little sign and put it on her door. Can you read it?

"Please wipe your feet before you come in" She also put a towel down in front of her door. She means business! Too funny!

Chuckies

2010-04-01T13:44:00.000-04:00

Aunt Judean's gift to Cora was a pair of pink Chuckies. When she opened up the gift she got a huge smile on her face and said, "Chuckies, What I have always wanted!" She is such a girl. I love it! Aunt Judean really hit the jackpot of the gift this year because she also got her a membership to Club Penguin. All she wants to do is play on the computer now and all Molly wants to do is watch her! Sorry the picture is not the best Aunt Judean.

Fancy Nancy Party

2010-04-01T13:32:00.000-04:00

Cora wanted a Fancy Nancy party at Meme's house this year. If you have little girls in your life and do not know about Fancy Nancy you need to look her up. It is a series of books about a little girl, Nancy and like I am sure you guessed she likes fancy things. Her philosophy is more is more. Cora went to spend the night with Aunt Judean the night before the party and Meme and I were so excited to get to surprise her with the decorations. Cora loved it! I think it was perfect for my Fancy Cora.

We had sandwiches with fancy toothpicks (it makes the sandwiches taste better), pringles, and fruit. We also had cherry Sprites in fancy glasses.

For dessert we had parfaits (that's fancy for ice cream sundaes). They got to make their own and it was so much fun.

We colored Easter eggs and jumped on the trampoline the rest of the day. Patty and I think that we throw a pretty good party day. We had a great day with Speed Racer in the morning and Fancy Nancy in the afternoon. Doesn't get much better than that!

Speed Racer

2010-04-01T13:14:00.000-04:00

Saturday turned into party day in GA. We celebrated both Judah and Cora's birthday parties on this day. They could not be together because Speed Racer and Fancy Nancy just do not go together. Anyway we had a great time at Big J's party. The kids got to do Shrinky Dinks. It really brought back some good memories from when Patty, Judean, and I used to do them ourselves. He got some really cool toys including a Yo-Bee, monster truck, Speed Racer Shirt, and lots of other boy toys.

They got to go fishing also. This is always a big hit with the kids and even though no one caught anything they loved it.

Happy Birthday Big J!

Love this Picture!

2010-04-01T12:55:00.000-04:00

Firday Morning Party

2010-04-01T12:53:00.000-04:00

On Friday morning we went Judah's school for his party at school. He was so excited to see his cousins at his school. I love this picture of him and Cora together.

Patty brought Speed racer masks for the kids to wear. Judah was super cute and it was so much fun to watch some of the kids try to eat their pizza with their masks on. It was a fun time to celebrate!

Campbell

2010-04-01T12:48:00.000-04:00

After we left the Creative Discovery Museum we went to visit Connie Campbell. We call her Campbell most of the time. She and Patty are the same age and have always been the best of friends. We went into the church that she works at faces painted and all to surprise her. I was so glad that I got to see Campbell while I was in GA. She is so special to our whole family. Yeah Campbell you made the blog!

How could you not love this kid?

2010-03-31T16:22:00.000-04:00

Creative Discovery Museum

2010-03-31T16:19:00.000-04:00

We spent one day at the Creative Discovery Museum with Patty and the boys. One of the first places that we stopped at was the face painting section. They thought that this was great and they of course all looked completely different.

The end result of their hard work!

Other fun pictures of the day!

Cora asked Aunt Patty to do a puppet show with her. Boy did they put on a show?! We had a fun day!

Skipping rocks

2010-03-31T15:51:00.000-04:00

First of all sorry about all of the collages but it is the best way to get all of the pictures I want to put on here. Now back to skipping rocks. Cora wanted another lesson in skipping rocks and Pa was more than willing to give her one. She still really can't do it on his own but she has a great time trying.

She did skip one with Pa's help and this was her reaction......

Fort Mountain

2010-03-31T15:41:00.000-04:00

We went on top of Fort Mountain with Pa while in GA. We had a such a good time. Pa is very concerned that two of grand kids live in the city and for a Kentucky boy that is not a good thing. He tries to get them out in the country every chance he gets. We went hiking up to the fort and to the tower on top of the mountain. Molly was a real trooper and didn't complain very much. Both girls had a great time.

There is a playground up there and went spent some time playing. Cora spent some time hanging upside down (even though she had a hard time keeping her pants up while doing it). She was a little unsure about hanging upside down but Pa helped her and she began to really like it.

It was then time for the lake. The girls loved throwing rocks, sticks, and anything else they could find in the water. There were a few times that Pa and I were sure that Molly was going to end up in the water. They were both filthy and had a wonderful time.

You can't keep a "Big J" down!

2010-03-31T15:17:00.000-04:00

The girls and I went down to GA for Spring Break and as usual we had a great time. On the first night that we were there Patty and the boys came over. Patty has two boys, Samuel who is 5 1/2 and Judah (Big J) who is about to turn 4. Big J is as strong as an ox and always has been. While there Judah had Samuel pinned down on the ground and Samuel yelled for Cora to help. She came to the rescue and with both of their efforts they managed to get Samuel out from under the Big J. But not for long. At one time Judah was on top of both of them. It was so funny to see the two "Big Kids" wrestling with the little brother and the little brother winning the whole time. You can't keep a Big J down!

My Kitchen Helpers

2010-03-19T21:37:00.000-04:00

The girls love to help me in the kitchen any chance they get. So I put them to work cutting up the fruit for our fruit salad the other night. So Yummy!

Birthday Visitors

2010-03-19T21:33:00.000-04:00

We were so happy that Meme and Pa came to visit for Cora's birthday. They really came up to see her play basketball but it just so happened to fall on the weekend of her birthday so we were happy they got to celebrate with us. In the picture with Pa you can see the Tutu that Meme made for Cora. It is so cute and Cora loves it! The picture below is Pa giving Cora her birthday spanking. We have so much fun when they come to visit!

Six Years Old

2010-03-19T21:26:00.000-04:00

I am late getting this on here but better late than never right? It is hard to believe that my girl is 6 years old! Michael and I both want to put bricks on her head to keep her from getting any bigger. She has the sweetest heart and is so kind. She LOVES school and cannot get enough of it. She still loves princesses and is still the dress up queen at our house. She is really into crafty things right now also. And wants everything to be a rainbow. We love this girl so much!!

Modelling Session

2010-02-27T10:36:00.000-05:00

This morning I wanted to take a picture of Molly because of thought that she looked super cute in this new dress that I had got for her. Well as soon as I got out the camera it turned into a modelling session. We were cracking up at all of the poses that she was striking. It was great fun!

Cheese!

2010-02-24T13:35:00.000-05:00

Every time Molly sees the camera these days she starts to smile and say "Cheese!" She is just so stinkin' cute I just cannot stand it!

Potato Head Night

2010-02-24T13:27:00.001-05:00

We are so blessed to have the Awana Program at our church. Cora Mae loves going each week and praise God the Word of God is being written on her heart each week. I love hearing the truths that she is learning every week and the conversations that we have about God are so sweet to me. About once a month they have a theme night and Cora always has a great time. Well tonight is Potato Head night! She brought home a paper last week telling us all about it. They were to decorate a potato to look like their Awana leader or a character from the Bible. Fun right.......well it is fun right up until your daughter decides that she wants to turn this.....

into Mary, the mother of Christ! No challenge there! We sat down this afternoon after a long talk on the phone with Meme to confirm some ideas on how to go about this. She worked really hard getting everything just right.

And this is what we got! Mary. Complete with the silvery, blue that Cora requested. Not bad for a potato head I think!

* Well we just got home from church and Mary WON! Cora was so excited that she was one of the winners tonight.

Unexpected Fun

2010-02-18T17:50:00.000-05:00

We went to Red Robin on Sunday after church so the girls got balloons. I normally get rid of the balloons the first chance that I get but with a week full of school cancellations and delays we have held on to them. Michael started to pop them the other night after the girls went to bed and I yelled, "DON'T!" When he looked at me like I was crazy I just looked at him and said you never know what is going to get you through the day. Well this morning while Cora had yet another two hour delay for school the girls discovered that the balloons would float when the heat came on. And since it is so stinkin' cold here the heat is running alot! The girls would run over every time they heard the furnace kick on. They had a great time and I may never throw away another balloon!

There's an egg in our nest!

2010-02-16T19:11:00.000-05:00

We have one little tree in our front yard and it has a tiny little nest in it. Cora was looking outside the other day and yelled for me to come and look at the egg in the nest. She was so disappointed to learn that it was only snow in the tiny nest. She was so excited so maybe we will be able to see a little egg in a nest this spring!

25 Inches of Snow!

2010-02-16T19:04:00.000-05:00

Over the past week we have gotten 25 inches of snow. It is beginning to be a bit much for this Georgia girl. I was talking to my mom today and told her I did not think that it was going to ever stop. When school was cancelled for Cora again today I thought that we might all go crazy. The girls are just as stir crazy as I am. I tried to remind myself that one of these days I am going to miss having two little girls in the house. So I decided that I needed a plan........

We painted, played with play dough, played with balloons, read books, took a really long bath, and colored some more. These are not things that are uncommonly done at our house but a new attitude by us all was needed. I am so thankful that I am able to stay at home with these two precious girls and I would not have it any other way. Hopefully we will be able to get out of the house tomorrow even if it is just a trip to the Aldi.

Visitors!

2010-02-16T18:43:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we had some very special visitors come to our house. Our friends, the Claggett's came to visit and we had a blast. The two older kids have such a great time playing with one another. The two little ones not so much. They push each other's buttons constantly! We are sure that they will grow out of this and be the best of friends just like the big ones. We took some pictures before we left for church . WE are so glad that they came to visit. Come back anytime!!

Snow Cream

2010-02-06T19:47:00.000-05:00

When you grow up in Georgia you do not get a lot of snow so when we did we would get a great treat.......Snow Cream! So with the 10 inches of snow that we got yesterday I thought that a batch of snow cream needed to be made for my girls. Michael braved the elements to get us some snow. Then you add sugar, vanilla, and milk.

Mix it up.

Do a little tasting!

Just right...... brownies and snow cream!

"You can be the boy......"

2010-02-06T16:35:00.000-05:00

I don't think that 11 years ago Michael ever imagined himself sitting in front of a doll house playing Polly Pockets but he loves it. Cora came downstairs today and asked Michael to play with her. She looked at him and said, "You can be the boy." He would not care if he had to play the boy or not he just really likes to spend this one on one time with his big girl. I am so thankful for my husband and how he loves our kiddos.

Big Girl

2010-02-05T16:06:00.000-05:00

Well this big girl is finally potty trained!!!!!! I was not sure that this was ever going to happen but with it finally happened! I am so proud of her. Once she got the hang of it there was no turning back. She is even staying dry at night! Good job big girl!

COUCH!!!!!!!

2010-02-05T15:54:00.000-05:00

Eleven years ago my sister, Judean, gave Michael and I her couch, love seat, and recliner. We were just about to get married and we were very appreciative to her for them. But over the last 11 years they have gotten UGLY! I am sure at one point they were very stylish after all my sister is a very stylish woman but oh my word 11 years later not so much! So......

I finally got a new couch!!!!!!! I love it! I wanted something very simple that would last for a long time. After all if I have to live with an ugly hand-me-down couch for 11 years just imagine how long I will have to keep one that I actually pay for. Anyway thank you Judean for the ugly couch but I am so glad to see it go!

Family Pizza Night

2010-02-05T15:36:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, Cora's school had Family Pizza Night. It was so much fun. Cora had such a great time playing with her friends, getting her fingernails and her face painted, and being in the cake walk. The most exciting part of the evening was winning Bingo. She had a great time playing her first real great game of Bingo. Her face was priceless! The worst part of the evening happened when we got home and Cora began throwing up. She threw up the rest of the night. Thankfully she is better now and we can't wait until next year for Pizza Night. I only hope that the throwing up is not a yearly thing!

Walking in my Daddy's Shoes

2010-02-05T15:25:00.000-05:00

PB&J

2010-02-05T15:23:00.000-05:00

Molly got to eat her very first peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We have been holding off because of Cora's allergy. Well there was no reaction and she loves peanut butter! I am so excited that she gets to enjoy the finer things in life such as Aunt Judean's Peanut Butter Pie! If you have never had the joy of this pie then run to my sister and beg her to make it for you.

I did have this close by just in case she stopped breathing though! Ha!

Upward Basketball

2010-02-05T15:14:00.000-05:00

Cora is having a great time playing basketball. She is learning so many things about basketball but also about God being the light of the world. I love that she is trying new things and the she is doing her best no matter what. Good job Cora!

Overnight at Heather's

2010-02-05T15:04:00.000-05:00

The girls and I went over to Indy a couple of weeks ago because I had a doctor appointment. It is always a great excuse to go see our friends. We had a great time seeing several of the people that we miss terribly.

These two are the best of friends. I love watching them together. They have such a wonderful time when they are together and they crack me up. I hope that their friendship continues to grow through the years. Thanks Heather for letting us crash at your house for a day.

The Tent

2010-01-09T21:21:00.000-05:00

Well what do you do when you are stuck in the house because it is so stinkin' cold........ you build a tent! The girls had a great time playing under here. I remember doing this with my sisters when I was little and I am so glad that they had such a wonderful time hanging out together. They read books, bought almost every toy downstairs to be in the tent, and even ate lunch. Good times!

Special Presents

2010-01-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

Cora Mae got some presents from Aunt Patty this year for Christmas. First of all she gave Cora this real tea set. I had given this Raggedy Ann tea set to Patty several years ago and she passed it down to Cora this year. She loves it!

She also gave Cora an Easy Bake Oven. You would have thought that she gave her the moon. I am not sure I have ever heard Cora react to a gift the way she did to this. She almost could not contain herself. After we baked the cookies one afternoon she took them upstairs and got out her tea set so that she could have tea with Sleeping Beauty. It was great!

Time with the Christopher and Tony

2010-01-07T21:04:00.000-05:00

While we were in GA we also got to see Tony and Christopher. We do not get to see our nephews nearly as often as we would like so it was so much fun to spend the day with them. The kids had a great time playing together just like cousins should. Can't wait to see them again!

Peyton's Glasses

2010-01-07T20:52:00.000-05:00

Peyton got these fun straw glasses in her stocking and they were a hit! She loved them and so did all of the kids. Way to go Aunt Patty!

Christmas on New Year's Day

2010-01-07T20:48:00.000-05:00

We went down to GA the week after Christmas and we celebrated Christmas on New Year's Day. We had a wonderful day together. It started out with some yummy cubed steak and gravy. For our family it is the ultimate meal! It is the one that we all ask for on our special days. I wish that I had a picture of it to show you the yumminess. Then we opened up presents and hung out the rest of the day. The kids played together and the adults played cards. We had a wonderful day full of great memories!

Meme and Pa

2010-01-07T20:34:00.000-05:00

My dad was determined to get a good "refrigerator picture" of the grandkids. I think that we got a great one this year!

Even though I think that I like this one even better. I think that it shows the true character of everyone in the picture.

Man I Love These Kids

2010-01-07T20:23:00.000-05:00

These are just some pictures of the girls that were taken while we were in GA at my parents house. I know that they are mine but are they cute or what?

Big Girl Makeup

2009-12-29T14:35:00.000-05:00

Cora Mae has been asking for months to get some "Big Girl Makeup." I kept putting her off saying that she could Santa for it. Well you know that she did not forget it. So..... much to her daddy's dismay she asked Santa for makeup and Santa did not disappoint! You really cannot see in these pictures because of the colors of the makeup but no one has shared with her the concept of less is more. Oh how I love this kid!

The Best Husband!

2009-12-28T20:19:00.000-05:00

It really is the little things that make me happy! Michael really knows the way to my heart.
Beautiful Flowers!!!

People Magazine!!!!

Car in the garage!!!!

Thanks babe for being so sweet! I love you lots!!!!!

More Christmas

2009-12-28T20:10:00.000-05:00

One of Molly's favorite things that she got for Christmas was some new books. She always loves books! She will sit forever reading and looking at books.

Cora also got some Tinker Toys for Christmas. She went up to her room and went right to work building the microphone on the front of the container. It was great!

Go Fish

2009-12-28T20:04:00.000-05:00

Cora Mae got a "Go Fish" card game for Christmas this year and it is all she wants to do! Michael and I have had so much fun playing with her.

The best thing that I have ever bought for Cora is the thing that she is using to hold her cards. It is so helpful and she now has no problems holding the cards all by herself.

Birthday Cake For Jesus!

2009-12-23T21:00:00.000-05:00

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is making a cake for Jesus's birthday. Cora had a great time making the cake. She did it all by herself! She cracked the eggs and everything. Cora also picked out the stars for the decorations. She picked them out because of the star the Wise Men followed. We cannot wait until Christmas Eve night when we will sit down read Luke 2 and have our Birthday Party for Jesus. I love this time together when we can totally focus on Jesus, the Light of the World!

First Snow

2009-12-23T20:47:00.000-05:00

We had our first snow last week. It was not very much but the girls had a great time outside. Molly just kept saying, "Snowman!!!" She loved being in the snow and Cora was really into helping build "Frosty." It did not last very long but it was a lot of fun while it lasted.

Christmas Party

2009-12-23T20:38:00.000-05:00

I was able to attend Cora's Christmas party at school this year. It was so much fun to see her with all of her friends. The mom that was in charge of the craft/activity for the party made each child a Gingerbread House to decorate. I could not believe it! The kids had such a wonderful time decorating their houses they barely had time to eat the treats. It was so a great time and she was so proud of her work!

Happy 11th Anniversary!

2009-12-13T14:06:00.000-05:00

Well 11 years ago yesterday Michael and I were married and what a journey it has been. We have not always been together on our anniversary (because of the Army) but we have always celebrated the day. Yesterday was no exception. It was not a day that we spent all by ourselves like we have done in the past and we did not do anything really special but I think that it was one of the best anniversaries ever. We took the girls to see Santa, we went out to eat (I refused to cook on my anniversary), and we went to see some Christmas lights. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate the life that God has blessed us with than a wonderful day spent together with the two precious girls that He has given to us.

Jingle Bells

2009-12-13T13:47:00.002-05:00

Molly has really been getting into the Christmas spirit this year! She loves the tree (a little to much sometimes), loves seeing Ho Ho (which is Santa to all of you who do not speak Molly), and loves to sing Jingle Bells with Cora. One of the things that I love the most was the other day we drove by a house that had a nativity scene in the yard and she began saying, "Baby Jesus! Baby Jesus!" I am so glad that even now she knows what we are really celebrating! As we were driving down the road last night I got a short video of her singing Jingle Bells. I hope that you can hear it over the noise in the car.

Santa!

2009-12-12T16:17:00.001-05:00

We went to a place in town today because I had saw a sign that said they were going to have live reindeer today. The girls were so excited to see Rudolph and the other reindeer but when we got there I realized that I had misread the sign and the reindeer will not be there until tomorrow. The girls were so sad but we decided to go in anyway to see what was in the store. We found this stuffed reindeer and the girls thought that it was great. If you know my girls then you know this was probably a better choice anyway! Then we saw the sign.......

Santa was here! We were so glad that we had decided to go on in the store. There was no waiting and the girls got to spend lots of time with Santa without feeling the need to rush. The Grinch was also there but neither one of the girls wanted to get close. Molly kept calling the The Grinch a monster.

They were also giving out free popcorn. My girls love popcorn!!!!

I saw this sign while we were wondering around the store. I thought it was so funny! Every parents nightmare!!!

New Ornaments

2009-12-12T15:59:00.000-05:00

When we travel I always try to buy ornaments so that we can remember how much fun we had while we were there. Here are our new ornaments for this year. Snowman wearing Mickey Mouse ears so that we can remember our great trip to Disney World!

My great trip to Ireland will always be remembered with this clover that I bought while I was there. I love having a tree full memories!

What to do when you have short parents!

2009-12-12T15:54:00.000-05:00

Putting the angel at the top of the tree can be very challenging when you have two parents that are short. Cora Mae had a great adventure with daddy getting that angel up there. First they tried just having Cora sitting on his shoulders and as you can see in the bottom picture that did not work out very well. So we through all notions of safety aside and broke out the ladder. We finally got that angel on top!

My Coupon Dream.......

2009-12-07T19:41:00.001-05:00

My couponing dream has officially come true! Yes the Kroger paid me $0.28 to take the groceries out of the store. The only reason that I went was because I had a $2.00 catalina that was going to expire today and so if you know me at all you know that I had to go use it. So I hopped on to Mommy Snacks real quick to see if there were any quick deals that I could do and spend very little money out of my pocket. I really did not think that they would be paying me to take it out of the store! I was so excited I know the lady thought that I was completely crazy.

Upward Basketball

2009-12-05T20:10:00.000-05:00

Our first season of Upward Basketball started today with Cora's first practice. She has never played basketball before but she did a great job. We do not actually start playing games until January but they got started with one early practice. She had a great time and even made several baskets. She worked hard and was starving at the end. Molly had a great time while we were there and even got into the action a little bit on the side. Check out those arms up ready for some defense. Go girls!

I"m Back

2009-12-05T20:02:00.000-05:00

Well I am back. Michael took over the blog for a little while because I was having a blogging drought! I am blaming it on the fact that now that I have always blogged while watching General Hospital. Yes I still watch General Hospital. I have since I was in the 5th grade. It is my thing. Well we do not have a TV in the office so I have been out of my routine. Well.....I just got a FREE laptop! Yes I actually had a coupon for a free laptop! Can you believe that? So now I can get back to my routine of watching GH and blogging. Hopefully you want have to wait so long to hear updates on The McLain Family or more importantly the girls.

2009-12-05T15:13:00.005-05:00

Here some photos of our new floors in house. They look great. Somerset hard wood floors white oak. It was great six days working with my father in and brother in law putting them in.

New Floors

2009-11-22T08:35:00.004-05:00

We are going to put in hardwood floors next week, well Brock is going to put in hard wood floors I will just be the helper. Here are three photos of what was and now is our floors.

Art Work

2009-11-20T18:59:00.002-05:00

This picture Cora painted in Art class today. I know Dads are usually bias when come to kids work, however-I really think the picture is good.

2009-11-14T11:51:00.001-05:00

Our youngest turns three.

Cora's New Bedding

2009-09-30T13:02:00.000-04:00

Cora got some new bedding because she got a new big girl bed. The poor thing had still been sleeping in a toddler bed until we moved. We just recently got the new bedding and so making her new bed is still a fun thing to do. I have been helping her do this but this morning she came out of her room with a huge smile on her face and said, "I already made my bed mommy!" This is what I saw. Definitely not perfect but I think that she did a great job. The "crazy" side of me wanted to go in there and fix it and show her how to do it "right." But I didn't. She was so proud of herself and I am glad that I did not ruin it for her with my craziness.

Wild One

2009-09-30T12:48:00.000-04:00

In the words of Aunt Judean, "True That!"
I am not sure that I have seen a more appropriate hat for my two girls. Ha Ha!

Molly's First Haricut

2009-09-30T12:45:00.001-04:00

We went to Indy last weekend for a few days and Molly got her first haircut. Needless to say she was not very excited about it. Before we got out of there, there was a lot of screaming and crying that took place. She does not like the idea of being still. Even through all of that she survived and she really looks like a big girl now. We did not really change the style at all just the length. Here is a picture from later in the day. Best one I have so far. Sorry!

Cora got her hair cut next. Then while I got mine cut she sat under the dryer. She thought it was the best thing ever!

Country Livin' in the City

2009-09-30T12:36:00.000-04:00

I have often said that growing up my family did not go the the country club we went to the creek. So I was so excited when we went to a local State Park and they have a area where kids can play in the creek, climb trees, and play in the dirt. We went prepared to get get wet and dirty. The girls had a blast and we play to spend alot of time here during the summer months.

Man after my Dad's own heart

2009-09-17T17:45:00.000-04:00

If any of you know my dad at all you know that he lives in overalls. He would wear them everywhere including church if my mom would let him. He has told me many times that he wants to be buried in them. Well today Michael is following in his footsteps and bought his first pair of overalls. As a matter of fact he is mowing the yard in them as I type this. He is loving them!

If you are going to buy them you better buy the best. And according my dad Liberty Overalls are the best.

"Hot! Mommy hot!"

2009-09-16T17:26:00.000-04:00

The playground in our neighborhood just happens to be in our backyard so you know that we are there all the time. Molly loves the swings but oh how she loves to slide. Today as she was going down the slide she yelled at me from across the playground "Hot! Mommy hot!" She then walked over to me and said, "Blow slide mommy." Don't you just love how a two year mind works? Of course mommy coming over to blow on the slide will cool it off it works on her food.

What have I been doing all week?

2009-09-13T20:08:00.000-04:00

Maybe you have wondering what I have been up to all week..... well the pictures below seem to tell it all. Potty Training!!!!!!!!!! Oh how I do not enjoy potty training. Hopefully we will be finished soon!