Shannon's World

Libby and I met some friends for lunch at Chick-Fil-A last week…what a great place! The staff was so friendly and courteous – the food was a treat; we had a great time.

Mike was looking at this picture and made the comment that the girls look so old…like friends in kindergarten. He was quite surprised when I mentioned that the girls on either side of Libby were both 3. “She’s taller than both of them”, he exclaimed….followed by, “she’s going to be the tall girl in class!”.

It’s true…I don’t realize how tall Libby is until she’s around friends or I talk to other Mom’s or I have to buy Libby big girl panties in 4T!

As you know we did an office make-over. One of the goals of this make-over was to display some artwork that Mike or I have picked up in our travels. Every time I visit a new place I look for local artists and art work to bring home.

First I took an inventory of frames. We had a few of these pieces hung up the stairs in our townhouse in Chicago – most were framed in frameless art gallery frames. So I took inventory and headed to Michael’s and Walmart for more. These frames are a very economical ($4-$5 each for the bigger ones) and perfect when you have as much to frame as we did. All the frames match and most of the mats are close.

Next I laid out the frames/design on the floor (see below). This was an easy way to see what fit where. When things looked good, I took a picture. The picture was really helpful – I did the layout at 11 pm one night and needed to clean up before Twinkle Toes woke up the next morning. It was nice to be able to refer to the photo when it was time to put nails on the wall. The design/layout did change slightly when I re-created it…luckily, I like the finish product even better.

Mike did the nails/hammering. When we first started he was measuring and getting a little nervous about the whole thing….I told him we could eyeball it and it worked out perfectly….20 someodd frames and only one “bad” nail.

I’m happy with the finished product, in fact I love it. The collage currently stops where my desk begins…if that makes sense (I’ll take a full room picture when my desk is how I want it and when the ironing board is out of there…I am using the ironing board for another project in the dining room), but I think I’d like to continue it across my desk…maybe throwing in a bulletin/dry erase board for notes, maybe a silk screen I’ve had my eye on and definitely some of my celebrity pictures.

In a previous (but recent) post I mentioned one of Libby’s new favorite phrases “no pants”…here’s what I found after it took Libby about 2 hours (and many visits from me) to fall asleep the other day.

Imagine my surprise and utter delight when I saw this post over at Hostess Blog – Margarita Cupcakes with Lime Frosting. I can’t wait to try these….I think they’ll be perfect for my cinco de Juilo celebration (aka my birthday!).

I have a few other margarita dessert recipes I’ve been wanting to try for a long time -

Ms. Martha’s cheesecake and Popsicles:
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c lime juice
1/2 c water
2 T lemon juice
2 T OJ
2 T Tequilla
2 T Grand Marnier or Triple Sec
4 small dixie cups
4 Popsicle sticks
Salt, for garnish

Combine sugar, lime juice, H20, lemon juice and OJ in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Cook stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cool, transfer to blender with tequila, orange liqueur and process until smooth. Pour into cups and cover with foil. Place stick through foil. Freeze overnight. Remove from freezer, remove foil and run under warm water to loosen from cup. Garnish with salt.

I went to my first Indy 500 race on Sunday and it was just about the coolest thing ever. I loved it! Good friends, fast cars, and just about the best people watching in the world! I can’t wait to go again next year!

Special thanks to our friends Jorie and the Big O for arranging everything and our neighbor Matt for my Target/Chip Ganassi hat.

Libby and Paige looked so cute today – they were both laying on the porch swing coloring (and trying to keep the crayons away from Paige’s little brother Parker!).

Sadly enough I don’t have much to post about and report…things have been busy and quiet here (both at the same time if that’s possible!).
- we took a weekend road trip to Stow, Ohio and had a great visit with our friends the Jackson’s and the newest addition to their family, Morgen (a 6 month old English Lab). Libby had a blast – we forgot our camera so no pictures yet, but hopefully we’ll get some from the Jackson’s. I was a little worried about the car trip and potty training but Libby did great!
- we’ve been enjoying the spring weather, that is when I can pry the Cinderelli dress off of Libby and get her to go outside. Most days after nap and after dinner Libby can be found outside on the swings, going down the slide and playing in the sand box (funny enough, Libby doesn’t like to get into the sandbox, she stands along the perimeter and likes to scoop the sand into a toy/dish…she adds some seasoning – typically grass or pine needles and then walks around holding the dish!).
- Libby’s personality and strong will are certainly starting to show! Believe it or not Libby started to declare last week “No Pants”…it took me a while to figure out what she meant, but she really prefers to wear dresses or skirts not capris or shorts. Technically she only wants to wear the Cinderelli dress, but I’ve been really trying to limit our exposure!
- our office picture collage is still not done (we need to cut two mats and Mike is a little nervous about it and keeps ignoring my pleads) nor is the cork board…hopefully one of these days I’ll have pictures to post.
- we’re working on Libby’s big girl room and some additional projects around the house I’ll post about soon, too. I’ve got the clean, organize, decorate and create bug lately – Mike is loving this!!
- we’re looking forward to the long weekend to get caught up on the laundry list of projects we have and we’re especially excited about our first trip to the Indy 500!

No, these are not mysterious Cross/Barron children that we keep in a closet and don’t blog about (wink, wink). These are our buddies Peyton and AnnaCate. They live across the street from Nanny in DC, but they have strong ties to the Hoosier State. Nanny visits these lucky two twice a week and they are missing her! Miss Susan was on vacation last week in Florida and this week she’s out in sunny San Diego with Avery and Jackson.

Libby is poised and ready to catch the bouquet!

Libby made her first trip to the dentist office on today. I was very nervous about the visit because (1) for the longest time she only knew the dentist from Nemo and was terrified and (2) she was a pill this morning…not her usual self…didn’t want to get dressed, everything was “no”.

This weekend, Mike and I talked to Libby a lot about going to the dentist – explaining what we thought they might do (look at her teeth, brush her teeth, count her teeth). I think this helped, but I could tell Libby was a little unsure when we arrived at the dentist. She kept saying “Libby all done at dentist office” while we were in the waiting room.

I’m happy to report Libby did an amazing job at the dentist. The hygenist told me, they’d do as much as they could, but weren’t counting on doing much. Libby had her teeth examined, cleaned and flossed, all without making a peep. They even sprayed water in her mouth and used the suction straw. It did help that there was a tv monitor a few feet in front of her showing PBS, but none the less, I was still so proud of her. The dentist came in and examined Libby’s teeth again (the dentist walked in and Libby looked at her and opened her mouth as wide as possible…she had the drill down) and “painted” them with fluoride. This was probably Libby’s least favorite part, she kept smiling really wide but I don’t think she like the feeling of her teeth. After some water she was fine.

As promised, Libby downed her Cinderelli dress and watched the movie (a payoff for being good at the dentist). It’s priceless to watch her – she cheers every time she sees the castle and wants to dance when Cinderelli and the prince dance.

I am so proud of how well Libby did today! We have another appointment in 6 months – keep your fingers crossed.

Potty training is going well – I think I can safely say we’re potty trained. Still wearing diapers at night, but most nights she wakes up dry. The next step will be to stop giving Libby a treat for every visit to the bathroom! She sure is enjoying her new found love of sugar!