Not much to report

Not much going on in our neck of the woods - girls are good, Derek is good (and back from his Alaska trip - yay!) and school is good. Derek had off today so we had a nice family day running a few errands and getting some much needed books for the girls - Teeth Are Not for Biting for Ellie and I Can Share for Winnie. Yes, Ellie was THAT kid on Tuesday at her morning out program - she bit another kid, and it wasn't Winnie who is her usual target. I'm now officially "that mom" - the mom of the biter. Ugh.

So in the middle of Barnes and Noble Winnie announced she was hungry and we should go to lunch. So off to McDonald's we went (they had to be the slowest in America) where Winnie promptly got stuck in the climbing play-thing. So I had to go in to get her out...that's a nice visual for you...and for the other patrons of the play area as well. Derek came in with our food just as I was extracting myself from it....he almost dropped the tray of food. Oh well.

Enjoy the snaps of Ellie snuggling up with some books, Winnie dressed up in Derek's BDU top and beret, and some raspberries from our bush.

Cheesecake Madness

We're on a little bit of a cheesecake kick chez Gondek...2 weeks ago it was Raspberry Ribbon Cheesecake (oreo cookie crust with a layer of raspberry in the middle) and this week it is Caramel Brownie Cheesecake. Winnie and Ellie are in to helping me in the kitchen and like turning the mixer on and off as well as adding ingredients after I've measured them. Derek says their future husbands will be thanking me for teaching them these skills. Weight Watchers will be thanking me for keeping them in business!

Full Moon Madness

Okay, while we're not quite at a full moon yet we're just about there - Sept 15 is the next full moon. But it never fails as one approaches or when we have one - the sleeping cycle of Winnie and Ellie is completely disrupted. Don't know what it is but they just go crazy and start waking up during the night...sometimes more than once. Like the two times last night. Is it just us or is this happening to other kiddos as well? Anyway...we also had a visitor on Wednesday night on the windows by the front door - always think it's neat to see. Took the pic with our video camera so it's not as crisp as it could be - sorry.

Oh, and Winnie is currently obsessed with her flip-flops and insists on putting them on herself...with the usual result you see to the left. Ouch.

Winnie's picnic

Winnie hosted a picnic today for some of her nearest and dearest friends. Mommy was on the guest list but was told to bring her own cup as all the others were taken.

We survived Hannah!

Glad to report we survived TS Hannah which blew our way last night and early this morning. Lots of rain and some wind but no problems getting through the storm. Derek had the day off yesterday so he was able to see the girls get a haircut - Winnie was all over it and sat by herself as she normally does, but Ellie wasn't too in to it and had to sit in Mommy's lap. Their new favorite band is the Beatle's and they request them for their post-bath dance party...which is usually just jumping on our bed. Although Ellie did throw in some hip shakes last night. Today we did an art project which resulted in a huge mess which Ellie helped us clean up. And Winnie helped Mommy make peanut butter crackers for lunch. All in all a good day.

We hope everyone survives Hannah with no major problems!

So this is what is growing on our vine outside - from Roger Mercer who writes a gardening column for the Fayetteville Observer:

"Those are Passiaflora edulis, also called passion flowers. The white flesh is fairly tasty"...

I'll let you know if/when I taste the flesh....they also have a big white and purple flower which is pretty. I'll see if the one we had is still in bloom and if so will get a photo up tomorrow. Before Hannah blows through over the weekend and blows it away.

Oh, and one more thing...Ellie hasn't escaped from the crib again. Yet. I have a feeling she's tried a few more times, but just hasn't been successful at this point.

Labor Day Weekend

Hi everyone -

It's been a nice Labor Day weekend for the Gondek Gang...Derek had Friday off so he got to spend some time with his girlies. Saturday we went to Raleigh for the Flea Market (overall disappointing) and the Farmers Market (great, we'll visit that again). Winnie and Ellie spent a lot of time outside on their playset and in their playhouse on Sunday and enjoyed watching the frog Derek caught for them the night before. Hop, as we named him, we released back in to the wild on Sunday morning. Winnie and Ellie also enjoyed some cherry tomatoes fresh off the vine in our backyard and we discovered crap apples (we think - do they grow on a vine?). All in all a good weekend and we hope you're enjoying yours.