Ella's Interpretation of Mom

How funny is this? Ella drew this for me today and said, "Look, it's you Mommy". It is now up on my office wall in a spot she chose. Before we "hung" this masterpiece, she said she needed to sign it. Oh Ella- you are so darn cute.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

We spent a great day in Richmond celebrating Robbie's Birthday. We started out with brunch at The Cheesecake Factory and were hoping to make it to see the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens but this never-ending rain got in the way. We still had a great time shopping around Short Pump and many thank yous to Robbie for sharing her birthday with our shopping addiction.

I forgot my camera but when we got home, Ella was very much into singing Happy Birthday to Grandma. So Robbie, this one is for you- Happy Birthday!

Dude: blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda

And there you have it, what Ella learned while I was away at Bay Harbor for a weekend with Polly celebrating her fortieth birthday. I'm still laughing. But I am getting ahead of myself. Rewind to Thursday...


I felt really weird about leaving for some reason. I had been looking forward to this spa weekend since Polly suggested it. A long weekend at a spa resort, who wouldn't LOVE that! But as the time came closer, I felt badly about leaving Wes and Ella behind. Wes does this every year (substitute golf for spa) so I took that in stride and asked for a martini on the plane, settled for something over ice, and was feeling really good by the time we landed in Michigan. I'm sure everyone who saw us thought Polly and I hadn't seen each other for years the way we screamed with excitement when we met up at the airport.


We arrived at the Cueny's and Dave had dinner cooking and Judy and Mark were playing with Isabella and Grace. Ahhhhhhhh, Dave's famous Chicken with Alfredo Noodles. Pure delight. Aundrea joined us for dinner and a fashion show, and four bottles of wine later, we all went to bed. Pictures from the night:

Isabella showing the latest eye wear

Grace showing her catwalk style

Dave, my fellow blogger (see "Life from Michigan" on the right), and our chef for the night. Thank you Dave!

So our plan was to drive up north to Bay Harbor slowly, very slowly. We got the kids off to school and then had a nice breakfast out. We hit the road and stopped at the outlets. That took longer than we thought and we found ourselves surprisingly faced with no time before our 7pm massages. Yikes! We made it in time but had to postpone dinner. This is the view from our room:

Amazing. I wasn't expecting this from Michigan but I was pleasantly surprised. After our first night, it was raining and cold but it really didn't phase us at all. The views were still beautiful, and who cares really when you are at a spa.

We ventured out Saturday night for dinner at Chandler's. I'll spare everyone the details of our dinner but it was just perfect. I can't remember the last time Polly and I had dinner together and laughed so hard. I was in tears I laughed so hard at one point. Perhaps the four martinis and a bottle of wine had something to do with it but just spending time with Polly to celebrate her birthday made me so happy. Here we are at dinner:

We finally left late on Sunday and woke up Monday to start the week all over again. Girls to school, us to breakfast, and on to my flight home. Here is Isabella and Grace having pancakes before school.

Maymont Park

This weekend we went to Maymont Park in Richmond (click on post title for their website) to explore the gardens and petting zoo. Ella loved it and when we asked her her favorite part, she said, "Aunt Shannon". So sweet. Here are a couple pictures from the day:

Ella ran from us to Shannon when she saw her

Ella and Wes at the petting zoo

Shannon holding Ella up to see the bears

Ella and Wes at the waterfall

Shannon and Ella having a chat

Wes and Ella in the Japanese Gardens

Ella and Shannon playing hide-and-seek

Ella and I taking a break

Easter

I'm going to be in trouble if I ever have to host Easter because we have been extremely fortunate (spoiled) to spend Easter at Creeksedge since Ella was one. Dad and Nancy put on quite the event. By the time I get up in the morning (which is later than usual since Ella sleeps with Poppy and Nonna), the Easter Bunny has visited and left baskets and hidden eggs. Thank you Easter Bunny! This year we really missed the Cueny clan but were glad to have my cousins Richard and Heather and their kids Clair (3) and Jasper (4 mo) visiting. This was the first time we met Clair and Jasper but you wouldn't know it. Clair and Ella were fast friends and sweet Jasper could make anyone think babies are easy (!!!). Grandma came over for Easter Dinner making it even more special. Here are some pictures from the weekend:

The girls dying eggs (yes, Ella is naked)

Playing with Jasper

Hunting for Eggs

Making a bunny cake with Nonna

Running off all that sugar

Grandma and Jasper after a wonderful Easter lunch

Dad and Ella walking out to the truck for a ride through the woods. Ella LOVED this. She wants to know why we don't have a "fun truck like Poppy".

Richard and Clair getting ready for the truck ride

Ella sad to say goodbye

Thank you Easter Bunny (aka Poppy and Nonna) for another wonderful Easter!

Crashed Computer

Well, about a month ago our computer crashed and we haven't been able to get it back up to speed yet. Really, we should invest in a Mac, but until then, I'll be copying photos to a disc to then upload them on the blog. That isn't always so easy with Ella so my posts haven't been as frequent.

The first picture here is of Ella in a headband her cousin Selma sent from Africa. Steve visited them at the beginning of March in Senegal and they are all doing well, adjusting to their new hometown. The second is of Wes, Robbie and Ella after dance class on Saturday. Ella was very excited Robbie came up to sit in on class and watch her dance.

"I'm feeling Alone"

Doesn't that just break you heart? Ella is having a difficult time tonight going to sleep and that is what she just said. Isn't it so sad? I'm trying to distract myself with this post while Wes has one eye on the TV and the other on me so he can get to me before I get to her. Here are the other things she has come up with to make me feel like such a bad mom:

Mommmmma, come get me.
Mommmmma, where are you?
Mommmmma, I'm being patient.
Mommmmma, I'm scared.

I think I'm feeling alone at this point too.