Molly's Drawings . . .

She is LOVING Spring - as you can tell - 

She drew this for Kate and told her; 

"I hid 8 eggs in the picture and you need to find them!"

She drew this on St. Patrick's Day - A leprachaun and his pot o' gold.

This card was waiting for me when I returned from visiting my Mom in Florida last week - 

"You R My Faris Prson Afr ❤️"

Translated to "You Are My Favoritist Person Ever ❤️"

Might frame this one . . .

Buttercup at Our House!

Molly's Pre-Kindergarten has a class "Bear", named Buttercup. Every weekend one of the kids gets to bring him home to participate in the families activities and the kids are supposed to write in Buttercups' Journal about what they did with him, including pictures.  Molly has anticipated bringing him home for awhile and was so excited it was her turn Thursday afternoon!

Thursday night, he hung out while the girls took baths - 

and I think he LOVED their pink bathroom!

Saturday morning, Daddy & Molly went out to breakfast and to the library - and Buttercup got to come along!  Molly put a pink beret on him to make sure he was warm and of course buckled him in Kate's car seat . . .

Buttercup loves French Toast!

Buttercup reading his favorite book!

We've had a fun weekend with him at our house - this afternoon we are bringing him to the Annual Easter Egg Hunt with us!  We might even give him his own little basket for eggs!   

Cousins

Mike's cousin, Kathy spoke in Kansas City last week for her work - so we were excited to have her over for a Mexican Fiesta Friday night at our house! It's always great to catch up with the McGinnis cousins!

Marian Consecration

I was lucky enough to get to participate in a Marian Consecration Retreat with my Moms Group at church during Lent this year. We met every Wednesday night to discuss our daily readings and watch Fr. Michael Gaitley on DVD speak to us. It was phenomenal and I loved it every week. Icing on the cake was getting to do it with other Moms of young children within our parish - love their commitment!

Over 30 of us gathered for the Annunciation Mass Wednesday morning.

Florida

 My Dad retired this past December 31st and my parents bought the cutest house in Lady Lake, Florida and are now "Snow Birds" spending their winters in sunshine rather than in Kansas. They even live on Margarita Drive - isn't that the most perfect street to live on if you were gonna' have a second home in Florida? 

We learned that my Mom's breast cancer returned in February - Ash Wednesday to be exact. She first got breast cancer 6.5 years ago. The news came as a shock to us all and having my Mom 1200 miles away didn't make things better. I couldn't wait to get on a plane and hug her. Well that day was this past Saturday - Mike took off work and I got to spend 4 days with my Mom & Dad in Florida. It was wonderful time together - as it seems since I had kids - almost 6 years ago, I haven't got to spend time alone with just them. It was wonderful to get to pray with my Mom, cry with her, go to her radiation treatment and laugh a lot!  It was very hard to leave but I'm hopeful they will be back in Kansas soon!  She just finished her last radiation treatment - yeah!

Here are a few images from my 4 days in sunny Florida . . .

Flowers as you enter their house on Margarita Drive . . .

After Mass on Sunday, selfie before brunch! Aren't they cute?

The many cards, letters, and flowers my Mom has received -she reads them all and truly treasures them!  Keep them coming!

The hibiscus outside their kitchen window - 

My Dad picked me up at the airport Saturday morning with the top down in their little convertible they keep down there year around!

The orange tree right outside their back deck -

Where my Mom prays every morning on the lanai - the birds are chirping and it is SO peaceful and quiet. I LOVED being able to spend these moments with her . . .

The Cancer Center where my Mom is receiving her treatment - one of the best in the country.

The bell my Mom got to ring 3x after her last radiation treatment this week!

My mom's sister, Aunt Carol, & Uncle Mark live just a 3 miles away, year around - and they had us over for dinner one night. Uncle Jim & Aunt Susan were there for the Winter too. It's been great for my Mom to be in such close proximity to her siblings right now.

My guest room at my parents house -

My Dad and I got up early one morning to play tennis - he's still got it.

My Mom and I went out to lunch and a little shopping one day - everything is so quaint and adorable  - Disney Land for Adults I call it as there is SO much to do there and everyone is so active and fun!

My cute Mama!

Everyone, including my folks, drive their golf carts EVERYWHERE - even to church!  It is so fun! The city is 100,000 people, but you can get just about anywhere in your golf cart as they have lanes and trails everywhere just for them!

It was hard to leave, as you might expect - but know I will see them again soon! ❤️

I was lucky enough to get a sunset view as I left Florida late Tuesday night . . .

Fun with Daddy!

I was in Florida visiting my parents the last few days and Mike and the girls had a lot of fun back in Kansas City!  Here are a few pix Mike took and sent to me so I wouldn't miss them too bad! They went to the park a lot, out for pizza and to Crown Center to see Cinderella's "real" glass slipper!!

Dress-Up & Dolls

Grandma JoJo loves sending the girls outfits for their dolls to match clothes Molly and Kate wear - and the girls LOVE dressing themselves like their babies!

How To Catch a Leprechaun - By Molly

Luck O' The Irish!!

Today is Day #3 of Potty Training Kate. Days #1 and #2 were a bit rough - but today has been smooth and easy!  She "gets" it and stayed dry all night last night! 

She is so so proud to be a BIG GIRL!  

I'm not sure if it's Day #3 of consistency at home or if it's the luck o' the Irish - 

I'm going to go with Irish LUCK since we are McGinnises after all . . .

So proud!

Kate Lately . . .

Do you know why? Know why??? "Why?" Just 'cuz!

Dancing to the music in her head . . .

Cinderella

Molly and I got to go to the Matinee of Cinderella down on the Plaza yesterday, 

opening weekend!  We loved it!  We gave it two thumbs up!

Favorite quote from the movie:

Be courageous, be kind.

Let your love always be your light.

At The Dentist

This morning the girls each had dentist appointments - Kate's 1st time ever, and she did great!  Molly went first by herself since she's such a big girl while we played in the waiting room - 

Of course, Baby Maddy came too-

Molly got x-rays for the first time and found out she has THREE loose teeth!  So, she is pretty excited for a real life fairy to come to our house!!  Let the preparations begin . . .

We met some friends at the park afterwards to enjoy the SUNSHINE!!

Happy Friday! ❤️

Mystery Reader

I was SO SO excited to be the Mystery Reader at Molly's school today. The whole room was whispering and quiet when I knocked on the door and I heard them all guessing who it could be?  A leprechaun, someone's grandmother, the Easter Bunny?  Not sure I met everyone's high expectations - but I certainly did Molly's! She was so surprised and ran to me when I walked in the door -she sat (beaming) with me while I read "The Day the Crayons Quit" - one of our family favorites!  Love this girl!!

Picking Up Molly from Preschool!

Kate can hardly wait to pick up Molly from Preschool - she misses her SO bad!

Cinderella & Me