Its Hot!!!

I am hot.

I am grumpy.

I need to get in the pool!

Its 8:30 am and 80 in our house.....wow.

Some News...

I bet you thought I was going to say I was pregnant huh...

Nope!

We put an offer on a house today. Its not sudden, we have been thinking about "investing" in something a little larger for awhile, but this week has been a bit crazy with all of the details.

We will know next Friday if the offer is accepted or not. Stay tuned!

Handy Man

Oh my. Isn't he the cutest thing you have ever seen? I think that I am getting a brief glimpse into my future. If only he can pull it off as well when he is older...


PS - That shirt is TOTALLY appropriate....

Maeve Update

Its been awhile since I last updated on Maeve and her continued growth and learning. She is such a joy for our family. Her personality is really coming out and in these last few weeks we all feel that she is making a huge effort to communicate with us.
At 15 months, she is the proud owner of 8 teeth. The last two coming in were rough, and once again I am thankful that adults don't have to go through the pain of teething.
She is also walking quite proficiently, and has taken a serious liking to climbing things. I have found her in all sorts of odd places, and although its fun to see, I wonder if she will be my ER child.
She seems to be a bit accident prone as well, (or we are being super neglectful in our watching her) because she has already been stung 2 times by a bee, and 1 time by a yellow jacket. We have had to wipe large chunks of dirt out of her eye (thankfully it wasn't near the pupil part) and a few nights ago had to pin her down, and dig a chunk of redwood bark out of one of the spaces between her front teeth with a toothpick.
We are pretty sure that she has a cow milk intolerance, so she has been drinking tons of rice milk, and not having such wretched (excuse my terminology) poos. A cough that she had for 3 months (started the same time as she started drinking milk) went away too, after we put her on rice milk.
She FINALLY says "Mama", and my heart melts to hear her little voice call for me. Her favorite song right now is the 'Itsy Bitsy Spider', and she will motion for us to sing it for her, and reward us with a huge smile when we do. (We are trained now, you know...) She also signs for 'please', and 'all done', which has been helpful for us.
Yes, I still nurse her. Talk about letting the third get away with whatever they want...I have seen it, but never thought I would be that parent. She still wants to nurse, and so it is still part of our bedtime ritual. I do want to end it soon, especially since she has had a habit lately, of trying to walk off while still attached to me....ouchy.
I had forgotten what it was like having a daddy's girl, and she is definitely living up to that name. She loves daddy, and usually greets him at the door when I tell her that he is home. Daddy absolutely loves it too!

And for the question that usually follows, "So are you guys done?" We don't know. I thought I was done, Rich knows that he isn't. So, I guess we are thinking about it? That's a lot of people to live in our little 1100 square foot home, but I am not going to let something that trivial determine our family status. Time will tell, I guess.

Garage Sale Finds...

Ok, so my best find from this last weekends trip?

Guess how much....

No really, guess.


$2

20 rolls of wrapping paper for $2. Seriously! I am set for years!

First "Real" Day Of Kindegarten

So, I sent my eldest off to Kindegarten today...

What???

Yeah. Wow.

*sniff, sniff, sob*

Practice Day of Kindegarten

So today was the start of the school year.

For everyone except Kindergartners. It was a "practice" day for them...and me. They just got to go and hang out with their parents for a few hours in the classroom today to meet the teacher, and get acquainted with the idea of school.

Whew, for me. I have one more day to get used to the idea that my baby is going to school.

Here are some highlights from "our" first day.

Brynn and her new backpack. If she turned around you would see that it totally dwarfs her. I love all the little kids toting around these huge adult sized bags. What a funny sight!

Her first day outfit. I might not be able to take one tomorrow due to an excessive amount of tears that might be flowing. *Might* being the keyword. I also *might* be jumping with joy that she is out of the house for a few hours....who knows!

Ok, seriously, one of the best things about this school thing, besides the fact that she will be learning how to read, write and function in the world, is that her cousin (aka - best friend in the whole world) is in her class. This morning they stood in front of the classroom door, leaning on each other and holding hands. I think this will be an amazing experience for both of them, and Elissa and I are so grateful that they get to share it!

Brynn making the "Kissing Hand". The teacher read a story about a raccoon going to school the first day, and his mom sending him with a kiss on his hand to help him get through the time away from her. The little raccoon returned a kiss in her hand, and that way the mom had a kiss from him as well to get through the day. I don't think that I was the only one with teary eyes after the story. In fact, I know I wasn't...

A gift for the students on their first "fake" day of Kindergarten. Yippee!

A gift from Rich and I to her after her first day. It was a lunchbox (Barbie, of course) and some brand new hair clips to wear. She loved that!

Ok, funny story about this contraption...
When we got to the school, I had to use the bathroom, and Rich and Brynn were outside playing on the equipment. When I got back, Rich was holding Brynn, who was looking very red in the face, and embarrassed. Apparently she was sitting on one side of this teeter totter thing, and Rich was using his had to balance her out. Well, he says that he gave a small push (translate - still doesn't know his own strength, and has a tendency to be forceful without even realizing it...) and she did a head-over-heels flip, hit the seat post and landed on her back on the bark covered ground. Surprisingly (to me, cause I would have bawled my eyes out) there were no tears, only embarrassment.

I hope that she doesn't inherit my accident prone-ness...

*Side note: Budget cuts stink! Because of the state of the economy (and I don't think you can blame just one person on this whole shenanigan) my daughter and her classmates have lost:
1) small student to teacher ratio - they are now at 24 students to 1 teacher at our school
2) teachers aides
3) librarian
4) computer tech support
5) physical education program
6) music program
7) any sort of reasonable budget for classroom supplies. The state awarded her teacher - its almost an insult - $5 per student per year for all the supplies that they need.

Way to go all you wise stewards of money! Good grief! I have said it before, and I will say it again...(don't I sound like my grandma) Put a stay at home housewife in charge of the budget up there, and watch the world change!

Inspiration for Marriage and Mothering..

I am amidst reading/leading a study on the book Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahoney. Its an amazing book of encouragement and wisdom centered around Titus 2, the famous mentoring passage.

I love this quote dealing with the way that we view our husbands. Sometimes we have a tendency to concentrate on what is wrong more than what is right...
"A wife, if she is very generous, may allow that her husband lives up to perhaps eighty percent of her expectations. There is always the other twenty percent that she would like to change, and she may chip away at it for the whole of their married life without reducing it by very much. She may, on the other hand, simply decide to enjoy the eighty percent and both of them will be happy."

How sad, but totally true right? I am definitely working on this!

Here is one of my favorite excerpts regarding being a mom.
"I seldom feel like much of an adventurer - standing in this kitchen, pouring cereal into bowls, refilling them, handing out paper towels when the inevitable cry come: "Uh oh, I spilled". But sometimes at night the thought will strike me: There are three small people here, breathing sweetly in their beds, whose lives are for the moment in our hands. I might as well be at the controls of a moon shot, the mission is so grave and vast."

Just a gentle reminder to myself to see what I do as important, even the small stuff...

Etsy Shop

Oh how I wish it was my Etsy shop that I was talking about. Its good to have dreams right???
I am so excited for my friend Kerri. She FINALLY got her shop up and running and is ready for business!
She is an amazing artist, and is so incredibly blessed by God! I am happy that she is going to be able to use her talent even more now!
Check it out when you get a chance!
I will be putting in an order soon!

Kerplunkt Custom Namescapes

Summer's Last Adventures

Yummy....blackberries.

Even in our little suburban neighborhood there are blackberry bushes that can be picked! Thank goodness for those! Talk about a wonderfully free treat for the whole family. Combine it with a bike ride (hence the helmets) and you have an afternoon activity that everyone loves!

Nothing beats fresh, warm blackberries right off of the bush/vine/tree - whatever.

Clearlake Camping

Ok, seriously, I am over camping.
This is our 5th (and final???????) camping trip of the summer.

Clearlake State Park was awesome. The grounds are nice, the sites are big, and the place is HUGE!
Clearlake - not so clear however. The PD just published an article that this is one of the worst years of algae growth they have ever seen. I believe it. It was pretty gross!
The water was the consistency of sludge, and I think the suits used in the lake are destined for the trash.
The kids had a blast, and Rich and I really enjoyed getting together with friends from years past. Good times, good times.
Brynn and her friend Hannah. They are two peas in a pod.

Uhm, they are NOT two peas in a pod....

As always, she is dirty...

Yeah, that is my bearded hubby holding Maeve. I would like to say that there is an end in sight to the beard, but I would be lying.

The whole group. Notice that most of the kids are frowning and unhappy/crying that they have to have their picture taken. Sooooo classic!

Who is REALLY In Charge..

Last time I checked, standing up in the high chair wasn't a good idea.
Last time I checked, little ones weren't allowed to help themselves across the top of the table to get to mommy's drink.
Last time I checked Mommy was still in charge.
I guess that "the last time I checked" must have been awhile ago...




She is pretty cute though...

Maeve and the Goat...

She loves those animals...

SC Fair 2009

It's fair time again!
Time for crowds of people of all "different" sorts, food that would give a cardiologist nightmares, and germs that are only found under the seats of all those kiddie rides....ewwww.
We went twice this time, and it was almost too much for me. I love the fair! I love the interesting people. I love the food. I don't love it when the kids get no nap, are overstimulated from sugar, rides and heat, and then I have to deal with them the rest of the day...
On that note.
It was a dinosaur theme this year, and although my kids aren't that into prehistoric creatures, they loved finding the dinosaurs throughout the fairgrounds and pointing them out to me. They had a blast on the kiddie rides, and checking out the flower show. They liked the food. But they LOVED all the animals!


Maeve almost squealed herself hoarse in the petting area, and I think she might have blinded a baby goat when she tried to "pet" his eyes.

Side note: I have officially decided that I want a goat. Not only will it eat all my grass so that my hubby won't have to mow, it will also be hours of entertainment for the kids. They can also be milked...which I don't want to drink, but hear is pretty good for you.
I have also decided that I want chickens. Not for the eggs, but just for the sole reason that they are really fun to watch. AND, Brynn wants a bunny.
All that being said, I don't think they allow those kinds of "pets" in the city, so we might have to move...hhmmm.

The second trip to the fair involved our church band.

They were playing on one of the stages, so we went to listen, and spend some more time checking out all the exhibits. We did more rides, more dinosaur hunting/reptile examining, and even squeezed into the photo booth as a family.


Can't wait to see you next year Sonoma County Fair!!!

Fashionista

I love my daughters sense of style. Its always fun for me to see what she is going to put together each morning. This one has to be one of my favorites! I almost made her change, since we were going out all day to do errands and such, but I didn't want to fight that battle for such a nominal reason...


Yes, those are velor pants under that dress. And yes, that is a crown and clip on earrings as well.

She did it!!!

Finally!!!! After 8 months of crawling Maeve has mastered walking! Geez, there is no rushing this little one. When she wants to do it she does, and when she doesn't want to - no amount of coaxing the world will make it happen! Pictures to come soon!

Day of Dress Up

Elissa and I took Brynn and Loriella to an adorable place in Sebastopol dedicated to dress up and tea parties. The little ones had a blast, and I think my sister in law did too....


Brynn tried on at least 20 different outfits. Here are a few!



My cutie pie niece rocked a few winners herself!!

Here is the group shot! I was trying to look tough. I am not very good at it!

Yes, that is a braided wig on me. AND a white fur coat. And if you look closely, I am wearing a knuckle ring with money signs on it. Awesome!!!