Post 3 - Snowed in the house fun

Ellia playing with her curious George monkey & dolls


Learning how to push those beads around with Nana

Ellia "pinning" her cousin Thomas. As much as I hate to admit it, I think our daughter has some natural wrestling moves. She always goes for the pin first! Laying across her opponent - or her friends or her cousin - whomever gets in her way.


And finally Bill showing off his Russian military hat - he actually considered wearing this out to the Seahawk game - said it would keep him warm....makes you go hmmm.....

Post 2 - Snow time fun

Someone was happy to see the snow!! I love this picture!



Thomas has never been in snow before so he was mesmerized by it. Kept playing in it.



Playing outside with Bubba



Someone didn't like her snow suit or being so bundled up



Watching the snow fall and waiting to go outside & play in it

Post 1 - Cabin Fever

It has been snowing since December 14th here and I can't remember EVER a time it snowed this long living here in the Pacific Northwest. As I type it is snowing yet again- hmmm the weather man said it was going to stop today.

I love the snow! I love how it sounds when it's falling ( there is a distinct snow falling sound - Trust Me), the way it covers the streets & tree's, the great purity of it's "whiteness" and seeing my daughters face light up when she saw it for the first time.

BUT I am really getting tired of it. I never thought I'd say that. Never thought I'd tell Bill "I am never praying for a white Christmas Again!"

I have been pretty much home bound since it started snowing except for 2 trips out. And to make my cabin fever even better I've been house bound with my parents, my 4 year old autistic nephew and my 2 little girls!

I love my family and my girls but have you ever been stuck in a house with 3 children under age 4 - one of which has special needs? It's been a rough few days trust me. There have been some fun moments - which I will post in other posts.


This is our fence with snow all piled up on it.

Tree's in our side yard.


Bill and our neighbor shoveling our driveway so Bill could go to work.

Almost cleared

The pile of snow after they were done.

Not Me! Monday......

Yes, it's that time again! It's officially Monday! And what could be better than getting a load off your chest. It's Not Me! Monday. Free therapy at it's funniest.

• This Mama did not let her 14month run around in her snow suit for hours after coming in from playing in the snow. Why you ask? Cause she just looked sooo darn cute and I couldn't resist.
• This Mama and family did not stand in line for 2.5 hours to Santa Claus...in the freezing rain & snow....Just to get the same Santa picture year after year and to follow tradition? Nope, why would I do that??
• I did not have my father (who is visiting from sunny Florida) help me shovel the 8inches of snow off the driveway on Saturday only to get dumped on again several hours later...which made all our work in vain. Nope, didn't do that either.
• And because we are snowed in with the worst snow storm we've seen in many years I am not cooking and baking like crazy. Then eating hundreds of extra calories each day between all the cookies, breads, stews, chili's and hot chocolate. Why pretend....YES I am doing this!!! It's so bad...what else do you do in this weather?????
• I did not tell my husband today "I am never praying for a white Christmas again!!" After we had shoveled the 16 inches of snow on our driveway this morning.
  
• And this Mama is not going stir crazy cooped up in her house with her parents & 4 year old nephew visiting....and I mean STIR CRAZY. Nope, she is enjoying every moment of the extra activity, fighting, whining, "milk please", "I'm hungry" and "What's for dinner" comments. This is what's she's been waiting for all year....Right??
  

You know you're the child of a redneck when.........

Your dad teaches you how to blow duck calls.

Bill teaching Ellia how to blow a duck call. She actually can do it!!!!

Your dad poses with you & his shotgun in a picture.

Bill and Ellia holding his beloved Benelli Nova. And his next comment - "I can't wait to buy you a pink shotgun baby" - Ummm, okay we'll see about that was my response.

Not Me! Monday

Yes, it's that time again! It's officially Monday! And what could be better than getting a load off your chest. It's Not Me! Monday. Free therapy at it's funniest.

• This week I did not head out to stamp club in my flip flops - And this wouldn't have been a problem if it hadn't start to snow!
• This Mama did not let her daughter run around in just her diaper & socks (wouldn't want her feet to get cold) for hours on end because she didn't feel like getting her dressed - until 3pm in the afternoon. Nope why would I have waited till 3 o'clock - what's the point then?
• Yesterday, we did not cancel & reschedule Santa pictures downtown not once but 3x in about an hours time due to the snow. And then finally head downtown and get those fabulous pictures taken!
• I did not drink almost a whole bottle of the holiday creamer "White Chocolate Peppermint" in my coffee this week. It couldn't have been me or maybe it is me and this stuff is soooo good!!!
  

Who drinks coffee anyways?? I'm a supermom and don't need to be energized.

• I am not the worst scheduler & have yet to fully regain my memory loss due to two subsequent pregnancies - which resulted in double booking craft night with friends, my scrap booking weekend in January and our friend's daughters 1st birthday party. Nope I carry around an appointment book and always consult it before scheduling anything!
• This Mama did not obsess about this years Christmas card. The pictures to use for it, the wording, the background - you name it she did not obsess. Nope she was calm & collected when she designed & finally ordered this card last night!
  
• And this Mama did not tell her husband that "Yes, we are having a Christmas letter whether you like it or not & you are too getting your own paragraph in it"
• And this Mama did not insist on matching paper & labels for this Christmas letter. And when designing the card on Costco.com did not insist on finding a background that matched the already bought paper. Hmmmm, maybe she would've checked online Before buying the paper, ya think? (in case you're wondering - we are all matching now)

Who knew that our first Christmas letter was going to be such a BIG deal??

"The dishes aren't sacred"

Yesterday, I was reading McMama's blog and she wrote something that has been radiating within me since I read it.


She wrote "the dishes aren't sacred" - explaining that while she may have many small children running around & a house to clean - those things don't trump spending time with her husband. In the evenings after their children are put to bed they spend time together. The dishes stay in the sink, the laundry stays in the dryer and stuff stays on the floor. All these things can & will be addressed the next day. She also wrote that she is "learning to put my husband first in all things". Wow!!!

This profoundly hit me. Seems so simple but yet not. How many times do I put the girls to bed and then make the "run around" as I like to all it? Picking up toys, folding loads of laundry, sweeping (my new daily chore - thanks to Bubba's hair) and whatever else I feel needs my attention at that time.

Unfortunately I make these things more important than Bill. I know Bill would never tell me "stop cleaning" as he understands how busy I am during the day and knows that this is my chance to catch up. However, this is exactly why I believe these words hit me so strongly.

Recently I've been challenged by the Lord to really read & study Proverbs 31 - The Virtuous Wife. And in these verses I have found many areas that I fee the Lord challenging me to address.

vs. 11 "The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain"

Bill trusts me with all his heart this I know, but does he lack? Yes, he lacks time with me. Time to share his heart, time to tell me about his day and his favorite "snuggle time". And by completing my "run around" I am missing valuable time with him. I am saying you aren't as important as these dishes. Again, Wow!!

The Lord really knows how to talk to me. Through blogs! No really, He hit home an area that he has been challenging me in for some time now. It's so cool how the Lord works - how he will use whatever measure he needs to get his point across to you. In my case - by reading a blog that I love and then hitting me with conviction right where I needed it.

Thanks MckMama for rocking this gals world!!!!

Not Me! Monday

Yes, it's that time again! It's officially Monday! And what could be better than getting a load off your chest. It's Not Me! Monday. Free therapy at it's funniest.

• This week I did not sleep on my daughters floor 3 nights in a row in an effort to get her to sleep in her crib. Who would do that when you are suppose to be sleeping in bed with your husband?
• Friday morning after yet another rough night on the floor of Addie's room this Mama did not wake up, get the girls dressed & head off to the mall & all it's Christmas craziness just to be around adults.
• And while getting dressed for the mall Ellia spilled a whole 32oz cup of water all over herself. This mama did not leave her in her wet clothes & take her to the mall that way. Nope, cause that would've been not a good mama thing to do. (Yeah, right do you know how hard it is to get two girls ready to go & myself. ) She dried off and what's a little (or a lot) of water on your jeans?
• Team D was late to not 1 but count em 2 birthday parties this weekend. Yeppers, we couldn't manage to get ourselves together and actually read the party start times on the invitations correctly.
• And on our way out to one of these parties we were late too I did not ask Bill to load Addie into the car failing to tell him she was on the porch in her car seat already. He did not run around the house looking for our daughter and then come out through the garage exasperated and ask "Where is our daughter??". It couldn't have been that I forgot to mention that she was on the porch & just needed to be loaded into the car.
  
• Finally, last night after getting the girls into bed I settled down for a mug of hot cocoa, a Christmas movie & the gas fire place on. Ahhh some quiet time - well it almost happened. The intent was there but how could I pass up this opportunity.... I got up and swept the floors, vacuumed & folded 2 loads of laundry while watching the movie, with the fireplace on and between sips of my cocoa. Now that is quiet mama time.
  

"Br-inner"

So anyone who knows me knows that I do not like to eat Breakfast for dinner - or what Bill calls "Br-inner". I don't think Breakfast should be eaten after 11am and since dinner time is after 11 you see where I am going. (Bertrand Family - you know this to be true first hand)

Now, Bill on the other hand loves all things Breakfast. Waffles, eggs, pancakes, cereal and he thinks it almost tastes better at dinner. His ultimate breakfast is Biscuits and gravy. And when Bill and I were dating he found this hard to believe but said he could live with not ever having breakfast for dinner.

So, last night I decided I would break my cardinal rule and make dinner for breakfast. I was going to surprise Bill and make Paula Deens Son's Biscuits and gravy recipe, eggs & hash browns. I chopped onions for the hash browns & peppers for the eggs. Got them all sauteed & ready to go. I've never made home made biscuits so I thought the recipe looked easy with only 3 ingredients. But I proved that 3 ingredients can be hard.

Let's just say my "Br-inner" idea was a bad- VERY bad idea. The biscuits turned out to be hard hockey pucks - that were so hard you would've broken a window. No joke! The gravy was too salty because I had a helper in my arms helping stir & I dumped too much salt into the gravy. I cooked the hash browns in my cast iron skillet thinking this would help brown them....ummm no they burned. About the only edible thing was the eggs.

Bill arrived home as I was dishing up the plates. I knew by looking at the plates that this wasn't going to be good. The presentation was horrible - and if the presentation looks bad it must be bad!! Even Ellia - a 14month old wouldn't touch the food!!! Bill sits down and I am already in tears crying. I mean boo-hoo crying. He is a good sport and takes some bites as I sit there crying. I then look at him and say "Can we go to McDonalds?". We clean up & throw ALL of the dinner away and drove through McDonalds.

Lessons learned:

1. Br-inner not a good idea in the Detlor home!!
2. Buy pre-packaged biscuits OR just stick with the bisquick recipe that you know works
   

Before we cleaned up I took pictures of my Br-inner attempt - what do you think?

The presentation OR attempt at presentation

Hard as rocks biscuits

Not Me! Monday

Yes, it's that time again! It's officially Monday! And what could be better than getting a load off your chest. It's Not Me! Monday. Free therapy at it's funniest.

• Did you hear the crazy news that Team D adopted a dog this week? I know isn't that crazy? Now why would a family with a 14 month old & an almost 8week old baby adopt a dog? I don't know either. Did they really adopt a cute, loving, well behaved and adorable chocolate lab? You guessed it they did.
• And this mama did not freak out when she found her 14 month old not only eating the dog food but playing in his water bowl all within 24 hrs of bringing home. Nope cause she would've known that this was going to happen and been prepared for it. (Are you ever prepared when your child eats your pets food?)
  
• On Saturday I did not sweep the hardwood floors 5x count em 5x!!! The dog hair doesn't show when you are looking down at the floor, but when you sweep it suddenly appears. And the first sweeping brought me so much hair that it lead to 4 more sweepings that day.
  
• And upon sweeping for the 5x time if you were in our house you most certainly did not hear this mama exclaim "This is ridiculous, I'm sweeping away my day" (And I thought I'd be cleaning up after children not animals.)
• Last night this mama did not say to her 8week old when she was crying "You are not the 1st child, you are the 2ND child therefore you have to learn to cry". Nope this mama did not say this at all to her sweet baby#2.
• This week this mama did not find Ellia eating off the mat under her high chair. And upon finding her eating bits of dried, old food leave her alone. Thinking to herself "it's only food from dinner last night & breakfast - what's it going to hurt"
  
• And finally, After visiting the dog park yesterday where Ellia got a little muddy - At home I removed her shoes but left her in her socks & shirt. Later when Addie began to spit up and I couldn't find a burp cloth I most certainly did not grab off one of Ellia's socks and wipe Addie's face with it. Nope I would've remembered to turn the sock inside out at least. Yeah, right who has time for that with a spitting up baby!
  

Concert Etiquette

This post is about the proper concert etiquette. The Do's and Don'ts of concert going.

Do have a good time.
Don't be a sour puss and complain about your seats. YOU bought the tickets

Do dance like crazy
Don't "dirty dance" so that the person in back of you gets their own personal lap dance

Do wave your hands in the air like you don't care
Don't hit the person behind you over & over & over with your hands while you're waving them (even after they've grabbed your hands to let you know "hey you're hitting me")

Do have 1 or 2 beers if you'd like but please be responsible
Don't get so drunk that you spill your beer in my purse & all over my friends feet - who then had to walk around with wet socks & shoes.....yuck!

And finally.......

Don't complain the entire time about the concert - about your seats, about what others are wearing, about how the boys "can't dance" - "they are so out of sync" and say things like "they look like they need bengay".

Honestly this isn't fun for those around you to listen to all night and you might hear someone in our group say "Why'd you come?" and later "You can leave anytime you want"

NKOTB wrap up

One of the MANY bad outfits we saw on this night......Can we say lots of spandex, mini skirts and side pony tails.



Lindsey, Jessica, Tiffany,Me, LeAnne & Sabrina before the show
In their all white outfits (1 of several costume changes)
And again. Don't they look good?
Jordan singing to us of course

The evening started with us all meeting up - minus Sabrina who met us at concert. A quick stop for dinner and blizzard for Jess and we were on our way. Carpooling down in LeAnne's shiny red minivan. New Kids CD of best hits blasting away in the stereo.

Snip its of conversations in the van that evening........................

"Why are they starting this concert so late?" - it started at 8pm
"Don't they know were all old now and go to bed early?"
"They could've at least started at 6 it's Saturday"

"I was in 6Th grade when I started listening to these guys"

"Last time I came to the Tacoma Dome it was to see Wiggles Live"

"My husband thinks were so crazy for coming tonight" followed by several "So does mine"

"So LeAnne did you see 90210 the other night?" "You guys watch that?"
"Ohh, it's so good. And the characters & story lines follow closely to the original show"

"What about Gossip Girl did you see that?" Again "You guys watch that too?"
"That seems show seems so scandalous" - "It's not as scandalous as it is portrayed in the commercials"

"Lindsey you can't take your camera into the concert" - "Well I am, I will just shove into my pants" - which she did by the way.

"Girls everything that happens tonight is all going into the blog"


We arrive at the T-Dome and boy was it crazy. Mostly woman and lots of these women decided to make an 80's evening out of it and dressed to the nines for it. Lots and lots of spandex. Along with mini skirts, ratted bangs with side pony tails, off the shoulder tee-shirts, old NKOTB tee-shirts. We saw it all - as evident in the first picture in this post.

We found our seats which were directly center of stage and in the back. The pictures above are from a friend of Lindsey's who was in 2ND row. (she got to go back stage to meet them & she kissed Donnie on the lips)

The first opening act was "Lady GaGa" - Ever heard of her??? None of us had either. But apparently (according to my brother & my 14 yr old niece) she is really popular. I didn't see what the fuss was all about. She danced around in her underwear & shouted at the crowd.

Next act was Natasha Bettingfield. Now she was pretty good. At least I knew her songs and she wasn't running around in her underwear.

They came out to "Girlfriend" and immediately charmed the crowd. Lindsey was soooo excited that she fell down in her seat. It was quite funny. They continued to play for the next 2 hours and I'm telling you they were really good. They danced & sang their way back into our hearts. And we all shouted, screamed, whistled, sang along, danced, waved our hands in the air to our favorite boys. For 2hrs we weren't soccer moms we were free spirited & re-living our Jr high years to their fullest.

They ended the show with Step by Step and of course Hangin Tough. Which if they hadn't sang these songs I would've been soooo very upset & the concert wouldn't have felt complete. It was a GREAT encore and a great ending to our concert experience.

What do the Detlors do on a day off????

Do you ever find yourself wondering what Team D does on Bill's day off during the week? I know you're dying to find out.......

First thing early this morning we took Ellia to see the Cardiologist at Children's Hospital. She has had a heart murmur since birth and we had to get it checked out. Better safe than sorry. I am happy to report that her heart checked out A-Okay!!

We kept her dressed in her pj's since it was so early
She had to get an EKG done. This is prior to getting hooked up to all the wires.



All hooked up and ready to go.
Then we came home rested for a bit, took a fellow MOPS mom a dinner and drove to Stanwood. What's in Standwood you ask? Why Noah's animal shelter? Why well they had two 2 chocolate lab mix puppies up for adoption. See for as long as Bill and I have been married (2.5 glorious years) we've been talking about a dog. And anyone who knows my husband knows he's wanted a lab. He grew up with a chocolate lab and they make good hunting dogs. We've almost gotten a dog 2x now and each time at the last minute decided against it. So this year for Christmas I was going to surprise Bill and get a dog. This afternoon I just happened to check their website and see the puppies. So I went downstairs and asked Bill "So what are we going to do with the rest of our afternoon?" And he responded with a "I don't know, what do you want to do?" And then I said "I was thinking we'd drive to Noah's today and look at some puppies" He was shocked of course and so then I sent him up to look at their pictures on computer.

We loaded up the girls, dropped off the dinner at MOPS mom's home and drove on up to Stanwood. We decided if for whatever reason the dogs didn't work out we'd be okay with it and it wasn't meant to be right now. Now the two dogs up for adoption were already named "Bubba" and "Joshua" - who names a dog "Joshua"?? We both secretly wanted "Bubba" as it would be hard to change a dog's name.

We get to the shelter and are greeted at the door by a volunteer. We tell her why we were there and who we wanted to meet. She immediately says "Well you don't want to see Joshua as he isn't good with children" We both smile at each other and follow her to meet "Bubba".

We learn after spending time with Bubba in his little room and asking a ton of questions that he is a PURE bred chocolate lab. He is 8months old, had all his shots, been to obedience school and extremely good mannered. All the volunteers that had worked with him in the 3 days he'd been there had nothing but positive remarks to say about him. We decide to take him for a walk. But by this point Bill and I are making eyes at each other and we just know he's the dog for us. He walks great on the leash and we decide to make it official. We are going to take Bubba home. So we go back in and begin to file the paperwork. The shelter knew we were going to adopt him and were excited. Here's where it gets crazy.....

So when we walk in and tell them we want to adopt Bubba they get all excited. You see he had made an impression on them in just 3 days and they were happy we were adopting him. PLUS we were the 6000 adoption since they've been open. So they announced over loud speaker that the 6000 adoption was taking place, all the volunteers/workers come out to meet us and they give us a huge basket of goodies. Dog toys, dog food, leash, collar, dog treats, free pet exam at vet of our choice and tons more. Then they asked if they could take our picture for the newsletter.....It was CRAZY!!! Like we were celebrities or something. Another couple came in at this time looking for Bubba but he was already a Detlor.......It was meant to be!!! (Bubba wouldn't have lasted another day)


Meet Team D member#5 - Bubba Detlor.

Isn't he cute???

***Warning*** You are about to enter..........................Super Post Tuesday

Not Me Monday!

This past week, no matter what anyone tells you to the contrary, I most certainly did not:

• Meet 6 friends and carpool down in our red minivan to the Tacoma Dome. Where we might have been attending the reunion tour concert of New Kids on the Block. And if you think you saw this mama screaming her head off, waving her hands in the air like she don't care and having a great time you must be wrong. Cause this mama wouldn't dream of acting so Jr highish at 31. Nope that sure wasn't me.

• This mama did not give her 6wk old daughter a bath & then to keep those cute curls staying curly spray her hair with hairspray. Now why would I do that???

• I most certainly did not spend 2 nights on the computer for hours at a time trying to complete my free Snapfish photo book - a gift from Oprah. (Yeah, you know Oprah and I go waaaay back.) Only to have my husband say to me after the 2ND night of this process "I really hate Oprah right now"

• After MOPS this past week the girls got sick. And this mama most certainly did not let them stay in their pj's all day, every day for the rest of the week. You're kidding me right, they didn't get dressed all week? Well, they did get dressed for the doctor but then upon returning home got back into pj's.

• And upon venturing out to the doctor's appointments this past week I did not loose control even when I had to get BOTH girls undressed, weighed and measured before they even saw the doctor. I really didn't loose control. But oh, boy if you could've seen what I looked like on the inside - it would've been C R A AAAAAA Z Y! Even the nurse was surprised at how "Calm & collected" I seemed to be with two sick & crying children.

• Wanting to capture all that is fall I most certainly did not have my husband rake all the leaves in our backyard into a pile so that I could take pictures of the girls. And I most certainly did not make Ellia get all bundled up in her cute pink hat just for pictures. And when she wouldn't stay in the leaves so we could take pictures I did not get frustrated. And then when it was Addie's turn for pictures I did not forget her coat or hat - only to realize it later when we downloaded pictures. Nope cause this mama has it all together & would never subject her children to this kinda of out landish behavior just for pictures.

• While laying in bed this mama did not begin obsessing over the dust on the ceiling fan when her husband was trying to kiss her & get romantic. (Because honestly who has the time to look straight up to the ceiling & focus on the ceiling fan other than when you're about to get romantic) Thus almost spoiling the mood.....I said almost. ;o)

• And finally - Today when we got ready to leave the house I did not forget my coat, my chap stick and my phone. (went back for phone - still forgot the coat) Nope cause this mama of two has got everything under control and always has her diaper bag & purse ready to go when she leaves. (Yeah right!)
  

Remember this post? - NKOTB Tonight!!!!

That's right I now hold in my hand my ticket to the NKOTB concert on 11-22-08. No you aren't seeing things this 31 year old, soon to be mother of two is going to the NKOTB concert. Tonight is the night and I cannot wait!

Ohhh, those were the days - back when I was 12. Back when my wall was plastered with Teen Beat magazine posters of NKOTB and other hotty boy crushes. Back when my babysitting money and allowance was spent buying the latest scrunchy, Aqua net hairspray and Teen Beat magazines.

NKOTB was my 1st concert. One that I almost didn't get to go to. But my father insisted it would be okay and to let me go even when my mother objected. So my friend Andrea and I waited in line for 8hrs at Bell Square to buy our tickets. Then the night of the concert we made signs, got all glamorized in our "cool" concert gear and headed to the T-Dome to see our favorite guys. (I have pictures of us - I will have to find them and post them) I was in love with Joey and she Jordan. We were convinced we were going to meet them and marry them.

Flash forward 19 years.......I am 31 years old, pregnant (well newly given birth) & going to see my "guys" again. Ohh, yes pregnancy..... My due date has been stated as 11-5 or 11-9 somewhere in that vicinity. So if for some reason this baby comes late I will literally be a week post birth going to this concert. I am now over a month post-delivery. But it will all be worth it. So on 11-22-08 my five friends and I will hop into a minivan, pop in the newest NKOTB CD and jam our way down to the T-Dome to see our guys.

Just so you're all clear my husband thinks I'm crazy. He thinks all of my friends and I are crazy. I think he's just scared that he will have to watch a newborn and a 13 month old alone that night ;o) Well he isn't watching the girls tonight - G & G are as he will be working late.

Till the CD comes out & the concert arrives I will "Step by Step" my way through my pregnancy, tell my husband "You got the right stuff", "Keep on Smilin" cuz "I'll Still Be Loving You" and as I head out the door he'll probably say "Please Dont Go Girl" but I'll be "Hanging Tough" at the concert with my guys.

I'll post about our concert night adventures in a few days.

Friday Night date night

Last night Bill and I had a great date night. Now I know you're all dying to know where we went and what we did.

Know where our date night was?.......In our car. Yep that's right....Bill forgot Ellia's antibiotic at work. (she has an ear infection, that's a whole other post about taking two sick little girls to the doctor...by myself) So instead of waiting till Sunday when we could get back down there to get it we drove down to his store after dinner.

Now I know what you're thinking.....How can a drive in the car be romantic? But I'm here to tell you it was.

We dressed the girls in their jammies, gave Ellia some warm milk and both got a dosage of baby Tylenol. (Ellia for pain in her ear & Addie for her slight fever) We loaded them into the car and in about 20 minutest they were both sleeping like babies should.

While we drove there and back we talked about how our day went, work, family, friends, sex and the approaching holidays. It was really, really nice. And on the way home we stopped and got milkshakes.

Truly a nice Friday night date in an unusual way!

Fun with some leaves

"What's this all about mom?"

"Please Be careful with your little sister"

I can't move, take the picture

"This leaf was all worth the trauma"

I decided I wanted pictures of the girls in all the leaves dumped in our backyard from the maple tree. (which went bye-bye yesterday cause it was dead & dangerous during wind storms) So Bill raked up all the leaves and put the girls in them. These were our shots. Ellia didnt like them at first but warmed up to them, especially after she discovered her own leaf.

Men are just little boys at heart

Monday afternoon the girls were asleep and so I decided to settle down for a little rest myself.

Picture this....gas fireplace on, soft music playing, no children crying, me sitting on the couch with a mug of tea....Ahhhhhh pure bliss.

Now picture hearing a duck quack.....can you hear it, can you? This is what I kept hearing....
I kept hearing my lovely husband in the garage blowing his duck calls. Apparently he was practicing the different calls while he was working.

After an annoying 15-20 minutest that was cutting into my rest time I went out there to politely ask him to stop. This is what I encountered......

Enough said.............pictures speak volumes..........Men are boys at heart!
(someone was "practicing" hunting in the garage)

Not Me Monday!

This past week, no matter what anyone tells you to the contrary, I most certainly did not:

• I did not after weeks of fussing & yes complaining get my new stroller. Only to be too impatient to wait for my husband to put it together. So my 1 yr old and I did not spend the morning reading the directions and putting it together. Nope the proper thing would have been to wait, right?
• This mama did not then promptly take the stroller out for the afternoon. And proclaim over and over " I love this stroller " to anyone who would listen.
• Upon removing my daughter's pony tails the other night I did not tell her "this is the price we pay for beauty" when she cried while I was removing the rubber bands. (even though I may have wound them too tight that morning)
• This mama did not cry the day her husband went back to work - after being off for 5 weeks on maternity leave. And then continue to cry off and on all day. Even though she told him she'd be fine and was ready for a routine to start again.
• This mama isn't continuing to eat like she is pregnant. So the home made cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting, brownies, hashbrown casserole and stuffed shells that appeared in our home this week - I didn't make them. Nope cause this mama is trying to work on being good when it comes to eating again.
  

Fun with Grandpa

Ellia had some fun playing with Grandpa D the other day. Just too cute to not show off.

How'd you get out there Grandpa?

Hey, where'd he go?

Adilynn's nursery COMPLETED

Remember this room? How could you forget it? Well it went bye-bye and see what took it's place...........




Well here is the new room..............What do you think?

I love Adilynn's room. It is so cute but in a very sophisticated cute. Not too girly - do you know what I mean? It's so bright & vibrant. A complete difference from her big sisters room.

The final saga of our New Stroller

So this is my new double stroller. Ellia and I put it together yesterday all by ourselves. Rather I put it together and Ellia played with all the box materials. We even took it out for a stroll yesterday as we were so excited. You can see Ellia's excitement can't you??

This is my 2nd double stroller. Bill previously had purchased a stroller but once we had Addie and I had to use it......well lets just say it didn't quite work for me. So my wonderful husband ran all over letting me test double strollers. Many stores later and a trip to a fellow MOPS mom's house early one morning and I decided it was the Graco Quatro Tour Duo.

I LOVE this stroller!!! It turns so easily, has a large basket underneath, our carseat fits even though it's not a Graco one, there's a nice handy place for your keys, and the colors are nice - dont ya think?

Super post Saturday

Today is Super Post Saturday. Look for several posts as I catch up.

To my darling 1 month old daughter

Yesterday, my sweet darling baby girl you turned 1 month old and wow has time flown by. You came into this world 1 month early & ready for the adventures that life will bring.
You were welcomed joyfully by Daddy, Mommy, Big Sister Ellia as well as lots of other family & friends. We were so excited to finally hold you & see your sweet face.

Today we took you for your 1 month check up. You weighed in at 8lbs and 20 inches long. You are making a slow but steady climb into being a big girl. As your doctor said today "She is on the petite side". Which is fine with us as we know you'll catch up with your big sister soon.

In just a month you have brought me so much joy. I love when you are awake and looking all around exploring this big world. Or when you are nursing and I catch you staring up at me. This melts my heart to pieces. Your sweet smell is so wonderful and when that baby smell is gone I'm sure I'll cry as I did with your big sister. I didn't realize how much I missed having a tiny baby around.

Your conception was a bit of a surprise to mommy and daddy. But not a mistake or accident by any means. As you were created out of love on the love day - Valentines Day! And for that we are so grateful.

Soon enough you will be a big girl playing with your big sister and getting into trouble I'm sure. But for now I will snuggle with you and enjoy every moment.

I love you sweet Adilynn!

Not Me Monday!

Not Me Monday post - a little earlier than Monday morning.

This past week, no matter what anyone tells you to the contrary, I most certainly did not:

• No matter what the Walmart worker tells you this mama did not walk into the men's restroom by mistake. I thought the fact that the restroom only had 2 stalls - one of which was out of order was strange for a women's bathroom. Then I looked to my left and saw the urinals all against the wall. (obviously no men were in the restroom) I quickly turned around to exit and ran into two men whom both were laughing and one said "chose the wrong restroom, huh?" Don't believe the walmart worker - it wasn't me.
• Upon our drive to Portland to see extended family my husband made a stop at Cabela's where this mama spent 2.5 hours strolling around looking at camping gear, fishing poles, lots & lots of camouflage clothes and dead animals with our girls. At the same time trying to keep her girls behaved & trying to have a good attitudewhile my husband bought a new shotgun. ( I did somehow by the Grace of God manage to keep a good attitude.)
• While in Cabela's this mama most certainly did not let her 1yr old crawl under the bathroom stall door cause it would be easier than picking her up. (Did I mention she crawled under the stall next to me first - with a woman in there? ) Having her walk out of the stall would've been a better mama thing to do, right?
• When the Costco cashier told me "Ms. you really need to get a photo on your card" - This mama did not say to her "My husband is a manager at Costco and we usually shop at his store so I'm really not too concerned about my photo" - with the cashier replying "I understand that but you really should think about getting a photo" - And then when I complained to my husband hoping to get some support he told me "She was just doing her job"
• This week I got some new clothes for winter. A few new sweaters, a pair of jeans and some winter shirts. Giddy with excitement I raced home to clean out my closet and hang up all my new clothes. Cleaning out meant packing up 2 years of maternity clothes - which felt SOOOO good. While packing up the maternity clothes I came across a brown maternity tee-shirt that had big purple "G" on it with the words "It's a girl" across the belly. I realized I hadn't worn this shirt while pregnant the 2ND time around. And this mama did not sit down on the closet floor and start crying. Nope cause that would mean after 4 weeks she was still hormonal. And being hormonal & emotional 4weeks post delivery couldn't possibly be alright?
• This mama did not race around the house on MOPS Tuesday trying to get the girls ready, diaper bag packed & make her hash brown casserole only to burn herself on the oven. And this mama most certainly did not go ahead to MOPS even though her husband insisted she should go to the doctor. To only later humbly call her husband and say "I think I need to go to the doctor" - which resulted in a 2ND degree burn diagnosis, cream & bandages and oh yeah.....a tetanus shot.
• Yesterday this mama did not ask her husband to travel to not 1 but 3 baby stores in the Portland area to look at double strollers. And we are going to another one today! All in the name of finding the "perfect" double stroller.
  

MOPS Tuesdays

I love Tuesdays - at least the ones that come every other week. This is when the "girls" and I head off to join other moms & kids for MOPS.

Joining MOPS was a BIG step for me but one I am glad I made. I have met lots of wonderful ladies, had great conversation, GREAT food, and some fun crafts too.

This Tuesday I decided to try a dry run at getting myself and the girls ready & out the door all on my own. Bill is still home on maternity leave till next week. So he worked in the garage & on computer while I scurried around the house to get ready. Did I mention it was my week to help bring food?

So everything is going well until 8:30 - 15 minutes before I needed to leave. I check on my hash brown casserole and it's not done cooking, mind you it had been in there already for 25 min. Then I remember how my oven cooks slower so a 325 degree recipe has to be cooked at 350. I quickly turn it up to 400 to give it an extra umph in cooking. My sweet husband volunteers to go get me a latte since now I wont have time to stop for one.

While he is gone I finish getting everything ready. Girls coats on - Check, Diaper bag packed - Check, purse & keys - Check, casserole out of the oven - Check OR NOT. Upon pulling the pan out of the oven my forearm touches the oven door. I can feel it burning but if I drop the pan I wont have anything to take to MOPS. I save the hash brown casserole - good thing too as it was a hit.

But I have a 3 inch 2nd degree burn on my arm. After insistence from my husband to go to doctor I head off to MOPS. While there several other moms tell me "you need to go to the doctor". So I call make an appointment and call my husband so he can meet me at appointment to help with the girls.

Burn medicine, bandages & a Tetnus shot later and I'm all good. I don't remember a tetnus shot hurting this much. Let me tell you it hurts!! Good thing I got it in my burned arm (thanks to my husband who suggested I not get it in my good arm - boy am I glad I listened to him)

Lesson learned - Do anything to save the MOPS food ;o)

Not Me Monday!

This past week, no matter what anyone tells you to the contrary, I most certainly did not:

• This mama most certainly did not say to the medical assistant upon arrival at the doctors office "We are not 9 minutes late, we were only 2 minutes late. We had to wait for those 7 minutes because all 3 receptionist were busy with other patients & 2 of them were training new people" And this mama's husband did not have to elbow her for being so rude. Nope that wasn't me. (Ok, it was.....and I did find the gal and apologize on our way out)

• When we were at the mall trick or treating we lost these cute barrettes that Grandma gave Ellia. And I did not shed a few tears because we couldn't find them later.

• For a party this past weekend I made one of my most requested cake recipes, Pumpkin-Praline Cake (for my good friend who LOVES this cake). Half the cake was left over and this morning the other half is almost entirely gone. And it wouldn't be because Bill has eaten it because he hates pumpkin. Could it be me who has eaten almost the other half? Who me? Couldn't be, Then who? (remember that kids song "who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?")

• This past Thursday night I did not have a break down crying yet again over Thanksgiving......and end up in a BIG fight with Bill over holidays and family. Which resulted in my friend calling and playing referee between Bill and I at 9:30 at night. Nope that wasn't us at all - we are perfectly resolved to stay home and miss Thanksgiving this year with our extended family. Yeah right!!!

Wow, this week I didn't have as many confessions! This could be a bad thing or it could be a good thing Hmmmmmmmmm. Guess we'll see how this week turns out ;o)

Pumpkin Patch

Ellia and Daddy trying to catch a trout

Ellia loved riding in the wagon with the pumpkins

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea??

Our Family

Our pumpkin patch visit was long - no thanks to Bill & Ellia trying to catch a trout. We picked this particular pumpkin patch because of the Trout fishing pond. We arrived & met up with our friends and proceeded to pick out our pumpkins. All was good.

Then we headed across the street to get into the activity area of the patch. Which included face painting, bouncy pumpkin house, fishing, train rides, giant hamster wheel rides and a big "corn kernel" box (like a sand box). Mind you it cost $7.00 per person to get into this activity area. And none of the other activities Ellia was old enough for. We were simply paying to fish.

However, Bill was willing to pay this so that Ellia could catch her first fish. Lets just say that $21.00 and over an 1hr later we left without a single fish. Yeppers, the fishing was a bust! Ellia was tired & bored and Addie was hungry. Bill was very disappointed and I was shocked at how disappointed he truly was!

Other than the fishing bust we had a great time at the pumpkin patch as you can see in our photos.