Alysa will join us for tick-or-treating this year and she is going to be a pink batgirl. We are going to be trick-or-treating in Mukilteo. I give the kids 23 minutes before they get too cold and want to go home...
So this year Madison is going to be a bumble bee, Camila will be a flower (get it?), and Emilee will be Spider Witch, lol.
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Camila reached her first big milestone last night at about 7pm. I was changing her diaper in her crib and she was considerably unhappy about the situation. I bent down to grab a clean diaper and came back up and said "Clean diaper to the rescue!" and she stopped crying and then started smiling at me. Jesse was standing next to me and I tapped him on the shoulder and told him that Camila was smiling. Then she started laughing! It was pretty great. And apparently she has a cheesy sense of humor because my antics weren't that awesome.
I have also been in touch with a woman who has pictures of my Italian side of my family. I noticed in a picture that she sent me that this "all girls" dilemma we have is probably my gene's fault:+is+to+the+far+left.+The+little+girl+standing+would.jpg)
I also found out that my great-great grandfather had a sweet 'stache in his time:
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Sometimes I look at my parenting tactics and values i try to instill on my children and I wonder... am I a weirdo?
This occurred to me when I suggested that Madison start writing letters to family members she
has never met. Ones she has heard of, of course, and has talked to on the phone. Why? No one
ever writes letters anymore, that's why!
I requested that she write them in cursive, in pen, and sign them properly with "Sincerely". I told her I wanted her to write about one a week and we would address the envelopes and send them via the obsolete SNAIL MAIL.
Then I thought about it. Does she really need to know how to do this? Probably not. Maybe. Who knows! But I don't want to surrender the little things in life like getting a hand written letter from a relative to electronic communication.
P.S. I also made her her own snazzy stationary! If you want to get a letter email me your mailing address at prettyinpretend@aol.com
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Yesterday I was at Target and I was looking at t-shirts for Madison. I debated on getting a shirt that says "Paris" on it and "Je Taime" because she is going to be taking French classes this year and she is really excited about it. Then I debated over a halloween t-shirt but the only remotely nice one said "I love vampires" and Madison has made is very apparent that she likes werewolves, lol. So I finally decided to get her two basic long sleeved shirts, one black and one white. While I was there I saw a t-shirt that says "Proud to be a NERD". My first thought was "Madison would be appaled if I got her that shirt" then I thought about it some more. 9 year olds are just coming into that age where they are ultra self conscious. I can not imagine many 9 year olds that would willingly wear a t-shirt that labels them a un-cool (even though being a nerd is awesome in my opinion).
Anyway, fast forward to me picking Madison up from school. We were leaving the parking lot and I told her "I got you a couple of shirts from Target today. They're long sleeved so you can wear them under your short sleeved shirts." She said "Okay." Then I thought about that NERD shirt and wanted to confirm that Madison indeed would not consider wearing a shirt like that. I did not take into consideration the context this was going to appear in, which warranted a very dramatic response from Madison (dramatic, yet hilarious!).
This is how the conversation went for Madison
Me: "I got you a couple of shirts from Target today. They're long sleeved so you can wear them under your short sleeved shirts"
Madison: "Okay."
Me: "Would you wear a shirt that says 'Proud to be a nerd?"
Madison: [insert horrified expression] "Nooo!!!"
To clarify, she thought I had bought her a t-shirt that said "Proud to be a nerd." It was pretty hilarious.
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I was just posting on Facebook about all of my rules that I have in my house and how there are a lot of them. I thought I would share.
No Disney Channel or Nickelodeon unless the show is preapproved by mom. And never EVER any cartoon network.
I was watching a music video by Vanessa Hudgens a while back on Disney Channel and the lyrics were "Last night you were calling me, telling me how you want me." What the heck?! What ever happened to Even Stevens and Lizzy Maguire? Funny, campy TV shows. SO we nixed those channels from the approved list. Cartoon Network has never been allowed because it is too violent. In a general sense it is not violent, but I am not raising the general population in my household. I am raising CHILDREN. Since when is it funny to hurt people? When did it become funny to lose control of your temper? When did killing your friends become humorous? Those things are not funny or lightly taken in real life. We are not going to pretend like they are. What my kids CAN watch is Food Network, Discovery Channel, History Channel, and Animal Planet. They actually absorb new information that I cannot even teach them. I don't think media is a good medium for teaching, but I can't ignore it's presence; so we make the best of it! It never replaces family time or traditional learning, though.
Read for 20 minutes before you get to play a 30 minute game on the computer. The Sims. Even if you've already read for 20 minutes that day for homework. And that is only after you've done everything else (clean room, eat, homework, etc)
I justify this by telling my children "If you are going to do something that is unhealthy
for your brain, we are going to do something good for it first." Granted, they read for 10
minutes less than they play the game, but they don't get to play very often. And The Sims is a
life simulator. There is no violence and it is rated E.
No inappropriate music, as defined by language and content of lyrics.
Madison and Emilee listen to my favorite bands, MUSE and Paramore. No Justin Beiber. Why??
Justin Beiber has artists on his album that are notorious for bad language and sexual content,
not to mention drug references in their music. I have no doubt that Justin Beiber is headed in that
direction if those are his musical influences. I can't think of any blatant drug or sex references in
any of their albums. Nor can I think of a song that has a curse word in it. They are free to explore
other music, they just haven't.
Share everything.
An example: We were going to Jetty Island and the kids asked if I could get them shovels and
I went to the grocery store and got one shovel, one pail, and an inflatable ring. When we got to
the beach the kids were forced to figure out who gets to play with what, when, and for how long?
They used their problem solving skills. Madison played with the shovel and pail first while Emilee
played in the water with the ring. They asked me if I could tell them when 10 minutes was up so
that they could trade. This encourages problem solving and social skills that are important both
when they go to school and when they grow up to be adults.
Be helpful.
Who has heard this: "But I didn't make the mess!" I still hear it, but the fact is, we all live in
this house. We all make messes. And we all clean up. Everyone will be helpful, within their
capacity, because we are all equal parts of the household. If Madison left her shirt on the
living room floor but she is still eating and Emilee is finished, I am going to ask Emilee "Emilee,
can you be helpful and pick up Madison's shirt since she is still eating dinner?" and she will do it.
If I just ask "Emilee, pick up that shirt in the living room." I will get a response such as "But I
didn't make the mess!" It's all in your intention.
Be respectful and demand it back... even from adults.
Madison often remarks on other people's parent skills and most of the time it is about the
dynamic of the relationship between the child and their parent. In our house, I am respectful
to Madison, Emilee, and Jesse. Simply because there is no reason not to be respectful. I
always use respectful words and I never use a condescending tone. Jesse and I use sarcasm
with each other, but not with the kids. In return, the children treat us the same way.
Sometimes they slip but a simple "Do I treat you like that?" quashes the attitude and warrants
an apology. I have seen Madison stand up to other adults that have disrespected her and she
does it in a very grown up way, She talks to them about what they did and lets them know
that she did not like it. Sometimes the adults respond well and sometimes they don't. But I
talk to my children and tell them that I am proud of them and the important thing is that they
let the person know that what they did was not acceptable - not that they have a bad attitude.
We are not going to have friends who make poor choices.
Like the neighbor kids who ride their bikes in the middle of the road, unsupervised by an adult
(even the 3 year old!) without helmets and light off fireworks by themselves. I do not blame
these children but I am not going to encourage my kids to play with them if they are being left
to make choices between good and bad by themselves. A 7 year old does not have that
capacity to make those decisions 100 percent on their own. I like my kids in one piece, not
kidnapped, not hit by a car, not bleeding from the head on the sidewalk because they fell off
their bike, and not with first degree burns from fireworks. We'll pass. We will, however, hang out
with children whose parents are going to supervise us when we're playing and make sure
we are safe.
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We had a pretty neat day today. First, after eating breakfast, we went to church at Gold Creek Community Church with Madison's best friend of 9 years, Natalia. She is staying with us for the weekend while her mommy takes a much needed vacation (I don't think she has ever had one!) to Montana. Why Montana? I have no clue but I hope she enjoys it there. Madison and Natalia have been playing non stop, however, Natalia is deciding to take a nap, haha. Poor Madison. Anyway. The church service today was pretty great. The music wasn't as awesome as the Noon service but that is how it usually is. We talked about individual plans that we all make for our lives. For our children. Etcetera. And how you may have a good plan, but He has a great one.
Everyone (well... the women I encountered) loved the Moby Wrap that I was wearing. I have a green one and someone said "I have never seen a baby look more cozy in a carrier before". The Moby Wrap is a must!
After church we went to the Goodwill (I love that place!) and got some napkin, a bread basket, 2 serving dishes, a pattern for dresses, and a scale. The scale is pretty awesome and has different user setting for up to 4 people. Pretty darn sweet for $5 if you ask me!
Tomorrow Jesse's mother's neighbor is going to come over and do our yard for us. It has not
been maintained since we bought the place because we do not own any lawn equipment and no one we know has any, either. At least, no one within reasonable driving distance. It will be nice to have the yard accessible for Emilee's birthday party. She is turning 7! Speaking of which, I have to make cupcakes for that. Bloody cupcakes. Because it's a Twilight party, lol. Yay? Or... Creepy? Whatever... she's the birthday girl ;-)
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She had her first pediatrician appointment today and the closing note from the doctor was "She looks beautiful. Keep doing what you've been doing and we'll see you next week!". When I told her about her sleeping for 6 and a half hours straight at night she said "Well, she has gained 2 ounces since you left the hospital so... looks like you have a great schedule!" No concerns around that. She also got her blood drawn. She was none to happy about
that but got over it quickly.
Madison and Emilee fawn over Camila constantly and are having a blast
being big sisters. Madison likes to give people baby advice, lol. When Grandma Sue came over she said "She is looking at you like that because you're a new face." Which I know isn't true quite yet but it was cute to see her retaining baby knowledge and applying it ;-) Every time Camila makes a squeak both girls are at her said saying "Shhh. It's okay, Baby Girl. It's alright, Camila."
Anyway I am off to bed. I will share a picture of Emilee reading Camila a book:
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Our family welcomed Camila Claire today at 12:53pm. She weighed in at 6 pounds and 7 ounces, the same as Madison! She is 19 inches long with dark hair. She got the highest score possible on her Apgar. I will post more about her story when I have 2 hands to type with.
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Talk about going out with a bang... the last thing I ate was a BBQ burrito, lol. Now I get to eat hospital food for the nest few days! Really it's not that bad at all... as long as they don't give me mushrooms or fish - ew.
So it turns out that I totally forgot to go get my blood drawn at the clinic prior to today (Jesse reminded me at 6pm yesterday, lol) so I get to go in EXTRA early to get it drawn 2 hours before the c section today. Yay! <- Not really. I didn't sleep much last night and no one in my house is even awake yet. Silly me.
Anyway, if it turns out that Cmaila is no longer breech I will post here.
Your prayers and thopughts are welcome :-) All we want is a safe procedure and a healthy baby.
So it turns out that I totally forgot to go get my blood drawn at the clinic prior to today (Jesse reminded me at 6pm yesterday, lol) so I get to go in EXTRA early to get it drawn 2 hours before the c section today. Yay! <- Not really. I didn't sleep much last night and no one in my house is even awake yet. Silly me.
Anyway, if it turns out that Cmaila is no longer breech I will post here.
Your prayers and thopughts are welcome :-) All we want is a safe procedure and a healthy baby.
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As far as I can tell, by the hard skull like shape floating at the top of my abdomen, Camila is still breech. Which means that tomorrow at noon (granted, she has not turn around by then) we will be proceeding with the cesarean section we had scheduled a while back. We check in at 10am. The kids, my mom, and probably my sister as well, will all be joining us on this endeavor. My mother and Amber will entertain the kids while the procedure goes on.
I loaded the stroller into the car already today, as well as my gifts to the new big sisters. I wasn't sure if I would be bringing it but then I considered the pain it was to lug a baby in a carseat to the car, as well as all of the other items (suit case, bag, gifts, etc). I imagine if I leave it at home I will be wishing I had brought it for the travel down to the car and the loading portion, as well. The carseat clips into the stroller so we're set.
Now I just have to remember all of the other things I am going to bring with me! I got a post-postpartum girdle to aid in a speedy recovery. I have heard nothing but good things about them and this particular one got really great reviews on Amazon.com (it is by Underworks). And Bio Oil apparently helps a ton to reduce scarring so I invested in some of that, as well.
Overall, I feel like I am well prepared. However, I tried to install blinds in Camila's room today. To my disdain, it seems that the inside of the window is metal (?). I tried to put some pilot holes in the window and got absolutely nowhere. I was even armed with my drill! So that kind of stinks. We will figure it out later, I suppose. In the meantime I hope Camila doesn't mind a super bright room! Last I checked babies didn't adhere to daylight standards anyway (you know, sleep when it's night and wake when it's light).
Madison and Emilee keep saying "I can't wait until Camila is here!". I keep thinking "Wait until she's waking you up four times a night!" but realistically my kids sleep like logs. I don't think they are going to even notice the midnight feedings. We'll see!
I am excited about taking care of a baby and feeling like my life isn't cram packed with a schedule that has no leniency what-so-ever. Living in Marysville and working in Seattle will do that to you! I am really excited about seeing what color hair she has, lol. I have spent the vast majority of my pregnancy (and even pre-pregnancy!) dreaming about a little girl with blonde hair. I had one dream recently where she was wearing a hat my whole dream and I took it off and she had a head full of jet black hair. Watch her come out with a little bit of brown hair and be nothing like either of my dreams, lol.
For those of you who are unaware, we will be at Providence in Everett at the Pavilion for Women and Children. The address there is 900 Pacific Ave, Everett, Wa. Feel free to visit!! We will be there for at least 2 days.
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Camila is still breech. We are okay with that, though. We had our pre-op visit yesterday and were warned about risks, etc. It will be at least a 4 week recovery, which just means that I can claim disablity for at least that long. I have been paying into my disability insurance for 3 years now - I might as well use it!
I am busy gathering all the odds and ends of convenience based items that we really don't need - like a Moby wrap, which I will hopefully get today. I also need to vacuum the nursery, clean the kids' room (I don't think it will be up to my standards unless I help, lol), and fold ALL of the laundry so I don't have to do it after Camila is here. Oh and clean the car. I should probably make a to do list.
Today is my last day at work, then hopefully (eventually!) I can transfer to another center. God didn't plan enough hours in the day for me to get an infant ready in the morning and make it to Seattle by 9am (unless I plan on getting like 6 hours a sleep a day and never spending any time with my kids). Not to mention getting her ready to LEAVE the center and then making it to the kids' daycare by 6:30 when it closes. Only time will tell - we will cross that bridge when we get to it.
In the meantime, Robin and I are going to the reannaisance festival at Volunteer Park (I have no idea where that is) on Sunday. That should be fun, I am sure the kids will find it interesting in the least!
I am busy gathering all the odds and ends of convenience based items that we really don't need - like a Moby wrap, which I will hopefully get today. I also need to vacuum the nursery, clean the kids' room (I don't think it will be up to my standards unless I help, lol), and fold ALL of the laundry so I don't have to do it after Camila is here. Oh and clean the car. I should probably make a to do list.
Today is my last day at work, then hopefully (eventually!) I can transfer to another center. God didn't plan enough hours in the day for me to get an infant ready in the morning and make it to Seattle by 9am (unless I plan on getting like 6 hours a sleep a day and never spending any time with my kids). Not to mention getting her ready to LEAVE the center and then making it to the kids' daycare by 6:30 when it closes. Only time will tell - we will cross that bridge when we get to it.
In the meantime, Robin and I are going to the reannaisance festival at Volunteer Park (I have no idea where that is) on Sunday. That should be fun, I am sure the kids will find it interesting in the least!
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Today we have 10 days until the c-section (Camila is still breech) and 16 days until my due date. I just packed my bag yesterday with all of the essentials that we will be taking with us to the hospital. I recently purchased a breast pump by Avent that got really great reviews, so that is exciting (in an odd way). Oh, and we officially have a dishwasher! Finally!
Madison and Emilee come back from their dads house next weekend and they are excited that they get to be here when Camila is born. Emilee's birthday is also coming up, the party being September 4th at 2pm at my place, so if you so desire you may join us ;-)
Other than that everything has been pretty quiet around here. My last day with 4th and Madison is on Friday, but I think I am going to make a quiet exit. As much as I like spoiling everyone else's quiet exits by having pot lucks and such, it seems weird for me to organize that for myself - not that I feel like I need one, lol.
Right now I am going to return the 24-month-old onsies that I got for my baby shower to Target. There is no way in heck that I am going to have my 2 year old in onsies, lol. I will probably just get them in a smaller size.
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Camila is still breech.
But on a positive note, we are going to be taking a road trip late in September to Las Vegas. Jesse has a convention there anyway, and I have half of my family there that I haven't seen in 10 years. After Madison and Emilee it got difficult to travel (not to mention expensive - try more than $1000 just to fly there!). We were going to fly there this time but we decided it would be fun to have a road trip. We have more than enough room in the wagon (it's a 2002 Ford Taurus Wagon) and it's not that long of a drive is we stagger driving schedules between the two of us.
I haven't seen my cousins, dad, or aunts and uncles down there since I was 16 so it will be nice to see everyone again. My Aunt Cindy has been gracious enough to offer us two bedrooms in her house with one stipulation - we have to let her babysit, lol. Nikki and Ashley don't plan on having any kids so as of right now she does not anticipate ever having grandchildren. I told her she can be honorary grandma.
So Jesse can attend his convention and I can see my family
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So today officially makes it one month until my due date. Camila is also still breech! Oh well. I am not that worried about it. I am confident in my doctor and current medical technology and not worried about having a planned c-section. If anything, that just means I will know when she is coming :-)
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Her room is almost finished, as well. We have the crib, changing table, and recliner put in and assembled finally. I had a small La-Z-Boy in there but a family from work gave me one that is more comfortable so I switched them out. Now I have an extra recliner if anyone is interested. It needs to be cleaned but is in pretty great condition. We have enough clothes and diapers and some toys. I didn't want to go overboard because I recall not actually using most of the items I got for Madison and Emilee. Camila has like 5 toys and 2 board books (for now). We
have a gym and a tummy time mat, as well. We ordered an AngelCare monitor, which should be here today or Monday. I had one with Emilee and can't live without it! Now I just need to put up window treatments in her room, which won't be too much trouble.
On an unrelated note, Jesse and I switched cell phone carriers from AT&T to Sprint. I got an awesome purple Blackberry Curve and he and his 2 brothers got HTC Evo's that they are geeking out over at the moment (yes, that makes all of them iPhone traitors). I am a Blackberry veteran so my geeking out days are long gone. I do like the purpleness, though. AT&T were just not good as far as ethics goes, and between mine and Jesse's family plan with Jamie and Sue and Josh's individual plan we were paying $380 a month in cell phone bills. And that is with the $30 unlimited data plans that they are getting rid of - so our plans will only get more expensive. Now between the 5 of us we will be paying about $150 for pretty much the same plan that we had with AT&T - and that includes unlimited data transfer. Take that, AT&T!
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I hope this is no testament to Camila's stubbornness but she is officially upside down (breech) and pretty adamant about not moving. We suspected so about 6 weeks ago and confirmed it via ultrasound that she is indeed breech.
The next step is to use a technique called "sifting" and hope that it encourages her to flip around. If that does not work by next week my doctor will either look into scheduling a C-section, continuing the shifting and waiting to see what happens, or consider trying to manipulate her with his hands and get her to flip around, called external cephalic version. This only works about 50-60% of the time and can create complications such as premature labor.
On a good note, I grouted the bathroom today!
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We bought some 36g. storage bins yesterday so I can sort out the clothes that Camila won't fit into for a couple months. I put the 3-6 months in one bin and everything 6-12 months in the other. I didn't realize how many clothes I have! I could barely fit everything into the 3-6 month bin and I couldn't fit everything into the other one. I did discover, however, that putting your children into storage bins is discouraged, so says the sticker under the lids. Sadly, this probably means that someone has done this before, lol.
Intermission: I hear the ice cream truck... mmmm.
Yesterday I went to Ross in search of pajamas. I did not find any pajamas but I did get 3 blankets for $2.99 and 3 pairs of pants for $3.99. That was pretty awesome but I still didn't get any pajamas. My next task is taking apart the crib in the baby's room and taking it to the Goodwill because one of the families in my class is going to give me their son's crib that he is graduating from.
Then Amy's best friend Jessica is giving us a changing table - we just have to drive to Bonney Lake to get it.
Oh and we have a new member of the family. My sister, Amber, and her husband welcomed Taryn Skye Maxwell on July 9th, 2010, weighing in at 5lbs 9oz. She was born on Jesse's birthday!
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My wonderful fiance turns the big 3-1 tomorrow so be sure to wish him a happy birthday. Since he mad made plans for this weekend to go to a Tool concert (I gracefully declined an invite to that - noooo thanks) we decided to use my random day off yesterday to spend some time together and do things that Jesse likes doing, which are generally not consistent with my own hobbies and interests. The first thing we did was medicate the cats with flea medicine and bombed the house with flea fumigators (what a way to start the day!). We went for a visit to WinCo and got some nectarines, watermelon, and sandwiches and took those to Kayak Point to have breakfast in the grass. We intended on bringing a blanket but we forgot it
at home. The mosquitoes and bee's were very welcoming and more than willing to share their space. After we ate breakfast we went back to the house and I took a nap (haha). When the evening rolled around we went and had dinner at Jesse's favorite restaurant, Las Margaritas. We both got Carne Asada, no tortillas. They have really great Pico de Gallo, too. Then we went to the local cinema and watched The Last Airbender, which was a disappointment as far as trying to pack a season of Avatar episodes into an hour and 45 minutes. Overall, it was a great day!
at home. The mosquitoes and bee's were very welcoming and more than willing to share their space. After we ate breakfast we went back to the house and I took a nap (haha). When the evening rolled around we went and had dinner at Jesse's favorite restaurant, Las Margaritas. We both got Carne Asada, no tortillas. They have really great Pico de Gallo, too. Then we went to the local cinema and watched The Last Airbender, which was a disappointment as far as trying to pack a season of Avatar episodes into an hour and 45 minutes. Overall, it was a great day!
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I am pretty sure that I get asked every day how mine and Jesse's wedding is coming along and what stage we are at in the planning. Let's just say we are a very behind ;-) At the moment, we have the colors picked out. After much deliberation we decided on fuchsia and black. It is a little untraditional but it was a color combination that really defined Jesse and I. Additionally, it looks really sharp together and would be pretty easy to pull off in a classy manner. I won't be wearing a black or pink dress, though. We are not Atheist's because we have black in our wedding... you have to be an Atheist to be an Atheist, which we are not at all. To the contrary, we plan on getting married in our church, Gold Creek Community Church. We are currently waiting for the church to be expanded with the new foyer and stage. It will be absolutely amazing and beautiful, not that it isn't already. I will post pictures as soon as I get a chance to grab them.
We have asked Jesse's brother, Josh, to learn Cannon D on the electric guitar so that he can play it when we ascends the aisle with his guitar, wireless. He is going to be one of the Groomsmen. Nothing too flashy and inappropriate. Just a nice, edgier version of the classic. All of the Groomsmen will wear totally b
lack tuxes with fuchsia satin ties and the Bridesmaids will wear black dresses with fuchsia sashes.During the reception Josh's band, Syztem 7, will be playing on the stage (ideally). Hopefully this will all be happening Summer 2011.
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Last night we had a great Independence Day. We went over to Grandma Sue's house at about 4 pm. Robin called and let us know that she would not be making it because she got a flat tire... I rephrase that - she got an annihilated tire and her car would need to be towed so she could get it replaced. I recall Robin ranting and raving about the ceviche that she ate while she was in Peru and how she really needed to find a restaurant that served it here in Seattle because it was so great. Robin will be very disappointed to find out that Great Aunt Joann's boyfriend, Guillermo, made some authentic Peruvian ceviche with Peruvian corn and sweet potatoes. I would have brought her some but something tells me ceviche doesn't hold well over 2 days ;-)Anyway, after hearing of the news that Robin would not be joining us, we left for Grandma Sue's but not before stopping and grabbing some sparklers for the kids at a firework's vendor (since when did 5 sparkler cost $3?!). The gentleman at the stand was nice enough to give Madison and Emilee a lecture on how hot sparklers are (1200 degrees) and that they were hot enough to melt glass. Madison is aware that glass is made of melted sand and said "So it's hot enough to melt sand?" To which he replied yes. Therefore, the children spend a significant portion of their sparkler holding time allotment trying to melt the sand that was on the ground... it failed to create anything interesting, other than extinguished sparklers.
After lighting a few sparkler and eating loads of the ubiquitous appetizers available, the kids decorated cookies with ridiculous amounts of frosting and candy (anyone up for a Chewy Spree and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cookie?). Uncle Jamie did the baking of the cookies, which sounded very impressive until I realized all he did was take the tray of cookies handed to him and place them into the oven. He is great at "baking" considering his diet consists of TV dinners and frozen pizza. They were nearly hockey pucks, but that is how I like my cookies (yes, I am a weirdo).
Jesse tackled the M&M and Resse's Peanut Butter Cup cookie... it took a minute to figure out where to start.
I took it upon myself to raid Grandma Sue's makeup and do the kids' eyes in outrageous shades of blue and green eye shadow - which wasn't complete without metallic gold eye liner and loads of glitter.
Then the fireworks. We lit of a few of our own that Jesse's cousin Maria's boyfriend, Will, brought. One of which tipped over and shot out 3 flaming balls of doom towards my children, at which time I made the executive decision for them to stay near the porch so they could duck behind the trees if it happened again (it didn't) and then we went to watch the fireworks down at the beach. Here is a video. We are not at the beach because it is packed with drunken, explosives armed 20-something-year-old's. Jesse's Uncle Tony kept commenting on how much money the drunken, explosives armed 20-something-year-old's had to have spent to light off so many fireworks. What he failed to recognize is that these guys are the firework vendors at Boom City, a collection of 120 different firework vendors packed into one place on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
After all that jazz, we went home. Emilee fell asleep in the car and Jesse had to be at work in 5 hours.
More pictures from the evening:
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Today at church there was a massive service at 10:30 and an Independence Day barbecue to follow. We got to use the new stage for the first time. It was really great and there were a ton of people... we have 2,000 members but I am sure a lot of people were with family.
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Marcy came over from Idaho to spend her birthday weekend with us (we miss you, Marcy!) and we all went to see Eclipse together - Robin, Marcy, me, Jeremy, and the kids. The movie was as good as can be expected considering I have read the book and it's mathematically impossible to fit everything from a book into a 2 hour movie. The best part however, is when both of the kids curled up into balls on their seats with their heads facing down. Robin, upon noticing this, ask's me what my wacky children are doing. I inform her that they have already seen the movie with their father and there is a "disgusting" part coming up. This was the part where Bella is making a failed attempt to convince Edward to have sex with her. They were hiding their eyes from the movie.
My kids crack me up!
My kids crack me up!
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It is amazing how many things are completely unfair when you are nine-years-old. This morning Madison woke up to discover *gasp*, that Emilee is eating 2 pieces of toast and there is only one piece of toast left. Let the poor attitude ensue!
After some gratuitous use of the word "unfair" and even more tears of frustration Madison finally came to the conclusion (after being sent to her room until she is ready to talk) that throwing a fit over something she cannot change is not going to solve the problem.
It is simple math. There are 3 pieces of bread. Emilee has 2. That leaves one piece for Madison. Mind you, Madison was still in bed when Emilee made her two pieces of toast but gladly offered Madison one of her halves of toast so that they would both have 1 and a half pieces of toast.
And now she is sitting in the kitchen singing to herself. Maybe Madison will put her drama skills to good use this fall when she goes back to The Village Theatre.
Category:
argument,
emilee,
madison
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So I went to the doctor's today and everything is going well. My uterus is measuring at 32 weeks and her heart rate is about 150bmp. She is also head down and the doctor said that she would probably stay that way.
Unfortunately, we still have a lot of shopping to get out of the way as far as being prepared goes. I have a nice collection of clothes already spanning from Newborn to 12 months. I know how fast the first 12 months go and they grow out of their clothes about every 3 or so months so I got a head start. We need more newborn clothes, though. We have a crib coming from one of the parents at work on July 31st and we have our carseat and stroller. We have diapers and wipes and "Butt Cream" - it is literally called that!
Now that I think about it we have mostly everything... we do really need socks, however, lol. I am really particular about socks because I want them to be thick socks that all look EXACTLY the same. That way I never have to play "find the missing/matching sock". Additionally, my cat really likes small clothing items and he will steal them so having socks that all match will save me a lot of time. I do the same for Madison and Emilee's socks, as well. I need to make a trip to Fred Meyer when they have a sock sale!
Unfortunately, we still have a lot of shopping to get out of the way as far as being prepared goes. I have a nice collection of clothes already spanning from Newborn to 12 months. I know how fast the first 12 months go and they grow out of their clothes about every 3 or so months so I got a head start. We need more newborn clothes, though. We have a crib coming from one of the parents at work on July 31st and we have our carseat and stroller. We have diapers and wipes and "Butt Cream" - it is literally called that!
Now that I think about it we have mostly everything... we do really need socks, however, lol. I am really particular about socks because I want them to be thick socks that all look EXACTLY the same. That way I never have to play "find the missing/matching sock". Additionally, my cat really likes small clothing items and he will steal them so having socks that all match will save me a lot of time. I do the same for Madison and Emilee's socks, as well. I need to make a trip to Fred Meyer when they have a sock sale!
Category:
camila claire,
shopping,
socks
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I am pretty exited about the impending Fourth of July weekend. I have spent a lot of the recent weekends being bored at home. As much as I enjoy not having anything to do and being able to sit and relax, it gets a little monotonous and... well, boring! This weekend I have things to do but nothing stressful. Hooray!
Tomorrow my good friend Marcy is coming over from Idaho to celebrate her 32nd birthday by means of watching Eclipse and having dinner with Robin and I. We invited Liz but it doesn't sound like she will make it. I am thinking about getting all sparkly (o.k. Chrome - since when is "sparkly" not a word?) with the kiddos like we did for the New Moon movie. Unfortunately, that may spawn more Robert Pattinson dreams, which is starting to make me feel like a weirdo. I don't have any specific attraction to him (Paul Rudd, you'll always bear my heart!) and I actually find him pretty funny looking in real life - although, I find him pretty hot in the Twilight series (it's amazing what two tons of makeup and a hair stylist will do for you!). But seriously... don't I have more important things and people to dream about?!
I digress...
On Sunday, Independence Day, Jesse, I, and the kids will being going out the the res to his mother house to celebrate with some barbecue, music, and hopefully some sunshine! I invited Robin to that, too. My sisters politely declined and I am not sure if Melissa has found her sense yet so I am just making small talk with her at the moment. On Monday I don't have any plans except to NOT WORK. Weather forgiving, maybe I will make a trip to Deception Pass or something of that nature. The possibilities are endless! - theoretically.
Sorry R-Pattz... you lose tremendously.
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