Brrrrrr!

We are on our way to the cabin - for the 3rd time this summer... Are we crazy or what? :) We decided to try a night-time drive this time instead of leaving in the early AM. We got the girls ready for bed in cuddly feet pj's and hope they will plan on sleeping most of the drive. Marc has been listening to sports talk radio and I've been enjoying my iPod. I have a hard time listening to music in earphones because I have a chronic sing-a-long problem. I seem to log the melody and lyrics to every song I've ever heard somewhere in my brain and I feel the need to share that out loud with everyone around. I'm sure I sound a lot better with the music than without it. I've been watching the temperature on the rear-view mirror slowly inch down. We are currently at a chilly 48 degrees and it's only 8:45 PM. I can only imagine what the nights at the cabin have in store for us! (For me that means large wool socks, gallons of hot chocolate, and a cozy feather comforter) Grand Jean, here we come!

My Brown Eyed Girl

With a dirty face, but still cute!

A Jump Start on Halloween

I won a Trick or Treat plaque at Bunco last week and I wanted to put it out right away. (If you have known my family for a long time, you know that Halloween is one of our favorite holidays) I had to find something to go with it, so I headed over to Rod Works. I love Rod Works; it's a cute little decor store just around the corner from our house. I found this little Boo sign and skeleton tea light holder and couldn't resist.

Then I went to Walmart and saw a glass pumpkin jar my mother-in-law has on her table filled with candy corns and I copied her :) I put it next to the Trick or Treat sign and it went perfectly!

Now they are all on top of our gigantic TV. At least I am slowly but surely decorating our house....8 months after moving in :) I left the TV on for this picture because Mariska Hargitay was a better option than the reflection of me in my pj's.

Soccer Superstar Update

Lila is now hooked on soccer. She finally figured out you don't have to wait for the other players to move out of the way before you kick and ball and she uses that to her advantage (the other kids haven't figured that out yet). She scored 3 goals a couple of games ago and has decided that if she doesn't score, they've lost the game. We'll have to work on that :)

Busted

Lila left the cereal box within Chloe's reach..... Enough said.

Moles vs Nipples

Lila recently noticed that she has 2 little brown moles on her face and asked me what they are. I explained to her about moles and showed her a couple that I have because they look exactly the same. We also had the same chat about nipples. She wanted to know why boys can show them and girls can't. (Boy, I wasn't expecting to have to explain these sorts of things so soon...)

A couple nights ago, Marc got a scratch on his forehead that got a little scab on it. Lila asked him so sweetly at the dinner table, "Daddy, do you have a nipple on your forehead?" I quickly figured out that she meant mole and we had to explain the difference all over again. It makes me wonder if she's been going around telling people she has nipples on her face.... I'm going to have concerned mothers calling me to ask what Lila is teaching their kids.

Seasons - Part 2

I drove past Seasons on Sunday, only to see a large 'For Sale' sign posted on the side. How could this be? Why didn't they use my customer satisfaction story for their marketing?? Sad. I have written another haiku for them:

Seasons, Rest In Peace
You did not last for too long
Oh, what a pity

The Power of Google

You can Google pretty much any weird question you may have and get a long list of websites or blogs that someone across the world has posted with the answer. It amazes me. Today I noticed Chloe was doing something weird with her head and the first thing I thought of was Stevie Wonder. Yes, Stevie Wonder. (You all know what I'm talking about) So I seriously googled "baby head shaking Stevie Wonder" and it linked me to this response to a blog:

"Have you thought about exorcism? It's probably teeth (since my 7-month-old is shaking her head like she's Stevie Wonder) but you can never be too careful."

I never thought teething would cause Stevie Wonder head shaking, but I guess it makes sense! I went on to read the blog this person was responding to and the story is hilarious. (Posted below) I haven't had a chance to explore the site - Babble - but it looks like a pretty interesting site. I'll have to post an update about what I think when I have a chance to read some more articles.

Has Josie Got Religion?
This is what we’re wondering now, because she’s fallen into these weird habits that we can’t explain and that kind of freak us out and that make us wonder – in those brief moments of first-time parenting hyper-neurosis – if something isn’t maybe really wrong with our daughter, like she’s seen a vision of her personal savior (the not very nice kind) and is now possessed. So this is one of those deals where I’m asking for the veteran parents out there to talk us off the ledge. Okay, the first thing: she shakes her head back and forth really forcefully. It’s more like a whipping action. This happens when we try to give her the bottle and sometimes even when Erin’s breastfeeding, and when Jos is asleep but restless. A couple of times, when we’ve set her to sleep in our bed, this has resulted in her head-butting us. (Erin is calm and understanding about this; my first impulse is to head-butt her right back.) The second thing she does is pull her hair. She reaches back and yanks at her own hair! Hard. This is mostly when I’m giving her a bottle. And then the third thing she does – this one is the most disturbing – is she bores her little fingers inside her ears and jabs at her inner ear flesh, which, because of the length of her fingernails (a direct result of our continued and abject fear when it comes to cutting her fingernails) means blood. Yes, our daughter, our sweet little daughter, gouges the inside of her ears to the point that she bleeds. The first time we discovered dried blood in her ears we nearly keeled over. How in ---- name…? And even as I write this I’m getting a little freaked out. Josie tends to perform these actions at night, during her witching hour, before we set her down to sleep. So I’ve speculated that maybe they represent a kind of last hurrah, like a long-distance runner launching into her kick at the end of a race. It seems a bit worse now that we’re in California, away from home, so maybe she’s feeling a bit more anxious? And there’s always the possibility that she’s reacting to the ongoing pain of teething, though this feels sudden and frantic in nature. The truth is we have no idea why Jose has fallen into this pattern of, well, the technical term would be “self-abuse,” I guess. In our darkest moments, we wonder if she’s not showing signs of some horrible psychic condition. But that’s got to be parental paranoia, right? (Right?) Because she’s really quite a happy little shtunk most of the time, full of smiles, bits of laughter, and gaining weight these days like a Sumo. So our question is: have you fellow parents experienced these behaviors? If so, do you have any idea what they’re about? Is there anything we can do to get her to stop whipping her head and pulling her hair and (especially) gouging her ears? Like some form of benign exorcism? She did all of these things during my midnight bottle feeding last night and it was so upsetting. I kept trying to pull her hands away from her hair and ears, but every time I did she began shaking her head and the bottle slipped from her mouth and she stared at me like I was a big, fat idiot intent on starving her. So I just had to sit there and reinsert the bottle and watch her do these things until, after a few minutes, she calmed down. But as you can tell, now I’m feeling ready to gouge my ears. Help.

Happy Birthday To Me

Yesterday was my birthday. This is a hard birthday for me because I will just get old from here on out. I'm a quarter of a century old! I started the day the usual way, coaxing myself to shower and dress and get the girls going. I was drying Lila's hair when I kept hearing a persistent knock at the door. I went to the door with a sour look on my face because I figured it was the usual sales man wanting to know if we have soft water. I was pleasantly surprised to see it was my husband, with flowers in hand! Marc surprised me by taking the day off work to take me out on a day date! I was glad I had gotten dressed so early. I also burst into tears because I was so surprised. (That wasn't the last time I cried either)

We took the girls up to my mother-in-law (thanks Lynne!). I told her how Marc had surprised me and cried again. :) We said goodbye and headed up to the new Multiplex movie theater in Daybreak. It was huge! And it had reserved seating, which was really cool even though we pretty much had the entire building to ourselves. Our movie didn't start for a couple of hours so we walked around the shopping complex. We stopped at a shoe store (anyone who knows me well knows I LOVE shoes) and bought a pair. Shoes were buy one get one 1/2 off, so we bought Marc a late birthday present too. We made our way back to the movie theater. There is a large lobby full of different restaurants and you can take anything you want with you into the theater. We decided we would get some "snacks" since we were going to an early dinner after the movie, but snacks turned into pizza, bread sticks, popcorn and drinks. Oops.

We saw Stardust - a movie most people have not heard of. But it was so good! The first 10 minutes, I was worried about what kind of movie I had picked. It is a fantasy movie about witches and stars, so it takes a minute to figure out what is going on. The movie was a great mix of everything - it had action, a really good love story (cry #3), and it was very intense. I recommend it! Marc even liked it.

We were still stuffed after the movie, so we decided to go get ice cream instead. We made ourselves sick by splurging. We both got 2 scoops in a waffle cone. Yum, Pralines and Cream. My favorite. I had a sugar stomach ache, but it was worth it!!

We spent the night at home with the girls. It turned out to be a perfect day! Thank you, Marc, for once again being sneaky.

I also had/saw 2 of my favorite things today, Macaroni Grill and my friend Amy Jensen. We realized we have been friends for 9 years - it's so crazy how time flies! We are busy working moms and I rarely get to see her, so I was so happy I got to go to lunch with her today. With all the talking and the bread, we only took about 2 bites of our lunches. I'm sure the waiter thought we were crazy. Love ya Amy!

My Wise Cracker Knew....

We stopped at Panda Express on our way home from the cabin a couple of weeks ago and Lila was introduced to fortune cookies. Her fortune said "Try something new". When Marc asked her what she was going to try, she thoughtfully said "Pepsi!" (Which we didn't let her try)

Today I finally convinced her to try a PBJ sandwich. She doesn't like the way PB looks.... When she took her first bite she said "Remember at Handa Mapress? My wise cracker knew that I would try something new!" She cracks me up!

PS - this is my first attempt at blogging on my BlackBerry, so I apologize if there is something weird about this post!

Yo Gabba What-a?

There is a new TV show on Noggin that Lila really likes called "Yo Gabba Gabba". They have lots of music and the song attached below has helped Lila not leave her veggies out of the party in her tummy, but the show still kind of freaks me out. I mean, really - what is that big green thing supposed to be? And Elijah Wood was on yesterday teaching the kids how to do "The Puppet Master Dance"... Hmmm

Future Soccer Superstar

Lila starts her 4 and 5 year old city league soccer tonight and I couldn't help but spoil her with a new matching soccer outfit. Even her new soccer ball matches...... :) Doesn't she already look like a pro?

Luckiest Girl

Yesterday, Marc (in typical sneaky Marc fashion) had flowers delivered to me at work. Not just any flowers, but a dozen long stemmed gorgeous roses. What did the card say? Just Because. Love, Marc. How did I get so lucky???

The Cabin - Part 2

We have just returned from the cabin - our second trip of the year. We took my family (The Kepo'o Ohana) for their first trip. It is a long drive with a lot of little kids....but we survived and had a blast! Helen (my sister-in-law) was very brave and came along with their new baby, Violet. She is only 4 weeks old. We are glad they came!

Our first day, we relaxed and went to the Hot Springs. It's fun to take people there for the first time because it is such a cool place and it's hard to describe what it's really like. Marc, Joe, Ryan and Lila all jumped off the big rock at the bend in the river - I can't believe that Lila was so brave! (I need to get more pictures from my families cameras....more evidence to follow)

We went to Red Fish Lake on Friday. The water is really cold when you first get in and out, but once you are in, it's nice. We bought a really nice baby carrier before this trip and Marc tested it out. He took Chloe on a hike around the edge of the lake. Here they are across the lake - can you spot the red backpack? Saturday we played at the cabin and did our chores - chopping wood & fixing and painting doors. I thought someone was dying every time Joe and Ryan went to chop a piece of wood but I guess they were getting a good workout! We played Shanghai every night. We also got into some intense Texas Hold 'Em matches. I would like to brag that I won the Texas Hold 'Em tournament - Marc, I'll just take the money out of our account. But Joe and Ryan better pay up! :)

Thank you to the Blaser's for letting me share the cabin with my family! And thank you to the Kepo'o's for letting me take you! It was so much fun to spend some time together as a family again.

The theme song for our trip has been provided by Ryan - he must have listened to this song 100 times. James Taylor "Blossom" This is for you Bro!

My Week Away

I left Marc alone with the girls last week for 5 days while I went to my company's annual National Sales Meeting in Orlando. It was the longest I've ever been away from Chloe - I left on Tuesday and returned on Sunday. It was a LONG work week. Boy am I glad to be home. Getting up at 5 AM EST (3 MST) really wore me down. I turned into a zombie yesterday after I got home. Thank you Marc for giving me one more day off - I slept for 11 hours! I won't blog about the meeting in order to stay in compliance with the company's Blog policy :) But I will tell you that Marc did an amazing job while I was gone. He took the girls to 7-Peaks one day and brought them home happy and sunburn free! It looks like they had a blast. Chloe is now officially a Daddy's Girl. I always knew that was the case since her first word was Da-da...... I'm so lucky to have such a great family!

SJP

I am a fan of Sarah Jessica Parker. I'm also a huge fan of (and still watch) SATC - even though it is extremely naughty. I was watching TV tonight and saw the commercial for Covet, her new perfume. I was surprised by it at first; but after rewinding the DVR and watching it 4 times then searching online for a website for the perfume, I realized her marketing scheme is pure genious. Her crazy eyes at the end draw you in. It was also very Carrie-esque the way she kicked in a window wearing Christian Louboutin shoes (the Manolo's of today). Always fashionable. Love it!

Update: I found the commercial on YouTube!

Lila-isms

A rhyme she says when picking between 2 things: "Bubblegum, bubble gum, in my hand, how many pieces is there left?"

When telling me how much she loves me before bed: "I love you as hot as a hot llama." (she means lava!)

An occassional good morning greeting: "Good morning chick-a-dee!"

Right now her favorite movie is High School Musical. She sings along to every word, but only when she thinks I'm not watching :)

Lila is a sweetie pie - I love her so much!

Happy Birthday Marc!

You are best husband and Dad anyone could ask for - I love you :*

Cabin Pics

The Cabin - Part 1

We went to the cabin a couple of weeks ago and I have been meaning to post about it for a while. I think I just needed some recovery time! We had a great time getting together with everyone, but there is really only one word that can describe the trip - HOT. It just wouldn't cool down! Marc took this picture of our rear-view mirror in Boise just before we headed into the mountains.

I actually enjoy road trips. Marc always thinks I'm crazy because I can sit quietly and do nothing for hours. I like watching the scenery change from the city, to the country, to the desert, to the mountains. I always like to look at the little farm houses with tidy lawns and big green trees in the front yards, but are surrounded with fields of grain as far as you can see. They look so out of place! Maybe one day I'll make Marc stop so I can take a picture of my favorite one.

On Sunday, we went to church in Stanley, Idaho. Behind the pulpit was a huge window that showcased the Sawtooth Mountains - it made it hard to concentrate on what the speakers were saying.

The guys left for their annual hike on Monday and left the women to fend for themselves with the kids. Lynne did a great job of getting together projects for the kids to do. Marc took our camera with him on his hike, so I don't have any pictures of the fun things we did. If you want to head over to Paige's site, you can see some pictures there. Luckily, they returned on Wednesday afternoon, just in time to celebrate Anna's birthday!

I wore a bandanna for pretty much the entire trip for a couple of reasons; 1: it kept my hair clean(er), 2: it kept my head from getting sunburned, and 3: my Dad forced me to wear one every time we went camping when I was little and now it just doesn't feel right without it. I decided to pass the tradition along and make Lila wear one for a little while.


We went over to a lake to go swimming and have a picnic one day. It was a blast - even with the altercation with the campground host. Eric caught a frog and the kids were thrilled Marc, Eric and Todd all got into the water with the kids.

Chloe loved to be outside. I had to watch her VERY closely though - anything she could get into her mouth went there. Ants, leaves, dirt, twigs, you name it, she probably ate it.

The hot springs were a highlight (as always). I'm so glad the cousins had a chance to hang out and get to know each other better. Thanks again to everyone for making it a great trip!