So...How Was Your Good Day?

Ever wanted to be a fly on the wall around your kids? Ever wonder what they would say to each other when they aren't being coached (and corrected?) by you?

Last week, when Kelly had the chance to do something you can only do in LA, I watched her girls, Kendall (2) and Cameron (almost 1) till her husband got home from work. Kendall and Mookie are just best buds. It's a shame they live so far away and the girls don't play together more often.

(hanging head in shame...)

(they live up the hill from us)

Anyway, the girls were playing in a little tent/castle thing we have, and after eavesdropping on one silly exchange, I had the foresight to stick the camera over the top and capture their ramblings. Tee hee.

As an intro, when Kendall and Mookie were first playing together, Kendall very clearly said to Mookie, "So, how was your day?" To which Mookie replied, "Good."  And then about 28 seconds later, Mookie said "So, howwayougoing day?" To which Kendall very clearly replied, "Ummm...we're not going anywhere. We're sitting on the floor." I just had to laugh (and get the camera for future dialog!)  It made me realize that, although Mookie is VERY verbal, and has a VAST vocabulary, her clarity is lacking a bit. :o)  She got better, though, as you will hear. 
There was much laughter that evening, and much more today when Mookie and I saw this video together. Over, and over, and over again.



And  now Mookie asks me all the live-long day "So, how was your good day, Mommy?"

I'm Traveling Today

Hey,

I'm over at Aunt Spicy's place today, talking about my fabric addiction, and talking about how humbling and incredibly awesome it is to be a member of the LA Modern Quilt Guild.

You should head on over there. Plus, there's a cute picture, or two, of my little Sproutling. :o)

What Friends Are For...

Today, some friends are saying goodbye to their (16 week) Angel Baby who was born in heaven yesterday.

Therefore, today, I am taking care of their 3 year old and 19 month old daughters. So, I've got a 3, a 2, a 1, and a Barely on my hands. And while I would never, ever, ever, and especially never want to be in their shoes right now, I've been a busy bug since the girls all woke up.

Here's a recap so far:

What would you like for breakfast? Cereal? Eggs? Toast?

Eggs, please.

More eggs, please

Juice?

Baby waking up, Mommy.

Mine.

Share.

Fishies! Fishies! Fishiesfishiesfishies!!

(Every. Single. Toy in the playroom is out.)

Bubbles, please.

Want bubbles, please.

Thank you, Lady. (the girls call me "Lady")

Mommy, open my bubbles please.

More bubbles, please.

Bon-bon spilled her bubbles, Mommy.

More bubbles for Bon, Mommy?

Let go of her, she doesn't want to do that right now.

Mommy, whatcha doin'?

Apples?

More apples please?

Kay-kay went poopy. Mommy clean it up?

Kay-kay hands YUCKY, Mommy.

(Dave would say "She's gone spee-lunkin'...")

Don't spill your...don't spill your...watch out...don't spill your...(sigh)...bubbles.

More bubbles, please?

More juice please?

Thank you, Mommy.

Sweet Mother of Pearl! Anybody seen Mommy's sippy cup?? (wink, wink)

Fourth Foto Find

Nearly forever ago, Kelly tagged me in a little photo-meme, and because I'm clearly too busy to post a single picture, I've delayed...and delayed...and delayed... :o)

But here I go. My Fourth Photo.

(Ooh, I shoulda done this on July 4th. Dang.)

Anyways, the idea is this: you go to your My Pictures folder, and open the 4th folder, and post the 4th picture.  Which is a bit confusing for me because of how my My Pictures folder is organized.  See, the 4th folder in there is from when my best friend, Angela, visited us in England...which, in and of itself, is just fine. Except that there are 5 folders within that one folder.

SO...here is the 4th photo in the first album. I give you a pile of rocks.

And, when I opened the 4th folder, this is the 4th picture. A girl could really lose her head here...

There were SO many more awesome photos that Ang took that trip! These two are WAY on the bottom of my list of favorites.  It's hard to believe that was 4 years ago. Oh, how our lives have changed!

And, because I know that it will be my head on the Tower fence if I don't post an obligatory Mookie photo, or five, here are the ones that would appear if I did this meme just in the folder of Mookie-shots:

1. First Folder (Year One) 4th picture in 1st folder..."Birth Day" folder...this was taken a few hours before Mookie was born. OHMYGOSH how different I look. Wowzers, Batman.

***Warning to the family...there's a picture of Mom coming up...I just didn't want to catch you off guard***

2. First Folder (Year One) 4th picture in 1st folder of 4th folder..."Mom and Mookie"

3. First Folder (Year One) 4th picture in 4th folder (not in another folder)..."3 Weeks Old"... Mookie on a blanket. So teeny. So unbelievably teeny.

...BIG jump...

4. Fourth Folder (Year Two) 4th picture in the 1st folder..."12-13 Months"...I think you've seen something similar to this one, but this is the 4th photo in that folder, so you get to see it again.

Whew! That was arduous!

And, finally, the most recent shot I've taken of Mookie...the fascinating pinwheel...

And with that, I bid you adieu and wish you a wonderful weekend.

Beach Day

We took Mookie to the beach on Saturday (June 27th). It was a lovely day -- not too hot, not too cold. Perfect for introducing a sweet little girl to The Beach. :o)  Mike was in town, and so we went with Kelly and her family so the boys could play some beach volleyball and the girls could sit. Nice day all around. :o)

Mookie LOVED the sand. LOVED it. Was CRAZY about it. :o)  Hands in it, pouring it from one hand to the other, picking it up and pouring it back on the ground. Sand, sand, sand. We should call her Sandy. LOVED it. Wanted it for lunch, even. :o)

I haven't had the time (nor the patience!) to look at all 258 pictures I took of our afternoon at the beach, but here are 3.

Sand, sand, hands in sand, sand in hands.
Sand, sand, pants in sand, sand in pants.

Here she is standing under the umbrellas (when I could KEEP Her Fair Self in the shade...). I enhanced the color a bit because the umbrellas are so colorful, I hope I didn't make her look like a pumpkin! :o)

And here she is playing with a little shovel. Such a rich, blue sky.

We're so lucky to live here. So lucky.

(There are more beach-day photos, but I have no idea when I'll get to them. I will tell you, however, that she was NOT impressed with the water. Very scary. Poor little girl. She clung to Mama like I was a life-raft!)

Hope you have a great week!

Weeks Gone By

We're home now...and under piles and piles and PILES of stuff. Laundry, mail, Mom's stuff...piles of it all.

I'm not spending too much time on the computer, but here are a few photos from the last couple of weeks. I'll try to catch up and tell actual stories sometime soon. Once I have my living quarters situated a bit more than they are right now!

Ang and Mike in front of the beautiful Breckenridge mountains.

Dave, Melissa and Mookie in front of the beautiful Breckenridge mountains.

A fun frame photo :o)

It's Tai Chi Mookie

Keeping disco alive...

More, more, MORE birthday ice cream, Mama!

Birthday Girl (May 19, 2009)

Want some cake, Mama?

Mama thinks it's good.

The Mess...

Yes, I think I had more cake on me than Mookie had on her. She really didn't go crazy like everyone hoped for. Maybe it's because it was so late in the evening, maybe it's because she is a pretty tidy little girl. The cake that's on her face was (lovingly) placed there by Uncle Rob. :o)

That's it for now. I'll post more pictures of her interacting with her birthday presents...um...sometime. :o) She's a real cutie pie!

What We Were

Way back in January, I asked for some guidance. Some help. Some ideas. We had been invited to a costume party for Mardi Gras, and I was absolutely stumped as to who (or what) we could be. Stumped.

The theme was "icons" and I just could NOT wrap my little brain around that concept. It took me weeks, weeks to come up with a definition of "icons" that I liked. And then? To come up with a costume to represent that definition? Ugh. More weeks.

While I love JB and Delvo to the HILT, I am notsomuch a fan of the costume party. I'm notsomuch a fan of costuming. Period. For instance, when I was a kid, my favorite Halloween costume was Harpo Marx because I didn't have to say anything. All I had to do was honk my horn. I don't know where my costume-aversion comes from, I just know it is real.

So, back to this year's Mardi Gras party. Icons. I should have gone as a tree stump!  :o)  I tried and tried. Bantered around ideas and celebrities and people and things...but none of them (a) fit my definition of "icon" (a symbol or representative of something else), and (b) met my criteria for the costume (free or cheap).  But then one day last week, I GOT IT!!

HAZZAH!!!!

The idea. The icon. A symbol or representative of something else that could be made cheaply. $11 cheaply, thankyouverymuch.

What were we?

We were:

Yin and Yang

And, while I didn't get a photo of it because she removed it too quickly, wee Mookie had a yin yang symbol on her shirt and wore black and white to complete our set.

We had to stand together, though, for people to understand. Otherwise, people thought we were apostrophes. :o)

Who Can I Be?

I need your help, folks. I'm stuck for ideas, and want suggestions.

 

We've been invited to a Mardi Gras party in February, and if we show up as Dave and Melissa, we'll be turned away. The hosts are firm believers in the idea that one should not celebrate Mardi Gras without a costume.

 

One year the theme was Music, and we went as Robert Palmer and a Palmer Girl. Dave wore a suit, and I wore a little black dress and had a red guitar around my neck. Nice, huh? Those were good costumes. :o)

 

Another year the theme was Monty Python. I'm not much of a Monty Python fan. I went as that one (prudish) girl, and Dave went as that guy with the red cross on his chest. Whatever.

 

This is the first time in 5 years we've been able to go, and the theme?
Icons

Real people icons, not those you might find on the desktop of your computer.  Historical icons. Cultural icons. Movie icons. National icons.

Wikipedia defines a cultural icon as an image, a symbol, a logo, picture, name, face, person, or building or other image that is readily recognized, and generally represents an object or concept with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group.

And I'm stuck. I don't know what icon to be...so I ask you, friends, who can I be? Without much alteration to my original self, who do you think I can pull off?

So far, here are the names bantered about:

• Twiggy...except I think I weigh too much. :o)
• Marilyn Monroe...except I think I don't weigh enough, um, in all the right places. :o)
• Princess Diana...a good one as long as (a) I don't have to cut my hair to have bangs, and (b) I don't have to say anything in a fake British accent. Plus, I've already got a tiara.
• Uma Thurman...Mike, do you really think she's an icon? I mean, I know you think she looks like me, but, an icon??
• Audrey Hepburn...except I'm about 8 inches too tall, and I don't want to dye my hair black.
• Minnie Mouse...I bet someone around here has an extra pair of ears I could wear! And a friend has a red/white polka-dot dress I might be able to borrow.

I just Googled "cultural icon" and found a list of 200 from VH1. The list is opening my eyes, that's for sure. For instance, I suppose I could pull off Axl Rose, who is #196 on the list. Ooh, or Abba (#168), although it might be difficult to be the entire band. Farrah Fawcett, Barbara Eden (as Jeannie), Cindy Crawford...

Ooh...how about wearing an Andy Warhol (#62)-type painting of my face? 

(By the way, Dave is thinking he could go as Jimi Hendrix. Ummm...yeah. So, maybe while you're thinking of who I can be...maybe there will be a companion icon for Dave?)  :o)

I am SO looking forward to your suggestions! This is gonna be fun!

See You in the Blink of an Eye

It's hard to believe that it's been one year since we moved back to America. What a blur! And it's even harder to believe that it's been 4 years since I got on that plane and moved to the other side of the planet in the first place.

Four years!! Gosh. :o)  (Look for some flashback posts starting in a few days.)

When we first moved to England, I was emailing my insights and observations to family and friends. Long. Emails. That took me hours to write. Ugh, what a burden! Which could explain why I eventually stopped sending them! That, and the newness kinda wore off. :o)  If only I'd known about blogging way back then! If only.

Tonight I got to be a part of putting some friends on a plane to the other side of the planet. My friend Jen, her husband, and daughter are on a plane at this very moment on their way to Wellington, New Zealand for an adventure all their own. Her husband is going there to work for a year, and Jen and Maddy are just going to live it up and explore and experience Wellington, and New Zealand for all it's worth!

Kelly and I were hoping to see them one last time before they left. I've had so much fun these last few months, out on our "play dates." Picnicking with the mowers in the background. :o)  But, alas, things didn't work out as we had all planned (ahem), and Kelly couldn't go to meet them, so it was just Mookie and me. After a few, um, detours we all got to the same place, and Jen and I got a few extra minutes to hang out

There's quite a lot about my Big Move four years ago that I don't remember, but what I do remember is (some of) the many times I completely freaked out. And my complete lack of grace, and poise, and composure when I was dealing with anything move related. I was a real nut job!

But Jen? Uh uh. She was a cool cucumber. Even in the midst of leaping over hurdle, after hurdle, after even bigger hurdle, she was very composed. :o) I'm sure she's disagreeing with me right now...but from where I sat, she really had it all together.

Her behavior and composure gently reminded me of how we are called to be. In the midst of trials, we are to call on God, and trust completely in Him to take care of everything. And she was doing that. And God was just working things out for her left, right, and center. God really is amazing. :o)  I am SO incredibly prone to freak out in the first instance, and then think about my actions, and asking for help from that mighty God we serve. You've seen that adage that says "When all else fails, pray"? Yeah. That seems to be my creed. 

But not Jen.

I wish her joy and peace and wonder and excitement and awe and fantabulous memories made as she and her family experience life in New Zealand. I will miss her, and Miss Maddy Sweet Cheeks.  But over this next year, I hope I look back on this day and remember her character most of all. And maybe, just maybe, when she moves back, I can be a little more like her.

May God bless you richly, my friend. We'll see you soon!

Hello, and Happy Monday

Hey,

I want to welcome all of you that have travelled over here from 5 Minutes For Parenting. I'll try not to bore you with never-ending stories about my child. :o)

And for my regular readers (all 12 of you, thank you, I love you)...Megan recently honored me in an amazing way. She says I moved her! That my letter to Mookie when she turned 3 months old moved her! Whodathunkit! 

Megan is a writer at 5 Minutes For Parenting (as well as a few other gigs), and once a week the writers spotlight blog posts that moved them. And Megan was moved my mine, and sent a few more readers over here.

So if you've never been to 5 Minutes for Parenting, go there now. If it's still Monday...then you'll get to read one of my favorite stories of Megan's: Moon Over Charlotte. It is hilarious. There are 5 writers, and they are always writing wonderful things about their children, about parenting, and sometimes about their challenges as mothers. But they are always very good reading.

And with that, I'll leave you.  I have much much much to tell you about my doings over the last few days, and I have much much much more cleaning to do since Dave's dad is coming to visit next week. Soooo...sometime between the changing the beds and dusting the magazines, I'll check back in and tell you a few fun stories. :o)  They involve surprises and escapades and ribbons and bows and Mookie in a bikini (oooooooh, she's a cutie!) and food, glorious food.

Here's a teaser:

(Dusting the magazines. Hah! Had you going, didn't I?!)

Fun With Fonts

I don't know if you noticed, but there's been an update to blogheader above. Just a gentle change, but Cheri made me a new blogheader, and I love it! :o) Look how fun it is with the whole cowboy/rodeo font going on! She really is a talented, creative person, and she does more than just make blog headers, so if you are interested in either a new blog header or a new purse, or some new earrings...go visit her - either at her etsy shop or at her blog.

I will post pictures of Mookie soon.

LOOT!!! (a blog of photos)

Well, it's been a week since my bountiful baby shower, and I've got two things clogging up my Guilt Filter. (1) I have not yet written sent the Thank You cards, and (2) I have not yet written posted the blog that reveals why I should get those cards written!

So, here goes writing the procrastinating-the-writing blog!

First up, we have a shot of all the loot after we (it and I) returned home Friday night. (Confession: It's mostly all still down there since the baby's room isn't 100% ready for it all) (I'm working on it, I'm working on it!) (consider that #3 on the Guilt Filter. Thanks.)

Here is a shot of all the lovely food that my hostess, Angie, provided. She is a wonderful hostess, and loves to throw parties, and, based on how much folks seemed to enjoy themselves, she did a wonderful job!

Here's me and the cake. It's called a Dinner Cake. As I was gobbling mine down, I think I said something like "Sure, I could eat this for dinner..." But isn't it pretty? It tasted WAY prettier than it looks. Yum yum.

This is the "rowdy crowd" right before we started a rousing game of Baby Pictionary. There were some toughies! How does one draw colic, for instance? (One artist drew a cow, then it's tongue. Get it? Cow-lick? Yeah, well, her team didn't either.) There was diaper rash, midwife, mommy brain, doctor, ... um...there were others, but I can't remember them! We had fun, though, and that's what matters. This was really the only game we played. No "Guess How Big Melissa Is" or "Don't Say 'Baby'" games -- thank you, Angie!!!

And now, onto the loot! Here I am trying on some very cute clothes. I think they're a little big for the bump (for now) and a little small for me. STILL cute, though! Very cute.

Did you know that Gerber has copyrighted the term "Onesies®"?? Yeah, me neither. So, what does Carter's call their "snap-around-the-crotch-t-shirts"? They call them "Wiggle In Undies"... I guess that's cuz babies can't wiggle out of 'em? (note the smug look on my face as I'm trying to figure this out) (I mean, really...aren't mamas around the world confused enough? Why do they have to play the name game with us?) Sheesh. Nonetheless, far be it from me to look a gift bag in the mouth...I do most certainly appreciate the "can't wiggle out of 'em" bodysuits that the Yipper was given.

Here is a very special gift from Dave's mom -- she made the baby a quilt! Look at the fabric! I love bright colors for baby stuff! I should have folded the corner down so you could see the back, too. It's kinda cobalt blue with batik'ed (?) animals and stuff. I showed it to Dave when I got home, and quickly put it back in the box. Knowing him, he'd be snuggled under it on the couch at night while watching TV! :o) Well, okay, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Then when the baby was born, she'd be able to associate the blanket with her papa, right? SO PRETTY!! Thank You, Grandma Burns!

Here we have Kendall (favorite model of the Kiwi variety) modelling the Bumbo Seat the Grandma Nancy sent to us. I love these Bumbo seats! They are (a) cool feeling, (b) cool colors, and (c) good for the baby to learn to sit up and stuff!

Oh, yes. A gift from Gymboree. Good stuff, Maynard. There was a reversible cardigan with a little white fluffy Pomeranian puppy on the front, and the inside was all number of different kinds of dogs. So this photo is of me naming all the dogs on the matching blanket for my friend Katy (she's so sweet to actually look interested, doncha think?). I love dogs, and I love this gift! What could be better?!


And here is another hand-made quilt. My Bible study buddy, Cindy, made this for the baby. She used some vintage fabrics, and made it to match the bedding we've chosen. She created the ladybugs out of her daughter's old corduroy jeans. How creative! And, the kicker, she hand-stitched the entire thing. (shaking head in disbelief). She is A-Mazing. It is beautiful, and soft, and perfect in every way.

And, finally, me, basking in the glow of a bunch of wonderful friends who have blessed us with oh, so many generous gifts.

Now, I must be off to work on Guilt Filter Items #1 and #3. Hope you have a great weekend!

Pink Mama's Eat Salad

(Happy 200th Blog!!)

I went on my first Mommy Play Date today. :o) Complete with sitting on a blanket in the park, juiceboxes, and nursing-then-napping babies. Of course, mine was the most contained and easy to appease one of the three of us. :o)

Kelly and Kendall and I hopped on the highway and drove up to meet up with Jen and Maddy for the first time today. We've "known" Jen via blogs for a while, but hadn't yet met her. Well, today was our day. And we picked a great one!

It's not crazy hot here anymore, so the idea of meeting at a park and chatting for a bit then walking to lunch was much more manageable than if we had done it last weekend. I admit that I was a wee bit chilly when the breeze was blowing, but the conversation was so great that it was barely noticeable. What was noticeable, though, was that today was obviously the day to mow the lawn at the park! It's not a big park, but they had (I think?) 3 big (loud) mowers out there. All at the same time. And one would mow by us, then a few minutes later another would mow by us on another side. Oh, so annoying! Thankfully, it was almost lunchtime, and I think the mower-guys figured we'd have to get up to have lunch sooner or later, so they didn't ask us to move. And we just kept chatting! :o) Yes, we did eventually get up and move...but it probably messed up their mow-snack-mow-nap schedule. :o)

Jen lives near a bunch of hip and trendy restaurants (I totally covet her neighborhood!), so we walked (and waddled) to a place that serves fancy, dressed up salads. Actually, I should say they serve fancy, dressed up salads because they were large! And good. Oh, yum. Very good. I really love a good salad. Iceberg lettuce is just watery cardboard to me, so when there's Romaine, and Red Leaf, and avocado, and egg, and bacon, and chicken all piled on my plate for just me to eat (and not a wedge of Iceberg anywhere!), I am happy bunny. Kelly had a salad with green beans and olives and Ahi tuna, and Jen had a Chinese chicken salad (I think?). I was so busy eating, I'm not even sure I asked the other ladies if there's was any good! :o)

Kelly was bright enough to ask the server to take our picture, but then later she realized that she won't be able to post the picture until she's no longer homeless and has access to (her shoes) and her computer! :o) So the best I can do is give you a photo that I took of the other Pink Mama's and their sweet, sweet babies. (and I'm not just sayin' that! Those two girls were the bestest babies I've been around in a long time! So happy and content. Just watching each other and smiling. Sweet.)

Look how the girlies are holding each other's hands. Everyone together, now...awwwww.

(I was a Pink Mama, too, because my face got a little sunburned.)