Eden is One!

I promise you Eden is younger than her 2 older sisters were on their first birthday.  I cannot believe she is one already!  As tradition states in our household, you go on a date with Mom and Dad to Build-a-Bear on your first birthday.  No questions asked.

Eden has always been really excited to see Rocco.  She was a little scared of him at first, but she would have to pet him nonetheless.  Every time she did, we would say, "Good Girl."  Well - she now thinks Rocco's name is Good Girl.  And all dogs are subsequently "Good Girl."  Anytime there is a dog anywhere or a photo of a dog anywhere, she just about jumps out of her skin saying, "Good girl! Good girl!  Good girl!"

So, we were not the least bit surprised when Eden immediately dove for the stuffed dog on the shelf, promptly naming him "Good Girl."

She may only be 1, but she knows that "Good Girl" is hers and has yet to let go of its neck.

So, Happy Birthday Eden.  You are our World.

Augustus, Save Some Room for Later!

It's looking like we need to have a talk. Four boxes of Sourpatch Kids and 3 boxes of Butterfinger Bits; the Icee only takes it over the top.  

Either we need an intervention or Jake's going to Taiwan and taking some ever-elusive sugar to his friends.  

Thankfully the latter is true. My favorite part however was on the airport curb an hour later. Jake opens his suitcase to squeeze the candy in but is having a hard time due to the 13 pounds of brown sugar and 14 boxes of licorice in the way.    

I dropped him off last night at 8pm and he is still on the flight!  

Good thing he has a few "Scooby Snacks". . .

ASLEEP ON THE JOB

I'm no Sherlock, but I'm going to go ahead and say I know who took this.

Life has gotten a little out of control lately.  I thought I would have gotten a hang of having 3 kids by now.  Yah, no.  The opposite is true. It is just now hitting me.  Hard.

Eden doesn't just sleep, eat and smile anymore.  She's awake, moving, and opening cupboards full of bleach and Comet.  Oh, and she's mastered the "arch back" and screaming too.  

I've been exhausted and not able to keep up.  

I found this picture on my camera along with these others. The scariest part is that I have no recolection of her even being in my room. Eden was asleep and that must have been good enough for me.

Rocco is a Wimp

The girls went out for a pre-bedtime Rain Race tonight and Rocco couldn't resist. He got out there and realized his precious dog hair was going to get a little wet.  He abandoned the race like the true man that he is (and Ben, don't try to stick up for him, we have it on video). Ben and I even got out there and raced, and Eden wasn't amused.  

Date Night

Tonight was Night of the Arts at the girls' school.  This is a big deal to these girls.  Big big deal.  So, we got a babysitter for Eden and each took a girl to their 2 classes.  It was followed by ice cream at "That Place Where They Used to Have 30 Flavors but Now have Tons More" (Thank you, Avery).  Ben and I are going to check on Aves tonight before we go to bed to make sure she's not glowing in the dark (Thank you neon ice cream).

Ferris Bueller's Ferrari House is for Sale.

Now, all I need is $2.3 Million and a good reason to move to Illinois.

That Limbo Body

Avery: Lady GaGa is good at playing Limbo.

Me: Huh?

Avery: Yah, because she has a Limbo Body.

Me: What what what??

Avery sings: Can't read my, can't read my, no you can't read on my Poker Face. . .She's got The Limbo Body

Call her, she'll sing it for you.

Oh Yes, The Party

We had 12 six-year-olds over for a Pajama Party on Saturday.  Avery has been counting-down to this Holiday of All Holidays since her 5th birthday.  It was in the evening and began with a Pancake and Bacon dinner.  They decorated pillowcases, played Musical Chairs, danced around with bubble wands and watched Scooby Doo.  

No one cried.  No one got paint on their jammers. 

And no one needed a change of clothes.  

I call that a success. But before bed I asked Aves how her birthday was and she sang, "Awwesooome." And the answer from that little girl is the only one that matters.

  
                                                                                          

                                                                                           Jason West Photography

Avery is 6 Today

My "baby" is six today.  She is our Angel.  I know that is so cliché, but with her it is more true than you know.  From the day she was born there was something special about her.  Everyone felt the same.  She just makes you want to cry. 

I beg her to stop growing up.  It is all going too fast.  

I told her that 6 years ago today she was born.  She said, "I was born on my birthday?!  That is so cool!" 

Our Pig in a Dog Suit

A face only a mother could love.

I can hear him snoring upstairs from here.

All My Bens

I have always said that if you put all of Ben's different "looks" in a room together, they would not get along.  I have never met anyone whose appearance can change so drastically, so quickly.  

For years, I have been wanting to put together an "All My Bens" book, showcasing the different husbands I have had over the years.  I have been working on it, but it is not quite complete. (If you have any photos that might add to the collection, email me!)

For over three years, Ben's hair has been getting longer and longer. One late night last week he came home with all of it gone. Gone!  I was speechless; such a drastic change.  Within a week, Ben went from being a "long haired hippie" in a Subaru to a clean-cut gentleman from the 1950s in a huge truck. There have been jokes that he is in the Witness Protection Program, rightfully.   

I love his new look - I loved the old ones too.  I consider myself lucky that I get to have a "new boyfriend" every few months.  Anyway you cut it (no pun intended), he is still the same cute Ben with the same funny jokes and the same good dad who is the preferred bedtime story-teller around here.  He is honestly a good example to me to not take things so seriously.  I've always regretted that I never tried having super-dark long hair or super-short platinum hair.  I've been too freaked out to try it.  So dumb.

Maybe I will. . .  

  

Josie's impromptu birthday song at a preschool graduation in San Francisco.  Love it.  And no, I was not standing on a chair to film it.

9 Years and Counting

Happy Anniversary.  Love you Benny.

San Fran-Fish-Co

Ah, a weekend with my sister Josie.  She has lived in San Francisco for 5 years and I have not been out to see her and her cute family until now.  My birthday present to myself was to be with Josie for her birthday.  She's thirty, pregnant, and as beautiful as ever.  

Her oldest, Charlie, wouldn't let her birthday slide by without a Scooby Doo pinata from Mexicana Produce.  Josie and Justin pulled out all of the stops and gave me the full San Fran Tour - while morning sick and all.  Jos took most of the photos with her new camera, so I will have to wait for those.  

There was a lot of weeping and wailing happening on the curb as I left to catch my flight.  It was quite a sight.  My girls were total wrecks, and I would be lying if I told you it didn't make me feel good.  It was funny however, so I told Ben to take a picture of the little heat-broken girls.  I got to the terminal and looked at the picture. . .smiles!! Those little fakers!  I never saw the smiles.  Anything to try to talk Ben into a trip to Build-a-Bear (who, by the way was a rockstar and took all three kids cheerfully for the weekend).

So, Happy Bithday to me and Josie!  More photos to come, right Jos?

Téa told me that a boy in her class wears way too much cologne.  Huh? I didn't know she knew what that was: 

When he is on the other side of the room I can still smell him!  It is so strong, I don't even know why he wears it. What kind of cologne is it? Do you mean what does it smell like?  Oh, his cologne smells like apples and cheese.  

In the Dumps

Téa's 1st grade class was going to the city dump for a field trip.  She wanted me to go on the 5-hour excursion and my instinctive response was to say I couldn't go because of Eden.  But then, the face. Oh she gave me this glance with these eyes and, as if under a trance, I just said, "I'll be there."

It turned out to be a freezing, raining and wet day out there.  But it was so worth it.  It makes me sick to think that pretty soon I won't be cool enough to hang out with her publicly.  So, as long as she wants me around, I will be there.  Even if it is at the dump.

Note: Click on the top photo of the landfill.  You would not believe the seagulls.  Out of control.

Easter

Easter is my favorite holiday.  

No fuss, no stress, good food, family and good weather.  I love it.
Jake took photos of our backyard on Easter.  It was a beautiful day.

My Birthday Weekend

My birthday landed on a Saturday this year, which is always nice.  A lot of lounging around and a lot of eating.  Who doesn't love opening presents while reclining? So perfect!  I woke up to Happy Birthday notes and drawings tucked under me and around me in bed from Téa and Avery.  I went out to lunch with my mom and in-laws and came home to Ben attempting to make me a cake.  It was only made better by the girls attempting to frost it.  It was the ugliest, most beautiful cake I have ever seen in my life.  I do have to say it was delicious! 


Friday night I was kneeling by Avery's bed, tucking her in.  She said "Mom tonight is the last time you will be 32 and tomorrow you will be 33."  She pulled my head in with both hands and planted a 20 second, very strong kiss right on the lips and said . . ."GOOD LUCK."  I lost it.  She is my favorite thing.

Air Conditioning

I took the photo above this morning before school and the bottom one last week when the weather was decent.  The uni-sock is intentional.  I was informed that with just one sock - she never gets too hot and never gets too cold.

Genius.

I Don't Want to Talk About It

This is what happens when I tell everyone to bring me their laundry.