Splashin' Good Times

Layla and cousin Faith playing in the water...
Jorie was nice enough to hold Anyah for awhile so she could watch everyone splashing about...
(the baby in the background is Brooke, none of the pictures of her that I took came out well)

The girl cousin's from Washington have birthday's that are remarkably close together. Mel & Garratt decided to bring the girls down for Faith's 3rd Birthday and Brooke's 1st Birthday so that they could celebrate with family.

There were sprinklers, kiddie pools, chalk and cake...all the makings of good times when you are little. Layla loved seeing the girls and talked about it the next day.

Happy Birthday Girls...

Thirty something

No makeup. No presumptions. No disillussions of grander. No way I'd go back and do parts of it again. No regrets about where I stand at the moment.

No longer in my twenties.

The Center of Family Functions

(this picture was taken the other day when layla was perfecting her sprinkle eating technique)

Last nights pizza and cheesecake with the family went over really well. My dad, my mom, my grandfather & his girlfriend and eventually my dad's girlfriend came over to join the yummy food. Layla enjoyed an evening of being the center of everyone's attention. Then she stayed up way past her bedtime which she also enjoyed.

I am definitely 9 months pregnant. I was pooped by the end of the evening and I didn't even have to really do anything.

Tonight we have dinner with another couple we love to hang out with. It's an Outback night. Yummy!

TGIF w/ a side of pizza

Yesterday, Mom took Layla and I on a "few" errands while she was here helping out in the morning. It was my last paycheck from work and being as I went out early I hadn't really had time to stock up on everything I expected to.

After the bank we hit all the usual suspects... Walmart, Costco, and the grocery store with a small stop in the middle to grab LaylaBug some lunch. Considering all that we packed in a 2 hour shopping trip Layla did pretty well. I on the other hand came home tired...down right pooped.

I thought I might nap with Layla but she kicked me out of the bed so I found myself downstairs with my feet up browsing the internet and entertaining myself with Facebook (we've all been there). I got my first SDI check in the mail and opened a gift from Sarah for Miss Anyah *cutest tiny dress EVER*.

Quiet time rolled into time talking with Jon when he got home from work and that rolled into BBQing hamburgers outside while Layla was distracted by a Pixar flick (we really need to get Toy Story 1 and 2 she loves her a Pixar movie). By the end of dinner I actually turned to Jon and announced that I had to go upstairs and lay down for a minute. It took stripping myself naked with the fan on high for about a half an hour to feel normal again. I overheat WAY to easily.

I was downstairs in my Pj's with everyone else watching Mickey Mouse clubhouse by 6 pm and counting down to bedtime for no other reason than it's been a long day and today will be a long one as well. But today is long in a fun way.

Today my family is coming over with pizza (and mom got cheesecake) to celebrate my birthday here at the house. As I predicted at the beginning of the month, at this point I feel very pregnant and I am super glad that I opted for one night here at the house where I don't have to do anything.

Plus...there is nothing better than a night of pizza and cheesecake.

(Unless you're Layla in which case playing with the dog would be better...but the dog wasn't invited)

Every Day A Lil More Hippie

So I've become obsessed with spending time on Etsy looking at wonderful handmade and vintage things that I would love to own. The thing I've learned from all my browsing is that I would really love to own something that might cost a little bit more but that will benefit someone who is doing an art they love.

I know... I'm becoming such a hippie.

Here are some things I've fallen in love with recently...

The Granny Hobo Bag in Brown and Cream Fillagrees on Pale Turqouise by Ally Bu

Cherry Heart Stoneware Pottery Pendant by Red Crow Arts

Organic Baby Wrap in Olive and Blue by LoveyDuds

Silver Random Wire Stud Earrings by Twisted Designs

Silver Bar Name Stamp Pendants by Artofsilver

Stargazing Print by Julie Fain

Deluxe Supernatural Mary Winchester Protection Charm Bracelet by Laughing Vixen Lounge

oh there are so many more...but these will get you started on some awesome shopping adventures...

Holding Out for a Hero Bracelet by SpaceHappy

Belated Birthday Post (Yet Again)

Oh gosh I'm horrible. I keep letting the birthday's blur right past without the celebatory birthday post. This is Jen. She is awesome. She just had a birthday.

Top 10 reasons we love Jen:

10. She is fun to be around because she is not affraid to try new things, laugh, or otherwise experience life.

9. She was a good room mate and she didn't eat all the food and spill beer on the carpet (or complain when our friends did).

8. She is a WONDERFUL mommy. (That's her daughter Mia in the picture there)

7. She makes a good double date for the Ben & Jerry's nights.

6. She texts faster than I do.

5. She quotes random things and random times so that things stay interesting.

4. She calls to check up (or texts) even when you're feeling disattached and confused.

3. She tries not to let drama pull her down to it's level and when it does she gets back up and dusts herself off like a champion.

2. She keeps trying and doing the right thing even when it's hard.

1. Because you can't not love Jen...it's not an option.

Love ya Miss Jenny Megan... Happy Belated Birthday!

Happy Belated Birthday Mandi

Yesterday was Mandi's birthday and I had a blog set up for her and it didn't publish. Silly Blogger. Anyhow, she just recently made a huge life change and packed up and moved all the way to the other side of the country where opportunities would be better for her and her daughter and I am very proud of her for doing something so brave.

Happy Birthday Mandi!

Layla's 2nd Birthday Pictures

Courtney and I both took pictures at Layla's party. As I expected, hers are WAY better than mine because she is AMAZING. So... I'll be posting those later this week for you to enjoy. This one is my favorite and it can hold you over until then. Most of them will be up on Layla's site in the next couple days.

Courtney has been nice enough to accept my begging and pleading and take our family pictures and Layla's 2 year old pictures...not a doubt in my mind that I made the right choice!

Happy Birthday NeNe

Tomorrow is my niece Nevaeh's 3rd birthday and she'll be driving across the country instead of celebrating because that's the day she makes the big move from California to South Carolina with her Mommy and Grammi. SOOOooo... they had her party a teeny tiny bit early...like two weeks ago.

This is a picture of her opening her presents. Nevaeh is a total crack up. She's also got more energy than most other kids which makes her a crack up that keeps you cracked up most of the time.

Happy Birthday Miss Nevaeh! We love you!!

Pictures from her party will be available today on Layla's site for the family too far away to see them in person.

A Letter to my Daughter

My Laylabug,

You're two. I can't believe you're TWO. I mean it seems like only seconds ago we were praying you'd make it to the next ultrasound or the first contraction at full term and now you're two. There are still little signs of that baby I saw so sweet and chubby in the NICU that first day. Your bright and curious eyes, your charming smile, the sweet way that your whole body melts when you sleep but you are so much more now then that little baby you were then.

I was so scared for you for so long and now you have decided that instead of worrying about being alive you will live your life in a such a way that NO ONE will doubt that you are full of the finest things life offers. If alive had a picture, it would be a blurry one someone tried to capture of you.

You hop like a tigger down the stairs and jump with both feet of every step and into every puddle. You demand quality time, good attention and a taste of people's chocolates. You're full of stories with words that overflow into one another and wild hand motions that convey a life so adventerous and full that it can't be contained.

You are a huge source of entertaining stories. When I told you that I had a baby in my tummy you told me not to eat babies or I'd be in big trouble...then you giggled. You are always giggling. In fact that only thing that you do more than giggle, is run. You run every where. You run just to run. You yell run and then take off like a cat speeding around corners... just to get to the other side of a room...and then you giggle again.

You're also very imaginative. You're always pretending to eat something from your pretend kitchen or to call Nannie on your little plastic cell phone. You act out scenes from your favorite movies and you know all the best lines. The other day you gave your best Winnie the Pooh impersonation and I personally think that they should change the line from "oh bother" to "oh brother" because your way is much cuter.

You are full of playful tests which push us to our limits. How many times can a small person steal your chair or your drink before it's not funny? I don't know. But I'm sure you're trying to find out.

You love movies and stories. You love to color and write. You can count to 13, spell your whole name, sing several songs, and know several of your letters. A genius, your Nannie says. But you don't have to be brilliant, because no amount of brilliance will outshine the star that God put in you. The brilliant little star of life that shines out of you where-ever you go. You outshine any child I've ever known.

It's odd to me the way I look at you now and I see that baby I used to snuggle with in bed. And when I do I pull all your lanky toddler limbs closer and smell your sweet head and I almost forget how grown up you are, then you kiss me and sigh and two seconds later you give me a "no no no that's enough you stoppa that" before you squirm away.

That's what being your mom is like. It's like little tiny moments that try and wiggle away before I can catch them and keep them forever. But though I might miss a few moments while I'm chasing you and trying to keep you safe... I will always love you and I will be keeping you forever. Every memory. In my own little LaylaBug Catcher Jar.

Love, Mommy

Belated Bday Post for Melissa

This is my sister in law Melissa. She's a ray of sunshine. Even when she's being tested 4 ways from Sunday she's probably going to be most likely to say something sweet. She's just that person.

She was the perfect pick to be the first person who ever took care of Layla without me. She eased me back into work by arriving early, sharing lots about her day with the kids and visiting when I got home.

Now she lives Far Far away...but her picture is in Layla's room and we point at it and I say that's "Auntie Mel" and Layla always says "yeah" which doesn't happen with everyone so I like to think they still have a special bond.

Happy birthday Melissa...can't wait to see you later this month and sorry blogger ate your post the first time.

The 2nd Year Slideshow

The 3rd little September Birthday

This is Collin. He's 2 now. Yesterday we celebrated his birthday.

Collin is the most laid back and gentle small child I have ever met. He also does a good deal of damage to veggie trays from what I've seen. He loves cars, trucks, and telling me "hi".

He's a cutie. Happy birthday little man.

(More pictures are available for family on Layla's private site)

Right Now She's Cursing Me Under Her Breath

This is Teri, my dad's girlfriend and Layla's Grammi Scari (she can't say Teri). Right now she's probably using a lot of colorful language to describe me because she just saw I posted a picture of her relaxing on the couch and eating for her birthday picture. But, it's ok...she'll still love me...I gave her a grandbaby.

Teri is Miss Erin (the babysitter extraordinaires) Mommy. The fact that she managed to raise one of the coolest chicks I know means she must be doing something right. Teri like her daughters and son is very artist, forgiving and willing to help out with just about anything. She lives in a house full of people, one of which is my dad who ALWAYS has company. Translation, she's extremely patient.

Happy Birthday Teri!

13 days

There are officially 13 more days until Layla's 2nd birthday. I'm a little overwhelmed. September is such a busy month for us normally. Add to that an extra birthday that is normally in October and everyone working as much as possible because we could use the money. Well, it's just chaos.

I'm technically doing the smallest version of a children's birthday party I have ever done. To save money, to save time and mostly to save my sanity.

And yet I worry...because I feel sort of like the A team is missing several members. (Not their fault, just the way life works out sometimes.)

I'm *this* far from Pizza in the park with cupcakes. Actually...what's wrong with Pizza in the park with cupcakes? I call dibs on this party idea! *evil grin*

The First September Birthday

Today my mom (a.k.a. Nana Lorrie, Lala, Sis, Lorrie Mae, Maeya, and most recently Nannie) is having a birthday.

This is my favorite picture of my mom and Layla. Mainly because those big wide rimmed hats and visors remind me of my mommy when I was little. She was a yard duty aid and she usually had a big hat, lots of keys with a whistle and a huge smile when I was growing up.

She taught me it was better to be weird then boring. As a result, I am probably one of the happiest weird people you'll ever meet. She taught me to find myself beautiful and confident no matter what I was wearing, what size I was or what the wind was doing to my hair.

She's the kind of person who will let you pretend to tickle her so that the baby will laugh. She'll find you old sheets to make a fort in the trees across the street from the house. She reads the best stories outloud and she is always willing to play a game with you. She makes great fried chicken and chocolate chip cookies.

She's a talker. She's going to be that old woman at the rest home with 500 pictures and nothing better to do than follow people around and brag about her great great grandkids. I know this because she already follows people around bragging about her first granddaughter. And when the kids come to visit she'll dress up and play pretend no matter who's watching her.

My mom grew by leaps and bounds this year both emotionally and spiritually and I'm really really proud that some day she can teach all she learned to my daughter. Ok maybe not ALL the things she learned...but at least the good parts.

Happy Birthday Crazy Lady!

In the End Again

So this year I thought I'd play it smart and I eliminated some people from my birthday celebration night because usually it ends up being drama whenever they are around. As it turns out, most of those people were in Jon's family. A tiny little red flag flew up while we were out at my birthday dinner with friends when his mom called and asked Jon to come pick up my card but I pushed it away and after dinner he went on card detail while I went with everyone else back to our place to wait for him. Over an hour and a half later he came home looking worse for the wear. Tear streaked and obviously upset I learned that his brother had struck again. I won't go into details here because I'm sure this situation is drama enough for my sister in law without me posting it on the internet but needless to say...my brother in law dropped another rung on my ladder. This rung, might just have put him out of reach for relationship mending.

Eventually the evening picked up speed again and we found ourselves enjoying a nice game of dice, some adult beverages and a lot of laughter but I woke the next morning pretty bitter about the time I lost on my birthday because this person can't behave himself. It's a sad world we live in.

We went for pancakes on Sunday and his wife was there, as bright and smiling as she normally is. That was a little akward being as everyone who had been at my house the night before was waiting for the shit to hit the fan through out the meal. Family (which was invited) joined us (actually only 1 person who was invited RSVP'd no and that's par for the course for Jon's family- she was "too busy this week"). No worries.

We had pancakes, swapped stories. Did you know my father-in-law went down a zip line in a cave? Crazy. Did you know my cousin Jeromy will be 30 next month too and he wants to have a mud pit at his red-neck party? Awesome. Turns out Alex has a weak stomach and that one of my nephews can set him off by eating bacon like only a two year old can. Did you know my husband will take the baby home so I can spend more time enjoying my guests and my friends will give me a ride when he has to take our car? Cool. How about that Lynn wrote a blog about me over on her site? Or that George and Jen are getting really good at joking around as a team and picking on other people. I also loved when my dad told me how proud he was of me and my father in law for the first time told me that he loved me.

In the end, it was a wonderful weekend filled with little moments. I guess that's all you can ask for at this age....

Happy Birthday to Me!!

So today is my ACTUAL 30th birthday which I celebrated so far by being unable to sleep in despite my husband and child trying to let me and then making egg brunch bake in the oven. Tonight we will be going out to dinner with some good friends and then playing Liar Dice (Pirate Dice) while having some adult beverages at the house. Which leads into Sunday morning when I have invited some member of my family out to have pancakes with Jon and I.

I love birthdays!

Oh and because someone asked. So far for my birthday I got a memory card for my phone, Twilight, a trip to the ocean while someone cool watched my kid for me all day, a cool shirt, and several gift cards from people at work.

Ocean Pictures for your Jealous Enjoyment

The Pacific Grove Tide Pools

At the tide pools we walked around a little on the beach taking pictures and then while I searched out hermit crabs and other interesting sea life in my Old Navy flip flops, Jon decided to climb a rock formation out at sea (yes that last picture is him on top of it) even though he also had on flip flops (because we live dangerously). Then I decided I missed my kid so we drove home (with a brief stop at casa de fruita to get some fudge and another gift for the baby (a stuffed elephant that fits in her Jungle Book phase). We got home after dinner time but in time to put the laylabug to bed.

It was an awesome day.