Baby's Crying, Pass it Back to Mommy

Spent some time with Hubby's family last weekend.

It was a fun, there were new babies, a bride-to-be, and ..well, heat.

But, that's summer for ya.

The babies were so cute, two new nephews in our family.

Well, 3 and 5 months new, but we had the pleasure to hang around them alot and learn about their early personalities.

They like to sleep and eat, and smile a ton.

What a life.

My biggest baby is almost 11.

Sigh.

It's nice to pass the torch to the younger in-laws and experience their little ones.

Play with them, change them, rock them...

...and when they cry a lot, pass them back to mom.

Oh and I forgot what it's like to literally hear a explosion in the diaper and then check manually and dip your fingers into the mess.

Um. Ew.

It's been 3 years, give me a break.

It's also nice to observe parenting styles and ask yourself, "do I do that?, are my kids getting away with too much? am I the mean mom?"

Remember what it was like to be a bride to be?

And sitting in front of 30+ people opening shower gifts, thumbing through crock-pots, woks, and china settings.

Kinda made me feel old.

But, experienced, and so glad that I'm in the part of my life that I am right now.

Seasoned.

Like a good tri-tip.

Mmm. Tri-tip.

See, total side-track.

I am old.

A Thousand Words Thursday

Summer, 2009 What do I love about close up profile pics? Everything, every hair, fuzz, lip crack, freckle, vein, eyelash, curve, dust and spot on the glasses, and mostly the expression. So unplanned, natural, and pure.


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Heat + Competition = Mommy Drinky

It's been a long hot day in these neck of the woods.

So warm we hit Yaya's pool.

TWICE.

Morning and evening dip.

Well not me, but the competitors.

That's right my children, their friends and cousins...and lots of competition.

What was the prize you ask?

Nothing.

But glory I suppose, bragging rights.

But everything in a 8-11 year old's mind is about competing.

And rules, that change every second.

And winners, who are usually your friends first then your siblings, then cousins in that order.

Then the losers cry.

Then mom yells.

Loud, because there are 6 kids in the pool making noise.

Who can make the biggest splash?
Who can dive the straightest dive?
I won the race.
No I did, I touched your hand.
But you were supposed to tag the side of the pool.
Those are my goggles.
That's my floatie.
It's my turn.
Who can do a cool cannonball?
Can YOU do the pencil?
Who can retrieve the most pennies from the bottom of the pool? In the shortest breath, the least amount of breaths, can count to 6000 underwater, can burp the loudest chlorine burp, who can hog the goggles the longest, who can cry the loudest when someone doesn't share, who can annoy mom the most in one afternoon so she is ready for a bottle of hard alcohol by 5pm and she is NOT SHARING?!

Who wins the contest?

Me.

For living through another day without ripping my hair out strand by strand.

Yay.

Go me.

Man it's hot.

Who's going to pass out the earliest tonight only to probably repeat this all again tomorrow?!

Me.

I win again!

Reality is Overrated

When you finally head out on vacation, your body goes into relax mode.

Not just relax mode, but tired, exhausted, pass out after lunch.

That's even without cocktails!

I noticed that the first 2 days of vacation, I yawned a ton.

I wanted to nap.

After my morning coffee.

I guess after the everyday go-go-go, I finally felt no reason to rush.

Vacation was just what we had all hoped for, nothing important to do.

Just have fun.

Play.

Look forward to the next fun activity.

I didn't have to blog.

Didn't have to check my email.

Didn't have to pay bills, do laundry, or shower.

We swam, golfed, hiked, bowled, mountain biked, gambled, lounged at the lake, ate, ate, drank, and ate.

It was glorious.

I miss it.

We'd all like to vacation for 9 days every few months.

Like a prescription.

Take 1 vacation, and don't call me in the morning, because I'm feeling GOOD!

Ahh.

Dreams.

Fantasies.

Reminds me, I better go buy a lottery ticket.

There's a New Dancer in Town!

And her name is K.

This girl is so excited to be in dance class.

For 3.5 years she's been taking sister to class.

Watching sister's recitals, competitions, and learning all her moves.

We told her "after we get home from Tahoe, your dance class starts!"

Since then she'd say, "after Tahoe, my dance cydal [recital]."

Um...okay, close enough, just nod your head at her.

Now the girl is donning the pink tights/black leotard/pink ballet shoes/black patent leather tap shoes/pink skirt uniform.

Oh and is she just LOVING it?!

She is NOT shy.

Warming up Hamming it up before the class gets there.

Stretching with her "SRiends" [friends]

Across the floor.

Oh the beauty of it all!

Point your toes.

If only it were Dance Class day, everyday!

Weekly Winners

I haven't posted weekly winners in a while and it's time!

I have so many vacay pics to share.

Molly's beautiful flowers.

Hey, who's that...oh it's me, DQ taking the pic.

Daddy doing tricks.

Fish-kiss.

Would you parasail?

Beautiful girls.

Imagine tripping over that hill! Wait, don't!

Wouldn't you love to see this in your backyard every night?

Best buds and cousins.

And this pic that Photobucket deemed as "not allowed!"
http://twitpic.com/a6gxq - Hello it's a MERMAID! Geesh!

For more winners, check out Sarcastic Mom.

The Umbrella in my Wine

Friends, they're so wonderful.

We got the chance to stay a few nights with our friends Molly and Bill prior to our main vacation.

We only get to see them about once or twice a year.

It's not enough.

They used to live with their family in our town, but moved.

Their kids are 13, 10, and 8. Mine are 10, 8, and 3.

The kids got along wonderfully and for a moment I thought, I could have 6 kids no problem!

Molly is a wonderful, hospitable, super-chef of a hostess.

Her hubby a great mountain bike partner for my hubby!

Their beautiful home was filled with fun, laughter, and special memories.

Once or twice a year is not enough.

Friends mean so much.

I still am thinking about them and the fun we had in that short time.

My friend put a paper umbrella stuck to a blueberry in my bubbly.

That was special.

It's that little extra touch that said, you mean something to me.

It may sound silly, but it's true.