Here Comes the Bride

WOW - Wedding summer it is!

First, Severin and Colleen got married in Washington D.C. and we wrapped our PA visit into their celebration. The whole Hanou clan was there to help out with the kids and help the couple celebrate a beautiful wedding weekend. The weather was perfect, as was the location. The rehearsal evening was HOT and Ev lost his shoes and his shirt!

An amazing garden backdrop highlighted the ceremony. I was a bit nervous for the flower girl and ring bearer. I was thinking Everett might snatch Purple Baby and run away or Holden would shove Everett into a fountain, but low and behold they did a super job and Ian and I both actually saw and enjoyed the entire ceremony!

I think Severin and Colleen had a fabulous time and we are all so excited to welcome Aunt Colleen into the family!

AND, We just got back from a weekend getaway at Keystone Resort for My great friend Jessica and her husband Jay's wedding. Marsha and Frank were in town to help with babysitting the kids, so Ian and I could enjoy a grown up time!

Again, a perfect location with perfect weather.

The girls all went up a day early to spend the night with Jess on her last night as a single girl.

They may have waited 12 years, but it was worth the wait!


I was completely honored to be the officiant for the ceremony. I am thinking of turning pro as this was my third wedding I have performed.

Quote of the Day
"To love someone deeply gives you strength, being loved by someone deeply gives you courage."
-Lao Tzu

2nd Worst Camping Trip Ever

I will preface the story with this....


We checked the tent poles!

Which is why this is the second worst camping trip and not the first. I have been DYING to get out and camp. We finally found a free weekend and some nice weather and drove 1 1/2 hours to Brainard Lake, just outside of Nederland Colorado.

My first question is this, how did Ian and I end up with two children who hate the car? Before kids, we loved road trips and long driving adventures cross country. Both of these children have an intense aversion to the car. Forget cross country, we can't drive for more than twenty minutes without someone screaming, yelling, crying, demanding lollipops and treats, kids music and Finding Nemo, chocolate milk and juice boxes. So as we hit the road on Friday at 4:15 we were not optimistic about the ride when Ev started crying and screaming before we got out of our neighborhood. The screaming continued the entire drive. We did a lot of singing Old McDonald and Wheels on the Bus and a lot of lollipop eating in order to curb the misery but nothing worked.

However, when we arrived the sky opened up and the light shone down on us. We found a great camp site and the kids ran around digging in the dirt and exploring close by while Ian and I set up. They were completely entertained with the forest and our first big camp out!

We ate dinner and basked in the glow of camping with our children. It was nice (for a couple of hours) to share this big part of our before kid life with our own kids who are a the ages to kinda get it and have fun.

We were ready for the bedtime challenge. We brought the Pack-N-play for Everett to sleep in. I thought if we sing and rock him into a DEEP sleep one of us could get him in there without him waking up and we would be golden for at least five or six hours. Well, apparently Ev had other plans. The tent was WAY too exciting for any sleeping to be had. He wouldn't sit still for one minute. He jumped out my arms repeatedly when I tried singing and rocking. He grabbed and scratched the fun and shiny tent fabric every chance he found. He rolled around on the pillows and sleeping bags in complete bliss while a tear rolled down my cheek and the realization hit....

we will not be getting any sleep tonight

I think Ev slept for a total of 2 to 3 hours in 5-10 minute chunks throughout the night. Ian and I took turns trying to settle him. Holden slept through most of it, but she did get pretty cranky and yell at all of us a few times. Finally at 5, Ian got up with Ev and let me sleep with H till 6:30. Then we switched and H and Ian slept till about 8 when we all got ready for our day. No one was all that happy to be awake.

Eventually, Everett passed out on Ian and slept for maybe an hour.

We finally got our acts together around 10 and loaded our two tired babes into backpacks and went on a very nice and peaceful short hike. Lunch went smoothly, but when our afternoon nap time went as well as bedtime, we decided another night was not in our cards. We packed up and came home early. Oh well, there is always next year right?

We are hoping that when Ev learns to sleep in a bed he will have an easier transition to tent sleeping and his will get easier. I just don't think Ian and I are ready to give this up!

Quote of the Day

"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin"
-Shakespeare, Trollus and Cressida

Mmmmmm

Everett discovered pudding.....







And Chili Mac






Enough said.

Quote of the Day

"The belly rules the mind"
Spanish Proverb

Climb Every Mountain

Well, she did it! Holden finished filling up her first "Good Girl" chart. It is going so well. She loves being rewarded and putting the stickers up there. It has been a nice motivation for her and she is so proud when she does helpful and responsible things. Last weekend Daddy took her to climb a mountain per her reward request.



Ian guesses she hiked for 5 out of the 45 minutes and he carried her for the rest. But it was worth it. They had fun, she got her big prize, and now we are on to our second sticker chart. This time I talked her into the prize of going to the mall with mommy to try on fun play jewelry and eat ice cream.

Quote of the Day

"Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle."
-Wilma Rudolph

DIY

So, now that school is OVER, (YAY, Well, I am finishing up my portfolio, but that should be wrapped up any day now) I am tackling a few projects I have been dying to try.

Sewing class is coming up next month and I am also signing up for a knitting class. Always wanted to try that too. But right now, I am having a jewelry situation. I don't like the typical jewelry boxes and I found a cool idea in Real Simple magazine for a picture frame jewelry organizer and after searching the internet for more ideas I tackled my own! My inspiration....

I am totally on the lookout for this type of frame at a thrift store

Love the drawer pulls
(but I couldn't get mine to actually stick to my frame)

I would also like to try these types of hooks

Using just what I had at home already I made my own. I used an old frame, cardboard for the backing, hot glue gun, drapery hooks, fabric hooks, artificial flowers, fabric I bought last year and couldn't decide how to use, and eye hooks from a hardware kit. Here are my creations....

I love the color it adds to our bedroom, that my necklaces aren't a tangled mess, and that the kids haven't yet figured out how to reach it! Ian thinks they are too "busy." HMM maybe different fabric?

Quote of the Day

"Creativity id inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun"
- Mary Lou Cook

Paparazzi

My friend Nichole from Colorado Springs is an AMAZING photographer. She was up with her kids a few weeks ago and took these beautiful pictures at the park. She just started her own business and I am so happy that we get to be her guinea pigs!

We love you Nichole and best of luck with your new venture!

Quote of the Day

Our job is to record, each in his own way, this world of light and shadow and time that will never come again exactly as it is today.
- Edward Abbey

It's About Time!

Everett is 18 months old and until about a week ago his language repertoire consisted of:

1. mama
2. dada
3. NO

But finally, finally, finally, he is showing some promise! While the words do not sound perfect they are definitely words!

4. elmo (melmo)
5. baby
6. big bird (bi-bo)
7. peek-a-boo (pee-boo)
8. ball
9. nemo (memo)

He is also getting good with his animal sounds: meow, woof, baa baa

It is the most amazing thing to hear these first words, hear his voice, and imagine actually having conversations with him. It's like I have a whole new kid with this unbelievable dimension of language and communication. His voice is beautiful and truly the sweetest sound in the world.

Here are some recent pictures too....

Who LOVES their dog?



Swimming with friends.



Everett and Troy



So grown up


This is how a butterfly flaps it's wings.



"I love my Ev-E"

Quote of the Day

Mischief all comes from much opening of the mouth.
-Chinese Proverb

911 Update

Things are going well! Holden loves her "good girl" reward chart, the screaming has been mostly gone, no junkie sweet stuff, barely any TV, and they are alive and happy! Go figure?!?!

However, this whole clothing issue with Holden may drive me to insanity. I am ok with giving her the reins and letting her pick out the craziest outfits to wear... in public... where people see us...ugh. I just hope people see me and Everett looking normal and assume she is alright and Child Services does not need to be called in. Here is the issue, 45 minutes trying to decide on the outfit. Put it on, take it off, put it on, take it off. She is the most indecisive person in the universe. And many of the ballerina leotards and tight leggings she needs help getting off and on , which has added a new dilemma.... Do I help her? Maybe for one outfit but no more? Maybe for five minutes and that's it? Maybe not at all which would please me, but still a bit unrealistic for a three year old.

To some people (without opinionated little girls anyway) this may seem like such a litle thing. How can this one issue be such an issue in our house? Well, it IS an issue and a big one. Ian this morning spent 20 minutes back and forth to get her dressed to leave the house, then a clothing change when we got home, another change for nap, then a new after nap outfit, and last but not least a bedtime outfit. Not pajamas because they are not "beautiful" enough. Everything she wears needs to be "beautiful." "That's not a beautiful shirt, mommy." "Those sneakers are not beautiful, mommy." You get the picture.

So here we are. Only easy beautiful clothing with elastic waists allowed.

Quote of the Day

Know first who you are, then adorn yourself accordingly.
-Epictetus

****Well I guess she learned who she was a few weeks ago and is ready to adorn accordingly!

To Sew?

While I am not a super traditional person, there are some things that are important to me. Like, my mom only ever cooked homemade food. No Spaghettios, jarred pasta sauce, cake from a box, etc. Looking back, I appreciate her effort and cannot imagine how she did it working two jobs as a single parent. In turn, I now usually cook homemade food. However, there are a few boxes of Annie's Mac-n-Chz in my pantry and my freezer has seen a Stouffer's lasagna box once or twice.

Essentially, in my book anyway, there are just some things a mom is supposed to know how to do. I am not saying we should all be June Cleaver, but we should have one or two classic mommy skills. For example, a couple of years back I went on a quest... an arduous journey if you will, to create the perfect cut out sugar cookie. I felt like I needed one cookie specialty I could bring to parties and school functions in the future. Well, it took forever, but I did it.

Now that school is almost over (yay, 2 weeks till my masters degree!!) I will be needing something to occupy my time. There are millions of things I would love to be able to do, knit or crochet, take beautiful photographs, go to cooking school. But I finally narrowed it down to sewing. I want to learn to sew. Last year I got an itch, went out and bought a sewing machine, thread, needles, patterns, and went to town trying to teach myself. Needless to say, everything from seventh grade Home-Ec DID NOT come back to me. I have mended a few diapers but that is about as far as I ever got.

Basic Sewing 101 here I come. With Courtney and my pal Amy. We will be taking a class together and I have been assured I will learn how to complete basic sewing tasks and learn how to sew a ruffle (hee hee).

Here is what I am dreaming of creating......

Ruffle Lamp Shade

Tank Top



Bike Bucket



Coffee Cup Holder



Flower Corsage



Reusable Snack and Lunch Bags



Tee Shirt Aprons



Flower Pillow



Ruffle Tee Shirt Scarf



Ruffle Butt Baby Capri Pants

Fruit Salad Hats

Fuzzy Caterpillars

I have found a couple of fabulous creative blogs with sewing tutorials and lots of other do it yourself crafty projects I will be sure to try out over the coming months. I will be sure to share my creations, the directions, and the cool blogs where I found them. For now, I will dream of that ruffle lamp shade on my bedside lamp one day.

Quote of the Day

Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction
-Pablo Picaso