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Ramblings
09.17.09

Annoying

I’m usually not the type of person to get annoyed easily, but it seems with this pregnancy I’ve had a heightened sense of annoyance. I’m particularly annoyed with how annoyed I feel all the time. Maybe if I can get these annoyances off of my chest I’ll feel, well…less annoyed.

Here they are…in no particular order –

1) How quickly Kenny falls asleep every night. Way too fast. Like before I even brush my teeth fast. Before I even make it up the stairs fast. Or before I even turn off the lights fast. Does it not take a minute to unwind from the day? To find a great sleeping position? To think about what needs to be done tomorrow? To realize that you are never going to fall asleep with that tick tick ticking of the clock…

2) The tick tick ticking of the clock.

3) My all time favorite turkey isn’t tasting good to me lately. This is a tragedy above all tragedies. I’m at a complete loss as to what to eat for lunch.

4) A few spots on my walls need paint touch ups. It’s something that I know will take minutes to do but for some reason, I just keep walking by thinking how annoying those spots are. It’s annoying me right now that in the time it has taken me to write about those spots I could have painted them and been done with it.

5) Dust on hangers

6) Spending $200 at Costco (or any other grocery store for that matter) and coming home with nothing to fix for dinner.

7) Home Depot. I’ll spare you the details, but just know that I could dedicate an entire post to the annoyance that is Home Depot.

8) Speed Limits (and speed bumps for that matter)

9) The fact that Kenny still has Survivor on our fall line-up.

10) Fruit Stickers (previously mentioned)

11) Several wall hangings in my room are slightly crooked, too high, or too low.

12) Kenny’s attitude about fixing my wall hangings that are slightly crooked, too high, or too low.

13) The fact that Easter candy isn’t sold all year long. I’m really needing a Cadbury Egg right now. They are my “go to” for pregnancy (previously mentioned). Who am I kidding. They are my “go to” for all the time. I just feel more justified calling them my “go to” when pregnant.

14) “Obama 08 Yes We Can” bumper stickers. You can. You did. Get over it already.

15) Ever since I told the girls about the baby Ellie has stopped calling her stuffed animals “friends” and now calls them her babies. They refer to her as “mother.” They refer to me as “grandma.”

There. I feel a little better. Glad I got that off my chest. I’m off to bed now. Kenny’s already asleep and I have a date with a certain clock…

xoxo, Erin
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Ellie and Addison
09.16.09

Quotable Quotes

Ever attempted a photo shoot with your kids that didn’t turn out quite as planned? These two were clearly NOT in the mood to sit still and smile…
Ready for my personal favorite?

Lookin’ good girls. :)

at least the shoes were cooperating. Now here’s the latest from my two little monkeys…

Ellie’s latest: (May-August 2009-age 5)

Addison was screaming: “Ad, remember…we like flowers more than screaming.”

On our way to Boulder Mountain…”mom…are those cows real?”

Me: “Ellie, what time is it?” “It’s 8 E L mom!” (looked at the digital alarm clock which read 8:37)

“Ad, if you want to be a spy girl you have to wear fancy shoes”

“Mom, after we go to the gym today, can we go to China?”

“Let’s pretend we’re a family of deer and Addison is the owner who takes care of us.”

To the lady at Costco handing out samples: “My daddy’s eating everything in here!”

“Grandma…will you paint our nails?”
“if it’s ok with your mom.”
“our mom let’s us do whatever we want.”

Watching ducks in a pond – “if I was a duck I wouldn’t eat that yucky green stuff.”
Me: “What would you eat?”
“Oreos”

“Ad, we’re going to a different world. Let’s check the schedule.”

Me: “Time for bed Ellie.”
“Mom, after I go to bed are you going to stay up later?”
“No, I’m going to bed too.”
“C’mon mom. It’s important to tell the truth.”
“I am Ellie – I’m finishing this laundry and then going to bed.”
“It’s ok mom. Nobody’s perfect.”

Addison’s latest: (May-August 2009-age 3)

“Addison, I’m so proud of you going to pre-school and not crying…you’re such a big girl!”
“and I’m so proud of you mommy for taking care of Ellie while I was gone.”

“Do you want a pancake Addison?” “No, I don’t like the peelings.”

“mom, you’re a good mommy to take care of us and you’re polite in your manners.”

“mommy! you’re interrupting my talk!”

“You know what would be scary mommy?”

“What?”
“Falling in the potty”

“Mommy, you’re the best mommy in the family.”

“My dress is inside out and I can’t get it outside in!”
“Mom let’s just stay home.”
“Addie – you’re my little homebody”
“No mom…I’m not a homebody, I’m a human.”
xoxo, Erin
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Family
09.14.09

Girls Weekend!

I spent the weekend in Salt Lake City with my sister. Our highly anticipated girls trip had finally arrived! Car and I played (just the two of us) all day Friday and then my mom and Dayna drove up Saturday and Sunday to finish the weekend off with us. A good time was had by all!
We took great care planning out our weekend.

On the Agenda:

-Pedicures (a must for an all girl weekend)
-Shopping at Gateway
-Farmers Market

– Shopping at Fashion Place
*finally check out the new Nordstroms
*buy new fall boots from Shawn, Carly’s husband who sells shoes at the new Nordstroms (I’m all about supporting your family)
-Time with my niece, Claire…without interruptions from my two peanuts

-A little more shopping at none other than Tarjey
-Scenic walks… around Car’s beautiful neighborhood and a scenic walk at Silver Lake at the Brighton ski resort. Salt Lake is so gorgeous right now!
-Shopping at Trolley Square
-Ride on Carly’s Vespa
-Eat out for every meal
-Raid Car’s closet and try on all of her old maternity clothes (needed sooner than usual since we ate out for every meal)

Pretty stressful agenda right? I’m happy to say that we accomplished everything on our list except that we didn’t make it on a Vespa ride – ran out of time. And we didn’t make it to Trolley Square – ran out of money. Great excuse to go back soon!

Randomness from the trip:

My sister loves me and knows me well. She had all my favorite candy waiting on my bed for me upon arrival. :)

When pregnant it’s time to shift your shopping focus. It becomes all about the accessories – scarfs, make-up, hand bags, and shoes shoes shoes.

Speaking of shopping… Claire is finally old enough to enter our “young shopper in training program.” She is a natural and passed with flying colors.

Late night Target runs are the best. Especially when Target has giant chicken costumes for sell…and you have someone willing to model one for you. Wish I had a picture of that one.

It’s good to get away from your little ones for a few days and it’s good to leave your husband with full responsibility for your little ones for a few of days. Then husbands are forced to do things like go grocery shopping, load the dishwasher, pack a lunch and do hair. Sounds like while I was gone “daddy pony tails” were invented which according to my girls are VERY different from mommy pony tails. (No one tell me what my girls looked like at school Friday and at church Sunday – I don’t want to know)

Thanks for such a fun weekend Car!!!

Girl trips are simply the best. In fact, we had so much fun we already have our next one planned…Christmas shopping in VEGAS BABY!!!

I’ll wait until Kenny’s made a full recovery from this weekend before I mention that one to him…

xoxo, Erin
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San Diego fun
09.10.09

Got our city back

{First let me just say THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of the sweet comments from my last post. I have had such a fun couple of days hearing from all of you. I have read your comments and e-mails over and over. I read them while I was feeling queasy, read them while I was eating pickles and Starbursts, read them while Ellie and Addison were fighting and I was having a panic attack over the reality of one more, and read them and had an “It’s a Wonderful Life” moment realizing how lucky I am to have so many great people in my life. I love you all!}

Now on to last weekend. My Addison has been obsessed with this hairdo which she calls her “Jasmine hair.”

So it was especially fun for her to meet this princess at Disneyland:

Yes – school has started, summer is over and we now have our city back! Theme parks and the beach have mellowed out and locals can rule once again. So that is exactly what we did over Labor Day weekend – hit Disneyland and the beach.

A few weekend highlights:
-Seeing Mary Poppins, (I just love Mary Poppins)
– The drive to Disneyland. Ellie is always very curious about what cities we are driving through when we travel. She asked us “what land are we in now?” and Kenny broke out into song singing “This Land is Your Land.” I found their whole conversation rather amusing.
– And the main highlight was that my brother and his cute wife came to visit. We had a great time shopping, eating at Cheesecake Factory, hangin’ at the beach, and of course watching a little football (tis the season).

xoxo, Erin
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Mom Adventures
09.08.09

Some News

9 weeks along
8 serious discussions about whether or not we can commit to buying a minivan (yes, it’s the smartest solution…no, we just can’t do it. We have to, it’s so practical for 3…no, we just can’t do it. You’re a soccer mom, let’s embrace the stage of life we’re in…technically the girls don’t play soccer…)
7 times I’ve cried for no apparent reason and then suddenly felt enraged over something like Kenny putting down a Coke Zero can with no coaster
6 Claussen pickles I ate for lunch yesterday…followed by 6 Starburts for dessert
5 weeks of being sick and tired of being so sick… and tired
4 different shirts I tried on before finding something to wear to dinner with friends the other night
3 years of convincing Kenny that this is a good idea
2 very excited soon-to-be big sisters
all because…
1 baby is on the way

I’m pregnant. Kenny caved. I’m good at that – getting Kenny to cave. It’s the reason we live on the West Coast instead of the East, the reason we own season passes to Disneyland, and the reason the majority of our money goes to home decor and matching clothes for the girls. It’s also now the reason we will have 3 kids instead of 2. Really though, now that I’m pregnant and it is real, Kenny is thrilled. The girls are thrilled. And as for me, well…while I’m not excited to look like this again:

{May 2006 – the night before I delivered Addison. Watermelon is coming to mind. Short people so get the crappy end of the pregnancy stick}

I am VERY excited for this:
And this:
And this:

Due April 10th. Lots to look forward to. :)
xoxo, Erin
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home decor 2
09.03.09

A little space for me…

Ever since Addison moved out of the nursery and into her “big girl bed” with Ellie I’ve been slowly taking over her room…one drawer at a time.

Now even though it is still part nursery, it is also a little space for me. Finally some room to scrapbook! I’ve dreamed of having my own scrapbooking room my whole life and while this isn’t exactly the dream room I have designed in my head, it will definitely do for now. So for the few hours on the few days a week that Addison is in pre-school, this is where you will find me.

Frantically, but happily trying to catch up on our books. This space is way too clean. I can’t wait to jump in and mess it up!
xoxo, Erin
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Ellie
09.01.09

Kindergarten

{OPEN HOUSE}
Friday we went to Ellie’s class to meet her new Kindergarten teacher and see her classroom. She was so excited and nervous. So was mom. :) Her teachers (she has two who are sharing a contract this year) were SO nice and the room was darling. Ellie felt right at home and I have to admit it made me miss teaching! Getting the room ready and starting a new school year is such a fun time. I can’t wait to volunteer and help out in her class.

{FIRST DAY}


Yesterday was her first day of Kindergarten! Our house was a buzz of excitement as we all got ready to take Ellie to school. The whole family went!

Not quite sure what was up with their arms in these pictures. They were excited and acting silly – as usual.
Walking to the school…parking was crazy the first day!

This was the last look Ellie gave me before she walked into her classroom and just after I took the picture she started to cry. :( I got her settled in her desk, told her I’d pick her up after lunch, gave her a kiss and left. At the end of the day her teacher told me she only cried for a minute. Whew! Much harder on me than on her I’m sure. When I picked her up she was happy and excited to tell me about her day. Here are a few things she told me:

-they have star charts (but different than our star charts) and get a prize when they get all of their stars
-one girl in the class wasn’t minding and didn’t put away the toys when she was supposed to
-her teachers did a really silly dance that made her laugh
-they played a duck and chick game and she got a turn being the chick
-at snack time she got confused and ate some of her lunch at snack and then ate her snack at lunch
-there were only two recesses and they listened to the teacher six times (not fair)
-they had a meeting (I’m assuming this was an assembly) and a man talked and said NO GUM in school
-she likes her teachers and thinks Kindergarten will be fun, just not as fun as Kindergarten camp and pre-school
Give it time baby! We are all so proud of you Ellie. You were the cutest little Kindergartner ever.

{SECOND DAY}

Today was day two. She wore her monkey shirt and was one happy little gal. Kenny took her on his way to work and said she didn’t cry a bit. :)

xoxo, Erin
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Birthdays
08.31.09

Happy B-day Babe

A few things we and our friends have figured out. We know how to eat. We know how to laugh. We know how to party. Friday, August 28th was Kenny’s birthday and we celebrated with a bang! Thank you so much to all of our great friends who made the day so much fun.

We love you all so much and look forward to Kenny’s 90th b-day when we’re all sitting around the dinner table laughing even harder. (LOL! ;)

And to Kenny – last year when you turned 33 I made a list of 33 things I love about you. Let me just say “ditto” to all of that, and since you’re 34 I’ll add one more: I love that you are such a fun dining companion. Thanks for making me laugh every day since I’ve known you (even though most of the time it’s at my expense). Happy Birthday Babe! Love you the most.

p.s. Thanks again Shari for making that delicious banana cake…he hasn’t stopped raving about it! :)
xoxo, Erin
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Food and Cooking...or lack thereof
08.27.09

Summer Salad

So since I felt a bit of success with my Tri-Color Pasta recipe I thought I’d go out on a limb and post another one. This is just an easy salad I threw together with stuff I had on hand and it has turned out to be a minor hit this summer for BBQ’s and get togethers. It is SO easy. All you need is lettuce, apples, Craisins (dried cranberries), oven roasted almond accents, feta cheese, strawberries, an onion, cooked cut up chicken (optional) and my favorite salad dressing – Brianna’s Poppy Seed dressing (the one with the peach on the front).

First thing you need to do is spin your lettuce with a salad spinner. Why? Because it’s fun. Especially if you have extremely talented spinners on hand to do the spinning for you.

Next I like to combine the apples, feta cheese, almonds, and Craisins in a bowl. You don’t have to do this, I just love the feta cheese all over everything…and I love to snack on this yummy mixture before I eat the salad. Snacking along the way is the only redeeming quality I’ve found in cooking.

Add the diced onion and strawberries (if you like onion and strawberries) and wa-la! If the salad is a side dish, I don’t add the chicken. The chicken is for when I want to pass my salad off as a meal. Many people who live in San Diego eat only salads for meals and are super skinny. It’s rather annoying.

If you want to be super skinny (like many annoying people in San Diego), eat the salad w/o the dressing, but if you want the salad to be really yummy, eat it like I do – smothered in my favorite Brianna’s dressing.

Now to really impress you I’m going to go one step further and give you my favorite BBQ chicken marinade (the one I used for my chicken in the above picture with the corn on the cob).

Barbecue Sauce

1/2 cup vegetable/canola oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup tomato ketchup
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. Chili powder

Whisk all ingredients together. Store in the refrigerator. Place meat in large Ziploc bag and pour in desired amount of sauce. Marinate 4 hours or overnight.

Good stuff!

I know. I’m a regular Martha. ;)
xoxo, Erin
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Entertainment
08.26.09

Jack Bauer Power Hour

So what do you do when summer rolls around and you are a major TV junkie and there is NOTHING on TV? Clearly it’s time for JACK BAUER POWER HOUR! Kenny and I started watching the 24 DVD’s last summer and quickly decided it would be our new summer flick. Once again this summer they’ve kept us more than entertained. Right now we’re knee deep in Season 4 and it’s time to “Contact Jack Bauer or we’re looking at a Nuclear Holocaust!” I’m so in love with Jack Bauer (and it’s all good because my husband is too). The way he saves our country from complete and utter disaster time and time again. No crisis is too big, no situation too dangerous, no enemy too threatening. Every time he averts one catastrophe, a new and more ominous plot is uncovered. It’s compelling, never ending, mind boggling, thrill seeking action and we can’t get enough!

I have to go…Jack is dealing with a national security crisis and he needs my help. Jack Bauer Power Hour – Bring it.

xoxo, Erin
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Mom Adventures
08.24.09

Missing Kenny


The sign says it all…”NO BOYS ALLOWED…DADDY ONLY.” Except daddy wasn’t here. Kenny was out of town this weekend so the girls and I had a party. A “girls only” party. Except Ellie felt sad when making the sign that daddy wasn’t included. He is, after all, the only cool and acceptable boy. Kenny left Friday morning and a few hours later Ellie told a random lady she doesn’t know that “my daddy is in another world and I miss him.” Despite the fun girls weekend ahead, she was already missing Kenny.

Friday night the girls and I ate suckers and played “movie quotes” – I repeat a line from a movie (Disney or Barbie related) and they guess which movie it’s from. I’ve been known to break out into song during this game as well (I can be pretty entertaining when my audience consists of a 3 year old, a 5 year old, and fifteen or so stuffed animals). A line I quoted from Swan Princess sparked an interesting conversation about arranged marriages. The conversation ended with the girls both agreeing they would marry daddy and daddy only. They were both really missing Kenny.

Saturday morning the girls woke up anxious for pancakes. Pancakes are Kenny’s thing. The last time I made pancakes…hmm…let’s just say things didn’t go too well. I promised the girls we’d have pancakes Sunday afternoon when Kenny got home. They were not happy with me, but I knew if I made the pancakes, they would not be happy with the pancakes either. I poured the cereal. We were all three missing Kenny.

After breakfast we headed to the gym and then Target. I gave the girls fishy crackers in Target and figured I had at least fifteen minutes. I found some cute clothes for them and was holding some pants up to Addison to see if they would fit. She decided she wanted to try them on, so I let her. Then she took the pants off and ran away from me in the store in her underwear. Ellie was laughing her head off which only encouraged Addison more. I finally caught her and put her in a time out right in the middle of the towel isle. She screamed. People looked. I ducked. And oh how I was missing Kenny.

After Target we had some down time at home, but before long the girls were getting restless. I threw them in the car and we headed to the park. I was feeling like a pretty good mom to take them to play, but as soon as we got to the swings, all I heard about was how “daddy is the best swing pusher and he is so funny at the park and he even swings with us and is so silly and we love daddy and when will he be back?” The girls were once again missing Kenny.

After the park it was time for baths, dinner, teeth brushing and bed. Sounds simple enough, but before we even made it to dinner both girls had broken out in tears (Ellie because her p.j’s suddenly felt too small and Addison because she bumped her lip and it was puffy and she wanted it to be flat again). I made dinner and then took a phone call. I got off the phone only to see that dinner had been suddenly relocated to the staircase and the girls had hauled down all of their “friends” to dine with them.

I moved them back into the kitchen and they both decided they just wanted yogurt. I was too tired to argue so yogurt it was. That lasted two seconds until Ellie (reaching for a “friend”) knocked over her yogurt and it flew into the back of my living room couch and all over the kitchen floor. I started cleaning it up all the while screaming about how “NO MORE “FRIENDS” WOULD BE ALLOWED AT THE TABLE EVER AGAIN!” Ellie’s response: “mom, are you mad or just really frustrated?” We finished yogurt and I got the girls upstairs only to begin the battle with Addison over getting her teeth brushed. I usually turn her over to Kenny for bedtime, but with him gone it was all me. I was tired. I was weak. And she knew it. She finally let me brush her teeth as long as I agreed to let her brush mine at the same time. I endured several painful pokes to the gums and then got her to bed. I was so missing Kenny.
30 minutes later, both girls were in bed. Exhausted, I fell onto the couch and turned on the TV. And what do you think popped up on the screen? “Replacements.” A cheesy feel good movie about football where the underdog wins again. A favorite of my husband’s. I’ve had to watch it, along with “Armageddon“, more times than I care to admit. And once again…I found myself missing Kenny.

xoxo, Erin
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