an early party

We made an imprompu trip home this weekend to visit with Chris' family and while there, Ellie was thrown a birthday party...3 weeks early!

Singing to the birthday girl.

Enjoying a cupcake!

Playing jungle with Auntie Sheryl.


And on the way home, we saw this little beauty. It has been years since I have seen a rainbow. You can't tell in this picture, but it was actually a double rainbow! God is good!

holy canoly, she got it!

So one night we put Ellie to bed kicking and screaming about the potty, and the next morning, she woke up and started peeing and pooping in the potty. It was that easy. I am slightly confused by her logic. It was 2 weeks of terror and then overnight she was fine.

Weird.

But thankful.

Way to go Ellie!

I will spare you pictures.

i miss you edward!

Yes, he was in our house for a week for me to enjoy. Then I had to give him to Izzy for her 12th birthday. Whatever. I think he would rather be here. He misses me.

Actually, he scared the crap out of me every time a turned the corner into that room. And my husband deserves some praise, because he is the one who purchased him in the mall and carried him around. He looked cool. He got stares. I loved it! He hated it.

You'd better treat him right Izzy, or we will come rescue him.

wine fest 09

So every year for Megan's birthday we (the coolest group ever!!) go to the winery's for a day. Always a good time. Last year we were asked to leave our final stop of the day due to rowdiness. Um, oops. Then I barely made it inside my house before I barfed everywhere. Classy. To make it even more fun, the next day was Easter and I got to play hung over Easter bunny. Fun. I didn't go to get drunk but for some reason, I got snockered.

This year was a little less "spirited" (pun intended) but no less fun. I managed to control myself and stayed relatively sober. We rented a hummer limo, hit 3 winery's, and had a ball. Thanks for a wonderful day everyone!

p.s. - the guy in the blue...Fisher...is Rob Pattinson's manager....as in EDWARD from TWILIGHT. I think I made a fool of myself with all my questions. I am a little embarrased, but I mean, he actually knows him! Very cool.

coloring muscles

Ellie has been huge into coloring lately. HUGE! So that means I have been huge into coloring lately.

"You want to color with me, right mommy?"

How do you say no to that?

The only problem is, my coloring muscles are out of shape.

Coloring muscles? you ask...

Yes, coloring muscles. Apparently lots of forearm work is involved in coloring and my forearms are weak! I have been slowly building those muscles up with all of our coloring sessions. Now I can get through a whole page without stopping to shake out my arm.

Am I the only one who believes this? Am I crazy? Or do I just have pathetic forearms??

Some of our latest collaborative works.

Speaking of muscles...I ran in a 5 mile race on Saturday and ran the whole thing! In 55 minutes. And there were some bitchin' hills. Yea me! As small a thing as this is, it was a HUGE accomplishment for me. Thanks to my friends Jen and Megan for keeping me motivated! And to Chris for letting me run at night even though he doesn't think it's safe. My next race (a nice, simple 5k,) is April 25th. I think I am hooked.

a sunny day

It was so nice out today. We spent the whole morning outside. The park is finally open (we totally lied to Ellie and told her the park was closed over the winter, you do this too, right? Outright lie to your kids??) so we headed down there to play.

We swung.

We slid.

We pulled the wagon home.

We chalked.

We lunched. I had a bite to make sure it wasn't poisionous. It wasn't.

We soaked up the sun.

We ran.

We funny faced.

We kissed.

What a good day! Happy St. Patricks Day!

we're getting closer

We spotted these little lovelies at the zoo yesterday afternoon. It's been beautiful the last few days and we are soaking it up!

ER

For those of you that gave up on ER a few years ago (because I agree, it went through a really rough patch), you should kick yourselves right now.

This season, the last, is just so good. They way they are bringing everyone back is really cool, and I don't think I have made it through an episode yet without shedding a tear. Still the best show on tv and it has been for 15 years.

So good.

Go ahead, kick yourself.

You deserve it.

boo boo elephant, STAT!

So, we have this little elephant we keep in the freezer for boo boo emergencies.

We had an emergency today.

We were sitting on the front steps using sidewalk chalk (we like to leave messages for the mailman) and Ellie fell face first onto the concrete from the second step.

I can still hear that horrible thud.

I expected missing teeth, a bloody something, and a concussion.

My heart stopped for at least 5 minutes.

I even called the doctor, who kindly told me what to look for, which Ellie had none of.

Kids are resiliant.



Offically the worst. mother. ever.

vegas baby!

Wow! What a jammed packed weekend! We had such a good time!

Top 10 moments:

10. Words like "hundy" and "tweenis" As in "I just won a hundy!" and "Getting kicked in the tweenis is worse than getting kicked in the nuts." Yeah, we might be in our 30's, but who doesn't laugh at a word like tweenis.
9. The food! I went hog wild and loved every minute of it. Think onion rings, krispy kreme donuts, and fruity drinks.
8. No responsibility for a few days.
7. Seeing my first Vegas show. We saw the sexy Cirque show. Um, wow! Whats a Vegas show without a little booby?
6. Drinking good drinks!
5. Just wandering around.
4. Watching drunk idiots lose all their money.
3. The Licorice Llama, or was it the Pepperment Panda? or maybe the Basil Buffalo? Total inside joke. You had to be there. Sorry. Had to include it for my fellow travellers.
2. Coming home a winner! $3 on 3 in Roulette pays well! Did you know if you ask to play $5 on a $10 table, 9 times out of 10 they will let you. Yeah, it's amazing what you get when you ask.
1. Spending so much time with my husband and such good friends.

Now for some pics!

Ellie jumping up and down, so glad we are leaving! She was so good for Paige (or so I've been told. Thanks again Paige. xoxo!)

Putting our feet up as our friends rent a car. Vacation is nice.

The Mirage! Finally here!

Let's just call this one "breakfast buffet carnage"

Chris after "breakfast buffet carnage"

I, however, am still going strong.

These next 2 pics got some looks. I actually layed on the floor of the Bellagio and took them of the ceiling. People had to walk around me. A lady actually came up and asked me to take one with her camera. I should have charged $$.

Hanging out with Yellow. There is an m&m store there with 4 floors of m&m goodness.

The sexy girls.

Jen and I having fun.

Jeff and I goofing off.

Chris and me by the Bellagio fountains.

Dolphins at the Mirage.

When in Vegas, be a stud.

Quite possibly the best cider beer ever. Wish I could remember the name...

Me and the Jones-Peslers. Not sure how I ended up between them.

World's largest pot pie. There's Jeff's finger for scale. It was served in a bucket for crying out loud.

I made a bet with the table that I could hold up the check til the server came. She took her sweet time. I made it though. Ha!

Lots of picture taking.

Jeff doing the "point and wave"

Group shot at the pool on the last day. I didn't want to leave!

Jeff's profile shot cause Xander hates them.

Lots of these consumed on the trip.

Taking a drink of Megan's bloody mary. Blech! She told me I had to to prove to my mother that I loved her. Not quite sure why I fell for that one. Oh yeah, see above pic.

The only group shot of the entire vacation.

It was such a good time. It was nice to get away. I think I am glad to be home.

be back soon, again!

Aren't we just the world travellers. First, off to West Virginia to ski, and now, an adults only long weekend to VEGAS! We are in dire need of some adult time. 2 other couples are joining us and I am so excited!!!

Ellie is staying with Paige, Ken, Nick, and Izzy. She will probably have more fun that I will! Paige might even sneak onto the blog as a guest poster to let everyone know what Ellie is up to while the adults are away.

See you soon!