Oh Yeah, Thanks Mom

Did you do anything special for Mother's Day this year? Colby took the girls to Target yesterday and they picked me out a lovely metal water bottle and a box of chocolates (# of times this morning Gretchen has asked me to "share" = 5,893.) They greeted the sun with joyful exclamations around 6-freakin'-thirty this morning. Colby & I played the If-I-Lay-Very-Still-And-Feign-Sleep-Maybe-The-Other-Person-Will-Wake-Up-And-Take-Care-Of-Them game. (It's super fun. Do you ever play?) I finally got up around 8 to change Gretchen's first Mother's Day Poopy Diaper (thanks sweetie! Lets eat some more yogurt, mkay?) But then I took a bath (blessedly alone, much to Gretchen's chagrin.) And I gave myself a haircut. So today is getting better. Plus, after church we're going to Ella's kindergarten teacher's house for Mother's Day Dinner. (I'm bringing spinach salad with strawberries, candied pecans and poppy-seed dressing. YuuuUUUUm.)

So have I told y'all yet that Colby and I are doing a Pioneer Trek this summer? "What's that?" you may ask. It's when a bunch of youth and youth leaders from church dress up as pioneers and pull a handcart across the desert for 4 days. "Why would you want to do that?" you may wonder. And I'm not really sure. But everyone we talk to who's participated before raves on and on about how wonderful it is. I'm totally getting sucked in by the hype. At first I was all, "What the H-E-double-hockey-sticks? (content edited for family blog.)" But then I realized how awesome it'd be to see Colby away from his laptop for four days straight surrounded by crabby teenagers in historic-dress & realized we couldn't pass this up. I went to a meeting a few months ago and got the "Ma and Pa Handbook". Colby and I are "Parents" and we'll have 10 - 12 kids in our "Family". The handbooks said things like, "No electronics allowed, you get to be your OWN SPIRITUAL IPOD!" (I'm not making this up.) So we're going to work on memorizing some hymns. Maybe I'll get Colby to bring his guitar and learn some songs OTHER than Willie Nelson's "Crazy". I could bring my Hammered Dulcimer (that's totally historic, right?) and play some jigs. It's going to be fun. I seriously am excited by this. Now I just need to find someone to take on the girls for 4 days. Gulp.

Dear Little Family-

Thanks for my super cute water bottle! As per your suggestion, I WILL use it when I go to the gym. (That wasn't a hint on their part, I really do go to the gym. Even if you can't tell.) And the chocolate is so good that I will not be eating it in your presence because I don't want to share. LOVE YA!

Dear Mom-

Thanks for being my Mom. I hope you have a fun day and that Christian doesn't listen to his Rock Music CD. (Sorry I made him that.) Give Baby Teagan lots of kisses from me!

Dear Mother-In-Law-

Thanks for being the best MIL in the whole wide world. We miss you so much. You are great.

Dear Grandma-

Thanks for always keeping fudgesicles in your freezer for me. You're always so thoughtful. We're so lucky!

Dear Grandma JoEllen-

We miss you!

Happy Mothers Day Everybody!

Birthday Bonanza

Whoa. We've had quite a fortnight. Ella was FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY picked as the *Star Student* at school, which means she got to bring "Buzzing Bee" home (the class mascot), and bring in a poster covered with her favorite family photots. She also got to fill in an info sheet All About Ella. I learned some things. Like that she wants to be a bus driver when she grows up. Suh-weet!

Star-Student Friday coincided with Earth Day. They attempted to make ice cream. (It ended up being kind of a cold milk with sugar/milkshake, but they were sure excited about it...)



And they played LEAP FROG. Cause nothing says "Earth DAY" more than laminated disposable paper lily pads, right?



Ella may have been most excited about the Star Student thing, but MY weekend was even cooler. Mostly because I have the bestest friends in the whole wide world. My BFF/SoulSister-4-Eva, Lismarie, bought me a SURPRISE TICKET TO SEATTLE. She even worked it out with Colby so that I could leave the girls at home. I HAD A WEEKEND AWAY IN SEATTLE WITH NO CHILDREN. Yes, it was a slice of heaven.

Lismarie picked me up from the airport Friday afternoon, then we drove by my old house. Ok, you know that I have some "feelings" about my old house. How much I miss it. How much I loved it. It was so great to drive by and see it look EXACTLY THE SAME. And it looked like a cute little family lived there. The wisteria I planted was finally blooming, and the whole house looked so cute. I MISS YOU, LITTLE HOUSE IN THE "REGENTRIFIED ARTIST COMMUNITY" GHETTO!!!

We drove up the street and admired the adorable Pea Patch (neighborhood garden). They finally restored the Hat of the Hat & Boots. It all looked so good. The neighborhood looked so cute. I didn't even see one prostitute or drug deal. Sigh. Good times.

(Awkward photo in front of Pea Patch)



(Wearing Giant Orange Cowboy Hat)


(Lismarie is amazing and pretty and funny and kind and BOUGHT ME A FREAKIN TICKET TO SEATTLE!!!)


AND I got to see Janeece too. OMG. I love my BFFs. Janeece planned a dinner with all my old friends at my favorite restaurant. I felt so bad for our waiter. A Ladies-Night-Out party of 10. Where no one ordered any drinks (besides Diet Coke), and we stayed for almost FIVE HOURS. And we all had coupons for free dessert. We left him a big tip. Poor kid.

(Janeece in her swanky custom kitchen)



It was pretty much the best weekend ever. I don't think any birthday will ever top it. Thank you Lismarie, you are amazing and I am so lucky to have you as my friend. I don't know what I did to deserve you. I might as well just stop celebrating my birthday. I've reached the pinnacle of Birthday Wishes. (Did I mention the Chinese hot-stone massages Lismarie booked? No. Yeah, it was as amazing as it sounds... Seriously, nothing can top it.)

Then I came home. And I readjusted to my children. My tolerance for whining was greatly diminished by my relaxing weekend, so I had to really work hard at being a Nice Mom.

My Super Awesome Friend J has the hook-ups for all things Free & Fabulous. In the past two days we've:
-Gotten a free sitting for a photo shoot at JC Penney's & a bunch of pictures for only $11. (Gretchen is a model-in-the-making. She was totally into the posing. She even snuck into a few shots she wasn't supposed to be in.) (It was the first time I'd ever taken my girls to a photo place for portraits. I'm such a photo snob usually, I make Lismarie or Christiana take pictures. Because when your BFFs are professional photographers, why would you go to the mall??? But this was super fun. I'm totally sold.)

-Joined the "Kids Club" at the mall. And got free suckers from See's candy, stickers, t-shirts, and ree hot dogs. Dude. Did I mention we live across the street from the mall? We are totally going to get our $'s worth out of that.

-Went to Home Depot to do the free craft. Have you ever done this before? It is SO FUN. On the first Saturday of each month most Home Depots have a craft for kids. They get an orange apron, access to tools, and make.....something. And you don't even have to clean it up! (Well, we helped, but we didn't have to deal with the paint droppings my children scattered across the tarps.)

My High School self is making fun of me for how much time we've spent at the mall. We only let the kids ride this lame money-sucking ride once. But they stayed and played on it and TWO RANDOM STRANGERS came up and gave them $ to go on it. People in Reno are so nice. (And we need to talk to our kids about not taking stuff from strangers. But still, SO NICE.)




Gretchen was really really REALLY intense about her "Picket Fence Planter". She painted the whole thing by herself. Look at her concentration skills!



And then we met Ella's kindergarten teacher for Brunch. I love her. We're going to their house for a BBQ tonight. Her daughter is so sweet and quiet and REALLY not sure what to think of my girls. But they let us hang out with them anyway...



Birthday Bonanza. What did I tell you?

And yesterday Amber babysat for a few hours so I could go spend my birthday money WITHOUT CHILDREN. I got some cute stuff. And this morning I dyed my hair brown. It's like I'm a new woman. I know.

Now, if Colby could find a fantastic job, I'm pretty sure our life would be perfect.

The End.

Grandma Leaving And Toothsome Adventures

Hello Friends!!!



I finally found my camera cord, so I can upload pictures again.

Boxes are fun!


Grandma left on Friday. It's official. Grandma and Grandpa don't live here anymore. This is how we feel about their absence:

(Except for that happy person on the end. That must be Gretchen thinking about candy. I think I'm the disembodied head. So overcome with emotion that I've lost my lower-half.)

We met Anita for lunch on Thursday before she left. There were lots of kisses and hugs.



And because we couldn't stand to let her go just yet, we met her at a friends and had pizza together. This friend got one of those new swim spas. I WANT I WANT I WANT. Seriously. It's at the top of my list. As soon as we get our own house, I'm getting one. Gretchen was SO into it. As you can see:







In other news....

Do you ever have those dreams where your teeth are falling out? I do. ALL. THE. TIME. It doesn't help that I've actually knocked my front teeth out before. And that the endodontist told me that, "It could easily happen again." So imagine my joy when Ella shows me her loose teeth. (Seriously, I may throw up. I get light-headed every time she wiggles them. And the dentist gave us a 2 week deadline to get them out ourselves. I'm supposed to TWIST THEM. Ugh. UGH! I can't handle that. COLBY HELP!!!!)



Gretchen is convinced that her teeth are loose too.

Second Floor Living Without A Yard

So we moved. We now live in 860 sq feet of OUR OWN. It has a view of the Sears parking lot out the living room window. But I still like it. We have no couch, and 2 of the living room walls are covered in boxes. But I still like it. He/We decided NOT to unpack our kitchen stuff (after Colby informed that it was "buried" in our storage unit in the back corner. Way to plan ahead, I know.) So I scrounged up some basic kitchen supplies (I love you Julie!), bought 4 plates & 4 bowls from the thrift store, and invested in some plastic wear. I also bought:
-1 teal can opener
-1 ceramic knife
-1 cutting board
-1 set of measuring spoons and cups
It's amazing how little kitchen stuff you need when you get creative. Like using plates for pan lids when you make rice. Or using your husband's pressure cooker to boil noodles. And pre-cutting all your food before serving since you don't own any table knives. And never using the dishwasher because you don't even own a full wash-load full of dishes. But I still like it.

Gretchen was shocked into submission with the move. She became "shy". She wants me to hold her all the time. But I have time to hold her, and it keeps her from running away when we're in public. So I like it.

Ella is on Spring Break this week. Apparently the school district just throw darts at the calender to pick the dates for the holiday (Really? NO WHERE NEAR EASTER? And a whole month after the university/community college break. Really?) So far we've celebrated Spring Break by waking up at the normal 6:30, watching Alvin & The Chipmunks, and playing with our friends. Next up. Trip to the grocery store. Don't be jealous of our Rockstar life. (But I still like it.)

Last week we went to a post-Easter-Egg-Hunt (kind of a Last-Hurrah-Leftover-Extravaganza). Ella and Gretchen totally got sunburned. And today it was snowing sideways.

Dear Spring,

We miss you. Please come again soon.

Love,

Us.


Dear Everyone Else,

Let us know if you hear of any amazing Marketing Positions open. I've got a highly qualified and motivated prospective employee here...

Love,

Us Again.

xoxoxo

More Moving Adventurous

I feel very loved lately. People keep calling to check up on me. You know, to see if I've gone crazy yet. It's very sweet. I've had SEVEN people offer to watch the girls when we move next week (which will be Friday, BTW. And I've taken 3 of them up on it. Volunteers will be doing shifts because I just can't bring myself to sic Gretchen onto any one family for a whole day...) So Friday we'll move into our new apartment home, and then Saturday we're loading up the Big Stott's stuff (we attempted to cut back on the chaos by doing it on different days).

This Is Me Looking On The Bright Side:
-I'll get to unpack our kitchen boxes after THREE YEARS of storage. I think I remember that we had lots of good stuff. I distinctly remember an awesome red Kitchenaide mixer.

-We don't have to worry about moving much heavy furniture because we don't have any couches! Booya!

-The new complex has a gym and FOUR POOLS. And anyone up for Tennis? (Too bad they don't have a badminton court. I'm a fierce Badminton Competitor.)

-It's only temporary, so if I decide I hate it, it'll be over soon. Say it with me now, "Colby graduates in two months. Colby graduates in two months. Colby graduates in two months." (Deep cleansing breath.) (Also, try to forget that we have no idea where we'll be going after graduation. Deeeeeeeeeeeeep cleansing breaths.)

-We'll get to think of fun new decorating ideas like this (because all our other decorations are staying in storage):


No news on the Great Missing Cat Debacle of 2010. I had a dream that Miss Jackson came home and I woke up with her curled around my feet. But that dream didn't come true. Sniff.

PATHETIC STORY OF THE WEEK: I wanted to make "Missing Cat" posters, but I couldn't find a picture of Miss Jackson on my computer. I know I have a lovely one in my photo album. I know exactly where the photo album is too. Packed up and under about 300 lbs of boxes. So instead of unpacking 1/2 my closet, I just stole one off the internet. This is not actually our cat:

But close enough. Posters have been distributed with a suitable stand-in.

Yesterday was Colby's birthday. We celebrated by going to see Sherlock Holmes at the $3 theater and then eating Persian food. Yum. We decided that when he gets a job, we're going to start having more fun. (Money can buy happiness, just FYI. At least some excellent dinner...)

Hope you have an excellent week! Wish us luck!

Sad Sacks

Hi! Remember how last time I posted things were all up in the air? Yeah. It just got a little more crazy.

-Colby's parents sold their house after only 2 weeks on the market. Hooray for them!

-Holy Hannah, we need to move in TWO WEEKS.

-We don't know where we're going to live yet.

-We've got an offer in on a condo, but haven't heard anything back. And even if we DO get it, no way it'll be ours by the time we need to be outta here.

-We found a few month-to-month apartments where we can go till we figure things out.

-Colby is graduating in May. And we don't know where we're going to live, or where he'll get a job.

-We could get this condo & then find out we're moving to Portland. Which would be fine, we would just rent it out, but still, BUMMER! Or we could be here for another four+ years (if Colby finds a job in town & starts his MBA.) But we could not. AHHHHH!

-I am a planner. I like to know what I'm doing, where I'm doing it, and how I'm going to get it done. I KNOW NOTHING. I am going crazy.

-While we were looking for an apartment yesterday, Gretchen threw up in the car. Twice.

-Our cat has run away from home. We checked one shelter today, but will have to wait till tomorrow to check the other one. WHERE IS SHE!?!? We are moving in two weeks? What if we don't find her? OMG! I'm FREAKING OUT!

Phew. I feel a little better.

Angela, or "Auntie Anal" (as Gretchen lovingly refers to her), came with her lovely family & helped with a bunch of Big Projects. Like emptying the food storage room out (remind me never to aquire a full years worth of food storage. If it comes down to living off of 30 year old pinto beans and "Sloppy Joe" mix with "Beef Substitute", I'm pretty much ok with just dying... And I think my children would agree with me.) Auntie Angel is pretty much amazing. So is Uncle Shea.

Gretchen's New Tricks:
Said to me this afternoon: Stop it Mom! Making me CRAZY!
Said to Auntie Krista, who was giggling at her fake-cry: STOP COPYING ME!
(Such a charmer, I know...) Also, she can almost skip, put on her own bandaids (she prefers "Barbie Bandaids" to all others), and get random strangers at the park to put her in swings and then push her. Much to her mom's embarrassment (we have a No-Swings-At-The-Park rule because it's too hard to keep an eye on both the girls when one of them is swinging. But Gretchen doesn't let her mom's rules stop her. This terrifies me on so many levels.)

Please, please, please let me have some answers by next week. At least a cat back. Thank you.

I Love Lutherans

BIG WEEK.

- Gretchen got her stitches out. Gretchen's hand shook a little bit while the stitches were removed, but she held very still. The cut is healing up nicely. Our pediatrician said the ER Practitioner did an excellent job, and even though she'll have a scar, it'll be a little skinny one. Not the gaping wound I was afraid it'd be. (DUDE, WE COULD SEE HER SKULL BONE!!! I AM STILL FREAKED OUT BY THIS!!!) She is so brave. And now she's rockin' the bandaids that we plaster daily across her little forehead.

- Gretchen spilled her crackers all over my lap & the pew at church today and said, "Oh great." My baby knows how to properly use sarcasm. I'm so proud.

- We put an offer in on a condo, but found out Friday that we didn't get it. LAME. But whatever, we will persevere. And one day we'll have our very own little ghetto condo to call home. Or not. Maybe we'll just have to find a rental. I'm sick of thinking about it. So I'm not going to any more. I'm taking the night off.

-Ella can sit down and READ. A ton. It's pretty amazing. I can't really take much credit for it either. She is brilliant. Now if I could only get her to make her bed...

-I went to a Retreat with my mom's group this weekend. It was FREE. And this is what I got to look at all weekend:


That is just a picture I stole off the internet. But the view from our bedroom was almost as amazing. We were literally 20 feet from the lake. My mom's group is hosted by a Lutheran church in town, and so all the ladies were from the congregation. I met some SUPER COOL people. One nice lady invited me to go out for a run with her. After warning her that I am sooooooooooo sloooooooooooooow, and that I wouldn't be offended if she left me in her dust, I agreed. (She told me, "Speed is an ability, but endurance is a gift." Isn't that a sweet way of saying it's ok that I suck at running? I know!) We ran in the sand on the beach. Well, we ran for a little bit. RUNNING ON SAND IS HARD. Then we walked. And then it started to snow. But I had my gloves on and my hat, and IT WAS SO PRETTY. After we caught our breath, we started talking. About babies and c-sections. And then she mentioned that she was in the Peace Corps with her husband right after they got married. That is pretty much the coolest thing ever, right? She said they DIDN'T HAVE C-SECTIONS where she was. Either the mom died or the baby died. Craziness. (SO THANKFUL FOR MODERN MEDICINE. Even though the c-section rate in our country is horrible, blah blah blah, etc. STILL GRATEFUL WE HAVE THEM. And grateful I only had one.) We were out for 1.5 hours, having so much fun & talking & enjoying the view. When I finally got back to my room with my Mom's Group Peeps, they were freaking out a little big because, "No one goes running in the snow for an hour & a half!!!" But you do with when it's that pretty! (It wasn't really THAT snowy, the view was still great. Just snowy enough to make us feel super tough and awesome.)

I loved having a church service with my non-church friends. I love that the girls were so happy to see me when I got home. I love that they were all ready for church and I didn't have to do anything for them. I love that Colby was nice enough to take on his children single-handedly for 48 hours so I could have a weekend away. I love that Ella still had all her long, long hair when I got home and that Colby didn't cut it off in a fit of frustration (shout out to Amber & Grandma for brushing it in my absence! Love you too!)

I am freakin' full of love.

I hope you all get a weekend away too.