i do!

brian & i have photographed a few weddings
this summer
tonight brian did one alone
(left me with those crazy kids:)
check out this great pic...



i'm not sure but
i believe this ended in a trip to the hospital
(not really...but wouldn't that be a great wedding story?)

doing weddings is so fun!
i absolutely loved our wedding day
(drunk groom & all:)
& i've been coordinating weddings since then
bri & i just started working together
in the photo realm
& it has been really great
we're a good team:)

so if you know anyone who needs their picture taken...

:)

An email worth sharing…

i just got this in my in box

From: jesus
Subject: VIP handbags replica

- Elite Handbags - Louis Vuitton (217 mod.), Chanel (29 mod.), Hermes (9 mod.). $164.99 - $324.99


at first i thought
the Lord works in mysterious ways
so okay, Jesus, if you really want me to…
BUT
that’s all it said
so on further thought…

A) if Jesus was going to give me a good tip on handbags
he would at least include a note
‘hey, noticed you were doing a pretty good job
but it looks your purse (read: diaper bag) is a little worn out
thought you might need a tip on some savings’

B) if Jesus thought i needed a new handbag wouldn’t it just come straight to me?
appear on my doorstep one morning or something?

C) Jesus knows what i can afford
& it’s about a tenth of the lowest price listed
(more like a twentyth)

D) (& this is for people who actually think capitalizing is necessary)
wouldn’t his name have been capitalized?

E) even if he forgot the note,
forgot my financial status,
forgot home delivery
& forgot to capitalize,
wouldn’t the Lord, the savior of the universe
be giving tips on AUTHENTIC vuittons & chanels?

The universe is full of questions…

:)

swim, pray, relax, run…gulka’s week o’ lots of fun

this is a long one
(with a few pictures
so if you have dial up
just go watch an episode of friends
& come back
& it should be just about loaded...)
but i find if i don’t just write everything i want to
i end up putting it off
& then it’s too late
example:
who has just been waiting on pins & needles to hear about our 4th of july?
exactly!
but now it just feels too late to write about it
maybe on a cold & wet november day…

anyway…
saturday brian’s mom, rona & brian’s brother’s daughter (aka our niece), rachel
came down & we went to amazon pool
a super awesome pool with
baby pools
& shower/waterfall thingies
& slides
it was just great
Q LOVES rachel
so they just had a great time
& even better
they slept so hard
worn out , they were!



especially after we heard the ice cream truck
& then ran all over the neighborhood
trying to find it
in 102 degree heat
ah what one will do for a popsicle
nevermind that we have a box in the freezer
they taste so much better
after you find the truck;)

sunday we dedicated miss m at church
it was really special
practically our whole family was there
actually almost everyone who lives in oregon was there:)
my dad (pop)
tam (grammy)
rona (grandma ro or grandma norma depending on Q’s mood:)
kate (auntie)
ryan (soon to be uncle)
lilli (auntie)
great grandma betty
Rachel (cousin)


at one point Q whispered in my ear
‘lot’s of people mommy’
translation:
‘all of my relatives are here
what the heck is going on?’

it was so neat
miss m wore the dress
that my mom wore
when she was dedicated 57 years ago
hello can you say
‘my mommy is a nervous wreck?’
the dress has been hanging on a tack on miss m’s wall
for about 3 months
just sitting there
taunting me really
saying
‘hi I’m a family heirloom
your great grandma made me by hand
& you have to put me on your daughter
your daughter who spits up
A LOT’

i finally tried it on her 2 days before the dedication…
believe me there were a lot of prayers being sent up
in front of the changing table
of course it fit perfectly
& she looked like the sweet little angel she is
she even sat on great grandma’s lap for the whole service
just hanging out with ggma!
so adorably cute (both of them:)



we went up to pray for her
& it was just so neat
different generations
different families
all there to make one big family
i can’t say it wasn’t sad either
especially because pastor gordon kept saying
‘merra susan’
so for anyone who knew
it was very obvious that susan was not there
boy do I miss that lady:)
can’t wait to tell miss m & Q all about her…

in fact Q kept saying
’merra susan, merra susan’
then he said
‘there’s merra
where is susan?’
(insert teary eyes here)
i told him susan is his grandma who lives in heaven
thankfully he didn’t ask what heaven was
or I would have become a puddle in the middle of the street

anyway
it was great to have everyone there
loving on our little girlie
she is a little piece of heaven
so sweet
& smiley
even as she’s spitting up all over your new black shirt
:)

monday i met with a bride
whose i wedding i will be coordinating
she is having her reception at the art museum on UofO campus…
can you believe that?
if only i had known 8 years ago….


monday noonish brian & i drove to bend
for our anniversary
(actually on the 1st)
we stayed at a mcmenimen’s hotel/pub/movie theater/soaking pool
down town
it’s called st. frances school
& we stayed in a classroom
it was so great
if you don’t know about mcmenimen’s
they are brothers who buy old buildings
& make them into restaurants/hotels/pubs
but still call them whatever they were
& try to keep the décor & names of parts of the building the same
so this one had a nunnery & things like that
it was so nice
we just hung out
& did whatever the heck we wanted to
including
but not limited to
sleeping
watching cable
going to 2 movies
walking around downtown
walking in to a shop that, had i been with my children
10 things would have broken
if we had so much as looked in the window
but it was just us
adults
so we went in
& ooed & ahed at lots of breakable things:)
picnicing by the river
strolling around & stopping in for dessert at 10pm at a wonderful little restaurant
drinking alcohol (more than once)
reading
& generally having a lovely time

I love my husband
& not just because he put up with my roller coaster like mood swings
(i stopped nursing & got my period on the same weekend…lovely timing:)
he is just the funniest person i know
& such a great dad
& is always doing such nice things for me
& he loves me
how that happened I’ll never know
but boy am I thankful
:)
(more on this on august 1st)



we also saw our friends
chris & nishka
& their adorable twins
emma & bella
so nice to see them all
the girls are a few months older than Q
but they are so tiny
& they have little mice-in-cinderella voices
i picture Q meeting them
looking down
in a jolly green giant voice
'HELLO GIRLS!'

wednesday
we got back & picked up the kiddos
from my dad & tam’s house
(by the by
they are the reason we got to go on this lovely few days
they gave us a gift certificate for christmas
for hotel & babysitting
we were supposed to use it before miss m came
but ha ha
we fooled them
we waited until after she came & they had to take care of 2 kiddos!
kidding
we messed up & didn’t make reservations
so we had to wait to go
however they are so great
they had fun with both kids
& are going to watch them again on friday
hello grandparents of the year…)

anyway
we picked up the sweeties
went home for nap
then headed to Hayward field
a big track on Uof O campus
a track where steve prefontaine ran
a track where the Olympic trials have been run
a track where world records have been made
a track where a debut was made
wednesday july 26
introducing…
Quinn Gulka!

they have this all comers meet
6 weeks in the summer
(of course we went to the last one)
starting at age 1
yes you read that right
we are already a year behind
but if enthusiasm counts for anything
we will more than make up for lost time



Q L-O-V-E-D it
no really
insanely loved it!
the kids get to do 3 events
long jump
softball throw
& 60 meter dash
he did the long jump like 40 times
it combines two of his favorite things
strike that THREE
running
sand
& falling

they get ribbons of participation
so cute!



then he practiced running before the race
before he starts…
‘ready set go’
& he gets this determined look on his face
does this little half twist at the waist
& he’s off
swinging his arms like crazy
smiling like someone just said
‘it’s raining matchbox cars’

he was in the 2 year old boys heat
smart people i say
if they combined 2 year old boys & girls
i picture a lot of crying, pushing & a bit of blood
& that’s just the parents
(duh-dum-dum...thank you i’ll be here all week)

8 two year old boys running straight at me down the track
(with dads in tow)
what a total joy to watch
we will be doing this event for many years to come…

whew!
what a week!
now on to the next…

:)

mud, mud glorious mud...

my brain that is...

my friend emily
(one of the 4 emily moms i know
& one of the three who are in friday play group)
has a blog
i check it every few days
because
that girl
cracks. me. up.

but when i made a list about my favorite blogs
i decided to leave her off

why?

because my brain
which used to be made of brain ingredients
is now
mush
scrambled
muddy
& generally mixed up
due to the delivery
& subsequent (i know it's probably spelled wrong but don't i get points for using it?)
raising of 2 little muffins
who are currently sleeping away
(can i get an amen?)

to get a taste of emily's writing
& see what prompted me to write
AN ENTIRE POST ABOUT HER BLOG
go read the comments in the day i posted my fave blogs

leaving emily rose off my list
mistake?
or
just a finely crafted promotional campaign?
you be the judge...

so
go check out
emilyrosedoesnotblog.blogspot.com

you'll
laugh
& laugh again
& say
wow she's a good writer!
(at least that's what i do)

:)

for the love of tagless

sometime in the summer of the year 2024...

'when i was your age.....'

'what?'

'when i was your age...'

'hey quinn! come in here
mom's talking about the olden days'

'mom we both just spent endless amounts of time
on airplanes to come see you
& you're already starting in on that?'

'yeah mom the flight from new york was so long
it was like the longest 20 minutes of my life'

'boo hoo merra
try an hour from australia
i had to program my zpod to-'

'you have a zpod?
when did you...?'

'when i was your age
we had these little bits of fabric on the inside of clothing
they were very small
about the size of your cel phone there, merra'

'oh mom i've been meaning to talk to you about that
i have the biggest phone in my whole dorm
it is so embarrassing
people point at me & yell
'hey look at that huge thing
it fits on the tip of her finger!'

'dramatic...'

'shut up quinn'

'no you-'

'enough kids....
they were called tags
& they had information printed on them'

'like what?'

'like the size of the item
the brand name
& how to wash it...
sometimes they were very itchy
& they would flip up
& if you were standing in line at the post office
the person behind you could tell what size you were wearing...
only a really good friend would tuck your tag back in for you'

'standing in line where?'

'the post office'

'oh yeah, we studied those in 'history of american pop culture'
it was like x-mail
but instead of mentally teleporting things to people
you had to go to a building & 'send' it to them in a box
then these guys in crazy outfits
would bring the boxes to your house'

'creepy...'

'totally'

'when you two were just babies
they started just printing information on the clothes
they called it tagless
& we all loved it'

'how long ago was this?'

'oh let's see
quinn you were about 2
& merra you were just born
i'm sure i have a picture someplace...'

'yeah mom we've seen the pictures
about 58,000 per year since we were born.
there not even holographic
so old...'

'merra be nice'

'well, it's true
mom's so old she remembers when president holmes-cruise was born
did you know people didn't think she even existed for a while?
so shnucky'

'so..what?'

'shnucky, mom
it means crazy
like sean preston spears-federline...
have you seen his new k-video?
that kid has ISSUES'

'anyway...
taggless was the greatest thing'

'that's cool mom...
where's dad?'

'he's at jerry's buying wood for his newest project
it's a table to hold my new z-oven'

'why don't you just buy the table made for it like normal parents?'

'you know your dad
he likes to put his personal touch on things...'

'ava's parents they just got back from france for the 53rd time
& they brought the newest r-book with them...
they are so cool...'

'it's true mom
everybodies parents are so much cooler than you guys
clara's mom just started moon hopping'

'are you guys dating?'

'we're just friends'

'cause megan said she saw you guys holding hands...'

'she did not'

'she sent me an o-pic
i'll show you,,,
where is my phone'

'anyway kids
glad you're home for a while'

'thanks mom, love you'

'yeah, we love you, mom
even if you are a little shnucky....'

:)

bloggity blog blog blog

i love blogs
this is no secret
thought sometimes i do feel like
a no life dork & a half
when i start my sentences with
‘i just read on this blog…’
but i like it
besides i have a life
it happens between 7am & 11 pm
blogs are in the wee hours after the 2am feeding
so there;)

anyway
just in case you are looking for something else to do
(yeah i know
you’re life is so empty & void of time consuming tasks)
here are some of my favorite blogs
give ‘em a try….

http://aliedwards.typepad.com/
a scrapbooker & friend of mine, she writes about everything
& gives sneak peeks of new SB stuff …because you can never have enough right?

http://tarawhitney.typepad.com/me/
scrapbooker/photographer…her pictures will make you want to grab your camera & drive your friends & family c crazy snapping away

http://www.dooce.com/
sarcastic mommy with laugh out loud observations, some swearing may occur…

http://kellicrowe.typepad.com/kellicrowe/
hilarious stay at home, scrapbook mom, writes like she talks (i imagine…having never actually met her…:)

http://want-to-be-a-bride.blogspot.com/
my sis, miss katie b & the whirlwind of wedding planning…funny funny girl:)

http://smartsisters.blogspot.com/
my dear friend darci & her sister & their musings on life, love & sippy cups

http://letsjustchewonit.blogspot.com/
cutie mom kelly & her sweet boys..live from boise:)

http://christianhomemaker.blogspot.com/
angie’s deep thoughts…funny & thought provoking…I love this girl:)

http://jenniferweiner.blogspot.com/
author of ‘good in bed, ‘in her shoes’, goodnight nobody’…fun to see how she spends her days plus (brag alert) i met h her & she signed my book (it was a book signing after all:)…funny funny & an interesting insiders view of
today’s literary world

believe me i read way more than this
but these are current faves
& don’t you worry your pretty little head
i will let you know when there are others you simply must see:)

& you better let me know your faves too!
:)

moment by moment...

i just got the newest
Wondertime magazine in the mail
if you don’t know this magazine
you should look for it
(in fact here's the site
http://wondertime.go.com/
you're welcome:)

it had an article all about living in the moment with your kids
not thinking about what to make for dinner
or the laundry
or even what you’re going to do next
just being with them
looking at them
& playing
& enjoying the little moments
because they make up the big day
& ultimately your huge life

this is hard for everyone i imagine
& especially when you have kiddos
there is just so much going on
but i also know how fast things go
miss m is almost 4 months old
i just want to remember things
& make her life one
where she grows up knowing
that it’s more important to be together
than to make the bed
(but hey if we can make the bed together all the better!)

last night
Q was playing in the back yard
& i decided to sweep up all of the leaves on the patio
he said
‘i broom too’
so i got his broom
& we swept together
then put the stuff in the recycle can
together
it took about
hmm
20 times longer to do it with him
but it was so fun
& he felt good because he helped
& i felt good because he is just growing up
& i get to see it

i worry that i'm going to get too caught up in other things
& forget to look down
& see that i'm feeding a beautiful sweet little tiny girl
& when i do look down
i will actually be looking up
because she will have grown right up past me
(this is not a stretch of the imagination
gulka+bressi=tall kiddos:)
i don't want to get all 'seize every moment'
because hello?
not possible
but i also don't want it to fly by
with no real memory of it....

this just what i'm thinking about
& i just want to know
do you ever feel like this?

peep! peep!

that is what our friend
thomas the train says when he is happy
i'm sure it's supposed to sound like a train whistle
but whenever i come across it in a book
it sounds like
a bunch of little chicks
got caught in thomas' smoke stack

on that lovely note...
seeing thomas was just wonderful
the event was in hood river
(an absolutely adorable town that we even ventured around with
get this
no stroller or even a bjorn
we just got out of the car
& walked around a bit
hello?
where is my gold medal?)

officially it's called
a day out with thomas
but like to call it
holy crap look at all of this free stuff for kids to do


the actual train ride on thomas did cost money
which we did pay
but only for the boys to ride
miss m & i hung back
& did girl things
like shop for a thomas t shirt for Q
& paint our nails with thomas blue paint

the cool thing was that
you didn't have ride thomas to get to do all of the stuff
& if we lived in hood river
we would have been there every stinking day

-coloring activities
-a bunch of train tables set up
-a bouncy castle
-play structures
-a petting zoo
-hula hoop & giant ball area
-plus free thomas tatoos
hello 2 year old heaven

-gift shop filled with thomas stuff
-a tent just for changing babies & nursing mothers
(in reality a 6 foot long table & plastic chair in a tent
but better than the
'sitting on a bench in the middle of a crowd
casually covering yourself with a blanket
while trying to get your baby to latch on' senerio
plus they had a container of wet ones)
-corn dogs & elephant ears
hello 31 year old mommy heaven
(actually my idea of heaven
has a lot less
high on cotton candy kids in it
& a lot more
me being fanned with palm leaves
while being shown the secret new season of the office
but you can't discount elepahant ears...)

brian made an observation that it looked like
someone said
'hey where is the biggest gravel area we can find?
yes!
let's set it up here
if it's hot the combination of
cranky kids & insane parents
will be just right...
& hey do you know anyone with a
plastic play structure in their back yard?
oh, does joe have one?
great!
tell him to drag it over
we'll put it on top of a big piece of carpet
those crazy parents will never know...'
(did i mention my husband totally cracks me up?)
yes that is exactly what it looked like
but we are not complaining AT ALL
Q had a blast
we were there for like 2 hours
it wasn't hot
so we were H-A-P-P-Y
:)

also you parked a little ways away
(hey that sounds like i'm from the country!)
& rode a school bus to the site
so when it was time to go
we just said
'hey want to ride the school bus next?'
pure genius

there was also a singing trio
i know
this sounds like a recipe for disaster
hot cranky kids
parents insane from a train ride with hot cranky kids
add a bunch of chipper people singing
'she'll be coming round the mountain'
& you might as well just call the police on arrival
because some one is going to get hurt
but this trio was good
(& wouldn't it have been nice if i had noted their name?)
they had just the right combo of
kids & adult songs
'froggy went a courtin'
&
'closer to fine'
(by the idigo girls
just in case you forgot your mid ninties song reference guide)
very good indeed

if this event comes anywhwere near you
& you know the password
'sir toppem hat'
go
go get your tatoo
& have a blast



ps i do feel an obligation to tell you
there is a booth to get your picture taken with sir toppem hat
or meet him or something
for those of you not immerssed in thomas culture
sir toppem hat owns (?) the railyard
or something like that
mostly he walks around yelling at the trains
& generally being very grumpy
yipee
you really want to meet him don't you?
anyway
it's a guy in a costume
& it is scary
giant head
doughy body
vacant eyes
plus the costume is so hot that every half hour
a man comes by & says
'sir topem hat, time to check your schedule'
so sir topem casually walks away
but i'm sure the minute he is out of child eye range
he is ripping the head off
& pouring ice water down the neck

when Q heard his name
he wanted to go see him of course
but the minute he got to his turn he clung to brian
like i would want him to to if he ever came in contact
with 6 foot tall giant headed dough bodied vacant eyed man..
good job Q!
trust your instincts!

besides that it was perfect
thanks thomas!
peep! peep!
:)

goin' to the chapel & other congratulations...

congratulations to my dear little sister, kate
& her guy ryan
they are engaged!
& cute as can be:)

they are getting married in december
& sadly she has nixed the idea
of giant winter coats & sweat pants for bridesmaids attire
not even an exception for the 'matron of honor'
(watch soon for an entire blog devoted to the hatred of that term...)
so the working out begins...
(ummm yes,
it was supposed to have begun about
hmmm
5 years ago
so i'm a little behind
strike that BIG behind:)

hooray for kate!
she is planning like a mad woman!
so much fun!
much more on this to come
be sure of that:)

you can kind of see her ring
in the picture
(well, you can tell she has one i guess:)
it's a sparkler!

also a big congratulations to some of my friends
who have been trying to get pregnant for a while
jamie & matt
holly & jeremy

plus
nozomi & michael
& a mystery friend
who is still too early to widely announce
(& no it is not rachael:)

congratulations!
i am so excited for all of you!

we have now ended the congratulatory portion
of the blog

more to come...
including:
thomas
4th of july
&
weddings

& musings on:
spit up
movies
&
something to add to the
when-i-was-your-age
file

stay tuned...

;)

land that i love...

i can

listen
speak
choose
worship
do
eat
create
befriend
give
say
think
grow
draw
read
marry
birth
love
drink
enjoy
go
watch
hear
write
wear
look
celebrate
sing
cherish
raise
discover
thank
vote
dream
believe
&
be
whatever i want to

God bless america
my home sweet home

:)

school's out for summer...

so i know for most of the population
summer just means
that you don’t have to go 20 in school zones anymore

but for me it means
brian is home!
this is the first summer that neither of us is working
(except for the 4 weddings we are doing
but that just means we are working together:)
i realize not a lot of people have this luxury
so i’m not going to brag
(too much)

but on my goodness
it is so nice
like some days i go to empty the dishwasher
& it is already empty!
& not because Q took all of the dishes
out to his wading pool

& i could take a shower every day if i wanted too
not that I will
but i COULD

& if we wanted to we could just hop in the car
(oh yeah we could just hop,
after an hour of packing up everything under the sun
though, those of you with more than 1 kid
do you notice that after the first
you kind of decide
oh she/he’ll just have to be fine
without all of the comforts of home?
like one time with Q
we packed up the swing
(not a travel swing)
to take to rona’s house
because he could not function without it
now we’re like
set her on a blanket
with something near to look at
person
television
whatever
& she’ll be fine…)

anyway
we could hop in the car
& go to the grand canyon
or target

it’s really pretty cool
& Q LOVES having daddy home
finally someone to wrestle with
instead of these stinking girls
who
for some reason
don’t love to be surprised from behind
with a wiffle bat to the head
dad on the other hand loves it

okay so much for not bragging:)

to those of you in Oregon
(& you know who you are hopefully)
is it hot enough for you?





we went to fern ridge lake yesterday
a place where the potential for comedy
is boundless
if you’ve been there you know what I mean
jeff foxworthy would have a field day

the bottom of the lake is soft as can be
i try not to think too much about why it’s so soft
& it seems that they've added bark-a-mulch
in an attempt to soak up the water
(i'm just guessing)
so every time you walk
you are followed by a cloud of bark
ahhhh
how could i not expose my children to the natural(?) wonder that is
fern ridge lake...

anyway
Q loved it
it took him a while to get used to it
he's kind of a cautious kid
at first
after he gets used to stuff
well
then he's he's just wild
not sure how this personality trait will pay off in middle school...
:)



Q & brian played for hours
brian throwing him in the air
& Q
'A-gin? A-gin?'
so cute!

it was really nice though
to be in the water
& just near it
i put so much sunscreen on merra
she looked like i was planning to bury her & roast her
like we were getting ready for a luau
(is that too gross?
i really would never do that…)
it did pay off
she hardly looks like she has seen the light of day
& she really didn't hate the water
she didn't love it
but she didn't scream
i count that as a victory!

we also have gone to barnes & noble
2 times now
our kids ages are perfect for it right now
Q would set up at tent
& live next to thomases train table
if we let him
& merra does one of three things
(she's very advanced)
sleeps
sits on one of our laps
or lays on a blanket kicking & cooing
(what a cutie bootie!)

i read thought provoking literature
like US & entertainment weekly
brian researches photographic equipment
(because we don't have enough...
kind of like me & scrapbook supplies:)
it is so nice
& i do realize that when miss m starts crawling
this lovely little dreamy state will be no longer
so we are all moving into the tent with Q
& having our mail forwarded...
:)

keep cool
enjoy the sun
& don’t forget the sunscreen
(like i did…yikes!)

:)

file this under i-wouldn't-believe-it-if-i-hadn't-heard-it-with-my-own-two-ears...

warning:
the following blog contains one or more
slightly offensive words
(i say one or more because
it really depends on what words you find offensive
some people really hate the word 'anyway'
because some people use it too often
some people use it so often
that whenever there is a pause in a conversation
their 2 year old son says
'um so anyway...')
i apologize to anyone that this offends
i feel that it fits in the context
of my subject matter
& plus it adds shock value
which let's face it is severely lacking in this blog...
so prepare to be shocked
& awed
on with the show...


sampling...
in music
not of snacks
(though i have nothing against that, for sure)

it's a lovely trend
a new song with a bit of an old song
it's cool
it makes you feel connected to the past
or something like that

sadly the only example i can think of at this moment
(this moment being 3:18 am...thank you miss m:)
is jessica simpson's
'boy i think that i'm in love with you'
where she samples
'jack & diane' by john cougar mellencamp (sp!)

but the other day
a new one
on KDUK
the 'popular' music station round here
& apparently popular means mostly rap
because that's what i usually hear
when i push that button

ANYWAY
the song
'if you're sexy & you know it clap your hands'

ummm
yes you read that right

so after i died laughing
& then clapped my hands:)

i thought
it's about time
yes
those rappers have tapped into a market that the rest of music has forgotten
preschool mommies
i mean really, look what they've done for bitches & ho's
& now here it is
a song we all know & love
carefully rewritten

& what is next
i would like to wonder
the wheels on the pimped out bmw go round & round?
the itsy bitsy halter top?
twinkle twinkle giant diamond earrings with matching bracelet & necklace?

oh how i would love to hear your ideas
creative friends....

:)

ps as i was thinking up new ones
i was picturing a well loved dvd we have
'elmo sings kids favorite songs'
so now i have elmo's voice in my head
plus
if you're sexy & you know it...
will i ever get to sleep?

pps i just did spell check
because i couldn't spell my way out of a dictionary
& guess what word came up on Bloggers spell check?
blog
oh how i love irony

:)

carstrucks..

that's how quinn referes to them
why put the 'and' in, right?
or even take a breath between sylibuls (sp!)

anyone within 2 feet of us at any time knows
he LOVES cars
with a capital L
(or would it be a capital c?)
so taking him to see CARS the movie
was a total no brainer

last weekend
(when was the last time i went to opening weekend of anything?)
we did a last minute
babysitting plead
(thanks dad & tam!)
& brian & i took Q to see cars

it is so good
i recomend it to everyone young & old
with or without kids
Q did so good for over an hour
just sat there eating his popcorn
one kernal at a time:)

with about 15 minutes left he started to get antsie
now another parent might have said
'okay dear son, you've done so well
& if you are ready to go then we shall leave now'
we are not those parents
we needed to see how those animated cars ended up...
how could life go one without us knowing if lightning mcqueen won the race?
so out came the emergancy candy
(something i highly recomend)
& i gave it to him piece by piece
because every good mother knows that
it lasts a lot longer if you dole it out like that
the seconds it takes to pass it from your hand to theirs alone
must add up to at least a minute

anyway
it was great
& so fun to have a little date with our boy

in conclusion i must give a hand to disney
CARS is everywhere
gummy friut is not half as good if isn't shaped like mater
a scrape will heal so much faster if it has a sally bandaid
& what do you imagine mr Q will
be getting for christmas this year
when it comes out on dvd?

i would call it a racket (?)
but i'm too busy collecting all 7 happy meal toys...

:)

in the car...

on the way home
from having lunch with tam aka grammy

'okay quinn, should we head home?'
'yeah, head home, feet home'


& now our heads & feet are home
:)

hey who's that cutie?

let me tell you 'bout my best friend...

he's
funny
kind
hard working
smart
strong
compassionate
super cute
creative
silly
talented
great dad
awesome husband
&
he turned 34 today!

happy birthday brian!
without you my life would be so boring
& sad

i love you...
:)

ode to the boots

he would wake up
& say
boots!

& when getting ready to go someplace
anyplace
time to get shoes on
boots!

even when it was 90 degrees out
sticky & yucky
the chant was the same
boots!

& one day i found him
napping away
couldn't do it
without
boots

no matter what he was wearing
jammies
shorts
t shirt & diaper
no outfit was complete without
boots

now he's on to the next
next car
next truck
next bucket
next bat
next ball
next mr. potato head

but i didn't want to forget
or leave them
forgotten
in memories

for the love of boots

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

so what do you not want to forget?

:)

happiness is...

today on her blog
my friend ali
asked
what is your happiness today?
& it was so fun to read everyone’s hapinesses
so fun that i am going to do it here
so anyone reading
no matter if it’s today
or in ten days
tell me
what is your happiness today?

i said mine was
a healthy little guy
(he got what i had
& let me tell you
it was not pretty)
& miss m trying to smile & nurse at the same time
so cute!

but i must add one
a less deep, not so sentimental one

it is my new dessert of choice
i call it…
well, i don’t call it anything
except
hey i think i’ll have some of that darn good stuff
oh!
darn good stuff
that is lovely & inviting name, no?
anyway…

one slice of pound cake
(frozen from costco)

one layer of raspberry jam
(canned from winco)

one spray (okay, 3 sprays) of whipped cream
(canned from costco)

yummmm

(i’m sure it would be equally if not more
delish if all of the ingredients were fresh
but hey
i work with what i’ve got:)


i was going to post a picture of it
but our internet is running so slow right now
that by the time i got to it
this is all that was left
:)

okay so on with the show…
happy things please…
:)

ps here’s ali’s blog
it’s a great one
you should check it out:)
http://aliedwards.typepad.com/
some day i will figure out how to post a link in a word
(i really will, jenna!)
until then
cut & paste it is…

ain’t love grand?

yesterday
sick
so sick
throwing up
& other icky things

i call brian

he comes home early
with
7up
pepto
US magazine
tulips
& a giant Hershey bar
(for when I feel better)

sigh:)

& because of his sweetness
i felt better already…


ps I am much better today
just a 24 hour thing

pps I once heard that the best test of a relationship
is to see how the person is when you are sick…
I think I picked a good one…
:)

ppps…

i was talking to my great friend angie one day
about how i think that there are people who
think i am a boring christian house wife
just cooking & cleaning & diapering
& doting on my husband

now of course i do all of those things
maybe not all in the same day
but i do them
(just ask brian:)
however i am more than that
i am cool
yes i am

so angie
genius that she is
started a blog
& if you
feel
felt
may feel
or know some one
who feels
felt
or may feel
this way
you should check it out…

http://christianhomemaker.blogspot.com/

yep, she’s my friend…
:)

oh & one more thing...
(the girl's got a lot to say...)

i was looking for a birthday card for
my darling sister & i came across this...


oh goodness
i laughed so hard
perfect
for all of us
& our dinner problems...
:)

oh must give credit
this card is from hallmark
fresh ink series
seriously
some of the best cards around...

:)

happy kate day...

standing on the sidewalk
looking up
to
the window
with hope


my mother holds
the newest
up
for me
almost three

29 years ago
she came
&
changed us
to us

sweet girl born
friend realized
sister
a match
well made

~~~~~~~~~~~~

happy happy birthday my sister!
i love you:)

(this will have to serve as a card for now...
more to come soon
i promise:)

dinner time....

the worst thing about being a stay at home mom
is deciding what to make for dinner
let me rephrase that
the worst thing about being a mom
is deciding what to make for dinner
oops
one more time…
the worst thing about being the person who cooks dinner
is deciding what to cook for dinner

in my opinion
(which i guess is kind-of what this blog is about:)

beyond
laundry
(& believe me we have lots of it)
& diapers
(2 sets of those)
& vaccuming
(brian does that)
& general cleaning
(i try!)
& picking up a matchbox car every foot & a half
(more like inch & a half)

the dinner thing kills me

the funny thing is that it sneaks up on me almost every day
(as if we only eat dinner every once in a while)
usually while i’m making my own lunch
(which i have ever so cleverly designated
to be right after the kids go down for afternoon nap
so that i may dine in peace
while reading blogs:)

so I’m trying to figure out what i want for lunch
& what i want to eat in 5 hours for dinner
& what brian will like
& what Q will eat 2 bites of & then
‘scuze pees?’
& can i also put a prayer in there
that miss M either sleeps or just hangs out happily
in her bouncy seat
(on the table where we are eating)
instead of starting to cry the minute i sit down to eat

i know that all mothers know this
but i still find it very fascinating
that if it took me 5 minutes or 5 hours to make dinner
she would be happy bouncing until
the minute my butt hits the dining room chair
mystery of the universe…


anyway
before the 2nd love of our lives entered
i was making Rachel Ray stuff
it was so fun
now i can’t even think about dinner
until it is actually dinner time
‘hmmm
what can i make with
tortillas
spaghetti sauce
graham crackers
& canned fruit cocktail?’
(want to invite me to your next potluck don’t you?)
i’m not blaming merra, of course
i’m blaming whoever stopped bringing us meals when she was born
i think that should last at least the first year:)

i know i should plan meals out months in advance
& shop for everything at once
but when i’ve got a minute to myself
i would rather do something selfish
like brush my teeth
& going to costco…
forget it
i get way too distracted to stick to the list
(you can eat the 2nd season of ‘house’ on dvd for dinner right?)
any tips from my friends out there?

have a lovely day
i’m off to make
fruity spaghetti burritos with graham crackers for dessert….

:)

a new one...

two sweet daughters already
&
a third pregnancy
with
a surprise ending

new things
& experiences
a girl would never know
if God
had not sent
a boy
of her very own



allow me to introduce
henry owen
8 pounds 3ounces
20 1/2 inches
of pure love
:)
congratulations to my dear friend, rachael
so happy for you
you are going to love having a boy:)

one boy's prayer...

said during night time prayers
by mr. Quinn:

'God bless the garbage truck"

amen...



:)

Subscription addiction...

i love magazines
oh how i love magazines

they are the reason i love design

they are the reason i know celebrity gossip
(okay granted I was out of the loop for a few weeks
so much so that brian casually said to me one day
'did britney get in trouble for her kid not being in a car seat?'
'‘what?' i said
'‘you don'’t know about that? wow, even i knew about that...'…see? have some kids
& the random-facts-about-celebrities part of your brain vanishes:)

back to magazines....
they are the reason i haven'’t read a book for my book club in 3 months
(oh but i still go to the meetings
just for the adult conversation without toddlers quotient)

they are the reason i know that sarah jessica parker wore a $4,000 dress to p.diddy'’s party...…
they are the reason i still haven'’t put pictures up in our living room
(too many good ideas)...…
they are the reason i know that if merra's poop is blue I should call the doctor...…
they are the reason i know the best mascara to buy ...…
they are the reason i know that stitching on scrapbook pages is big right now ...…
they are the reason i know that
if we ever have a pool in our back yard
there is a really cute floaty chair at crate & barrel
that also has matching place mats...…
they are the reason i know that you shouldn'’t wear horizontal striped pants...…

goodness
where would I be without them?
(reading my book club book I suppose)

so thank you to the publishers of
US & people
Creating keepsakes, simple scrapbooks, scrapbooks etc & scrapbook answers
In style & lucky
Home companion, cottage living, country home, blueprint & domino
time & newsweek
parents, parenting, child & American baby
real simple & redbook

you make my walk to the mail box
& my solo outings to barnes & noble
wonderful trips indeed...…
:)

happy mama day!

mother's day is always bittersweet for me
my dear sweet mom
died in 1997
almost 9 years ago
wow
can't believe it's been that long...
she was just wonderful
a great mom
role model
& friend
here's to susan thayer bressi
she's having fun where she is
making heaven a better place:)



now that i am a mom
it is different
it's not as much about loss
as gain
i gained those two little sweeties
who make me a mommy
thanks Q & miss m
you make everyday better:)


& a few other moms i want to mention...


my step mom, tam
oh boy
she is a gem
we are so blessed
that God sent her to my dad
she would do anything for any of us
(& pretty much has:)
she is a good friend too
don't know what we would do without her:)
tam, you are a gift
sent straight from heaven:)






my mother-in-law, rona
besides the fact that she gave birth to & raised
my favorite guy
she is a great woman
& she is just so good to us
drives down just to see us
& cooks
& plays
& talks
& cooks
& laughs
& watches
& tickles
& shops
(one time she went grocery shopping
& brought back enough groceries
to fill our freezer
fridge
& cupboards
can you even imagaine?
it was awesome)
& gives
& is going to wash our windows this summer
(she likes to do it!)
& loves
& loves
& loves
thanks rona!
we love you!



my grandma
oh goodness
what do i say about her?
too much to write
she is just precious
our family is so lucky to have her as our matriarch
(she would laugh at that description;)
she reminds me
that i need to just be myself
& enjoy life
& not apologize for it
(& to watch cooking shows even if i don't actually cook;)
i love you grandma!



& my 2 best mama friends
(though to be accurate
we were friends before we were mama's too:)





angie & rachael
they help
& laugh
& give advice
& make it fun
& are honest
& get me through
& show me how it's done
thanks girls
being a mom
would be so much less fun without you!
i love you guys:)

sleep is overrated...

last night i stayed up until 2am
(is that really how you say it?
or should it be
i stayed up until 2am
yes
i think that's it!)

why would i do such a thing?
you ask
or you may assume
it has to do with the 7 week old bundle
sleeping in the next room

nope
i was scrapbooking on photoshop elements 4
& i gotta say
it rocks
i am totally hooked

i will never stop scrapbooking traditionally
(you know with actual stuff)
but playing around on the computer
totally brought me back to the days when
i wanted to be a graphic designer

i love fonts
i have 350 right now
& i want more
give me more!
(gee i wonder where Q gets
his hoarding of matchbox cars gene?)

so here are a few i've been working on
not too amazing
but a boatload of fun to make

love it
love it
love it
:)

big trouble...

oh goodness
i think we might be in trouble
i think this face is going to get us

before you were born it was bad enough
walking into old navy
(or target or the gap)
all those dresses
& sweet little shirts
& perfect little jeans
& the shoes
i could write for days about the shoes
(& probably will later…)

but now this

the face
sweet little nose
perfect little lips
& the eyes

grandma ro has wondered out loud what you will be into
your brother
is all over matchbox cars
there are not enough matchbox cars
in the known universe for him
(& by the way they hide & multiply & then reappear in our house
I wouldn’t be surprised
if there is a yet to be discovered planet
just piled with matchbox cars)

of course a few things come to mind
my little ponies
polly pockets
barbies
(to the horror of grandmothers everywhere
who fought for the feminist movement)
& bratz
(to the horror of any mom
who doesn’t even want
their little girl to know
that halter tops & low-low rise jeans exist
much less on a doll)

personally I’m secretly
planning to get you into art supplies
first, of course, crayons
then play-doh
then paint
then the ‘make-your- kid-into-the-next-picasso’ art set
I’ll buy you
as many paint brushes as you can handle

but back to the trouble

the truth is with that little face
you’re going to be able
to get just about whatever you want
& when your brother teaches you
the thing that gets him
the legions of cars/trucks/vans/tractors
(“just look up at them sweetly & say ‘peas?’
even if you know how to say the L
DON’T
they fall for the peas every time”)
well, you’ll be the CEO of Toys R Us
by the time you’re 5

& I’ll be cheering you on
from the art section…

inside the box...

you look at it
you see a box
a white box
a box that held some stuff from costco
a box that is now empty
a box that is sitting by the door
a box that is ready to be recycled

you’d be wrong though


it is a vehicle
(“push! push!”)
it is a matchbox car storage place
it is a new place to relax
it is a place to explore

It’s not just a box
It’s a 2 year old experience

paper+glue+pictures=love

i love art
i love crafts
i love taking pictures
therefore
i love to scrapbook
it just makes me happy
to put together pictures
& paper
& glue
& history
& paint
& ribbon
& words

so i will be sharing
scrapbook pages periodically
because
did i mention?
i really love to scrapbook

david scissorhands

Q got his haircut yesterday
third haircut
first time that i took pictures

the first haircut
was pretty bad
the cut was fine
the experience...
not so good
first off
their rule is
kids can't sit on parents laps
what is up with that?
'okay honey, i'm going to leave you in this giant chair
while some one you've never seen before
covers you with a big sheet &
points scissors at your head'
nice
he had to be bribed
but even that didn't keep him from crying the whole time
poor little guy

second time
3 days after miss merra was born
b took him
& he did great
but alas no pictures
except
(there is always an except isn't there?)
the girl hardly cut the back
not only was that putting him on a one way train to mullet townbut
it's a consperacy i say
to get us back there every week
cause it grows fast

this time my step mom was getting her hair done
by the guy who has cut her hair
for years
so she said
bring him by


& it was so good
david just had him sit in my lap
then he went into
fast forward mode
i like how in this picture
his hands are blurry
cause not even a camera can catch his hands at rest

Q might not look so happy
but believe me
it's 80 times better than:
scared
crying
sucker
bits of hair
not a good combo

it was done so fast
& then he got to sit on grammy's lap
while she got hers done

so good
thank you
to hairdresser david
& your robo scissors
;)

ps while i am very happy
that Q is no longer
in the first stages
of a mullet
it is always a little sad to see
a new haircut
makes him look like
such a big boy..

you might be an oregonian if...

on the first sunny week of the spring
you plan a trip to the coast
it's not like there won't be other sunny times
like usually the whole summer
but never underestimate 6 stir crazy moms
& a sunny day

~~~~~~~~~~~
we drove over
to the coast
6 moms
11 kids
on a mission
to forget
to run
to laugh
to play
to explore

we drove over
& talked
& remembered
& smiled
& found out
& thought
& reveled

we drove back
happy
refreshed
ready
for more
~~~~~~~~~

i love this picture...
doesn't it just say
come join us
we are cute & ready for anything...


& we were cute
& happily i was ready for anything
namely
my dear little Q
getting absolutely soaked in a tide pool
& once again ending up bottomless
on the beach
(also happened in cali at thanksgiving;)

b & i were talking last night
about mr.Q
& the best way to describe him is
that boy loves life
no worries
no cares
no rules (until i arrive & spoil his fun:)
he just loves everything


miss merra
slept the entire time we were on the actual beach
in the bjorn
that was a blessing on top of a blessing
breastfeeding on the beach
not in my top ten

it was a fun time
we have a great play group
pretty laid back
up for fun

i am quite thankful for it too...
:)

so them

these are my guys
brian & Quinn
& this picture is so them
they are
wild & crazy
loud & fun
teasing & laughing
screaming & hugging

every morning when Q wakes up he says
'daddy work'
& he says it every once in a while throughout the day
i just love that he thinks of his daddy
between the
trucks
& balls
& snacks
& elmo
daddy is right there
top of the list

& brian has said more than once
that he doesn't have the same need to stay
at school
& plan
as he did before Q arrived

he wants to be home
to hang out with
Q
& just be my guys

you want fries with that?...NO!

we watched 'super size me' last night...
uuugghh!
talk about a good diet plan
(& i mean watching the movie, not the Mcmeals 3x a day:)

it was really gross
not just the fact that he did very bad things to his liver
& that he became really tired & lethargic
& that he wasn't able to (ahem) 'perform' as well
(thank you to his girlfriend for the ultimate TMI)

what was gross for me was
the fact that some of those big bottoms they showed
from the back could have been me
i could have been one of the unlucky people to have
my eyes covered with the black line
(can you even imagine if you really recognized yourself?
embarassment city! hello!)

i really need to do something soon
granted i just had a baby
but as soon as i get the okay
i'm getting out!
& i'm going to eat some fruit
& maybe some veggies
(i said MAYBE!!)

my friend angie
(the one who helped me figure out the picture thing)
is a running machine!
she did the portland marathon last year
& is doing a half in june

here she is kicking some butt

i want to be there next year
yes i do
i said it on a public forum
(does it matter if no one else is reading it?)
so i have accountability
right?

we'll see....

anyway
thank you mr super size
a lovely little wake up call
or a lovely BIG wake up call
as the case may be...
:)

okay
thanks to computer girl extraordinaire, angie
i think i might have a picture

& she explained it to me
1) over the phone
2) without having her computer on in front of her
just by memory
what a star!

thank you angie!
i am blogger with pictures!


this picture being Q
on easter
he looks like a big boy
a big boy with a cracker in his mouth...



& miss merra in her easter dress
thanks auntie kate!

hooray!
i am maybe too excited about this...
but hey i'm a stay at home mom
anything new is something to get excited about
right?
:)

this is a test...this is only a test....

http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=38808875/PictureID=1184511621/a=10424374_10424374/t_=10424374

snuggle down!

today is snuggle down!

brian's 3rd grade class has a day every so often
when they all wear their jammies
to school
& bring their pillows
& blankies
& they watch movies
& read

we have snuggle down at home
every wednesday
we stay home all day
we stay in our jammers at least until after nap
(i like us to get dressed at some point
so it looks like we did something:)
we just hang out at home

EXCEPT
when Q hears the garbage truck
now, it is very lucky for mr. Q
that garbage day & snuggle down are both wednesday
or he would miss
what i am quite sure
is the high light of his
2 year old week:
we hear the garbage truck
we run out to the sidewalk
(we already have sweatshirts & shoes on
in anticipation)
& we walk with the garbage truck for 2 blocks
correction:
I walk
he sprints
& stops
watches each can get emptied
sprints along the sidewalk
to the next set
grinning all the way
it is just the cutest thing ever

what is not the cutest thing ever
i'm sure
is his tired old mother
still in her jammers
walking along
holding a 1 month old baby
trying to keep up...
my exercise for the day:)

but the smile on his face is worth
the neighborhood embarassment...

(& last week we helped a lady
who had locked herself out of her house
so it is really a neiborhood outreach;)

so here's to snuggle downs
& garbage trucks
& the 2 year old boys who love them
& the mommies who love the boys
:)

i wonder sometimes

oh boy!
that's funny...
so if i blog once every 7 months
i'll fill a page in about 3 years
nice

i've been reading other blogs
& thinking that it is so nice that
all of these people have a little journal
of their life at this time
hey!
i want one too!

so let's see how this goes...
see you in january 2007...
;)