the woods

Sunny Sunday Afternoons

2012-01-23T15:44:00.002-05:00

This lovely Sunday afternoon wasn't yesterday. No, its been downright gloomy and grey around here (I blame Newt Gingrich). Today I thought of this Sunday and it made me feel warm inside. Cheers!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-10T20:47:00.003-05:00

I know, I know! No one wants to see any more pictures of Christmas. I am so sorry, but a girls got to post what a girls got to post. All of those with faint hearts, you can just skip this post, because I am not breaking it up. If I try to break it up, I won't post the other pictures because when Christmas is over, it is OVER. :)

We went to CA to see Chris' family. Henry and Grandad watched Cars together.

Mom, Dad and the girls made a gingerbread log cabin.

Reunion

Christmas Eve Eve presents

Christmas Eve dinner at Mimi's Cafe with Chris' parents, our family and Michele and Amanda.

Two little peas in the pod!

Michele and Amanda in pretty purple

The grandparents

A wild and crazy guy

Lemon I

Lemon II

Lemon III

Singing carols and dancing in Christmas pjs

Christmas morning

This one couldn't wait to try out her present. She stayed on those skates for 5 hours solid. She weathered fall after fall like a champ. Roller derby: watch out!

The gift Charlotte always wanted

This boy loves his Lightning McQueen

Post Christmas visit to Disneyland, can you feel our excitement!

We fought past the mad crowd to see our princesses!

Oh, the naps!

Small World

The day before departure was spent at this lovely beach with cousins. 65 degrees! Heaven.

The jeans fell victim to...well I think you know.

I didn't take these and of course they were the best ones! I am no photographer. These are from aunt Caryn.

Aunt Caryn and Uncle Brett have 4 boys!! We were schooled on Lego Star Wars, battles with...crap. I can't remember what they are called. I will ask Lane and edit it later. Anyway, lots of fun boy stuff, we loved it! Lane really was in heaven!

Andrew: king of the mountain

To close up the night we ate at the Beachcomber Cafe; it was delicious. Man, I forget how much colder it is out west when the sun goes down!

Thanks to all of the Cherry's who helped us have a wonderful time. The kids were so happy and we have been trying to convince them that MD is where we should live ever since we got back. :)

Prince Henry

2012-01-03T18:22:00.001-05:00

It's tough growing up with two big sisters and no brothers to teach you about boy stuff. Henry painted his fingernail the other day, just like his sisters.

And what's a boy supposed to do when he sees a princess at Disneyland; kiss her of course!

...and we thought Henry hated Disneyland before lunch with the princesses (meanwhile Lane and Charlotte appear star-struck). Ariel put a skip in his step and he was able to see Lightning McQueen and all of that boy stuff later on.

The Many Faces of Henry

2011-12-30T20:14:00.000-05:00

Did you all have a nice Christmas? We had a wonderful time in California this Christmas. We came home last night around midnight and I am happy to report that all of the Christmas decorations are safely stowed away. Phew, I can breathe now. Isn't it funny that when I first got out my decorations I thought they were so beautiful and made me so happy and then the day Christmas is over I can't stand the sight of them and practically have an anxiety attack until they are put away? Hmm. Here are some pictures we took before we left:

"mom, can I open this?"

"mom, this is really boring to stand here and have you tell me to smile"

"I am done with this, it is horrible."

"what's dad saying? something about candy?"

"sure, I'll have some candy!"

"mom, now can I open this?"

"Yay! Candy!"

"What do you mean I can't have any until you get a good picture of me?"

"See I can do it!"

Henry is not quite as...anxious to be photographed as his sisters.

This and That

2011-12-16T13:53:00.001-05:00

So you remember my awesome friend who does some hair blogging, right? Well for Chris's work party this year, I went to her blog and tried a tutorial: the chignon.

I loved it and thank her all the time for her hair wisdom!

We went to the W hotel downtown and pretended we were fancy for one night.

Henry helped me with the snowflakes for the ward party. He would open them and say "oh! How pretty!" It was pretty awesome. You can see his older sister's influence in his talking. The other day in Target Charlotte was oohing and aahhing over the princesses. As we were walking away from the toys and into the sports section, Henry screamed (like a girl, sorry Henry but it is true) and ran over saying "soccer ball!" I was happy to see that although he screamed like a girl, he can still hold his own and stay true to his true convictions about toys.

A few weekends ago I took Lane to an exhibit of Degas at the Phillip's Collection downtown DC (here is a link to the website where I pulled this image)

Lane's friend Ila has a very talented mother who teaches young children at museums. She sat down and discussed this painting with the girls. It was really cute to see the girls trying to sound smart...just kidding, of course they are BRILLIANT! :) I love the orange. I always love orange.

We couldn't take any pictures of the paintings themselves, but they did have a barre set up so the girls could use their ballet talents just like Degas' models. We had a great time!

Tiny Dancer's

2011-12-15T09:33:00.003-05:00

Charlotte started ballet in November. She is so happy and the joy is uncontainable! The girls have little ballet-fests every once in a while. Oh how we love girls around here :)!

Peace On Earth

2011-12-09T22:24:00.001-05:00

I can explain why I haven't posted in almost a month. I've been busy. Busy with a few things. I am going to post pictures of our Christmas party tonight that I did the decorations for, even though there is other stuff to post! I just wanted to show my mom the pictures without putting them on FB, so sue me :).

Transforming a stake center is really hard. It is a GIANT gym. We tried to use cheap stuff we could make for the decorations.

The table runner was burlap with doilies glued in clusters on top.

The snowflakes were made by members of our ward. I sent out an email asking for snowflakes and passed out paper at church. In the end, we had over 500 snowflakes, some of them were seriously breathtaking. When we received so many, I was so touched I was ready to pledge my loyalty to the Kensington Ward for life. They were made by children and clearly some professionals! Here the snowflakes were glued to helium balloons so they looked like they were floating (shout out to Sandra J. who did this at an activity with leaf cut-outs, what an effect!)

The dahlia flowers were made of pages from books we bought at the library for 50 cents. Here is the tutorial, and we loved them so much we have two hanging in our front room. On a side note, when Lane came home from school and saw me cutting out pages from the books, she was horrified "WHAT are you doing MOM??" When I told her she first asked me how she thought the authors of these books felt and then told me that even though she liked the flowers, she was "still a little disappointed in you, mom." I am now a little concerned she will learn about Hitler burning books and think of me. :)

I didn't think they photographed well in the gym, so here's a better shot.

Along this wall we used brown wrapping paper and glued doilies (we bought 1,000 of them for 5$ on ebay!) to make it look like it was snowing. We also made garland of our ward snowflakes by gluing them together and then onto twine that we strung from the ceiling and bball hoops.

We hung more dahlia's and flowers made from coffee filters on the snow wall.

The kids did a nativity play on the stage, so we also decorated that.

In primary I brought white shapes and blue paper for the kids to glue their own winter mosaics and we used them to decorate the wall as well.

Lane's snowy hill.

I also attempted a donut tree. I feel like I could have done better on this one, but it was still fun. Guess how many donut holes? 100!!! I had estimated 50.

Lane came and helped me before the activity. I know I can be called a nerd, but I really enjoyed making things at night while Chris was at night law school. It really made me happy to make our Christmas party special. I had some great help and it was really fun!

Ho, ho, ho!

2011-11-15T17:13:00.001-05:00

I know, it isn't even Thanksgiving yet! I am not about to tell you about how we listen to Christmas music occasionally already (I'll spare those morally opposed) but instead I wanted to share a bunch of photographs from our recent trip to Colorado (this is the last bunch, I promise!) and to the wonderful Santa's Workshop which is a vintage-y amusement park for small children. Without further ado:

Henry at the wheel. Scary thought.

To remember Colorado by.. don't you love the aspens?

I just love that mom of mine, not to mention my adorable little nephew Eddie!

There is just something so awesome about a toddler on a motorcycle.

Charlotte

Clayton

George

"Bad to the bone"

These children were in heaven. Henry kept screaming like a school girl (more accurately like his big sister Charlotte). Somehow he knew that was the right response to a roller coaster. I'm not sure how he figured that one out.

Rides with no adults? AWESOME.

Except this ride. I almost tossed my cookies after this ride. Worst mistake made at Santa's Workshop.

I am probably going to do more posts about Colorado. I am sorry to mislead you, but I just found some more pictures that HAD to be posted. Think Claire's and Lane.

The Migraine

2011-11-08T10:57:00.000-05:00

I wake up this morning and it is still dark. My stomach falls as I realize what woke me up. My head knots up and I squint my eyes to try to combat the pain. I know I need to get medicine or else I will not be able to get out of bed when everyone wakes up, but I know I am not going anywhere. I turn to the clock and see that it is only 4:30am. I lie there on my back and tie a small blanket around my head. The pressure soothes it slightly. I am sleepy enough that I fall back asleep. At 6:45, I wake up again. This time, I have to wake up Chris to ask him to get me some Excedrin and say a prayer that it will work because I hate prescription pain medications. He does, I take it and wait. I wait with my eyes covered for the medicine to dull the headache. I see squiggles and dots, kind of like a fireworks show, except it isn't cool looking at all, it is a cruel show that makes me feel dizzy like I am spinning around. Inside my head it feels like a lightning storm. Each noise I hear from the kids waking up is like an electric pulse with shards of glass cracking like lightening in my brain.

Lane and I just finished reading "Farmer Boy" from the Little House on the Prairie series. Having toddlers reminds me of farm life, because you can't just take a day off. You can't take a morning off. You feed them, you clothe them, you change diapers or encourage using the potty and on days like today, you put them in front of a movie and hope they want to watch it. Toddlers and migraines don't work. Especially when what's sweeping the toddler nation is the current fad of screaming excitedly back and forth, raising the volume every time.

Back to my bed, Chris takes care of the morning toddler farm chores. I roll to my side. The nausea overwhelms and again I start to pray that it won't lead to that. I hear Chris downstairs and feel frustrated with myself. The pain discourages me, and then the anxiety discourages me even more. Why can't I be like all of those strong women in my life? Why do I always have to rely on others and constantly struggle? The tears start to prickle the back of my eyes. I get even more upset, knowing tears are the worst thing to feed a migraine. I think about all of the times in my life where I see failure. I try to stop, but then Chris walks in with some crackers to help the nausea and I start to sob. As the door cracks open, the sunlight coming in feels like daggars in my tear-filled eyes. I feel so sad that I am not stronger and I need help. My husband has to go to work all day and then night law school and also has the difficult job of helping me. Not just with me lying in bed with a migraine, but also knowing that I have these limits. "These limits" of pushing myself too hard and then breaking down like a 2 year old. "These limits" of getting migraines. "These limits" of my self hatred crushing me until I shut down; the never ending battle of balancing the wisdom between pushing myself harder and taking a break. What is best for my children? What is best for my husband?

There was a portuguese poet I studied in a literature class I took named Fernando Pessoa. He wrote a poem that has stayed in my mind. He dedicated this entire poem to his envy of a woman working in the fields. Undoubtedly poor and uneducated, he envied her position of freedom from crippling thought and guilt. The downside of being a brilliant poet was that he could never escape his mind. I struggle to swim out of my own sad thoughts to think about my blessings and gifts. One of the worst parts of migraines is that you cannot distract yourself with anything. Conversations would hurt way too bad, tv is out of the question and reading makes the throbbing, squiggles and dots more extreme. You are left helpless inside your own mind.

I had a conversation with Lane last night as she was trying to memorize our family scripture. "Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have joy." 2 Nephi 2:25. I told her (from experience) that even though Adam fell from Heavenly Father's presence, it was a good thing because without pain, we could never experience joy. I think of Chris and the huge blessing he is in my life. I try to push away the feelings I feel of guilt and frustration that he has to take care of me and think of only him. What a great man he is to serve his wife so kindly. I think of how Christ-like he is to serve the lowliest without much reward. I try to think this way so that I can express that gratitude, instead of expressing the feelings of inadequacy and humiliation that usually manifest itself first.

My mother told me once that she remembered her mother getting migraines when she was young. She remembers that she went up to her dark bedroom for hours and my mom was on her own. I wonder what my children will remember from my migraines. Will they remember me begging them to lower their voices? Will they feel mad at me that I couldn't take care of them or that I flat out had to ignore them when the pain was at its peak?

I suppose what is left is faith. Do I have the faith to realize that this experience will be for my good? Can I use it to help others and be more humble and accept that I am tiny in the sight of God (like Moses knew) and that I am totally and completely reliant on the Lord, and the ones around me. Including my children...who I never want to feel that they have to take care of their mom!

Nothing to do but press on and try harder and accept that I'm not invincible and realizing that is kind of the whole point of the plan (ie we can't do it alone, we need the Savior); if I am being honest with myself. Things aren't always easy but I know this. Migraines have become a great test of my belief system. The test is to really accept the atonement. One of my favorite heroines, Jane Eyre, battles her own temptation:

"Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth--so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane--quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, forgone determimations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot." (Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontee, 2001 pg. 270).

The pain slowly dulls and eventually I get out of bed. Chris takes Lane to school and leaves for work. The headache is far from gone, but has decreased enough that although the screaming fits bring new levels of sharpness, I can get back to my farm-like chores. They won't be done well, so don't swing by today expecting a clean house or tidy children but thank goodness the worst is over. I feel totally stupid about it, but have to cancel my meeting with the Primary this morning, and call the ballet school to tell them that Charlotte will not be making her first ballet class today.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Will Always Be My Favorite

2011-11-03T11:10:00.002-05:00

I remember we went in elementary school. I remember holding hands with my friends and having a brown sack lunch. I remember the hippos in their green pool. Now I realize that it is the greatest zoo ever, and yes, I do live 20 minutes from the National Zoo. I love Colorado. I took a few extra pictures that I could look at just in case I got lonely for it.

This photo was stolen from my sister's blog. She's my better looking twin. Just kidding...only about the twin part, she still is better looking.

The handsome grandfather looks at his perfectly behaved toddler grandchildren. :)

Feeding the giraffe's and some cousin love!

Charlotte loves this beautiful sister of mine. Through a series of unfortunate events, Rachel ended up flying from CO to MD with Charlotte alone. Charlotte had the time of her life. Charlotte's face lights up whenever Rachel is mentioned. We are so glad to have Rachel in our lives.

Some really great men.

Not only do I miss Colorado, but I miss these folks quite a bit too. sigh.

My mom is a beautiful and wonderful person.

Can you spot the grizzly bear?? It was awesome.

This is a very common view of mine. Henry running away from where I am. Such a great workout...physically and with my patience! Although I must say that from behind, it is pretty cute to watch. His legs are fast, but his middle switches back from side to side...and he rarely looks where he is going. I love two year olds! I am not being sarcastic, I really do!

Oh, Colorado. My heart aches for your mountains and fresh pine trees!

Four

2011-11-03T09:28:00.001-05:00

Charlotte: "How tall will I be when I turn four?"

Me: "I have no idea. Probably a little bit taller than you are right now."

Charlotte: "I want to be 24."

Me: "You're cute."

Charlotte: "When I am four I won't be cute. When I am three I am cute, when I am four I won't be cute anymore."

Me: "That's too bad."

It was a moment when I just wanted to stop time forever, she is such a beautiful little thing. Curly hair, smooth, perfect cheeks and sweet, happy eyes. Love that Charlotte!

Trick or Treating

2011-11-01T09:04:00.001-05:00

I am going to level with you. Between the Halloween parties, Lane's birthday, carmel apples, pumpkin patches, carving pumpkins (totally didn't happen this year) and the billable year coming to a close on Nov.1, Halloween seemed like an impossible task. Bless all of you single mothers, I hope I can reach out and help you in these times in the future! Some Halloween magic brought a superhero to my doorstep. Chris came home to help me take the children trick-or-treating. It was just like in the movies at Scary Perry here in Kensington. We all had fun and I am so relieved we made it through. Whew.

Charlotte and Lane were faires, but then Charlotte decided to go with a different "rapunzel" look at the last minute.

Happy Halloween and may all of your Halloweens be free of fright! (The kind of fright one gets when they realize they need to do all of the traditions and dress ups and parties all by ones self)

The Great Pumpkin

2011-10-30T22:02:00.002-05:00

Thank Goodness!!

2011-10-30T21:56:00.000-05:00

Thank goodness my sister took pictures of the wedding, mine were terrible! Maybe you will like these photos a little better!!

An Affair to Remember

2011-10-27T10:54:00.001-05:00

Around 4pm the night before my brother's wedding, Henry slammed his fingers in a door and was inconsolable for hours (fingers not broken). Little did I know it was the beginning of a family wide case of the stomach flu. Around 8pm, I was at the rehearsal dinner at the lovely Marigold restaurant with my family while Chris stayed with Henry, who began throwing up. 3am, my brother (THE GROOM!) came down with it, as well as his friend who came to the wedding from UT. Chris woke up around 6 with the same problem. The girls woke up around the same time squealing with delight to announce that snow was falling. On October 8. They got 3 inches of snow! So with blizzard conditions AND the stomach flu, we all made it up to the Denver temple to see Andrew and his wonderful bride, Julie get sealed for time and all eternity. They say that rain on your wedding day is good luck, I say Andrew and Julie have all of the luck in the world with their marriage, being started with all of these obstacles! They are both wonderful people and I was so happy to see them get married at the same place where Chris and I were married...oh the memories! I am writing through tears just thinking about it. Congratulations to my little brother. We love you.

Here are a few of the pictures taken. The reception hall was beautiful. Julie had a wonderful vision and it turned out so lovely! I wish I'd taken more pictures, but around 7pm, Lane complained of a major stomach ache so we booked it out of there before anything unsightly happened at the reception. :)

Really, my pictures are pretty bad!! I am so sad I wasn't able to take better one and more of them!

Aw Henry, we know you weren't feeling your best. He was a lot better, but still wanted to nap on the floor. :(

The cake

The dessert bar. You've got to love a woman who loves sweets like Julie. I knew we would get a long when she told me she loved all desserts. There were cake pops (made by my sister), rice krispy treats dipped in white chocolate (colored peach), cupcakes, sugared marshmallows on a stick and some other things I can't remember.

My sister Amie and my mom helped sew these triangles together for the banner...sorry for the terrible lighting, it really was spectacular in person.

Table settings

Sweet girls

Someone sneaking some sweets

The happy couple! Happy, and on the verge of throwing up. :) jk. kindof.

cousins love eachother sooooo much

pinwheels and fans to take with you

Boys

Sad I didn't get any pictures of Julie in her wedding dress. It was so beautiful. Despite...or maybe because of all the difficulty, I felt so happy for this couple and am soooo glad we could be there and be part of it all. We will never forget it!

Another year passing

2011-10-21T08:44:00.002-05:00

I had a birthday last month. Thanks an awesome husband and an awesome friend, it was a great day. I mean, look at my little ladies above? Love them.

The night before my birthday, Chris managed to cajole our sweet nursery leaders into babysitting for us for the night. We drove out to the Eastern Shore and ate dinner at a fancy french restaurant in Cambridge, MD. Chris had a work retreat, but they said no wives aloud :( Chris got to stay at the fancy Hyatt after I left. I went and hung out with him the morning of my birthday though, and got the best possible gift I could have thought of. I watched "Midnight in Paris" in a super luxurious bed and then went on a run while listening to some great, great music. Here are some scenes from the run:

That afternoon I headed back to my beautiful children, renewed and relaxed. Lucky for me, my bff brought her darling boys down for some Cafe Rio, birthday cake a rocking sleep over.

I am so sad we didn't get a picture together, Tiffany!! Next time for sure. Thank you for making my day special!
The earring were brought to you by my awesome sister, Ashley, and Chris provided the jeans for my birthday. Thanks guys!

The first raking of the season

2011-10-20T13:24:00.004-05:00

Living in our neighborhood for 2 falls now has really introduced me to real leaf raking. This is no 'rake once and you are done' like I may have thought as a naive Colorado girl who grew up with mostly pines. No, it is back breaking, incredibly fun work. Just ask Lane, when she didn't want to get out of be the next morning due to back pain. :) My little granny.

This is when Lane's friends and neighbors showed up to help us out...for the raking AND the playing.

Here is Lane and Brock, gathering all the leaves. I am not going to lie, there was a little child labor going on.

buried

laughing, playing and really enjoying ourselves for a good hour and a half.

All done! We paid in starbursts candy and all the leaf throwing you want.

Do you happen to notice how many leaves are still in the trees? Yes, we have just scratched the surface.

LIttle Voices

2011-09-25T14:26:00.000-05:00

At church one of the things that I do is to plan and write a primary program where the children of our church all give talks and sing songs. I have been interviewing the children so I can more or less write their words. I have heard some pretty awesome things. Everything from "scriptures are testimonies" (so true!) to "Jesus will destroy us if we get the temple dirty" (hmm...not quite there...) I have really loved talking to these children and hearing what they have to say. Today one little girl almost broke my heart when we were talking about families being sealed together in the temple. She told me that if you get a divorce, its because you forgot how to sew. When I asked her what that meant she told me that it is like a knot that is sewn together and when you get a divorce you forget how to tie the knot. She was so sweet and earnest and she really nailed it. I just really love to hear how children see the world around them. So simple, and so honest.

Lane wrote a letter to her aunt today. Mid letter she asked her whether she liked the president or not...ha! I guess she does eavesdrop on my conversations.

Lane also wrote a nature journal and let me read it. She told me she loves to be in nature because it helps her notice things. So wise, I tell you! She wrote about "skwrls," snakes and leaves. It was pretty awesome.

Charlotte demanded "fast conditioning" which is the air conditioning turned all the way up.

Henry came into the house yesterday calling for me. He said my name for the first time (at least that it was coherent enough to know) "Seena!" "Seena!" Loved that.

"Mom, sometimes at school I walk slower than other people because I like to see the view." -Lane

Sometimes it is easy to forget that I am living with little old souls.

XOXO

2011-09-22T18:48:00.000-05:00

Dear Diary,

     Well, here we are. We've made it through almost an entire month of night law school. The kids miss their dad like crazy, but we get to hang out in the morning a little bit which makes it loads better. Chris is really good at handling the demands of breakfast: bites of his toast, more milk please, kissing owies better and changing soggy diapers. We miss him but I am really proud of him. I imagine him in class and lugging around all of those books after a long day of work. When I finally see him at 10pm for his quick dinner before usually working another hour or two, I get to catch up with him and talk about all of the silly things that happened during our days. He tells me about his professor who pretended his class was just like the one on The Paper Chaser for the first day (hopefully you have time to watch this scene, and if you do, please let me know how we can score an awesome jacket like his) (okay, maybe you don't have to watch the whole scene, it is 10 minutes long for crying out loud).
      Tonight I get to tell him about how we made breakfast for dinner and how I always give out little bowls with the maple syrup in it so the kids can dip their pancakes into it. I turned my back for a second and when I turned back, Henry had chugged his bowl of syrup and was asking for more. As if it were just any old beverage. I laughed really hard, which Henry didn't really like because he just wanted more...not knowing that there was no way he would ever receive another bowl of syrup again. Ha! I think Chris will like that story.
      I will also tell him about later after dinner Lane came calling me outside to show me what she taught Charlotte to do. When I came out Charlotte was on the swing and started kicking really crazy like. When I looked confused, Lane explained that it helps you swing higher somehow (Mom, it really does work). As I turned to go back in, she stopped me to show me that she really had successfully taught Charlotte how to pump on the swing. Chris and I will probably sit and talk about how cute those two are with each other. I want to always tell Charlotte how Lane taught her how to pump on a swing. I hope that it will remind her of how lucky she is to have a sister like Lane.
   I hope I remember to tell him that after scriptures during our grateful time, Charlotte said she was grateful for her books (a standard) but also the sky and the sun and Jesus. Lane was grateful for her friend Ila, who sits next to her at school for helping her find a new grippy for her pencil when she lost hers. Thank goodness for nice friends in school!
     Over the past month, I really feel extremely blessed. Like somehow, I was given super powers to not feel miserable with the new schedule. There have been a few nights where I felt like being both mom and dad at night was just too much, but for the most part I feel strong enough to handle it. I feel that it is because we both really wanted to do this. We both really want Chris to graduate from law school. I feel like it is the right thing for our family. Strangely, I am happy. I know: who knew? I always think I am so weak and I didn't know I could be strong. I really love our family. I love our home, I love our lives. I hope I can read this again when I am having one of those nights and remember that I really have it pretty good.
Oh, and I might have to tell Chris that Lane is too young for Ewoks. We thought it would be fun to relive my childhood and watch the first scene of Wicket and Cindel, but then we started watching and I had to turn it off and Lane cried and told me she wasn't a scaredy cat. Whoops! Remember Wicket? I really loved that movie, even though my sister said that I looked like the monster in the end with the scraggly hair. To be fair, she was right about the scraggly hair part. Okay. I am rambling. I am off to finish cleaning up and then to watch something. I hope something good is on tonight! Oh yeah, it's project runway tonight...hooray! Maybe I will just tell Chris to read this post later so we can just get to Project Runway. He's a big fan.
    I haven't written in my diary for a long time, so I guess I should say something frivolous like my favorite color is orange and I watched Brad Pitt on Ellen today. Okay, that's enough.

Love,
Serena

First Days

2011-09-13T07:45:00.001-05:00

And we're off to school!

"Knowledge without education is like silver in the mine." -Benjamin Franklin

A School Celebration

2011-08-28T18:32:00.000-05:00

I love school. I love it, I miss it, I get all excited and remember what it was like to lie in bed thinking about what it will be like in the new school year. The pencils, the new books, the new clothes (still using this excuse), the clean classrooms...This year, we had another successful Back to School Feast, despite the hurricane the day before...which turned out to not be that big of a deal. Without further ado, our feast:

Instead of stockings, there are fresh backpacks stuffed with fresh school supplies and visions of sugar plums...

Our theme for the year

This picture is just awesome.

Student #1 goes to preschool for the first time

Student #2 going into 1st grade

Student #3 going into his first year of Law School (at night...while keeping a full time job...do you feel sorry for me yet?)

I am looking every bit as disheveled as I look. :) Merry Back to School to all and to all a GOOD NIGHT!

Ballet

2011-08-25T07:14:00.000-05:00

Made with Love

2011-08-24T21:55:00.000-05:00

My mother made these dresses for the girls. I wanted to document it, so we posed for a picture last Sunday. This might be the boring-est post ever, except I really do like these dresses. Thanks mom. :)

Thoughts on Henry's Hair and other Habits

2011-08-19T10:23:00.002-05:00

The photo above was taken when Henry woke up from his nap and his hair reminded me of someone from the 80s Sometime's Henry's hair can look really awesome. Blonde curls curling around his face and ears, it is enough to make this poor mother of his melt and give in to his every demand. Then sometimes, it just seems like he looks like a homeless man begging for food. Silly me, I never seem to be inspired to grab my camera at these moments. Especially since he usually is begging for food. :)

Here is the wet hair and I am wondering when the mullet becomes un*bare*able?

This is a little bit of the homeless man, although it is still pretty curly, and I kind of love it. Now I am regretting cutting it.

As you can see, peering out from behind his sisters, his little wings are sticking out at the ward camp out. Complete with the grey hoodie, this is his attempt at looking like a teenager.

Okay, I admit it. He is super cute with curls. But can you kind of, perhaps maybe, see a little bit of trouble keeping these curls looking cute every day? And should I continue growing them out until he looks like a girl? I thought it was time,

So, we gave the boy a lolli and took him to the butcher...I mean the barber and gave him a little trim.

For some reason I am still thinking of the 80s

And now for the big reveal.

Henry is very proud. I don't think he cares one lick about his hair. No no.

What he is very proud of his work. Now you can see that his clean cut hair cut goes along with his work ethic. You need to understand that he works night and day on this job: He takes it upon himself personally to make sure the shoes are never neatly stacked by the front door. All in a days work, he transfers these shoes over and over again. That curly, long haired angel just didn't do his clean cut personality justice.

Ta da!

Do you think I am terrible for cutting the golden curls?

First Place...you didn't hear it from me.

2011-08-19T08:25:00.000-05:00

One of the popular ideas around Montgomery County, is that your not supposed to compete. You know, in sports, school and those kinds of activities that we competed in when we were kids. If parents accidentally "slip" and start competing about what kind of a parent you are and how organic your food is, then it is okay. :) I mean that in all good fun, it is just the nature of where we live. So without further ado, here is Lane, *not* coming in first place in her pre-swim team end of the season race.

Squeezing through Summer

2011-07-14T20:17:00.000-05:00

I am squeezing through summer only because I can't seem to get over this crazy fatigue I've got going on. It seems to have started sometime after Charlotte was born and hasn't really calmed down. I feel squeezed. Squeezed with barely making it through some days, and by squeezing all of the perfection summer can produce out of other days.

Clearly, moving took a lot out of me since I haven't really posted since! Then I started to get all bloggered (a word I just made up that means: scared that people who read your blog think you are an idiot) and decided I would write a post kind of like when Nephi explained why he was just writing spiritual things on the brass plates. My post would explain how we print out our blog for books for our children. But then I realized that by writing that post, I am really writing to someone else who might be reading my blog...who still might think I am an idiot. So, after all of this inner turmoil I am just going to squeeze through the rest of this post explaining what in the world we have been doing for the past few weeks.

I made a kitchen nook bench! This is going to be a different post hopefully, because I intend on making thousands of grey and yellow pillows to support your back. I used two tutorials and I will link them when I am showing the final product. Oh, and I painted the walls.

We went to the annual 4th of July pancake breakfast with our fabulous neighbors.

We watched fireworks from the top of a parking garage (less crowd's for little people...Wash DC can be a little daunting with three little people)

We went to la playa...Ocean City with some wonderful and generous friends, it was really fun.

Lane was constantly in the water. She loved being in the ocean.

Mermaid lagoon...

This was an incredible day at the beach. The best weather by far.

Henry was hilarious at the beach, he would wander to people around us and next thing I know they are helping him build stuff and he is laughing, having a great time. Very social.

Sunday trips to the National Cathedral. It is very peaceful and beautiful.

My mom made this dress. I love it!!

We drank free slurpee's on 7-11 right before calling to sing Happy Birthday to my fabulous sister...I always thought she had the coolest birthday ever.

Painted shelves that Chris made for my kitchen office area

Charlotte made this mess after a long afternoon (perhaps this story would sound easier on your ears if you knew that I had a headache for 5 days...5 days!! geez) of watching Pink Panther episodes. You know, the old ones from 1969? They are on netflicks and when Lane ran up to me and told me they had watched 15 episodes, I swallowed hard realizing I could be just about the worst mother alive, until I realized that each episode lasts only 5 minutes. Phew! Then I decided to make up a game. I encourage you all to make up this game, because it was really fun. Everytime an episode was over I asked "what are you going to do to earn another episode?" and Lane did amazing things like sweep 2 floors, pick up everything in the room (there was a lot of stuff...believe me!), give hugs and kisses to her sister, took care of me, basically took over being a mom. I sure do love that sweet first born. I choke up thinking about what I would do without her. Anyway, back to my 5th day of headache, and overall fatigue. I looked outside and realized I had forgotten to have joy in motherhood. Do you ever do that? You forget that it can be so amazing and fun? Well, I had definitely forgotten that. So...being the free spirit that I am, we rushed out to the car for an adventure...

I quickly packed an organic picnic.

Actually, I went through the drive thru at Taco Bell, because when you are a free spirit, sometimes you don't plan ahead.

Lane took some pictures of me and Charlotte. Am I starting pregnancy rumors with this photo? Well, I am going to quote Katie Holmes, "I was having a fat day." Not pregnant.

Lane found a mom and baby caterpillar. Unfortunately you can't see it super great.

Our expedition surely raised ALL of our spirits. I love being a mom! Sometimes I feel like I have to have those terrible, rainy, exhausted days in order to produce spontaneous fun. Is that weird? Sometime we have to do nothing to discover that doing something is special. Or something like that.

Now this is really a treat for you. I had the best time watching this video. You may not (will probably not) last the whole 12 minutes, but for those who are spirited enough to try, please enjoy my daughter's scientific adventure. And try not to wince like I do when she starts to say the video is no good because I told her to be careful where to point the camera in order to not make people sick. I should not have said anything! Sweet Lane, she is very worried about what I think. I think she is fabulous, just so you know.

I tried to convince her otherwise...

2011-07-02T13:19:00.000-05:00

But Lane was determined to cut off that beautiful, wonderful, long hair. She is very sweet and wanted to give it to locks of love, which we did. Here is the run down.

It turned out pretty cute! :) She loves it because she thinks she looks like "Kit Kittredge," which she does...at least before we get it wet and ruin the beautiful blow dry. :)

I'm Starting with the Man in the Mirror...

2011-06-21T09:37:00.002-05:00

So...we've moved. Things are in upheaval, and just when things are starting to get settled, I am headed to CA to catalog some photographs by the amazing Dorothea Lange. I will be back to blog next week and catch up with all of the photos I am SURE you are DYING to see. :) I caught Henry playing the other day and it was too good not to catch on video!!

...and yes, the end of the video is the best part!

The kitchen is nearly done

2011-05-24T17:15:00.000-05:00

Kate Middleton made me do it

2011-05-23T19:35:00.003-05:00

I let the girls try on my wedding dress. It was my anniversary, so sue me.

PS They made me try it on, too.

PPS No, it did not fit.

"Helplessly Hoping"

2011-05-22T13:57:00.001-05:00

To Chris:

Do you remember that afternoon, 8 1/2 years ago when we went up to Salt Lake City and ate dinner at Rock Canyon Brewery? Afterwards we went up Cottonwood Canyon where we found a pretty little grove of trees and the sun was just about to go down, making the snow look a warm red and purplish color. We walked around and then you knelt down on one knee and asked me to be your wife. Of course I cried. :) Then we went back into Salt Lake where we went and bought a jewelry box at my favorite store, even back in 2003, Anthropologie. Do you remember how afterward we went and bought the Crosby Stills, Nash and Young's best hits? (that was back when people still bought cd's...way back when...) We listened to the song "helplessly hoping" and thought maybe it would be our song. Except that although the song is pretty, the lyrics are kind of sad. I think my favorite words are "They are one person...they are for, each other."

Isn't it amazing that 8 years ago, tomorrow, we walked into the Denver temple and made a promise to be together forever? I am so glad we did. A month before the wedding, I got a little scared I was making a mistake. But then I tried to imagine my life without you in it and I couldn't do it. You were already my whole life. Sure, we've had our struggles (I have said this to you already), but I would rather hang out with you than anyone else in the whole world. You make me laugh. I love seeing you as a father. I love our family. You are my favorite.

We don't have any money this year to buy each other a gift (although I feel like a new house is a pretty good gift) but there isn't a gift on earth that would show how happy I am that I married you. Thank you for all that you do for me. I love you. Happy Anniversary.

Getting closer!

2011-05-20T14:19:00.000-05:00

Umm, wow...

2011-05-18T10:08:00.000-05:00

I can actually start visualizing this kitchen! I keep pinching myself because I can't actually believe we are doing this and getting this kitchen. I'm not really, right? I know it is probably tiny compared to many people's standards, but this is the nicest and coolest kitchen I have ever had. :) I feel really overwhelmed with gratitude...and an incredible amount of anxiety, but let's just dwell on the positive. Here are some pictures of the kitchen with the wall gone and the cabinets half way assembled:

Here's where the fridge, oven and microwave will go:

I also have to link this blog post from My Friend Likely, who put together an amazing Youth Conference for the youth in her church congregation. The theme was "disconnect to reconnect." Brilliant, right? Well, just check out all of the amazing things they did here, and also look at the beautiful Anthro-inspired cord she put on the wall here. I am definitely using this one day! Love the theme so much!

Things are progressing...

2011-05-13T17:36:00.000-05:00

I am not sure everyone is interested to know that we now have a toilet in our house, but Charlotte certainly is relieved.

I liked the marble door thingy. Isn't that what it is called? Well, here is Charlotte's cute little chubby hand wanting to reach out and touch the wet grout, but luckily she stopped short.

Recessed lighting!! :)

Here's Charlotte dealing with some post-birthday blues..."mom, when is my birthday party?"

Charlotte, delighted to have put make up on by herself.

Henry, mad that I took away the berries he was painting his face with. I don't know why I am putting this photo on the blog, but it just made me laugh. He is very fun. And funny. You should get to know him.

A very wonderful man had a birthday last Wed. We had a busy morning with waffles, strawberries and whipped cream, then a surprise lunch date (so fun!!) downtown, and then a surprise birthday dinner. We love our dad, and I am soooo happy to be married to this man, I can't even tell you. He is a great man.

Thoughts on Mother's Day and some other stuff...

2011-05-09T13:56:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. I have a phobia of Mother's Day, ever since the time I was pregnant with Henry and certain young ladies weren't being very reverent or kind during the sacrament, and I started sobbing uncontrollably for hours. I have no idea why I couldn't stop. Mixture of expectation to be better, the spirit hitting a little too close to home and just not wanting to be recognized for a job I have no idea if I am doing well. This year I dreaded it, but it ended up not being that bad. I got a really nice email from a sister that kind of set me off happy the rest of the day. I love my sisters. They are wonderful mother's. My mom is a wonderful mother. All I have to do is pick up the phone and I become a better mother just by talking to any of these women. After church, Chris had some stuff to do so I just jumped over to the temple (it's right next door) and took some impromptu pictures.

A wonderful person named Mallory suggested I frame this and put it in all of their rooms. I really, really like that idea!

We went on a lovely walk. The weather this week is awesome. I am not going to lie, I am so happy that the rain has stopped for a while. It has left a lot of green around! Henry does his first rim jump.

Our girlie likes basketball, too!

We are super 'thrilled' to have Andrew and his girlfriend out east with us this summer. They are so fun, and Julie has become very popular.

Very popular, indeed. Lane doesn't feel insecure about the whole 3rd wheel thing. I could just love Julie forever for being so nice to Lane!

And this is what has been occupying most of my thoughts and dreams and time...Here is our kitchen with everything pulled out of it, including that wall torn down.

Here is the fabulous bathroom.

Still needs to be grouted, but I am super excited about the bathroom. I haven't lived anywhere that had anything built after 1970 in a very long time, so it's kind of a big deal.

"Our house is a very very very fine house...

2011-05-03T12:17:00.000-05:00

...with two cats in the yard. Life used to be so hard, now everything is easy cause of you..."

I love that song, don't you? I hope you know it. Crosby, Stills Nash and Young is a favorite amongst the Cherry family.

This song has been going through my head ever since we decided to buy our very own house. It isn't very far from us. Just a hop, skip and house in between where we currently live and that house. We weren't really expecting to buy a house at this point in our lives, but our sweet, 92-year-old neighbor decided she was ready to live in assisted living after the snow storm this winter which left us without power for 3 days. She has really won our hearts. Because of our hesitancy and situation, we worked out a compromise where some renovation work will be done on their end (however I am in charge of making the cosmetic choices) and we are renovating a fun house!! We are super excited, and haven't mentioned it before because it was so up in the air for so long. Now, the contract's been signed and construction has already started.

Here we have our bathroom...drat! I didn't get a full "before" shot, so this is it at it's current state:

Here is the kitchen area. We plan on taking out this wall and building a peninsula counter coming out.

Here is the sink and counter space. What counter space, you ask? Well, that was exactly one of my concerns.

Renovations like this are completely new to me. I am more visual I think because I just see a kitchen I like and say "I like that," instead of saying hmm...I would change the color of that faucet, and use a different tile and build a jungle gym in the middle of the kitchen just there...

We want to build a kitchen nook against the left wall.

This is the table our neighbor is offering for us, an antique!

See the white house? That is our neighbor. On the other side of their house where you can't see is our rental house. The brick one you do see, is our new house...although there will be no cats in the yard.

Speaking of the yard, this is a peek in the back yard.

Welcome! Please come and visit. We will hopefully eventually be able to build a second bathroom in the basement. For now, though, there is just a room down there frozen in time in the 70s and just one bathroom on the top floor. That is what they did in the late 40's, they all just had one bathroom. What's that? Your house has 4 bathrooms? Well, we're just retro like that. :)

The Birthday Queen

2011-04-30T12:21:00.001-05:00

This year I did a party for Charlotte. Charlotte, when you read this and you are older, please understand that although I hate throwing birthday parties, doesn't mean I don't love you. I just hate throwing birthday parties. You can tell that we have been a little stressed out at our house which is why I took it out on making crafts for the party. I seem to blow off stress in that way. We have a bit of an announcement to make soon (NO...it isn't what you think, we are NOT pregnant)...but this post isn't about that announcement, it is about Charlotte. And her birthday party. And how the night before, Chris stayed up with me until 2:30am in order to make party hats and chick bean bags. Thank you, Chris! You are my favorite late-night friend. The bestest ever. (Which reminds me, I need to tell you about how Billy and Lane went from boyfriend, to "best, best, best, best friends"...HUGE sigh of relief for me, I did okay!)

Okay, so back to the party...I will let the pictures tell you the million words...

Well, I guess I will tell you a few things, like this was her actual b-day on Wed, where she requested the Barbie cake and we ate Cafe Rio and Rachel came and it was super fun.

Here are the fabric b-day hats Chris and I stayed up so late making. Here is the tutorial I used.

Turned upside down, they would be cute for May Day baskets tomorrow, or just as a purse!

"vegetables at a 3 year old birthday, is she crazy??" They munched a bit! C'mon, do you really want your child all high on sugar? I got the glass jars and the idea from a seriously amazing lady named Tiffany.

A version of hot potato with chick bean bags, tutorial here.

Coloring pages taped to the table for some down time. Idea from a fabulous, incredibly talented older sister, Amie. She gives me so many ideas, you wouldn 't believe. Aren't you jealous she isn't your sister?

How cute are these? And easy. Again, Tiffany was my inspiration, sending me this link. I made them deviled though, because, let's face it: who wants to eat a plain egg yolk?

Blurry! Sorry. Pinwheel tutorial here.

For Charlotte's present, I decided to make her a tee-pee. (here's the tutorial...I am starting to think I read too many blogs). Lane and I painted the canvas. It was really fun, actually. We watched Sense and Sensibility, even if I didn't have very much sense to try and do too many crafts in one week :). I was trying to copy an Alexander Henry fabric I love:

Here it is, and the kids love it! Lane has already come up with several clubs that meet in the tee-pee on a regular basis. My favorite is the dinner club where her and Charlotte take their meals outdoors.

Here is the chick bean bag we made (seriously, Chris did about 50% of the work. He is made of gold, I tell you!)

Happy Birthday, Charlotte Priscilla! We are all so happy you are in our lives. You make us all happy.

Lane did these chicks on the party bags. This was also the chick on her invitation, which I wish I would have scanned in before sending them to everyone!

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T20:37:00.000-05:00

I love Easter, I love spring. It is all just one big, beautiful miracle.

Something is missing...

2011-04-17T19:48:00.001-05:00

We got to church today and we couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. It was the anticipation of seeing best friends. We weren't quite ready to be back at church without the Vaughns. :( They have fled the country and have relocated to fancy Singapore. Charlotte yelled "there's Mary Esther's house!" when we drove past this morning. Lane spent a half hour looking at the pictures on their blog. I felt annoyed all week that we weren't so scheduled only to realize mid-week that it was because we were missing someone very special in our daily routine. We are lonely with out our girls.

So descriptive; although they love each other so much, part of the bond is the scream.

Mary Esther, can I come and play at your house?

I actually hate this picture of myself, but this is the only one (why didn't we take more pictures together?) We were at Georgetown cupcake celebrating, such a fun day!

the gang

Little best-ies.

No, it wasn't st. patricks day

I'm telling you, finding kindred spirits in 2 year olds is a rare gift.

Taking the Vaughns to the airport. Sweet Alice broke her leg the week before they left, as if selling your house, packing all of your stuff and taking your three children across the world weren't hard enough. Ya know, just to keep it real.

I felt so bad leaving this little party at the airport...3 girls and one mom with all of the things they would need to get through a 23 hour flight.

Lane was helping out big time, it was no small feat to get these ladies to the gate!

Lane was very sad. She cried the whole time they were getting through security. She cried all the way to the car. My sensitive little rabbit lost her "first best friends" as she calls them.

23 hours isn't too long to travel for a play-date, is it?

Happy Spring, Mr. Washington!

2011-04-15T10:54:00.000-05:00

Look who was so happy to see 70 degree's again?

Actually, come to think of it, the girls don't look all that thrilled...

A few days later we went and saw Mt. Vernon for the first time ever! We were so hoping for the cherry blossoms to be out...but we were one week early :(

Here we are looking at Mr. Washington's farm (What a self sufficient fellow!)

Henry loves the cows,

and decides to break in:

We were so impressed with the view!

Lane's rock star family picture

Charlotte loves this aunt of hers

Mt. Vernon

Love catching them giving hugs...followed by intense crying

They have beautiful dress-ups for the girls to play in

Mini Martha

I just liked hearing Charlotte say George Washington

We think Henry likes the slide

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

2011-04-14T07:45:00.002-05:00

Last night I climbed in bed with Lane after she was asleep. I saw her sweet little sleeping head and I welled up. I don't think I was quite prepared for this moment; realizing my little baby Lane was getting big and I couldn't stop it. I felt overwhelmed with these feelings of wanting to shield her from all of the pain and sadness that comes with being "big." I kept thinking of the mean kids at school, the heartbreaks, the disasters that happen that make us have to be brave and strong when it hurts so bad.

What brought on this sudden emotion? I will tell you. Yesterday when Lane came bouncing in the door from school, with a hesitant confession.
"Mom, remember how I asked Billy to be my boyfriend?"

(utter fear and disbelief gripped my heart...trying not to show it on my face)

"yeah..."

"Well, he said yes." Then she produced a letter written to her from Billy, with a picture of 2 friends and written underneath: I love you, Love, Billy.

Right. How the heck am I supposed to handle this? Pull out "For the Strength of Youth?" and explain how we don't date until 16? Do I assume it is innocent? Do I rip her out of public schools? These may sound crazy, but literally my thought process. We could at least agree on one thing: Billy does have good taste because who could not love this little beauty in front of me?

As I laid next to her weeping for her future broken heart, I prayed that she could stay innocent forever...that sounded so perfect. I could be her mommy forever and we could frolic in the grass braiding eachother's hair like in a Bee-Gee's video. I realized that is every evil person's plot right? The French Revolution, the crazy lady in Tangled, the War in Heaven...the list goes on. But WHY?, I challenged!! I love her and I want her to be small forever! I have loved having her in my home for 6 years. Why can't it stay the same?

This morning I still don't know how I am going to respond, but this song came on Pandora and although I hesitate to dedicate it to Billy and Lane, I couldn't help but hear the schoolyard romance sweeping me away. So grab that husband or special someone in your life and listen to Starship with me for a minute. Then, tell me what to do!!! I know, I know: it is innocent. "Relax," you'll say.

Does anyone else think Mannequin was a really weird movie? Seriously? A mannequin coming to life?

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My girls were just killing me yesterday with sweetness!!

2011-04-06T08:31:00.002-05:00

Here was one of Lane's writing assignments that came home yesterday:

"I am a gril. I like to bee a gril because you git to bee like yor Mom."

Charlotte Soup for the Soul

2011-04-05T14:29:00.002-05:00

The picture below is Charlotte getting an ice cream treat with friends for having gone to the bathroom in a toilet for the first time EVER.

Today I woke up feeling rotten. I am paranoid about getting pneumonia again. I was sick last week, it finally went away and I woke up feeling worse than ever this morning (fingers crossed: no pneumonia!).

I went about my day (watching helplessly as my two youngsters spread puzzle pieces, colored pencils, paper and crayons all over the floor, taking Lane her backpack and lunch to school since she forgot it-only to learn a few minutes ago that Chris accidentally got two sandwiches in his lunch, meaning this particular part of my day was a big waste of time). Then we went out to take back some library books, including one which had all of the pages ripped out, then to a primary presidency meeting. When we got home, I was feeling worse than ever.

I swiftly put Henry to bed and wrangled Miss Charlotte in her bed, "but I'm not tired mom!!" I crawled into Lane's bed in order to encourage her to sleep. I think we both might have slept a bit.

Then I heard her talking to herself. I was not yet ready to wake up. After volleying a few "sshhh"'s and "go to sleep"'s in her direction I turned my head and watched as she shut her eyes, pretending to be sleeping. I gave up and invited her to join me in Lane's bed. So happy and excited she bounced into bed and put her arms around me, smiled bigger than ever and said, "Mom, I love you. You make my heart happy."

I was very touched. So tired, so miserable; it meant a lot. I thought about what a coincidence that I had been touched just a few days ago hearing Elder Scott tell about his son doing almost the exact same thing. Do you think maybe Heavenly Father was trying to encourage me to keep going? Maybe I wasn't as bad a mother as I have been feeling the last couple of weeks? I am grateful for those moments. My kids make my heart happy I realize. More happy than anything else I've ever done.

MJ

2011-03-31T08:55:00.000-05:00

Never say never...

2011-03-25T17:52:00.008-05:00

No, I am not quoting Justin Beiber. Never say that I would never cut my child's hair again because, look!! I did it!

It was looking really hideous. Some of you may remember when I tried to cut Lane's hair. I promised I would never attempt again, but there I was again: too cheap to go to the salon! I think less tools really helped me out this time. Looking back, I realized with Lane that I was trying to hard to do it with all the clips and spray bottles. A hairdresser recently told me that to cut curly hair you just need to leave it dry and cut one curl at a time. Genius! Lane's up for another haircut, too. Dare I try? Don't answer that question unless you click on the link and see what I did last time.

Never say that Henry would never start walking, because today he woke up, and decided to become a walker. Here he is at Border's, where... ya know, it's cool, he's just walking like any other punk in the joint.

Things I love:
1.) He really decided today that he was going to walk around instead of crawling so he just did it, like turning on a light bulb. He would only crawl yesterday, and today he is walking. Actually, it was more like this morning he was only crawling, then all the sudden at Border's he starts walking like a pro.
2.)He takes tiny steps to ensure complete control.
3.) He is already not following directions of where to go....walking to the beat of his own drum!
4.)Finally, my little guy is walking around like a little person. Welcome to the world of walking on 2 legs, Henry. :)

In the Zone

2011-03-21T09:23:00.000-05:00

The only show Henry will sit still for is: Home Videos (or Home Bideo's if you are Charlotte).

Mischief

2011-03-17T19:37:00.001-05:00

This morning started with Lane and Charlotte sneaking downstairs. Very unusual, since they usually climb in our bed and wait until Chris is done with his shower to go down with him. I heard Lane asking about where the mess was. I was confused. She came up and asked me to tell her which messes I had made and which ones the leprechaun's had made. Was this some tradition I wasn't aware of? Apparently, the leprechaun's made it to Ms. Gurevich's classroom at school and made all kinds of mischief. I, for one, was glad they made mischief at school and not at home.

We had milk turn green in it's cup magically, and green rice for dinner, but still I found these sticker's on the wall:

I'll let you figure out what it says.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Those curls

2011-03-11T09:44:00.000-05:00

Oh, Charlotte. Sometime I think you may just have the biggest personality in the whole house.

Not a Waste of Time

2011-03-06T16:29:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking. I know, not that interesting of a statement. But I have been thinking. A lot. I have been thinking about what it takes to be the best self. I have been thinking about what I studied in school and whether or not it has any influence in my life and how valuable that is. I have been thinking about how over the course of our 8 years of marriage, I have never successfully earned much money. I mean, I work at Anthropologie for 10 dollars an hour, but compared (such a terrible word!) to many others, this is not life changing or substantial. Sometimes I wonder if I've done something wrong. My house is probably not decorated well enough, I don't do enough to actively teach my children to be prodigy's, blah, blah, BLAH. I am sure that none of you have felt the despair of wondering if what you have done was worth it. I may have been guilty of this a time or two before.

Last night I read these inspiring words from Mr. Emerson in Self Reliance:

"A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages."

Sorry, if I had that app that helps you make a perfect bibliography, I would do it, but since I dont...if you want to find my quote you've got to go and read the essay.

Anyway, what a great quote, right? I can honestly say that I have tried my whole life to follow those flashes in my mind that lead me to do this or that. I believe that light is called something else, but those flashes have led me to what I am.

I kept reading and found this gem:

"...that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till."

Doesn't that just ring so true? We accept who we are (or who we aren't) and then work (toil) with what we were given. It reminds me of something I heard on NPR about parenting. The man was saying how as a parent he had to come to terms with his own strengths. He talked about how when he would try and play ball with his boys, it was miserable. It just wasn't his thing and a pang of guilt would plague him every time he saw dad's outside playing ball with their kids. He realized one day how successful his bedtime stories were. He decided then to focus on what he was good at, instead of focusing on what he wasn't.

In high school I did music and theater and decided to be a theater major my freshman year in college. Ha, that didn't last long once I realized that not only was I not that talented, but I also didn't have what it took to face rejection again and again. That was a very small part of my life, but it plays a huge role in the way I am a mother. Henry has been inconsolable at bed time lately. I decided to rock him in the dark and sing songs to him. I sing hymns, showtunes and love songs from the 70's. Now he will go down like an angel, and I realized how much I love to sing. My acting probably helps when I am reading stories for bedtime and also when I have to smile even though I am about to loose it.

I worked in a museum in college (BYU MOA) and I remember someone saying how "pretty girls like pretty things" and although I don't really consider myself pretty in any way, I do like pretty things and have tried to go with that instinct and make my life full of art. Full of beauty, if I can. Ha, maybe it could be interpreted as more abstract, since my decorating looks like it could have been done by a child, but part of me anyway.

So I hope this post hasn't seemed too self-indulgent, I just wondered...what are you good at? What are things that inspire you instead of make you feel worthless? Just wondering because I want to know!

This way, we can be "pious aspirants to be noble clay plastic under the Almighty effort...advance on Chaos and the Dark." (same essay)

Once again, I have come back to the conclusion, that I am doing my best and that I am doing what I feel is the right thing. I love my family and I love being a stay-at-home mom and want to be the best I can be with what I've been given, even if I find major discouragement in the process.

Some snapshots and perhaps an 18 month old walker

2011-02-24T19:04:00.000-05:00

Some homegrown fasion...I have no words.

Some kids are getting too big for their own good

Thank heaven for 70 degrees in February. I really needed that!

Playing around with an app, I took this lazy Sunday afternoon pic

This photo makes me completely cringe. I can barely glance down. This was Lane's "home" she created the other day. Go ahead and click on it to see all of the detail. All I can really see is a really huge mess. Why is that? I need to see the joy...not the mess, right?

Painted faces (only included because we stood in line for an hour to get this done at the Music Festival at Strathmore on Monday!!) Very blurry.

And now, for the moment everyone is waiting for: Henry may or may not be walking around very soon!!

All I can say is, Lane is an awesome videographer and you've got to love the house post dinner- pre Dad coming home. I love this little man's laugh!

Twas a wonderful Valentine's

2011-02-15T11:43:00.000-05:00

"Yes, I am going to talk about love, because Shakespeare made me do it.

And it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him [and her].

Wherefore, . . . pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons [and daughters] of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; . . . that we may be purified even as he is pure. [Moroni 7:47–48]" "How Do I Love Thee?" By Jeffrey R Holland.

There was a lot of love yesterday..

A handsome young man in his Valentine's bow tie being loved by his sister...

Lane taking a picture at school with BILLY...

Some love from Lane's teacher Miss Gurevich...

Some love with Charlotte and her bff Mary-Esther at our Valentine's dinner...

Some loving cheese fondue...

Some loving the chocolate fondue...

Some father, son love...

Some love birds...

Sadly I didn't get a picture of me and my Valentine this year. I'll have to get one soon.

This one goes out to the one I love...

2011-02-14T09:02:00.004-05:00

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Happy Valentine's Day! Our love is like an 80's song...AWESOME!!! It makes me want to dance like this guy. :)

Dreaming the days away

2011-02-13T14:58:00.001-05:00

Lane: "Mom, I tried to have a day dream today."

Me: "You did? How was it?"

Lane: "I didn't work."

I'm Going to Max and Oliver's House, and I'm Bringing...

2011-02-13T13:09:00.000-05:00

Our car game on the way up to a roaring time with our friends yesterday...

"...a beach ball, mom, a blow up alligator, a show for along the way, a hot air balloon, cheese crackers, Lane, red lipstick, Charlotte, BILLY, movie..."

What's that, Lane? You want to bring Billy with us? :)

The infestation

2011-02-11T10:19:00.004-05:00

This post took me almost 2 weeks to write. I was just too grumpy about it. I thought about introducing it in 2 ways. First, the cynic:

How was your week? Mine was awesome. It started with 3 days of no power and ended with finding not one, not two, but three of us were infested with lice. Then we had to pay someone $400 to get rid of it. HOW FUN!

Yep, you heard right. I just admitted that we had lice on my blog, for all to read. If you are not grossed out, you should be. I couldn't stand the thought myself. Apparently a girl had it in Lane's class at school. Thick hair is such a blessing...except with lice.

Here's the pitiful way:

Hi, I have pink eye, asthma and a shaved head because my parents were worried I would get lice since my sisters had it; Will you still love me?

In the end, I just decided to post the thing now so that I could move beyond it. "IT" BEING LICE AND IT IS SO SICK I HOPE YOU NEVER GET IT. But, if you do, give me a call. I'm an expert now.

I didn't have too much time last week. I was busy washing all the sheets everyday, vacuuming every surface daily, and of course going through my daughter's hair twice a day to pick out nits. Now that I know where the term "nit picker" comes from, I don't think I'll ever utter it again.

Scenes

The girls sleeping with olive oil on their scalp. They don't seem too troubled. In fact, Lane was kind of thrilled. She loved the extra attention and fuss. Chris and I had to coach her to not say anything at school, "Lane, its really gross. I promise. Don't tell anyone." ha ha ha

Henry's first in-home hair cut.

I am happy to report that the hard work has paid off, and we are 10 days lice-free, just in case you were scared to hang out with us.

What does your floor look like?

2011-02-03T15:23:00.001-05:00

I sweep up this much on a daily basis. In fact, this is only counting breakfast and lunch.

Doesn't this look so cool? I really want to make one!

One more teensy favor: I am giving a lesson to all the ladies of our Relief Society this Sunday on this amazing talk. Would anyone please like to read it and give me some awesome ideas? I promise I will blog about how my week has gone once I regain enough sanity to do so (think: black plagues, the middle ages, wanting to be admitted to the hospital claiming "exhaustion" like a celebrity) but for now, I really need a lesson!

3 days of no power, we are survivors!

2011-02-01T17:41:00.004-05:00

Sometimes it takes a trip to IHOP to help little girls feel better after finding out that the power went on back home, so we couldn't spend the night with all of her friends...it didn't seem to have the same effect for a certain young man though.

Here is our science project. This was a crystal garden we bought at Urban Outfitters on clearance. I wish I would have take a picture of it when it was just plain old cardboard! Dad loved explaining the process to his budding scientists!

Look at how it grew! We had fun watching it emerge.

Isn't it great when the best princess crown happens to be a baseball hat?

Big sister's got your back...

Oy, people. We are having crazy adventures at our house. Will I ever survive this winter? Tell me there is a sunny beach somewhere in the world that will welcome a cold family?
We LOVE electricity!

PS Sorry for the lack of photos of our candelight dinners and fireplace hours...I took pictures but they didn't turn out! Please know that we did spend many hours discovering the beauty of a quiet house.

No Shirt, No Shoes: No Problem!

2011-01-26T13:40:00.001-05:00

But it helps if you wear an apron...

I suppose "no pants" is okay too.

One for the Record Books

2011-01-25T10:47:00.000-05:00

Oh, January. Oh, January. I feel as though I am in misery, waiting out the storm until I can go outside again. I was meant for warmer climates. I think you might be able to pick up on my depression...not by my post per se, but more by my LACK of posts. My lack of creative motivation. My lack of desire to move...just kidding. I am trying. So, this morning, I pulled out Jillian's 30 day shred for the first time and now I am running around feeling normal! Incredible! Who knew? Well, I guess everyone in the whole world, and that is why you are supposed to exercise if you are depressed. ANYWAY, another reason why I am not feeling like a frozen icicle just sitting there wishing I were in some foreign, beach-y, warm, exciting place...is because something happened last night that hasn't happened in...3 years.

Three years!! I never thought it would come to this! I never thought I could do it again! It was a little tradition Lane and I had before our sweet Charlotte came into this world which included a fair amount of 80s music, dancing and, the main goal: clean house before Dad came in the door. Welp, last night...I mean it...I truly thought these days were in my idylic past, we pumped up the jams and started cleaning. Henry put the oranges in the box. And took them out again. And put them back again. Then Lane, bless her blessed heart, swept AND MOPPED the kitchen floor. I was skeptical when she begged to do it, but I am not one to turn down any sort of cleaning enthusiasm, so I let her do it and it is awesome! Well, it is covered in animal crackers today, but it was done and beautiful and by golly, Chris came home to a clean house. It's a miracle!!

I love my husband. That's all, have a great day!

Wintery Mix-er

2011-01-18T19:44:00.001-05:00

Last nights "wintery mix" (that link's for you, Tiff!) delivered a snow day for us. Hooray! We had Lane for another day. This mom was in heaven. I love having her for extra days.

We decided: pizza, cupcakes (can we say applesauce cupcakes with brown sugar creamcheese frosting?), friends and a little Ramona and Beezus were what we needed for our little "mix."

Then, Sir-Winter-Mix-Alot showed up. Just kidding, I don't really know who Sir-Mix-Alot is, but he is a person, right?

And that is how we turned this Winter Mix into a Winter Mix-er!

Sewing Mini

2011-01-08T12:25:00.000-05:00

There was an American Girl birthday party we attended this morning. I decided it would be so great to sew a dress with the new pattern I picked up at the store for the AG dolls. Of course I should have started when I first had the idea, last week. Then I decided I should start Monday. Then I decided it would be so easy peasy that I could do it later in the week. I started cutting out Thurs after school. I finished sewing it DURING the birthday party since I couldn't even get it done before then! Ha. I need to learn a thing or two about procrastination and goal setting. Here is the final product. You've got to love the creepy chucky looking doll! It isn't the American (as Charlotte calls her) but it is an old one unmaintained...to say the least. Now I am realizing that my mom is probably reading this and realizing that it was the doll she gave Lane for Christmas 2 years ago. Sorry mom.

I realized what a stress eater I am. Because of the panic felt with the deadline, I scarfed 2 toast, 1 bowl of oatmeal and a slice of quiche (a quiche Chris and I drooled over from Bobby Flay's Throwdown the other night), all the while sewing this little number in about an hour and a half. All in all, it was not super difficult. I think I misjudged the inseam a little, forgetting that with miniature clothing, you can't have as big of an inseam.

Another video

2011-01-05T14:09:00.003-05:00

Last week Lane and I saw the Norman Rockwell Exhibit at the American Art Museum. This is a good reason why I love living around DC. It made me really happy to go and see it with her! Again, I find my voice incredibly annoying. Lane seemed more excited about in real life, I think. :)

This is the drawing she was talking about; we both liked that Jackie Kennedy was in the drawing, but the painting's colors were so saturated and cool looking! The one of the mother with her children praying is called "The Stuff of Which Memories are Made" made me tear up as soon as I saw it. I didn't expect to have that reaction from Norman Rockwell, I think it hit a little too close to home. There is something really special and amazing about seeing art in person, of course I think it is moving because that is what I love about it. One day my dream is to go back to school and do curatorial work at a museum. You can read about the exhibit here, like how the artwork is from the collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Sadly if you wanted to go and see it, it is gone now, but there are still more cool exhibits in the future!

This Made Lane's Day

2011-01-04T11:56:00.001-05:00

I am a little embarrassed about releasing this video (do you like how I use the word "release" as if I am some sort of cool person or something?) because my voice is terrible. I am so sorry to all of you who have to hear it regularly. Secondly, I am annoying and I make Henry say Charlotte a thousand times. I think he might have even said it at one point! Thirdly, it is kind of a long video.

I am posting it because it is pretty cute to hear him say Lane (she'd been working on it with him for at least 10 minutes) and also because I love when Charlotte bursts out with "say Charlotte!" So there you have it. View it at your own preference. Unless you are a grandmother, in which case you are obligated to watch it.

Frankly, I'm tired!

2010-12-28T18:17:00.001-05:00

Does Christmas make you almost crazy? I called my mom and made sure to thank her for all of the years she put up Christmas. So up and down! One minute I am feeling like I've done more than enough and that I am potentially spoiling my children, and the next minute I feel like I've done nothing for my children and they are going to think of these years as the "tiny tim" years. In fact, I could tell Lane was a little disappointed this year, even though I could see her giving herself (and me!) pep talks about it. Later she confided that she didn't feel she got enough toys. I think I am okay with that. Not that I want her to be disappointed, but isn't there a point where you can't quite live up to the dream? May I remind you that she has a VERY active imagination? She also has been coming up with several reasons why mom and dad might be behind this whole Santa thing. How old are they supposed to be when they stop believing?

Anyway, I have felt like I am puttering around on empty all week. Feeling justified at some moments, and feeling horrified by my laziness at others. Do all women do this at Christmas?

Cherry Christmas

2010-12-25T14:59:00.002-05:00

We loved giving and receiving Christmas cards this year. Thank you all! They've made me so happy! Here are some festive scenes from our house. I have this uncontrollable desire to preserve our lives somehow. I guess in some ways I want time to pass, to stop changing diapers and cleaning up messes under the table, but deep down I want to stay this way forever. I love the little voices and the big hugs and the chubby cheeks. This is us: young, tired and happy!

Lane made a snow globe for her teacher

This was Charlotte's

One of our family traditions is to let the kids pick out an ornament. I love ornaments. Charlotte picked this ornament this year ( can you see my elementary school ornament??)

Lane's choice

We made salt dough ornaments...it was really fun!

The little ladies getting in some Christmas reading before bed one night.

Making cookies

Can't resist these little cheeks and these seeming big boy plaid pj bottoms!

Charlotte beat everyone out this year for enthusiasm for Christmas. She brought up Santa bringing her a Christmas present several times and a few days ago I noticed her looking out the window. I asked her what she was doing and in a very serious voice she explained "looking for Santa!" Little sweetheart.

Something Chris's family did on Christmas eve was write Santa a letter and then put it in the fire to be taken to the North Pole.

There is something so exciting about cutting out snowflakes from paper!

We read this every Christmas Eve.

Thank you, allsorts for the gift tags! So cute!

Grandma and Grandpa got this amazing table for the little's

Santa...er...found a Barbie powerwheels on craigslist for 40$ and spiffed it up with a can of plastic adhesive silver spray paint and some modgepodge personally made decals.

We deleted Barbie from this Barbie jeep. I found an image of a Mercedes speedometer, printed it off and modgepodge'd it on.

Merry Christmas to all...God bless us every one! We love you all!

Rain Drops on Roses, Whiskers on Kittens...

2010-12-20T11:41:00.002-05:00

...well...I am no Maria Vontrapp, however, I did sing "I have confidence in me" as I battled it out attempting to make a Christmas dress out of curtains (my mother had an extra panel that she didn't use so she kindly sent it out so I could use it!) this year. Yeehaw! What an adventure. I was really worried about it, but it ended up being really fun to do. Maria would probably disapprove of my jimmy-rigged zipper top (whoops!) and the uneven-ness of the tool under the dress but "I must have done something good..." because I think she looks sweet.

We decided to pretend we were in the olden days where you weren't aloud to look happy in the pictures. (actually she was really sad because she had spilled honey all over the new dress and stained it right before church.)

I was going to try and make Charlotte a dress as well, but ran out of time. Luckily we found one on sale that matched!

I also want to take a moment to thank my sewing coach: Priscilla A. Potter who allowed me to call her every five minutes while I was trying to translate the impossible dialect of those darn patterns!

And for those of you wanting to see Lane in her glasses, here she is!

New Glasses, or the "Billy" Saga

2010-12-17T11:50:00.003-05:00

Once upon a time there was a boy named Billy who told all the kids in his Kindergarten class that our President Obama smokes cigarettes but is trying to quit. Billy was mentioned several times in the little home in Silver Spring that first week of school. Skeptical parents warily learned that the Billy had made quite an impression on their daughter. After making the obvious dangers of cigarette's and the Lord's view of smoking clear, Billy seemed to fall off the radar.

The parents went to school functions and saw that Billy was a sweet little boy, and perhaps not the threat they had once thought he was.

A few months past.

The daughter became convinced she needed glasses. Not because she couldn't see, but because it was the perfect fashion accessory to her look. Perhaps it was due to her mother's recent purchase of eye wear (seriously if you need new glasses I thought this was an awesome deal and a super cool company), but in any case: she was determined to become "four eyes."

A forever beloved Aunt gifted her these glasses last week. Since then, the glasses have been worn all day long every day.

After coming home from the first day of school with the glasses, a flushed face explained how everyone at school simply "LOVED" the glasses and that "Billy" was especially impressed, calling her "prettier with glasses than without." The parents again had alarms going off, especially when the next thing that happened was a hand drawn picture was produced from the backpack: Billy had drawn he and Lane playing together (blast! i can't believe i threw it away before scanning!) and asked Lane if they could have a "play date."

Up until that moment, the mother had never considered the date part of "play date."

Post script
Yes, I think my child has a crush. No, I will probably not have "Billy" over to play. No, I am not sold on the idea of my child having crushes. Yes, I remember my father teasing me about a boy in first grade. I remember being mortified. No, I will not tease Lane. Yes, I will be nice about "Billy" around Lane and not attack his character just because he told my daughter our President smokes.

Let's keep the innocence, people!

When was your first crush?

I think my first "official" crush was Tim Zimmer in the 4th grade. I swooned over his converse high tops. Especially because he had them in every color.

Welcome to our Thanksgiving

2010-12-01T17:16:00.002-05:00

Pull up a chair, smell the turkey and the pumpkin pie. Jump in our leaves.

Put on your track suit,

admire my grandmother's homemade pilgrims,

participate in our turkey coloring contest.

Make sure to tell Lane you are coming so she can paint you a name card.

Have a seat.

Take a few minutes to write or color what you are grateful for on our Gratitude wall.

Even if it is pizza...

Now jump on the couch and wait a few minutes for the timer to go off.

Wait for Lane to take your picture.

Make a toast with Charlotte (don't forget to cling your fancy glasses together!)

And then settle down for the director's analysis of the Thanksgiving experience.

She gives us an A+! We hope your T-day was as fun and relaxing as ours was!

"When you're tired, and you can't sleep, just count your blessings, instead of sheep...and you'll fall asleep counting your blessings."

2010-11-25T10:50:00.000-05:00

Isn't it true that those things you work the hardest for are the things that you are most grateful for? Close friendships, family members, my home, my budget (well, not quite thankful for that one, but it does take a lot of work!), church callings and my job as a full time mom. Here's glimpses of what I am grateful for

Mrs. Potato Head

2010-11-17T19:34:00.003-05:00

Would you let your daughter wear these to school?

I know that there are different schools of thought as far as what you will allow your children to wear out the door. Some feel very strongly in personal expression and therefore never hinder any sort of clothing concoction. Then there are others who won't allow their child to go out the door without having the perfect bow with the perfect outfit, down to the socks. I float somewhere in the middle. At first when I saw her plan of the Potato Head earrings, along with an outfit that I had managed to convince her to wear, I thought of shutting it down. But then, I realized that she was wearing Mrs. Potato Head earrings. I smiled. Remember, she still doesn't have her ears pierced? I don't think she is ready for the real deal, but she is ready to wear bright green plastic hoops.

Hmmm...

2010-11-10T14:15:00.001-05:00

Yes, I am turning to the side so you can't tell that I have still not yet applied make-up this morning...afternoon...whatever.

So, I have this thing with Shabby Apple. I love their dresses; but I also feel that there is a certain element of awkwardness about the fit. (not true about the 2 dresses I bought for Lane there...love those)They cost quite a bit I feel like, which is great because they are original designs and modest and creative...all of which I like, but they are the same price as other dresses you could buy at jcrew or something. I bought the groupon a few months ago (40$ for 100$ of product!) and it took me forever to decide which dress to buy. I finally decided on one. I just got it and I can't decide. I like the neckline and the color. I don't know if it is doing me any favors with the fit. I was kind of hoping to wear it to Chris's work Christmas party on a boat with a "cocktail" dress code. I was thinking of wearing it with grey tights and some heels. You know what it is like to not have a lot of spending money so when you buy it you want it to be perfect because it is the only thing you can buy...you cant buy anything else, right? This is kind of where I am at.

Please be honest. Do you think I should ditch it? Return it and exchange for something for Lane? Should I keep it? I am really indecisive and I need some help...PLEASE!

I wish it were a little more flattering around the waist...I could do a belt??

I don't like how it fits me in the waist...I look huge..and mellow-dramatic

See how it shows a little white in the sleeves?

Closet Dreaming

2010-11-05T09:37:00.001-05:00

Last night I saw this dress and determined to post it in the blog because of course I will never buy it because I am trying to be really great at that...So I felt like if I blogged about it, it would kind of feel like I bought it. The sad thing is, it looks totally different in the picture than on line. In person it looks like this mod 60's shift dress with a 70s nature print. I love birds and it looked so cool. It didn't have the belt around it like it does in the picture. The fabric was beautiful and more golden and felt really thick and expensive. I would wear it with some thick brown or grey tights with boots. That might seem weird with the photo here, but believe me, it would look really cool!

These boots are very cute. It doesn't really look so much in the picture, but they are super comfortable and the toe/foot area is one of the best that I've seen in boots ever! Anthropologie recently opened up it's first accessories store next to our store, so if you ever are in doubt of what a boot/bag/necklace looks like in person, I'm the one to ask! I love to vicariously shop for others!

The Halloween Pictures

2010-11-01T12:32:00.001-05:00

You know how Halloween can sometimes last a week? Well Lane wore 4 costumes this year. I love it. I missed two of her looks (a fairy and pioneer)

Charlotte was a witch.

For the life of me I could not get a good picture of Henry. He was a pirate with a peg leg.

We went to the chili cook-off trunk or treat.

Love this picture.

As soon as we got home, Lane raced downstairs to show her aunt her loot.

The grossest halloween candy ever

Another milestone in life; I showed Lane how to eat a pixie stick. She made it until age 6 before trying one, do I get a prize or something?

Charlotte was playing with Rachel. Rachel has become part of our family. We love it. She was Katniss from the Hunger Games.

Look at all of that candy stuck to those cheeks!

Doesn't Rachel look pretty?

Happy Halloween everyone!