Halloween

Gabe and I haven't dressed up for Halloween since before we were dating. At least I think we weren't yet dating (he would probably better remember). We went as "swing dancers" I guess you would call it. All I know is my hair was bangin'. We looked cute. That was the last (and I think only) time I went to a Halloween party. I honestly don't even remember much about it. I just have a picture as proof of Gabe and my's cuteness. And I remember getting my hair done, I think my Aunt did it for me. And I remember taking all the bobby-pins out afterwards and the affects of all the hairspray. My hair kind of just stood out to the sides like wings. I remember being in the house I was living in at the time (with my wonderful roommate Sabrina) and Gabe was there for the unveiling. I remember thinking how horrendous I must have looked with such horrid hair, but Gabe just seemed to be too gobsmacked to care. He's cute like that.

Since we've had kids, we have begun celebrating Halloween again, mostly just through dressing up our kids in adorable outfits and eating all their candy once they've gone to bed. Ah, the benefits of being a parent to gullible children.

This year it will be the most fun yet, now that we have the three kids to dress up. London is going to be a lion, Adelaide is going to be a monkey (so appropriate) and Porter will be a bat. We are having a church Halloween family party on Sunday. There is a costume contest. "Best family" is one of the categories. Once I heard that, I knew Gabe and I had to dress up. We decided since the kids were all animals we would be zookeepers (that is pretty much what I feel like most days anyway!). We are so taking that best family prize. There's also a "cutest" category. How will they choose just one winner from 3 of the cutest kids without costumes, let alone in costumes that only increase their uber-cuteness? One of my kids is so taking the cutest prize. I'd honestly put my money on Adelaide. She is dang cute in her monkey costume. And come on, we have produced three of the cutest kids known to mankind. We deserve some sort of prize for that. And if this is the only way we can get that prize.. So be it.

Gabe and I have the daunting task of making our zookeeper costumes. We're going bare minimum on the costume effort (after all, we're just a novelty, the kids will keep the focus off us). We'll doctor up some shirts to make them say "zookeeper" and that will probably be the extent of it. Sad, I know. But we don't have much time or money to be able to go all authentic zookeeper.

We will for sure get the Halloween pictures up on our website as soon as Gabe can. And we'll keep you posted on how we fare in the contest.

GO SEARLES!

Finally, some pictures

For anyone who's asking... homepage.mac.com/searlesbunch

You can see Mr. Porter Cash and the rest of the clan. We'll update pictures as regularly as we can (and by "we" I mean Gabe) so make sure you check back often. Porter is growing like a weed.. You don't want to miss it.

Hey Porter

Porter Cash Searles has arrived!

Friday, September 29th at 10:17 pm
7 lbs 5 oz
21 inches long

He arrived after only about 2 hours of labor, 5 minutes of pushing and no doctor in the room (don't worry, the bed caught him and the nurses were right there to grab him).

Just email me for details (if you actually want them!)

We are home and doing great. The other two crazies love their little brother and we are starting the adjustment to our bigger (much noisier) family.

Pictures will come soon!

Pregnancy Watch 2006 - Day 2

So I am officially past my due date. I am not surprised and frankly I don't know why it bothers me so. I knew, having gone late with both the other crazies, that I would also go late with this one. Why should I get a break now? It is quite a tough thing, still, to watch my due date come and go. Quietly hoping something will happen, but knowing deep down inside nothing will. Yet still being disappointed when my deep down insides are right.

I don't so much mind being overdue. It just gets harder every day to take care of my kids and normal household things. By 5pm each night I am feeling the aches and pains of being 40 weeks pregnant. No contractions mind you, but lots of sharp pains and loads of pressure of things wanting to fall out. So here I sit, a baby inside of me probably hanging on for dear life. Does he not know the angst he causes his mother? Of course, this pain he causes me now is nothing compared to the pain he is going to be causing me once my body decides it has had enough and sends him out with the force of a watermelon being squeezed through a straw.

I am going to try and not be induced, but we will see how long I can hang in there. I have my next doctor's appointment on Monday, the 2nd. I will be 5 days overdue by that point. I'm sure if I have a need for that appointment I will be begging the doctor to do whatever it takes to get this kid out of me. This is so reminiscent of my pregnancy with London. I was 4 days late when I was induced and I had barely even dialated. He also never dropped and so I spent 1 1/2 hours pushing him down and out the birthing chute. Adelaide on the other hand (though she was 3 days late), dropped into the chute around month 7. By the time I went into labor I was quite dialated and I only had to push for 15 minutes. What is it with the boys I birth? Why do they treat me this way? Why don't they want to come out???

Local newscaster

Best (real) name I've heard in a while:

Harry Beetle

He reports the local news on Talk 650 AM. Imagine growing up with THAT name.

Bumblebear, Moosel and Eleroo

The catering job was a success. It was in a beautiful home, with a kitchen so much nicer than mine. I got to use double ovens. I was in heaven. Though the big pregnant bump made it really hard for me to reach into the top oven. Some of the appetizers I had meant to prepare didn't turn out and others I just didn't have time to do. Same with some desserts. But, overall there was plenty of food and people were full of compliments. I am glad it's over.

I will not cater again until I am no longer pregnant. This last job was so difficult. My next job is November 4th. I look forward to it. It is for a friend. She is starting her own event planning business and has asked if she can use me for her jobs. Let me think about that for a split second... Um yea. So that's pretty cool. Hopefully we can partner together and have a prosperous business future.

This will be my first job ever NOT pregnant. That will be so nice. I don't care that I'll have 3 kids. I WON'T BE PREGNANT. That is all that matters. It's what husbands and babysitters are for.

So yea, you'll get a maternity leave of a break from hearing about my catering ventures. Lucky you.

10,000 years will give you such a crick in the neck

So I got the catering job. I am so stoked. The event is the 19th, just shy of 2 weeks away. The more jobs I get under my belt the more wisdom I attain. I am already days ahead in my preparations, knowing what I can make ahead and freeze. This makes the few days before the event so much easier on me. Now I'll just have to pull said things out of the freezer and cook them. But there is still plenty to do in the few days leading up to the event that I will be plenty busy.

This is a pretty big deal in my world of trying to start my own catering company with the hopes of someday opening my own bakery-coffeeshop. This job will pay me the most thus far. It is for someone I didn't know. It was a referral from someone who had actually tasted what I have to offer. It is also challenging me with things I haven't yet served. This will be the first time I am not actually attending the party I am catering! It will be all professional going and getting the food all set up and served.

The final head count for the party comes in on Thursday. So this weekend I will be doing nothing but getting all the things done ahead of time that can be done. My mother-in-law is coming up for the weekend to help me with the prep work. She will then come back the weekend of the party and help me with all the final preparations. She is a life-saver. I can't tell you how much more I get done when she's around to help! (Considering she gets me off my lazy, pregnant butt and in the kitchen to do what needs to be done!)

I'm going to go revel in the greatness of this opportunity I have been given, on my lazy, pregnant butt, with my venti iced chai and raspberry-almond tea cake.

If you can't stand the relentless heat, retreat to the kitchen

The heat here is horrible. My poor swollen pregnant body officially HATES the hot weather. We are in our 11th straight day of triple digit temperatures. People, I tell you this should be illegal. Our air conditioner runs for about 20 straight hours a day. Do you know what that does to our utility bill?! I die inside a little each time I look at it. And even with the air running constantly all day long it is still about 82 degrees in this house. It is too hot to go outside. The kids are going crazy. I'm going crazy. I need cooler weather. It is essential to my well-being (and that of those who live in close proximity to me). Today is supposed to be the last day of 100 degree weather. The infamouse Delta Breeze is gearing up and will kick in by tomorrow and bring the temperature down into the 90s. And by Sunday, the high 80s. And get this.. It will actually cool off at night. No more 76 degree lows.. We are talking lows in the 60s. My prayers have been answered. Maybe now my ankles will stop being so swollen and I will stop being so grumpy. Maybe.

The heat makes it near impossible to turn my oven on, as that heats the house up tremendously. And of course, in the middle of the heat wave, I get a call for a catering job. The client (a referral!) is coming over this Friday to taste test some things, talk prices, menu, etc. The job is a party for close to 100 people on August 19th. How stoked am I?! This will be my first job that doesn't involve me knowing the person who hires me! And to think someone referred me! (I know who did the referring and I am so grateful to them!). So I am preparing for the meeting on Friday, getting some things pre-made and testing other things (stuffed mushrooms, which has been requested - the likes of which I have never made before....). It will be interesting and I hope the client likes me enough to hire me. How exciting! Now, I must get my pregnant, barefoot self back into the kitchen.

Bungo was his name-o

London: "Mama! We have to get this book. The one about BUNGO!"
Me: "Who?!"
London: "BUNGO! Right here!!!!"
After looking at what he was pointing to...
Me: "Ohhhh, Dumbo. That's Dumbo."
London: "Yea, Dumbo."

Bungo definitely is a classic story.

Happy Birthday to me!

So, my birthday isn't until the end of September... But I just saw that the Dixie Chicks (one of my favorite bands) are coming to Arco Arena in September. I have wanted to see them in concert since they first came out and have never gotten the chance. Until now. I immediately told Gabe "I know what I want for my birthday!". And since this is the BIG one.. 30.. I figured we could splurge on the tickets. So I marched myself out today and bought their new CD (which I wanted anyway), got the presale ticket code, and just now purchased our tickets for their concert.

This will soften the blow of turning that unspeakable number.

A mind shattered into a thousand pieces

I am catering a wedding reception this Saturday for 100 people at 6pm. The preparations have started. My mind is about to explode. There is so much I have to do... All whilest caring for the two crazies that suck every last ounce of life out of me. Have I mentioned that I am 5 months pregnant and oh so very tired all the time (see afore mentioned crazies)? Because I am. But I am, of course, so thrilled to have this opportunity. It is a great experience and notch on my catering belt. It's always at this point before the event that I yearn for it to be over and done with. It is now that I long for a full time nanny, a bigger kitchen and (at least) double ovens. That pregnant, lifeless, exhausted part of me wants to just throw in the towel and figure out some other way to provide the food (a way that doesn't involve me preparing it). But the soul of me, that part is as giddy as a school girl at this opportunity to do what it is I love to do. To get one step closer to having my dream job. I am trying to unleash that part so that it devours the other part. That battle is a bloody one.

I cannot wait until Saturday at 11 pm when I lay my weary head down on my pillow and breath a HUGE sigh of relief.

For a dear friend

Now that our friend Steve is who knows where out in the yonder.. I feel a sense of responsibility to keep him posted as to the happenings in our world, as he is a bit incognito. So Steve, if you read this, we miss you, we are praying for you, and we can't wait for you to return. I know it must be hard to be away from Steph.

And in case you didn't know, we found out we're having a boy! He will be called Porter. Porter Cash. He is due to arrive at the end of September, so figure most likely he'll make his debut at the beginning of October. We are very excited to be adding to our brood.

Here are some pictures of London and Adelaide.





Thank you for your service to this country. You deserve the utmost respect for doing what you are doing to help keep the rest of us safe and free. You are more of a man than most.

Bugga

We have termites. Western subterranean termites that live way underground. They look like flying ants. They are what is known in the termite world as swarmers. They are the scouts sent out this time of year (once the colony has gotten too big) to locate vacant space and start new colonies. Once they find a place to start a new colony they shed their wings and mate. Fabulous. The great thing about these underground termites is you can have them for years and years and not know it until one day (last Friday) they dig a tunnel out of the side of your foundation and start scouting.

We had the termite people out here to "fix" the problem. Their solution should last about 10 years. In my calculations, that means we just spent $110 per year for the next 10 years to hopefully keep us termite free. Of course if we move, we just payed for the future owners to not have to worry their pretty little heads about our winged friends.

Farewell old friend, hello new love

We said goodbye to our Jeep on Saturday. It was quite hard for me. Which I know sounds odd, it is after all just a car. Actually I take that back. It's not just a car. It's a Jeep. The first (and only to date) new car I've ever owned. We owned that Jeep for almost 5 years (we fall 3 months short of the 5 year annivesary). That Jeep treated us well. But alas, we have a growing family and it has outlived its usefulness. It was a tight squeeze with just the 2 kids, we knew there was absolutely NO WAY we could put 3 kids in it.

Let me tell you a little story. Gabe and I, with the impending arrival I am carrying in my womb, knew that by September we would have to purchase a bigger vehicle. We've debated over a mini-van, Suburban and Expedition. Our preference has always been the Suburban. Saturday we took a jaunt to a car dealership with the intention of just starting our search. We were curious to see what's available out there and at what price. We had done a little research and knew the market value of several years of Suburbans. Our goal was to get a 2001, since we knew we couldn't afford any younger than that, and that was the first year of the new body style. And we figured our Jeep is a 2001, so we wouldn't be down grading any if we got a comparable year. We also hoped to get a vehicle with around the same mileage, 75,000. One problem we found with these big family vehicles (other than the money rushing out of our wallets into the gas pumps) is that they tend to have LOTS of miles on them. My brother has a 2001 Yukon XL, which they purchased soon after we purchased our Jeep, and their vehicle has 35,000 more miles on it than our Jeep. I guess those vehicles are just made to be taken on family trips!! (We have made several family trips in my parents' mini-van). I digress. Our other criteria was to find a 2-wheel drive Suburban. 4-wheel drive is so overrated (we had it on the Jeep and just used it for the first time this last winter when we got stuck in Tahoe during a snow storm. It went unused for almost 5 years!!). So we get to this car lot and as we get out of the Jeep we are promptly apprehended, I mean, welcomed by a car salesman (one of the worst occupations on this planet in my opinion). His name was Dan. He was a tall fellow with a bright yellow sweater on. The first vehicle we looked at happened to be a 2001 Suburban, 2-wheel drive. Knowing it would be WAY out of our price range I didn't think much of it, other than OH MY GOSH I WANT THIS TRUCK. When I found out the mileage I almost wet myself. Just under 63,000 miles. WHAT?! Less than the Jeep???!!! We perused a few more vehicles and decided, what the heck, let's talk numbers. The cost was more than we thought we could afford, but we threw caution to the wind and went inside with Dan.

(Now I want to interject here and say it is already at this point probably 1:30 or 2:00 pm. We had both kids with us and my dad - since he's quite the vehicle expert. The kids' nap time is about 1:00 pm. We are already pass that.)

Well, good old Dan and his sleezy car salesman boss, Boyce, actually made the monthly payments something we could afford. They offered us decent money to trade in our Jeep (which saved us from actually having to clean it and go through the whole selling process ourselves). So after 4 hours from when we walked into the office, we were driving away in our new Suburban. The kids were basket cases in those 4 hours. We pumped them full of snacks, balloons, toys, pacifier, threats and hugs.. Not much worked. London was running amuck in the dealership and Adelaide was just sitting in the stroller crying. It was a horrible 4 hours.

Now that we've had our new vehicle a few days, I can say we are so happy with it. The kids are no longer cramped. Gabe no longer has to sit in the trunk if an extra person wants to ride with us somewhere. People no longer have to complain how hard it is to get into that cramped back seat. This thing is a tank. I love it. I have yet to master confidence when it comes to parking it and we can no longer fit into compact spaces. But we are a happier, more spacious family because of our lovely Suburban. We can't wait till we get to drive it down to Disneyland in a month!

Awesome new shower in all its spectacular new shower glory

Our master bathroom shower is done. My dad is amazing. He manned that project 95% all by himself. All we have left to do is paint the trim (which will be done when we paint the entire bathroom) and get the new shower doors. We have yet to purchase the shower doors, after which Gabe and my dad will have to install them. No sweat after what they've done. Ahh.. I am so close to enjoying our new shower, bench seats and all. I can't wait. It looks so pretty, I'll post pictures soon (before and after).

Oh happy, happy day.

The new sibling

London is very taken with this baby I have in my tummy. When I was pregnant with Adelaide, I think he was a little young to really understand what me being pregnant meant. But now, after having experienced Mama having a baby in her tummy and now having a sister, I think he's catching on to what it means. Adelaide on the other hand, is too young to have any clue as to what is happening. Her world will just be disrupted in about 5 more months, out of the blue, for no good reason, when she is no longer the baby of the family.

London loves looking at the ultrasound picture, knowing that it is a picture of the baby in Mama's tummy. A couple weeks ago we were having dinner and he started to pat my tummy and said "You have a baby in your tummy?" "Yes" I replied. The wheels in his little brain started turning, "How did it get in your tummy?" Thinking he's too young for any of "those" kinds of talks, I replied with, "God put it there". He wasn't buying it. He got a really concerned look on his face and asked "You ate it?" After the laughter died down, I assured him that, No, Mama is not in the business of eating babies. I do understand his logic. When he eats food, he knows it goes into his tummy. So how else would a baby get into my tummy other than me eating it?! I explained to him that God makes babies and gives them to us to love and care for. He seemed okay with that answer because he dropped the subject. Although I don't know if he realizes that I didn't in fact eat this baby, I'm sure some day he'll understand where babies truly come from. Though that will probably be after he tells all his friends at school that his mother eats babies.

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Girl

Today Adelaide Magnolia turns 1. It's actually in this, the 8 am hour that I write, that I gave birth to her. I can't remember exactly what time she was born, I think it was close to 8:45am, but it was after almost 8 hours of labor and just about 20 minutes of pushing that she made her entrance into this world. For her first 4 hours of life she made sounds similar to that of a pterodactyl (or at least, what we think one would sound like). She was quite entertaining. It's funny now, because anytime she sees a dinosaur she roars. That's the only animal sound she makes.



I can't believe our little girl is a year old. It really doesn't seem like it's been that long. A year of her smiles and giggles and not sleeping through the night. A year of her beautiful face greeting us each morning. God has so richly blessed our lives with Adelaide, she is such a joy. It is an honor to be her mother, to watch her grow and learn. One of the moments I cherish most is having her fall asleep in my arms and just holding her, watching her sleep, so peaceful and content. I could do that for hours. It is times like that in which I am forced to slow down and relax. I sit back and marvel at the little girl she is becoming. She is changing so much. She is walking and playing and interacting. She adores her brother and her care bear. She gives big open mouth kisses. She is so funny when she plays peek-a-boo. Sometimes she covers her eyes, sometimes she just ends up smacking herself on the head. She is learning to blow kisses. She can't help but shake her groove thing when there is music playing. She gets the biggest kick out of talking into microphones. She absolutely loves people and will stare them down until they pay attention to her. She is a fairly quiet baby, always has been. She does not upset easily. She has a newly discovered fascination with bubbles and is addicted to pop tarts.

All in all, she is more than we could have ever hoped for in a daughter. She is a most precious gift from God. She is her Dada's weak spot and her Mama's sweet baby girl.

It's over

I have never been so relieved for anything to be over more than I am that this past weekend is behind me. Saturday night is done. My desserts were baked, assembled, eaten and digested. I got so many rave reviews that night it was a little overwhelming. My mind is still a little numb from my 3 day preparation extravaganza.

But it's over now. I am breathing easier. The looming stress of what to make, how it's going to turn out, will I have enough time? is no longer resting on my shoulders. That is a nice feeling.

I regrettably only took pictures of some of my prep work. I didn't take any pictures of the finished products (like my fantastical Lemon Cheesecake with Strawberries and Port Syrup). I need to make another one, though, to see how it tastes.. So I'll take a picture of it at that point.

One of the great things that came out of this event is my website. After many years of dreaming it is finally up and running, not at full steam, but running none the less. www.foodlady.net. It is a total rough draft at this point, but I just needed something as a point of contact for now. Gabe was the mastermind in the website (along with some help from Tommy Base). Gabe also made me some business cards to hand out Saturday night. And I'll tell you, I actually had a couple people come up to me afterwards and ask if I do private parties, to which I replied "Yes indeed!". How cool is that. Whether or not anything comes of those inquiries, just the fact that people would have considered me based on those desserts that night.. That is enough for me! If anything does come up, you will be among the first to know! It's a strange feeling knowing that this dream of mine, working in the food industry - catering, baking professionally, opening up my own bakery - it could really come true some day. That would be something!

The final countdown

So it's here. The final two days before THE BIG DAY. My first official catering gig. It couldn't have come at a worse time. Or maybe this pregnancy couldn't have come at a worse time. Being just at the end of my first trimester I am still left feeling yucky and more tired than a caterpillar trying to make its way through hot gum on the sidewalk of despair.

Today is it. There are no more days to put anything off. My preparations must begin today. I sit here exhausted out of my mind, almost in tears because all I want to do is lay down and sleep. But with two kids to care for and a butt load of baking to be done there will be no rest for me. Tuesday was a very bad sick day for me. The contents of my undigested lunch (macaroni and cheese and hot dog) were projected from my body at a force so great that the human body should never ever have to experience. I am still reeling from that experience. It has left me almost completely unable to eat. And since food = energy (which I am so low on anyway) you can see my dilemma.

I can not procrastinate any longer. I have cookie doughs, white chocolate candies and a cheesecake to make today. Tomorrow it's lime tarts, mini crumb cakes, chocolate mousse and baking the cookie doughs. Then Saturday I have over 200 strawberries to dip in chocolate.

On a totally different subject, I got another ultrasound done yesterday. I am 12 weeks, so the baby actually looks like a little tiny baby. Cute little Beany McBeanster. It totally jumped and wiggled during the ultrasound. Great, that's what I need, another active one. How about one, just one, calm mellow baby? One who doesn't start sprouting teeth at 3 months, walking at 10 months and the other one whos favorite activity is to spin in circles. Is that too much to ask for?

Reunited and it feels so good

I have rediscovered a love of my youth. TANG. My dear, long lost friend. I am sorry we have been apart for so many years.

I was at Costco perusing the drink section. I got me some Countrytime Lemonade mix (a staple in our house each time the weather warms), some Raspberry Iced Tea mix (new discovery.. so good!!) and there it was.. In all its orange glory. Calling out to me. TANG!!! Oh man. I broke it open yesterday and had some, for the first time in too many years. Oh man. It is even better than I remember it. It is now my new addiction. This baby is going to come out orange and addicted to Tang. And that is okay with me.

Do yourselves a favor. Rediscover something from your own youth. You won't be sorry.

The problems are starting

Naming a child is a big responsibility. One not to be taken lightly. One not to be squandered. After all, the name you bestow will be with the child FOREVER. It will make or break the kid. This is the pressure I felt before our first was born. Naming my child seemed a bigger responsibility than actually caring for him.

We named our child London. I'm not sure if we've scarred him or given him the ultra coolest name ever (in my heart I know it's the latter). But the problems set in pretty quick. The first time we took him to his now pediatrician he was 6 months old. The first thing we heard was "I see London, I see France" from the RECEPTIONIST (not even a snotty nosed little punk). Like I didn't expect THAT to happen to him throughout his entire life. But the doctor's office? He's not safe anywhere.

And now, the real confusion for my poor son sets in. A while back I was singing to the kids during dinner (it seems to help Adelaide eat better and London is to the age now that he actually will sing along, it's dang cute) and I started singing "London Bridge is falling down". London looked at me and said "Mama, my bridge fall down?". He was seriously concerned (not the fact that he owned a bridge and owning bridges can get very expensive, but that it was falling down). As I continued with the song he continued with "Mama, my bridge no fall down". On rare occasions when the city of London is mentioned on TV you can see he gets a little confused as to why the strangers on the bright shiny box are talking about him. (I guess it doesn't help that in those instances we tell him "London, they know your name! They know who you are!"). I know. We're not helping.

I know we have doomed our kid to hearing the famed "I see London, I see France" taunt for years to come. But we'll teach him before those snotty nosed little punks can finish that sentence to pull down their pants and finish it for them.

Walk like an Egyptian

Adelaide is walking. She has just turned 11 months old today. She has been walking on her own, like crazy, for almost a week now. That girl gives me no breaks.

We bought her her first pair of shoes yesterday. They are just your standard "first walker" shoes, white, but with cute little pink embroidered flowers at the top. When the salesman pointed out which shoes were beginning walker appropriate I just about peed myself. I had to forcibly stop myself from buying her 4 pairs of shoes. There are some cute ones. But I played it safe and bought her ones that will go with any outfit. Of course, they won't go with a dress. Dang. I have to go back and buy her a pair that will go with her dresses. She's going to put me in the poor house.

She was so incredibly funny to watch as she walked with shoes on for the first time. She would take these big huge exaggerated steps and then fall down. She did that several times and then decided she was done and she started crawling, but it was the kind of crawling that used a knee and a foot to propel her along. She couldn't quite grasp the shoe thing. She needs practice. And we'll have fun laughing at her (and videotaping her and exploiting her on the internet) as she hones her skills.

Kids are great entertainment.

Home improvement

So my dad is at this moment dismantling the shower stall in our master bathroom. This is something we were hoping to do in the next couple months, get a new shower stall. But Gabe had a little mishap with trying to rig the already warping tiles and let's just say when he was done there was a big hole in the wall. I couldn't have asked for a better mishap. We should have our new shower stall in this weekend. I can't wait. There are 2 benches and it is pretty and white. And clean. And there are no tiles and no grout. I will never have to battle mold on the grout again in there.

I am one happy girl.

Spreading the disease

It always strikes me funny how pregnancy comes in clusters. During my pregnancy with London I knew (actually personally knew) 5 other women who were pregnant too. If you ever were to visit our old church (Crossings in da house) you would see specific age groupings of the kids there. While pregnant with Adelaide, 5 other women at our current church ended up pregnant too. All the babies were born within 6 months of Adelaide. Boy did that put a strain on the nursery staff!!!

So now, as I announce to you my readers, that I am once again expecting (that would be baby #3, due at the end of September) I have just come to find out that 2 of my dear friends from CT are also expecting, one at the end of August and one on the same day as me. How trippy is that? I have two other friends who are due in May and June. And I believe the good people at Gymboree pump some sort of pregnancy drug through their ventilation system. The two other moms in London's class are both pregnant. And the class after ours, there are 4 pregnant women in there and one who just had a baby a few weeks ago. Seriously! I was just bound to get pregnant with all that surrounding me! It's an epidemic.

Watch yourselves....

A day late and a dollar short...

I am always behind. I'm never on time. Ever. I totally meant to post on Saturday, it was London's 3rd birthday. My firstborn, my son, my bubba. He turned 3. We had a SpongeBob party for him. He was so excited! We decorated the living room before we went to bed Friday night, so he'd wake up to it. He loved it! It's so great to experience those moments.

We still can't believe he's 3. Now granted, it's not like he's 16, I know. But still. Each year older he gets just blows us away. People have always told me to cherish these times because it passes in the blink of an eye. These last 3 years certainly have passed that quickly, as I know the next 3 will. He is becoming such a little man. He talks non-stop. He is a curious sort. And he is active as all get out. His shins have been continuously bruised since he was 8 months old! His manners are great. He is becoming so polite (most times without our urging!). He says please, thank you, excuse me and I'm sorry. He loves his sister and absolutely adores his Dada. Yesterday he woke up from his afternoon nap and started crying. When I went in to get him I said "Hi Bubba". He said "Mama, I cry" and I said "I know, why were you crying?" And he replied "Because I love you". I'm not quite sure what that means, but it melts my heart nonetheless.

London was my first lesson in complete and utter selflessness. My first experience of loving something more than I thought possible the very first time I saw him. He has been a test of patience and faith. He has deepened my relationship with God. He has changed my relationship with my husband. He has brought laughter and tears and unconditional love into my life. I praise God for blessing us with London. Our lives are better, richer because of him. He will always be my little Bubba, no matter how big he gets.

Yum

Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies are one of the best things ever.

I am so thankful to Mrs. Wakefield for creating such a delectable recipe.

So happy together

Today I got new pots and pans from Costco. They are Ameriware Professional commercial grade. My brother also bought the same set several months back and has been happy with them, so I decided I'd give them a try. It was a great deal for the money. I was holding out for All Clad, but with how pricey those puppies are I knew it would be years before I would own them. The pots and pans we currently have (going on almost 6 years) have served us well (though we've had to get rid of both frying pans due to the coating wearing off) but are coated with Teflon, which is the worst thing you could ever cook with. I know this now but didn't back when we got the cookware. So for the sake of my family's well being, I really wanted to change my cookware. So now we'll see how the new stuff does. I'm always excited to have new kitchen stuff. Plus the set came with so many pots and pans, more than I had, so I have some new pieces to find uses for. Hopefully they won't let me down.

I also finally received the Shun Classic bread knife that Gabe got me for Christmas (the company he ordered it from originally sent him a completely different knife than what he ordered). This is the knife I needed to complete my knife collection. It is beautiful. Now my Shun Classic santoku is no longer lonely. Those two are very happy together. That bread knife seriously slices bread like it's butter. Gabe and I are both impressed. And I am oh so smitten.

The big day's a-coming

So March 18th is IT. The day of our church's adult's night out event. The one in which I am catering with an all desserts menu. I am beside myself with many emotions. Excitement, anxiety, fear, anticipation, self-doubt, stress. I am starting to create the menu, which is one of the exciting things. I am going to hopefully try out some new recipes this weekend to see if the end result is worthy.

Let the baking begin!!

An homage to friends

Today we got to hang out with two of our dearest friends, Kevin and Sabrina. We got to meet their son, who is just 2 months younger than Adelaide, and they got to meet Adelaide (and see London after probably over a year of not seeing him!). They were fresh off the plane from Georgia and we met at Joe's Crab Shack in Old Sacramento. It was quite fun. They are definitely the friends who we can go years without seeing (of course there is quite a bit of communication in those years) yet when we do see each other, it's like we just got together last weekend. We've known Kevin and Sabrina for about 8 years, even before they were The Dickson's. Kevin and Gabe were in a band together for a while. The 4 of us led worship for our college group for a time. Sabrina and I lived together for a year way back when, before there were husbands, before there were kids. (Funny story from our vault: While we were living together we had an ill-fated trip to Starbucks. 10 pm and neither one of us thought to order DECAF. We said our goodnights at about midnight and both ended up back in the living room around 2 am, not able to sleep. Ahh, hindsight). Sabrina and I were in a discipleship group together for a while. We would hang out while the husbands had band practice and watch movies and/or work out. We would go grocery shopping together. I envisioned our kids growing up together, they were THOSE KIND of people.

We love Kevin and Sabrina dearly and it was so good to see them again and meet their cute, Sabrina replica son. They are those friends that we HATED to see move away and Sabrina is the girl friend I miss dearly. I don't know if we'll ever live near each other again, but I do know I would be so, so sad to not keep in touch and remain friends for as long as we walk this earth. In life we go in and out of friendships with so many different people, some we work at, most we don't. Sabrina's is one I will work hard to keep, no matter how many miles separate us.

They are coming back through this area on Monday, before they head up to Redding with Kevin's parents.. They are going to stop by our house and hang out with us for a bit. I can't wait.

A Wild Monkey Beast on crack

Anyone who has ever actually encountered the WMB never disputes when I refer to her as such. If you ever want to break a sweat doing something that was once thought simple, take a stab at changing Adelaide. The sweet, cuddly, heart melting daughter that I gave birth to 9 months ago has morphed into a writhing, strong willed, poop factory who refuses to sleep.

Here is a rare picture of the Wild Monkey Beast:

*Please note that photographers were harmed in the process

Here is a picture of the WMB trying to disguise herself as a Pajama Pirate. Poor unsuspecting souls....

Now bring us some figgy pudding

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

We definitely had a great holiday season. Christmas was awesome with the kids (though Adelaide couldn't care less about opening presents). London was beside himself when he woke up and saw all the presents under the tree. The kid believes in Santa, which I'm okay with. I think it's a part of growing up. A right of passage. But, that certainly will not overshadow the true meaning of Christmas.. Christ. We took this opportunity to start teaching London why we celebrate at Christmas. Because God loves us and sent His Son. I know he doesn't really understand what that means, but it's our job as his parents to make sure that someday (soon) he does.

My whole family (my parents, my brothers & their families - 16 people total) spent the week between Christmas and New Year's in Tahoe. Did I mention the 16 people? That would be 8 adults and 8 kids. In one 4 bedroom house. For 5 days. Let's just say that all the tears and yelling and hitting were actually worth it. Growing up my family would hook up with another family we grew up with and head to a cabin in Vermont for the week. We did that for 5 years. Some of the best memories of my childhood came from those trips (4 adults and 7 kids!). We always had a blast! So I was stoked that our families decided to do it this year. Hopefully it will be the start of a new tradition. It was great just to get away and be with my brothers and for the cousins to be together (again, despite all the tears and yelling and hitting). I think they all had a good time. We were forced to leave a day early which totally stinks.. So we didn't actually get to ring in the New Year together. A big storm hit, they closed 50, we lost power in the house for the entire day (New Year's Eve).. So we decided since another storm was coming in that night we'd pack up and leave. Once 50 was reopened we headed out (about 4pm). It was such an abrupt end to the week, but a super fun and enjoyable week nonetheless. I'll post some pictures later today.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year experience.

Now on to 2006!