Sweet justice

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1436854.html?menu=

If only it were medically possible to make that the punishment for a man anytime he utters the words "It must be THAT time of the month" or "Is dinner ready yet?" or "You look fine" or "Oh, sweetie, it's not THAT bad" or "I was going to do the dishes but then I started playing ProSkater" or the time he forgets your name when introducing you to an ex.....

If only it were possible....

Owen Michael

I met my newest nephew on Wednesday. He looks just like his sister, Olivia. He has black hair (and for this family of hair-challenged newborns), quite a bit. He has long toes and fingers. I didn't get to see much of him (there were 5 other kids there sucking every last ounce of my energy). But I did get to take one close-up look and he is just darling. There is something about little tiny newborn babies. Though my daughter is just closing in on 12 weeks, Owen totally makes me want another one. It's funny, Adelaide is only just 12 weeks old and yet next to Owen she looked like a big chubba-chubs. She looked so huge compared to him and yet she was that size just a short time ago. Man.. How time does fly and how fast little ones grow.

Anyway.. Another congrats to my brother and sister-in-law (who seriously deserves some sort of recognition for going through it 4 times). Owen is beautiful (and the name rocks big time!).

Pictures ARE worth a thousand words..

To all who have asked several times to get pictures of the kids... We are finally answering. Check them out (often) at homepage.mac.com/searlesbunch. You can see both London and Adelaide and get your fill.

:)

Welcome to the family

My sister-in-law delivered a boy at 12:50 am this morning. Owen Michael, 8 lbs 7 oz, 20 1/4 inches. I guess he technically delivered himself. She pushed when she wasn't supposed to, and in 2 pushes, he was out, on the bed, water in tact (Owen eventually broke it with his arm). The nurses scurried to do something, while my brother freaked out and yelled "Somebody help him!". The doctor showed up 10 minutes later (there's gotta be some sort of discount for that). Mom and baby are doing just fine. I cannot wait to meet him on Wednesday!

Owen makes grandchild # 8, great grandchild # 23.

Congratulations Sean & Heather (and the 3 that came before him - Isaac, Lily and Olivia).

And Owen, Welcome to this crazy family.

-Auntie Jaime

Babies babies everywhere...

My sister-in-law is in the hospital right now getting ready to have her baby. How exciting! She should have it by tomorrow night (for her sake I hope sooner!). We don't know what "it" is.. So I cannot wait to hear if we have a new niece or nephew.. A little Audrey or Owen. This is my brother and sister-in-law's 4th child. God bless 'em. The kids and I are traveling down on Wednesday to meet the little one (and to visit the rest).

I'll update as soon as things happen.

:)

Happy Birthday Isaac

Today is my oldest nephew's 8th birthday (he's also the oldest of the grandchildren). I still remember when my sister-in-law told me she was pregnant... Doesn't seem like that much time has passed.. Isaac holds a very special place in my heart. I was at the hospital when he was born, I was his part-time nanny for the first 2 years of his life.. And I spent a lot of time over at my brother and sister-in-law's back then, so I was always around him. When he started to refer to me as something it was "on" (we're from CT so we say Aunt properly, not like the little black insect that scurries about), then he matured his vocabulary and he called me "onnie" for the longest time. He seemed to save all his "firsts" for when I'd be with him. I was the first one to see him roll over, sit up, crawl and walk. I doubt he did that on purpose, but I'll keep believing he did.. :) I cried at his Kindergarten graduation. He is now 8 years old! And he has become such a smart, caring and sweet young man (he is very sensitive to other people's feelings). Two years ago we had to move 2 1/2 hours away from my brother and his family (for 6 years I lived right around the corner from them). I have tried hard to catch soccer games, birthday parties and just plain old Auntie time. I definitely have missed these past 2 years of watching him (and my 2 nieces) grow. Though I know my nephew most likely has no recollection of all the time we spent together, I do.. And I will hold those memories so close and smile (and probably shed some tears) as I watch him grow and recall the day he was born.

Good times with Fondue

How good is fondue? If you don't know, I implore and beseech you to give it a try this weekend. It makes for a really fun dinner party with friends. Gabe and I had a very yummy chocolate & rum fondue this past weekend with our friends Scott & Kate. We hadn't had fondue in way too long (I think the 2 years we've been living here we've never had it). We used to fondue with our friends all the time in San Jose. And I'm talking appetizer cheese fondue, grilling our meats on the table (with our indoor electric grill) and dessert fondue. There is nothing better than fresh raspberries dipped in melted chocolate (or the marshmallows, cheesecake, strawberries or pineapple we had this weekend). Having that fondue inspired us to break out our pot and plan a fondue party with some of our new friends up here in Folsom. We've been away a long time, but my dear friend fondue, WE ARE BACK.

Enjoy some fondue this weekend. You won't regret it.
(For all things fondue, check out www.gourmetsleuth.com/fondue)

Have a great, fondue filled weekend.