Rest In Peace Dorothy

The other morning I found Dorothy laying sideways in the fishbowl. Uh oh. Jay took care of the disposal part of things (while Bug was downstairs), and I decided to take care of breaking the news to Bug. We were outside eating lunch and it seemed the perfect opportunity to have a heart-to-heart. "Buggy? Honey? I want to tell you something." "OKAY!! Let's draw something funny with chalk! You be the mommy bear and I'll be the baby bear. OH! There's an ANT eating your banana peeeeeeel!" "Bug, I'm gonna tell you something kinda different so I really want you to listen." "Okay Mom. Tell me Mommy!" I decided not to beat around the bush. "Dorothy's dead honey. She died. She went to live with Jesus in heaven." "Ooooh." (pause, frown) "Why did she die?" "She might have gotten sick. Sometimes that happens." "I don't think so. I don't think she was sick. What about Nemo? Did he die?" "Nope, Nemo's fine." "Let's draw something funny with chalk!" Okay, I guess it wasn't going to be the life-altering, tear-filled conversation I had feared it would be... Hours later I heard her calling to me from upstairs in her room (where we keep her fishbowl): "Mooooooom! Mom! Mom? Can you turn the light on for me so I can watch Dorothy die?"

Two New Additions to the Family

We got two goldfish for Bug. We made them a nice home. Blue pebbles... a big rock to swim through... and plants. It was really exciting! We love to watch them. Welcome Nemo & Dorothy, the two newest members of our family!

Tiny Dancer

Monday was Bug's first day in ballet/tap class and what a day it was!! I was full of trepidation, nerves and tender-hearted apprehension for my little girl. Oh brother. I can only imagine what will I be like on her first day of kindergarten. (If it's anything like her first day of dance, I'll be wringing my hands, standing in a puddle of my own tears, bursting with pride and protectiveness. Ugh. Give me a break.) I wanted it to be a day that was full of fun with other little girls her age. I wanted it to be a day that built up her confidence. It turned out to be all of that!

This is Bug in the costume the girls will wear for their recital. Unfortunately, Bug will not be able to dance in the recital because I signed her up too far into the semester, but she was able to try on another absent little girls' dress and participate in the practice routine. Okay, brace

yourself and prepare to melt:

Isn't she lovely?! I think I could eat the tap shoes alone, so let's not even get into the pink tulle and the little blond head atop it.

Bug did so well and had such a good time. She was incredibly dialed in to Ms. Kelly, the dance instructor, and followed all the moves. There was all kinds of delightful twirling, tapping, and arm movements...all of which I completely failed to capture on film, due to the fact that I was too busy trying to muffle my bawling and blubbering. Am I a little proud? A tad.

Snap-up Pajama Rant

Some mornings I go get Bex out of his crib, and this is what I find:

Whoever invented snap up infant sleepers should be jailed. Jailed, I say! As far as I'm concerned, zippers are the only way to go. Granted, the snapped sleepers are cute, and during the day, if you have a free hour or two to dress your baby, well then, no problem. But in the middle of the night, it's pretty much impossible. At three am, my brain is horribly incapacitated by the stupor of sleep inertia. In addition, I'm going as fast as I can so the squalling baby (one or the other, it's all a blur anyway) won't wake Bug. My fingers are fumbling, the baby's legs are kicking with hungry impatience, it's dark. Then, just when I think I'm almost done, I come up one snap short. WHAT?!! How can this be?! I started with the very first snap down at the foot, proceeded to the very next one in line, used the quadratic equation, made sure all the planets were aligned, and yet... still. one. snap. short.

Crafty Fridays

Dfk and I have been getting together Friday mornings and engaging in crafty activities while our kidlets run amok. The first Friday dfk was supposed to paint the girls' faces, but only her daughter was into that...Then dfk busted out the candy-making supplies and Bug thought that was a much more worthy pursuit. They made white and yellow flower lollipops.

The next Friday, dfk and I made no-sew tutus for the girls. It was so much fun and they turned out great. It was a delight to see the girls bounding around and twirling in their little ballerina get-ups.

The next Friday, we sewed! This was my very first sewing project and it turned out to be just what I needed to gain confidence and get a feel for my sewing machine (which, up until now, has loomed in the closet, all mysterious and kind of scary; a big white machine lurking and calling my name with a lilting raspy voice: "Elle....ELLE...you better use me....you bought me 6 years ago and never used me....what a shameful waste of money...". Well. It turns out, sewing (and my sewing machine) really isn't that scary. Especially if you have your mom teach you how and stand right next to you on your first straight stitch run. Dfk worked on an adorable blanket for her youngest son, and I made these burp cloths to give as gifts at some upcoming baby showers:

Here's me, the nauseatingly proud beginner:

This coming Friday we're going to make some more tutus because, well, a girl really can't have too many tutus.

My New Maytag

For the last four years, our dishwasher has been the bane of my existence. It was installed by the builder, which (for those of you who may not know the significance of this) means it's basically a box with a garden hose attached to it. It's only apparent function (other than to create noise as loud as the space shuttle launch) was to take the food from the dishes below and deposit it (in soggy sediment form) on the dishes above. I can't tell you what fun it was to open the dishwasher after a completed cycle and remove glasses with cemented-on food sand. It was gross. It was disgusting. To invoke an old elementary school days saying, it was "grody to the max".

After it started making noises similar to a dying cow, I just knew that was our cue to go buy a new dishwasher! Here is Jay & Bug having a little fun before installing it:

We did our first load. Aside from being whisper-soft, it actually performed it's inherent function! We opened up the door and the dishes were clean! Now I may be getting carried away here, but the dishes appeared to gleam! I actually saw a sparkle flash off one of the glasses like you might see on an actor's teeth in a commercial for toothpaste. I think I even heard the high pitched "ting" chime that accompanies that sparkle....

Love Story (8 Years in the Making!)

In 1997, this girl decided to go to Humboldt State University:

And thankfully, so did this boy: (what a hunk!)

It all started when a mutual friend introduced us.

Jay kinda swept me off my feet...

And I'm so glad he did!

For in Jay, I found my heart.

Two years later, on an overcast day in March 2001, I walked down the aisle towards my best friend

and a life filled with hope, excitement and love. It was a union in the presence of God and I thank

God for bringing this amazing man into my life.

We didn't know what the future would hold... ...but we knew it would be filled with laughter...

...and last a lifetime. What a gift it is

to start a life with the love of my life.

How safe it feels to just be myself...

...and to know there's no place either one of us would rather be

than with eachother.

In 2004, we bought a house...and watched it grow.It took some work......but we turned that house....into a home.

A few years later in 2006...we multiplied our happiness.Little Bugmade us a family!

Now here was our precious little family, and how lovely it was!But we decided to do it again

and add more love x 2!In 2008, Bex & Dee became part of our story.

Jay and I were married 8 years ago.

I am more in love with him today than I ever have been,

and it just keeps getting better. Jay, here's to many more years! Thank you for being my partner for life, my soft place to fall, and my friend to share all of life's ups and downs. I'm so excited to see what lies ahead of us, knowing we get to experience it together. Let's keep making the joy babe!