snow fun

boy, has it been an exciting week around these parts. we finally got the snow we’ve been wishing for all winter, and we got TONS of it. so much that trees were falling down all around us under the weight of the snow. we lost power for 3 days, got it back on for a day, and lost it again for another day. it was an interesting couple days to the say the least, but i was so proud how our girls just rolled with punches.

we got a kick out of watching lyla with these socks on her hands. they didn’t slow her down one bit or keep her from playing with her toys of picking up food.

sleeping in her car seat in front of the fire.

……

here’s a video of our snow fun. a few things i would like to point out:

1. there is nothing cuter than a toddler trying to walk in snow gear. so cute!

2. when we went sledding it was freezing rain and soooo windy. finley was hardcore!

3. brian and finley went on 30 or more runs without falling. i went on 1 and fell.

4. i almost peed my pants laughing.

 [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yiz1hhlYU8?rel=0]
i know that brian, like a lot of men, wasn’t ecstatic about the unexpected time off work. he gets antsy worrying about deadlines and money, but he really made this week a lot of fun for us. thank you b for making the girls chocolate milk on the bbq, buying a $50 sled when everything else was sold out- i know it went against every fiber of your being, for driving us around the icy roads, for warming up the girl’s blankets in front of the fire {even though you accidentally singed finley’s special baby blanket}, for being a fun dad who plays with your kids in the snow, and for pushing aside your work worries and making our week a memorable one.

the night i tried to eat my way into labor…

 

date nights. we’ve never been good about making them happen regularly, but with so much family close by, it’s certainly a lot easier-thanks Grandma! last night we went out to a nice dinner for the first time in FOREVER. nice meaning-price, deliciousness, and the fact that we savored several courses. my clothes were busting at the seams before we went, but i seriously thought brian might have to cut me out of my outfit after we ate. a {possibly intoxicated} man at the table next to us inquired about how i possibly had room for my large plate of food, and also wondered if i was carrying more than one baby. nope. just one. along with some spinach and artichoke dip, bread, blue cheese salad, steak, vegetables and potato pancakes. if anyone ever went into labor from stuffing themselves full, it would have surely happened to me last night. but i’m here, still pregnant and actually still very full. unlike my husband who left the restaurant complaining that he was ‘stuffed all the way up into his throat’, and then proceeded to come home and start eating again.

bounce

what were you doing at 9:30 on this saturday morning?
sleeping? enjoying a lazy breakfast?

i was going into premature labor at the bouncy house down the street.
isn’t it funny that our town doesn’t have a grocery store, starbucks, or stop light, but we have an amazing bouncy house?

finley and i went on a little date a few weeks ago and discovered this little gem, and i have to say it is incredibly fun.

and just because this picture makes me die laughing every time i look at it…

she tried on these boots at target last week. and apparently this is the pose  you do when wearing boots.

a day in the life…

i’ve seen a few different people do this, and for some reason i think it’s entertaining to read.

so, here is our really thrilling day…

3 am: awake to pee. check to see how much snow we got. lots! power has been out for hours. brrrrr! cover adalaide with extra blanket.

6:30 am: brian kisses me goodbye. being slightly awake makes me realize i need to pee. again. oh, pregnancy!

7:55 am: hear finley calling for me.

8:00 am: get finley out of bed. inspect snow. decline her invitation to go outside right now.

8:10 am: get adalaide up. take note of how stinking adorable she is when i go in her room in the morning. she squeals and kicks her legs and i love it.

8:11 am: walk into kitchen and see dirty dishes from night before {power was out}. think how much i hate, hate, hate starting the day with dirty dishes.

8:30 am: make our usual breakfast of oatmeal. add toppings like apples, craisons, and nuts inspired by McDonalds commercial i saw yesterday. yes, i said ‘inspired’ and ‘Mcdonalds’ in the same sentence.  finley adds her own toppings and says, ‘this is the best idea, meg’.

9:00 am: bathtime. the girls favorite activity. i love it too, because they are contained in one spot, for a significant amount of time, with minimal clean up. except for today, because adalaide peed on the floor in the 5 seconds between removing her diaper and getting her in the tub. plus, i can sit on my butt, which is becoming a favored activity for me these days.

10:00 am: naptime for adalaide. finley sits on my lap while i brush her hair. minimal screaming today! catch her wiping a booger on my pants. and incase i didn’t notice, she tells me so. i note how disgusted i am, but also note the fact that i am not disgusted enough to get up, direct her to the kleenex and lecture her about it. also note how lazy i’ve gotten.

10:15 am: dishes. by hand. i am the only dishwasher in this house. sigh…

10:30 am: snack for finley. look over recipe for dinner {anyone else obsessed with pioneer woman?} remember that we’re out of chicken, even though i KNEW we were out. We’ve already been to the grocery store TWICE this week, and i’ve forgotten BOTH times. curse my pregnancy brain!

10:45 am: since it has been deemed necessary to leave the house {brian would faint if i fed him a meatless meal}, i put forth minimal effort to look presentable. change booger pants. brush teeth. reassemble hair do. check email and google reader.

11:15 am: hear noise from baby’s room. think: she better not be waking up already! phew, she’s not. grab load from dryer to fold. also, see that i left a load in the washer overnight. oops. check to see if clothes smell musty. nothing a little bounce sheet can’t handle. collect enough nails and screws out of the washer to build a small house. note for the hundredth time that one of us really needs to start checking his pant pockets.

11:18 am: finley asks to do art. i tell her no, and remind her that her art caddy is put away for the day because she didn’t clean up her mess yesterday. quickly realize that this also punishes me because art keeps her busy AND quiet for long periods of time. drats.

11:50 am: wake the bambino up. note how very wrong it is to wake a baby, but decide we must get this show on the road. plus, if she sleeps too late her afternoon nap won’t coincide with finley’s. and i’m just not down with that at all. dipe change. coats on. hats on. make conscious effort to turn off lights, per husbands not so gentle request after reviewing electricity bill.  preemptively pop two tylenol because my ‘pelvis’  is on the verge of hurting, and i know it will be full-blown after running errands. oh, pregnancy! 

12-1:00 pm: post office and grocery store. girls sat nicely in the cart. no one asked how old my ‘son’ is. stuck to my list. grabbed coffee from in-store starbucks. good news all around. sang along to taylor swift in the car and wondered if adalaide’s first words will be from a taylor swift song.

1:00 pm: lunch time. chicken quesadilla, banana, and carrots for finley. rice, lentils, carrots, and green beans for adalaide. watched adalaide perform her ‘tricks’: so big, waving, and playing the drums. note that i need to capture it on video.

1:30 pm: doll house and princess puzzle.

2:00 pm: put adalaide to bed. start finley’s naptime regime: potty, water bottle filled, blankets and stuffed animals arranged, 3 kisses, and 3 hugs, door closed-but not latched.

2:02 pm: check email and google reader, while finishing coffee. make and devour a toasted sesame bagel with the works. spend several minutes deciding whether or not to relax or be productive during naptime. decide to split my time.

2:15-2:57 pm: do dishes from lunch, empty garbage and recycling, tidy playroom and living room. fold laundry. decide against putting away the clean clothes, because that would just be too much. instead, leave laundry on floor where it will most likely be trampled on by little feet.

2:57 pm:  lay down and attempt to take nap. coffee gets the better of me, and i can’t fall asleep. thoroughly enjoy laying in bed anyway though.

4:26 pm: hear adalaide and realize that i fell asleep. ponder how one falls asleep moments after finishing a coffee. oh, pregnancy!

4:30: get baby up. enjoy some rare time with just her.

5:00 pm: visit from cousin/neighbor.

5:15 pm: finley wakes up. time to start dinner. on the menu tonight: pioneer woman’s pasta with tomato cream sauce, grilled chicken, bleu cheese iceberg salad, and crusty bread. for the babe: mashed avocado, tofu, yogurt, and wheat germ.  turn on music. finley takes the c.d. out of the stereo and replaces it with taylor swift. not sure if i’m more annoyed or impressed.

6:00 pm: brian gets home early!  he feeds adalaide. i finish dinner. i catch him eating the baby’s food. seriously?

6:30 pm: dinner time. yummy. note how much i love pioneer woman.

7:00 pm: clean up. get really excited when i see that we’ll get a second meal out of the leftovers. less cooking tomorrow night!

7:25 pm:  finley builds a fort.

7:45 pm: bedtime routine-potty, jammers, dipe change, bottle for the babe, brush teeth, devotional, 1 song, prayers. prayers briefly interrupted so that finley could inform me ‘she tooted’. 3 kisses, 3 hugs. blankets and animals in place. door closed, but not latched. put adalaide to bed.

8:10 pm: collapse on couch with brian. baby goes crazy in my belly, like every night at this time. note how much i love it. watch modern family. hurt myself laughing so hard. seriously.

10:10 pm: to bed we go.

huntington beach

We just got home from a delightful trip to the beach. The weekend we arrived there the US Open surfing competition was going on. I wish I’d taken some pictures of the event because it was like nothing I’ve ever seen. We heard 500,000+ people turned out, which is quite a lot of people on one little stretch of beach.
I took a ridiculous amount of pictures, and I’ve had a lot of trouble trying to pick my favorites. Some are just photos I like, and some are memories that are just special to me.
Like my girls in matching jammers.
One night we took a trip to Balboa, which is a family tradition for Brian’s family. 
 We had dinner out on the pier at Ruby’s, and got to watch a beautiful sunset.
This was Finley’s first time on a “ride”. She wasn’t too keen on it at first.
 She told me that the “horsies were mad at her”.
our little beach baby was happy as a clam to chill under an umbrella
because the waves break twice, it is the perfect place for little ones to frolic around safely.
brian and i celebrated our 4 year anniversary while we were there.
we went on a date that i will never forget :) i love you, babe!
we got up early one morning and went to a beach in newport that is a popular spot for body surfers.
the waves get huge and break right at the shore, so surfing isn’t allowed.
brian was the only one there without a wetsuit on, which was C-R-A-Z-Y
considering the sun wasn’t even out yet.
finley absolutely loved playing in the sand.
building castles, being buried, and looking for shells kept her busy for hours.
she fit right in with the local girls with her roxy romper, boots, and sunglasses.
thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to brian’s family for hosting us,
and especially to his grandma for giving us her bed.
i’ll post the rest of our photos {yes, there’s more} someday soon in the online album.
and now i better get back to the hugest pile of laundry you’ve ever seen.

daddy

Sometimes I need my husband to reign me in and remind me that not all moments should be shared on the blog. I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t be thrilled about me posting pictures of him half-naked, in all his hairy chest glory, enjoying his breakfast in bed with the girls. prude.  
anyway.

i know it’s a day late, but i wanted to give him a big shout out. finley doesn’t quite get what these special days are about {she insisted that i write ‘happy valentines day’ in his card}.Even though she couldn’t come up with the words on her own, i KNOW that she is especially thankful for:

: his piggy back rides

: the night night stories he tells her

: that he plays chase

: their shared love of cottage cheese

: trips to lowes and home depot

: the fact that he is silly and will do somersaults and cartwheels

: the times when he wants to be near her and he squeezes himself between both carseats in the car

: their daily phone chats

and of course for the fact that he works so hard to take care of us.

you are a wonderful father, babe. we are so lucky to have you!

a lot of randomness

man, oh man we’ve had a great weekend. brian was around, and the weather was beautiful-what more could you ask for! finley and i kicked off the weekend with a little tea party. when she woke up from naptime we got dressed up and had delicious treats out in the sun.
i pretty much loved every single picture i took of her, and since i’m sensing this is going to be a loooong post, you can check out the rest in the online album.
this little cutie woke up to join us
friday night we were snuggling with the girls in our bed. brian got caught up in the moment and suggested that finley have a sleepover in our bed. i had other plans for the night {i.e. catching up on lots of our shows in bed} but it was a night i’ll never forget that’s for sure. she’s never slept with us, so she was absolutely giddy. She probably told me 20 times that i was “the best mommy in the whole wide world”. and despite the fact that she used my face as her pillow, it was totally worth it.
finley made me out of play dough. this is the first time she’s ever made a person that actually resembles a person. don’t mind the fact that i have a tail. and don’t mind that it appears i’m giving the middle finger…
just being adorable
another one of brian’s crazy ideas was to set up our new pool. you know, because it was hotter than 60 degrees out.
brian with his signature look
of course it was a big hit. she kept screaming, “summer is here!!!”.
whew, that was a lot. can you believe we fit the zoo and church somewhere in there too?!

cuteness

I just have to share this because it is pretty much the cutest thing ever. When Brian puts Finley to bed he tells her a make believe story about two sisters named Fantasia and Annabelle {get it…F and A}. One night the story involved the sisters going to Paris. The next day Finley received a special postcard in the mail. Can you make out the two girls? And can you believe how well he photoshopped the whole thing. I’m definitely putting this in the keepsake box!

And here are a TON of pictures of Adalaide. I just couldn’t narrow them down.
i love these chubby legs
and these tiny little hands.

farewell, brown

This weekend Brian started on a project in Finley’s room to transition it from baby room to big girl room. While we’re making the switch I decided that the brown walls needed to go and we needed something lighter and softer. You know, needed! We’ve loved the brown, but for such a small room with small windows it probably isn’t the greatest choice.

So, Brian literally worked all weekend putting up the board and batten wainscoting and painting the walls. The paint sprayer turned out to be his bestfriend and worst enemy. He had to do a gazillion thin coats in order to keep the paint from running. He even woke up at 5 am on monday to do one last coat so finley could be back in her room that day! The last few mornings when I go in to to get Finley the first thing she says is, “it’s my new pink room! it’s so cute! thank you, daddy”. I couldn’t have said it better myself. THANK YOU, BABE!
He took these pictures at night, so it’s sort of hard to see the detail and the pink looks a little off (it’s not such a blue pink) but you get the idea. still have to paint her new door white…

and here we are at a fun little animal farm. we didn’t capture many great pictures because finley was a little under the weather.
Okay, now this was seriously entertaining! all the sudden these goats climbed up on these tables and posed. They stood perfectly still for a LONG time. They must be some sort of show goats that have been trained to pose for pictures or something.

and ps, spell check isn’t working.