Life's "Love-a-byes"

STILL HERE... :)

2010-03-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

Some days it's a wonder I remember to breathe....

Took the girls to see the Easter Bunny today...way better than last year when we had to super impose Reese into the photo.

Camryn turned 5 on the 18th of March (I cannot believe she is 5!!!!)...I will post pics soon (our very dear friend, Brian took some awesome shots). I took her birthday off and we spent an awesome day together shopping, having a fancy lunch at Anthony's with Auntie and eating a lot of sweet cake. Tomorrow night is her kindergarten open house...where has the time gone.

Reese is silly, cute, spunky and on the go as ever. Her words are cracking us up, her running gives me a workout and her hair and height are ever changing. She is into dressing herself for "school" (daycare) everyday and 9 times out of 10 I take Punky Brewster to daycare...gotta pick your battles!

Everything...

2009-12-19T19:48:00.000-08:00

seems to fly by so fast - life is crazy busy - all the time...

This week Santa came to our neighborhood

And we made Gingebread People (doesn't just have to be a man)...

and Camryn had her first preschool Christmas performance....she did awesome and was sooo cute! (Photos of that are on my phone - will get them up later)...I was so proud of her and then realized it has begun; the video taping, photo snapping, tear jerking moments that truly make you realize they are growing up faster than your eyes can blink...

Mr. and Mrs. Claus

2009-12-05T00:03:00.000-08:00

I always mentally gear up for either a 2 year old tantrum or a 4 year old whine fest when we head out for "a full day"... We started the day way too early, randomly lost power for an hour (BRRRR!!!!!) and the enviroment in our home without caffeine, power and sleep got quite hostile this morning! I had one thing literally on top of another today which included getting Camryn to preschool late and being one of the last parents to pick up (as Reese decided to catch up on the sleep I lost when she woke at the crack of dawn). Seemed like a pretty awful canvas to then include a trip to the mall to see Santa and Mrs. Claus but I could not have had a better afternoon!!! Could have helped that we were meeting our good friends there too - but nonetheless, all 7 of the kids we had in tow were a lot of fun!

We began with a successful meeting with the big man himself (Reese was terrified last year) so I was taking each small victory as it came! Reese just lifted her arms right up to him and sat on his lap in awe...Camryn listed 1,034,234 things she could want for Christmas (my mom thinks she gets it from me, PSHHHH! :), when she was wrapping up she turned to me and said "did I forget anything?" and I said, "Yep, asking for world peace"...I thought it was funny...

We then ventured on with our friends to find Mrs. Claus and our other friends - when we found her, we enjoyed cookies, candy canes and a story from the Mrs. herself! The kids really got a kick out of the whole time - it was a lot of fun!

Here's our successful Santa photo:

And some with our good friends and Mrs. Claus storytime:

I....

2009-11-14T12:15:00.000-08:00

gave birth to Hercules...and Hercules doesn't "do" tea parties....

Reese sings her ABC's

2009-11-08T17:00:00.000-08:00

She is growing up so fast...

She has been talking up a storm since we "lost" the binky...

She makes me proud...

She's so funny...sensitive and wild...keeping me on my toes!

I love you, doll baby!

Halloween....

2009-11-07T19:38:00.001-08:00

This was Reese's big debut night...last year she spent it in the stroller. She was AWESOME and so funny. She kept up with Camryn and Cam's best buddy Grace...she trick or treated like a pro! Was polite taking only 2 handfuls at each house :) ... Hey, really, don't ask a two year old to "take what you want"...she did just that!

Both girls were supposed to be Cinderella (with dresses from Josh's wedding) but that just didn't seem to fit Reese's personality so we went with Jessie the Cowgirl...MUCH better, as she said "Yeehaw, Cowboy, Happy Halloween" everywhere we went!

Reese was getting tired out towards the end but kept up and refused to leave with Papa to go back home (even when we tried to bribe her with candy...) Her bucket was so full, she just drug it across the sidewalk/ground/dirt/mud...her darling orange bucket was BLACK when we got home. All that matters is how much fun she had!!

These are the rest of the cute pics at the end of our night...we snapped some shots with Grace, Logan and Claire before sorting our candy and leaving 90% of it for the Candy Fairy...(what an awesome idea...leaves us with 10 pieces of candy each and no worries for the "candy fight" as most of it goes off to the candy fairy on Halloween night in exchange the "fairy" leaves a little gift - has successfully worked 2 years now!! - LOVE IT)

Pumpkin carving

2009-10-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

Official Gibeau carving was eventful tonight (as is everything everyday at our house) ...Court went with wicked while I went with the largest nosed jack-o-lantern ever. We successfully kept the girls away from all the knives and I didn't even draw my own blood...that is considered a huge success!!

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!!!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

I look forward to the pumpkin patch every year!! I love to go out to Hunter's (out Yelm Highway) as it is so clean, plenty of parking, tons of fun stuff to do, very organized...I just really like it! This year had to be the most fun by far - as Cam and Reese were able to do everything together! It was so much fun to watch them get on the train, slide down the slide, ride the ponies and pick their own pumpkins by themselves! Reese was hilarious as her two vices were 1. she would not touch nor go near the goats - she didn't like them at all (accidentally dropped her "baby" pumpkin within 2 feet of the goats and freaked out for someone to grab it before the goats ate it...) and 2. her other vice was that right at the start, she found the perfect "baby" pumpkin and would not let that little guy go for the life of her! When we had to take it away (for merry-go-round and pony ride) she made sure it was SAFE in Papa's coat...was super cute!

I am loving these ages (most days...trust me, they have their moments lately where I am desperately looking for a Mommy Timeout!)...when they are getting along and playing nicely (which thank God is 90% of the time) they are sooooo cute to watch and listen to. Reese does whatever big sissy tells her (that won't last long) so their house playing episodes are very entertaining. Cam is teaching Reese how to get around in her "clippy clop" shoes - training is going very well!!

Here's some pumpkin patch pics...

Camryn's First Day of Preschool and Joshy's Wedding

2009-10-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

I know, I know - I am so far behind! Camryn had her first day of preschool (two days after my last post, Bad Mommy!) She is really enjoying her school. She has made a great friend (the one she made on day one!). I have really enjoyed chatting and getting to know Cam's friends parents, too! Camryn has learned about apples, fire safety, corn, germs, songs and other fun things! She enjoys the play house they have as well as the play office! She is doing really well with writing and has a new enthusiasm for school (as each night she wants to work in our Brain Quest workbook to "learn more school stuff" she says!) Here are some pics from her first big day...

Then onto October - Uncle Josh got married!!! We spent the entire weekend up in Bellingham. The weather was awesome and the venue was very pretty. Uncle Josh and Auntie DeLayne's wedding was very unique and they were very happy. Other than no nap all weekend (making Reese a BEAR!!) we all enjoyed our time up there! The girls were awesome as flower girls - they did exactly what they were told (when Mommy wasn't there :) It was really, really windy the day they got married and the power ended up going out. The only trouble with that was the annoying alarm that sounded the entire wedding and the inability to "plug-in" a stereo for music but some batteries did the trick. Reese ended up trashing her dress (good thing I only paid $10 for them!...gotta love eBay!) ...

I do now understand why my brother dreads the drive from B-town to Oly - it's long, long, long and no matter the day, ends up in some interesting and at times, painful traffic.

Here's some pics from the wedding...(video would not upload...will try that again later!)

Today we ventured out to the pumpkin patch - perfect day! Will post photos tomorrow :) I promise!!!

Ironic...

2009-09-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

Today was Cam’s "orientation day" for preschool; she officially starts on Friday. We went for an hour today and I had just shared with my girlfriend that at the “parent” orientation the other night, I felt like the first day of High School; everyone sizing everyone up, men who knew eachother giving high-fives, women checking shoes and handbags and only speaking to their “friends”; some things don’t change. I sat by myself and left quickly by myself, not making any attempt to chat with anyone (I know, bad example, work to do...maybe :).

Today, I sat and waited while Cam played and introduced herself to just about everyone. As I was feeling once again like a “loner”, I struck up a conversation with a mom and we have a ton in common; I really liked her. Turned out she is the mom of the same little girl that Cam struck up her new “friendship” with – just part of the irony - the other part was one little girl who cold shouldered Cam, her mom had just done the same to me moments before (that whole “like mother like daughter” statement is soooooooo true!!!!)…ironic or that we just gravitate to those we have something in common with, starting with personality…guess I am looking forward to preschool now too :)

So watch for pics this weekend as we start this new school chapter of our lives; I can’t believe how fast it is flying past!

Guess What, Momma??

2009-09-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

Reese's new phrase is "Guess What?"...sometimes she will follow it up with something funny; sometimes nothing....

When I picked them up from daycare Thursday this was our chat:

Reese "Momma, Guess What??!!"
Me: "What, Reesa?"
Reese: "I in two timeouts at Heidi's" (said with happiness, excitement and enthusiasm)
Me: "Oh, honey, that is not really a good thing..."
Reese: "Oh, that is not good, Momma...oh??" (pondering this whole thing)

And what more can I do but wear a grin as she is about the cutest thing and was truly proud of her timeout moments...maybe because she only had two?? Heavens!!

Silly girl (she also now answers the question "How old are you?" with - "I two years older"...and I guess she is right, she is two years older than this whole being a kid thing started...smooch those cheeks and loving those brown eyes!!!)

Minnesota...

2009-08-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

I should have known how the trip would play out as our first airport "experience" was when we placed the carseat on the rollers for security and 1,045,972 carcasses of goldfish crackers and fermented cheerios spilled all over the place...little did I know we were headed for a bit of traveling pain! But, as we Gibeau's do, we endured and ventured on... it seemed if it wasn't one thing (spilling goldfish crackers in the lap of a first class passenger while Reese is screaming the entire time, banging into every fool who decided to board ahead of us with all the kiddo paraphernalia we had for the flight, not having fed the kids prior to take off and ordering the joke of a "box" lunch, praying Reese would finally fall asleep, having the OLD gentleman in front of us ask if Reese was going to kick the seat the entire flight after she had bumped it once...) it was definitely another (credit card not working at rental car place, inability to take a short walk to the rental car, no one adult (parents were already there and too far from us) knowing how to navigate once we actually get out of the rental car maze, trying to have iPhone (do love this thing) find our way in MN, grumpy children who haven't eaten, grumpy parents who need more than food and 5:00 traffic through Minneapolis)...and this was day one! :)

The second day of our trip was much more calm as it was my family reunion and seeing my family gives me peace. Leaving them (and some friends) to move to Washington was the hardest thing I have ever done. Holidays and gatherings while great, are not the same without them. The girls took to them instantly...the second day was also made easier as my parents joined up with - being with my parents also gives me peace...

Day three was Mall of America and Camryn got to go to the American Girl Doll store. Bless her heart she went in with awe and picked two "prospects" (we were not quite sure we were leaving with this small fortune doll) and proceeded to walk/play at the mall for 2 hours without mentioning whether or not she was getting one of them. Before we left however, she was sure to remind us that we needed to go back and pick out the best doll for her. We did and Elizabeth is the newest member of our family (she also traveled everywhere with us and was securely seat belted into our rental car on all trips - that cracked me up!) That evening we got to spend some awesome time with my soul friend, Megan and her family. Megan and I have been friends for 21 years and our connection grew stronger when I moved to WA. She and I have that friendship where we pick right up where we left off - whether it be a day or years - our connection is not that of friendship but of a soul bonding. She and her family mean more to me than words will ever allow me ... I am sad we are so far apart...always hard to hug her goodbye.

Day three of our trip was the 12th year anniversary of my cousin Adam's plane crash. I always struggle with the day but this year got to spend it the best way imaginable. We hung out with my aunt, uncle, cousin and her kiddos and went to eat at Adam's favorite restaurant. We had such a great lunch and watched some videos of Adam and reminisced about him...after, we visited him and although the hardest emotionally for me, it was the most therapeutic to see how my aunt and uncle are living without him - there is no way to get over death but seeing them live out his memory helped my heart. His death impacted me in ways I can barely describe but being home and celebrating his life with them was awesome.

That evening was spent with some great family friends I personally haven't seen in years. It was really great to reconnect and we had a wonderful evening/dinner with them. The kids enjoyed themselves so much and it was so great for all of us to be together again!

The remainder of the week was spent visiting other family and friends - we knew we ready to come home when on the last day we had there Reese, Camryn, my girlfriend Megan and her daughter and I all went to meet up with an acquaintance I haven't seen in 18 years. Our outing started with Camryn opening a heavy metal door onto her foot, breaking her toenail, ripping back the skin in two places and needless to say, BLOOD & TEARS!!! While trying to console Cam we tried to situate the other two kiddos and Reese decided to spice things up with taking a 12 oz hot cocoa and dropping it from 4 feet high directly onto the floor...GOOD TIMES! This wasn't going well and we tried to move onto lunch however Reese obviously hadn't had enough attention and decided to utilize the window versus a napkin in smearing her mac n cheese lunch all over the restaurant window...I thought that was all I could take when the good Lord decided, nope, one more...and Reese took a FULL Starbucks organic milk carton and turned it into a fountain in the rental car - milk and hot cars are not a good combo!

At this point, we couldn't fly home to normalcy fast enough...we had had a good time, Court had enjoyed MN, he got to play golf and it wasn't painfully humid at all! He actually said we will visit again...but we were spent and ready for our home, beds and routine!

Travelling with children - well, we may drive next time :)

Being back in Minnesota is good for my heart and I love knowing I have two homes to return to!!

Oh, Camryn...

2009-08-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

Last night I was putting the girls to bed and told them to say "goodnight" to eachother...Reese walks over and puts her arm around Camryn here's how the conversation goes...

Reese: Nigh Nigh Sissy...

Cam: (with Megaphone to her mouth, hence photo above) Erughehgueioietuy (high pitched gobble-de-gook)

Reese: I said, Nigh, Night Sissy (volume raising)

Cam: (still Megaphone! to mouth) ERughehsieilgieihthe (even higher pitched)

Mommy: Cam, Reese is trying to say Goodnight to you and you are not responding very nice to her...

Cam: Mom, yes I am, I am saying "Goodnight" in dolphin....

Mommy: OUT LOUD LAUGHTER!!!

OH MY!!!!

LOVE THEM!!!

Reese Viette

2009-07-18T00:36:00.000-07:00

Holy cow - time is flying past! Reese turns two today and as much as I am so excited to watch her grow and flourish, my heart hurts to not have that "baby" stage anymore...

Reese has graced our lives with a whole new flavor of girl - she is all tomboy but will dress up with her "sissy" in necklaces, dresses and Mommy's shoes and in the next minute she will kick a soccer ball like a big boy and use her WWE moves on you anytime of the day! For her birthday she picked out a "Lightening McQueen" ride-on toy - and no matter how hard I tried to get her to take the pink and purple ride-on truck, she wouldn't have it! Children do teach us how it is not about us...

Reese is my big brown eyed, curly haired :), spunky, funny, energetic, talky, lovey, cuddly, sweet and crazy "baby" and I am so blessed to be her Momma...I love you Reesers Pieces!

Happy Birthday Baby!

Girl after her Nana's heart...

2009-07-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

My girls have always been book kids, even at such a young age! I figure if you start it young, most kids would be. Remember how you would get lost in a book as a kid? The pages from Where the Wild Things Are, Goodnight Moon and The Giving Tree are etched perfectly in my memory; thanks, Mom :) Books have always been a big part of my life even if I had to be forced to read them (but I really love to read...kinda weird dynamic, too busy to slow down and read...met that goal last year but not doing as well this year :(. With my Mom being a librarian, we were always surrounded by books...hence the girls being after their Nana's heart.

Lately when Reese goes MIA in the house, we will find her in her "reading corner", behind her rocking chair. Usually she is leaning against the wall, feet crossed and tons of books surrounding her as she is quietly "reading" a book...we caught her on camera last night...

I love how they love eachother, too! Reese is about to turn 2 and I have to be honest, I am excited as she is speaking well and is super funny, but I miss the baby that I had to take care of...oh how fast it goes!

I know, I know...

2009-06-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

it's been a really long time since I posted anything here. Work has been really busy and I have to admit I have spent my evenings chilling out with a little game of Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook. I know, sounds silly but it is the only thing that seems to allow me to let my brain have a break from life for a few moments :)

However, life has been busy, full and interesting. For interesting, I will just go with I have begun to learn the power of love and forgiveness. You don't realize the power of those tools until you have to pull them out of your life packback and really apply them...I know that seems a teaser but that is truly the most I can say there.

Busy between work, kiddos being sick, parties, graduations, Court being in Vegas, birthdays, zoo visits (another post) and sport activities beginning. Camryn starts soccer tonight and I actually shuttered as I realize that the next 6-7 weeks will be a bit full. The upside is that Cam gets to be with her best buddy, Evan and I get to spend time with my favorite neighbor Becca. Even though we live 5 feet from one another, we don't see eachother quite enough. I realized today that I really appreciate her and I am so grateful that we are neighbors...am looking forward to our sideline chats :)

So on the full side, the girls and my Dad and I went to Bellingham to visit Joshua and his fiance DeLayne this past weekend. Yep, you read correctly, his fiance. Joshua is taking the plunge; he has found the girl. This is an interesting emotional experience for a big sister...it came on a bit quickly (they've been dating for a short while and the wedding will be in October). No, it is not a shotgun wedding; he just found the girl. We met DeLayne on Mother's Day this year. We could see that Josh was pretty into her but because of this, we didn't really get a good chance to "meet" her. So spending time with them this past weekend was really great. We got to see them in "their" hometown and got to see the things that they share. She is really a cool cat! She is very mellow, smart, has a great contagious laugh (just like Josh) and has an obvious love for little ones (as Cam could only talk about her for the next 48 hours). I was able to see what it was that Josh sees...how he fell for this girl. I was also able to see that being the big sister means that when your little brother marries, you have to let a little bit of him go. As we drove home, I teared up a bit realizing that. I spent a lot of time "secondarily" mothering him and as much as I am sure he is thankful that that role was finally filled by my own children, he's still the first baby I "took" care of...if that makes sense. We are family - we are bound forever. A bit bittersweet... So, this post is to congratulate them both, wish them well and tell them how excited I am for their upcoming wedding day!

Here's some pics from our Bellingham travels...

Wedding Venue - Very cool place with cool views!

Sisterly Love

2009-05-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

I am so amazed to watch the girls grow and become sisters. I realize that they were born into the title but I think time solidifies it! Today, Cam was crying as I left her at daycare and Reese came over to us and began rubbing sissies back saying, “Don’t cry sissy”, she kept rubbing her back and took her binkie (I know, we need to get rid of it!) out of her mouth and leaned in to give her a smooch! She loves her –

On that note...sisters also comes with growing pains. Camryn is struggling with her big/older/taller sister position and as of late frequently compares so many things; who has more treats, who cuddles better, who belongs to which parent (depending on who she is wooing, she is either Daddy or Momma’s girl and always allows Reese to “belong” to the other parent), who gets to lay next to Momma in the bed in the morning, who gets the bigger pancakes, who gets a lid on their cup, who gets out of the car first, who gets the Ariel stool, who had that as a baby…the list seems endless and I am desperately trying to remember she sometimes feels second fiddle because she is so independent of the things/activities that Reese still needs me for.

The other morning, the two of them were playing in Camryn’s room when I heard a wail come from Reese’s sweet voice. Coming from Reese, one knows that something is wrong as that kid is tough gal Tuesday! I sauntered into this scene:

Reese bent over, holding eye and crying (hard).

Camryn with the deer in headlights look and hands up in the sky….(isn’t that what a criminal does???)

Anyhow, Camryn proceeds to say, “I didn’t do a thing. I didn’t poke my sister in the eye; I DIDN’T! Why do you always blame me for everything??” Mind you, I have not even taken a breath, let alone spoke. She has caught me so off guard with giving me no alibi, obvious evidence (Reese holding her eye) and essentially a confession, I have no words, how could I have any as she is also giving me a glance into what her words will look like at 14 (“You always blame me”…what the heck?!?)….. Before I can even say, did you, should you, hug your, kiss her or anything, the scene progresses and she takes her sister by the shoulders and “tenderly” shakes her and says “Reese, stop faking it”. As the script reads, here is my exit for a moment while I laugh a little and then collect myself and get my Mommy face on to deal with a few of the broken 10 Commandments…..Reese’s eye is fine. Where in the world, where, where do they come up with this?!?!

Eggstravaganza at Church!

2009-04-11T14:25:00.000-07:00

We bundled up the girls and headed off to the chiro (firm believer in chiro - especially with kiddos...ask me someday why...and if you are a chiro naysayer - sorry, I love you but don't want to hear the "they only get into your pockets and do no good...or they hurt people" do your research and you will be amazed; if it's done correctly and if you find a good, honest doc results will follow!)...now that I started this side note, I'll continue; did you know that the first chiropractic practice helped a man who had no reason to be deaf (was no genetic link, no other cause other than maybe a nerve or nervous system interruption) he got adjusted and within a few adjustments (clearing of central nervous system interruptions) he was able to hear - also my aunt has a little girl she knows with leukemia. She (the little girl) had a horrible sinus infection that was going to require surgery but she was so sick from treatment that they were not able to perform the surgery (awful catch 22). My aunt suggested seeing a chiropractor, the oncologist approved it and within a few adjustments her sinus infection was completely gone - gone!! I was sick with mastitis, 103 fever, chills and ready to see the doctor when I decided to go to chiro instead - within 8 hours and with no antibiotics - fever was gone, mastitis pain was subsiding, engorgement was reducing and I was a bunch better! I have never given the girls antibiotics for ear infections - always head off to get adjusted and ALWAYS the infection is gone on the follow up doctor visit! Since being adjusted during a migraine headache 2+ years ago (after suffering for over 15 years!) I have not had another one!! This is why I am a firm believer in good (I have found the greastest guy and now all 4 of us go!) chiropractic care...ok, so I digress!

So we went to the chiro and then off to the Easter egg hunt at church. It was packed, kiddos everywhere, appearances by Elmo (affectionately called Elno by Reese), Spiderman, Tigger and the Easter Bunny. Camryn loved the characters; Reese not so much! We had fun letting them wander around and then filed in line to get ready for the "hunt" (which was really just a candy free for all in a field - but still fun). Camryn had gone last year with our friends (and her best buddy Ev) so she was an old pro! This was Reese's first day out and I am so proud of our little egg getter - she did AWESOME!!! She got as much (if not more) candy then Cam - and she was proud of it!

Here's some pics from our fun day...

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-09T15:37:00.001-07:00

Yes, I know it is a couple days away but the next few days hold some fun hustle and bustle for us so I will post early!

Saturday after we picked up the girls from Nana and Papa's house, we promised them a visit to the Easter Bunny (or his helper rather at the mall...kept explaining that to Cam). They were so cute and excited and ran up to the spot when we got close...when Reese laid her eyes on that 7 foot creepy, non-talking bunny person she froze in her footsteps and wouldn't get near it/him/her. Now, here is my pet peeve with the Easter Bunny fill-in; I realize the Easter bunny doesn't talk but for crying out loud, when there is a little one refusing to sit on your lap (screaming, freaking out), say SOMETHING - be a little less creepy, PLEASE! Needless to say, we didn't get a pic with both girls (which bummed me out) and I didn't want to shaft Cam cuz her sister was freaking out so we just put Cam in the picture.

But I have this weird thing with having only one of my kiddos in a memorable picture...just me, just makes me feel uncomfortable...so I teamed up with my dad to quell my uneasiness with the Easter pic and we came up with this:

Yes, I realize it is not perfect, but she's there, being silly and it makes me happy!! (Court thinks it looks goofy and we are both convinced the bunny is uber creepy, but I like it!)

Court had a blast with the girls this week and Camryn had her first big sleep over with Gracie on Tuesday night. They both did so great, played and played til 9 and then watched a show and crashed out at just before 10 p.m. They slept so great, didn't chit chat (surprisingly) and had a fun time together! We have had a fun week (Court got the best sunny days and spent a bunch of time at two different parks on Monday and Tuesday; he is such a good Daddy!!) and I have spent time rushing around, picking up toys, leaving to go here and there, working on the phone (had a class today and yesterday was just a full day), so thank God Court had them at the start of the week as they are not thinking this part of the break is that fun! Hopefully we will make up for it tomorrow and have some sort of fun (if not, then Saturday it is the Easter egg hunt at our church!)

Hope you and yours have a VERY Happy Easter!!

Slacking Momma!

2009-04-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

The blog blues have just spilled over...ok, maybe just life has spilled over! I barely get to read blogs let alone post to my own lately. Just seems that by the time I have the time, the next day has arrived. Regardless, I feel like slacker mom as I didn't post any pics from Cam's fun party at the Hands On Children's Museum. So let me catch up here.....the birthday girl had so much fun. We had all her friends there and the museum provided face painting for each kiddo! I will say, my new favorite thing is the cupcake cake...where you have a bunch of cupcakes as the big cake. Saved on mess, cutting and travel. Only downfalls are there is way too much frosting holding it together (but Reese didn't mind!).

Other than the location of her party, Cam's huge highlight was the arrival of her "Joshy". She adores (so does Reese) her uncle Josh. She hit a dead sprint when she saw he was there. In true Jamie Triplett form, she broke her sprint by narrowly face planting (thank God uncle Josh saved that birthday ruin!)

Problem with a "destination" birthday party is that you try to remember as much as possible when packing up 1/4 of your home to put on the perfect party. In my hustle to not forget my own children, let alone the birthday girl, I forgot my camera. I know I have gushed about my iPhone before, but I must say - I love this phone!! It saved me (Becca was there to my rescue as well!) but I was able to snap all these photos with my phone!

The girls were getting colds prior to the party (both had had fevers) and both got sicker over the week following the party. So in my slack, I have been taking care of two coughing cuties while sending up a few "enough colds already" prayers :)

Friday night, the girls got to have a sleep over at Nana and Papas. Camryn was looking forward to the night all week! It was Reese's first time overnight at their house. The delay in this event (for Reese) was that she was so inconsistent with sleep and I couldn't have my parents deal with two kids and a horrible nights sleep. They both did awesome. Just when I was fretting about how to leave Reese, she literally pushed me out the door with plenty of "I wubba you, Momma" and "Bye, Bye, Now, Mom" that I felt pretty good about her time there. Court and I were able to enjoy an interesting time at Fujiyama (Benny Hana type restaurant)...by interesting I mean we sat at the "anti-social" table with 6 strangers who either said nothing or were rude. Oh well...we still had great food!

Next week we are off for spring break. Each of us gets to spend a better part of the week with the girls. I am looking forward to hanging out with them for a few days...not too fired up about the 11 day break from daycare as it makes the return to daycare a little tough. Boohoo! Yep, could be worse...just hate the cries that leave you sick to your stomach the first few hours after you drop them off...

I don't have anything else to report - sunshine made such a fantastic appearance today that we had a great time enjoying it (so happy it will be around for a better part of our week off!)

Hope you are all well...will work on some Gibeau funnies (I'm sure) soon!

Good Daddy!

2009-04-04T22:59:00.000-07:00

The picture says it all!

Grace and Camryn had Court at their salon today and as you can see, they did a great job with the small results :) - he stopped them before the fingernail polish and lip stick was whipped out!!

Happy 4th Birthday, Camryn!

2009-03-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

Time truly flies by so fast!! Camryn turned 4 yesterday...each birthday I look back at how the years have gone by, but this one was different. She is not that baby girl we brought home from the hospital, the one we wouldn't let anyone touch without washing hands, the one we had in the doctor's office 35 times before she was 6 months old (because she coughed!); she is not the little baby girl who was learning how to crawl and then walk (with one of us behind her at ALL times), she is not the toddler forming sentences, singing her ABC's for the first time, finally getting longer hair, wearing diapers, she is not a toddler anymore at all; she is becoming a young lady and it is great and bittersweet! She is getting long and lean, she is smart and witty, she gets on her bike like nothing, she swings on the swing with little help, she looks at you with those big baby blues and your heart melts. She is tender, loving, considerate and sweet. She is sassy and manipulative but repents quickly and loves often. She is the best big sissy that Reese :) could hope for! She is my daughter and she is growing up so fast I can barely stand it! I am so proud of her - my big 4 year old :)

Yesterday was a lot of fun (even in spite of her having a 103 degree fever the night before). I stayed home with her (Reese went to daycare) and tried to make our day as special as possible (while keeping in mind that I don't want her over doing it and having that darn phantom fever sneaking up!). Camryn said she had "the best day of her whole life" as she got a scooter (another blog story...), balloon and teddy bear (from Daddy), party at daycare, lounging around the house with Momma watching Madagascar 2 (another great gift, she said!) and her favorite dinner and a little cake (that she got to share with her BFF, Grace)! It was a great day - and I am excited to watch her blossom into a little lady!

I now understand how my parents felt as the years melt away and your children just grow and grow and change - changing both you and them! I couldn't have asked for a better title in this life.

I love you baby girl!! Happy Big Girl Birthday :) (I love you too, Reesers :)!!

(BTW, as the story goes, I have my titles for age ranges: Trying Twos, Trying Mommy's Patience Threes (or terrible threes at times) and so far, Fabulous Fours :)

Pretty Funny

2009-02-28T23:34:00.000-08:00

Every weekend morning I am blessed with the gift of sleep! Court gets up with the girls and lets me sleep in...I love it!

This morning proved to be a difficult one for my "sleeping in" - Reese kept knocking on the door and crying, Cam still isn't feeling good and was sick moody and we all had a 9:45 chiropractor appointment so it was a bit of a full morning.

As we finished our appointment and headed to Starbucks for a much needed caffeine buzz, our conversation went like this:

Court:"This morning was really tough. I love Reese, but this morning she was a B-R-A-T-E".

Me: Loooonnnnggg Pause

Court: Chuckle...."That is French for Brat".....

Us: Laughter...

Court: "That is why you are my spell checker"......

Love him!

Blog Blues....

2009-02-27T22:56:00.000-08:00

Nothing really exciting.

No super funny stories.

A fever (Cam 103 all day today).

New teeth.

Saying "I WUB You, Momma" (that is exciting)!

Reminiscing night with Chelle at Red Robin.

Great Valentine's night out with Court!

Jazz at Dockside Bistro with Sandee....great music, wine and food!

Snow this week...are you kidding me?!?

Work...staying busy - this is good!

Taxes complete.

Unforeseen closure.

Tweaked my knee....feeling my age.

February in a nutshell...

Blog blues...nothing big to report....SPRING oh SPRING where are you????

How about some cute pictures.....

"You're kidding, right?"

2009-02-09T14:19:00.000-08:00

That was the sentence that came out of my mouth this morning when the triage nurse told me "You must come in to verify that you have pink eye"...REALLY?!?!?! Let's break this down, I have had pink eye before (2 years ago, so I know how it feels/looks), my daughter was diagnosed Thursday and I know that I have it, but in order to stimulate the medical industries coin purse, I must come in, wait forever, see another doctor, wait forever, get a prescription, wait forever, go get prescription, wait forever, wait forever, wait forever and go home and start my meds 6 hours after I could have had you just called it in for me saving me the gas, $25 copay and irritation (as well as exposure to 15 people...)
So needless to say, I am so annoyed today! Really, really, I needed to go in?!?!? I've started my meds and get to wear my glasses for 10 days with no eye makeup....that's a good look. (Whew I am in a good mood today, huh?!?)
And just when I thought, "chill out, no biggie", I remembered that pink eye is expensive (for me anyhow) as I now have to throw out my contacts (don't wear disposables), mascara, eyeliner and brushes. Think I can keep my brand new shadow....will try some creative things anyhow

Pink eye is a pain (and I thought I did so well, washing, not touching my eyes, washing, washing, washing, did I mention my cracking hands from washing).

Reese is doing WAY better and hopefully that is all the spread we will have in our house!
There's my vent - should have been a nurse :)

(And yes, after re-reading this I know, I know things could be way worse - it's only pink eye for crying out loud - and I need to remember that...I think that will be easier tomorrow.... when I have forgotten how annoyed I am with filling my docs pocket when I was right! :)

Pink Eye

2009-02-06T16:43:00.001-08:00

Do you think?? POOR BABY!! This was how yesterday started and all after we are all trying to recoup from our cruddy colds...Off to the doctor we went for eye drops. Reese has been a trooper! Doesn't flinch away from me at all. We really have nothing new to report as that is all we have been doing this past few weeks...one gets sick, one gets semi-over it, the next gets sick, semi-over it, the coughing begins, next one gets sick...and so the cycle goes.
I will say, I have loved the sunshine this week!! Where the heck is it today????

25 Random Things About Me

2009-01-27T22:55:00.000-08:00

I got tagged and posted this to my facebook page...figured it was good blog material as well!

1. I prefer shoes over roses.
2. I love my morning coffee ... and the occasional treat of Starbucks (had to cut off my daily addiction as I was turning Camryn into a "must have Starbucks kid" - sorry for those job losses but $5-7 per day was adding up...).
3. I don't like my fingernails painted.
4. I have a darling and silly almost 4 year old who never ceases to surprise me with the things that come out of her mouth!
5. I have a amazing and funny 18 month old who is more tomboy than I ever was!
6. I feel good if I get my bed made every morning!
7. I love my iPhone...crazy but yes, I love that thing.
8. I love socks - crazy, fun, fluffy, seasonal and soft - I just love them!
9. I am so lucky to have the most amazing, supportive and loving parents.
10. I wish everyday that Josh lived closer ...(sorry, no guilt here bud!)
11. I love an artificial tree for Christmas!!
12. I think about my cousin Adam everyday and pray for my aunt and uncle as much
13. I will drive around a parking lot a dozen times for the perfect spot.
14. I do not like cleaning bathrooms.
15. I wish my Mom's parents would have been able to see me graduate from HS.
16. I loved my first house at 754 Magnolia Street (in MN)- especially appreciate all the cool characteristics today!
17. I have never been skiing.
18. I am glad I follow my gut (has saved me from some major decisions that now would not have been good)...prayer helped with that gut stuff too :)
19. I have never thought snow was "cool".
20. I love how cozy my home feels.
21. I wish I could find my first best friend from kindergarten - Sara Johnson - if you are out there....
22. I played piano for 8 years and cannot read most notes today...that makes me sad!
23. I am neurotic about spell check (Thanks, Mom!).
24. I am Team Jacob, then Edward, then Jacob...
25. I love to dance with my husband.

Prrraise Ye The Lord....

2009-01-20T21:45:00.000-08:00

Camryn and I left church on Sunday and she was a singing machine. I cannot even begin to tell you how she pronounces "hallelujah"....so I will let her demonstrate for you:

Also, I realized that poor Court doesn't get much mention here... and so did he...I told him "you haven't done anything as noteworthy as throwing away our spare carpet or tossing Reese's most adorable outfit!"for me to blog about...then I realized that he has done some pretty amazing things: He is the greatest provider for our family, never once complaining as he had to drive to Puyallup during all the snow. He is a fantastic father (noted by how the girls stand waiting for him to come through the door each night - Reese gets so worked up waiting). He is funny, just funny - I am glad we still laugh together and as I told him the other night, I am jealous of him - the only person I know who is about to turn 41 and has the body of a 25 year old without lifting weights or working out (although his job provides plenty a workout!).

Here's the loves of my life!

(Please ignore his shirt...it was from his bachelor days and I cannot stand it!...oh, well, guess that was blog worthy!)

I got nothing...

2009-01-16T22:00:00.000-08:00

I really don't have much to blog about... I was going to write about Eclipse (book 3) but I can't as I was batting for "Team Jacob" and now have had a mild change of heart in book 4 (which a co-worker blew for me by announcing...well I won't say but those of you who are following any of this last sentence know how frustrating it is when someone opens their mouth). No worries for my 2 readers who flipped on me saying "Team Jacob"; I am onto book 4 and Edward is redeeming himself...but I am only 100 pages in so no comments yet...and thanks Jess, by the time your blog was up, I was done with the book but with page 527, I was actually not mad at him but her :)
OK, other than that, really we just have been living life over here. Girls are great - Court and I are tired and after I finish here I am going read and go sleepy!
Sorry limited reading audience on the dull content...feel like things are just same ole, same ole :) Waiting on some solid sunshine but did notice the other night that it is getting light out earlier!

O'Tannebaum

2009-01-03T15:42:00.001-08:00

I will start with a disclaimer and brief background...

My good friend Jess and I had a blog discussion regarding a real tree or artificial tree for Christmas. The conversation brought in our friend Erin and we decided to call a truce in the end (see, I am ALL for an artificial tree and my friends are all for the experience of the real thing - you can read the whole thing under Jess' tree (click "tree" to take you directly there) adventure and the comments back and forth).

This leads me to my blog today (and again, I will start by apologizing to the owners of this tree (you know who you are and I hope you are laughing) as I took this undercover photo not to throw them under the bus... (again, hope you are laughing)...but rather as EXHIBIT A)

I will make it short - EXHIBIT A is another reason why I am a member of the "Artificial Trees of America" club...what the heck do you do with the stinking thing (should have taken the photo of another person who had their tree at the curb for 2 weeks...waiting on the tree disposal god to take it away)....once Christmas is over...tons'o'trees get hacked up, dressed up in sometimes silly attire, dehydrated and dried out (prolonging their death) and then thrown to the curb for the trashman to "dispose" of them once their purpose has been served...poor tree :)

EXHIBIT B

No trees were harmed in this photo...and our tree is neatly tucked away for the 7th year of use once again saving it's live counterpart!!!

So, I will remain a member of the "ATOA" club...and will continue to love those of you taking the life of my artifical tree cousins each Christmas!

Thank GOD for the rain!!

2008-12-31T15:34:00.000-08:00

I have never been so thankful for rainfall...I am so excited to see the snow disappearing!!! It was nice to have for a day or so but the havoc and nasty driving conditions (not to mention the cancelled Christmas plans so many had)...sorry, I moved away from that stuff (BTW, it is way cooler snow in MN as it is snow drifts and you can expect it and people KNOW how to drive in it...it doesn't turn sloppy til spring)!!!

Needless to say, I don't have a lot to report here as we really have been home bound for quite a few days. The girls have been stellar - occassionally fighting over that new Christmas toy but considering, they are good, good kids (so blessed!). I got them out of the house today to play at the mall for a bit and that was good for them (as they are still napping now!! :)

I met my last years resolution and completed 14 books for the year!! Yeah ME :) I will write a small "You Must Read" snippet this weekend. I plan to set that same goal for next year and add a couple more resolutions to it...but not to over-do-it (and must keep those a secret...til next year as not to jinx myself!!)!

Here's pics of the girls in their new jammies that Chelle got them for Christmas!

And then the infamous "not so good, but funny" shots!!

This one shows how darling these jammies are, THANKS CHELLE!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2008-12-25T21:12:00.000-08:00

Been a long rough go of the "snow" (sorry, it is no longer fun but rather a bother) but today, being with my entire family (Thank, God it let up!!!) made it all alright :)
Hope your day was great (mine was fantastic - little longer than planned as Cam woke up at 4:30 to inform us that Santa had arrived and :that we promised when she came in our room we would get up"...need to word that better next year :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Court and Cam's Snowman

2008-12-17T21:36:00.000-08:00

Here he/she is!!! Court and Cam had a blast building this 5 foot pal! He originally donned a Rolling Rock bottle but I found that a bit inappropriate (for those of you who don't know, Court works for Budweiser so he found it quite hilarious)...we settled on the Starbucks cup.

And a couple pics of Reese's first time in the snow...and Cam's awesome snow angel (from Monday night - when we thought we had "a lot of snow" little did we know :)

(Snowman from the other day pales in comparison...and we were so proud :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Minnesota....feels like it too....

Run Rudolph, Run!!

2008-12-17T09:59:00.007-08:00

When we turn on "Run Rudolph, Run" Reese transforms into a dancing machine...video is a bit long (and dark...sorry, doesn't look like that on my camera but it was in a room with just Christmas tree lights lit) but worth the entertainment.

Only 8 days to go...are you ready??? Me neither :)

Hope this lightened your "white" day :)

Girl after her Nana's heart...

2008-12-13T10:48:00.000-08:00

Reese is doing way, way better! Amazing how quickly the antibiotics do their job!! I am also glad it was really a minor deal!

Yesterday she was so stinking cute as she curled up in Camryn's nap mat (Camryn insists on taking her naps at home on the floor on a mat like at daycare - doesn't bother me as she is happy and takes a good nap; win-win) and grabbed a book and began to read it! She loves books and was so adorable "reading". My Mom will most especially love these pics as she is a librarian and well, these photos are straight to Nana's heart....

ZOOLIGHTS

2008-12-10T18:26:00.000-08:00

Monday night Auntie Sandee, Camryn and I all went to Point Defiance to see Zoolights. It was Cam's first time and it was a blast. The weather was absolutely perfect - no too cold and no rain. We had such a great time together!!!

Here's the pics

All my photos taken with my new i-Phone - LOVE IT!!!!

Are you kidding me...

2008-12-09T20:04:00.000-08:00

So at 3 a.m. this morning, Reese woke up (not unusual) and as I was rocking her back to sleep, I noticed she had a large mass on the side of her face...felt like a tumor or something swollen. I took her out into the light and saw that her face was a bit swollen. I quickly woke Court up and he was a bit freaked out. Reese was acting totally normal and her temp was just 99. We decided to call the on-call anyhow. We got to chat with a nurse at Children's Hospital who was really nice and helped to reassure us that we could wait til morning.

When we got up, her face was bigger and redder. I was a bit freaked out and having not slept well, a bit emotional. Why is it that while you are waiting the 1/2 hour for the Doc office to open is the longest 30 minutes ever...where the rest of the day is lost in space????? Wish I could suspend time as I can when I wait for them to open. I got in at 9:15 and here is a new one for you.

I figured it was something to do with her ears. She had an infection a month ago and maybe (although she was not acting weird) it had gotten out of control...

Nope, it is a bacterial infection of her digestive gland in her mouth. It causes a back up of something that gets infected and causes this lovely somewhat hard, red and hot bump and swelling to appear. My doctor has seen it before and said we caught it really early - he has seen kids faces twice as bad (can't imagine not taking your kid in right away because for me it looked awful...but I am "don't let it go" kinda gal when it comes to my kids!) So, 10 days of antibiotics and here is the pic of the "mump" like face Reese will have for a couple days...poor baby!!!

Pictures are so hard but you can see the redness here on the right side of this photo (left side of her face)

And Doctor says it will look worse tomorrow before it starts to improve...at least he is super calm and not an alarmist!!! Thank God it's minor and will be gone soon!

Girls Saw Santa

2008-12-09T16:25:00.000-08:00

Reese refused to sit on his lap...didn't cry, and actually waved and said "Hi Tanna" several times as I held her one foot away...just didn't want to sit with him! So thank God for the rocking horse and good attendants.
Merry Christmas!! 16 days and counting...did I just freak you out a bit on that???

This was last years pic that I just ran across...my how they change in a year!!!!

Christmas Photos

2008-12-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

I have always struggled with getting the girls all ready and heading off to JcPenney's for our Christmas outfit pics(and getting there on time as inevitably there is a poopy diaper, a nose to wipe, tears from the shoes not fitting right or the dress "scratching"). It is stressful, hot and boring for the girls as you wait 4 years for the photos to be ready for "preview"...then onto ordering; talking about it makes me sweat! Last year a co-worker took them for me at home and they were fun and even though not as professional, it was so calm and I liked a few of the pics! So this year I decided to try it for myself...after about 60 pics I ended up with a couple good ones

And then I lost them to the "let's take the ornaments off the tree game"....oh well!!!

I am happy with them...we had fun and I didn't have to change out of my sweats!!!

19 days and counting!!!..........

Getting to Know Your Friends, Christmas Edition

2008-12-05T22:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry - I have little to blog about so I am going to be a follower and post this one from Jess :)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I am with Jenny (Jess' sister with this one) I start with wrapping paper. I even get all fancy with ribbon and "perfect" wrapping...then I quickly get bored and resort to the gift bags. I wrap all the girls gifts...that is most important to me!

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial all the way baby!! I can't handle the maintenance and am not a big "go out and get the tree" kinda gal (sorry to my friends who love this tradition...) just didn't do that in MN as it was too friggin' cold to get out there and "cut" a tree..to a lot we/Dad would go!

3. When do you put up the tree? Day or two after Thanksgiving...I am all about getting as many days as possible out of dragging all those fun decorations out!

4. When do you take the tree down? Depends on my mood and when Christmas falls...typically a few days after Christmas but now with Cam enjoying it more (and Reese is sweetly avoiding it..for the most part), probably New Year's!

5. Do you like eggnog? In my latte or with some Rum!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Cabbage Patch Kid - I had said that (because they were so expensive) "If Santa brings me a CPK I will donate it to a kid in Ethiopia" - Still have Toby Eileen to this day...I was full of false promises...give me a break, I was 8! Hey, at least I had a good heart...sorta....

7. Hardest person to buy for? Occasionally my husband; shirts never fit, didn't really want that color or buys it for himself two days before Christmas...don't get me started!

8. Easiest person to buy for? My momma - she starts hinting at things around July....

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, however Reese is into breaking, throwing and bothering everything so my scene is stored safely in it's box...and it's a bummer cause I love mine!! But I love her way more :)

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail...WHO EMAILS their Christmas cards?????

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? We would pick names with my Dad's family (large family) and without fail my boy cousins would get me the $1.50 Barbie that is made of all plastic and has freaky hair...I always dreaded those gifts...they were the same and the worst ones given at the gathering...oh well!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? ELF and Polar Express...no nostalgia here...I love these two!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Depends....some years I buy a thing or two in the late summer/early fall...but usually get in there full force after Thanksgiving (no more 5 a.m. for me...I love my sleep too much these days!)

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Heck yeah...the "unique" ornament made for the perfect white elephant....

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Anything my Mom makes...cookies, dinner...everything! I love whatever she cooks (except for this orange chicken rosemary thing :) that's for you Momma)...

16. Lights on the tree? I am with Jess on this one...who doesn't light their tree....I went to a bunch of trouble today to light the tree/bushes outdoors for Camryn...I think I was more excited than her!

17. Favorite Christmas song? Santa Baby and River (performed by Robert Downey, Jr from Ally McBeal...love that song!)

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home and this year at our home (usually go to my parents)

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Who can't...???

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Morning....santa doesn't come Christmas Eve day....Jess, Jess, Jess...

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? THE MONEY (although I love finding the best deals!), the rush, the rude shoppers

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I love the vintage ornaments...whole tree decorated with them!

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? ANYTHING that comes out of my Mom's oven!!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? New cookie pans and this puffy vest that I already bought myself cause Court would have had a heck of a time finding it...hey we usually don't do "gifts" just cards and our tradition (which Court sweetly started when we first started dating ) of giving an ornament each year...I love the tradition and we have passed it on to Cam!

There you have it! Hope your weekend is great!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

2008-11-27T22:18:00.000-08:00

I am thankful that all my family was here for Thanksgiving and that we are all well! This year has had it share of interesting stories but in the end - things are pretty darned good.

Here are the best shots I could get of the girls today in their "Thanksgiving" get-ups.

We had a great day with family and hope your Thanksgiving was full of things and people who you are thankful for!!

Now for Friday shopping....WOOHOO (I think)!

It was a looonnnggg weekend...

2008-11-18T11:00:00.000-08:00

Court had "elective family planning" surgery on Friday. We had a "little" mis-communication as I thought he understood we were going to wait for him out in the parking lot (as it was only going to be about an hour) - girls had the DVD, I had a book and coffee; we were set! Although the visit took three hours and Court didn't "know" or hear that we planned on waiting. I did attempt to leave but on the way home ran into a detour due to a house fire and ended up 30 minutes out of my way to only be called right back to the docs office...there is more to this story but let's just say this was the beginning of very challenging weekend! This procedure doesn't allow Court to do much of anything...in fact, he cannot pick up anything over 15 pounds for one week - so he is on limited work/home duties and cannot pick up either of the girls! Needless to say, having to take care of three this weekend wore me out a bit (as it was of course one of those weekends where nothing is/was easy - everything was a fight with one of the girls, lotsa tears, tantrums, screaming in a store with another parent walking by saying "don't look kids", lotsa ice for Court and "could you get me....", whining everywhere and then Reese was just up every two hours Friday to Saturday (think we are working on more teeth! - whew the recap just tired me out again)!!

Sunday night after my girlfriend and decided to "just" color my hair (turned out great and saved me $$$ but remember I am on my "own" as Court can't help with anything so this was a little bit of chaos as we were tied up and the girls were running wild), I finally got to feed the girls around 7:15 (Reese usually goes to bed at 7:30...everything was so late as we took on this "project"). Reese is very independent and great with her utensils however that night was prunes...and we got in a fight over the spoon and well, here's the results....

The day before she was equally as cute in her new headband/bow! (She was so very proud of it and that she had a headband like sissy!)

Now for the classic Reese face!!!

Today a gal at my office cleaned out her 22 year olds room/cedar chest and came upon this little ditty..it's Camryn's new fav!!! She is so camera shy...think I need to work on this :)

So here I am on Tuesday...doing better...getting in the groove of not having much help from Court but I can assure you, once light duty is over, it's over!!! Hope he's enjoying this "vacation"!

How can one resist....

2008-11-04T21:25:00.000-08:00

These big brown eyes!!! She is growing up so darned fast! (Lovely sweater is thanks to Nana!!)

(Pardon the pic with Cam picking her panties out....) Another darling Nana creation on Reese here!

And this darling smile...so blessed with my sweet, loving and if I may say, cute babies!

Fall Leaves!

2008-11-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

We have certainly enjoyed a beautiful Indian Summer around here. The other night the girls were able to enjoy the dry leaves and great fall evening. Reese was the first to dive into the pile that Grace and Cam had created! It was fun to watch them enjoy a past time that I think we have all forgotten about...oh, to be a kid again.

Good news, our door is fixed, flooring is in and a new storm door is ready for installation. I will post a pic soon - it all looks so great!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

2008-10-31T20:22:00.000-07:00

The girls and I adventured to my office this morning to "show off" their costumes!

Reese's costume was my girlfriend Michelle's (from her darling Claire) last year. I had to borrow this costume...can you see why!!! I kept reminding all my coworkers how adorable "Ariel" was as well as Reese stole the show (again!). Cam sang to all the people whose homes we trick or treated tonight...hilarious!!! We trick or treated with my parents and Cam's best friend Gracie!! Cam cleaned up and Reese made the whole loop around our neighborhood! It was a lot of fun.

I am a little bit behind here but also here are the pics from Court and the girls carving their pumpkins! (No Reese didn't do any carving!) Court (being an artist and all) was quite meticulous on his carving and the result was a perfect Jack O Latern (he wanted a true "look" and we researched a bunch of choices with this as the result!)

Unfortunately the pumpkin was carved too soon and was really rotten this week (and found it's way into our trash prior to his big Halloween debut :( Camryn was so, so sad that she didn't get to have her Jack O Latern!

Hope you had a safe and Happy Halloween!!!

Starbucks Cup

2008-10-17T13:28:00.000-07:00

I like to read my Starbucks cup - sometimes I agree, sometimes I question, sometimes I laugh - I figure it stimulates my brain :)
My current favorite is "The Way I See it #293"

The way I see it
Isn't necessarily
The way you see it
Or the way it is
Or ought to be
What's more important
Is that we're all
Looking for it
And a way to see it
- Desi Di Nardo; Author and
Poet

I find it fitting as I hedge around most political debates with coworkers and friends....figure my friendships/relationships are more important that the heated debates/arguments we are about to embark upon as we are all looking for the "right" answer and have our reasons for what we feel is right!

My other fav was:

There is a special place in hell for women who do not help other women.

Not sure who the author was or cup # - but that one stuck with me - it is a good one!
Happy Friday!!
(Correction, Author/Quote Originator is Madeleine K. Albright - but I still don't know what cup #)

Somersaults

2008-10-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

Camryn is perfecting...Reese is copying! LOVE IT!!

Dad, you are so clever!

2008-10-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Photoshop, my Dad superimposed himself in this pic with the girls (Heidi, the girls daycare gal took the photo and this is my dad at his Harvest Days). Funny, Papa!!

Love you!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

I am a huge fan of Hunter's Pumpkin Patch! I love how much fun stuff there is to do for the kids, how clean and organized the place is and how even when it is super busy, it is still a great place to be as there are so many different places and things to see/do! I LOVE IT! (Always have!)

This year Camryn got to ride the ponies again (rode them once two years ago but last year we came either too soon or too late and no ponies were there). She was so excited. They let them ride around a long time...I started to get dizzy going in the circle but was trying to count it as "good exercise" :) Court and I are really proud of ourselves that we are getting over our "gross germ fears" and let Cam have fun getting her hand tickled by the goat (hard to watch them lick their butts and then have your child feed them...call me crazy!)

Cam had so much fun with everything - and Reese loved the pumpkins. It was the perfect day and so great to watch both my kids walk around and play!! Reese's only "moment" was when we boarded the "train" (as Camryn calls it!) but she quickly calmed down and loved riding.
We picked out 6 great pumpkins (will post the Jack-O-Lantern that Court and Cam carve later).
My favorite pic was the classic look on their faces going down "Ye Olde Schute"!!

HAPPY FALL!!!

Camryn the Photographer

2008-10-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

I had been taking photos of the girls when Cam said, let me take a few Momma - so I did and the result was kinda funny as Reese and I typically wear the same face in each photo! :) After the last photo, I took the camera away (as each time I hand it to her I realize I am placing a lot of money in her hand too...and considering all the things "broken" around my house right now (that are out of my control) I will keep one thing in control!!

We are off to the Pumpkin Patch tomorrow...those photos should be fun with walking, curious Reese!!! Updates this week! :)

Say "Cheese"

2008-10-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

My friend and neighbor Becca mentioned that her youngest son, Kyle (6 weeks older than Reese) can say "Cheese". I went home to see (keeping up with the Stucki's :) if Reese could say this...lately she says a lot but not a lot of it makes sense. So I said "Say, Cheese, Reesey" and sure enough, she replied with a huge, silly grin, looked at me and said "EEzeee" We forget how much they grasp, listen and mimic....oh my little sweet pie! I was telling my dentist about her and he said "Sounds like she is a Tootsie Pop; hard on the outside but soft and good on the inside". That is our Reese - runs her head and body into everything without so much as a wince (but a visible bump) and hugs and loves every few minutes! Here's to my Tootsie Pop (kinda funny as she was a tootsie roll last year for her first Halloween - who knew :)

For those of you...

2008-10-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

who never knew me with long hair (or for those who ask "Why don't you grow your hair out....NORMAN)...this is the reason I keep it short today (not that I don't love, love long hair on other people - just not on me...it's not so bad in the senior pic but typically looks more like the cheer photo - a bit frizzy and curly - just got a chill)...as if I needed a reminder...growing my hair out will just throw me back to the '90s. These pics are thanks to my friend Dee (Troup) - she posted a bunch to her myspace and I stole a few.

Denim was the thing!!!!!

The New Pet

2008-09-30T23:03:00.001-07:00

Not quite sure how this started.... the other day when I picked Cam up from daycare she went on and on about how I was taking her to the pet store that day. We have never had a conversation about a new pet or any pet for that matter. I figured if I let it go, so would she. Right.....

So this has been an ongoing (2 weeks) request and the claims are getting more and more outrageous...claims being "My Mommy is getting me a hamster/ferret/goldfish/bullfrog/cricket"....each day was a different pet. I could barely take it anymore; I was going to be an awful mom if I didn't at least let her stroll a pet store (poor daycare had to hear and hear about it) and to compensate she was going to end up with some exotic animal in the backyard.

So we made a deal...if she did well at daycare, ate all her dinner and played nice with sissy, I would take her to the pet store (figure 1 of those 3 things wouldn't go as planned and I could put this trip off longer). But once again, the strong will of Camryn prevailed...off to Pet Smart!

We got there and I figured let's grab a couple goldfish and dart. I got the bowl, the net, the food and went to find a clerk. The clerk says (obviously doesn't have children) "Two goldfish will be dead by morning in that bowl"...Camryn's face was indescribable - fortunately he noticed and quickly changed to "But a Betta is a great idea". Great, great...a moody, flamboyant fish - I wanted it to be simple! Come to find out Betta are more simple than I figured.

Camryn was so excited! We took her new friend home and set her up in her room (she has gone through 3 name changes - Dory, Ariel and Betta - we are back to Ariel today). She was so sweet to her new friend and kept asking me if I thought she liked it at our house. This morning when she got up she grabbed her chair and looked in on her friend and said "Good Morning lil one! Looks like you grew a bit last night" - I swear that fish was looking right at her as she spoke and is the happiest Betta you could imagine! I even came home at lunch to "check the fish" as I feel it is my responsibility to keep this baby swimming as long as possible!

So here is to our new pet! (Thank GOD she forgot about the hamster!)

A day, week, month in my life....

2008-09-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

I am so far behind…I know! For my limited reading audience (here's to Arlene :), I am sorry for not providing better blogging …things have been a bit crazy! Over the last 5 years we have had a weird leak at our front door. I had our contractor look at it and we have monitored it for all these years…until this summer! The flooring literally popped up so far it was a tripping hazard. As I ventured to tear up the floor (kinda fun to rip something apart) I discovered this was a major problem. Without going into all the hairy details, the bottom line was our sprinkler system was going directly into a hole under the door and soaking our subflooring and creating a total mess! This is how we have been living for the past few weeks without an entryway! (I am not a good “remodel” person – I hate waiting!)

Then as our contractor went to check the floor from under the house, he found a bigger problem. A 6x6 foot puddle of water and soaked insulation around the duct work under the house. This is coming from the furnace as our A/C condensate pipe has not been putting the water out of the house but rather into the crawl space. The HVAC people are supposed to come out today! And yes, all of this is after our garbage disposal and washing machine disasters (see previous blog).

On Friday I went to the Dr for some stuff and they were working on looking into a malfunction with my thyroid…got the results this morning and “Nope, that’s not it”….arghhhh…onto other tests. Oh well…could be worse!

So here I am …trying to catch up…I realize these are just little life issues and I am thankful they are small but I am ready to have things back to normal.

So amidst all of this, my brother turned the big 3-0. We met him with some of his friends up in Seattle at the Aquarium. We had so much fun! The day was beautiful and the girls had a blast. Reese was in love with all of the fishies and fun stuff to look at and even when she fell from a small platform and hit her head (boy, was feeling like Mother of the year on that one!) she got right up and continued playing and having fun! She is one tough kid! After the aquarium we headed over to Red Robin! If you notice Court is not in any aquarium photos it's because we let him "off the hook" to watch the Seahawks lose! Happy Birthday again, Joshy - we had so much fun! Here’s some pics from our fun day!

Waiting for Joshy to arrive from Bellingham to meet us!

Camryn and her new handbag from Grace! She carried that thing everywhere and told everyone it was full of money...not a good idea when in Seattle! Cam was so excited to see Uncle Joshy! Reese just loved the fish & Nana!

Reese right before hitting her head....

and one minute later :)

Then for LUNCH!!! Camryn and her new mermaid treasure and Reese and her well mouthful "treasure"!

This past weekend we traveled to Renton for a wedding reception. It was nice to see family and Camryn was the entertainment of the hour as the hosts handed her a microphone. She entertained us with her renditions of Happy Burfday (not Birthday), Hit me with your best Shot (thanks to Guitar Hero), ABC’s, 123’s, I Can Ride My Bike with No Handlebars (don’t know if that is the “title” of that song) and a few other “Camryn” tunes. She had us all cracking up. Reese provided the back-up dancer routine and our exploitation of our children continues J!

So that is all….catches me up for a bit. I will try to write at the least every week!

Family Photos

2008-09-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

My very talented and great, long time friend (will be 20 years next year...whoa!) Jess recently did our family photo shoot at the Schmidt House (aka, Schmidt Mansion in Tumwater). This spot is very special for Court and I as we were married there in 2002. Jess has done a few shoots for me (pregnancy with both girls and an impromptu with Cam when she was about 18 months).

She recently did family photos for some friends of hers and I fell in love with them and emailed her right away! I had to have her take our photos! The day we chose was perfect, the ground looked so great however Reese was not feeling herself (was sick with Roseola...darnit!) Jess still captured some great shots considering she was crying 95% of the time! Camryn was quite the model and posed perfectly for Jess every time These are just a sneak peek...check out the others on Jess' blog and wait to see more soon!

Jess, thanks again! I really love them and am so excited to have these memories captured...I think we will make this a yearly thing!

Each night...

2008-09-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

Camryn and I have a ritual. Either Daddy or I brush teeth and then I take her hand and we read 2-3 books, I tuck her in her covers, turn on her music and hit the light. The last few months she has asked "Will you sleep with me?". I always return with "I won't stay all night but I will stay with you for one song". Her last CD was a mix of lullaby's by Twila Paris. I had each song memorized! Then we moved onto a CD that had short songs (for each letter in the alphabet) so I would rest there for 2 songs. Now, we have this CD that plays songs I don't really know and are simply instrumental, so it is hard to decipher the beginning or end. Tonight I was so tired! We spent the day at the Puyallup Fair and I wanted to zone out before going to bed myself. I laid down with her for a bit and at the "hard to decipher" part I kissed her and said "goodnight" (my typical exit). Out of her mouth come "Good Try, Missy. Lay your head back down; the song is not over!"...again, much like the shoe story, I just started to laugh, hard! I always say to her (when she tries to pull a fast one) "Nice try, Missy" ... guess the apple didn't fall too far :)
Goodnight!

Just a funny...

2008-09-01T15:06:00.001-07:00

Last night I was cleaning out Cam's room - it was so full of little stuff...junk toys she picks up at neighborhood garage sales, tons of stuffed animals that we don't need, "pet" rocks she picked up outside (about 100 of them), random coloring pages, paper, books everywhere, stuff under her bed (party favors, boxes...you name it...the room was looking like that of a hoarder).
I put this lion stuffed animal in the "going away" pile and she began to throw a fit. I explained to her that this is all in preparation for Santa's arrival and that we need to give these barely used, neglected toys to someone who would really love on them. Specifically said "Cam, we need to get rid of some stuff if you plan on having any more". She quickly calmed down and so matter of fact said "Ok, Ok, Mom, we will get rid of some stuff. Let's get rid of some of your shoes." - I absolutely lost it, was laughing so hard I had tears...then I composed myself and told her to dream on...I won't make her part with her new "ruby red slipper" shoes and in turn, I won't part with mine.
Nice try, kiddo! Oh the things she says....guess I needed to specify, her stuff not some stuff
BTW, I have exceeded my New Year's goal...I am now on book 11 for this year...yeah to being ahead! I am finding that the more I read the faster I get; that is exciting. I also noticed that I am becoming a better proofreader too... :)

Camryn, Camryn, Camryn

2008-08-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

(Pardon the food on her face and lovely boogers...she is recovering from a sinus infection....)
She never fails to crack me up....tonight I once again left her alone with a page of stickers. She had already had a traumatic evening as Daddy accidentally let her balloon from Sand in the City "Go live with Baylee in heaven" (boy oh, boy, Court pulled that one out of the "air")....she was pretty devastated. After she decorated herself, she said to me "Mom, check out this...." (and the way she said it was so darned cute, add that to my Camrynism's list....)

She ended tonight with her best buddy Evan dropping by. Ev is scheduled for a tonsillectomy on Monday so we had a plan in how we would visit him. Of course, knowing it was a surprise, she announces to Ev "after you are home we are coming by with a balloon and popsicle for ya"...and then as I try to stop her, she laughs and says it another hundred times...she is so my child!!! Oh well, Becca and I got a good chuckle....see you guys Monday :)

KARMA....

2008-08-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this is huge that I am admitting this...like a public confession of sorts. When my husband is sick it is typically after I have had the exact same ailment. For years, he gets what I had but seems to get it 10 times worse (and I know better). I know my gal pals are shaking their heads...sorry, but on occasion, guys can be babies (have a whole theory on this). So last week when Court was complaining about being sick, saying he had a sore throat and fever, yet working still, I hesitated to give him much attention. It was a long week as it was. The previous week our garbage disposal went out (leaking water all over the kitchen, getting behind the diswasher and leaking to the subfloor and I wasn't able to get a plumber there for 3 days...oh happy day!). This after I had helped my dad pressure wash and then hand stained our deck by myself for 7 hours the weekend prior. I was tired of household "things" - then our 5 year young washing machine starts putting grease onto our towels (and I mean, black, thick, grease everywhere). After trying to get Court to go to the Dr. all week (didn't get in until late Thursday night - did however finally stay home Thurs & Fri!) I scheduled Sears, dropped off & picked up the girls from daycare all week, bathed them all week (more of a task then one thinks as Reese loves to stand up) and took Camryn to her last soccer game in 95 degree weather (much thanks to my Dad helping on that one) - I was spent. I was really spent when Sears told us that the repair would be $580...excuse me, I will buy a new washer (which I quickly did while my Dad was here on Friday). Court was feeling better on Saturday but was not able to help me when I had a 3 year old birthday party to go to (turned out great as there was a lot of help there but chasing a 1 year old around a foreign house is work!!!)....come Sunday night I was BEAT beyond my limit! Come Monday night, I had a horrific sore throat and was so tired I could barely drag myself to bed. Monday day, we found out that Court was not a hypochondriac but rather had MONO! Yep, the kissing disease. Now I have all the symptoms and am on my butt. Oh, and did I fail to mention that Cam had a cavity removed on Monday that the removal went great but the "my mouth is numb so I will chew it RAW" part happened and her cheek was so puffed out and bleeding that I called the dentist twice and our pediatrician to check on what to do. She couldn't even smile...that was not fun!
So, here I am living Karma and telling God I will never not believe Court when he is sick (disclaimer - when he is sick) again! I ended up with 102 degree fever, chills for two days, strep throat (got a lovely new antibiotic shot for that!) and the mono test hasn't come back yet. I also got to stay home all week with Cam as I had to watch her mouth and then today she was sneezing like crazy. Thank God Reese was doing well and was able to be at daycare. Good thing out of all of this...little ones typically don't get the same mono symptoms that adults do. We most likely got it from Cam who had a "phantom" illness about 4 weeks ago with a sudden high fever, fatigue and then a horrible cough.
So, here's to (even if I know he is not "sicker" than I was) - believing my husband!!!!

Sister Love

2008-08-11T22:05:00.000-07:00

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!
We went top the mall and the girls played and played. Reese is my adventuresome one...she was all over that place. Cam used to just sit on my lap and watch. Reese was in the tunnel, the car, climbing the slide, sliding...she blew me away!
I am so proud to watch them growing and bonding together. They are so, so sweet together (even when they are rough together).
Cam's new thing is to put a blanket down on the ground, Reese sits her bum on it and she gently pulls her around the living room. It is the funniest thing to watch...I will video and post later!

The newest Camrynisms:
We went to a wedding reception the other day and she loves the "princesses" (bride and bridemaids). After we left, she said "I really liked that wedding reflection" - even though incorrect, VERY poignant if you think about it.
The other night Wizard of Oz was on TV. Cam fell in love!!! My dad was in MN and when she talked to him she asked him if he could get her the movie "Lizard of Oz" as she just "loves it". She does love it too...singing "were off to see the wizard" and "Follow the Yellow Brick Road"...hard to believe that movie was orginally a flop at the box office. Surely has stood the test of time!
Reese is expanding her vocab from Mom and Dada (she doesn't call me Momma, just Mom - super cute!) to "Uh Oh" and "Whoa" (my favorite as she emphasizes it so perfectly). She also says "Papa" and is working on "Nana"....they grow so fast!

SHE IS

2008-07-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

WALKING!!!
A little uneasy but getting there....

Reese Viette's 1st Birthday Party!

2008-07-19T22:15:00.000-07:00

I got this fabulous idea to make Reese's birthday cake from scratch (should just stick to the crafty stuff). I found a great and easy recipe (I don't do well with more than 7 or so ingredients) and I was super excited. I followed the directions to "T" - creamed the butter, yada, yada....long and short of it, I suck at baking! I can do chocolate chip cookies (if I have the time to "yield" 12 batches) however, I have never been known to bake or cook really well (another gift I didn't inherit from my Momma). So I had baked the cake in a pie pan (didn't have the necessary 9x9 cake pan) and as nice as it looked, the stinking cake stuck to the pan and got all messed up. I decided to cut out a #1 for the first birthday girl and salvage what I could. However, once I cut the one out, I realized it was still a bit raw at the top. So cleverly, I put it back in the oven and proceeded to forget about it...oops! Here is the final result...

I also didn't have time to make the Banana Icing Frosting and it was frosted with a powdered sugar mixture.

Thank God for the ice cream cake. But Reese couldn't eat that cake so we improvised...

Reese didn't care about the rock hard cake (actually I salvaged a different portion of it that was not "raw" and she DOVE into that!!) Nothing like Cam who dipped her finger into her cake and didn't even make a minor mess!

Reese did very well with opening a couple gifts until this one arrived....it was LOVE!!! We couldn't pull her away from the gift that Auntie Arlene (and Uncle Gregg but really, we women know, it's the wife that gets the gifts!!) Thanks Auntie Arlene!!

Darling Camryn Mae got an "Fancy Nancy" outfit from Uncle Normy and she loved it!!!

Here are pics of the birthday girl and party!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

One Year Ago....

2008-07-15T22:47:00.000-07:00

I started the day of July 17th, 2007 looking like this....

and thinking Reese Viette would never arrive. Court and I went to a movie, ate spicy food and walked all over the mall that day and by 2:57 a.m. on the 18th (45 minutes after we arrived at the hospital) I naturally delivered this beautiful baby girl

Happy Birthday, Lil Miss Sunshine!

Reese Viette has brightened our world so many ways!! It seems that life passes by so quickly your memories fade into the new happenings and pass over the "firsts". I am reminding myself to cherish each first smile, first tooth, first wave, first blowing kisses, first steps, first words, first foods....I remember crying (tears of excitement and fear) in the nurses office after we found out we were pregnant with Reese and I hormonally asked "Will I really have enough love for two children?" (surely a thought that crosses every parents mind as they embark on expanding their family) but she said it (as we have always heard) "You will have plenty of love; you'll see". I think as I look back, it is plenty of love but it is also a different love; one that is more prepared, knows what to expect, is more calm in reaction (versus running to the Dr. or ER on every little thing), one that is more experienced (although I have a lot more to learn) on this "parenting" thing. Reese is my cuddler...she lays her head on my shoulder and my entire day slips away from me...nothing else matters....and then Camryn says "Momma, I just love you" and my day is more complete than I could have ever imagined. Children change us in the best, most molding ways. I thank God each and every day for these beautiful, healthy loves He put in our lives. I know I am a better person because I have them!

HAPPY 4th of July!!

2008-07-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

The girls, my dad and I all ventured over to Tumwater for the parade today! Court had to work (big bummer!!) so we got all "cuted" up and sat watching cars, horses, couple princesses, dancers and politicians parade in front of us. Weather this year was perfect as past years have been really hot! Both girls did awesome...wasn't concerned about Cam - Reese did amazing! She sat in the stroller, didn't freak at the loud horns and cannon blasts and waved and smiled the whole time (she also danced!!). Here are some pics!

Hope your 4th is Happy and Safe!

Had to get a pic of the cute shirts the girls had on....so much for getting them together!

BTW...

2008-07-02T22:43:00.001-07:00

read my 9th book on the trip...1/2 way through book 10! Yeah for my goal (and being ahead of it)!

We are safely home

2008-07-02T21:44:00.000-07:00

from our road trip to Cali! In true Gibeau family tradition, we started with a "bang" - literally. Court was heading to the chiro and I decided we would all go together - while sitting waiting for Daddy to get done, Cam falls directly on her head off the table (of course the morning we are leaving!!) Tears, silent scream and freaking out ensues.....we calm her down, get her checked and get her a sticker and we are off. The beginning of our trip seemed uneventful. Girls were good, chilled out in the back and we were right on target to get the Newport, OR aquarium that afternoon....until we missed the turn and ended up overshooting the turn off to Corvallis by 40 miles (80 miles out of our way when we decided we would turn around). SO change of plans, cancelled staying in Eugene and stayed in Newport....great plan - was fun evening with the girls (went to the beach; the first time for Camryn and Reese and had a great dinner and cute hotel). The aquarium was alright....could have been that Cam was not in the mood as we had had a rough first night all sleeping together! Nonetheless, it didn't seem worth the 80 mile turn-around but Camryn did have a lot to talk about....so I guess I have to retract that last statement, as it is not about how I liked it!
So now that we have stayed in Newport (versus Eugene) we are 2 hours behind in our plan to arrive in Redding, CA on Sunday. Seemed no big deal until we took Reese through the never ending passes (screaming from 5:30-8:30 p.m.)...was a rough ride. We had to stop for a "diaper disaster" 40 miles outside of Redding. We were literally in the middle of the mountains, in the middle of NO where .... but we HAD to stop! Now I only share this scary moment for everyone to read and remember, you are never safe! We stopped at this closed Ma & Pa gas station/restaurant. It was just before 8 p.m. and as we pulled in we noticed these sketchy looking individuals at the pumps. I would have been fine if they would not have locked eyes with me and stared us down. They had hollow, emotionless eyes that freaked me out. "Calm down, Momma bird" said my brain..."Freak out" said my gut (gut won - thank God!). Court and I didn't speak but he had the exact same feeling and when the "characters" kept checking us out in their rearview mirrors, then both unbuckled their seatbelts and quickly opened their doors to rush our way we crammed back into the Jeep and took off. As we went down the road a little bit, there was another couple making the same diaper change stop. They were really hurrying and anxiously looking over their shoulders as we pulled up - it was obvious that they had already "encountered" these people too! So I told Court, "no matter what, don't leave this family - I could never forgive myself!" - as soon as those words came off my lips, the "suspects" slowly pulled up behind us. They cut their lights and were "coasting" towards us when they suddenly (it seemed) thought better of it! They then drove slowly past (glaring at us the entire time) and pulled in front of the couple in front of us - once again completely freaking us all out! They looked back again and then tore off...guess they sized it up and figured "two moms who would scratch their eyes out and at least one dad (Court) with his nose slightly off center"...when we drove off we looked at eachother and I had tears in my eyes - Court's words were "that could have been way worse"...it was the scariest moment I have even encountered...knowing that someone had not a care if they hurt you - that was their original intent!
Needless to say, I wanted to go home at that point but didn't want to brave the passes again....not that day anyhow!
We had an enjoyable time visiting our family (despite the heat and horrible smoke from all the fires around!).

Our trip home was less eventful - other than stopping to stay in Eugene during the Olympic Track and Field trials (miracle we found a hotel!) and unfortunately we were not able to visit our good friends in Portland (as the girls were not going to make that long of a day and Court wasn't feeling his best!)...we made it back, safe and sound!

Here are some photos and videos from our time there! Enjoy!!

Facination at the aquarium!

Oregon coast!

Redding's famed Glass Bridge.

Camryn and Auntie Sue

Court, Cam and Uncle George

Reese LOVED, LOVED the swing...couldn't get her out of it!

Portland's Children's Museum (decided to take a road break before heading home).

The Beach - a bit windy!

Friends....

2008-06-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today our good friends (who moved to Canada last year) were in town for a visit. We got to spend some time with them before they had to be on their way. Here is the best group shot we could get!

Camryn and Kennedy are 4 days apart (met their parents in our birthing class) and Reese and Katie are 3 months and 13 days apart.

This was Camryn and Kennedy on one of our playdate mall outings (when they were little)!

This was those girlies today!! (Age 3)

And this was our attempt to get the same "memorable" photo of the babies together! Oh well, so much for that one!

Reese Viette turns...

2008-06-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

11 months old today! I can't believe that almost one year ago I was whining about her arrival...I thought she would come any day...but she waited until she was good and ready!! She is so hilarious, full of giggles, personality, trouble, smooches, waves & love. She is also gearing up to walk as you can see she is braving the stand alone. She took 5 steps all by herself tonight! I am excited and sad all at the same time. It goes by so fast!!!

Here's some pics (as you can see she wasn't all too happy with me at first).

Sad baby!!!

Angry, but standing by herself!

Daddy to the rescue!!

Mohawk baby!!

Loves Dadda!!!

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

2008-06-11T22:12:00.000-07:00

I AM A SOCCER MOM!! Camryn and her best buddy Evan are all signed up for our local summer soccer. I am so excited to see how they do. Cam's first response to her new jersey "Wow, why do I get to wear a dress and play soccer?" - I can see it now, her twirling while the ball whizzes past....actually, I think her and Ev are going to tear up the field.

Now to keep Court on the sidelines as a cheering and non-coaching father - gotta love the new chapters of life!!

New Year's Resolution

2008-06-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

For once, I decided to set an obtainable goal. I also decided this year was the year of one resolution as then my disappointment isn't as great as I look back on the list. So my goal this year was to try to read one book a month. May sound silly but I come from a family of readers and have a circle of reading friends. They have always laughed at me as I am always several books behind in our favorite series (Janet Evanovich - Stephanie Plum series) and all the books people suggest pile up beside my bed. So, I did it!! I actually have even exceeded it. I have caught up on the Stephanie Plum series and now can wait for the next one (purchasing at Costco next week for our trip :) and I am 1/5th of the way through PS, I love you. I also read I'm Proud of You; My Friendship with Fred Rogers. I highly recommend this book. It was about a journalist who had the privilege of meeting "Mr. Rogers" and how their friendship changed his life.

So, here is to making a goal and achieving it (unlike my good friend Jess who is kicking all our butts with her upcoming STP bike - my goal is a little low key - maybe next year I will walk in some "fun run" or something :)

Ever get...

2008-06-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

an email that makes you a laugh that true laugh because you know, this is your life.

You may have read this one, but this is my life. This is my darling Camryn and her Daddy...he is oblivious and she is creative...or so you could say - although maybe this will be more Reese as Cam is all about getting a stool to get water while Reese has no fear of the "gross" or "sloppy". Nonetheless, I love my husband but I can see him watching golf and Cam bringing him "tea"...here is the email I got!!

SUBJECT: Cup of Tea

One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me. I was maybe 2 1/2 years old and had just recovered from an accident. Someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a get-well gift and it was one of my favorite toys. Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea', which was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home.

My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!' My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I come down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up. Then she says, (as only a mother would know...:)

'Did it ever occur to you that the only place she can reach to get water is the toilet?'

Ah, we do balance one another!!! Have a happy Saturday!!

OK so ...

2008-06-04T22:27:00.000-07:00

I had more to share than I remembered...these are just cute pics from our walk to the park!

They really do love eachother :)

Reese is a walking

2008-06-04T22:05:00.001-07:00

machine with her walker....

We joke she is like a little old lady as she struts her stuff with her "buggy" walker.

Check her out!!!

Bored yet??

2008-06-04T21:50:00.000-07:00

With the stale content of my poor blog??? Sorry for slipping - hard to find noteworthy things to chat about lately (although my days are filled with stories as I wade through this most interesting real estate market marsh). It seems if Camryn or Reese have something funny to blog about, by the time I think to write it down I forgot what was so funny or something else has transpired that is not worth the writing space and life has moved on. Mostly my brain is sleep deprived (Reese still doesn't sleep through the night) so if I have something good and don't write it down, it is gonzo!

We are getting ready for our road trip to Cali here in a while. I have been so into the mental preparation for that (housesitter, travel routes, plans to see people on the way, etc.) that things have slipped right past (like remembering Court's brother's birthday and my neice Britt's birthday all last month; sorry guys :)

I am sure I (if I remember them all) will have plenty of stories when we return.

In the meantime, Camryn became a "marker monster" the other day and here are the pics to prove it!

"ROAR" I am the marker monster!!!

Marker monster attacks her sissy!!!

No, she is not trapped in a playpen, she loves to join her sissy - amazing how they revert when the second one comes along! Although, Camryn always loved the playpen!

Cute Reese prior to throwing the hat at me....

More pics and stories to soon follow.....

Garage Sale

2008-05-24T22:22:00.000-07:00

For starters I survived it...but holy cow! A couple of years ago I had a small garage sale - somewhat of a test run for what I did today. I think I made around $275-$300 and considering I really didn't prepare (and that the majority of my "good" stuff was gone by 10:30) I did well and learned a thing or two to better prepare for today!

I first learned that if you put 9 a.m.-1 p.m. people will show up around 8 a.m. no matter how rude that may be. Hardcore garage salers are not alright with you putting your stuff out leisurely at 8:55 a.m. I also learned that you should have two people working the sale...one to negotiate and the other to watch for stolen goods and take the dough! I was excited and exhausted the last time.

This time around I had bigger and better stuff, beer neons from the White Spot, a hutch, dressers, wing back chairs, baby clothes (big seller), pool table light, outdoor stuff and various toys and odds and ends I had been saving for the big day! Before my sale had even begun, I already had buyers for the dressers, chairs and a couple neons...I was way excited!

I did a joint garage sale this time (another new lesson; not sure that will happen again) so things were a bit confusing and chaotic at times as you have people come up to you with 30% of your stuff and 70% of someone elses.

Prior to opening the doors we were pretty well prepared as we had a good game plan for the morning (with plans for our kids), I was set with my change and all of our was stuff marked last night and set in the garage (in case of rain) for what could survive outside and what needed to be displayed in the garage. No need to worry about that rain - it was the perfect day for a sale. We opened the garage to start to display our stuff at 7:45ish and sure enough the hawks were there and at 7:50. We were swamped and desperately trying to get our stuff out (our sale was scheduled for 8:30...another lesson; no early birds!!!)

So the stories here could be endless - like the anonymous person who ate 2 bites out of our free doughnuts and put the doughnut back in the box (no joke), or the old man who wanted 5 old (but working) watches for $1, or the guy who mother's refrigerator just broke but she would love that heater (what?!?) for $2 less, or the guy whose girlfriend has MRSA (I am not making this stuff up folks!), or the boy whose grandmother made him come and get his money back as he (about age 11) couldn't buy the candle he just bought. We made it through our sale with clearing out most everything (slashing prices at an hour and half in as we didn't want this to be an all day deal!). I was super excited because I sold the hutch to a gal who gave me $20 down and was coming back with the rest in a couple hours. Well a couple hours went by and my phone rang (mind you I had at least a dozen people who wanted that hutch) and she couldn't come up with all the money so "would you take X amount" - I gave it a few minutes, called her back and said "NO" - she showed up 15 minutes later just a few cents shy of what she promised...now had she not shown up with her Coach bag and new truck I may have negotiated but what gives here????

So the best story is that we came to the end and had 3 bigger items left to sell/give away - pool table light (couldn't believe people were not all over that!), bed frame for $10 and our FREE recliner (which is still in my garage). We wouldn't totally close until those things were gone - the bed frame has a new home and I was tired so I called it quits an hour later. I didn't bring in our signs and people kept coming and coming, rummaging through my Goodwill boxes...I finally decied to go with it - turn on the sales lady charm. I decided to help these gals go through my neatly packed stuff and in doing so I ran across these glasses. Now, when I bought them, the salesperson had demonstrated that this glass would never break even if she stood on it (which she demonstrated so well). So I decided to recreate the major selling point as I place the pilsner glass under my flip flop on the lawn and stand on the glass...well, the pilsners are not "unbreakable" (Becca, don't let the boys go in the grass near the sidewalk of our house without shoes for a day or so ....) - yep, there I am with my broken glass! Feeling all sorts of a dork!

In the end, it was a successful garage sale! My stuff has new homes, my pocketbook is ready for our trip to California and my goal today was to be able to park the Jeep in the garage again -

SUCCESS!!!!!NOW TO GET RID of that stinking recliner and baby swing - pickups coming tomorrow!

Reese Viette

2008-05-17T23:51:00.001-07:00

turns 10 months at midnight (7 minutes) - today I bought her the Gerber Biter Biscuits - I think she liked them...

(Sorry Chelle - I promise to get this adorable outfit all cleaned up!!) Who knew she would fall in love with the biter biscuit???

SO in love in fact that she continued to eat the residual off of her hands...

HAPPY GIRL!!!

Yes...

2008-05-17T23:39:00.000-07:00

my week did significantly improve...
What Tuesday made me realize is that I am always in a hurry. I could have been the pedestrian, the woman in the minivan who hit the pedestrian, the left hand turner or the Saab who hit the left hand turner...I guess I got a "Christmas Carol" look at things without all the change and pain that those who were affected received.
What will I change and what did I learn from this:
I can never hug/smooch/snuggle my kids too much!
I will get there, even if I am late, I will get there & 10 mph more won't make it any better!
I won't talk on my cell phone with the girls in the car and will limit my time otherwise...distracted enough don't need that!
I take things for granted, not because I am selfish but because I am human - I will try to remember to not take moments/people/friends/family/gifts/life for granted....I know I won't perfect this one but our lives are a work in progress....

So, that is what I take away from Tuesday (and the fact that now I am part of a suit as an attorney contacted my on Friday...oh, well!).
Happy for the sunshine!!!

And it was all going so well...

2008-05-13T20:27:00.001-07:00

So today was Camryn's first day at her new daycare. I figured since I have two drop offs and my new place has a structured schedule they follow, I wanted to get there at best a bit early - this was going to be a big deal for me - early that is! I did it! I made it - I got there almost 15 minutes early and didn't feel rushed. Camryn melded with the other kids, waved goodbye and I was off to take Reese to Miss Jessica's house. That was a weird feeling as Miss Jessica has watched Cam for almost 3 years and to not drop her off was actually an icky feeling...being without her for that moment didn't feel right. Reese adjusted fine as well and now she got to be the center of attention!
So I leave Miss Jessica's and head to work. I am minding my business and the road at the stop light when I see a pedestrian walking and beginning to run in front of my car - no big deal as I realize he is running because the light had turned green. The lady coming in the right lane next to me however, did not see the pedestrian and proceeds to hit him at 25 mph (at least). I am screaming in my car - it was awful to watch up front like that. The worst part was that the pedestrian flew up over her minivan and landed in the intersection and she (as the pavement was so wet) almost didn't come to a complete stop - narrowly missing running him over again. Now, yes her light was green and yes, he was in the crosswalk - the police said there is no fault just awful circumstances for both as the lady who hit the guy was most likely unable to see him with my vehicle being as tall as it is. Nonetheless, I am the main witness and I get out of my car to see it is a guy I went to HS with - Nathan Wright - he is standing up but very dazed and I can tell he is hurting (and bleeding) and going to be worse once the adrenaline wears off. I am shaking so bad I scarcely can call 911 - and I am not a good 911 caller anyhow as my sense of direction is awful. I tell the lady we are at the intersection of Yelm Hwy and Custer - then change to Yelm Hwy and North and she says "that doesn't exist" - well, sorry I am at the intersection of Cleveland and North (this is what happens when a street changes name mid-street...stupidest thing I have ever seen!). Anyhow, I stay, fill out the police witness report, make sure Nathan is as good as he can be before they whisk him to St. Pete's and I proceed to work where the jitters take another hour to wear off.
Now, I figured that was enough for one day. But, no, my story can't possibly end there. I am busting all day to make up for the hour I lost with the accident when I realize it is 4:30. I have 2 kids to pick up at separate locations and one of the two ways I utilized to go home/pick up is closed for construction until December. So quickly I leave my desk a mess and head off to pick up Reese. I get her bundled in the car and turn the wrong way down Yelm Hwy/Cleveland and have to turn around a block later. I get going in the right direction when I realize everyone else has had this same problem and traffic is backed up forever! So I call my NEW daycare and tell them (just great on the first day) that I am going to be a couple minutes late. I no sooner hang up the phone when the car in front of me is letting someone turn left (crossing over 2 lanes of Yelm Hwy) into their subdivision. Our lane is safe to turn past as we are stopped, however, the right hand lane is not and yep, you guessed it I watched my second accident of the day a beautiful red sedan plow (at around 40 mph) into the side of a beautiful large black Escalade....totalling both vehicles (all less than 5 feet from me). Now the bigger deal is that the driver of the red car gets out and assesses the damage without putting her car in park so it is sliding back into Yelm Hwy and right towards my Jeep which is stopped with traffic...I get out of my and stand up on my doorway and yell "PUT IT IN PARK, PLEASE!!! PUT IT IN PARK" all the while once again calling 911 ... needless to say, I had Reese with me and didn't have the time, energy or emotional ability to stay as a witness again. I gave my info to the lady behind me (as there were 7 or so witnesses and bossy and rude ones at that!) so I turned around and took off...yep, the tears came after that I had had it for one day.
Now, yes, I am looking at the bright side of all of this - I was not directly involved (THANK GOD!) in either of these wrecks, my kids are safe, my vehicle is intact and everyone in my family is good...however, that was enough adrenaline rushes for a while for me.
Here's to a better tomorrow and some sunshine soon....
I need a cup of Calm Tea.....
Oh, and nope, not everyone is good, poor Court horribly threw out his back in a work accident today and can't even stand up straight let alone pick up the girls...oh, happy day, happy day...but again, those other people in my story had a way worse day of it than me!!!
Again, going for that cup of tea........

What happens when....

2008-05-10T22:42:00.001-07:00

you leave your 3 year old eating her pancakes in the kitchen with stickers within reach???....

this is what happens...she said she couldn't decide which one to put on her face so she just kept going...I was laughing inside and out and instead of giggling and removing the stickers from her face and asking her to finish her breakfast I decided.....
to join her and enjoy that moment where our kids allow us to become a kid all over again!!

(Now I will say, these buggers hurt to take back off as they are SUPER sticky - so I had lovely red "Ariel" and shell shaped blotches on my face for an hour but she thought it was as funny as I did!!)

Here's to putting stickers on your face!!

To all my fellow Mommies; Happy Mother's Day!!

Few new pics!

2008-05-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

Been busy but wanted to get these photos up and decided to detail a couple things happening in the Gibeau house!

1. Camryn is into shapes, colors and getting to know her letters.

2. Reese is crawling like crazy and pulling herself up on everything!

3. Camryn starts a new daycare next Tuesday as our beloved Miss Jessica is moving - Reese starts in July (age hurdle - July is when they have a spot)

4. Reese has mastered eating puffs herself (loved for us to put them in her mouth).

5. Court turned 40 on the 24th - had a successful surprise party (another blog for another day).

6. Reese is saying "Mama" - LOVE IT!!

7. I am happy that the sun has shined for two days!!

8. Looking forward to a relaxing Mother's Day with my family, brother and parents.

9. I really love my new mother's ring.

10. I "trimmed" Camryn's hair (my hairdresser would be so thrilled) and kept going; got a bit scissor happy...pics below, actually each day I think it is cuter!

For my limited blog audience, I am sorry for the lack of "fun" or "funnies" - Court has not thrown anything of value in the trash and the girls are growing and keeping me busy! I am sure we will have a lot more to report especially after we take our road trip to Cali next month!!

Prior to my hair "trim".

After my hair "trim" - pic on top of blog is better...not bad...

My Mother's Day Gift....

2008-05-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

arrived yesterday! I am so excited. I really like to deviate from "traditional" jewelry pieces. I really wanted a new mother's ring (Court got me one with his, mine and Cam's birth stones and I do love it) but I wanted something different - getting away from the standard birthstone ring. I found this ring in a magazine (from the company Nelle and Lizzy) that had two sterling silver bands intertwined with your children's names etched on each ring. I fell in love with it!! I found it last year and have waited to order - yesterday my order came in the mail and I love it as much as I did when I just saw a picture of it!

Here it is!

Yes, that is my 100 year old looking hand...guess hand modeling is out for me :)

It came deep in lavender - smelled so good!!!

In case you are interested, here is the site to check out their rings. They have I think up to 4 rings that can be combined together.

Reese Viette

2008-04-19T09:46:00.001-07:00

turned 9 months old yesterday! Time is flying by! She is working on mastering that crawling thing. She has successfully scooted backwards across the room and definitely can roll around. Now for forward momentum!

In Minnesota...

2008-04-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

it always snowed later in the season...even sometimes in May. But I don't live in MN anymore so what in the world is this.....

Our street at 7:30 a.m.

We played with this thing last Saturday (yep, one week ago) when it was 82 degrees out. REALLY????

Camryn said, "Look at my paw prints, Mom!!"

Trying to catch the snow!

Reese was in such a cute outfit....

2008-04-15T21:11:00.001-07:00

I had to take these pics...my fav is the one with the hat suspended in mid "throw".

Court "trumps" himself....

2008-04-15T20:05:00.000-07:00

So earlier in my blog I wrote of Court disposing of some precious jeans of Reese's...well today the man trumped himself!!

I have been working with the original carpet installers to repair damage done by Mr. Baylee cat. He chose our carpet as his scratching pad...not a good thing. A couple weeks ago a gentleman came out and bid the repairs for us. Finally today I was on the schedule (I have been wanting to get this repair done for so long it seems like years...). So I had to wait by my cell phone all day for the "we'll be there between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m." (OK, I am exaggerating - they said 1:00 and got here at 3:00 - still annoying!). When I got the call I left all my work and ran home. We met at the same time and the statement out of their mouth was "All we need is the replacement carpet." Now I have had a 8 foot by probably 4 yards swatch of carpet (in case of replacement) in our garage for almost 5 years. It is the matching dye lot, saves money from purchasing carpet and I was so grateful to have it in case of this exact thing...bet you know where I am going with this. So I look around to the spot that the carpet has been in for (again) almost 5 YEARS! Much to my surprise, it is not there....so I of course call Court. He doesn't recall moving it but may have simply been "relocated it in the garage" when he cleaned this summer....try, relocated it to a friends truck as he was making a dump run this summer. Yep, yep, yep, HE THREW OUR REPLACEMENT CARPET INTO A LANDFILL!!!!!!!!! I truly had no words...honestly, I am not sure I do now either. Now we have no carpet in our linen closet (as it served as the replacement today) and we are going to have to now replace that flooring....again, NO WORDS :)

From the mouths of babes...

2008-04-11T22:50:00.000-07:00

We shared the day with Camryn's friend Grace. She is a real joy to have around as she is the big sister Camryn would love to have! They play and get along so well - I have fun watching Camryn absorb as Grace matures. I told Barb (Grace's momma) that she provides me with such comic relief throughout the day. Here are a couple great Grace stories:

She and Camryn are playing tea party when Camryn suddenly (obviously was leaning) falls and breaks the chair she was sitting on. Now before you get to worried, the chair is all of 4 inches off the ground...not that bad of an injury. Camryn is crying and screaming (more freaked out than anything) and when she finally calms down and I get the chair repaired she gets upset that Grace has moved her chair to where Camryn's chair used to be (if you followed all of that, you have little ones or are close to one - if not, welcome to the world of the absurd :) So finally as Grace and I can no longer attempt to compromise with Camryn, I ask Grace just to move a bit as I remind her that she (Grace) is 7 and Camryn is 3 and things are hard at 3. Grace looks up at me and says "It will get easier when she is 4, trust me". LOVE HER!

The other one that had me rolling (from a couple weeks ago) was when Grace decided to tell Camryn that if she eats too much of that powdered sugar all of her teeth will "rot and fall right out of (her) head". Camryn takes everything literally and everything Grace says is as good as gold! So after this statement (made by her 7 year old idol who is missing half of her teeth - surely freaking Camryn out!) Camryn slowly pushes her plate of french toast and powdered sugar away. Grace didn't stop there as she told Camryn that she would have to get "falsers" to replace her teeth and those are really gross...again all said through her toothless grin! Camryn of course burst into tears, Grace did some great damage control and now (couple weeks have past) Cam is back to loving the powdered sugar "But not too much, Momma".....
(Couple Halloween's ago - Cam loves her Grace!)

(Cam's 2nd birthday party - again her Gracie!)

Photoshop....

2008-04-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

must have been created by a parent much like us...one who takes 45 photos to no avail, who waits for the perfect shot, thinking they have captured it and then the screen/photo shows some crazy faces you couldn't even try to recreate! Today I got to have lunch with my Dad (exciting because I have spent the last 8 months having lunch with Reese and Camryn - not complaining but the change was nice). We had a great lunch at the Mason Jar (our favorite "dad and Jaim" place to go). Afterwards I wanted to show him the pics of Cam on her bike so I went to the blog. I scrolled down to show him the Easter pics and laughingly said "this photo would be perfect if it had this picture of Reese in it and that photo of Cam in it" - so tonight voila - Dad waved his photoshop wand and here you go.....the perfect shot you usually never get!

Thanks, Dad!!! I love it!!!!!!!!! (If you scroll below to the Easter blog you will see that he took the last two photos and put them together - very well I might add!)

Sunshine, sweet, sweet sunshine!

2008-04-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

Reese and I spent the day at home with a stinking cold! Camryn went to daycare and afterwards I was so amazed to see the sun, I decided she needed to exercise her legs and give her new bike another try (she got a bike for her birthday and so far has only successfully pedaled backwards which is frustrating for her and for Court and I). So my darling daughter, who has inherited my graceful gene (was named the accident prone cheerleader in HS - laugh, but you actually can get hurt as a cheerleader :) there were a few years where walking was hazardous for me)....just last night Camryn played out a classic scene of Mary Catherine Gallagher from SNL when she lost her balance (after spinning - watching Dancing with the Stars) and successfully crashed into her Pet Shop tower and gashed her head on the magazine holder - Court said it was "ha,ha" funny to watch but painful when we saw the aftermath!

So here we go again, another try at the bike. She padded and helmeted up and went for it. Tonight we had success!!! She pedaled forward but we have a steering problem - darn grass got in her way! But she was proud and so excited as she could go straight down the sidewalk. Time goes by so fast - seems like yesterday I was waiting for her to crawl....

Here we go...

"Whoa, the driveway made me go fast!!" Thank God for that helmet - and the pads.

Here is our steering issue....

Mastering the forward pedalling...so proud!!!

"I can do it, Mom" (BTW, doesn't Court look adorable with his heart sunglasses accessory)

Camryn's First Hair Cut

2008-03-23T23:23:00.001-07:00

Yes, I have trimmed the child's hair, however, I took her to the salon for her first professional haircut on her birthday...she did great!

Getting shampooed....doing great!!

Ready (but hesistant) to go!

Not going to cry but a bit weirded out.

Very serious as she just asked "are you only going to cut my Barbie Hair and not my Princess Hair" - fortuantely Patti, my stylist, knew the difference.

Almost done.....

The final product with Patti!

Big hugs to Auntie Sandee - look at my hair!

Camryn's Birthday and Reese's First Easter!

2008-03-23T16:04:00.000-07:00

I think I may have been crazy to figure that a birthday party on Saturday and Easter on Sunday would not wear me out...thank God my Mom did the cooking today!

Camryn's 3rd birthday party was yesterday. The theme was ladybugs...the party was a success and I/we all had fun (but was so darned tired last night). Then up and at 'em this morning for church and my parents house for brunch...as I write, everyone (except for myself and Court) are taking a much needed nap here at my parents house! What is wrong with me; why am I typing and not napping? I guess I just didn't want Camryn's birthday week to go by without the update and pics.

The highlight of the party was when we were all singing to Cam she got very upset and "ordered" us all to not address her as Camryn but rather as princess. So we started the birthday song once again and addressed her royal self appropriately. Now most of you know, the apple doesn't fall too far as when I was in 1st grade I got in front of my class and lead them in a John Denver song (Leaving on a Jet Plane) for my birthday..(for those of you who may wonder where this child gets this - I know, most of you had no wonder at all!)

Reese was a chill kid taking in all of the happenings of yesterday and today. Her Easter gift to me was sleeping 8 hours straight (Becca are you still on your chair) and then (Becca, it gets better) 4 more hours ALL IN HER CRIB last night (Reese is a "sleep where, when and how I want to sleep" kid mixing it up night after night (oh happy day) - it's either her crib, swing or mommy's arms...makes for a long night as she doesn't just choose one spot). She danced on our way to church this morning (was so darling she was bopping her head and body with Camryn to the music) and then sang in church (unfortunately we were done singing so Papa escorted her out), ate brunch and entertained us and now is resting away with sissy & Papa. Her first Easter was a lot of fun!

Hope you had a wonderful Easter and Happy Spring! Here are some pics to enjoy!

Night of Camryn's birthday - getting ready to blow out those candles!

"I DID IT"!!!!

Ladybug themed party

Party friends

Birthday girl on the go and being silly with Auntie!

Best buddy sweet, sweet Evan!

Reese enjoying her lunch during the party.

EASTER DAY

Happy Reese!

Camryn is either twirling, talking, dancing or singing too much to get a good picture now-a-days...can't complain - she loves life and we love her!

NOW FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF "ARE YOU KIDDING ME CAN'T WE GET ONE GOOD SHOT"

My new read...

2008-03-12T23:40:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are neurotic as me (and for those who are not), I am sure you all have heard of the new case (found in favor of the parents/plaintiffs) regarding the connection between an abundance of vaccines and autism-like symptoms. (Here is the link to watch this family on Larry King Live ). In 2000, the parents had their doctor administer 9 vaccines to their daughter in one office visit (they had to "catch up" on some they had missed). Within a certain period of time, their daughter went from hitting all milestones, talking and developing as a normal 19 month old to becoming lethargic, not speaking, reduced motor function and more. They deducted that the vaccines were part of the problem. Their daughter did have a condition which pre-disposed her to autism however, the case is saying that the vaccines most likely pushed her over the edge. This has been the argument of many parents that that many vaccines in the first year of life should not be a "one size fits all" deal; each child has a different genetic makeup that could pre-dispose them to not handling those things which are toxic in vaccines (or the environment). Based on this, the family won in a court of law for the injury to their daughter. Both parents are in the medical field (father is a Dr. and mother was a nurse) and while they are not anti-vaccine, they are a voice for the abundance of shots our children receive (which has always been my biggest fear - for those of you who know, vaccines give me the greatest anxiety!!!)

So although Camryn won't get/need another vaccine until she is older, I am going to change the schedule (which I already had quite a bit as it was) for Reese. I wanted to find a good resource to aid in my decision and I have...it is a book by Dr. Robert Sears "The Vaccine Book". Of all the books/articles I have read, this one is the most comprehensive with no scare tactics, just the facts and his thoughts. I recommend this book for any and everyone whether you are or are not on the fence for vaccines. It is a great resource as it details out what is in each vaccine and clearly defines what the vaccine is for, the pros and cons and other great info. This book serves as a great resource for vaccines, what our bodies do with the ingredients as well as what Dr. Sears has found in his research with the connection to neurological problems and reactions in children and vaccines. Interestingly enough, he seems to lean more toward the aluminum in the vaccines being more of a culprit than anything else (but removing that from vaccines is a catch 22 as it improves the body's response to the vaccine and would be very difficult and costly to do).

I am glad I added this to my library - would highly recommend!!

On a lighter side, I am also reading a very funny book called the Ivy Chronicles - all about a woman who loses her corporate job to then work with parents in NY to get their children into elite kindergartens....the funny part is that I just got Camryn enrolled in preschool at the Hands On Children's Museum and I could have used a "coach" as it seemed more "competitive" for a spot than I realized. Haven't finished it yet but it is good so far....trying to meet my New Years resolution of 1 book a month...this is my third so far (yeah to resolutions!!)

Now I am "it"....

2008-03-12T23:31:00.000-07:00

I was tagged….thanks Becca :)
I do like this one – it was fun!!

10 YEARS AGO: I was married for the first time (married my “senior year sweetheart” – and got divorced in 2000 – not the proudest moments) and had just graduated from SPSCC with my AA degree. I was coaching cheerleading at Shelton High School (almost the most awful experience of my life) and I had taken a break from working for the real estate company (I had worked there for 6 years at that point) and was deciding on what path my life would take….little did I know 10 years later and a lot of personal trials, it would be pretty darned great!

5 THINGS ON MY TO-DO LIST:
1. Get some groceries – poor Reese is tired of the same food….
2. Get our carpet stretched….(think I will call them right now)
3. Clean the whole house (what a task…..)
4. Get ready for Camryn’s 3rd birthday party
5. Pack for the weekend at my parents house

5 SNACKS I ENJOY (any and all so will be hard to narrow):
1. Peanut butter cookies
2. Frosted sugar cookies from Albertson’s (I LOVE THESE!!)
3. DQ Ice Cream cake (or Blizzards!!)
4. Butterscotch candies
5. An occasional Snickers bar

5 Places I've Lived:
1. St. Paul, MN
2. White Bear Lake, MN
3. Shelton, WA
4. Tumwater, WA
5. Olympia, WA

WHAT WOULD I DO IF I SUDDENLY BECAME A BILLIONAIRE:I have to follow Becca’s lead here – I would definitely get a bigger house (but maybe we should plan on still being neighbors so I will buy you guys a house too :) and hire someone to help me clean it!! I would get a 7 passenger vehicle and plan from there….

5 JOBS I'VE HAD:
1. Real Estate after school errand girl/office assistant
2. Cheerleading Coach
3. Physical Therapist Aide
4. Barista
5. Realtor

5 THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME:
1. I played the saxophone for 4 years and the piano for 8 – can’t do either now
2. I love to write and am a neurotic proofreader
3. I can memorize a telephone number or price by only hearing it once – (have this weird formula way of remembering it – get it from my dad)
4. I have no sense of direction (real estate is such a great profession for this…..)
5. I can only tell my right hand from my left (other than my wedding ring) by a bump that developed on my right hand as I started to write as a kid…I never really learned I just knew the bump was on the right and I would feel for it to tell the difference. As it has diminished over the years my reliance on it has not been so great (and my friends have razzed me for always turning left when they say right)

Monday Mornings....

2008-03-05T18:55:00.000-08:00

I wrote this post Tuesday night....been too crazy to even get it posted...so here you go!

We have all had that Monday morning (mine are on Tuesday as the girls are home with Court on Monday) – the one where you just hope that Publisher’s Sweepstakes calls with the “BIG” check so that you turn around and go home to plan the big vacation and payoff all your debt and sleep in for a week (or more!!). OK, so obviously that morning did not happen today. If it was not one thing, it was half dozen of another, Camryn didn’t want to get those shoes on, Reese fills her diaper, Camryn finally sits still long enough to put in her ponytail, Reese kicks off her shoes, Camryn “doesn’t want to wear that jacket”, Reese spits up all over her second outfit of the morning, Camryn’s sock has a hole in it, Reese pulls her hat over her eyes (oh, happy day!), Camryn wants to take all of her toys to daycare and is so happy when I say “no” to each, it is 8:50 a.m. and I am supposed to be out the door and I have not even put on my makeup let alone dumped the gorgeous striped jammies I am wearing. Finally by 9:15 (I was supposed to be at work 15 minutes ago) we are ready for the car and Reese’s nuk falls out (nukside down on the pavement), Camryn’s seatbelt is too tight, I forgot my cell phone, I get my cell phone but now need the keys (back in the house I go), start the engine and the CD that is playing is not the one Camryn wants to hear this morning and Reese starts to cry because Camryn is whining….(perfect intro for the Calgon Take me Away music…..)
My daycare is just 5 minutes from the house so you would figure what more could possibly go wrong but indeed something will. I get parked, yank the overfilled baby bag out of the Jeep, un-latch Reese and go around to get Camryn out of her seat. As I unbuckle her she find something interesting on the floor of the car and starts goofing off…suddenly, instead of her usual step to me to get out, she awkwardly falls out of the Jeep onto the ground. In an effort to console her, I accidently ram Reese’s carseat (which I am trying to juggle with the overstuffed baby bag on my arm) right into Camryn’s head…the tears FLOW!!! I am feeling like the worst Mommy and really wanting a big do-over! I quickly get down and comfort her all the while she is wearing these glasses that are Sir Elton John worthy. Between her sobs she tells me, “Mommy, please fix my glasses on my ear because I know Jessica will get a kick out of seeing me in these” (yep, she stole my sentence from earlier in the morning as she put these lovelies on her face). Just the littlest things can make you smile, turn your crazy morning around and are more priceless than that fat check from Publisher’s Clearinghouse…although, I will always welcome their call! What do you think? Are you getting a kick out of her glasses…..

Latest Camryn"isms"

2008-02-29T22:54:00.000-08:00

Couple new ones:
Sakoo (AKA - Kazoo - she loves to play that at Nana & Papa's house!)

American Idickol (The other night she asked if she "could stay up and watch American Idickol a little?")

Rat-a-two-ya (AKA our new favorite Pixar movie Ratatouille)

And although this one is not a Camrynism, it was a funny one from tonight -

Court didn't bring home the correct chips for me (to compliment my Subway sandwich) so while I was complaining Court told Camryn to tell me that the chips I prefer would make me fat....I sent her back with this message "What are you saying Mommy's butt is big" and in the time it took her to get to Court with the message all she had left in her memory bank was "Daddy, you have a big butt".......oh well

Give me a day or so .... I am sure there will be more where that came from!!

Mud Pies

2008-02-29T22:53:00.000-08:00

About 8 years ago it was brought to my attention that I must not have been a kid that loved to play in the mud. I was walking a new construction job site during our lovely liquid sunshine winter weather in my new black suede shoes when I found myself literally stuck in the mud. I had made a fantastic decision to not only step on what seemed “solid” but to continue to step…each step sinking my shoes and socks further in the brown gooey guck. The gal I was with was laughing as I walked out of my predicament holding my hands in a manner that (she claimed) stated “I need a bath”. Needless to say I was made consciously aware of my dislike of mud and dirt (and to think I live in Washington and work with new construction…..)
This piece of my character (dare I say a “flaw” or “OCD”) has been coined my mud-pie-phobia and unfortunately, it has been passed along. When Camryn was born I swore that I would get over my fear and allow her to frolic in the dirt however, she too has mud-pie-phobia. Ever since she was very little she has never been one for tons of finger painting, play doh in the fingernails, dirt on her hands, “sticky” anything on her digits (unless it is her beloved syrup) and even her first birthday was disappointing as she daintily stuck her fingers in the frosting and barely got any on her mouth….what fun was that??!!
Then along comes my darling Reese to “break the spell”. She smacks her food, crazily splashes in water, smears her dinner on her face and is typically covered each day with an array of mealtime, snot, drool (Camryn was only a drooler when very small) and the occasional milk puke. So here is to learning to live outside my mud-pie-phobia box….

Ode to eBay...

2008-02-18T21:36:00.000-08:00

The other night, over dinner my friend Jess and I "made up" (how 3rd grade) a new blogging rule. Our lives are not always (hard to believe with each of us having two small kids) exciting enough to write about everyday....but what if something was funny or exciting a week, month or year ago...we came up with "what the heck - let's say we can blog about anything!" So here you go....this is not new news but it is a funny (now it is funny) story from last month. For Christmas my girlfriend Michelle got the girls matching adorable outfits! She bought one for Camryn, Reese and her daughter Claire. I fell in love with each piece of the outfit (there was a shirt, sweater, jeans and hat that all had this “Pippi” character on them). I fell so in love with this outfit that I decided Reese would wear it for her 6 month pictures and the girls would both wear this outfit to Claire’s 2nd birthday party. Reese’s pics turned out great and she was such a trooper as it took hours at our local Penney’s. The party was after the picture session and I was so happy that the outfit had survived the two hour photo session with no spit up disasters. After the party we hung around and Reese had a minor diaper catastrophe. As we mothers do, I changed her and took the clothes she was wearing and put them in the infamous plastic bag for the transport home. The bag made it to the car, into the house and the rest (although I have it figured) remains a true mystery. By the time I figured Court had most likely mistaken the plastic bag for trash, it was too late. I had spent the week forgetting that I had not unloaded those jeans – just kept waiting for them to “go through the wash” until I really thought about where there were last. Now these were a clothing item – an article of clothes that Reese most likely will outgrow before she wears them too many more times but I couldn’t get over the fact that the main piece of this adorable outfit was sitting in some landfill. So off to eBay I go….after hours of trying to figure out what the outfit was called I find it; the jeans, sweater and a different shirt in size 6-9 months and it was Buy It Now….does it get any better? Well actually it gets worse….I quickly purchase the outfit, pay and wait in anticipation of the estimated arrival date. The next morning I get an email saying that the woman accidentally posted this outfit (sold it months earlier) and she is so sorry…she has NO idea! The next “lot” of this size with the jeans is $75 (I love the outfit but not this much). I decide (after silently beating Court up for hours) that if I don’t find it within the next 24 hours I have to let it go. Couple hours later I find another set with just the jeans and shirt for $5 more than what I paid the first time but I must have these jeans (I know we have all been here in the eBay search). So now the outfit is once again complete….let this pic do the talking and you be the judge; could you have been alright with the incomplete outfit?

Talent I didn't inherit....

2008-02-18T20:52:00.000-08:00

So most of you know my mom can knit/crochet/cross stitch/sew anyone under the table. The woman has adorned more babies with these sweaters and has people asking for them left and right.......
(Camryn Mae at 8 months old)

(Reese Viette in same sweater at 3.5 months old)

(Reese at 3 months old...soooo happy in her sweater!)

I wanted to show off her latest - the ADORABLE sun hat that I must have a few more of!!!

(Reese needs a hat!!)

I will learn to do this stuff someday....it just doesn't come naturally for me; not as naturally as she makes it seem!
Love ya Momma!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T21:58:00.001-08:00

No matter how snazy your camera is, it seems you can't capture what you think is the "perfect" photo...but in the midst of trying, this is what you get!

or this...... or this.....

or this.....

or this....
But by far the classic must be this one!

("OUCH! Sissy is pulling my hair" - and looks like she means to!)

Here's to the two good ones out of 35 photos snapped!

(I had lost Camryn to a "toon" at this point! Oh, well!)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!

Camryn's Art

2008-02-13T15:28:00.001-08:00

I never wanted to be the "bragging" Mommy but I have to admit - I am....I try to keep it "low key" as Camryn seems to give me things to brag about by just being herself ... (the bar is set so high for poor Reese - I keep reminding myself not to compare!!) but this, this I was pretty excited about (and was glad to hear from my neighbor how proud she was of her son for the same thing) so I decided I had to share.

Court is an amazingly talented artist - can draw most anything by looking at it once. He has amazing attention to detail and has impressed me when he "doodles" on Camryn's doodle art magnetic board. So best I can figure, Camryn has (hopefully) inherited his talents.

Check out her recent "face" drawings....done at 34 months old. I was impressed....

Finally came out of "hibernation"

2008-02-13T15:07:00.001-08:00

I ended up at home with the girls today (daycare is sick)....and it couldn't be a more beautiful day to stay home with them! The sun is out and it was actually warm enough to just have a sweatshirt on! After our morning routine we headed off to the mall for some Easter shoe shopping and playtime. On our way home we stopped by my office (which is always an hour at least so Miss Social - not me, I do mean Camryn) can stop and say "hello" to everyone. As we pulled up to the house Camryn spotted her friend Evan outside with his Mom and brother. Camryn and Evan play so well together and it cracks Becca (Evan's Mommy) and I up how when they spot one another outside that is all that matters (they turned around from their walk and Camryn got right out of the car and went to Evan).
What's so funny about our hibernation is that we don't see them for weeks - sometimes months and our houses are all of 5 feet apart from one another. Last year we had hibernated so well that when Becca and I "emerged" we both we pregnant and due within the next 3-5 months.
From our conversations both this, my previous (Camryn isms), and my next blog (Camryn's art) are inspired....thanks, Becca! Hope we see you much sooner :)