Independence Day

We did it. We're in.  Not totally put away but the kids are sleeping on beds with sheets and I'm able to post so, what else does  a house really need?  

The last 2 days I subconsciously fell off the grid.  I haven't been using my phone at all and I think that's because i don't have to.  I am a totally free woman unshackled from the 36 unit mountain on my back. It's brilliant. I love it.  I kept telling my mom that i felt like I was on vacation and i'd have to go back. But no, it's really true. No more apartments for me.  Tonight I found my phone and had 20 missed calls. Every single one was a birthday wish from friends and family and not ONE was a tenant needing something from me.  Oh, heaven, I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present.  (Thank you to those that did call.  I love you and I'll get back to you this week!)

But, ok, enough of the drama... 

The good news is, we should be done unpacking this week, so I'm sending out an open call to all interested parties jonesin' for a get-a-way to sunny southern california. .  We'd love to see you and i can now offer you a semi-private guest room/office for your complete comfort. Oh, and don't forget the complimentary cereal breakfast. You're not going to want to miss that.  

3 things before I go...

• This is the answer to the question: "Why to do my clothes smell soooo good when I pick them up from the Fluff and Fold?" (And it's SUPER cheap.)
  

                                       

• This is my uber chic collage roommate.  It's a frightfully blurry picture but I assure you, we were two cool chicks.  Hey you, no smirking! 

She now has two boys and recently started an online shop. She sent me some bibs and burp cloths to match my Spongy Feet blanket and it turns out she's a great seamstress with excellent taste! Bookmark PunchyGear.com for all your baby needs. Her slings are reversible and the bibs are extra long so they cover your baby's whole shirt. Sweet!

• And lastly, a director that Doug works with is letting him stay at his apartment while Doug is in New York next week.  My question is...What do you get as a thank you for something like that? He'll be there a week, maybe 10 days.  It's saving us a ton on hotel fees, so what kind of thing would be appropriate?  

Ok, that's all from me for now.  I'll see you on the flip side of this move. Ciao!

sopapillas anyone?

Happy Father's Day, Doug. Ok, it was yesterday but for Father's Day we had an all out Big Texas BBQ. We had Paula Deen's Pulled Pork sandwiches, mashed potatoes and Cornbread (or as Owen called it, Corn Cake), and strawberry shortcake. Hot Dang, was it good. We all talked in accents, said ya'll a lot and Sophie kept balancing an Arrowhead water bottle on her head as a 10 gallon hat.

Right after church and while everything was cooking we had Sopapillas! Tons of them! and with yummy, melting honey butter. ah, to die for.



Here's Doug, the master craftsman, making a few. ('ve never had them and my first attempt was pretty funny.)

Open House

The Science Project. Not a school-wide winner but forever a winner to us.

 

Owen in front of his favorite school mural. Who doesn't love the giraffe-whale and the monkey-octopus.



The McCoys...the only people I'm going to miss at Nestle.



And a blurry shot of Penny doing what she does all day long.

One more Owen story

Today he told me that we were brother and sister because Heavenly Father is our dad and everybody's dad. Then he said,

"I told Marco (at school) that we were brothers and he didn't believe me. I told him that everybody is a Child of God. He didn't know what i was talking about. Maybe he needs to come to our church."

Go, little missionary, go.

slight disaster leads to lesson learned

This morning I volunteered to help tally votes for all of the projects submitted to the science fair. (Sophie and her team tied for second place in their class so they qualified to present their science project at the fair...way to go soph!)

But anyway Doug is working today so i debated getting a babysitter for Penny or just bringing her with me. I decided i'd just bring her along. After all, she's a pretty mellow baby and she usually naps around 11 so she'd probably just sleep the whole time. (ha, ha, ha.)

I also debated bringing a sling or just using the carseat/stroller system. Eventually I decided against the system because it's too bulky and I didn't want to be in the way. So, i get her all fed and changed and get down to the car and about half way to school i realized i left the sling upstairs. Ok, big bulky travel system it is!

And that was just the beginning. It turned out to be a total disaster. I ended up being the only parent that volunteered and Penny woke up as soon as we got there. I sat down outside the auditorium and started totaling. I got through a few papers and then had to take penny out of her car seat. And then it was lunch time and all the rowdy kids came out for lunch and scared her to death with all their enthusiasm for a cute little baby. And then the wind picked up and blew my papers away and Penny kept crying so i decided to feed her. When Sophie's teacher came out to bring more papers she looked at me feeding Penny and trying to keep track of what i was counting, 19, 21 23, 26, 29, 31...with a pencil in one hand and the baby, bottle and blanket in the other. She kept asking me, "Are you ok, can I get you anything?"

"Oh, no. I'm good."

I finally get Penny back in her car seat so i can focus and Owen comes out with his class for lunch. He brings his chicken patty sandwich, diced peaches and tater tots over and sits by me. (This was actually pretty awesome.) But he was chatting and telling me about what happened in his class today. And this is me while trying to keep the binky in Penny's mouth and the papers from flying.

"Really, 52, 55...you got a sparkle card today, 57, 60, 63...wow!

The teacher comes out with more boxes and papers and I'm trying to move with the stroller and all my paraphenalia back into the auditorium where it's quieter. I'm scooting around crazy kids and over bumps and then the threshold to the auditorium. We get inside and i sit down with all the papers and 2 seconds later Penny totally falls apart. She wants me to stand up and bounce her but i can't add 22 different numbers and do that at the same time, so i just bounced her on my knee. By the time I got through all the papers, Ms. Donskoy had practically taken over and she was saying, "I think Penny is ready to go home."

I finally just gathered up everything, apologized a hundred times and strolled Penny out of there. Before we got to the school office, she was totally asleep.

What?!? Lesson learned. Always get the babysitter!

Happy Birthday Owie!

So, my little man is a great big boy, today. I can't believe it. He woke up and told me that his pajamas were a little bit shorter this morning because now he's 6 years old! 6 on the 6th. It's his Golden Birthday!!

We took donuts to school for his class instead of cupcakes because glazed donuts look like 'golden rings' and on your golden birthday everything needs to be golden. His original party idea was to have gold coins cover the entire floor of our apartment. He eventually decided on an ANYTHING party where the parents don't get to say NO to anything. He can play video games all day if he wants to and he doesn't have to eat dinner if he doesn't want to. The only rule (in his words) is that you have to tell your mom where your going. Otherwise, he is the boss. And for today that is A-OK.

Owen is probably the nicest person I know. He's thoughtful, obedient, smart and best of all, he loves me more than anyone, even Dad! (He told me so this morning, ha ha.) Which is perfect because i'm totally smitten with him.

Happy Golden Birthday, Owen!

New Music Fave

Au Revoir Simone. Found this on Black Eiffel and I love it. Downloaded their new album 'The Bird of Music."

I have a lot of running music and musicals on my ipod but this is just mellow and sweet and perfect for just having on around the house while the kids are doing homework, etc.

Listen to The Lucky One and Fallen Snow.

One of the hardest things about having a baby living in my room is that I can't clean while she's asleep. I can clean everything else but then a big ole pile gets stacked up by my bedroom door waiting to get put away. Then, of course, once she wakes up, i have only one hand to do anything with and putting stuff away seems infinitely harder with one hand so it all just gets moved from the hallway to some empty spot on my floor and then eventually into my closet where it ends up waist deep. Bottom line...my room is crazy messy. And, believe it or not (brace yourself, mom) I hate my house messy. It makes everything harder! I guess this is why five Chamberlains don't fit in two rooms. Hmmm. what will my excuse for a messy house be once we move ? i don't know..I'll think of something, I'm sure.

Hey Everyone,

Look at my cool new chair. I'm so big. My sister Sophie put these stupid glasses on me this morning but since I don't have that much control over my arms right now, I couldn't really do anything about it. I think she thinks I look like a celebrity or something.



On second thought, the green goes really well with my outfit and the star shape makes me look super grown up, doesn't it! I look awesome! I'll have to thank her when she gets home from school today.