Baby Face

Twirly

Car Trip

Did you know that we are moving?

Today we packed up the kiddos and drove to our new neck of the woods,
to check everything out.

We are excited for what is ahead!

Enough Already!

Dear illnesses, viruses, fevers, colds, etc.,

Please BACK OFF and leave my family alone,
especially this cutie patootie:


Thank you,
VP

Sound of Summer

This CD is on constant rotation for the P girls this summer.
We all LOVE it!
When we get in the car there is always a request for #3,
and in the rear view mirror I get to watch three girls sing along,
a little like this...

Tonight we danced

to some old school Michael Jackson.
Those were the jams.

Summer Evenings

On our way to


Jump Shots



Bike rides





Down the slide


Family Time

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAILEY!!

Today my baby turned 9.

9.
NINE!

Oh mylanta.

We went to Disneyland today to get her gift card, and we shopped till we dropped.


Next up was lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.
We sat right across from a huge fish tank - awesome!
And close to a pair of elephants that shook
and made noise every 1o minutes - not so awesome!
And then the thunderstorms every half hour
left three girls clutching me for dear life - not awesome!




Hailey had a specific outfit in mind for her birthday dinner,
so after lunch we did some more shopping and then headed home.

Dinner was farfalle pasta with Trader Joe's Bolognese.
Nana & Papa came over for cake and presents.





What a day!

How on earth is she already
NINE
??????????????

WANTED!

Small female child,
aged 4 years.
Answers to the name of Sascha.

This bandit has committed crimes around the P house
of a most unsavory nature.

REWARD
for whoever can catch this bandit
and break the spell
that will return her
to her sweet pea state.

Happy Father's Day!

For Father's Day this year,

I made my Pops this little guy...

He's a golf club topper thingamabob.

Of course a photo cannot be taken without a Sascha cameo.

We P girls gifted John with some Alton Brown cookbooks.

He loved them!


Then off to Nana & Papa's house to have dinner,
carrot cake cupcakes, and to give Papa his gift.

He loved it!

The Dad's hung out and watched golf,

while Nana wrangled the lassies.

I took pictures and ate a cupcake or 2.

Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers we know and love!

At Home Photo Booth

Slow Start

I cannot believe the first week of summer is already over.

Where did it go?

We did a whole lot of nothing this week. Sickness is still in the air. Head colds and tummy aches.

I cannot wait for it to pass.

I Know What You Looked Like Last Summer

Summer Reading

Found this book today at my favorite thrift store for one whole dime.
I almost squealed with delight at finding it, as I remember loving it when I was little.
I took some time tonight and read through it, recalling the plot as I went along.
And I smiled as I watched Hailey curled up on the couch, discovering the story for the first time.

"Isn't it amazing the things we don't do
simply because we think we can't do them?"

That's MY Girl

Blah & Blech

I have been so under the weather it is ridiculous.

The June Gloom in our neck of the woods has been crazy,
and the changes in the weather have gifted me the flu
and now a head cold.

We spent the day with Mahoney doing the most exciting things,
like running errands! And eating! And napping! And watching Twilight!

I should have taken pictures.

I miss her already.

I Love Them So

Auntie's Back!

Mahoney is visiting from Portland.

Today we went to see Oma,
tomorrow Sunday Night Dinner,
Monday.... Disneyland?

We shall see.

Her Stage Debut

Tonight we watched what Sascha had been up to for the last 11 weeks
in Hip Hop class.
Every time we'd asked to see what she was learning she would tell us it was a secret,
so we were very anxious to watch her perform.

It was everything we had been hoping for - she was a star!

My favorite part is when she stops to wave and give me a thumbs up.

We are so proud of our little gal,
and can't wait to see how she does in ballet this summer!

I Am Sicker

I shall spare you all what I've been doing since 5 AM this morning,
but it's the same thing Rory did all over the floor
and then all over her car seat.

Suffice to say, I will not be shredding any time soon.

The only bright part of the day has been that Hailey is home for the summer,
and my dear, sweet Husband came home early to take care of me.

I hope this is over soon.

I Am Sick

I have spent the better part of today in the fetal position.
Something is not right.

No working out today -
which makes me irritated since I only have 2 days left.

UGH!!

The Countdown's On...

Two more days until Hailey is "free at last!"
Dare I say, a tad dramatic?
I wonder where she gets that from?


30 Day Shred Update:
Day 28:
Two more days
and I'm
FREE AT LAST!
;-)

Just Keep Swimming

And that's just what I'll do.

30 Day Shred Update:

Day 27:
I did my workout this morning.
And I'm glad I did,
after the day I had
I wouldn't have had the energy
to
stretch
let alone do walking push ups.

A La Plage

The wee ones and I spent the morning at Newport Beach
with Nana.

Such a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning!

30 Day Shred Update:
Day 26:
I do not recommend eating
a bean & cheese burrito
before shredding.
Nor do I recommend
a toddler blowing raspberries on your stomach
while you try to do crunches.

Silly Saturday Sweetie

30 Day Shred Update:
Day 25:
5 days to go!

Jelly Belly

Tonight Sascha fell asleep on the couch at 7:30.
I picked her up and carried to her bed,
and Rory was none too pleased.
The entire way up the stairs she was nipping at my heels,
screaming, "No! Mine! Mine! Mine!"

After I laid Sascha down, Rory put her arms up for me to lift her.
She nestled into my body,
and said again,
"Mine!"

Two seconds later she wriggled herself free,
and went about her business.
Almost as if she was a dog,
and I was a tree.

Territory marked.

30 Day Shred Update:
Day 24:
I usually try to work out while Rory is sleeping,
but that hasn't been happening lately.
I will just say I do not recommend crunches
with a toddler laying on your head.

You bring the cheese

I've got the whine.

I will give you a dollar if you come over and teach Rory to speak coherently.

The past few days I have seen a lot of this


When I much prefer this


I have a feeling that her constant whining & crying is coming from the fact that she can't communicate exactly what she wants. Her vocabulary is limited, and there is still a lot of guesswork. I work with her all the time, trying to teach her words. But, remember this post? Yeah, NOTHING has changed.

Add that to the fact that I'm feeling kind of icky, which makes me so tired that I am trying to figure out if I can get the kids to believe there is a time change and it is actually 8:30, instead of 6:30 so I can go to bed right now.

If that's not enough, I am sore in places I didn't know could be sore. Today I was snacking on a carrot and started to choke, and the coughing made my stomach muscles hurt so badly that for a brief moment I contemplated just giving into the choking, death by carrot. But, Hailey had art class, so I just let my stomach muscles SCREAM until I was better.

And with that,
where's the cheese my friends?


30 Day Shred Update:
Day 23:
Sore.
So.
Very.
Sore.

Joy

If I had to describe my day to day in one word it would be:
BUSY.

I love the hustle and bustle of my days,
even though sometimes I want to tear out my hair,
and I cherish the little moments that bring such happiness.

Like today when Hailey asked if she could vaccuum.
Ummm....hello.....YES YOU CAN!

And when Sascha came up to me and kissed my arm,
gave me a huge smile and in one breath said,
"Your arms are really strong can I have some of your lemonade?"

And when Rory inhaled her dinner,
and let me feed her so she could eat every last bite.
Since her eating has been so random,
it brings me an insane amount of joy to see her
(as well as the other two)
devour something that I have made.

I feel SO very lucky to be able to be home,
to experience the little moments of joy
even on the hardest of days.



30 Day Shred Update:
Day 21:
Today I felt like a rockstar as I completed all the reps
of the plank push up that requires you to hold your body
in a plank pose
and starting on your elbows
push yourself up onto your hands
and back down to your elbows.
I don't think I explained that well at all.
It's hard.
I did it.
WOO HOO!

And then my heart exploded

30 Day Shred Update:
Day 21:
Level 3!
I had to phone in some of the reps,
and follow Anita most of the time.
It was kinda, sorta INTENSE!

I Could Spend All Day

Smooching these cheeks!

30 Day Shred Update:
Day 20:
Last day of Level 2!
I watched Level 3 and it looks TOUGH,
to say the least.
But I am up for the challenge!