Happy Birthday Baby!

Today you turn 35! Wow - were did the years go? When we met, you were the ripe old age of 22 (I was 19!) and it seems just like yesterday! I have so enjoyed spending the last 13 birthdays with you (lots of BBQ's with your parents, camping, enjoying a brand new baby) and look forward to so many more. You are the greatest husband and father. Thank you for being so caring, helpful, compassionate and thoughful!

Hope you have a wonderful day (sorry you had to get up at 3am!) and know how much we love you!!!

Lying

So, my kids have picked up a great trait from their Uncle Jordan - lying! (You know I love you little brother!!) Zoe isn't very good because she chooses to lie about the dumbest things and half the time tells you the truth then back tracks. Example:

Me: Zoe, why did you hit your sister with that toy?
Zoe: Well, I didn't mean to do it.
M: But I saw you hit her and it was because she wouldn't move out of your way.
Z: I didn't hit her! She hit herself with the toy!
M: So, I didn't see you hit her?
Z: No, I didn't do it!
This usually ends with a time-out where Zoe is freaking out the whole time, holding onto the idea that she didn't really hit her sister - even though Teagan is crying with a red mark on her face and I saw the whole thing.

Teagan takes a different approach - she just blames everything on Zoe! We came home on Monday after a weekend out of town. I was putting stuff away in the girls bathroom and kept getting this scent of pee - like it had been there for a day or two. Mind you, I cleaned the bathroom on Friday and we left the house on Saturday and we hadn't had any little boys over to visit. So, I start looking around the toilet and realize as I look over the edge of the tub, that someone had peed in the bathtub! It was on the inside of the tub and dried around the drain - GROSS! I come into the living room and ask,

M: Who peed in the tub?
Z: Not me - Teagan did it. (Totally what I figured)
T: (Pausing for a moment) Nuh-uh - Zoe did it.
This goes back and forth a few times until I say,
M: Well, if nobody will admit to it, you are both in trouble.
Zoe starts crying (which I knew would happen!) and Teagan just sits there with a very guilty look on her face.
M: If nobody did it, how did it get into the bathtub?
T: Mommy, it just came that way!

It was all I could do to not burst out laughing - but she still had to help me clean the bathtub!

Happy Birthday Teagan!

Happy Birthday Teagan Macie!!

So, it was actually yesterday but this is the first chance I've had to blog anything! We had a great weekend filled with family, a parade, a new slide and lots of fun!

I am having a hard time realizing that my "baby" is 3! It goes by so fast and she is such a joy to have around. She has a great sense of humor and wants to grow up faster than she is - she asked the other day when she got to go to Zoe's new school (heck, lets just skip pre-school and move on to kindergarten!!) She is working on writing her name and so far, we have the "T" down, though it is sometimes written upside-down! She adores Zoe and follows her lead all the time. Right now, Zoe has figured out that Teagan will do almost anything she asks which makes my job just a bit harder. Teagan thinks that she can talk to the baby through my belly-button and is constantly pulling up my shirt and telling Baby how much she love them!

Happy Birthday Teagan - you make our lives so much fun and it is a joy being your mommy! Continue to be adventurous and not afraid and don't forget you "broccoli" shoes!

Funny Ha-Ha

The other day, while driving with the kids, Zoe was practicing snapping her fingers. Here is the conversation I hear:

T: What are you doing Zoe?
Z: I'm snapping.
T: Oh, I can do that.
Z: ummm, no, you can't.
T: Yes I can, I'm just not doing it right now.

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Last week, while putting laundry away in the girls room, they gather a few things and prepared to leave the room.
Z: Mom, we are playing that we are going to spend the night in a hotel.
Me: Sounds fun.
As they are walking out the door, this is what Teagan adds -
T: Oh, she's alright to be at my house (their room) when we leave. She is just cleaning it for me.

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Feels like summer

So, Duffy came home with a Slip n' Slide for the girls today - it was the funniest thing to watch! They totally got into it and keep calling it their "Slipping Slide" or "Slippy Slide". I kept waiting for Duffy to take a turn...

Ok, check out the girls play house in the background - isn't Duffy AWESOME! It was going to be a tree house but this way is the best of both worlds - they have an enclosed house, complete with windows and flower boxes and they can climb up on top and be in the tree and Teagan is getting a slide for her birthday - shhhh, don't tell!

Spring has sprung

Ahhh, to live in the NW in the springtime - I love it! Even when we have cloudy days, it's still nice! This past Saturday, we headed out to Lake Crescent to do a little hiking on the Spruce Railroad trail with our friends Shannon, Ryan and Payton. It was a great day and the lake was beautiful. The girls had a blast exploring and it just felt so good to be outside. We are all looking forward to what the next hike will be - maybe this time without the strollers!

Stroller duty

Zoe checking out the lake

Teagan being goofy

Zoe in an old railroad tunnel - we were all surprised she WANTED to go down there!

The ride home

What a week

This past week has been a whirl-wind, to say the least. It all started with laying in bed Sunday night, figuring out my week. Zoe was back to school on Monday, I had work (both D4L and the Good Book), I was going to Bainbridge Island to hang out with my friend Kristi and baby Ethan (which was long overdue and a lot of fun. Ethan is a cutie-pie who looks like a mini-Scott!) and we had Easter festivities planned with grandparents, my brother, his wife and new baby, etc. etc. I even added an overnight stay with my good friend Danika and her girls (WAY overdue and much needed. The girls are so cute together and have fun and Zoe wants to know when the next sleep-over is!)

Then Monday came.

For the first time in weeks, I woke up, the sun was shining and I didn't worry if this would be the week - work at D4L has been slow and my hours have been cut back and cut back, so I always approached Monday's with a bit of anxiety about my job still being there. So, got the girls up and ready; Teagan to my moms, Zoe to school and headed to work. Things were fine, sort of. Do you ever get that feeling - the one that is like, "Uh-oh, something is going on." Well, towards the end of my day, we have the conversation - the one that includes being laid off and tomorrow is my last day. Even though I knew it could happen at any time, it still sucks when it actually does - you always hold out hope that the building industry will pick-up, a bunch of people will want to remodel their kitchens/baths and only want you to do it, etc. etc. So, Tuesday was my last day at D4L, until things pick back up, if they do at all. I've been there for 3.5 years and my boss(s) are like family - my kids call them Grandma and Grandpa and Teagan came to work with me since she was 6 weeks old!!

This has all been a good lesson for me about having faith and trusting that it will all work out. Duffy has been awesome about making me feel better about stuff and Zoe told me that it was a good thing to stay at home with your kids!

SO, will I get another job - that is the question of the hour. I don't know. I work a few hours here and there for my mom and will probably pick up more in the next month. I'm looking into filing for unemployment and that would be VERY helpful if it works out. We may sell my car (a topic of conversation for months now since we will be outgrowing it shortly) - anyone intersted in a 2000 Volvo V70R??? Otherwise, I'm going to enjoy the blessing of being at home more and hope that the weather warms up so I can get my garden in - I may need all the free veggies I can get!!!