Partying for Corgan

This weekend, I had dinner with a bunch of friends, including my sister. It was a "non" shower if you will. I'm very self-conscious when it comes to things like showers. The day of my wedding shower, I literally nearly had a panic attack. I don't know why really - just everyone staring at me and how funny it feels for me when people do really nice things or buy something for me. So in order to avoid that a little, I wanted to just get to have dinner with some of my oldest and closest friends. Granted, it was still a "party" that was kind of thrown for me, and yes, people gave me things, but the fact that it was just like going out to dinner made it seem less overwhelming and I was much less self-conscious.

Ashley, Missy, Sarah and Shannon went all out for me, and it overwhelms me the work and love they put into everything. And then at the dinner, friends from every era of my life were there. It was very interesting to have all of them there together. From my earliest hours on this earth, of course my sister Ashley, who is totally awesome. She is the first person to hold my babies when they come into this world and the one who hands them to me. She's been with me through so many dark days. Erica came and I've known her from the time we were knee-high to a grasshopper in church. My first memory of her is both of us yelling at each other during the primary program because one of us sat on the others' dress. It's such a funny thing to remember. Then from my singles days, one of my best friends I've just been reacquainted with, Marianne, was also there. She is a major reason that I was able to stay sane while Bryce was on his mission. And then during my time so far as a wife and mother, Missy, Shannon and Sarah. They have each been such important parts of my life over the last three years and have put up with lots of my insanity.

There were so many wonderful gifts, some owl-themed (thanks, Ashley! The owl that hoots is among the favorites.) I would post some pictures of the cute clothes, but trust me, after the baby comes and is actually wearing them, I probably won't be able to resist posting a new picture of him every time he wears something for the first time. My actual favorite present was from Missy, who got two of the best pictures from Labor Day and had them nicely framed, along with a third frame giving me one free photo session of the baby. Just seeing our beautiful boys in these pictures taken by someone so talented and able to capture them perfectly... Bryce and I each sigh in disbelief every time we look at them. I'm so excited to see the picture that ends up in Corgan's frame! (And thanks to Missy for all the pictures in this post!)  I want to post about all the presents, but this is already too long! Although I will say the favors that Shannon, Sarah and Ashley made touched me so much that I did shed some tears in an alone moment. The iris bulbs were such a personal touch, and something I'm very sentimental about. I loved everything and I'll be a good girl and send out proper thank you notes this week. (If I'm not lazy this week, I might actually post a picture every day of each one. For my own entertainment if not anyone else's!)

I've posted just a few, but more pictures and details from the night can be found here. Thanks to everyone involved for all the love and I can't ever tell you how much it all means to me.

I just wanted to post a picture of Marianne because I'm still so thrilled she's back in my life. She came over one night last week while the men were working and we just talked for over five hours. I love her. *Sniffle*

One of the framed pictures.

My friends: Erica, Shannon, Sarah, Ashley, Marianne, (me), Missy
Thanks, everyone!  (And a special thanks to Sarah, who covered my dinner.)

Happiest Day

While Bryce was on his mission, I met a girl in the singles ward named Marianne and we became very good friends.  We had so much in common - from music to life's experiences and the fact that we both had tattoos.  She was someone I could be completely myself around and she never judged.  I loved hanging out with her at her house and we'd drive around in my truck and listen to music.  We'd often leave church (our singles ward was pretty lame, at least that was our excuse) and go get something to drink or eat (hey, no judging...)  I just loved her so much and was very sad when she up and got married and left me to live with her new husband in Canada.  The last time we saw each other was during a hurried visit when I was newly pregnant with Ewan.  Besides that little visit, it has been six years since we saw each other. She has moved around a lot over these past years - Canada, Georgia, Louisiana - and so we lost each other's phone numbers and I've just thought about her so much and missed her.  

Today, after I dismissed my primary class, a loud booming voice filled the room and in walked this tall blond goddess to wrap me in a hug. It was Marianne.  I don't think I've ever been so happy to see someone in my life.  Her husband is here for some training, and they'll be in our ward for the next two months.  She had seen Bryce in the cultural hall and recognized him then went searching for me.  I'll be so very sad when she leaves, but for now - I'm so happy that I've been near tears all day.  We sat next to each other in sacrament and it was hard to not just sit and talk the entire time.  We laughed as we kept hearing each other's stomach growling and played with the boys.  We had her and her husband, Blake, over for dinner and it was like no time had passed at all.  They do not have children, which is a shame because they were so amazing with the boys and by the time we left, Blake was giving Bryce some serious competition for Fynn's affections.   

This just goes down as one of my happiest days in a very long time, and she and I plan on seeing lots of each other before she leaves.  They don't really know what they'll be doing after this, or where they will be, but my fingers are crossed he'll find an opportunity here so she can stay close. Here's hopin'.

Labor Day Weekend

I love Labor Day - because it gives us a nice 3-day weekend. On Saturday, at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Bryce and I were suddenly thinking, "Hmmmm, let's hop in the car and drive to Austin." So we did. Ewan had been asking to go to a dinosaur museum, and a few days before I had found this one by the UT campus. It was awesome. They had a skeleton of a pterosaur, specifically Quetzalcoatlus, hanging from the ceiling like it was flying over you. I kid you not when I say it was one of the most amazing, awe-inspiring things I've seen in my whole life. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was so huge, and just... WOW. It was so cool. There were also lots of other skeletons of giant bison and some random little dinosaurs. They had different rocks both from Earth and space - just a lot of really neat things. By the time we hit the 3rd floor, I couldn't really walk anymore and had to sit and whine inside to myself. After, we headed over to Jesse and Amy's to visit. We were able to see the baby's nursery and Amy and I compared pregnancy woes. It stinks because I probably won't get to see her baby for a while. I don't want to burden them right after he's born - she has Ashley coming to help and we don't need too many cooks in the kitchen. And our little guy will be coming right after by a few weeks, so I won't be up to traveling. Hopefully it won't be too long. I'd like to see him before he starts cutting teeth!

For Labor Day, the Saunders came over and Bryce made some steak and pork using one of his odd concoctions and it turned out really good. Ewan, Fynn and Ben ran around the house playing trains and Transformers (Ewan's latest OBSESSION.) Then we let them play outside in our two little kiddie pools. They splashed, blew bubbles, and chased the cats. Missy took lots of wonderful pictures. So we take no credit for the ones I'm going to post. It was all Missy! The guys then went off to do a little golfing while Missy and I put the kids to bed. We ate cookies and talked for a long time, even after the guys got back. There's no telling how long we would have been up talking if not for the fact John had to get up at 4:30 this morning. It was so much fun - the only downside being that I had to switch from chair to couch to floor back to chair or couch to alleviate back pain. But, hey, I'll consider it my exercise!
This was about the best Ewan would let her take until she bribed him with more bubbles...
...then he turned into a male model, giving her different poses and facial expressions. This is one I call, "The Kelli Expression." I never noticed those two dimples until Missy pointed them out.

Cutie Fynn, looking like Daddy.

We were out of swim diapers. This thing was bursting at the seams,
until it finally start to fall off.

I post this only because my blog is private. His swimming shorts didn't stay on much better, and I had to run after him at one point to pull them up to a level of decency.

Fynn sat at the edge of the yard and stared at the wind blowing the trees.

BUBBLES!

Cute, hilarious Ben.

This is the face he makes when he says "Juice," "Cheese," or "Shoes."

Such a cool friggin' kid.

Good things

To make up for my earlier rant, and to put myself in a better mood after Fynn threw up again all over his crib and bedding, and Ewan had an accident on the floor, I'll now post some things that are good right now and that I am grateful for.


1. John showing up to pick Ben up a little early, bearing an ice-cold 20 oz. Coke. And he didn't even take me up on my offer of $1,000,000.

2. My new table and chairs, which I plan on posting about soon. Too long I endured a peeling table from Goodwill. No more. Ikea to the rescue. My kitchen looks so nice.

3. The dogs are staying in the yard. For now.

4. The littlest baby is moving more and more every day and making his presence known.

5. We are getting a brand-new, FREE double stroller from some incentive program at Bryce's work. YAY!

6. Fynn is napping. Hopefully to wake up puke-free this time.

7. No one else is sick (crossing fingers).

8. I think I figured out what happened to the fish. Pretty sure it swam way up into the shell in the bowl and got stuck. Which, you know, is sad, but at least I know. Whether it was suicide or not, I can't be sure.

9. On my table are several good fashion magazines just waiting for me to peruse.

10. Bryce promises to not be late from work.

11. I dreamt I had adopted another rabbit. Woke up to find it wasn't true. Always a bonus.

*** Updated to add one more great thing - Just now, I flipped on the TV to see if Oprah had anything good on, and Ewan, sitting on the couch coloring next to me, randomly said, "Yeah, Oprah's a fake." He swears he never heard anyone else say it, that he made it up himself.

Boring, I know, but that's all I had for now, without getting totally sappy. Which I don't like to do. So there you go.

Amateur photographer, mud pies, and crazy people

*Note* I'll have you know that I am this close to throwing my computer through the window because it will not properly publish my font. Everything is all squinched together. Pardon the strain on your eyes, and also my cussing, which maybe you didn't hear, but trust me, it happened.

Ewan is currently ground from any video or computer games. Today, as a substitute, he decided to take some pictures. Usually he takes pictures of the wall or a box of crackers, but today he actually got some good shots of Fynn. Later in the day, he wanted to dig for worms, but our neighbors lovely pit bulls were trying to climb the fence to eat our dog, so we decided to go play in our side yard instead. And it was a total MUD PIT! So naturally we took our shoes off and had a grand old time. Well, except for Fynn, he didn't like the feeling of the mud so much, so he steered clear.

Taken by Ewan while playing Door Peekaboo

Those big, soulful eyes are full of tears because I was on an important phone call and had put him down because he was screaming in my ear. Also taken by Ewan.

Sitting in the mud pit.

Standing in the mud pit.

He got much dirtier after this one.

Tonight we went to the ball game with the Saunders, Bowers, Kirchmanns, Grimmetts and Grundbergs. That was a lot of fun, and the kids did really well. (Again, I'll be stealing pictures from the other people present, so those will come later.) The only dark spot on the whole evening was the bat*%$! crazy woman who sat next to us. All the kids were pretty much communal property among all of us families, the whole "it takes a village" thing, and Ewan and Natalie were sitting in two chairs next to me. Some young couple wandered over the the seats next to them, and at first I thought this lady was just overly friendly as she started chitchatting with the kids. A little annoying, but nothing compared to when I looked over and she was giving them cotton candy! Now, I don't care if my child has cotton candy, we were going to buy some for him, but where on Earth did this lady hear it was okay to offer someone else's children, that you don't know, candy? I was very aggravated, but was trying to be nice, so I just thanked her. And she continued with the questions, working her way to asking them their names. Bryce and I were both getting very uncomfortable, but nothing prepared me for when she started TICKLING MY SON. Seriously. Tickling him. Um, yeah, don't touch my kid. So I start figuring out in my head how I'm going to lure him away, when that woman pulled out a camera and was taking pictures of both of them. That was the final straw, and I had to work up my courage to get them away NOW. Luckily, Natalie saw Bella and wanted to be with her, so that worked out. But I had to physically pick Ewan up and put him in my lap to get him away from her. She and her companion apparently got the hint, because they immediately left and went back to whatever hole they came from. But seriously, how many grossly inappropriate things was she going to work into a ten minute period? So we had to have the talk with Ewan that even though strangers may seem nice, we just don't know, and that all the things she was doing were not appropriate. I am mad at myself, though, because I should have immediately said, "Please don't tickle him." The cotton candy thing I could have overlooked, because we were right there, and she was eating it as well, but the rest was so far over the line, and I hate that I even hesitated to offend her. But I finally did, and I know Natalie also got a good lecture from her mother about it once I told her what happened. It's a lesson to be learned by me to stop caring about offending other people.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

We have had a really good weekend, starting with a camping trip that has been previously documented here, here and here. There were a few little bumps and odd experiences, but overall it was completely fun, and I can't wait to do it again. I will, however, be waiting until probably October when the lovely state of Texas starts to think about getting cooler. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera, but other people smarter and better organized than us remembered theirs, and we were able to get some cute shots. These were some of my favorites:




Next time we'll just cross our fingers that we can avoid the drunken idiots one campsite over. I'm so glad we have met such wonderful people that have become our good friends. Bryce and I spent the first few years of our marriage virtually friendless, and it's so nice to have had our circle of supporters and confidants expand so much since we moved into this house. Hopefully it's a trend that will continue throughout our life.

Bryce is going to be on a very odd schedule for a few weeks. He'll be home during the day, but will be working the graveyard shift for a week or two, leaving around 5:30 pm and working until 2:00 or 3:00 am. It will be interesting, that's for sure. But it might actually help with my desire to step up my blogging again. With so many hours in the evening to myself, I'm sure I'll be on here quite a bit more.

I just want to wish everyone a very happy Mother's Day! You are all so awesome and we love you.

Birthday party

Okay, so this totally has nothing to do with this post, but I had to share. I'm sitting here at the desk, on which sit two of our fishbowls. I kept hearing a very light "tap, tap" on glass. I look up to finally see one of my fish, the one we call Stuart, tapping its mouth on the glass in my direction. Over and over again, and loud enough that I'd swear he had teeth. Then it would stop and stare at me. I usually feed them at night, so I suppose he was impatient. Now that's he's fed, he's swimming around happily. Cool. He communicates.

Okay, to get off of that tangent, today was Ewan's birthday party, and he had a really good turnout. He had lots of friends and family over, and received a king's ransom of Thomas the Tank Engine stuff. I kind of feel bad, because Fynn was totally shafted on his birthday - I didn't plan the party well enough among other things. I know he's only one and doesn't know the difference, but it's the principle of the thing. Next birthday for him is gonna be AWESOME. Thanks to everyone who came and showed Ewan so much love. We appreciate all of you and you made it such a wonderful day for him. Anyway, after the party, Ewan and I went on a date to see Horton Hears a Who. We had a lot of fun, and here are some pictures from the party. (I did have some more cute ones of his other friends, but wasn't sure if their mothers would want me publishing their pictures on here. So I'll e-mail some to those moms whose kids were there.)
Playing with his cousins, Hayden and Chloe, whose hair looked totally red in all the pictures by the way. (I'll send them to you, Ashley.)

The cake. Ewan loves when they crash, so I made it crash in the chocolate. The effect was especially genuine seeing as I actually dropped it into the cake.

He was so excited about "Mighty Mac."

Pizza, picnic style. The kids had a blast just running around and being free on this gorgeous day.

Amen, sister!

I've been a really crappy, moody, hormonal friend of late, and completely forgot to publicly thank Shannon for this awesome plate she got for me.
How awesome is that?!  And so, so true.  I love it, and I want you to know, Shannon, I had my last take-out meal on that plate before our take-out fast.  Thanks for thinking of me, you are a great friend.

Insert clever title here...

I don't have a lot to say today.  It was a mostly low-key day; I ran to the store for Shannon & Co. since they all have the flu.  She is always such an awesome friend to me when I'm sick, showing up at my door with DVDs and large Cokes, and it was good to be able to pay her back in some way.  Just think, someday when I've won the lottery, I'll be able to actually pay for the groceries for sick friends!  Bryce thought he was going to be late getting home and miss our chance for dinner at Pappasito's (an unintentional Valentine tradition), that he said I could have lunch there.  So I called Sarah last-minute and talked her into coming with me.  We sat on the patio, and the weather was lovely. Then I came home, I hung out with the boys, I made a boring dinner. The End.

Missy sent me another cool link today... I think I'll do one of those "Look What I Found" posts again tomorrow, when I have the time, because I had a lot of fun posting that last week, and I'll include something from the link she sent me.  That one will be separately titled "Look What Missy Found."

So, I'm totally wiped out, and must scurry off to the land of nod.  

Plug

Okay, so Missy totally rocks. I love the new header, and she was so incredibly nice to have done it for me! If you haven't noticed, in two of the squares are the silhouettes of my boys that she did from some pictures I took. Awesome. I love it. She really needs to set up her Etsy shop. Anyway, I didn't want the rest to be plain, because I'm ridiculous that way, so I chose the tree. And I think it all looks smashing together. Hopefully the fresh, new look that is more Me-ish, Skillywidden-ish, fairy-ish, Coca-cola-ish, owl-ish, tree-ish, bird-ish, etc. will give me some fresh, new inspiration and I can write something spectacular.

It is lovely, when I forget all birthdays, including my own, to find that somebody remembers me. - Ellen Glasgow

*UPDATE*  Bryce redeemed himself, totally, by bringing me snacks to make me fatter.  :)
I have such good friends and family who have taken such good care of me on my birthday.  My mother treated me to dinner last night, after which Shannon treated me to a movie.  Sarah took me to lunch today and also ordered me something Black Apple-ish, as did Mary Ann.  It's been wonderful, and I am so blessed.  I, who am so lazy about birthdays, have been treated like a queen, and I am moved to tears over it.  Thank you all, you are so loved and appreciated.

And now for the "Woe Is Me" portion of the evening, and forgive the whining.  I know it isn't attractive, but I simply must:  Bryce is under the impression my birthday should be ignored since we had such a nice anniversary, I made my own birthday cake, without candles, and sang to myself, Bryce is still at work at nearly 8:00 pm with no idea when he'll be home, and my fish is half belly-up, dying before my eyes.  Meep.  Combine these first two paragraphs, and my emotions are paradoxical indeed.

After Fynn goes to bed, Ewan and I are totally watching a movie.  And I'll be having a Coke.

Unloading the camera

I do actually have a little something to write about, but I am saving it for later when I can focus. In the meantime, here are some pictures from Fynn's birthday party yesterday. Thanks to everyone who came to help us celebrate, we love you and appreciate you. Sorry to bombard you with pictures, but it's my blog and I can post what I want. :)

Happy 1st birthday to Fynn!

A conversation with Grandpa (my dad).

Still life with cake and ice cream.

Birthday cake face.

Really cute in that t-shirt.

Hours of entertainment in a spinning top.

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

...then I've just written a novel. Here are some pictures from our very eventful, and exhausting, Saturday.
As Sarah and Shannon both mentioned, we had them over for a little Christmas get-together. Our dog, Sugar, was banned to the laundry room (with a broken pet door). This was our view of her for the duration of the event.
The kids did a gift exchange, and I mentioned to Sarah, who was buying by proxy for Aubree, that Ewan would just die for Leo's Baton from Little Einstein's. I was right, as you can see from his face. He had to be resuscitated shortly after this picture was taken.

After being resuscitated, he began to conduct. (Side note, the kitchen is a work in progress.)

And conduct. In fact, I've been listening to that thing play Beethoven and Bizet for 24 hours now. He says Bizet is his favorite.

Fynn making his signature face. He cared far more for the packaging than he did for the precious little cars Shannon bought him. Um, I mean, that Natalie got for him.

My cute little owl, hunting for rabbit.

We then traveled to the Gaylord for their Christmas display.

Yeah, um, they had live reindeer corralled in little pens. While neat for the kiddos, I wanted to release them so badly. Ewan asked me where Rudolph was.

A simply beautiful shot Bryce took of this cool wall with water cascading down.

Unfortunately, we didn't think of having someone taking a picture of all of us. Next time.

They have cool little cities set up all over with trains going around. I recommend the Gaylord for Christmas time. It's so fun, and you can really feel the Christmas excitement going on everywhere. (But be sure to eat dinner first. I was having such a hunger melt-down, we left before we could see Santa. Which was okay with Ewan, because I think he's terrified, although in love with the idea, of him.) Of course, all the beautiful people in their fancy dresses had me more than a little concerned over the cookies and fudge I had consumed at the party...

A Tinkling Chandelier, An Owl That Hoots

Tonight was the ornament exchange for our Relief Society. We did the whole "pick numbers, you can steal three times" deal. (What's that called again, I'm blank?) Anyway, Missy picked this pink chandelier one, which I loved. It didn't match her tree, so she said I could steal it. She even protected it for me. Since I love all colors on my tree, and eclectic things, I swooned when I was able to keep it. It's pink, with very light purple and green beads. Love it.
Someone else had this owl ornament, and for some reason lately, I am loving owl stuff. I have this necklace I wear all the time. I had to find out where it was purchased, so of course Shannon, Erin and I all went immediately to Walmart and I found one just like it. (That's right, Bryce. I did.) I bought a second one for Rhea, whom Erin had taken it from. Rhea loved it, so I will take the other one I bought to church for her on Sunday. Is this not the cutest dang thing you've ever seen in your life? The picture doesn't do it justice. (On another note, as you can see in the background, I still have that *%#! rabbit.)
And just because I love her so, I end this post with a picture of my prettiest of pretties, the lovely Batgirl, a-snug under the tree: