My Blogging Revolution

Our lives are cycles. I've come to this conclusion.
There are certainly ebbs and flows of life.
(demonstrated by my dieting habits)
What goes up will come down.
Eventually.

I've truly missed blogging. I love writing what I feel. I have always loathed English classes because I hated being told I didn't write the "right" thing in my paper. Writing should be like dancing. Writing what you feel. It should not be done to impress someone or to prove that you can regurgitate what you've been fed in a formal class. Math. It's more my style. Black or white. No Gray.
Anyway, before I go on a huge tangent marathon.... I will conclude with this:
I love blogging.
Facebook, smell ya later. I don't have time for your nonsense of posting quick blurps of randomness. I don't have time for your addictive behaviors that pull me from my everyday pleasures of being a mom and wife. Frankly, I'm bored with seeing who's doing what every other hour of their day. I'm sickened with how many lives have been effected (not in a good way) because of FB. I'm done with filtering comments that people seem to so freely offer not considering that it may be coming across offensively.
I think I need therapy.... blog therapy.
I'm on the upside of my personal cycle and am motivated again to post on the blog.
This is my self-proclaimed personal blogging revolution... Welcome back to our blog!
We look forward to all of your comments!

Welcome... to the new and improved... PRIVATE blog!

We're so glad to have you!

P is for PRIVATE...

Okay, so I WAS anti-private... yes, I'm a blog-stalker and I'll admit it.
But really, I don't like my family popping up on a google search... and seeing random visitors on my blog that I've never heard of.
The time has come.... we're making the switch to PRIVATE.

I would love for YOU to continue to view our blog... even if it's just to stalk,
I mean, drop in and see what we're up to.
It's up to you.... please comment on this post (NO ONE WILL SEE IT!!!-except for me) and let me know which email you would like me to use to send you an invitation for our private blog. Thank you and can't wait to hear from you!

Happy St. Patty's Day! (a week ago!)

Dinner:
The table...centerpiece.... courtesy of the awe-amazing cricut machine!

Green Eggs and Ham!... with green pancakes and green milk!Our guestsFor St. Patty's day, one of the moms from Jennah's class hired the "Bubble Man!"
He was amazing... and I think the adults may have enjoyed it more than the kids.
Each of the kids had a turn INSIDE of the bubble!
With our birthday's coming up... Andy & Beth are going big with a birthday wish coming true! CONCRETE! We're officially adults!
Looking out the window (at O-dark Thirty... too early).... this is just like Christmas morning!
Some before and afters:
Ahhh... SOO much better!

Finally... March Madness!

I really hate playing "blog catch-up". I think a lot of little details get overlooked. But being as this is our family journal slash scrapbook... I will do my best to include the details I can recall in my overwhelmed state of mind.

March 4-5
My mom's uncle passed away and his services were in Southern California. Not everyone could pile down, so it ended up being a great trip for just the girls to go on. Me, mom and Jennah. It was nice to reunite with family and strengthen those bonds of dear ones. Jennah got to meet her 4th cousin (is that right??not sure exactly how to label the relationship.... it's my mother's cousin's grand-daughter).... Valerie.While we were in So Cal, we made it a point to hit up an IKEA. Be still my fluttering heart. We made sure to pack light so that we could get all of our loot home. When will they put an IKEA in Central California!?! UGH! I did pick up some catalogs to get me by until my next annual pilgrimage.

March Moments:
I have freckles. Lots. And Lots. I've always wondered at what point these freckles came. Looking back at baby pictures I didn't always have them... when did they pop up? I've been studying Jennah's little face since the day she was born. I knew she'd have freckles someday. It's in her DNA. So I've been watching carefully. I remember seeing the first 3 freckles on the top of her nose. It was like they came up over night. Little "angel kisses" as we call them. On our trip in LA, we were playing with the camera (we spent a lot of time in the car) and captured this picture I love it because it captures the sweetness of her little spirit. In it, I can see the little freckles that I've counted and memorized as I've held her sleeping in my arms. How is it that time seems to take forever one moment and fly by the next? I can't believe my tiny little girl is already 3 1/2. This picture also reminds me that I really need to slow down and enjoy every second I am with this precious girl. I'm so lucky to be her mother.

Speaking of being a mother. There is one thing that I hate about being a mother... the ache in your heart that you have when your baby is hurt. Sunday, March 6th was one of those days. Jennah fell out of a spinning office chair at my mom's house and smacked her chin on the tile floor. I had that mommy instinct feeling that something was going to happen... I repeated myself too many times. I've never seen a cut first hand that was bad enough to require stitches... I've always wondered how you know if you need stitches or not. Well let me tell you this... you know when you know. And that night, I knew it.... After a quick trip to the ER which was totally packed with masked faces, we found a better situation at 9pm by going to the local 24/7 Urgent Care. They were busy too, but at least we had a place to sit down. Jennah held up well until we actually had to do the stitches. I think it's because she didn't know what was coming... thank goodness for Andy's iTouch. It served as a great distraction during the long wait and impeding procedure. I, on the other hand, wished I'd had a xanax or two. It was heart wrenching watching her suffer. That's an understatement, by the way. I'm about 95% sure that she wasn't completely numb. We spoke up and questioned it.... the doctor got frustrated with us... but I couldn't have cared less. We learned at her birth that we are her voice... that's our job as her parents. But FOUR stitches and a sucker later... I'm glad it was behind us. I NEVER EVER want to do that or anything like that again. That was Sunday. On Wednesday of that same week (as in 72 hours later) Jennah fell backwards off of her tricycle and hit her head on the concrete. No, she didn't have a helmet on... lesson learned for me. Instantly she had a golf ball sized lump on the back of her head... and she fell asleep as soon as we got home (walked from the park home... across the street). We watched her and she seemed alright through the night. Thursday, I got a call at work from her pre-school (I'd mentioned the fall the night before, just in case)... Jennah started vomiting. My heart sank. Dropped. Or maybe it even stopped for a second. Within 12 minutes I had left work, made a Dr. appointment, and picked her up from school... to top it off, Andy was all the way up in Sacramento for a business meeting. Thankfully my mom was able to meet me at the Dr.'s office to be with me.

The Dr. was pretty sure everything was alright, but decided to have her do a CT scan to make sure. That was a long day. Walking through the Children's Hospital my heart ached.... even more than with the stitches. I prayed for the parents and families that we saw from the hallway and for the ones that we couldn't see that were there. I'm grateful for such a wonderful place... but NEVER want to go there again!! The Dr. was right, Jennah was okay. Helmets are no longer an option. In fact, I'm tempted to make her wear it where ever she goes.... along with the padded bubble suit that I'm designing for her. Don't worry, I was planning on putting bows on it and making it cute!

Part 3: February

We kicked of the month of February with a bang. Only 3 days after returning from a fabulous dream vacation to Disneyland, Jennah got sick. Really sick. As in vomiting every 25-30 minutes.... for 17.... yes 17 hours straight. I was mentally gearing myself up for a trip to the urgent care for dehydration. But we got through it without having to go there. 48 hours after that whole ordeal, I started in with the flu myself. Gonna go ahead and declare that was the worst flu I'd had in about 8 years. I think it's because I had just been arrogant in my post and said that being a mom, I'm never getting sick. Blasted. I was flat... on my butt. Wiped out. "Couldn't tell which end was up" kind of sick. It literally took about 10 days to recover completely. Whoa. Bubble. Suits. That's all I have left to say.

On February 12, after a vet appointment for Buddy, we were hit by Cupid's arrow.
We met and fell in love with this sweet face

Introducing our newest addition: "Izzy"
We adopted her from a local shelter, who rescued her about 5 weeks prior. Three years old, potty-trained, and now doggy door graduate, she's been an absolute perfect addition to our family and she has melted our hearts.

Valentine's Day was different this year. Andy had to go out of town on business.... so Jennah and I had a special Mommy-Daughter Valentine's Date. Right after school, we went and pampered ourselves with matching manicure and pedicures.
And then we made our very special heart shaped ravioli for our "ROMANTIC" candlelight dinnerwhich even included a little sparkling cider!
We spent the rest of the evening opening and tasting all of her valentine treats from her school party.... these where by far my favorite :)
I think they are melted/softened kisses on top of a pretzel square and then topped off with an M&M. Not sure, but I'm determined to make them someday! Be still my heart!

Jennah and her new sister, Izzy

Jennah and her brother Buddy (aka Bee-boo)

On one of the Monday holidays, Jennah wanted to paint.... and that she did!

Watching her do crafts makes my heart pitter patter!!!

Finishing off January's post, Part 2

During the last week of January, we went to Disneyland for our family Christmas gift/vacation trip. It was seriously the BEST vacation we've EVER had! Due to terrible fog, we got to go down a day early... start vacation early!?! Sweet!!
Can't wait to go again!... okay, really, we never wanted to leave.
I think the pictures speak for themselves.... here's what our trip looked like:
Jennah meeting "Rincess" (Princess Aurora... who according to Jennah is truly the ONLY real Princess... all the others just go by their name!)
Cinderella, Suzy the Mouse, and of course....

Fairy Godmother!


We got the "Ride Twice" technique down... Jennah got to ride back to back Dumbo. First with Mom while Dad counted off 20 people and then slipped in line. By the time Ride 1 was finished Mom handed Jennah off to Dad coming on for Ride 2! Mastered!Getting her face painted... Princess Jennah Bean!Checkin' it out in the mirror... it's all about the hands on the hips... which were placed with no training (yes, 3 going on 13 sometimes!)

After walking through the princess shop, Jennah had her little heart set on getting a princess dress. Well, after I flipped the tag over on one of the beautiful dresses I had to scoop my jaw up off of the royal floor. $70. Really? Once we recovered from the meltdown (more me than Jennah) and a few snacks we headed back to the hotel for a nap. While she was sleeping, I ran over to Target and found the LAST Cinderella dress and Rapunzel dress (for only a whopping $20... that's more like it!) When she awoke from her slumber... she chose the Cinderella dress to be the perfect fit! The purple one was "too fit." Which means, we got to take it back to Target :)


On her very first roller coaster....with her daddy, not mommy.

She may look like daddy, but prefers her rides like mommy. Teacups... that's more like it. Just compare the look on her face in the two pictures :)


Splurging.... and eating a Monte Cristo sandwich.... SOOOO worth it. My first "Mint Julip"... but certainly NOT my last!!

Riding the carousel for the 57th time.... and that's not exaggerating!
"HER" horse had some special markings....


hmmm... Mary Poppins anyone?

FAIRY TIME!




While we were there, we also got to meet up with Aunt Cindy, Cousin Debbie and our baby cousins... Dani and Ryan, who are just as cute as they come!
Four days of pure joy. It was really difficult to come back to reality. We are already planning our next trip... to the happiest place on earth!
P.S.
a new posting is already scheduled for tomorrow! So come back then!