National Geographic (through the eyes of a 4 year-old)

Geneva has a book:

It's a really sweet story about a lonely spider who tries to invite some other insects to tea.

Yesterday, she discovered these spiders through the window.

"Mom! Come see; these spiders are going to have a tea party."

She had no idea they were battling for a coveted web-building spot. I had no idea how it might all end. We watched for a while and then it was time for lunch. During lunch, while the kids ate, I kept my eye on the arachnids. They were definitely attacking each other.

After lunch, Geneva checked her tea party friends.

"Look Momma! They are hugging. They're married."

There was definitely an "embrace" happening. I wasn't sure which one was going to survive. I wasn't sure how I was going to get out of this...

Me: "Ok Hon. Time to get ready for your nap."

After she went to the bathroom she wanted to check on her "married spiders" once more.

"Where's the orange one?"

Me: "Shhh... sleeping. See? The Daddy spider tucked her in for nap time. It's your nap time too. Let's go."

"Okay."

Sweet dreams!

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Things I Love Thursday (Yes, I realize that today is Friday)

• Glee. I love it. I love it's quirkiness; I love that the actors can really sing; I love the characters; I love that there are several great "one-liners" that come out of every episode: "I'm going to ask you to smell your armpits. That's the smell of failure and it's stinking up my office." Genius.
• Piper, while she does have occasional accidents, can legitimately be filed under the column "Potty-Trained."
• Relating to the previous item: My garage no longer reeks of diaper pail--and I think EVERYBODY would mention that in their "Things They Love" list if they had one!
• Kids who insist they know how to use chopsticks. And better yet, eat sushi with them too:

• The bruschetta recipe we've adopted {stolen} from our favorite, local, Italian eatery, Salute. (diced tomatoes, fresh basil, crushed garlic, evoo {damn that Rachel Ray--how annoying!}, balsamic vinegar, cannellini beans served atop toasted, garlic-rubbed sour baguette, spread with goat cheese) D'lish!
• The girls' new preschool, Amiguitos (for the gringos, it means "Little Friends"). I could wax poetic about how the immersion model is so beneficial and how the girls are really blossoming in the Spanish culture that is so lovingly fostered in the school. Mostly though, I just love having 4 hours to myself every MWF morning.
• The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. We read this in one of my bookclubs this month and I haven't stopped thinking about it. SciFi is usually not my genre of choice. I enjoy character development in my novels {Oh, Edward!}. This book has that in spades--but it is definitely a philosophical (heavy) journey. I'm looking forward to the sequel and will keep you posted.
• iPhone applications for kids! Who knew? I'll tell ya who knew: my neighbor Gretchen and I love her for it! Spelling, coloring, matching, Spanish, math... it's all there for the low, low price of $.99-$1.99/each! Do you realize how much quiet time this provides at restaurants, in line, stuck in traffic, when I'm trying to blog... It's priceless. {BTW Honey, we need more iTunes credit.}
• The jeans I bought recently {on sale!!!}. They call it "relaxed fit." I call it "heaven." They feel like I'm wearing sweat pants. The only problem is that I want to wear them EVERY day and y'all know about my laundry habits! {Ew... what's that smell?!?}
• Anticipating New Moon to hit theaters on 11.20.2009 I'll be there with my totally hot-for-Edward girlfriends at the midnight showing {you're jealous}. Yes, it's a Thursday night. No, I haven't seen midnight mid-week since college. {I think I might now qualify as an official Cougar?... Even though I'm happily married... Hmm...} BTW, the 30 second advertising intro to the movie trailer is annoying but necessary. Enjoy!

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Look What Mommy Can Do!

My inspiration:

... a beautiful head of ratty sunshine hair!

Step 1. Strip her down and get her wet.

Step 2. Comb it out.

Step 3-7. Snip, snip, snip, snip.

Step 8. Enjoy!

Then I evened-out the big girl's curls too. The sides of Geneva's hair grow so much faster than the back.

So a few more snips and ...

voila!

Here's how it looks dry:

And here's how it looks with some peanut butter and jelly accessories:

Happy snipping and saving a few bucks!

Let me know how it turns out for you.

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Oh Where, Oh Where Have I Been?

Wow. It's been too long since my last update. My apologies.

Here's what we've been up to (in no particular order):

Piper:

potty-training

starting preschool

sister-bonding

gymnastics (without Momma)

exerting independence

over-reacting to hurt feelings

developing a terrific sense of humor

sleeping in (Momma wakes her up every morning)

Geneva:

making up songs (that go on and on and on)

boycotting naps

surviving a first bee sting

learning how to be a "good sport"

coloring

simple writing and reading

speaking Spanish

sister-bonding

Tammy:

anticipating the new fall shows

cooking (a little)

crafting (a lot)

enjoying a few hours MWF to herself

experiencing a first "muscle spasm" (ouch)

getting back into the gym

Greg:

working on his golf handicap

making the most of weekends

enjoying some good news at work

anticipating a golf weekend with Rusty

getting back into the gym

surviving his wife's poor laundry habits

As a family:

gearing up for the rain

enjoying the last of the sunshine

listening to music and dancing

visiting the library

socializing with the neighborhood

having GREAT friends visit from Texas!

Angela and Jamie Bollinger (who both work for the same company as Greg) came to visit us over Labor Day weekend. It was so nice to have a few days to spend together. We typically get to see them just once a year in Cancun. Several months ago, Jamie planned the trip out west to see us here in Oregon. They left their three adorable (!) children at home with Grandma--so next time will be a family get-together.

Angela managed to get her "kid fix" by entertaining my Monkeygirls to the fullest extent. Here they are in the girls' new fort reading Goldilicious (other great gifts included the game, "Tea Party," lipstick, and art supplies).

They arrived on Wednesday and we had a delicious happy hour at Tucci in Lake Oswego with the girls in-tow. Thankfully, the weather was fantastic and we all sat out on the patio. Thursday, we had a babysitter in the morning and the guys played golf and Angela and I went to Northwest 23rd for some light shopping and lunch at Papa Haydn's. Thursday afternoon was all about the girls with a trip to the park and "cheerleading boing-boing's" with Angela (I'm kicking myself for not getting this in video-format!). Thursday night we had a second babysitter (yep!) and I headed to a quick meeting at the girls' new preschool (more on that later) while Greg took our guests to happy hour. They picked me up afterward and we went downtown to the Pearl District for dinner at Andina (just as amazing as ever!). Friday morning we packed the car and played with the girls. The sitter (!) arrived at 10:30 am. We (Jamie, Angela, Greg and I) were on the road by 11; headed to George, Washington (isn't that funny?) to see the Dave Matthews Band perform at the famous Gorge Amphitheater. The 5 hour drive was worth every mile (though I'm sure watching Twilight in the backseat with Angela made the drive a lot more fun for us than for our husbands). We had "premier" camping passes which basically gave us hot running water and soap outside the porta-potties. The venue and the experience were amazing. Here is where we camped:

With our first successful family camping trip under our belts, we investing in a family-sized tent and pitched it for the first time. It's a beauty and I look forward to many trips with the girls in the future. If we were able to fit two queen-sized blow-up mattresses in it, I'm sure we will be comfortable with the Monkeygirls along next time.

Once we set up "camp" it was time to snack, relax, drink, and enjoy an unbelievable sunset before we took on the "hike" to get to the amphitheater.

We had such a fantastic time! We partied and played like we were in college again... until the next morning! Then I felt every moment of my 35.5 years. Ouch.

Saturday was a day of recovery (see comments above), a trip to the Nike Employee Store for Jamie and Angela, Thai takeout at my favorite restaurant these days, and a movie from the couch (Taken--not bad!). The Bollinger's were on their way back to Texas on Sunday morning. We can't wait for our next adventure together!

Sunday was a party in the neighborhood for our friend Scott's 40th birthday: tasty mexican food, delicious margaritas, children entertaining each other, beautiful weather (surprise), good friends... a total success and super great time!

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