Our Preschooler

Ben had his first day of preschool today! That is, his first day of 3 year old preschool. (He was in a little 2 year old class last year.) But this is the real thing: required potty-training, snack schedules, field trips... the whole preschool shabang. He's been so excited for preschool to start and was over joyed to wear his new 1st day of preschool outfit and take his Superman gift bag to school. They use gift bags instead of backpacks in his class for taking home things - it's actually really smart cause they hold a lot more and you don't worry if undried paintings smear onto a gift bag. Anywho, Adrian and I dropped him off and he was a little shy at first, but he put his bag in his cubby and wasn't phased at all when we kissed him goodbye. When I went to pick him up an hour later (they make the 1st day short to ease them into it) he was happily sitting at the snack table eating a popsicle. And he was not leaving until he finished that popsicle. The other kids were dropping uneaten popsicles in the trash right and left to run to their parents as soon as they arrived, but Ben just waved to me and continued eating... Yeah, we were the last to go!:)

During the car ride home he told me about playing with playdough and playing with his "girlfriends"! Boys are totally outnumbered in his class - I think its 6 boys to 11 girls. I love that he calls them his girlfriends though! Already the ladies man. He kept his star name tag sticker on almost all day and was so excited to tell Sophie all about preschool as soon as we picked her up and Adrian also as soon as he came home from work. So ends up we have a happy preschooler.

My 30th Birthday

So yesterday was the best birthday ever! From my perspective it was turning out to be a quiet birthday with a lovely family party (with a delicious Cold Stone ice cream cake and cards and presents from the kids and Adrian) and then a hot date with Adrian to a fancy French restaurant. Cami came over to watch the kids for us (big kids slept in the tent downstairs and we put Nina to bed before we left upstairs) at 7:30 so we could make it to the restaurant for our late 8pm dinner reservation. Well, the food at this quaint French country cuisine restaurant was amazing!! I have never had any dinner to compare with how darn good it was. I had the fillet mignon (it's my b-day right) and was actually really full after that. Adrian started talking about how he was just too full and maybe we could have dessert later at home -we had more of that delicious ice cream cake in the freezer... But I was like, no way I'm having some fancy chocolate mousse at this fancy French restaurant and I'll have some ice cream cake tomorrow... :) Then he was checking his watch and drove like a crazy man home (I was saying, "Man Adrian, we don't have to rush, we're just gonna go home and watch TV."). These are all things that I am remembering in retrospect, though, at the time I never suspected a thing. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

So anywho, after eating the longest and most fantastic dinner ever we got home and I walked in the door and got the shock of my life. My dining room was full of my fabulous friends shouting surprise and happy birthday!! I thought I was going to have a heart attack! I was completely floored... It was just so wonderful! Who would have thought a bunch of wonderful ladies would come over and stick around till 10:30pm for a surprise party! I felt so bad for taking so long at the restaurant and stuffing myself with the chocolate mousse... There were balloons and a happy birthday sign and a full spread on the dining room with all of my extra-special favorites - a chocolate fountain, white dipping chocolate, strawberries, those wonderful 2-bite brownies, pretzels and more and more... It was amazing! I felt so loved and surprised and overjoyed.

Then it was oh so fun to sit and chat. I am so happy that I have such a wonderful and supportive group of friends and might I add hilarious!! My jaw hurt from smiling and my stomach hurt from laughing just from sitting and talking with these ladies - which I think is a wonderful result. :) And then I even got presents, which just didn't seem right cause the biggest present was the wonderful surprise and them just being there. So thank you so much to the wonderful friends and my sweet husband who made my 30th so GREAT!! You made it so special and I will always remember it. It's making me all misty just thinking about it... What a great day!

I'm 30.

So I'm 30 now. And I'm not sure if I like it or not yet... I guess I thought I'd just be hanging out in my twenties forever. The 20's were a great decade for me. I got married (well 2 months before entering my twenties, but I think that counts), was in college, had my children and learned all about this crazy thing called motherhood. It's hard to say goodbye to a decade that was so full of growth and happy times. I've been told the 30's are the same way - growth and happiness and all and you understand who you are more... So hello 30! Hope the next 10 years are as good to me as the last 10 were.

Also I think I'll share a little of the movie-making fun we were having just a few minutes ago on Adrian's Mac. Thanks guys! You've made this a great bday for me!

Our Walker!!

Nina took her first steps today!! The first steps were from her little activity table to where Ben was playing in the middle of the family room floor - it must have been about 4 steps. I was so excited that I started cheering for her and gave her a big hug and she was oh so proud of herself smiling away. It was so cute. As soon as Adrian and Sophie got home from church I told them all about it and Adrian was so happy, but was so bummed that he missed it. (I stayed home from church with Nina and Ben because Ben has pink-eye... which is just annoying, but with the eye drops and all I'm sure it will be better soon.) Nina showed off her new skill to Adrian though and this evening she had a jolly time taking steps back and forth between me and Adrian with us and the kids cheering her on. She just ate up all the praise and happiness, giggling and smiling as she took those cute wobbly steps. Here's a couple of pictures of the fun.

Nina's Post

..oiuiuhyiuhyiuhyiuhyx e';;
;;;;;''utfffffffffzz. jjjjjfjfdjjjjvvffgbgffgbfgbgfTgmmjjhmnjhmlledddn hhymhvvvvv

c jjjjjjmmmmmm xhnnmv
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, vxsxc cccxds gff``dfgh.mgnjjdf gfgbf `` bm hjghjgjhrrgf

That was a little post by Nina, who is now 13 months old. (The picture up there is courtesy of my brother in law, who snapped that adorable shot during our vacation.) Nina is obsessed with my computer and loves pushing the keys on the key board. As she was typing away she also pulled up google earth which is quite impressive being that I have never pulled it up myself on this computer! She was quite proud of herself and got all excited when a big picture of the globe came onto the screen. And now she is playing with a miscellaneous (I thought it was lost) computer power cord that she must have discovered under our dining room buffet cabinet. Adrian would really be so proud of her right now!! :) Oh, wait she has one last thing to say:

ttaeea aaaAEFF

Maybe that was ttfn?!!

Colorblind (i-Pod fun from Cami's blog)

Okay, so this is another little game that I thought was just too good to pass up. This one was on Cami's blog - thanks! So everyone gets to see some of what's on my i-Pod.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn't make sense. NO CHEATING!

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Imagine (John Lennon) - I guess that's okay, it's a lovely song, but a bit more existential than I'm feeling at the moment. But I guess I'm just imagining all the possibilities for the rest of the day. :)

WHAT'S YOUR OUTLOOK ON LIFE
Hallelujah (from Shrek Soundtrack) - Nice. I like this one. (Well the title anyway, the actual song is about unrequited love and that's not really apart of my life outlook.)

WHAT DOES YOUR FAMILY THINK OF YOU?
Every Breath You Take (The Police) - Okay, this one just doesn't fit, but I like the song even though it's weird and stalkerish... I think this song would be more for the Corleone family - Fredo, don't do it - they're watching you!!

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Winter (Tori Amos) - Maybe this is in reference to my melancholy side.

WHAT DO STRANGERS THINK OF YOU?
Goody Two Shoes (Adam Ant) - HA!!! This is great! "Don't drink, don't smoke... what a goody two..!!" Yep, that's me!!

WHAT DO YOUR EXES THINK OF YOU?
Winter Kills (Yaz) - Um, wow... that's a little strong, but maybe... How funny that my friends think of me as "winter" and my ex thinks of me as "winter kills" !! HA!

HOW IS YOUR LOVE LIFE?
Head Over Heels (Tears for Fears) Oh, this is just sweet! I'm so glad it went to this one! Totally head over heels for ya Adrian!

HOW WILL YOUR LOVE LIFE BE IN THE FUTURE?
Little Star (Stina Nordenstam - from the Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack) - As it is a nice little ditty from the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack, I think it's great... but Romeo and Juliet did end badly, so um... maybe not so great...

WILL YOU GET MARRIED?
Ruled by Secrecy (Muse) Apparently Adrian and I should have eloped. :)

WILL YOU HAVE KIDS?
Keep Me from Harm (Peter Murphy) Well, with my pregnancies the plea "keep me from harm" is not too far off... so maybe it does fit.

ARE YOU GOOD AT SCHOOL?
Here With Me (Dido) Nope, doesn't make sense, but a good song!

WILL YOU BE SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE?
Marble Halls (Enya) Guess so if I'm living in marbles halls... but even in those not so successful times Adrian and I will love each other "still... the same.." :)

WHAT SONG SHOULD THEY PLAY ON YOUR BIRTHDAY?
Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics) This is good!! Nice peppy birthday song!

WHAT SONG SHOULD THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
There is a Light That Never Goes Out (the Smiths) I honestly can't believe this came up - it's Adrian and my song! And that's kind of a nice message there, so yeah this is a great one!

THE SOUNDTRACK OF YOUR LIFE:
Stand By Me (John Lennon) Nice! Totally agree with this one too.

YOU AND YOUR BEST FRIEND ARE....?
Girlfriend in a Coma (the Smiths) For the record I am not a violent person and do not plan on putting any of my friends in comas...

HAPPY TIMES:
Carrickfergus (Celtic Woman) So yeah, this is a Irish folk song all about going back to the place were the person was born and how everyone she knows has died and she's sick and dying... Not my idea of happy times...

SAD TIMES:
Catch (the Cure) Yay, a Cure one came up for sad times. I've spent many a sad time listening to the Cure!!! (And happy times too, they do have those 3 happy songs... :))

EVERY DAY:
Time after Time (Cyndi Lauper) Pretty much sums up the everyday stuff... same old, same old, right...:)

FOR TOMORROW:
Don't Stand So Close to Me (The Police) Apparently I'm going to be feeling extra claustrophobic tomorrow so please don't stand too close to me. :)

FOR YOU:
Why (Annie Lennox) Hmmm... your guess is as good as mine.

WHAT DOES NEXT YEAR HAVE IN STORE FOR ME?
Let it Be (the Beatles) Whatever next year has in store seems like I'll be okay with it...

WHAT DO I SAY WHEN LIFE GETS TOO HARD?
In My Room (Yaz) - Maybe "get the Tylenol, it's in my room"??? :)

Or I could get all spiritual with this one too and take it as praying in my room which really is the best answer when life gets too hard.

WHAT SONG WILL I DANCE TO AT MY WEDDING?
Eyes Without a Face (Billy Idol) Ha! That's kind of funny! Maybe if we got married in 1987!! Still, a little too weird of a song for a wedding. For the record Adrian and I danced (waltzed) to Kissing You by Des're.

WHAT DO YOU WANT AS A CAREER?
Jupiter Crash (the Cure) Astro-physicist??

YOUR FAVORITE SAYING?
Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) - "I see a little silhouetto of a man. Scaramouche, scaramouche will you do the fandango? Thunderbolt and lightning-very very frightening me! Galileo, galileo..."

THE SONG THAT YOU'LL PUT AS YOUR SUBJECT?
Colorblind (Counting Crows) I love this song - it's definitely in my top ten favorite songs, but don't know how it works for the title to this exercise. :)


That was lots of fun! There are no rules up there about tagging, but if you have a i-Pod/other music player and have some time (it took a bit longer than I thought it would ) play along!! :)

Our Twilight Characters

I saw this quiz on Joni's blog and it was too fun to pass up! I was so shocked to be Jacob(would have been nice to be a girl), but with the explanation I actually think it's pretty good. But man, Adrian's was the best (it's below mine) - he is totally Jasper!! He does have a very calming presence!! Now I wish I ended up being Alice!! Maybe I'll mess around with my answers like on every other blog-quiz I take and try to get Alice!! :)

Which Twilight novel character are you?

You're Jacob Black - You were raised to believe that family and community is the most important thing in life. You are also a fun-loving person who sometimes can see life a little too amusing and have trouble taking things seriously. Over all, you're a loyal and excellent friend to have.
Take this quiz!








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Which Twilight novel character are you?

You're Jasper Hale - You have a calming personality and a simplistic way of looking at life. People like to be around you because you can help keep peace and are friendly to everyone. Although you do have a quiet side, you would be well balanced with a bubbly, spunky mate. Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code