Halloween Parade

The elementary school parade is at 1:00 on Friday. Each year the girls and I watch on our lawn as the school kids walk right past our front door in their costumes. This year, we'd like to invite everyone to join us at these front row seats. We'll be serving hot chocolate and apple crisp as well. So, if you are reading this, you are invited, as well as anyone else you can spread the word to. Even if you don't have children in school, it's still a fun reason to dress up and see all the cute costumes of the neighborhood. Bring blankets to sit on the lawn with, dress up your little ones and join us any time during the parade. We'll be in our costumes too...hopefully.

Wrong Decade

I think I may have been born 50 years too late. I would love to have been a housewife in the 50's. At least that's what I thought as I played the part Saturday night for a party. It was great fun channelling my inner Lucille Ball.

I would gladly wear a dress everyday. Especially 50's style dresses. They're so classy. Even the aprons were fabulous. I would love to have a stylish hair do all the time. I love those big curls. I love accessories too. Wouldn't it be great to put on pearl earrings and pearl necklaces everyday even if you weren't leaving the house? I'd feel so pretty. And let's not forget about the shoes. T-strap rounded toe heels to match every color dress you own, that sounds heavenly. Always having a beautifully made up face, eyes and lips polished to perfection. It's so glamorous.

Then I thought a little more. I would probably be required to bake a lot more. I don't really care for baking. Cooking great. Baking, not really for me. I would probably have to vacuum hourly if I were a housewife in the 50's, and honestly, I much prefer the every other day vacuuming I do in my grungy clothes. Those nice, fancy big curls look so lovely, but I'm pretty low maintenance, and I can't imagine spending the time I spent Saturday night on my hair, everyday. Okay, the pearls would be nice, maybe I will don those a little more often. And I can't deny my love for shoes, so I would love some throw back vintage shoes in my closet, those are fun. But the loads of makeup and red lips, that's not really for me either. Although it was a ton of fun for one night, having bright red lips commands some attention, and I'd rather stick to my boring natural shade lip gloss. Plus, I spent the whole night wondering if there was red lipstick on my teeth.

So maybe I wasn't born in the wrong decade after all. I much prefer having a messy house with happy kids instead of a clean house and one little child. I don't think too many families were having 5 kids in the 50's. I will try to be better at meeting my husband at the door when he arrives home at night though. Greet him with a kiss right away instead of a quick hug and peck 20 minutes later because I was in the middle of something. I think I'll just have to incorporate my favorite 50's housewife style into my present mom world. Because, truly, I can't really imagine my life any more different or perfect than it is here and now.

Joe, on the other hand, needs to wear some more tight polyester shirts and pants, because he looked hot. And that leather jacket just looked so darn sexy. I could do with out the hair, but the 70's would have suited him just fine.

But then we would have never met, so of course, life is just as it should be.

Dreams

Today was the ultrasound. The day we found out which dream was going to come true...
Dream One: Joe's recent dream of seeing 3 blonde girls playing on the floor, knowing that there were more to come. Or, Dream Two: Joe's lifelong dream of having a son.

Well, one dream did come true...

Blonde No More

Each time I've been pregnant I cut my hair. I have hated it both times. I told Joe not to let me cut my hair ever again. This time around I knew better than to cut my hair, but I needed a change.

It's been obvious that my hair is no longer blonde. Thank you sun-less Washington for that. So I decided to just go brown with it. My natural, true to the roots brown. I waited until summer was over, until we went to the beach, and until I dressed as Axl Rose for an 80's party we went to. Then I could go brunette.

Turns out my hair was already pretty brown, because I don't see a huge difference. Joe says there is a definite change. Is there really?

I don't have a picture to compare it to, but I stood and posed for this one...and I always feel like a huge dork when doing that, but I really need to know...honestly, did I waste $80 or not?

When The Cat's Away...

...apparently it's okay for the mice...

...to take the cushions off the couch...

...and gather all the blankets onto the floor...

...and jump and do flips from said couch...

...and not wear clothes...

...and have the daddy cat take pictures to further encourage such behavior...

...and then, with pride, show the pictures to the mama cat...

...and then justify it by saying, "it tires them out for bed time"...

Oh. Well if that's the reason...the mama cat will just have to disappear a little more often!

His Girls

It's always, "I love my girls." "I'll be back soon my girls." "Goodbye my girls."

Joe's "my girls" include Gabriella, Gwen, and me. When he says "I miss my girls" he's talking about the three of us. He truly does have three "my girls." And I love it.

As we approach my ultrasound next week, I have been thinking a lot about a conversation Joe and I had. It's very fresh in my mind. I've replayed it in my head many, many times. I can recall very specific details.

It was Father's Day morning. I was in my robe sitting on the couch. Joe had just opened his Father's Day present. He was standing in the middle of the room and the girls were on the floor playing with his new gift. They weren't very good at mastering the "perfect push-up" but they were amusing to watch anyway.

"So I had a dream last night." He said.

Joe doesn't dream often and hardly remembers the ones he does have to share with me. "Oh yeah?" I say.

"And in my dream we had three girls."

"We did?" I said smiling, liking this dream already. At this point, we didn't know I was pregnant, but I quickly asked, "What was her name?" Of course I asked that. We have had a boys name picked out since Gabriella, and are completely clueless over a girls name.

Hoping to hear the name of my dreams for a possible future daughter, Joe responded, "I don't know, I didn't get that far."

Assuming, I ask, "Were we in the hospital?"

"Oh no," he said, "we were here and there were three girls in our home."

I sat in silence for a bit while I pictured another blond girl trying to perfect a push up with our already two adorable girls. The image made me smile. I could see it crystal clear and I loved it.

After a long pause I asked Joe, "What were you thinking in your dream?"

In all seriousness, he responded, "I was nearly distraught..."

We both starting cracking up laughing. I can imagine, you that know him, can hear him saying those exact words.

I was still laughing when he continued, "...because, in my dream, I knew there would be a fourth..."

And we just kept on laughing. It still makes me laugh.

Joe is sure we're only having girls. Positive in fact. He is an amazing daddy to our girls. But, of course, he longs for a son as well.

We shall see soon enough which dream of his comes true. No matter what though, "his girls" are sure lucky to have him!

Birthday Tree and Daddy

Two very important ingredients to this years 2 year old celebration was the birthday tree and Joe. The birthday tree is an idea I began with Gabriella to keep her birthday separate from Christmas celebrations. It's a small tree that is for birthday presents and decorated with fun, colorful decorations perfect for birthdays. The tree is now used every birthday for both girls and will be for all our children's birthdays. I know I've converted friends to this idea. It truly is the most fun. The girls love this tree.

I usually have the tree set up for the morning of their birthday, but not knowing if Joe would be coming home, I held off until after nap time. Gabriella helped decorate it and she was so excited for Gwen to wake up to see it. As soon as Gwen made a peep, we were there to swoop her up and show her the tree.

Gwen was adorable discovering the tree. Her favorite was to collect all the balls and throw them in the air calling it confetti. She spent forever collecting, counting, and throwing them over and over again.

Gabriella disappeared for awhile and came out of my room with a birthday present for herself. Wrapped up and ready to be opened. I was so amused by her giddiness that I had to take pictures so Joe could see. I love her wrapping job. But more than that I love the look on her face as she opened her present. The one that she wrapped. She's thrilled and so surprised! As if she didn't know what was inside. It was adorable.

Next we ate dinner and decorated the "pup cakes." Just as we were finishing up, Joe walked in the door. Party started! Gwen didn't care about anything else. All she wanted was "Daddy, swing you me." She was so happy. So was I.

She opened presents...a.k.a. Gabriella opened the presents and wouldn't show them to Gwen. But Gwen didn't even care. She really wasn't even interested. She did however, become interested when the cup cakes appeared.

I love how simple things can be for little children. I think as moms, we feel like we need to go above and beyond just to prove we love them and care. Not true. They don't care about decorations, or how fancy the cake is, or what color their birthday hat is. All that really matters is that we're having fun and that daddy is there. And the birthday tree-that's a must too.

Happy Birthday Gwen! You're the cutest ever!

My Two Year Old Gwen Gwen

The more things change, the more they stay the same. I feel like I am having deja vu today. Last year, we spent Gwen's 1st birthday pretending it wasn't really her birthday. Joe was on call in Seattle and wouldn't be home until the next day. We celebrated Gwen turning 1 on October 8.

Today, we find ourselves living the same exact day over again. Only it's exactly a year later. Today is Gwen's birthday. Joe is on call in Seattle. And, we may have to celebrate tomorrow. We hope we don't.

Joe's grandma always celebrated her birthday on the wrong day. I guess she was born around midnight and the birth certificate and the date her parents celebrated her birthday never matched. Who knows if she was born on December 9 or 10? I wonder if she ever really knew. Sounds confusing for poor Ola Jones.

I fear we just may be confusing poor Gwen Gwen. Never celebrating her birthday on the right day. That doesn't seem fair. But it also doesn't seem fair to celebrate without her favorite person either. A birthday party without daddy simply wouldn't be a party for Gwen.

I'm a little depressed about the whole thing. There are a few days each year that really matter. It's hard to pretend a birthday isn't a birthday, or Christmas day isn't Christmas day. I know it is out of my hands and even Joe's hands. But it's still sad.

There is a chance that Joe can sneak home before bed time tonight. Let's pray he doesn't get called in. So right now, while my beautiful birthday girl is napping, Gabs and I are going to wrap presents, make cupcakes and get out the birthday tree. Because this is one little party that is happening today, on Gwen's 2nd birthday.

Summer or Winter

I love seeing my girls covered in sand. But I love watching them splash and jump in rain puddles.

I love barbeque's. But I love homemade soup.

I love my girls in swimsuits. But love them in hats and gloves.

I love long summer days. But I love when rain taps on my window on winter nights.

I love cool treats from the ice cream man. But I love treats from friends at Christmas time.

I love flip flops. But I love boots.

I love summer getaways. But I love winter holidays.

I love flea markets. But I love harvest fests and apple squeezes.

I love sunglasses. But I love coats-a lot!

I love fireworks. But I love Christmas lights.

I love the beach. But I love snow falling.

I love picking berries. But I love pumpkin patches and cutting our own Christmas tree.

I love Labor day weekend. But I love Thanksgiving.

I love ice cold lemonade. But I love hot chocolate.

I love concerts in the park. But I love Christmas music playing in my house.

I love warm days at the pool. But I love snuggling under a blanket on chilly nights.

I love corn on the cob. But I love pumpkin bread.

I love Bermuda shorts. But I love coats-did I mention that already?

I love my husband. But I love football season too even though he becomes obsessed with something else other than me for a few months. It's kinda adorable.

I love warm, sunny days. But I love the rain.

Oh wait, not so much that last one. It's true, summer may be over, but I certainly can think of a few things I very much am looking forward to this winter.