Eight and Ten. . .

Ms. E turned 8 weeks old Tuesday and slept 10 hours straight last night!!  Of course, I was up twice with Jack Greer, so I did keep checking to make sure she was breathing. Could not believe it! Fed her at 9 pm and she woke up a few minutes before 7 am! Hurray!!!

 

Thanks again, Emily!!!

Here's those blue eyes

Road Trip. . . Moab. . . Camping. . . 2 kids. . . 1 dog. . . 2 psycho parents

Yes, we spent three nights in Moab and only one of those nights in a hotel room! That's because it took us 10 hrs to make the 6.5 hr trek to Moab, UT and so, we really thought we'd not try to set up the tent at 9:00 at night with the two kids. Traveler went too and we had a great (exhausting) time!

My favorite things about camping: smelling outside all the time. cooking outdoors. sleeping in the tent with the whole family. the camp shower. relaxing... .except that didn't really happen much this time.

My favorite quotes from this trip: hubby saying, 'if we were going to be here 3 nights or more, i'd get a saw and cut out some of these trees to give us a better view from our campsite'. he does house projects on our campsite. 'it seems a bit (whooooshhhhhweoooooooo) windy out here?'

Sorry. I seemed to have had a hard time taking many pictures while we were there.

My Fives

1. 5 things under $5 that I couldn't live without

• My Victorinox paring knife
  
• diapees/wipees pouch - was a gift, so I don't really know how much $
  
• Chapstick
  
• Birth control
  
• E's passy
  

2. 5 Favorite Movies

• Oh Brother Where Art Thou
  
• You've got Mail
• Steel Magnolias
• Sound of Music
  
• The Princess Bride
  

3. 5 Baby names I love

• Clark
  
• Nancy
  
• Ford
  
• Eleanor
  
• Obviously: Jackson and Elloree
  

4. 5 Songs I could listen to over and over again.

• Vanilla Ice, Ice Baby. . . . . Just kidding
  
• Canon in D
  
• Vince Guiraldi's Charlie Brown music
  
• 32 Flavors (Ani DeFranco)
  
• FOREVER YOUNG. . . Ok, this one I HAVE listened to over and over and over and over and over. . .but I don't think I'd do it again!
  

5. 5 People who have influenced me in a positive way

• My husband
• My mom & dad
  
• Erika, Danielle, Nancy & Thomas
  
• Paula
  
• Suzanne
• This list could go on and on. . .
  

6. 5 things that are always in my purse

• Cell phone
• Makeup pouch (really it's just mascara, gum, chapstick and lip liner)
  
• Uh Oh pouch (shout wipes, hair ties, floss)
  
• Wallet
• Diapers and Wipes
  

7. 5 moments that have changed my life forever

• My salvation
• My wedding
• 2003 (the year T was in Iraq)
  
• The births of my children
  
• 
  

8. 5 Obsessions I have now

• Cooking
  
• Blogs
  
• Books
  
• Sleep
• Exercise
  

9. 5 places I would like to go

• Japan
  
• Panama
  
• South Africa
  
• Portland & Seattle
  
• Europe & Mediterranean (France, Italy, UK, Holland, Greece)
  

10. 5 appliances or kitchen tools I cannot live without
(Okay, I could probably live without, but wouldn't want to)

• Sharp Chef's Knife or two
  
• Good Cutting Board
  
• Garlic press
• Food Processor
• Cork screw (got to open my wine!)
  
• Dishwasher & Microwave (Danielle, hats off to you!)
  

11. 5 people who I would like to see their top 5's

Erika

Angie

Danielle

Carrie

Nancy

Susanne

Connor

Suzy

Mom

Julie

Anyone Else!

Creepy, crawley things. . .

Update: This BUG was not real! It sure looked it though! Check Carrie's blog for the update. :)

My good friend found this in her yard and is wondering what it is. SO AM I! And, I'm hoping it does NOT have a habitat in Colorado. Which I seriously doubt it does. I don't think our climate supports bugs larger than flies. Thank goodness, in this case. Please state your suggestions for what this might be!

New Bathroom Color and Blinds. (Master) YEAH!!

We've done two bathroom remodels in the last few months. This one was by far easier. Okay, truth be known, they were both easy for me since my dear T did all the work! The other one I'll post pictures on once I get up a shade and decor on the walls. But, the Master is pretty even before I put up my decor (which I already have all picked out and ready to go on the walls, big deal for me)!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Thanks so much to T & Dad & my friend, Suzy, who painted to my fancy. . . again. I can't believe how much painting I've gotten out of over the years. Thank you!!!

Big brother, Big shoes

What it's like taking pictures with JG around:

He feels trucks should be a part of everything we do!

Can you tell how much lighter her eyes are than JG's?? I think they'll be blue. . .

Moby wraps, ergo carriers, hot slings, slinglings, maya slings, mei tais, ellaroo carriers. . . PLEASE help! Which is the carrier to get? I don't like the bjorn b/c it hurts my back pretty bad. The Moby is comfortable, but so much fabric. I'm worried the sling will strain my back/shoulder as E-Grace gets bigger. But, really, I need something to have for hands-free time. Any advice?!

Comparing JG and EG

Well, they are not twins, but there are some similarities between my girl and boy. I'm surprised how different they look! I was convinced EG would be JG's clone, and she's not! She just 'looks like herself' as one of our nursery workers put it today.

Rocket launching!

First Day

I'm almost done with my First Day Alone with the two chitlins. It hasn't been too bad so far. Except that E-Grace probably cried more today than she has in her entire life. Poor little thing. We managed a walk together and I even took some pictures of them. This having two thing is quite an adjustment. Any of you moms out there with some advice, it is WELCOME. PLEASE POST ADVICE HERE!! On how to do two. I think all I did today (besides the walk and taking a couple pictures) was change diapers, nurse my infant, babble with my 18 month old and stuff food into my mouth. I'm hungry ALL the time from nursing. I'll never lose this baby weight this way, but oh well. So, there you have it. I survived the day and just have the night to contend with. I caught myself today thinking, "man, with just JG I was so much more productive". . . and then I stop myself, and say "who are you kidding, you weren't productive with JG on days Todd was gone, so why should you be productive now?" If this is what life is going to look like for now, then how long can I expect to get away with crazy, unwashed, unmanaged hair, no make up, kids in pjs all day and macaroni and peas for dinner?!

Tigers and Ski Lifts

What do Tigers and ski lifts have in common? Well, the zoo, of course. Our local zoo recently built a ski lift because the zoo is on the side of a mountain, and visitors often have a difficult time climbing the hills to see all the animal exhibits. So, the ski lift goes over the bear and tiger exhibits. This is all the more interesting because Todd, in his new job with the fire department, has had to learn this past week how to rescue people from this very ski lift. . . without lowering them into the big cat cage. Other perks at Todd's new job: High angle rescue (people who get stuck while trying to climb things they shouldn't) and motorcycles and ice climbing. Yes, he gets paid to do this!

Old pictures

Well, Todd used our old point & shoot camera the other day and found these gems on there. We took JG hiking/skiing a few months back. I think I was about 6 months pregnant with Elloree in these pictures. JG did great except when his daddy fell with him on his back. (skis were a little precarious to try with an infant on the back!) So, he is a bit scared looking in the pictures with Todd for good reason. I ended up carrying him most of the way, and we learned that skis and backpacked infants don't go together.

Are you tired of Elloree pictures yet?

Well, I can't get tired of pictures of my baby girl, especially when the photographer is Emily. :) Here are a few more. Sorry if you've seen these before. I have so much else to write about what's going on in our lives right now. . . maybe with the next post I can catch you all up.