My Punks

Since Brady was ill this week, he's been frantically trying to catch up on his weekly quota of being a rotten big brother. I think he'll make his quota.
Both the kids have just been grating on me today, and I finally threatened Brady that if he shut the door in Natalie's face one more time, he'd go to bed without stories (the door shutting stopped) and I threatened Natalie to stop her screaming or else she was going to bed without stories. As soon as I finish threatening Natalie, I hear a high pitched screech. It's Brady trying to get Natalie busted for screaming. Problem is, she is in the room with me and he's in another. Little shit.

So mommy is drinking Sangria for her dinner tonight.

Natalie Susan Allred

February 26, 2005... 8lb. 11oz. 20 in. 7:05a.m.
She's been the sunshine in our lives ever since.

What the Eff?!

I'm looking at 3" of snow on my deck right now. And I'm looking at a little boy who's been running a fever of a 102 since 2:00 a.m. And I'm looking at a little girl who has been an angel even though she's been cooped up in the house all day, with her birthday celebration looking like a cancellation.
Julie scolded me for baking today. If you recall at Christmastime, every time I tried to make a treat for Natalie's pageant, school was closed. I made brownie bites (with sparkly pink heart frosting) for her birthday celebration at school tomorrow. I foresee myself eating brownies for the next 2 days. And brownies aren't my favorite. But they're bite size and available.
Natalie has been enjoying the feast of snow (she prefers to eat it rather than play in it), and poor Brady has hardly lifted his head to view the accumulation. It sucks for a boy to have all this snow and no energy to enjoy it.

3 good things today:

-1 week and 1 day before Erin travels to officially become a mama to A.

-My Bellingham Mom (before my actual mom became a Bellingham Mom) Nancy is coming in Friday for a eye exam. I haven't seen her since Brady was a baby. I've missed her so, so, much and can't wait to hug her. She moved to Australia for her husbands job several years ago. I {heart} her a lot.

-I found out a dear friend has found true love (actually was reunited with her unrequited love).

A menagerie of memories

When we returned from the pool tonight, we found a baby on our doorstep. Thanks for the chuckle, Lori!

A hazy but beautiful view of the Canadian Cascades during my walk.
When I got home from running some errands this morning, Larry had the children creating some Christmas art. Getting a head start, eh Lar?

It's really hard to see, but it made me laugh... Natalie swiped my chapstick and smooched her way across the mirror.
The bi-annual TOM garage sale... I purged my scrapbooking closet in hopes of making some money to buy what? More scrapbooking stuff. ya-ya-ya know it. Thursday at Kate's home in the woods. Where was Natalie you ask? Inside laying on Kate's bed watching cartoons. I don't foresee camping in her future.

Here is a collection of some crappy photos I took over the past few days. Today on my walk I only passed one person, it was the most peaceful walk with the most clean air. It rained last night but we awoke to clear skies (at least until 1:00) so the earth was clean and bright. That's how I like rain, when I'm unconscious to have to endure it, and I awake to it's beauty.

We went to the pool tonight, $6 for 90 minutes of family fun, not shabby.

Recovery and Comfort food

It's day four of the Migraine, but I think it has finally passed. My bff Jackie called and said she was making it her mission to help me with these headaches. Too sweet.
I have been puttering around the kitchen this afternoon and online looking for some fun recipes, and made my fav snack food (OK, one of many fav's) Rosemary Cashews. My friend Karen made these for Bunco one night, and I haven't been the same since. Seriously, if you like Cashews, you MUST make these, it takes like 6 minutes and it will make you very happy.

ROSEMARY CASHEWS

*1 pound roasted unsalted cashews
*2T minced fresh rosemary leaves
*1/2t cayenne pepper
*2t light brown sugar
*1T kosher salt
*1T unsalted butter (I used salted butter and decreased the kosher salt a smidge)
DIRECTIONS
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
*Spread the cashews out on a cookie sheet and toast in oven until warm, about 5 minutes.
*In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt, and butter. Thoroughly toss the warm cashews with the spiced butter and serve warm.

The "M" word

I fought a tough battle, but lost to a vicious migraine last night. I was so doped up by the end of the evening I couldn't speak coherently, and I was still in agonizing pain. Next time I get struck with a whopper, I might call up Max and see if I can take a hit or two of his oxygen, I've heard some people get relief from something as simple (and less toxic to my liver and kidneys, as well as not being a narcotic so I could still be a participating parent) as oxygen, but I'd like to try it before taking the path to get O2 at home. I'm willing to mooch from a 3 year old for some relief.
I seriously considered going to the ER last night, but decided that 1. I didn't want Larry to have to load up everyone in the car at midnight, 2. I didn't want to pay for a cab, 3. It was torture to roll over in bed, so the thought of traveling to a place with 4. Fluorescent lights with my migraine was not appealing, and 5. I think our ER co-pay is like $250, which sounded totally worth it if not for 1-4. I did have a very vivid dream once I finally lost consciousness. It was very different than any other dream I've ever had...
So I'm a zombie today, with residual pain and very colorful urine (tmi?).
I had a couple of cute pictures to post from our visit with Kate and her kids, but they'll have to wait, but here is a picture that puts a smile on my face every day

Musings

-Every time I drive by some discarded carpet or visquin(sp?) that has fallen off a truck on the side of the road, I secretly wonder if it's a ditched body.
-I saw 10+ familiar faces last night at Treasury of Memories. It's just one more reason I love Bham. People ranged from dear friends, to co-workers, to casual acquaintances. I think I still kind of freak out one girl from card class because my memory can appear to be kind of stalkerish.
-I was asked 3 different times yesterday if I had bought a particular sign while I was in Seattle on Monday. It's highly irritating. If you ask me to do something (actually I offered to do this, which makes this even more obnoxious) and I say I will do it, guess what? I do it! Apparently it's a novel notion to most people that one might do what they say they will. But yes, I have the frickin' sign and I can't wait to shut up the peanut gallery this morning when I deliver it.
-If I sleep on my back I have nightmares. Guess how I woke up at 2:30 am last night?
-I think I may have had an epiphany about getting into a healthy shape. The problem with most theories is that it requires you to be selfish and take time for your self and blah, blah, blah. Well, that will never happen with me. I have never been a person that could put my self first. Ever. So I was walking the other day and came up with a theory that just might work. If it does, I'll reveal it. Or I can whisper it in your ear if you really want.
-I find it incredibly difficult not to sing along to songs. It doesn't matter if I'm in the car or in a store, all of the sudden I'm belting out the lyrics. I did it last night at Treasury in front of a lady I've never seen before. I think I may be a tad bit nuts.

Long Weekend Letdown

Brady, Uncle, and Gabby (in her Goth gear). The shadow over my brother's head is bugging me!

My brother's Pixie-bob "Moose".

I have been known to make more than one purchase at this shop on 45th...

Brady voted to go here for lunch. It's the payoff for sitting in the car for 2 hours!

Corinna was trying to take cool self portraits of herself. Not so easy with 2 ankle-biters nearby.

I fell into bed last night after a whirlwind visit with my dear friend Rachel and her daughter Corinna. We drove the entire length of the state on Saturday (to return a borrowed car) and though it was long, we all had a fun ride singing along to all the music we brought along. And Monday I took them back to their respective destinations. Brady and I had planned on riding our bikes around Greenlake (an old favorite place of mine from my Seattle days) but were discouraged when we couldn't find a parking spot to save our lives, and then my thoughts turned to trying to ride bikes with a cantankerous 6 year old in a crowd. No thanks.

We ran a few errands and stopped by to visit with my brother for a few minutes and then cruised home.

Life officially returns to normal today. But not quite, Larry actually will be home for dinner tonight, so that's unusual!

Sugar cookies and Sistahs

We had a jam packed day today... after work I dropped my car off for an oil change and then went for a quick hike with Corinna. About 3/4 through our hike, the shop called and said my car was done, so we decided just to walk over and get it. It was another 1.5 miles away. This extra effort justified the several sugar cookies we gorged on as well as the huge dinner at Billy McHales. I still hurt.

Cookie decorating takes on a whole new meaning with a teenage girl in the house (black nail polish on cookies??!!)
Aiden and Amelia stopped by to help us decorate. Don't worry Amelia, I didn't tell your mama how much icing you ingested ;) Skeletor came by too, he ate some of the flesh colored hand cookies.

The kids couldn't keep their bodies off of Corinna, they only get to love her up a couple times a year!

Love is pouring from this house

Conversation hearts are the ipod and rolo's are the headphones.

So here I am the night before the kids Valentines parties at school (no school Friday), and I have 18 ipods to make and promised sugar cookies for Natalie's class.

I've got the dough chilling in the fridge and luckily I don't have to frost them, and Brady's Valentines became a family factory line, but they're done. And I think they are pretty darn cute.

Now I'm off to clean the kitchen and prepare for a crazy day tomorrow!

Goodbye Casey's

I just found out that the grocery store on the island I grew up on is closing in April. Casey's was a fixture of my childhood and teenage years. Mom would take us shopping there; I'd shop for my Girl Scout camping trips there; formed a gigantic crush on Chris Currier there (he worked there and was also the Quarterback for our football team); I met friends at Casey's on a Saturday night to find out where the parties were (usually at the Clear Cuts or The Bluff) and wait for another islander of legal drinking age to buy us some Budweiser, usually at twice the price; or stocked up on vandalism supplies to hit one of our friends homes (and sometimes enemies) with things like T.P., eggs, and whipped cream.
I kinda feel like making a pilgrimage to Bayview...

Back in Action!

Well, the mouse is acting horribly, but otherwise I'm online again! I was starting to get the shakes from internet withdrawal.
I didn't bother taking photos today (without a computer to download them to, what's the point?) but I had a wonderful afternoon with a handful of my good friends celebrating Erin's pending adoption. We had a Ethipopian themed shower, where Erin made some traditional stew (with a couple of Cosmo's on the side. At 11am.) and we all brought gifts for Erin to take to the orphanage as a donation. When she returns with her little boy (which we're hoping will happen in the next month!?) we'll shower her once again.
We had so much fun, and Elizabeth organized a beautiful canvas art project that we all particiapted in, I can hardly wait to see the finished product!

The fam and I headed to Chihuahua's for dinner, which was a mistake since I was hardly hungry from the feast this afternoon, but the peach margarita was mighty tasty.

Well, I'm off to piddle around on the internet for awhile...

"It just made a snap and started smoking"

That's what Larry said to me while I was at work yesterday. He was talking about our computer. I am so stressed out about it, all of my pictures were on there! My bootleg version of Publisher! My entire email address book! My pathetic link to the adult world!
Larry is going to look at it a little more closely today and give me a diagnosis, but it looks like I may be out of commission for a bit. I'll have to steal his laptop (work issued) to blog on the sly, but otherwise I'm crippled. Here's hoping it doesn't cost us our entire tax refund to repair the damage!

On to a post:

Yesterday Natalie thought it would be a good idea to climb her dresser in her closet yesterday. It's about 5 feet tall, and had all of her dress-up clothes, and her winter/summer/too big clothes. It also had (do you notice I'm speaking past tense yet?) my sewing machine and a very heavy case of poker chips. Seriously, I am damn lucky that my little girl is OK. She got her head pinned against the dresser and her closet door, and has a good size scrape and bruise on her right temple. I'm interested to know what she's going to look like today! I swear that girl...

And Brady eagerly ran upstairs to turn the TV on for me to watch a segment of "How It's Made". We watch this show together quite a bit, and he was so excited about the upcoming segment, and just knew that I would find it equally intriguing. The subject? How to make Maxi-pads. The kind with wings even. Thanks, honey.

the gooiness of having a girl

"A smooch oughta do it"

We were working on Natalie's Valentines for next week, she was busy "signing" each one with her name.

Then came the girly part... she started smooching each envelope before she handed it to me to seal. Talk about S.W.A.K! Little will her class mates know exactly how much love each of their Valentines hold.

Listening to my playlist got me thinking

Of all the great concerts I've seen so far.
-Tiffany (hey, she was great to my 7th grade self)
- The Cure (went with a boy who dressed up like Michael Smith)
- The Violent Femmes (for my 18th birthday. The whole floor of the coliseum sang happy birthday to me, very cool. I also almost got trampled to death that day. It was a great show!)
-Steve Miller Band (I think I saw him 4 times at the Gorge)
-The Doobie Brothers (opened for SM)
-Joan Jett (another opener for SM)
-Lillith Fair (twice) people like Sarah McLaughlin, Paula Cole, Tracy Chapman et.al.
-Kool and the Gang (friggin awesome. Drove all the way to the Silver Queen in Fife for that one.)
-Paul Simon
-Brian Wilson (he opened for PS, both of those men are geniuses. I saw them about 12 hours before my dad died.)
-The Lovin' Spoonful (won these tickets on the radio. The question? What does the average human do 10,000 times a day? The answer: Take a step.)
-James Taylor (a very mellow crowd. Larry and I were the youngest by 20 years. Still worth it.)
-The Beach Boys (for Terra's 30th birthday)
-Jackson Browne ( a wedding gift from me to Larry)
-Paul Revere and the Raiders (I won't admit where I saw these guys)
-The Wiggles (yes it's true. Twice)

I had tickets to see Pearl Jam once, I sold them and tripled my money instead.

On my concert bucket list:
-Van Morrison
-Elvis Costello
-Southern Culture on the Skids
-Yogoman Burning Band
-I wouldn't mind seeing Chicago live
-or Barenaked Ladies (they'd probably be best in Canada)

What's the best concert you've ever been to? Who would play at your dream concert?

Daddy 'Do

The image of my heart breaking a little each day... Mr. Independent.
Daddy talked her into pigtails today. I L-O-V-E her in pigtails. They were gone when I picked her up from school (even the teacher got a picture!).

Today was the first day of 2009 that I felt comfortable enough (temp wise) to walk over to Brady's school today. It was very mild, and would have been pleasant if it hadn't been for Natalie incessant crying and whining about her exhaustion all the way home (and I carried her half-way there!) That girl is l-a-z-y sometimes. I figure she's going to be the one cheering instead of the one being cheered when it comes to sports.

Tomorrow should prove to be interesting; Natalie and I have a hot date with Mr. Huggins at the pool (mommies helping mommies not look like they're mommies) so that Carly can swim some laps (and maybe me too). Then Brady has the trifecta playdate set up: Cole and Cameron are coming home with us after school. I figured one last house demolishing before I have to clean for the weekend festivities.

I think I'll start taking my Canadian drugs now...

I said young man...

Friday night Erin and I had our "girl" night where we feed our children food with questionable nutritional value, then plug them in to a t.v. while we pour ourselves some wine and catch up on Desperate Housewives.

The boys were having a wonderful time shooting each other and jumping off the furniture downstairs. They also were having a good time raiding Brady's dress-up drawer (they also had on a white motorcycle helmet and a yellow hard hat). So we made them pose. Natalie is the "M", and as soon as baby A gets here, he can complete our homage to the Village People.