Wedding: Munchkin-Free Zone

I had someone ask me on the wedding blog if Sarah & Eric's reception is adults only. I know this is touchy, but unfortunately the answer is yes. The Fellowship Hall of our church will not be set up to accommodate small children, and there will be lit candles, string lights, fountains that can be toppled, among other non-child-proof dangers... This is excepting the wedding party, immediate family and little, non-mobile babies, of course. (So Elijah had better be there!!!) We are very sorry for this inconvenience!!!! Now you have an excuse to get a sitter and enjoy a nice evening out anyway. Thanks for your understanding.

P.S. If you still have not received an invitation or announcement, again I apologize. I am working diligently with the lady I ordered them through, and we are frantically working on it!!! If you have received yours, please don't forget to RSVP! Send back the little reply card or else you can do it on the website here.

Blink

This post from Bring the Rain is an emotional one, but so beautiful I had to share. Angie Smith has a writing style that makes me cry every time... yet without feeling sad. She is the perfect picture of what true peace is like. It doesn't mean you are always sitting around with a serene look on your face, unaffected by the world. It's an inner peace you have even when everything around you seems bent on tearing your heart out. It's real life, and I love her perspective.

Mommy and Selah

Daddy snapped these while we were partying at a Gemini concert!

Pool Pics with Daddy

Daddy finally got to go swimming! Poor Daddy works such long, busy days that this is only his second time in the pool. At least someone else could help supervise so I could finally snap a couple pictures!!

Also, this was the first time Elianna asked to go under water. I made sure she understood how to hold her breath, then dropped her under! She was a little scared, but liked it enough to try it again. Selah kept begging to "go un-dah" as well, but she has outgrown the instinct to hold her breath and comes up sputtering and gagging. So she'll just have to wait. She still likes to get thrown around, though, as you can see.

Hooray for Resale!!!

I have to confess, I love resale shops. Not the dirty, smelly ones, of course, but the cool ones. I think it is the thrill of the unpredictability, almost like a treasure hunt. (Only it's designer shoes and cool toys instead of gold and jewels.) Some people may think it's icky to shop there, but I honestly think even if money weren't an issue I would love those stores. I have found one I particularly like, since it's where all the rich people dump their stuff, and they have a particularly large shoe section. I managed to drag Chad there yesterday. (Chad is not as big of a fan, since he gets stressed out chasing the girls around the toy section.) This time, I struck gold in the toy department! Here are my finds, all under $2:

2 brand new 24 piece Pooh puzzles
1 Leap Frog USA floor puzzle with special decoder to read facts about each state (a little old for them, but cool enough to put up for later)
1 brand new Animals Complete Learning Set - I spent almost $20 on this for my nephew for Christmas, and here it was under $3!!!
Hasbro Whac-a-Mole - the girls have been loudly banging this all morning, so I'm beginning to doubt the wisdom of this purchase
Finders Keepers - a really fun game similar to I Spy
Cranium Cariboo Treasure Hunt - This has been Elianna's favorite so far, and one of the best ways to get her to practice her numbers and letters!!!

The big find for Mommy were two pairs of Candies jeans (so Sarah, no more laughing at my Kohl's jeans) for the whopping price of $3. Daddy found some brand new shorts (American Eagle, of course) and I got a stack of jeans for Elianna at $1 a piece. So, if my Mum-in-law reads this, THANKS for the coupons! We definitely got our money's worth as we hauled four garbage bags of booty back to the trunk. Now I have to get rid of stuff at home we don't need to make room!!!!!

Little fishies

My girls are loving the pool, but it is too hard to get pics when I am out with them! (I am paranoid enough keeping track of two fearless girls in a four foot pool.) They have these flotational bathing suits, which are simply ingenius. Elianna paddles all around in hers, while Selah still needs help staying right side up. Her bottom is too buoyant! They both love the water and ask to swim in it EVERY day. I am just hoping to get a bit of color before Sarah's wedding...

In praise of baldness

Selah has decided she doesn't like hair. Not her own, necessarily, but anyone else's. If she wants to snuggle you, she pulls back and says, "Move hair." You then have to pull your hair back away from your shoulder. She'll lean forward and inspect your shoulder for a second, then snuggle in. Any other time, if your hair brushes against her face, she pulls back and gives you a disapproving look until you "Move hair."

Q is for...

Elianna is really doing well on her phonics, and lately she will randomly point out the first sound in a word. For example, "Mom, can I have some puh-puh-puh potatoes?" One day, she asked what "onion" started with and I said, "O. O says ah, ah, onion." (Not sure how to spell the short o sound, but you get my point.) So, she pulls a capital Q out of her letter box and says, "Look Mom, it's O for Onion!" I told her, "No, honey, that's a Q. See the little line on it?" She looked at it for a second, then said, "Look, mom, it's a Q for Q-Q-Cucumber!"

Grandma's Blog

For those of you who have expressed your impatience at my lack of blogging lately (yes, that includes you, Aunt Lil), you can check out my Mum-in-law's blog for recent adventures and pics!

Wedding Website

We are working on the wedding website again! Well, at least I just posted a blog entry... and you can RSVP there are well! (Thanks Jake and Elizabeth! You're the first ones!) The closer we get to the wedding, the less time I have to blog. (Pity, too, since I have some cute pictures I've been meaning to add...) Anyway, here's the link again - sign the guestbook, ask a question, whatever! Also, you can subscribe to e-mail updates in the "What's New" section on the home page, right under their picture.

Eric and Sarah's Wedding

Which Austen Girl Are You?

Well, you all know I am a rabid Jane Austen reader, so naturally I had to take this quiz! (HT: Thanks Jess!) Hmmm... the results are very flattering, since Lizzy has always been one of my favorite characters. Not necessarily accurate, but flattering!!

Take the Quiz here!

You Are...Elizabeth Bennet!

You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of ridiculousness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed.

My Pretty Sissy (And Eric's kinda cute, too)

I just had to share this link and show off my adorable Sissy and her adorable fiance! Sarah and Eric are featured on this photography website, both in the opening slideshow (one picture) and also if you go to the galleries and click on "coupled love". I absolutely LOVE these pics, and I know you'll like them, too!

Now, I'm going to have to talk to this photographer about a session with my girls... ;0)

Cedar Point!

We had the greatest time over the weekend!!! For one, we were child-free for almost 43 hours! (A record, I might add.) Selah got to spend some one-on-one time with Nana and Papa Harvey, and Aunt Connie and Leighanne bravely hosted a camp-out for Hayden and Elianna. (Complete with a tent and s'mores!!) And lived to tell the tale.

As for me and Chad, we headed to Cedar Point for the first time in TEN years with Sarah, Eric and Jonathan. I felt so old - I hadn't even heard of the newest rides!!!! (But I still loved them.) I already can't wait to go back. Any of you who have ridden the Dragster know what I'm talking about. It was a fun way to spend the Fourth of July, because it included the American Independence Day necessities: loud fireworks and lots of food. (Although gorging yourself on hot dogs, fried chicken, baked beans, potato salad, chocolate chip cookies and ice cream right before you go on roller coasters seems a bit unwise, we did it anyway.) And of course, the guys had to grab a few extra cookies for their pockets. The weather was perfect, although too chilly for water rides. Fine with me - more time for coasters!! We didn't get back to our hotel until 2:00 a.m., and we were basically unconscious in minutes. The next day we had planned to come straight home, but we were starting to enjoy to whole kid-free thing, so we called each of the caregivers and asked for a curfew extension. And we got it. We then went to see "Hancock" and ate ourselves sick at Tony Packo's. None of us wanted to deal with a camera, so I have no pictures! But, Happy Belated Independence Day!

Link Update

I've updated my links to include a couple more of the blogs I read. It is VERY hard to decide which ones to include, since I read such a huge variety of topics. Also, my views, both religious and political, tend to be (how do I word this delicately?) a bit passionate. Not to mention, I do not agree with any blog 100% of the time, so I was biting my fingernails with the whole "What will people think?" routine. I compromised. I left out the really radical stuff. Too bad, too, since those are the good ones. (Just kidding.) Anyway, here they are - enjoy!

If you link to me, and I've missed you, just let me know. Thanks!

I am Car-less...

Yep, it's finally happened. I am officially stranded! We turned in our gas-guzzling (but much beloved) Dodge Dakota, bidding it a fond farewell for its faithful service, and we have opted not to replace it right away. Elianna was quite upset about it, as she was very attached to the "blue truck." I tried explaining the concept of a "lease" to her in terms of borrowing something from the library. I told her the truck wasn't ours, we were just using it, and now we had to give it back to its owners. She sulked all the way to the dealership, then declared in an appalled voice as we drove by the rows of shiny new vehicles, "Mom! Look at all the trucks they already have! They shouldn't take ours! They have enough trucks!" My little communist. Anyway, now we are down to one vehicle, and Chad commutes an hour to work so driving him is not an option. Waaah - poor me. There is quite a bit within walking/biking distance, including the library, a couple parks, the fairgrounds, the township building (where we go to dance class and other fun activities) and several stores. So hopefully I won't go too crazy...at least while the weather is nice. Also, my wonderful retired neighbor has assured me that we can use their van if any kind of emergency arises, so that's a relief. We'll see if I survive!!!!!