17 Years!

Hard to believe that 17 years ago today, Matthew and I began dating. It still seems like just yesterday. Looking back now, I'm sure our parents thought us both crazy (and a bit young) to be so convinced we would get married one day. Can I just say all these years later, "I told ya so!"

Here are some pictures of us through the years......

Matthew's senior pics, 1992.

Matthew's grad night, 1993. Such a lovely dress I am wearing.

June 24, 1991

Homecoming (with Peris and Brian, I think......1995)

Jan, 1996. I know, I know, what was I thinking with that hairdo?
And I love our matchy shirts :)

I Love It!

A better picture of Matthew's new look. I have been telling him to do this for months, the last time was 10 years ago! I guess it took a drive home in a hot car with no AC and a camping trip to Tahoe this weekend to convince him.

Fair Fun

Sunset.

Matthew with his new summer do.......I like it!!




Pretty girl on the carousel.

We had a great day at the fair yesterday. The girls got to ride a ton of rides, thanks to someone who gave us their leftover tickets. We made our usual rounds to the exhibits and the stinky animals, which Emma loved. It was a fun fair day, that ended with a stop at our favorite Roberto's in Del Mar, where we watched the sunset.

Toothless!

It is official, she is growing up too fast. First, no booster seat anymore and now this! Anyone know the going rate for a tooth these days? I can't even remember what I got at her age. The Tooth Fairy left her candy and a $1 coin, she thought it was pretty good.....guess I passed! All of which inspired the below conversation........

V: "Mommy, I am just changing so much"
M: "Oh yeah, how?"
V: "Well first I don't need my booster anymore and now I lost a tooth."
M: "I know, you are getting big"
V: "Yep. Soon I will be in first grade, lose more teeth, but I still won't have boobs."
M: "No, you sure won't....thank goodness!"

In case you couldn't guess, she is a bit obsessed with "parts".

Misc Monday

My list of misc observations acquired this weekend

1. Life has indeed come full circle. My oldest is sliding down into the deep end of my grandma's pool. I grew up doing this.
2. I might be in need of Supernanny for Emma, she is not sleeping through the night again.....not sure how much more I can take.
3. I saw more lizards than I could count when on my run last night, and they are huge!
4. Yesterday I noticed that my uncle is still wearing his wedding ring.....it broke my heart, I had to go to the bathroom and cry.
5. Yesterday I realized how much I still love and miss my aunt Lucy, and I gave my heartache to the Lord.
6. Emma is indeed my wild child and is currently eating cereal out of the box that she got out of the cupboard. Normally this is a no, but I am tired of the war......I think I might be losing.
7. Is God trying to teach me something? Emma is wearing me thin, I have never NOT known what to do before. I simply sit there, helpless as she throws her tantrums in public. Perhaps I will call nanny Jo after all.

In Stitches

On Tues night Emma dropped a bowl on the tile, shattering it, then fell on top of the pieces slicing her hand open. There was a shocking amount of blood on the floor and on me, but she barely cried. I, on the other hand, was doing my best not to pass out right there in the kitchen. After we were sent to Children's hospital by our urgent care up here, the eternal night began. Countless doctors and surgeons made sure that there was no glass in the wound, that she could move her thumb and that the tendons were fine. (I must mention that at this point in the evening it was 9:00 and we still had a false hope that we would be going home soon. HA!) We were sent to another area called an observation room filled with other kids screaming and yelling where we sat for yet another undetermined amount of time. Finally the doctor came over to "convince" us that sedation was the best route. No kidding?!! This child fights me on diaper changes, I didn't really think that she would just lay there for you to stitch up her gaping hole. The time is 12:30 am, Matthew and I are thinking yes, fine, whatever you need to do.......but just put in second gear lady! So the IV gets put in, she gets all wired up (above picture), and another hour later they begin the procedure. It all goes well, and 20 minutes later they are done and we are told that it usually takes about an hour (the word about is never good when used in an ER) for the medication to wear off, and we can't take her home until then. At this point she is OUT, not only is she drugged, but it is 2:30 in the morning, I don't think she plans on waking up. So Matthew and I take matters into our own hands. We begin with softly calling her name, then shaking her a little, then yelling her name, pinching her, tickling her, and just as we were about to resort to slapping (I mean shaking her harder)....she begins to stir. Let's skip ahead to 4:00am......when we fall into bed, and morning comes a bit too early.

She is doing good today, just very tired (as we all are) and trying to get used to having only one hand. She has a total of 8 stitches in the palm of her hand, kind of under her thumb. 6 on the surface, and 2 in the deep tissue. She looks pretty cute waddling around the house with what looks like a boxing glove. And that is indeed what she will use it as, a weapon! As you can see in the picture when she was swinging at me in her frustration. :)

Sorry the pictures are sort of small, our only camera was Matthew's IPhone.

I also must mention that just as the doctor put in the first stitch her favorite song came on the tv........the George Lopez intro, kinda bizzare!

Sisters and Surfers

Emma giving hugs to Julianna.....she can be a sweet baby, sometimes!
Booga and her Roxy rash guard. She got a horrible sunburn on her arms the first day so we needed to keep her covered. I have never bought any part of a bathing suit for $35, but it was the only thing in the hotel and I had no choice. She is worth it, and she did look like a cute little surfer girl!

PS. I tried 4 different types of sunscreen and applied it every hour! Someone tell me why she still got burned..........I guess the desert sun is a powerful thing.

Desert Oasis

We spent this weekend in La Quinta (close to Palm Springs) and it truly was an oasis. Matthew was in a golf tournament on Friday and Saturday so the girls and I spent our time at the pool. And when I say our time, I mean ALL day. The girls made friends there and had a blast. Emma liked the pool, but had her moments of pure meltdown, followed by a few naps in the shade. The hotel was gorgeous and quite fancy. The rooms are more casita style, and old fashioned looking (it's been there since the 1930's). Matthew and I hired a sitter that came to the room on Saturday night so we could go to a cocktail party at his uncle's house, as an after the tournament kinda thing. It was a fabulous time outside in the desert air, with great food and yummy drinks. It was also a nice break from the kids for a short 4 hours :) It was hard to choose just a few pictures to post. Oh, and I must mention for Matthew that he was a mere half stroke away from winning $400. Ugh!

Oh, and the people watching there was so fun. Lots of money floating around. The moms with the private cabanas that read a book in the sun the whole day while the nannny dealt with the bratty kids. I think that I might have finished one page of my book, or maybe it was just a paragraph?!

10 Things I Don't Understand

Here is a list of things that I don't understand (in no particular order).....

1. Why are ketchup packets so small? There would be no need to take 45, if they held more than a teaspoon of ketchup.
2. Why does the little twisty-tie that comes on the loaf of bread always vanish?
3. Why the one item that I forget at the store is THE most important.
4. Why can't I make pancakes? They burn EVERY time.
5. Why the person that I let over in my lane never thanks me.
6. Why I am always searching for something......I thought I was organized.
7. Where do all the pacifiers go? Seriously...someday I will find where she hides them and there will be 100 of them.
8. Why some people (who will remain nameless) make the decisions that they do.

Okay, so I only have 8 for today. Maybe I will stop whining now :)

Almost Famous

For all of the true Charger fans out there, here is my brief moment of celebrity with defensive end Igor Olshansky. I felt like a dwarf next to his 6'6, 305 pound frame......good thing he is sitting for the picture. Just when I was telling Matthew that we might be old because we liked Mimi's, all is redeemed. If Igor digs it, then we must still be cool!