Conversation with Mae. . .she's four. . .

Mom: Hey, Mae! You've been quiet in your room. What are you up to?
Mae: Oh, I am just packing.
Mom: Oh, ya? Where are you going?
Mae: I was thinking Istanbul or Cairo.
Mom: Oh. . .errr. . .sure!

Long Time No Blog. . .

Okay, it's been a while, huh? We have very busy this summer. ..my niece, Emma, came to stay with us. She has been at my mom's in Palm Springs for a week, but we really enjoyed having her for the week we had her! She comes back next week and will stay with us until August 17th. I really look forward to more fun! Here are some pictures taken from our various excursions. . .enjoy!

Slideshow . . .

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=47315&l=ae7c5&id=642835648

Please, check out some recent pictures on my facebook account. . sometimes it's just easier to share the link, instead of making an entirely new slide show for my blog.

Enjoy!!
xoxo-emmy

Another Blog!

http://runningem.blogspot.com/

Here's my new blog that I am keeping. . .check it out!

Happy Birthday to Clark and some other stuff. .

Click on collages to enlarge.
Mae stole my mom's camera and took some pictures - I bet you can figure out which ones! The kids got tired of waiting for us to go to Old Town that they fell asleep waiting. Poor things. . ..we made it to the promised Root Beer Shop, by night's end. Phew! There would have been a revolt!
Here are some more pictures from my mom's weekly visit. The kids just love her so much. I think she's eh. :) We also played around with her ridiculous hat and got some good laughs. Always a good time when grandma comes over the mountain! As for the Q-tip in the door knob. . .your guess is as good as mine. Sometimes you just have to find stuff like this. ..it's a great reminder of who is running the show around here and what their little fingers can do.
Mother's Day! Yay! I had a great Mother's weekend. Jacob gave me Saturday off and I went to a lovely brunch that my SIL, Sara, put on for us. Then, Jacob and I really had a great time on a fabulously leisure date on Saturday. It was the best! On Sunday we went to Jacob's parents' house and had brunch. There's Joel and Ava answering the door for us. Aren't they cute? And, of course, my babies. . .Jacob included.
Spider alert! There were two wolf spiders hanging out too close for comfort for me! I know you cannot possibly understand the huge-ness of it in these pictures, but I SWEAR it was carrying a cell phone. The thing was huge. So, me being the ultimate chicken that I am (yes, I am cool with it), I called my friend and next door neighbor Michelle to come help me. She is very insect friendly, removing them harmlessly whenever possible. My kids haven't had such an example. Mae was grabbing shoes and smashing spiders when she was one. As pictured here, she took her ever so dangerous princess dress up and really got one good. . .all along my carpet! Nothing like cleaning up spider guts! Yay! Michelle got a broom and took care of business. I was very thankful. Those pictures of Clark looking up are of him trying to blow the spider down - he thought it was all in great fun.

Pump It Up is an indoor place with lots of blow-up type bouncy things. . .really, that's what's on their sign. No, not really, but I don't know what to call it. But, we have a blast there! Mae had a birthday party there with her almost-sister Emily from next door. She turned six. Then, we went back to free play later in the same week. Mae was too scared to climb the wall at Emily's party and was anxious to give it a go later in the week. It was only us during open night, so Mae was super determined to get it! She tried once and didn't get quite to the top. She got down, surveyed the wall and starting talking to herself and a really motivated whisper, "I can DO this! I know I can. . .I just to put my foot there, my hand there. . .I can get to the top. I WILL get to the top!" That may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but I think it's incredibly fascinating that Mae can self-motivate herself like that. She got back on the wall and slowly and very calculated, made it all the way to the top! I was so proud of her. She just makes me beam with the amazing kid she's turning out to be. Honest,funny, active, creative, affectionate, righteous. . . I just have a hard time putting her bed every night because I know it means one more day has passed that I have my little girl all to myself. Just live it up, friends, live it up! Make every day count and kiss your kids!

Also, I attached some pictures of Clark. Really, my kids need hobbies. Clark cleans my house. Really! Check it out. . .he gets the broom out and goes to town! Is this child abuse. . .I promise he has a basket of toys five feet away from him!

My kids got immunization shots last month and they were WICKED! Mae was good with the first three, but that last one. . .it was like acid in her arm and she screamed! Poor Clark had four shots like that. . .he was one unhappy camper in the office. But, here they are in the car, happy little spirits! We also went swimming at Jacob's parents' house - it was great fun. Mae is really getting the hang of it and Clark LOVES LOVES water. It's actually kind of scary. He'll just jump in if you look away for a second!
Mae and I doing silly pictures. . . and me in no make-up. Be prepared. Also, here is a picture of Mae and her dear preschool teacher, Miss Michelle. Mae just about worships the ground she walks on! My girlfriend, Erin, had a girls night (plus Clark and Max) for the women in our neighborhood. Our husbands were all at the father's/sons campout. Jacob just went to do a skit. She was just called and EQ president and I guess they do a skit every year and it's tradition. . .so, he went and it was great. We had a fun night, just us and the girls. Man, there were so many screeching little things running around. .. Clark was in heaven! And, Mae was in her favorite dress up of Savannah's. The picture of the snake was what I drove past, pulling up to my in-laws house! I got the chills and Mae has vowed to not play in the bushes. Shudder.

Clark's Birthday party! We had the Slusser gang and my mom over to celebrate Clark's coming of non-infant age. It was great. Due to Clark's every growing list of allergens, I had a special menu for him that night, and then a normal menu for the rest of the company. He had an exciting dinner of spelt bread and grapes and cantaloupe. (Don't be jealous.) And, everyone else had pizza, bread sticks, and some other will-kill-clark-if-he-gets-it type foods. I decided, since cake would make a memorable but suicidal birthday, that I would make a wheat, milk, egg free dessert - Rice Crispie treats made with fake butter. They turned out great and the family partook. Clark was still breathing at the end of the night, so I call it a success. Clark is turning into a really fun kid with a great sense of humor. He is super silly and it cracks Jacob and I up daily. I will post about this angel soon, because I need to write down some of the funny things he says. He is such a joy!

Let's Update, Shall We?

Okay, here are some May updates. I will get to June. . .probably in July. It took me 19 hours to just make these collages. Respect the collages, people! Respect! :)
Click on the collages to make them bigger.

Here we are playing with Moo Moo (my mom). These are all pictures taken with her camera. It's so fun to have her at my house so often. Whenever she visits Ohio I have withdraws BIGTIME! I particularly LOVE the one of little Clark's feet. All of this action happened the night of the American Idol Finale. The picture of Mae at the bottom is her face when David Archuleta lost. . .she was heartbroken. It was so sweet. Also, for fun, we had donuts and painted our nails. . .I took a picture of Mae's donut. .. all the icing licked/bit off and, of course, she chose the boldest color to put on her nails.
Amy, Jacob's baby sister, had her baby! Welcome to the world, William James! So excited to meet baby Will. . .these pictures are so beautiful!
Tara and Sara, my SIL's, entered a contest for chalk drawing on the street. The Chalk Festival was yesterday and they did an amazing job! In fact, they won in their category! I will post those pictures at a later date, but they made the newspaper and you can read that here! Ava and Clark are cute friends - too bad they're related. Someone's going to have to break that to Clark one day. . .I think he has already picked out China. Ava got so dirty. And I, the anal mother, thought it was great because it wasn't on my kid! So, I thoroughly enjoyed taking pictures and memories. Clark and Ava got baths after this night was all over and there was a black film on top of the water. .. ewwwww! Also, Mae got a new bike for her birthday and she is rocking it! Check her out! The next day we went to the Temecula farmer's market, which is my new favorite thing to do - all local produce, all organic, all fresh flowers from the zillions of local florists. It's heaven. We got Mae a new bracelet, and, of course, got some Kettle Corn because Clark can eat it if I bit off the kernels. Poor little allergy boy. More on that later! Okay, Clark bit it BIG time here. . .he was drinking a bottle and fell of the couch and got a FAAAAAT lip. He was amazingly pleasant, considering it HAD to have hurt. Sweet little guy. The next morning he woke up and his lip was perfect.
Clark turned 1 on May 12th! Yay for baby Clark! We have a tradition of celebrating family birthdays at Disneyland, so we made a night of it. Clark was terrified of the trolly ride - he just clinched onto Jacob the whole time. Sara, Daniel and their kids, Sabrina and Joel, met up with us and it was so fun. Sabrina was scared on Pirates of the Caribbean and Mae, being six weeks older, took her position as elder cousin very seriously and had her arm around Sabrina the whole time. She whispered in her ear how everything was fake and pretend and it was all in good fun. It was really fun watching Mae be me for a few minutes.. .. who I am kidding. . .all the time. On the other hand, Mae was terrified of Cruella Daville. . .she was in character, of course, being mean to everyone, and Mae did NOT think that was cool. The kids were wiped out on the way home. . .check out how Mae was passed out in the car. Only a four year old body could take that abuse!

Whoa!

I was folding laundry yesterday and Mae walks in, with her hand on one hip, and said to me, "Mom, we've got a major safety violation in here!" I laughed and walked into the loft and what did I see? Clark standing on the computer table, an inch away from doom and hard landing. Major safety violation, indeed, Mae! Thanks! Mae wasn't a climber. . .I think I am in for it with this one. He would scale the walls if they had foot holds. . .seriously. ..

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

What are you thinking about?

On Sunday night, I had a hard time getting Mae to leave her cousin, Sabrina. She just adores her. But, as kids go. . .Mae was kind of being a stinker about getting into the car. She's so funny and quick and really knows how to make me laugh. When we were in the car I asked her why it was so hard to listen to me tonight. What was she thinking when she said "no" to me!? She looked at me and said, "mom, I was thinking. . .(Mae looks pensive. . .a light bulb goes off. . .gets into character again. . ) I was thinking about (bows head reverently and whispers) Jesus."
HA! Of course you were, Mae. I just burst out into laughter. . .hey, at least she knows what she SHOULD be doing! :)

Tilt your head. . .

Hi! We all went to a wedding on Saturday and had a wonderful time! Mae really got into the dancing. .. as did Clark and Jacob! ( I should probably mention here that Jacob was upstairs the whole time with his brother and didn't intend on coming down to the reception (which was at his parents' house), but made an appearance at the end. . .thus, the t-shirt and shorts. . .) Here is a clip of Mae dancing her little heart out! Enjoy! (Tilt your head. .. sorry!)

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard. . . .

Click here to read the speech that Ms. Rowling gave to the graduating class of Harvard. It's very entertaining. . .and inspiring!

Get Your Social Button

Social Realist (SR)

Social Realists are popular persons full of energy. They are reliable, well organized and helpful. Traditional values are important to them. Founding a family also plays a central role in their life. Social Realists have a marked social streak. They are always ready to listen to the worries and problems of others and spare no effort when they are asked for help. With empathy and understanding, they can sense what other people need. Social Realists are always willing to highly regard the strong points of the other person and to excuse that person’s weaknesses. They are the most sociable of all personality types. Social contacts are very important to them.

Social Realists find it very difficult to cope with conflicts and criticism - harmony is their elixir of life. Acknowledgement and esteem are very important to this type. Differentiation on the other hand is not necessarily one of their strong points. At work and in partnerships, they are loyal, committed and always there when needed. They find it easy to make friends due to their open, warm manner and they have a large circle of friends. In love, they are faithful and attentive and care for their partners with a great deal of imagination and sensitivity. Social Realists show their feelings openly and honestly. Should a relationship break up, they tends to blame themselves. That is why they find it very difficult to end a partnership even if it has not fulfilled their requirements for some time.

Social Realists are more conservative types. They have a set system of values and rules which is orientated to the prevailing traditions. They prefer clear, structured surroundings and work processes; they find too much change und unrest unpleasant. Their strong points are carefulness and reliability and not so much flexibility and spontaneity. Social Realists are open-minded towards anything new only to a limited extent. But, should one be looking for someone to fulfil a task reliably and exactly, they are the right persons.

It's Becoming An Addiction!

73 words

Speedtest

The Best I Could Do. . .

69 words

Speedtest

Okay, friends. . .this is the best I could do. My fingers can't move any faster than this! I saw someone got a 98 and I was really determined to get better than that. . .but, alas. . .it's just not human.

This made me crazy. . .I'm not better?. . .

65 words

Speedtest

For Lisa and Jessica. . .

Look, Jess and Lis!! I wear sunscreen NOW! Are you rubbing your eyes in disbelief? I attached proof because I knew you wouldn't believe me. LOVE!

Big Day. . . .

It was a full, wonderful day! I wish I could say the same for my sweet husband, who will be working 13 hours a day until a deadline is met. . .poor thing! But, because of that, I knew I was in it for the long haul today, with no respite due to his schedule. Monday nights we always do a family activity, which also changed when Jacob said he couldn't make it. So! We just had a slow, happy day! The kids and I hung out at home all morning, took a long walk (over 2 1/2 miles with BIG hills. . .Mae rode her bike next to me while I walked Clark. . great fun!), took naps, played in the kids' rooms, raced Clark's little battery powered cars, ate lots of cantaloupe, listened to the High School Musical II soundtrack, which Clark LOVES, did Barbie Island Princess karaoke, ate dinner, took baths, went to the library with Jared, Tara, Ava and Grandma for story time (which neither or my kids got into. . .Mae just wanted to be with Clark and Clark just wanted to be anywhere but sitting!), came home, read stories about Cinderella, Snow White, and also The Giving Tree (thanks, Aunt Abby and Uncle Eli!), kissed each other and now I am going downstairs to watch the rest of Breach with my sweet husband (who is exhausted and has a horrible headache), which I couldn't finish last night, due to sleepiness. . .but, it's so good! LOVE!
xoxo-emmy

Listen Carefully. . ..

Mae: (Brings me a tray of food from her kitchen, complete with a made-up chicken dinner that she calls Chicken Tenders #9) Mom, here is your food, but you CAN'T touch it! It's steamin' hot! The only way I could bring it to you was because I am wearing imaginary (holds hands up. . .searches for word). . . ummmm. . .

Me: Oven Mits?

Mae: Ya! I'm wearing onion pits! So, that's how I can touch it.

Me: Of course you are. . .please excuse me while I RUN to my blog!

Spinning. . .

Clark is really into spinning in circles and ultimately falling down from dizziness. It's hysterical to watch - here's a little clip I caught today.

The Hat and Wendy

No human being on the planet looks more like their grandmother than I do. It's just uncanny. I especially see it in these silly pictures we took today. My mom came out to Temecula to help me Spring Clean (THANKS, MOM!!) I am getting rid of everything! I am not even storing clothes anymore. . .ya, you read that right. I am doing the minimalist thing. We have only what we use. Wish me luck!

The kids loved (of course, who wouldn't?) having my mom out and were heartbroken when she left. MaeMae asked her to go pick up her step-son from school and then come back to our house. How cute is she!?

I should probably post a picture of Grandma Wendy on this post. If any of you know Wendy, you are the luckiest people in the world. She is the best! And, MAN is she ornery! If you aren't laughing when you are with her, you don't have a heart beat! I have friends that STILL quote Wendy from funny stories growing up. Everyone loves her. No person in the world I would rather look like. . .now, if only I was just as funny as her. . .. .