Monday, March 31, 2014

March Favorite Things

1 & 2: good hair days

3. when pajama day falls on the same day for both pre-k and first grade
4. a little snowday p90x

5. lana del rey, a lush bubble bar, a cocktail, and scented candles
6. Heather's baby shower with some of my favorites

7. Narls' St Patty's Day lunch
8. Em feels lucky when she gets to lay in Narls' bed with him

9. right before Clay had a heart attack from eating all the puczkis on fat Tuesday
10. awesome test results from an awesome parent teacher conference, yay Narls!
 
11 & 12: two ways to help a sick girl feel better: a pink bath & some dressin' up

Sunday, March 30, 2014

RIP Pumpkin Pie

 
We had to put our sweet kitty down.
 
Just over a month after he had an emergency surgery for a blocked urinary tract, it came back stronger and faster than before. Just two weeks prior, we took him to the vet for a follow up of the first surgery and he was in excellent health with a urine test showing not even a single crystal.
 
And then fourteen days later, in a matter of hours, he went from purring and playing to howling and not being able to walk.
 
Because of how aggressive this particular ailment seemed to be for Pumpkin, our vet said we'd be dealing with a lifetime of this.  A kitty lifetime of sudden pain, blocked tracts, and stress & worry.
 
Our sweet boy didn't deserve that.
 
So with the four of us by his side, we said our goodbyes and put him down.
And good grief that was painful.
 
We only had him six months, but he made such an impact in our family!
We miss this kitty and it's just so damn sad.
RIP, little buddy.
 


Saturday, March 29, 2014

Happy 5th Birthday, Princess

 
Emerson Grace is five years old.
Even typing that sentence blows my mind.
She is the perfect mix of sweet and sassy and of girly girl and tomboy.
She makes us laugh daily and she truly is the apple of my and her daddy's eyes.

 
To celebrate her birthday, we threw her a princess party here at home.
We decorated in the colors of teal & purple and asked her guests to wear princess dresses.

 
The tiny princesses got crowns, wands, bead necklaces, and hairbows for their goodie bags.

 
Dinner was first, and it was a simple pizza party with fruit wands & carrots and dip; grape Gatorade to drink.

 
Then, surprise!, an unexpected guest arrived....

 
Elsa!
None of the girls knew she was coming so they were quite surprised.
And they had about a bazillion questions for her including
do you know the trolls?
why did you freeze Anna? IN HER HEART?
can we see your shoes?
did you know Hans was a bad guy?
where is Olaf?
can we touch you? please don't freeze us!
are you the real Elsa?
how do you know Emerson's mom?
can you come to my birthday???
  
 
They played games, sang & danced, painted faces, made wishes, blew bubbles.

 
Elsa even stayed for cake!


 
Em got lovely gifts,

 
and I think even the boys had fun.


 
It was truly magical.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Happy Birthday, Little Brother


Sixteen years ago I fell head over heels in love with the most beautiful baby boy.

 
I'm still in love and that boy is still beautiful, only now he's a foot taller than me AND HE CAN DRIVE!

 
We love you, Lucas Jeffery and we're so insanely proud of you.

 
Happy, happy birthday!

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Make the V!

Make the V
And dot the I
Circle the C
T-O-R-Y
T-O-R-Y
 
We've heard this cheer a hundred times by now. It's Emerson's favorite. She practices it and perfects it and will give you an unabashed performance at any given time.  So when we got the flier for a cheer clinic, we knew we were signing her up if for no other reason then to get our girl a new cheer to chant.
 
 
Narls, Clay, and I dropped her off at 10 am on a Saturday morning in a sea of red & white.  Em's little hand was removed from mine and folded into a bigger girl's, one with a permagrin and shinning white teeth and a hairbow bigger than her head. With one last look back and a tentative wave, our girl was pulled into the sea for a lively rendition of Little Sally Walker.
 
"Hey girl, hey girl, do your thing and switch!" was the last thing we heard as we walked out of the gym.

 
Four hours later we were back for the performance and there's our girl on top of a pyramid with her own permagrin. Arms tight, head up, asking to go up again & again, proudly showing us what she learned.
 
 
She's a natural.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The St Patrick's Weekend that Wasn't

St Patrick's Day was upon us, and my husband & I were ready with suitcases full of green for our annual weekend away at our favorite hotel. Our friend Andy flew in from Baltimore for the festivities and my bestest and her boyfriend were primed and ready.
 
 
Friday night was spectacular. Well, what I can remember.

 
The only things that are really clear are shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, and waking up in my room (ok, the bathroom floor of my room). Everything between those two points is extremely fuzzy. 

 
But I woke up feeling great, partook in the old Irish hangover remedy of a bloody mary and a scottish egg, and was ready to tackle the day (and especially the night) until my mother in law called.
 
Emerson is sick.
Imagine a huge record player coming to a scratching halt. 
 
So Andy, Clay, and I load up the SUV, bid farewell to Jen & Paul, drive the hour to my mother in law's, pick up the kids, then drive the two hours home. Andy gets a room nearby because he doesn't want to catch the plague, and the four disillusioned Churches spend their Saturday night much differently than envisioned.
 
Sunday morning, Em woke up like this:

 
Our pediatrician met us at his office, and both kids were diagnosed with strep, sinus infections, and ear infections. Em even had a strain of scarlet fever just to keep things super interesting. 
 
We paid $85 for some super strong antibiotics and by Tuesday our girl was feeling better.

 
Much better, clearly.
 
And that was our St Pat's weekend.
Never a dull moment.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Football Games and Other Interesting Observations

Yesterday the kids and I joined my husband at one of the Saginaw Sting football games he announces. Apparently the players play actual football at these football games, but I was too busy sitting back with hearts for eyes to pay that any attention.
 
 
Confession: I feel sad for the wives who don't #mcm their husband every. single. Monday.
Because, damn.
 
And while I was off ogling my husband, out children were:

 
(1) ogling the dancers at the halftime show...

 
(2) putting markers in mouths (then trying to claim otherwise), and
 

 
(3) uploading pictures to facebook.
 
So, yeah. I'd say it was a great football game.