Jeans

A post with (gasp!) no pictures.  Sorry.  It's not that I don't have photos to share.  I'm just being lazy.

We've had a few casualties this week.  Three pairs of jeans to be exact.  Two of them were Reagan's and one pair was Skylar's.  Holes in the knees.  *sigh* When my mom was running a clothing business she took a few classes in fashion.  I remember her telling me that each piece of clothing has a "lifespan."  A certain shirt may have a "life" of 30 washings.  So, it could last a couple months if you wear it often, or a few years if you don't have it in the rotation.  The problem arises when you purchase or receive clothing that was previously owned (as I often do!).  I love a bargain!  So I'm not usually surprised when those items end up with holes in the knees after a couple months.  But since I don't pay much, or sometimes nothing at all, it's not usually a big deal.  But one pair of Reagan's jeans were purchased BRAND NEW (of course not at full price, but that's beside the point), in August.  That's six months! What in the world could she be doing at school that she could wear through denim in a matter of months?

So, I did what every thrifty mother does....I told her we could put a patch over the holes and her jeans would be good as new.  We're not talking those rectangular dark denim patches our mothers sewed onto our jeans.  They have MUCH cuter options now (like hearts, flowers, or butterflies).  Her response? "You can put a patch on them, but I probably won't wear them.  I don't think anyone else wears patches on their jeans."   *sigh* I knew the day would come....I'm officially uncool.  :)

On a sidenote: the only brand of jeans that I have been able to hand down from Reagan to Skylar are GAP.  I guess you really do get what you pay for.  

My funny Valentine

We don't make a big production out of Valentine's Day at our house.  Don't get me wrong, it's nice to be reminded how much I am loved, but our gift to each other in the last few years has been not spending money on gifts that could go to something else.  We exchange cards with heartfelt words (that I save, and he tosses a week later).  His card for me this year made me cry.  Admittedly that's not hard to do, but still...it was special.  I gave him a sweet card too but it had to contain some silliness! Anyone watch "Modern Family"?

What Valentine's Day does, is remind me of the weekend that we got engaged.  We had been dating for 8 months, but had been friends for almost 2 years.  Of course we waited until we were 3000 miles apart to start officially dating.  He was working in Virginia and I was working in California.  We saw each other about every six weeks (I was a pro with priceline and it was pre-9/11 so it was easier to fly, and he was able to meet me at the gate...I miss that part.  But I digress).  In our conversations prior to my "Valentine" weekend visit, he had been talking a lot about having me move out to Virginia after my contract was up so we could at least be dating in the same state before we got married.  It wasn't my ideal, but I understood his reasoning.

I was not able to get a flight out for the actual Valentine's Day because it was mid-week and I was still working.  So I waited until the 15th and flew out to Virginia.  We had plans to go to a nice dinner the following night in Shockoe Bottom (a historic part of downtown Richmond) after he got off from work. We had a fantastic dinner (in which we discussed when I would move to Virginia, where I could live, what kind of job to look for etc.) After dinner, we walked through the cobblestone streets and he said he wanted to show me one of the oldest hotels in the area- The Berkeley. I think he made something up about a view or a rooftop deck or something (can't remember).  I just know that it had started to rain and it was nice to get inside.  He went to the elevators so I followed.  He got out on the top floor and walked to the end of the hallway where he pulled out a key and opened the door.  I walked into a huge, beautiful suite with roses and a small treasure chest.  He said it was my Valentine's gift so I opened it.  Inside were tons of little white strips of paper, folded in half.  I pulled out the first one and it said "I love you because you're amazing." Each one had something similar on it.  "I love you because....".  At the bottom of the chest was a piece of paper that said "Will you marry me?" on it.  In the shock of it all, I didn't process it right away.  We had just spent an hour discussing how we were NOT going to get married right away! So, rather than jump up and down and say "yes" I looked at him and said "Are you proposing?!" Storybook stuff I tell ya! I'll spare you the details of the crazy weekend after he proposed (a water main break, an employee smoking pot in our room, a hotel change, two room changes, and being evacuated from a movie theater because a shoe store was on fire next door).

Nine years later, I don't think I could love him more.  He works harder than anyone I know.  He's an incredible daddy to our blessings.  He loves the Lord and prays with me daily.  He lets me be me and loves me in spite of my flaws (it helps that there are so few! hehe).  He knows how I take my coffee.  He is a great cook! And he makes me laugh like no one else.  It's just a bonus that he's so stinkin' handsome too!

Try, Try Again!

I was trying to take pictures for birthday party invitations for Skylar and Bailey yesterday.
Bailey was NOT havin' it!

Skylar on the other hand...

loves the camera.

I did get one decent picture of them together.  It only took 42 tries....

(Bailey couldn't smile too much because she had a candy cane piece in her mouth.  A mother's gotta do what a mother's gotta do, ya know?) :D

Caterpillars and Princesses

Who says Princesses can't get dirty??

The girls decided to make their own "Very Hungry Caterpillar" with chalk

They were covered....

in chalk.

Just fyi....orange chalk....

....stains.

On clothes, that is.

But they sure had fun!

(by the way...Bailey DID have clothes on, but she had an early bath from a previous mess and was all clean so I put her in jammies to save an outfit.  Needless to say, she had a second bath..and a third outfit).

I heart kissy faces

The theme this week over at "I heart faces" is "we heart kisses."
This picture is not recent, but it's still one of my absolute favorites.  My girls were being especially sweet to one another.  This one just melts my heart.

Snow Day!

We are blessed to live in a climate that's mild most of the year.  Plus, we are about an hour from the beach.  An hour from the mountains.  An hour from the desert.  An hour from all the attractions in San Diego.  An hour from Disneyland.  It's the best of all worlds.  So last weekend we decided to go "visit" the snow up in the mountains.  The girls had a blast! They would have lasted a lot longer if they had snowsuits and waterproof gloves, but they still had fun.  Next time we will borrow all the right gear....and a sled.

Bailey just wanted to eat the snow...

I sure do love these girls!  What a fun family day!

Girls day out

I always assumed I would have a son.  I was wrong.  After three girls, my original ideas for family have been tossed out and new ideas have been formed.  I'm not eliminating the idea of a son altogether.  He just won't come from my genes. :) I actually have a number of friends that have three girls also! God is so good to give me these friends so we can walk the journey as "moms of 3 girls" together.  My friend Beana in particular has been a part of my life since we were about 9.  Most days I wish we lived a lot closer, but she is never far from my heart.  My girls are about a year ahead of hers (which has worked out well for exchanging baby items and clothing!).

Recently we had a girls day out at SeaWorld.  I grew up going there frequently so I love to take my girls often too! My favorite time to go is during the winter when attendance is low.  Reagan had an extra week off of school so we made plans to go during that week (since most kids would be back in school).  After a trip to the doctor in the morning for Skylar's ear infection, we were off! It was a gorgeous day.

I even let them get churros and frozen lemonade (can you tell Skylar was not feeling up to par yet?)

Most of the day I got pictures of their behinds while they looked at animals

I did manage to get a couple shots of their sweet faces.  Then we waited for our friends to arrive after they got out of school. I decided to try and get a picture of all three girls.  It's just not easy!

One looking at me (the other two doing their own thing)...typical.

All three running away from me!!

As good as it's going to get....

Then our friends arrived!! We love hanging out and our girls ADORE each other!!

This is one of my favorites.  They're in height order (although not age order as Beana's Miss Rose is VERY tall for her age!)

The trainer in the Shamu area even commented that they looked like a commercial for "more bars in more places" hehe!

A rare shot of the mamas with all the girls!

It was a fantastic day out with our girls! I can't wait until we move on to movies, spa days, and maybe even weekend getaways! Oh the fun you can have with girls!!