Professional Photo Shoot

We had a FABULOUS professional photo shoot done a few weeks ago and the pictures came out FANTASTIC! I was more than a bit surprised. Jenna had been up all night with a horrible ear infection that landed us in the walk-in clinic at 7 am that morning. She and I were both sleep deprived. And Ryan had the snottiest nose in the history of snotty noses. It was runny and red and crusty and I just didn't see how, between my baggy eyes and Ryan's nasty nose, we would have even one shot turn out....let alone all of these beauties......








My hats off to our photographer, Mark Janzen. He's Amazing. Dude's got some vicious Photoshopping skills too. I see now why he makes the big bucks! I have SOOO much to learn.

Muffins with Mom!

For Mother's Day Jenna's preschool had a "Muffins with Mom" event! All the moms (and a couple of grandmas) were there to have coffee and muffins with our kiddos! It was really cute and Jenna and I had a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a lot of pictures...but here are a few...

Jenna eating her muffin (chocolate-chocolate chip....Mommy's favorite too!!) YUMMY!!


Jenna and her friend Zachary. They are in the Trusting Turtles class together.

Jenna and Mommy

Zachary and his Mommy Kacey (Kacey and I used to work in the church nursery together and were reunited after many years when our kids ended up being in the same class this year!).

Jenna showing me the flower she made for me for Mothers Day (she wouldn't stand still for this one).

It's now sitting on my desk at work. It says.... I Love my Mommy Because...."She gives me kisses before night-night." - Jenna

I must say I was extra proud at how sentimental and sweet Jenna was. Especially after I saw the messages written by some of her classmates which included....

I Love my Mommy Because....

"She is my Mommy."

"I Like Her."

"She has brown hair."

"She is taller than me."

....you get the picture....

Jenna's friend Zachary was willing to take a picture with his flower for his mommy.

it says..... I Love my Mommy Because..."She gives me breakfast." - Zachary :)


Adorable!

It was a fun day!

Awkward Family Photo

I love the Awkward Family Photo website (link on right side of page). Was thinking about entering this picture of my little brother and me from 1979.

Don't you just adore our outfits? My brother is a PIMP in that pastel leisure suit and bowl cut. I wonder if, 30 years from now, my kids will look back at how I dressed them as children and be equally amused. I'm sure that's a yes!

Fast Like Rose

So I alluded to this in my "Wiggles" post a few days ago but I thought I would elaborate a little tonight.....for laughs if nothing else. And because it's kind of a unique story and I want to be sure to share it with Jenna when she is older.

So, on Thursday last week I left work early, raced home, threw our luggage in the car, raced to the bank, raced to my parents house, picked up Jenna and we were off. It was approximately 2:00pm and the Wiggles concert was at 6:30 in Sacramento (approx. 3 hours away). We were going with my sister-in-law Kim and Jenna's cousin Madison. We were excited!!

So we get on Herndon and head for the Freeway. I'm obeying the traffic laws, my hands are at 10 and 2, I'm traveling at a safe and legal speed. I've got my navigation system set. We should get to the concert with time to spare. We could take. our. time. We were less than 5 minutes from my mom and dad's house when we get to this hill/overpass that goes up over the railroad tracks. As we approach the hill, Jenna gets excited and squeals..."Fast Mommy...go Fast!! Go fast like ROSE!! (Rose is our friend who Jenna is convinced drives fast) Hands up Mommy...HANDS UP!!" So.....I do what any good mother would do. I GUN IT!!

We race over the hill at 72 miles an hour with our hands flailing wildly in the air. We are throwing caution to the wind. We are having the time of our lives. There are wonderful carefree squeals of delight coming from the back seat. I'm reveling in my daughters joy. Life is so wonderful. I am thrilled. I am happy. I am woman. I am flying. I am........getting pulled over.

Yep, at the bottom of the overpass I spot a motorcycle cop with his radar gun pointed right at me. I can almost envision the bewilderment on his face as he spies this crazed woman in her mommy-mobile flying over the overpass at 70+ mph with her arms flaling. As I pass him I watch him put his radar gun away and pull out behind me....his lights flashing. I pull over. A little voice from the backseat says "Is this Madison's house?"

"No." I reply quietly, "No Jenna, this is not Madison's house."

It takes all my strength not to bang my head repeatedly into the steering wheel as the officer approaches my window. I feel like an utter moron.

The officer informes me that I was going over 70 mph, checks my license and registration, and gives me a ticket. I thank him. I really have no good excuse.

"What happened Mommy?" comes an inquisistive little voice behind me?

At this point....I figure the best thing to do is turn this into a learning situation for my impressionable toddler.

"Mommy was going too fast Jenna." I explain. "Mommy got in trouble. Mommy needs to sloooooww down..........."

"Mommy is surprised the nice officer didn't ask for a drug test."

A "Hair-Raising" Dilemma....

I dyed my hair a few weeks ago...back to my natural color (more or less). It's been blonde since high school!!

Here's a picture of my hair last summer....when it was shorter and blonde.....

and here's a couple of recent pictures of me with my new darker color.








I haven't completely decided which way I like it best....but I do think I now look like I'm related to my daughter!!



**Side note....we're just 2 days away from the WIGGLES CONCERT!!!

Emergency Room Easter!

So I spent the last 6 hours in the emergency room having x-rays and blood tests. They still don't know quite what's wrong with me and I'm still in a significant amount of pain (even after a MONDO shot of morphine in my rear end). My hip is killing me and I still don't quite know why. I think I may have overdone it this weekend. Too much heavy lifting and pushing and pulling and I have a feeling that it was an accumulation of all of that that just did me in. All I know is I've NEVER had pain like this before. I can't even get in and out of a chair without crying. It's no fun.

I'll post happy pictures from our Easter celebrations tomorrow. Until then...I'm just going to continue having my own little pity party tonight. :(