SCORE!!!!!!

Only thing better than shoes... are free shoes!!! On Tuesday night I was invited by a lady in my ward to a private shoe viewing. Her brother-in-law is Jeffrey Campbell , the shoe designer, and they have a family run business that usually sells their shoes through Nordstorms. I thought that we would be able to maybe purchase the shoes at a discounted price or pick out a pair that we really loved, but to my surprise, if you tried it on and loved it, it was yours. For FREE! I was like a kid in candy store. All I need now are cute outfits to wear with them all.

Oh my....

What a crazy six months it has been!! (More on that later). But three weeks ago it was well rewarded with a cruise on the Mexican Riviera. While the country is in a economic crisis and well the remodeling of our house has just been a crisis, Adam and I where sailing on the Pacific Ocean drinking virgin margaritas, basking/baking in 90 degree weather, snorkeling in kool-aid blue waters. (Just the memories alone put me in a state of pure relaxation). This was just what I needed. We planned this trip with Adams family about ten months ago, and once it was time to go, I actually said that I thought we where too busy to leave. I was regretting not planning to bring the girls, had no cruising attire and wanted my money back. Adam told me to buck up, stop being spoiled, and go shopping. (You know I was in a serious state if ADAM, had to tell me to go shopping!) My sister, who also watched the girls while we were gone, told me the same thing and acted as my personal anti-anxiety cheerleader... Adrienne: Wonder if we both die (ie; tossed over board, knife fight in dark alley in Cabo, impaled by a marlin while snorkeling), and we leave the girls orphans?
Aisha: You have two; they'll have each other... and will have had a soap opera for parents
Adrienne: Wonder if this ends up like the Titanic?
Aisha: Ohhh do you think that Leo takes cruises in real life... I want to come.
Adrienne: What are my chances of getting the Norovirus....
Aisha: LUCKY...you get to go on a cruise eat all you want and come home ten pounds lighter, this sounds like a win/win situation.

By the time it was all over, I missed the girls terribly and we where ready to come home but had a fantastic time. I got to remember what it is like to sleep in, exercise without having to put anyone in any sort of child care, eat as slowly as I liked, and spend more than a couple of hours alone with Adam without a paint roller or drill in my hand.

The lines are now open....

So, I am in a creative funk. I have not blogged in month because every time I sit down to do so, I just blankly stare at the screen. There is no inspiration.Even the girls haven't thrown anything new or dangerous at me lately. I even thought about deleting the blog one night, and starting over or just not blogging at all, but I knew I would miss it and regret it later so that wasn't the answer . So I am reaching out to you fellow bloggers . Do you have any suggestions, questions, or croissants? I am prepared to be an open book. If I get no response, I guess there will be my answer. Lend a hand to this creatively stumped blogger.The request line is now open.

A labor of something, not associated with love

Before
Room detail if you where wondering: the wallpaper boarder

had county watermelons on it. If anyone is dying for it,

I could probaly salvage some scraps :)

After we,excuse me Adam, ripped everything out .

After new paint and hardwoods we are getting closer

My house has not eaten me, but I kinda want to give it back. I have been a very bad blogger, but I am ready to play a little catch up. My husband that I still adore, some days, said that he had found a wonderful fixer-up closer to the Eastside for a good deal. I said I liked our house and neighborhood and didn't mind the scenic drive.Blah, blah, blah, three months later I write to you all from our "little" fixer upper which has turned into a full on renovation.Unpacking has been a beast because you can't put things away in a room that is being worked on. Other than the kitchen and bathroom cabinets and a few light fixtures, everything has been gutted from the "litter box". "Litter box" is my pet name for our home. (Ask me why later). While all new hardwood and carpet has been laid,and every wall has be primed and painted on the first two floors, all the mill work still needs to be done. Since I haven't had to do much in the way of helping, I know that I will be asked to paint yards and yards of cornices and baseboards. Fun, Fun, Fun!! After that we are tearing up the yard and landscaping it, and the list of projects go on and on and on. I am complaining now and have been told many times recently that I have no vision,but living in a construction sight stinks!Especially with my very energetic one and two year old. I know that it will look fantastic in the end....and then he will want to sell it:) Here are a few before and middles pictures because the state it is currently in, is hardly an after. I am praying that it all ends happily.

Do you miss me?

Ok, I know I have been missing in action. Long story short, in the past seven weeks, we have, found a house, got our house ready to sale, put it on the market, bought the new house and sold our current one. Oh and we have to be packed and moved out of this house in 10 days!! On top of that, I am a dam of emotions and periodically spring leaks. This is one of those out of the blue, it will never happen, it could happen, if it is meant to be it will happen...oh no, it happened situtations. We were not looking to move away from Maple Valley, or even move for that matter, it just happened thanks to my always "driven by a deal" dear husband. But I have convinced myself that change is good. There is no time like the present time to make a change, right? So if you don't hear from me for awhile, know that I am enjoying myself in cardboard bliss , getting daily neck strains and paper cuts while unpacking. For all the MV ladies out there, you know who you are, know that I will miss you all desperately! You all are absolutely amazing friends who have been paramont examples to me in these first few years of "mommyhood". We will always have our blog, so when you see me don't act like you don't know what going on.

"The future has a way of arriving unannounced."

-George Will

Flashback Friday

If I am going to start the tradition of flashback Friday, I might as well start somewhere towards the beginning. This is me at my first birthday. People have been asking lately if my girls look anything like me, when I was a baby. Other than having my eyes, they don't look much like me. But they are sweet, so I'll keep them. Plus I have the pictures, and stretch marks, to prove that without a doubt they are mine. If we changed flashback to freaky Friday then, and only then,would it be appropriate to post those images.Rylee at 1
Lauren at 1

Sunny days are here again...for now

Finally, the sun is out in Seattle! Pinch me, two days in a row at that! It is freezing, but a least the sun is out. I thought that it would be a good ideal to let the girls and cousin Jason burn off some energy by revisiting their long deserted play set. They went crazy. It was as if they were seeing a long lost friend again. But after about 45 minutes, we had to go inside because it was so cold. After we were inside, they all stood by the door longingly looking out. Such is the plight of kids growing up in Seattle. I endured, so will they.