Sunday Night Round-Up........

Phew.....it has been awhile since I have had some time to be able to sit down to blog. We have been getting ready for Nanna and Grandpa Harper's visit. The usual deep clean before we have guests.....and a spruce up of the yard......We actually let the lawn grow longer than usual to help keep it green since it has been so hot and dry. We waited until today to mow and man it looks great......and to top it off we just got a good 20 min of rain.....much needed down here.....so now I do not have to water the lawn tonight!.....

So a bunch has happened since Tuesday.....Not many of you knew but Shawn had been having a hard time at work, the ol' office politics game.....lets just say the first 5 months or so of his job were good.....the last few have been crazy and not real healthy for Shawn most of it having to do with communication between him and a few other people.....and some people on his team going above and beyond to find fault in his work....I mean I have worked at companies similar to the one that he works at but I have never heard of any employee taking more time to find fault in someones work then actually doing their own work....So anyway after working with HR for the last month or so Shawn finally exhausted all his options within his dept. to try to make it work and they came to a mutual agreement that the situation was not repairable so he has put in for a few other positions within the company and is still on payroll for awhile but no longer works in his dept.....Which means he is at home with us.....His first day home was Friday.....Let me tell you he came home Thursday from work relieved and stress free......it really was the right decision......I hadn't seen him that happy about work in a long time.....besides interviewing at his company he is also applying elsewhere and looking for a new job......The timing is kind of nice since his parents will be here from July 1-12th.....and he now doesn't have to take the time off......

We really didn't do much this weekend......We went to a neighborhood meeting on Friday a few houses down to talk about the property next to the neighborhood, the owner wants to rezone it from Light Industrial to Commercial....and one of the businesses that may go in would be a Day Care ran by Rachel (a mother in our neighborhood that also has 3 girls, I think I have mentioned her before) and her Husband......which would be pretty cool and we don't have a problem with that......We took the girls to the meeting and they enjoyed playing dress up with Rachel's two older daughters.....who are 4 and 3. So fun that they didn't want to leave.....Too funny.....

Saturday we baked Amish Friendship Bread....we got a starter 10 days earlier from Rachel and her girls....its pretty cool, if you have never heard of it.......you basically let it ferment on the counter and after 10 days of following the directions you get to bake the bread.....OMG it is sooooo good......So before you bake it you end up with 3 starters to give away and one to keep for yourself.......So yesterday the girls decided who in the neighborhood they wanted to give the 3 starters to.....it was fun dropping them off with the directions, the girls were so cute and excited......and let me tell you it is Sunday night and the two loaves we baked are already gone.....yup GONE.....so good (not so good for you)....but we will have some more ready in 10 days....and the girls can not wait!

Anyway I thought I would end with some pics ....just some random stuff from the last week.....

The girls and their new umbrella's from Grandma

They love them....and had to take them on our walk Daddy and Lila
Mommy waiting at the corner for Kiara.....
Lila, peaking out of the curtains, she loves to play in them
This is her hiding....she is not fooling anyone!! Love it!This was our Sunday after working in the yard.....and doing some cleaning, I guess when you are tired you can fall asleep anywhere....

Ahh, What a nice time......

So Shawn and I had a great time at dinner last night. The food was so good and we lucked out because it was 1/2 price wine night. So all wine under $100 was half price for a bottle.....and we got there before 6.15pm so we were able to choose items from the Prix Fixe Menu......For the wine we settled on a good Pinot from Oregon, Argyle, it was the only Oregon one on the menu but one we have had before.....I ate so much food, I am still full today....From the Amazingly good Crab Cake Starter, can we say tons of crab.....to a yummy house salad w/a Honey Dijon dressing, I had Salmon for dinner......sooo good it was served on a bed of Summer Corn Mashed Potatoes w/French Beans and a Fresh Roasted Tomato Butter Sauce, Shawn had Chicken Fried Oysters over Angel Hair Pasta w/Spinach, OMG it too was amazing......and since we ordered from the Prix Fixe Menu we got dessert too....Chocolate Mousse Carmel.....Tasty with a cup of coffee........I would definitely go back here in a heartbeat.....and on a Monday.....you can not beat 1/2 price wine night! We got two bottles and brought 3/4 of the 2nd one home.....We let Joel have a glass for taking care of the kiddos.....from what I hear they all had a wonderful time without us.....

So we do not have much planned for the rest of the week.....Just getting the house in order for Shawn's parents visit. Nanna and Grandpa will be here the first part of July.....It will be so fun to have them here.....Shawn and I are already making lists of projects to get done.....Fun fun! Here are a few pics of late.....nothing too crazy......There is a shot of all of us.......MJ has a blanket wrapped around her and holding a flower......her new favorite thing is to pretend she is getting married.....She loves all the Disney Princess movies and obsesses about getting married......I finally told her she can get married after Elementary School, then Middle School, then High School and then College......So now she tells us she is getting married after College....Too Funny!

June 08 #2

7 Amazing Years......

Yup today Shawn and I have been married for 7 years. I am always caught off guard at how fast it all really does go by. So on this glorious Monday morning I would to dedicate my blog post to Shawn, so it may get a little personal but nothing most of you don't know.....Tonight we are heading out to dinner at Silo while Uncle Joel watches the kiddos....Thanks Nanna and Grandpa.

Dear Shawn,

You truly are the man of my dreams and I am so lucky to be married to you. These last 7 years have been the best of my life along with the 3 years prior to marriage (good times in college and Boston, MA so fun!). So many memories we have created together. Boy have we been through a lot over the years. From our glorious wedding in the same church your parents were married in, in front of all our family and friends. Such a wonderful memory. From living with my brother in the 1st year in Seattle to finally getting our own place in Ballard. From bad jobs, you know the ones, to good jobs. From money issues to many Cougar Football Saturdays with fun food and good friends. To finding out we were pregnant the first time and your 3 hour nap after you heard the news. You just needed to soak it all in. To finding out we were having twins. Oh the excitement and joy and then the move to Issaquah. To that doctors appointment when we were told you are having these babies today if their lungs are developed, knowing that they were almost 8 weeks early. I was so scared and you were so strong. To being such a wonderful dad, the best in the world. I remember how excited you were in the hospital taking our guests up to the NICU to show off our two preemie newborn daughters. You were beaming! From all our visits to the hospital during your work time to bringing the girls home. To supporting my decision to go to part time at Medtronic and making it all work. We really are great together. From all of our talks over wine after the kids were in bed to always planning for the future. To being adventurous. To sharing your dreams and aspirations with me. To finding out we were pregnant again. I remember being a little scared to tell you as we were already really busy with the twins and growing out of the space we were living. Your reaction was priceless "I was thinking we should talk about having another child soon." You were so excited and I love you for that. Shoot, I think you were more excited then I was. To opening our Christmas card on Christmas Morning and finding out we were having a girl. You said "I actually was hoping we would have another girl." To Lila's birth in the wee hours in the morning on that March day. Another beaming moment for you. The proud Papa! To being strong when being down sized from Zango. To expressing your views of where you wanted us to be, I love how we are always on the same page and able to communicate so well. To living apart for 4 months for us to get here to Texas. Not an easy feat for either of us, but we did it, and are stronger for it. To picking out such a wonderful house for us to raise our children in. For all the love and support you show everyday for me and the kids. For the amazing you, I love you for you! I am so thankful to have you in my corner. Thanks for being my rock. Always supporting me and loving me for who I am, to love me for me, you are good at that. I love you so much I do not think there are words to describe my devoution to us, you and me. I love being in love with you. I love being the mother of our children. We are so great together so here is to many many years to come. I look forward to making more memories with you......

I hope you have enjoyed this trip down a bit of memory lane. I know there are some moments I didn't mention. I love you for those too!

All my Love,
Kaelee

Say "Bye Bye" to nap time.....

Ahhh so I finally have a chance to sit down and gather my thoughts.....I feel like I have been busy doing nothing in particular......just taking care of the kids, working, running around......I am now finally sitting down after a busy morning of being on my feet.....From my cardio workout first thing this morning, to my morning walk with the kiddos, to folding 5 loads of laundry (yes, I let it go), to doing the dishes, to vacuuming the downstairs....to FINALLY sitting down.....Lets just say it feels good to be showered and sitting right now.....So Thursday is my day to clean the house that way its always clean for the weekend......just never know who will stop by, plus then we can spend the weekend having fun.....instead of cleaning.....which is always nice.....Plus the girls are relaxing.....Yup relaxing....it seems that the nap times of old are over....So now they get choices.....I mix it up each day....but today's choice was: Read a book and relax in your bed or Quietly watch The Little Mermaid in the playroom.....At first Kiara went to lay down but I now they are both watching and relaxing in the playroom.....Its all good, I mean the will be 4 in October, it was only a matter of time before they gave it up.....then there is Lila, not the best napper....She is good for about an 1 hour to 1.5 hours.....on a really good day she will sleep 2.....but most days its a little more then 1 hour....this for me is new as the twins were great nappers always 3 hours long.....Oh well.....and of course she has been down for about an hour and now she is crying.....well I am off to get her.....

Post Father's Day Weekend.....

Well here is it Monday Night.....I just wrapped up my work for the night.....so I suppose I should share a little bit of our weekend.....another hot one indeed.....and the week ahead doesn't get much better, I think its suppose to be 103 degrees next weekend.....Boy we are hot and heading into drought/water restriction time.....

The weekend got of to a sad start as we were really shocked to hear that Tim Russert died....most of you know we are big NBC and MSNBC watchers here....he was simply the best Political Conversationalist out there.....Sunday Mornings (Meet the Press, one of our favorite shows) and Political coverage will never be the same....RIP Tim you will be missed......

Saturday we did the usual shopping for groceries and chilled....the girls and I made a Dirt Cake for Father's day.....we walked the 'hood....and chatted with the neighbors.....Father's Day was great and relaxing for Shawn.....The morning started with Coffee and Choc Milk (for the girls) in Mom and Dad's bed....which is becoming an every morning tradition...(we really need a King Size Bed).....we had a classic breakfast.....then Uncle Joel came over to play a few Baseball games on the XBOX360 and hang out.....After Lila's nap we spent the afternoon outside in the HOT sun....but with the kiddie pool out it was bearable.....(I have learned I can not put enough sunblock on the kids as they all have tan lines, none got burned but all 3 got color, apparently 2 applications in a 4 hour period is not enough while swimming)......According to Shawn he had a wonderful Father's Day with the kids....Oh and the Dirt Cake was a big hit.....I suppose I am not surprised as you can not really go wrong with Oreos, Vanilla Pudding, Cream Cheese, Cool Whip, etc....I will post on Breezy soon....I actually have a bunch of stuff I need to get up there.....Here are a few good Father's Day pics.....

Daddy and his girls.....Uncle Joel.....

A little chuckle......

So mornings like this morning make me chuckle a little.....and of course make me appreciate more the man I married.....I headed out to the gym like clockwork.....at 5.15am or soo.....Lila was settled into bed with dad (she joins us around 5am every morning), but sort of awake.....nothing a little hand holding couldn't fix......So when I get back at 6.20am or so.....I hear talking in the Master bedroom.....My first thought was is Shawn talking to Lila??? (They are usually asleep when I get home and Kiara usually comes downstairs right when I get home from the gym. I remind her every night not to come downstairs in the morning unless the Suburban is home and so she waits until I get home, and she is a total morning person always chatty and chipper, too cute!!) Anyway....I set down my stuff and out walks Kiara from the Master Bedroom and then quickly followed by MJ (who is not a morning person and never up this early)......Kiara explains to me that she was yelling for me 'cause she went potty in her bed (she has been sleeping in underwear).....since I wasn't home Daddy had to go help her.....So I talked Shawn and apparently Lila had finally fallen back asleep in the bed....so he put pillows all round her and went to take care of Kiara, who was upset and yelling from the top of the stairs........Well not more then 5 min of being up there in crawls Lila....Yes, she got down from our bed (she knows how safely) and crawled up the stairs (also knows how to do safely) and into the twins room.....Too funny, of course dad was a little freaked and surprised......So there they were at 5.30am cleaning up Kiara's bed and getting her changed.....then they all joined Daddy for the rest of the morning in our bed.....So Cute.......Honey, I love you and thanks for all that you do!!! Meanwhile I had an awesome workout!.....Ahhh.....1 more day!

Walking, Walking....

You asked and so you shall receive......Here is a vid of Lila walking....She loves to walk about 8-10 steps and then "Pounce" on the floor.....So funny....


And here are few silly pics from the last couple of days.....

Ahhh my highlights are back.....

First off, I must thank Uncle Joel for watching the kiddos while Shawn took me to get my hair done....it was nice to be alone with Shawn and have an adult conversation with out interrupting kids......and the girls had an awesome time with Uncle Joel, who made them dinner and did the dishes and it was just nice to get home and all be in order....Thanks again Uncle Joel to a job well done.....Even Miss Lila had a good time w/o mommy! In fact she was snoozing when we got home!

So I think I had highlights last year for a little while but before then I hadn't had my hair highlighted since college.....I must say it is nice to have the highlight back, especially down here where it is sunny 90% of the time.....so my hair will continue to lighten by the sun....Anyway my hair appt was great.....I had big aspirations of chopping it all off when I got there and was talked out of it by my new hairdresser, who by the way is in love with my hair.....with it so humid down here I decided that too short would also mean frizzy big 80's hair! Just what I need, right?.....So we did a good trim and layer and side cutting and lightening.....It looks awesome and I am totally pleased with the outcome....Love my new salon and Michelle is awesome.....I will be going back there for all my cuts.....I mean seriously there is not too many things better then walking in, being totally greeted and made to feel at home and not to mention enjoying a glass of wine while you get your hair done.....the place is just awesome.....Michelle is bubbly, loud like me, and just totally friendly.....Shawn even had a good time and was able to read a few chapters of his book.....So the pics don't do it justice and its hard to tell how much she cut off....So I will try to get some outside but here you go.....Can I just say I really DO NOT like pics of myself....UGH!

Before Shots (can we say WAY TOO LONG?):

After.....Hard to tell some of diff but it is lighter feeling and lighter.....

Ok after looking at the pics its hard to tell how much she cut off.....but it was a quite a bit....So if you can't tell its all good.....

Lila's 15M.....

Well Lila had her 15 month appointment yesterday. It went well, Shawn had to work so it was me with the 3 kids.....I must say the twins were awesome and very patient considering the office was behind on their appointments, I think we sat in the room for almost and hour....But its always worth the wait for the girls' doctor. She is awesome. Lila is still "thin"......she is in the 10th percentile again for weight. She was a whopping 19lbs 13oz, so yes she is still riding backwards, its all good because it is safer....I probably won't flip her seat around until 18 months now....I don't think she will mind because she gets to see her sisters riding backwards....She is average for height 30 1/2 inches....she knows lots of words......and has distinct sounds for other words......She is now walking more, the doctor said she is doing fine there....she got to see Lila in action at the office.....toddling around the room.....Just wanted all to know Lila is doing great.....She just needs to continue to eat a bunch since she is so active, burning most calories she eats.......you know she follows those big sisters around.....and we know how on the go those two are.....

A weekend of little projects and rest......

So here it is Sunday night and I am feeling a bit tired as I sit here and watch the Celtics/Lakers game.....All is quite in the house, the girls are all sleeping, Shawn is working and DB is already in bed waiting for us.....We had another great weekend, and I feel like I have been saying that almost every weekend....but it just so true.....

We got lots of little projects done.....Shawn got some quotes on getting our back windows of our house tinted.....we will probably be doing this soon as the afternoon sun can really be a killer.....it didn't help that we didn't have anything covering the back door window and that the blinds on the big window didn't close fully.....so our living room would be super warm in the late afternoon causing our A/C to work a little harder.....and costing us a bit more then we want to pay to stay cool....Along with the quotes we also got new blinds for the family room window (so part of the problem is solved, just need tinting) and blinds for the playroom window (which were sooo bad that we could never get them closed).....We also got a window attachment for the back door window that has the blinds in between the windows which looks awesome and also helps block out all that heat.......AND I finally found Candelabra size CFL bulbs at Lowe's, so we changed out all our ceiling fan lights with those....it was the last size that I hadn't found yet.....so a little more green for us......what I really want to check out is Solar Panels for the roof, since our roof is the perfect slant......but that is a more long term project.....I must say it was cooler in here today with the new blinds......and they look so much better......The girls love being able to block out the sunlight in their playroom too, especially when they are watching a movie on the portable DVD player.....So cute......

The girls were great this weekend.....they really are quite the helpers, helping (or trying to help) whenever they could.....So cute watching Kiara working in the yard with daddy......she swept up is grass blades after he edged the yard......while she was outside MJ was inside helping me bake a cake and putting away dishes.....Lila pretty much gets in the way when she tried to help.....BUT she is pretty much walking most of the time now.....FINALLY......I think she must have known that she has her 15 month appt tomorrow.....I really didn't think she would be such a late walker, especially with her sisters helping her all the time......and trying to teach her.....I was seriously starting to get a little worried that there was something wrong......she is still not great at walking but it's all good.....at least she attempts to walk now instead of automatically going into a crawl......just something I will be talking to the Dr about tomorrow......

So we have a pretty busy early part of the week this week......Lila has her appt tomorrow and I finally decided that it was time to treat my self to a much needed Cut and Color......I am so excited to get my hair done.....it has been long while since I had it colored.....I find its really hard to find a place to get your hair done in a new city.....but after tons of looking and research I finally decided that this place would work.......Avalon Hair Design and Spa......All the reviews I read were awesome and that this place made them feel comfortable.....which is one of the things I look for in a hair salon......I hate pretentious and unwelcoming feeling salons....I got an even better feeling when I called an made my appointment......I actually talked to the owner......he was pretty cool.....So I am excited for Tuesday and to top it off I am getting a good deal since they are having a new client special!.....Shawn is going to take before and after pics (Nana's idea) and I will post on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.......And if the place it cool I may even make and appt for a pedicure......also LONG over due......It's time I started takeing care of me too......here are a few pics from the weekend.....

June 08

Don't judge a tree during the fall.....

So when we first moved in to this house I was not thrilled at our tree in the front yard I mean it looked like this.......
It had all these little brown pods on it and no leaves.......it was just something I have never seen before....Come to find out later after a little help from Ri and a few books......Our tree in the front yard is a Crape Myrtle.....and they are all over down here....Anyway they come in a bunch of different colors and sizes.....So I stand corrected I am thrilled to have this tree in our front yard.....these were taken today....there are TONS more blooms that haven't opened yet.....Just love this tree.....

Princess Invasion.....

So it was only a matter of time before my girls got attached to the Disney Princesses.....That is all Mikiah talks about theses days....MJ's sentences of late:

"I want to go to the Castle"
"I want to go there today"
"Mom, can we go to the Castle today"
"Can I watch Cinderella 2 (we don't have the original)"
"I want a blue dress like Cinderella"
'"Can you do my hair like Cinderella"

She totally cracks my up.....One track mind.....Suppose we should look into a vacation at Disneyland soon.....She would love it and love seeing all the characters....

Incase anyone didn't see...

I promise this will be my last political post for awhile, but it was a very happy night in our house....We were very excited to see Barack become the nominee for the Democratic Party.....What a historic day in America!......His speech was amazing and very inspiring for me, lets just say it gave me chills. I really hope we can get him elected!

Ok, I must be irritable.....

It seems like every little thing is getting to me lately.....maybe it's that woman time....But I just feel like ranting......So here is to my pissy mood..

Rant 1-How hard is it for people to pick up after their dog????? Seriously, I walk my dog through the neighborhood at least once a day and when she poops (which is usually twice) I pick it up as I would not want to leave poop in my neighbors yard. But apparently some of our neighbors are not so courteous, as I look out my Kitchen window I can see, Yes another pile of dog poop in our side yard.....It never fails there is a pile at least 2-3 times a week. Totally pisses me off.......I am about to put a sign out there with some plastic bags attached that says "Please Pick up your Dogs POOP! Quit littering in our Yard!" GerrhhhH!

Ahhh, I feel a little better now.....

Want to know the logic.....

Ok, so I don't like to talk too much about politics here but I seriously need someone to explain to me something......First off in case you couldn't guess I am a huge Barack Obama supporter, got my tees, and donated, and will do what I can to get him elected......which brings me back to my question....

"I really want to know the logic behind many of the women Hillary Clinton supporters that say if she is not nominated for the Democratic Party for President that they will vote for McCain in the general election."

Ok, I understand their dedication for their candidate and how much they support her, etc, I get that as I am passionate about Barack.......but I seriously do not get them voting for McCain.....I know one argument is that HRC will run again in 2012 if McCain wins in 2008, blah blah......But still voting for someone that runs on a totally different platform then HRC out of spite or anger.....really???? 4 more years of the same???? Really??? Giving McCain the power to nominate Supreme Court Justices should it be needed????? Really????? I just think this logic is totally insane.....I would rather they just didn't vote then vote for McCain.....

So you could flip the question around on me, sure..... "If HRC was the nominee would I vote for her?" Sure I guess I would vote for her (husband is cringing as he reads this) as I would not want another Fall-in-Line Republican running this country, I think we have had enough of that....(I know McCain didn't use to be a Fall-In-Line Republican, that old McCain was cool, New McCain, not cool at all)......I mean look at the state of the economy in this country.........Food Prices, Gas Prices, Home Forecloses, Jobs shifted over seas, education not living up to the rest of the world, poverty, the shrinking middle class, expensive healthcare.....I could go on......

So again sorry for the political post, but as the primaries are FINALLY winding down.....I just have been super bothered by these accusations of woman HRC supporters....because seriously to me, it really makes NO SENSE at ALL. Ok, "I am Fired up, He's Ready to go!".......Obama 08!

Birthday Wishes to Mom and Dad.....

First off I would like to wish both of my parents a very "Happy Birthday!" Yup both my parents were born on the same day a few years apart.....makes it super easy for us to remember!..... We love and miss you both.....hope both of your days were wonderful!!!

I tell you I think I am really getting use to all this heat down here.....I am loving it more and more each day.....We have been in the mid 90's all weekend and man it was nice......I have learned that if I sit outside with my feet in the pool I can sit there all day.....I just love being warm......

So we didn't make it to the movie on Friday night, I couldn't see making Uncle Joel take care of 3 sick and ornery children......So a rain check on the movie......it's all good. I actually busted out my color pencils and drew up some landscape pics for our house, I think Shawn and I are in agreement about what to plant and where and where we want a few flower beds, etc.....We are both really excited....Hopefully we will be able to get it all done by next spring.....So fun to draw up ideas now that I have learned what plants would be good down here....

I must say we have had a really great weekend.....Lots of time outside working in the yard, playing in the yard, dancing, running through sprinklers and playing in the pool.........Kiara climbed her first tree, she just so happened to be in the buff......I have a few pics I will have to see which ones are appropriate....Can't wait to add those to her baby book.....So funny.....