The truth comes out

(Kudos to The Bud for being the most well-informed/sympathetic single man on pregnancy that I've ever met.)

The days are long but the years fly by!

A very happy birthday to my baby girl! My little sweetheart entered the world 3 years ago today at 4:19 p.m.


Age 1...

Age 2 (and a bit)...
Age almost 3!
She is such an incredible joy to our family! She's a funny kid, smart and curious. She's slow to trust people, but intensely loyal to the people she comes to love. She loves "math," books, Little Einsteins, stuffed animals, letters, Christmas and birthday (all year long), hamburgers, fries and shakes. She is tall for her age, but also pretty clutzy like her mom. =) She doesn't ever ask why, but she's interested in lots of things. She's generally a homebody, but once she gets out tends to love wherever we've taken her, especially the beach. She's a challenging kid to discipline, very strong willed and quick to fall to pieces over things she can't have. She doesn't like to stand in front of people and perform... or do anything especially conventional. She's interested in instruments and music (Mom says hooray!). She is an introvert that is doing an amazing job learning to be polite and kind to people. She's a fantastic eater. She's not the best sleeper. She has two small little dimples that show up when she smiles. And she's my best girl. I love you, Lucy Elizabeth!

The Musician

Just thought it was fun that my kid picked up how to play Winnie the Pooh. =)

Sarah Palin stops in La Mirada

I love that I still get to decide what Lucy is for Halloween. I especially like the Family Theme costumes. Our neighbors across the street were the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, and Alice. We did a few houses in our neighborhood, then headed off to the sauna that was Candyland at Biola. The one all-girls' dorm decorates their hall in Candyland decorations, then the girls that want to participate dress up their door and hand out candy that's donated to the floor for the event. It's a huge event, and I loved seeing how creative the college students are with their costumes. My favorite was the Minnesota Grannies. Especially cute when an accent is part of the costume.

But here's the scary part of Halloween for us. And this isn't even including the enormous spider that made an enormous web right by our walkway. (We left him up, since he decorated for me.) About 3:30 we discovered a little water in one bathroom, and about 2 inches of water in the other. La Mirada has city trees lining the street that interfere with the pipes, but we are not allowed to take them down, nor does the city claim that the roots have anything to do with the entire city's plumbing problems. So as I'm cleaning all this up, (are you ready for this--not for the squeamish), I discover a plastic bag that was housing something in the bathroom that is full of baby cockroaches. Yep. Happy Halloween, everyone. (They're all dead now.)

But in all, a fun Halloween. And now, Happy Reformation Day to you all. I think I will pull out our Pope bust and our Martin Luther bobblehead to decorate. (I do indeed own both of these items, FYI.)

A REAL Pumpkin Patch

One of the things I enjoy about coming up to my parents' house is the open wonderfulness of the Valley. Space! Imagine! I'd been wanting to go visit this wonderful pumpkin patch, located on a Christmas Tree farm, but discovered that they only did school groups during the week. However, my clever cousin called and gave them my sad story... "My cousin really wants to come, and she's only in town during the week, is there anything you can do for us?" Actually, I don't know if that's how it went, but hey, we got to go! We had a blast with my cousin and her daughter, who is 9 months older than Lucy. There were some fears--not totally excited about the bumpy tractor ride--but in all it was right up her alley.


The Valley is both ugly and lovely right now. Lots of dead things, the air is just full of dust. I can feel it in my mouth and throat. But the fields with the carpet of orange leaves make my heart skip a beat. The days are warm, but the evenings and mornings are nice and cool. It really is Fall!


Hanging out with Mr. Fisherman Pumpkin Guy



















Don't get too used to those bars, kid.

Pooh's 4th Quarter Forecast

If you pay attention to the Pooh index, and believe me, we do around here, things are looking up. See below:

In other news, I tried my own version of Real Simple's Slow Cooker lasagna. I'd say it was rather a winner! It sounds really odd and mushy, but really it was just right. No pre-cooking the noodles, either! My one major criticism is that you don't get the browned cheesy top, so next time I plan to turn it up to high for the last 1/2 hour, then stick it under the broiler for a bit before serving. But otherwise, a keeper! Oh, and definitely recommend using an oven bag or slow cooker bag for easy clean up.

Spent the evening sewing. I sooo need to get some pictures of what I've been making, but the birthdays and such have been coming up so fast I'm forgetting to snap a shot first. I was working on a little backpack for my nephew, into which I will be putting a Star Wars lego set, and two lego magazines that I subscribed to for free (thanks, moneysavingmom.com!). I plan to also subscribe him to the magazine, but I got the first two sent to my house so that there would be something to put in the backpack. Now, to crochet a sweater for my youngest niece...

On tap tomorrow: going in to my old work to help out with a project there for a few hours while Lucy is at Mrs. Katie's, and then Girls' Night Out #2 with Bible Study Girls! Seriously, 4 Girls' Nights Out in a month--wahoo!! No blue cocktails this time, though... I think I'm over budget on cool girly drinks. =)

Jenny is smiling

I freakin' love my birthday. It's a chance to celebrate things I love, to indulge a little and relax a little and have some fun. Friday was Birthday Part One. Lucy was at "playgroup" and so I went and got a pedicure, something I haven't done in years. As I told my mother, I "relaxed the hell out of it." (Then my mother promptly reproved my language.) Then off to my new very favorite ever store, Ann Taylor Loft to spend my squirrelled away pennies (some of which came from my recent opportunity to work a bit) on updating and replacing some dying wardrobe items. Oh, what fun! And 20% off to boot! After a lovely time at Bible Study and gift opening at home (Wii Fit takes the cake!!), we went to bed to prepare for Birthday Part Deux...

Oh, San Diego, how I have missed you!
The Bud Clidgesdale with our little family.
Waiting to watch the sea lions do "Thriller."
This looks like something out of Hilights magazine: "What's wrong with this picture?"
This never happens... clearly she had eeked every ounce of fun out of the day possible.
This one is worth clicking on to see the original picture... I love my camera!
We ate junk all day (shared ice cream, popcorn, churros and lemonade), and then ended with burgers from Islands with Rybear and "Shaaaaayell." What a wonderful, perfect weekend. Only one more Birthday Fun item to go: The traditional birthday cookie from Mrs. Fields, free this time because our Valentine cookie was so bad that they gave us a gift certificate for the next one!

So many thanks for the well wishes. I think it's funny how I always forget that birthdays come with love from others, too. I'm glad God put you good people in my life!

Okay, so what's up with the hair?

My child is either a Muppet or a Beatle. I know, I should probably cut her hair more often, but all I gots ta say is, "YOU try it." =) So the child walks around looking like Animal or Ringo.

"Well, why not try brushing it? Or clips? Or pony tails?" you say. You are right. Very useful things, those brushes and hair tools! When I can wrestle or distract the child, these work relatively well. However, within about 2-3 hours, the clip or rubber-band is long gone or just falling out. So back we go to Muppet-tastic.

Summer begins with...

The End-of-Year Sunday School program. Doesn't my child look so good and compliant there? Don't be fooled. Actually, her efforts at bucking the system were furtive, done with a very nonchalant air. Tiny step by tiny step she moved out in front of the huddled pack to where she really wanted to be, which was sitting next to the teacher, watching the other kids. I nearly cried my eyes out laughing. It was way too cute.
And of course, at her best friend's birthday party. After about 90 min. of asking for cake, here it is. Satisfaction at last.

Does that make you sad or what?

No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Overheard today...

"Go weel weel high, up, up in da aaaa-yer."

"See da beeech!"

"Mountains! Wet's count dem."

"Bye bye, Messy House!"

Heritage Park, aka Freakin' Awesome Park

Apologies to those who frequent this park for telling you something you clearly already know! Lucy and I have been getting out of the house every day with all the construction going on, and we decided to head to Heritage Park today. It has your basic picnic tables and a nice playground, all in its own right. But the keynote is the island, surrounded by a duck-and-turtle-laden moat. On the island is a tiny, Paul Revere inspired village created for kids to run around on. The colonial buildings are all connected together, and kids climb stairs through the attics and slide down slides in the buildings. Lucy had a total blast, but it was awesome for ME! I loved the tunnels and bridges and just the cuteness of it all. Oh, and the guy whose office is on the little island in a little colonial building and has his office sign that says, "Mr. S0-and-so, Art Historian." Yep. Awesome.

Ecclectic Soul

Did you know that you can blow more air into a mylar helium balloon after it's begun to deflate, and it will continue to float? We have a balloon that is almost 3 weeks old, still hanging out in the rafters. it brings great joy to the kiddo.

Had a lousy experience at the library today. We don't have the greatest kid's section at our library, which is a bummer because we literally walk there from our house. They didn't have many books that I wanted, and they don't have a kid's librarian. I asked about great books for my 2-year-old, and the librarian gave me a book-mark suitable for 4-year-olds. Then today the librarian was very subtly rude to me about my handling of an antsy Lucy, and it about put me over the top. I will still go there, but I'm definitely going to try the Whittier Public Library, as well as the Fullerton Library.

Otherwise, a great day. A really good time at church this morning. This has been a very different experience than any women's group I've been a part of. These are smart, thoughtful, insightful people. Any other women's group I've seen up to this has been an insult to my and other women's intelligence, so this has been a real joy. I also got to be in the right place at the right time for someone who needed some extra love today... God is amazing to let us be a part of how he ministers to people.

Happy girl!
Lucy's the bouncer...

Happy girl in her little house (cousin Molly inside the house). Skirt compliments of Troldehøjen, my Danish cousin's children's clothing store. Check it out--it is so cute! (Sorry... no English on the site!)

Lots of happy

So Lucy and I went to get our refund today from Mrs. Fields, and I have to say... a company's colors show, not by perfect service all the time necessarily, but how they correct poor service. Not only did I get the full refund for my stale cookie-cake (Valentine's Day), but they sent me a gift certificate for the same amount! So that's two cookies for free from them (albeit, one of them was nasty). I'm going to write to them and thank them for the service I got.

Last night I went to Ann Taylor Loft to use up my gift certificate, and shop for a couple of essentials... new jeans, black pants, camisoles. I got this black shirt, too, and I was pretty happy with it. It was fun to have money to blow there... thanks, Bud!

A big win

Spring was getting into me today... I sat outside this morning with my computer and drank my coffee while Lucy poured me "refills" from her teapot, swept the cement, and asked me to draw yellow snowmen (should this worry me?). I was feelin' the spring of it all, and decided today was a good day to try something new. So Lucy and I headed to Heritage Park in Santa Fe Springs, thanks to L.A. by Stroller (a gift from my sister).

It was such a great little park! It's all tucked away in an industrial neighborhood, and doesn't feel busy at all. There are pretty gardens, a little stream, a tiny Indian "village," a little aviary, a big windmill, a carriage house, but most of all, a life-sized steam engine, boxcar and "bagoose" (as we call them here). The only problem was that the train stuff is only open from noon to 4, and just when I was about to give up and go home (about 12:22), the guy finally came and opened the gate. However, when he did, we really had fun. You can climb up into the engine and caboose, and the staff person there gave Lucy a balloon. He even let her push the buttons that made the "ambiance" noises (chug, chug, puff, puff). It was a great day, and it was FREE! Only about 15 min. from our house, too!

Hats off to my sister and others who inspire me to want to get out with Lucy. This is one of my dreams come true about parenting... getting to take my kid out and around and watch her discover.

This is what life should be like

The Birthday Girl

I am still just beaming with the pure, lovely fun that was Lucy's birthday. While she was napping, Mimi and I set up the birthday cake, the gifts, and some balloons on the table, while Steve and his dad put together the new playhouse. Since it was raining, they brought it into the house so she could play with it inside for now. It was just the perfect little party. She was enchanted with everything and just happy! She flashed around those beautiful, wide eyes, just taking it all in. She loved everything... "A big, bew-fwul bir-day cake!" "A swide!" "A Pooh Bawoon!" She even said "Thank you" for things. Talk about feeling loved for giving a gift! We just smiled and laughed and laughed.

Lucy: A Recap

Thought you might enjoy a little fly-by of Lucy in honor of her 2nd birthday.

Hours after birth...
The first month

Mother's DaySeptember, 2006

Pulling up!
Oh man, I gotta put this in just because. And the Ninny (pacifier) lust...

Blue eyes
I rock at Easter eggs...
Um, did you want something?
The hills are alive!
Full -body car-wash.
Don't get too attached to those bars, kiddo.
This was my dress when I was her age. I love you, little sweetheart! Happy birthday!