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Sunday, November 21, 2010

busted.


my baby boy is eight.

for all you mothers out there, you know that even when your baby is eighty-eight, he'll still be your baby.  even with that old timer's drool hanging off his lip, he will be your baby.

most of us parents out there are bound, at one point or another, to endow our children with heartfelt nicknames.  from "pookie" to "knucklenuts", nicknames are part of growing up.

mine, for example. was pronounced "Air-ree"... we spelled it "Erie".  people would taunt me (*coughcougholderbrotherShinnycough*) by further calling me "Air-head."

sometimes i liked my nickname, other times (like when it turned to Airhead), i simply resented it.

my boy has about three solid nicknames.  by "solid" i mean... used frequently.  like every day.

e.

e.p.

e-machine. 



we like 'em.  he... well, not the last one, so much.

i tried to get him to agree it should be on the back of his practice football jersey.  he just about vomited.  i don't know why - i think it's totally cute.  and ferocious.  :)  he denied me the pleasure of seeing him wear it twice a week at practice.  instead, all that was printed was "H A M A K O."  

other kids went all out... "Tico," "The Flyer," "Waz-zay," "Dirty Red, Jr" ... we all wanted E-Machine.  and by "we" I mean... my man and I.

we were denied.

and i was ok with that, because i know just how much he loathed that nickname.

and then yesterday...

he was watching college football.  all of a sudden the t.v. was on pause and he was screaming for me to come see this... "YOU GOTTA SEE THIS!  I'm on T.V.!!!"

this is what i saw....

" E Michigan."

this is what he saw....

"E Machine."

i loved it.  i laughed so hard because he was so dang cute - he was so happy that he didn't even take the time to take a double take.  i fell onto my sofa, scooping up my babe and we had a grand ole' time laughing about his quick and un-trusty eye.  

{secretly though, i think he loves it.  call me crazy.}

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

sick-o.


mystery solved.
my smallest wee one has been so insanely evil lately...

because she's sick.

croup.

and the unexpected...

strep throat.

her craziness is now explainable.
thank the sweet Lord.

here's another video for your viewing pleasure.

yes, i'm the mastermind behind these vocals.
no, i'm not interested in signing a contract.
i'd like to just focus on motherhood for now.

:)

my kids are always dancing or singing.
here is sophie's infamous dance move...

"the shoulder shrug."

it's basically awesome.
and also about 2 years old.
still awesome.


Monday, November 15, 2010

crazysoso.

today was rough.
this cute little specimen belown {in my video} got me pretty upset.
she is a control freak.
and sometimes it just gets ugly.
and unfortunately, there is no turning back.
this girl can go from cute to crazy in .13 seconds.
so to help me get completely over her chaos today,
i decided to watch some old videos of her.

i found this one completely endearing.
my smile was from ear to ear.
my cheeks kind of hurt from watching it 23 times...
with my big ole' grin.

i'm glad i searched through my videos tonight.

she may say "poop" a lot, but she's awfully cute while doing it.

*NOTE: be sure to pause my music in the right-hand side bar so you can hear her little voice.


Saturday, November 13, 2010

72.

today is my father-in-law's 72nd birthday.
i asked what he wanted for his birthday.
his response was this....

"nothing can top what i've already been given.  a chance to see my 72nd birthday.  let's see if i'm this spoiled come my 73rd."

as he said it, he laughed.  
i felt the opposite.

pancreatic cancer is bad juju.  incurable.  fast growing.  just bad stuff.

i have to agree that this was the best birthday gift.  

today he went golfing.  it was freakishly warm today and it was the end of his non-chemo week.  perfect timing.  he shot a 41 on his 9 hole-round.  can you believe that jank?!  tomorrow we will get up super early to head up there to be with him.  he has a 9am tee time with my man.  and we will have cake.  and we will celebrate.

and then comes monday when he starts another round of chemo.  and he will be a day closer to that 73rd birthday.  

but you know what?  we celebrate every day.  every single day.  we feel blessed.  we feel lucky.  we feel so grateful for every single day. 

ethan's championship game.
those are my in-laws.
we lost the game.
but ethan won.
do you know what he said to his sisters when they cried about the season ending? 
{b/c they won't get to see their football friends now}

"emma, losing isn't the end of the world.  you know what is?  the fact that my grandpa is sick with cancer."

i won that day, too.
and humanity kind of did, too.

i love that kid.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

wreath o' yarnballs.

love love love this wreath.

head on over to

fantastic inspiration for a beautiful holiday wreath.
tutorial included, courtesy of the wonderful Kristi.

so perfect.
 
i'm super psyched i came upon Kristi's blog.
she's awfully talented!

oh design*sponge. how i love you.


check out these before and afters sent to Design*Sponge.
particularly the play kitchen.

holy schnikes i love it.

it started like this...


click on the link to check out the after.
thank you, amy for sharing.
your parents are awfully amazing!

*****
do you know how many of those entertainment centers i had through college?
and to think i could've kept them to entertain my children in another way.
i love the creativity.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

mi familia.

 because i couldn't resist, here are some of our other Blue Lily shots.





this is ethan.
and his grandfather's childhood violin.
pretty special.
glad you can't see the strings dangling!





i love the family one, but i'm not 100% convinced my man's eyes are open.  bummer dude.

Monday, November 8, 2010

it's all over...

football has finished.
is it odd that i slipped into a small depression over that?
it was so much more enjoyable than last year and i made some pretty rad friends.

oh, and of course ethan enjoyed himself 10-fold this season.

with the end of the season hitting, we have been quite busy around these parts.

especially when you count all the hours in the day i have been eagerly awaiting my pics from the fabulous Blue Lily team... well... there just doesn't seem like there are that many hours in the day.

wendy gave us a sneak peak at our shoot over here...

totally loved it.

and then today i got the email i had been waiting for.  

"I just got notified that this went through- I'm in the car but I'll write more details later about the files! Happy downloading!

xoxo
wendy

ps sorry we keep spelling your first name wrong- what is UP with that??? boo."

i was blown away.
exactly what i had wanted.
exactly what i envisioned.
exactly what i felt that day.

my smile is from ear to ear.

i love my little 'makos so much.
and when i look at these pictures...
my heart melts to bits and pieces.
{like reese's pieces, but better}.



 

*****

thank you, wendy & tyler.
we love you guys.
and i am obligated to ask you one more time
{on behalf of ethan...}
"next time you're in town can we take you to dinner?"

wendy & tyler ... you're one in a million.
best photo shoot ever.

now if i would just buck up and pay for a full blog layout these pictures could be a little bigger.  in the meantime, click on each one for an upsized shot!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Worth your while.


Head over to Design*Sponge for one helluvan awesome elopement video.

This was what I envisioned for my wedding... my man... not so much.  :)

Beautiful, right?!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

so much. just so SO very much going on lately.
i beg your forgiveness.

we're off to football championships!!!!!




my baby bro and his wife came for a visit.
bowling.
mini golf.
family dinners out the wazoo.
NAVY Vs. DUKE!
the hubs' aunts were in town.
my good friend had her baby.
halloween.
sickness.
after.
sickness.
you get the jist of things.

here we are bowling.  my boy loves his fedora.  {and i'll go ahead and say it loves him back.  he looks adorable!} 
ethan rocking his fedora.
it was full of magic "bowling" power.

my lil bro.
the pilot.
adorable!

oh my man, my MAN!
speaking of adorable!

sophers chowing down.
the girl can eat like it's her j-o-b.


my sweet emma.

dre having fun.

aidan having fun just like his mama above.
proof that he gets it from her.








nice dinner out a Bistro Bethem.
if you're ever in town, i highly recommend you stop in.
their chocolate pote de creme is awesome.



my camera totally focused on the wine and NOT their lovely faces.
it was out of control!



i bought some facepaint and hooked my babes up one afternoon.
in return, i let them each paint one of my cheeks.

this is what ethan painted....

i said, "what the heck?"
and his response was this...

"i wanted to paint something that you like."

great.  what a rep.








if you've never been to a military service game, i strongly encourage you do so.
it's just such a great feeling.
especially when you are graced by a fly over like this...



i can't make this jank up.
this was the backdrop to our game.
freaking amazing.
what a gift.



i am tired just thinking about that week.
and just keep in mind...
this didn't include Halloween day.
more on that to come at a later time.