Life with Poot-n-Toots

a blue belt, and strawberry shortcake...

This past weekend Jason promoted to blue belt...

 
In true UFC fashion (mostly followers of Chuck Liddell) Paige decided that she wanted to paint her toes blue in honor of Jason's new belt...

 

Way to go Jason! The girls and I are very proud of you! (but please...when you eventually get that black belt...please, please, leave the toe-painting to the girls, ok?)

 

Treat bag meet Strawberry Shortcake, Strawberry Shortcake meet treat bag....This sweet little bag was made by Kelly. Is it cute or what??  I love the stitched name and the little seed detailing on the strawberry. I think too, that next year I might try ribbon for the handles, I like that it makes the bag look more delicate... Way to go Kelly, I can't wait to see the whole costume!

 
 

Bald by choice....

Before I type out this entire post, I'm giving Bev full warning. Bev, my guess is that Jason currently has less hair than when he was born. I'm sure this will shock you. I would have stopped him if I could, but he was adamant. Bev, proceed with caution.

Tonight Jason performed a coup de grace (pronounced ku də gras) for his dying hairline.  He determined that this was his way of beating mother nature to the punch. Before starting, we explained to Paige what Daddy was going to do. She kindly said 'but I like you just the way you are...if you don't have your hair you won't look like a daddy anymore'. Once we told her that she could help, she quickly came around.

Here is my attempt to document the process:

• Last photo of J and the girls WITH his hair in-tact
• Paige and Ally give the first pass-throughs with the number 1 blade
• Mommy gets a few pass-throughs with the trimmer. (I tried my best to give him a Krusty cut)
• Daddy and the girls with his '1 blade' cut
• Daddy gets in the shower and tries out the new Head Blade
• Mommy laughs hysterically when she hears Daddy say 'whoo, that feels funny'
• The final 'Mr. Clean Shot'

And now I have my own personal version of Mr. Clean.....

I found a few things VERY funny throughout this process. First Ally got such a kick out of shaving J's head. She was laughing the whole time. Second, the whole Headblade thingy. Seriously it reminds me of the trucks that plow the ice off the road...... it even has little wheels. Third, listening to J's remarks as he shave in the shower. He would periodically just start laughing. My favorite part though is when J got out and rubbed some lotion on his head. He explained to me that the Headblade company actually sells a 'matte or shiny' version of lotion. Um, ok. When he got out and put his shirt on, he actually jumped when the collar touched his bare head. I must say, he did a super job. He didn't knick himself, and got an amazingly close shave. His head kinda feels funny, I can't keep from reaching out and rubbing it.

I'm sure it will look a little better once his white head meets the sun....what do YOU think?

Daddy, Daughter Date....

Yesterday afternoon Jason and P went on a Daddy Daughter date to see Cinderella, performed by the local high-school theater department. Paige was so excited to get all dressed up with Daddy and go 'just the two of us'. Before they left, I snapped some photos of the two of them all primped....I'll have you know that Jason didn't give me any grief...woo-hoo! Ally was feeling a little left out, so I let her get in on the pictures too.

After the show, they stopped by Starbuck's for some hot chocolate and a round of Go Fish (side note....games have been big at our house, more on that later). They had a blast, she was SO excited to come home and share with me all the details of their date.

Watching Jason and Paige go to this play reminded me of all the stories I've heard about Jason and his mom (aka Nonnie) going to shows together when he was growing up. It was the same for me growing up; My Dad was also always really big into community theater. We went often as a family to see shows. During middle school I even did a small stint in a local children's theater. It's a reminder that things really do come full circle. Sometimes it still feels weird to me that J and I are old enough to pass along traditions that our parents established with us when we were children. Thanks Mom, Dad, Bev, and Tim for being such great examples!

 

Ally and I spent the afternoon hanging out in the backyard and playing princesses (oh, the joy.) When we'd exhausted every princess, we played with the easel and colored. Ally loves the white board side, she'll stand there and scribble, then erase it. She'll repeat this for upwards of 30 minutes.

When I sat down, Ally handed me the blue pen and told me 'you wite my mame' . I complied and wrote Allyson. As I did this I was saying each letter.."A-L-L-Y-S-O-N...that says Allyson". Ally shot me an irritated look and said "you no say me owie-son..you say me owie". She seemed quite upset by me using her full name. So I wrote it out again saying "A-L-L..." Ally interrupted and said "I know dat, dat my mame, A-L-L-M-N-O-P..." and proceeded to sing the rest of the alphabet.

We had a fun time writing/erasing....I'm embarrassed to admit that as we were coloring on the easel, she named all the colors of the pens. I knew she knew pink and green, but had no idea she could name all the colors. These are the times that I'm reminded of how much more time Paige got as a toddler. It was fun spending some quality time just 1:1, and was a reminder to me that J and I need to do some more 1:1 activities with each of the kids.

Already missing Daddy....

and it's only been 1 day.

Jason left yesterday afternoon, and won't be back until Friday. When we explained to Paige that Daddy would be gone for 5 more days, she started to cry and said: "you already been gone for 5 days and now it's 5 more....that's ten..." I of course ignored the tears, I was more impressed that she added 5+5 correctly..

We spent this weekend hanging out. We rented a movie, took naps (o'kay just me and the girls), went to the park, did a few chores and pretty much relaxed. The girls made sure to catch-up with all the 'wrestle time' that they missed this week.... Paige also hooked him into playing 'puppet-show'...one of Daddy's favorites (insert sarcasm)...notice that Ally has given up her 'arrow' infatuation. Sadly, Ariel's been replaced by Sleeping Beauty...

Since it was the weekend, I got to spend extra time doing Paige's hair...I know lots of people think it's nutty, but I get a kick out of coming up with a new 'do'. This one's a twist on an old favorite. When I come up with one that Paige likes, she gets to name it..this one's called 'double fancy braid-in-the-back'.

Thanks to Terry M. for teaching me how to braid...you were the coolest baby sitter!..not to mention, my corn-silk dolls always had the coolest hair-do's.....

On Sunday afternoon my cousins Mia and Lark came for a quick visit. We went over to Avila Beach and had lunch at the Hula Hut (just o'kay). I'm surprised how much Avila's grown in the past few months. It has a ton of new restaurants and hotels. After lunch we headed over to the swings and let the girls play for a bit. It was so nice to hang out with Mia and Lark for the afternoon...If you girls are readin': Thanks for stopping by..see you at Christmas!

We're off to go on a bike ride....I love having the day off.....

We miss you Daddy...only 4 more days....

Happy 30th!

Today is Jason's 30th birthday....It seems like we just met. I can remember what I was wearing the first time I met him outside of my dorm-room during September of 1995. We were both 17 (isn't that a song???) and freshman in college. I can't believe that I've celebrated the last 12 birthdays with him; 1 as friends, 4 as his girlfriend, 1 as his fiance, and 7 as his wife. I'm so proud of him, as my husband, a father, a son, and a brother. I know that none of us in his family could ask for more.

J and the girls spent the weekend in Fresno with the whole gang. He was able to celebrate on Friday night with Nonnie, Nonna, Pam, Uncle Pat-Pat, Auntie B., Marcus and Amy. Even though it was J's birthday, it's not possible for Nonnie to see the girls without getting them just a *few* things. Paige came home with Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy, a gigantic sticker activity book, and new flip flops; and Ally came home with a new Ariel Doll, and the Quiet Loud board book. Nonnie doesn't just get the girls something each visit, she also buys a new 'Nonnie Toy'. This visit she bought the Little People Doll House  to keep Ally busy (and distracted from bothering Paige and Uncle Pat-Pat while they play with the Lil' Kingdom). 

J and the girls spent Saturday night celebrating with Mr. Tim, Auntie Kim, Grandpa Hank, Janice, Auntie B., Uncle Pat-Pat, Mandy, Mike and Brennan. They went out to Tahoe Joe's (yum!) and then over to Mr. Tim's (aka Papa) for some cake. Of course the toy of choice at Papa's is this stress ball (imagine it as a purple one-legged cow). Paige was very excited to tell me about 'wrestling at Papa's house'.

*disclaimer: I haven't gotten any photos of Saturday's celebration yet..I'll post them when I get them*

 

The girls and I greeted J at the door tonight with a blazing pan of brownies and sang him happy birthday. Paige made the most adorable card for J, and was so totally excited to show it to him (she even wrote Daddy on the envelope- too cute). We went out todinner tonight and then came home and ate brownies. Of course we had to use the You are Special Today plate.

Side-note:  I love this tradition. Both my Mom and Auntie Marcine have these plates, the plates played an important part of our big and small celebrations growing up. I told April about it a few years ago and she bought me my very own. April's the most thoughtful gift-giver, always giving you what you never thought to ask for, but really wanted. She's even purchased one for Brianne too.

Last night, I tried my hand at making personalized trick-or-treat bags. For the past 3 years, Melissa has made the most adorable felt bags for the kids. This year we're staying in town for Halloween so I was forced to make my own. They're not as detailed as Melissa's but I totally loved how they turned out (for those of you that don't know, Paige is going as Charlotte and Ally is going as Wilburlina).

Maureen made this pumpkin hat for Aubrey and dropped it off with me today, I can't wait to take it to the hospital. It's so teeny-tiny that I figured I needed to photograph it with a baby pumpkin to show it 'to scale' (the yellowish picture doesn't do it justice).

Tomorrow is Paige's Halloween party at pre-school- J's in charge of taking the photos..check back for updates of the girls in their costumes.....Woo-hoo only two more days to go...I LOVE Halloween!