Skating

I took Bumpkin skating yesterday.  Wow, that is a trip down memory lane.  Took me right back to Roller Ramma back home.  I was having constant flashbacks to middle school days.  Only the kids seemed much younger than I thought I was.  : )  Anyway, Bumpkin did very well.  We have gone before but it was awhile ago.  We really should make it more regular so she can get more comfortable.  At first Bumpkin was pretty nervous and she was clenching my hand with both her hands but I eventually convinced her to let go with one hand so she could use it for balance.  Once she did that she really started to build up her confidence and finally let go of my hand.  She was still walking with her skates on but she kept pushing my hand away when I would offer it. 

Eventually she got brave enough that she started trying to glide on her skates, but then she wanted to hold my hand for support.  I she started to hold my hand then so I could help catch her fall because she began to fall more once she figured out the gliding part.  But she was so proud of herself.  I was proud of her for trying too!  A year ago she wouldn't have even gone out on the ring after a couple of falls but she kept getting up and trying again.  I'm so proud of her and we had such a good mother/daughter date!

Mimi

My baby Mimi, you are four months old now.  We went to the doctor today for your shots and they said you might be pretty tall as you are above the 97% for height.  You were 26 1/4 inches and 16 lbs 3 oz.  You have such a cute smile with dimples on both checks and your chin.  You also laughed for the first time on Monday.  Troublemaker really got you going.  You love to watch your sisters.  We haven't gotten you to laugh again though, which makes it so special that I got your first time on video. 

You have such a great personality.  I frequently say that I won the baby lottery with you.  Not that your sisters were hard babies by any means, but you are just so easy.  You slept through the night from the time you were born.  I believe I have only gotten up with you twice in the middle of the night.  You usually go to bed around 10:00 and wake up at about 5:30 to eat, then go back to sleep until 8:30.  Really, you are a great baby.  You also love our bedtime routine.  You love to sit on my lap and read book with your sisters during bedtime.  Actually, you read right along with me...sometimes even louder then me.  I recorded this video for daddy so he could hear you reading because you wouldn't do it when he was home. 

I love you baby girl! 

Gingerbread Party

A few weeks ago at MOPS Pastor Casey came and talked about the real meaning of Christmas.  He asked us to think about Christmas when we were children.  He started talking about all the memories he had and it quickly became obvious that he was talking about traditions not presents.  So, I sat there thinking in MOPS that I really didn't remember any presents I received as a child either.  Sure there is one Christmas that I remember getting what I really wanted but I think the memory is so vivid for me because of the unusual way I got the present, not because of what the present was.  (I was in a musical at church and my character unwrapped a present.  It was supposed to be my stuffed animal Growlie but when I got it unwrapped it was really the Magic Nursery doll I had been wanting.)  Really, I think I would have to think hard to remember what presents I received.  But I do remember the traditions.  The "routines" we had about whose house we went to on what nights. 

Our family can't have the same traditions and routine though.  Partly because we are a different family, partly because we have family in different parts of the country, and partly because of the job your daddy does.  We will never be able to say we are going to have family movie night where we watch Home Alone on Christmas Eve.  We will never be able to say we always go to grandma's for lunch on Christmas Day.  It will change every year for us.  So when Pastor Casey started talking about traditions I was determined to set a tradition that we could keep.  One that didn't matter when we did it, as long as we did it.  Then I remembered an article I had read recently about a gingerbread house decorating party.  I decided to go for it.  Even if it was only ten days away and I would barely have time to make the houses, let alone decorate the house.  I hope to make this a tradition with family and friends, but for this first year I just invited our little kid friends. 

I made the houses from scratch.  They really weren't that hard to make.  Next time I just need to remember that it goes in shifts.  The dough has to sit in the fridge for awhile and I didn't realize that until I was already making them.  So I was a little rushed this year but I will know for next year.  Rolling them out, cutting them, and assembling them really wasn't that bad. 

You guys were so excited.  It took forever for the party to start.  You guys kept trying to play with the houses and put your little toy Care Bears in the houses I was afraid they were going to be broken before the party even started. 

But the houses made it and I convinced you guys to help me clean and decorate the house. 

Finally, the guest started arriving and the party got started.  We had a wide selection of candy and I set up a hot chocolate bar (which I forgot to get a picture of).  Here are some pictures of the houses you and your friends decorated. 

In the years to come I hope to make this a fun family tradition with the whole family.  Maybe add in a contest when you are older.  Maybe even invite your college friends home with you to join in the fun.  Since we didn't have the room this year though it was just the kids and their mommies.  Here is a great picture of some good friends that attended. 

I hope you girls had a good time.  I look forward to making this a tradition!

Starting over....

OK, so I am going to give this blog thing a shot again.  I started one years ago and I think I might have wrote three posts before the thought, and the blog, died.  But a friend of mine told me she has been blogging for years as a way of preserving the memories for her kids and I began to think that was perfect for me as well.  My sister does my scrapbooks for me and really as much crap as I give her for being a year behind she is way ahead of where I would be if I was doing them.  At the same time, sometimes I look at the finished product and think to myself that the pictures aren't really telling the whole story.  If I could just add words it would add so much more.  But the logistics of adding words while my sister is making the scrapbook...and actually remembering the words a year later (sorry Heather...yet another jab) is just wishful thinking.  So, I've continued to toss around the blog idea. 

My next hurdle to get over when thinking about the blog was, "does anyone actually care".  And the truth I have landed on is "no, probably not".  Most people who are going to read my blog will actually hear the stories from me anyway.  So that shouldn't even be my motivation.  What I need to keep in mind is that my kids will care.  Someday, they will get to look back and see/read the stories about the memories we created.  And even further down the road, maybe they will show the stories to their kids.  Well if they grow up that is.... I'm still trying to figure out how to keep them little.  So, the first key to writing is to know your audience.  Mine is my children.  While I might share my blog with others (in a couple months, if I actually keep up with it) they are the reason I am doing this.  I want to share the memories with them.  I want them to be able to look back some day and say "wow, I remember that". 

Next, I needed to decide if I actually thought I would keep up with it.  Truth is, I still don't know about that one.  But I did find myself thinking throughout the day, "ok, that could go in my blog".  I thought that enough times that I decided to give it a shot.  Granted, I have been thinking that for about a week now, and this is my first post (about nothing really) so we will see how it all goes. 

Finally, I needed to come up with a name.  That is the tricky part.  I'm not against using our names but really, there are crazies out there.  I've met plenty of them already.  So what is the point?  After much thought, I landed on two possibilities.  If I were to go with my funny one it would be "Just Another Way to Avoid Laundry".  Really, I should use that one.  Because it is the truth.  My laundry is going to suffer on account of this new hobby.  But, I have a feeling my kids are going to remember the piles of unfolded laundry anyway, so I don't need to remind them how much I dislike (the H word isn't allowed at our house) laundry.  So, I went with a memory instead...."One Night and Forever". 

My goal is to make the blog about Bumpkin, Troublemaker, and Mimi (and maybe any others that come along :) but the title has importance to my husband and I.  In essense, it is our love story.  And although I am sure we will tell the kids about it someday, here is the computer version for my girls.  But before I start I want to remind my girls, there is no white horse.  No Prince Charming.  No Knight in Shining Armor.  Although your father and I's meeting may sound like a fairytale or fate, it does not happen the same way for every person.  Do not wait for some chance meeting in a foreign country to find your true love.  It may not happen that way for you.  Your father and I certainly weren't looking for forever that night. 

Your daddy and I met in London, England.  I was over there "studying" and your father was "watching a car race". We met at a dance club/sport bar the night after he was supposed to fly back to D.C.  The same night I was supposed to meet someone else.  After eyeing each other for a while we finally started talking and ended up closing the place down. 

We didn't have a pen or paper so I told your father my email address and assumed I would never hear from him again.  He remembered it though (impressive if you think about your father) and we started emailing back and forth.  Once I got back to the states he decided to fly out and visit my "village".  We officially gave ourselves the dating title during that visit and many more visits followed.  One night, when we were out with some friends who were in London with us, my roommate Grace said, "So you guys are going to be one night and forever huh".  And it has stuck.  It was our wedding theme and it is only fitting that it is the blogs title.  It is the forever that is following that one night. 

This blog is for you!