So I pretty much am the worst at documenting fun events. I just get so caught up in the moment, that twenty minutes later, I’m like, “Oh crap. That would have made a good picture!” And by then it’s too late.

Hence, the pathetic documentation of our SUPER awesome date night last Friday! DEMETRI MARTIN!

We started out at Gusto Pizza, which was SUPER GOOD. Yes, that is goat cheese on my pizza, and yes, those are banana peppers on Josh’s. Signs of an awesome pizza place.
And this was literally the best picture I got of all four of us. Pathetic, I tell you.
BUT. Demetri was AMAZING. I wasn’t sure if I would be disappointed, since my hopes were SO SO high. But he totally delivered AND with all new material. I had only heard one of the jokes he did! My cheeks were so sore from grinning the ENTIRE time. It was SO fun! Yay for unusual date nights!

So there’s that.

And then there’s Eisley. SPEAKING of totally delivering, Homegirl DOES. Day after day. She delivers the goods. And by goods, I mean cheeks.

HAHAHA! I am just going through recent pics I took, and this one made me laugh! SOMEbody loves her Mama!

(Feel free to print this one off and frame it if you wish)
(I think she’s crying because of my lazy eye)

Here’s Patooks in her new owl hat, made by Granny!

Not a great shot of her face, but you can really see how stinkin cute that hat is! Owls and TONS of others, for sale at Tandem Brick!

And finally, a joyous video I shot just today of Eisley and her crazy cousin, Liam. Every Tuesday morning, Liam goes over to Granny & Uncle Beavo’s house (the boys’ name for Grandpa. Don’t ask) for his “Special Day.” And boy was it special today! I could listen to her squeal all day long.

Eisley and Liam from Chris Saldanha on Vimeo.

AH!! So many fun things to look forward to! I can’t stand it, so I will blog about it! Let me give you a run down about what’s going on the next couple days in the Saldzie household.

Brief intermission: A friend of mine once said this: “A lot of self-confidence issues (a lack of, anyway) stems from the fact that I compare my ‘behind-the-scenes’ with other people’s ‘highlight reel.’” Oh my word, how true is THAT, especially in our culture of facebook statuses, blog posts, and tweets about how awesome your kids/husband/vacation/waist size/etc is! Please know that even though, yes, all these fun things are taking place in our lives, Eisley still sometimes yells at me “No!” when she doesn’t want to do something, Chris and I get annoyed with each other, our envelope system is only awesome when there’s money in there, and I feel nauseous most of the time. There. Behind the scenes. Resume Act II.

Okay, so fun things are happening! Keep in mind, fun to US. So. Tomorrow, C is taking off work. Just because. And it’s supposed to be 59 and sunny. You better believe ALL of us will cloaked in scarves and drinking hot lattes ALL DAY LONG.
Friday, my sweet sweet friend Emily and HER sweet sweet friend Danielle (who I’m hoping soon becomes MY sweet sweet friend) are coming over in the morning and hanging out with Eisley. And I’m leaving. To do whatever. Glorious. Maybe I’ll go to Target and NOT pull everything off the bottom shelves! (AHEM, SugarBuns!)
Saturday, a whole lot of nothing, just relaxing with my Loves.
Sunday, I’m helping out with drama team auditions at our church. Meaning, I DON’T HAVE TO AUDITION! Guess that means I’m IN! Woo! I’m really looking forward to helping people not to be nervous, working with them on whatever Jenni is going to have them do! FUN!!!
Monday, we’re having dinner at Steve & Shelley Larson’s house. Steve has been like a surrogate dad to Chris for a very long time, and he was even the man who married almost FOUR years ago. We love them. So does Miss Lady.
Tuesday, I’m taking my Salt Company girls out for dessert at the Cafe. (Every school year, I meet with 4 Iowa State women as kind of a mentorship type deal. Let me tell you, these girls are so amazing. My sweet Jaimie has a heart for other people like you would not believe. She is so kind, gentle, loving, encouraging. She puts me to shame. Christine is my fashionista world traveler. And she’s crazy smart too. So, she blows me out of the water there. Miss Emily is oh so fun. I feel like she is me, just 9 years younger. She makes me laugh. And Bettina. Oh Bettina…look up the word ‘joy’ in the dictionary, and there would be a fold out section of Bettina. Pure light, this one. So yay. Dessert with these girls. Hooray.
Wednesday, Modern Family premieres. Yay for laughter.
Thursday, PAAARKS & REEEEEEEC!!!! Oh my word, we are popping some popcorn for this! I can’t tell you how much I have grown to love this show. DO YOURSELVES A FAVOR.

And Friday, hoooe my word, Friday.

Ever heard of a guy named Demitri Martin?

He will be Hoyt Sherman on Friday, and my brother in law and I decided since he, Chris, and my sister all love Demitri, why not all go together? He surprised Emily with tickets for her birthday, and I bought Chris tickets as an early anniversary present! Hooray! Super excited!

Continuing on with the fun, another relaxing Saturday, and then on Sunday, we just very well may sing a song at church that CHRISTOPHER WROTE, EVERYBODY! Now we go to a pretty large church, so there will be a ton of people who will hear it! How awesome will that be? He isn’t finished with it yet, but what I have heard is pretty stinkin awesome! If you’re in Ames on Sunday morning, come to Cornerstone Church at either 9:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. and listen for the super awesome song. That’s Chris’.

I think after these fun days, we’ll need to take a breather.
But what else is awesome?
Well, THIS girl:

…wearing Chris’ old glasses with the lenses popped out! Please just focus on her and don’t really bother zeroing on what the crap I’m doing. BEHIND.THE.SCENES.

THIS is awesome too! What’s going on, you ask? Stay tuned…

Baby #2 is baking nicely. I had an appointment yesterday and everything looks good. Still clockin in at 12 weeks. I’m SO hoping this nausea/tiredness ends soon. Sigh. Oh well. Here’s how Beano is lookin these days:

Teeny little bump. It gets more pronounced at the end of the day, but then again, it could just be the entire bag of Goldfish crackers that I consumed.

Next up on what’s awesome is Little Model. Mom has been creating some new baby hats to take over to Tandem Brick and she had to try some of the prototypes on the Bean. They’re not finished yet, but holy cow, when they’re done?? Dang. So cute. I’ve placed my custom order for a sweet owl hat for Eisers. (SPEAKING of custom order, apparently there have been a couple women who have gone into Tandem Brick, see a purse my mom has made that they love, and then request “This purse, but could you add, etc., etc.,?” I’m sorry, but would it EVER cross your mind to go into a store, see something you like, but then request a new one but just slightly altered? WHO DOES THAT!??! Oh. Rich people. Never mind)

Here’s bean in the beginnings of the Bear Hat:

Gah!! Can you STAND it!??!

And here is Beginning Bunny:

I know, we’re super drooly today. Not a great head-on shot, but she was just so taken with her reflection, she couldn’t look away from the mirror .

And finally. I just found out that my amazing friend Ashley only has TWO MORE chemo treatments! WOOO!! This girl will take your breath away. She has been so SO incredible these past 6 months. She had only been married A MONTH when she discovered a lump. But you should read her blog about her cancer journey. Grab your tissues. Seriously. Crazy. Here’s a quick link for you so you don’t have to waste your time searching:  Ashley Hinton
And just LOOK at her! WHO LOOKS LIKE THIS ANYWAY, let alone someone going through chemotherapy? I tell you, amazing!

(Ashley, if you’re reading this, sorry I creeped on your facebook and stole your Amber Rose photo. Love you!)

Okay, so read her blog and be encouraged and pray for her as she finishes this crap up.

Phew! Lots of stuff! I should probably blog more than twice a month. My fingers hurt.

A few weeks ago, my mom admitted to me that she hadn’t been feeling very thankful lately. Just like that, outta the blue. Isn’t honesty, humility, and vulnerability quite wonderful traits? I wish more people exhibited this.

I digress.

She decided to host a Thanksgiving meal, scheduled for tonight. August. Oh my word, can’t wait. Like, we’ll have corn casserole TONIGHT. And then in again in three months.

The purpose of this meal is direct our thoughts and hearts towards EVERYTHING we have to be thankful for. It really goes against my grain – to be glass half full about things. Over the years, I’ve learned that I kind of have to FORCE myself to think positively about stuff…to remember to be thankful for things.

I have to train myself to think about the things in my life that are beautiful, right, true, joyful, instead of dwelling on the stuff that’s hard, discouraging, frustrating, or just plain stupid.

“That’s a really nice thought,” you say. “Is it from Oprah?”

Nope.

Straight from the Word of God.

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, my brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS…And the God of Peace will be WITH YOU.”

Okay then. That’s probably what I should do.

************************************************************************************************************************

Well, I wrote this Friday morning BEFORE the great feast. In summary, it was awesome and delicious. And then we all went around the table to share what we were specifically thankful for. We got to Chris, and so I said, “Okay, Chris is going to go now!” And my precious Gavin, being the ever-literal boy that he is, hollered, “Bye Uncle Chris! Where are you going?” Ahh…love it. He’s so great.
Anyway, I loved the timing of this Thanksgiving meal. I left with such a cheerful heart – I have a wonderful family, a handsome and amazing husband, a sweet, adorable, and hilarious daughter…what’s NOT to be thankful for?!?

And then.

That night, about 9:30, an hour after she laid down for bed, Eisley woke up SCREAMING. Like inconsolable, wouldn’t even NURSE. (Now nursing to Eisley is like coffee to Chris. She will NEVER refuse to nurse. Come to find out later, BabySweets had CANKER SORES on her tongue!) So she wailed and wailed for a good couple hours, until we finally said, “Okay, to the E.R. we go!”
I was not thankful at this point.
We were at the E.R until 2:00 a.m. Turns out Eisley has her THIRD nasty ear infection of her sweet little life. Whenever she gets crazy amounts of teeth, she always seems to get ear infections too! Nurse Bret gave her lots of stickers and she was a complete champ at the hospital. By then had caught her 3rd wind of the day and was cheery. For some reason. (Okay, okay, so THAT was something I could have been thankful for).

I think we’re on the up and up. She slept a lot better last night than she has in two nights, and was even a super happy girl at her pal Naomi’s birthday party! Although, she still has a weird rash on her legs and blisters on her toes! I’m hoping the blisters are just from her big ol growin feet being stuffed into too-small shoes. I don’t know.

So, if you think of her (which I’m sure many of you do often!), please say a quick prayer that she continues to heal up. And maybe buy her a pair of shoes that fit.

I’m kidding.

Here she is, because she is so amazingly sweet.

This is truly her favorite place to be…snuggled up close to her Baba. He keeps her nice and safe.

Welll…yeah, sorry.
It’s been almost 2 months since I’ve (we’ve) posted. And it’s not because there hasn’t been anything to blog about, we’ve actually had a very blog-worthy packed summer. But…ehh…I’m just eh about blogging sometimes.

Oh. And our log-in has been on the fritz for a good month and 3 1/2 weeks, so there’s THAT…

Let’s do a Cliff-notes version of beginning of July to now.

• COLORADO. Oh my word, awesome. Long drive there, but Miss Eisers was a champion. Brother Josh had our route mapped out so well, he had us stopping at food/play equipment every three hours. It was perfect. As soon as we crossed the CO border, our car played the game, “Clouds or Mountains?” We lost. Apparently, you don’t start seeing mountains until about an hour into the state.
  Once we were there, it was absolute heaven. Chilly mornings, gorgeous view, family time, coffee was constantly being brewed, I AM BATMAN was constantly being read. It was awesome.

Eisley had an absolute blast being with her boy loves, Gavin, Liam, and Tate. I think her internal volume gauge was permanently raised after this week. These boys are loud, but oh my word, they are such a joy. And they love HER so much…I am so thankful that she will grow up with these gentlemen. And not to mention how much she loved being around her Granny & Papa all day and night. She brings them so much joy, and HER eyes light at the mere mention of THEIR names, so win-win.

I love them too.

Everyone.

Seriously, between my sister, MY camera, Chris’ nice camera, the FLIP cam, we have about, oh, 2 and a half million pictures and 7 weeks of video footage. It’s mostly of the cousins being cute, Chris and Josh being manly in the woods, and cool shots of the sky.

The ride home was…well…not as great as the ride there. Probably about 15 minutes into the drive, Eisley remembered that about a week before, she was strapped to a seat for a good fourteen hours. And then the waterworks came. And came…and came. Even for the next week or two once we were back home, every time we would buckle her in, she would scream and strain at her buckles. I think the words, “Honey! We’re only going to Fareway! We’re not driving back to Colorado!” fell on deaf ears.
Mine, not hers. I went deaf from her screams.
Oh well, we’re past that now! She’s our happy little (non)camper again! She is literally a beam of light shooting straight into my life.  I know we’ve probably told MOST people about this, but sweetpie’s new favorite game is “Helen Keller.” (Her words, not mine.) She squeezes her eyes shut, sticks her hands out in front of her, and wanders through the house, the whole time grinning madly. She is divine. She started doing it and I was like, “Chris! Did you teach her to do that?!” And HE said, “NO! I thought YOU did!”
Proof?

Oh yes, she’s also playing “Helen” with a newborn winter hat on. Per her request.

See what I mean? LIGHT.BEAM.

Eisley has also been a super-duper champ in Sunday School lately. Which is a huge blessing and answer to this tender-hearted mama’s prayer. Now, she is excited to go, runs into the room, and is a happy girl the whole time. Even during snack time! I got assigned to work in her room a couple weeks ago during my nursery shift, and oh my word, snacktime is HILARIOUS. They sit in the tiniest chairs I have ever seen! They all sit around, waiting “patiently” for their oyster crackers! And Lucas and Jackson came right over and sat next to Eisers, but she was like, “WHATEVER! Oyster crackers, yo!!”

(And yes, I am that mom that took pictures of her during Sunday School. She doesn’t know to be embarrassed yet).

Bean ALSO has been requesting to go to bed lately. Yes, you can go ahead and reread that. 7:30 rolls around, and to heck with songs, to heck with reading a book, just get that girl in bed! She pulls snow queen over to her crib, and points wildly, saying “BEEZ! BEEZ!” She climbs in and snuggles up with nary a sniffle. Last night, we listened to her from the living room as she practiced all the words she knew, then said, “Nigh! Nigh!” and then was silent! Hahaha…what a goob.

She also has really big muscles. Gahh! She’s just so stinkin cute!

Do you blame us for makin another one?!?

Wait. What?

Yep.

Eisers is going to be a big ol sissy! Starting around, oh, end of March, 2012.

Now, this is an incredible blessing that is actually, pretty freakin funny. C & I, for the past couple months, have been discussing when would be a good time to START trying for Baby S #2.  We had a tough time getting pregnant with Eisley (close to a year it took us), we LOST a baby a couple summers ago, so we weren’t sure, timing wise, when we should attempt. We both knew we wanted Eisley and Baby to be close in age, so we thought maybe in the fall, or early winter, start trying.

During these discussions, Baby S’s little arm buds were already forming.

I won’t go into details, but *most* of the conditions for NOT getting pregnant were there. But here I am, constantly queasy, not needing my belt anymore, super tired, housing a little incubator for Bug-a-Boo. Boy? Girl? So exciting! We’ll find out in early November. We are really excited and are so thankful that we really didn’t have to decide the when…God did that for us. His timing is ALWAYS best. He knows the child we need to have, the sibling E needs to have.
So we’re thrilled that it’s now. Because if NOW is where God wants us, time has taught us that there is no other place we want to be.

Bye Eisley! Have fun stormin the castle!

Here is just a sampling of things I’ve been loving right now:

1. J.R. Watkins All Purpose Cleaner
This stuff smells amazing. And I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems really thick when I spray it, if that’s possible. It’s super lemony and fresh and cleans like the dickens. Recommend.  Target. Fairly inexpensive. Go. (And look at that vintage-seeming bottle!)

2. Say Yes! To Cucumbers Facial Towels
So fresh smelling, so easy to use, so disposable! Love them.

3. Body Shop Shea Butter…anything. Scrub, body butter, you name it, I love it. Smells warm but fresh. Love it.

4. Shaun The Sheep

Ahh…this delights my heart like no else. This is a show that a friend of mine recommended watching. For Eisley’s sake. But I have found that even when she scoots off my lap when I attempt a post nap-slow to wake up-let’s just veg in front of the t.v.-cuddle, I end up laughing OUT LOUD at this adorable show. Seriously. It’s hilarious. That’s Shaun with the skateboard. Of course. And he and his sheep friends and their “sheep dog” pal Bitzer get into all sorts of hyjinks with their pesky neighbor pigs. (Hello! They’re standing on top of one another! HYJINKS!)  It’s so good…if you have Netflix (or know what channel this is even on? Probably some cable channel in the hundreds that we will never have) please watch an episode (or eight) of Shaun the Sheep. You will not be disappointed.

5. This:

My super talented and utterly delightful father built the Saldanhas a PICNIC TABLE! This sucker is MASSIVE. The benches alone are about 100 pounds, he said. I am so so excited to have this! I love having people over for dinner or dessert, but with our sweet house, it doesn’t afford the big dinner parties that I would love to host.  NOW WE CAN! This baby seats 12! I don’t think the pictures do it justice – it’s huge.

6. I’m Loving That Our House Is Looking Like This Now:


“Loving this?” you say.
“Eh, sure why not.” I reply. “I think it just means that we have one crazy, active Sugar on our hands. She is simply a nut, and she is making me simultaneously laugh, shake my head in joy, roll my eyes, and cry out to the Lord for patience, and laugh again ALL THE TIME. She is the greatest addition to our little family.”
And come on, what ELSE am I going to do besides clean while she naps…READ? RELAX? DRINK COFFEE? Who would want to do THAT?

7. We have 17 days until we go to Colorado with these crazy mugs:

And so it is: the Earth revolves around the sun, Dr Pepper is delicious, and Eisley is STINKIN adorable.

Baby Girl got some sweet new shades…that only stay on her face for a good 20-30 seconds.

Going through pictures on my camera, I realized we took about, oh, eight thousand pictures in June. I’m not sure how to par it down for your viewing pleasure.

So a summary perhaps of our month? Okay!

We take a LOT of walks. Whilst CARRYING our shoes. Counter-intuitive, I know, but Eisers has a thing for chewing on velcro. Whatever. She’s happy happy when she walks like a big girl. While Chris was hanging out with his high school guys last night, she and I went for a walk. We were about a half mile from home when Baby Love decided she was DONE riding in her stroller. So we walked. Sloooowly. And bent down and picked at every rock. And stick. And wandered into yards that had balls laying in them. And sat on the sidewalk and looked at the grass. It took us a good 30 minutes to finish up our walk. Whew! Independent woman!

We’re also loving cheering on Baba as he plays soccer every Sunday night! Here’s the Bean wearing his jersey. Go Baba Go!

…And we still love books. I can see her attention span lengthening…we can NOW sit through ALL of Hondo and Fabian without getting up to get something to chew on. (That is NOT Hondo and Fabian pictured above. Yes, my daughter sits through a 300 page book! Ha!)

So let’s see…what else…

We’re excited to be heading to Colorado soon in just a couple weeks! My sister just sent me a picture of where we’re staying…WOOHOO! Check this place OUT!

Think that’ll be enough room for everyone!? Wowzah! We’re excited that we’ll be able to spread out a bit – the LAST time we all went on a vacation together, we were in a much smaller cabin…granted, there were only TWO children, now there are FOUR crazy kids (with one on the way! My sissie, not me!) We are so looking forward to ample amounts of coffee, books, quiet time/crazy loud time, star gazing, laughter, etc.

I’m bored with this post. I wish I had more exciting things to say.

Oh wait! I DO!

Eisley has her first freckle on her face. Right by her lip. I thought it was food, but after a good scrubbin, low and behold, Cindy Crawford has made her debut. Lookin’ good, BabyCakes! I don’t have a pic yet…SOON though! Makes sense that a first-born would have a “first freckle!” picture. Sorry.

There are people who say that holidays like Mothers Day and Fathers Day are superfluous celebrations created by greeting card companies in an attempt to rake in cash. That may or may not be true, but that shouldn’t take away from an opportunity to celebrate some of the most influential people in your life. Sure, we should honor and celebrate our parents year-round, but taking a day to really focus your attention, appreciation and gratitude is very meaningful. It’s like saying  you shouldn’t celebrate your anniversary because you should love your wife year-round. Again, true, but your anniversary serves as an opportunity to pause, reflect upon and celebrate your marriage.

Although my own dad has been geographically distant since I was a youngster, I have been incredibly blessed by the men God has brought into my life over the last decade to show me what a true man of God looks like, and how to be the godly man, husband and father I am called to be. I honestly don’t know how people can hold together their marriages and families without following the blueprint God set in place. It’s hard enough with the Holy Spirit empowering, convicting, leading and transforming me.

Here’s my official Father’s Day shoutouts:

Pop, thank you for embracing me as your son and showing me what decades of being dedicated to Jesus looks like, and the impact it has on your own life and your family. I pray every day that Eisley is half the woman Kate and Em are.

Dad, thank you for your generosity and the reminder to love what you do and do what you love. You love giving to your kids, grandkids and friends, and I hope I can do the same for others.

Dan, thanks for jumping into the chaos and loving grandkids as if they were your own. Your quiet and faithful service to family (and the grill!) remind me what it means to be a husband and father.

Steve Larson, thank you for being a father when I needed one, emotionally and spiritually. I can honestly say I would not be the man today if it were not for you and your tireless devotion. You have shown me wisdom, compassion, generosity, hospitality, love, kindness, the list could go on. I pray that our family would leave a fraction of the legacy yours will. Thank you for your unending work in my life.

I have learned a few lessons in my short tenure as father, but they have radically transformed the way I think and act. I continually pray that God would remove the yuck in my heart that gets in the way of being the husband and father I am called to be.

1. If you realized you were selfish when you got married, just wait until you have kids.
2. Loving your wife sacrificially just became a lot more important.
3. It’s surprisingly easy to exasperate even a one-year-old.
4. Eisley doesn’t care how my day was, she just wants to play with Baba.
5. I thought I couldn’t love more than when Kate and I became one, then we had Eiserpants.
6. Kate is the jewel in my crown, and Eisley is my glory.

I think this sums up fatherhood pretty well:

Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.

Thanks to all the fathers and father figures! Keep fighting the good fight!

We’ve had quite the last few days. Miss Baby has officially come down with her second ear infection of her short little life. If I were suffering from ear infections at her rate, I would have just come down with my 60th ear infection.
She’s currently fast asleep in her bed. Good thing too because the last few nights have been doozies. Like, waking up every two hours, only wanting to nurse (good thing I’m still nursing because Sugar hasn’t wanted to eat ANYTHING. Not even graham crackers. Yikes!), crying uncontrollably, arching her back. Repeat two hours later. I’ve already have 2 and a half cups of coffee, am contemplating brewing another pot and I’ll be darned if Christopher hasn’t been a frequent visitor at iMed’s Keurig machine.

After a scary night last night, where she was wailing so hard, we contemplated taking her to the E.R. because it was SO unlike her (we didn’t – she ended up calming down in the car), we took her to see her Dr. Allison this morning. Homegirl has another whopping case of infected ear. We started antibiotics, so hopefully, she’ll start feeling better soon.

And, no sicky pics because I dropped the camera and the only pictures on it are TWO of Chris and Liam from SUMMER TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT. Yep. How weird is that?

Aaand…I also managed to lose my keys. As in, they are absolutely NO WHERE to be found. I was checking the potted plants this morning. We combed the grass, checked in the microwave, looked underneath the basement stairs. They are GONE. So gone, in fact, that I am pretty confident that I dropped them outside and someone up and stole them. That’s how gone they are.

Here’s hoping Tuesday fares a little better.

On a brighter note, here are some cheery pics of my loves:

Ahh…warm sunshine. These two loves are my outdoorsy loves. Bean simply adores A) her Baba, B) sunshine, C) paisley blankets, apparently

Eisers has been into opening and closing the cabinets lately. Her FAVORITE cabinet is the one with all the pots and pans…her favorite being our replacement strainer when I thought I had lost our colander.  (I know, who loses a colander!?)
Alien Robot Eisley visits our planet every now and again. She’s MY Favorite Martian.

We go on at least one walk a day…and this is my view…pretty sweet, yes?

And at LEAST once a day, we lounge with our stuffed hippo on the floor in jean skirts. Typical summer day, I think. (Oh my word, Katie, vacuum your floor!)

And finally, my bathing beauty all suited up, ready to swim at Grandpa Benny & Uncle Josh’s birthday party last weekend. I wish this blog was scratch and sniff because the smell of her cheeks with sunscreen is absolute heaven.

Over the course of 16.5 hours, I drove 500 miles, watched a soccer match, snaked up a couple ice cold cruisers, caught a few hours of sleep, and had an Egg McMuffin. What does this all mean? Last night I drove to Kansas City to watch the inaugural match at Sporting KC’s brand new Livestrong Sporting Park with my good friend Aaron and was back by 9am. Many thanks to the incredibly gracious Kathryn for not only letting me go, but encouraging it, even in the wake of Miss Eisley coming down with a fever.

Many have said that Sporting’s new stadium is the most state-of-the-art soccer stadium in the country. Sure, it’s about 50,000 less seats than the largest soccer stadiums in Europe, but the energy was incredible. Everyone was excited to be there. It was a great day for American soccer.

Even Lance Armstrong was there.

We had great seats behind the goal.

And were ready to cheer on Sporting to victory over Chicago Fire.

But unfortunately, a victory wasn’t to be had. It was a thrilling draw, and we were robbed a goal that was called back because someone was supposedly offside. There was drama, excitement and heartache, all-in-all a great match. It would have been nice to walk away with a victory, but in the end it’s not just about the game.

It would have been great to spend more time with the Aarinn’s, but home beckoned and I was ready to see my girls. I hit the road early, fueled up – the car and me – and was home by 9am. It was a fast trip, but a great memory.

Thanks, Kathryn!

First, thanks to our wonderful friends, we are now the proud owners of THIS amazing wading pool!

Those are STAIRS everybody! Leading up to a SLIDE! Luckily for us (although not so much for THEM), our friends’ children are too big for this pool, so they just GAVE it to us! Although, we will NEVER turn Kaylee, Creighton, and Sawyer away if they want to come back and “help Miss Eisley swim.”
That’s what I have been doing the past two days…helping Miss E swim…

…or watch her chew on our pathetic swim toys.

But what a lady! My oh my…so fetching in her swimwear attire…fetching AND modest. Startin’ early on modesty! Yep!

Bathing. Beauty. Many thanks to our dear friends the Pierces for donating Savannah’s old swimsuits! Good thing Eisley has stylin’ friends!

And secondly, last week I came across this cool thing you could do if you had some stained clothes. No, mother, not cross stitch a panda over it. But a cool bleaching effect…here, let me show you!

First of all, who knew watermelon stained?

I, clearly, did not.

So I found a super cute ‘e’ and printed it out

(C & E are discussing just how cuddly Fisher the Hippo is. How we came up with Fisher as his name is another blog post entirely. Oh, and the answer? Cuddly…VERY cuddly)

Then, I traced it onto some freezer paper and cut it out.

After placing it where I wanted it, I ironed it on to her shirt.

Then, you fill a little spray bottle that has a fine-mist setting with bleach and go to town! According to the magazine, it should have a really splattered effect, stains gone, cool initial or whatever stencil shining brightly on the shirt!

Are you excited to see the end result!?….

…….

….Here it is!!!!!

Um.

The ‘e’ is nowhere to be seen.

Cool. Now I smell like bleach and Eisley’s shirt is 2 toned.

Oh well…I’m not out anything…it was ruined before I started working on it! I was just kind of disappointed, because how CUTE would that have been?

And finally, how cute is she in her bathrobe? Sad, but stinkin cute.