The perfect weekend

Sunday morning rolled around and Dave and I were off on a weekend adventure. We dropped the little ones off at the grandparents' house and headed off toward the coast for the Murnita wedding. I wish I had pictures to share because it was a beautiful and amazing wedding, but someone forgot the camera. And by "someone," I mean me.

Oops.

We drove down (and then up) to the Lake Quinault Lodge, where we checked in and went for a short hike in the rainforest. Later, we came back and got cleaned up for the wedding, which was held in the front lobby of the lodge itself, in front of the blazing fireplace. It really was absolutely amazing.

We probably had our first glass of wine at 5:00 just as the wedding was starting (it was very laid back and casual) and at 11:30 that night, realized we really hadn't stopped with the wine for 6 and a half hours. We figured that was a good stopping point :)

The next morning, after probably the best breakfast I've ever eaten (sweet potato pancakes with hazelnut butter, a full pot of coffee, lots of water, and a couple of tylenol...)we woke up and drove farther north up the coast, stopping at the ocean, where we scoped out a site for our next family vacation. We probably walked for a good hour or so up and down the beach, collecting shells, rocks and sand dollars to bring back to the kids.

Then it was onward north again to the town of Forks. (warning, nerd alert:) I had read the Twilight books last summer and although I had been to the town of Forks where they take place several times as a kid, I couldn't resist the temptation to go back and see the town from a new point of view. I remember telling my third grade teacher when I was on my way to visit some family friends in Forks (this was possibly my last visit until now) and she had told me that Forks was the type of town where if you blink, you'll miss it. That pretty accurately sums it up.

We stopped the car and visited a couple of Twilight themed gift shops, laughed at the carloads of giddy teenage girls that were pulling in behind us, had lunch at a greasy spoon type diner and were back on our way. I've been there. Now I feel absolutely no need to go back.

On the way back, we drove Hwy 101 the rest of the way through Pt. Angeles and on down the interior coast. During the drive, we ran into snow, fog, rain and finally intense sunshine turning into a beautiful sunset. We stopped to pick up the kids and were back home again.

It was an absolutely perfect weekend.

Holy Matrimony!

Tonight Carter was watching cartoons and on one of his favorite shows, the main character was getting ready to go to a wedding. I mentioned that Dave and I will be attending a wedding tomorrow (Go, team Murnita!) Here is a brief synopsis of the conversation that followed:

Carter: I wish I could get married
Me: You can someday.
C: Who do I get to marry?
M: Who do you want to marry?
C: I want to marry you!
M: Well, you can't marry me, I'm married to Daddy (this isn't the first time we've had this conversation)
C: I know, I know (hanging his head)
And then, as if a light bulb has gone off over his head
C: I know! I'll marry grandma!
M: Honey, you can ask grandma, but I just don't think it will work out.
C: This is HORRIBLE! Who in the world am I going to marry???
At this point in the conversation, he is literally starting to tear up.
M: Don't worry honey, someday you'll find someone just perfect for you. (am I really having this conversation with a 4 year old???)
C: Ok.
I'm thinking ok, time to move on to a new subject. He was starting to look seriously dashed. Finally, he comes over to me and pats me on the hand and says:
It's ok. I understand. I'll just marry Aunt Sarah instead.

Ok, I guess I'm just going to let this one go for now...

Addendum 1.0

Apparently, no sooner did I finish typing the List, I realized I needed to add an item.

Chicken nuggets - which apparently, by the way, make excellent projectiles when torn into pieces and inserted carefully into the nasal passage.

Just in case you were wondering.

The nose plays. Oh yes, the nose plays...

So, in the further adventures of Bella and her fascination with her nose - and the various objects she can shove in it... I have compiled a list of the objects that have now been removed* from her nose. Please understand that this is neither an exhaustive list, nor will it (sadly) be the end of the list, as I could probably add new list items daily. Stay tuned...

*By "removed" I mean either manually (my fingers, or hers) or by force (usually by way of being shot across the room like a rocket).

* beads (see earlier post)

* peas (frozen and cooked)

* carrots (both small pieces and whole)

* fingers (obviously)

* Cheerios (mostly soggy)

* a hair clip

* crayon (yes, a whole crayon sticking out of her nose. I kid you not)

Then of course there are the objects she attempted to shove up her nose, but was unsuccessful due to their sheer size and volume. Such objects include, but are not limited to:

* matchbox cars

* books

* countless others that I simply have not (yet) caught her with

Then there's her bizarre fascination with the aspirator, which has so lovingly been dubbed the "boogie sucker" at our house. Fair warning, she not only loves using the boogie sucker on her own nose if she can get her hands on it, she also likes trying to use it on the noses of others. Don't let it be said I didn't warn you...

At this very moment, she is attempting to shoot applesauce out of her nose. She thinks this is hilarious.
I'm still on the fence about the issue.
As I've stated, stay tuned.

Entertain Me. Please.

I have just about exhausted my supply of books and am in desperate need of something else to read. I just finished reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter which I LOVED. Anyone ready any good books lately? Any suggestions. Entertain me. Please. :)

Disco is alive and well

Carter has a new favorite movie. He has become 100% ADDICTED to Mamma Mia. We watched it one night at my brother-in-law's house, thinking the kids would go play like usual. To the contrary, they sat raptly listening to the music. There may even have been a little bit of dancing involved too.
Ok, lots of dancing.

The next day, Carter began singing the songs at breakfast. To make a long story short, we ended up watching it again that day. And the next.
On the fourth day, we rested, much to his dismay.
He begged.
He pleaded.
We won.
No Mamma Mia.
We did however listen to the soundtrack twice.

Day five. We ended up watching it again. Carter can now sing most of the songs on his own. I don't know if I should be amused or embarrassed.

I was, however entertained yesterday as I overheard him singing "Money, Money, Money" whilst playing with his train set. I realized that he had misunderstood the lyrics and was instead belting out "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy - in a rich man's world."
*sigh*

Don't get me wrong. I love, love, LOVE this movie! If you haven't seen it yet, DO. I am seriously kicking myself for not seeing the musical while I was in London right after it first opened. But four times in five days is excessive.

That didn't stop me from grabbing the soundtrack on my way out the door to a meeting this evening though.

Here's a clip from one of Carter's favorite parts in the movie. Enjoy!

When good crafts go bad

Carter got this craft set for Christmas and yesterday we decided to sit down and see what we could create. It was all fun and games until I hear Bella saying "uh-oh Mommy." I look up and she's pointing to her nose. "Owie." I had been so wrapped up in making a "Carter" car that I hadn't noticed when she had reached up and shoved (at least) one of the beads up her nose. She tried to blow it out, but then her nose started bleeding.

I'm trying not to panic, but Carter, who is much maligned by the sight of blood starts swooning "oh, my baby sister! My poor, poor baby sister! What is going to happen to my poor, sweet baby sister?!?" Meanwhile, Bella is watching me intently like she doesn't quite see what all the fuss is about. I grabbed a little LED penlight and was trying to see how far up the darn thing was. Bella was being sublimely calm, so I decided I could probably pry the thing out with a pair of tweezers. Success! I sat looking at the offending bead that had been liberated from Bella's nasal passage and was just about to feel relieved when another thought hit me: How do I know she only shoved one up there??? (This thought ocurred to me only because when Carter was little he had a similar incident with a little ball of tissue he had made. Upon removing it, I realized there were six or seven more up there...)

So, it was off to the doctor's we went. Being a Sunday evening, we had to go to a walk-in urgent care clinic. Bella seemed thrilled with all the excitement, chatting up the nurses, laughing and singing. And then the doctor came in...suddenly she's screaming and throwing herself on the floor and trying to hit both the doctor and I. After much struggle the doctor thankfully confirmed what I had suspected - that there were no more beads up her nose.

On the way home, I talked to her about why we don't shove things up our noses. She seemed to understand, although I have to constantly remind myself that I'm trying to have a logical conversation with someone who hasn't even turned two yet.

We get home and I make them both a quick dinner and - wouldn't you know it? A few minutes into dinner, I look up and catch her with a big, smug grin on her face, trying to shove a frozen pea up her nose . I think I better have the doctor's number on speed dial from now on...