Is it Fall Yet?

I'm a summer girl. At least I used to be... no I still am. I still love the swimming, sundresses, snow cones, sandals (apparently this is a list of things that start with "s"), and the smell of sunscreen. I love when the temperature rises out of the bleak lower half of the thermometer and I can bring out the shorts and get a tan. I love my summer vacations, getting to spend a few weeks with my family across the country. I love lounging at the beach and being able to get in the water without freezing to death. I love a lot of things about summer, but lately I've been craving Fall.

I'm craving leaves that change color. Boots and comfy jeans. The couple new sweaters I got for my birthday. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (I actually bought a tub of them this week). I'm ready for crisp air, and a hot apple pie.

September is such a teaser month. Its just starting to get a little cooler outside, but still too hot to bring out any of the aforementioned fall apparel. There is nothing to celebrate, my birthday is past and there is still a whole 60 days till Halloween. When you're in school its the beginning of the year, and that's fun and exciting. But I've got 3 more years until I can go back to school shopping.

The only thing fallish for me this week is that I have a cold. thumbs down.

I guess I need to get some strictly fall decorations. Putting out my witches, jack-o-lanterns, and pilgrims seems a bit premature, but I'm ready for some color in our living room, and on the front porch. What are September decorations? Apples?

Summer, I love you, but it's time to go.
Now please enjoy some pictures of a cute cute girl and some leaves.

Look how little she was just last fall!

What's New

I started working at the gym in the daycare last week. It's not my ideal job, but it gets me a free gym pass (after 30 days) and allows me to bring Tate to work with me! This amazing perk is pretty much the only reason I decided to hang out with snotty kids all morning long. It would have been pointless for me to go to work somewhere else and pay probably half of my hourly wages for someone else to watch Tatum.

I've never been one to like babysitting, but I must be getting older and nicer or something, because I really haven't minded watching the little ones at the gym. Sometimes I even play with them! Maybe it's the fact that I at least know I'm making money, or that the kids can only be there for up to 90 minutes at a time. Having them rotating through is nice. And here, unlike nursery which is STILL my calling, I don't have to teach a lesson or keep them focused on anything. They can run free and crazy, and I just have to make sure no one gets hurt.

So far Tatum has been doing well playing with the other kids there. After about an hour and a half to two hours  she usually starts asking to go home or to see Daddy. I usually take her into the break room for a snack and a few quite minutes then she is ready to play a bit more. If she is there for more then two and a half hours she starts to get naughty. My shifts are only up to 4 hours, but if Greg is home he'll keep her for a while before dropping her off so he can go to work. I think it will work out nicely.

Greg is back at school for the fall semester and really likes his new professor. He is the department head and is really enthusiastic about the program and it's possibilities. His last class was kind of boring, learning all the software and technical mumbo jumbo. This one will get them to think of real life uses for the software. His big project will be to take one of the United Nations 5 millennial goals and work at a plan for its reality, then send it in to them. Cool.

Tatum is so big. She can tell you she is two and hold up two fingers! That took a while to get down :) Every day she is talking more, even having conversations with me. I love that she says "thank you mommy" whenever I hand her something. She is so polite. We are still working on our 3 rules: no hitting, no biting, no scratching. But she is definitely getting better. In the last 2 months we have had many of her friends become big brothers and big sisters. Tatum loves to go and see the babies, and is very soft and sweet to them. She often tells me there is a baby in her belly.

Brenna and Tatum holding baby Claire

I was able to attend this sweet babies birth last Sunday, and act as a makeshift doula for Brenna. I read a ton of books on natural labor and management techniques preparing for the big day. She labored and progressed so quickly ( about 1.5 hours from her first contraction to Claire being born!) that I didn't really get to use any of my new skills, but I did get her out of bed, into the tub, and ran to get the nurse when I knew she was ready to push! I hope I was helpful to them. It was a crazy emotional night, and so so amazing.

Tatum's Bieber Birthday Party!

Grandma and Talia making fruit loop necklaces

Bieber manning the treat table

Andrea and Reggie

Auntie Sierra, Auntie Jenna, and lil Reg!

Ready to make a wish

present time

keeping 11 kids sitting and not grabbing presents is as hard as it looks

Quincee, Tanya, Kailey, Riley, Ivan, Noah, Tatum, Iris, Charlie, Reggie, and  Natalia

Everyone got a little Bieber love

Playground, Bieber and Elmo Soundtrack, Fruit Loop necklaces, presents and a dessert bar. What else could a two year old girl want?

Finally

Family pictures taken by the aweome Sharstin Miller! I am so excited for this preview and can't wait to get some prints made up.

Love Picnik

Isn't Picnik awesome? I have so much fun playing with it.

Original:

Adjusted Exposure:

Cross Process:

 HDR-ish

1960's

Space texture:

Which is your favorite?

Day 7

7- A deceased person you admire.


Meridith Petty. She was a beautiful girl inside and out. A great friend. Smart, friendly, outgoing, good sense of humor. Mostly she knew what she believed in, and she lived it. She was an amazing example to me. Miss you Mer!






Congratulations to our friends Amanda and Landon, and big sister Quincee! Their baby boy Dru was born this Tuesday, and is such a sweet and cute little guy. I got to meet him on Wed, then we took Tatum to see him on Thursday. She wanted to hold him the whole time. She said, "He so tiny" and when he started to fuss "It's alright baby, it's alright." She will make a great big sister one day.

Day 6

See, still going :)

6- Create your life soundtrack.

Well, I'm not really sure what this means, my day to day life? My entire life? Specific songs? I have way way way to many songs I love to even know where to begin. I love music. All types. How about a timeline some of the music I've been obsessed with.

Early elementary school- anything Disney or Celine Dion. I remember turning up the stereo and belting these out while washing the dishes with Andrea, or sitting on the floor in Grandma's bathroom (looking horrified at a box of tampons swearing we'd never ever ever use something like that, ha)

5th grade-ish. Whenever the Spice Girls came out, I was on the Girl Power train. I was obsessed. And luckily my group of friends was equally enamored. I was always Ginger. When Spice World came out (the movie, for those of you not in the know) I wanted to see it so bad. I wasn't allowed to. I guess my parents thought it was inappropriate or something. It finally came out on VHS and my friend got it. She spent the night. We watched it after every one else was asleep. It was amazing.
Stupidly, we left the tape in the VCR for my mom to find the next day. I got in big trouble and had to write an essay about why I watched it, and how sorry I was.

Middle school- I was still carrying my Spice Girls backpack, and binder to school when I moved to Texas half way through 6th grade. Apparently they hadn't made the transition over to Jr. High at good old Wayside Middle School. So I loved them alone for a good year. I also got the Britney Spears cd for my birthday from my Dad, even though I asked for Blink 182. I didn't know who she was, and was a little disappointed, but don't worry. She and I have had a very good relationship ever since I popped that bad boy into my walkman.

8th and 9th grade- I started listening to more "alternative" music. 102.1 The Edge was on constantly in my room.  Wheatus, Garbage, No Doubt, Caviar- Mr. Tangerine Speedo rocked my world. Pop was still in there too. I guess I let go of my female only artist policy (girl power, remember?) and had some good times with N'Sync Celebrity.

The rest of highschool is really a shmorgispore (sp?). Beyonce, Yellowcard, Finch, Ludacris, Ashlee Simpson, Brand New, Senses Fail, Mariah Carey, All American Rejects, Taking Back Sunday, Pixies, Simple Plan, DASHBOARD.

First year of college I listened to ALOT of Counting Crows (they were the favorite band of this really hot guy i knew)

My theme song in hair school was definitely Rhianna's Umbrella! Still love it.

Now the music I hear 90% of the time is either the soundtrack to The Little Mermaid or Justin Bieber. Which are both fine by me. I am strangely, to some people, obsessed with Justin Bieber. He is a talented artist, and super adorable. I housed a life size cardboard cutout of him in my living room for about 3 months. I recently, unselfishly let him move in to Jenna's new dorm room. I think he's better appreciated there, surrounded by hundreds of freshmen girls :) When Kelly Heidi and I went to see Justin Bieber- Never Say Never 3D, I'm a tiny bit embarrassed to say, I cried. Don't judge until you've seen the movie. Its moving :)

I think the quote "I want to be the one last lonely girl" may follow me until i die in book group.

And as for my marriage there are two songs that remind me of "Us". Al Green's Let's Stay Together and Peter Gabriel's The Book of Love. The former I sang to Greg on karaoke night on our honeymoon cruise. It's just sexy, and it gives good advice, "Loving your whether times are good bad, if they're happy or sad." The later, not because I heard it on the Scrubs (greatest show ever) series finale future daydream montage where I cry seeing JD and Elliot getting married, but because it is ... I don't have the words to describe how much I love it. The melody, and lyrics, its just true. And amazing. And I love it. And Greg :)

Day 5

5- Your most dreaded house chore.


Dishes.

Day 4

4- Your favorite person to be around.


Ok this one is not fair. I don't have one person that I would want to be around, I have a bunch. How about I answer my favorite person to be around who recently moved into my geographic radius of hanging out ability. Then I'd DEFINITELY have to say my sister Jenna!! I am so happy she lives close to me now, she's super fun and cute and lets me drive her all around O-town/P-town :) Love you Jen!

Me, Jen, Mom, Sierra

And Tatum's favorite people to be around lately

Grandpa, Tate and Mimi

Day 3

So my days are not consecutive, but I'll get through all 30 if it kills me! :)

3- A regret you have from/about high school.


I really don't know what I did all through high school, because I don't think I learned very much. I wish I would have learned more. Learned to study. Learned to go to college and get it over with right out of high school. I want to go back to school some day, and maybe one day teach.


A glimpse into our 4th of July, the best holiday ever.