Lake House Stuff

Like sister hugs.
And hanging bathing suits.

And a fan I love to watch it go around and around...

Happy Lake Baby

Fresh Fruit

Fresh Cute
GOOD GAWD GIVE IT BAAAAAACK!

Giraft
Eden has been swimming and sunning and standing without hanging on to anything. She is SO ready to walk, and has gotten to the frustrating part where she just WANTS it SO BAD and wishes it would just come easier.

So that makes her sleep even better through the night.

And those lips, I swear, I could kiss them ALL DAY. She smacks them together to kiss you back.

LOVE.

Come and knock on my door

Any move is stressful. In fact, I have been known to get tense about knowing I have to move as I am moving into a place, and this move? This is a cross country crazy counter clockwise and not organized kind of move.

And I am stressed.


And at the same time I am very calm about this.

Everything's going to be okay. (If not GREAT!) But mostly I just keep trying to "keep moving forward" and "don't look back" and tell myself "everything is going to be okay" in between.

Serendipitous circumstances landed us the PERFECT house. And I don't mean just *a* perfect house THE PERFECT HOUSE. It s absolutely one of my favorite houses in my favorite areas and it is close to my favorite church and my favorite dog park and my favorite Orlando amenities.


It has actually been one of my favorite houses for quite some time, as it is my friend's house, and the layout, the flow, the space as a whole, is just, well, IDEAL.

The girls and I went to play at the new house the other day and I took a few pics to give you a feel for what it is I am looking so forward to.

This is Poochie and he lives in the house currently. Lucky dog is moving to the beach.

I can only imagine he will be just as cute among the sand and sun and water.

This is one of my greatest friends. We have known each other through many aspects of ourselves, and have found ourselves "orbiting the same planet" as it were.

::upward side eye hand to chin::

We just connect, and it seems that serendipity has joined led us both into our own ideal situation.


This is her baby and my baby, 2 years ago.This is them now.


Ono making herself at home.

There is lots of pretty stuff in the backyard.

This is one of the reasons I love Florida.

The house is so light and even has some floor to ceiling windows that are going to walk right up and kiss my camera on the mouth, oh I just cannot tell you how excited I am to take pictures in this space.

Why yes, E you DO look fabulous.


More to love in the garden.

The girls are already so happy there, I can't wait for it to dawn on them that we are going to be living there ourselves.


I am expecting serious squeals of delight.

Oh and the kids will probably be excited about it too. ;)

More Update

Oh internet. I have not forsaken you.

So many things are going on right now and so many things are yet to be done and as if that isn't enough, random appliances are blowing up and floods must be attended to.

SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED since we last talked that I hardly know where to begin, other than we are streamlining our lives so we can make better choices.

We have found a house. It is the most beautiful and perfect house and I can't wait to share pictures. We move in Saturday and I am so excited that we will all have so much "break out space" and room for "activities".

Currently, we are at my parent's lake house and everybody has their own room and the girls are in baby heaven. I have BBQ sandwiches in the fridge and some diet coke and I have literally not felt so much joy in I don't know how long. It is hot and sweaty, but I have lost 6 lbs on the "stupid fitness regime" so I could care less as long as it keeps coming off.

Remember Matt from Non Bloggers: A Series? Well we got together for performing arts festival fun and you can read about it here on his blog, Random Acts of Coffee.

Madee is as adorable as ever and LOVES THE STAGE.

I can't wait to take her to her first play.

Anyhoo, we met Boom Boom at the lake house and we are kicking it here for a few days until we can move in to the new house.

Eden is going to take steps any minute now, so that is exciting. Also, her 1st birthday is THIS WEEK, so hop on Etsy and buy her lots of stuff.

I will get to pictures later today, but right now I am just really enjoy the serendipity and the balance that is happening in my life right now.

And I look forward to telling you guys ALL ABOUT THAT. When I get around to it.

Withdrawal

My computer is officially 2.

Meaning, that is all it will do. Press some number 2.

And because of it, I am having the withrawals. Shaking, shivers, scrathing, irritableness. You know the drill.

Also, I am quite discombobulated by the whole moving back to my homeland, which is just surreal to me. Like I think I might wake up from a dream.

So much to do, so little time, and I hate to neglect the blog.

But bear with me and things are gonna get really good around here.

Update

I wish I had more time, but I did figure I should at least let all of you know that we are here, we are safe, and it is hot.

We are currently shacked up at my parents' house where my 2 sisters are also currently living.

Boom Boom leaves tomorrow to get our stuff, and the humidity is messing with my keyboard so when he goes tomorrow, so does my main computer. Or the only one we have left, depending on who you ask.

So it may be a while before you hear from me again.

And if someone has a pad in Orlando they need lived in, we might be able to help you out.

Moving Day !

Of course Madee and I are doing ALL THE WORK while these two get their "beauty rest".

Tomorrow is a big party in honor of Eden's 1st birthday, and we should be in Florida by Monday morning.

We will let you know how it all goes!

Have a super weekend!

Non Bloggers: A Series

Alrighty y'all. As I introduce my next Guest Non-Blogger, I must give you a few disclaimers. First of all, she's Canadian. From British Columbia. I met her on twitter when she wondered out loud of she should get engagement photos.

Of course I had to butt in. I told her "YES!" and that I wish I could do them for her! (Did I mention she is tee-tiny and has this serious flawless kind of girl-next-door beauty that my camera could work with!)

Anyhoo we got to talking and I found out that her fiance was this guy with a camera, and well, pretty much since then I have been hounding Boom Boom to run away to Canada and marry them, because they are so.much.fun.

Please, spend some time looking at Mike's work. He is amazing. And Genina and I have dreams of us all getting together for photo shoot swaps and good times.

Her email signature includes a quote from Helen Keller, "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

And that makes her a perfect contributor for Family Sized Fun.

Okay, so I could go on forEVEH in a whole 'nother blog post about how much I like this girl (she makes me snort my coffee), but I would rather just give you the opportunity to fall in love yourself.

Presenting, Genina.

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Hello All! :)

I can't even begin to tell you how excited and honored I was when Karmen asked me to guest post on her blog. It's MY FIRST GUEST POST!!

I don't personally know Karmen but her candidness, kindness and thoughtfulness on twitter made her a quick friend. I enjoy reading her blog and her tweets - she's amazing and I'm so glad that the wonderful world of social networking has brought us together.

I don't have children and though I hope too have some one day, for now, I consider myself very lucky to have such wonderful friends with the cutest, sweetest toddlers and babies. I get to enjoy the laughs, the giggles, the hugs and the love that only children can bring to ones life - I'd like to thank my friends for having such wonderful children and for sharing their childhood with me.

One day while at work (after receiving an invite to my friends sons birthday party) I Googled the word "inappropriate kids toys". Now, if you know me in real life or twitter you know I'm all about the inappropriateness, so this Google search is only fitting.

I give you my guest post - Top 10 Inappropriate Toy's for kids.

#10: exacto knifes for your "your little angel"

Because every little girl needs a set of exacto knives in her makeup drawer. These can also be used while she cuts out coupons while playing house with her friends, or you know, they can be useful for when the boys get out of hand. ;) I would imagine my Dad would have bought such a gift for me when I was a child, if only he knew where to find it... the internet.

#9 Superman Pillow - "Turn your pillow into the biggest toy ever"

Nuff said.

#8 Pole Dancer Doll

Now, when I was growing up I really wish I had a doll like this. When I was in the 5th grade I had dreams of growing up to be a stripper - ya ya classy, right? If I had this doll she might have pushed me far enough to follow through with my dreams. I can only hope you buy one for your little girl.

#7 I give you the "At home Crack Kit for kids"

I'd like to give a big thank you to "One eye'd Bob's Inappropriate Toys for Children" for this one. Now, if you know of British Columbia, you must know all about the city of Surrey. I can see this gift under every Christmas tree for Children under the age of 12. I never got one, and I'm sad. Pretty sure I could have started my own business with a gift like this. Perhaps I could have made millions, that's if I didn't blow myself up first. This gift should probably come with a warning label.

#6 I now present "the cigarette rolling kit"

Once again, I'm thanking "One eye'd Bob's Inappropriate Toys for Children"! Who wouldn't want their kids helping around the house? I know I would, and with the price of cigarettes these days why would you roll your own? and why wouldn't you enlist the help of your children? I can only hope you'd up their allowance and give them a good story to tell their teachers on why they're finger tips are yellow.

#5 The "My First Rave - with X " Book

Who needs books about "pooping", "peeing", "making friends", "fuzzy animals" or even the "ABC's"? Not my kids. When they're learning to read, you can guarantee their first book will be "my first rave - with X". After they learn it and memorize it we shall party, in our underpants while I bake pot cookies and nachos after playing the piano.

#4 It's a TIE! between "Peni Pals" & "Road Kill Cat"

I give you Peni Pals

The Peni Pal happens to be the second most awesome plush toy for Children. Not only is it pink, but it's a unicorn, and what little girl wouldn't want a pink unicorn? This Unicorn is very special though, it shall help each and every child become familiar with the male genitalia because it's horn is a penis, with balls. This Unicorn could also be filed under the "very HAPPY to see you" category.

And now "Road Kill Cat"

No matter how old you are, you're guaranteed to experience the loss of a pet, whether it's your pet or a friends pet, we all experience it. Sometimes we even experience the sudden pet death via the car. There's 'really no better way to introduce your children to 'road kill' than with the "road kill cat. I say buy it for them, get them to play with it, even become friends with it, so the next time you accidentally hit a small critter they're not so sad.

#3 "You Can Shave the Baby"

Personal Hygiene is a big thing, especially when you hit puberty, so why not buy your child the "shave the baby doll"? This teaches them all about cleanliness, hair and the upkeep that goes along with such things. Now I don't know if this doll is like a chia pet, maybe the hair grows back after you shave it? Only one would hope because as we all know, you don't just get to shave once, it's a weekly, sometimes daily thing. Let's start 'em learning these things at a ripe young age!

#2 ..."herpes" (not really, but you should keep reading)

Birthdays are a great day to give your child herpes, the flu, or even gonorrhea! With these plush toys, courtesy of Think Geek, how could you go wrong. You can provide your child with the uber cuddly version of over 30 viruses. It's the gift that keeps on giving - you should have a look for yourself. My friend Karmen owns the "bed bug' (not shown on the site but photo provided below).. I'm jealous! :)

#1 Bebe Gloton - it's Russian and I can only imagine this translates to "Breast Feeding Baby" because that's what it is.

There's not much to say about this doll, other than it will teach your daughter all about motherhood at a VERY EARLY age. Who wouldn't want that? I think it's a great idea, I mean, when you're 9 and you don't even have boobs why not strap faux boobies to yourself and have your very own baby feed off you? That's a good way to spend a Saturday, when you're 9, right? I encourage you to have a close look at the photos, and even watch the video so you can feel a little extra uncomfortable.

Video: Bebe Gloton Demonstration

There you have it, my top 10 list of Inappropriate Toys for Kids. If you ever invite me to your child's birthday party you can guarantee I'm bringing the gift of a breast feeding baby, a cigarette rolling kit or Herpes. Hope to see those invites pouring into my inbox :)

Thanks for reading my post, it was nice to stretch my fingers and be invited to guest post on Karmen's Blog! Once again, what an honor. :)

xo

GBug :)

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Thanks Genina! I would TOTALLY give you herpes for your birthday! Or any holiday! (You know I love those "bugs") The dolls scare the crap out of me and I totally want those X-acto knives for myself! Oh, and the Superman pillow? ::side eye:: WOW. ::blink blink::

It is so fun to share my friends twisted brains through this forum! And I want to think Mike and Genina for being awesome tweeps! When y'all come to florida imma need like a CASE of ketchup chips. You can follow them at @geninabug and @gwac.

And as always, you can follow me on twitter @FamilySizedFun !

Wordless Wednesday

Mother's Day

Last Mother's Day, Madee still kinda looked like a baby.

And now, she is totally my little girl.

Motherhood flies by so fast. I can't believe this one is almost one. And soon these little baby faces she is making will give way to the little girl face.
::sigh::
::looks wistfully outside window::

Oh yeah. like a button, baby.


My Mother's Day was amazing. I just love these kids so much, and even though the last year or so has been a day-to-day survival kind of thing many days (weeks), it is feeling more and more regular and balanced. I am so excited to get these girls to a house with some room to be free.


I am also excited to decorate their rooms and have an area for crafts and projects and room to run from one room to another.

Eden has grown up here in Duluth. She got behind a push and walk toy and it has suddenly dawned on her that she can walk too. And she is pushing and walking that little thing all over the house, standing on her own for a few seconds, wiping out hard when she loses her balance.

Gets back up and does it again.

And seriously, this kid?
She is standing here next to me clipping a clothespin to her tongue, she knows a lot of the words to Fergie's "lady humps" song, and she can eat cereal with milk in a bowl.

She can run and jump, loves to say her prayers at night, and tells me things are "perfpect" and "ahhhsum". She always wants me to put my make-up on her, is super encouraging, "good catch, Mom!" and can count to 12 but sometimes says 8 right after 2. She always tries to make me laugh, is good at teaching her sister how to do new things, and still says "we're HOOome! " when we pull up to a playground.

And yesterday, she would look into my eyes as we were cuddling watching a "moobie" and she would say "happy birssday, Mommy? NO! HAPPY MUDDER'S DAY, Mom!"

::big sigh::

No, it's okay. I just got a little something in my eye.


We hope your "Mudder's Day" was "ahhhsum!"

Non-Bloggers. A Series

The next Non-Blogger in our series is Mike Moore. A dad, a husband, and a twitter friend who:

a) can hang at our lippy Mommy online drinking parties
b) actually asks for several references before he adds new tweeps (twitter people) to follow
c) makes me laugh ALOT with his one liners
d) follows all my stupid movie references and laughs at MY jokes

Mike is always working, or at least it seems that way. In a hotel here, on a plane there, calling out to his wife, Ginny on twitter, so I asked him to give us a little more (moore!) of what his life and his family is like. And I am lucky that not only did he say, "Well, maybe.", but he actually sent me an email with a blog post and pictures that I get to share with you.

And that just makes us ALL lucky. Ladies and Gentleman? Mike Moore.

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Calling Nurse Ginny

My wife and I have been together for 16 years now, 13 & 1/2 of that as husband and wife. You will notice that I count those six months, because according to my wife our marriage is measured in dog years, so those six months are a significant chunk of time. In these past 16 years I have been away from home traveling for work a total of somewhere between 4 and 5 years (I stopped trying to keep track). I am usually only gone for a few days to a week at a time. Except for the year I lived in Korea...alone. Oh, and the five months I spent in Iraq. And don't forget the three months in Saudi Arabia. Well, you get the picture.


In those many, many years of marriage my wife (who refers to me as her first husband) and I have come to agree on certain things. She has an infallible memory while I can barely remember something that was said last week even though I can somehow quote lines from a movie I last saw on VHS in the mid-90s. She is almost always right, while I am just a dumb old man. My iron-fisted attitude towards child rearing (a.k.a. Dad is a pushover & "the fun one") somehow hampers discipline in the house. And last but not least, my practicality is somehow not romantic.

Through all of this my wife has silently (okay not always silently) taken care of the homefront. She manages the kids, the house & the bills. If I am gone she mows the grass, makes sure the dog is groomed and gets the oil changed in the vehicles. I have an enormous amount of respect for my wife. She is capable of moving mountains while I am out of town. When I was in Korea she arranged for our household goods to be moved from Washington state to Washington, DC with absolutely no help at all. She has had to deal with things like our son getting Scarlett fever and what seemed like constant battles with strep throat. She is always there for the first day of school and can pull teeth if necessary when I am in another country. She is the pillar of strength that keeps this family chugging along.

My wife also keeps me grounded. Whenever I attempt to tell her how important I am, how much of a rockstar I am at work, or how I single-handedly ensure the stability of our national security, she puts me in my place. It is always humbling when she says to me in her sweetest voice, "That's nice honey. Now could you go pick up the dog poop in the backyard?"

This week my wife completes her final exams of nursing school. It has been a long time coming, but I hope that makes it all the sweeter for the entire family. Next week she will participate in the time honored tradition of the nursing pinning ceremony, and the week after that our kids and I will attend her graduation ceremony. And to think that she has done all of this while raising me and our two children. Thank you Nurse Ginny for all you do for us. We love you.

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Congratulations Ginny! My husband travels for work, but I don't know that I can complain since he has never left for months or a year! I don't know how you keep it all together, so you are welcome to write a follow up blog post on your SuperMama powers! Oh, and Happy Mother's Day!

In fact, Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there. Every one of you is making a difference in someone's future, and I know firsthand it isn't the easiest thing. Moms should be celebrated EVERY DAY, but we will take what we can get! Have a great weekend!

You can follow Mike on twitter @mikemoore72.
You can follow us on twitter @FamilySizedFun

If you are interested in being a guest non-blogger for Family Sized Fun, contact Karmen at onomoriah@yahoo.com

Stupid Fitness Regime

GAH!

If you know me, you probably picture me sitting down. It's kinda my thing. Or leaning. Or laying. Definitely slumping.

These are the ways in which I am cat-like.
Well that and I will one eye you while you clean my litter box.
Meow.

The kids keep me on my toes, but it isn't exercise, in fact, I have never been a big fan of exercise. Or sweating. Or breathing hard.

So the other day when I agreed to this Stupid Fitness Regime, it was obviously because I have made a breakthrough (or been pushed over an edge, WHATEVS).

The thing is, I need this. I need it for my sanity, and I couldn't feel good about upping my Prozac without also doing something about my system and it's well being.

That said, I went running.

I cussed at Boom Boom and made meany faces and also pulled the I HAVE NOTHING MORE TO SAY hand up.

It wasn't pretty.
He was telling me "heartrate this..." and "metabolism that..." and I was all, "stick THIS up HERE..." "and you know what you can do with that NEXT thought...".

But I went. And I called him after I had walked off some of the anger I am feeling at my big ass.

See, my baby just turned 11 months old.
And I still weigh what I did when I went in to have her.
Not happy about it.
Basically, I was hotter pregnant. or skinnier. WHATEVS.

And now, I am moving back to where I came from where my lazy butt was still a skinny little lazy butt.

GAH.

And we have drastically changed what we are eating around here. Like, NO ICE CREAM IN THE HOUSE.

Who lives like that?
GAH. AGAIN.

Gone are all our goldfish and puffs and mayo and whatever else isn't fully whole grain ir might be carb-y. ::sadface::

Now we have grapefruit and apples and oranges and bananas and grapes and roasted almonds and chicken breasts and spinach and yogurt and we can eat as much as we want.
After we run til we puke.

Honestly, I am usually SO HOSTILE about any kind of workout, like want to punch somebody for bringing it up and might push them into traffic if they think they are going to run with me. But, to tell you the truth, by the time BoomBoom comes home in a day, I CAN'T WAIT for a quiet moment alone. And I get almost an hour! Plus, I am sleeping better, and feeling more positive. And I get more showers. And if I just had a little nano or whatevs I would start running longer.

And by the time I am a little down the street, I realize that I really don't get a lot of time in this world without my little family entourage and I feel strange for the first few minutes until I loosen up and try to just start the OCD counting thing I do when I run and forget anyone else in the world exists.

Except this is the ghetto, and I am not kidding, I keep well entertained.

Did I mention that the streets here downtown are like up and down like the streets of San Francisco? So. ummm. OWEE.

And DAYUM.

If I lose 20 lbs, I will still be the size of an average female gorilla.

So. just so you know, that makes me starting this initiative at 172 lbs.

Wish me Luck!

Wordless Wednesday

Guess who turned 11 months old this weekend?

AND NOW SHE'S GOING TO COLLEGE!


Remind you of anyone?

In related news, I found these adorable accessory glasses at Claire's.


'Sup Poindexter?
11 months! That means I am planning her 1st birthday party between sobs.

Happy Monthday little girl! STAY LITTLE!


Oh, and remind you of anybody?