We are sooooooo outdoorsy lately!!! Or is it just backyardsy???

Edie and Ella love to play outside lately....well mostly Edie. I think Ella would love it more if she wasn't forced to crawl on the pebbly concrete patio. She is getting so close to walking though...she regularly takes 4 or 5 steps at a time now...it's just around the corner! Edie, being the independent one that she is, just walks and walks around the backyard. Eating rocks, flowers, whatever else she can nibble on back there...fortunately Jon has gotten really good at daily scooping of the poop...I would imagine that she would only "nibble" on that once. That, my friend would be a hard and disgusting lesson. GAG! (disclaimer...I do watch her closely, I was just sayin)
Here are the little rascals.........loving the wagon.......nothing like a little teamwork!!!

E Squared got a really really fun package in the mail today...well it's actually the 2nd this week from their Honey...Theresa! The first were these awesome bowls that can NOT be spilled. Trust me! The second was filled with baby dolls, moses baskets, blankets, and bathtub numbers/letters..........and this awesome little thing.......

turns out I may have thought it was a little more awesome than her.....

or her..........

shoot...this looked like so much fun and I was so disappointed that Edie and Ella didn't feel the same. It was warm out, they looked adorable in their tankinis......the setting was perfect! Ella screamed and cried and shook and........well, me being tha fantabulous mommy that I am ran to wisk her.......um......I mean my camera up for a few fun shots........and then. Once the guilt got to me. I scooped Ella (first since she was howling) up in a towel.......and CRAP!! The water was FUR>>>EEEEE>>>>ZZZZZZZZZZING!!! Again, if you need the address for my mommy of the year award...... whitetrashmommy@blahblah.com !!!

And if it wasn't sad enough.......notice the LONE tear.......(you may have to click on the picture to enlarge it....it's under her right eye).....

work it girl...........how freakin cute is this?????????/

Ella has learned to protect her knees on the gravely concrete......I am more than happy to carry her but she likes her independence......

no need to worry......you WILL NOT see me doing the above crawl maneuvers on the beach in Florida.......15 days from today!!! Promise.......GAG!!!

Rubi......waiting for something to be thrown, I am sure! Maybe a pebble, frisbee or Kong........who knows......she puts the OCD in OCD........Obsessive Compulsive DOG!!!

A little chair posing cuteness......Ella love to blow kisses..........she never moves her hand away from her mouth.......she also does this when I gasp.........she is sooooo multitalented...

Ella also loves to pick her nose.......I can not get an actual shot of this.......only the residual...

the girl is not opposed to crawling in the rocks.........

Edie was telling me........OK mommy.........one short photo shoot and I have got things to do...

Edie making sure daddy filled the birdbath...

We've got a sleeper and an "almost" walker!!!

Things are fun around here lately but nothing really super blog worthy......until today that is!!!
Ella took steps...5 at once! She walked from our ottoman to the TV stand (aka coffee table until new media center arrives)! It was awesome, wobbly and adorable!! Jon said she took some steps yesterday as well...so I am sure she will be chasing Edie in no time!!!
Since we have been co-sleeping with Ella NOONE (except for Edie) has gotten much sleep. She usually wakes up 1 or 2 times a night but we all sleep in a queen size bed.......discomfort for all. I know how silly this is...but she is so small and soft and snuggly!!! Lately she has been waking up ALOT....so I decided maybe I should again give up on the sleep with your baby business and put her in her crib. Two nights ago I laid her down in her crib at bedtime (still 6:30, thank goodness) and went about my business. Fully prepared for a terrible night, I went to bed early........and woke up IN A PANIC at 6:30 am! I jumped out of bed and ran into her room...prepared to find her strangled in her crib slats (which would be so impossible by the way. but still.)..and she was not there. Neither was Edie. OMG!!! Ok...it wasn't that dramatic...they were just downstairs with daddy having some breakfast. He has whipped them up asiago cheese omelets for 2 mornings in a row..they LOVE it!!! It's really sweet....he sings while he cooks and serves them in their highchairs........GREAT DADDY!!! Anyways...Jon said he went in to check on her when he woke up and she was just sitting in her crib playing.......and she started clapping when she saw him. AWESOME!!! Tonight is night 3!!! I have forgotten how good sleep could be!!!
We have been spending quite a bit of time getting our house put together...since we had it painted 2 weeks ago. Hanging pictures and curtains. Moving furniture around. Painting cabinets......I did our bathroom cabinets and they look awesome!!! I plan to do the other 2 bathrooms then maybe one day ... far far off....I'll do the kitchen!!! I love that look!!! I'll post pictures when I have a room complete...I have found my crafty/DIY side. I framed our bathroom mirror with crown moulding, painted cabinets, getting ready to make my own window treatments.........It has been great fun. A new hobby...thrifty decorating!!!
Now on with the kiddos........
Ella recently was on location with Ray Ban.......

or was she just trying to cover that shiner????
here she is trying to get her shades back on...

OMG....someone shrunk Jon....

oh phew......it's just Edie in her daddy's cap!!! Can you believe how much she looks like him?

doing a little backyard shopping...awesome shorts and sandals. no?

Ella still diggin the sink... again....baby shorts/shoes!!!

Both Edie and Ella have a new love of apples...they gnaw on them every chance they get!!!

My Mother....the day after Mothers Day.

I do realize that most of you check this blog for updates on E Squared. We appreciate your loyalty and love keeping you all updated...that is one of my two major reasons for keeping the blog up to date. My second reason is to have it for Ella and Edie to look back on...their baby book! That being said, my post today is to document for them something that I hope they will look back on and well.......I don't know what I hope they will think but I want to make sure they are aware!!!
Many of you (anyone who knows me in person) know that I am adopted from the foster care system. I have been VERY VERY fortunate. I did not bounce from home to home. My foster family is still MY FAMILY! They love me and I them. That story is long and I won't go into it here because that is not the point of this post.
I had a tumultuous relationship with my biological mother...she was in and out of my life as a child. She lacked direction and support in her younger life...none of this was her fault but she did allow that to guide her adult life. I struggled and struggled with our relationship for a very long time. I am not sure when but somewhere along the way to where I am now I was able to let my expectations of her go and we began to have a tolerable relationship. It even bordered on good for what it was anyway! Many in my support system had a difficult time understanding why I continued the relationship after all of the disappointment but the reality of it was once I let go of my expectations there was no longer disappointment. The fact remained that she was my mother and that is a bond that CANNOT be broken. The connection is there. She was so very proud of me! And honestly, it made me proud to make her proud. I like to do nice things for people! I haven't done anything extraordinary in my life....graduated high school, went to college, became and RN. Basically got a career...that's normal for us. Right? Well to her that was amazing! NOONE in her family had ever done anything like that. The process of my becoming the person that I am made her happy and for that I am grateful. I'm nothing special but to her I was. She always wanted to come to California to visit me. She probably never left Louisiana...I don't know. She died July 17th. Three years ago this year...2009!
I got her ashes in the mail today! It's harder than I thought it would be. Maybe it's because yesterday was Mothers Day. Maybe it was the lightness of her bag of ashes. I don't know. Maybe it's just the connection...still not broken. The package even smelled like her...smokey! Stale cigarette smoke. Her husband is in poor health...he always has been. I worried that if something happens to him she would get thrown out with the trash. So I asked my dad (my foster father for those of you who may be confused by that) to pick up her ashes and send them to me. Being the person that he is...he did it, gladly.
I hope that Edie Claire and Ella Grace never question the love I have for them. I know how that feels as a child and it's terrible. I am very grateful though that when my mother died I no longer had to question whether she loved me or not. I know she did!

Mostly Edie......with a touch of Ella!!!

Normally once Edie is put down for the night she is out. Well tonight I heard her crying about an hour in so I went up...gave her some teething tablets and tried to put her back down. Typically this works...(FYI...teething tablets are freakishly successful). But tonight little Miss Edie Claire was not having it.....well, I am a sucker for crocodile tears....and these girls KNOW IT!!! So I brought her down with me and we played! Even though I feel a little bit of mommy guilt even saying this..it's sometimes nice to just have some one on one time with each girl!!! Here are some pictures from our playtime...

CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE!!!

I found her like this.......

Here is Edie sampling something her sister whipped up.....

"man this needs some salt Ella".....(that's a plastic salt shaker in her mouth)

A little prelude to THEEEEEEEEEEEE...........

With E Squared being mobile now......and hungry....it's very hard to eat ANYTHING without them needing some. Jon and I often try to hide things that we eat...by hide I mean eat with our head in the fridge and the door closed as much as possible, hide food in our palm only take a bite when they aren't looking, etc... (we only hide things we don't think they should eat, ie...skinny cow ice cream sandwiches....)! More times than not we get BUSTED!!! It's as if they have tiny hidden food sensors or something.....and they always want some! So yesterday I had to have a skinny cow......you know......my time of the you know what.....the time when chocolate is my BFF. Oh who am I kidding chocolate is always by BFF!!! I attempted to "sneak" a skinny cow and Edie needed some...she would not let me hold it......she insisted on doing it herself... complete with the back arching and high pitched screams. So I reluctantly chopped it up and let them have at it in their high chairs......it was too cold for Ella but here......

Edie LOVED it!!!

Here is Edie in her 12 month sized (too small) PJs........

remember the prelude before..........well.......here it is!!!

We have moved up from a bucket to a sink..........

Ella loves loves loves this thing........

Nite Nite...........

We may be a little trashy.......but we have fun!!!

I plan to get E Squared a water table for outdoor summertime fun......we won't do the sand/water one because I am sure I will forget to cover the sandy side ......and the cats......well you know!!! GROSS!!! I know they will love to have a water table because anytime they have access to water they splish splash away.....be it the cat or dog bowl or the toilet........they don't care. Water is water in their book.....so today I thought it would be fun to fill a bucket with some ICE cold aqua and let them have at it.....shirtless. Outside. In the wind. Cool wind no less. In the middle of Swine Flu season. Seriously.....if you need my address to send me that mommy of the year award just email me.......... whitetrashmommy@blabla.com ..........just kidding that's not a real email address.........I don't think. No...it wasn't that cool......and they had fun!!! SEE.....
We are trying to teach the girls values early...we feel that an important part of learning values is to have chores......so we let Edie mow the lawn since she likes to push things........

Ella is the official "flower picker"......notice no shirt, no shoes (which you cannot see) crawling in the gravel.........HEY!!! I grew up in a trailer park........she can have a taste of my medicine...she's got to learn people!!!

Since it can't be all work and no play.......there are child labor laws you know...we took a few spins throughout the day in their new birthday ride.........SWEET!!!

I have to show you guys our awesome blooming yard........it seems like every day there is a new bunch of flowers somewhere back there.........beautiful!!! We have a house guest from Louisiana ...we are trying to show him around but are so busy......here he is when we gave him a tour of our back yard......

He's a little weird.......afraid of the dog.......look hard and you can see him in the tree......

Look at these awesome irises........and more poppies......

I know I have mentioned my black thumbs here before.......well this yard is kill proof with all the hearty plants and trees and the auto irrigation.........plus we hired a yard guy.......it's too pretty to let me loose on it........but I did have every intention of planting things in the 3 raised garden beds......it seems wasteful to not grow stuff there. No? But the more I look at the beautiful wild flowers that have consumed them the more I think......NO NO NO. I would essentially dig these pretty flowers up to plant something that we all know I will kill.........so this will be my raised bed this year......maybe next year!!!

OH YEAH........the Coach goodie.......

Sweet thing about this little nugget......Jon thought I already had a Coach purse.....so he thought he was matching my purse.......which "technically" he was EXCEPT my Coach purse is a knock off and this thing isn't.........I won't dare mix them because.......well that would be a dead giveaway that my purse is a cheapy.....

If you are on the cusp about whether or not I deserve that award.....this will be your clencher! Edie and Ella have been a bit whinier than usual lately......maybe teething? maybe they are cold (*see water bucket story above)? Well this morning after a couple of hours of Ella whining...almost nonstop....I decided........hhhmmm maybe........well let's see.......

So I fed her (novel idea. I know!) ......she was starving. STARVING!!! She ate 2. TWO. T!W!O! eggs, grapes (sliced of course) strawberries and canteloupe.......bless her little heart! There. I WIN!!!

The whining.......MUST. STOP. WHINING!

Things are pretty even around here. Babies producing lots of whine. Mommy drinking lots of wine! I am not sure if it's teething or delayed reactions from vaccines at their 1 year appointment. I realize it's pretty far out since the appointment was 2 weeks ago tomorrow but Edie has little red spots here and there over her body.......Dr. B said for us not to be alarmed if that happens.....so we are not alarmed. But we do NOT like it either!
Jon came back from Vegas last night. He came bearing gifts! He got these adorable black and white kittens for Edie and Ella. Stuffed kitties! They both immediately grabbed their kitty and placed it in their mouth.....seriously? STILL? Everything in the mouth. When do they grow out of that? They loved them though.....unfortunately so did Rubi so I had to put them away.
I knew my (unexpected) gift was going to be G!O!O!D! for 2 reasons.
1.) It came in this bag.......
and let's face it......ain't nothin bad ever came out of a Coach bag......unless of course it was something that wasn't bought at Coach. In this case said gift WAS purchased at a Coach store.
2.) As I prepared to open the gift my lovely husband said......."the girl that sold it to me said she just puts her ID and money and stuff in it and carries it when she goes out".......now you may be wondering why this statement would make me KNOW whatever was inside the bag was GOOD! My lovely husband has a weakness for hot chicks..he would buy thousand pound blocks of lard if the chick was hot enough!!! No.....he did not admit to me that she was pretty nor did I ask........I just know!!! I am sure the Coach store in the middle of all the fancy Caesars Palace Forum shops in Las Vegas has a bunch of hotties working there........it's business people!

Speaking of hotties........

Don't look at me.......BOB did it!!!

Edie has been C!R!A!N!K!Y! this week......must be the teeth coming in. She seems to gnaw ( is that really a friggin word? It looks weird!) on her wrists alot more than normal. Thankfully she doesn't normally gnaw (?seriously) on her wrists. Because THAT would look weird! Man....where did I learn to spell?
Anyway...sometime today I could hear her crying........it sounded muffled...nothinge new lately because the whining DOES. NOT. STOP.......this week anyway!!! You all know she normally is so well behaved and unwhiney that it is embarassing...........yet this week.......the week that her daddy is living it up golfing in VEGAS..........yeah that's right! She lives 13 1/2 months as a perfect child and the week her daddy leaves me ALL ALONE with both babies.......she gets teeth!!! And is PISSED about it!
Don't hate though...........Jon is on a long weekend golf trip.........which is exhausting in his defense....because really 18 holes of gold in the Las Vegas HEAT........he's beat!!! But I get to go on a WEEK long beach GIRLS ONLY.........or I should say girls but NOT BABY ONES!!! June........coming up right around the corner......an entire week......sleeping, sleeping, sleeping, beaching, eating, sleeping, a little (or alot) or wine.....probably alot.....but man I am anxiously excited......I'll write another post on that later........
So back to me hearing Edie crying............
Well see for yourself........
Yeah that's right......that's BOB...........how? when? why? She crawled into the teensy tiny basket under him......and she was M!A!D! So what do I do??? Well of course...........get the camera......here ........need a closer look????

I ROCK at this mommy stuff. huh!

Now back to the teething.........Edie is miserable!!! Bless her sweet little heart. She finally got hungry yesterday and she sat on the sofa and ate 5......yeah that's right FIVE strawberries......see how cute she is........

As I said before...Jon is spending the weekend in Las Vegas.......I'm a little jealous BUT I have a much more fun trip planned.......Florida fun....girls only....middle of June......WINE.......FOOD........SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!! Man the sleep I will have.......phew........

So he was leaving Thursday.......around 10:30 am for the airport........well around 9:00 I was in the kitchen.....washing bottles of course.........and STILL? And all of the sudden I hear this noise.......what? Is that my new Oreck? Why yes it is........

feeling guilty leaving me in the middle of teething hell????? Never mind the crazy toys all over the stupid place.........these girls are MESSY!! And the patches of mismatched paint everywhere...we are having our house painted this week and I have been frantic over finding colors. IT"S HARD.......if anyone has any good colors send em my way.........Rebecca I already have your Key Lime on my list.........SAM