one month from today...

baby girl arrives.

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This & That Thursday (last week of Summer)

Ella has been shy of photos lately.
Here is proof that she still exists.

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Finished reading this.
Currently reading this.

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I might have to change my reading goal back to 40.

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Emily Foley is pregnant.
This makes me so happy!

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I lay awake each night
until around 4 am
trying to sleep.
I may be the first person
who gets MORE sleep
once the baby arrives.

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So many quilts I want to sew.

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Who thought, when they woke up yesterday morning,
that there would be shocking Hello Kitty news?

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I am having the itch to start
scrapbooking again.

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Sending up some prayers for some Etsy sales today.
I hate you, money.

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Fashion Wrap-Up: Primetime Emmys 2014

Ugh! Were there more fashion MISSES than hits last night? Definitely yes. What is happening in Hollywood? Hire some stylists, people!

Let's get right to it, shall we?

The GOOD

Hayden Panettiere looks just gorgeous and glowing in this lovely maternity gown. Goddess!!  And I just love the simple, elegance of Anna Chlumsky.

 Julia Louis-Dreyfus ALWAYS looks good and last night was no exception. At first I thought the fabric might be a bit too informal, but under the lights there was enough sparkle to make it glamorous.  Taylor Schilling looked perfectly polished.  You know I dislike a nude gown, but she was still gorgeous.  I would have given her a ruby-red lip.

Edie Falco also gets it right often, but just look at this! Perfectly fitted, perfectly styled, perfectly perfect.  Sarah Hyland is so fresh, young and modern in this! I adore it.  I'm still not sure why she hasn't taken her young co-star, Arielle Winter, under her wing.

Sofia Vergara always sticks with this silhouette, but this dress had much more structure than she usually does and I love the result.  Oy! She's just gorgeous!!  Natalie Dormer took a risk and I adore it!  This color-combo had a real chance of being "Halloween", but it isn't. It looks modern and is fit perfectly.

Julia Roberts has been doing me wrong lately, but I really like this look.  It's so different, but still formal. She looks incredible!  Lizzy Caplan also stunned in this simple, but dramatic dress. It would have been so boring, except that white train!  And her styling is wonderful too!

The ALMOST

What to say about Anna Gunn? Some will like it, but I was not a fan of the clear break between skirt and top. The rest of her is gorgeous, but I'm not a fan of the mix and match dress.  Amy Pohler is sooooo close! The only grief I have is the waist-detail.  Amy has a naturally straight figure with no dipped-in waistline. If this dress had had a waist detail that was thinner OR pointed downwards, it would have created the illusion of a smaller waist. As it is she looks a bit thick.

Halle Barry has a great dress and make-up and jewelry, but the weird hair in the face?!! No!  It was so distracting!  I love Alsion Janney and she is so gorgeous. This dress is beautiful and well-fit, but the fabric choice is way too heavy!  It's the Summer!

The UGLY

Oh, Christina Hendricks.  Always bad.  Her curves + the over-ruched fabric + the one shoulder + the waist detail + the over-sized jewelry = disaster. Less is more! Kate Walsh looks very odd in this oversized peplum.  The silhouette is all wrong.

Claire Daines? Is that you on the BAD list? Yes. That neckline with the glued-on prehistoric bugs is killing me.  I'm pretty sure Sarah Paulson will be on every WORST DRESSED list today.  No bueno.

Who doesn't adore Mindy Kaling? She's awesome. This dress is not-awesome.  It is so unflattering.  And we all know that Mayim Bialik is a repeat offender, but this reaches new lows.  So awful. So blue. So old-lady.

People are going to love this look on Kerry Washington, but I hate it. A peek-a-boo, sparkly, biking short? Really?  And here is the mother-of-the-bride, 65-year-old, Katherine Heigl.  You have a problem when Helen Miran dresses younger than you and rocks it.

Julianna Margulies looks much too severe. Severe hair. Severe make-up. Severe body type.  It's getting a bit Ezma from Emperor's New Groove.  She should have balanced the severity of this dress and look with much softer hair and make-up.  Laura Prepon is a tragedy in this wrinkled, ill-fit, overly designed, gown. She aged herself 20 years in this look. There is nothing fresh or youthful about it. Also, some people should not have black hair.

BEST Dressed

Can I look like Lucy Liu in my next life? Please? Can I also dress like her and be her?  Gorgeous. Flawless. Elegant. Perfect.

WORST Dressed

I am personally offended by Lena Dunham, once again.  Like, does she have a complex about looking good? Does she feel it will undermine her talent if she seems attractive?  Maybe she needs a therapist AND a stylist.

All right, Bloggies! Weigh-in!
Agree? Disagree?

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UPDATED: Geo-Caching 101

Our family first triend Geo-Caching in July of 2011 (read about it and see the funny sweat-face pictures HERE). My kids love it and when we did it this Summer, many of you asked for a re-post of this blog entry.  Here are the basics.

What is Geo-Caching? 

A world-wide treasure hunt. People hide boxes of various sizes all around the world. They list the coordinates on geocaching.com and others go and hunt for the cache. Inside the cache are small trinkets and toys and a running list to write your caching name on.

What do you need to Geo-Cache? 

1. a GPS (or Smart Phone) 

2. a FREE membership to geocaching.com OR Geocaching App 

2. a pen to sign the log

3. a small trinket for each person who plans on taking a trinket from the cache (stickers, small toys, etc).

Is there a cache near me? 

Oh yeah. There definitely is. We put in our address and there are 20 within 1 mile of our home. 20! And they are all over the world. Every single country on earth has a least one geo-cache. Amazing, right?  You put in your address and a list of close caches pops up.  Make sure you check the difficulty and terrain level.

What should I avoid?

Avoid geo-caches that are labeled MICRO.  These are teeny, tiny, caches that can be as small as the size of a pencil eraser.  Seriously.  It says online and on the app the size of the cache.

Here's what the online logs look like...

Here's what the iPhone APP looks like...

The first cache we ever found was in Mount Joy and was within blocks of our home.  We searched around a bit and then Matt spotted this...

After unearthing the cache we found this...





If you want to take something you have to leave something.  We took a gold coin out and left the pink frog.  Success! 

Have YOU tried GeoCaching yet?

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Back-To-School Haircuts...for Ella and Me.

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Today in Awesome Parenting...

Me:

"I'm gunna kick both your butts if you don't stop threatening each other with violence!" 

Oh. Wait. 
‪#‎parentingfail‬

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Family Updates

Matt had a fabulous opportunity this past week.  He teaches the teenagers in Sunday School in our church.  There is a girl who has been coming to his class for a month or two while she contemplated joining our church.  She decided to be become a member and baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  She asked if Matt would confer the Gift of the Holy Ghost onto her, which is such an honor.

Emilie is tired and sick and very pregnant.

Ella and Evangeline have been attending Art Classes this week. They are in HEAVEN! Every day they bound out of class filled with joy and creativity.  We are still anxiously awaiting the letters in teh mail that tell which teachers they will be assigned to for the school year.

Bianca is, as always, Bonka. Filled with pep and craziness and fun.  She asks every day if her Pre-School is starting yet and when her Chinese birthday party is.

Jude is growing leaps and bounds and seems like less of a baby each day. He crawls SO quickly and he spent 15 full seconds standing up on his own yesterday.  I would have rather those 15 seconds be on the floor instead of standing in his high chair, but still.  (Don't worry, Matt was right beside him, spotting him).

Baby Cinco is moving and kicking and growing.  She is really intent on keeping Mommy up all night long with her shenanigans.  She will be busting out of her cage in just 5 weeks.

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Designed >> Super Why Birthday Invite

Yesterday I designed this Birthday Party invite for my cute nephew, Henry.
I love getting to do design work for my family.

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A Trip to China...in Philly.

The kids and I have been cooped up in this house all Summer long (it seems). So last Friday I decided to drop everything and that the entire family needed to go to Philadelphia's Chinatown the following day.  Bianca has been obsessed with the kids' show Ni Hao Kai-Lan and we are planning her birthday party around that theme so I thought we could get some great, cheap stuff in China Town.

We hit the road after Jude's morning nap.  Arriving in Chinatown just in time for lunch.

I used my best friend, YELP, to find an authentic, well-rated, and inexpensive restaurant for lunch.  The Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House has all hand-pulled noodles.  You KNOW it's going to be good Chinese food when you are the only Caucasians in the place.

We got TONS of food.  Two entrees, two appetizers and 4 spring rolls.  Total cost $25.  And, holy MIP, it was AMAZING!  Our kids were fighting over the food and gobbling it up.  And yes, they all used chopstick.  I'm so proud (sniff!).

Next we browsed and stopped in a million little Chinese shops.  We got SO many great things for Bianca's party and all were dirt cheap.  The girls each got $5 to spend. They each got a Chinese fan and then they bought other cool things.

We loved just walking the streets, smelling different smells, listening to the lyrical sounds of people speaking Mandarin.  The colors were all so vibrant and amazing!

Bianca was SO thrilled to say Ni Hao! to everyone we passed and Xie! Xie! to each sales person as we left their shop.

The kids are already asking when we can go back again! It was such a fun and interesting day!

Even the parking signs are cute.  Look at that happy little cracked Liberty Bell!  Why can't Americans be this fun?

After we were done we made one last stop at Federal Donuts in Philly (it's a Philly legend for donuts).  The hype was all true.  We got a dozen, still warm, donuts that were to die for.

And THIS is why I can never live too far from a major city.  Days and experiences like this.  I live for them.

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Weepy Woman

It's here, friends. I have entered the super-weepy phase of my pregnancy. I may cry about orphans, a dropped piece of candy, people winning game shows, or nothing at all. 

When I was pregnant with Ella I sobbed (yes, sobbed) when Paris Hilton's dog, Tinkerbell, went missing. Like, I cried for hours. That same pregnancy is when Oprah gave away a car to everyone in her audience (all teachers) and I recorded it, watched it again and again, and cried every time because it made all of those teachers so happy. 

Another time, poor Matt made me a turkey sandwich and added some oregano to it and I bawled and bawled because I hadn't asked for oregano and it didn't taste "right".

Yes, these are the Days of our Lives. 

Are you jealous of my husband?

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This & That Thursday

I found this photo quite by accident this week.
Little Ella (4 years old) and her Grandpa Ahern.

I am so grateful that in the total absence of any Grandparents on MY side
that the Aherns are just the most perfectly
wonderful and supportive Grandparents in the world.
They are already planning their trips here for
Baby C being born and/or Evangeline's baptism early next year.

There is just no substitute for being present in our kids' lives,
despite the physical distance between us.

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The school supplies are purchased, organized and labeled.
The backpacks are currently being washed so they are fresh for a new year.
Only 2-1/2 weeks until school.
It can't come quickly enough.

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What book should I read next?
I need kind of light, beach, reading these days.

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Next week are Ella and Evangeline's art classes every day.

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There is a girl Ella's age moving to our area from England.
Her family will be attending our church so we set up an email Penpal-ship
between her and Ella.  It's been fun to see there emails back and forth.
This new girl, Kristina, says very polite, British, things like...

"It's so nice to have such a kind friend as you."
"I had a most lovely time."

I can't decide if the kids at school will think this
(and the British accent) are awesome
or eat this poor girl alive.

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Last night Chachi and the girls went outside at 9:00 pm
to try and view the Perseid Meteor Shower.
Matt said they saw 4 or 5 meteors.
Pretty cool.

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Oh dear.
This year's school picture day is the day after the baby is born.
So....yeah.
There's always retakes.

#myhusbandcantdohair
#sexistbuttrue

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By the end of this pregnancy
I will confidently be able to tell you
which Indian restaurant has the best Naan
in the tri-state area.

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Doesn't this recipe look amazing?
Especially if you are one of those gardeners
with zucchini overload right now.

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This week in Randomness

- This week I was suddenly assailed with a fresh and hellish bout of morning sickness.  Does this seem fair at 32 weeks along?  Nope.  We DID get a lot done this week and that seems to sometimes trigger sickness during my pregnancies.  

- Ella was invited to a birthday party sleepover. We have a strict NO sleepover policy in our family so she got to go to the party and stay extra late.  I let her choose some knit fabric from my stash and we sewed her up some cute PJ shorts to change into after the swimming pool party so she could feel like one of the group, even though we picked her up at 11:00 pm.  She actually seemed fine with the not sleeping over part.

- I picked up and labeled all of the school supplies for the redheads.  School starts September 2nd.  We are still awaiting the teacher assignments for this year, which should come any day.  

- Bianca is all registered for Pre-School and she is foaming at the mouth with anticipation!

- Here's the schedule of madness coming our way this fall:

     Sept 21: My 37th Birthday

     Sept 29: Baby Cinco Arrives

     Oct 08: Jude's 1st Birthday

     Oct 14: Bianca's 4th Birthday

     Oct 31: Halloween

- I started planning Bianca's 4th birthday party.  Don't worry, we are delaying it a month (like we did last year) and having it in mid-November.  Also, she is just having three of her little friends and we're keeping it low key and simple.  Bianca's current obsession is China and the kids' show Ni Hao Kai-Lan.  So we're having a Chinese Birthday party! Should be really fun!

Here are the invites I designed. The art at the bottom is Kai-Lan clip art, but the string of lanterns I designed by hand. I love how they turned out!

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