Ok, I tried. I really truly did. I tried and tried and didn’t even really get on the computer the last two days, but I just can’t. I just CAN’T NOT put the pool pics on here! Sorry C!

My last entry made C laugh and my mom cry, go figure. And I did mean it, the whole not sharing those moments to make my husband happy thing, but I’m a wimp and a blog addict and frankly, I want to show off my little girl going down the big slide.

So here you go, the off limit pics:

The start of the face-first-belly-down-slide…

And there she goes! (this is when the life guard gave me the bad look)

And splash into Aunt Abbie’s arms!

I mean seriously, how could I NOT share these? I lasted a few days, that’s progress right honey?

And just because I can…

Tomorrow night is the BIG fundraiser night… wish me luck! I painted these two huge bean bag games (once pics are taken I will post them b/c I’m actually really proud of these), made the bean bags, and am organizing the entire children’s area at this event. I can’t wait, it’s going to be a blast! I’m just kicking myself for not having business cards! If anyone knows how to promote a creative mom, let me know! I want to make money doing my passion, I just don’t know how!!!

Anyway, I’m going to head to bed, I have a big day tomorrow! Have a good Friday!

I get lots of comments made to me, in person, through email or on the blog, that people like this blog. It’s all family and friends mainly, I’m not saying I’m some famous blogger or anything, but my mom wakes up every morning hoping I’ve written something and that makes me happy. The one person that really doesn’t like the blog, however, is the one person I WANT to like the blog the most. He hates his photo being taken, he hates being written about and he hates that I do both, on here, for anyone to read.

So today we went to the pool with my sister, Abbie, and the girls. We had a great time! I will tell you that Bailey went down the big slide by herself again, head first on her tummy, however, which got us a bad look from the teenage lifeguard. I will also tell you that Bailey is learning how to dive. And I will tell you that I got some great GREAT shots from the pool, belly sliding and all.

What I won’t tell you is about how much I loved the fact that my studly husband RAN the 6+ miles to the pool and we met him there after naps. I also won’t tell you that a run like that would kill me, literally.

I won’t tell you how sweet it is to watch Bailey and her daddy play together.

I won’t tell you about all the times he makes her try new things, and she does them, without fear, b/c she trusts her daddy completely. Things like going head first, belly down, on the big slide!

I can’t tell you about how much I love just watching him move. About how sure he is and strong he is.

I also won’t talk about the tender moments. Sitting in the shade having family snacks, him giving Parker her bottle and holding a towel at the same time to keep the sun out of her eyes, or sharing a smile b/c we both love our kids so much and couldn’t be happier.

I defintely won’t tell you that he still makes my heart flutter.

And I also won’t mention that I love hearing him joke around with my little sister, treating her like his own little sister.

And there won’t be any photos shared of any of these off limit topics either.

What I will tell you is that although he hates it at times, I think that deep down he loves my passion for creating and capturing memories. And that I think some day he’ll even come around and smile when I ask him to, although I’m not holding my breath. I think that he loves the camera in my hand b/c he knows, somewhere I really think he knows, that 50 years from now we will have all of these amazing photos and scrapbooks to look back on and remember the tiny moments, like the off-limits-belly-down-head-first slide Bailey did once upon a time at Webster Pool. And seeing that photo will cause memories to flood back and his amazing smile to light his face. And even then, 50 years from now, I will probably grab the camera, snap the shot, and then scrap about it!

So here’s to photo taking, scrapbook making and blogging! Husband approved or not! I love you C!

This week is just simply, crazy. And the weekend was too, good but crazy.

Friday night I hosted an Usborne Book Party and although attendence was low, we had a great time and it’s finalized my interest in selling the books. So if you want to host a party for me, let me know (you can even host one if you’re out of town!!!)!!!

Saturday morning we walked with C’s family (and my sister) in the Komen Race for the Cure. We didn’t go downtown like we were going to, instead we walked in a smaller walk at Des Peres Park. Not quite as exciting as the 60,000+ downtown, but it was nice and easy, which considering I had Parker in the sling in 90 degree heat was fine by me!

Saturday night C and I actually had a date! Abbie babysat while we went to Kobe’s Steak House (amazing!) and saw Oceans 13. Good movie, better food and best night with my long lost husband!

Sunday was Father’s Day and so we celebrated DADDY! Photos will follow later this week of; the “dad” sign Bailey painted and the scrapbook/card I made him. We went to church, had brunch at my parents, C got a much needed nap, we had a late afternoon romp at the pool with Abbie and all went to bed early. Good day.

Today I had a meeting for KCCI, took some photos for KCCI and then had a meeting tonight for a fund raiser event I’m helping with called Episcopal City Mission’s Summer Solstice. ECM is an organization that helps place non-denominational chaplains in youth detention centers. It’s an amazing organization run by great people helping hurting and troubled kids. This week I’m making bean bags, painting a mural for the bean bags toss, and organizing the other parts of the children’s corner for the event. If you have free time Friday night, come to Summer Solstice at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Webster Groves at 6pm. Live music, food and drinks! A great date night!

Because this week is so crazy, my time here is limited. I will be back on track as soon as Summer Solstice is over! Have a good week!

The Allen family (plus a Smith, some Kuhn’s, an Enlund, etc.) is walking together in the Susan Komen Race for the Cure in the morning and in honor of that, I want you to go to this site and CLICK!

If they get 6 million clicks this month (June), they will make June, Breast Cancer Survivor Month. I think that’s awesome. You can click on the link daily, so DO IT! And if they get all the clicks they need, their sponser will donate $20,000 for free mamograms!

Get on board and CLICK HERE!

oh Webster Pool,
we think you’re so cool,
with your climbers and slides
you create smiles so wide!
There are snacks galore
that Bailey adores
and Parker can nap
in the shade in my lap.
We love you oh pool.
You are so very very cool.

thank you. thank you.

enjoy the photos!

We spent most of the day outside today and it was wonderful. Hot, but wonderful.

I took the girls to the Missouri Botanical Gardens this morning while Chris had soccer camp. They only lasted about an hour, but Bailey had such a great time! I think this may be a regular hot spot for us. Even just to head down there for a nice walk would be worth it. And the photo ops are just a HUGE bonus in my book!

We also hit the pool, and I got a few cute pics of that, but have too much other stuff to do tonight to add those pics now… so you have something to look forward to tomorrow!

Need to start C’s Father’s Day gift… be creative this year… put down the tie and pick up some paper/markers/glue/paint/crayons/stamps/stickers… have fun and make a gift that comes from the heart! They are always ALWAYS the best, I swear.

I take my camera everywhere. But the place I haven’t taken it yet and desperately NEED to take it is the pool! We got a season pass this year to Webster Pool and so far are LOVING every second of it! We love the freedom to go for an hour and not feel like we’re wasting money. We love seeing C’s students and soccer players there who fawn all over the girls. And we love chatting with his co-workers and friends we see. A random person I ran into tonight was Abbie’s kindergarden teacher, Ms. Coe (who is now married and insists I call her Andrea, something I’m not sure I can do!).

Anyway, be prepared in the near future to be bombarded with pool pics! Tonight she went down the big kid slide all by herself, which amazed us and also other parents coaxing their 5, 6, and 7 year olds down the slide while Bailey just flew by them! She is the biggest dare devil I’ve ever seen, which makes me already worried about her high school days! We’re also going to finally bring the video camera out of retirement (I love my camera so much I always forget to video tape! I don’t think we even have Parker filmed yet!) b/c the girls are so cute at the pool!

Tonight just made me so happy that it’s summer. Coming home for dinner, jammies and bed knowing we can hit the pool again tomorrow was so refreshing. Summer just relaxes you! I’m going to do a quick layout and then am off to bed. Hope you had a great day!

Bailey has mastered the art of the summersault! All on her own! She did it this morning with no help, just a little coaching… but coaching comes natural in a house with two parents that coach! Anyway, here’s the big event!

head down…

walking her feet…

walking…

and over she goes!

“all done! again!”

so in case you thought that was just a fluke, here she goes, again!

So that’s our Monday morning so far! Happy Monday!

Man. Just when we think we have these devil children sleeping through the night, one wakes up and won’t go back to sleep. Ok, “devil children” was a bit harsh, but seriously, I’m so tired of being TIRED! Last night Parker woke up with what we guessed was a stomach ache and was up on and off ALL night. Then Bailey woke up kind of early, at 5am, so we made her lay in our bed and thank God she fell back to sleep with us until almost 7am. Just once I want to wake up on my own having slept an entire 8 hours in a row. A dream, it’s just an unattainable dream! The price of kids I guess.

So I really don’t have much to say except to tell you how productive this weekend has been design-wise! I finished the invite I hand made for Abbie (they are in the mail Ab!), I created a logo for Chris which is for his girls soccer camp this summer, I finished the gift for the Bledsoe’s (will explain) and I created Bailey’s Bday invite. Whew!

Ok, so a few months back our family friends, the Bledsoe’s, announced they were moving to Seattle. I’ve known them for more than 10 years and the news hit us hard. They go to our church and I wanted to do something special for them. So I copied the email list Colleen sent out announcing their upcoming move and asked everyone on that list to create a scrapbook page of their family for the Bledsoe’s. It turned out amazing! People brought me their pages and I compiled the book. I hope it will be something they can look at for years to come. Here are the two pages I included…

I loved making this layout! It was really easy once I cut all the squares (I need a square punch!) and so great that is fit so much onto just two pages. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with the last two years worth of Christmas photos b/c I took so many they could be an album all their own, but now I think just two pages per year will do it! I’ll let you know if I ever actually create them!

Next, I did this the week Bailey was sick, was that just two weeks ago? I bought the box at The Gypsy Caravan for $8 and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it! I’m in love. It might not be your cup of tea, but it’s my new favorite piece of decor in the house. I can look at it for hours and the feelings it evokes in me are just so happy and warm. It was really easy also so you can’t beat that!

love it? hate it? anything? whatever.

Next and finally last, photos of Bails. I wanted to take her 2 year old photos, as her birthday is now less than a month away, but it was harder than I thought! I didn’t get anything I loved, or want to frame as her official 2 year old photo, but here are the cute ones!

Can you believe she’s going to be TWO already? Where did the time go? And before I go crash into the couch with a bowl of ice cream and my new scrapbook magazine, I wanted to give you the latest Bailey Update.

They are 99% positive it was a UTI and so now they want to do more tests to see if it damaged her kidneys or bladder. So on the 21st we have some tests scheduled at Cardinal Glennon. They are doing an ultra sound of her kidneys and then inserting a catheter to inject a die which they will then xray. I’m not sure what the step after that is, but that’s where we’re at now. She’s fine though, not sick and no fever! Ok, the couch is calling…

Had a great day today! Got some work done for good ole’ KCCI then came home and caught up on a few chores. Lisa, Tara and Tracy brought their kids over in the afternoon for some sprinkler fun and Tracy stayed for dinner. Had a few drop-ins for my big surprise gift I’m giving someone tomorrow night (will share with you over the weekend once it’s been given) which was fun, although after being gone all morning, having 5 kids over all afternoon (plus my 2) and a dinner with an extra toddler, I have to say that I was mighty embarrassed to welcome people into my house who had never been here before. I swear I try my hardest to keep a clean and neat house, it just doesn’t usually work out that way! Also fit some crafting in tonight, which again, I will share after tomorrow.

Don’t you love just falling exhausted into bed knowing you couldn’t have gotten any more squeezed into this day? Well, I do. And I’m off to do just that. Actually, I will still fit in teeth brushing, face washing and a little County Living.

What a day.