Defense Exhibit A

I know the time will come when either Cody or Emma will question whether having a sibling was anything but a big pain in the rear, and I want to be prepared when the moment presents itself. So here's defense exhibit A...

Happy Together!

A picture is worth a thousand words

I love discovering moments like this. Not so much the picture. I love the implication of it. The fact that after 7 years of marriage, 11 years together, and two children, my husband still looks at me through the lens of a camera, without my knowledge and subsequent preening and posing, and finds me "picture perfect." Makes me smile.

Picnic Day at Young's Vineyard

We spent a gorgeous day at Young's Vineyard in Amador County today. We met a bunch of friends there and enjoyed good music, good food, good wine, beautiful sunshine, and lots of laughs. I can't wait to return next year!

Happy Birthday to me!

Today I am officially 36 years old. Geez...it seems like only yesterday I was graduating high school, heading off to college, getting married, and having babies. But alas, it was NOT yesterday. Though these memories will stay with me always, I am excited to see what the future has in store for me.

In honor of my birthday Jay, some friends, and I went wine tasting. It was a fabulous day.

2nd Annual Easter Camp-out

I know what you're thinking..."Teresa camps?" Though it is true that I think nature in all of its dirtiness is very overrated, there are certain things that a woman will do for her family that she would otherwise turn her nose up at. For me, that thing is camping. I don't love the packing up, the seemingly endless drive to the campground, the dirt, the wild animals, the lack of amenities, or the mountains of laundry that seem to come as part of the package, but somewhere in the middle there, I find my happy place and become "one" with nature. I attribute this oneness to my, "fake it till you make it" philosophy, and will continue to do just that until my children and husband outgrow their camping stage. (So probably for the remainder of my time here on earth).

This years trip was extra special (can you hear the sarcasm) in that we arrived at our campsite just in time for a torrential downpour. I'm not even exaggerating! There was more rain in the first 3 hours of our trip than in the entire week preceding it. We were cold, we were wet, and we were muddy - it was hilarious! The kids were really great about it, and the men were awesome as they set up camp wearing black garbage bags as ponchos to keep them from getting soaked to the bone. The women, well we did what we do best - we opened the wine, got out the snacks, and we tried our best to stay out of the way. After that first night, as we slowly dried out, we began to have lots more fun and were able to laugh at the ridiculousness of our trips' beginning.

Here are a few highlights...

Waiting out the storm.

Fun with friends!

That was exhausting!

And so it begins...

Tonight while putting Cody to bed...

Cody: "Mom, did you know that I have a girlfriend?"
Me: "What exactly does it mean to have a girlfriend in kindergarten?"
Cody: "It means that Olivia wants to hold my hand, and that she chases me a lot."
Me: "I see. Anything else?"
Cody: "Well today she said she was gonna kiss me if she caught me, and I told her that my mom was gonna write her a citation if she didn't stop trying to kiss me, because there's no kissing allowed at school."

And so it begins...heaven help me.

(Is it wrong that I TOTALLY want to write her a citation just for trying to kiss my baby?)

The world according to Cody...

Driving home today in the pouring rain...
Cody: "Mommy, did it rain before I was born?"
Me: "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ..."

There'll be days like this...

I know that not every day can go as planned, and that you can't count your chickens before they're hatched, and that when life gives you lemons you're supposed to make lemonade. I do, I know all of these things, but today I had a mini-letdown, and it has completely ruined my I'm-on-vacation-nothing-can-get-me-down mood. It all started a few weeks back...As you know, Cody has been attending my school for his kindergarten year. It's been great and we've both enjoyed the time together, but recently I found out that due to budget constraints, next year class sizes will be going up to 29 in first grade. This got me thinking...maybe we should enroll him in a school near our house for the remainder of his elementary education. We've vacillated back and forth on this front many times, but this was the fabled "straw that broke the camel's back" for us. So today, armed with official documents, a new pen, and fresh perspective, I skipped down to the local school district to sign up my boy. And that 's when I was introduced to the woman who would (with a smile) suck the wind right out of my sails. When I told her my purpose for coming she was quite helpful, at first. She gave me the required paperwork and offered me a pen. I cheerfully filled out said paperwork, growing more and more comfortable and excited even, about this decision, as I did so. When at long last I had printed and signed my name for the last time, I marched back up to the counter ready to hand over my paperwork, Cody's birth certificate, and the required address verification documents. When I'd gone over this in my head the next step was clear... she'd stamp an official seal on my documents, smile kindly, wish me well, and say, "see you in the fall." You can imagine my shock, and subsequent feelings of betrayal, guilt, and heartbrokenness when instead, she chuckled (really, she literally laughed at me), returned my paperwork (unstamped I might add), and said, "you DO realize that you are 10 days late to make any such requests." To which I stammered something about how the website said...blah, blah, blah...and how I was trying to do the best thing for my child...blah, blah, blah...and then promptly turned around (unstamped, painstakingly filled out paperwork in hand) and fled the building before she could see me cry. I know...real mature, but I did, I cried the whole way home as I thought about how much I wanted that change for my kid, and about how this was the first time that I had really let my kid down (even though he had no idea any of this was going on), about how I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up, and then, about how I was going to make something positive come from this new set of circumstances. But even now, several hours and many deep breaths later, as I sip my lemonade, I can't help but taste the bitterness in my mouth (even though I added a LOT of sugar).

Eeeew, gross!!!!

Last night as I prepared to leave Cody's room after reading bedtime stories and getting him all tucked in, he stopped me because he had, "something important to say." Then he hit me with, "Mommy, you know when you and Daddy dance, and when you call him your boyfriend...well, that's DISGUSTING! I never want you guys to dance around me anymore. It's just too gross. And, it's not nice to call Daddy your boyfriend - that's a mean name." Sorry kiddo, I'm not making any promises. As a matter of fact, I might just go dance with my boyfriend after I write this. :)

Happy Anniversary

This weekend Jay and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary and our 11th year together. We began our celebration by spending a few days in wine country. We wine tasted, ate WAY more than necessary, revisited the Fitzpatrick Winery where we got engaged, and generally enjoyed each others company without the usual chaos that comes with being parents of two.

When we returned home we celebrated as a family by making a nice dinner together, indulging Mommy while she put on her wedding dress, and dancing together (all four of us) to Mommy and Daddy's wedding song. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect anniversary weekend!

(unfortunately the pictures were taken by Cody

and most of them were of his thumb - this is the best of them)

Don't breathe the Egg Sauce?

After school today, as we pulled into the driveway and began to unload, I noticed a smoky smell in the air and made a comment about it to Cody. His response... "No mom, that's not smoke. It's "egg sauce." You know, that stuff that comes out of the back of cars. They call it "egg sauce" - I think because it smells like eggs."

I love that kid!

The Great Escape

Emma is always up to something. Today...

Hmmmm...I wonder....

Here I go!

What?

Fishin' Day!

Cody got to go electrofishing with his Dad today. He loved every minute of it. He caught lots of fish and was even brave enough to hold the slippery suckers (ew)!

I love you!

I love walking in on moments like these! They make my heart swell with joy and pride (and usually make me cry a little too).

The Christmas Card Debacle

In an effort to get the "perfect" picture to put on this year's Christmas card, Jay and I took almost 100 photographs of our usually darling and photogenic children. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, in 95 of those 100 photos one or the other of them is doing something ridiculous like looking the wrong way, fake smiling, or throwing a full blown temper tantrum. When we finally threw in the towel we were able to find 3 pictures that were far from "perfect" but that would end up on our 2009 Christmas card anyway. Oh well, maybe next year!

Some of the most ridiculous:

We are SO bored with this!

Are we done yet?

This is my best smile Mom!

Emma! Put your tongue back in your mouth!

The chosen ones:

Visiting Santa

I think the pictures say it all...

...notice the lack of Santa. Yep, it pretty much went like that!

Silly Cody

Even at 5 my son is so easy to entertain...

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving at Nana and Papa's house this year. Jan made a fabulous Thanksgiving feast. The kids had a blast terrorizing Shasta, running laps around the house, exploring in the huge back yard, and checking out all of Papa's garage treasures and trophies. I got a chance to do some relaxing and reading, and Jay, of course, talked cars and sports with John.

A Girl and Her Shoes

Emma LOVES shoes. She loves to wear them; she admires them at stores; she points out other peoples shoes and comments on their color, design, and prettiness; she puts hers on first thing in the morning and leaves them on until bedtime. She truly is a shoe girl, so it comes as no surprise to us when she pulls out our shoes and parades around the house in them, but it always cracks me up to see her tiny feet in Jay's size 14's.

Good mommy strategy...

This morning, while I was driving to school, just minding my own business, Cody blurted out a very serious question. The conversation went something like this...

C- Mom, remember when Emma was in your tummy? Well, how did she get out?
Me - Uh. Um. Uh. Um. Cody why don't you count to 100 while I think about that. (I thought this was a pretty clever diversion which would cause him to forget his question for at least a little while.)
But alas...
C- (after counting to 100) So Mommy, did you have a chance to think?
Me - Um, what was your question again?
C- How did Emma get out of your tummy when she was a baby?
Me - Oh, right. Well, um, the doctor got her out of course.
C- Oh, OK!

Thank goodness he's five and was totally accepting of my answer. I know someday I'm going to have to tell him the truth, or at least something closer to it, but I'm totally unprepared for that conversation. As a matter of fact, I think I'm too immature to handle it. I may have to send him Daddy's way when the subject comes up again. (hee,hee)

The Saddest Halloween Ever...

Last night was Halloween - every child's favorite night, and the Rowan children did not get to participate in the festivities. As we were getting ready to go trick-or-treating with friends, Cody began to complain that his stomach hurt. About 5 minutes later, the throwing up began, and then continued every half hour all night long. At one point, during a calm moment, Jay asked Cody if he wanted to get his costume on and go trick-or-treat next door. His response was so sad, I almost couldn't bear it...(with tears in his eyes) "I don't think I can make it Daddy." This morning Cody woke up and the reality of what had occurred hit him full on. The first thing he said to me was, "Can I go trick-or-treating today?," followed by, "Did I really miss Halloween?" Poor little boy.

Emma however, never misses an opportunity to dress up, so though she didn't get to go trick-or-treating she donned several outfits for the occasion.

testing out brother's cape

sporting the ghost shirt

Anyone wanna jitterbug?

scrambled brains

A conversation about between Cody and I on the way home from school today.

C- "Mom today we learned that rugs are bad."
Me - "Rugs?"
C- "Yeah. Mrs. Downey said that rugs can scramble up your brain like an egg."
Me - "Do you mean drugs?"
C- "Nope. I'm pretty sure she said rugs."

A farewell to summer

We celebrated the end of the unbearably hot Sacramento summer days this afternoon. For the last time until next year we lounged by the pool, barbequed with friends, and swam in the cool water. The weatherman is calling for a big cool off, and frankly we are ready for it, but it was nice to have one last hurrah.