Whoa-semite.

So, We've had a CRAZY month, full of weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, big fat bike rides rides, and all kinds of madness in between. Its been REAL fun, but we are exhausted.

We got a phone call in the midst of all the choas from our dear pal Jerad, announcing that he was FINALLY going to pop the question to his gem of a girlfriend, Stephanie Brown... and this was all to take place on a camping trip with all her nearest and dearest friends on the weekend of October 24th. It was literally the only weekend we werent doing anything over a period of 8 weeks... but not a chance we would pass it up.

We were told the event would happen Sunday, and when we all got up there, there would be a task assigned to each of us for this big event. The details were intentionally left vague, despite my persistant nagging for more information.

You KNOW I can't stand a juicy secret. ESPECIALLY from one of my nearest and dearest gal pals for all time... it was torture keeping my mouth shut. But I managed (ish). At least I still got to discuss it with those also involved... and anyone else removed enough from the circle so it wouldnt ruin the suprise.

We had a FANTASTIC time.

We werent sure Tyson would be able to get 2 days in a row off work, and since he was asked to be the designated photographer but couldnt commit right away, and I sure as heck wasnt heading out to the wilderness with 2 animalistic children all by myself, I had a brilliant idea to invite KJ (and his better half, Jessica) along. He is quite the photographer himself these days (and has a wayyyy nicer camera than most people), and he also happens to have a knack for nurturing animalistic children in the event of Tyson's absence. Plus, he's cool to hang out with.

In the end, Tyson ended up woring extra hard in the weeks before the trip so he could take 2 days in a row off, and everyone had a blast. Here are the couples that went, and some of our moments:

Steph and Jerad (sittin in a tree!):

Noah and Lucinda:

Dawson and Anabelle:

Taylor and Dominique:

Tina and Tom:

KJ and Jessica:

And... us.

Alright, blogger is wigging out. So I shall post a second part to this event at a later time... stay tuned.

Tour De Templeton [Wino on Bikes]

This Saturday, my Beautiful, Talented and Hard Working wife took a break ftom her child rearing throne, set down her ice cream cone and set out for a 75 mile bike ride with [one of] her best friends, Kari Hamilton.

The Templeton Wine and Roses bike ride was not a race, but a bike ride to raise some money and get people to see the amazing area that we live in. (or an excuse to drink some wine and try and stay on a bike) 50, 75 or 100 miles through the back wine country of north SLO County.... Paso Robles, Templeton, Creston, Park Hill..... and a ending BBQ at the Templeton Park.


Beth, Kari and Jill (Kari's old college roommate) started off the festivities bright and early at 6:30am Templeton. I didn't have the honors of seeing them leave or come home, but it sounded like a hoot of a time.

Along the way they had some amazing rest-stops serving up fruit, muffins, water and wine (ok, maybe wine at the end). But you know some of the riders had something in their 2nd water bottles.

After 43 heart wrenching miles, Kari honorably bowed out of the ride after her trick knee forecasted the rains of El Niño to come as she yelled for Beth to go on without her. This allowed Beth to watch the wide open country, tumbleweeds and a few ground squirrels for the next 32 miles.

Kari giving her best "I can't for our new health care" smile
Congratulations Beth for your hard work and dedication for running, biking and working out. Sorry I couldn't be there, but I'm proud of you for doing this. Thanks, Kari for being Beth's buddy....

Winning the War on Toddler-ism

More proof that the toddler years are a fading memory, and the golden years of childhood are upon us in the McDermott home...

Remember when you were little, and your wicked parents made you clean the bathroom and fold your laundry before you could go to your friend's house for the day, and you knew, I mean, you really really really just knew, that the only reason your parents ever bothered to have children in the first place was so they could raise you to be their personal slaves and they could just sit around on their golden thrones licking ice cream cones and counting the clouds while you were left to polish their entire kingdom until it was so shiny you could see yourself in every sparkle?

I definitely remember.

Which is why Im SO thrilled my own little slaves are coming of age... cleaning age, that is.

Ahem.

Chores my kids can officially do with minimal or no supervision:

• Make their beds.
• Empty the silverware.
• Vacuum their bedrooms (which means sharing my Dyson, which scares me a little, but well worth the control I have to put aside).
• Food and water the dogs.
• Set and clear the table.
• Sort/fold laundry (socks and dishtowels) and put away their own clothes.
• General light pick up around the house.

I can only hope they will continue to do this for circus peanuts and desert after dinnertime for our family eternity... I'm almost considering homeschooling them to keep them away from their peers who may leak dirty words such as 'allowance' or 'privileges' into their rapidly developing vocabulary.

But for now... I'm rather enjoying my ice cream cone.

Picture Perfect

My Dawson had his kindergarten school pictures made yesterday.

Boys are a strange thing, because they are really effortless to get ready. You, like, make sure the dirt is scrubbed off their face, spit in your hand and slick the hair out of their eyes, and there good to go. The most difficult part about getting a boy ready is getting them to stand still! Its so nice, you don't have to match the hair clip to the outfit to the shoes, and argue with them around and around about why they cant wear polka dots with Christmas plaid. There are no accessories. They are either born with rugged good looks... or not (saaad but true).

I cant believe how effortlessly handsome my rough little rascal is these days.


He is looking and acting so grown up to me right now, but there is such a wonderful sweetness about him we are seeing more and more of. My little boy is tenderhearted, warm, thoughtful, and so freaking funny. I am already thinking of how incredibly lucky the woman he finds someday will be to have him for her husband.



I just adore the age he is at. Ty and I are starting to see TONS of character traits that remind us of each other. For instance, he is handsome and artistic like his dad... but he has my eyes and twisted humor.

Today I got to help in his classroom for about an hour (thanks for standing in on the home front, Mom!). He was so delighted to have me there, I felt his little eyes watching every move I made the entire time. Occasionally we would make eye contact across the room, and he would grin and wink at me. I wanted to burst into tears, it made me so happy.

Thanks for being my son, Dawson.

I love you past the moon, the stars, the Polar Express, and all the chocolate rainbows in the sky.

And I cant wait to see your adorable school pictures.

Im Pretty Sure Shes The Most Beautiful...

Ever just get one of those days where you are absolutely positive, without a doubt, that you got the best and sweetest and cutest kids that EVER LIVED in all of time and space...




I was so obsessed with Anabelle this morning, I took a bajillion pictures of her before she left for school...

...and now, I just can't take my eyes off of them, because I actually miss her while she is gone!

...and her perfect little reflection, Addie Rae... they are just about the sweetest things Ive ever experienced. Even when they're rotten, they're just pure gold.

I am so thankful for Sugar and Spice. And for the days where the voices are telling me they are, in fact, everything nice (and not chanting more sinister rhymes about motherhood inside my head...)

Tomorrow is Dawson's school picture day. I cant WAIT to obsess over him.

xo

Told You Im Psychic...

I know I've posted before that I happen to consider myself intuitive beyond the norm. There have been times in my life where I know things before they happen to a certain degree... not because they are logically impending, but just because they're in my mind before they come true.

This weekend the weirdest things happened...

On Saturday Kari and I planned to do a practice triathlon... I've never done one before, but Kari has, so I was super excited about getting the feel for it without having to embarrass myself in front of a crowd.

I always get nervous before organized athletic events, but this time, I was particularly sure I would have a flat tire for the cycle portion of the event by morning. Just to be extra cautious I had Ty give me a tune up the night before, check out the tires and make sure she was road worthy. She passed.

That night, I had a dream about a down comforter. The specifics are hazy, but my Mom handed me a white comforter and said something about it being one she never used, and she didn't mind sharing it with me now that I needed it more than she did, or something like that...

When I woke up I started rushing around to get myself and the kids ready to head over to pick up Kari, and leave the munchkins to play with their pals for a couple hours (thanks again, Yia-Yia and Mr. Mike!).

As I rummaged around my room searching for sneakers and pony tail holders and backpacks and bathing suits, I happen to glance out of the corner of my eye in time to see the cat jump off our bed...

Uh... ya. The freaking man-kitten we haven't gotten around to neutering yet decided to take out his territorial aggressions allll over my bedspread... which of course leaked thru the down comforter I had dreamt about.

Niiiice.

As if that's not coincidence enough, no sooner had I started stripping bedsheets my phone rang, and its Kari... who breaks the news that her bike tire is flat.

I told Tyson he better not cheat on me ever... he'd never get away with it.

The Two Stooges

My kids had my sides splitting all day today from all the silly things they said and did. Here are just a few of them from today alone:

***************

Dawson: "Anabelle is a mean sister. Lets get rid of her. We could sell her for one dollar."

Me: "NO WAY! I would miss her... and so would you..."

Dawson: "Alright. Maybe we could just tickle her until her eyes pop out and her mouth falls off. That way, she would walk right into everything all day long, and never be able to eat ice cream again..."

**************

Me: "Anabelle... How was school?"

Anabelle: "Good. Jofeth (Joseph) got to lead lines. He is mean to me. All the boys are mean to us, and all the girls want to be friends with us (the 'us' refers to her other half, Addie)."

Me: What is Mrs. Jana like?

Anabelle: ...."uh.... her's just like me... but her loves God."

*****************

Dawson: "Hey Mom? Is this one of the markers that will cut you?"

Me: "Um... no, its just a regular marker. But only grown ups can use it because it will make a big mess if you dont use it right."

Dawson: "But can it make you have blood?"

Me: "No... I don't know of a marker that can do that..."

Dawson: "Dad says some of the markers are Sharp-y..."

****************

And last but NOT least... if you're my facebook friend you've already heard the short version, but I have to write it out so my kids will have it to look back on...

Last night all the kids were playing in the street before bed, and my neighbor Alissa offered to put Anabelle's hair in the rag curls for her school picture day today. We sat on the curb till long after dark rolling her hair and tying it up in knots. Every time she wiggled we would remind her to 'sit still, so you'll look extra beautiful for your pictures tomorrow...'

This morning she woke up and demanded her breakfast as usual, and since Alyssa warned me I would need a good 10 minutes to untie all the rags I set to work while she was occupied with her golden grahams and Elmo. All of a sudden both Dawson and Anabelle snapped into sudden awareness after I had untied a few and simultaneously began to screech "NOOOOOO!!!! MOM! Don't take them out, THEY'RE FOR THE PICTURES!!! Anabelle wants to be BEAUTIFUL FOR THE PICTURES!!!"

They totally thought she was going to school with her hair in rags, I never thought to explain that they leave soft and fluffy ringlet curls when you take them out the next morning.

Whoops, my bad.

I'm living and learning as I go along, here.

And laughing a LOT along the way.