Family Pictures

Why does it have to be so difficult to get everyone to gether for a picture. It should be simple. The kids love to say cheese and are total hams for the camera whenever we are outside or just shooting some candids, but throw some nice clothes on them and ask them to sit still for more than 5 seconds and complete chaos breaks out.

I made an appointment at Sears portrait studio so the pictures would be available online for the family to see and mostly becasue they sent me a coupon when Addie was born- I am a total sucker for coupons, but definitely did not read the fine print on this one. So I made the appointment for an attainable time 10:30 to get 6 people ready and to the studio seemed attainable, but inevitably we were 10 minutes late to our appointment. When I went to the desk to sign in, the photographer looked at her schedule, grimmaced, and annoyingly looked up at me while shaking her head and saying oh you are late!. I felt like I was in the principal's office getting scolded for skipping class too many times! Apparently they double book on purpose on the weekends (because that makes a lot of sense) so we were asked to hurry because we only had 20 minutes left for our session!

Thankfully, the twins and Koen cooperated wonderfully for their pictures, and we got some really great shots. But, Ms. Piggy (Addie) decided that eating 20 minutes before we left was not sufficient for her and she needed to eat again right when it was her turn for pictures! So in between shots, I was able to shove the bottle in her mouth feed her in an attempt to keep her calm long enough to get a good pose...This and the fact that she is already holding her head up and trying to push with her arms resulted in the little darling having a strange resemblance to Quasimodo in some of her pictures!



We quickly moved on to the family picture, when I realized that just because you can zip the skirt, that does not give you the right to wear it! lol. We have all been there a few weeks after childbirth and are so excited when some prepregnancy clothes start to fit. It is like each day is a new adventure in the closet until we can finally put on a pair of jeans without jumping into them or laying down to zip them. This was one of those days for me that I was able to zip a skirt that I obviously hadn't worn in ages and it didn't look too tight in the mirror. I really need to invest in a full length mirror because looking like mom the hooker just isn't cute for family pics. I wish I could say it was Julie Roberts cute, but instead it was more Snooki trashy! Maybe when I have the pics framed, I can get a wider matte that will cover the thigh high disaster.

Addie

Baby number 4 definitely arrived with a bang! After weeks of pain and agony and trips to the hospital, she finally came FAST! Welcome to the world Addie Breana!

• Lol I delivered her in the front seat of our car at the gas station in town----- the army hospital was where I was supposed to deliver and they won't admit you until you are dilated to a 4 or 5 and contractions are 2-3 min apart... I was at 3-1/2 minutes and we left the house. We got about a mile and my water broke in the car so Ben called 911 and the fire dept met us at the gas station about 4 minutes later literally just in time to catch her! Ben said if they had been 2 or 3 steps later he would have had to grab her! The firemen took the baby and me in the ambulance to the nearest hospital and here we are lol. Everyone is doing well and healthy and we get to go home the next today! She weighed 7 lbs 4 oz 19 inches. It was a crazy night. I don't think I've ever seen so many people at that gas station but it felt like half the town was my audience. and all those poor teenagers that were hanging out there that night could very well be abstinent forever! I guess that is my public service to the town of Orting LOL!

The School Dance

It is times like this when you learn just how uncool your kids really think you are lol.

My 8 year old, third grade son had a school dance about a month after we moved to Orting. He had made several friends, but was still looking to impress and really fit in. He came home with the dance flyer in his hand, panicking. There was of course a girl that he wanted to impress, and his clothes were just not cool enough. He wanted DC shoes, skinny jeans and a hoodie stat! um no, no, and um hell no.

After my explaining that the dance was in a few hours, and, contrary to his wishes, I was not taking him to the mall to get a new wardrobe for the dance, he sulked until Ben got home. And sulked again after he reitterated that we were not going shopping and that skinny jeans would never make it past the threshold in this house Ever! So since Ben is apparently way cooler than I am, Koen begged him to pick out his clothes for the dance so he would look good and to help him fix his hair. Oh and could he please drive him in the Jeep and not the car because if people saw him in the Jeep they would know he was cool even without skinny jeans! lol It was definitely quite an eventful day for the guy.

He got to the dance with a small group of his friends and we just dropped him off to enjoy the night (and all the 10 and under girls that looked at least 15!). When I went to pick him up, he was a little disappointed that the girl he had hoped to dance with didn't show up, but in the end he had a good time hanging out with the guys and pestering the Dj to play the Party Rock Anthem!

Since then, we have taken him shopping, replaced his entire school wardrobe (sans skinnies of course) and bought him some new, much cooler shoes and according to him, the girls noticed!

I just can't believe we are going through this with an 8-year-old I was at least in middle school before any of those things mattered, but I guess it is just a sign of the times!

Hello Blogosphere!

So it has been about a year since my last post here on MamaCassAdventures, but you will be glad to know after a year full of crazy adventures, I am back and ready to share some of my funny stories and life experiences with you again.

It has been quite the year. My hubby got orders to come to Ft. Lewis WA, so we sold our house, bought a new one site unseen, and moved aross the country. We packed everyone up in the cars and drove almost 3,000 miles from TN, stopping in various no name cities across the country and making appearances at gas stations in over 15 states. We were able to stop in Utah and stay with my husband's family for a few days, celebrating the holidays and enjoying the festivities in Temple Square. We finally arrived in Washington and moved into our house on December 23. We are living in a small town about 45 minutes from Seattle called Orting, where you can count the traffic lights on 1 hand and the highlights in town consist of the annual Daffodil festival, restoring Jenny the antique fire engine, and debating on whether Mt Ranier will ever erupt! About a week after we moved in the biggest snowstorm of the century hit and we were wothout power for 3 days- thank God for campstoves and candles! Since moving in, we have met lots of neighbors and made some friends. We have been able to venture to some area attractions like the aquarium and the Pike Place Market in Seattle. Hubby remodeled the kitchen. My mom came to visit for a month which was awesome, and I had baby number 4 (funny delivery story to come later!)!

So now, things are calming down, and I need an outlet so hello again blogosphere, hope you enjoy laughing at me!