Bunco

Have you ever played before?
It is a lot of fun and so easy!
12 people, 3 tables, 9 dice and a handful of luck.....if you believe in luck.
Here's how you play.

Until this year, i was just the sub for the Bunco group in the gated community across from us and now i am 'in' as one of the ladies who gambles $10 away once a month, in the hopes to come home with much more.  I don't think it's gambling but that's what my Mom calls it. :-)
Last year i won big the first two times i subbed for them.  I am surprised they invited me back.  Since then i have pretty much...well...sucked wind.  Tonight my dice were cold and i had the most losses which is actually a good thing because i broke even!  Whoo-hoo!

We snack, we drink, we get loud but basically we just have a good old time!

Dinner tonight for the Jeff and the girls.  Probably a heart attack of a recipe but it was so easy and really yummy!  I had some left over ham i needed to use up and punched these three items, ham, broccoli and tater tots,  into my search engine and voile', this is what came up.  The girls gobbled it down!  Off set it with a side salad to make yourself feel better about eating it. :-)

YUM-O!

Ham, Broccoli and Tater Tot Casserole

2 lb. tater tots
1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 1/2 c. ham, diced
1 pkg. frozen broccoli
1 c. shredded cheese

Place tater tots in greased pan. Bake in 350 degree oven until lightly browned for about 20 minutes. Blend soup, milk and mayonnaise. Stir in ham, set aside. Place broccoli over browned tater tots. Place ham and soup mixture over broccoli. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Brace Face....

We have taken the plunge and started 'first phase' and hopefully our last phase of braces for Grace.
Let me rewind a little.....

We paid a visit to Dr. Weller's office a little over a year ago when it was suggested by our dentist that Grace would need some intervention for her big smile.  Mind you, when Grace lost her two front teeth, she said over and over again how she hoped that she would have 'buck teeth' come in.  WHAT?  Who says that?  Her response: "But all of my friends have buck teeth".  Peer pressure for buck teeth...really?
We go in for our first visit and i had all three girlies with me.  The normal paperwork was filled out along with a 'get to know you' sheet.  We then were ushered back to speak with the office manager Stephanie, who of course is sweet as pie and about 15 minutes later greeted by Dr. Weller.  Dr. Weller, was warm and kind and asked, "So, what are you here for"?  And Bella, who never says anything to anybody chimes in, "We are here for Graces buck teeth".   Where on earth did that come from?  Of course we were all giggling and Dr. Weller graciously says, "Well, we won't call them that but Grace does have generous teeth".  That she does!  Dr. Weller proceeds to examine Grace's mouth and engages in conversation with her, not asking her questions and not reading off  of a piece paper....So Grace, you are in third grade at Sunset Primary, you play the piano, you do gymnastics and your sisters names are Bella and Lily and......i could go on and on!  He ACTUALLY read that little get to know you sheet before he came in.  Even if she didn't need braces, i was sold.  :-)

So, here is my plug for Weller Orthodontics on Bridgeport Way in University Place...GO...you will not be disappointed.  And boy, braces have come a long way from when i had them in 9th grade!  Less bands, clear brackets and fun colors.  It is cool to be a 'brace-face' now!

Stay tuned......
more orthodontic adventures to come!

Impressions!

Miss Denise putting in the spacers.

So proud of her two beloved blue spacers.

Da man himself.....Dr. Weller.
I think Grace was trying to show her spacers in this photo. :-)

It's fun to stay at the YMCA!

We're are back at it!
After i started running, gym workouts got quite boring.  I cancelled our membership because i am cheap frugal that way but was enticed to rejoin when i found out we could have a free membership while Jeff is technically deployed.  Whoo-hoo!  Got the girlies signed up for gymnastics and they Y is so good to me.  They let Lily into the regular gymnastics program with her big sisters so i could enjoy an hour of working out all by my lonesome.  Really, even though she is technically in preschool, she would look ridiculous with a group of 2 1/2 to 4 year olds.  She fits right in with the big girls and is already taller than most of them. :-)

Today was our first day and the girls LOVED it!
Lily begged to stay longer, Grace bragged about winning three hula-hoop contests and Bella....well, she just goes with the flow and is happy to do anything. :-)

The Pearl Street Y has been remodeled and looks fabulous!
I ventured into the cardio room to use the stair climber..mind you, not stair 'stepper' but the real deal.  You know, the machine that has the rotating stair case?  I am officially in training for my March 20th adventure.  I am raising money for Leukemia research.  Come support me here for the Big Climb.  Shockingly i was able to do the stairs for 15 minutes and also a little bit of weights too.  Felt like a stud until i was walking out the door and i was all wobbly and shaky...i'll take that as i pushed myself and that i am not out of shape. Right?

Jeff stayed at work late so the girlies and i ate without him.  Bella and Grace wanted pretzels and fishy crackers for desert.  Look at the silly fun we had.

Happy Snow everybody....isn't it gorgeous?
Here's hoping for a late start tomorrow without that awful 5:30 wake up call from the school district. :-)

Her bottom is eating her leotard.

And you can see why her bottom eats her leotard...
cute little round mound of love!

And to the other extreme. :-)

This was a fun team effort!

Saturday play date fun!

It was kind of a quiet weekend around our house.
Jeff had National Guard duty which frees up our time to do what we 'really want' but i just never got around to planning anything adventurous.  Grace on the other hand had been invited to a Spa Party at one of her BFF's home on Saturday afternoon.  We had no idea what she was in for!

Isabel's Mommy Kiersten really out did herself.  She is due to have her third baby at the end of March and she is the one who should of been pampered, not Grace!  We arrived to a pristine home in U.P. , seriously, it is gorgeous...as in, i could move in there tomorrow and not change a thing. :-)  She obviously has very good taste!  Candles were burning, towels and robes rolled up and waiting to be slipped into, snacks of grapes, cheese, crackers, sparkling lemonade from Paris (not sure if this is true but that is what Grace claims) and chocolate (the real stuff)!  Really, who does that for two nine year old partners in crime?  One great Mommy!  I owe her big time!

Also, this sweet little family has chickens!
Did you know you can have up to 12 chickens in University Place?
They were wandering around her beautiful little yard and i have to admit, i was a little scared of them but not too scared to try and get a photo. :-) 
We even came home with truly organic eggs.

Spa photos compliments of Isabel's Mom, Kiersten, from her phone.  Phones can take some pretty great pictures these days.

Avocado facials...
and Grace was given her robe as a gift and would
wear it to school if i let her.

YUM-O!

                                   

Cute little pampered girlies!

Isn't she/he gorgeous?

Since Grace was going to be gone for the afternoon i decided that the littles needed to have a some fun too and we went and picked up their boyfriends Peter and Luke and took them to their favorite...good old Mickey D's.  As you can see by the photos, they did not have a good time at all.  :-)

Love all of these cute faces!

I really don't think he minds. :-)

Don't you want to bite both of them!?

And them too!

Aww...sweetness!

In your mouth silly!

And the real reason why the
Seahawks won...
The 12th men were with them in spirit
at McDonalds!

                                   
                                        
                                                      

Benjamin.....

One of my dearest friends in the world, Jenny,  gave birth to her fourth miracle on Tuesday morning.
His name is Benjamin Aaron.  Is that a sweet name or what?  So, i am a little partial to the name.....it's still an amazing name for one precious little boy. :-)

Jenny is Bella's future mother-in-law 'Ukie's Mom", you know, Bella's Ukie and one of the most special people you will ever meet.  We became fast friends when Luke and Bella were in their first preschool class together.  You know when you meet someone, you're comfortable from the get go and you can just be yourself?  That is how i felt when i met Jenny.  She is someone i can boo-hoo to and she will either let me cry my eyes out or make me laugh so i don't cry my eyes out.  What is better than that?  And did i mention she is FUN?   Whether we are hanging out for coffee, at McDonald's, each other's homes, having pedicures or just sitting on the church steps waiting for the snow to pass so she can take me to my stranded car...it's always fun to be with her.
Jenny is caring, smart, so beautiful, a great Mom and one fabulous wife to Aaron.  They are just a great team and will make great in-laws for Bella.  Really....you think i need to stop with all of this nonsense?  Never...it needs to happen in my books.  And if not Bella and Luke, i can always hold out for Lily and Peter.  Yes, they have a son who is Lily's age too!  Did i luck out or what?
If you believe in luck, what i lucked out in, NO, what i am blessed with is an amazing friendship with one marvelous gal.  Love you Jenny and love that sweet little life you brought into the world too.  XOXO

Perfection....
and is that a hint of red i see?

                                                                           

A little peek.....

                                    

On a baby high and little sleep....isn't Jenny gorgeous!?!

Guess what Lily wants now?

Can't forget these two lovebirds. :-)

I think he's smiling at me.

No more little sister...today i am the BIG sister!

Natalie and Jenny's Mom...
two very pretty people!

Pinkalicious Fun!

We used to LOVE pink in our home until Grace pretty much banned anything pink from her wardrobe two years ago.  It wasn't only her clothing, school supplies are what started all of it.  No more pink pencil boxes, pink folders or pink scissors.  The only reason why she agreed to 'pink' erasers was because it was printed on the school supply list otherwise she would have found another color to replace those as well.

But....nobody can resist the nasty roached out pink wig that we've had since Grace was four.
She was watching that silly show Lazy Town one day and the main character Stephanie has a cute pink bob.  Grace thought that was the coolest thing she had ever seen and begged for pink hair after that.  Well we all knew that was not going to happen until she moved out on her own and paid for it herself, so she had to settle for the pink wig i found on Ebay.

Lily found the pink hair headband catastrophe at the Dollar Tree and as you notice, it has seen better days but it will still bring a good laugh when you need one.

Grace is very tired of me taking pictures of them.
This is her way to rebel...not to smile except she
can't help it.  It's not her mouth that smiles
but her pretty eyes.

So color coordinated!

Wait till you see her get up.....

Poser with a big fat capital 'P'!

Isn't this dress just totally inappropriate?
Grace was given this as a birthday gift
when she was 5 and it is still a favorite.

And the biggest excitement for the night!

They were all tucked in bed and within 5 minutes Bella was screamin', Lily chimed in since they share a room and of course that got Grace out of bed.  Bella lost her top tooth that was barely loose when she came home from school today.  They are falling out left and right!  Let's hope the tooth fairy remembers to come tonight because she blew it the last time!  Oooops!

My Angel

Today i was blessed to have breakfast for 2 1/2 hours with one of my ABSOLUTE favorite people in the whole world!
Besties, i love you but this woman has precedence even over all of you!

My sweet Pat!

I want you to know about someone who i feel helped save me, along with God, when i was at a very dark place in my life.  As many of you know, we tried for many years to have our own biological children and we finally succeeded on our 2nd invitro cycle in February of 1999.  Sadly, due to an infection in my placenta, the pregnancy of our precious identical twin boys ended too soon, bringing them into the world on June 16th, 1999 at just 21weeks 4 days gestation.  Their little lungs were not developed enough to keep them with us and they passed on about an hour after their births.

My world had come to an end.....
I became a hermit.
I did not reach out to anyone.  Not even my sweet husband.
Not good.

August i received a phone call from Pat,  the perinatal grief counselor asking if Jeff and I would be interested in starting a couples counseling session with her and a few other couples.  All of a sudden i felt like God had finally heard my cries and was giving me people to talk with who would fully understand the pain i was enduring.

The sessions saved me.
Brought me out of my dark place.
Helped me understand that Jeff and i would grieve differently and....that was okay.
But the biggest gift it brought me was Pat.  My Angel.  My forever counselor and friend.

I so desperately wish i was scholarly enough to put into words what Pat has done for me over the years.
It would be pages and pages, it would be a book!
She never said to me....Time will make things heal.
She said....It's what you do with your time that will help you heal.
Amen to that!
That is when i knew i had to come out of hiding and try to be SuLee again.

Pat has an amazing gift.
She is someone who truly takes in every word you have to say before she responds.  She NEVER interrupts you while you are speaking.  She lets you share your 'truth' without any judgement.  And then when she shares her wisdom with you, it is done so carefully, so perfectly.
And isn't she LOVELY?  Inside and out.
She has the most amazing eyes, sweet smile and a voice that will soothe you when you are feeling down.

Not only is Pat everything that i've mentioned above but she is also a SURVIVOR!
She was a huge reason why i did the 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk.
She saved my life at one time, the least i could do was contribute to helping find a cure to the disease that could have taken hers.

There was a wall full of these 'buttons' and you could
write whatever you chose.
I chose to honor three amazing ladies...SURVIVORS!

Still smiling after completing the best 60 miles of my life!

Pat, i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE you!
Thank you for continuing to be on my journey with me!
XOXO