Princess party photos

As Turi describes in his post, we had a joint birthday party for Lola and Sofia last weekend.   The theme was Fancy Nancy, and everyone turned out in all their fanciness.  And thus, a new album is born.

A funny thing happened

I am a jumpy person. Even when I know someone is around, I still find myself startled when they approach when I am not paying attention. I think I have passed a bit onto Lola, mostly because I think she senses it from me.  I try and be brave.  We watched the fireworks on the 4th and she was fine. (I do not get scared of fireworks.)  I encourage her to turn on lights when she thinks it is too dark, ensuring her that everything is okay and that she has control to change it.

Last night, we were at a friend's house in downtown. He lives on the 14th floor.  It was a great evening. We were out on the balcony enjoying the cooler breeze when some VERY loud popping and flashing lights started.  He faces away from the river and Wingfield park. A friend said, "Oh, it's fireworks!"  Nope.  I was sure that it wasn't.  It was so loud. I quickly grabbed the arm of this friend and took myself inside. The others of our party moved onto the balcony, where I was sure that they were going to die. I headed for the middle of the rooms thinking that I had a better chance of survival if the building went down.  Meanwhile there is still flashing and loud booms, which I am sure is gunfire and a bomb.  I was terrified.  So if the building didn't go down, then I was going to have to face carnage when it was over. Bodies were going to be strewn about the park. There would be total chaos in the streets below. Who is bombing Downtown Reno? Why would someone bomb downtown Reno?

I think the the one thing that made this all worse was that I had convinced my friend (the one that said they were fireworks) that it was indeed a bad situation and she had moved right inside with me.  I will keep her identity hidden.  But Genoveve was right there with me, cowering in the apartment.

So after a few moments, after visualizing the complete destruction and planning my escape from the building - both if it kept standing or if I had to unbury myself from the rubble, everything became quiet. The FIREWORKS were over. I was no longer a target for a terrorist attack, but now a mark for the other guests and the hard laughter that soon followed all at my expense.

just a little something

Well, Nana has come and gone. We had a wonderful time besides her getting sick.  We shopped, played, napped, and ate.  It was relaxing and fun.

Tasty is fitting right in. She and Cina have become fast friends. Okay, Cina is a bit annoyed.  Tasty wants to play all the time and loves to crawl, claw and bite Cina.  She is most intrigued by her wagging tail.  It is great that they are getting along so well and that Tasty has fit in like a perfect piece of our perfect family puzzle.

Sid is battling the stomach flu again.  It is so hard to watch someone so little be sick and not be able to tell you what is hurting.  His little personality still shines through at moments and gives us hope that he is on the mend.

Congratulations to our VERY good friends, Tina and Bart, on the arrival of their daughter, Matilda Adriana.  she weighed in at 7lbs 10oz and 21.5" long.  We can't wait to meet her.  We have had to hold off due to illness around here.  Here is a picture of the new family!!



Another quick...kinda gross story, but one for all parents.  We were in Kohl's shopping with Nana last weekend.  Lola had just trotted off with Marc to the bathroom, as she loves to check out all public bathrooms and they have a family bathroom with a toilet just her size.  I was wandering around with Sid in the backpack looking for great deals when I suddenly was taken aback by a horrible smell.  Yep, Sid.  Ugh.  I caught Marc as he came out of the bathroom and asked him to take Sid out to the van and change him.  We took him out of the backpack and noticed that he had leaked just a bit.  As Marc turned him over to see for himself, two large pieces of fecal matter....okay, shit, fell out. They plopped onto Marc's shoe before rolling off and finally halting on the carpet of Kohl's.  For a split second, I wanted to walk away and pretend that nothing had happened.  Instead, I went to the bathroom, grabbed some paper towels, and picked it up as if Sid was my pet in the park.  Gross.  It was an awful feeling.  Marc left with Sid, we grabbed Nana and left. Lola was kind enough to let Nana know that we had to leave because there was poop on the floor. The horror that Nana's face took on was priceless as well as the comment, "Well, I hope not."  Yep, there had been poop on the floor and we needed to leave.  The lesson that I hope Marc learned was to trust my words, treat this type of situation more delicately, and accept the assignment as directed.  For me, the lesson is that, truly, you can see anything as a parent.  There is no way to be prepared.

Happy Father's Day to all of you fathers out there.  Especially Grandpa Dave, Marc, and Pop.  A special shout out to the new daddy, Bart.  I can't wait to see how the father-daughter relationship will change your life!!

Just a quickie

• Sid is starting to crawl. Mostly in reverse, but he is on his way. Other new moves are clapping and shaking his head from side to side - as in "no, no."


• Just received a new bag from www.trixerdesigns.com. Fun bags. They are made well and look great! Thsnks, Chrisite! (and Maggie, for being related to Christie!)


• I love the weather. It was great to see it get in the high 60's. If we get a vote, I'd like to avoid any further snow.


• Looking forward to a trip to Michigan in May.


• Garage sale season has officially started for me. Lola, Deej and I went last weekend. They are few and far between, but they are there!


• I love Sam Adam's Cherry Wheat. It makes me want to drink too much beer. Good thing it is a bit pricier than Marc wants to spend.


• I'm ready for an addition to the family. I mean a dog!! Are you kidding? Lola and Sid are going to be the only offspring from Marc and I. We love them, they are perfect, and they are just enough. The only addition should be a dog. Cina's lonely.

Trixerdesigns.com

The mail person brought us a bundle of gifts today. Maggie is visiting. Her sister, Christie, is a very talented seamstress! I just ordered a new wristlet and some napkins. Lola received some very cool felt veggies. Maggie received a new prototype. Great stuff!

Lola with her veggies.

Lola with our new napkins!

Me with my new wristlet!

See - No hands needed.

Maggie with the new prototype. (I LOVE this, Christie!)

I also have a diaper bag that I bought before Sid was born. She does fantastic work. Take a minute to check out her website wwww.trixerdesigns.com and fill your cart!

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”

This morning I had to make a difficult decision that many pet owners must do. Daisy was put to sleep this morning after a period of decline in her health. She was thought to be around 9 years, but we now think she was much older.

I acquired Daisy in the Summer of 2003 after I met Marc. I was called by a lady who rescues small dogs. I had to decline to come and see her as were going on vacation in a few days. I called the woman back within 5 minutes just to set up a time to come and see her. She barked at me when she met me and I knew that I wanted to take her home. I remember her sitting on the front seat of the car like it was where she belonged and had done it all along. She took to our life very easily and found her cozy spots that she spent most of her time in.

It was a very difficult decision. But with the guidance of our vet, we decided that this was the best thing for her.

Happy New Year

2008 is here, and so are we, same as we were yesterday.  Had a nice gathering of a few folks with nothing better to do, ate, drank, and made merry.  Fireworks, crazy dog, the usual scene around here.  My favorite is Lola's assessment that the fireworks on TV in downtown Reno are "totally nuts!"  Big brunch feast today to get the new year started right.

Mostly here to announce a new album in the gallery, photos taken by Lola's camera.  They weren't all taken by Lola (obviously, she's in several of them), and I've sort of lost track of which ones were taken by her and which weren't.  Some of them pretty obviously are hers, but occasionally she takes a really good one.  Pretty low quality, but some of them have a certain low-rez appeal to them.  Sort of.  We'll keep adding things as her photography skills develop.

Best wishes for the new year.

Notable news

Just a couple news flashes from the household...

We got a Wii.

Sid apparently has pinkeye.

Maggie's here for the holidays.

That's all for now.

No wait, got a couple pics from that trip to SF a while back to share:





OK, now I'm done.

Gobble, gobble

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is already and done with, Christmas is a month away, and that Sidney is 4 months old. I can't believe that the weather has been as nice as it has been - and there are people who still deny global warming?

Lola is just getting over a cold, and Sidney has gotten his second cold already! Poor boy. Can't be easy to be that little and sick.

I cooked Thanksgiving dinner. Highlights has to be the pumpkin gooey cake and the date bars which I intend to perfect. They weren't quite right. But, if you have ever had and liked my gooey cake and like pumpkin - I have got a bite of heaven for you. Lola, Paige and I also made placemats from grocery bags and turkeys with pipe cleaners. It was a funky little table. After Lola ripped off the eyes of the turkeys, it looked more like a massacre on the table.

Lola at the table

My little elves are hard at work trying to get all the Christmas goodies together - okay, I am the only elf. I am dragging out the vintage aluminum Christmas tree again this year and am going with a blue/green decor for Sid. I decorated it all pink after Lola was born. We will be attempting to take the family Christmas photo today or tomorrow.

Wanted to throw in a couple more photos:

Lola in her Princess dress - bday present from Gen and Chris.

Lola and her artwork

Sid and Dada on Thanksgiving Day

Terry and Lola on Thanksgiving

Priscilla and Sid on Thanksgiving

Finally, an update

Yes, it's time again for Marc to take to the keyboard, whine about how busy he is and never gets around to updating this site, and tosses up a handful of new pictures for your viewing pleasure.  First, a fun little photo from recent weeks, we've been trying to keep the bird feeder out in the front yard filled, then enjoying as various little birds, mourning doves, and sometimes blue birds and quail.  This particular morning, the quail were THICK at the base of the tree picking up remnants...



Since I last wrote here, we: had a nice visit from Nana, had (sorta) two visits from Maggie, celebrated both my birthday (sushi dinner one night, brewed beer, dinner at Silver Peak the actual night) and Lola's (big party in which the birthday -brewed beer was consumed, Morgan already wrote about it), went in for the big V, trick-or-treated several times (Raley's, our neighborhood, Riverwalk District), got a new windshield for the van, had the kids' pictures taken, flew to California and back in a day for work and visited Ray at the same time, and visited an aunt in Vacaville and a friend in Fernley.  Whew.  And I wonder why I never have time to write.  Of course, now that the holidays are virtually upon us, it may be a while again.

Speaking of beer, I had a great shopping trip to BevMo while in Vacaville, picked up a bunch of micros and imports that I can't get around here.   Also on the horizon, a bottle of Utopias with my name on it, probably this week.

Now, about those pictures...you'll find new Lola pics in her album, including a couple from when we met up with visiting friends of the family from France in SF, and a couple from her birthday party.  Also a number of new Sidney pictures in his album.  And finally, amazingly, a couple Sidney videos so his page actually has some content.

Until I write again, and really, I'll try to get out little posts more frequently, this is Dada, signing off.

Priceless

I was just going to dump two sweet links on you, scans from a 1975 JCPenney catalog someone was kind enough to post.  Here and here.  That was a few years before my mom started working for JCP, but having grown up in a JCPenney household, I fondly remember poring over Christmas catalogs throughout my childhood.  I don't remember seeing anything as fabulous as these, but I guess it's the historical perspective as an adult rather than childhood fondness for toys that makes them so great now.

Morgan mentioned our visit to SF.  In a nutshell, we (us four plus Paige and Maggie) had a great trip over, overnight at friends (who weren't there but let us stay at their house) in Oakland, then a truly wonderful visit with friends visiting from France.  Great time was had by all, Lola included, who had some really good fun playing with little Zoe.  We forgot our camera, but fortunately they didn't.  I should have photos to post someday soon.  Stay tuned.

Photos

OK, as promised, additional photos...click on them for larger versions.

Birds at our birdfeeder 

And a few from our afternoon BBQ at Ian and Sharon's house, featuring dear Lola of course...

A few new pics

Well, I was going to just post a quick blurb that I put up a few new Sidney pics in his album and Lola pics in hers.  Then I was going to wait until later today to include a few pictures of birds at our birdfeeder and one of our new house in the margin.  Then Morgan convinced me to go ahead and toss something out right now...we leave for brunch in 45 minutes.

Around the house this weekend: Living room painted fabulously by Morgan in a nice shade of blue and one wall in chocolate brown (or mahogany as Home Depot calls it) , more painting to come tomorrow we hope; went to dinner at sister Sarah's house in Truckee last night, BBQ at the Campbells' house today; need to fill up the birdfeeder; selling some stuff on ebay; miscellaneous errands and such.  Nice to have three whole days.

So that's it for this quick post, hopefully I'll get back on with some other photos later today.

Photo update

Busy around here, blogging is low priority, "free" time scarce. Finally getting settled in a bit, with a new toolshed out back, lots of boxes being emptied (don't get me wrong, still plenty to open), and miscellany being bought, built, and used. Not back at work yet, thankfully. We do have some fun too, like a kite-flying visit to the park yesterday, and little bike rides for Lola in the street. Major hearty congratulations to our dear friend and realtor Jack and his wife Melody, welcoming their son Nicholas into the world a few days ago. He's a darn cute boy.

Some new Lola pictures in her album, and some new Sid pictures in his album.

And yes, I do need to change the house picture in the margin to the right, I just haven't got a good picture of our new house yet.

Quiet, please.

Actually, there really has been no need to ask. Sidney sleeps, eats, eats some more, poops, and then sleeps again. Some of these actions happen simultaneously. Lola has perfected the art of whining. Overall, she has adapted to many new changes without much disapproval. I think she has only asked once that Sidney go back to where he came from. I think the role of 'big sister' suits her well and that she seems to have blossomed overnight. She seems so....mature? Really. Right after Sid was born, I noticed such a change in her - I guess because she wasn't the baby anymore.

My last attempt to blog was going to be while waiting for my contractions to get closer. I returned one email to Maggie, thought I'd let Marc sleep as much as I could since Sid's arrival was a certainty at that point, and then sat down to blog live while in labor. Nope. No such luck. Contractions came on fast and by the time that Gigi has arrived at 3am, I was in the driveway, pacing, sure that this poor kid was about to fall out. Four hours after our arrival to the hospital, Sidney made his grand entrance in full screaming mode. I must say it was a lot easier the second time. We had great care and Lola learned a lot that morning. She was not present at the actual birth, but was exposed enough to tell you exactly where babies come from. I guess her 'door' theory went out the window that morning.

We got home just in time to turn around and move into our new house. New house I recommend, kids are great - but doing all of it within days, I do not recommend so much. We had so much help - from movers, packers, to babysitters. Marc and I were overwhelmed at the generosity put forth by everyone. I hate moving and I can imagine that moving someone else's shit is much worse. I felt even worse being totally incompetent to do anything of use. We are still living out of some boxes.....I can find clean underwear for everyone, we all have clean sheets and other necessities. I guess we can survive this way for a while. Needless to say, a lot of my maternity time will be spent feeding Sid, negotiating with Lola, and in between, trying to put our house together.

It has been great to have Marc around for the past week. I think the addition of baby is pretty easy - but getting all the little things done on Novelly and here - I could not have handled that on my own. Mom and Paige have been great. They put one of our new bookshelves together and it only took them about 4 hours. I haven't seen much of them since:)

That's about all.......thanks to everyone for all the warm wishes, help, and love.

I was going to post a couple new pics...I will when Marc gets home. I always forget how to do it.

wild for Windsor!

So, it is official. Our offer was accepted and the Tiar family will be moving into their new house sometime after the 27th of July when we close. Oh, that is 4 days after Baby Brother is due to arrive. I like to keep things interesting. I figure unless we were waiting a few months, I am never going to be that much help - to big and pregnant now. After, well just healing with an infant. Anyway it happens, it is not far to move and I am so excited, I will be packed and ready before.

Amy is leaving tomorrow. She is the neighbor across the street. She's Lola's best friend. She is only sad when she thinks about leaving Lola and Marc and I got a little verklempt when talking about it earlier. Lola went over to help pack and clean for a while (probably really to take a break and play with her dogs). After she came home, she started packing her flip flops and other assorted items into a plastic bag, informing me that she was going to New Jersey with Amy.

Poor Lola. Lots of changes. She seems very excited about Baby Brother and talks to him all the time. Apparently he hears better when she lifts my shirt and talks directly against my skin. I am hoping that my new stories of a new bedroom and new house will actually make the transition smooth for her. She is a pretty resilient, adaptable, and easy going child.

No other news really. It's hot. It seems to be getting hotter. Did I mention AC in the new house? That cannot happen soon enough.

Slacking

Lo it's been another long while since I last wrote...

Feels like I have some stuff to write about. Today's Monday following the weekend boys trip to Chico. Mostly success, our main point in going was a visit to Gearhead Barbershop and Tattoo for manly straight razor shaves, in my case to remove six months growth of facial hair. And I did (remove the hair, that is) but not with a straight razor - turns out they don't do it on Saturdays, they're too busy. Oh well. Still had a fun time visiting there, and the Sierra Nevada brewery, and spending the night camping with Ryan, David, and Bart.


Showings of the house are picking up steam, seems like we have one every couple of days. We also now have our own domain name - 979novelly.com - to sell it to all the cybernauts. Still no offers, but today's visitors sounded like they liked it. Seems like lots of people take flyers too.

We successfully surprised Morgan last weekend for her birthday with a party at the Siena in a most excellent suite. Thanks to all who helped pull that off. Big shout-outs to Gigi, Paige, Tina and all the rest.

Also in news around the Tiar house, our yard sale last weekend was a smashing success. Took in about $250, half of which was from our electric scooters, but got rid of plenty of other things that were cluttering up our lives.

Just in terms of recent days, April is a big month for birthdays. Happy wishes this month to: Morgan, Nana, Emily, Grandpa Dave, Nana, Jess, and Sonya. Whew.

And finally, Nana Tiar's visit is winding down. In a mere eighteen hours she'll be taxiing down the runway at RNO, eventually to land back home in France. Lola has really had a grand time having her around to show things to, ask things of, and generally pal around. Here's hoping their move back stateside materializes soon.

I guess that's 'bout it for now. Ciao! (It's finally Vespa weather again!)

It's TWINS!!

Happy April, starting with April first! Good thing Marc is present for ultrasounds and such, or I think this statement may have led him to the hospital with chest pain.

Congrats to my very good friends Kerry and Rick. They welcomed their daughter, Everti Lynn, into this world on Thursday morning. Both parents are doing well and cannot believe what joy she has brought into their lives.

We went and saw Reefer Madness last night at Bruka Theater. It was great. It was only their second night, but you couldn't tell. The cast was great, the music was great and it was an overall great time!! I highly recommend that you try and make it in the next month or so while it is showing.

The weather has been great. You never know though, it has snowed on my birthday (this month) before. We have been enjoying it with lots pf playtime outside, bike riding (Lola) and yard work. I am so tempted to get flowers, bt think that Iwill hold off for a bit longer.

Home improvements are being accomplished left and right. Most of the painting is done - which means that my stripes in the kitchen are gone. I think we have put off listing it until we get back from San Diego.

We take off Wednesday morning to head off to San Diego. Marc and I are both looking forward to a vacation. It has been a while since we have gone anywhere. With all of the 'to dos' lingering, it will be wonderful to escape. Lola is looking forward to seeing animals. I think she will have a great time and will enjoy her vacation even more with Tata Paige around. We will post new pictures (by we, I mean Marc) when we get back.

A few more things about me (this has been lingering on long enough!):

76. I am addicted to Garden Salsa Sun Chips. I am not a huge Sun chip fan, but boy, these are good!

77. I have just reunited with my Swiffer Wet Jet and forgot how great it was. I love getting down on my knees and doing a good scrub every once in a while, but this is so quick and handy.

78. I am a pack rat. With trying to get organized for home sale, I have realized how much shit I have. I am letting go of a lot. Come and check out our garage sale on the 14th!

79. I love to pinch things: pimples, bumps, whatever. If it looks like it can be pinched - I will try.

80. I love shoes.

81. I buy too many shoes and clothes.

82. My new favorite thing is to listen to Marc explain to Lola how to make coffee in the morning.

I think that is all I can come up with right now. I'll try to be more creative in the future and finally finish this list!!

Updates

Geez, as life gets busier, so my postings here get further apart.

We're in full-steam-ahead house prep mode around here, I've discovered how challenging both cement work/bricklaying and carpet laying are to the average do-it-yourselfer (me). A bit more paint touching up, a basement shower, and a lot of general tidying and we'll be ready to put this place up for sale. Even got a storage unit today...nothing in it yet, but it's a step. Might have done it but it had to go and rain and snow today!

Lola's a sick little puppy today, just the usual runny nose and sneezing and coughing cold business, but she really becomes a pill. Not that she's particularly crabby, just needy, prone to crying, and especially inclined to doing and touching everything she's told not to.

Since I last wrote, we've had a couple wildfires already, gone to a booksale, and both been trounced out of the basketball pool at work. So it goes. Finally saw The Departed this week, great movie.

Coming up, we've got our trip to San Diego in a mere eight days, and it looks like we're going to Portland for a visit with Maggie and cadavers in June. Seems psychotic to juggle all that, selling and buying a house, all while impending baby brother looms on the horizon, but...I guess we're just crazy like that. Oh yeah, and I think we're going to see Bruka's production of Reefer Madness this weekend.

I feel like I had more to say but that's probably just due to chronic brain overflow these days. I'll wrap up with a head count of sorts: Maggie comes to visit this weekend, Pop's in Paris, Mom comes in about two weeks, and everyone else is right where they're supposed to be. That's all for now, I'll try to update a few pictures soon.

Library events and more

Let's start with the "more"...seems like ages since I've written.  Life's been busy.  Attempts to find a new house have been going full steam, we've visited about 15 now, and found at least three that we wouldn't object to living in.  But now, we've retreated - the cold hard truth is that we can't do anything in terms of buying until we're selling.  Can't do it without the big equity cashout.  So, the plan is to spruce up around here and try to get it listed at the beginning of April.  Wanna buy a house?  This whole process is already a bit overwhelming and the stress of trying to put our house in order to sell, juggle the process of showing, selling, searching, buying, packing, moving, all while pregnant (oh yeah, we found our our OB is moving away so we had to pick a new one...) and carrying on our usual whirlwind life....I thought I vowed never to move again.  I would have been perfectly content to grow old and die on Novelly Drive.  Oh yeah, kids.  Oh well.

Also, if you need a realtor, Jack is a good friend and good guy who won't do you wrong.  We're also on good terms with our loan officer.  Let me know if you need his name.

Besides my lack of blogging lately, I was also prompted to post by new photos, taken this morning.  Our dear little princess is just too adorable wrapped in a towel after her bath, and it was too hard to pick just one, so I posted the whole series in the gallery.  Enjoy!  Just a couple others besides that, a lipstick shot and a one from our recent park day on her bike (yet another fabulous garage sale find by Morgan - five bucks!).

So, back to the aforementioned library events.  Just two, but worthy of mention...our annual NCAA basketball tournament pool is underway so get in touch asap if you're in, and possibly of a bit broader appeal, there's a library booksale coming up soon, so if you're here in Reno and need books, get ready.

In other news, we got a few minor repairs done to the Vanagon.  I'll take a moment to plug that shop too - a good, honest mechanic is a pretty good thing to have, so if you need any VW work, J's Vans is worth recommendation.  Took a quick dip into the Linux pool last week with Turi...kinda scary, kinda exciting.  He went full bore, formatted his drive and went for full install of Ubuntu.  I just took a few versions for a test drive and quietly backed away.  Maybe later.

Getting late so I'll leave you laughing...a couple jokes I had lingering in my email that I enjoyed.  One risque and funny, one just funny.  OK, now I'm done.