Bonjour, Hallo, and Guten Tag from Belgium!

We made it here safe and sound.

And...
So far, so, sooooo good!
We are having the time of our lives. Food has never tasted so gloriously delicious. Dear belgium waffles, you need never leave me.

Yes, and don't even get me started on the chocolate.
mmm mmm mmm! I salivate just thinking about all those tasty morsels.Whose ever idea it was to place a different mom and pop chocolate shop on every corner.. I love you so.

Belgium is so beautiful.
We have been in Bruges the past 2 days, and I never want to leave...
but alas, we must.
Early tomorrow morning we are headed off to Holland.
Phew... it's a whirl wind. But such a fantastic one.
you jealous??
:)

**I also found this gem on the old photo drive.
it was too cute to not post.

i am missing my girls like crazy... like hurts my heart. literally. crazy.

xoxox my baby girls... be home soon!

ps...
If it looks like I am wearing the same thing in all of these pictures, it's because I am.
It's been raining non-stop for 2 days and I only brought 1 jacket and 1 scarf. What was I thinking??

pps
All the photos here are just from the snap and shoot :(
Yours truly also forgot the USB for the Nikon at home. niiice.
these will just have to do for now.

BELGIUM or bust

so what,
i forgot to mention the most incredible trip dustin and i are taking? you know, the one we've been planning for nearly 2 years?

i know.. you thought we were better friends than that.
we are...
just call it superstition. i didn't want to jinx it.

early wendesday morning Dustin and I are headed off to Belgium and the Netherlands.
no biggy.

he is required to go for his MBA program, and there ain't no way i was ever not accompanying him. we will be gone for 10 days, child free.

i. am. so. excited.

nannie is taking the girls, and minus the slight case of laryngitis i decided to catch,
all is going smoothly.
even.. *gasp*... packing.

keep your fingers crossed, and be insanely jealous.
because this trip is going to rock it.

red

i match my family.

i've been wanting to do this ever since this chicky baby on Idol started sporting it.
she was always too cute.. and i thought "hmm.. red."

minie keeps telling me
1. "mom.. your hair funny."
2. "you have kennan hair."

poppy just tries to touch it,
and dustin told me i looked like Justin Bieber.

what???


i say i like it.
even love it.

what think?

turns out..

getting caught in the rain isn't my best look.

where did this monsoon come from?
i promise you as i headed out the doors of target it was only a light drizzle...
20 feet and thirty million sheets of rain later,
this is what we looked like.

they look all smiles here,
but moments earlier were definitely not amused with the pelting hail.

we had to wait 30+ minutes or so in the parking lot for the rain to die down...
ya know because,
i forgot my amphibious car at home today..
sure could have used it.



anyone else singing in the rain?

and also...

took photos of miss. amazing herself this afternoon.
she is too delish to handle.

love you pretz,
xoxo!

our favorite get-away

as i mentioned earlier, we headed out last week for an extended weekend to our favorite and best.
st. george.
dustin had some workish to conduct down south, and i won't ever turn me down an invite to see those lamoreaux people. we love them.
our days are busy with their life, the glorious fenced-in yard, delicious food, and always good company. the girls cry when it's time to go.. and as we get on the freeway heading north i can't always help but ask "why don't we live here??"
i could be a desert dweller.. pool, red rock..
me thinks i love it.

besides minie's potty mishaps, she thoroughly enjoyed herself. she loves playing with the "big girls". here i caught her giving flirtaous eyes to Gina. can you tell she is enamored?
i haven't taken a picture of her that i love this much in a long time.
pretty girl.

girls club:
gwyn, minie, gina

this one...
there are no words.

i love you gwyneth rose.
be mine anytime.

nothing quite like a nice DC to quench that toddler thirst.
*sigh*...

we love our st.george stays.
thank you again robyn and bob. a million times over.
when can we move in?

defeated

scratch that last post.

minie is not doing well with this whole potty training business. the back of the book had a whole chapter on stubborness.. i just skimmed through it not really thinking it to be a hurdle.

well, suprise, suprise...
it is.

minie woke up this morning with nothing but hatred for her once beloved pink throne. she refused to even talk about it, much less sit on it. today she held her bladder for over 8 hours just to avoid going.. and then hid and peeped in my sisters yard. all of the sudden requests for her bink and bottle are being made (which we've been rid of for month or so now), and she has been asking for her diapers. when i told her she wasn't a big girl if she wore them, still just a baby.. she said " yea.. minie moo a baby" with pride. probably adding hurt to it all was our decision to head down to st.george for an early weekend. i feel like the worlds worst parent. no two ways around it. she and i are both getting angry with eachother, and why? why am i fighting with my 2 year old? it makes her cry, like break her heart cry when i pester her to go. is it worth it? when her cousin gwyn asked her to go today, she simply replied "nooo... i tired of the potty gwynnie!"
*sigh....

guess we're still not ready. the key word being WE.
i'm not ready to fight her like this. it is not worth it. i will change that baby bum of hers until she feels brave enough to do it herself.

so maybe just save that last post for another time?? perhaps next month.. or the next?

i don't know.

and please.. for the record, snide, judgemental "annonymous" comments aren't really appreciated. and definetly are not saving any friendship. if you can't say it to my face in a tactful way..there isn't any sort of the relationship on the line. period.


adventures of the toilet
m0m vs. minie
0-1

training day

no.. i'm not talking about your favorite Denzel thriller.

although i do promise you what i mean is just as tense, and much more traumatic.
potty training day.
i have dreaded the day from the moment i concieved minie.
i watched my sisters struggle through wet beds, and poopy undies.. and i just knew i wasn't cut out for it.
it just stresses me out. what can i say?
but lo and behold, minie actually sporadically started taking herself to the toilet to do her privy business and i just knew i could put it off any longer.
that and the smallish fact that preschool won't be happening this fall if we don't have a good handle on it by then.

it was time.
do you want to know the best part of being the youngest in a family?
everyone else gets to all of the hard stuff before you.
thank everything holy that robyn and kennan have had toddlers pave the way.
my prep took all of a quick phone call to the sisters, and they led me right where i needed to be.

toilet training in less than a day.

sounds daunting, right??
it was.. it is.
but we did it.

i've been buying our potty loot for a couple of weeks now, so when this morning rolled around we were more than ready to get things started.
we spent the better part of the morning chugging all manner of liquids, munching popcorn and cheetos, and playing dolls.
pretty sure minie wants to train all day, every day.
my mom took poptart for the day, so it was just me and my mins. one on one.
at first it felt novel..
but by lunch she was missing her favorite shadow, and grew tired of mom. apparently the feeling was mutal on the other end as well :) .
that bit made my heart swoon a little,
but that's besides the point...

success took time.
she did make it to the potty, but only to just walk away and piddle all over the floor 5 steps away.
it was frustrating. by nap time i was ready to throw in the towel. i called my mom and sisters and told them they were crazy, and that i didn't believe them that it worked.
i was convinced they had just forgotten...

but alas,
minie woke up with dry pants and exictment to try her new-found skill. she went right to the potty, lowered her pants and hasn't looked back since. she had zero accidents this afternoon/evening, and seems to know when she needs to go.

all day she was awarded gifts and munchies.. every time she was praised she asked me to take her picture.. and every time i obliged. this one day she got whatever she asked just as long as she kept her wee in the toilet.

by far her favorite task all day has been training her new dolly.
doll training was only supposed to last the first hour or so of the day, but minie's baby kept going all day long. and i believe that more than anything helped her the most. if dolly went ( and how special she could go every time :)...) minie went.

how they come up with such things i do not know..
i'm just glad they did and i could follow.

although i'm not so niave as to believe we are out of the woods yet,
i feel a world of relief. and a lot proud.
this day is over with.. my girl is succeeding..
and i adore her to the end of time.

this business kicks my butt...
pray tomorrow morning she still remembers.

and now i'm off to watch some gLee...
good night.

xoxo,

brooke

my easter post

let me preface this post by saying easter this year was good.
it was just slightly.. shall we say manic?
seems to fit.

so first of all.. some high notes:
. conference this weekend?
well if i were kewl, would say,
was off the hizzy.
but i don't feel particularly comfortable with that, so let's just say i enjoyed it. a lot.
combine all of that with a holiday weekend, and really i can't complain one bit.

.the girls absolute excitement over their target dollar bin laden easter baskets.
.truly and most suprising, understanding the depths of poppy's love for candy.
.and how could i forget minie's middle of the night wake-up call to let me know that "da easter bunny doesn't like minie. he no come to our house. i 'fraid".
.the girl's immense adoration for the new mega-powered bubble machine.. and my midnight wal-mart run to fetch said item. i had bought one earlier.. but upon setting things up quickly realized i was jipped $15 in form of darling Hello Kitty and her bubble blowing abilities.
bottom line... stick with the orginal.

. these girls in their adorables.

.cousins.
'nuff said.

.this dula.
i love him. cute little rat that he is.

. and oh yes... these girls.

what were the bad points you ask??
well let's not delve into that here.
i will say that if i never have to have another political discussion with my husband and family again, it will be too soon.
AND i promise to be nicer when i am hungry with whining kids.
AND..
snow go away.


ahh, well.

happy easter!
:)

refresh

well, let's talk about it.
this boy is amazing.
i just got back from a 3 day stay with him and...
i am in love.

shall we rewind a little bit??
i've been spoiled rotten. three weekends in a row i have been out of town. wait.. let me rephrase. 3 weekends in a row i have been out of town childless. i know... i told you i was spoiled.

re-cap:
first my darling husband whisked me off for a birthday trip to vegas. after a weekend full of shopping, eating, sleeping, and massages i came home for a mere 4 days, only to leave again the following thursday for st.george. my sisters and mom had a sewing weekend and it was fabulous. a bit of a whirlwind.. but so, so fun. we stayed at robyn's awesomest in-laws home (thanks you Mitchells) , that came equipped with pool and hot tub. it was lovely. we stayed up {way too} late sewing, talking, laughing, and eating. doesn't that sound sublime?? it was.. so much so that i only took two pictures..

at least it was documented.
i will {eventually} take pictures of my darlings in their new home-made creations.
stay tuned.

AND then...
he was born.

monday march 22, 2010.
is he perfect, or is he perfect???

my ever so ah-maz-ing hub let me leave yet again to go visit this little man and his mama.
he is divine.
i spent nearly 3 days squishing his little face off.. and fine... he made me just the teeny, tinest baby hungry :) .
i love other people's newborns. paige is this incredible mama, who somehow is handling the whole new-mother thing like a pro. it makes me just a little jealous.. because i know 1 week in with both girls i was everything short of a disaster. but no surprises there really.. we all knew she was going to rock the whole motherhood thing.

and so now i am home.
it feels nice, and i really missed my family. i feel rejuvenated, and loved, and very blessed.
dustin gets husband of the year award. he {mostly} happily sent me off two weekends in a row, and fended for himself. both weekends he cleaned the house from top to bottom, kept up with laundry, took the girls on outings to the aquarium, jungle jims, McDonalds, and park, AND dealt with their stomach flu this past weekend.
he is my hero.. and fine.. is putting me to shame just a bit.
love you my man.

hope you all are enjoying brig as much as i do.
he is delicious.

xoxo,
brooke

st. pattys and the farm

it didn't feel right to not do something on this springish holiday, so off to the farm we went.
truth be told, minie over-heard me telling some friends we should plan a day to go in the next couple of weeks and then got it in her mind we were headed there immediately.

it's been a while since we've been, so i didn't much mind it.
this season is not complete without several trips to see those moo boys.
so i say anyway...

i adore this one.
here she is, in all her poppy self.
yep.. that is her on-demand smile.
live it, love it, learn it.

my girl.

this little pet is near to impossible to snap a picture of.
she WILL not hold still.
thank the heavens for a zoom.

looking for "budgs".

oh poppy...
dustin in known in his family for a signature childhood move known as "the flop".
it's essentially an immense temper tantrum that results in an immediate dramatized collapse to the ground below.
{un}fortunately poppy has inherited this lovely trait in all it's infamous glory.
she however has added some new tricks and throws in a good round of convulsing, rolling, and kicking.
this particular show was because i told her we needed to put her bow back in.
lovely.

somehow we've become a family..
that hits me every once and a while,
and well..
i like it alot.
:)

happy march 17th..
and my mad skillz of blogging!


two days in a row..
hoot, hoot!