A Lost Tooth and Two Ballerinas

On January 14th Ava became the first little girl in the house to lose a tooth. Here's the story...

I took the girls to the gym childcare while I worked out. When we were done, we stopped at Taco Time to get burritos and went home. As we were eating, Ava said, "Mom, I fell at the gym and hurt my chin." I examined her chin, kissed it, and asked her if she was okay. About a minute later, Bronwen exclaimed, "Mom! When Ava fell, her tooth popped out!" I said, "What?! You're tooth popped out?" Ava said, "Yah," and opened her mouth for me to see. Sure enough her bottom right tooth was gone. I couldn't believe it! I called the gym, and they couldn't believe it either!

I guess what happened is that when Ava fell (onto a foam couch of all things), she somehow knocked her tooth out. She cried for a few minutes, but was fine after one of the teachers cuddled with her. Once out of the teacher's lap, Ava told Bronwen, "My tooth popped out." This prompted the two little girls to explore the area. When they found the tooth, they picked it up, examined it, then put it back on the floor. "It was white. It was little. It had kind of like a smooth part," Bronwen told me. They never told any of the teachers.

After we went to the dentist (things are fine), we went back to the gym, but couldn't find the tooth anywhere. We figured the tooth fairy found it before us. The tooth fairy gave Ava a beautiful coloring book and a box of chocolates. Bronwen also got a coloring book for being such a good sister.

The fact Ava only told Bronwen about her tooth showed me just how much they love and trust each other. I hope they will always have such a beautiful and special bond.

"Open up wide!"

"Okay, enough looking in my mouth!"

Some fun news, they started dance class last Tuesday and loved it! Of course they wear their new tutus 24/7!

So pretty in our tutus!

The Kitchen, Part II

Not everyone may be familiar with the story of the kitchen cabinets...

When Conrad and I lived in Albuquerque, we hated the cabinets in our old house. Had we stayed, replacing or refinishing them was next on our to-do list. The shape was fine, but the finish was almost a pinkish hue (I knew the correct name at one point, but forgot since then!). So of course with the move, I thought I would have freedom from my pink cabinetry. Unfortunately, the house we fell in love with while house hunting in WA was perfect, except for one thing. You guessed it. It has the exact same cabinets. During the tour I looked at Conrad and literally said, "Well I guess we're never going to escape them" (although I also wonder if we were subconsciously drawn to them because of their familiarity, therefore that's why we liked the house)...

Anyway, I was too afraid to try refinishing them, so I did the next best thing. Today I put new hardware on all the doors and drawers. It's the best $65 I've spent!

Bronwen and Ava's Cute Words

Tonight Bronwen made an airplane out of legos. She put on the wheels, wings, and a smiley face (airplanes need to have cute faces too, you know). Lastly, she plopped a large lego on top of the airplane's head. She then looked at Conrad and me and said, "My airplane friend needs to wear ear muffins so she can fly in the snow." Hee-hee!

Like her momma and aunties Natasha and Bianca, one of Ava's favorite foods is "wasanga". It's so cute that we can't bring ourselves to correct her because we love hearing it so much! "Ava, what are we having for dinner again?"...

Our first snow in Seattle

True to the forecast it snowed about an inch in Seattle last night, leaving a beautiful Winter Wonderland.

The previous owner of our house let us know that the hill behind our backyard was a magnet to kids for sledding. Bronwen must have heard this through the grapevine because as soon as she saw the snow she said, "We have to put on our coats, mittens, hats and shoes and go down the big hill." We all had a great time!

Adventures on the big hill

All jobs are not created equally...

Okay, sad, but good news...I quit the 'fantastic' job.

After looking for a job for six months I thought I found the answer to my prayers when I landed my job that offered 'flexible' hours.

When hired on I was told that I would have to work a swing shift for two weeks for on the job training. After that I could set my schedule as long as it met business needs.

Within one week I met with my boss, who then informed me that he needed me to continue working the swing shift for six weeks. It was a stretch, but I was willing to tough it out (as was Conrad who had already started going to work late to take care of Bronwen and Ava so I could sleep).

Well the last straw came Monday when I found out I had to work graveyard all of Christmas week (and New Year's Eve!). I realize the economy is terrible and employment options are grim, but some things, like the impact of a unpredictable schedule on my family, just aren't worth the money.

My takeaway, get clarification of what 'flexible' means (is it flexible for your or the company's benefit), and talk to current employees. I later found out the turnver rate ran rampid in this company. Gee, I wonder why...

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the creepy 60-year-old scientist who moonlights as a cross-dresser on the weekends (and carries around an 8X10 picture of him in drag to work). When he showed me the picture (he's standing next to a lady wearing the same outfit) he had the nerve to tell me, "I'm the one on the right." Yeah, I thought, I know. You mean the obvious looking man on the right wearing an obvious wig and obvious protruding fake boobs. Yeah, I know.

I got a job!

After a several month long job search, just when I had given up, I got a job!

I will be the supervisor of the forensics analytical lab, which processes 2000 samples/day. They operate under flexible hours, so Bronwen and Ava will only have to be in childcare 3.5 hrs/day (I was thinking about putting them into preschool anyway since the job search was taking so long), the commute is great (only 0.5 mile isn't on the highway -and it's against traffic), the pay is exactly what I wanted, and the people are great.

I couldn't have asked for anything more!

Thankful for so many things

Okay, okay, I know Thanksgiving is still 5 days away, but I truly feel thankful tonight.

Here are my top things I am thankful for:

1) Rollerskating with Conrad and the girls today

2) Cami printing out my resume

3) My dad's spaghetti recipe

4) Talking with my mom in the afternoon

5) Talking with Tash when she's on her way to work

6) Bianca visiting during the summer

7) Watching my dad play with Bronwen and Ava

8) Seeing Puppy Springer in the Halloween costume Bronwen and Ava picked out for her

9) Happy face balloons

10) Health

11) Going to the car show

12) Living the American dream

13) Staying home with my two little best friends for the last 6 months

14) Fireside chats with my best friend (Conrad how I love you!)

15) Having a beautiful life filled with family and friends