8 cow wife

I remember reading Lindsay D.'s blog post about how there's some unwritten rule about proclaiming one's love for their spouse on their birthday. . .on their family blog. And I thought, "Gosh, I am not living up to this expectation:). I will do this on Rich's next birthday." Well, poor Rich's birthday has come and gone and I failed miserably. Today is our 9th anniversary and I will now earn those 8 cows he says I'm worth!

This is where we began--Alta Apartments. He was a persistent fellow--2 1/2 years later we were married.

One thing I've always loved about Rich is his open-mindedness and willingness to try new things. He's even comfortable with looking silly and doesn't care at all about the judgment of others.

We laugh A LOT in our marriage. Rich's laugh is contagious AND he blushes, which only adds to the moment. One of my favorite things is to be in another room while he's watching tv and to just listen to him crack up.

Rich is genuinely one of the kindest people I know. I can honestly say that in our entire marriage he has never, ever been mean-spirited to me. And there have definitely been times when I've deserved some mean-spriritedness:)

Rich LOVES hockey. I earned the Girlfriend of the Century Award when I bought him these Olympic hockey tickets. Despite his love for the sport, Rich has always been good at keeping his priorities straight. He puts our family ahead of work, sports, and even reading (his other passion). I usually have to remind him to take some time for himself.

Rich is freaking smart--it's a Bond thing. Everyone should experience a Bond family dinner with him, his parents and siblings. It's mentally exhausting. It goes something like this, "Blah blah blah. . .Che Guevara. . .string theory. . .the Huffington Post. . .Cato Insitute. . .Jello Biafra. . .Patton said this. . and Lincoln said that. . .well in 1957. . .and it goes on and on and on. Rich is quiet, but once you get him talking or playing Trivial Pursuit, there's a lot to learn from him.

Rich has an amazing sense of direction. He grew up in Baltimore and moved away when he was 11. He never returned until a year after we were married when we visited the DC area. The entire time we were there Rich drove around Baltimore and DC WITHOUT ANY MAP AT ALL. It had been like 20 years since he had moved away and he couldn't even drive at the time. Amazing.

When life gets scary, sad, or overwhelming Rich helps quiet my world, helps me pick up the pieces (literally and figuratively), and helps me put things into proper perspective. He has very calming presence.

I can't really put into words how grateful I am for this best friend of mine. It's been the best 9 years of my life.

Public service announcement

Listen to your mama.

After all is said and done

Throughout the day our kids fight, yell at, hit, steal from, irritate and bug each other. But, about an hour after bedtime we frequently find this. . .









When I asked Ryan why he slept in Macie's bed he said, "Because she was so scared." Why can't they treat each other like this during the day?!

Barnacle baby

My Juliet is a mama's girl. Although it makes doing anything productive almost impossible, there's a part of me that loves it, since I know it won't last. Most days I still carry her around in the Ergo. The alternative is a whole lot of whining and screaming. She does have dedicated crib play times to give me a break, but that only lasts so long. Thank goodness she's a petite little girl.


I think she may end up becoming a curly girl. I've always wanted a curly girl since Rich's dad and siblings have awesome curly hair. My curl genes don't count since I didn't get curly hair until I was 13. After baths, Juliet's hair poofs up into big curls. As it dries it slowly flattens. But, maybe as she gets older those curls will hold.

Exciting times

I really should take my girls on non-shopping outings more often. I just forget, get busy, and sometimes feel a little bad for doing fun things without Ryan. Today, we girls had to get out. We went to the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo and it was so nice! The last time we went there Juliet was a newborn and the time before I was pregnant. Let me declare that it was so refreshingly wonderful that I was a) not pregnant and b) didn't have to carry a newborn, breastfeed, or change a blowout.

Ball hog? Who. . .me?

Macie's new booster. This is a big deal to a 3 year old girl. We hunted high and low for a pink flowery booster. No one had them in stock! So, we finally ordered online and delivery day was the "best day ever".

unremarkable title

Just a blog update:)

Macie is growing up fast and getting so brave and clever.

We got a little overexcited about masking tape one day. She doesn't look happy here but she thought it was awesome. I decided that in the future this could be a disciplinary technique.

Lately, Juliet goes from this. . .

to this (and vice versa) in a matter of nanoseconds. She's following in her siblings' footsteps and becoming quite the chatterbox. Every day she says at least 1 new word. Tonight it was monkey. She cracks us up and exhausts us. She's also quite devious and naughty at times-like when she purposely snatches Ryan's and Macie's things and bolts across the room. Or when she purposely turns off the tv while we're watching it and then bolts across the room. Or when she steals food from the pantry and bolts across the room. Maybe she'll be a runner someday.

Rich and Ryan had man time at the Sharks game. I think Rich has been waiting for this day for 6 years. Ryan was super excited (though, in this picture he seems more interested in the plane flying overhead). The girls and I went to Coldstone for our little date. I wish I would have remembered a camera. . .it was pretty darn cute.

Ryan was up way too late that night, had a giant meltdown when he came home, and was utterly exhausted the next day. It was totally worth it.

Sometimes I'm snippy, overwhelmed, impatient, distracted, and a little sassy. But, I'm pretty sure that we're doing some things right around here. We love their guts and they love ours.

p.s. Casey passed the test and is officially a part of our family.