comment awards

Welcome to the first annual award ceremony for best comments on Rae of Sunshine!! 

Since I get a shameless thrill when I see a comment has been made on a post, even before I read it, I thought I would take a minute to share with you just a few of the many comments that have lived up to that thrill. Remember friends, there are no bad comments, only bad friends that never leave any :)

how to type milk coming out of your nose goes to Lois Lane

“baaaaahahahahahahahahahahahaa.
wheeeeez
gassppp
BAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

Hailey wins points in the future mother-in-law category for

“Hi Aunt Lissa,
Did you mention to this "Avi" that Russell is spoken for??
Love,
Hey-bug”

Grandma Sharri wins the technical award for

“oops, this isn't from jared”

best food related comment goes to Aimee

“I am so happy to finally see Pasta Bowls getting the hate mail it deserves!”

best (or worst?) song goes to Andrea

“In the Navy, some more words I don't know, In the Navy, more words I don't know, In the Navy... on and on like that.”

best observation of my post baby body goes to Stefie

“You're the incredible shrinking woman!”

which goes well with the award for the comment you can leave every time, which goes to Erin for

“Love the bangs. Love the outfit. You look fabulous!”

best whiner goes to Jon

“I really like the picture where my head is chopped off.”

the tell me about it award goes to Stefie

“If I have a doll nightmare I'm totally blaming you!”

best disregard for (others) life and limb to Andrea for

“Did you photo shop Lorraine into the slasher picture?? Well, however she was offed, its a cool picture.”

the Kate award for just being Kate

“you're not at all alone and you're not at all lost” and for describing newborn Alice as “Little Alissa Lite.”

the why I married him award goes to HIM for this

“I need you a lot. What's for dinner? What TV shows are on tonight? When did Alice eat last?”

the what?! award goes to Andrea for this one (though I did have many to choose from)

“You have stinky breath, and end up with a tampon, or you need some candy and end up with a condom. Or you need a condom and end up with an unplanned pregnancy... oh wait, that's not so funny”

and Erin gets the end of pregnancy self esteem boosting award for

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, they've both already had their babies and are STILL bigger than you.”

Caroline get the fashion advice I wish I COULD take award

“Your little man looks like he belongs in that costume. Would it be weird if you dressed him like that every day?”

the I way I feel everyday award goes to Ashley

“I just want to squeeze those fabulous cheeks!”

and the reason why I blog award goes to Andrea

“I am glad you blogged about it rather than commit a homicide though.”

And for those of you who pretend to read my blog but really come for the pictures, to top off all this strangeness, I saw a monk looking at coffins at Costco yesterday and, well, that’s all. Here’s your picture.

If you are reading this now and have a blog, go ahead and take the picture at the very top of this post for your own blog sidebar because, well, why not? I found it just for you :)

What?!

No. Seriously. What?! You wonder why/how he’s always getting into mischief? He was just BORN that way!

She MADE this!

Today I got the MOST FAB hair accessory (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26769813) with roses and feathers and buttons that my friend Carly MADE and I wore it on a date and felt so stylish even though my hair was just in a boring pony tail. She also made these hats for the kiddo’s and Alice likes hers so much she wants Russell’s too! So fun!

And speaking of Etsy, I put a $6 decal on Jon’s nerdy work laptop and now I think he’ll look tres chic at his upcoming Las Vegas convention where he’ll be giving a few presentations with his new “HD Ready” laptop design. Why does he deserve these nice things? Because look at the way he helped to solve the problem I have keeping Alice’s thumb out of her mouth while I feed her sweet potato’s   At least she looks a lot happier than my cats ever did wrapped in a towel.

notreadynotreadyNOT READY

for these beautiful babies to be little PEOPLE holding hands and making their own cupcakes!    At least they still need us to guide them in their nutritional choices (obviously). And at least they had a good time! oh and THEY did, too ---> And if you’re not sure who ‘they’ are, that is Trey with Alice and Avi making cupcakes with Russell. They are of the Tuttle persuasion come down from Sacramento way to play with us. Their mom is Leah, and we’re pretty sure their dad is Bryan, whose okay… but have you seen Leah slender like a movie star? All I’m saying is he must have come with a dowry.

:)

I even got to take the big kids on the Ferris Wheel. They were actually a total riot up there and were teasing the big dumb baby who was unhappy when we stopped at the top. That would be me. Look at that last picture. Doesn’t Russell look like he’s taking it himself? Don’t they both look so tall and strong and funny?! Don’t they look like this would be a great date in 12 years?!?! So, yeah, I am SO not ready.

Thanks for the fun visit guys! Love love love you!!

For Aunt Jan

The photo’s I promised you FOREVER ago of Russell at camp Snoopy My Pilot My Woodstock

My HERO!

p.s. there will not be any fathers day pictures this year, even though Jon is the greatest dad ever holding the bowl for Russell to vomit in, I don’t think anyone wants to see pictures. And no, I know I take a lot of pictures but I didn’t actually take any of THAT. Trust me, the unflinching and often heroic way my man helps take care of my spewing, slobbering, stinking babies makes him a man to celebrate everyday and I really do try. When I’m not bossing him around or looking at him like he has two heads. I really do try :)

Little Miss Potato Head

3 months old. Seems appropriate for the daughter of a Lamb Queen.  Here she is with her attendants… who look like they are going to worship her or eat her up!  She LOVED these things, that seems so long ago, now she won’t sit still for anything, much less a photo op :)

Is is better to be a potato head, or to be surrounded by them?

Late Bloomer

So, my dad’s birthday was in April and we took the birthday boy and the other children to Disneyland. Would you like to see the pictures finally?! My ‘to blog’ folder overfloweth, so if you’re bored this week I’m going to try and do a post every day (just imagine it’s like someone inviting you over for dinner and afterwards they pull out four million slides from their trip to Idaho… except you can LEAVE whenever you want :)

let us begin… Happy Birthday Dad!! Now I am wondering if I should have saved that for fathers day… or blackmail…

I believe Russell J had a good time with J Russell on the trolley the ‘music horse’ and “Innochio” (yeah, like Pinocchio with no P, and it’s actually the peter pan ride, but I’m flexible)

I don’t know what these two are doing here, but I am pretty sure they also had a good time (causing trouble!) I have to say it was a pretty good day and I’m very entertained. Love Ya Pops, and here’s your last present, I indeed went online and paid for the gate picture they took of the family and all the ACCOUTREMENTS that come with a day at Disney with babes :)

so wrong

It’s true, I actually feel guilty that I might be destroying the rest of Russell’s birthdays by raising the bar a little too high a little too soon. Next year we will take him to Chuckie Cheese half an hour before closing time on a Tuesday and get him grody carrot cake (I don’t care what you say, carrot cake is GRODY)

Don’t believe me? Well how about a life size Lightening McQueen and Mater wishing you a happy birthday at a parade you think they threw just for your birthday?                             Not enough? Well then, let’s just follow the signs to the Russell’s Raceway Birthday Party! Russell’s Pit Stop Diner was open for business serving burgers and fries (of which we had about TWENTY left over. If i never see another burger again…) Everyone got to color their own racing hat We had ‘magic’ cake and ice cream, meaning they were filled with  candy and toys :) OH, and real cake too… cake CARS and TRUCKS! But MOST IMPORTANT, we had lots of good company!!!    And what every good party needs after… a good mess! Job well done. So, yeah, I may have to remove this post before Alice turns four because my party steam may not last that long and I don’t want her to feel bad when for her fourth birthday she gets a gift certificate to Target that says “go crazy! love mom and dad”

:) happy birthday bean, yur muther and faahther

Ouch, My Balls!

Grandma, I love you, you can skip this entry :)

SOOO, I am a stay at home mom, so yes, I know who Jon and Kate plus 8 are, and I was not a little intrigued when the ‘big news’ broke.

I’ve seen wipeout. Russell and I laugh like we won the lottery when someone gets whacked in the face by a mechanical boxing glove or bounces 10 feet in the air before landing in the swampy abyss.

I was (a long time ago) a watcher of Laguna Hills the Real OC because of a sister thing and something to do with Abby? And then Lorraine dragged me (I admit, there was no kicking and screaming) into the HILLS as she and LC began adventures in a new big city.  So, yeah, I knew Heidi before she met Flesh Colored Beard (aka spencer) and watched as they grew from a grey sickly caterpillar into one of those giant you-can’t-take-your-eyes-off-them moth monsters about to get zapped in the backyard. And they call it ‘Speidi’ 

There was this (kinda dumb) movie called Idiocracy that came out about 10 years ago. I could Google it, but then i am over thinking it. The premise of this movie is a man is frozen by the military and they accidently forget about him for 500 years. Basically while he is frozen dumb people procreate as much as they want, and intelligent people keep waiting for the right time and in 500 years he wakes up to find a society that eats mysterious tubs of crap and the most popular show on television is “EXPLOSIONS!! EXPLOSIONS!! EXPLOSIONS!!” which is second only to “OUCH, MY BALLS!!” Which is video after video of people, you know, getting whacked in their nether regions.

I don’t really have anything more to say than that, except to say that often a lot of the tv I find myself flipping off and walking away from these days makes me think of that movie. I’m not above it all, PLEASE don’t take my Judge Judy from me!  But I do think that while we’re not eating buckets of ‘butter flavored butter’  yet, if you would like some pasta in a bread bowl, then you got it!

employment opportunities

I couldn't take it, not one more SECOND! And Jon couldn't take me not taking it anymore either, so Monday, May 26th, he bought me a ticket and three days later Alice and I were traipsing across the united states to get our respective grubby hands on our cousins in Baltimore!

The pictures I have are swell, some of my stories are even better, and I can tell you right now it was worth every second, every penny and missing a weekend with the boys (who were thankfully alive when I returned, though malnourished and a little stinky. it’s nice to know I’m needed) First I would like to do some introductions,

Alice, this is Sylvia                    Sylvia, this is Alice

    And you are COUSINS! (and fat and adorable and fashionistas)   You would not believe how many pictures we have of all those folds and chins, but that is not actually the first time they met. They met the night before and had the most hysterical CONVERSATION. I don’t know what they thought they were looking at but they were both very loud at each other. Then later during yet another photo shoot Alice wiggled her way down to Slyvie’s feet where she was kind of getting kicked in the face. This didn’t bother Alice except she kept trying to get Sylvie's foot into her mouth and probably wished she would have held still for a second

The boys were SO excited to see Alice and after one particularly rough night we all ended up on the couch in our jammies eating cereal and I got all these shots.    Then after Leo gave Alice her bottle they actually sat and watched TV for about half an hour just snuggled up like a couple of sweethearts :) There was a lot of girl power in Baltimore this weekend. Leo was not intimidated. Maybe he should have been.    So, things did get a little crazy (man, I didn’t get a picture of the fire engine!) and I ended up manning the fort Saturday night. Zeke was having a hard time sleeping and eventually ended up getting in bed with me and Alice (in her rocker) and was shortly followed by Leo so that at one point I was staring at the clock that said 4:15am and all around me I could hear the heavenly sound of the sleeping breath of two little boys and the two little girls.

When Aimee and Jared were coming home I carried Zeke back to his bed where he asked me “Aunt Alissa?” and I said yes, it’s aunt Alissa and he said “I’m glad” and went back to sleep. When it was time to move Leo he was able to walk back himself but at the last minute he turned and looked at me with the sweetest eyes half open smile and said “I loooove you” and gave me a hug. Then he took a step towards his bed, turned around and said, “are you mommy or aunt alissa?” and I said “aunt alissa” he looked at me for a second and then “oh, ok” and got in his covers and was out.

Then Aimee told me the next day that when her back was turned as she was making the boys lunch, Zeke suddenly said “Who are you?” to which Aimee turned around and replied (I can totally hear this now) “Who do you think I am?” and he said “Oh, you’re mommy!” “No, I’m aunt Alissa” and he got really still, but luckily leo was there and he said, “no, you’re mommy” then, my favorite thing in the world, aimee asked him “how do you know I’m mom?” to which Leo said

“Because you’re wearing a different shirt”

Pretty clever and yet,  pretty sad for us! Six short years of servitude and your son can tell you apart from your sister only because your wearing different shirts.  I’m pretty sure girls will not be so easily fooled by “who are you?” Well, it was a great trip, and Alice was STELLAR. Not only did she travel like a champ but she slept full nights and adjusted to the new time almost instantly and when we left for Baltimore she was toothless, but when we arrived home she had two shiny new teeth to show the guys!

Our flight home had 6 babies! They all traveled great but at the end of our 6 hour flight the flight attendant came to us and said, “that one is my favorite, can I see her for a minute?” and proceeded to walk up and down the aisle with Alice asking people to fasten their seat belts and put their trays in the “upright and locked position” all the while holding funny fabulous Alice. I will never forget looking back along the length of the plane to see her back there smiling at everyone and no one at the same time, just an armful of cheer. I wonder if it made the other moms feel bad that my baby is so much prettier than theirs?

Thank you, Hickmans! Your new house is totally romantic and enchanting and so are all your faces. Next time I come I will bring Russell (get your helmets and knee pads now). LOVE YOU!!

Jazz Hands

and A.D.D.  :)

I made this: I am painting the frame tonight, but it’s the shiny innards of the shadow box I like best  so I am posting it before it’s all the way finished.

I have a rad post about my trip with Alice to Baltimore all formed in my head and I will be putting it to good use in the morning, but tonight I am taking a small diversion.

Today I began reading “Driven to Distraction” for like the fifth time in as many weeks. This time I made it through a few pages and then I finally clicked in and was able to devour several chapters. I have never questioned that I had ADD as a kid, one part reads

“They are the subject of numerous parent teacher conferences. Time and time again an exasperated teacher meets a frustrated parent in a meeting that later explodes all over the child who isn’t there. He feels shock waves after. “Do you know what your teacher said? Do you know how embarrassed your mother and I were?” or from the teacher “I understand you have no greater control of yourself at home than you do in school. We must work on this, mustn’t we?”  Month after month, year after year these tapes of negativity play over and over again until they become the voice the child knows best.”

Now I was lucky that I was in the first generation of children that began to be properly diagnosed and was given more opportunities to try medication, learn coping skills, and receive some understanding form all the caretakers in my life. Moving on into the next chapters of the book that address being an adult with ADD I am acutely aware of how some of the tape that plays over and over in my head is not anyone’s voice but my own. “You’re stupid, you forget everything, you could be smart but you’re too disorganized to use any of it” and as a mother “you can not teach Russell to overcome this when you are so disabled by it”

That all sounds so dreary, I don’t mean it too. I am cheery, right now even writing this. One of the great things this book emphasizes is in this paragraph that Jon said could be me

“As is the case with so many with ADD. They are very likable although they get into the most difficult patches. They can be exasperating to an extreme… …but they can also be unusually empathetic, intuitive, and compassionate, as if in that tangled brain circuitry there is a special capacity to see into people and situations.”

When I am reading this sometimes I cannot decide if I want to read this as an adult with ADD or as the mother of one. That is my boy! That is me. There is a section of this book that talks about impulse control and ‘rage reactions.’ It refers to an inability to inhibit impulses and how that relates to our emotions. For me it’s not rage, it’s sadness that wells over in an extreme way. But I see the rages in Russell and the overflowing joy or grief!

With Jon his manifests itself in a way that can seem egocentric to an extreme because he becomes bored so easily that what may seem like disinterest is really a brain that is clicking through the scene too fast to slow down and be present. He’s lucky because I like that about him (when I don’t want to choke him for it).

I believe adult ADD depends so much on how you were received as a child and that is why it is so much harder to pin down a treatment plan for an adult than for a child who is obviously struggling. You have your Ty Pennington's of the world who still fit in with most the checklist that a 5th grader would fit, but Jon and I could not be more different suffering from the same thing.

That’s all. I have been picking through a lot of books lately as I find minutes here or there, but something about this book tonight set my heart at ease. I am glad books like this exist. I am glad my wild boy has me for a mother because as distracted as I can be, no one is as qualified to be his mom as I am :) goodnight

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Give or take a few. I can’t figure out how it’s even possible that I have a FOUR year old today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET WILD WONDERFUL BOY!! 

Since the very first day we MET YOU                             we have tried to teach you a love of animals and of holidays :)                               I’m afraid I have also taught you that growing up in Disneyland is not unusual at all!

You’re a magnet for mischief and fun (usually with company)     But we’ve tried our best to keep you CLEAN, FED and HAPPY             As a result (well that and your above average gene pool), you just keep growing  and growing   and GROWING! You even take grown up beauty shots at preschool! (pure awesome)                          make your own PIZZA!                                                     

And take your own pictures!                                                     

Until finally you’re so tall and handsome and smart I can’t believe it’s still YOU!

But I am glad you keep getting bigger and bigger because now we can go on adventures!                                    

And you can teach Alice all the things she in going to need to know to make it in Toddler World            So Happy Birthday My (most photographed) Boy (in the world)!!!!!