Alacorns And A Zombie

Halloween was a success this year.  Everyone got to be what they wanted.  One of them was a little like Lucy in It's A Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown...you know, when she tells everyone Halloween costumes should be the direct opposite of their personality...then you see her dressed like a witch?  Lucy is not a very nice girl.

 Rhett was a zombie this year.  What would be the opposite of a zombie?  Not Rhett.

Mezmur chose the girl's costumes.  Mezmur was a Mama-Rainbow-Golden-Unicorn-Pegasus and Mavis was a Baby-Rainbow-Golden-Unicorn-Pegasus...otherwise know as an Alacorn.

 I modified a pattern I had to make the girl's costumes.  We were all very pleased with the results!  The rainbow mane was easier to make than I thought it would be.  I got most of my supplies from Scrap to make their costumes, which was so great, because I needed a ton of fabric and rainbow yarn!  Knowing I needed to make two very involved costumes...I started early.  I've never finished Halloween costumes in September before!  

That leaves Rhett.  No Alacorn costume for him.  I tried to talk him into being a Rainbow-Unicorn-Zombie, but he wouldn't have anything to do with it!

 He made the perfect Zombie and his costume was very easy to create.  I had some issues in the back of my mind that he wanted to be something so gory, but what's the harm, really?  He was happy.

 We got together with best friends for some early evening trick-or-treating on Alberta.

 Here's Mavis...she wouldn't wear her hat trick-or-treating.  The only reason she wore it for the photos above is because I said, "If you don't wear your hat for photos...you won't get candy."  Mezmur wore her's though!

This year has been one of my favorite Halloweens to date.  I think it's because Mavis is older and more into it.  After trick-or-treating at a house where the people were extra nice to Mavis about her costume, she ran up to me and declared, "They are my friends."

Happy Birthday Mezmur!!!

Mezmur turned 5 almost two months ago!  Better late than never.

 This is Mezmur's mama made birthday dress for her 5th birthday.  I have a tradition of making the girls birthday dresses and I love it.  Mezmur loved her new birthday dress.  I loved these I Love My Hair shirts, but I couldn't find them in little girl sizes anywhere!  So, I bought a large shirt and used the Flashback Skinny Tee pattern to make it into a dress.  It turned out so cute.

 We moved 4 days after her birthday party, so we needed to keep it low-key.  So...we got VooDoo Doughnuts for the treat.  She was thrilled...as were the other kids and adults.

 Singing happy birthday with her doughnut cake.

 Mezmur got yarn extensions again for her birthday...and because of the move.  It took us over 10 hours to put in, but it gave me weeks of low maintenance.

Mezmur enjoying her bubble gum flavored doughnut.  Yum.

 Mavis enjoys her doughnut too.

 The activity was making hula hoops.  It was a hit.

And what 5-year-old birthday party is complete without a rainbow unicorn pinata...

 ...and tears?

I'm so glad we were able to have a little party for Mezmur.  She is at a magical age where she still enjoys unicorn pinatas and who knows how much longer she will want any of that cutesie stuff.  I hope forever, but I know she will change and want sleep-overs, make-up parties, and Beyonce concert tickets for her birthday.

Speaking of music...we are very in to Janelle Monae lately.  Mezmur loves watching this video.  Mezmur is very jealous that Dan and I get to see her next month.

Best Of Facebook

I spend most of my internet time on Facebook or Instagram.  So, let me share here some of my latest favorite Facebook posts.  Let me start with the mug I've earned with flying colors...

I'm pretty sure movers aren't supposed to drink the juice boxes out of the fridge...I'm pretty sure. 2 of 3 went missing that I was saving for Mezmur's birthday picnic. I have 3 kids. Two of my kids cried over those missing juice boxes. Rhett found the evidence in the trash.

You know your child is from Portland when he asks where the compost is in the hotel room in Seattle.

You know your kid is from Portland when he asks for a jar to store his new Nerf darts.

Best compliment ever...guy cutting my hair at the rock-n-roll barber shop, "You don't look momish at all."

Me: What's that noise?
Rhett: It's my water bottle hitting my cup.

And I don't mean a drinking cup.

We Moved

We will NEVER sell another house again...at least with three young children.

 We sold our house in a weekend, but not without a little drama.  We got two amazing offers for our house (which was totally overpriced by the way).  The reality of the market right now is that most people have to sell, rent while you look to buy, and buy another house.  It's all very competitive and the timing never works out just right.  So...when we got an offer...sight unseen, cash offer, three months free rent-back, and the option to stay in "our" house until we found a house...we thought it was too good to be true.  It was.  She backed out. 

While her backing out was very stressful, we were lucky to have an (almost) equally amazing backup offer.  And lucky for us...we get to do a double move! 

 

When we met the new owners and we said good-bye as they walked into their new house, Mavis said, "No that's mine house!"  And ever since we moved into our rental she repeatedly says very excitedly with huge eyes, "We have that at home!"  She says this pointing at such things as the bathmat, toilet, pan in the kitchen, my bra...pretty much EVERYTHING.

We are glad to be done with the hard part and can start the fun part...looking for our perfect family house. 

Here is the video of our old house.  We all sort of miss it...a little.

The Summer Before Spring

I think this was in May.  Maybe April.  I've lost track of the days.

It was 85 degrees at the Oregon coast.  That hardly ever happens.  Especially not in May (or April).

Brave, braver, and bravest.

This is what mermaids look like...apparently.  

This was probably my favorite day ever with all three.  I don't think I've seen all three of them so happy for so long...all at the same time.  No fits, no fighting, no fussing (the three f's).

Mavis had so much fun.

Jumping over the waves.

Kite flying was fun...for about 10 seconds.

It lasted long enough to get a few photos.

Eating apples and chasing a kite shadow.  

The lack of blogging, the loss of days, and the overwhelming feeling of stress lately is due to the fact we are selling our house...this weekend.  The house is staged and ready to go, therefore...I had time to blog.  I will never paint another ceiling as long as I live and I hope we never have to stage a house with three young kids ever again.

Mavis Turns Two and I Better Get Some of These Mavis-isms Down

Mavis is two now and that makes her officially a kid.  Mezmur and Mavis are always together and below...you will see Mavis, in her Wilco ("ice-cream") shirt...in her I'm-just-checking-out-my-surroundings-look.  She usually will look like this when there are other people around.  She can be very quiet, but when she is home with just us...her personality really comes out.  Her personality that she models after her older siblings...you know, telling me to shut-up and such.

Below, are two photos of Mavis pooping.  Yes, pooping.  She likes privacy when she does her business, which makes me hopeful for an early potty trainer.

Mavis LOVES Yo Gabba Gabba...I mean, who doesn't?  Am I right?  I mean, Dan has been bugging me to put a YGG disk on hold at the library for days.  It was a YGG birthday for Mavis...

 ...it was also an Easter birthday for Mavis.  Because, her birthday was on Easter. 

Here is Mavis enjoying one of her favorite snacks...a clementine.  This is just to balance out all of the Easter candy she got on her birthday. 

This isn't the greatest photo in the world...with all the trash in the background, but I love how happy Mavis and her cousin Lucy are.  Built in best friends! 

We had a fun family BBQ on Easter.  It was a beautiful day for late March...it felt a bit like summertime.  I wasn't even going to make a cake for Mavis' birthday, but then a friend gave me the idea to make a Easter bunny cake.  Duh. 

It turned out so cute and Mavis LOVED blowing out her candles.

Here are the Lapour kids enjoying their cake.

Mavis is such a sweet girl.  She learns horrible things from her older siblings, which makes me so sad.  I think our whole family dynamic would be sooooo different if she was born first, but alas...she learns so much from her sassy and naughty siblings...not to mention, I'm burnt out and Mavis just doesn't get the same treatment the first and second got.  Mostly the first, with all the walks to the park and library storytimes.  Mavis' outings mostly consist of ANOTHER trip to the grocery store and going to drop off, drop off, pick up, and pick up her brother and sister from school.  It's really that many drop offs and pick ups...that's not a typo.

 

Below are some interesting facts about our Mavis:

 

She is obsessed about "guy-guys."  Translation- a zombie or equally scary guy.  Recently, Rhett painted a zombie and showed it to Mavis.  She has been obsessed with it for weeks.  She tells everyone she sees, "Rhett make guy-guy...too gary."  (gary = "scary") She also wakes up in the middle of the night screaming, "Rhett make guy-guy," or just, "Guy-guy!"  She is a sensitive girl.

 

This brings us to Mavis' sleep.  She still wakes up once or twice a night...usually due to nightmares.  She is still in our bed...due to nowhere else to put her at the moment.  She usually wakes up asking for "nee-nee-time."  Her main source of comfort remains my boobs.  "Nee-nee-time" means she wants her hand on my boob.  My mom finds it "weird", but I see it as a comfort that only I can give her and the last line to my baby Mavis.  She won't do it forever...duh.  She's only two.

 

Mavis is obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba and Carly Rae Jepsen.  Yes, Carly Rae.  Dan started to play Call Me Maybe for Mezmur and Mavis caught on.  She would ask to hear that song all day long.  She called and still calls it "Oh, Baby."  We were told to play "Obaba-Oh-Baby," (Obama sings Call Me Maybe) or "Guy-guy-Oh-Baby," (Darth Vader) or "Cookie-Elmo-Oh-Baby." (Cookie monster sings Call Me Maybe)  She was obsessed.  Thankfully I convinced her I didn't have those songs on my phone...that they were only on Dan's phone.  Dad's a softy when it comes to Mavis.  Thankfully she has moved on to the new Muppet movie songs, The Flaming Lips Yeah Yeah Yeah Song, and Bjork's Oh So Quiet song.  Oh, she is also fond of Suit and Tie by Justin Timberlake.

 

I am loving Mavis' language development.  She has many of her own words that I understand.  Like, "avee" (water), "uck" (chip), "mow-mow" (cat), "Nonie" (Mezmur), "A-E-I" (when she wants to write or do art)...I know there are a ton more, but I can't think of any right now.

She calls herself "Mimi", which is so fascinating to me.  Mimi is Mezmur's middle  name and the name we called my Grandmother growing up.  Also, Mavis doesn't sound too much like Mimi, so how she started calling herself Mimi is a mystery.  I love it and I hope the nickname sticks.  We have two Mimis and I call both Mavis and Mezmur Mimi sometimes.  It gets a little confusing at times.

 

My wish for Mavis on her second birthday...my favorite age by the way...I wish that her sister won't teach her how to call me stupid and that her brother won't teach her to yell at me and say I'm the worst mom ever...at least not until she is three.  I just want one more year of a sweet baby.  Because three is my least favorite age and the countdown has already begun.

Ventral Hernia Repair And Abdominal Plasty

It's done!  I no longer look pregnant.  Not just that, but now I can sleep on my back, feel my abdominals working when I laugh, can fully stretch those muscles in the morning, I have more support when I stand, oh, and I DON'T LOOK PREGNANT!

                                                                           Here is the lovely front view.  Notice the extra skin?  That is why the Abdominal Plasty...tummy tuck. 

 If I didn't have the tummy tuck...it wouldn't be pretty.  It just sucked that insurance didn't cover that part...oh, well.

 Surgery day finally came!  I was nervous, but thankful Dan was there.  The Dr. came in right before the surgery and marked me...Nip Tuck style.  I was wishing Dan had taken a photo.  He cut out a 4" by 12" section of my skin.  Or as my brother likes to say...48 square inches.  That's a lot of skin!  Good riddance.  See the lovely accessory?  That's my drain bag.  It will be a part of me for almost three weeks before it comes out.  I'll just say...I won't miss it and leave it at that.

 I may have mentioned here that I wouldn't have a belly button.  Well, that's what he told me up until the morning of the surgery.  I think he is a prepare-you-for-the-worst kind of surgeon, because when I asked him after the surgery about the belly button he said, "I just did what I always do...saved your belly button."  Ok.  He's sort of a magician.  Notice the eyes Rhett gave my creepy 22" stomach smile?

This surgery is a life changer for me.  It not only makes me feel better physically (regardless of the recovery) and feel better about myself.  I don't have to worry about the looks from people who are likely thinking, "Wow.  That woman is having a forth child?  She can't even control the three that she has."  Or the suspicious looks from waitstaff when I order a cocktail and I won't need to hear the "fabulous" extensive non-alcoholic menu anymore.  I felt compelled to show the nurse in the hospital before pictures of me and she was shocked.  I teared up telling her that it was a life changer...

 

I really do feel great physically.  It's almost 5 weeks since the surgery and I feel great.  I did get a blood clot after the surgery, which added months (!) to the recovery...regarding swelling and drainage.  I'm just so relieved that it is over with!  I was really anxious about the surgery and recovery.  The second half of the life changer is all the people who came out to help me.  Dan was home the first week, but after that he went back to work.  I was still barely able to walk, so I needed help with everything.  A dear friend cleared out her whole schedule for three whole days to help me with all of my needs.  She blew me away.  She has two teenagers at home (teenagers I once nannied!) and she was still able to help with everything...from speech therapy to changing diapers.  For three whole days!!! 

 

Another friend did ALL of my drop offs and pick ups...ALL of them for two weeks!  Other friends brought meals.  That was such great help!  We just got our last meal last night.  Other friends and family helped take the kids off my hands for a couple of hours here and there...that was huge.  Such generosity and it made me realize how many people love me.  Such a great feeling. 

 

Life changing...all of it.  Thanks to you all. 

Adventures In Hair

The adventure really comes down to having enough bribes and just the right shows and movies to get us through.  I would do her hair all day long if I could, but its the begging to let me finish "just one more twist" that will drive me crazy.  She really does great most of the time.  This took 10ish hours and I would say 9 out of the 10 were smooth sailing.  She is a tv junkie, so getting to watch tv all day while I do her hair is a great privilege.  But that one hour was enough to give me a pulmonary. 

The idea was for me to do a great hair style that would last for weeks into my recovery.  This should do the trick.  Then when we take them out it should give me at least one more week of awesome twist outs.  I'm sort of giddy about what that will look like.  I love twists. 

Mezmur picked out the rainbow yarn.  I thought it would make it extra fun for her.  The goal is for her to love her hair and she sure loves her hair right now...especially the rainbow yarn. 

 

 I love that girl and her hair.