My two dancing princesses...

My girls love Barbie. It started when Grace bought her Barbie Mariposa. Then we had to rent the movie. Then I got sick of Mariposa and rented Barbie and the Diamond Castle. Now we have both dolls from that movie, and they both sing (come to think of it, they haven't been singing lately). To be honest, the movies aren't bad- they have enough humor to keep Kaylon or I sitting with the girls while they watch them. The most recent rental is The 12 Dancing Princesses. For those who don't know the fairy tale, the 12 princesses sneak off at night to go dancing. So after seeing this movie Grace and Liliana both dressed up in their princess best and waltz around the room together (totally adorable!). The best part was when Grace came to me later to tell me that she was going to put her dancing clothes underneath her pyjamas so that after I put her to bed she could dance all night- until she got tired. Sure enough, that night, she and Liliana were fast asleep with some dress up clothes on when I went to check on them. I wish I had taken a picture!

Various Pictures

I just emptied my camera, so here are some pictures...


Here are the pictures I took of the girls and the Swenson kids. The Swensons were one of our first friends here in Montgomery Village- Grace and Jack became fast friends (since Liz and I became fast friends) and then we had 2 more babies each since we've met each other. Liliana and Charlotte were born a month apart, and then Anna was born 3 months before Moira. The last almost 4 years were so much easier knowing I had a friend like Liz here. It was incredibly hard saying goodbye to them last week when they moved to Las Vegas. But we had a really great last day.

Liliana refused to take pictures with the group

this was a fairly normal situation for our kids when they were together

Sharing some love

I don't know if they'll remember each other, but I will...

Here is Grace as one of the 12 Dancing Princesses (a Barbie movie)- notice the tiptoes...

And Liliana at the dentist... she was amazing. She watched Grace's cleaning and when it was her turn she jumped right up in the chair, put on her glasses, opened her mouth, and held the suction-thingy- and USED it on herself! Her Grandma Susie would be proud!

What's the story, Morning Glory? What's the Tale, Nightingale?

Ok so here's the update...

If you've been reading this blog, then you know that Kaylon and I were convinced that we needed to move out to Manassas, and then Woodbridge. But nothing was happening. We looked at place after place, and the houses weren't very nice, or the neighborhoods were scary, etc. The calender kept creeping closer to June and we had no place to live. Kaylon and I prayed about it and the only answer we seemed to get is that we needed to go where the Lord wanted us to go.

So I suggested that we open up our search to all of the DC metro area. I even looked in PG county (but not for long). We were surprised to find some nice places closer than Woodbridge but at the same price. As we started calling we had to cross of nearly all of them since they were already taken. I started to wonder if we would ever find a place.

We decided that on Wednesday I would drive down and look at 2 places we had found- one in Centreville and the other in Reston. I was sure that I would want Centreville- it had new appliances! But when I went it just didn't feel right. Reston gave me a peaceful feeling, so we put in our application and learned this morning that they ok'd Yoda. We'll find out if our application passed on Monday (although I can think of no reason why it wouldn't- we are every landlord's dream- well, minus the dog).

It's just weird how this all turned out. I was so sure that we would go to Woodbridge or Manassas- I like those places a lot. Probably more than I liked Reston (although to be honest I saw very little of it). I'm figuring out that I'm not a city person. Reston was not even on our second list of places to look at. But we are moving into a great neighborhood with a playground in front of the house and an excellent school- and for cheaper than what we pay here in Montgomery Village.

I feel good about the move, but nervous at the same time, which makes for bizarre emotions. I'm excited for a new house- one that is taken care of and repaired. I'm excited for a new start- a time that I can reinvent myself and grow a little more. I'm excited to no longer be paying MD taxes. But I'm really going to miss my friends here in MV. It'll be hard to be new again- to have to overcome my shyness and meet new people. I'm going to miss my calling at church in the Primary- and the wonderful women that I work with every week who have taught me so much. Can't say I'll miss the house, but it is the home that I brought two of my babies home to- and the place we've lived the longest our whole marriage (almost 3 years). There's some sentimentality that goes with that.

But I guess that's just life. You move on and you make the best of it. I laugh sometimes to think how much my life mirrors my mother's. Maybe we're not military, but we're the ones off on our own- moving around and doing the best we can. I think I'll be ready to embrace this next part of my life... right after I wipe away the tears from the coming loss...

It's just not our lucky day (or is it?)

Our A/C has been out for a while now (2 weeks, maybe? my sense of time is warped since Moira was born). This has made life in our house outside of the basement miserable. After trying to fix it, the landlord showed up today with a portable a/c unit, just as the rain started. The rain made me happy, since it will cool off the house a bit. I went into the spare room where Grace has quiet time to open the window, and she was sadly looking at the rain. I asked her if she was sad since we had planned on going to the park this afternoon. She said, "Yeah, it's just not our lucky day, Mom." Maybe not for playgrounds, but it is for cooling down the house!

And since things just can't go right for us, Kaylon just discovered that one of the portable a/c parts is missing. Yippee...

Update anyone?

For all of you that are tired of hearing the McInelly housing problems, let me make you a promise- there is NO way that you are more sick of it than I am. I don't like things being up in the air. I like things settled and steady. This is driving me crazy. But here's the update anyway. We do not have a place to live at the moment and we need to be out in 2 weeks. Kaylon went down on Friday with Grace, and put in an application, but someone beat us to it. Most places in our price range have quality or safety issues, so it's taking us longer than we planned. We're expanding our search at this point- for locations and prices. We're hoping the tax cut in Virginia will be enough to make up for it. In the meantime we have make some headway in packing and cleaning so that we can focus on finding a house.

If any of you need comic relief, just come talk to Liliana for a bit. As we were getting ready for dinner tonigt she started singing songs from her church nursery class. She would start with "The more we get together" and named all of us. Next came "The itsy bitsy spider" and then "Popcorn popping." Then she said, "K, Mommy, fold your arms for prayer!" She proceeded to pray as I tried to not laugh out loud. Then as she said prayer for dinner, Grace tried to list some things for her to pray for- Liliana glared at her sister and said, "NO! It's MY turn!!!" Word to the wise, don't get on her bad side!

Grace has taken an interest in space. She found one of Kaylon's college astronomy books as we were packing and was amazed by the pictures of the planets. Today she came home from church with a drawing of the sun and four planets surrounded by black space. I was impressed that she remembered all that! She was also able to answer in Primary that "The Comforter" was another name for the Holy Ghost. She's actually learning! Yay!

Can you believe Moira is almost 4 months old? I can't. It's going way too fast. She's such a good baby. She has a pretty good schedule going- naps really well and eats every 4 hours usually (so much better than Grace eating every 2 hours!). She smiles at anyone that smiles at her, but doesn't want to be held all the time. When we move she'll move into her own room and a crib, which will probably help MY sleep patterns :) Getting the A/C would help too...

So we'll let you know when we finally figure out where we'll be living... cuz one day we WILL have a place to live ;)

Traditions

Our family is still young, but we've made a few traditions. One of my favorites is the Mother's Day after I give birth I go to Picture People and get my pic taken with the child that was born. From that photo shoot I also make a picture tie for Kaylon for Father's Day. Moira and I continued that tradition today and here are the results:

Grace (sorry for the size)

Liliana

And Moira

And here is her 3 month pic

Laughs

I got Moira's 1st laugh!

It's not a belly laugh yet- it's really sweet though, with a huge grin to match. Perfect timing to make Mommy feel better. :) I literally forget everything when she smiles at me: the benefits of being a mom.

Failing Test

I have decided that the Lord is trying to teach me patience.

I am failing. Miserably.

Literally, I am misearble. Why can't I be one of those people (aka my husband) who can just smile through anything? Oh wait, I would just annoy myself, probably not a good idea.

I just want to know where I'm going to live on June 6th- is that too much to ask? Oh, and for Liliana to take a nap without screaming. And for Moira to sleep better at night... A bag of WalMart peanut butter cups would be good too...

I don't want to move. I don't want to be in this house, but I don't want to move either. I hate change and it feels like it's being forced on me with no time to adjust. I don't want to pack (but unpacking is ok- so much more fun). I don't want to have to change our address on our our loans. I don't want to give up my calling in the primary. I don't want to make new friends or learn new roads.

But I will, if it's the right thing for our family. Doesn't make it easier, but I'll do it if it's right.

Being a grown up sucks.

Funnies

At church yesterday Kaylon accidently grabbed the crayon bag wrong and ended up dumping the contents on the floor. Grace coolly looked up and said, "Daddy clean it up- you made the mess." I guess Kaylon and the Arnolds, who were sitting behind us, about lost it.

Later out in the hallway outside of Primary, Grace was fixing her hair and said to one of my friends, "I am so beautiful today." She agreed with her and made sure she told me later. At least we don't have any self esteem problems here, yet.

My Mother's Day

My first request of the day was to get a picture of me with my girls. They all complied... well, Liliana did after being bribed with candy... Moira even allowed me to get a picture of her adorable smile.

Grace, all on her own, came up with the idea of making me a hat/crown which Kaylon helped her with. It took a lot of work, but it was a beautiful way to display our azaleas.

Finally, Kaylon made me a beautiful video of me as a mother. Watch it till the end- there's a video of Grace :) Over all, it was a great day. I love my family!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWLZ5-x8N2g

Happy Birthday Kaylon

Ok, I am kinda bummed that I have to share Mother's Day with Kaylon's birthday. It's really not fair (either way- I bet it's not fun sharing his bday with me). But we're making the best of it- we had some Indian/Chinese food for Kaylon, went out for some IHOP for me, and actually got to go on a date tonight to see the new Star Trek movie (highly recommend!). Tomorrow the crock pot is cooking for us so we don't have to fight over that chore, lol.

But I did want to say Happy 27th Birthday to my dear husband. Thank you for being my best friend- the person I can say anything too- the person I can be weird around- the person who holds me when I'm scared and stops me from doing something stupid. Thank you for being my partner in parenthood. There is no one else I would want to be on this journey with. I'll keep making you feel young, if you keep making me feel wise ;)

I love you!

Happy Mother's Day

I just wanted to take a minute and thank some of the mothers in my life.

First and foremost- thank you to my mom. Our relationship goes deeper than her just giving birth to me. She is a listening ear and a tear-soaked shoulder. She is a good (sometimes bad) joke and wise advice. She is my example. She is my hero. And now that I am older, she is one of my best friends. I am eternally grateful that I am blessed to call her mother.

My sister- no, she's not my mother, but she is a good mother that I can go to for all the above listed things when I can't get ahold of Mom. There has always been an unstated knowledge that we have each other's backs- in the good times and the bad. I'm grateful that she is the person that I get to know the longest in this life.

My Grandma Jay- who never misses a birthday and is so sweetly supportive of me- from graduating from college to writing this blog, she is my cheerleader and I am gratful for her.

My Grandma June- who's name I gave to Liliana for her strength and spunk (and it hasn't seemed to be wasted). Although her mind is no longer with us, I am grateful for how she raised my mom, and her example of fortitude in hard times.

For my mother in law- Elyse- and how she has accepted me from the beginning. She has been so careful to let me forge my own home- perhaps even overly sensitive in trying to not step on my toes. I love how she loves my children and her never ending praise and support of our little family. I am so grateful for her work in raising a son that respects women and loves children, and is not afraid of work- out in the world or at home.

For my grandmother in law- RGene- the matriarch of the family in Page- always ready with a funny quip as well as a spiritual message. I am grateful that she gave me a chance and for her being a second mom to my husband and aiding him in his growth as a man.

There are many other women in my life who support me and love me, (you know who you are!). I am so blessed to have this network of mothers and sisters to help me through this life. Thank you to all you women who have touched my life- I hope you all have a wonderful mother's day.

Abort Misson!!!!!

Potty Training Command this is General Mom. We are aborting the potty training mission on the subject Liliana. I repeat, we are aborting our mission. Yesterday our unit sustained a casualty (a bean bag) and we feel that more are probable if we proceed. Please note that we will attempt the mission again in a few months when our unit has found a new residence. General Mom, out.

Funnies

The girls have been rather talkative lately, which makes for some laughs. As I type this, Liliana is watching the previews to a movie, which included a scene with Cruella Devil, and she started to laugh along with her with her evil laugh. She also called out "Poco!" when Pocohontas was shown (her new favorite movie). But earlier she was even funnier- When we were at church she started to sing (while someone was speaking) and she kept saying "Momma- sing with me!" Then when she was done singing she naturally when right to praying- so she bowed her head, said a prayer, and then loudly exclaimed "AMEN!"

During lunch today I was explaining to Grace that one of her best friends here Jack (and one of my best friends here Liz) are moving in two weeks. :( I told her that they would be moving closer to her grandmas. She thought about it for a minute and then told us that we should move to Arizona too then. I explained that Daddy's job is here, so if we moved to Arizona he would have to take a plane every day to get to work. But she had an answer for that too- "Don't worry, I have a picture of Daddy, so I won't forget him!" I about lost it, but tried to remind her of the things that Daddy can do with her when he's here in person: play with her, give her hugs, etc. Only daddy-daughter dates made her change her mind. I guess Kaylon knows where he stands now.