How Informercials look to a 5 year old

Last week Grace called Kaylon up to our bedroom where she was watching cartoons on our TV. She started rambling so quickly that Kaylon couldn't understand her, so she pulled him into her room and pulled out her Scripture Reader. She started telling one of the scripture stories- paraphrasing it. Then she dejectedly shook her and and said, "See Daddy, I can't do it, I can't read. I need WordSmart."

Now, at this point of the blog, I would like you to watch a minute of this infomerical. Please? Just a minute, I promise? It helps you understand what happens next. Here's the website.

http://www.wordsmart.com/

Ok, Thank you for that. So after her reading attempt Grace pulls Kaylon back into our bedroom, where luckily the infomerical is still running. She starts to excitedly explain to Kaylon how WordSmart works. "You put your hands on this machine, and the arrows go up your arms to your brain and it changes its color. And then you can read the words and understand them. I need that Daddy!! I need WordSmart!!"

And it doesn't stop there- According to the TV, she also needs to visit North Dakota, go to the beach at Kohls (the models were playing at a beach), and collect all the cool toys of the moment. It's just so funny how literally she takes things- understandable why she does, but still funny.

Stupid DMV

I hate the DMV. I got all my documentation together as well as all 3 girls, snacks, diapers, and coloring books and drove 2o minutes to get there. I got past the initial check of my documents, so I think that I'm scott- free, right? No. After filling out my paperwork I get to the window and they say that my lease isn't acceptable since it was faxed, so not the original signatures. It's the digital age- I send my taxes with a digtal signature, but the stupid DMV won't take my faxed lease as proof that I live in Virginia. I almost cried. It took so much for me to get down there. I had wanted Kaylon to take time off so that I could go by myself, but I could see that wasn't happening and so I decided to just go. Waste of time. So I left the DMV empty handed and drove the 20 minutes back fuming.

The sad thing is I still have to go back- with more proof of residency. Oh- and I have to find our van registration that is not in the van or in our files. ugh....

Moira Pictures

Ok, I'm done blogging for tonight after this one. I have so many cute pictures of Moira, I couldn't help myself. By the way she now weighs 13lbs 3oz and is 25 inches long. She is quickly approaching the 0% curve, but what can you expect from a McInelly baby? You can't tell me she's not healthy- check out the rolls!

She is such a happy baby...






And I just love her facial expressions in these...

Grace's Birthday Fun

We had a great day today celebrating Grace's 5th birthday! We decorated the kitchen with streamers and balloons last night, which Grace loved. Kaylon worked from home in the morning and got off around 2pm when my dad got here. We hung out all afternoon- went to the playground across the street and played with balloons. Grandma Susie's box arrived just in time to provide us with princess cups, napkins, and plates, as well as Grandma Elyse's card. We had a dinner full of Grace's favorite foods: hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill (how did I ever live without a grill???), corn on the cob (or big corn, as Grace calls it), and watermelon. It was followed up by cake and ice cream and presents, of course. Thank you to all who sent her cards and gifts- she really had a wonderful day and was grateful for everyone's contributions, whether big or small.

This was Liliana's contribution for the day.... she said it was yummy...

I debated putting this up- it's not professional, but I didn't want to spend 20$ on a store cake- so here is Grace's 'Princess Cake.' At least she really liked it!

Grace and Pop

A card from Grandmom Jay

A mug with her name and a princess horse from Pop

Charlotte's Web from Grandma Bunting (we're reading it to her at night now- she loves it!)

Glasses and flipflops from Grandma Susie

Barbie and the Diamond Castle and Mulan + Horse (not shown) from Grandma Elyse

She sure did make out well this birthday. Plus she has some money that she gets to spend!

Happy Birthday Grace!

My first baby turned 5 today. I can't believe how fast these past 5 years have gone (getting faster with the arrival of each child). Grace is such a sweet girl. She is beautiful- the envy of all women she meets for her blond curls. She loves being a big sister, and is always helping me with Liliana and Moira. She is smart- and shows it by trying to trick us constantly. She is fun- loves to laugh. She always wants to make us happy. She is a joy- I love being her mother and I am grateful every day to my Heavenly Father that she was sent to me.

Here's a small photo progression of the past 5 wonderful years :)

Happy Birthday Grace!

Happy Father's Day

Had I been prepared I would have created a slideshow, or poem, or something creative to mark this day of dads. But things have been so crazy lately, I barely realized that the day was coming. I did manage to get a card out to my dad (late), and Kaylon's tie was luckily ordered beforehand.

Still we had a very nice day. I let Kaylon sleep in (and it took him a while to figure out why I did that) and the girls and I made him French Toast- one of his favorites. Grace presented him with a card that she made and of course the tie with Moira's picture on it, which he wore to church. Kaylon decided to make his own dinner, since he wanted Indian food, which I cannot make (and do not want to learn). Before you get on my case, I did make him brownies for dessert. We spent some time on the deck (one of the best things about this house!) and generally enjoyed each others' company.

I am grateful for my father. He is a great person- someone you can count on when things get tough. He cares deeply- and loves even deeper. I'm happy that we live close enough to see him often, and that I get to see what a wonderful "Pop" he is to my children. I love the chance that I have to get to know him as an adult and build our relationship that way.

I am also grateful for my husband. He is a wonderful father to our children- so hands on and capable. I never had to worry about him not knowing how to hold a baby or change a diaper (his mother trained him well!). He loves our girls and loves being a dad of girls. He wants the best for them and settles for nothing less. And he puts up with me every day, making him superman, at least.


Here's a picture of them both being really good sports on Grace's birthday playing Candyland.


Thank you to both of your for being such great dads! I love you both!

Liliana in action

Here are 2 videos of Liliana the other night when she was supposed to be going to bed. The first is of her playing with her Barbie, the second is of her killing us and then bringing us back to life. I just thought you all would like to see and hear the evil laugh for yourselves :)

Moira is Rolling Over!

Grandparents enjoy!

Age: 5 or 15?

I am always amazed at the things that Grace internalizes.

The girls were fighting over a toy of Grace's tonight, so I put the toy in time out and had them work out their issues. I was about to give the toy back to Grace when she walked in and told me that she had to tell me something. I braced myself for a "Mommy you hurt my feelings when you took away my toy." I was already coming up with responses in my head. Then she lays this one on me:

"Mommy, I don't have a place where I belong."

I was floored. My mind backed up 10 feet and then scrambled to find a response. I ended up probing for more information. I asked her why she felt that way, and she said that she didn't like our new house, and that she needed to move to Arizona to be with her Grandma. I guess I didn't realize how out of place she feels- not much different from me. I assured her that she belonged with her mommy and daddy and that we loved her and wanted her. I'm not sure if I convinced her, but she did run off and play.

The second shock of the night is when she came into the kitchen crying (again, I braced myself for some petty disagreement) and out came this:

"Mommy, I'm sad because I really want to marry daddy."

Now here's some back story before I continue. Grace has recently started to recognize romantic love and expressed that she wanted to marry daddy. She constantly tries to kiss people on the lips- even coming up with ways of tricking people into it. It's all normal and cute (to a point- repeated attempts to kiss us with the same trick gets old). We did have to tell her, though, that daddy is already married to mommy and so she should try to find someone else to marry. We thought that she had accepted this, since this past week she had told us that she couldn't marry daddy because he was already married, so she was going to marry Max. We took that as progress, but love cannot be quenched so easily. Ok, back to wanting to marry daddy...

So, I took her in my arms as she cried, "I really, really want to marry daddy, but he already got married to you when I was a baby." (Well, you actually weren't born yet, honey.)

I told her how I understood why she loved daddy. He is handsome, and funny, and nice. She agreed through her sobs. "Yeah, daddy is so handsome... I just want to marry him."

Trying to hide the smile that was bursting behind my lips, I promised her that if she still wanted to marry daddy when she turned 18 (the age, i explained, when one is allowed to get married) then she should come to me and we would talk about it. After a few repetitions of the promise she seemed to be mollified, and she allowed me to return to cooking.

My mind flashes back now to a time when I was probably not much older than Grace, and totally attached to my mother, and I asked her if I could live with her after I got married. My mother assured me that I could. Of course she knew that I would want my own place when I got married, just as I knew today that at 18, the last thing that Grace will want is to marry her father (and if she still does, that talk I promised will be very weird). But in that moment, with the limited maturity that we own, we cannot imagine our desires changing. It's interesting to be on the other side of that coin- to know her future self better than she does.

On a side note, Grace related the whole story to Kaylon at dinner, which caused him to exclaim how much he loves being the dad of girls (can we say ego boost?). Course, I don't know if he'll get the same treatment from Liliana... she was trying to put him in jail and kill him tonight, as she threw her head back and let out her evil laugh. "Ha ha ha... he he he!"

Sisterly Love

Yesterday I was grilling out on the deck which meant that the girls were out there playing as well. They were riding their big wheelers, when Grace got rough (tried bumper cars) and Liliana had had enough and went inside. Grace started begging Liliana to come back out, which Liliana coolly ignored. Then Grace started to cry. Liliana went to the door and asked her what was wrong. Grace said that she wanted Liliana to come out and play. Liliana said, ok, and went back out. I was glad that I didn't interfere- it's nice to see them solve their own problems in a loving way.

What exactly is normal?

Things are returning to normal here. Brandon flew out Saturday afternoon- I already miss him. It was nice to be able to run out while the girls were napping or at night and not have to drag them along. He's welcome to stay at our house whenever he wants!

Kaylon has figured out the bus routes, which are better here than Montgomery County. So much better, in fact, that I don't have to drive him anywhere- he takes a bus to the metro and then walks about 10 minutes to work. The commute is still about the same time as before (1 hour). Makes my life easier and saves on gas money!

The girls have settled into life here. I think the playground 50ft in front of our house helps with that. They love sleeping in the same bed, and riding their big wheelers on the deck. Grace mentions her old friends every once in a while- and I agree with her that they are missed. On a slightly funnier/embarrassing note- one thing we told Grace to help her accept the move is that she would make new friends in Reston and that there would be a little girl that would be her special friend. I noticed this getting out of hand too late, and realized that Grace thought that there was a specific girl waiting for her. So on Sunday at church, even after explaining that she shouldn't, Grace asked a girl in her primary if she was her special friend that was waiting for her. Sadly the little girl said no. So Grace told us on the way home that she wasn't the one. Oy.

I genuinely like this house. It might be slightly smaller, but the space is more efficient. I don't mind not having a dining room, cuz I have a bigger living room. I love the deck. The bedrooms are smaller, but we just sleep there, really. The house is nicer in most ways, and the neighborhood is amazing. The people are friendly and look out for each other. There is a path that leads to Safeway and I'm pretty sure another one that goes to Grace's school. I feel blessed that we found it, and at such a great price.

I'm trying out our ward's playgroup tomorrow. I was surprised that the primary wasn't bigger than it was. The ward was nice- more quiet (and affluent) than we're used to. Grace liked her teacher. Liliana adjusted to the new nursery well enough. Moira was loud- guess she wanted to be noticed.

Virginia has a more laid back feeling that we fit in with better. Kaylon is in love with the area and is excited about the running paths. And there are a lot of benefits- lower taxes, better transportation, cheaper rent, etc. It was a good move for our family... it's just hard doing it all over again. But I won't whine more than that. :)

House Pics And More

As promised: some pics of the house. Please don't mind the mess and the lack of pics on the wall.

The basement TV area

Basement Toy area

Basement Office

Living Room

Living Room

Living Room

Living Room Bookcase Nook

The girls now share a full sized bed- here they are the first night.

And we can't leave Moira out- she has found her toes!

Grandma June

Last Friday (the day before the move) we got news that my Grandma June had a heart attack. Grandma was almost 94 and in an Alzheimer wing at a nursing home. My mom and uncle eres able to fly out that day and spend the weekend with her. Grandma died peacefully, Tuesday June 9th, the day after Mom left. One of her sons and daughters in law were at her side. Her memorial service will be the July 4th weekend so that more people can get there. I'm glad that we're close enough to drive.

Honestly we didn't know how she had survived this long, but we did know that it was not a life that she would chose to live. June was feisty, to say the least. She was a strong, accomplished woman. She didn't take anyone's crap, but conversely, she loved just as fiercely. I can still remember her laughing as she hugged me tightly. She will be missed, but we know that she's in a better place now, no longer in pain, probably breaking up a fight between Grandpa and her sister :)

Love you, Grandma June...

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...

These past 5 days have been incredibly crazy. We just now got our internet and phone set up. So here's our moving update.

As moves go, it really wasn't bad. My brother Brandon flew out the week before, allowing me to pack and clean. We had about a dozen men, including Kaylon and Brandon, come out to pack the truck- and we had already packed all the boxes (sadly, this is the first time that's happened). Everything was going smoothly until we realized that our stuff wasn't going to fit on the 24 ft truck we had rented! If we had had just a foot or two more we would have been fine- the rest of the stuff fit in 1.5 van trips (half because one of the trips was with the girls in the van as well). About a half dozen men came out from our new ward to help unpack and I guess that was done fairly quickly. Some of my friends came to the house to help me clean, which took longer than I'd hoped, even with me cleaning things beforehand. Another good friend watched my two older girls so that they weren't underfoot. She was nice enough to take them for longer than expected. I owe all those ladies for their service!

The worst part though was saying goodbye- even though I know that I'm only an hour away. When the last person left I called Kaylon and started came close to hysteria, and the tears never really stopped until I went to bed. I made some wonderful friends in Montgomery Village- people that I will remember forever (and can't get away from me, thanks to facebook, lol). I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of having to establish myself all over again. It's a hard thing for me to make friends... I get so nervous in social settings.

This move has been different from the others though. While I mourned the loss of my former life and friends- I was surprised to find that I still felt at home. I realized that my life is so centered on my family, that I couldn't feel lost with them still with me. What a comfort that my little family is with me as I embark on this new journey.

The new house is mostly put together now. Someone just took all our packing boxes off our hands, giving us some more storage room. I finally went grocery shopping last night- but that is the only place I've gone besides dropping Kaylon off at the commuter lot and eating dinner at friends house (Thanks Rebecca!). I have some more closets to organize, bookshelves to fill, and pictures to hang on walls, but otherwise, it's looking good. But as I lay down to sleep I still feel like I'm already dreaming- it just doesn't feel like my life. I'm sure that that will change, but for now, it feels like an out of body experience. I'll take some pictures soon and get them up...

We have a place to live!

I just got off the phone with the realtor and the landlord has accepted our application! We are moving to Reston, Va, on Saturday! (I'm so relieved that we just have a place!) Our house is 3/4 of the way packed- Brandon is here to help- and we are ready to go. Well, after a few more goodbyes... or see you laters... ok, not looking forward to that part... but Yay! we have a place to live!