Happy (early) Birthday Dad

"When you remember me, it means that you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are. It means that you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years and miles may stand between us. It means that if we meet again, you will know me. It means that even after I die, you can still see my face and hear my voice and speak to me in your heart. For as long as you remember me, I am never entirely lost."
-Frederick Buechner, American author and theologian

Happy Birthday Dad, we love and

miss you way too much!!!

(and special thanks to Judy for posting this on her blog because I stole it from her!)

So I had to take Marley in this week to have the big snip. I had called last Thursday to make an appointment and they told me to bring him in the next day (Friday) and that he would be ready to pick up the following Wednesday. And that seemed kind of long to me. Marley is super sweet and seems like he would have his feelings hurt or think we ditched him. So I asked if there was a way to make it a shorter stay. So they told me Tuesday night for a Thursday morning pick up. But then when I dropped him off at the shelter they told me I could pick him up at the Riverside shelter because that is where there were taking him.
So that is what I ended up doing. They said they would call me after 5 if he was ready to be picked up. So at 5:10 I got a call to come grab him, well to get to the shelter by 6 in the middle of downtown Riverside in 50 minutes seemed almost doable. Add in two super tired and grumpy girls it made for the most stressful drive ever! Traffic was a nightmare, I got off of the freeway at 5:42 and tried to find this little side street, knowing it wasn't going to happen I called Billy and asked him to call the shelter and tell them to tie him up to a tree outside the shelter because I wouldn't be there by 6 and I didn't drive all this way to not come home with the dog. So he calls and finds out they there are open until 7 due do the large amount of animals needing to be picked up.
I end up finding this nightmare of a place at 6:04 and the lady is locking the door as I pull up. I seriously skid into a parking spot and I think I was out of the door before I had it in park and ran to the door with the leash in my hand and she stood there and started at me... I even knocked and she still stared. oooooooh, I was TICKED!
So I went into the next door which was the shelter and not the clinic and told them what happened, they told me not to worry, the lady got in trouble for locking the doors way too early because she knew they were open until 7 and she had to bring Marley to my car... ha ha ha!
I then set this sweet little dog on the front seat of my car that I had covered with one of Billy's t-shirts... not paying attention to which one I had grabbed because Lia had used it as a cover up for painting at Joy School. But after all of the stress of getting there and finally getting the dog, I laughed hysterically for a long time because there all curled up on the front seat, Marley was laying on this..... after being neutered.

This is the plate Lia made for me at Joy School. I love it!

And the cookbook she made for me at Pre-School.

And teh flower pot she made at Pre-School.

She decorated the paper the plate came in.

Beach trip.

Here are some more pictures from our Mothers Day adventure at the beach. This was Sophie the first time she felt the sand in between her toes. She stole someones boogey board.

They didn't like the water too much, but they LOVED the sand.

A surprise for the girls.

I got a call from my sister yesterday, and she asked if we would come down and we'd put up the slide she got the girls for Christmas. I was excited so I said yes of course and we headed down. When we got there, she had left so Billy and I went ahead and set up the slide and the girls had at it. OMG! They were so much fun to watch! Lia hated the water at first but when she realized how fast she could go she went nuts, and Sophie... is nuts so she was right at home. They had never seen the slide before so it was a total surprise for them. I'm so grateful for it. The only thing she couldn't do was climb up the back, it has footholes, so Billy and I took turns helping her up.

After the girls were completely worn out we had an amazing lunch. I was told we'd just do sandwiches but Erin went way above and beyond and made gourmet burgers. (jalapeno, bleu cheese and bacon and cheddar plus the turkey burgers for me) she later told me it was my birthday party since they'll be gone. It was perfect!

The girls slept for four and a half hours once we left, so I'm counting on this thing helping me out over the next few months. Especially since Billy won't be working this summer, it will be something cheap and easy to do. Yay for that!!! (I'll count it as a blessing)

Hey baby! What's in a name???

I have had people ask me what the name of our little man will be, and I right off the bat say Tommy because that is what we're going to "call" him... but then take it back and tell them his COMPLETE name, and its a mouthful.
We have Chosen:
William Thomas Harry McIntosh.
I think its beyond perfect and fitting for our little man.
Now, how we came up with it.

William: Billy comes from a long line of Williams'. And because I'm a stickler for tradition I knew we'd always name our first son William. (because I' believe its bad ju-ju to change tradition, my dad did it and people gave him so much crap about it and in the end Geoff went straight back to tradition)

Thomas: My dad's name. A beautiful name. And again, he was part of a long line of Thomas'.

Harry: This was the name of Billy's Grandpa that he was never able to meet. And he wanted to pay tribute to his favorite Grandma this way. He knew she always wanted someone to name their baby Harry. A sweet sidenote, when I told Uncle David about it he said "Thank you, we've been waiting along time for that" with the sweetest sincere smile ever on his face.

And why we'll call him Tommy: I'm sure people think it was my idea to call him Tommy, not that I was opposed, but it was Billy's idea. He said it was always confusing sharing a name with his dad and Grandpa. My dad had the same thing, There was always: Tom, Tommy and Timmy. And alot of people in my family go by their middle name anyway, so Tommy it became.
I love it, "Tommy Mac" or "My Little Tom-Tom" is what I've been calling him.

Now we're just waiting. It was going so much faster when we weren't telling people. Now it seems like October is so far away. Until then, i'm just going to wait for my older sister to get here in 2 weeks and spend the following 3 weeks creating the sweetest co-ed nursery ever!!!!

swiper no swiping!

Character Counts!

In the last week we have been hit with some heavy news, not that its terrible, but the pregnant girl in me is FREAKING out because .... well, we're having a baby and its terrible timing.
But through all of it Billy has been amazing. He has chosen to take the high road, not cover his butt and speak the truth. And even though all of this has not helped the situation, it makes me very proud of him.
And he just called to tell me that the principal asked him to serve on the SSC (School Site Council) next year and help with the school's budget. That is huge!!! I'm so proud of him, its up to him to decide. But to me that is worth any paycheck in experience, so one day when he's running a school site, he'll have experience already.
Great job honey! Oh, and he'll never tell you that he was one of the top twelve nominated for teacher of the year. Out of 60+ teachers at his school, thats nice.
I love you.

Just fun pictures.

This was taken on our Mother's Day celebration day. Sophie LOOOOOVED dipping her chips in the sand. ( I got that diaper, yuck) Why is Sophie crying you ask??? Oh, it's because her daddy took the cigaretts and lighter she stole from some lady's blanket away.

And here is Sophie conducting business as usual, keeping her employees in check.

She can multi-task even!!!

Our family at Elise's birthday party.

My brother Geoff and his amazing family. It looks like Elise is trying to chop off his head. (oh, and our little Sophie decided to try some of his beer that night, and LIKED it!)

What a beautiful girl/ young lady! whatever, she'll always be my baby.

Nern and Lia.

The verdict is in.....

We're buying blue!

Yes, we're having a boy.
This was the reaction in the room:
I screamed, then laughed, then cried. Billy laughed and laughed, my mom shook Billy because she didn't know what else to do, Erin kept saying I told you so. And our girls couldn't figure out what we were all freaking out about.
Then we had a great day at the beach with Missy, Elise and Kaylie. Mothers Day doesn't get better than that!

Sentimental me

Do you ever have thoughts that seem pretty good in your head and then after you have written them down they all of a sudden don't make sense??? I hope this doesn't come out like that.
I'm pretty sure Sophie had a nightmare (very) early this morning so I got up to go grab her before she woke everyone else up. She was waiting for me at the end of her crib, because I always talk to them as I'm coming so I don't scare them when I appear in the doorway and she was jumping up and down saying through tears "Hi mama, hi mama" her arms outstretched wanting me to scoop her up and give her the biggest bear hug. So I pick her up and start telling her everything is ok, and kissing her sweet little head, grab her blanket and head for the couch because I think this might take a while.
We sat down, I wrapped her up, she looked up at me and smiled... then passed out asleep. And I couldn't help but stare at her for the longest time. And I couldn't help but think, how does Heavenly Father do it??? How does He give you your heart to hold in your hands? And why does He make it all go so fast? She'll be 2 in August and I still remember being alone in the hospital with her and thanking Heavenly Father so much, because I could tell right away that she was sent here specifically for me. She came when I needed proof that life goes on and that I could still love. (this was after losing my dad) I knew right away my dad had spent time with her, letting her know how much I needed to learn and to grow and what would make me laugh hysterically.
And after I had tucked her back in bed and put myself back down I felt the baby move. And I couldn't help but feel truly blessed.... and amazed.
I'm grateful everyday to be a mom, it's one thing I think I'm ok at. I have two of the most amazing little girls ever born. And am anxious to see what this new little one has in store for me.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!

Marley and We!

Here are some answers to a few questions you might have:

1. yes we got another dog

2. it was kind of planned, if we found a golden boy to rescue we would get it

3. he is also a lab mix

4. he is in LOOOOOOOVE with the girls

5. yes I'm nuts

6. no I don't smoke crack