Favorite quote, "You have to laugh at yourself, or else you would cry your eyes out if you didn't."

Hey, just a quick update on our family. Our computer is down temporarily (viruses=major suckage), so I have not been in touch lately. Nothin' personal.

Update #1- Our "Stinker-" James is finally potty trained. Hooray! I'm doing the happy dance for all those who are wondering. After a week of messy pants, he finally did his business in the potty. After that, not one mistake. Whew! He is such a funny kid- doesn't talk that well, and is always getting words mixed up. One of his first days putting his "stinky" in the potty, he was proudly showing me his latest progress. He kept exclaiming, "Mom, I'm a stinker! I'm a BIG STINKER!!" After reflecting on what we went through to get him that far, I had to agree with him. Seriously.

Update #2- Princess Rachel- Who knew that you could have a princess living in our little town? Rachel is in full blown princess phase- stripping at every oppontunity to don dress-up tutus, frills, jewerly and slippers. The more frills and fluff, the better. We read the Cinderella book at least 4 times a day. Each time she get a dreamy look as the princess lives happily ever after with the "Daddy Prince." One day as a reward, I took them to the dollar store to pick out a "prize." (Yes I am a cheap skate, but is that really a surprise to anyone?) Rachel picked out some shiny, made in china, breaks after 5 minutes, jewelry. There were these crazy clip on earrings that kept falling off. Each time she would come running back to me, "Where did my ears go? My ears fell off!!! Mommy, put my ears back on!!!" I couldn't help but think, no wonder she doesn't listen very well. It all makes sense now.

Update #3- The kids both got hair cuts-- by themselves! Luckily, I saw Rachel as she did it and not much damage was done. James is another story. He likes to wake up at the crack of dawn, sneak downstairs and get into trouble. The other day I caught him making toast. I wasn't even surprised. Anyways, he got the bright idea one morning to push the bar stool over to a high cabinet (above the fridge) where I keep their art supplies and helped himself to his brand new scissors. He is now missing most of the front of his cute shaggy hair. The crew cut is inevitable I'm afraid at this point, although Wyatt is still in denial and says that it will grow out on his own. I was trying to prove a point by showing him his reflection in the mirror and showing him that his hair was "ugly." Now he just walks around saying "I'm ugly!" or telling Rachel that she is. I think that he missed the point.

Photos to come as soon as our crippled computer is fixed. By the way, it is 3:40 am at work and I'm trying to stay occupied until the last set of vital signs are due. So if I seem a little sarcastic, enjoy it while you can. :)

Privacy Please!

OK, it is time for me to go private with our blog. I have mixed feelings about it honestly. I wish that we didn't have to live in such a scary world, but we do (my husband recently reminded me of it, and is insisting on a password). So, all those loyal followers, please comment to this entry with your email address and I will send you an invite to create a password. Or at least that is how I think it will work.

OK, here is a funny side note. Today is the first day of watching my Hirsch niece and nephew, Iris and Carmen, for the weekend. The kids all get along pretty well now and were all looking forward to the get together. So, this morning I made a special oldschool breakfast. You know those delicious cinnamon rolls out of a can- the refrigerator kind? Well, I started off the day with some hot and toasty out of the oven. Rachel felt like it was such a treat, that it must be a birthday party. She started singing "Happy Birthday." Soon, all the kids joined in and they sang it to each child (not really knowing whose Bday it really was). Funny time to celebrate, but a cute moment. Afterwards, they all got giggly licking their frosting and reveling in their good luck. :) Let's hope this keeps up!

Laguna Beach Fireworks

Marion came out for a surprise visit for the Fourth of July. We spent the evening at Laguna Beach where we watched the fireworks. Beautiful!

Beaumont Lavender Festival

Toasty Marshmellow = Happiness

We had such a fun time camping in Southern Utah for the First Annual Dursteler Family Reunion. We were all (30 of us and more coming!) camping at Duck Lake, an area close to Cedar City. The weather was beautiful. We have missed the outdoors and spending more time with Wyatt's family, so this was perfect. The weekend was filled with lots of fierce board games competitions, hiking in Bryce Canyon and Zions National Park, badminton battles (my mother-in-law will NEVER give up!), campfire cooking (yum!), lots of swimming in the nearby lakes and waterfalls, fishing for the guys (Wyatt seems to love it even if he doesn't catch much), sisterly chit-chat, hammock snoozing, rock climbing, mountain biking, and a million marshmallows toasted to utter perfection by yours truly (I think that was my favorite part). Ahhh, what a good time! I did not worry a bit about keeping clean, but just enjoyed the dirtiness of it all. The kids were thrilled to spend time with all their cousins. I love that they have a big family to be a part of. The Durstelers have a great time when we are all together. Enjoy the pics (wish that I had gotten one of each person)! I miss everyone already. Hooray for Lake Tahoe next year!

Dursteler Family Reunion- Southern Utah Camping

Darling Daisy Debut

Thanks to a tip-off from a thoughtful friend (thanks Christina!!), Darling Daisy Hair Accessories has finally gone retail! This came at a perfect time for me. I was debating going on with the business, but still had lots of inventory, and was feeling overwhelmed starting over in Beaumont. So, there is a new kids boutique off the HWY 79/Temecula parkway called Kidzilla (across the 79 from the community church) that agreed to selling my bows. Hooray! No more marketing for me! I love making the bows, but hate selling them. The store is really cute with some killer chic clothes. And for cheapskates like me (I know you are out there), they have a second hand clothing section as well. The used clothes are all in perfect condition, but are usually about $5ish. I am crazy about a good deal. All you Temecula-ites should check it out- tell them Ruth told you about it.