But we got to make it work...

The garage sale was a lot of work and a lot of time spent...but it's over, and I'm very happy about that.  I did make some good money, especially for a garage sale that was basically clothes...lots and lots of clothes.  It was a very long day..the garage sale was advertised as starting at 8am, but we had people coming at 6:45am...6:45!!, and it was off and on busy right up until 2:00 when we ended.
Man, I really don't like garage sales, and I hope I don't have to do one again for a very long time.

Me, the money lady

Emily, the fixer

Michelle, the......well, she was entertaining.. 

Friends forever (We'll be friends)... Always will be friends (Always will be friends)

*extra cool points if you can tell me where the lyrics for my title came from?

I am so happy I have such good friends around. Friends that love Q. Friends that Q loves.

Like Robert, who lets Qiana just attack him with face grabs, headbutts, and hair pulls and just laughs.

And Emily who is the "fun one", who lets Q get away with everything and will snuggle anytime Q wants

Or parents of my friends, like Papa Grout, that treat Qiana like a grandparent would

But of course, Sometimes, all we need is each other. 

She works hard for her money....

Q has recently become obsessed with helping mommy with chores. She has to help push the vacuum, likes to unload the tupperware and silverware from the dishwasher, must be handed all clothing so she can be the one to put it in the dryer from the washer, and now requires her own set of tools while mommy is using some to fix things around the house.
My garbage disposal broke. it was awful. I had to purchase a new one, and luckily a friend lent me her husband to come and install it. I did watch a DIY yourself video online about how to replace a garbage disposal, but I was already stressed out about the recent garage sale and just didn't get around to it.  Q was eager to help out where needed, but really just got in the way most of the time. But the girl tries. At one point I was laying on the ground looking up at the garbage disposal under the sink, and instantly felt a little body right next to me, laying on the ground and checking out the damage as well.
To give the fix it man a little space, I gave Q some smaller tools and let her "go to work" on the cabinets, fridge, and anything else that was in reach.

She was very happy with her work

I'm goin' once, goin' twice...

I'm not quite sure what is worse, getting ready for a garage sale or actually working a garage sale....but I guess I'll find out tomorrow. 

Yep, I am having a garage sale. Getting rid of tons...I mean tons of clothes...Q's old clothes 0-18 months, and mine. Plus

random household items. Shoes. Scarves. Carseat. Bumbo, Moses Basket. Rocker/Glider. 

It's been quite the project getting everything cleaned out and organized. Such a pain pricing things, setting up tables, making signs, etc...AGHHH. I can't wait until it's over

But hey if you're in the area tomorrow... Saturday 8-2. Come on by and check it out.  

I got a new attitude I'm wearing a new dress (New), new hair (New) Brand new ideas, as a matter of fact I've changed for good..I got a new attitude

For awhile I've wanted to have, what I call, "dancer hair". I have coveted the cute, funky, short hair cuts that a lot of girls rock these days, and I wanted to be bold enough to try it.  I know I have had short hair in the past, but I don't know if I exactly "pulled it off", and all it took was one bad picture where I looked like I was in the running to be kd lang's mistress, and I was turned off to short hair cuts.
But I recently had a run in with an untempered hair dryer, and my hair paid the price. I had some serious damage at the crown, and the ends were crying every time I tried to style it.  I couldn't go another day with my hair in such pain, so I made the choice to finally do what I have wanted to do for a long time....
I cut my hair.
It took some coaxing from Emily, and massive amounts of validation that I could indeed "pull it off". But I did it.
Melanie gave me a great haircut, but by the time I got home I had convinced myself that I wanted to go even shorter...so last night I got my scissors out, and really made it something that I think Mia Michaels would be proud of...

I love it. 

And hopefully I fit into the cool dancer hair category and not the questionable lesbian category...

Sing, Sing a song...

Q has always loved music, but she has recently begun singing. it's adorable.  She will try to sing almost any song that comes on, but she rarely ever knows the words...and even if she does, she can't really pronounce most of them...so she just ends up just mumbling and humming the tune, and singing every 3rd word.  It's annoying when it's adults that do it, but just adorable when kids do it.
Here she is singing her ABC's with Emily...

Let’s settle down... Let’s chill

Q has found a new place to hangout.

Yep, that's the toy chest.

The other night, I am in the kitchen, and look over at her, and she has made herself at home.

In the midst of the toys.

She was in there forever...

Just talking to her babies

and playing with her stuffed animals

She would get out, gather more toys, and venture back into her cozy spot. 

Just look how happy she is with herself.

Oh, I was finally able to catch my little miss chatty on video. she LOVES to talk, too bad she sounds like the swedish chef on the Muppets:

Here she is talking and entertaining me as i get ready for day.  

And here she is "reading" to Emily and I.

P.s. Judging by these pictures, and videos you would think that Q never wears any clothes...I promise it is just coincidence and not a new "lifestyle" we are adapting.

What's been going on..around here...

Life in our world has been quiet, but nice.  It's been our normal schedule and normal activities.... Work, hang out, laundry, clean up, eat, etc...

We've spent the warm weekends in the water. 

I'mm so sad that summer will be ending soon. Q has really enjoyed playing outside, and especially in the pool. She's really gonna miss it. 

Qiana is at such a fun stage. She is getting such a funny personality, and has some funny little quirks.  She is really starting to be a little chatterbox, although I only understand about 20% of what she says.  But she is definitely a talker!!  

She is becoming slightly more independent, and willing (and able) to play on her own.  It's fun to just sit and watch from a distance this little world that she is creating on her own.  

One night last week, Em and I were hanging out on the couch, and we noticed that Q was gathering all her babies and stuffed animals and laying them on the floor.  She then went over to the corner and gathered all the blankets we have and laid them on her babies/animals and "put them to bed".  She would lay the blanket on the baby (pretty much smothering the baby), kiss their head, and say "night night"...oh it was just so cute.

The best part was watching Q come over to the couch, and snatch Emily's blanket right off of her to use in her toy/blanket pile.  It was so hilarious. 

Here's her little pile of sleeping babies.

Last night we went to Brandon's open house, and it was fabulous!  It was so fun to see family and friends, and watch Q play her cousins and extended family.  She was in heaven.  She spent the whole time running around,  playing on the slides, swinging, collecting rocks, and playing in the flowers. 

After the reception, Qiana went down to spend a couple days with Jared and Lindsay's group so I can go through and de-junk my house. 

Emily and I are having a garage sale at the end of the month, and I am getting rid of tons of clothes (mine and Q's). It's been quite a project to work on today, and my body is killing me...but it will be nice to get rid of so much stuff and get this place simplified!

Believe when I say... I want it that way

Was there a Backstreet Boys concert in Wenatchee.....Yes
Did my friends and I get tickets....Heck Yes!!

On the floor. 5th row back. Freakin awesome!!

With all the other styles of music that I like, Boy bands are definitely one guilty pleasure of mine. I love them. I have been to tons of backstreet boys and n'sync concerts. They are always sooooooooo fun.

You would think that the crowd would be full of screaming teenagers...but you would be wrong. The crowd was so diverse. From middle aged women, to teens, to high schoolers on dates, and the late 20's-early 30's group (the original fans!).

Before the concert, Michelle, Emily, and I went to this Mongolian Grill Place, that was freakin delicious.

 We killed some time, after eating, by taking some funny pictures.

 The people in the table next to us asked us if we wanted them to take our picture for us, but they didn't understand that we were just playing around, and we just love being goofy.

The concert really was amazing. they sounded awesome. the music made me smile. and I wasn't sitting by annoying girls that I wanted to hit...perfect.

They sang a bunch of songs from all their albums...each was totally linked to a memory for me. 
(this one's for Aaron...hahahah)

(I remember when this video premiered on MTV)


(beauty school..erin simpkins and I were obsessed with this song)


(why i love them...such guilty pleasure jams)

They sang songs off their new album....yes, they have a new album...and it is good.  Two of my favorite songs: "Straight Through my heart" and "She's a dream"...you should check them out.

They had this cool DJ that was doing all their music for them.

I love it when we're cruisin' together....

Q and I got away for a couple of days, and made a trip down to Utah.

After a day of work, I packed up the car, got Q settled in her seat with some snacks and some movies and hit the road.

 On the way down we stopped over for the night at Kim and Aaron's, and Q was excited to spend some time with Elsie...and I was happy to relax and rest a little. Making that drive, isn't hard, but it sure does get boring!!  Luckily, Q is pretty good in the car and I only had to stop for gas and to walk around a little bit and pick up food. Q was super funny in the car, and enjoyed playing hide and seek under the blanket...or just putting the blanket over her head and falling asleep.

While in Utah, Qiana and I stayed at my friend Tamu's house, and had to sooooo much fun with her family.

Her kids just played and entertained Q every day, and Q just couldn't get enough of them. It was a great visit, cause I had no real plans except to hang out. perfect.  We hit up the farmers market, played outside, watched tv, and talked-talked-talked. I love them so much.

I went over to Cali's house one night for some games....which was super fun! Ashley made this tortilla soup which was DELICIOUS...and Shane brought prizes for the games...you can't beat that!
We played sequence, and I was paired with Shane.  I was super nervous that I was going to screw everything up, but I got a win right out of the gate, and that put me at ease.  Plus I won a cute wallet...even better.

Q holding my new wallet...

One day, q and I joined Cali and Ashley and their kids at the Lindon Aquatic Center...and it was super fun!

Q loved everything about it...including the delicious pina colada snow cone, that we shared...delicious.

One of the days, my friend Jeremiah joined Q and I at IKEA for some exploring, shopping, and eating...man I love those swedish meatballs!!  It was so much fun seeing Jeremiah, and it was a good way to spend the afternoon.

I was also able to meet up with Brittany for some delicious sushi at the Happy Sumo!!

  I had a great time just talking with her. That girl has gone through some major crap in her life, and still has the best outlook on things....if only I had 1/2 of her strength.  She then joined me at Tamu's house so she could see Q and ended up hanging out the rest of the night.

I think Tamu fell in love with her, just as everybody does.  We had a great time hangin out.

It really was a great trip.
The only down side was when I majorly strained my back somehow the day before I was set to leave. and couldn't bend over, or pick anything heavy up...a bad back is not something you want when you are solely responsible for taking care of child...plus I was planning on driving back to Moses Lake (the whole 12 hours) in one day...not awesome.
It was a difficult trip back, but we did take a little rest in Idaho and I let Q run around with Elsie while I laid down on the couch and rested my back.

I was excited to get back home...but sad for the trip to end.