Tam's Treasure Box

the mariners, continued

2010-09-06T17:57:09Z

i found more photos from the mariners game we attended. my friend, Julie, has some good photos HERE. i might have to steal a few of those when i print and scrapbook my photos!

i think i told you in THIS post that the cupcakes audra ordered were huge…. about as large as alex’s head. i didn’t eat one at the game, but i did take one “to go”
alex and i thought it was pretty tasty! [and now i REALLY want to eat a cupcake!]

here’s a cute photo of Susan and I:

and not really related to the mariners game (other than the fact that this next photo was taken that same day)… Earlier this summer, Logos Bible Software has purchased a new home in downtown Bellingham (see HERE) and they should be moving in sometime later this month. Dave is hoping for a windowed office with a Bay view. That would be a big change from this:

I’m looking forward to delivering tasty treats to the guys (and 2 girls) in the Development Department once they’re in their new building! i don’t think, however, that i’ll be making cupcakes the size of alex’s head (i’d have to make far too many to feed to all the Dev employees)!

birch bay continued

2010-09-05T22:30:38Z

hey! what do you think of my new site? hopefully it’s user friendly for you. it might take me a little while to learn how to navigate it myself, but you’re patient people, right? in the meantime, would you like to see some photos i neglected to share earlier?

back in late july/early august, the Dunkin clan spent an evening at Birch Bay State Park to celebrate the July birthdays. you might remember seeing some photos in THIS post.

here are the photos from that evening found on Dave’s camera…. they’re of dirty feet:

VERY dirty feet: and samantha LOVES to be dirty, so she was a very happy little girl!

i’ve got more photos from previous events and i plan to post them throughout this week – it should help me learn how to use this site!

pages

2010-09-02T07:00:00Z

i’ve made a few scrapbook pages over the past few weeks. it feels good to be creating again!

this isn’t one of my favorites, and the photos aren’t that great, but i really wanted to document how lucky our kids are that they have a daddy who LOVES to play with them!

we thought this was our final "family of four" photo….

… but it turns out that THIS was our final family of four photo:

again, not my favorite photos, but i had to document her sweet little plumbers’ crack:

and this one? i really like this layout. but i wish i had moved the whole design DOWN on the page about an inch or two. it would look so much better. but oh well.

thanks for taking a peek at my latest creations!

another sneak peek

2010-09-01T07:00:00Z

my friend and photographer bud, carly, posted another SNEAK PEEK from our family photo shoot. i’m getting more and MORE excited to see these photos! and alex’s baby acne is clearing up…. though her cradle cap is massive (and yellow)… poor baby girl!

time for me to go fold some (4 loads of) laundry!

p.s. i know we never got my new site design up and running here (wasn’t the goal to have it up by the end of february or something like that?), but new changes are coming. i’m not sure when. i’m not really sure what. but it should be easier to read. easier to use. easier to navigate. AND you should be able to read my posts on your iPhone…. but i repeat: i have NO IDEA WHEN this will be ready. dave’s busy working on it, but he wants to make sure that all my past content (aka: my YEARS of blog posts) will be accessible from the new site. i’ll keep ya posted!

take me out to the ballgame

2010-09-05T04:39:52Z

for the past several years, i’ve been asking dave to take me to a baseball game… the Seattle Mariners. back when i was still single, my roommate, christy, and i were late to church (or was it work?) one day because we were watching tv – we were watching the city of seattle blow up (or down?) the kingdome (which wasn’t yet paid off…. but don’t get me started). then they built this new stadium… and it’s pretty darn sweet.

earlier this month, dave received an e-mail invitation from his boss (the owner and CEO of logos bible software!) to join him, his wife and a number of other colleagues at a Mariners game… in a private suite! we responded immediately. i fear, however, that i am now forever spoiled with regard to attending a baseball game. a private suite? a hamburger bar (including hot dogs, pulled pork, bbq spare ribs, bbq baked beans, potato salad and caesar salad) plus appetizers, nachos and then cupcakes and brownies and cookies? plus popcorn and peanuts? quite nice. yeah, i’d say quite nice.

here’s the view from the outside of the suite, overlooking the field:

and this is the view from inside, looking through the folding windows (that were open) to the outside:

it was a beautiful day, a quick game (the mariners lost 1-0 to the minnesota twins) and a fun activity for the Dev. Leads (development – aka: the computer geeks, as i lovingly refer to my husband) and their wives. many thanks to bob and audra for hosting such a fun event!

bob & audra:

dave, tam and alex:

bradley & susan:

the rode down with us. and i must point out that susan works in development, too. so they are a pair of computer geeks. but she’s also girlie and likes to shop and we get along well!

ed & julie:

you’ve met julie a lot over the past few months. and we finally got a decent photo of us together:

jimmy & hillary:

(dave used to be jimmy’s boss when they worked at DIS. and then jimmy left. and then dave joined him at Logos and jimmy was dave’s boss. now bradley, i think, is dave’s immediate boss).

(and my apologies to the other couples who attended and i did not take your photo – it was not intentional!)

the view inside the suite:

pretty nice digs, eh?

and i must admit, i know almost NOTHING about baseball. and the only name on the mariners’ roster that is familiar to me is Ichiro. but i do know that it was ALMOST an epic day. an infield hit by Ichiro would have been some big deal (my friend julie knows the details here) so when he was up to bat the entire stadium waited… but we were not meant to witness baseball greatness, apparently. but i snapped some photos of him at bat, just in case he DID make his grand hit!

all-in-all, it was a wonderful day. and now i can stop bugging dave to take me to a mariners’ game!

just the five of us

2010-08-22T07:00:00Z

though my husband is a wonderful photographer, it’s hard to be the photographer and take photos of your own family if you want to be included in those photos! so on saturday morning we met with my dear friend, Carly of Carly Tee Photography at Lynden City Park for a family photo shoot.

The weather was a little crummy (we won’t talk about how nice it got in the afternoon) and i don’t know WHAT i was thinking by trying to have a family photo shoot with a newborn and all my baby weight, but we had a great time and it was SO GOOD to see Carly again. we were supposed to do Alex’s newborn photo shoot after the family shoot, too, but she came down with a bad case of baby acne, so we’re rescheduling…. which means i’ll get to see Carly again soon!

As a favor to us (as part of a project for a friend), Carly sent us one of her favorite shots immediately. Later this week she’ll have a sneak peek on her blog and then we’ll get a DVD in the mail with lots of photos. So here it is, the very first photo we’ve ever had of ALL FIVE OF US:

thanks, Carly, for the great morning, the tasty snacks (that were part of the photo shoot) and for being such a wonderful friend!

belated 1 month

2010-08-20T07:00:00Z

Alexandra at (approximately) ONE MONTH:

- hopefully over 7 pounds by now (won’t know her official weight until 2 months)

- stil has a full head of hair (hasn’t lost any yet)

- still has DARK hair (though in good light you can see some brown in it)

- eats well (and quickly – usually on 20 minutes to eat – though burping is another story!)

- sleeps well (she’s already provided one 8-hour nighttime stretch!), though she usually eats every 3-4 hours

- is calmed when i play with her hair or lightly stroke down her nose

- cries if she’s hungry, needs to burp or has a poopy diaper

- doesn’t seem to mind the extra attention and love she receives from Davey & Samantha

- is (thus far) the easiest of all our babies

- still wears newborn diapers and clothing

- her umbilical cord took FOREVER to fall off (night of 7/31 or morning of 8/1)

- has already celebrated 3 birthdays with 3 parties (Davey, Daddy and Uncle Jeff)

- has attended the Raspberry Festival, church, play group, Daddy’s company picnic at Hovander Park, a semi-pro football game (Bellingham Bulldogs), garage sales, and an extended family fire at Birch Bay

- has already visited Daddy’s office (once) and Treasury’s warehouse location

- prefers to be upright and will likely enjoy riding in the Baby Bjorn (D&S loved it, too)!

- prefers the $5 bouncy seat i purchased at a garage sale to the vibrating seat borrowed from a friend

- looks good in lavender/lilac colors

- might end up with green/hazel eyes (like mama and Davey)

- does seem to be bothered when i eat chocolate, dairy (especially ice cream and cheese) and peanuts or peanut butter

- seems to enjoy sucking on a binky, but only the latex nippled Nuk brand ones

- is beginning to smile

- is beginning to focus on objects and people

- still sticks out her tongue – A LOT

- has survived being picked up by her older sister (yes, 21-month old Samantha picked her up off the ottoman – thankfully Dave saw what was going on and was there to intervene before anything bad could happen)

- likes to be swaddled

all-in-all, we can’t imagine our family without this sweet, miraculous bundle of joy. she’s our precious gift from God. and tomorrow (saturday) we’re FINALLY going to get some family photos (we still don’t have ANY pictures of all 5 of us together)!

heat wave

2010-08-18T07:00:00Z

this has been a WEIRD summer. our weather has been cold and cold and cold, with very few exceptions. this past weekend and the early part of this week were/are part of the exceptions. it was so hot on sunday that dave decided to go swimming with the kids:

and then we went to Dairy Queen for ice cream (which was our dinner – so healthy, i know!):

davey had a hot fudge sundae. samantha had a strawberry sundae (she doesn’t seem to like chocolate all that much – whose kid is she, anyway?!) dave enjoyed a snickers blizzard while i had a reeses peanut butter cup blizzard (with chocolate, not vanilla, ice cream). dave’s parents enjoyed banana splits.

and i think i have now learned that alex has a hard time about a day after i eat chocolate. so no more chocolate for me for quite some time to come!

success

2010-08-17T07:00:00Z

our epic, multi-family garage sale was on friday & saturday. set-up on thursday night was overwhelming and terrifying for me. i shed tears. quite a few of them. we had so. much. stuff.

i wish i had taken a photo on friday morning from the top of the driveway down to the bottom (or vice versa), but i didn’t. we had about 10 tables (or was it closer to 15?) set up along the edges and down the middle of the driveway. PLUS we had hanging clothing racks for 95% of our clothing and bedding. and there were 2 cribs, 2 exersaucers, 1 jumperoo, 2 office chairs, 1 desk, 1 coffee table, about 6 strollers, a TV, multiple larger baby & toddler & kid toys, and so much more stuff that didn’t fit on the table tops! we don’t even need to talk about how many 100s of books we had or how many sets of Little People toys…

here’s a look at the clothing rack on day 2 (on day 1, the whole front side of the rack was stuffed full of baby and toddler clothing):

and here’s a look at Carrilee and Karla:

those photos were taken near the end of the sale on saturday. carrilee sold a few items, but helped us both days. the whole time. and she was tireless – always up, moving something, tidying something, talking with someone, selling something. i honestly do not know WHAT we would’ve done without her help!

on thursday night, karla and i were both thinking "this is the last garage sale we will ever do." we were both overwhelmed. completely. (it has NOTHING to do with having babies just 5 weeks ago, right?). neither of us slept much on thursday night (i got 3.5 hours). but then we got our friday sale tallies and we started saying thing like "next year…"

so all-in-all, the sale brought in about $2500 over two days for 10 different participants. our cash box was about $15 short and we had one $36 check bounce. not too bad.

wanna know what i learned?

1. don’t bring a 4-week old baby to set-up in the evening – it’s too stimulating for them.

2. be more clear about letting people sell stuff (aka: all participants have to be okayed by those in charge of the sale).

3. if a full "shift" can’t be worked by each seller, then they have to give up 30% to those who are working. if you can only work a 1/2 a shift, you have to give up 15% of your sales to those who are working full shifts.

4. everyone has to pick up their own items at the end of the sale – AND STICK AROUND until ALL things are cleared away (tables, a run to the thrift store for donations, trash removed, etc.).

5. if taking local checks, the person who has to cash them gets 10% of the check value b/c they have to go to all the banks to cash the checks (this takes time, energy AND fingerprints & ID)!

6. clothing sells best if it’s hanging. all of it. and if it’s clearly marked.

7. make sure things are labeled clearly. sale items and signs. (masking tape works great b/c it doesn’t fall off most items – esp. clothing!)

8. if there are two sides to your clothing rack, make sure it’s clear to shoppers that there are items on the other side of the rack!!!

9. if the sale is 2 days, it’s okay to say "no deals today b/c it’s the first day of the sale." prices are as marked. and people will still buy the items. 99% of the time, anyway.

10. don’t feel bad roping off the area and saying "no sales until we open." it will help save your sanity.

11. make sure someone is ALWAYS by the cash box. and make sure the cash box does not contain ALL the cash (shove 100s, 50s and stacks of 20s into a deep pocket in your pants).

12. do not, no matter HOW busy you are, leave the cash box open. in our area, the migrant kids will try to take money out of the box (we had it happen).

13. have someone frequently check on the clothing – moving things to the correct size section, picking up fallen clothing, etc.

14. walk the sale frequently to tidy tables and keep things looking orderly and organized.

15. have plenty of bags available for purchases.

16. have a canopy over the cash box/check out area. it’s easier for people to see and it keeps you out of the sun/rain.

17. place your check out station in the middle (off to the side) of the sale so you can best see your items and keep your eye out for theft.

18. set-up and/or assemble items so they sell better (strollers, cribs, storage racks, tents, large play structures, etc.)

19. be hyper-organized with signs for tables, buckets of items being sold, check-out lists, IOU slips (for the different sellers to buy and sell items from other people involved in the sale), etc.

20. do an ad in the newspaper, on craigslist and place signs around town. it’s all money well spent.

21. remember to be nice, to smile and talk with people.

i’m sure there’s more, but that’s plenty for now. i’d love to hear any tips you’ve learned over the years (either from hosting or attending sales)!

time to rest

2010-08-14T07:00:00Z

it’s saturday night. the garage sale is over. i still have to run around town and cash checks (which means find a baby sitter so i don’t have to run into 5 banks with 3 kids!) and then finish the "money earned" tallies and divide up the money. it’s been an EXHAUSTING 2.5 days. and yesterday and today were crazy HOT (a bit unbearable today, actually), but the sale it over. i’m taking tomorrow to relax and reclaim my house (so maybe i’ll reclaim my house tomorrow and relax on monday?) and then it’s back to BUSINESS with working on alex’s announcements and thank you cards…. soon, i promise.

additionally, yesterday (firday), my sweet bundle of cute tiny-ness turned ONE MONTH. so i have to do an "Alex at One Month" blog post and photo session, too. i promise i’ll get back here with regular posts and photos now that this sale is over.

trust me, the sale was HUGE. GINORMOUS. overwhelming, at times. but it was very successful and very well organized and i learned a few things. so i’ll be sharing some "hosting a garage sale" lessons soon, too. but now it’s time for me to rest for the evening. the laundry can wait another day to be folded… it’s already waited 3 days, what’s one more?!