Fresh baked thoughts

Productive

2012-01-29T08:35:00.001-08:00

Busy. We are always pretty busy. It doesn't stress me out like it used to. I feel much more in control and happy about it. On Thursday and Friday I:Made lunchesGot the kids to schoolWent grocery shoppingHad laser done in Laguna NiguelCalled an old coach to talk about Joey's baseball draftMade appt to speak to the principal regarding homework policy at Joey's school ( he has well over 3 hours a night!)Had meeting with PTA teacher liaisonHad lunch with Marie at Mozza Newport BeachBought snacks for concessions for musical rehearsalHelped with musicalHelped with homeworkMade dinner- roasted garlic bread, whole grain pasta, turkey cutletsHad musical budget meeting at our houseDave was out of townThat was just Thursday. On Friday I Took the boys out to breakfastDid laundryBacked up photos on computerMet with Eric to design beds for Noah and Zach. Paid him to get started. ( now I have to empty that room and figure out how to carpet and paint it in 2 weeks)Met with Pete the electrician to get new fan in our bathroom.Had meeting with Venado principal Helped with musical rehearsalLined up our favorite tile guy for bathroom remodel Helped dad's club with family fun nightBecame team mom for Noah's baseball teamSmart and final for concessions for family fun night.Was presidenty at bingo nightParticipated in minute to win it on stagePlayed bingo with Dave and the kidsTalked to baseball coaches regarding draft- Joey got on the team we didn't want him to. :(Counted money for PTA and musicalCame home and made roster for GiantsAs I look at this list it seems pretty insane but I felt very balanced. Nothing was being put off. I was able to be an advocate for Joey. I was able to help with a big event that meant a lot to a lot of families. I can help put on a musical that my kids love and get lots of confidence out of. I still cooked a homemade healthy meal and I had me time with a great lunch with my good friend. I have a pretty wonderful life. I'm so blessed with my family. It feels good to be at a place of gratitude instead of being overwhelmed by my to do list.

No More Pinterest Guilt

2012-01-14T10:55:00.001-08:00

I admit it...I spend too much time on pinterest. It's my new addiction. I was starting to feel a bit guilty but then I thought about it and I am putting it to use! So it's ok, right? As long as I make a recipe every now and then or decorate my house with a printable.

Sunday was our anniversary. We have been married for 18 years. 18 years!!! That's a long time. I so don't feel old enough to be married for 18 years but hands down that the best YES of my life. My favorite Rhett Miller song has a line that says,

Someday somebody's gonna ask you
A question that you should say yes to
Once in your life
Maybe tonight
Ive got a querstion for you

It always makes me think of Dave. I love that song!

We had a lovely day just doing normal stuff-starting out with Joey's basketball game. The boys and I did some scheming and I got my surprise in place and then Dave and I went out to dinner. He took me to Mozza. I was so excited. I've been wanting to go but it's been hard to get a reservation. The food was delicious! Seriously I would go there again just for the caprese salad. They gave you HUNKS of garlic bread and you mushed the burata and roasted tomatoes on top. Heaven!!

Us at Mozza

After dinner we came home and my pinterest addiction paid off. I ordered 18 silver balloons (one for each year) and the boys picked them up and filled our bedroom with them. I wrote memories from each year on little scrolls and the boys attached the notes. I also bought one big heart balloon with a note about new memories to make in the coming year. The boys were so cute and loved being part of the plan. They put notes on our door and went right to bed. Dave was really surprised when he went in the room.

Surprise!

Savor

2012-01-07T05:50:00.001-08:00

I had breakfast with Annie, Laura, and Suzy this morning. It was so nice. The day was spectacular and I enjoyed the drive. I had music blaring and the moonroof open. It felt so good to just take time for me to go have fun. It was so nice to catch up with everyone. Annie looked especially beautiful today. I think her love of life just makes her sparkle. Laura has such a kind heart and Suzy has such a wonderful sense of humor. I really love all of those qualities about my friends. I got home feeling all inspired. I sat down to start Project Life. I'm still not done with 2011 but I don't want to fall behind so I started 2012. I wanted to make my cover page really cute but I was over thinking it so I didn't get much done. Mi need to just DO and not try to make it harder than it needs to be. My reason for doing this is to document and enjoy and Savor.After I made a mess (of course) it was time to go. I took Noah to his first batting lesson. That kid has such PASSION for baseball. He goes out on his own every day to practice and spends every minute inside studying stats. I just have such excitement for baseball season. I feel like its just going to be his year to shine. He was late coming into it and last year was his first year but I think this is going to be a wonderful year for him. The coach was so good and Noah listened and did every thing he told him. He's so very teachable. I love that!Joey rode his bike from school and met us there and then had his lesson. That boy has power! I hope he can really focus and break some bad habits he's developed and have a good season. I used to think it was silly to spend the money on these privates when they are so young but now I wish we did when Joe first started because its so much harder to break those muscle memory bad habits than to learn it right in the beginning.Anyway, I just had this sense of excitement being there. I love the sports park. I love watching my kids do stuff they love. While Joey was having his lesson I went into the other cage and pitched to Noah. It felt good. Normally I would just watch. Having lost 30 pounds I felt more confident and it was really fun. I think a pink mitt may be in my future :)After baseball we picked up pho for dinner. There is something in that broth that I think is so restorative so I brought some home to poor Zach who was on the couch all day with a horrible cold. Poor guy. He was supposed to start swim team yesterday but we had to put it on hold until February since he's sick. We ended the night by watching How To Succeed In Business. Not a fan of the movie. I wish the broadway musicals were available to watch. The boys audition Tuesday for the musical and I was hoping the movie would be inspiring. I guess we'll be watching YouTube tomorrow.I woke at 4am this morning and I've been laying here praying and thanking God for this life I have and my word of the year came to me.... SAVOR. I want to savor these days that go so fast. Savor the moments. Savor the friendships. Savor the hugs from my husband. Savor it all.

2012

2012-01-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

We're back. We were in NY for 2 weeks. It was a wonderful trip. We saw friends, family and did lots of sightseeing and city dwelling.

Today...it's time for a fresh start clean and lots of organizing!

I woke up early and got Joey off to school. I felt bad for him. We are all home for another week and he has a cold and had to head off to school. Poor guy. I hope he has a good day.

Noah and Zach are just waking up and I have done two loads of laundry, checked email, Facebook, recipe sites, and finished shampoo for Goldie.

Goldie is my mom's dog. He had "hot spots" on his back and his skin was really flakey. Nothing was working and the recommended shampoo was $35 for a small bottle. So... I did some research and made him some. My mom tried it out and it worked like magic. So I made a super size batch for him. So easy!

It's equal parts white vinegar and dye free antibacterial hand soap.

Yup, that's it! It has even helped me and my allergies around him. I think it's because all that flakey skin is gone. My mom used it once a week for a month and noticed a difference the first week and after a month the hot spot and everything was gone.

Now it's time to tackle the rest of Christmas. Happy New Year!!

Getting Ready...

2011-12-10T22:29:00.001-08:00

We're having a party tomorrow so we were all busy getting ready. Joey had basketball and Zach had spent the night at my mom's so it was just me and Noah this morning. He was such a help! He had his Santa hat on tip of his baseball cap and cleaned the living room and did the best job EVER on his bedroom. I LOVE that kid! We chatted and baked and cleaned all morning.

Joe came home and started helping Dad with lights and cleaning. It's pretty helpful having a 6'2" son! He added some snowflakes to the lights in the backyard for me. It makes me soooooo happy!

We all worked and sang and danced. Noah is obsessed with Jango so he was our dj. I love hearing him sing. He has the most beautiful voice. It's got the sweetest quality to it.

Noah sang...Dave and Joey cleaned.... I baked....

And then Zach came home from Grandma's with the cutest gingerbread house. He did such a great job. I was so impressed. This month each boy gets a sleepover and gets to make a gingerbread house with her. They are such lucky boys.

The night continued with Joey going to a birthday party, the boys and Dave watching Santa Claus and of course...more baking!

Today I made creme brûlée, vanilla bean cheesecake, merringues, peppermint pavlova, Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes and this. I'll show you what I'm doing with it tomorrow.

Back to Blogging

2011-12-09T17:07:00.000-08:00

I've totally missed blogging. I stopped because we went to a mac and I was having trouble with uploading pictures. I think I have it figured out now. Yeah!!

I've spent the day in total happiness. It was Joey's friend's birthday and latestart at school so the day started with a breakfast at our house. I made homemade creme brûlée french toast. I made it for Joey on his birthday and Tyler loved it so I said I would make it for him on his birthday. I love having the boys over. I feel so blessed that Joey has such nice friends.

And speaking of being blessed with good friends. So am I. My friend, Bonnie got up early this morning and went to Lowe's to bring me a Christmas tree since we didn't have one.

And since I am just filled with love and happiness today. I thought my hubby looked cute :)

I took Jessica Sprague's online holiday class and made this banner. So cute! I spend the rest of my day, crafting and baking. What a lovely day! We're having our annual dessert party this weekend. Today I made dark chocolate cake layers, crostada pastry, Godiva Espresso Mousse, and more to come!

Have a happy day!

Rainy day

2011-10-09T21:34:00.000-07:00

A rainy night seams like the perfect time to start blogging again. Our days are so busy and I miss looking back at what is going on.

Noah and Zachary are on fall break. It's been so nice having them home with me. I miss my Joe though. He is now in middle school and on traditional schedule. He is so busy. Like crazy busy. 3 hours of homework every night. 3 hours!!! And on weekends too! I think that's just crazy. The good side of it is he has no time to get in any trouble. Between baseball, basketball and homework there's no time left!

Today I was supposed to take the twinsie's to San Diego to hang by the water but since it was raining I had to think of something fun so they wouln't be totally bummed. First we had lunch at the place of their choice (Red Robin) and then we went to Dave and Busters. We had a blast.

Joey turns 13 on Friday. I can't believe it! He's got a baseball game after school that day, and then a basketball tournament on Saturday and Sunday so most of our celebrating will be postponed a week....which means lots of mini celebrations. I totally believe birthdays should last at least a month so he is set. Ive been searching for new recipes. I'm thinking snicker doodle cake with brown sugar cinnamon buttercream for one. Oreo cookie cupcakes for another....maybe some cookies for his team... let the baking begin!

nerds unlimited

2011-06-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

multiple uses for 3 D glasses.

SUMMER GROOVE

2011-06-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

I had some fruit that was on the edge so after the pool today I made strawberries muffins and blackberry lemon muffins. YUM!

Strawberry Muffins

Ingredients:

1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup white sugar
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup strawberries (chopped)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tins with cups.

2. In a small bowl, combine oil, milk, and egg. Beat lightly. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Toss in chopped strawberries and stir to coat with flour. Pour in milk mixture and stir together.

3. Fill muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes, or until the tops bounce back from the touch. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

* This doesn't make much so I doubled the recipe each time I made it.
** The second time I made it I added boisenberries and lemon zest (that's why they are purple)
***I got the recipe from All Recipes dot com.

The taste testers.

I also had some cut up watermelon left over so I threw it in the blender with a couple squirts of agave nectar and put it in the freezer for some Watermellon POPs.

So, my morning started at 4:40 AM with a phone call from Joey. He forgot about the time change. I love him sooo much that when he just went on talking I woke right up and listened and smiled that he was calling his mama. Now that's love!! So he starts telling me about how after they got their car rental they ran over a nail and had to head back to the airport and when they got there the place was covered with police and emergency vehicles and they had to run out and into a bathroom because there was a tornado. What!!!!! He just ran with it though and didn't seem too freaked out. Thank God I didn't know yesterday or I would have died. 3 tornados touched down yesterday in Louisville. Are you kidding me??? I just have to breath deeply and pray :)

Today was nice. I made pancakes for my twinsies and then took them to the pool. They are absolutely adorable together. It's nice to have this alone time with them. I'm about to get ready to go on a double date tonight with my hubby and Bonnie and her hubby. We are going to see our friend, Lisa's show. Should be a blast!

Mama Duck

2011-06-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

I am not quite myself. Joey is on vacation with his grandpa. I am totally excited for him and so glad he gets this special time. I was trying to go to sleep the night before he left and couldn't breath. Crazy, huh? I have been gasping for air since the last week of school. Dave asked me what was wrong and I said, " I like all my duckies swimming in my pond." Whenever I see a mama duck with her duckies behind her I think, "How happy that mama duck must be!" Silly, but true.

Anyway...my island is done! Yeah! I love it. Eric, who built it, was the best. He brought it here and it was beautiful but just did not fit. Our counters are a little low and it dwarfed them. It had legs (like I wanted) but it was just too big for the space. So, he took it back, lowered it, took off the legs, added cute little details and now it is just perfect! Everyone is hanging out in the kitchen now and I just love it. He also cut the black board for me. I painted it with chalkboard paint and now I can change the quotes all the time. The quote up there now says, " What I love most about my home is who I share it with".

I spent all day yesterday working on Project Life while Noah and Zach wrote stories, did crafts, and watched movies. Very nice!

I have been cooking like crazy. The night before last we did Make Your Own Pizza on the Grill. Talk about delicious!! I used Trader Joe's pizza dough-regular and white. I rolled them out and then grilled one side of them. I flipped them onto plates, people loaded them and then I put them back on the grill to finish. I wish I took pictures because they were so pretty. The toppings I had were:

organic pepperoni
procuitto
shredded mozzarella
buffalo mozzarella
homemade garlic olive oil
arugala
roasted shallots
grilled eggplant
grilled zucchini

Tonight for dinner I tossed some pasta with the leftover grilled eggplant, zucchini and garlic oil. I broke some goat cheese up in it too. YUM-O!

Almost Double Digits

2011-06-11T23:58:00.000-07:00

In two days Zach and Noah will be 10. Each cutie gets their own celebration. Zach chose to go to the Angels game because there was going to be a Taio Cruz concert afterwards and he was dying to go.

I love my little Angel's with their halos.

The best art of the game for me was during the concert. A group of people near us kept running down doing choreography and everyone in their section was following it. I grabbed the boys and climbed up and we danced like crazy. It was sooo much fun!! It was the closest to a flash mob I've ever been in.

It obviously made me VERY HAPPY.

The Best or Worst Idea I Ever Had

2011-06-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to be offered 2 tickets to the Angels/Yankees game on Sunday. 2 tickets, 5 of us...hmmm...what to do. So I came up with the brillant idea of "Whoever cleans out their room and fills the most bags of stuff to donate gets to go with Dad to the game. I really thought only one would be in it to win it but all three ended up cleaning like crazy. I'm talking, drag your beds out of the bedrooms so you can clean underneath. I didn't know what to do then because they all really deserved it. So we had winners 1,2, and 3. The big prize winner was Noah. He not only cleaned he helped everyone else too. Total GARBAGE BAGS of stuff donated for all boys was 11, plus 3 large bags of trash. Winners 2 and 3 got to go see Kung Fu Panda 2 with me. Along with lunch and Yogurtland. Now I have totally figured out what motivates the kids. They cleaned for 6 hours!

I was so happy for Noah. The game meant the world to him. He is truely a baseball fanatic.

Teacher Appreciation frames

2011-05-05T22:42:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago I made all the teachers frames for teacher appreciation. I did it again this year but I really need to rethink it. We have A LOT of teachers now. The sanding took forever, oh yeah, those flowers took forever!
I made thirty.

They were cute though and I was happy to do them for the teachers. Just no standing next time!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all those wonderful teachers out there! Tomorrow I go in with Bon to make breakfast burritos to order during recess. The gift is a donated book so that's easy peasy! So glad it's Friday tomorrow. I had 6 cortizone shots in my foot and it's bruised and throbbing right now. I'm ready to spend the day at the baseball field and relax.

Teacher Appreciation

2011-05-04T23:10:00.000-07:00

My morning looked this.

I made the cupcakes yesterday and then a couple hours before the teacher appreciation lunch today I started the cream cheese frosting. YUM! I am so in love with these. I want to make them for everything.

Our theme was Spring Picnic so I printed "Bloom Where You Are Planted" and punched it out with a 2
1/2 inch circle punch. Perfect fit.

And no luncheon would be complete without live music! The kids sang "Lean On Me", "What A Wonderful World" and "Thank You for the Music". It just warms my heart to hear them sing.

Every day the kids bring a treat for the teacher. Today was "school supply" I love good scissors so I bought some and made tags that said, "You're a cut above the rest".

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

2011-05-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

I saw this recipe on TidyMom and had to make them. I figured Easter was the perfect excuse because they are over the top rich but oh so delicious! Here is a printable version of the recipe.

First I started out making the cupcakes. The dough tasted just like chocolate chip cookies and when they came out of the oven it really did taste like a giant chocolate chip cookie.

While the cupcakes baked I made the cookie dough for the center. No eggs- sweetened condensed milk instead so no worries. I put it in the frig to set and then scooped it into balls.

Once the cupcakes were cooled I used a large pastry tip to cut out a section to stuff the dough.

Then frost (yum!) and they were done!

The kids thought they were the best thing ever. I thought they were incredible but could only eat half since they were so rich. I'm going to make cupcakes for Zach and Noah's team next week. I thought I would make a vanilla cupcake and put the dough in the center for a surprise. Fun, huh?

Oh! And the number 1 think I am in love with is Paprika. It's an ap for the ipad. It organizes your recipes and will automatically get them from websites and imports them from blogs too. I have been trying so many recipes! Instead of buying an expensive holder I got a plate holder for $5 at Target and set my ipad up while I'm cooking. LOVE it!

I am blessed

2011-04-25T23:18:00.000-07:00

I love him. He totally melts my heart. He took my heart to another level tonight.
He had a bunch of homework and he also had a playoff game for baseball (they won-Yeah!). We got home and the homework kept going. It usually does. He's a little slow in the homework area. He's the hardest worker in the world. Slow and steady wins the race! Anyway, he was writing his outline on his project, "My Hero" and guess who it was....Me! That was sweet in itself but the way he asked me questions and looked at me with such love in his eyes- Oh! He remembers ever story I have ever told him. Every little struggle I have ever had. He appreciates that I take care of him. He loves me so much and know just how much I love him. I am the luckiest person in the world.

I felt it yesterday too. We were up at 5am to get to sunrise mass. The kids were so happy to go. They really love God. Joey alter served and brought tears to my eyes leading the procession, holding the cross high.

After mass we went out to breakfast and were home by 9 for baskets and catnaps.

By noon we were on the road, heading to friend's for Easter. I made sweet potato/red potato marscarpone gratin. Yum! and chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes. Our friends did the cutest thing. They had paint on a table outside and people painted rocks from their garden through out the day. So cool. The boys painted on and off all day.

I love all of Joey's bunnies!

Happy St. Pats!

2011-03-17T22:11:00.000-07:00

Traditions. My boys LOVE traditions. So do I, I guess they get it from me. Do it once and it is a tradition for life! Last night Zach came running downstairs in a panic that we didn't have any milk. "We have to have milk! The leprechaun will turn it green in the morning!" He smiled the biggest smile when I reassured him that I bought milk while he was at practice.

So of course this moring they woke up to this.

My happy Irish boys.

My gigantic Irish boy. He's 6 feet tall!!

After school we went to McDonald's for Shamrock shakes before religious ed. The kids loved them but YUCK! So not what I was hoping for. I usually make them homemade. They were so sweet and artificial tasting. Next time I'll go for the cone.

And no St. Patty's day would be complete without homemade shepards pie.

Zach was really bummed that we didn't go to the golf course that we went to during Christmas. He remembered they had a celebration there tonight but I never made reservations. That kid remembers EVERYTHING!

Happy St. Patty's!

Lent- a new way of looking at it

2011-03-15T22:10:00.001-07:00

Lent is not about penance. Lent is about becoming, doing and changing whatever it is that is blocking the fullness of life in us right now.

The Kitchen

2011-03-09T21:01:00.000-08:00

The kitchen is fully functioning now. Yeah!!!! It just needs some finishing touches. The backsplash and then eventually an island or kitchen table. I love how it came out. The backsplash I chose is way more expensive than I realized so I am trying to decide if I want to save some more and go all out, mix it with basic subway tile, or just go subway tile. We'll see.

This cutting board is the funniest thing. I have had my mind set that I would have one this size and I was thrilled that I got it!

Here are my pretty orchids from Valentines. I love the yellow. And what's that in the box? Project Life! I am soooo happy to get started!

Lots of happy things :)

Yummy goodness!

2011-03-05T22:33:00.000-08:00

Just sayin ;)

Relationships

2011-03-05T20:57:00.000-08:00

Relationships. They sure are interesting. Different. Changing. Wonderful. Hard....

Today was all day baseball day. Dave volunteered at the snack bar starting at 7:30 this morning so he was there for 10 hours. Joey rode his bike up to the field for the first time. I drove Noah and Zach. They have always been close but lately it seems like their relationship seems really good.
A lot has to do with Zach. And Zach is happy. Really happy. I think the musical was a turning point for him.
He's proud of himself. He's really pushing himself to do things outside his comfort zone.

I love seeing them in the dugout together. They chat about the game. They share equipment. I think Zach feels like he's part of it now. Part of the baseball frenzy. He's always wanted nothing to do with baseball. First it was both of them that didn't want anything to do with baseball. But then Noah caught the bug. And it was Joey and Noah all the time. Zach was on the outside. Now it's back to Noah and Zach being together. Learning together. Playing in a hard level together

This one just kills me. Look at that sweet face. Those freckles! The retainer that still makes him talk funny. He is happy to have Zach back too.

Joey is really growing up and the difference in their ages hasn't been apparent for awhile but now it really is. Joey is being more independent. He's separating from his brothers. It's good for him.

And good for them. How blessed they are to have each other. To always have your best friend around. To always have someone who has your back and loves you.

Family Fun Night

2011-03-03T21:13:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't want to get bored or stay home and nurse the flu so tonight I was in charge of throwing a family fun night at the boy's school. I booked a drawing assembly for the school and if you booked 2 assemblies (which we have to do because we have lots of kids at our school) you got a family drawing night for free. I couldn't have a drawing night without food so my friend, MaryAnne hooked us up with some food trucks. She jumped through a million hoops but made it all happen. We were soooo happy to have The Burnt Truck (seriously good sliders! Fried Chicken and Mashed Potato sliders- heaven), Dos Chinos (asian fushion tacos-delicious) and Chomp Chomp Nation (vietnamese fusion- crab slider that nocked my socks off. Delicious!)

And last but not least, Kona Ice. I heart shaved ice!

It's kind of nice having a 12 year old. Joey helped me set up and then played dj for the night.
Here he is showing some of his crazy dance moves ;)

The nicest part of the drawing assembly was Zach came running to the car after school saying, "I never knew I could draw so well!" All the boys loved it.

I am really thankful for nice positive people they make you forget about the unpleasant ones and focus on the good in the world.

Baseball Season is Here

2011-03-02T08:59:00.000-08:00

Last night was the start of baseball season. I was sick, it was cold, all 3 had games at the same time...but I was still excited...and nervous. It was Zach's first game EVER and Noah's first spring season. They were too darn cute in their uniforms!

There lost their game but hearing them talking baseball in the dugout and laughing with their team mates was priceless.

I was so happy that I walked over to Joey's game at just the right time. He got a triple! It was so exciting! He made it in and started a streak. Wooh hoo!

Joe's game was against his best friend's team and they ended up tying at the last minute. A tie is a little anticlamatic but good for friendship :)

Fiddler on the Roof

2011-03-02T08:50:00.000-08:00

This year we were only going to do 2 musicals but we ended up doing 3 so we could do Fiddler and have Andrew in it. Andrew has gone to school with Joey since kindergarten and hasn't been in the musicals. He's is amzing at playing the violin so he was the fiddler. It really kicked the musical over the top. Not only was it great to have him and his brother in the musical. (they are both super talented) but that meant we got his mom ( who I love). Her calm, happy presence made every day a joy.

Here are the boys in Tradition.

"Life is as shaky as a Fiddler on the Roof"

To Life! There is just something about these all boy numbers that are always my favorite. Could it be because I have 3 boys??

Noah and Zach got to argue on stage with the "horse/mule" part. It was perfect casting ;)

Magical

2011-02-27T11:47:00.000-08:00

Last night was the last night of the musical. It was MAGICAL. It really was.
I was a little on edge before the performance. This would be Joey's last musical. Maybe not his last, but his last with Bonnie. His last with me helping shape it. I just couldn't get over thinking about how much he was growing up. Before it started Bonnie showed a minute clip of Joey and his 3 buddies in first grade at their Christmas show. All 4 were the leads in the show. She wanted to show all the primary choir where they started and how they could be on the main stage too someday. It was really moving.

Then...the show started and I took in every second of it!

Joey was amazing. I was so impressed by him. Such confidence. His voice was beautiful. He was relaxed and enjoying every second of it.

This was Zach and Noah's first time on the main stage. Zach had a little solo in the beginning of Freak Flag. He nailed it. I started crying. I am always so proud of him. He always does what is difficult for him. He is so shy but he walked right out and sang. Totally in character. Amazing! Noah had the line right after him. So cute!

Peter Pan (Noah) and Gingy (Zach) singing Freak Flag.

My favorite part of the night is when the kids bow and start singing and dancing. This picture makes every bit of tiredness and hard work worth it.
I'm a believer!!!

Shrek, Fiona and Donkey...all together since kindergarden.
xoxo I have a happy heart.

It's almost here

2011-02-21T16:59:00.000-08:00

The musical is almost here! Today there was no school but we were there practicing from 9:30-3:30! It was busy but fun. Two of the moms made homemade spagetti and meatballs for everyone.

This picture made my day. These 3 have been together since kindergarten and now it's their last year-their last musical. I can't wait to see them as Shrek, Fiona and Donkey!!

And Peter Pan and Gingy are gearing up to take their place :)

Musical Madness

2011-02-16T21:14:00.000-08:00

We've invested 100's of hours making this happen. Dad has done done all the music. From scratch. I've spent the last month and half working on it with Bonnie but it's coming together.

Seeing Peter Pan, Shrek and Gingy today made it all worthwhile. I'm so proud of these boys!

I'm so blown away at how Joey can go up there and belt out all those songs. Amazing!

And this is what I envisioned when we saw Shrek on Broadway. These two will always be Shrek and Donkey in my mind.

Now if we can polish , finish up costumes, practice like crazy and decorate a stage we'll be ready for a show next week.

School pictures

2011-02-14T15:00:00.000-08:00

School pictures came and I sat down and scrapped them super quick.

I need to do this more. I tend to put them aside and then they never get done.

Or I over think and take a long time just doing a page. I'm going to try to just grab some stuff and do it.

Undefeated!

2011-02-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

Today was all about basketball. We were all there to cheer for Joey and his team. Even his buddy came for the first half of the game. Dad and Noah were there. Noah got his top and bottom retainer. (after losing his top retainer after 4 days but that's a whole other story). It really is changing the look of his face.

Grandma and Zach were there cheering.

And of course I was there cheering, taking pictures and videoing.
Today was his best game yet. It was exciting.

And they won. Again! Undefeated! The champs of their division!!

What a way to have a first season! After the game he asked if we'd sign him up for another season. I guess we'll be alternating baseball with basketball.

Tonight is all about Zach. In our family you need to read the book before you see the movie. Zach is the only one who read How To Train Your Dragon so Dave and I are snuggling with him watching the movie while Joey and Noah hang in their rooms. Zach has become such a great reader. He finished the first 3 Harry Potters too.

The Month is Flying by...

2011-02-12T18:52:00.000-08:00

Noah and Zach are so excited about learning Street Hockey. The Anaheim Ducks are coming to their school and teaching the 4th graders to play street hockey. They will learn for 10 weeks. The Ducks even donated the equipment and to start it all off did a kick off assembly for just the 4th grade. I was the "official photographer" so I snuck in a picture of my boys with Wild Wing.
I think this picture is so hilarious because their smiles both smirk the opposite sides. Funny!

We had a very fun Super Bowl with our friends. I cooked at their house (I am so sick of fast food!) and made burgers with chimicuri sauce and burgers with blue cheese sause and arugula. It was nice to cook.

That's Fetch, who was ready to party :)

The boys have started baseball. Love being on the field, watching my boys. Noah and Zach are on the Yankees and Joey is on the Twins. I'm so nervous for Zach. He's never played at all but he is a hard worker. The first practice was great. (just drills). The second practice not as good. He was trying to hit (for a long time) and some kids started making comments. Noah was on 3rd and totally cheering him on. It so warmed my heart. Then on like the 20th pitch he hit it. The kids kept overthrowing and he kept going and made a homerun. Noah was waiting on home and yelled, "It took awhile but it was totally worth it, Zach!!" I love that!

We're finally moving ahead with some speed on the kitchen. There is light at the end of the tunnel!!!

The new frig and micro got installed yesterday. I love them! The stove needs to stay for awhile until we save up some more money. Tomorrow they are working some more and I'm hoping for doors on Tuesday. Granite countertops are coming this week too. I have never been more excited to get a sink to wash dishes. I'm hoping a week or so.

Loving this!

2011-02-05T12:23:00.000-08:00

In the mist of all this musical and house renovation chaos I recieved a package. In it was this cool tote and notebook holder. I was so excited! The tote has 7 pockets all the way around it. They are perfect for my cell phone, my water bottle, some pens....The side ones are bigger and even hold my venti iced coffee PERFECTLY! The notebook holder opens up and holds a notebook, pencils and my stash of cash. I walked into musical rehersal the other day with it and felt organized! I had water bottles for the kids on the outside (so they don't have to go through all my stuff to get them), my notebook inside, musical files, a bag of turkey jerky and I was ready to go. I even had sharpened pencils when one of the boys broke his pencil while doing homework on a break. LOVED it! Thank you so much, KIM!! The company that makes all this stuff is called 31 and all the products are so cute and so useful! They totally had to be designed by busy moms.

OVER IT

2011-02-04T10:20:00.000-08:00

I'm over it. O-V-E-R it! STILL no kitchen. No kitchen, no appliances, no sink...we're still waiting for the cabinet guy to finish the cabinets. The cabinets that were suposed to be finished before we tore out the old kitchen.

I don't want any more pizza. I want to cook. I actually want to wash dishes and clean up this mess!

Nothing I can totally complain about though. I mean we're getting a new kitchen, but I just hate when people don't do what they are supposed to do.

My dining room table is our only counter space downstairs among all the boxes is breakfast, homework, lunch making...

Yesterday was a stressful day. Noah lost his retainer. The one that was only in his mouth for 4 days that is going to cost $300 to replace. And while that was happening our cabinet guy called and changed our installation date again...AND needs more money to finish even though we gave him WAY too much already. That was 20 minutes of a 15 hour packed full day.

Today will be better! There are too many good things happening. Baseball season has started and all 3 boys are playing. We're working on Shrek this week. My hubby made it through all the snow and is now home from Kansas. I have 4 boys I love. Valentine's Day is coming and I'm making Valentine's. We have a fun Super Bowl party to look forward to and I'm going to cook in my friend's kitchen. The list of good is WAY LONGER than the bumps in the road :)

My sweetie used his $10 Pay It Forward money to buy gum and Starbuck's vias for the troops and we sent it off yesterday.

Here's to a happy day!

An almost perfect weekend

2011-01-23T22:25:00.000-08:00

The weekend started out fun and the fun continued (until my headache just wouldn't go away!)

Friday night Dave caught an early flight home so we were able to hit the road a little earlier than we anticipated. I surprised him with tickets to Old 97's for our anniversary and Friday night was the night! They are our favorite band so we were so excited to go and I was more excited just to have a date night! Before the show we went to Roscoe's. MMMM! Chicken and waffles!

Saturday morning we got up early to get ready for Schwenke camp. Zach was so nervous and kept telling him he didn't need to go and didn't need to play baseball this year but he decided to do it anyway. I love that about him. He tackles things that are hard for him. What an incredible quality.

I was going to take the kids to camp so Dave could relax a bit before painting but he insisted on going to give Zach moral support. Nothing sexier than a man being a good dad!! He ended up staying up there the whole day. It was perfect because he got Zach moved into the same group as Noah and Mannie (Annie's hubby) was the coach so he immediately relaxed.

They sure look like they had fun!

While they were at camp I scrapped with Debbie. So fun. I was on a role and got a few layouts done. I wish I could just scrap, scrap, scrap now. Saturday night we split floors. Zach and Joey finished reading Harry Potter so they stayed downstairs with dad to watch the movie. Noah hasn't read it yet so he had to come up and snuggle with mom and watch Up.

Sunday we spent the day cleaning, painting, organizing...It was kind of blissful though. I loved us all working on things together.

Joey had his playoff game this afternoon and they won AGAIN. They were completely UNDEFEATED! So cool.

We planned on going to church but my headache just kept getting worse. It's time to drug up and knock myself out. My allergies don't like paint and construction. I'm hoping it's only for a couple more weeks. It's been a LONG process but i know the end results will be worth it. So thankful...and trying to remain POSITIVE!

Where did my little boy go?

2011-01-19T17:26:00.000-08:00

He's growing so fast.

I mean, seriously??? He's the same size as the coach. I love that he tried something new this season.

I love the young man he is becoming. I want to always have the relationship we have. I need to stop correcting and just let him be sometimes. It's so hard. I've got to not sweat the small stuff.

17 Years

2011-01-15T21:50:00.000-08:00

Last week we had our 17th wedding anniversary. Joey is so sweet. He made us this out of clay. He is so thoughtful. I'm so blessed that we have been married for so long but also so greatful that we could give the gift of happily married parents to our children.

The Weekend is Here!

2011-01-15T21:42:00.000-08:00

Last night I started the weekend off right by going out to celebrate my dear friend, Paula's birthday with a few of my mom friends. Paula is such a loving, kind, gentle woman. She is such a lovely person and really show's God's love to everyone. I am always inspired by her. We went to a new favorite authentic mexican restaurant with the BEST skinny margarita's. After that Bonnie had the great idea to do something different so we went to the Improve to see Wayne Brady. He was totally amazing! So talented. I was blown away by how he could take random words from the audience and make them into the funniest songs. He's got a great voice too. One funny thing was Slade from the OC Housewives was there. He was sitting in front of us. He is such a total attention whore but Wayne Brady totally got him. You had to write a song title and then WB would make a song out of it. Slade wrote, "I used to be on tv but now I'm at the Improv". Rude! So anyway, WB did this rap about how at least he has a job and is a millionaire. Slam!

Anyway, super fun night and the fabulous weather made it feel like we were on vacation!

This morning started early. I'm not so good with early. But at least I had Starbucks by 8am and the weather was glorious so by the time we got to the field for baseball tryouts life was good. I love being there. I love being anywhere watching my kids.

Today was exciting but nerveracking. We have a new baseball player in our house.

Zach decided he wants to join his brothers. It's a big learning curve. He's never even played catch before. Dad was helping him out before tryouts. I hope it's a good experience for him. I'm so proud of him for trying new things even when he is afraid.

By 10am Noah and I were on the road headed to LA. We went to one of my favorite places on earth, Surfas to take a BACON DECADENCE class. I figured that was the perfect first cooking class for my little bacon lover. We made candied bacon, bacon potato pancakes and maple bacon bread pudding. Noah was in heaven. I can't wait until we have a kitchen so we can make these recipes for the rest of the family. After class we held hands, walked around, had macaroons and lunch in LA. It's so nice to spend time alone with each of the boys.

While we were gone Noah and Joey had a great time entertaining our weekend guest, Anabell. They are so good with her, so responsible. Joey was dressed and walking the dog before we were out of bed this morning.

Anabell is now asleep in between their bedrooms. So sweet.

And the best part of the weekend...we almost have a full ceiling. And we have lights!

I'm hoping by tomorrow night we will have a finished ceiling.

Friend time is good.

2011-01-10T22:56:00.000-08:00

Today was a good day. Just an ordinary day but I so enjoyed it! I was going to go to the gym but I had a busy day and wanted to organize myself for it instead of rushing. So, after I dropped the kids off I came home for a few minutes. Bonnie came over to watch 15 minutes of Camile Gramer on Ellen. How silly is that? She is just seriously crazy and self absorbed but really good tv ;) So crazy won out over the gym. After that I went to have breakfast with some of my favorite people-Annie, Laura, and Suzy. Breakfast with the girls is always so much fun. Lots of laughter! I tried hard for soft laughter -sorry Suzy.

Musical craziness started this afternoon so I spent a few hours at school. I was starting to get anxious about the evening because we had dinner plans and Zach has a big project due on Thursday. He started crying after school because he was getting so worried about it. It just broke my heart. I was also (selfishly) not looking forward to homework drama. I told him I would help him and we rushed home to get started. When we got home we had no power (construction). Instead of stressing I just left Noah and Joey with hubby and grabbed my laptop and took Zach to Starbucks. He relaxed so much. We got a big table and just went to work. He had everything done. He really didn't need my help. He was just overwhelmed by typing it. We talked and talked and finished his homework. At the end he came over and just hugged me and told me now he had no more stress. I melted. Just melted. Having that little bit of time alone made me such a better mother.

After TJ's we picked up the rest of the fam and went to dinner. We all just chatted. Everyone speaking nicely to each other. No bickering. Pure delight!

And...progress was made...I know it doesn't look like much but it's getting there.

No progress here though ;(

I'm watching Bachelor. Yes, total trash tv. I haven't watched in years. Is it just me or do these girls look way trashier than they used to?

Making music and making a mess...

2011-01-06T14:26:00.000-08:00

Last night was such a wonderful night. It was a busy, get stuff done, everyday night but I just had a moment of pure enjoyment and thankfullness.

Our kitchen was being completely torn out today so I was racing to get everything packed. It was the last night with a stove and sink so I wanted to make a homemade dinner. Joey had an orthodontist appt and then basketball all before racing home to have a musical meeting at our house. But for some reason I wasn't stressed I was just enjoying it all. We couldn't get music without lyrics for a lot of the songs we're doing so we had a pianist coming over to play on a keyboard, hooked to hubby's laptop to record. She was just lovely and so amazing. I was afraid their was going to be a language barrier but there wasn't so it worked out really well. Then, not only can she sight read but she could transpose keys on the fly. So, she worked with Joey to find his perfect key and then played all his music in that key. I was sitting there watching Joey sing, her play piano, Bonnie coach Joey and Dave recording music and editing everything. I felt so remarkably BLESSED.

After everyone left hubby added full orchestrations to the music. It sounds like a full orchestra! Ah! What technology can do!

This morning we had some strange delay in our tear down. The cabinet maker has a contractor he works with. The guy showed up at the shop and then never made it here. (like 10 min away) No one could ever find him. Kind of scary but I guess it's happened before. Not sure what to make of that...but different guys came and totally made it happen.

Here's our new kitchen (in the living room. We'll be like this for a few weeks while they build our ceiling, do our floors, install cabinets, counters, sink...)

Goodbye to our old kitchen. As much as I'm looking forward to the new kitchen I will miss the memories of the old one. It was certainly the most used room in the house. I remember babies in jumpies and toddler crawling around me while I cooked. Baking with the boys, decorating cookies with their friends, staying up late baking for parties, kitting for Freckle Friends...

Here's to new memories in our new kitchen!

I love this shot of Joey at last weeks game!

Christmas DAy

2011-01-01T23:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day was wonderful. It was filled with family. With love. With happiness. With wishes fulfilled- Zach REALLY wanted a one pound hershey bar.

With amazing food.

With turducktan. Turductan is a turkey stuffed with a chicken stuffed with a duck. Each layer is wrapped with a different type of stuffing. We had never had it before and were game to try something new. Everyone loved it!

The night was also filled with merriment-mostly from Leslie's signature drink! You mix peach vodka, vanilla vodka, a splash of peach puree, a splash of cranberry and a splash of oj. Shake it, strain it and top with cinnamon. YUM! Be careful though...you don't taste any alcohol...until you are hugging people telling them how much you love them...;)

I used my self timer this trip. I NEVER do that but vow to do it WAY MORE OFTEN in 2011!

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

2011-01-01T22:53:00.000-08:00

This year I was wondering if questions would arrise. But no, total belief is still there. I wonder if it's because I always say, "If you don't believe you won't recieve" or because magic lives in their hearts.

He's 5'10". He just turned 12. Glimpses of teenaged agnst are popping up...but he still snuggles with his animal at night :) God bless this boy.

Visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.

Can't forget to leave cookies for Santa.

Even if we're not home will Santa come? Will he bring stockings????

We were ready to go to bed and the boys started to freak out. Their cousin, Kevin was coming tomorrow and even though I had a gift for him from all of us they need their own. So they made him these cuties to decorate his house. I LOVE it! so sweet!

On the Road

2011-01-01T22:44:00.000-08:00

The next morning we packed up and hit the road. We usually stay home for Christmas but because half our downstairs is being remodeled we figured it would be much nicer to go upNorth to see hubby's family (they usually come down to us).
I don't want to jinx myself but our kids are the best travelers. Even when they were little and didn't have any technology to entertain them they just loved the ride and were great.
Now they have ipods and life is good for everyone :)
Hubby and I were able to talk and sing and have an Old 97's/Rhett Miller marathon. Between that and frequent stops to Starbucks it was a great ride up.
We even missed the rain!!
We made it to Hayward by 8, just in time for a great dinner by my amazing sister in law and a quick dip in the jacuzzi before bed.

The next day hubby took the boys to see his dad while I hung with the rest of the family and picked up the TURDUCKTAN ( more on that later).
That night we went to a party in Pleasanton (such a cute town!) and went to Christmas Eve Mass. I loved that Zach was questioning me two weeks before the trip to research and find a Catholic church up North so we wouldn't miss mass while we were there. Mass was really nice. Such a gorgeous church and beautiful music. It really made me greatful for our home church though. The priest was so hard to understand and our priests are really easy and I think we get more out of it. I really worked hard to listen and figure out what he was saying and it was wonderful. Noah was so funny. Afterwards he says, "I couldn't understand him but we read the same scriptures last week in REP so I got it"

The party continues...

2011-01-01T22:30:00.000-08:00

From my mom's we headed over to Bonnie's. It's always so nice to go somewhere where you are friends and the kids are friends. Bonnie and I are partners in crime. We pretty much talk for a minimum of an hour a day. If the phone is ringing at midnight I know it's her. We share a love of dance, being a boy mom, love being soccer/baseball/basketball moms, we volunteer like crazy together and always have fun.

She bought all the boys gingerbread boys to amuse them. I had to laugh...it sure has been a gingerbread Christmas...but they totally loved it.

Noah's teacher and her family came too. She was Joey's first grade teacher and I loved her then and love her more now. She is an amazing teacher...and it turns out a tun of fun off the clock ;)

I made my favorite holiday dessert-Frozen Peppermint Torte. The crust is made from oreos. Yum! To make the center you melt candy canes and make a custart out of it and then fold it whipped cream. HEAVEN! As if that isn't enough I make homemade dark chocolate fudge for the top and then top that with homemade whipped cream. AHHH!! Do you hear the angel's singing??

Christmas at Grandma's

2011-01-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

This is the first year that I didn't spend Christmas day with my mom. But we looked on the bright side and realized it just meant more celebrations!

The boys spent the night before so they could make gingerbread houses and help get dinner ready for the next day.
Here's Noah with his perfectly organized house.

Zach did a giant gingerbread man. He originally did a whole gingerbread town but Goldie thought it looked so good that he knocked it down and ate it. So a quick gingerbread man was a quick fix. I was really proud of Zach for handling it so well.

Lastly we have Joey's fantastic cottage. He has turned into such an artist!

We had such a nice night. It's so nice that my mom has moved and has a bigger place so we can all gather at her house now.

By 6pm my mom had had enough of us (in a good way I think. If I could "clock out" every day at 6 I'd be pretty happy too) so we went to party number 2...

Santa's in the House!

2010-12-20T20:28:00.000-08:00

How could you not be happy when Santa comes to visit?

Parties...out of order

2010-12-20T20:26:00.000-08:00

The night before the parties we were casting the musical 1 am at my house. Then I had to make wreaths for the teachers, organize all my stuff and get all the food ready to go. I went to bed at 3:45am. Good thing I'm a night person. Or should I say an early morning person :)

The first party was Zach's. I brought 2 waffle makers and made gingerbread waffles and regular belgian waffles. We also had egg casserole, fruit salad and cinnamon rolls. I couldn't believe how excited the kids were over the gingerbread waffles. One boy even had 5 servings! My little waffle maker is 17 years old but still going strong. The kids also decorated cookies while I cooked. I wish I had pictures but the coffee hadn't kicked in yet. I only got a group shot and one of Zachy with his teacher. I think he had fun.

Next was gingerbread mania, then lunch for Noah's class, then lunch for Joey's class and his party. I didn't know his teacher was so crafty. She made me and Bonnie these cute bags (Thumbs up for Volunteers with all the kids thumbprints on it). I love how it's the perfect mix of practical and sentimental.

I made chocolate cupcakes with buttercream and candy canes for Joe's class.

But our day didn't end there! The musical cast was announced and I had to go hand out cds (all 220 of them!). Joey is Shrek! Noah is Peter Pan and Zach is Gingy (the gingerbread man)! They are all thrilled!

I came home and crashed and then the boys went to grandma's for a sleepover while hubby and I got to squeeze in some sushi before going to a Christmas party. My cute friend, Amy decided she wanted to dance at her party and cleared out her garage and hung lights to make it a club. So much fun!!! We danced all night long. Like, wake up sore kind of dancing. I so want to do another dance party!

3 Parties in a Row...That's how I roll

2010-12-20T20:06:00.000-08:00

On Friday I never left school. 8-2:30 non stop party time. I don't know why I don't plan 3 of the same type, but I don't. All different...that's how I roll :)

For Noah's class we made gingerbread houses. Just look at this spread and those cute JUMBO marsmallows!
Here's Noah's house. We built them on milk cartons and used graham crackers for the walls. I love how Noah threaded the candy cane through the middle to hang his wreath.

He used all his tickets (they get tickets for being good in class) for this hat. It totally made me smile when I walked in.

I was folding Noah's clothes the other day and realizes he NEVER wears anything but a team shirt. He's so funny that kid.

baking and burning

2010-12-15T13:54:00.000-08:00

I've spent the whole day baking and burning cds. Luckily not burning the cookies. Why oh why did we think it would be a good idea to do musical auditions before Christmas??? Sweet hubby got the music ready and now we just have to burn 200 cds and audition 110 kids. Not that much for the last week of school...oh yeah and organize all the boys parties. Oops I forgot- and shop and decorate and remodel a kitchen.

All wonderful things though so I can't complain.

I found this cool blog. I want to make everything on it!

Behind...but not stressing about it.

2010-12-08T23:35:00.000-08:00

I'm just happy I'm documenting :)

Who knows how long they'll sit on santa's lap?
Off to read 70 pages for 6th grade book club tomorrow. I guess I shouldn't wait until midnight the night before I meet with them, huh?

A little baking...

2010-12-07T21:37:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I went to one of my favorite places and I found these gorgous sprinkles. I couldn't wait to use them!

I made my favorite dough and rolled some in the torquoise.

And some in the pewter sprinkles.

Package it up and this is what you get.

This recipe is great. You can chill it and roll it out for cut out cookies or roll it in logs and then slice it. You can also dye half red and roll it into candy cane cookies.

Butter Cookies (original recipe from Susan Branch)

2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla
4 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 tsp salt.

Preheat oven to 350.
With mixer cream butter and sugar.
Add egg yolks and vanilla.
Sift flour and salt in sep bowl. Add to butter mixture.
Bake for 10 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet. Do not brown them.
Cool. Decorate.

I make the dough. Roll it in a log. Chill it a while and then roll the log in jimmies or sprinkles and slice and bake them whenever we need them. Enjoy!

Fitting in some crafty

2010-12-05T00:18:00.000-08:00

We've been loading up on fun the last few days-tree lighting ceremonies,
fieldtrips, partyopolis parties, favorite things party, Christmas parade, dinner party and gift exchange with friends...all in 3 days! I will blog about that later but....
I'm determined to fit a little crafty in theres. Here's day 2 of daily december.
front

back

I used old scrapbook paper to decorate packages of cookies. LOVE baking, LOVE making packages for friends and LOVE using my stash.

I haven't lugged all the decorations down yet but my two favorite paintings are now up!

I made a new Christmas mix cd for the car today. LOVE it! It's such a funky mix- Dean Martin, No Doubt, Michael W Smith, Brian D'Arcy James, U2, Ella ....
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Happy December!

2010-12-01T11:33:00.000-08:00

I LOVE December. A month of parties, celebrations, baking, thinking about others, praying, being festive,...what's not to love?

I did a daily december back when Freckle Friends did it. Every day I worked on my album. I pulled that album out last night and thought about how much I loved it. I did it again last year (or at least attempted) and didn't have much to show for it but really was happy I had something. The boys are growing so fast and my years look so different. I was in such a different place than I am now. I can't wait to look back on this year. But more than anything I look forward to ENJOYING EVERY DAY!

I signed up for some inspiraton a href="http://www.reverb10.com" target="_blank">
I'm really looking forward to it!

So TODAY-
I will start my book
I will take pictures of the first decorations I put up
I will listen and enjoy Christmas music
I will do loads of laundry
I will start writing out Christmas cards
I will work on cleaning out my file cabinet
I will go to the post office and mail something to my cute cousin who is pregnant.
I will take Joey to physical therapy and learn his routine so I can do it with him at home.
I will have advent calendars waiting for the boys after school
I will bake peppermint bark cookies. My friend is having a FAVORITE THINGS party and this is my fav!
I will help my friend with her cards.

I better get started!

Happy First Day of December!

It would be super cute...if we weren't possessed

2010-11-30T09:42:00.000-08:00

A visit from friends made our weekend extra fun. It makes me so sad to see them leave. We all just click. Kids play. Mom's chat. Dad's play more than the kids.

We better start saving for plane tickets. We can't let this fun end!

A Wonderful Thankgiving

2010-11-26T23:24:00.000-08:00

Today we had our "official " Thanksgiving dinner. YUM! This year definately topped every other year in the yumminess category. This is the second year that we have gone to Marie's on the day after Thanksgiving to have our "only from scratch meal". It started when I was complaining about so not so yummy food Thanksgivings and Marie was complaining about having to eat holiday meals at the country club. (not really complaining but dreaming of a Martha Stewart worthy meal).

So, 1 deep fried turkey, 1 infared fried turkey, 2 stuffing recipes, 2 cranberry recipes, mashed potatoes, candied yams, fresh green beans, artichoke gratin, and homemade biscuits this is the meal we created.
For dessert we had cranberry grand marnier cheesecake, pumpkin cream pie, 3 chocolate layer cake and cranberry white chocolate cookies. I really should have taken pictures of that. MMM! Marie is the only person I know who would pick the very most complicated recipe she could find for her cake. She's my cooking twin. The more complex a recipe the more I want to make it!

It was so nice to have the kids play all day and hang out and relax. The sword fights outside were so funny. Cousin Kevin came down to visit and even joined in the fun.
We ended our night with a boy with an eye swollen shut (above mentioned sword fight), playing rockband with Kevin and thoroughly enjoying the night.

Yesterday (Thanksgiving) we started our own tradition of morning soccer with friends. We had done it before but this year decided to start our own group with people we love. So happy we did! It was a great morning, spent with people we love. The moms and sons vs. the dads and daughters. I got hit in the face (with sunglasses) from the hardest kick I've ever seen from a guy who was in it to win it but after sitting with ice I jumped back in to play. Totally worth it-smashed face and all :)

I have so very much to be greatful for!

Boy Mom

2010-11-21T20:27:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad I'm a boy mom. When I was a teacher I was more of a boy teacher. I really would have loved to have a girl and do pretty little parties make bows and stuff but boys are really cool. I never imagined myself spending my time at baseball, soccer and basketball games but I totally love it now and feel so thankful that I get to spend my time cheering on my boys.

This week I was BEYOND PROUD of my boys. Noah and Zach both received the principal's silver awards at school (all A's and B's)

I felt bad for Joe though. He didn't receive one. His grades were wonderful but he got a C in Math and it screwed him up. He has always struggled with math but is getting so much better. The rest of his grades (mostly A's) were better than ever. He's worked so hard. I didn't care about the C because I know he is trying so hard but he was really down on himself. I told him now he has something to strive for!

He's taken on a new sport-basketball! It makes sense since he's 5'10"!!

He had his first official game today and they won. He did well. He needs to not be so polite but he's getting there. I'm sick and have no voice at all. It was so hard to not yell at the game.

I'm taking it easy tonight and I'm hoping I'll wake up feeling a lot better. My goal is to finish up my desk tomorrow so the boys and I can have some fun on Tuesday! I love having them home!

Almost Halfway There

2010-11-19T11:41:00.000-08:00

So phase one of our remodel is almost complete. Here's a look at our new office off the kitchen. I love the big file cabinets and I'm excited to have 2 desks. Noah and Zach now have a place to do their homework while I make dinner. Joey has a desk in his room. I still want to put a big island in so I can scrap and Joey can do homework downstairs if he wants to but that is phase 4 :)

Here's a close up on the doors. I was worried about the drybrush but I think the knobs pulled it together.

Phase one also included a ginormous pantry. That is my favorite part.

Our old cabinets are 40 years old and falling apart. I'm still crawling inside them to get pots and pans out. I can't wait for phase 2 when we get our kitchen cabinets.

Here's Noah with empty office cabinets. I'm working to fill them but I am trying to organize it really well so it's taking forever!

Would you like this if you got it for a Christmas present?

2010-10-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

Hazelnut-Mocha Sauce Recipe

Cooking in the old Kitchen...Dreaming of the new one.

2010-10-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

Today started out way too early. Noah had a game at 8am. Seriously, who plans games in this time slot on a Sunday? I got up and dressed in all my Dodgerware. I can't tell you how proud I am of Noah. He is so focused and has improved every single game. I had to totally control myself though...Noah got hit by the ball when he was at bat and the ump didn't care-said he wasn't hit. When he got into the dugout I checked on him and his arm was totally red and swollen. The mommy lion in me wanted to stop the game and show the ump but I controlled myself :)

Joey's game was at night so I decided to make a sandwich like I saw on Mad Hungry. I grilled zuchini and eggplant. I layered pesto, fresh mozzarella, grilled zucchini, eggplant, and prociutto. After that I put weights on it and pressed it. I packed up fruit salad and the sandwich and off we went. It was a travel team about 30 minutes away...and they never showed up. Poor Joey was so bummed. The picnic was good though.
I absolutely LOVE this kitchen. It's part of my inspiration.

This one too!

Chilly

2010-10-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

Operation new kitchen and office are still underway. Hubby leveled and sealed the floors tonight so all our windows and doors are open and it is so cold out tonight...and raining..not the normal weather.

It's been such a nice weekend. My hubby came home last night after being away for a week and we got to go to dinner and a movie. I loved the movie! I'm so impressed with Ben Affleck. He's such a talented actor and director. And to top it all off he has killer abs!

Today I scrapped for a couple hours, Noah had baseball, I grocery shopped, Zach had a soccer game and then I cooked while hubby worked on the floor. I made chicken pot pie soup with biscuits (recipe below) I did low fat biscuits on top instead to save 8 grams of fat per serving. Yum! The boys all loved it and they even liked the parsnips. I was very motivated and made vanilla pavlova's filled with whipped cream, fresh raspberries and drizzled with a raspberry balsamic I brought back from Italy. Then we enjoyed the rain and watched Nightmare Before Christmas. Very nice. So relaxing.

Chicken Potpie Soup Recipe

By Woman's Day Kitchen from Woman's Day
November 1, 2010

This comforting classic never loses its luster, especially when it’s spun into a soup, with chicken thighs, green beans, leek, carrots, celery and parsnip in a thyme-infused chicken broth, served with puff pastry rectangles.

Active Time: 15 minutesTotal Time: 45 minutesRecipe Ingredients

1 Tbsp butter

1 leek, white and light green part only, halved lengthwise and sliced

2 medium carrots, sliced

1 medium parsnip, diced

1 stalk celery, sliced

1⁄4 cup flour

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 1⁄2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1⁄2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste

1⁄4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3-oz box of 2), thawed as package directs

4 oz fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-in. pieces

Recipe Preparation

1. Heat oven to 400ºF.

2. Melt butter in a 5-qt pot. Add leek, carrots, parsnips and celery. Saute 5 minutes or until softened slightly. Add flour and cook, stirring for 1 minute.

3. Stir in broth. Add chicken, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

4. Meanwhile, unfold puff pastry on a cutting board. Cut along folds in dough and then quarter crosswise to make 12 rectangles. Place rectangles on ungreased baking sheet.

5. Bake 12 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Let cool.

6. Remove cooked chicken to a plate to cool slightly. Add green beans to simmering soup; cook 5 minutes or until tender. Remove soup from heat.

7. As the green beans cook, shred chicken with fingers or two forks. Add to soup. Top with puff pastry or serve it on the side.

Related Recipes: Soups/Stews, Chicken, One-Pot, American, Fall, Winter

Change

2010-10-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

This room used to look like this.
Well, not always. It started out fully wallpapered and empty. Then my sweetie painted it bright yellow for me and built me my desk. I LOVE my desk. We added a tv and a little tiny Ikea kids table. Oh yeah, and a kids chair. We used to laugh because we all used to sit at that little blue table. We'd have company and I would be cooking and full grown adults would all be sitting there talking.

Then we had 3 toddlers so we got a big Ikea table and a changing table. Lots of coloring, playday, and cookie decorating going on. Later the changing table was replaced with a bookcase, the tv replaced with a computer, and the table usually had homework on it.
Now the room looks like this...
I can't wait to start the next phase of life in it. The cabinets are being built. We've designed it with 2 desks so the kids can have more homework space. There will be more storage and it will go up to the ceiling. I'm still picking out paint color and flooring. I'm leaning toward grey and yellow. Not sure yet.

The boys are still on break. We spent the whole day doing errands. One our things to do was get Halloween costumes. The last thing we were thinking was banana but Zach saw it and knew it was his costume. How funny is that?? We got home and Noah and Zach immediately changed and put Halloween shows on. I cracked up when I walked in to this-

Joey is playing basketball for the first time. He's loving it! Loving it so much that he's going to be a Laker for Halloween.

I'm so happy that Mad Hungry is on TV. I really wanted to get the cookbook and now I can watch a recipe a day and make stuff. All the recipes I've tried have been great. Today she made sandwiches and a cold soup. We have a late game this weekend and I was thinking of bringing a picnic so I'm going to make the grilled vegitable sandwich with tomato buttermilk soup and maybe chocolate chip thyme shortbread for dessert.

He's 12!

2010-10-08T23:36:00.000-07:00

12. Twelve. 12! I can't believe he is twelve.

I love his sweet nature. I love his smile. I love his kind heart. He really is the most gentle soul.

I love that he is a good older brother. I love how he will ALWAYS help me and be happy to do it. I love when he sings and doesn't know I'm listening. I love to watch him teach Noah how to play baseball. I love how he will never let his grandma carry anything. I love how he is a computer geek like his dad. I love how he is so happy to spend time with his family. I love how seriously he takes being an alter server. I love his long eyelashes.

I just love him.

And I'm so happy we could celebrate with good friends at the happiest place on earth.

Making the Best of the Mess

2010-10-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

Since our dining room table and kitchen table is covered with our kitchen and office stuff we I am trying to make it fun and keep a good attitude. I really hate chaos and I'm trying to be really accepting of it since the outcome is going to be really great. So... we had a inside picnic during the rain yesterday and today we had breakfast outside on the patio, which was totally lovely.

As if the mess downstairs wasn't enough I took bins down from the attic and reorganized and then took everything out of Noah and Zach's closet to clean out. I ran out of steam while Zach's bed was covered with clothes so I decided the boys could camp out in the playroom. They were thrilled. This morning I was walking to their room (playroom is in the middle of their room and our room and saw this. I love the "Do Not Disturb-except mom". I hope the "except mom" lasts forever :)

Today Joey turns 12! I can't believe it! I told him we had to go on an errand and took the boys to Sprinkles instead. It's the first time I haven't made a homemade cake for him so I figured the cupcakes better be good. When we got home he opened his presents and Noah and Zach had wrapped up some of their favorite baseball cards for him. How sweet is that? They are in his room right now listening to his ipod on the new docking station we got him. Just waiting for hubby and then we are heading to Disneyland.

Happy Birthday, Joey!!

Getting Started...

2010-09-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

We had a nice. productive morning- orthodontist, haircuts, starbucks and then home for cookie decorating. We need to do this more. We used to decorate cookies all the time. The boys loved decorating and was doing really well with letting my expectations go and just let them enjoy. It's been really nice having Joey so excited about his birthday and wanting to be involved with everything. He made up the guest list, sent the evite, planned the menu, helped me shop, helped me cook, and helped me organize. So cool!

The rest of my life has been spent getting ready for our kitchen remodel. We were going to just get new cabinets and then of course we needed new flooring then. And then, even though my built ins were great in my "office" they wouldn't match, so out they go and new ones are going in. And then we thought...."Wouldn't it be great if the cabinets went to the ceiling?" "Hey, can we make the ceiling higher?" So tonight the ceiling in the kitchen is coming down. If the electrical isn't crazy up there we will raise the ceiling up 10 inches. If it's too big of a job we will do a recessed box with crown molding and can lights. My job in this project is to clear our junk. Boy, do we have a lot of junk!

It's going to be a long process. This is the first step. The cabinets are being built. I want to make sure I can cook/bake for the holidays so after the ceiling the kitchen will be on hold and then we will rip out the office area, then the floor, then the cabinets will go in and the new pantry. After that things will go on hold until the week after Christmas. I'm so excited!

Now we're off to baseball practice, basketball practice and then the Newsboy concert so we can be away from the dust :) Let the demo begin!

A Flashback Day

2010-09-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

The boys are now on break. I LOVE YEAR ROUND! I always love this break. Monday we went to the beach while my car was being serviced. It was a perfect plan. I felt accomplished because I got the car done, we beat the heat a little bit (110 degrees!!), and had fun with friends at dog beach. Yesterday the boys swam and we did some errands. Last night Noah and Zach started CCD and Joey and I went to Target filled a basket with sugar. Seriously, diabetes in a basket. We bought strawberry, chocolate and regular marshmallows for s'mores. Then we decided to shake them up even more and got 5 different types of chocolates for them. Joey is turning 12 and we are having a big beach bonfire birthday party this weekend. Our house is FILLED with food! We have two types of hot dogs, hot links and Italian sausages. Joey wanted homemade potato salad so today he spent his morning doing this...

And baking these...

And sweating because we were in the hot kitchen for HOURS.

It was really the nicest day though. We listened to music and baked and cooked and chatted. Noah and Zach spent HOURS upstairs doing legos and having "art class".

It was a flashback to when they were little and this is how we spent most days. Of course we did usually have a park thrown in there. Now we have baseball and soccer practice.
I miss these times. They are growing up so fast.

I LOVE THIS BOY

2010-09-23T22:28:00.000-07:00

Fall

2010-09-23T22:26:00.000-07:00

The Longest Day

2010-09-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

Today wasn't a bad day, but it just wouldn't end. I wanted to be "off work" hours ago.
I got a lot accomplished- I worked out, bought all the food for the 6th grade fundraiser, bought new plastic bins to start emptying cabinets, made appts with the painter, the cabinet maker, cleaned out files, poached a chicken, did dishes, made snacks, made smoothies, did dishes, made homemade enchiladas, packed a picnic, packed up the boys for soccer and baseball, wrote and mailed thank you cards, donated some stuff the boys had outgrown, helped with homework, did 3 loads of laundry, cleaned out some drawers and did practice runs.

Don't ya think that should be enough? But the cleaning never ends. The endless questions just keep going.   The constant reminders keep going. I was so done after practice but then realized I needed to go get milk at the store, then the car was on empty, then the homework was finished but the studying wasn't... I'm not complaining, well, I guess I am, but I have just been waiting for the moment I could sit on the couch, turn on Dancing with the Stars and not answer any questions or clean anything.

Great things today-
1. picnic on the field
2. Zach smiling while practicing soccer
3. Working out with Bonnie-it always goes by so much faster.
4.   Starbucks where they always have my drink waiting for me-love that!
5. Yummy, homemade, low fat dinner.
6. Excited about the home improvements coming up.

Finally Back!

2010-09-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a month! Joey missed almost 2 weeks of school and then after a few days of him being back Zach and Noah developed pneumonia. It was horrible. I kept them home for almost 2 weeks too. A week into it Noah developed hives and we had to get him to Urgent Care. A couple days after that Zach couldn't breathe and he was admitted into the hosiptal and put on oxygen for 4 days. They couldn't get an iv in him and tortured him for a day and half trying. It was just horrible! But the really wonderful side of it was how loved we felt. I stayed at the hospital the whole time and my friends all jumped in to feed and take care of my family. Hubby cancelled his trip and took care of Noah and my mom kept coming to the hospital so I could actually eat something. My friends even brought me Starbucks. In the midst of horrible iv drama I sent a text out to pray and instantly I had family and friends praying. Within minutes Zach calmed down and a peace came over him. I really felt God's love and love from so many close to us.
The other wonderful thing was seeing how much the boys love each other. Joey made a clay soccer and soccer goal for Zach's room and Noah and Joey would visit and just light up Zach's day. One night the three of them were doing crafts-Zach hooked up to oxygen but smiling and laughing and I don't think I've ever felt more blessed.

So, one week out of the hospital and we are trying to find the balance of getting back to normal and not overdoing it. Talent show rehersal has started, I hosted an assembly, the boys are easing into practices, we started plans to remodel the kitchen, bought a new frig, made trips to good will and catching up on homework. Today Noah had baseball practice. He cried that he had to go this morning. He's having a bit of trouble adjusting to baseball. He's never played before and his team is filled with guys with lots of experience. To make matters worse he got nailed in the back with a ball thrown hard by a coach today (total accident). He's rising to the occasion though and here's a picture of him after practice at Zach's game. Looks pretty happy, huh? He's such a good sport!

Zach tried to go to practice yesterday but was too exhausted. We went to his game thinking he would be watching but he played goalie for the last two quarters. He's never played that before. I was neverous for him but he did GREAT. He stopped a bunch of balls. His team tied 2-2. Yeah! His coach was really thoughtful to put him in as goalie so he wouldn't have to run around too much. He ended up having a TON of action though.

I'm so proud of Joey. He's all caught up on his school work and even got to run the morning assembly. I'm so impressed that he can do that in front of 700 students!

Life is good.
I'm praying for good health. Today will be filled with laundry, cooking and cleaning. I'm actually looking forward to it :)

"You guys really are twins!"

2010-09-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

"You guys really are twins!" That's what the doctor said today. " You both have pneumonia" Ahh! That happened fast. Cough. Cough. Cough. That's what I've been listening to all day. Kind of all month. Joey was so sick and now them. When they were little they always shared colds. I guess nothing's changed....that is but their size :)Besides being sick we have spent the last couple weeks dogsitting the sweetest dog, Anabelle.

We've gone to a bunch of bunch of baseball games. We all went to an Angel game with the Barlows and then hubby and I had a date night at the Dodger game. So much fun!! We stopped in Downtown LA to go to Bottega Louie. I LOVE that place. It's so beautiful. I even left with some french macaroons for the game. (Yes, I knew I might get beat up or thrown out but I just love macaroons). The Dodgers were great and our seats ROCKED. I filled out a contest form at Philly's Best and won 2 great seats and parking for the game. I never want to sit in cheap seats again!

And the biggest news... Noah tried out for baseball. I'm so proud of him. He's never played before. He was nervous but totally went for it! Soccer and baseball both start next week so our weekends will be filled with sports. I can't wait. I love nothing more than sitting at a game, cheering for my kids. The only thing missing this season will be diet coke. I haven't had one for almost 3 weeks!

More Sickies

2010-09-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you have to cancel all your plans and stay home with sick kids? Drink coffee and scrapbook your blues away while listening to coughing I'm praying for antibiotics, quick recoveries and no more sickness.

Champs

2010-08-15T00:51:00.000-07:00

Today the boys had their championship swim meet. It's so cool for them. They get to swim where all the Olympic swimmers compete. There are thousands of kids there and it's such an exciting atmosphere.

This year was a little off for us. Joey has been sick and I didn't know if he would go. I didn't want him to but he was determined to go. We headed over. Zach swamp first. He swamp backstroke and did great! He was in the lead until he got a little crooked. It cost him a couple seconds and he ended up coming in second. We were so proud of him!

We waited around for Noah and Joey's race but Joey was feeling worse so I ended up taking him home. He was so sad to miss his race.

Noah stayed and competed in freestyle.

We've got their awards banquet tomorrow. I'm listening to Joey coughing right now so I think I may be staying home with him instead. I'm praying those darn antibiotics will kick in. He still had a 101 fever tonight. I HATE when my kids are sick. When they cough I feel like I've failed them. It's kind of crazy but I really do. I hate not being able to fix everything.

Michigan

2010-08-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

In the middle of our Chicago trip we went to Michigan. We started by driving to Detroit to see the Tigers. I was stunned by Detroit. It was like a war zone. Buildings were blown out and deserted. i've never seen anything like it. It was so sad. You could see how it was once beautiful. Then we hit the statium and it was ornate and beautiful and totally packed. Talk about a contrast! It was actually my favorite statium.

From there we went to this super cute town, Birmingham, where my friend lives. We walked the most adorable town. We spent the night there to spend more time with them. It was so nice to see them.

From there we went to spend a few days with Grandma Jo. It was really nice to spend time with her. We met lots of family, hung out, read books, tried to keep cool....
visited the farm where Grandpa Howard grew up- The corn was over 6 feet tall.
We also went to one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen-Meijer Garden.

It combined gorgeous gardens with sculptures. There was a Cihuli exhibit that was just amazing. The flowers are real and the orange in the back in blown glass.

I Could Live Here

2010-08-12T21:31:00.000-07:00

We ended our trip to Chi/Mi/Chi by staying at The Drake for the last 3 days. Oh My! I think we all wanted to move in. When you walk in you are overwelmed (in a good way) with the smell of flowers.

This arrangement was reall and about 6 feet tall. It changed while we were there.

The elevators have couches in them. I think that was the boys favorite part.

The hallways were all so wide. I've never seen anything like it. Our room was seriously as big as our first apt. and it had 12 foot ceilings. Every morning we had the most delicious breakfast overlooking the water. It just had such old school charm. You could picture Queen Elizabeth and Lady Diana having tea there.

I hope we can go there again. I would really love to have a grown ups stay there and do high tea and drinks in the parlor...

No Fear

2010-08-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

Right now:

Our house smells DELICIOUS because I'm baking a birhtday cake. YUM!
I'm listening to coughing. BOO! Poor Joey has bronchitis and a sinus infection.
I'm amazed at how red homemade raspberry puree is!
I can't get enough dancing. I wish it was me dancing but it is more me watching. In the Heights last night. AWESOME! I'm obsessed with So You Think You Can Dance and I'm going to go through withdrawls tomorrow when it's over.
My stupid tennis elbow (hello I don't play tennis) is killing me. I've had 2 cortisone injections and it's been 3 months and it's getting really old!
I've been exercising 5-6 days a week and I'm still not skinny. Now that BLOWS!
I realized I never finished documenting Chicago and Michigan. I've got to fix that.
I'm so happy we don't have a fear of heights. Here we are in a glass structure 103 floors up on the Sears (now Willis) Tower.

How cool is that? It's Wrigley Field. You could see for miles up there!

Why O Why....

2010-08-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

Can't Rick Bayless open a restaurant in California???

One of the many reasons I was excited to go to Chicago is that Rick Bayless has restaurants there! It was walking distance from where we stayed. Coincidence? I think not! One night my hubby surprised us and brought back the BEST, most FLAVORFUL sandwiches we have ever eaten for a little snack.

But the real treat from XOCO is the handmade churo's. Like nothing we have ever eaten before. Pure heaven!

So good that we had to go a couple times and we were so bummed that we couldn't fit in a third and fourth time.

We couldn't just go to one restaurant though. We had the most delicous lunch at Frontera. Joey is up to trying new things so dh, Joe and I shared a plates of deliciousness. We started off with 3 types of ceviche, then a duck quesidilla, amazing scallops, rice, beans, and mole. Dave and I tried different types of hand shaken margarita's. Each used a different type of tequilla -one sweet, one citrusy and one that tasted like it was grilled on a BBQ-totally smokey. Even Noah and Zach loved their food. We all really liked these little masa boats filled with carnitas and avocado.

One on One Time

2010-07-31T23:29:00.000-07:00

This picture is blurry and funky from my cell phone held in front of us but I just love it. It shows how happy we were tonight to have one on one time. I thought Joey needed a night out with mom. Starting 6th grade this week has been a big adjustment. I didn't tell him where we were going. I just blocked out time on his itouch that said hang out with mom.
We chatted, we ate, we baked in the sun, we cheered, we danced, we talked and we had a great time together. I'm so glad he still likes to hang out with his mama.

My husband rocks!

2010-07-27T23:03:00.000-07:00

I was so sad about my missing pictures from our vacation. I brought the memory card to Best Buy and they said that it would cost around $500 to get them back and they couldn't guarentee that they could get them back. I thought it was a lost cause but my hubby did some online research and after a couple hours he recovered 400 pictures!! Here are some of my favorite from our first day in Chicago.

I love this picture of Noah. He's walking into the stadium. He had his outfit all planned for each game. I love how much he LOVES baseball. He has such a passion for it. He studies stats every day. He lives for organizing his cards and he just loves going to games. It makes me so happy that we can do these trips with him. With all of them.

Here are the boys 5 minutes before the game was to start.

Here they are seconds later. I can't believe how weather can change like that!!They just cover the field and you wait it out!

And this boy is the coolest shopper ever. He walks up, scopes it out and picks what he's buying in seconds flat. No questioning, no hesitation, he just throws his money down and he's done. He always picks something stylin' too.

Tween

2010-07-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

It's official. I don't know why yesterday made it official but in my eyes it's official. Joey is a tween. Yesterday we went to Tilly's to go school shopping. I always usually just buy clothes for him and as long as it fits he wears it. But not this time. About a month ago he started asking me if we could go to Tilly's to get an outfit for the first day of school. He wanted skinny jeans, a funky tshirt, a belt and a flannel shirt. I talked him into a shortsleeved shirt so he doesn't pass out the first day of school, but he got the rest of the ensemble of his dreams.

Today we had a swim meet and I look at these pictures and I can't believe how much he is growing up. I was proud of him today. He worded hard. We missed 2 weeks of practice and 2 swim meets. They still did great and had fun.

Seriously, look at my boys shoulders! When did that happen???

Back home

2010-07-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing vacation to Chicago and Michigan! We started going to a new statium or two every year. Last year was Yankees. This year was White Sox, Cubs and Tigers...oh yeah and Dodgers. We got quite a few checked off this year! We started off our trip by flying to Chicago. We got off the plane and ran to the train to take the El to the hotel and drop off our stuff. Hubby was shocked that I was up to this but I wanted to do the quickest possible way during rush hour to drop off our bags because we had tickets to the White Sox game that night. Within 5 minutes Noah and beads and beads of sweat POURING down his face. He didn't quite know what to do! The boy usually never sweats. Welcome to HUMITITY! We made it to the field with time to spare and the kids did batting cages and pitching. It's so fun that they have activities for them to do before the game. The game was about to start and all of sudden the biggest rain storm we had ever seen started. BOOMING thunder, lightening and rain...and it being 90 degrees. It was just wild. About 30 guys run on the field and cover it with a gigantic roll of saran wrap. " What do we do?" I ask. "Just wait it out". So we did...for over 2 hours. After standing under the awning for so long we finally just went to our seats and sat in soaking seats with light rain on us. The game was great and the boy got reenergized because they were were on the jumbotron dancing. So fun! Around 1 am hubby was just way too tired and we went back to the hotel. The game didn't end until 2am! I took all these really cool photos and halfway through the trip my card came up as card not formatted. If I format the card it loses the images but nothing will read the images until the card is formatted. It's looking like all my pictures are lost. Does anyone know how to recover them?
Luckily I have some pics from hubby's iphone but it's not the same ;(

Day 2- We stayed at Embassey Suites and the kids LOVED it. They loved having a buffet for breakfast. We explored a bit and then went to the Museum of Science and Industry. It was amazing! They had the U boat that the United States captured that basically won WW2 for us. 11 men did it. They had their pictures and they were so young, so brave. I started to cry looking at them. I have never been into history and wanted to read everything I could on the subject. I was filled with patriotism. The other really cool thing we loved was the coal mine. The museum is built on an old working coal mine so we went down and got to go through it. Really neat. We usually are a family that loses interest at the museum after and hour and we stayed 5 hours and would have stayed longer if it hadn't closed. That night we went to Gino's East. Sorry, JoAnn, Dave and I hated it. The kids loved it though and we had a really great time playing Truth or Dave and movie, song ABC games.

Mad Mom

2010-07-20T21:35:00.000-07:00

This statue is called Mad Mom and I was doing my best impression. Today I wasn't doing an impression, I was just really mad mom. I hate that. I hate being mad at my kids. I hate snapping and being irritated. I wish they would just listen and stop bugging each other. I'm hoping tomorrow Mad Mom will be gone and Happy Mom will return. I have high hopes.

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-04T22:34:00.000-07:00

We started the day with church. The boys sang the songs they learned at VBS and it was really nice. After church we headed over to the swim team's annual 4th celebration.

The day wouldn't be complete without boat races.

The rest of the day was rounded out with a BBQ and then walking across the street to the statium for fireworks. A very traditional 4th of July. I'm a very traditional girl so all was good in my world :)

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-03T23:29:00.000-07:00

It's the eve of the 4th. We went to see Toy Story 3 tonight and I just loved it. I miss those days. Those days when the boys were always dressed up and so darn cute. I wanted to post some pictures of them as Buzz and Woody but I think all those pics are pre-digital camera so I thought I'd post some pics from past 4ths instead.

Happy 4th of July! So PROUD to be an American!!

the non-lazy days of summer

2010-07-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

Wow! Schools out and we've been on the move. Fun busy. Fun busy is always the best! Noah and Zach had Vacation Bible School this week and Joey did a baseball camp at UCI. The boys also have swim team every day so there was a lot of driving, changing, and laundry going on. VBS week is probably my most favorite of the whole summer. I just love the boys being so excited about learning about God. This week my buddy, Bonnie would drop her youngest off at my house for breakfast and I would take the 3 littles (although they are getting pretty big) to VBS while she took the older boys to their things. Car pool is so cool for Noah and Zach. I can't tell you how much happiness and singing and waving to random people saying hello there was this week. For a person who flips out with too much noise in the car it didn't bother me one bit. I loved it.

Joey loved every second of baseball camp. He couldn't get enough of it. He was gone from 8-3 and then would swim for over an hour at swim team after that. His arms are getting serious muscles. I really wish I had a picture of him from the week. My plan was to go early to pick him up and take lots of action photos on the last day but he ended up staying for a pitching lesson with a friend. Great for him but bad for my photo obsession. I brought my camera last night to the end of VBS and my battery was dead. My friend got a picture though. I'll post it later. Blog posts are pretty boring without pictures.

Noah is full blown obsessed with baseball. He used his birthday money to take his grandma to an Angel's game the other night. He taught her EVERYTHING she ever wanted to know about the game.

I took advantage of my last morning free during VBS and got a haircut. Yeah! It was sadly overdue. Bad picture of me but ignor my face and see how lovely the hair looks.

Today we have nothing on the calendar but church. We're still in our jammies and it's cleaning, laundry, hanging out for the rest of the day. So excited! Got to organize myself for summer fun!

Wooh hoo!

2010-06-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

Look who's got his cast casts off! Wooh hoo! Yesterday was our official first day of summer. We started the day off picking up Bon and the kids at her car dealership. We loaded up the 5 boys and went to the orthopedic. Zach got his casts off and was happy!happy! After that we picked up some yummy lunch supplies at Bristol Farms and headed down to the beach. What a perfect way to spend the day. It's soooo much easier at the beach now. The boys can all carry their own stuff and just run around and do their thing. Bonnie and I could actually just sit in chairs and watch the boys, get some sun and chat. After the beach we ran home, showered changed into new suits, got fresh towels and took off to swim team. While the boys swam I drove to Belmont Shore for Stroll and Savor. It is one of my favorite things and it was a treat to hang out with Judy and chat.

Today we did our first week of summer tradition. Ever since Joey was in preschool Jean, Sarah and I would take the kids to Las Brisas for breakfast and then spend the day at the beach. The kids were so little when we started and today they all were so grown up. We had 3,4,5, 6, 7 graders at the table. It goes by so fast! They have grown up to be such nice kids. After day 2 at the beach we ran home to shower, change into new suits, get new towels and go to swim team. Man, I thought I did a lot of laundry normally-this is kicking it into overdrive! Well worth it though :)

They're 9!

2010-06-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, life is full and busy. Our celebrations for the birthday boys just keep going and going! (Like all good birthday's should!)
I always do individual celebrations for them. I'm sure I always will. They each deserve their own celebration where it is all about them. They loved their own days.

The kids had furlough days at school so we made it a long weekend and headed up North. After 9 hours driving we arrived at Rick and Trish's for a surprise family party. It was everything I wanted for them. They love family so much and Trish went out of her way to make it special. She had balloons and everything. Grandpa, Auntie Alicia and Leslie were there and the kids were just beaming. She made their favorite food- filet mignon and homemade mac and cheese. It was a gorgeous night and we ate outside. Being an only child I have always wanted big family events. I'm so happy to have a sister now. She really has brought the family together. I love seeing Dave and his brother so close now.

This picture is just so them. They were happy but kind of embarrassed that everyone was singing to them.

We ended the evening with all the kiddos in the jacuzzi and then once they wee asleep the grownups took their place. Before we knew it it was 2am.

Put this kid near some water

2010-06-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

When Zach is near or in the water he is at total peace.

He could sit for hours on the boat. Look at that cute surfer boy face!

Those water proof casts were the best money we ever spent! He swam, rode on the wave runner with his dad and uncle and even did the tube by himself.

I love these pictures. You can just see the contentment on his face. He was so relaxed. When he was a baby and had colic I would bring him to the beach and the sound of the waves totally relaxed him. His body would stop tensing and he would stop crying. It's basically the same thing now.

I feel the same way around water so I totally get it. I love that little water boy.

Happy Birthday Zach

2010-06-09T22:56:00.000-07:00

In our house June is party month! I think everyone should have their own special birthday celebration so.... it started with Noah's pick- the Dodger game and tonight was Zach's turn-party at Farrell's. Nothing says Happy Birthday like 30 scoops of ice cream!! And of course good friends. On the way to the car we heard him saying, "I'm doing this again for my birthday again next year!" That's music to parent's ears :)

I love this picture of little Nolan checking out Zach's casts. I just love how all these little guys love each other so much.

Flip Camcorder

2010-06-08T10:02:00.001-07:00

"How cool is this?!? You can personalize your flip. I have a perfectly good flip but it's not High Def. I was on the fence about getting a new one but now that I can customize it I'm on board! I'm going to go shoot some photos todays. How fun!!"

Flip MinoHD and SlideHD Camcorders with Personalized Design - Available only at the Flip Video Store. Check out this unique Flip Video design. The Flip MinoHD and SlideHD camcorders combine remarkable video quality in a pocket-sized package. Now personalizable - create yours today. You've never had a camcorder that's this much fun.

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Gym delay

2010-06-05T11:31:00.000-07:00

I hate when I have a plan for the day and it doesn't happen. I woke up this morning and had a plan for my day. It was going to start off by going to the gym. Hubby wanted to go too so he went first while I made breakfast for the kids and got ready. Hubby came home and I was ready to go and then my mom called and needed him ASAP so I am still waiting to the go. I hate when this happens because if it hits noon I lose my UMP to go!

Anyway, life is FLYING along. I can't believe the kids are just about out of school. We have something on the calendar every single day. We always are busy but this is even extra busy!

Last week the kids had Open House. I love Open House but since I volunteer all the time I've seen everything already and it's only an hour long so with 3 kids each class only gets 15 minutes and then 5 minutes to race to the next class inbetween. It's a bit of a marathon!

I am really happy with the way the year has gone for all of them. Joey made sooo much progress academically and emotionally too. He's so much more secure in himself this year. His grades have improved and he has risen to the occasion. His teacher was wonderful this year. Man, a teacher can make or break a year! He has had a long term sub for the last month or so but she is great too and it's been a smooth transistion.

Zach has THRIVED this year. I really wish he could have Mrs. Samuel every year for the rest of his life! She is the perfect teacher for him. I love to see him in class. He's so content in there.

Noah has had a wonderful year too. His teacher is a great teacher but also just an incredible person and I'm so glad he has had a chance to be in her class.

After Open House Joey went to his friend's house for a sleepover so Noah and Zach and I went out for yogurt and then we snuggled in my bed and watched the musical dvd. It was so warm and cozy and fun-just the 3 of us.

The next moring I did something I never do- I took them out for donuts. They were in heaven!! I was trying to take a good Annie shot but no luck. Hopefully Maggie's class will give me the skills I need.

We had the scare of our life at the Angel game. Seriously put me in post traumatic stress for 2 days afterwards but PRIOR to that it is was great fun! A couple days later we went to the Dodger game. Wow! What a difference in statiums. Those Dodger fans are hard core. I love how they totally get into the game. I will have to get some pics from hubby's iphone to share. Zach and Noah's birthday month has begun. The Dodger game was Noah's pic for his celebration. Lot's more celebrations to come! We were planning this morning and hubby said, "Can't we just have one simple celebration?" We all just laughed. Hello, the more the better!!

Recipes, Wrists, and Romantic Getaways

2010-05-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this look delicious? It's not even cooked yet, but you can tell how yummy it will taste. I made one tray for us and one tray for my friend's freezer. It's so easy and so delicious.

Chicken Provencal
6 chicken thighs without skin
1 tsp fresh thyme or 2 tsp dried
1 Tbl chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp salt
2 Tbl garlic, minced
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbl lemon juice
1/2 cup artichoke hearts
2 Tbl capers
1 bag sliced mushrooms
vermouth or white wine

Mix all the ingredients together (except mushrooms and vermouth). Put chicken in pan in a single layer. If you want to freeze it do so now.

Sprinkle mushrooms over top and add 1/4 cup vermouth or wine around chicken. Bake for 50 minutes-1 hour.

I was pretty happy I made a batch ahead for dinner because the next day Zach fell off his scooter and BROKE BOTH WRISTS. Yup, both of them! I knew the second it happened he was really hurt. His cry was different and he just kept rolling back and forth. As soon as I looked at his left arm I knew it was broken. It was so crooked. It turns out that his left wrist is broken in 2 places and his right wrist is broken as well. The first night Zach was in splints and could not move his arms AT ALL! I went up to their room and Noah was reading to him because he couldn't hold a book. It melted my heart. In the days to follow Noah and Joey went out of the way to help Zach and it made me feel so blessed that they have each other.

And finally...Romantic Getaways! My sweetie and I got to spend a couple days in San Fran all by ourselves. We ate and walked, napped, shopped, ate and walked some more. So much fun! We started out at Hubert Keller's Burger Bar. A great choice! Amazing burgers, incredible vodka cucumber drinks (that's why the nap had to happen) and the most fun faux hamburger dessert. That night we went to this cool place for Vietnamese/French Fusion. Each meal was better than the one before. The next day we walked from Union Square to China Town to the Ferry Building and back. We had dim sum in China town for lunch. Totally delicious. That night we went to The Press Club. It's a wine bar with tastings and then food pairings. So super cool. I really wish we had a place like that here. You get little credit cards when you go in and then you can just get little tastes of wine and food that pairs with them. I loved it! After that we walked even more and ended the night at Morton's. Not so great-over cooked, over priced steak but you can't win them all :)

Tonight I had the boys sit down and we talked to them about how I'm getting frustrated by our family dynamics the last month. I think it's mostly growing up issues but I thought we should try something different. So we each asked another person to work on ONE thing this week. I am hoping this helps me bite my tongue and stop nagging. I thought we could change each week. So I gave Joey something to work on, Zach gave Noah something.... Here is what we came up with for this week.
Zach- Be kind to your brothers.
Joey- Stand with confidence! Shoulders back, stomach in.
Noah- Ask permission before using other people’s things.
Mom- Be less grumpy in the morning.

Wish us luck! (Daddy wasn't home from work yet-we'll add his later :))

Susie Homemaker Day

2010-05-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

Today is a good day. I woke up to a clean house. Nothing better than waking up to a clean house. It just takes stress right out of your life. After dropping the kids off at school I went to an artist showcase to see performers for next years assemblies. After years of doing this I was not so excited to go but i was pleasantly surprised and I'm exited about bringing some great assemblies to the school.

I came home to cook. My friend's mother passed away and I wanted to bring over some dinners. While the food was in the oven I filed some layouts I finished. It feels Soooooooooooooooooo goooooooooooood to get some scrappin done. This is from Kelly Goree's class at Reflections.

These are from Rebecca's basic grey class at Oasis. I'm super excited about this. You make 4 layouts a month and at the end of the year you will have 48 layouts!! How totally COOL is that??!!

I took these picture quick and they really do suck. But that is going to change!! I am going to take Maggie Holmes Photography class. I am super excited. I am totally ready to fall in love with photography again.

I was going to give you yummy recipes but I have to go to pick the kiddos up from school. I will be back.
Have a wonderful day!

Reflecting on Reflections

2010-05-04T21:34:00.000-07:00

Reflections 2010 has officially come and gone. Wow! It was almost a years worth of planning. We probably made things much more difficult than they needed to be. But I am so glad we did. We wanted everyone to feel spoiled. We spent a lot of time on the details and I think everyone really liked the details. From the ice cream sherbert maltballs in Reflections colors to the handmade goodie bags to picking every little prize and give away to stamping and bagging all the little embellishments. I'm waiting for more pictures because I had no time to take them but I will post more soon. I feel like it was God's plan to bring me and Karen together to do this. We work so well together and we have become such good friends.

I am so lucky to have such a supportive family. The whole gang came down to help with the Bonfire on Saturday. It was so nice to get hear such nice things about my boys. I think they are pretty sweet too!

So now I have spent a day sleeping so tomorrow is the day to do some more laundry, get the van washed, go grocery shopping, cook a homecooked meal and meet with Karen to do some post Reflections planning!

This kid kills me

2010-04-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

In a good way. I just love him so much I think my heart might burst. He's sitting on the computer singing a song from Shrek the Musical that was cut. So cute. Pretty off key but just so precious.
He has had a busy day. He went to a soccer camp by himself this morning. He didn't know anyone but wanted to do it.
God, I love him.
This afternoon he took a guitar lesson. It's at our house so I sat at my desk and could hear him with the teacher. He makes these incredible connections. He has funny little stories to share. He's just such a cool kid. I'm gushing, I know, but I'm his mom. It's allowed :)

He is so full of emotion. He's such a snuggler, such a sweet, sensitive boy. He's so extreem. He can also make your life miserable. If Zach isn't happy, no one's happy. But it is completely contagious when he's happy.

He's one complex, wonderful kid!!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T10:50:00.000-07:00

We all woke up at 5:15am and got ready and headed to sunrise mass at church. I was so proud of the boys for getting up so early and not complaining. We were all in the car by 5:40. Pretty impressive.

Sunrise mass is so beautiful. My favorite choir did the service. That really makes it for me. They are more contemporary and it just moves me. This is the second time in my whole life I have done this. Two years ago Joey and I went and we just loved it. This year I thought Noah and Zach were old enough to handle getting up that early. It's so nice being outside and then having it go from dark to light.

I was so happy that someone offered to take a picture of all of us. I am horrible at getting pictures on holidays so I am extra happy to have this one.

After mass we headed down to the beach for breakfast. Amazing how uncrowded the restaurant was at 7:20 am! We saw this on our way. Totally cracked me up. Very California!

This was one of the reasons why the kids got up so early with no complaints-they were anticipationg this! My very favorite splurge. Yum!

We got home and ran to the park for some soccer and baseball. Now it is naptime before all the cooking.

Happy Easter! He is risen!

New additions to the family

2010-04-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

Meet the crayfish.

We have 3. Noah and Zach brought them home from school. Even though they are kind of freaky they are really interesting. You should see them capture a frozen pea and go to town on it.

The first week of spring break is over. Part of me is bummed and part of me is glad. Hubby was out of town most of the week and I had lots to accomplish for Reflections and it wasn't mixing well with three boys in tow who never stop talking. It would all be great if I wasn't talking to myself in my head. Sometimes I just can't hear myself think and I feel like I am going to explode. The boys were mostly good...mostly happy...just never silent.

This weekend was spent with my little constant companions too. I had so much to do to prep for Easter but constant chatter. My mom is moving so hubby and Joey were gone helping so I didn't have any alone time. Very difficult to prep with the boys with me. I hate when I feel that way. I don't want them to think I don't enjoy being with them because I do! So tonight I stopped everything and we snuggled and talked about the meaning of Easter and it was really nice.

On Good Friday Joey was alter serving. I was so proud of him that I started crying. It was such a different mass and he was so mature and just did what had to be done. At the veneration of the cross he had to hold it while everyone came up to kiss it, genuflect, etc. At one point an elderly lady came up and he stepped down to make it easier for her. There were about 1000 people so it took a long time and I was so afraid his arms would start shaking and he'd drop it but he was so poised. He's really growing up. He has been working so hard moving my mom. He's such a good, kind young man. I am so blessed.

Noah and Zach are pretty cool too :)

Oh great, my garbage disposal just stopped working. No microwave, no garbage disposal, I'm sure the frig is next. It is so time for a new kitchen!

Happy Easter.

the post that disappeared

2010-04-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

Last week was FULL-a surprise birthday party for Zach's teach-and wouldn't you know it she went home sick.
Then a baby shower for Joey's teacher-fun!fun!fun!
And then the jogathon.
Man, Noah is fast. And I was so excited for Joey-he did the same amount of laps as Noah.
So thankful for moms to hang out with, who work hard and are just good, fun friends :)

Dad took the morning off to help with the jogathon.

And this morning spring break started. I made homemade french toast and we ate outside on our new patio furniture. The rest of today is going to be spent cleaning, paying bills, organizing, ordering product for REFLECTIONS , and on the baseball field.
Happy Spring

Zov's Meatloaf Recipe

2010-03-18T11:46:00.000-07:00

The recipe I made the other day that was so delicious was from a class I took by Zov from Zov's Bistro. Here is the recipe. It's really easy-just shopping and chopping really. The key is fresh herbs and baking it on a rack so it gets really crispy. I think the other key is using Panko crumbs instead of day old bread. Everything is better with panko :)

Enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

I love St. Patrick's Day and so do my kids. I totally love making holidays fun. I wonder if they will do this when they are older and have kids. I hope so. They are getting older and I've started cutting back a little on the fun thinking they might not want it but this morning I hear them talking in their room, all excited, wondering if the leprechaun came... I guess they still love it.

That crazy leprechaun always turns everything green! For breakfast we have our once a year splurge of Lucky Charms with green milk. For lunch green bagel sandwiches and green fruit. After school we will go get Shamrock Shakes. Yum! Well, yum for them because I gave up sugar for Lent but still YUM! For dinner I make shepards pie. This year I am thinking about making these instead though. They look fun and delicious.

Last night we had a surprise party for my mom's 60th birthday. I love this picture with all the kiddos who love her. I made stuffed jalepenos for an appetizer. Yum! I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe but put raspberry chipolte sauce on apple smoked bacon. Talk about delicious! Then for dinner I made meatloaf with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy. I will share the recipe later. It was extra good. For dessert I made an orange sour cream layer cake with strawberries and whipped creme fraiche. I love having people over. I need to do it more often. My only wish is that we had a big back yard for all the boys to run around.

I better go get ready for the Volunteer Tea at school. Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

SAFE!

2010-03-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

They tried 3 times....but they never got him out.

We lost but he made his mama proud!

Right now

2010-03-11T21:21:00.000-08:00

Baseball season has started.

Joey is trying to master skateboarding.

We had a great night at the ball park tonight. There is a skate park there too and Zach and Joey tried it with their razors. They LOVED it! Then we hung out with our pals after their game and ended the night at Starbucks. What a nice night.

Poor little Noah was sick today. He was up all night. He stayed home from school today and I snuggled with him and nurtured him and enjoyed the alone time we had. Tonight when I took the boys out for some exercise he watched a movie with his dad. Sweet time. I hope he wakes up feeling better.

I spent some time playing with paper today. Felt good!

I've been cooking healthy, yummy food.

Still not having sweets.

This gets me

2010-03-08T09:06:00.000-08:00

Cleaning up my photo files this morning and I came across this picture. You know how some pictures just get you. They tug at your hearts. This one melts mine. I love him so much.