Random thoughts

Ok, what's up with all the cell phones? Ok, so I am guilty, too, I use mine in the car, too...I usually call my sister to chat on the 10 minutes to work from dropping the boys off at the babysitter, BUT I don't: chat while turning (see that all the time!), while taking the boys for a walk, or (the newest one I saw) chat while washing the car!!! Crazy!!! When did we become so important that we have to talk all the time? What has happened to good old peace and quiet???

Christmas...we have a Christmas tree in our kitchen! I love it! Stephanie's mom gave us an extra fake tree and I didn't know where to put it, but I am not one to turn down free things :-), so we put it in the kitchen, all lit up! It actually looks good and Spencer enjoys eating next to the tree! Cool, huh?
OK, feeling sleepy...my last few months of feeding Coop once or twice a night and going to bed toooo late are finally catching up to me. I am so tired, and forgetting things and feeling pretty spacey...looking forward to break so i can nap with the boys. I need to go to bed earlier, but I love my "me" time...time to read, scrapbook, veg on the couch with TV, chat with my hubby, email, etc....is it selfish of me???? Oh the life of a mom and a busy one at that.....

Christmas is coming...

Yay! Christmas is coming...you should see the house. Christmas stuff all over the dining room table. Things to be hung, put up, on display...where oh where to put it all??? The Christmas lights for the outside are strewn all over the living room. Joe needs to finish that project. Good thing tomorrow is my early to work day (10:30) b/c it would be hard to keep Spence away from all of it! We MAY go get our tree tomorrow. I can't wait! Our first Christmas is our new house! I will post pics for you all to see.
We had a nice break. We had friends over: Steph, Chip & Vicki, Megan and Jen. We watched "War of the Worlds". What did you all think of the ending? It was great to visit. We miss our friends that live far away. Looking forward to the gang getting together again for Christmas!
Now it's back to work. For Joe, he can hardly wait since he has his appraisal license number finally! He's going to be sooo busy! The next few weeks we have so much planned. Our calendar is already filling up. But we can't forget the "Reason for the Season"! I am excited to teach Spence about Jesus' birthday. He prays everyday and knows where God lives. Thank you Lord for all of our blessings! What are YOUR blessings?

Thankful

(Above pics from September)

Happy (early) Thanksgiving! Hope you have a wonderful day!
What are YOU thankful for? I have so much to be thankful for, so much I need to remember when I get in one of those "I wish I..., I want..." moods. Don't we all???
I am THANKFUL for:
1.My husband!
2. My kids...happy, healthy, beautiful boys
3. My family, close and far
4. My job (yes, I am happy with my job this year!)
5. Friends
6. Having lots to do: Bible Study, Mops, AAUW, family events. lots of kid birthday parties!
7. Owning our first home
8. LOVE in my life
9. A relationship with God (He owns all I have...Thank you Lord for all my blessings!)
I could go on...
What is on your list? I'd love to hear! :-)

Ramblings

hello all...hope you are enjoying your week. Took a nap today, yay! I cuddled with Coop on the couch while Spencer napped. Poor Spence, he is beginning to be at the age that he is scared of things. Tonight he was scared as he was going to bed. He said, "No airplanes, daddy, no airplanes." Weird. I thought all os his viewings of Monsters, Inc would make him not scared of monsters, but it didn't. Maybe it's a kid thing. All kids seem to be scared of monsters at some time or another.
Not much to say, I know my blog has been boring lately...i think I am over tired, I keep misspelling words on this post and fixing them a few times, I better go hit the sack...night, all. Michelle & Jenny, when you get your blogs going, send me your address and I'll post it! Can't wait to read the,. :-) Anyone else starting one????
I'll try to attach a pic of my Spence in his new "fast" sneakers...yes, he still has his "baba" (pacifier). He loves it and can't go to sleep without it. I'll let future Amy deal with that. (Anyone watching "How I met your mother?" You'll recognize the "future person" bit. Cute show!)
Jen, see Nemo? He LOVES it and sleep with it! Give him baba, Nemo and "nap-nap" (his blanket) and he's set!

Depeche Mode

Last night Joe and I went to see Depeche Mode in San Jose. I hope you know who they are! The high school helper at the boys' babysitter's house didn't know who they were...made me feel old! Anyway...they were awesome!!! What a great show. Dave has so much energy! I danced almost the entire show! I really need to get out and see more concerts. Joe and I realized we need to just get out and do more, period! The audience was pretty varied, older people and lots of younger people. It was so funny to see the whole audience singing the words. On "Enjoy the Silence", Dave didn't even sing the chorus, the audience did and you could hear it clearly! What a fun night, starting with dinner in downtown San Jose with friends. Cute area! Now I am sooooo tired, though...we got home at 2:00 and Coop was ready to get up at 5:30 AM! I took a long nap today from 11 AM to 2 PM. The boys are napping now.
A week of vacation lies before me...what a good feeling. No big plans, just resting, playing with my boys, scrapbooking, hanging out. Meg is coming home for Thanksgiving. We plan on doing 2 dinners again this year. One at my mom's and one at Joe's sister's house. It will be fun to see family and enjoy turkey and mashed potatoes, mashed potatoes and more mashed potatoes....
Happy Saturday!

Spencer's park

Here are some pix of yesterday's big activity. :-) See our tiny yard??? Probably the biggest reason why I don't think we'll stay in this house too long, otherwise I do love the house, BUT I am lovin' it even more now that we have grass! :-)
One week until Thanksgiving Break. Can't wait! One week off with the boys. I was thinking about potty training Spence, but I don't think I am ready, yes, me...ready to start doing the whole bathroom thing in public...diapers are convenient. Whoever said 2 in diapers is hard is wrong. It isn't bad. Yes, expensive, but very convenient. He doesn't mind, so maybe we'll wait till Christmas break.
So, Joe's ideal spot, according to www.findyourspot.com is Washington state: Olympia and Bellingham. Sorry, honey, too cold for me! We actually checked out Scottsdale, AZ's report b/c it showed up in both of our lists and it looks interesting! Very cultural and artsy, lots to do there...we're here for now, but we think we'll be moving on a few years. I don't think we're the stay in one place forever people. We both have moved around a lot in the last few years. In 5 years, I have lived in Agoura, Encino, Thousand Oaks and Merced. Joe has lived in Chico, West Hollywood, Studio City, Encino, Thousand Oaks, and Merced in the last 7 years. But it is nice to be here in Merced with family. We love spending time with the family!

Your ideal town/city?

Find your spot? Where should you be living? Check out this website: www.findyourspot.com and see where your ideal city/town is. Mine came up as Phoenix, AZ and Charleston, SC. Hmmm...Find out yours and tell me! I'd love to hear!

grass

we've got grass!!!! Yay! Spencer calls it his "park"! It looks great! Only 7 months after we moved in...but it's done! Now, what kind of plants and flowers to plant? Any ideas?

Food!!!!

My baby Cooper is 5 months old today! He had rice cereal for the first time today! He was interested, but the cereal wouldn't stay in his mouth, he kept dribbling....He looked so cute, his head barely above the highchair...was it like that for Spence, too??? I can't believe how fast he is growing. It makes me sad to think my baby is growing up, he's almost half a year old! Joe, on the other hand, loves them getting older. He and Spence have so much fun together. Coop watches them, leaning towards them and intently watching. I know soon he'll be playing with them...
I am so loving the fall colors this year. The trees are exploding with color, leaves aflame with red and orange. I am anxious to get some pictures of them before the leaves have all fallen.
Tomorrow we get sod! Yay!!!! I'll post pics when it's done!

hmmm

don't know why it published twice....

Links

Ok, some of you mentioned you like looking at blogs! Here are some to check out...
www.watersfive.typepad.com

www.shannontidwell.com

www.tarawhitney.typepad.com

www.aliedwards.typepad.com

Have fun!

Links

Ok, some of you mentioned you like looking at blogs! Here are some to check out...
www.watersfive.typepad.com

www.shannontidwell.com

www.tarawhitney.typepad.com

www.aliedwards.typepad.com

Have fun!

UC Merced

These pictures are UC Merced last fall (look how little my Spence is!).
Tonight Joe and I went to a reception at UC Merced for local UC alumni. UC Merced just opened up this fall for the first class. We got to hear the president of the UC system speak. He was a great guy, pretty funny and very interesting. It was so exciting to hear about the plans for Merced and the whole UC system. There isn't a plan for an 11th UC yet, but the president admitted there should be. He also said that China was trying to pattern a public university system after our University of California.
Afterward Joe and I strolled around the campus. There isn't much there yet. We saw some dorms, all shiny and new, and kids walking around together. Only one floor of the library seemed to have books. It was fun to be around the college atmosphere again. I loved college, so it was neat to reminisce about the old days. :-)
My sister Jenny just got another dog, Dalia. Now Zero has a buddy. She and Justin are in love with weiner dogs. Can't wait to meet the newest Littrell. :-)

Sisters, sisters...

Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters...when a certain gentleman arrived from Rome, she wore the dress and I stayed home, all kinds of weather, we stick together...
What movie is that from??? I shoulda had it on my 12 movies list, one of my all time favorite holiday movies!

Gettin' political

I just checked on the results for the voting...Arnie isn't doing too well...shouldn't mess with the teachers!!!! We're tough people!
This election has been pretty interesting, both at the state level and locally. Joe and I even put a sign in our yard for one of the mayoral candidates. Joe heard her speak at his 20/30 Club and was interested in what she had to say, so he agreed to support her with a sign! Pretty funny to me...especially since (and don't tell her this) we couldn't even vote for her! We haven't re-registered to vote in our new home, in the city limits. We were registered at Joe's parents' house because that is where we were staying last election time. They don't live in the city limits, so we couldn't vote for mayor or for a measure that would put more police officers on the street. BOTH I really wanted to vote for. But, I just checked on the results and it looks like both are winning! Go Ellie!
I took the boys with me to vote. Spence was disappointed he couldn't vote. Joe took him, too. Spence also got a haircut today...his 3rd. I'll post a pic later. He is such a cutie, as is my baby Super-Duper. That's Coop's nickname, if you didn't figure it out!
Veteran's Day is Friday. Thank a veteran...you guys (and gals) rock! Thanks for being so brave and ready to put yourself on the line for your love of our country. We appreciate you!

Mommy brag

Ok, shameless mommy bragging...I have such great kids! Coop goes to sleep like a charm for me now. I have started sleep training him now, putting him down every 2 hours. He hardly makes a sound. Still not sleeping through the night yet, but....
Spence knows his colors now! I am so proud. I walk around his room, picking up things and asking him what color it is. His favorite is yellow. he loves saying it, "lel-loooow", his little tongue curling around the "l's".
Just sitting here, trying to decide if I want to go to bed early or scrapbook. I have been getting pretty far behind. I would love to get a photo printer for Christmas (hint hint Joe!) so I can print out the pics I want to scrapbook.
1 hour Arrested Development on tonight...yippee...Joe's favorite show and very funny! Watch it sometime!

Meg, I know you read this blog, so I put on a cute pic of you and Jen from Jenny's wedding weekend...it was your birthday!!!! Hope it was a good day...no sixteen candles, right???? :-)

Target

Target is my new Costco...you know how everyone says they cannot get out of Costco without spending too much money...well, Target is like that for me! I went in to get wipes, and I ended up walking out with wipes, diapers, teething ring, Christmas gift for Spence (a bus-he adores any vehicle), grey tank top for me to wear with pink shrug Jen gave me for my b-day, brown pants for Spence, and plastic cups for Spence (our dishwasher must eat them...). I almost bought a wreath for the front door. I have been looking for one for awhile, but when you looked close at this one, the red beads were chipped. let me know if you see a good wreath out there...
Cool links...
www.wonderfulgraffiti.com
www.organizedhome.com
www.indiecollective.net
and my new obsession: www.celebrity-babies.com

We Built this City

Do you know the song...that cheesy 80's song, We Built This City? Well, Spencer does and loves it! He is actually starting to sing along to songs now. Soooo cute! He was rocking out to this song. Today he got mad when "Hey Baby Hey" by No Doubt was over with on the radio. "Mama, more hey baby hey baby!!" Sorry kiddo...I need to make a CD for him to rock out to!

How's life everyone? Life is good here. Fall is here, the leaves are changing, I think we are finally getting sod in our backyard this weekend...finally...my little man can go out and run!!! He needs it...
Thanks to Kim for her list of things (earlier post). How fun to read! I miss my friends that don't live close by...

Pic of Spencer & his grandma

It's official!

My man is now an appraiser!!! He has passed the state exam....whew...so if ya need an appraiser....:-) He has already been working for an appraisal company in town, but now he is official!
Thanks to Robin for sending me her list of 12 things (see earlier post) and congrats to Robin, Peter, & Justin on the new baby to be news!

Halloween

"Halloween, Halloween, Trick or Treat,
Our costumes can't be beat!" Sung by Dora the Explorer :-)

We had a great Halloween, how about you? We started at a Harvest Party, but didn't stay too long. Spencer did a few carnival games and we visited with a few friends, but we didn't stay long. We were with another family, and Monica is in a wheelchair since she broke her ankle. The dads carted the boys around for a bit, but it was starting to get crowded, so we headed over to their neighborhood and went trick-or-treating! Spencer was a dalmation this year and soooo cute! He loved being a doggy. His tail on his costume wagged when he walked. Coop was a pumpkin, and he slept through much of the fun!
Spencer's pumpkin filled up so fast and he was thrilled. He loves candy! We are very carefully doling it out (and sneaking some ourselves!).
It finally feels like fall here. The weather has finally changed, and the leaves are turning colors. Even the sunlight has dimmed a bit, more of a golden color instead of bright summer yellow. Today is clouding up. I can dress Spencer in his new fall clothes...finally!