Friday, July 27, 2007

hi!





If you are waiting for a phone call from me....hi, Robin....I will get to call finally! We've had some phone issues for about 2 weeks. Our phone was so static-y and would drop calls, so I was hardly using it. And my cell wasn't holding a charge. I would charge it up and a few minutes into the first call, it was beeping low battery. So I have been MIA on the phone for a few days. Our DSL was cutting out...ahhh, technology!...so wasn't sure if it was the line or what...but we bought a new phone last night and it is charging and all will be well again in the world....and I am going to Verizon to get my new phone ...one of these days....

Anyway, sleep updates, since I know you are pins and needles waiting to hear how sleep is going for Coop. Well, not so hot yet. Last night, the 4th night, he cried and got out for about 20 minutes, I sat with him for a few minutes, he got out, and finally conked out. to be honest, it is very hard to do the silent return thing. I am tired of sitting/standing in the hallway, hearing him cry out for me and feel him holding tight to me as I put him back in bed. I have not been too strong, because I give up and hold him or sit on his bed and rub his head. BUT I don't talk...don't know if that helps or not. Just got to get this under control before school starts. Yes, school....

Anyway, the pictures are from the lake, we had a picnic and were going sailing, but Grampy was missing a bolt for his sail, so we just sat on the boat and talked and walked around. It was still a nice time!
In other news, heard from Margo!!! She's in Iowa and found a great new house, so she is excited to get her daycare up and running there. We miss her a lot!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

San Diego, Pt. 1






Pictures mostly taken by Jenny on her canon digi rebel xt (sally's camera!). Some taken by me...I like to think I would be a good photographer if I had the right camera...hint, hint, Joe!!!

SD Pix, Pt. 2






not sure why I was wearing my capris to the beach...

San Diego Pictures, Part 3






Here are some of my favs....

oops, forgot to turn the pic of Justin and Spence around...just tilt your head...:-)

Jack in the Box!?$#!



(Pics of my little Coop, first is a pic at the beach with his Uncle Justin, yucky background! and the 2nd is him trying on my glasses)
OK, so the sleeping thing has been hard!!! Coop has been a little jack in the box the last 3 nights, up and out, up and out...out of his bed....I tried, oh, I tried to follow the sleeping advice...man, it is hard! I set up a little chair right outside his door and would put him back to bed when he opened the door. Night 1: I lasted about 25 min., and then rubbed his head until he fell asleep. Night 2: An hour of jack in the boxing...finally he fell asleep. Night 3: Didn't get out as much, but still got up, I rubbed his back for while....I know, the big no-no, but at least I was still silent during that, I promise I didn't talk to him! Whew...hopefully tomorrow night will be easier...when will my baby get the picture???

The last few days have been long...sleep issues and car troubles...had to have my car towed from my 2nd home...Target! And it's been hot and muggy here. But car is back, no big problem, cheapo fix, whew...our neighbor just got a brand new honda odyssey and spent about 20 minutes tonight extolling its virtues. Navigation system, DVD, holds 8...sign me up! I think I better really get going on the selling my car thing. I guess I better keep it cleaner and put up the for sale signs.

Ok, it's late, I better get to bed. Last night I was in bed before 10 AM. Good girl! :-) Robin, I promise to call you again tomorrow (we have been playing phone tag for weeks!!!) Our phone is on the fritz and sounds so static-y that sometimes I can't use it. I'll use my cell phone, which I am horrible at keeping charged, but it's charging right now!

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Big Bed Bed & Goofy Boy





Yesterday we did it...we put away the crib...and put Coop in a big boy bed, well, a toddler bed, anyway...he has trouble staying in it at bedtime, though. I am going to follow supernanny's advice and keep putting him back in, without talking to him, each time. Supernanny and Dr. Weissbluth, my sleep guru. say it will get worse before it gets better, but it will get better! I'll keep ya posted....

Here are some goofy pics of my big boy Spence...one with his "Harry Potten" glasses (as he says it) and one with a random clown wig we found in the closet. The thing about simplifying and getting rid of stuff, you never know quite what you'll find.

That's about it for us...just doing the everyday summer stuff...swimming, library storytime, playing, bike rides, popsicles, helping Daddy mow the lawn, etc., etc...

Friday, July 20, 2007

Music List

OK, Sally has her random ipod list posted...well, we are still in the 90's..heehee..no ipods for us...yet! But we do have a big itunes list...so here goes...11 random songs (and notes) from our list....
1. Bohemian Like You by Dandy Warhols :fun song! If you saw the cartoon, Flushed Away, you'll recognize it. Spencer loves it! (BTW, he remembers all songs from movies...that kid has a memory!)
2. Broken & Beautiful by Marc Schultz (He's great, saw him at the MOPS convention, love his music!)
3. Crooked Teeth by Death Cab for Cutie (Thanks to the OC for recommending this....)
4. Earthquakes and Sharks by Brandtson (Another OC song, Spencer calls it the San Diego song, one of our faves! Check it out!)
5. Everybody's Changing by Keane (Great driving music!!!)
6. Flake by Jack Johnson (Mmm, love me my Jack, plus he went to UCSB when I was there...maybe I saw him????)
7. Jamaican in New York by Shinehead (I think I am the only one who likes this song, but reminds me of when I went to Disneyland in college with Robin and Amy, we had a blast!!!!)
8. Just a Ride by Jem (Great song, listen to the words, gives perspective to life)
9. Legacy by Nichole Nordeman (Wow, want to be remembered this way....)
10. Makes Me Wonder by Maroon 5 (our summer song, the boys and I love this! We listen to the clean version, even coop rocks along with us)
11. Lilian by Depeche Mode (No, Sally, have to have some Depeche...our whole family loves them, can't wait to take Spencer to a concert!)

Ok, ready for bed now....happy weekend!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

San Diego!!!!!!






OK, we are back! Had a blast! We did: Sea World, Santana's burritos (the best!), Ocean Beach (all day!), the mall (me & Jen), Seaport Village, Midway aircraft carrier, lots of sun and fun! Jenny has the beach pictures on her camera, so have to wait until she sends to me (so you'll have to wait to see the first shot of my beach boy Spencer surfing!!!), but here are some to tide you over.


Joe and I adore it down there, as does Spence. He always says he wants to move to San Diego. When we were there, he said he wanted to stay for 10 weeks...oh, me, too, baby! BUT, we are starting to think about moving down there, not SD (too $$$), but somewhere near, like Fallbrook or Temecula or Escondido. So, house prices here, pleeeeeze go up so we can sell!!!!Our lovely local newspaper (not!) predicts the housing prices will go up in 2009....so we'll see. We are content here...we have grandparents! and friends and a great pre-school and FAMILY (huge) and I love our house. So , we'll see....life is definitely an adventure....:-)))

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Favorite things...and simplify

OK, so Kelli tagged me: what are your favorite things???

Chai Latte

BOOKS

scrapbooking supplies

my new flower ring

Method Cleaning supplies (seriously)

Bare Minerals

Nachos from El Asadero

My photo albums

My bed

Hot baths and new magazines

Disco music

Big Brother (new season)

the beach



I could go on and on....speaking of things, if anyone watched Oprah earlier this week, she had Peter Walsh on and he talked about de-cluttering your life. Very interesting! He talked about why we keep things. Usually it's because it brings back a memory or because we think we'll need it someday. He said that means we are living in the past or the future and we need to live in the present. The ugly chair you hang onto because your grandma gave it to you: do you need that chair to remember her? No, so get rid of it! I have been thinking about that a lot because I do have pack rat tendencies. BUT, I have been so much better lately. I have gotten rid of a lot of things, and feel better about less stuff. Living simply is becoming my motto. The book Breathe by Keri Wyatt Kent really got me started. You should check it out! Peter Walsh has a new book, too, It's All Too Much. (sorry, whenever I link to amazon, it never works, so just check it out yourself) I also read on someone's blog a perspective about getting new things. Let me see if I can find it again...http://rebeccasower.typepad.com/rs_out_of_hand/2007/05/security_in_sam.html#comments

OK, check it out and read the comments. Very interesting to think about...
Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

For Auntie Carole....and Vicki again...






More 4th of July pictures!

Cool house... and other thoughts

OK, if you want to see pics of an awesome house...and yes, she is a home decorator and realtor...check out our friends' new house at www.fergusonhouse.blogspot.com Wow! Kelli is awesome! I will need to hire her sometime...maybe next summer when they come visit from Tennessee!
Ok, I also hit a teacher's dream this morning...a penny for pencil boxes and pencils and folders...wow! I bought all I needed and more for $2! Teacher friends: sorry I didn't tell you right away, my cell was dead, and it was only 2 hours ago, but I went back after dropping Spencer and Cooper at Margo's (2 more days with her!:-((( ) and everything was pretty much gone...there were some folders left, so go hit Staples if you can! I am still excited by my great find! Hee-hee...
We are heading to San Diego in a few days! Yippee!!!! Sea World and beach, here we come! This summer is kind of a "tight" summer for us...but we have to do a vacation, and SD is Spencer's favorite place in the world! He always tells me he wants to move where Aunt Jenny lives. Me, too, Spence!
Had a garage sale last weekend, all the stuff Joe said we should bring to Goodwill. But, knowing me, Garage Sale Queen (not going to them, but having them...), I said no. I made $132....not bad for what we considered was "junk". You know the saying, what is one man's trash is another man's treasure. It wasn't all junk, though, some of it was good toys that my boys have outgrown.
Ok, more later, and for you, Sally, I will scan or take a pic of our wedding picture and post. :-)

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Happy Anniversary

Joe and I celebrated our 7th anniversary on Sunday! Happy anniversary to us! I don't have a wedding pic on computer and don't feel like hooking up the scanner right now...so just imagine us on that special day...happy and thrilled to be Mr. & Mrs. Happy Anniversary, honey!!!!

If you have not read The Kite Runner, go get a copy now! It is incredible! I was hesitating on reading this one, middle east politics and all, but Kim loaned it to me and said I had to read it. Wow, I read it in 2 days and can't stop thinking about it. I have to go get the author's 2nd book now. I feel like I have more of an understanding about the Afghans. It was so sad to read about how they danced in the streets when the Taliban took over from the Russians. But it turned out, as we all know, to be much worse. The book starts in the 70's, before the Russians took over, so you can see what life is like for them before their country was invaded. Have some tissue near by when you read it, but do read it!!!!

Friday, July 06, 2007

This one's for Vicki...





...who is hanging out in cool Monterey! I should know, I was there yesterday, enjoying the 60 degree weather, even (dare I say it!) a little chilly! Now, back home suffering through 110 degrees! Actually I am in my nice 78 degree home office. Not out in the heat this moment, although we are going swimming as soon as Coop wakes up from his nap.


Anyway, back to Vicki...here are the friend pics from last night! Once a year (waahhhh) we get together with our gang. I posted the pic from last year on my blog...I'll try to find it, I know it is July 2006. But here are the ones from this year (minus Kelli, back home in TN). But with the new addition of Lily, who apparently, already likes my oldest son...hee-hee, Chip, don't be too mad!!! We had pizza and lots of crazy noise as the 7 kids were here playing. Lily wanted to be up playing so bad! Spencer was running around, hugging Brennah and playing with Corbin and the swords. Macy was running around, trying to play with Lily. Cooper was walking around, trying to take off his diaper as many times as he could (his newest trick). Ali, the oldest, was quietly reading in Spencer's room. What a crazy night. :-)


I also enjoyed my day with Carole, Tyrnnon and Mom in Monterey. Tyrnnon prefers the San Diego beaches. She wants to study Marine Biology in college, so maybe she'll become a California girl in 5 years (college)...get more of the family oout here! They are heading home tomorrow. I will miss them. Carole is a blast and so giving (thanks for my gifts! Love the ring!!!), and Tyrnnon is very sweet and mature. We HAVE to get to Chicago soon. This was only my 2nd time meeting Tyrnnon. Can't believe she was 1 when I graduated from college...am I really that old already?????? Augh!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Happy Fourth!!!






Hope you enjoyed your day today! We sure did, though it was H.O.T....whew...we had a BBQ at my in-laws, and the kids spent most of the time going on the water slide....and we adults wishing we could go on it, too! But it was fun...good food and great fireworks. Coop is not a fan of the fireworks. He cuddled with Margo the whole time (we were thrilled she spent the evening with us!). Spencer enjoyed it more. Carole and Tyrnnon liked watching them, since they are illegal in IL. And Lily spent her first 4th watching, too! She did very well, watching it from mom's lap...she turned 6 months old today. Right now Coop is relaxing on Daddy's lap. He can't sleep with the booms going on, so he is staying up late tonight. Spencer is in dreamland...he was so tired from swimming at Grandma's all afternoon and then going down the water slide for hours. I think I am off to bed now, too! Happy Fourth!!!!!

Monday, July 02, 2007

Not much new...





...to report, just some cute pics to share. Daddy was putting up their new swing set (thanks Grammy & Grampy!) and the boys were playing with the box it came in...human bowling...having a lot of fun...

My mom is coming home today after a few days in San Diego. Aunt Carole and cousin Tyrnnon met up with them (from Chicago!) and they all flew in this morning. I expect they are somewhere in Fresno still. CAN'T wait to see them!!!!

The boys and I are going to a pool party this afternoon and then we'll visit with family. I have a little more cleaning to do...have been on the http://www.flylady.net/ mailing list and it is helping me stay organized and keep the house cleaner! It's hard keeping the house clean with 2 little rugrats and I would sometimes cringe if someone stopped by unexpectedly, but I want to be a very hospitable person, so I need to get over that. Yes, people, you may stop by anytime...but please ignore the toys scattered everywhere. I am having another garage sale next weekend to get rid of old toys and clutter. And grandmas...if you are reading this, no more toys are needed in this household! We have enough to last us a long time...especially after all the cool things they received during birthday time. :-) Happy Monday!