Are you ready????

OK, I bought my labeler today...rounding up baskets...started my household command binder last night...and bought the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD...I am excited for the new year! I also have my 29 gifts calendar ready to fill in...here we go!

I'm back!

Sorry that I have been missing so long...busy busy time of the year! We had a great Christmas! I got a new (little) camera for now...been camera-less for a while now...will get my Rebel next month sometime, whoo-hooo! BUT...I thought I would change up my bloggy blog a bit fro this month. I joined the 31 Day Organization Challenge at http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/, as you can see from the link to the right. COOL blog! Also, I read this amazing book: 29 Gifts ...about a woman battling MS. She has a terrible attitude about it and is feeling very depressed. Someone gives her the prescription to give away 29 things in 29 days....and she follows it. By the end, she feels changed, healthier (not healed), supported, richer in life, etc., etc...with a whole new attitude towards life. I was so inspired by it that I joined the challenge, and both Joe and I are starting on Jan. 1. I look forward to a better me in 2011. Come back and see what I'm up to (and see pics of my darling kiddos, of course!). :-)

I am Grateful...

(Pictures include Kendall's first haircut...and playing with the WII with the Ferguson kiddos)
....I am Grateful for my sweet family, for my kids who tell me 100 times a day that they love me, for my Joe, who does the same, and buys me a banana shake and McRib when I was sick in bed yesterday, for my mom and dad, who love spending time with my kids and spoil them, for my mom and dad-in-law, who adore my kids, as well, and are so sharing, for my sisters, who are great aunties and sisters to me, for my nieces and nephews, especially Maddie, who I wish we hung out with more...:-) and for my great sister and brothers-in-law....I am a lucky girl! Not to mention all my great friends....oh I could go on...just counting my blessings.

Thanksgiving is almost here!

What are YOU thankful for???? Here are some images of late...my garland I made for the mantel...I didn't end finishing it, but I like how it looks anyway...my button flower art for Kendall's room...the GREAT saying on my Starbucks...the awesome log cabin that Joe and Spencer created for his class project...so grateful for my family and my sweet Joe, who is the best! Count your blessings today!

Merry {Shutterfly} Christmas

So every year, I have used Costco for my Christmas cards, and I have been satisfied. And then every year, I get so many cute cards from friends and family, and the majority of the ones I end up loving are from Shutterfly: http://www.shutterfly.com/. So this year, I am using Shutterfly. I am excited to try their cards: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery! I've always been a big fan of their picture developing (love the bright colors!), so can't wait to design my cards (now I just need to find or take the right pictures!). There are a ton of cute designs, and I really like that I can share more than one picture on the cards. Come on now, admit it, the picture cards are your favorite Christmas cards, too, right? I have to admit, I am a bit disappointed when I get a regular card now. I even started putting together scrapbook pages of the cards I receive so over the years I can see my family and friends change and grow. (Don't remind me that I'm only on the year 2004...haha!).

I'm also thinking of using Shutterfly for Christmas gifts....check out these cool things:
Calendars: http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars
Photo Gifts: http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts Thinking my Dad (and Joe's Dad) need a mouse pad of his grandkids for work!

Here are a few of my favs....maybe you will be receiving one of these adorable cards from me in the next 47 days! Ahhhhh.....

Mongrammed Card: (Isn't it darling? I love monograms and using several photos!)
Sharing the news/love (SO cute, and a good way to also share family news without writing a full on letter!)

So, what do you think? Where are YOU getting your Christmas cards from??? If you are a fellow blogger, you can try Shutterfly and get FREE cards??? Here's how: http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/

My Pumpkins

We finally hit the patch...the day before Halloween! Where did October go??? I really like some of these pics. I am about to get a new camera, just waiting for my insurance check, and can't wait to be playing with my new toy. Watch for a post later today on Christmas cards...did someone say Christmas cards?!? Yes, folks, there are only 47 days until Christmas!

Good news

Lots of good news to share...the first is that I am going to be an aunt again...yes, Jenny is pregnant! Whoo-hooo! And DUE on my birthday! :-) What a great gift! We are so excited for you and seriously bummed we are so far away....but she is sending me belly pics so I see her progress.
The second is that I am getting a new camera! Good news for you, too....since I will be able to blog and share more! My camera lens cracked last summer, and at first I was told that my lens would be replaced (gotta love insurance), but the camera was having issues and every picture was ending up so blurry, so they reevaluated my camera and determined that it would cost more to fix than to replace, so I am just waiting for the check now! I am trying to decide to upgrade to a newer Nikon or switch to a Canon Rebel...dilemma, dilemma...
So until I can start posting our creative endeavors around here...here are some postings I have bookmarked lately...
Cute canvas paintings that we can do!
Blessings Board (can't wait to make this!)
I made these! Cute pumpkins from guess what...

Happy Saturday!

Well...hello, my friends!

Hello! I'm back...I know I have neglected my poor sweet blog...life has been crazy...between starting school and homework for 2 kids...and my own classwork (SO happy to be in 3rd again!) and lots of drama at school and just life....BUT I haven been thinking about my blog and decided to change it up a bit. I love love love browsing on crafty blog, seeing all the pretty things I'll never have time to make, BUT I have tried to do more crafty projects lately. I really need to get MORE creative with my life. So, I thought I'd share what I have found and what I am doing to be more creative in my life...as wel las my children's lives. They love creating, too. Nothing creative to post today...but sharing some recent pics of our fall days. Cooper is finishing up his first season of soccer, U6, and loves it! Spencer is finishing up his first season of Splashball (Jr water polo) and loves it, too! Kendall is just being her sweet self...talking up a storm and telling me her feelings now. "Mommy, I happy!" she likes to say. I love it! Happy October!

Soccer Season

So...here I am...fianlly giving my ole blog some love! Between work and home and life and my camera being semi out of commission..only my zoom lens works and waiting for my insurance check for it...and trying to decide to just buy a lens or upgrade my camera...hmmm.any thoughts??? So...without further ado, soccer season is upon us and Cooper is playing U6 this year and LOVING it! He played his first game on Saturday, played goalie and forward and was good! We had so much fun cheering for him! I think soccer is his sport. Plus, Daddy is a coach, so he gets lots of daddy time!
Spencer is playing splashball (jr water polo). Anything water related, he loves! I need to bring my camera down for that.
Everyone else is fine! So happy that fall is right around the corner...pumpkin patch, Halloween, cooler weather...I always forget how much I love fall until it comes! Happy (almost) Fall to you!

Why hello there...

...long time no write! Time is busy, life is crazy, I'm back to work, blah blah blah...:-)
The boys are enjoying school....Spencer adores 2nd grade and is HAPPY that mom is back on his campus! Cooper is meeting all kinds of new friends in kinder, and he's apparently very quiet in class! He will soon be sporting glasses..my poor boy got his mama's blind as a bat eyes. But won't he look adorable??? Kendall is talking up a storm, counting to ten, being as cute and sweet as ever, and happy to be back to Miss Michelle's 4 days a week. One day is Grandma Day. The pictures of our first day are not great...my camera is still broken...ugh...so we borrowed a camera, but I had the wrong settings on and missed my great shots. Oh well, gotta start playing with photoshop more!
Anyway, Joe's newest venture is on and he's doing well: www.mercedapartments.net. Your one stop shop for your apartment shopping. New apartments are being added almost daily, and then soon the sponsors will be added. He's already got the next website purchased and planned. I'm proud of him!

Another EW Review

I almost hate to post this review....Julie, don't be annoyed with me! However, there is a reason why i usually don't like the books on the recommended list...like Oprah's...I get very wrapped up in my books and I am a sucker for happy endings (though, to be honest, not all of my fav books have happy endings....). Anyway, I read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I read another book by the author and didn't like it. But I was pleasantly surprised! It's the story of a young girl, Rose, who discovers she has a gift at the age of 9...she can taste feelings in the food she eats...the feelings of whoever prepared it. She can even figure out where some of the ingredients came from. She realizes things about her family through, especially her mother. She discovers her mother is not happy with life. This gift is all consuming, and it affects her life at school and at home. As she grows older, she discovers her brother may have a gift, too. This is where the book got weird for me! I didn't really like the last 1/3 of the story. I enjoyed Rose as a character, and wanted to adopt her and shield her from the "gift". I liked that it was set in LA because I recognized where they were located. So, to sum up, I liked it more that I thought I would, but the ending really through me for a loop, and I was very confused! So....I get sick of chick lit, but then annoyed by books that are "too smart"? I am all over the place when it comes to reading! Hahaha!
Anyway...pics to come of our adventures in Yosemite and San Diego...

Book Review

So, here's my first review for the EW Summer Reading Challenge at www.bookingmama.com.

I read Half Life by Roopa Farooki.
Hmmm...well, it's the story of 2 good friends who reconnect after 2 years apart. It's told in present tense and in flashbacks, and also through different characters' eyes (which made it very interesting). I couldn't stop reading it, very easy to read, but when I finished, I realized that I didn't really like the book! I couldn't stand the main female character, Aruna! I didn't like any of the choices she made, and she was a true b*tch! She treated the men in the story horribly, but they adored her! I know she was seriously flawed because of her life experiences, but it didn't endear me to her at all. I liked the male characters much better, especially Jazz. The storyline was intriguing, and not what I expected at all. However, there were a few loose ends that were never answered for me, and the ending was terribly sad (in my opinion). It's not that I don't mind sad endings...love Kate Morton's books...but this ending didn't work for me...I did enjoy that it was about a different culture: Singapore, India (love reading books like that), but out of four stars, I would give it one. That being said, I liked the writing style, and I would read another book by this author!

Summer highlights so far...

So what have we been up to???

Swimming...in Steph's pool, at the club (thanks to swim lesson and tennis), anywhere we can! Except poor Spencer now has swimmer's ear, so he's out of commission until at least Wednesday...
Cooper decided he loves the pool, and is about to start week 4 of swim lessons! We'll make him a swimmer soon!
This one loves the water, too, and can't wait to start swim lessons next summer...though I have a feeling she'd do fine this summer!
Cooper finished his first t-ball season. Daddy helped out, which Cooper loved!

Joe and I spent a weekend away...the highlight was a show at PCPA's outdoor theatre in Solvang!
Spencer took tennis lessons and fell in love with tennis! He wants to take another session this summer...we'll see!
Summer school...OK, so honestly I am a summer school drop out...,but we are still working in their workbooks, reading tons of books, doing the summer reading program at the library and Barnes and Noble, taking walks, and lots and lots of play! And we know how important play truly is! One look at my living room/playroom and you'll see trains, little people, cars, legos, markers, play food...i love how the boys are playing and getting along (mostly)...so I thik they are having a good summer and learning! But we are trying to take "field trips"...here we went to an organic dairy farm. The kids had a blast!

Cooper picked those pose...hahaha, my little model!
That's it for now...going to play!

10 years ago...

...Joe and I were married today! It was a great day, full of fun and family and friends....can't believe it has been 10 years since that day...and now we have our wonderful family...I love you, Joe!