new shoes...

Cooper got his first pair of new shoes! We went to the cutest boutique, the owner is sooo sweet (vicki, I'll take you when you guys come up next!). They were out of size 4 in the shoes I really wanted, so she got on the phone to order more from the company, but I didn't want to wait so I picked another pair. They are so cute! Very fall-like...you can see the pics. In one of the pics, doesn't my baby look soooo old! Waaaah! (Edited to add, my links aren't working today...hmmm, but if you want to check out the shoes, they are See Kai Run style "Diego" at www.seekairun.com)

Summer's here!

Summer Hayes, baby of my friends Colleen & Chris, was born last night! Yay! I just got the news via a friend, but I had to post. Her big brother is Turner, 2. He must be so happy!
Congrats, Hayes Family!

Tagged

So Sally tagged me...what are 10 random songs that would come up on your ipod?
Well, I do not own an ipod (and that's OK with me, even though I know almost everyone owns one now...), but if I did, here are 10 songs that would come up on mine (from my itunes downloads and CD collection):
1. Dani California...Red Hot Chili Peppers
2. Mama's Room...Under the Influence of Giants (know this band! :-))
3. Feel Good Inc...Gorillaz
4. Stars are Blind...Paris Hilton (I know, I know, but I am a sucker for reggae/ska songs...)
5. Dancing Queen...Abba
6. Riley Jo...Hometown Hero (now they are band #2 above..)
7. Jane Fonda...Mickey Avalon
8. Lilian...Depeche Mode
9. Home...Coldplay
10. Copacabana...Barry Manilow (have I ever told you I got to stay up late in kindergarten to watch his concerts on TV, is that weird? Was I just a precocious child?)

OK, so I am tagging....Brian, Vicki, (fellow bloggers) and my other readers...send me your 10 random Ipod songs...tell me in the comments. :-) Get a blog! It's free, Kim, you KNOW your family and friends would love to see pics of the new baby girl as she grows...and Robin, you too, your LA family and friends would LOVE to keep posted on Morgan and Justin's lives....

where oh where does time go

OOPS, forgot to turn pic sideways...my boys fingerpainting outside!!!

Ok, where did the summer go? What was on my list again? Did I accomplish it? Noooo....BUT I did get Spencer potty trained, part way...he is trained enough for school, even naps in undies. So that's good. Still have to paint the front rooms, but we did pick a paint color...greystone from Kelly-Moore. We'll go pick up the paint tomorrow. You can see the actual color in the photos of Kim at her shower. I loved the paint color and asked Jen, the owner of the house, for the color. Did a lot of cleaning around the house, LOTS of papers cleared out, ready for the shredder. Even had a garage sale yesterday. Just sold junk, junk that Joe was ready to haul off to the dump. But I made about $76 in junk! Yesss!
Garage sales are weird, though. Should I be offended when someone pulls up, looks from inside the car, and drives away? Do they not want my junk??? One lady yelled out in joy when she saw the VHS version of The Birdcage. She said she had been looking for it! Ha! So, now there are only a few boxes ready to be carted off to la dump.
I have also started ebaying stuff and making some moola! I made almost $30 in shabby chic books (living with 3 boys has made me give up on my dream of a shabby chic home). Now selling a figurine and an oil lamp that has been in the box since a student gave it to me about 5 years ago (shhh, don't tell, it was nice thought)...so have a nice little chunk in my paypal account and have bought a few things for the boys, a wall grille for me, a book, some scrapbook supplies, and am bidding on some fall clothes for Spence. Joe loves it!
Ok, better go, my little man just woke up and is rooting around the doughnuts from this morning's doughnut run with Daddy. So long, healthy snack!

Baby Girl

Here's a pic of our newest member of the Brown clan, isn't she a cutie? She was grimacing because my camera has the worst strobe flash...a good reason for a new camera, right??? (Hint, Joe!) I have a cuter pic, but it shows her mommy in it, and I'm not sure Amber wants a pic of herself a few hours after giving birth on my blog! Ha!

Sally, I know you tagged me...

Sally, I know I was tagged...how fun! I will add my response later and tag others...watch out!

New baby, hot, and smarty alert!

OK, first congrats to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law on the birth of their baby girl, Panacea, this morning in Sacramento. She is welcomed by her big brother Tyler, 2. We're going up later today to see them. :-) The picture posted today is Spencer and Tyler last summer. Sorry it is kinda blurry, I think I need to get more pics of Tyler!

TOO HOT here still...we're breaking all kinds of records, it's been 110+ for over a week now. You open the front door and feel like you are walking into an oven. We can't do much of anything and the boys are getting cabin fever. Good thing our vacation to San Diego is coming up soon. We can't even swim because the water is so warm, it's not refreshing at all. Yuck...

Last, a shameless mommy brag, I don't want to be THAT kind of mom, but hey, I know my relatives are reading this (Hi!), so I'll post it. Others, you can leave now. :-) Spence was eating breakfast this mornig and playing with some alphabet magnets. He picked up the P and said, "P-p-p popcorn!" So, I picked up a few others, "R-M-O-B-E" and he correctly identified them! Go, Spence! I will ADD that his Leapfrog ABC Phonics DVD is his favorite movie right, so he is learning through that. I did attempt to pull out the flashcards (hey, I am a teacher after all), but he wasn't interested. He was more interested in napping with them, so maybe osmosis??? Hee-hee....
Stay cool and hope your summer is going well.

SO HOT>>>>>>>>>and scrapbooking

Whooo-hooo, it is H.O.T here...omigosh...it was 103 on our way to church at 10:30 and 111 on our way home from the grocery store at 1:00....it's like an oven out there. We are staying in, with the air blasting, the boys in diapers and undies....what about you? Are you roasting, too???

OK, so more of my friends are starting scrapbooking (i.e. Kim!), and I wanted to post about a fabulous book you need to get if you are a scrapper. It's not really a "layout" book, though it does have many examples, it's more of a theory. When I started scrapping, I had to go in order and had ro scrapp all the big moments in Spencer's life. That's probably why his first year takes up 2 overstuffed albums! And heck no, he is NOT taking it with him when he's older...unless I REALLY like his wife! BUT, now that I have Coop, and our family, and our house, and life, and etc.etc to scrap, I am soooo far behind. So I read Stacy Julian's The Big Picture Scrapbooking, she also has a website here. It totally freed me up from the "so behind" mentality. She suggests scrapbooking what you want to, telling your stories, and just putting them in albums that are not chronological, but topical: Birthdays, Our Town, Where We Go, What We Do, Our friends, etc...even for the kids once they start school, have a School of Life album that does 4 pages a year and includes going-ons from that year, not just school related. That is the album her kids will take when they move out. I love it! She also stresses how the story is the important thing...we want to remember stories, not how pretty that paper was. I am working on my journaling. I want Coop to know what his favorite food are and how he loves to climb everything and started crawling backwards first. I want Spence to know what his favorite books were at age 2 and how he is fascinated by aliens right now and how he remembers how to get everywhere (very good at directions!). Sooo, anyway, that's my little commercial for her book. Read it, you'll be happy and feel better about feeling behind. OK, so I am only about 7 pages into Cooper's first year album, but that's OK. I'll get there. I am working on a Halloween 6X6 album of their costumes and the stories behind them and just finished "Our House" album of the building and moving in. So, check it out....

High aspirations

So this morning as Spence is watching the garbage truck pick up the trash, he turns to me and says, "Mommy, when I get bigger, I am going to drive the garbage truck! When I get a little bigger!" So much for the doctor's kit ("Don't you love helping people, Spence?") and playing producer with the cell phone and coffee (that would be Daddy's pick!). Hee-hee...gotta love 'em!

On the bright side, he is wearing underwear most of the time...even to storytime at the library today! We had our first "visit a public restroom" experience...very lovely with Spence and Coop, who is into everything! Pic is of Spence and Jake. BFF.

POOL TIME

screensuckers and other thoughts

Ok, so a few months ago I read an article about organizing your life. One of the things it talked about was "screensuckers"...spending time on the computer and in front of the TV. Me, totally guilty! yes, I could be cleaning, organizing my cave of a closet, etc, etc....but I am sucked in by the lure of the glow of a screen....I am cutting down my TV time (I am actually not a big TV person, but can sit and watch House Hunters and Grey's Anatomy and of course some reality TV)and try not to check out blogs every day!
But I have been checking on my ebay accounts (3 auctions going on right now, 1 item I have bid on, 15 hours to go....) and trying to catch up on old emails for about the last half hour. I need to get off and go do laundry and scrap...trying to finish my "Our House" scrapbook. Do you get sucked in, too????
I also read in that same article that "organizing" is the "new dieting". Everyone is doing it and there are all kinds of products and books on the market about it. Here and here are two of my fav websites about it.
Ok, so I'm turning off the computer and doing something else....
The pic is of my 3 boys earlier this month because I HAVE to post a pic. :-)

Kim...too cute!

I went to my friend Kim's baby shower last weekend (she's also one of my blog readers...hi Kim!). She looks so adorable! She is one of those pregnant people who look like they stuck a basketball under their shirt, everything else remains the same. To be honest, I wanted to think of myself like that, but I look at pics of pregnant me and see the puffed up cheeks, for one. But Kim, even her face is same, too! Too cute!! :-) I am so excited for her to be a mom. She will be great! August 15 will be here before we know it!
Joe and I also went away last weekend. It was nice. Our wake up call was for 11 AM. In our life-before-kids, Joe and I were known for sleeping in. Sadly, I still woke up about 8, but I made myself lay in bed until 11. It was nice!
Happy Friday!

Life in Oregon

So some good friends of ours moved to the Portland, Oregon area and Nicole started a blog of her experiences. She is a writer, an amazing one, and I love reading her posts. Go check it out! Oregon sounds like an interesting place to live, but until Nicole and her husband started talking about it, I never really wanted to move there. Now Portland is on our "must check out list" of where to maybe move next. The pic is of Nic and her family.
Next post...pix of a pregnant Kim!

Summer TV...

Hmm...finally enjoying me some summer TV! They are showing Season 1 of Grey's Anatomy on Thursdays, as well as on Sundays! Watched the first 2 episodes last night. They look so young...ha, it was only a year ago!
Also, Big Brother All Stars started last night! I used to be a sucker for reality TV. Survivor, The Mole, Real World...you name it, we watched it. But I have slowly weaned myself off of it. OK, I may watch an occasional episode of Real World (or The Hills, the new show I am sucked into...it's not that interesting, but I can't stop watching!). BUT Joe and I love Big Bro! It's so bad it's good! This summer they brought back old players. We were able to just jump right into watching, since we already knew the players. I hate Alison....ugh, but she's up for eviction already...heehee...check it out, it will be on 3 nights a week (!!!), so you can actually have something to watch this summer. Anyone else out there BB fans????

New baby!!!! Joe's uncle, Mike, and his wife Holly just welcomed baby Aidan last night in Santa Barbara! Congrats! I can't wait to see the newest baby cousin. More babies to come this month...my friend Colleen is due at the end of the month and my sister-in-law Amber is due Aug. 1st. Babies!!!!! :-)

Tomorrow is Joe and my 6th anniversary (6 years of marriage, 11 years together). We are going to the Bay area for my friend Kim's baby shower and then a night away without kids. My first night away from Coop. A little nervous...

whew, what a week

We've been so busy, having so many friends and my sister and Justin in town for the last few days. Sleep, what is that??? We've had 3 BBQ's and a dinner at my parents during the last 4 days. It was weird just to eat dinner with the 4 of us tonight. I am sad that we are returning back to normal. I have a hard time with some changes. I can get very emotional. When I went to sleepovers or hosted a sleepover when I was younger, I was always moody and sad afterwards. Now I am feeling sad as I walk by the empty office where Jen, Just, and the 2 dogs slept. Coop walked into the room after he woke up from his nap and was saying "Da, Da!", looking for the dogs. That kids loves animals! He is never frightened, either, big dogs, little dogs, whatever. Yes, he is officially a walker now! We are going to buy his first pair of big boy shoes this week. Time to move on from the Robeez.
Now my 3 boys are asleep, and I am doing some cleaning. Some. I am tired.
But I wanted to post some pics because I know a few people will be excited to see them. The first is Spence and Jake waiting for the fireworks show to begin. The 2nd is my sis and mom. The 3rd is Coop excited with his cupcake, and the 4th is the shot of our firework cache. Whew, we had a lot. We spent the evening at my in-law's and had a BBQ and many friends joined in on the fun. Jenny, I couldn;t figure out how to pull up your camera pics for my blog! I will keep trying. She got some AWESOME pics with her new camera! Hope you had a great holiday, too!

Happy Fourth!!!!

Happy 4th of July to you! God bless our wonderful country, with all the freedoms we have to enjoy!
We had an early get together at our friend Steph's house on Sunday night and it was so much fun to get together with the "Merced Gang" (minus one). I am posting a pic of all of us and our kiddos. Steph is in front, then Joe and me, then in back are Chip and Vicki (who are expecting their first baby in Jan.!) and the Fergusons, Brian and Kelli (and their four kids: Ali, Brennah, Corbin and Macy). The original group was Steph, me, Joe, Chip, Brian, and Ryan. Now we get together only a few times a year because we're all spread out: us here, Steph in San Francisco, the Fergusons in Tennessee, and Chip and Vicki in LA. Ryan lives in LA, too. What fun time we have had and will continue to have! You enjoy your day, too! :-)

music

Isn't it funny how some songs just bring back so many memories? Driving today, I heard three songs that brought back memories that were so strong I could picture the tiniest details. The first was "Hotel California", which made me remember the drive to Palm Springs with Robin, Cynthia, Amy, and Michelle for Spring Break freshman year. I can recall the quiet road, the song we were all singing and philosophizing about (what does that song really mean? Years later, I heard it was written about the mental hospital in Camarillo, now CSU Channel Islands, where I took some summer writing classes, now that brings back other, slightly freaky memories....). I can picture the red jeep we were in, so excited to be on our first college spring break!
The second song was "Blister in the Sun" by the Violent Femmes. I could instantly picture myself walking down an Isla Vista street late at night. It was cold and we girls were singing that song as loudly as we could, linking arms and laughing. Ah, college life!
The last song that brough back such strong feelings was "Home" by Coldplay. I remember sitting on the rocking chair in the Tarzana hospital nursery, rocking my 4 day old baby Spence, hoping that we could take finally take him home after a horrible hospital mix-up (not the baby, the lab work!). I can picture the striped wallpaper, and hear the nurses chatting with each other as they rocked and fed and changed tiny babies. I sang the part about home to Spence, and was so thrilled that only an hour or so later, he was released! Wow, the power of music...
SOOOO excited to see friends this weekend that some we haven't seen in a long time...Brian, Chip, Vicki, and Steph! Yay!
Pic is of Spencer and Jake, his cousin and buddy in crime!

that's life

Did you hear how the govt. is thinking of getting rid of the penny? I guess they have to make more pennies than any other coin because people stash in. If I see a penny laying around the house, I usually leave it in whatever drawer, closet, purse I find it in. But if it is a quarter, I snatch it up (or Spence does and puts it in his piggy bank). New Zealand apparently did away with the penny, and everything is going fine without it. Merchants just adjust prices slighty, in fact, to the consumers' benefit. Hmmm...I also heard KFed (Kevin Federline, Mr. Britney Spears, a fellow Central Californian, I don't really like claiming that!) is on a mission to save the penny (and his career)! Hee-hee
Summer is trucking along...3 weeks into my summer break. Spence had and loved swim lessons, we're slowly working on potty training, playing, playing and swimming...Cooper is taking more steps now. He is pretty cautious, not like his danger ranger older brother.
HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY to my little sis Jenny! She had a great day yesterday partying out in LA and then spending time with her hubby back home in San Diego. She got THE camera I want for her birthday! Lucky gal! :-) CAN'T wait to see her this weekend! She and Just are coming up! Then we are going there in July to visit her and the San Diego Zoo. Spencer needs to see some real animals. He wants to see the elephants and the snakes.
The pics today are:.. one of the Daddy Pics photos (spell out DADDY and put into a picture frame). And one of the birthday girl with her prince charming at Buca de Beppo when we visited in April. Love ya, Jenny!

Bad blogger and boys' update

Ok, bad blogger...lagging on the blog...we have been soooo busy...My boys had their 1 and 3 year dr. appts, then Spence had a dentist visit and an eye doctor visit. We are caught up for at least 6 months! :-) Spence finished his swim lessons this week, too. He loved them! We have been doing stuff around the house, putting up a ceiling fan, getting concrete along the side of the house, and getting an estimate for hardwood in our family room. Now that we have been here a year, it is time to make some changes. It's very exciting!

Spence is a total crack up now...the things he says. "Mommy, our house is beautiful", "Let me think about it" (when he is getting in trouble, he'll sit down, fold his arms and say this), hmm...what else, I know he is cracking us up all day, I need to keep my journal out all the time to capture these funny moments.
Coop is starting to walk. He's not that interested. He can walk, but he prefers to crawl and he is fast! He is waving bye to everyone and "talking" a lot more. He calls Joe "da". He is starting to rough house with his daddy and brother and becoming more of a daddy's boy. My cute kiddos....love them!
I'll leave you with a few pics of Cooper's party...

almost 1

can't believe it...has it already been a year??? On one hand, it flew by, how did he get soooo big? My baby??? On the other hand, it seems like he has always been here....always been a part of our family. My Cooper...happy happy birthday (almost) dear boy....He's not quite walking, but taking steps. Yesterday he took 4 steps at a playdate, and wow, were the other mommies impressed! :-)
Spence started swim lessons this week and is a fish! He is so cute! He sticks his head in very well, but has a hard time keeping his legs still. He just wants to kick, "look, mommy, I'm swimming!" he cheers.
How's your summer going?????

birthday party fun

Spencer had his 3 year old birthday party today! Fun! We had a tour of the fire station and then played at the park next door. I think everyone enjoyed it. 12 little kids in their cute hats...I share some pictures for your enjoyment (especially the aunties that couldn't be here....) Thanks to Grandma for the cake! :-)

1 more...

Ok, I have a 10B. too, maybe the most important one...potty training! Sounds fun, huh???
Hee-hee....
Thanks, Sally, for being so quick on your list! Vicki, gotta update!!!! You have a pretty cool pic you could post....

Ten on Tuesday

There's this site called Ten on Tuesday for bloggers. Every Tuesday they mail you a blog starter. I have been getting them for weeks and seeing them on other blogs, so I thought I would start today. Basically I answer on my blog for your reading pleasure (lucky you!) and then I'll "tag" blogging friends and they have to answer on their blogs! Go!
Ten on Tuesday: Ten Plans for the Summer
1. Clean our room very well
2. Swim lessons for Spence (starting next week!)
3. Paint the office (painting again...ugh....i think i can, i think i can...)
4. Find a bed for Spencer
5. Get the concrete done on the side of the house
6. Get hardwood floors in the family room (okay, maybe just an estimate...)
7. CLEAN up and organize my scrapbook area
8. Take several day trips (Yosemite, SF, Monterey)
9. Take a trip to LA to see my SoCal friends and babies
10. Sell my car!!!!
Does that sound like a good summer or what? Where's the beach time? Pool time? Hmmm....
Ok, I'm tagging...
brian, vicki, sally.....ok, are those my only blogging friends? Did I miss anyone?

hellooo

Hi all...Hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend. Remember the soldiers that are risking their lives for us, and then many that died for our liberty. What a blessing to be an American. Even with all the stuff that goes on in our country, we are lucky to have our freedoms and the freedom to blog! So, what are you waiting for...jump on the blogwagon....

Spencer is getting over a virus, yet again! He has been sick a lot this year? Daycare? The bad air quality here? Or his gym??? Joe thinks it is his gym where he takes the Tot tumbling class. It's not a clean fancy Gymboree gym (we miss that...that was Spencer's first gym), but a real, old, musty gym that he absolutely loves. "Nastics" is what he calls it. But he takes a mid week class and has been coming down with several things this year on the weekend, so maybe it is the gym. This past weekend he had sores all over the edges of his tongue that were very painful and he couldn't really eat. Poor baby...he would wake up crying, too. So, needless to say, only Coop slept great this weekend. He is doing better today. We even went to a BBQ at some friends' house and he played with his friend Aiden. So, maybe we should say goodbye to the gym...
1 last week of school for me....yippeee....sorry 5th graders, time for you to move on...hey hey hey, goodbye...nananana, nananana, hey, hey, hey goodbye....
the pics above are Spence visiting the ranch. The Andersons are some of Grandma's friends. Being the outdoor lover he is, he LOVED it. Especially the horses!

Prayers needed

Mamas...and Daddies, hold your kids a little tighter right now...A leader in my MOPS group and a good friend of Joe's from high school has had a very rough week. Her 3 year old daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor this week. The first news they were given was very horrible: surgery wouldn't work, and her prognosis was 2-18 months....can you believe that? I can't even imagine how they felt. BUT MANY prayers were prayed, many hearts were touched and HOPE is here. They were told at UCSF today that it may not be terminal. This was not yet confirmed, I actually heard it from someone who heard it from someone this very evening, and I am waiting for Erin's email to confirm this, I will keep you posted. But if you could pray for Callahan and for her family and for God's healing on her. She is a bright, cute, spunky girl who is well loved by all who know her. Thank you....and go kiss your kids and be reminded what a BLESSING they are to us. Even when they awake at 5:15 in the morning when you went to bed at 1AM, even when you change a million poopy diapers a day, they are a GIFT from God. A precious gift....
Speaking of gifts, check out Sally's blog www.bountystwins.blogspot.com and see her two adorable twin girls (as well as Sally's digital scrapbooking...go girl!). AND totally off topic, but...if you LOVE Grey's Anatomy (wanna chat about the finale...the tears...), check out the blog of the writers at www.greyswriters.com It's so interesting to hear their thoughts.
God bless you! :-)

ramblings again

Happy Mother's Day to the moms out there! And moms to be...:-) Lots of pregnant friends right now...lovin' it! Can't wait to see Kim's big belly soon! We had brunch this morning and then breakfast again at my mom's house. Meg was in town, so it was great to see her. We didn't get to hang out much because she was only here for a short time, so next time we'll have to do lunch. We have our next Mother's Day activity in a little bit. My 3 boys are napping.
Ok, so I got my new driver's license picture and it is horrible! Can I have a redo???? I went to the DMV a few weeks ago and literally rolled out of bed, dropped the boys at their babysitter's house and braved the DMV line. I was actually only there for a half hour...miracle! BUT I forgot I needed a new pic....Oh well...I mean it is truly horrible. My hair is pulled back in a ponytail so I look like I have a very short crop. Ewww....
Ok, nnot much to say...sorry I am boring...but maybe happy belated birthday to ME! Can I say that? I had a birthday, a very regular, not too exciting day. My class made me a card and my teaching partner got me flowers and a cake....she is awesome! We had dinner with the whole fam at Cindy & Charlie's. I had 2 cakes...actually 3 if you count my classroom cake! Wow! I don't think I've ever had that many! Yummy yummy....

Life

Congrats to Robin & Peter as they welcomed Baby Morgan on Cinco de Mayo! She's a petite one, at 5 pounds...can't wait to see pictures! :-) Happy early birthday to the proud mama Robin, too! What a week for you...
It's MY birthday week, too! Busy one...Joe starts sailing lessons on Monday, I have Open House at school on Thursday and we are all getting together for my birthday dinner on Tuesday. May is racing by...playdates, a wedding, lessons, work, birthdays, gymnastics, MOPS. Speaking of MOPS, any local mamas reading this, next fall there will be MOPS in the evening, Thursdays from 6:30-8:30. I am getting involved, but trying to decide how involved I want to be. I am trying to think simplicity as I plan my life, but it's hard to cut stuff out. Next fall Spence will stop going to gymnastics. He'll have pre-school daily. I have a weekly Bible study and MOPS (weekly or bi-weekly, depending on the involvement), and bi-weekly pre-school for me. The Parent Pre-school Spencer will be attending requires a parent to be there one day a week, helping, as well as planning activities once or twice a semester and several evening meetings. Joe and I are going to take turns being there. I LOVE that his job is so flexible.
Are you bored reading about me??? Enough....
Happy National Scrapbooking Day! In honor of it, I think I'll post some of my scrapbook pages this week. I just finished a page on "Brotherly Love". It's cute (though I totally scraplifted! shhh).
Have a great weekend! No, we don't have a cat, but this cat has adopted us. Spencer named her George last fall and he sleeps in our backyard and is always hanging around the house. She is a good cat, and listens (like a dog). She's so good to Spence, who sometimes can't help himself and pulls her tail!

Cuties

Aren't they tooo cute...Coop is perfecting his "I'm so cute" look and Spencer actually smiled (!!!) at the camera! Loving it! :-)

what a weekend

Did that weekend fly by, or was it just me??? We had the Cancer Walk for Life in town this weekend and I took the boys in the morning to walk with their Grandpa, who is a proud cancer survivor. Go, DAD! It was amazing to see the survivors walking in their purple shirts. It makes you realize how much cancer affects our lives. Then, that evening, around midnight, my mom and I went to walk with dad again and see the luminarias set up. So beautiful! My parents had purchased one in memory of my cousin Jimmy, who passed away over 10 years ago. Jimmy was a great guy. He was about 6-10 years older than me (how much really, mom?). I remember seeing him when he was sick and he had come out to visit. He was so strong and brave, and had a wonderful attitude. I just can picture him sitting on the beach in Carmel, smiling. He had a gift for art and advertising. He had showed me some ads he had drawn, and I remember being very impressed. Jimmy, I miss you. I know you are with Grandma now, smiling down on us.
Next year I think I want to get more involved and walk more myself. What about you? How can you get involved? What has affected your life? I have always wanted to do the breast cancer walk, too. Hey, Vicki, maybe we can do it together sometime. I think you had talked about it once, too.
Anyway, it really makes me appreciate what I have. I am posting some pics of my two precious boys (of course). :-) Thinking of you, Robin, as you wait for your little girl to come this week. Your precious, petite, sweet baby girl! Happy Birthday to Maddie this week, as she moves into the double digits! Wow, i remember being at the hospital when she was born.
Finally warm here! Actually, very warm. We skipped the spring :-( But, Ok, yes, I am ready for capris and shorts! My boys' legs are so cute in their little shorts, playing in the sandbox. Coop loves sand (loves to eat it, too), but hates grass. Spencer loves it all. He can be found running down the sidewalk, skipping over the grass, on his belly, looking for bugs and snails, and happily taking a bike ride with Daddy. "Mama, we went in tunnels and over bridges and to the park!" he says, excited. I am fearful of riding with my child on my bike. I am not the best rider, so Joe will have to do the carrying in the bike seat. Coop will have to settle for the jogger, and maybe I'll dust off my rollarblades and go out like that!

Cool things (websites, books)

Ok, check out these sites:
www.chocolatecakecity.com for a movie trailer of "Brokeback to the Future". Hilarious!

And then for the "Sleepless..." fans there's pyscho "Sleepless..." at www.tomatopatch.com/films/sleppless.htm

Also, for my friends expecting their second child or with 2 kiddos, or even your first one, read "Waiting for Birdy" by Catherine Newman. It's great! It's a memoir type book and I was soooo glad to see she feels the same way as me sometimes. It's a bargain book at Amazon right now (4.95, I think), if you are interested. Also, check out my wish list at amazon, it's got some great titles I will be adding to my library. Mommy books, art books, food books, Christian parenting books, fiction books...
I miss reading, I really do. I was the biggest reader! Before I had kids, I could easily read a book in a day or 2. Since I have had 2 kids, I haven't read much lately. Magazines, blogs, news online, picture books to my boys, that's about it. I MISS it. I am going to try to read more. Re-activate the ole library card. I can't wait for summer! The boys can play in the backyard and I can maybe sit out there and READ. (And what a good model for my kids, too...:-))
OK, what are you reading right now??? Tell me so I can add it to my list!

oops...spelling

yes, I am a teacher....sorry, I meant rain boots! Oops!

Pictures...

Here's our Easter pic and my little man mowing the lawn. Don't you love his fashion sense? Rainboats and shorts! :-) To be a kid....ahhh, the life....

Spring Break

OK, we're home after a fun trip to San Diego! It was great! Mom, me, and the two boys drove down to stay at Jenny & Justin's new place. What a cute place! Perfect location, too. We went to the beach, shopped (oh the shopping....), hung out, went to dinner, had a Santana's burrito (the best!!), took walks, went swimming, played with the 2 adorable dogs, Zero and Dahlia,what else? Spence is a great traveler. He was so good all week. Perfect in the car, good sleeper, friendly, cute...Coop was good, too, but being a creature of habit, he had a hard time adjusting to sleeping in the Pack-n-Play. Give him his crib and he's good to go. But no such luck without it. But he managed (after being rocked to sleep most of the time by his lucky grandma).
We were so sad to leave. Spence, "Mama, I want to live in San Diego (pronounced San Aygo). I want to MOVE to San Diego!" I said, "Talk to your Daddy."
We also went to Pasadena to visit my grandma and Uncle Imre. I am so glad grandma got to see my boys. I hadn't been to see her in over a year...yikes! I really wanted her to meet Cooper. She has a way with babies. He loved her. Spence was so cute, helping her out of bed and all. It was a nice visit.
Now we are home and whew, I need a vacation! Laundry is going and I need a long sleep. I took the boys to their babysitter's house this morning and slept! Felt so good. But I need more.
Posting pics of our Easter Morning. We went to church with the our two moms and over to Grammy's for an Easter Egg hunt (indoors...boo, more rain!) with the cousins and then to my mom's for dinner before leaving on our big trip.
I'll post pics of the SD trip when I get them. Unfortunately, we are a 1 camera family still. Joe needs the digital for work, so I couldn't take it. We used Jenny's. I was so hoping to get a new camera, the Digital Rebel, but life happens, the assessor's tax was due, we need concrete, etc. etc., so the camera is on hold for now. Anyone wanting to contribute to the Amy Needs a Good Camera Fund can see me ASAP! hee-hee.
Have a wonderful week!
OK, pics aren't working...I'll try to post later....

I SAW a funnel cloud! (and other thoughts)

OK, first off, happy birthday to Vicki!!!! Hope you have a great day! Check out her blog at http://blog.myspace.com/vickila She hopped onto the blog bandwagon. I've checked out myspace, and wow, there are a lot of people online. Everyone has music playing and pictures and all kids of stuff. Vicki's wedding pix montage is very cool!
OK, and second, I SAW a funnel cloud!!!! We have been having crazy weather (who hasn't around the US?), and yesterday the sky was very dark. I told Joe I thought it looked like the sky in War of the Worlds. I was half expecting aliens to shoot down. hee-hee. Anyway, I was pulling out of our driveway and looked up into a grey cloud and I noticed a small funnel. I stopped the car in the middle of the road and continued to watch. It kept getting bigger and bigger (still up in the clouds), but still....I called to some of the construction workers building houses across the street from us. One came up to me and I pointed to the funnel. We both jsut watched it. My mind started racing, and I was thinking, should I run into the house, hide in the hall bathroom? My boys are at their babysitter's house! What should I do? But then, the funnel dissipated and was gone...but what a weird feeling! And I wish I would have had my camera!!!!
Tomorrow we're heading down to San Diego. Can't wait! And tomorrow is Easter. Take time to reflect on the true meaning, on the resurrection of our Lord. God bless you!

Are these the cutest kids or what?

Had to share these shots....my Baby C is too CUTE! :-) And of course, the "the man" is adorable!

Special Visits...and other thoughts

Yay! We had some special visitors today! Our friends from TO stopped by on their way home from Oregon, Danny, Nicole, & Riley. We had a nice visit. Last time I saw Riley he was about 2 weeks old and in the hospital. Now he's a busy 1 year old with quite the passport. :-) It was great to visit with them. I miss them, and wish we could see them more often. Now they are planning a move to Portland and actually almost convinced us to go, too. The only thing that worries me is the rain...I think I am too much of a sunny weather gal, but hey, if Robin can handle it in Seattle, maybe I can, too! :-)

Leisure time...something I have been thinking of...where has it gone??? There have been so many advancements made in technology lately, but have they really made our lives easier? Now you can call anyone anywhere, anytime, email, etc....now if I drive without my phone, I feel worried. What will I do if I need someone??? In college, I used to drive the 5 hours to Santa Barbara by myself with no phone and I was fine. I took small, windy highways, too...but I survived just fine! I even had an overheating issue once, but luckily, I had a friend with me that time...even though we were clueless and thought turning on the A/C would COOL down the car. So off we drove down the 101, freezing ourselves, but convinced it would cool off the car...I think, no, I know, I am more car-savvy now. Owning my overheating lovin' Explorer taught me real quick....
But I digress, have we really made things easier, or more simple, this way? Do we really need it all? When was the last time you just sat, sat and watched some meaningless TV or read a book for fun or even stared out the window? OR if you have, did you feel guilty? Feel like you should be washing dishes, ironing, balancing the old checkbook, etc, etc...That's me. If I actually sit to watch the OC, I need to grade papers, too, or go through junk mail. Relax, people. I think we need to spend more time relaxing. It's OK to just sit. The cleaning, the bills, the other stuff will still be there. I will try to remember this, too. We Americans are on the go too much. Time has become our enemy, instead of just a clock on the wall. What do you think? Agree with me or think I am wasting your time...pun intended...or is that really a pun? whatever..... :-)

what a week...

First some happy birthday shoutouts...happy happy day to Nicole, Wendy, Holly, and Amber! These gals all have b-days this week! Hope they were great! Well, technically Amber's day is tomorrow...
DONE with the taxes...finally....my last time doing them. Next year we will have a pro do them since my dear hubby is self employed now and no taxes are taken out of his checks....yuck...guess we better start saving now! I will miss the tax returns. But it has been easy breezy, pretty much, at turbotax.
2 weeks till San Diego....can't wait! PLUS hopefully the rainy season will be over. I mean, come on, we aren't in Seattle here (sorry, Robin). hee-hee...I want to wear my capris and short shirts and sandals...it has been super rainy here.
In fact, we had a tornado watch on Tuesday! I was at school, teaching my after school science class, when the principal called me and said we had to evacuate to the cafeteria b/c of a tornado warning. We stayed in there until 3:30 when class was supposed to be done, but we would only release the kids whose parents came to pick them up. Walkers had to wait until someone got them. I of course, flew home, scanning the skies, wishing I had charged my cell phone. And actually, a funnel cloud touched down and ripped the roof off a barn on the edge of town. Our town was actually on CNN the next day! "A tornado touched down in M-". Wacky, weird weather....
OK, don't forget to change back the clocks this weekend...or, move ahead, I mean...spring forward, fall back...oh darn, you mean I am losing an hour of sleep, oh myyyy, better go to bed now.... ;

Pic above is my Baby C taking a bottle...finally! :-)

City pics of me with the boys and Maddie. And a cute one of Spence in his tunnel....

Vicki finally has a blog...yay! Can I link yours to mine, Vicki?

Hoping all is well with you all...we're recovering here from Spencer's throw-up evening last night. So there went our pre-school observation today. But he is feeling better. My poor baby, pink eye earlier this week annd then this. I missed 2 days of work, but that's OK. :-) it's spring time and my 5th graders have speing fever. 3 more weeks until spring break and San Diego, here we come! Beach and Jenny and shopping...yay!

good stuff

Good news! Spencer got into his pre-school for next year! Yay! We were worried because there were a lot of babies born his year...but he made it! He has been on 3 lists since he was born (2 in Westlake) and 1 here. My mother-in-law put his name on the list herejust in case we moved back. Thanks, Cindy! :-) This Friday Joe, Spence and I got to school all morning for his observation. We are so excited. We are taking him out for McDonald's afterward.
Last weekend we took the boys and Maddie to San Francisco to see "Charlotte's Web" at Steph's private school. What a great school! The arts are very important there, and wow, I was so impressed with the art on the walls. I wouldn't have mind having some of it on my walls at our home! The show was GREAT! Steph is amazing with the kids. Spencer and Maddie loved it, too. He actually sat still....Cooper preferred walking around. Afterward we went have dinner at Joe's Nana and Grandpa's house. It was a nice time.
Oops, there's my Baby C...better go get him before Spence....
more later...
i tried to post some pics but it said it was unavailable, i'll try more later...

Long time no blog

Whew, been busy...haven't we all??? I wanted to get on and say some shout outs to some birthday gals...now it's been a few weeks but HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Charity, Colleen, and Kim. And CONGRATS out to Monica and Allen, good friends of ours, on the birth of Kyle Daniel on March 4. Which also happens to be Jake's birthday, Spence's favorite cousin. Spence is practicing holding up 3 fingers because he knows his birthday is coming up soon! Yay!
Cold here...brrr...and rainy...I am ready for Spring! Tomorrow we are going to San Francisco to visit Joe's Nana, and we are seeing "Charlotte's Web" at the school Steph teaches drama at. We are taking the boys and Maddie, their 9 year old cousin. She is a great help and likes plays, too. Should be a good day.:-)
Just working on the taxes here, papers strewn everywhere....but I am about to put it aside for now. Few more papers to dig up. We'll be getting a return...good! We need some concrete work done. The backyard has beautiful grass, but it's so muddy because the sides of our house are still unfinished. I can't wait until it warms up so we can work out there. Put up a swingset, pull out the sandbox, and play! Cooper can practice walking out there. He is standing now, not quite on his own, but he pulls himself up on everything. It' s so cute. I'll upload a pic of him later....I need to get the pix off the camera first. Sadly, I have only taken about 50 pix in the last month, if that...
More later...goodnight!

Painting?!?

OK< remind me next time that I do not enjoy painting rooms, walls, etc....I had a bright idea to do lots of painting this week (i have the week off). 10 minutes into painting Spence's room I asked Joe how much it costs to pay someone. Too much was the answer. So the room is almost done, after 3 sessions, but I am done. Joe doesn't know it yet, but he is finishing the room. :-) So the office/scrapbook room will remain Dunmore white (which is actually a pleasing creamy color). So will the kitchen and family room, until we hire someone to do it!
Went shopping today. It was fun to get stuff for me, instead of my boys, but oh, they are fun to shop for! I got some bright shirts for spring. Joe was proud of me, trying to add some color to my wardrobe. I tend to pick greys, tans, blacks, whites and pink, but I need to "jazz it up". :-)

Pics

Because Jenny begged for pictures...

Coop, my new hair, my boys watching the Superbowl!

What I miss most...

about LA is the weather. Looking at the pictures at people.com of the celebs wearing sleeveless shirts and sandals made me miss LA right now....we're wearing coats and sweaters again up here. It's in the 50's in the day and freezing in the morning! Brrrrr....send me some warm weather please!!!!!!!!!
OK, moms of babies and babies to be....I love Robeez shoes! They are the best! Babies aren't supposed to wear shoes until they start walking, according to the doctors. but sometimes, it's too cold for just socks. Robeez shoes are soft soled and too cute! Coop got a pair for Christmas and I just bought him another pair today that look like sneakers! Check them out at www.robeez.com .I think that might be the link.... Spencer was living in warm LA at the time, so he didn't really need them, though I did want to get him some, but we never did. I love seeing baby toes, too...I don't think he even wore socks very much either. Poor Coop needs them!
If my Chicago relatives read this, please don't hate me for the weather remarks, I know you are still having snow! I feel for you....

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope you had a happy day filled with love and the people you love! We sure did! Spence was so excited to get all kinds of goodies at daycare...cupcakes, valentine cards, candy! We made cookies and he decorated them for his friends. Joe and I went out for a good steak dinner, alone time! He spoiled me and got me an Epson Picture Mate Photo printer! yay! It will help me scrapbook, too. I know, I know, most people don't recommend getting them because it is cheaper to get the pics developed, but when I am scrapping at 11 PM and need that one picture or want to change a pic in a frame right now...well, it would be nice. I will still develop my pics at Costco, but have some options. Thanks, baby!
Congrats to the Taylor family on the birth of Katelyn Grace! Katelyn actually came on her due date, Feb. 14th! First baby I know that came on the due date, I think. Michelle is her mom and a wonderful Bible study leader. She has been waiting (not so patiently...heehee) for little Katelyn. She actually went on semi-bedrest at about 20 weeks, I think. But Katelyn hung in there and didn't come early!
have a great day!

It has been...

so warm here lately! It makes me HaPpY!!!! I have been taking the boys out to play, barefoot and all. They love it! Spencer runs around like crazy! This weekend we are going to work in the backyard and fill up his sandbox. He is also going to see Curious George with daddy. He says, "I get popcorn? Soda?" The kid loves to snack! he only gets it every once in a while.

He's finally going to bed better, it only takes abput 10 minutes to get him settled after lights out. He has to be tucked in the "right way", with covers and then "meep-meep" (his blanket) on top. Silly boy! Plus, I have to shoo the monsters out. "Go home, monsters. Take your bath!" Did his repeated watchings of Monsters, Inc. backfire?

So, when do you know that you are done having kids? I THINK we are done, but then some days I think about having a another baby. A girl would be nice. But two is a good number. Even. One for each of us. Two wonderful boys. I always did prefer babysitting boys. But lately, Joe is saying, "Two is perfect. But three is so much fun." And we both grew up in 3 kid families. Oh, I don't know...I think moms have this innate desire for babies, little tiny ones, I've heard that never goes away. But does that mean I need another one???? Hmmm...I guess this is to be continued. NO, we are NOT trying. Coop is not sleeping through the night yet, so i CAN'T even think about it yet!

Speaking of sleep, last night I had the most sleep I've had in 8 months. Felt good, real good....now I should get off the computer and go hang with joe. he's actually at home tonight (but watching a TV show I don't care for)...by the way, if you are in need of an appraisor, JOE is available ANYWHERE in CA! They have the software at work to be able to appraise the entire state! He'll come to you! (We'll come...it'll be a getaway and i think we can write it off, too!) So call him....or email him (let me know if you need his email!).

Ramblings....

So, what are your New Year's Resolutions? Are you keeping them? I am trying to....one of my many (hee-hee) is to be more stylish. the last few years I have been wearing more casual clothes (i'd rather shop for the boys than me) and not doing much in the hair and makeup department. So...I ordered the Bare Escentuals make up last month and now I have chopped my hair and gotten layers. I even had my eyebrows waxed for the first time! Joe took me shopping, but of course, this always happens to me, i couldn't find anything I liked! Whenever I am broke, then I can find tons! Oh well..just means I'll have to go shop again. :-) Somewhere other than HERE. So, I'll try to post a pic of my new hair when I can get on the laptop again. Joe is SUPER busy and is hardly home. :-( BUT we know it's just for a while, until he gets enough clients to keep him very busy. He is doing well. :-)

I almost started crying today looking at my Spencer. In 2 1/2 years he'll be starting kindergarten. My baby boy is growing up! It's so true, they grow SO fast! Enjoy it while you can! He is just amazing me everyday. When I got home with my new hair, I asked him if he liked it. He said, "Yes, Mommy. It's pretty!" My little man! He had so much fun making "mocamole" (as he calls guacamole) with Daddy yesterday for the Super Bowl. Was it me or were the calls unfairly against Seattle? I know nothing about football, but Joe kept mentioning it and sure enough, when I started looking for it, I could see the calls were in Pittsburgh's favor...maybe I am making NO sense at all...forgive me, I don't know much 'bout football. the football games in high school? An excuse to walk around, checking out the guys and see what the plans are after the game! I don't think I watched one game!
Sorry, Bears, even though you were an awesome team!!!! #1! When I was a freshman at UCSB, sports people said, "Oh, you're from Merced? You have a great team!" Either that, or "You're from Merced? Do you know Steven Stayner?" No, I only saw him once, in a video store. The movie about him came out right before college.
OK, enough rambling....