{one of the} best saturdays ever

a few saturdays ago, a few of my friends and i, were able to go on a historic home tour. it's one of my favorite things to do :) not only is the architecture amazing, but *most* are all decked out with super cute decor. i love hearing the stories about the houses, seeing what has been done to them, getting ideas for my house...etc.

we also stumbled upon, well it was right in front of the home tour so i guess we didn't stumble upon it, a cute boutique flea market. recovered furniture, antiques, treats, crafts.... heaven on earth.

i want those welcome friend chalk board signs bad. real bad.

these two beautiful ladies are SO MUCH FUN. we laughed and explored and oohed and ahhhed all day.
i would love to do this in my hallway. it would look so great there. so great.
love this wall. reminds me of the wall on young house love. love the ceiling detail.
i love this detail...

i want this bad. real bad.
i want to do something like this. real bad.
i want one of these right now. real bad.
is there a better way to end a sat. afternoon? i think not.

a good morning

wait, how did this get in here? awww so cute tho :)

'twas a good morning. i got to wake up and go over to take some pics of my dear friend's newborn baby girl. so sweet. then i came home and made breakfast-morning snack for the 2 little cherubs at home.

alfalfa.
alfalfa likes to be rambunctious when he's eating. he like's to do outrageous stunts to make us all laugh. he usually prefers to eat his food while sitting atop the table.

little S is eating up. she has a birthday party to attend. she's very excited.
my children wore duct tape shoes to school yesterday. did yours?

i love....

little S.

her red boots, sparkle shoes, pocahontas boots or whatever fun ensemble she has put together,

and ruby.

my phone is my life

it's true in many ways. i may be a little too addicted to it at times, i.e. checking facebook, words with friends or maybe even the latest angry birds rio released level. i.am.a.pro., but it also helps me quickly capture funny little moments happening in the "now". there are so many stages and funny things that the kids do that i may have not made note of, but captured on my phone. i get to relive these moments when i am loading the pics to the computer and laugh every time. not only do i capture these moments, but the kids are always leaving me sweet little surprise photos.

with my phone this week, i was able to see that:

1. little S is in a red boot phase and i am crazy about it.

2. we eat a lot of mexican food. it's delicious and i could prolly eat it every day. have you been here?

3. the kids are obsessed with the fat face app. especially when we are at restaurants. they better not do it to me tho... or else!

4. P surprised me one night with some beautiful flowers and a growler of 4 peaks. what more could a girl want?

5. little S and big S look a lot alike when they have their noses in their electronic devices.

6. big S is GROWING!!! she's getting so tall. me no likey. she has been instructed to cease all growing and go play with barbies. i'm going to pull her around the neighborhood in a wagon after i'm done typing. i'm joking in case you are wondering.

i was trying to squeeze, i mean fit, myself into my neighbor's wedding dress, and my mom's too for that matter, but alas.... it was a no go. S wanted to try it on and it was a little too close to fitting! i may have had to blot my eyes seeing her standing in a wedding dress. it was much different than her old dress up ones. it was just a flash of how fast time flies by and before i know it, she probably will be standing in front of me on her wedding day. sniff.

6. i had a very fun and silly lunch with some friends a few weeks ago. it's never a bad idea to go into fancy bathrooms and take pictures of yourselves in the mirror.

oh january

i have enjoyed these first weeks of january. a new year already. why does life fly by so fast. my grammie recently was observing my family (at a very hectic but happy after dinner, before bed & bath, wild time of the day) and said "oh nell, such a long way to go".

i know that is true, but at the same time i feel like the kids grow so fast. with so many brand new babies around me, it makes me realize how far my kids have come. they are so big! i am so thankful for them and how helpful they are. (when they are not fighting) it is fun to just watch them be who they are. it's hard to make that change of making all the decisions for them and letting them make their own decisions. i know i have to trust and enjoy them for who they are. it's also fun at the end of the day to laugh and talk about the things they do & say w/ paully. they are always doing things that are so "them". i'm thankful for him (paul) too. he's such a great dad. and a great husband. we just celebrated our 17th dating anniversary. he's also out of town. can you tell? i.don't.like.it.when.he.is.gone.

recently we:

1. built our first ramp

2. S went out with all the 6th grade girls to pizza and a movie for no other reason than to go out. such a big girl thing to do.

3. we added ruby chanel to our family (paul's doing 100%)

4. we celebrated the chinese new year with our dinner club

5. we got distracted with painting instead of writing christmas thank you cards

6. i have been trying to do something active everyday (riding bikes to school instead of driving, etc) making healthier choices.

7. LOVING my gram and gramp being here.

8. holding lots of babies

9. reading the trumpet swan to the chillens and enjoying it thus far.

10. trying to grow out my bangs.

wait, what?

my friend was telling me about this little old neighborhood she was driving thru that had the most unusual animals. i, of course, immediately headed over. i pulled up, and to my astonishment, was a pet zebra. it was just so odd to see a zebra walking around in someone's front yard.

baby R really liked it.

when i picked up little S from school, i told baby R to tell S about what animal we saw. he, of course, can't do that yet and S said just tell me mom.

so i said..
"o.k. i'll give you a hint. it looks like a horse, but it has black and white stripes all over it's body."

little S said..
"a dead zebra."

i said.. "no, a real zebra!"

little S said... "was it dead?"

i said.. "nooo. it was alive! at someone's house!"

S said... "was it in the back of a truck?"

i said.. "no... it was happy and alive in a yard."

little S.. "oh."

we also saw a ponkey. a pony and a donkey. or maybe a muleony? dony? whatever. it was weird. but cute.

she is her mother's daughter

little d has become quite the crafty one. she got an adorable banner kit for christmas from her grandparents and was so excited to break it open. she was working quietly in her room and emerged, very proud, with her very first banner. she was so happy, she decided to make another one for her friend. she has them taped beautifully to the walls.

pro-life bath toys?

quotes from the chillen....

the other night as i was going downstairs to tell the little angels that it was time for bed,

"qick! hide! i hear medusa coming!"

while poaching an egg in my new toaster/egg poacher, S says...

"isn't poaching bad, like really bad?

baby R says all kinds of "sweet" things... the problem is that all of his sisters think he is hilarious and keep teaching him new words. he says...

"no! sit down! poop! shhhh! (in a really sharp, commanding way) bum bum! pee pee!"

a lot of potty talk going on here. he does also say nice things like

"thank you _" fill in the blank with your name. he always says a name after he says thank you :)

interesting: my friend just told us that someone hacked her husbands' email account and said "he" was stuck in spain and needed money. one of his friends sent $2000. now that's a good friend!

a few of my favorite things..

while enjoying a homemade egg mcmuffin made from my new 4 slice toaster- egg poacher- meat warmer *yeah* *finally* (it's been on my wish list for years. well, just the 4 slice toaster part... the others were nice surprises...)

i looked around and wanted to remember some of my favorite gifts this year. well, now, i loved ALL of my gifts this year, these are just in the kitchen where i am eating...
also i must mention i received the best stress relief lotion, i keep it by the sink, i've always wanted to do that.... ever since williams sonoma came out with their soap and lotion metal dispensers... i could never justify forking over the cash to get a set... anyway, i'm rambling...

a banner made by my sis. it's chalk paint. so you can customize it for the occasion. *brilliant*
a picture made by my brother. it's funny cuz it's true.
these burlap candles made by *ahem* me. the font reminded me of the font from my gramp's vintage stamps :)
matryoshka measuring cups. p.e.r.f.e.c.t.
an old music book given to me by my ever so crafty aunt. it belonged to my great grandparents. so cool.
i can't wait to use this customized stationary. i love the different fabric swatches :)

christmas sightings...

whew! we made it through another wild and glorious christmas! the kids all sang in the choir, robes and all, twice! which made for a really long stint on christmas eve. but we figured what better place to be on christmas eve, right?

lots of cousin time..... and even a new cousin born the day after christmas!!

o tannenbaum, o tannenbaum....

please don't catch on fire....
i'm just not ready to take everything down yet. even tho it's starting to look a little scary around here.

peace and love

winter days

when i think of my happy childhood, i think of many things, but one thing stands out for sure.

cabbage patch kids.

i still get excited when i see the logo, or those pudgy little arms reaching out towards me. i.love.them.

my kids think they are the ugliest dolls and have no desire whatsoever to play with them.

goll.

i spotted these beauties while doing a little christmas shopping the other day, i'm not sure why they are considered "vintage" but whatever. they make me happy :)

i couldn't pass these up. the red is a little muted, but still... cutest thing ever.

all this rain has been giving my girls the most beautiful wavy curls.

i'm jealous. it's just making me frizzy.
the girls were in a very low budget re-inactment of the nativity. it was little S's first play. she was thrilled to be a sheep. she was still talking to her friend before she noticed the play was over. oh well. she didn't mind. she just ran up to me and "baaaa'ed while holding her tail.

tonite we are having our traditional cousin sleepover. we just got back from caroling. they were awesome and were offered $$$ to come back tomorrow night during a christmas party.

they were pretty thrilled.

ornament exchange

we had an ornament exchange for the mops group i'm in. i didn't have time to go out and select the perfect ornament, so i thought i had better get crafty with what i have around the house.

i wasn't as busy as i was a few weeks ago, but still busy. not the kind of busy when you know you need to spend some serious time with the olive oil and fine tooth comb to get the gum out of one of your daughter's hair... but can't get to it for 3 days. not that busy...

anyway...

i found an over sized ornament left over from our christmas party. gathered some materials...

christmas scrapbook paper, old book paper, glue, modge podge, wax paper, ribbon and some ink.

i ripped the old book paper up into big pieces. i dipped them in the glue, diluted with a little water, and pasted them all over the ornament. i just used my hands to rub the paper on for a nice secure attachment. and let it dry.


next i cut out a few paper decorations and dipped them in the glue mixture and pasted those on.

when it was completely dry, i sealed it with modge podge... again with my hands.

then i made a little note with papers, edged the sides with ink, for the top and secured it with cute ribbons.

done! a one of a kind ornament, perfect for the exchange :)



i think it would be fun to do this to a whole package of small ornaments. i'm kicking myself for getting rid of all those ornaments i had been storing, just a few weeks ago :( , in a cleaning spree. it would have perfect for our family homemade gift exchange. bummer.

Joyful

just to remember...

today i am joyfully jogging from one late event to the next. jogging in the sprinkling rain in my jeans that are too tight and a warm sweater that i threw over my pajama top from the night before.

that's how i'm rolling today.

if only i was playing words with friends... with all those j's.

california trip 2011

some dear friends of ours gave us a week with their timeshare in newport beach. they couldn't go during the week it was available. we said SURE we can!! and off we went.

beach, 3 day disney, a drive down to san diego to reattempt the zoo and home.

whew!

this was the view from our amazing room. there was a traders joe's very close so were were able to grocery shop and make most of our meals in the room. there was also a washer and dryer which made the packing much lighter.

we went right to the beach. it was so beautiful. it was freezing but that did not stop the kids.
they had fun burying each other and then discovered that baby R thought it was hilarious to be buried. so they buried him again and again and again. it was awesome until baby R started rubbing his eyes and getting sand all over his face. then the stinging from the salt water settled in. little S had rubbed her little thighs raw from the jeans she was wearing the day before... anyway when the excitement from the beach starting wearing off and the stinging started settling in.... it was a total cry fest. the big kids were upset because they didn't want to leave, little S was freezing and her legs were burning and baby R was shocked, cold and had sand in his eyes. it was amazing. we didn't go back to the beach. i think it's better when it's hot and you can commit to doing the beach all day. it's just no fun when it's cold and windy and i've never been a fan of all the sand that gets dumped all over the car.
disneyland was amazing. it was so fun this time because the kids were actually old enough and brave enough to go on all the rides with us. i had a blast. miss L was ready to go on anything. she would ride with paul and then go again with me. oh and it helped that the park was empty! we hardly had to wait in any lines, which for me, makes all the difference at disneyland. we had lots of fun riding the rides and making faces at the cameras. we would check them out, laugh and then run back and ride it again. the kids rode tower of terror 5 times i think. i hated that one. they dragged me on it and i was miserable. i like the water rides best :)

it was fun to watch baby R's face light up. he just pointed and oooh'd and ahhh'd at everything. little S was the only one who wanted to visit the princesses :( that made me a little sad. the other girls said it was kinda babyish... but they did ride the ariel ride 10 times :)
we made it thru the zoo without a hitch. which was different than the last time :0

we checked everything out and wore the kids out by walking and walking! that way they crashed out and it was a peaceful drive back to the valley.

it was a great time but now the kids cannot miss anymore school!!

little s

did i mention this girl is 5? yes. yes i did.

thanksgiving

all this extra holiday time at my moms house has me doing one of my favorite things...

going thru old pics.

would'ya take a look at these angelic little cherubs :) taken in the ohio autumn leaves

my uncle john and aunt cecilia (who are also S's godparents) joined us for thanksgiving. everything they make is delicious, so of course, the meal was amazing.

we had it all set up outside and we couldn't believe it when it started drizzling. we moved everything inside. it was a bummer because paully had been working on the grass for months. he wanted it to be perfect for this occasion, setting up the table and chairs on the grass under the trees. oh well. we made a fire and it was just as nice eating inside :)
big welter and little welter having some quality time.
the next day, we took a long... long... long... country drive. we ended up on a very curvy dirt road. scary at times, but nonetheless... gorgeous.

we drove from canyon lake to apache lake, checked out the roosevelt dam and headed home. a beautiful, but not recommended with children, drive. thank goodness they were all pretty happy the whole time and not car sick... because there was no turning around.

anywho, another lovely and wonderful year to be thankful for!

ummm.... catch up

at the risk of being totally cliche....

what the heck? time is going by so fast! i think i'm going to have to jot down random thoughts to catch up.

here's a few that i've been trying to remember.. they were really funny at the time.

1. on the way to a christmas play, little S, who has been in kind of a "bad mood" phase for quite some time, says...

"ugh mom, i have a headache of Jesus songs."

2. on an outing with L and little S for some special christmas shopping time together, and while looking for a parking space, L says..

"mom, remember that time when you found that parking space for pregnant mommies and you were so happy? i think i know why they do that."

me: "why?"

"cuz pregnant ladies are kind of grumpy and get frustrated kind of fast."

gulp.

(she was remembering when i was preggo w/ baby R just in case you were wondering)

speaking of baby R...

he says things like...

"lemme see that mommy." and "that's mine!" and "no!" and commands everyone by name, except for L. we don't know why he won't say her name, it's starting to hurt her feelings tho.

L and D and S have had some great christmas gatherings at school.

S's class hosted a parents only potluck and carols. it was nice to sit with just my big girl and see her in her element.

L's class had a talent show and hosted a family dinner. they seated everyone, took food and drink orders, completely served the whole dinner. it was hilarious. it was just like going to a real restaurant, one that was just opened by children. they actually had a brilliant idea tho, they seated the parents and the little babies together and invited the other children (who wanted to) to go to a separate kids area (right there in the same room) where they had crafts and games and the kids could eat there too. it was great.

L and her besties did a few carols and dances.

and D's class had a family breakfast potluck and then a beautiful rendition of the grinch who stole christmas. D mouthed everyones lines. she had memorized the entire play. it was hilarious. it was a big deal figuring out how to do her hair to correctly imitate a who from whoville. i think she was happy with the end result.

john the elf has still been very popular in our house this year. D bolts out of bed every morning to be the first one to find him. little S is in awe of her "google eyes" and how she is always able to spot him. he has been hiding in some pretty tricky spots. except for the one time he was so lazy and stayed in the same spot... he just extended out his neck a little the second day. hmmm.... elves these days....