Lovin' Life

Please input

2012-01-30T21:27:00.000-08:00

So I really could use your help here. My daughter's birthday is coming up and she has requested an elephant seal cake. Had to laugh just a little. ;) I guess going on that tour over Christmas to see them really had an impact on her. Every year she requests some kind of animal for her cake though. Last year was a unicorn and before that was a cheetah. Okay... I am not a cake decorator by any means. Where do I go with that? I had a few ideas at first. One was to create a beach scene and find an elephant seal toy to place on top. Who would have guessed that there aren't many elephant seal toys out there? :) Second idea was to make the cake in the shape of an elephant seal and decorate it like one. I googled "elephant seal cake"...guess those aren't too commonly made. :) So I could really use your help, you cake-making experts...and you know who you are!

10 Things

2012-01-28T20:47:00.000-08:00

Just for fun...and to get a little more personal, here is a list of 10 things you may not (or maybe you do), know about me...

1. My hubby calls me the "noise nazi". I am always turning the volume down on radios, televisions and computers, or telling the kids or hubby to "talk quieter". I like to think that I have more sensitive ears than the average person, what seems loud to me, seems fine to everyone else in the room. My hubs thinks I became paranoid after our oldest was born because she would never sleep. I love you too, hubs. ;)

2. I love mustard! Any kind!

3. I don't like feet (except for little chubby baby feet), and I don't like anyone touching mine. Try to and you'll get whacked. Weird, I know. But everyone has quirks, right?

4. I would love to make homemade bread, but I am afraid to, because I can't leave the stuff alone. I have been known to eat a whole loaf in one day.

5. I had a second set of permanent teeth (I first noticed when 2 of them started growing in under my tongue), and have had 15 teeth pulled by the dentist.

6. I have never had stitches related to an accident (wisdom teeth and birth don't count), or broken anything more than a cracked finger.

7. My favorite movie is, "It's a Wonderful Life", followed closely by "Pride and Prejudice" (BBC version), and "Anne of Green Gables".

8. I want 6 children (to Michelle :)) and my hubby is okay with that, so hopefully it works out. I say that now, but when baby is crying, the kids are running around me in circles, I am trying to make dinner, and laundry is coming out of my ears, I sometimes think quite differently.

9. I love books, way too much. Or is that possible? I have collected all of the original "Nancy Drew" mysteries (meaning the older style ones 1-56), all of the "Berenstain Bears" books up to 1995, have half of the "Hardy Boys" series, all of the "Little House" books, "The Lord of the Rings", tons of "Little Golden Books", just to name a few. I won't bore you with a much longer list.

10. I don't care for chips, except for the Classic Lays potato chip. The rest just don't interest me.

So there you have it. Now, here is the fun part. I have read similar things on some of your blogs and love getting to know you better. Leave me a comment with one thing that I may not know about you! And even better, post a "10 Things" on your blog! Happy Saturday!

:)

2012-01-24T11:02:00.000-08:00

Second daughter was watching my feed oatmeal to the baby and I had been explaining to her a few days ago why we introduce only one new food to a baby at a time, to watch for allergies. So today as she was observing baby eat, she said, "When I was a baby and you fed me new things, did you realize that I wasn't allergic to anything?" I replied that we did realize that. :) "So you called me, "Allergic daughter nothing?"

Something like that...

Last week for FHE we were playing Jenga and when hubs took his turn and didn't knock down the tower, two-yr-old son exclaimed with much animation, "You're impressed, Daddy! Good job!"

He is still figuring out how to use "I'm, my, mine, you're," etc. correctly. :)

Baby has his six-month exam tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how he is progressing. At his four-month exam he was the exact same height that his older brother was at that age, but 3 lbs lighter, so he seems so much smaller to me. But I still get a lot of comments that he is a big boy and he has been wearing 12 month clothes for a month and a half now. He is such a sweetie.

The two youngest are sick with running noses and very nasty coughs. Hopefully, their chests will clear out soon and it won't turn into anything worse.

You know those days (or weeks, or months) when you feel like you are living life with your head just above water? What do you do to cope, so to speak? What are your outlets?

Randomness and a Question

2012-01-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

Once I got all of these pics uploaded I was too lazy to rearrange them...sorry. Here are some of the cute, fun, and crafty things of late.

Older brother decided to wipe this Petshop Hamster's bottom while I changed the baby. Never too late to start practicing... :)

Love this little man. Six months in 2 days! Where does the time go?

A Christmas tradition for my hub's family: dipping homemade toffee and caramel in chocolate. The best part for the girls?...Hmm, I wonder?

Nativity on Christmas eve. The kids loved it because hubs and his brothers made it rather entertaining.

Thanksgiving in Utah at my sister's house. It was a wonderful time!

We stopped by Moab for a few days to visit hubby's family on his dad's side. The kids loved playing with all of the cousins and doing lots of rock climbing and exploring.

Best part of my life!!!!

My sis-in-law, Kailie, posted this idea on her blog (http://kbreit.blogspot.com/2012/01/diy-scrap-fabric-wreath.html), and I loved it so much, I decided to make one last night. Mine came out looking totally different because I used several different fabrics and they were heavier in weight, but I like how it turned out, just the same. Notice the cute little something poking out in the bottom left corner of the picture above. ;)

Remember these? I think they look much better!

Notice all the butterflies?

Over Christmas break, we went to Pacific Grove and enjoyed the beach and Monarch butterflies.

This was probably one of the most random posts ever, but hey, I posted right? With pics this time...

Finally, a question!!!

What do all you ladies do with your childrens' hand-me-downs, storage speaking? I have 10+ boxes of clothes sitting around, taking up valuable, limited closet space. I don't want to get rid of all the girls' clothes, in case our next child is a girl, but I hate storing all of it. Have any of you found a magical solution to dealing with hand-me-downs? I would love some advice!

Q & A

2012-01-11T08:56:00.001-08:00

To my two-year-old son:

Q: What is your favorite fruit? A: Orange

Q: What is your favorite vegetable? A: Zebra

Q: What is your favorite toy? A: Helicopter

Q: What is your favorite animal: A: Hot chocolate

Q: What is your favorite color? A: Fishies

Q: What is your favorite letter? A: Christmas Tree

Q: What is your favorite number? A: Number 5!

On another note, we had a splendid time with my hub's family this year for Christmas (pics to come soon)!

Events included:

A tour to see the elephant seals in Santa Cruz.

A walk to see the monarch butterflies in Pacific Grove (it was too cold that day, so they weren't flying around, but it was still fun to see them all over the tree).

Dipping chocolates.

Decorating sugar cookies.

Playing Kinect (oldest daughter was in love!).

Learning to ride the new bikes from Santa.

Relaxing and eating yummy food.

A fabulously impressive 6-course French dinner put on by my very talented sis-in-law.

Crafting with my two sisters-in-law.

Going out to dinner with hubs to celebrate 8 wonderful years!

Going out to ice cream with other sis-in-law and having a nice chat.

Playing outside with the kids and going to the park.

Reading lots of books to the kids.

Crocheting doilies.

Visiting friends.

Playing at the beach and having a sand-castle-building-contest with oldest daughter.

Playing with playdough with second daughter.

Enjoying my amazing family!

A fondness for snails

2011-12-05T13:23:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I went out onto the patio to open our little storage shed to get all of the Christmas stuff out...and to my surprise, saw that something had made the shed its' home. I had just been in the shed a few weeks ago, so it must have been recent. But this little mouse sure went to town! It chewed on just about everything plastic... all of our storage containers, making some good-sized holes in a few of them. But it was mostly a nibble here and a nibble there. It also managed to destroy Michael's golf bag and several of his golf balls, both of our air mattresses, the curtains that belong to the owners of our townhome (oops!), and desperately tried to get into two of our emergency buckets, but was luckily unsuccessful! He basically made his mark on almost everything out there, in one way or another. The one thing he basically did leave alone? My four boxes of books! :) Thank you, little mouse.

We had to pull everything out of the shed and figure out how he was getting in. He had a chewed a hole through the back of the shed in the corner and was sneaking in and out. We also found a scattering of empty snail shells. He is probably the same critter who stole the 2 of 3 tomatoes we got this year. :(

Let's just say hubby wasn't too happy about the whole thing.

Favorite Season

2011-11-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

Fall is by far my favorite season...sweater weather, beautiful colors, warm fires, hot chocolate, crisp air, you get the drift. :)

I have a lot of childhood memories associated with fall. Raking leaves with my family, getting wheelbarrow rides from dad, making leaf houses with my sister (we would line up leaves to make connected rectangles and squares all over the yard for the rooms), and taking drives in the canyon on Sunday afternoons.

Daughter was busy "decorating" our house too, and wanted me to take a picture of her "pretending to play" with her set-up. I bet my sisters can't guess what part of her decor is my favorite. You gotta know my quirky sense of humor. :)

Happy Fall!!!

Fun, Fun, Fun

2011-11-08T20:56:00.000-08:00

The kids picked out the "finest" pumpkin (according to older daughter) they could get at the pumpkin patch and we enjoyed carving it together...and eating apples. ;)

Don't you just want to kiss that little face? He made a very cute cow (or calf?)

Ready to head out to the Halloween Party at our church.

And finally, a sneak peek at my latest project (or nightmare, however you want to look at it)!

If you are ever considering painting chairs, call me first! :) You may think twice...at least if you pick chairs that look like these.

A few more

2011-10-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

Younger daughter: "Mommy, you need to buy me a new leotard before I start gymnastics again."

Me: Nodding.

Daughter: "Why don't they let you wear necklaces at gymnastics?"

Me: "Because they can get tangled up when you are doing somersaults and flips and things. "

Daughter: "Do they let you have chapped lips at gymnastics?"

Me: "Yes, they do."

Daughter: "Because those don't get tangled up, right?"

Me: "No."

Older daughter made a cute drawing of a ghost to hang on our window and drew a large speech bubble coming from it's mouth, saying, "BOOB!" :)

Little man is a great talker, but there is one phrase that he says that always cracks me up. He uses it when he wants me to scoot in or out a chair, or to turn the music up in the car.

"Mommy, scool up a lip!"

Smiles

2011-10-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

Me: "Ouch! "Little Man"! Quit stepping on my foot!"

Oldest daughter: (in a very firm voice) "Remember Mom, don't react!"

I have been trying to teach the girls not to make a big deal out of when their little brother tries to hurt them (he is going through a hitting/pulling hair phase and wants them to overreact). I guess I should remember my own teachings better, too. :)

Younger daughter: "I am going to make my doll's hair look so gracious."

Oldest daugher: "If I get a pet dog someday and it is a white Poodle, I will name it Snowflake, and if it is a black Poodle, I will name it Cooking Pan."

Crush

2011-10-03T21:23:00.001-07:00

Finally figured it out...and loving it...for now :)

2011-08-18T09:20:00.001-07:00

With a new baby in tow who is oh-so-sweet, but a non-stop crier, and a busy two-year-old (also mom's shadow), I have come to realize how much I need to rely on the help of my 4 and 6-year-old daughters.

Yes, I have always had them pick up their toys and other things throughout the day, and for the past year they have been helping put their laundry away (after I folded it), make their beds, and they always help set the table at dinner time/clear their dishes at meal time. They also love to help me dust and wash windows. But I have discovered lately that this just isn't quite cutting it.

So....(drum roll please), I finally got around to setting up a REAL chore system! Yay! I made a list of daily morning chores (pics included), daily supper chores, and evening chores. Each day they check them off after they are completed (their fav. part, of course). I can't tell you how much this has helped me, not to mention the overall order and cleanliness of the house. I don't believe in allowance, but think that being a part of our family and living together in our home is reason enough why they need to do their part to help out. But I did make a list of extra chores that they can do to earn money if they want to buy something. They are still young enough that they don't really care about that yet.

Both girls are required to make their beds, get dressed, fold their pajamas and brush their teeth before breakfast (it is amazing how fast and well these things are done when done before they get to eat, instead of after. Brushing teeth should probably be done after breakfast, but I always seem to forget to remind them, so at least it is getting done).

While I am making dinner has been the magical part of our new program. Right before dinner is usually the crazy part of our day and the kids think this is a good time to run wild (while the baby is crying and the two-year-old is fussing and hanging onto my leg). Having the kids complete chores while I am making dinner has really calmed things down and gives them something productive to do. The girls need to have their room picked up and inspected by mom before dinner. Also, I have a supper helper each day (as well as a breakfast helper): middle daughter is on Mon/Wed, oldest on Tues/Thurs, Little Man is on Friday.

Here is oldest daughter's schedule:

Morning Chores: Make bed, get dressed, brush teeth, fold pjs, breakfast helper (Mon/Wed).

Supper Chores: Clean room, Supper helper on Tues/Thurs. (includes helping prepare meal, setting table, unloading/loading dishwasher, putting food away, and wiping table), and wipe out kid's bathroom sink (no more globs of toothpaste building up!).

Evening Chores: Clean up living room

Weekly Chores:

Mon: Pick up in van.

Tues: Fold and put away laundry.

Fri: Organize dresser drawers.

Monthly:

Week 1: Change sheets on bed.

Week 2: Wash windows/mirrors.

Week 3: Clean light switch plates.

Week 4: Help wash the cars.

Obviously, this is still a work in progress. But because I want the kids to be successful, it pushes me to stay on top of things (like getting the dishes done after each meal, instead of letting them pile up all day long). With the demands of the baby, we don't always get everything done, but so far I am loving the new system and the kids are too (Little Man loves being able to set the table and he does a pretty cute job :)). The girls like the satisfaction of checking things off when completed and knowing how proud and grateful mommy is.

Now if only I can keep this up. So I am loving it for now, while it lasts. :)

What do you do in your home? I would love to hear!

Arrival :)

2011-07-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

Our little bundle of joy is here! We are so blessed to have such a beautiful, healthy young man. :)

This lovely profile picture was taken a few hours before he was born.

I went in at noon for a weekly checkup and was dilated to about a 3 and 50% effaced. Fortunately, my mother-in-law had graciously offered to come up for the day to watch the kids and take the girls swimming after my appointment so I could rest. So while they were swimming and older brother was taking a nap, I was enjoying a bowl of cherries when I felt my first obvious contraction. I paid attention for the next 2 hours or so and they kept coming about every 10 minutes apart. I gave hubby a ring to let him know he might want to wrap things up at work and head on home (which takes him another 1.5 hours on average). I wanted to make sure he was home just in case things kept progressing. By the time he arrived, the contractions were about 5 minutes apart, but still quite mild.

Because my previous labor felt similar to start but progressed VERY fast (brother was born less than 20 minutes upon arriving at the hospital), I didn't want to take any chances, so we headed over to the hospital.

I was at a 4 and 80% effaced when we arrived. The doctor asked if we wanted to wait things out and walk around or to break my water and speed things up a bit. Because older brother's birthday was the next day and we kind of wanted them to each have their own special day, we decided to speed things up. The doctor broke my water at a 5 and I was given the epidural.

The entire right side of my body didn't want to participate in the epidural experience, so while my left side couldn't feel much, my right leg was not a bit numb and I could feel all the contractions. At first I thought, "Well at least I get to control half my body, and half the pain isn't so bad." :)

Eventually, as I got close to a 9 and there was no break between contractions, my thoughts weren't as pleasant, and I felt like if I received an epidural this time, then it should be doing its job properly. So I asked them to adjust the epidural and it felt much better after 20 minutes or so. I think the anesthesiologist felt bad for not getting it right the first time and gave me too much pain medication, because soon I felt a bit too numb.

I was getting a little uncomfortable at this point and asked the nurse when the doctor would be coming in to check me, to which she casually replied, "Oh, as soon as he is done with his C-section." So I asked if I could be rotated to my left side for awhile. After I was rotated and the nurse left, my hubby whispered to me that his head was right there because he could see the top of it when they turned me over. :)

As if hearing our thoughts, the nurse came back in and said, "Um. I am going to check you because baby's heart rate seems pretty low." Her expression was priceless when she took a look and she told hubby to quickly reach over and push the call button. Another nurse ran in and looked and ran back out to get the doctor pronto. It was frantic from there. Nurses were running in like crazy preparing everything and the doctor was not far behind. They kept saying, "He is coming, but he seems happy...just take big deep breaths." As the doctor was quickly suiting up, a nurse was watching and said, "Uh, DOCTOR!" He whipped around and ran over just in time to catch the rest of the baby as his entire head had already shown up.

My hubby stated afterward, "You know, it is funny that we made sure to get here in plenty of time this time and it was still rushed and crazy at the end. " :) This baby pretty much delivered himself. :)

The kids were very excited to come see him the next day and oldest daughter stated, "I think he will make a very handsome part of our family."

I think so, too. :)

Please shoot me a comment with your email if you would like to know his name and stats. :) Sorry for the inconvenience. It may be time I went private, so things aren't so complicated.

HELP!

2011-07-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in a previous post, I am having major issues with blogger.

First of all, I can't publish a post by clicking on the "Publish Post" button down below. I have to click "Save Now" and then select the new post I have just saved, and then publish (sometimes it won't even let me do it that way).

But the bigger problem is commenting on others' posts. Some of your blogs let me post a comment, no problem. But 2 of my sisters' blogs and also my new sister-in-law's blog won't give me the time of day. One of their's is private, and posting a comment is not even an option on her blog for me. For the other two blogs, I can at least put in a comment, but when I click on "Publish Comment" it takes me to the Google Sign-in page, so I sign in again, try to resubmit, but each time it just takes me back to the Google Sign-in page.

Does anyone who is more familiar with blogger, or computers in general (or who have husbands who are), know what I can do to solve these problems? Making comments on others blogs is an easy way for me to keep in touch with friends and family (I especially would like to be able to make comments on family blogs), so it is rather frustrating to read these blogs and not let these family members and friends know that I am interested in their lives and care about what they are up to. AARRGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Few Weeks of Action

2011-07-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been action-packed, and we have been enjoying every minute of it. Here are a few of the pictures from all of our fun adventures (all of which took place in less than 2 weeks).

My brother's wedding reception in Utah

Camping with the girls

Pretending to be a chipmunk. I love her expression. :)

The Fourth of July was a blast! The day consisted of pancake breakfast, bbq, swimming, pinata, marshmallow shootout, second bbq, and fireworks show in the evening.

Roasting marshmallows in Grandma's backyard. (And "sort-of-a-belly-pic" for Denise. :))

2.5 weeks to go! Yea.

Well, we will see. When I went into the doc on Friday, he said the baby was stationed at a -4 and that nothing at all is happening so far. We may have an August baby instead. :)

Issues

2011-06-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

So, blogger has not been my friend lately. Let us see if I can actually post something successfully this time. (Making comments on others' blogs is useless too, but that is another story).

The happenings of late have been many:

-Oldest daughter finished Kindergarten

-We went to same daughter's tri-annual eye exam and need to patch again for the next 4 months.

-One month left until new family member's arrival :)

-Husband celebrated his 30th birthday (on which I tried to post about, but was unsuccessful :()

-Went to Utah for a short 3 days to celebrate my youngest brother's wedding (Manti, Ut Temple)

-Planning a camping trip this weekend and fun 4th of July activities

-Little man will be two in 3 weeks (he counted to 10 in the correct order for the first time today, actually up to 13. :))

-I have been taking the kids to our pool tons lately since it has been hot, but today it actually rained all day (strange for CA in late June). Both girls have learned to jump into the pool without anyone catching them. We're finally making progress!

-Oldest daughter lost first tooth one week ago

-Second daughter hit major growth spurt, but it seems from only the waist up (she wears size 3T bottom clothing and 5T top clothing)

-Trip to Utah reaffirmed to me how much I just love all my family and miss them so much!

Hopefully I will have a post soon on the new little one (but not too soon ;)).

There is one in every family...

2011-05-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

...And our oldest daughter would be that one.

*Forehead glued twice,

*Forehead stitched once,

*And now a fractured wrist.

*And she just turned 6?

Life is always exciting with our highly energetic daughter! :)

Two conversations

2011-04-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

This past week I was able to stay at my husband's parents' home for oldest daughter's Spring Break. I snuck a baby monitor into the room the girls were sleeping in because sometimes I like to listen in on their bedtime conversations. Here were two of them:

*Younger daughter: I know what the name of our baby brother should be?

Older daughter: What?

Younger daughter: Sha-conga.

Older daugher: Oh.

Younger daughter: Actually let's just name him " " (same name as current little brother).

Older daughter: But then they would get mixed up.

Younger daughter: No, because one would be a big " ", and the other would be a little " ".

Older daughter: Yea, and one would look different, and the other one would look...different too!

:) That makes perfect sense to me.

#2 (This was the second night we were there. This conversation stems from the fact that they thought they heard a strange noise in their room earlier, so they were feeling nervous going to bed.)

Older daughter: I feel homesick. That means I am sick of being somewhere that is not my home.

Younger daughter: Me too.

Older daughter: I like being at my own house, in my own bed, where there is peace and love. ;) But when I feel scared, the spirit can comfort me, and when I feel better, then I know it was the spirit making me feel that way. And my pet dog (the stuffed animal she had in bed) can comfort me too.

I am glad that she thinks our home is a nice place to be.

But as soon as we were driving away from Grandma's house, they were telling me they missed being there already.

Fun News

2011-03-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

Little Man is going to have a brother. Middle child was really hoping for a sister so she was a little disappointed initially, but once she saw the pics from the ultrasound, she seemed okay about it. I am just happy that everything looks healthy. Although it is a nice bonus that Little Man will have a younger brother to do boy things with. :) I thought the picture was cute of his leg. ;)

And it is a...

2011-03-09T14:44:00.000-08:00

Any guesses?

A playmate for Little Man? or is brother going to be surrounded by sisters?

My sister is also staying with us this week and it has sure been wonderful having her around. What a wonderful family I have.

Funny

2011-02-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

Oldest daughter: "Mom, I lifted up my arms and my shirt just purped up!" (Meaning, I need to buy her longer shirts; interesting way to say it though ;)).

Middle child: " I ate all my lunch and didn't leave a single chuck." Hmm. Okay.

I just love the things kids say.

Speaking of kids, my due date is July 28th. So my current youngest and this one will be 2 years apart by a few days. Hopefully they won't share the same birthday. That stinks for a kid. :)

:)

2011-01-14T15:01:00.000-08:00

I Love...

2010-12-17T21:18:00.000-08:00

...Finding little toys on the tree branches that have been added for more decoration, a certain middle child's fingers sneaking into every dish I am preparing (she just can't help herself), except for when she touches the raw meat; a baby boy's obsession with opening and closing doors and constant movement and clapping to music, an oldest daughter's love of wildlife (almost every night she picks out our "Encyclopedia of Animals" as her bedtime story), and a hubby's habit of taking off his shoes six feet away from where the shoe basket is placed. ;)

Halloween, Stitches, DIY, and Craigslist

2010-11-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

A fun day at the pumpkin patch/petting zoo chasing the turkey. It kept fluffing itself up trying to look all big and impressive. Cute.

Little man kept peeking into hubby's face and laughing. I sure have two handsome fellas.

Little sis was allowed to walk with big sis in the Halloween parade at school. Big sis wanted the "real Cinderella do" and said that everyone at school thought she was the real Cinderella, because she had the same hair, except her friend knew that it was her because the real one doesn't wear glasses. :)

Little man was a basketball player for Halloween, courtesy of my sister Mary.

First stitches: running at recess and tripped over a boy's leg, headfirst into the pavement. Ouch.

I finally realized (don't know why it took me so long) that if I want my decor to look and be the style I want it to, I am going to have to be a little more proactive about it. I kept thinking that years down the road when we have the money, I could then start purchasing all the antiques and other decor items that I have been pining after. So lately I have become a little obsessed about tackling projects myself. Here are a few of the projects I have been working on (and items I have found on Craigslist).

I got this bench at a yard sale for 5.oo and decided to try my hand at a first redo paint project and distressing job.

These gold frames I got on clearance at Home Goods. I love the look of antique gold frames but they are hard to come by in decent condition and at a good price, so I decided to try a little antiquing myself. The one on the left is the one undone.

Sorry about the sideways pic. I love the look of these lamps but when pricing them discovered that they were way more expensive then I was willing to pay (cheapest was 60.00 at Target, and that was a deal), so I decided to make 2 of them on my own. Cost me 30.00 a piece. Why are lamps so expensive?

Found this beauty on Craigslist. Not only did I love the style, but when I went to pick it up, I found out that it had been in the family for 20 years, and was the father's grandmother's dresser before that. It had the original stamp on the back and so I looked it up and found out it came from a company based in San Fran that was in business from the late 1800's to the 1930's. NICE!

This old thing also came from Craigslist for FREE (it is obviously in pretty rough shape). The man said that it was from the 1920's and he just didn't have the heart to throw it away. On a bit of a whim, hubby and I decided to take it off his hands and have a go at our first reupholstery project. We priced out how much it would cost to have it done professionally and were given an estimate at both places for 1200.00. We calculated out the costs and figure we can do it for under 300.00. Now if it turns out is the question. :)

Ideas

2010-10-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

This post is mainly for my sisters who have been asking to see pics of the new place we moved into (well 8 months ago now). I would love any ideas or advice on how to decorate better. :)

Master Bedroom

Kitchen

Girls' room

Little Man's room

Living room

Enjoy

2010-06-28T22:20:00.001-07:00

Inseparable sisters

The child above likes to get as sandy (and dirty, sticky, messy...) as possible...

and the one below, not so much. :)

Why can't life be so simply enjoyable for all of us?

Exploring the world around him.

Things I Love

2010-04-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

*Peanut butter
*Spring blossoms
*Fall leaves
*Homemade bread
*Listening to my girls sing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" over and over in the car
*Pickles
*Journal writing for myself and kids
*Spinach fruit smoothies
*Fall decorations
*Tuna fish sandwiches
*Taking walks on the trail
*The sound of running water: water falls, rivers, streams, creeks...
*"Reading Rainbow"
*Reading books to my children
*Listening to my girls play together
*Sunsets
*The tide pools at the beach
*Ice cream (a little too much of a love there)
*Drawing
*Having picnics
*Snuggling
*Books, books, books
*"Pottery Barn" magazines
*Shopping for vintage and antiques
*French bread pizza
*A slight breeze coming in the window
*Cheese
*Thunderstorms
*The scriptures
*Birds chirping
*Movie night with hubby
*The Cheesecake Factory
*Camping at Hobble Creek
*The sound of my sisters' voices on the phone
*My one-toothed 27 lb 8-month-old
*All the cuddles and kisses I get from my little 31 lb 3-yr-old
*My singing, dancing, non-stop talking 5-yr-old
*My strong, hard-working, teasing 28 yr-old
*There is so much to cherish in this life. My list could go on and on. What else could I ask for?

Updates

2010-03-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

This year has been very busy so far.

Here are the Hawks family updates:

SICKNESS, SICKNESS, SICKNESS! So far this year it has been never-ending runny noses and coughs, not to mention stomach-flu (the above pic), pink eye, and neck yeast/bacterial infections (the below pic, the latter taking a month to clear up). It is so fun being a mom sometimes.

We moved to a new place last month and have been enjoying the third bedroom (we finally have our room to ourselves!), and the walking trail just outside the front door. The girls were "sore" from walking up the stairs all the time, but are used to it now.

Ambyr turned 5! She really wanted a cheetah cake, so that is what she got.

She is obsessed with wild cats these days and is constantly stalking and pouncing on her stuffed animal muskox. She likes being a leopard and ocelot the best. She loves to draw and color and spent 3 straight hours coloring Easter pictures the other day. We read together a lot and she is so great at watching over Braeden when he needs some attention when I am in the middle of something. She is still in the 90th + percentile for height and is going to be taller than me before too long. Looks like she might have her dad's genes for height. What an awesome big sis!

Our 3 year old likes to "read" to herself these days and was so into reading "Jane Eyre" that she didn't even notice me taking pics of her. She sat there for a good 10-15 minutes reading outloud to herself as she made up a story to go along with the words. McKenna is our shy one but is very silly at home and likes to crack jokes and say funny things. She loves to play with her big sister and loves everything pink. She will eat anything and everything and is hungry all the time. She likes to do "Mommy-and-McKenna preschool" whenever Ambyr is at her preschool.

At 8 months, Braeden is as smiley and chubby as ever. He is sitting really well on his own now and can roll over both ways. We really had to work with him on rolling over as he lays there like a "beached whale" as Michael calls him, and didn't have a whole lot of desire to get moving on his own. He is loving eating solids and looks like we are on the way to having another good eater. What a cutie!

I have been enjoying going on outings with the kids: library, walks on the trail, park, etc. We went to the zoo last week and Ambyr couldn't wait to see her tiger.

So, I had some requests to show the latest projects I have been working on lately. I love to draw but haven't had much training, so those of you who are experts, don't look too close. The pic of the old barn is my latest drawing which I completed a few months ago. The one of the horse, I did a while back. I also like to do a little photography every now and then. But I don't know a thing about it yet, so buying a nice camera and maybe taking a class is next on my list.

Michael is busy with work and studying for CFA #3 on the weekends. He still enjoys watching sports in his free time and keeping up with all the political junk going on. He grilled up some delicious chicken and sausages for dinner last night! Gotta love CA weather.

Finally a post

2010-02-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

Braeden's 6 month stats:

23 lbs 2 oz (off the charts)

28 3/4 inches tall (99th percentile)

The doctor was concerned about my back. I wonder why?

Enjoying playing in the snow for the first time. The girls went crazy about the sledding, even with the rocky terrain. I got a nice bruise on my bum from running over a big one.

Opening stockings Christmas morning.

In Moab, spending time with cousins, making gingerbread houses (these little guys are actually Michael's cousins). The roof on Ambyr's wouldn't hold, so Michael "fixed" it so they had a house with a false front.

One of Braeden's favorite spots (at my folk's house).

Braeden at 5 months with cousin Carolyn at 2 months. Don't they look so cute together?

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Lice

2009-11-30T19:49:00.000-08:00

Fleet Week

Enjoying Ghirardelli Square after the air show. Too bad it got foggy and the Blue Angels were cancelled. It was sooo cold!

Clayton Valley Pumpkin Patch: We went there with a bunch of moms and kids and they all loved chasing eachother around in the hay bale mazes (until Ambyr ran into another child and got a bloody nose) and jumping in the lima bean pools.

Showing off the pumpkins they helped carve.

Lookin' beautiful as Cinderella and Little Red Ridinghood... and so cute as a cow.

4 mos. old already!

19 lbs 3 oz

26.5 inches

Just chillin' in the bath (he may be a bit too big to bathe in the sink, it is just easier on my back :)).

All three of us girls had lice, but I don't look as cute in a shower cap as the two girls, so I opted not to be in the photo. Three weeks later and hours of vacuuming every inch of the house and all furniture, including mattresses almost daily (as well as the car several times); countless loads of laundry, picking nits (louse eggs) out of hair daily, bagging all dress-ups, stuffed animals, pillows that we can do without, washing all hair accessories (combs/brushes daily), keeping our hair up in buns, the list goes on....and we're almost rid of it. Pray you never have to deal with this. And for those who have, you can understand my plight. (It has become an epidemic in our ward). At first I was rather embarrassed, but considering 5+ families had it at the same time, I didn't feel as bad. Plus the lice actually prefer clean hair (who would have thought, but it makes sense considering that is where they lay their young).

THANKSGIVING!!!

It was just our little family this year and I think I got a little over excited about the food. What do you think?

Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade crescent rolls, candied yams, cranberry jelly, green bean casserole, stuffing, and four pies (2 pumpkins, 1 apple, and 1 banana cream).

Change

2009-09-28T15:51:00.000-07:00

1 week

1 month

6 weeks

2 months

Here are some pics of Braeden. I can't believe how fast he is changing and growing.

2 month status:

Weight: 14 lbs 13 0z. (97th percentile)

Height: 24 inches (90th percentile)

Cursed Apartment

2009-09-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

Since we moved to this apartment in December 2006, the following is a list of problems we have dealt with:

*a family of raccoons living in the space above the ceiling and in the walls
*rats getting into the kitchen drawers and eating the food (plus leaving behind a lot of their own treasures)
*a leaking washing machine (that Michael repaired)
*a broken dryer (that Michael tried to repair, but ended up calling a repair man-it took them 3 weeks to fix it)
*a leaking pipe in the wall in the girls' room (they slept in our room for 3 weeks, while the pipe was replaced, the mold cleaned out and new wall put up)
*same thing happened in the kitchen 6 months later (had no kitchen for a month)
*both toilets had some major clogging issues
*water heater busted and was replaced
*furnace is next on the list
*and the latest: I walked into the bathroom to brush the girls' teeth last week and smelled something awful... I looked into the bathtub to discover it filled halfway up with what I thought at first was sewage (later to discover it was junk from someone's kitchen pipe). Lovely.

I am incredibly thankful that we are renting and don't own this apartment, so we don't have to pay for all the problems.

It really isn't a bad apartment complex, we just happen to have the bad apartment (our next-door neighbor has lived here for 17 years and hasn't had to deal with hardly a thing).

Do I really want to own a house someday?

New Addition

2009-07-24T18:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome Braeden Brent Hawks

July 22, 2009 @ 11:59 p.m

8 lbs. 8 oz.

20 1/4 inches

THE STORY

Braeden was determined to be born on Wednesday, as he made it by one minute. We had quite the wild ride this time with his birth. We arrived at the hospital delivery room about 10 minutes before he was born. No time for anything, not even for the doctor to get there. The poor nurses were a little frantic, but handled the situation well. He had a short embilical cord, which is pretty rare, so it broke on its own as he was being delivered and caused him a bit of stress, so I didn't get to hold him right away until they made sure he was okay and didn't lose too much blood. Both my girls went past their due dates, so having an early baby caught me by surprise. My labor pains started around 9:00 p.m or so and they weren't that bad, nor were they lasting very long, (although they were coming every 2-3 min. apart) so I kept thinking I had plenty of time. Around 11:00, I even called the on-call doctor to make sure and she thought I could wait it out at home a while longer (since my water hadn't broken yet either). Thankfully, I listened to that little thought in the back of my mind that we needed to leave now. By the time we got out the door, things picked up rather fast and I wasn't feeling too good. I'm afraid that by the time we arrived at the hospital I was yelling. My water broke the moment the nurse checked me and said that there was no time for an epidural (as I kept insisting on one) and that this baby was here. I always thought I was a wimp and could never deliver a baby without pain killers, and I still know I am a wimp as I'd rather get to the hospital in time for an epidural next time! :)

We love our little guy and are excited that he made it safe and sound, and not in the car!

4th of July

2009-07-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend with Michael's family. My mother-in-law picked the girls up on Wednesday afternoon (so Michael and I could have a few days to ourselves before #3 arrives), and I had the whole evening to myself (to catch up on scrapbooking, as I was over a year behind). When Michael got home from work at 9:30, we caught a late dinner at Panda Express and watched a movie. On Thursday, we were able to go to the temple and out to lunch (with appetizers and desserts and everything, wow). We slept in and had naps... so spoiled. We took a nice walk together on the trail by our apartment and I ended up coming home with 3 blisters, as my feet are like blimps these days.

On Friday we headed down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with Michael's fam and the girls. They have a cool new sea horse exhibit. The girls LOVE the aquarium. We enjoyed clam chowder bowls on the wharf afterwards and some Ghirardelli chocolate samples.

On Saturday we had a busy day full of fun activities: Ward pancake breakfast in the morning, swimming and a BBQ at Michael's relative's home (they had some baby kittens there that the girls were obsessed with), and homemade strawberry ice cream. Yummy!!! In the evening we went to the town's little fireworks display and did some of our own out in the street. The girls loved the sparklers and snappers the best. On Sunday we roasted marshmallows in the backyard and enjoyed each other's company. I really married into the BEST family.

Other news: Am starting to dilate and looking forward to little brother's arrival. Though due July 31st, I am expecting an August baby, as both girls were late. Still not a set name yet. Have been getting the nesting instinct and have been busy getting things in order. I have this thing where everything in the house has to be organized before baby comes, down to the very last sock drawer. Have had a few requests for a lovely baby bump pic, so I will get one soon.

Utah!!!

2009-05-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

Family B-B-Q

Left: Elise (taught voice lessons to me for 4 years, starting when I was twelve)

Right: Julie (one of my young women leaders)

A brunch with the 2 women in my life who have been mother figures/great friends for 13+ years.

Bean Museum (little brother Jacob to my left)

Fun with Uncle Wally: attempting to pick up 5 kids at once (one is hidden behind him).

Having fun in the backyard at my parent's house (see cousin Rachael anywhere?)
Girls enjoying books with Papa Wally.

My beautiful roses.

At Lion's Park

Celebrating my 26th b-day.
Finally reporting about my trip (a month afterwards): Back to my hometown for a little over 2 weeks. I had such a great time with my family and the girls loved spending time with their cousins, 6 of the 8 being girls. We sure missed Michael while we were gone, but it did feel so good to be back with my family, all of whom live in Utah.

Here is a list of some of our adventures:

*BYU Bean Museum

*BYU Museum of Art (they had an "I SPY" Walter Wick exhibit that the kids really enjoyed).

*Lion's Park twice

*Took my brothers out to ice cream at Baskin Robbins

*My sister and I enjoyed pie and brownies with ice cream at Village Inn

*Family BBQ

*Celebrated my 26th birthday

*Michael sent me 2 dozen roses, which were quite the surprise (I have the best husband)

*Went out to breakfast with Michael's Grandma and Grandpa Hawks

*Soccer game

*Visited several friends (although I missed a few :( )

*Had a girls' night out with some old high school pals

*Got to enjoy my sister's new house (envy)

*Had a much needed hair cut (totally took advantage of cheap Utah prices)

*Relaxed, while my brothers and Dad and Judy played with the girls and read them books

*What a nice vacation!!!

An Amazing Mother

2009-03-18T13:44:00.000-07:00

My sister Mary typed up a copy of my mother's journal dating from 1981-1989 and gave all us five other siblings a copy. I have been enjoying reading it the last few days. My mother passed away when I was 12 years old, so it is nice to have her written words at a time in her life when she was only a few years older than I am now.

It is also a little (actually quite) embarrassing to go back and read her entries as it makes me remember what an incredible woman she was and what I have to live up to, but never will.

Back in 1984, she had 4 children (me being the baby) at the time, my dad was working full time as a computer scientist at Eyring, part time for the National Guard, and was also getting his Master's Degree at BYU (all at once).

Mom was an expert gardener and took care of 12 garden beds, multiple fruit trees, raspberry bushes, etc., (Excerpt: "The garden is growing well. We have had and are enjoying wax beans, parsnips, peas, horse beans, radishes, lettuce, spinach, beets, chard, bell peppers, zucchini, onions and cucumbers, also purslane and parsley and cauliflower and kohlrabi, tomatoes, strawberries, green beans, carrots, pumpkins, butternut, banana squash, patty pan, raspberries, turnips, potato").

She baked homemade breads on a weekly basis (one baking day she did this: "Yesterday was baking day and I made a double recipe of lemon squares (some for Pam Shelton and her family for dessert, and Dahlin’s, Sheltons have new baby boy), 8 loaves wheat bread, 4 loaves rye bread, 4 loaves french bread and 32 soft pretzels."). She ground her own wheat and made homemade granola and graham crackers on occasion, too.

She was also taking voice lessons, worked very hard at genealogy, was a sewing wizard (doll clothes, church dresses, denim pants for Dad, just about anything), canned close to 200 jars of fruits and vegetables a year, sewed quilts for all of us children, crochet afghans, tried to attend the temple weekly, was the Relief Society secretary, and so much more. Needless to say, she arose between 5:30-6:00 every morning to study her scriptures before the rest of the family got up.

Regardless of all that, in almost every entry she talked of never getting enough done, or wasted days, feeling like a failure, and so on. If she was a failure while doing all that, I don't even want to think what I would be.

It is sad to think that I could now have so much expert advice on how to make better bread, and could call her when I need help with my quilt. She could show me how to can and grow a garden (if I ever get a yard someday). But it makes me reach out to others around me for advice and thankfully I have so many talented friends and family members (not to mention two amazing sisters who follow after my mother's footsteps). I do miss my mother tremendously, but what a better example to follow of how I want to be someday (but not for many, many years to come).

Exciting News

2009-03-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

It's A Boy!!!

We are really excited to add another man to the family. Start evening things out a bit. Little guy is lookin' good. Now for the hard part: Deciding on a name.

Peace and Quiet

2009-02-28T12:53:00.000-08:00

My three babes are sound asleep right now and it is nice to enjoy a few moments of silence to myself. Michael told me to wake him up five minutes ago, but I am going to let him sleep a little longer as he needs it. CFA studies will consume the rest of his Saturday afternoon.
Sometimes I wonder what we got ourselves into here in CA, 2 hours commuting everyday and busy job, plus CFA exam looming over us, among many other things (new baby on the way, busy church callings, classes, fatigue and doctors appointments galore (mine and Ambyr's)). I feel like I hardly ever see my husband; can't remember the last time we went on a date; and eating dinner together as a family during the week disappeared several years ago. But just to have him asleep on the couch next to me brings so much comfort and reassurance. I know he is doing his very best to take care of us (and I am so grateful he doesn't have to work weekends, too). Things are usually crazy for 6 months of every year, but when summer time rolls around, things start to slow down and we love to spend more time together as a family. I just have to think, on days when he doesn't come home until midnight, and into bed until 2 a.m., where would I be without him?

2009-02-16T14:03:00.001-08:00

Here are some of the fun adventures we had over the holidays. I am finally posting the pics that I promised over a month ago.

Girls enjoying a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show in CA Adventures.

Hawks family tradition: dipping chocolates. McKenna really

enjoyed getting her hands covered in chocolate and licking it all off afterwards.

On King Arthur's Carousel at Disneyland

Storybook Land ride in Disneyland

The girls were so excited to meet Princess Aurora

On Casey Jr. train ride

Making sugar cookies at Grandma's house. McKenna kept

trying to eat all the sprinkles off the cookies before

we baked them.

Fun Happenings

2009-01-09T20:16:00.000-08:00

Well, the holidays have come and gone and I haven't updated you all on the fun things we did. McKenna turned 2 over the Thanksgiving holiday and was a little shy about all the attention. We enjoyed 3 days in Disneyland with Michael's family and we had a blast. The girls really enjoyed themselves and Ambyr talks about our trip almost daily and what she wants to do "the next time we go to Disneyland." She especially loved the parades and the Dumbo ride and doesn't forget to mention that the Snow White ride made her "a little nervous."

Other news, we are excited that Hawks child #3 is on its way and is due July 31st. I have been pretty fatigued lately, morning sickness better than the first time around, but worse than it was with McKenna. Hoping it will pass soon. I got an extra ultrasound the other day because the nurse couldn't hear the baby's heart beat in the routine exam. Quite the active little one and we got to see it take the umbilical cord and move it off of its shoulder. Cute!

Promise to get pics soon!

A Crazy Life in CA

2008-12-09T14:20:00.000-08:00

After leaving this blog sitting around for a few months, I have finally come around to actually letting others view it.
We have been in CA for 3 years now and time has sure flown. Michael takes BART into San Francisco everyday and likes the atmosphere of working in the big city. I am blessed to stay at home with our two little girls, Ambyr (3.5 years old) and McKenna (2 years old). This year has been full of interesting experiences, some good ones, and others that you would call "learning experiences" to make them sound less negative.
We started off the year coming back from holiday vacation to discover an excessive amount of mold and several leaking pipes behind a wall in the girls' room. The result: half the wall torn down and pipes replaced while we shared our room with the girls for almost a month.
Ambyr also developed a problem with her eyes where they were unable to focus properly, especially her left eye. Within a few weeks, her eye went from looking perfectly normal to being crossed all the time. Months of glasses and patching were to no avail and the big surgery day came in June. She is doing really well and her eyes are improving daily.
Our trip to New York City in March was the highlight of our year. What an awesome place to visit.
Next came the leak in the kitchen (does this sound familiar?) resulting in discovering that the entire wall by the sink and cupboard and up into the ceiling were soaking wet, equaling in another mold removal process and repair, meaning no sink or dishwasher and all my cupboard supplies in boxes for a month. Turns out the HOA is discovering faulty pipes in other apartments, too.
With Michael studying for the CFA III(Chartered Financial Analyst) and the GMAT, and applying for graduate school, things may not get any less crazy. All in all, this year has been full of growing experiences, but that is what life is all about, right?

Beautiful Places

2008-11-13T14:38:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of the wonderful places we have visited this year.

Fun Times!

2008-11-13T14:01:00.000-08:00

One of the things we love about CA the most is, can you guess, the BEACH! The girls love it just as much as Mom and Dad do. We went to the Boardwalk for a family reunion activity and Ambyr got to go on a roller coaster for the first time. I thought she would freak out, but she screamed and put her hands up in the air like the best of 'em...until it started rolling downhill, then she clung on for dear life. She loved it though. McKenna was jealous that she wasn't big enough to go on it too.