Ranting and Raving

So, I realize I have been MIA for a few months. The reason? House hunting has been consuming my time and my thoughts. And let me tell ya, it has not been my favorite process. Sure, the kids love going from house to house and running through each one and especially checking out the yards. I kind of like it too... (that part).

Somehow I had this idea in my mind that we would look at a few homes, find the "right" one, make an offer and either get accepted or the sellers would make a counteroffer and we would "work it out with them"...and finally own our first home!!! :)

Nobody warned me that 8 other buyers would be trying to do the same thing on the same home, or on the same 8 homes thus far...Therefore, we are at 0 for 8. Bidding wars & all-cash offers= enemies!

Our area is a very desirable place to live, because it is close to San Fran (where many of the hubbies work), close to BART, great schools, beautiful weather, lots to do and see...but very few homes on the market, in our price range. Sure if we had a million bucks to throw out there, it would be no problem... a lot less competition on each home. But because there are a million other young families trying to get a home in this area while the prices are lower, we just don't have a chance.

Maybe we will get lucky one of these times...:)

Thanks for letting me rant and rave for a moment. ;)

A Project and a Cake

Can't get enough of projects these days.

This is a wooden sign I painted for my sons' bedroom. All I needed was the board; I had all the other supplies on hand, so it cost me $5, and it is a 2x2 size. Trying to get a "vintage transportation" theme going. Am also sewing a "vintage map" quilt that will be hung on their wall.

For daughter's b-day, she wanted to go to the beach, eat clam chowder, and have BLTs for dinner. It was a great day!

She was very happy with her cake!

Thank you to everyone for your ideas on how to make this cake. I ended up going with a frozen buttercream transfer, which I had never even heard of before! And it worked out well. Couldn't have done it without your help. So thanks again! I used crushed graham crackers for sand, and borrowed some of my mother-in-law's shells for added detail.

Please input

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

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!

:)

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

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

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!