We had another busy weekend.

A little bit of this.


And this ... I love this idea from Frills Fluff and Trucks.  I heart Valentine's Day.  Not for the mushy Hallmark stuff.....but for the pretty colors (pink & red) and the hearts, of course.

And this.

Ashli got a new camera.  I want it.  I really want it.  35th Place Photography is going to happen.  I'm so proud of the girls.  I need to set a date for a family portrait with her, Sara and Tiff.  I wonder if the new tools they have will shave 50lbs and 5 years off this mama.

Sunday night is here again.  I feel I didn't accomplish as much as I had hoped to get done this weekend.  Friday night is a blur.  I think Sofia and I vegged watching mindless TV.  Saturday was shot -- breakfast and out the door to Sofia's game in Everett.  Syl had the boys, so we hung out at their place Saturday night.  Today breakfast, clean up and to the padres.   Yummy food.  I brought Mrs. Fagan's cinnamon rolls (a new family hit).  The Espo's came for a visit.  We chilled, it was good, but another day away from laundry and my long "to-do/wish" list.

Alex starts guitar this week.  JH full swing into basketball.  Sofia soccer.  I hope to have a successful week at work.  I birthed my first budget analysis in Office 2007.  It was painful.  I hope the next delivery is quick and painless.

Good night.

M 

I wish...(the edited version)

...for one of these.

And since I'm editing the link....I might as well add one of these .... and one of these.

365 days and random thoughts

I vowed to be better at blogging in 2010.  Well, not really blogging, I see it more as journaling.  Except the world can see it.  One reason was Ali.  She inspires me.  I don't know how I happened upon her blog.  But I do love it.  She is journaling every day of 2010, through a picture or a note.  I don't think I'll get a post or picture everyday, but I'm trying.

I also love this site, can you guess why.

Here's an M factoid or a BOK (bit of knowledge)....I love paper journals.  Ask Ashli.  I have a collection under my nightstand.  Pretty ones, plain ones, lined pages, plain pages, a collection.  I always buy with the intention to journal.  

Here's proof, a picture of my nightsand taken last night....reading material, magazines, one journal (bottom upper left), lotion for me feet, lotion for my hands.  The black journal is Lilia's.  She likes to write in her journal every night.  She's much better at it than I am.  The journal under the little lotion is from my friend.  It's a "circle journal", where we write back and forth to each other.  I'm not good at that either.

Another M factoid.  I love cake plates.  I was in a boutique a while back.  Chatted with the sales lady about cake plates.   She took my email address and said she'd let me know when some new one's arrived.  Well she emailed me last week.  "6 and 9 inch plates are in....jade green and light pink milky glass".  Oh, heart be still.  I responded that I would take an inventory of what I have.

I have 16!

7 clear

3 white

2 black

2 pink (one light, one dark)

1 pea green

1 dark red

I told her I'd pass this time...but keep your eye out on a BLUE one, I might be interested :)

Yesterday JH was recognized at school as a school citizen who "Puts Things First".  He hated going on stage.  He hated standing in the hall for a picture.

He is so dang cute.

Before I entered the school, I saw Lilia from across the parking lot.  She was outside at recess, running around with her friends.  She had brought her green sequined purse with her to school.  Oops.  There it was, swung over her shoulder as she ran, readjusting it as it slipped off .... oh wait, she had to stop and sit to apply lipgloss.  Love it!  I was cracking up in the car.  I talked to Mrs. A after school.  Lilia should not have her purse AND lipgloss with her at school.  But she too thinks Lilia is way too much!

I survived Tuesday.  The first night of 3 kid activities.  I'm going to enjoy the silence now.

Good night.

Weekend Recap

How could it be Sunday night again?

I already shared Friday night crafts.  I still need to do some more coats on my M.  I like my M.  We decided that letters would make great gifts.  Sofia wants to create a few for her friends.  Something handmade, we'll try it.

Sofia had an out of town soccer tournament.  The boys opted to stay with Papa and Lita.  Lilia, Sofia and I left around 10am Saturday morning for our 2 1/2 hour trip to Camas.  Papa picked up the boys just before we left.  He was going to take them to Old Country Buffet for breakfast.  All three of them love it, so it worked out well.

We ate breakfast on the run.  Now don't judge me, you can see we ate fast food on the way.  McDonalds is convenient, inexpensive and they like it.

At least they drank OJ and a Powerade.

We left early to allow for some cushion in time.  Thank God.  We stopped in Woodland to get gas, which is about 1/2 hour from Vancouver.  Sofia by chance asked, "mom, did you pack my cleats?"....crap, no!.  We hurried to the mall and found a Big 5.   Shoes bought!   We were still 15 minutes late to the game, but it could have been worse.  I hate being late.  The game was good.  The other team played very well, great connections, communicated, stayed on top of the ball.  We've come a long way, but still have a way to go.  And the weather was beautiful, blue skies...I think I could live in Camas.

The ride home was so long!  I nibbled on the usual, sunflower seeds keep me awake.  Numb lip and tongue, but I stayed awake.  We picked up the boys and headed home with 2 pints of blueberries.

Today Uncle Jess, his granddaughter Brittney and new baby M came to visit.  My job was to bring blueberry muffins.  (That's why I was sent home with blueberries.)  I tried a new recipe from Ina, with a little raw sugar on top.  They were a hit and they looked pretty too!

Of course I have to bring something to do at the padres house.  So I packed up my felt and my Big Shot, picked up Sylvia on the way and headed over.  Inspired by Sara, I wanted to make felt flower clips for Lilia.  I started that process but didn't finalize a product, yet.  I cut plenty of circles and flowers to finish at home.  I think I need to buy some buttons to put in the center.  I had some large pieces of scrap felt, so I tried make a rainbow heart to applique to a shirt for Lilia.  I think the concept is good, but need to buy thinner fabric.  Seven layers of felt is too thick.

You can see my cut circles and flowers in the upper left corner.  The rainbow heart is there too.  Sofia's using the Big Shot to cut scraps.

Again, nothing accomplished.  No final product.  Maybe next weekend I'll finish.

JH starts basketball this week....it's going to be an already busy week filled with another activity.

Good night.

M is for Mom

Last night, while Sofia was at soccer, we went to JoAnn's. Initially I was looking for fabric to recover my new Goodwill finds (pictures to be posted soon), but I ended up being way too overwhelmed with the fabric to choose. And kids at my feet didn't allow me to take my time.

We ventured to find some great deals. Wooden letters for $1. Acrylic paint for 99 cents. We had a craft project for 2 bucks. Sofia had an S. I had an M. Lilia had a heart. She loves hearts.

So we began. In Sofia's true fashion, she took her time and made sure she covered it evenly in same direction strokes. Lilia was done in about 5 minutes, with sprinkles.

The boys didn't miss a beat....darn DS games.

Tomorrow we leave at 10:30am for a day of soccer. A 2 1/2 hour road trip south. Oh joy.

The house is quiet, well, except for the washer and dryer.

Good night.

P.S. These pictures are taken with my iPhone. Have I mentioned I need a new camera. I think Jimmy needs to "hook me up".

Tree tops

Morning bath, sleepy eyes, flower in hair, JH's cars. Kiss her goodbye. Off to work.

When I drove out of my driveway and actually had to wear sunglasses. The sun was shining through the tree tops. I had to stop and take a picture. I love tree tops.

I need a new camera. This iPhone picture quality just isn't doing it for me.

Good night.

MLK and the sun is shining

"He is a guy who wants the world to be together. He wants everyone to go to the same schools. He wants everybody to sit next to each other on the bus. There was a girl who was not allowed to sit at the front of the bus." This is who MLK is to JH.

Every year I think we, as a family, should be part of a local MLK celebration. We talk about it. But it ends up being just another day off to play catch up.

This weekend has been busy.

Julia & Julia, tea and the girls.
Baking for Rhea: chocolate chip cookies, chocolate oatmeal cookies and Mrs. Fagan's famous cinnamon rolls (which WERE a hit).
Family dinner #1 -- at the padres, HAPPY BIRTHDAY RHEA, with O&J and part of Ruben's clan. I actually made tortillas. They looked awful, but were edible and no one but me complained!
Sunday morning breakfast with 2 extra growing boys (Mateo and Brody) I went through a loaf and a half of bread (french toast) and nearly a gallon of milk.
Family dinner #2 -- corned beef and cabbage and mashed papas. No real occassion. I dropped off Mateo and picked up Ravae and Lukas in the process.
A trip to Goodwill and a 2nd hand store. Can you say addicting??!! Watch out Sara, I'm looking for the best find!
And today I sit. Well, kind of. I have played catch up on blog reading. Time goes so fast when you are cruising the internet. People are awe inspiring.
Kids finally asked for lunch. They are in the park now, eating PB&J's and chips. I kicked them out. We may not be blessed with another day like this in a while.
I'm on load #3, still need to do sheets.
I should be paying bills.
I should be doing work work.
I'm enjoying the silence.

Thank you MLK.

Cinnamon Rolls

Mrs. Fagan always bakes the best stuff. Especially cinnamon rolls. I saw her on Saturday and was disheartened to the fact that of late, she is is using Rhodes cinnamon rolls from the freezer section.

I stopped at the store tonight, and there they were. I bought a bag of those babies to try. Won't be until this weekend when they have time to rise. Can't wait to do a test taste with my family.

In the meantime, an RSS feed came across my email tonight that raved about the cinnamon rolls shared by The Pioneer Woman. I like the cooking portion of her website. I like the visual step by steps. And I think I'll try her cinnamon roll recipe!

In 12 hours

Today was the final day to put the house back to normal. All decorations put away. Christmas tree down. Ornaments in their safe places.

I rearranged the furniture, vacuumed, laundry done.

I did leave a small decoration of winter wonderland on my front porch....snowflakes galore.

I still need to work on thank-you's. Kids backpacks need to be cleaned out. Lunch boxes ready. Water bottles washed. Clothes laid out.

I will be waking up for my first day back to work. Ugghh. I so love to be home. I love to have my kids home. But it makes me lazy, it makes them lazy.

Welcome 2010.

Vicious Cycle

I love being off work. I love spending the day at home, doing odds and ends, puttering around the house. No shower, no make-up, sweats.

I've been off now since December 22...each day staying up a little later, waking up a little later.

A vicious cycle began December 22.

Last night lights went off at 3am.

Lilia woke me up at 10:30am this morning! I can't believe she slept in that late TOO!

I told myself I had to be in bed by 11pm tonight, so that I could be up early.

Here I sit.

Night.