there was this one time...

one more

we are having one more. :) i took the kids with me this morning to my ultrasound. they seemed pretty fascinated- we saw some good leg movement and belly rolling. it was cool. caleb said he wished it was in color, though. :) haha. the doc said that he might have been able to see what the sex is, but the baby kept moving. active little kid. :) and apparently the doctor didn't have the same itinerary as me- i would have gladly waited until he had a better view. but i guess there are other patients besides me. lol. anyways, the kids start school tomorrow and probably won't be with me the next time i have an ultrasound, so i thought it was cool that they were with me today. today made it so much more real. makes me remember how much i look forward to prenatal doctor visits. that heartbeat alone brings me to tears. :) such an amazing, wonderful miracle that this all is. we are excited, y'all. excited and happy. :)

his other baby

was released today. my man and his team worked 6 1/2 long months on this one. they put their hearts and souls in it. lots of prayers for this. lots of laughs and good times, but lots of headaches too. lots of late nights thinking about where it's all going. all to put some smiles on little kids' faces for 40 minutes. to give the little tykes some good models to look up to. for little tykes to believe in bigger and better things than little pocket monsters. (not hating the pokemon, my kids love them) but to be able to give a little hope and encouragement to the bigger picture.... i am proud of my man.

we went to our local christian bookstore today, and i was all gung ho and asking why it wasn't up on the shelf yet--- see the basket full of em? they hadn't gotten to it yet. they did just open the doors 15 minutes ago. :) but they did it. and i am posting here for you all to see. check it out. angel wars guardian force episode 2. if i could link i would link you to amazon. but my web browser doesn't let me link. sorry.
chris- i love you and am so enormously pleased to go through this journey with you. i hope seeing it on the shelf is as rewarding for you as it is for me. xoxoxox.

what i love to do

scrapbook, of course. but i am a weirdo, i love scrapping to deadlines. i have at least 5 each month and i usually wait to the last minute. not because i am a huge procrastinator, but i have to be in the mode. and honestly, i am not in the mode everyday. i am also not a neat person. especially when it comes to scrapping. i try and keep my things organized by company. that seems to help. and off the floor. especially when i have little people passing by me every 5 minutes who step on my gorgeous paper. so my new thing- to lay everything out on my bed. and then i am forced to put it away at the end of the day. which sucks though when you are in serious mode. but i love that place... in the mode... i whipped out 5 1/2 layouts in the last 2 days and it feels goooooood.
i know, totally random.
next entry will be an australia one. i finally got all my pics on my computer. and there is much more to report about.. and to remember. we miss it so. :)

mini iron chef

how cute is this? my boy entered a mini iron chef chocolate milk challenge. they had a huge assortment of goodies to put in your chocolate milk-- strawberries, bananas, gummi bears, choc chips, sprinkles, whipped cream. marshmellows... everything you can imagine. he had a ball... i had a ball watching him. i love the idea of one of my kids becoming a chef *insert memory of my great food appreciation here* :) but really-- besides all that... it was good to see my boy put himself out there. to have a good time. he was so nervous when the judges were walking around, and of course all the mom's knew that everyone would win!

milk. it does a body good. :)

good mommy

why is it that when i take my kids on an outing i feel like a good mommy? like, check, took the kids to the museum, did my good mommy thing for the week! :) is it because the majority of the week has been spent indoors... doing nothing all that spectacular? and i feel guilty, so i say, 'boys! what do you want to do today?!' and being that they are incredible homebodies, they say, nothing. :) music to my ears, really, because i am a homebody too. but today i got antsy. school starts in exactly 2 weeks. i need to take them out and DO something... make some summer memories! i remember a local kids museum remodeled and we hadn't been yet. so we go. they are a little hesitant when we get there... but before they know it, they are climbing the 'ant trees', examining rocks, seeing scorpions that glow in the dark, making aluminum boats and floating them down the arroyo, rock/wall climbing and riding trikes. (caleb's favorite part) we are even going back tomorrow because mommy managed to score a free pass for us since one of the exhibits were closed. :)
so anyways, i feel good. i pack my sweaty head boys in the car... knowing we will just go home and watch TV, but it's all good. they got to do some exploring in a place other than their living room. and i realize... a kid doesn't need to be packed with things to do 24/7. i don't need to feel like i have to do things like this everyday to be a good mom. that they are cool just being with me. hanging or what not. those are our summer memories.

here she goes again

i am addicted to grocery stores. love the long clean aisles... all the food stacked so nicely...all the cool packaging things come in...the idea of coupons that i never use... i'm weird. and i don't even really cook! i wish i could. i watch foodnetwork and try to soak it in, but it doesn't work. it's torture for a food lover like myself...not to be able to cook. at least as well as i'd like.
anyways, i MEAN to go in the store for just a carton of milk... and i come out with 4 bags of goodies--yes, never shop at 930 pm... when you are in the mood for munchies. i MEAN to go in the store for just basil and cream...but i walk out with 3 very packed bags of yumminess. and it's from trader joes-- which totally makes me feel like it's alright... it's healthy... good for me/us. haha.
i know this is totally random... but i hadn't posted in awhile. haven't taken pictures in awhile. waiting for chris to load all my australia pics on this computer from his laptop so i can continue to blog about australia...(HINT!-- so do it... otherwise you will be reading more totally random food posts from me) haha.. love you.

she's good, folks.

i can't believe how much this girl has grown up. she's TEN now. entering her final year in elementary school-------eeeeeeeeeek!! this will be a great year for her. her school really does a good job at making the 5th graders enjoy this special year. her best friend has changed schools, but i think k will be alright with it. she will have to make a new best friend. and when we are ten, aren't we making new best friends...weekly?
anyways, this girl has totally helped me out these last few weeks since i have been home. i mean, she always helps out... but i noticed something this time... while i was laying on the couch on one of my bad days...i was asking her for a favor for the 15th time that hour... and she just kept doing it. whatever i asked. no attitude. no heavy sighing. nothing. just an obedient little girl. helping her mommy. and i almost teared up. i am so thankful for her. this little girl who has shared my days for the last 10 years...i am so proud of her.

hello monday

why does the weekend always have to go by so fast? seriously, it was just friday night like yesterday! we decided last minute on friday night to take the kids to la jolla. chris' favorite spot to unwind- and go kayaking. he got really close to a dolphin and a sea lion. cam went out with him for a bit and saw fish and tiger shark. it was a short trip, but good to get away from LA and visit our little paradise. yesterday, chris and i went on a date and saw the new bill murray movie, broken flowers. good stuff. always good to connect for a bit. especially before a new week starts.
anyways, monday always seem to visit me too soon. even though the kids are still out of school and i am home with them, chris is off to work, and the demands of a housewife are calling my name. laundry, bills, grocery shopping, my house is saying: organize me. clean me. (i ignore this way too often) so off i start. to do some productive things. to cross things off my list. don't get me wrong. there's nothing i would rather do with my days... then be here in my home, with my kids. i am not complaining. i am just saying. i long for days where there is little demand. heehee. happy monday! :)

found this

in my computer last night while going through some pictures from last month. love it when that happens. i forget i took a picture that i love. it's like finding a little treat! did you know that i have taken over 6,000 pictures since february when i got my new camera? crazy! i wish i could just get better at actually taking them off my computer and getting them printed. sorta time consuming. but i am a scrapbooker. one who needs actual photos to scrap them. so i need to get off my rear and get busting on these files. must. get. done. anyways, here's to friday! taking the kids to ikea today to get some stuff i probably don't need, bribing them with meatballs. ha! feeling good for the day so far... but yes, i have only been up for 1/2 an hour. :)

dragging

still suffering from major jetlag. was hoping it would be done with by now, but it's not. i have to nap for a few hours in the afternoon, and then chris and i stay up late at night. (not by choice) i even tried going without the nap, but i still stayed up late. (late is like 3 am) :( so forget it, on with the naps. i need my sleep. i wake up in the morning and feel like i should go back to bed. this is torture!!!! i am not usually a big whiner, so i think this is totally fair to post on my blog that i need some freaking sleep. :) my kids have been wonderful. who knows what they do while i am dozing off. (that sounds bad) they know not to answer the door, and i sleep on the couch... right where they hang out. so i am like asleep with one eye open, one eye closed, really. so i wake up to just madness. toys, books, food, clothes, everywhere. this is obviously not a recent picture of caleb, he has hair here. but this is a cute little display of my boy taking care of himself. notice the loaf of bread, PB & J! and fruit. what a cutie. so proud of him. so proud of all 3 of em. for giving me some time to try and get back to normal. i am sure they didn't expect grumpy ol mom coming home. poor dudes.
i am exhausted, people. exhausted.