Merry Christmas!

As my husband put, we had alot of lows and highs, but in the end we had a wonderfully memorable Christmas.

First the biggest high for me; my brother came from Texas with his family for the holiday. We haven't spend the holiday together in over 18 years. I was SOOOO excited to have them all here.

Christmas Eve: Every year we spend this day with my husbands family. This year we were to travel to my Mother-In-Law's house, which is about 70 miles away. After 3 hours in the car and at one point only moving 2.25 miles in 1 hours and 15 minutes, my husband had had enough, turned the car around and headed home. His family was quite disappointed, but know him well enough to understand. Dressed up with no where to go, we ended up eating dinner at CoCos which believe it or not was really nice; the kids were very pleasant (a Christmas miracle). :) We put the kids to bed (their idea another Christmas miracle), watched the movie, Step Brothers (fringin funny), and set up for Christmas. My husband and I marked this as one of our best Xmas Eves.

Christmas Day: Our morning was awesome! The kids got pretty much everything they REALLY wanted and Mom & Dad got the family a Wii, so the were besides themselves! Talk about some fun ass games, My husband I couldn't get enough of the tennis, golf and bowling. :) Preparing for our dinner guests was stress free, thanks to my Mom. Then just before we were to place the party potatoes in the oven to twice bake and everyone was to arrive, our electricity went out. So we crammed everything into the oven to either warm up or stay warm until we ate. We ended up eating and opening present by candle light; CRAZY! A couple of hours later the lights came back on and the kids enjoyed playing the Wii with their cousins.

A Great Christmas....for sure!!!

It's Beginning To Feel Alot Like Christmas!

For the past week it has been pretty cold here in good old So Cal, in the 5os. Now, I know that people living on the east coast would think we're crazy, but it's FRIGIN COLD to us. :) I love it though. I've been able to wear my sweaters, boots, coats, hats, gloves, etc which I love. The cold weather truly makes it feel like Christmas. In addition to the cold weather, you know Christmas is fast approaching when you feel the crazy crunch begin to squeeze. Last night I made 48 reindeer candy canes for the boy's classmates; they turned out super cute!

This morning I finished crocheting the number 2 of 2 scarves for my boy's teachers. They both turned out so cute I really need to make an effort, after the holidays, of making a couple of scarves for myself. It's funny how everything you make, you give away. :)

Scarf 1 of 2


My Favorite!

Gosh...I love pink!

Now, I'm off to pick up my reorder of Christmas cards and then off to the post office to get them out. I'm hoping I can squeeze in a stop-off at a local store to see if I can find a couple of polo shirts for my Gpa and Hubby before I pick up the boys at 12:30pm. Today is the last day of school which means it's my last day of semi-piece and quiet for 3 weeks. Whoo Hoo...Right on baby!!!

Two Weeks In Review

Holidays ~ Thanksgiving was relaxing this year since I was a guest instead of the host. As predicted, I ate WAY too much. Last Saturday, I had my annual Cookie Exchange party. This party is always a fun get-together. It's the one time of the year when my friends and I get together without the kids and bond. It's a win win situation for everyone, Moms get time away, eat cookies, drink coffee and the family gets a big tray of cookies to munch on for the next week.

Family Fun ~ Thanksgiving weekend our family went away to the desert for a mini vacation. It was an especially exciting trip since my husband has finished his Baja Bug and this trip was to be it's first time out. We had a blast! I love, love, love driving that bug around in the dirt. Look forward to our December trip!!!

Crochet Projects ~ Once I finish decorating the house for the holiday, I have a list I quick crochet projects I plan to complete as X-mas gifts for couple of family members and my two crafty pals. I promise, promise, promise to post pics of my progress.

Exercise Program ~ So, ya, trying to lose weight just before the holidays wasn't the greatest idea. I can't or, more like, I won't allow myself to miss out on all that the holidays have to offer, GREAT FOOD! Although I am doing my best not to over indulge and I've made sure to exercise at least 3 days a week in some way. Of coarse the scale hasn't changed, but I am toning up and I fit better in my clothes so I'm content. I'll save eating low calorie, low fat, bla, bla, bla for January 2009. :)

So Much To Be Thankful For

Every once in a while I WILL complain about my everyday aggravations: my house, children, husband, etc., but I've made an early resolution that I will try not to do that everyday. I have ALOT to be thankful for and need to remind myself of those precious gifts everytime I start to complain. I had this opifony the other day when I took one of my children's playmates home. He lives with his Mom in a bachelorette apartment that was the size of my kitchen. The kitchen and bathroom where the size of a closet and NO she didn't give me a tour, you could see right into each room for the front door. I felt sad for her and her son because they didn't have their own space, a bedroom, to retreat to. I went straight home and thanked my husband for working so hard to give us all that we have.

On a creative note: I've been so obsessed with cleaning house and exercising that I've placed my creative side in the corner. I've got quite a few crochet projects begging for completion, but first I must complete my sister's birthday gifts. I hope I can get it all done before tonight! YIKES!!! No stress; whatever I don't complete, she'll get as a X-mas gift. :) Hope to post some pics of the completed gifts once I'm done and once I figure out how to upload pictures from my new camera.

It's Not Called Bootcamp For Nothing!

On Wednesday I woke up rather groggy compliments of the 3 glasses of chardonnay I drank the night before. I got my husband off to work and then convenienced myself that I didn't need to follow Barry's Bootcamp to the T; only a crazy person would attempt to exercise 6 days in a row. Well that's until I read a blog by More than Muscles which talked about how she held a boot camp in 30 degree weather. So I got my A** up off the couch and completed my exercise program for the day. I then reminded myself that it's not called Barry's BOOTCAMP for nothing! I'm going to have to brake out my checkbook and pay Janis for the motivation she gives me OR maybe I'll just crochet her a little something. Either way I appreciated how much she shares on her blog and look forward to the day when I can complete MAYBE 3 of her exercises listed. :)

Kept Myself Busy

As I lit the candle yesterday and placed it next to her picture, I planned to keep myself busy so my mind would not be able to think about how much I miss her. One year ago yesterday, November 18, 2007, I lost my Grandmother to pancreatic cancer. For those of you who know me, you know just how difficult this loss has been. My Grandmother wasn't just my grandma, she was my best friend. We were two peas in a pod. She was an amazing person! So after a pretty stress free day, I made an awesome salmon dinner and cracked open a bottle of chardonnay. My husband and I along with the kids toasted our Gma and talked about our memories, it was very nice. And since one glass of Chardonnay isn't enough, I went next door to my good friend's house and we toasted her one more time. Then we finished off the bottle; really good stuff. My day turned out so much better then I anticipated and I'm sure I owe that to her. I love you, Gma.

Totally Productive and So Out of Shape!

I'm proud to say that I did exactly what I said I would, well, at least when it came to cleaning house. I was very productive this weekend. I cleaned out the storage closet and kitchen cabinets on Saturday. I cleaned out the kid's closet and organized half of the hallway cabinets on Sunday. Now I just have to finish the hallway cabinets and conquer my closet; Yikes!

On Saturday I made a pot roast in the crockpot which was a HUGE hit with the family. I found the recipe on The Chic Life blog and thought I would try it out. It was super easy to prepare and tasted great! My husband must have commented how good the meal looked 3xs while slicing the meat. In the end, my oldest son said that it was "the best chicken you ever made", he calls all meat chicken regardless of how many times we point out it's not.

I don't know what I was thinking making Saturday my first day of exercise. Clearly, it was an ambitious plan and didn't happen. Monday was a much better candidate since I wake up with my husband at 4:40am. I'm able to get him off to work, exercise and shower before the sun comes up which causes the kids to wake up. So this morning, I brought down my ball and exercise band, popped in the blue dvd and got to sweating. The dvd is a 21 minute lower body work out which consisted of a warm up and 14 exercises 60 seconds each. Not too bad, but after the warm up it was clear to me just how out of shape I am. Regardless, I made it through the workout and can't wait to see where I'm at a week from now.

I'm Fed Up!

I'm fed up with all the crap that is stuffed into pretty much every cabinet and closet in this house. This weekend, I'm cleaning house!!!

I'm fed up with being Ms. Fatty McFlabby! Since the birth of my daughter I've been LAZY and DALUSIONAL. I've have come to realization that at my age you need to actually MAKE AN EFFORT if you want to look they way you did before you had kids. I not only need to pay attention to what I eat and how much, but I need to EXERCISE. I get motivated when I ready More than Muscles' blogs about her boot camps, although I must confess that sometimes I feel like I'm reading French when she describes the exercises she has does. Not to mention, they sound really intense so I probably would pass out with in the first 5 minutes, BUT it is definitely something to strive for. So that's it, NO MORE TALKING about doing it. I'm pulling out my Barry's Bootcamp box, brushing off the dust, pumping up my ball and tomorrow morning I'm getting started!!! Goodbye 145, it's time to say hello to 125 or ATLEAST 130. :)

What A Great Weekend!

What a great weekend! I love when reality proves me wrong. I was not looking forward to sleeping in a tent, but the camp out turned out to be so much fun. Who knew we had a little park, only 20 minutes away, that once you enter makes you feels as though you are in the forest. The park had two ponds with ducks, turtles and big fish. There were a couple of small trails for a mini hike and an amphitheatre. My son's Cub Scout's pack rented the park for one night which was fun to see all the different dens interacting. The Santa Ana winds picked up during the night which made our tent camping experience even more memorable.



On Monday we took our boys to Disneyland. They each had been there before separately for their 2nd birthdays, but neither really appreciated it like they did on Monday. We had a fabulous day. The lines were either short or if they were long they were fast. We were able to ride everything they wanted to. Their favorites turned out to be mine, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted House. I can't wait until March when I take Mem for our Disney day of princesses!

I'm Crazy!

So once again I've planned quite a lot to do this weekend. It's funny how things sound so much more doable in my head then in the real world.

First for tonight, friends of ours invited my husband and I out to a dinner event at a club they belong to tonight. TOTALLY, doable.

Second for Saturday night, about a month ago we committed to taking our sons to a Cub Scout's one night camping trip; in my mind TOTALLY doable.

Third, we've been promising the boys to take them to Disneyland. They're finally ate an age where they can appreciate the experience. We originally planned for my hubby and the kids to take a day off during the week for this. So since my husband has Monday off for Veteran's Day, the boys are going to play hookie and guess where we're going; you got it, Disneyland! Once again in my head doable.

So, Friday has now arrived and I've got on a ton of CRAP to do thanks to my DOABLE planning. I'm telling you, I'M CRAZY! I completely forget about all the preparation that goes into going camping even if it's for one night at a local park. So I must go now and go grocery shopping for the weekend, get our camping gear ready, figure out a way to make sleeping on the floor in a tent comfortable for my husband and I so our backs down get too jacked up, pack, give myself a pedicure/manicure so I can feel pretty night, and much, much, more. Have a great weekend all! I'm hoping mine will turn out better than I've envisioned in my DAMN HEAD! :)

A Great Time Was Had By All

Wow, what a crazy, exciting, and exhausting week! I've finally recovered from the past week/ weekend and am ready to share.

October 27, 2008: Cleaned, Cleaned, Cleaned!

October 28, 2008: Shopped, Shopped, Shopped, Cleaned!

October 29, 2008: Happy 2nd Birthday Mem!

What an exciting day! My baby girl turned 2 and she had her first Halloween party to attend with our Mommy and me group.

Mem and Seamus all dressed up!

For her "actual" birthday celebration, I made her her favorite dinner,mostacolli with red sauce, salad with ranch and garlic bread; for fun, I put out olives and croutons for an appetizer which Mem and Ant LOVED!!! After dinner, we headed out to the pumpkin patch for some pumpkins and a hay ride. When we got home we sang happy birthday and ate cake!

October 30, 2008: Shopped, Prepped, Cleaned!

October 31, 2008: Happy Halloween boys and girls!

The boy's school had their annual Fall Festive. Each year each grade parades around in their costumes and a winner is chosen from each grade. Now, EVERY year my boys ask a million times, "Mom, do you think I'm going to win?" and EVERY year I have to tell them probably NOT. "Why?", they ask and I must explain that they are looking for a literary character costume that is traditional and my boys chose to be the "IT" character of the season; this year it was Star Wars. Regardless, they love walking in the parade and love, love, love the carnival games and junk food that follow.

Halloween night was as fun as can be. My sister and her family joined us along with all our kick ass neighbors for a night of trick or treating and socializing! Halloween should be on Friday night every year.

Clone Trooper, Adikin Skywalker & Abby Cadabby

November 1, 2008: Emmie's Birthday Bash!

With an Abby Cadabby theme, we party like rock stars all day and night! She rocked it with her brothers and friends in the bouncy house, played games, opened presents, ate cake and had a blast. Once it was all pretty much cleaned up, Mommy rocked the Vanilla Stois with TiTi Shell and paid for it the next couple of days. Thank goodness I only do that once in a Pink Moon! :)

Exhausting, but FRIGIN FUN!!! Can't wait til next year!

Crazy Week Ahead

I need to get motivated!

I came down with a cold on Thursday and pretty much lost my voice. We had plans to go camping in the desert for the weekend and despite how crappy I felt, we did go and had a great time.

Now, I'm sitting here planning my week out which will be crazy busy. Between my three children, we have 3 Halloween parties to attend: Mommy and me party (Wed), Elk's Lodge party (Thurs) and the school Fall Festival (Fri). My daughter turns two on Wednesday and I plan to have a mini celebration that night, plus we have her big party on Saturday. So this week will be filled will final prepping for that. PLUS, since we decided to go to the desert, where there is ALOT of DIRT, our trailer needs a through cleaning inside and out! WooHoo, sounds like fun!

Well, I guess I should get off my ass and stop talking about what I have to do and just DO IT!

Some fun pics. of the weekend!

Dirt Divas: Mem and her cousin, Monster.

Ant & Mem riding!

Daddy and his Dirt Princess

While Moms away the cats will play with HER CAMERA!

RubyRedRuca's son trying to get this darn quad started so he could follow his Daddy out into the desert!

Sickie Pooh Central

Last week my younger son was sick three out of the five week days and this week it's my baby girls turn. She is quite miserable which means she is making everyone around her miserable. I had to put her down for her nap early today because she was having one temper tantrum after another over nothing. Poor baby, I sure hope she feels better soon. I really hate seeing her so cranky.

On an exciting note: Miss Sickie Pooh turns 2 at the end of the month and I just received the proof of her Abby Cadabby birthday invitation and it is SO DAMN ADORABLE. I'm so excited! I usually make the invites myself, but after seeing the invites to my friend RedRubyRuca's son's party, I decided to follow her lead and order them off Ebay. Plus, the lady who makes them is a Stay At Home Mom, too, which makes my heart strings tug; got to support my Peeps, right?! The sample attached is an example from her site. I almost attached our proof, then realized "that's not such a great idea" putting my daughter's pic and our address on the internet. So if your in need of a birthday invite check out her ebay site at Sweet Starshines Designs.

On a crocheting note: Well, I was going to blog about a gift I'm making for my Sister, which has taken me away form the blue sweater and gray poncho, until I spoke with her this morning and she informed me she FOUND my blog. Sorry all, now I can't talk about all the issues I'm having making it or show pics. of my progress. So stay tuned until November; that's when her birthday is and I hope to hell to give it to her then. If you're a member of Ravelry, I'd tell you to check it out there, but she was always one of those kids who just HAD to sneak a pick at her Christmas presents so I wouldn't put it past her to join Ravelry just to see what I'm making her even though she doesn't crochet or knit. :) It's going to be really flippin cute so it will be worth the wait! Hey, Erin, I bet your dying to know what it is, RIGHT?! HEHEHE :)

Too Hot To Do Anything!

Too hot to clean, too hot to cook, and sadly too hot to crochet and blog; this explains my Internet absence. Here in sunny California it's been too sunny on and off for the last week and the last two days have felt like hell (in my opinion). I am so SICK of this HEAT WAVE! It doesn't feel like Fall at all. My boys are off of school tomorrow and I really wanted to take them out to the apple orchard farms in Yucaipa, but it's even hotter there so FORGET ABOUT. Terrible, just terrible. Okay, enough wining about that!



Crochet Update: I began making a sweater with this very pretty blue/green Homespun yarn (photo below) that I had just lying around a couple of weeks ago now. Once again, I ran out of yarn and have yet to make time to run over to my local craft store. So I began crocheting a cowl neck poncho (top photo) that I'm making up as I go along (I'm praying it turns out), but considering the fact that I'm using a small size hook and one strand of yarn I probably won't be able to wear it until Fall 2009. Why is it that it seems like such a great idea and a piece of cake in your head, but once you start the process you realize your head must be warped because it CLEARLY isn't!

Regarding the kids: My daughter's 2nd birthday is at the end of this month and for the past couple of weeks she has been a TERROR. She will not play with her toys, but would rather touch everything she KNOWS she isn't suppose to, like the water dispenser from the fridge (mental note: go lock it now), turning on the coffee pot, trying to wash dishes, putting her PJs in the washer while a load is in the process, putting on my makeup, etc.; and today, a new one, jumping off the ottoman onto the pillow she placed on the floor which bounces her onto the couch! Clearly having two older brothers has GREATLY influenced her. I'm sure my other two were this crazy, I just don't remember it, plus they are boys so they could care less about cleaning up or putting make up on. So after catching her in mid flight, I realized she was in dire need of some attention so we colored together which was a blast and something her brothers would never have enjoyed doing. I took a picture of her, but it turned out super blurry. :(

I LOVE PINK!

I Love Pink! I love this BAG! It turned out so much cuter than I could have ever imagined. It kind of reminds me of candy and I think my daughter thinks it is because she won't leave the darn thing alone. She is going to be two years old next month and she already loves shoes, clothes and you guessed it, PURSES! I still have to sew up and sew in the lining, but I love it so much I just had to start using it. The rose material it is sitting on will be the lining. I'll post pics once I get it done.

On a personal note: So as I said above, my daughter loves purses and especially the ones I make. Today she and I were getting ready to run some errands and she insisted on holding my purse. I just had to take a pic of my mini me. She is just too darn adorable!

On Fire!

I'm on FIRE when it comes to crocheting, lately. After finally finishing many of my waiting around WIPs, I'm extremely motivated.

I really want to make myself a cowl neck poncho after seeing one in an advertisement and while looking for a free pattern online I came across a pattern for a bag from the 70's. Soooo, since the pattern was rated easy on Ravelry and since I'm sick of carrying around a large diaper bag, I decided to make it for my daughter's stuff. So far so good, totally adorable and pretty easy! My daughter loves it too. I keep having to move it so she won't get a hold of it, which makes her VERY mad. :) I have a feeling though, that I'm probably going to run out of yarn, TYPICAL! I hope to God if I do that I'm able to find the same yarn at the store. Keep your fingers crossed I don't run out!!!
On a personal not: You know Fall is coming when you feel like making a casserole. This chicken crescent roll casserole was one of my favorites growing up and has turned out to be a favorite of my family, as well. It is super easy to make and tastes great. I served it with rice and a salad, but I could have served it with the salad only because they barely touched the rice. Sorry the picture isn't all that great; it tastes better than it looks! :)


On a funny note: Let me introduce you to one of my BFFs. His name is Bruno aka Big B and he follows me everywhere I go. So this morning while crocheting and surfing the Internet, I realized he wasn't at his post, laying near my feet by the couch. I could hear him softly snoring and when I walked around the corner of the couch this is what I saw. He was sleeping in my son's booster seat. He is soooo funny. I guess the floor wasn't good enough for him today. :) :0 :)

Well, I really should get back to my other BFF before she destroys the house. :)

Have a great day!

Little Bit Closer

I finally made a trip to the local craft store and purchased all the supplies I needed to complete almost all of my pending crochet projects.

My Gma MiMi's Cupcake Pincushion is done and adorable.

My Brown Fat Bottom Bag is done, but I need to add either a silk flower or pin to it. I planned on putting a pin from my Grandmother on it, but when I went to find it, I realized I didn't take that one so now I need to rethink what to do.

My Cranberry Crochet Neckwarmer is almost done. I needed three buttons for it, but the ones I wanted were sold only in pairs. So I purchased two sets and once I was home, I realized one set is slightly smaller than the other. AHAHAHAH, my fault for thinking I could going shopping with three children.

Under the Weather

It's inevitable that when you have so much to do and very little time in which to get it all done, you get sick. I'm not sure exactly what it is... a cold, a 24 hrs bug. What I do know is I don't have time for it and I sure wish it would GO AWAY!

Last Weeks Silver Lining

School was back in session last Wednesday and our morning ran smoothly, thanks to a pep talk from Dad. :) My oldest was bummed out about going back (somethings never change), but my younger son was very excited, as he was going to begin Kindergarten. I wasn't sure how he would handle it, but like the trooper he is everything worked out great. I was impressed at how he said goodbye to me so easily, sat right down on the carpet and intently listened to his teacher's tour of the classroom; no crying for him or me (believe it or not), just his baby sister, who didn't understand why he wasn't coming home with us. :(

We ended the week on a GREAT note! We headed out on Friday evening to Leo Carillo State Beach for a weekend of camping. We love this place because where you camp feels like you're in the mountains, yet you are a short bike ride to the beach.

We ended our last night with smores and hanging out around the camp fire.

Crazy as it is sounds, with all that happen this last week, I found time to crochet and am 95% done with my Fat Bottom Purse from the Happy Hooker. Think it's time to add the handle and take a pic. :)

Summer Is Officially Over....at least for us!

No more sleeping in! Labor Day was our last HOORAW for Summer. The kids had a blast playing in the pool, riding bikes, skateboarding, etc. We BBQd with our good friends and just made the best of our last day of fun!

School starts today; should be a BLAST waking up the boys! Their Father had a talk with them last night about cooperating for me this morning...time to find out if he had an impact on them. :)

Time to Catch Up!

The last two weeks have been very busy and have left me very little time to crochet. None of my WIPs are complete, but some are closer! So here are some pics of what has kept me away from my beloved hooks....

Making brownies with my little ones!

Finally finding, purchasing and camping with our new trailer!

Hiking 1.5 miles to the beach for an unexpected splash!

we never thought we would make it to the beach. :)

and, with no pics, last but not least, School shopping (what a nightmare with 3 children ages 8, 5, & 1)!

Hoping to find sometime tonight to sit down and relax with my hooks.