The New House...

....We LOVE it!

Sorry, I didn't mean to tease you with possible pictures, but they will come soon. I promise. We just barely got internet hooked up last night and it will probably be a few more days until we can get pictures downloaded and such.

By the way, speaking of internet, we signed up for the Verizon bundle with phone, internet and TV all in one package and are saving ourselves about $165/month! Check it out for an easy way to save some moola!

The move was crazy and hectic, and two things we discovered were:
1. We will never move again! ha-ha-ha
2. We, or should I say the kids, have a lot of CRAP!!! It was a million times harder moving with two small children and all their 'stuff'

The kids are absolutely loving the backyard and long driveway. Taylor says she feels like she's at a hotel. How cute is that? They've been in the backyard since 8am today. That makes me know that all of the hassle was so worth it.

Sydney has had a little bit of a harder time with the move. He loves the backyard and his much bigger room, but for the first couple of days he kept saying "Mommy, take me home." Just about broke my heart. I think it will be a few more days till he feels settled.

I was really sad to leave the old house, but those feelings are starting to fade away. I didn't realize how much I was going to enjoy the little simple things about the new house. Like the clean and smooth walls. Sounds silly, I know, but it's nice nonetheless.

Oh, and I just had to try out the oven and cook a real meal, so amidst all the boxes, I made lasagna for the first time! I have been tempted to try it since seeing the recipe on one of my favorite blogs, especially because she promises it is easy, and you know what, it was! Oh and it was delicious. If you want the recipe go here. Hey, if I could make a lasagna 2 days after moving into a new house, then you know it's easy! (I used ground turkey by the way since I'm trying to cut down on our beef intake and it was just as good).

I have my sewing machine all unpacked and the pink and red felt already purchased (thanks Sarah), and I'm just itching to start some Valentine's Day crafts like making a felt heart garland. I like this one, but think I will leave off the letters.


Oh, and how cute are these felt heart pencil toppers? I think they would make a great preschool favor for Taylor's class, especially since they have been really working on their writing lately.

Is it a pipe dream to think I can break out the sewing machine a week after moving into a new house? Perhaps, but hey, I made a lasagna! If I can do that I can do anything, right?

Besides, I need a good distraction from all the unpacking.

Pictures to follow soon!

30 minute Custom Silhouettes

I'm marking this craft here so I don't lose it and can't find it in a few months when I might actually have the time to do it. I love the whole silhouette craze that's going around, especially since I remember having a silhouette when I was a little girl (I think we got mine at Knott's Berry Farm).

Anyhow, this project is cheap and easy. What more could you ask for?
Find the tutorial here

I Want Oatmeeaalk!

We used to call him Mr. Noodle because of that crazy curly hair on the side of his head and bald spot on top.

We had to get a night nurse when he was 11 weeks old because we were all so exhausted. He had a habit of waking up every 45 minutes you see. Nice.

We then found out the poor dude had torticollis and acid reflux. Physical therapy and Prevacid helped that out. Oh and an un-descended testicle. Surgery helped that out.

Art kept saying, don't worry he will get easier.

I'm still waiting for that to happen.

But he is just So. Stinkin'. Cute.

He KILLS me with how incredibly adorable he can be, while he hits you. It's true.

THE HAIR!


The smile

The personality.

The sense of humor.

The kids got it all, and I know I'm in trouble for life with him.

His sister calls him a maniac, and I can't necessarily disagree.

It ain't ever getting easier with Sydney.

But that's okay, as long as he continues to be my little boy.

He wakes up every morning and asks for 3 things, all in this order:

"I want daddy"
"I want to eat oatmeeaaalk"
"I want to play puzzles"

He's one cool kid. I know I'm biased and all, but he really is.

I love you little man. My Sydney boy. Our Bubba.

House

Anyone know if houses like this exist in California?

Ya, I don't think so.

Totally east coast right?

Isn't it pretty?

If you want to see what it looks like inside, go here

Conversations with a 4 year old

Art was looking through old pictures today with Sydney and came across some of Taylor as a baby and as a 2 year old. He said he actually started tearing up a bit and I totally believe him. Looking back at old pictures of your first born just does something to you. It triggers a sort of feeling that is almost indescribable. You recall all those feelings as a first time parent that are so different the second time around. You feel joy at seeing how much they've grown, but also sadness at how much they've grown.

At dinner tonight Art was telling Taylor that while looking at pictures of her as a baby he started crying a bit. He didn't think she would understand what he was saying, but the brain and mind of a 4 year old is an amazing thing. This is what she said to him:

"Well, you know daddy, I may not be a baby, but now we can go for bike rides and have conversations you know. Like hmmm, maybe play games?"

She totally grasped the feelings that Art was experiencing and was trying to show him the positives of her growing up. I just thought it was so sweet that she was trying to cheer up her daddy.

She is growing up so fast, I know such a cliche, and while we do miss a bit those chubby cheeks and those bright blue eyes that you could lose yourself in, we are so happy and proud of the little girl she is becoming.

With the help of her buddy bar, she started learning to ride her bike this past weekend without training wheels.

Today in preschool she learned how to play Uno and is excited to teach us how to play

She loves her American Girl doll Rebecca

She loves horses and all animals actually and at 4.5 says she wants to be a veterinarian

Everyday she gets more interested in writing and is asking for help in spelling words out so she can write notes and letters to her friends and cousins

I can't believe that she starts kindergarten this year! What happened to my baby?!?!

Valentine's Day Ideas

How cute is this little guy (or gal)? Meet Sophie. I found her over at The Long Thread. She has a ton of great Valentine's Day ideas over at her site, this being one of them. Guess I better get cracking on my V-Day projects!

Also, over at Etsy there's an entire shop dedicated to a relief effort for Haiti, which I just read suffered a huge 6.0 aftershock this morning. Please continue to keep the people of Haiti in your prayers. If you want to do more, the Craft Hope for Haiti shop is a great place to buy handmade. All proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders.



You can pick up this adorable PDF template to sew a homemade personalized Valentine's Day pouch for your little ones. Perfect for preschool or kindergarten. Any other great Valentine's craft ideas out there?

FAITH

I think I need to read this book. Like REALLY. I worry too much. I know there is been a lot to worry about lately, but seriously,

I need to learn that I am not always in the driver's seat.

I need to learn that He will always take care of us, even if we don't know what His plan is.

I need to have stronger FAITH.

I need to not pass on this trait to my children, the way my father passed it on to us.

I need to let go and trust in Him.

I need to seriously get in the game.

Period.

Here is a passage from the book that I stumbled on in my blog roll reading today:

"God does not demand that you and i have blind faith,
but abandoned faith, a faith that trusts Him fully.
Through His Word, God willingly reveals much about who He is, what His plans are,
and what He requires of us.
As we come to see Him and know Him he urges, "Trust Me."
Hundreds of times in the Bible God implores us to trust Him.
We tend to make trust a gray area, but with God the issue is black and white.
We either trust Him or we don't.
We're for Him or we're against Him.
We're in the game or we're on the sidelines.
As I think about true faith, heartfelt throw-yourself-in-with-complete-abandon faith,
two things come to mind:
*faith is rooted in God's character.
*faith is based on God's Word, not on our feelings."

Friendship

I'm nervous, tired, and frustrated right now, but I want to focus instead on being EXCITED! Why do you ask? Because in a few short hours my bestest friend will be here from Arizona and will be the best remedy for all of those nerves and frustrations. This is not to discredit my wonderful husband and his ability to calm my nerves. But since he is just as nervous and frustrated as I am, we don't seem to be balancing each other out much right now.

Lea will be here for an extended weekend stay to help celebrate the pretty lady you see below, Mrs. Kimberly Gerding. I love both of these girls so much. We met during our days at Macy's, and I was honored to be bridesmaids at both of their weddings. I gave a toast at Kim's in which I said something to the effect of "Here's to Matt and Kim having kids some day!" You see, they both vehemently declared for years that they would never have kids. And then out of nowhere (no one even knew they had decided to start trying to have children), BAM, they announce their pregnant! We were all so excited and happy for them, and this weekend we get to all join together to celebrate baby boy Gerding.

Aside from all the typical Baby Shower hoopla that will ensue, I'm sure there will be lots of eating. Lea is my eating partner in crime. The girl can chow. It's seriously one of her best traits, and certainly one that I appreciate. Here we are at one of our favorite restaurants, Mahe.

There will undoubtedly be LOTS and LOTS of laughter. Aside from our love of eating, we also love to laugh together. We are complete goofballs when we are together. She will hate me for posting this picture.

And for posting this one...

And FOR SURE for posting this one...

I post these though because when Lea is here, we are laughing pretty much non-stop,
and I love her for that. More than she will ever know.

Speaking of friends, I have to give a shout out to this couple below because it's been a rough week. Slash that, rough month, and she has helped me through the nightmare of buying and selling a house. And her husband has lent her to us more times than I'd care to count. Thanks Irelands. p.s. Sarah will probably hate me for posting this picture, but I just had to. She had just got finished telling us "I'm not worried!"

And another shout out to this lovely lady, Wendy. She saved my life yesterday by watching my kids while I screamed at Bank of America. She then took my daughter to dinner and kept her for a sleep over! Now that's friendship! I love you Wendy! You have the purest heart.

I am blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends and I thank God for them everyday. Jenn, I wish you could be with us tomorrow at Kim's shower but we will be thinking of you and will be there in spirit (she's our other Macy's partner in crime). I love you friends!

Tomorrow I will write about family. That will be a good one :)

Beauty Treatments

I want to make this a post about our ever continuing loan/house drama with trying to close escrow on our home, but I will not. Instead I am going to focus on something totally superficial and a guilty pleasure. I need to think and talk about something trivial and fun. So here I go!

A few weeks ago I heard from my gal pal Lesley at Neimans that Neiman Marcus was having black Friday door busters! Yes, you heard me right, even super posh and ultra snobby Neimans resorted to Black Friday down and dirty door busters! Get this, spend $100 and get a $50 gift card! And, if you spent $200 in cosmetics, you got 10% off your entire order, plus the $50 gift card. If you love beauty products from department stores, you know that this is a darn good deal. So I planned to pack up the family and head on out to Fashion Island for a little Christmas fun and carousel riding, but wouldn't you know it, I came down with the stomach flu and barely drug myself to the Attic 17 black Friday sale before I gave in and decided to stay in bed the rest of the day. Good thing I know Lesley's cell phone number!

I called and put in an annual order for the three beauty products I have used for several years and have done wonders for my skin. I was disappointed to find out that my favorite eye cream is no longer sold in the states, Awake. You can't even find it online, and be live me, I've tried. At $110 a jar, it seemed like a crazy indulgence, but for me this once a year investment was so worth it. You see, I was born with crows feet. I kid you not. You can look at my high school graduation picture and I have them. My mom and sister were blessed with that oily, yet super smooth Spaniard skin without a wrinkle in sight, whereas I on the other had, have the dry rough skin of the Irish. I imagine what it would look like if I was living in Ireland in the 1700's picking potatoes, and it ain't pretty. The crows feet are something I am self-conscious about and have spent a pretty penny trying to sluff and smooth away naturally.

So it turns out that Shu Uemura is the parent company of Awake and so the cosmetic gal recommended this product:
Ladies, this eye cream is dynamite! It's thick and rich and makes your eyes feel like they've just taken a milk bath. And at $85, a much better pill to swallow than $110.

At this point I would like to note that eye and face cream are just about the only two indulgences I allow myself. Yes, many of you may say that $85 is a sin to spend on eye cream. And I don't necessarily disagree, but let me defend myself. I rarely get manicures/pedicures anymore. I get my hair cut 3 times a year and I don't tint or highlight it. I don't get massages or facials. I use Neutrogena face wash and daily moisturizer. I rarely go to Starbucks and never buy magazines. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. And I make the eye and face cream last an entire year, which equals 23 cents a day! When you look at it that way how could you fault me right?

I also stocked up on my night cream, made by Natura Bisse.

Years ago I went to the Neimans cosmetic counter and showed the girl the dry patches on my face that appeared only when I wore foundation. She said because of my dry skin I needed to peel off the top layer that was dead with a high concentrate glycolic acid cream. Somehow it didn't seem right to put the words acid and dry skin together in the same sentence, but she assured me that it would work, and of course it did! I put it on at night a few times a week and it keeps my skin smooth and hydrated. And because it's 15% glycolic, the highest you can get without a prescription, it burns and tingles a little when I put it on which shows me it's working. At $75 a jar, it's still steep, but overall a great deal considering it lasts me a year.

I warned you this was going to be a superficial post!

What are some of your beauty secrets and/or guilty pleasures you allow yourself?