Happy Birthday #1

It was 8 years ago today that you entered my life in a crazy, emotional way. It seems impossible that it has been 8 years. You have grown and changed in many, many ways. You went from this colicky infant who needed to be held and fed ALL. THE. TIME. to an independent, helpful little boy.

It has been a pleasure to see you grow by leaps and bounds over the years. I have had fun watching you develop skills, come out of your shell, and truly enjoy the wonders around you. I love to hear you laugh, that deep from the belly laugh that is so rare. I enjoy how serious you can be...you are a lot like your dad in that regard. I love that you are so gentle and caring with the animals (with the exception of certain roosters) and your cousin. I love that you take the time to read to your cousin and occasionally to your brothers.

It is a real joy to watch you ride your dirt bike and bicycle. You show such confidence and skill on both. The best part is that when you do fall you get right back on and tear it up. I love to watch you catch air as you hit the jumps here at home and on our bike rides at Paradise. The camaraderie you have with your uncle and dad while on the dirt bike is awesome. It seems as if you challenge them as much as they do you. How lucky you are to have 2 men to look up to and learn from as well as play with.

Seeing the joy on your face when you catch fish is a blessing. Your face beams with pride and awe and you have a smile that is a mile wide when you catch your fish. It is even exciting for me to see your eagerness in cleaning the fish in order to prepare it for lunch/dinner.

Because of you I am able to learn new things and see the world differently, I get to experience it through your eyes. Thank you for blessing me with your presence and thank you for letting me experience life with you, you make it a pleasure. I love you very much!

Happy Birthday Luke!

Two Great Giveaways!

How many of you know about I Heart Faces? Well, I have seen them a few times and am intrigued. It looks like a fun place to try your hand at photography and enter some contests to boot. Well they are having a giveaway for camera straps. It is sponsored by:



My personal favorites are the Hippy Chick and the Brown Fuchsia Paisley Park. You should go check them out, they are very cool.

Another giveaway is the one over at The Apron Goddesses. Julia is at it again this week. She is giving away another apron. The sponsor this week is Sassy Smox and they are lovely aprons. Go see Sassy Smox and then tell Julia which 1/2 apron you would choose if you win. I am leaning towards this one:

The Impressionable Stage - Random Thoughts

I am joining Keely's Random Thought Tuesday today. Thought I'd give it a try regardless of how random, possibly weird my thoughts may be.

Does everyone have an "impressionable stage" in their relationships early on or is it just me? My dear, loving hubby went through what I like to call an "impressionable stage." This consists of doing things I am interested in such as hiking, mountain biking, snow/water skiing, etc. I'd like to think he was wooing me, but I could be wrong. Why can't this stage go on forever? Or is this just a ploy to give me what I want early on and then drop the act as soon as he gets what he wants.

Why is it when a family goes camping the woman gets to do all the work? Packing, shopping, unpacking, cooking, cleaning, organizing, reorganizing, etc. Men, they get all the fun! Fishing, 4 wheeling, dirt biking, socializing, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love to go camping, I just hate that most of the "duties" of camping are left to me. This must have been another of the "impressional stage" things because I recall getting more help with the duties before we were married. Hmmm, beginning to see a pattern here.

Am I the only living mother who doesn't have any interest in "throwing" my kids a birthday party? I mean honsestly, they are way out of control! Spend all kinds of money on gifts, party favors, food, decorations, etc. just to have it all unappreciated. Besides, party favors end up being junk that breaks in a matter of minutes because they are ALL made in CHINA. Half the stuff my kids bring home ends up in the garbage with in 5 minutes of playing with it. JUNK I tell ya.

When did the movies get so expensive? I took the boys to see UP and it cost me $50. Really? $50? I bought 4 tickets......matinee tickes, a small popcorn for the boys to share, a soda for each of the boys, and a box of Junior Mints for us all to share.......$50! Unbelieveable. As if those actors/actresses didn't make enough flippin' money! Thank goodness for $1 movies in the summer time.

What is it with boys and destruction? I am telling you, I can't have anything nice because they destroy it. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. The kicker is that they destroy MY stuff, not their or their dad's, but mine. The latest? The CD player in the truck. Boy #1 thought it would be cool to put a CD in the player with the truck off and the player totally full of CD's. Result? Can't get ANY out! Try as I might, I get CD ERROR every time I attempt to eject. Nothing of mine is sacred.

I think I may be a little crazy in the head. I am contemplating another 1/2 marathon, just 2 weeks before the Nike 1/2 marathon. I said contemplating....but am leaning heavily towards doing it. Keely how is the training going?

Queen of ALLL Things Awe-Summm!!!

Me? A Queen? I already knew that, but it's nice to know that others recognize my royalty and awe-summness. I would like to thank my family, my loyal followers and especially my SIL Julia and good friend Pooba for letting the rest of the free world know.


I've gotta do the following:

1. List 7 things that make me Awe-Summm
2. Pass the award onto 7 bloggers that I love
3. Tag those bloggers to let them know they are now Queens too.

(and link back to the Queen(s) who tagged you)

Coming up with 7 things may be a stretch, but I will give it a try!




1. I have an awe-summm green thumb. I can start tomatoes from a seed and make them flourish into huge, bushy plants that produce way more tomatoes than I know what to do with. If you all lived closer I would share the wealth with you. I guess you will have to keep checking back for tomato updates.

2. I may not be a seamstress, but each time I try my hand at sewing something I become a little more awe-summ. I have made 3 children's aprons, 6 adult aprons, a headband, a skirt, and a pillow slip cover. I am currently working on another skirt and have many patterns for many other projects. I have even started cutting squares with left over material to make my first quilt. With each completed project comes a little more awe-summmness.

3. I am an awe-summ soccer player. I may not get the glory of scoring a single goal, but I do get the satisfaction of preventing the other team from getting past me and scoring a goal. I am a defender and it is my job to keep the opponents away from our net.

4. I am the mom of 3 boys who are 5, 6, & 7. I hear that there is a special place in heaven for moms of 3 boys (they are about 2, 3, & 4 in this picture).


5. I like to bake.....a little too much. Cookies, cakes, brownies, you name it and I will bake it. The beauty of it is that my family seems to like it too.



6. I am not from the era of pressure canning, but did learn how to do it from my dad. He taught me how to can tomatoes, jams, pumpkins, beans, and much more. A few years ago I bought myself a pressure canner and started simple with pumpkin puree. Each year I have added to it. I am now making jam, canning tomatoes, and pumpkins. I hope to add to that this year with something else, but not sure what.



7. I am the master at finding this dog. His name is Plopper and was given to Boy #2 on the day he was born. Although Boy #2 has named him Doggie. I have looked for this dog on many occasions for the past 6 3/4 years. This is the dog brand new, now imagine him about 5 shades darker, minus the stuffing, and with out the soft fleecy texture.....can you imagine it? That is how Doggie looks today.

Finally, I would like to present this award to the following Queens:
1. Cookie Girl
2. So-Not-Mom-A-Licious
3. Rachel at A Reservation for Six
4. Aunt Spicy
5. Suburb Sanity
6. The Sometimes Crafter
7. Mammatalk

Have fun ladies!

9 years and still going!

It has been 9 years since we tied the proverbial knot. Nine years, who would have thought? Yay for us right?

I met dear, loving hubby through a mutual friend. At the time I had just started SJSU, was homeless, and really didn't have a job in the area. I house hopped for 6 months until I could move into a brand new apartment and went home every Thursday, which was a 3 hour drive, to go to work. Tuesday morning I would be up at 4 AM to make an 8 o'clock class. I did this for about 6 months. I did land a job at a child care center where I met Laura....the mutual friend. Little did I know that she had plans for me. She had the grand idea to set me up with Jeff, despite the fact I had a boyfriend (eventually I came to my senses about the boyfriend and moved on....with Jeff).

Every time we went out she would make sure Jeff was around. Was he a good guy? Absolutely! Was I interested? Absolutely not! As I said before I moved on from the boyfriend, but kept Jeff at an arm's length for a long while.....I didn't want a boyfriend, I wanted to have fun. Well I did have fun, but Jeff was persistent. Obviously I caved.

We were married 9 years ago in the middle of the redwoods. We rode on a steam train....guests too and had a great time. I'm not your sappy type, but I love him very much and wouldn't change a thing. After all he puts up with my nonsensical rants, bouts of fury and frustration, and on top of it all he is very patient with me and the boys.

Happy Anniversary and I love you Jeff!

Broken Arm Update

Well, it's official Boy #3 did break his arm. Fortunately for all of us it is a quick mend. He has what is called a Torus Break which is when the bone buckles. He is wearing a splint and a sling that was put on by the hospital staff. As you can see he is all smiles.

Below he is sporting his new cast put on by the orthopedic surgeon. Yay for technology...he can do anything water with this cast on. He certainly didn't waste any time once we got home.

The great thing is that he only has to wear this for a month. Then he gets to wear a splint/brace for another month. At least he isn't going to miss out on any water activities......it gets HOT here!

Beauty of a Gathering Apron

Yesterday, while running on the treadmill and watching my favorite daytime soap opera....I was barely into my first mile with the TV blasted as loud as it could go I see the UPS man drive up and leave a package on the fence post. Hmmmm......what could it be? My apron from the Garden Apron Swap? I decided I would finish the first mile before I would go investigate.


Not too long ago I joined The Garden Apron Swap over at Lucy and Shawnee's place. This was a blind swap, so I had no idea who had me. I was delighted to find out that Cookie Girl had me! She made a beautiful gathering apron for me. I love it. She also sent some goodies that included magnets, recipe cards, a bookmark, a jar of home made strawberry jam, and some notecards.

Doesn't all that look awesome? Thank you so much Cookie Girl, I can't wait to harvest some vegetables.

Here is the apron full length.

Now it is all tied up ready to harvest some veggies. I am patiently waiting for some tomatoes, squash, and other goodies to ripen. When they do I will be ready with this lovely apron. Cookie Girl, for a first apron, you did an amazing job! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Don't mind Vapor, she is a little camera shy!

Monkey Bars - 1, Boy #3 - 0

Why not end the week as good as we started it? It started with a flooded laundry room and ended with a broken arm. The days in between were great, uneventful, and well, normal.

Today I went with Boy #2's class to visit a local fire station. The kids had a great time, the fire fighters were entertaining and it was one we haven't been to before. I think I can say that we have been to all of the ones in town.....there are 2 and then a CDF....and we have seen them all.

When the field trip was over I took the kids back to school and Boy #3 wanted to do the monkey bars. I told him to wait....he isn't tall enough to reach them. While I was walking the boys back to class Boy #3 decided to be brave and give it a go.....he made his flying leap and reached for the monkey bars. They were a bit too far of a reach and he fell on his arm and hit his head too. Boy #2 saw it all and reported to me "Mom, Boy #3 just fell and hurt himself." I start to walk over to him and the teacher is walking him toward me......he is crying. I take a look and his arm looks fine, but is limp....first clue there is a problem. I ask if he is okay and he says "No." He doesn't want to move it, nor does he want me to touch it.....second clue there is a problem. I decide to take him to the hospital since out pediatrician is 40 minutes away and they were getting ready to go on their 2 hour lunch break.

We went to to hospital and waited our turn. He was such a trooper. He didn't cry much and was very brave. Eventually we went in for x-rays and discovered that he did in fact break his arm. He has what is called a Torus fracture....in layman's terms, his bones buckled on impact. It heals faster than complete fractures. They gave him some Motrin, a splint, and sent us on our way. Now we just have to wait until Wednesday to see the Orthopedist. He will decide if Boy #3 needs a hard cast and how long he has to wear it.

We got out of there in time to make carpool. On our way home we hit The Cupcake Shop and everyone got a cupcake. They were tasty. I also decided that I wasn't cooking tonight and asked Boy #3 what he wanted for dinner. He told me Chevy's and that is where we went. Dinner was good, spirits are high and now I'm ready for bed.

Plausably Laughable

Today, a matter of minutes ago, Trevor (okay, I said it.....#2's name is Trevor) comes in to let me know that Wyatt, his cousin has spit on him.

Me: Wyatt, did you spit at Trevor?

Wyatt: Yes, but it missed him. (as if that makes a difference)

In the mean time Luke (my #1) is trying to tell me what "really" happened. Apparently Trevor spit on his hand and slapped it onto his forehead to make it look as if Wyatt hit his mark.

Me: Okay, well you and Adam (my #3) should go to your house and play since you and Trevor aren't getting along.

**Trevor and Wyatt take fighting and hurting each other to a whole new level.

I went over to let Julia, Wyatt's mom, know that they are at it again and that they need to be seperated......of course she agrees. I also let her know Luke's version about what "really" happened and we both had a good laugh because this is highly plausible for Trevor.

Boy did I hit the Mother Load....

Wow, this morning started off on a rocky start.....I guess this is what you don't want a typical Monday to be. My dear loving hubby gets in the shower at about 5:30 and takes the shortest shower known to him (he likes them really warm and really long). He lasted in there probably less than 5 minutes then crawls back into bed with his cold body to tell me that he used all the hot water (typical). Instead of getting mad (like I usually do) I tell him that's fine. He proceeds to put and icicle of a hand on my shoulder and says he thinks the hot water heater is broken and he suffered through a fast, cold shower. Great, just what I want to spend money on....a new water heater.

I get up to make lunches for the boys and hear a whining noise in the back room. I go investigate and find that the problem is not my water heater, it is my washing machine. It was on all night......filling with water and pouring out of the bottom. In essence we had a flood in the laundry room ALL. NIGHT. LONG. Sadly I am faced with cleaning up a flood, making sandwiches, breakfast, cocoas, harassing the boys to get dressed and brush their teeth. This is the way I always want to start the week. The only thing missing was the incessant fighting that usually goes with the morning madness. I guess I can thank God for the little things.

Now on to the good stuff!
See this pretty pink box? It was from Pooba.

I bet you want to know what is inside. Here is a sneak peak.

Can yo see them now?

Now they're ready to ea!

Jealous? You should be!

Pooba sent me those out of pity because she loves me so much. We made a deal that was all about an apron over at The Apron Goddesses. Both of us has been entering to win a give away week after week and our number was always a bit elusive so we decided to gift each other if we didn't win. Well Pooba won! So she sent me a pity package of those tasty treats. Betcha want one. Too bad, they only lasted a day. My boys had plans for them. I did however sneak 2 before the wolves attacked. Thanks Pooba!!!!