Hello Kitty,Bling Bling!

I swear, I would wear these, if they had them in my size!And guess who has been wearing them for two days with no accidents??(No,not me)
  

Moms gone wild

Ok, maybe that is being a little over dramatic, but I just liked writing it. Last year I went on a "Mom's weekend away" with 3 of my Mommy friends. It was really the first time I had gone away by myself. I was very excited. What exciting location did we pick, you ask? San Jose ,Ca. About 45 minutes from home and not the most exciting place in the world. (No offense to my south bay friends)But I was still excited. I was going to sleep in a hotel and lay out by the pool and eat out every meal and shop with my friends. Fun times. And they were. Until nightfall. Now, I should explain that I have never been into the bar scene. (OK, so I met Scott 15 years ago in a bar in Mexico on Spring break, but that's beside the point). I knew I wasn't going to fit in when we all got dressed to go out. I was way under dressed. First of all, I don't own a Halter top and even if I did, I wouldn't wear it. I also do not wear these kind of shoes, unless I am going to a wedding. So we go out to a very nice dinner and hang out and people watch. At this point, I am pretty much ready for bed. But no! We must go out to the Bar in San Jose that everyone whose anyone needs to be seen at. (Who is going to see me??). So I go. And that is where it gets weired. I guess their idea of a good time is to talk to strange men. We disagree. I just do not see the point in any of this. I am married. I do not need more friends, at least not single men friends. And I really do not care to make small talk with said strange men when I will never see them again. And I certainly do not need to dance with them. Am I just boring? Old? (I was the youngest one there!) prudish? So the reason I bring any of this up at all is because it is time for the annual "mom's weekend" and I am not sure if I should go...I guess I could go and skip that part...I just don't know...

Success at the doctor

The Doctor finally listened to me and is putting Gracie on a preventative medication for her "Sickness induced Asthma" (It has a NAME!) She will have to be on the nebulizer every day twice a day, but at least not in the middle of the night. And it will stop the scary wheezing episodes that come at random times. She also gave us one of these nifty things that we can use when we are out, so we don't have to rush home if she starts wheezing...A very productive visit...


 

Rain, Rain, go away, come again...Oh, just go away!

Sick of this!!!And This!



Still waiting for this

New Word Cloud

I think that says it all...

Wishes, wishes, who needs a wish?

I have quite a few quilt sqaures and wishes to share, if anyone needs one...Just E mail me with your information. I am not a stalker, I swear! I wish I had done this when I was waiting, but I didn't have anyone to sew it for me...

Long weekend

Scott has been gone since Thursday so I am tired. We have just been hanging out, watching too much T.V. and eating out every meal! He comes home tomorrow and I am glad. But he leaves again on Thursday. Operation "no yelling" is going amazingly well. We all seem calmer and less angry. Cameron and Gracie have been getting along much better too. Coincidence? I think not...

My new project

This one was a lot of work. A lot of cutting and tying, but it came out good and now I am adicted! All my friends kids will be getting these for christmas and birthdays! (you've been warned!!)

Sitting in a bin, talking on the phone...
  

Confessions of a stressed out parent...

Lately, I have not been enjoying my "job" of being a Mom as much as I used to. I seem to have lost my sense of humor. Between trips to the hospital and stomach flus, I am not fun to be around. So last night I went to a parent meeting at School. She was a family counselor and parent educator. It was titled "parent and child relationships and discipline". I couldn't wait to go and get some new tools to make me a better parent. She talked a lot about how children develop and how we need to have appropriate expectations, etc...(I know most of this, because I was a child development major, but it helps to be reminded) Then she talked about how parents anger affects children. And I realized she was talking about ME. I get angry easily and I yell. I feel that the only way they (mostly Cameron) will listen to me is if I am ANGRY. I am not validating his feelings behind his behavior or letting him express his feelings. The thing that really struck me is when she said that he had "serious anger issues" and that I was contributing to it... That was hard to hear I(in front of the entire school!!) So I am really going to try and be calmer and talk to my kids about how they are feeling instead of getting angry and yelling...Today was actually a great day, but hard for me to not yell, I guess it will take time. So tonight when I was putting Cameron to bed and he asks what I did today when he was at school. I said that I went to the bookstore and bought a book. He asked what it was called. I said "becoming the parent you want to be". He asked what that meant. I said "It is going to help me be a better Mommy". And he says "Is it going to help with the yelling?" Who needs a counselor, I should have just asked my 4 year old what I need to do!!

My first "No Sew" project

Thanks to Teri's website, I decided to try it. Next I am going to make a blanket for Gracie's new "big girl bed".

 
  

I got this from another blog...

Gwenblog, (pass word protected) but I thought it was so cool, I had to do it...

These are all words from my blog, you can also get T-shirts made...You can do it here

Just Can't get enough of those firefighters!

These were taken a Cameron's field trip to the fire station last week. He got to squirt the hose and see "Nelson the wonder dog" climb up and down a ladder! He was so cute! I want to get another Lab, but Scott isn't ready for another dog...
 
 
  

Want to see where I spent my Anniversary?

click Here. Not the most romantic place, huh? I have some kind of nasty stomach bug! I have been in bed or in the bathroom since yesterday afternoon. Bummer. And we were supposed to go and meet with a bunch of local adoptive parents today. It turns out we couldn't have gone out, anyway, because the babysitter got the dates confused. so it hasn't been too exciting...We will celebrate another time...

11 years ago today...

I married my best friend. We got married on the beach in Laguna. We have been together for 15 years and we are so lucky!

The Leprechauns were here!

 
 
They colored our milk green and left gold!
As Cameron would say "Happy ST. Padrick's day!" 

The Best Brownies, ever!

Known hereafter as "The Firefighter Brownies"
 

Recipe:
2/3 cup evaporated milk, divided
14 oz. pakage caramels
1 package chocolate chips
1 box german chocolate cake mix
2/3 cup butter

Mix 1/3 cup evaporated milk, softened butter and cake mix in a bowl.
press half of the cake mixinto the bottome of a 13X 9 cake pan,
bake for 8 minutes at 350.
In a microwave safe bowl, mix caramels and 1/3 evaporated milk
heat for 30 seconds at a time until melted, stirring
sprinkle chocolate chips over crust, pour caramels over chocolate chips
crumble the rest of the dough over the top.
Bake at 350 for 18 minutes. Yummy! 

Does anyone NOT like Firefighters??

This was in the mail today for Cameron with a note that said "Dear Cameron, We hope you are back jumping around. You were a great patient. Thanks.

 
Firefighters Rock! I mean, how can you not love them? They save lives and they are nice, too! We are going to bring them some cookies tomorrow... 

Reflections on a 911 call...

I do not have any regrets about calling 911. The first thing I learned in first aid is not to move someone with a neck injury. But there is one thing I wish I had done differently. My house was an absolute disaster. Toys all over, the paramedics were literally tripping over couch cushions. So I was thinking. You know the saying "You should wear clean underwear just in case you are in a car accident"?. Well, here is my new saying, maybe it will catch on. "You should always keep your house clean, in case you need to call 911". I guess I better get started...

I love Austin!

You Are Austin

A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll. You're totally weird and very proud of it. Artistic and freaky, you still seem to fit in... in your own strange way. Famous Austin residents: Lance Armstrong, Sandra Bullock, Andy Roddick

What American City Are You?

Adoption on hold.

Well, due to some financial stuff, the adoption is on hold. At first I was so sad and disappointed. This means that we won't be able to travel with my sister. But then I started thinking maybe this has happened for reason. I think we are meant to adopt a waiting child. (For those who don't know, that means a child with special needs, usually minor). There are so many children who need a home who might not get one otherwise. So even though we have to wait a little longer, I am excited about it. So we will save up some money and ask our agency to keep an eye out for a child around Gracie's age with a minor special need and then submit our paperwork. The good news is that the wait is usually shorter, so it probably won't add that much time to our wait! We still need to think about what kind of special need we would be willing to accept. Probably a cleft pallate(SP?) or something like that.

Cameron is much better and new digital layout

After Motrin and a heat pack on his neck, Cameron is able to sit up and walk around some. His neck is still sore, but he seems to be on the road to recovery. Thanks for all your kind thoughts. Here is my latest Digital scrapbook design. I think I am getting the hang of it. I am still having some issues that I may have to hire someone to help me with. This is the page I am giving to a friend of mine who will be seeing Gracie's orphanage director next month while she visits the U.S. I think it turned out pretty good. I am still using only free kits, not too bad!

Never a dull moment around here...

Cameron was jumping on the couch this afternoon and we aren't sure if he fell off(He said he didn't) but he suddenly started crying and saying his neck hurt. He was laying on the floor and couldn't/wouldn't move it. He wouldn't stop crying and when we tried to move him, it got worse, so we made the dreaded call to 911. They came very quickly and suddenly there was a fire truck outside our door and Fire fighters and paramedics stomping through our house, over the toys and couch cushions to where Cameron was laying. To be on the safe side, they strapped him to one of those boards you always see on E.R., and took him in his first (mine too) ambulance ride to the hospital. They did some tests and took X-rays, which were hard to do because it hurt him to move at all. They concluded that they "don't know" what it is. Great. It could just be a pulled muscle or spasm. So after much crying and a neck brace, we are home again. He is medicated and we will see how he is in the morning. He was a trooper throughout. Here is an actual conversation in the ambulance.
Paramedic"hey, buddy, do you want to be a firefighter when you grow up?"
Cameron "No, I want to be Batman"
paramedic"OHHH, can I be Robin?"
Cameron "No, My Daddy is going to be Robin!"
Cute, even strapped to a board...

Ouch

  

My Dad found this...

I thought it was cool...
You can find them and a bunch of others Here

Before and After

Before Kids:

After Kids

Before:

After:

Before:

After

(Yes, I have a train table instead of a dining room table)

I Waaannt Baaaad Daaaayyyyy!

No, I am not having a bad day, this is what Gracie says every time we get into the car. It is a new song by Daniel Powter and she loves it! It is so funny! I downloaded it a couple of weeks ago and it is all she wants to hear! She has even had tantrums because I won't play it ALL the time. Have you heard it? Here are some of the lyrics:
Where is the moment we need at the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue skies fade to grey
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin'

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day
this is what Gracie sings:
"Baaaaddd Daaaayyy, Baaaadddd Daaaayyyyy, Baaaaddd Daaaaayyyyy"
Get it? Although it is very cute and I loved the song (past tense, I am sick of it) it is getting old...What happened to Old MacDonald?

Funny things overheard...

Funny things I have overheard the kids saying lately...
Buster had been getting into the trash a lot and making a mess. Scott said yesterday "Buster, if you don't be good, we'll have to send you to a farm" (totally joking!)
so later Gracie was crying in the car and Cameron says to her "Gracie, if you don't be good, you have to go live on a farm!" Ha ha ha
Gracie's vocabulary is exploding and she is trying to put 3 and 4 words together. Today she says "I want Jack off". WHAT? She says it a few more times until I get it. She wants her Jacket off!
The other day when I picked her up at the gym they told me "She keeps asking for Cheese. I told her we don't have any, but she won't stop". I asked her what she wanted. "Juice!."
We were at the post office in line and I gave Grace my keys to play with. She starts yelling "MOMMY, BA CHEE"(Buster). I said "Yes, I know, Buster is in the car". She keeps yelling "NO, Mommy, Ba Chee!!!!". Suddenly Buster comes INTO the Post office. She has opened the door of the minivan with the automatic keys and let him out!At least she tried to tell me...

Nasty Storm

Blew the unbrella out of the table and shattered the glass...what a mess!

 

I did it!!

Here is my first Digital layout. I had to use the Scrapboook factory deluxe, I still can't figure out Elements...maybe if I take a class...It is pretty basic and I used a free download of papers and embellishments. There are tons of free stuff out there! Thanks for all the advice. My favorite site is digiscrap. It really goes into step by step details, but for some reason when I followed the directions for elements, it still didn't work. And this layout took forever, because I kept getting the "program not responding" error and it took 2 or 3 minutes to do anything Is this a program problem or a computer problem? Anyway, I finally finished one!

Technically challenged...

I really want to get into digital scrapbooking. I am not finding time to scrapbook and I spend all of my time on the computer anyway! My Dad bought me Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 for my birthday, and I have been trying to figure out how to use it since! And not having much luck...I can edit photos and things likes that, but I cannot seem to figure out how to make a scrapbook layout...I bought the "Class room in a book" for elements, but it doesn't talk about scrapbooking...anyway, I need some help, or a class or something...