The Blogification of Amy

Birthday Fun

2012-01-28T16:23:00.000-08:00

Julia turns 5 in a few days. I told her she could invite 5 friends to her first "real" birthday party. Planning a party for a girl was really a lot of fun. As in REALLY fun. It was so fun to go shopping for just the right things for her cupcake/pony party.

Here they are decorating their cupcake boxes.

Then they each got 5 cupcakes to frost and decorate to put in the cupcake boxes.

How about the chopped off head of a pony pinata?

Blake had a great time entertaining the girls. In about 10 years he will be wanting to date them. :)

And of course, the party ended with a pink pony cake.

Ahhhhhh now I can relax. :)

10 pounds of cheese

2011-12-14T23:19:00.000-08:00

I just finished slicing up 10 pounds of cheese into sticks in preparation for my tamales tomorrow. I can almost taste the cheesy, chile yumness that awaits me. Oh and aren't these people just so cute. Please note the missing 2 year old in the picture. That's right, some projects just work better when Cole is napping.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

What the Penn State Scandal says about us

2011-11-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

I have to admit to my severe neglect of this blog as I have not posted for a whole month. I probably should post pictures of our cute kids on Halloween, or of how Mike and I went dressed as a pinata and little boy to a Halloween party, or at least how thrilled we are to be expecting a baby girl at the end of march. But no, I'm not going to do that tonight because I would rather discuss the Penn State Scandal.
I've read and thought a lot about this case over the past several days. It is horrifying on so many levels. University president and Joe Paterno have both gotten the axe because of the handling of it.
What really intrigues me however, is what this case says about how we as a society feel about sexual abuse. So here are the facts; a graduate student walked into the locker room at Penn State and found a naked Sandusky sodomizing what appeared to be a 10 year old child. He reported the incident to Joe Paterno who then reported it to his boss. The only action that was taken with Sandusky was that he was no longer able to bring boys from his charitable organization to Penn State. (what's the take home message here, that's fine that you molest children just don't do it in our facilities. Really people?)
Let's pretend for a moment that what the graduate student walked into was Sandusky cutting a 10 year old child's face with a knife. You can BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR that the graduate student would have called 911 immediately. In fact he probably would have intervened himself to protect the child from a very sadistic man. So what's the difference here folks???? No one can argue that one is "worse" than the other. The harm from sexual abuse is life altering and terrible. So what is it? What is it about sexual abuse that causes us (generally speaking of course) to be squeamish and not do what we would do in any other harmful circumstance. And if you think this scandal is an aberration and I'm just being crazy I could point out many many more that have been handled in a similar manner. (catholic church anyone?)
It's so easy to point the finger at Joe Paterno, Tim Curley, Penn State officials etc etc. Why didn't anyone call the police, why didn't anyone stop this monster? But instead of pointing the finger, let's look at our own actions instead. Do we fail to bring up the topic of sexual abuse with our children because we are squeamish, or awkward??? Do we think, it can't happen to my child? Do we reason that if we just ignore the subject our children will be immune to it? Do we live in denial that the statistics indicate that 1 in 4 girls (or 3 depending upon what stats you read)and 1 in 7 boys will be sexually abused? Not my child we reason in our heads and then promptly do nothing and hope we don't have to think about it again. Do we see warning signs but brush them off because so and so is such a nice guy, or a good friend, or a respected community figure?
So here is my plea friends and family. Let's do something about this to ensure that our children are protected from this heinous crime. Let's have that ONGOING discussion with them. It might be scary or awkward at first to bring up the subject, but I guarantee that it will be a whole lot better than the alternative. Let's not give people the benefit of doubt when we feel something strange or sketchy about them. Trust your gut if someone gives you the creeps, because our children shouldn't pay the price of our fear of "offending" someone. A child molester isn't that stranger in the dark, instead it's almost always someone you know. Pay attention to your gut feelings about someone. And finally, we must recognize that until we as a society are open and honest about this, sexual abuse will continue to perpetuate its destructive horror upon millions of our children. It thrives in secret. It thrives in our denial. It cannot thrive if we take action.

Please talk to your children.
I have a plethora of books you can borrow to read to them.
ok, the social worker will step off her soapbox now.

Chicago

2011-10-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

Mike had to go to a training for work last week in Chicago so I joined him for a long weekend. The weather was beautiful and the autumn foliage did not disappoint. There is so much to see and do in Chicago. It's been a long time since I've been to the Midwest but that accent gets me every time. I have VERY distinct memories of moving to Michigan and having kids at school asking me to say words such as mom and hat because they thought I talked so funny. hmmmmmm really.

Of course our trip could not be complete without deep dish pizza.

We saw a great fireworks show on Navy Pier.

A true Chicago dog. No ketchup.

Oh the pretty trees. Pretend I am NOT wearing Nike tennis shoes in this picture.

We traveled everywhere on their awesome "L" metro system. I love public transit because it makes for the best people watching. And of course being the curious george that I am I just couldn't resist talking with some new Oktoberfest friends on the bus. Yes they really were German.

This was a huge entourage of bikers and once again I just had to get a picture.

We rented bikes and rode up Lake Michigan.

The Sears tower is awesome. Going out in the glass pod is a really freaky but cool experience.

And that's a wrap. Thanks Chicago for the good memories. And special thanks to my mom and sister for taking care of the peeps so we could stay up late, sleep in , eat at sidewalk cafes without anyone spilling anything and meander about this city to our hearts content.

Cheese Glorious Cheese

2011-09-20T20:34:00.001-07:00

It's no secret that I love cheese. Havarti, gorgonzola, muenster, provolone, jalapeno jack, fontina, asiago, cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, romano, gouda, goat cheese, cream cheese, blue cheese, queso fresco, warm brie with pears, melted cheese, sliced cheese, shredded cheese.......yum yum yum. What could be better than cheese????? On any given day I have several types of cheese just waiting for me in my fridge. Sorry but I could never be a vegan because I don't think soy cheese would do it for me.

However, there is one type of cheese that I generally avoid, FETA. I've always thought of it as being way too dry, salty and just kind of bitter. Really I could do without it. Now I'll get to my point. A few weeks ago I was at my Mom's and she pulled out a small box of feta cheese to put on top of our salad. I kind of groaned but she promised me that this was GOOD. She had purchased it at her local international market on recommendation from the owner. Ow wow, she was right. This is the best feta I have EVER eaten and has totally changed my mind about feta cheese. It has a very creamy(not dry) consistency, kind of similar to goat cheese that just melts in your mouth.

Today I almost peed my pants with excitement when I saw the same brand at our local produce market. Thank you Valley Produce for making all my cheese dreams come true.

You have to try this cheese.

Fazendo Arte

2011-09-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

In Brasil when a child is acting out or doing something mischievous the parent often tells the child to stop "fazendo arte" or translated, 'making art'. Well Julia was quite literally "fazendo arte" a few weeks ago. Please refer to the above work of art drawn all over her bedroom carpet. And this was a HUGE picture by the way.

First Grader

2011-08-29T20:39:00.001-07:00

Our cute little squinty eyed white haired boy is now a big first grader.

Brain Candy

2011-08-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

I recently read a new book called The Warmth of Other Suns. As a mother of 3 small children I spend a lot of time dealing with little people. Needless to say it is quite refreshing to me to read something so intellectually stimulating. Like candy for my brain. Or I guess it would really be more like a good hearty meal for my brain but you get the idea.

If you read The Help and want to know more about life for African Americans in the Jim Crow South and why so many of them left in search of.......well as the title suggests the warmth of other suns, read this book. I really had no idea just HOW horrible conditions were. Definitely eye opening, educational, thought provoking and very inspirational.

Seriously this book hits my top ten list of favorite books.

Family Reunion 2011

2011-08-14T22:08:00.001-07:00

We got back last week from a week long reunion with Mike's family. 2 of his brothers live in Spokane, WA so we flew up there and enjoyed a week of lake living in a rental on a lake in northern Idaho. Fun times were had by all. Julia was easily bribed into riding the "tube". I promised her a pink treat. She love the ride.

Thanks to Mike's brother Joe for a fun time on his boat.

No capsizing.

We toured an old silver mine which was very fascinating.

Julia actually consented to getting her hair done by aunt Candis.

But notice her hair (and different outfit) a few hours later. This has got to be one of the all time classic pictures of Julia. Oh Julia how I love you. I can't wait to see what you're like in 10 years.

Cole is probaby saying something like "hey guys" in his usual LOUD voice.

Cousin dog pile.

Jumping into Hayden lake.

Thanks to Mike's parents and brother Joe and wife Candis for making this possible. We had a blast.

Good Bye

2011-08-07T21:55:00.000-07:00

"Parting is such sweet sorrow" Romeo and Juliet

It has taken me a few weeks to post about this because I get sad even thinking about it. My oldest sister Carol and her family moved to Peru 2 weeks ago. For the past 25 years they have lived in San Diego and I have always enjoyed spending time down there with them. It was wonderful to live somewhat near them when I returned to LA to attend grad school 12 years ago. I am thankful for their support, example and love then and now. How lucky I feel to have such a wonderful sister.

We had a family dinner and gathering at my brother's place before they left to honor them. It felt like heaven being with all those whom I love and who love me. Although my kids were the youngest cousins there by far they were showered with love and attention by their cool older cousins.

I know they will do wonderful things in Peru and I take comfort that my loss is somebody else's gain......but I will miss them.

Flamingo Girl

2011-07-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

I can't think of anything Julia loves more than her little pink flamingo puppet Jeffrey. So you can only imagine her excitement when a package arrived for her last week from her aunt Emily that contained a flamingo dress AND pink flamingo sunglasses. She is in permanent flamingo heaven. Thanks Emily!!!

I love this picture

2011-07-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

Blake has been doing "Saturday chores" since he started Kindergarten. It usually involves taking out trash, vacuuming and or cleaning windows. But he has kicked it up a notch. Last Saturday Blake learned the very fine art of cleaning the toilet and sink under my professional tutelage. hee hee It was actually kind of fun to teach him because he was so excited to learn. I just had to take a picture because i know that in a few years from now, swishing that brush around the toilet bowl will not be viewed as fun. Then again, in a few years he will certainly be making more than a dollar a week:)

Cousins Galore

2011-07-14T15:25:00.001-07:00

This past weekend my brother and his family stayed with us for a few nights. It was baby and toddler mania. 3 two year olds, one 7 month old and 3 big kids all had fun. We had a great time down at the Skirball Center touring the Noah's Ark exhibit with lots of family.

And a special shout out to all of you with twins..... I don't know how you do it.

Kindergarten is for little kids.

2011-06-22T14:50:00.001-07:00

When Blake finished his last day of school a few weeks back he very proudly announced that he was no longer a kindergartener. "I'm in first grade now" is what we heard a million times during the first week of summer break.

I really could not have asked for a more amazing, talented, kind and just generally wonderful teacher for Blake. Everytime I volunteered in the classroom I was blown away by how great she was with the kids. Thank you thank thank you Mrs. Walker!!!!!! I wish she could be Blake's 1st grade teacher but alas, I'll just cross my fingers that Julia gets her next year. Wow, I can't believe how quickly the school year flew by. Pretty soon he'll be going off to college.....well not that soon.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T22:43:00.000-07:00

This is one of my most favorite pictures. It was just a candid shot taken by my friend Alyssa at the wild animal park last month but I think it captures so much. The joy of both father and son is so evident. I love this man for so many reasons but on Father's Day I honor him for being the kind of father that will bless his children all through their lives. I hope our sons can follow in his footsteps and be great fathers someday.

Happy Father's Day Mike!!!!!

30 hours of freedom

2011-06-12T22:12:00.000-07:00

30 hours of kid free fun this weekend with this cute guy. We had a great time. On Firday night we enjoyed going to the temple, eating at one of our oldtime favorite Thai restaurants from our dating days. And then my ultimate dream of riding the ferris wheel at the Santa Monica Pierwas finally realized. (hmmm sometimes I wonder if I am a small child) I have wanted to ride that thing FOREVER and I finally got to.

This is us on the ferris wheel. I could hardly contain my excitement. I only wish I had a picture of our view, but alas my camera is really really lame.

Eating my favorite treat in the world, Pinkberry.

Lemon pancakes made with love by Mike.

Mountain biking in beautiful Cheseboro park. I probably exclaimed at least 500 times how beautiful the wild flowers were. It's that time of year.

And finally we topped it off with dinner at the local Indian restaurant. After 30 hours of fun we returned to real life. Thanks Rebecca and Dave for making this possible. I'm sure it wasn't really that fun having children ages 9,8,7,6,5,4,3 and 2 all weekend. :) But most importantly thanks to wonderful Mike for always being my loving partner in every adventure from crazy dates to crazy children!!!!

Swimming

2011-05-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

The other day Julia came out of her room with her swimming suit on. After telling her it was too cool to go swimming she reassured me that she would put on her sweater and leggings, both of which she did at different times. This was just too funny for me to NOT take some pictures.

I think I know where we will be everyday this summer. :)

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

Could there be a better day than Mother's Day?

1) I did not change ONE diaper today. And really, what could be better than that!!

2) I was served a delicious strawberry coffee cake made by my wonderful husband for breakfast.

3) My 2 oldest kids participated in a cute little medley of songs for the mothers at church and I nearly cried watching them because they were so cute.

4) I indulged in a 2 hour nap after church. As a general rule I am not a napper but this was actually really nice.

5) I was served a delicious dinner of grilled fish, roasted potatoes and strawberry shortcake and I didn't have to do any cleanup or prep work.

6) I got to enjoy dinner with my own wonderful mother and my sister who is also an amazing mother.

7) Best of all, Blake said the following to me today. "Mom today you are my queen and I am your servant. What can I do for you?"

Oh yes I love Mother's Day. I am grateful for my mother as well as my husband's mother for all the hard work and sacrifice they put in to raising their families. I am thankful for my grandmothers both of whom are long since gone as well as my husband's grandma who is such a wonderful grandmother to me and my family. I really have been richly blessed. I am thankful for the opportunity I have had to mother many children over the years, both those that I have born and those with whom I have worked.

Happy Mother's Day!!

And yes, tomorrow I go back to being everyone's servant.........Until next Mother's Day. :)

2 and 6

2011-04-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

We celebrated 2 birthdays last week. Blake turned 6 and Cole turned 2. What could be more fun than sharing your birthday with family? We celebrated both events at my sister's home in San Diego. Cole's special day fell on Easter this year which I think is highly unusual considering his birthday is April 24th.

Picking my battles

2011-04-18T16:31:00.000-07:00

This is the "beautiful" outfit Julia decided to wear last week for an outing to the library. We had borrowed that giant shirt at my sister's house because she spilled something on her clothes and so it was sitting there on her dresser waiting to be returned. Apparently she thought it would make a pretty awesome dress. Put it together with beaded socks, red sparkly shoes and a few painful stuffed animals and let the good times roll. I really didn't want to let her leave the house like that but sometimes it's just not worth the fight. At least I still have control over what Cole wears. I cringed everytime someone looked at us. I wanted to hold up a sign saying, "I did not dress this child."

IF you ever need help choosing an outfit just call Julia, she would be more than happy to assist you.

Please say it ain't so

2011-04-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

Just read an article that said that the Donald was tied with Mike Huckabee in a poll for early frontrunner for the GOP. Oh please just shoot me now if either one of these horrifying creatures ever becomes our president. ughhhhhhh

and just in case....

2011-04-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

Does your dryer eat your socks? This seems to be a common problem at my house. But yesterday I discovered that I could finally stop blaming that darn dryer for eating my socks. I watched in amusement as Cole took several clean socks from the laundy pile atop my bed and threw them behind the headboard......never to be seen again.....or so he thought. Ha Ha kid, I am finally catching on to your tricks.

What will he think of next?

My goal is to be smarter than him by the time he turns 2 later on this month.

Schooled Again

2011-03-31T13:48:00.001-07:00

Oh what fun it is to run the Dole Great Race 10k with my mini-me Andi. This girl is amazing. So glad to be her aunt. And so happy that she enjoys one of my favorite hobbies, running. I'm just sad that I can't keep up with her. Last year she beat me by a few seconds, this year it was a little over a minute. Guess I'm turning into old frumpy aunt amy.

I'm so grateful that we live close to family. What a delight to spend time with them.

What's in your vent?

2011-03-29T21:50:00.001-07:00

I recently caught Cole removing various sewing supplies from my sewing drawer. I asked him where he was putting them and was shocked when he took me to the heater vent in the wall. Mike unscrewed the vent and we found things we have been missing for months. I guess those slots really are the perfect height for an almost 2 year old little boy to put things in.

Seriously we found over 15 books, a tie, several lego pieces, hair accesories, crackers, sewing supplies, pens, paper, polly pockets, etc etc. So if you've been missing something for a while now and you happen to have a little munchkin living in your house, you just may want to check your vents. I'm just glad he didn't shove any of our library books in there.

Obsessed

2011-03-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

If I already posted about this I'm sorry. ....but I am obsessed with creamed spinach.
About a year ago we went to a Polish restaurant for dinner. On the side of my plate was a little scoop of a creamy green substance. I about died of joy upon tasting it. I NEVER knew spinach could taste so good. I have an aversion to plain cooked spinach because as a child I was served this soggy side dish A LOT and it just felt like I was eating soggy toilet pepper with a touch of bitter. YUCK. Add some lemon juice and double YUCK. (sorry Mom if you are reading this)
Well a few months ago I finally decided to attempt this at home. I had no recipe but knew that it had to contain butter, cream and nutmeg and a pinch of sugar. Oh wow, so easy to make. You have to try it. Seriously. I've died and gone to heaven.

Creamed Spinach Polish Style
Take several large handfuls of baby spinach and saute them in a frying pan with a bit of butter, salt and garlic. Grate some fresh nutmeg over this mixture and cook until wilted. Transfer to the food processor and add a little cream and about 1-2 tsp. of sugar. Blend until creamy. And then watch yourself EAT IT ALL. Sorry no picture.

Happy St. Patty's Day

2011-03-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a very green day.

A tricky leprechuan visited our house and turned the milk and scrambled eggs green. He also left some gold at the end of the rainbow which greatly excited the kids.

Happy Birthday Mom

2011-03-11T12:51:00.000-08:00

For my mom's birthday yesterday we met up in Newport Beach for a few hours of fun. We visited Roger's Garden, which is a beatiful nursery, went out to lunch and then topped off our meal with a Sprinkles Cupcake. It was fun to spend time with my sisters, mom and sister in law. So glad we live close. (oh and did I mention how nice it was to NOT have my kids with me)

As seen on CNN

2011-03-03T23:17:00.000-08:00

I was just reading the news on CNN and found it laughable that these 2 articles appeared in the news feed today. Talk about contrast.

Article One is a very disturbing story of a "live demonstration" that occurred in a discussion group after a human sexuality class.

Article two is the by now well known story of BYU's dismissal of a basketball player for an honor code violation. I say, good for BYU for demanding that all students (even star athletes) uphold their end of a contract that they WILLINGLY signed when they started BYU. If BYU's honor code is too "strict" as some feel it is, that person has the choice to not attend the university. I do feel really sorry for the guy because he has got to feel really lame at this point. Talk about everyone knowing "your business". Thanks BYU for showing us that integrity is more important than winning an NCAA championship.

Who thought of this?

2011-02-23T20:10:00.000-08:00

I'll be the first to admit that I like certain things that most people consider nasty, like those orange circus peanuts and Necco Valentine's hearts (I don't like their new flavors).

The other night MIke brought a special "treat" home from work. HE just couldn't pass up the 75% off clearance price of a box of chocolate covered potato chips. (actually he admitted to me later that he bought them to see my reaction and don't worry I did not disappoint.) We had never eaten these before and I didn't know they existed.

Potato chips aren't really my thing as it is and adding chocolate to them only makes them grosser. These were horrible. So NASTY. Julia is the only one who ate more than one chip. All day she has been asking to eat "that nasty thing that you don't like". HA HA. At least they won't go to waste.

So if you are ever tempted to buy some chocolate covered potato chips please refrain. Oh and did I mention that there are 210 calories per 2.5 chips. How's that for sick.

President's Day Fun

2011-02-21T14:53:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately Mike had to work today but I wanted to do something with the kids to get them out of the house and to teach them a little something about our great nation. So off I went with 3 kids in tow to the Ronald Reagan Library which was hosting a President's Day Celebration. We didn't pay to go into the museum but the kids enjoying several free crafts, running around and seeing some presidents. Blake was amazed that George Washington was there.

Julia kept trying to convince us that the hats were really pirate hats NOT George Washington hats.

They had a ton of lincoln logs out for the kids to build Abe Lincoln's log house. We even got to hear a speech by President Lincoln and listen to a really loud band.

Going on an adventure by myself with these 3 always seems a little crazy but I know they enjoy it. :)

We are really very fortunate to live so close to a presidential library.

Happy President's Day

These are Days

2011-02-19T13:48:00.000-08:00

Motherhood is hard work. When I feel overwhelmed with the many tasks, duties and responsibilities that go into mothering young ones, one of my favorite songs often pops into my head. "These are days" by 10,000 maniacs reminds me of what I already know but sometimes forget, that these moments with my little ones are precious and to be enjoyed. They won't always stay little.

Lyrics:
These are days, you'll remember

Never before and never since, I promise

Will the whole world be as warm as this

And as you feel it, you'll know it's true

That you are blessed and lucky

It's true that you are touched by something

That will grow and bloom in you

These are days, you'll remember

When May is rushing over you

To be part of the miracles you see in every hour

You'll know it's true that you are blessed and lucky....

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T21:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!! Yesterday we made dozens and dozens of sugar cookies and the kids had fun sneaking dozens and dozens into their little mouths. Of course pink and purple frosting around the mouth is a dead give away.

Cole our little cookie monster especially enjoyed the cookie making extravaganza.

Could there be a better holiday for Julia than one that celebrates all things pink, red, hearts and sparkles???? I made her this little heart skirt for the big day but couldn't resist giving it to her a few days early and it's already seen the washer several times. :)

And finally, please read the Valentine that Blake gave me. I just died laughing. "Hope your Valentine's Day is a real GAS". Really??? WHo wrote this?

100 Days

2011-02-08T14:41:00.001-08:00

Yesterday when I volunteered in Blake's classroom they were celebrating the 100th day of school. It's hard to believe that 100 school days have already come and gone since this little guy started kindergarten. It was a fun day to be at school. Everything the kids did and made was related to 100 from necklaces to puppets to hats. They even got donut holes because they were shaped like zeros. Blake had to take 100 things to school for the big celebration and he decided to take 100 pinto beans. Hmmmmm he's a junior bean counter....maybe someday he will grow up to be an accountant like Daddy. :)

Happy Day 100

Someone is 4

2011-02-02T13:43:00.000-08:00

Julia turned 4 a few days ago. We have had a wonderful week full of festivities to celebrate this milestone.

First off, what could be better than having little Grandma and Big Grandpa in town. My kids adore their great grandparents who decided to take a road trip to escape the cold and come see us. Grandma even painted Julia's nails.

We enjoyed going on several outings with Grandma and Grandpa this weekend. We visited the Gardens of the World, introduced them to Pinkberry yogurt, went to Paramount Ranch Studios, and had dinner with Grandma's nephew.

We topped it all off with a little family party on Saturday night complete with balloons, dinner, a pink cake with lots of pink decorations compliments of my nieces, and pin the crown on the princess. (yes I have succumbed)

Happy Birthday my beautiful Julia who loves all things pretty and pink.

And a big thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for coming out to see us :)

Would you drink this?

2011-01-23T20:35:00.001-08:00

I have been told by numerous people that adding a few handfuls of spinach to a smoothie doesn't change the taste of the beverage. I tried it out. IT was ok but the color of this bad boy nearly killed me. Puke green. Really? Apparently next time I need to try adding some blueberries to cover up that horrible color. Blake happily drank it all the while commenting on how it matched his shirt and eyes. That's my boy.

$1.25

2011-01-16T20:31:00.000-08:00

At a garage sale a dollar goes a long way. I found the gem below for 25 cents and thought it had some good potential. I envisioned something kind of ruffley with gathered sleeves. I figured I had nothing to loose since my investment was only a quarter. I like how it turned out, although it still needs some sort of button to close the top. (Pretty sure that one will have to be pink to satisfy Julia)

I picked up the maryjanes for $1. I couldn't resist Gap leather shoes for one dollar. If only I could grow her whole outfit to my size.

Total cost of outfit $1.25

And I'm posting this because it's not really a bargain unless everyone knows about it. :) Happy bargain shopping everyone.

Christmas

2011-01-13T16:00:00.000-08:00

Look what Santa brought Julia.

There's nothing like free labor. Mike enlisted several of our nieces and nephews to shell peanuts for peanut brittle.

Meet the newest member of our family, out adorable little great niece (now i feel really old) natalie. So sweet. Pretend that my hands do not look like they belong on a skeleton.

"hey while we are waiting for Daddy to get off of Soaring over California let's throw all of the goldfish out of the bag and smash them"

Christmas feels like so long ago. I guess it was technically last year:)

We had a great time at Disneyland hanging out with almost my entire family. This is what I've learned about the place. Enjoy the rain because that means that there are very short lines.

Unfortunately I was too busy having fun to take very many pictures. And even more unfortunate is the fact that several of us got very sick with the worst stomach flu I've ever had. 4 days-yuck. I'm just glad we are all healthy again.

How I lost my name

2011-01-01T20:25:00.000-08:00

10 years ago my brother married a charming girl named Amy. I liked her then and I like her now but I DON"T like the fact that we have the same name because it gets very confusing when we are together with my family. My family took to calling me Amy Classic which I didn't like very much. Since I am the original Amy I feel that i should be just Amy and they can call her something else. But alas the problem has continued this whole time. So this Christmas my whole family was together (except for Robert and Emily who just had a baby) for a Disneyland vacation. We had a great time but that's a different post. Anyway, one night several people started arm wrestling. Amy went on and on about how weak she was and how she never beats anyone in arm wrestling. Now I am pretty lame myself considering my 12 year old nephew can beat me but since she was going on and on and on about it I thought...........here's my chance to settle this problem forever. I challenged her to an arm wrestle and said that whoever won got all the rights and privileges of forever more being called Amy. The loser would have to come up with a new name. I thought I was so clever......until I lost that is. So yes, I lost my birthright and no one will let me forget it. If you are a member of my family I now will only respond to the name of AmyJune.

And obviously my lesson learned is that I AM THE WEAKEST PERSON IN THE WORLD.

p.s. Amy-is this the real reason you made me an apple juice slushy? Did you feel bad about stealing my name?

Disneyland should be fun!

2010-12-19T23:26:00.000-08:00

Oh the weather outside is frightful.....especially when you will be spending the next several days at Disneyland.
Wish us luck as we battle the rain!!!
Family Reunion here we come.

The Evil Villains & Damsel in Distress

2010-12-15T11:51:00.000-08:00

Do these pictures even need an explanation. Anyone with sons and daughters will quickly understand how a furry little puppy got stolen from a pretty little damsel and strung up on a curtain rod by evil villains. The damsel was then lured into the villains' lair where were many obstacles(involving lots of tape, ribbon and string) stood in the way of getting the precious puppy. Cries of despair were to be heard from the poor little damsel, while shouts of joy and jubilation came from the pair of evil villains.
And the Queen Mommy just wanted to laugh at the whole scene.

Oh it's fun to be a boy! So little time, so many ways to annoy your sister.

Blake's First Report Card

2010-12-12T22:05:00.000-08:00

Don't worry, this is not a post where I brag about how smart/cute/clever and or great my child is. (although I do think he is all of those things)

If you know about what I did in a previous life before children you will uderstand why the above numbers are my favorite part of Blake's report card.

Crafting with kids

2010-12-01T12:40:00.000-08:00

Can I just admit that I really do not enjoy doing crafts with my kids. There I said it. We made some Thanksgiving Indian Feather headbands the other day but soon after completing the project the feathers ended up all over the kitchen floor. Cleaning up a billion feathers is not really fun. Most projects start out fun enough but after literally 5 minutes or less, somebody is crying and there is a huge mess to clean up. If there is a craft fairy out there who likes this type of thing please come to my house once a week to do fun things with my kids.

This is the after picture.

Birthday Cake

2010-11-30T00:12:00.000-08:00

This year my birthday was on Thanksgiving. We celebrated a few days before at my sister's house. I have to say that I am very impressed with Mike's cake making skills. He made me the most delicious chocolate pumpkin cake complete with cream cheese frosting topped with chocolate ganache from scratch. Yes we have come a long ways since the last time my birthday fell on Thanksgiving and my dear husband didn't see the need to provide a cake since we were having so many pies. (please note that I am not a huge fan of pie) I laugh about it now but it was kind of traumatizing to me way back then as a newlywed. So if there are any newly married husbands reading this please make a mental note that your wife needs a birthday cake even if her birthday happens to fall on a major holiday. :)

We then spent several days in San Francisco at Mike's brother's home. We had a great time with family. The kids were in cousin heaven. On our way home the two older ones fell asleep within 5 minutes of getting into the car. Talk about worn out from playing.

If left to our own devices

2010-11-17T22:18:00.000-08:00

If left to their own devices these 2 crazy women will spend 8 consecutive hours on a Friday night (and the wee hours of Saturday morning) making 3 Merry Christmas banners. Unfortunately I don't have the finished product to show you because even after all those hours the project still lacks the ribbon to hold it all together. The idea is a banner that says Merry Christmas. My friend Brittany gave me a really cute felt happy birthday banner and I love it. So why not have a merry christmas one too that I can use year after year. Of course as we all know I don't have good cutting skills. So Rebecca did all the cutting and I did all the sewing. Good team:)

A baby in a sweater

2010-11-14T21:08:00.000-08:00

I can't think of very many things that I like more than my baby in a sweater. I love love love this little guy.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T21:36:00.000-07:00

We had a scary dinner tonight. Orange mashed mush (potatoes) with spiders, bloody green eyeballs (deviled eggs) and mummy and ghost meatloaf.

Julia has worn her Halloween costume EVERY SINGLE DAY this past week, and wouldn't you know it, I somehow don't have a picture of her in it. Here is Ironman Blake with his little friend "Daphne".

Mike and I were candy bars this year.

And Cole was a cute little doggy. (with a very dirty face-geeee what a surprise)
I just had to dig this one out of the archives. It is of Blake in the same doggy costume 4 years ago. HE screamed and screamed until we took it off. Cole on the other hand was very happy to be all suited up like a doggy.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-26T13:50:00.001-07:00

What happened to you, sad little pumpkin?

Saturday was the perfect day for a trip to the local pumpkin patch. IF only I had someone there with a good camera and good skills. IT was perfect picture taking weather. I love this picture of Cole.

Thank goodness our friend gave us free passes and lots of tickets for the pony rides because that place is expensive!!!! Thanks Rebecca. We all had a wonderful time.

Dancing in the Rain

2010-10-24T21:32:00.000-07:00

Try to pretend that Julia is wearing pants/skirt/shorts. She kept taking them off when they got wet. This picture cracks me up. It speaks volumes about Julia's personality. Don't worry Jeffrey is safely tucked into her jacket.

It was been a rainy week down here in Southern California. One evening right after I left the house for a run it started raining then hailing on me. I almost turned around....but it was kind of fun running in it.

The 2 older kids were dying to play in the wet wet rain so I let them during one afternoon when it was pouring. They had fun and I had fun watching them from my dry dry doorstep. (also try to pretend in the above picture that Julia's clothes actually match....of course Jeffrey had to come out and play in the rain as well)

Jeffrey

2010-10-18T21:05:00.001-07:00

My child is strangely attached to a small pink flamingo puppet that she named Jeffrey. Everywhere that Julia goes Jeffrey is sure to follow. We have found that sending Jeffrey to time out is a good punishment when Julia does something naughty because she hates to part with him.
She feeds him, talks to him, loves him and even makes sure to snuggle him in her sleep.

These chairs make me happy

2010-10-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

I bought our kitchen table and chairs about 10 years ago for $90 from my roommate who was moving out. They have seen a lot in 10 years. The table is still functional but the chairs had to go. Each of the chairs had been repaired various times and were wobbly. When a loose screw ripped a hole in a freind's pants a few weeks ago we knew it was time to say goodbye. So off we went to Ikea to purchase 5 new chairs. But I didn't want boring white, black or wood. I wanted Pizzazz.

And pizzazz is what I got. Mike happens to know all the right people and borrowed a paint sprayer thing which basically lets you pour your paint into a machine that acts like a spray paint bottle. He whipped those babies out for me yesterday afternoon. Thanks Mike.

Oh they make me happy!!! I love them.

Pupusas

2010-10-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

About 10 years ago someone introduced me to the lovely taste of pupusas. Originating from El Salvador, they are made of corn masa with cheese, beans and pork inside and topped with a cabbage concoction on top. (kind of like a quesadilla) I used to work right by a pupuseria and would go once a week when they had their $1 pupusa day. For some reason I never thought of making them. Finally last week I decided it was finally time to download some recipes and try my hand at them. Gotta love the internet.

They turned out ok but trying to keep the filling inside the masa was very difficult. Thank goodness Tiffany was a willing participant in this project when she came up to visit. She did a much better job forming those guys than I did.

November 13th has been declared national day of the pupusa by the nation of El Salvador and so maybe I'll try them again then. Wanna come over?

Cole liked them. He also liked his giant serving of black beans on the side. He loves beans.

Please explain this weather

2010-10-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

Last Monday it was so hot that I felt like I was living in Las Vegas. That's right 105 degree weather. We went swimming on Monday morning and even walking on the pavement right by the pool was hot.

Today it is 65 degrees outside and raining.

That's a 40 degree difference. This is California. We usually don't see things like this.

Go Cougars

2010-09-30T22:28:00.001-07:00

WOW- BYU was ranked 11th in the schools whose graduates were top rated by recruiters. (that sentence sounds really awkward) See the WSJ article here. Considering all the wonderful universities out there this is really cool if I do say so myself.

UCLA was ranked lower, still in their top 25, at 17th.

Proud to be a Cougar and a Bruin today :)

Of course none of this applies to Social Work graduates........"Recruiters" what's that? Foreign concept to people like me.

Treasure Hunting

2010-09-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

I love going garage sale shopping. There are few things as enjoyable as finding "treasures" and great deals. I always go with a few specific items in mind and then find many more treasures once I am there. I limit it to just a few a year and only go when it is a community wide sale. That way I can roam the block looking at all the stuff for sale. Lots of junk but lots of treasures amidst the junk.

Yesterday was a gold mine.

Cute little cabinet for my kitchen $10

Camelback hydration system $5- I almost died when I saw that gem laying beside some junk. Mike has a camelback for when we go mountain biking and I have been wanting one for a while but couldn't justify the large price tag. This looked like it was only used once or twice and it still had the instructions with the price tag on it. $70. Yup I got a $70 piece of equipment for $5. What a deal. Can't wait to go mountain biking and use it. :)

Maxi Dress $4- I used to not even bother looking at clothes for me because most garage sale adult clothes are tattered, torn, stained or very out of date. But after looking through plenty of junk I have decided that there are treasures to be found.

The list goes on but I won't bore you with more. We dumped out our change jar the night before and counted and then rolled $96 worth of quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies. I took about $30 of it with me. The rest can wait for another yard sale. There's nothing like paying someone in rolls of dimes. kind of embarrassing I admit but hey I am buying their "junk" that's one step away from the goodwill.

The majority of my Christmas shopping for my kids is done. I love how they are too young to care whether something is new or used.

Goldilocks and the Chocolate Cake

2010-09-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a cute little girl named goldilocks. She was very hungry one afternoon so she sneaked up onto the counter and with 4 of her fingers clawed a nice chunk of frosting right out of that delicious chocolate sour cream cake. No matter that goldilocks had already partaken of 3 pieces of cake a mere 2 hours earlier, she needed more. Goldilocks tried to run away but alas Pappa Bear caught her (and hid the cake).

Thou shalt not covet

2010-09-19T23:12:00.000-07:00

I can't help it. I am coveting my friend's bike. We borrowed it a few weeks back for some serious beach cruising and i have been coveting it ever since. Is there anything cooler than riding a pink bike with your baby in the back along the strand at the beach. Does it get any better than that?

Has this ever happened to you?

2010-09-16T00:06:00.000-07:00

I was in the dentist's chair a few days back getting 2 out of my 7, yes I said 7, cavities filled. She finally finished and told me I could close my mouth. But the problem was that I COULD NOT CLOSE MY MOUTH. My jaw was locked open. Has this ever happened to anyone? I started laughing while drool was escaping my numbed up mouth because it really was quite comical that I could not close my own mouth. The dentist had to fiddle with my head/jaw to get it to close. For the rest of the day I was terrified to open my mouth very wide for fear it would be stuck that way.
Lucky me, next week I get to go back for the third and final session of cavity time with the dentist.
I am starting to feel a little old upon realizing that both my dentist and family doctor are younger than me. And then I think about my OB and I feel young again. The man has a full set of dentures.

p.s. Mike does not really believe that I could not close my mouth. (Literally not figuratively mind you) Will you please tell him that this DOES really happen.

Happy Rosh Hashanah.. a little late

2010-09-13T23:55:00.001-07:00

Ok I know I'm not Jewish but why not celebrate the Jewish new year with a Rosh Hashanah feast. I read an article in the food section of the LA Times last week about traditional foods for Rosh Hashanah complete with recipes so of course I had to try them out. Above is a picture of our chicken thighs with oregano, honey, capers and green olives. (and a bunch of other stuff not worthy of mention) Kind of a weird combo but it was soooooo good. As a kid I detested green olives. My Dad used to eat them strait out of the jar and he was the only one in the family who could stomach them. But I have to admit that in the last year or so I have come around to liking them. I also made a leek soup with apples and potatoes. (cole really liked it but the rest of us not so much.)
I love finding new good recipes to make. Sometimes I get stuck in a rut where even new recipes taste like all the other stuff I already make because there are just certain ingredients that I'm attracted to in recipes. Are you with me??? And since green olives aren't normally something I cook with (except when making spanish tortillas) this was definitely something different for me.
Have I mentioned before how much I love food. I was at the park last week and was chatting with an old Armenian grandma who was tending a small child. What I really wanted to say was "Can I come over to your house to learn how to make Armenian food". Of course I refrained from actually saying that but I swear that is what I am fixated on anytime I meet someone from a different country.
So if you come from another motherland, please send me all your cooking secrets. :)

p.s. I recognize that the food looks gross in the picture, but really it was good.

Lego Club

2010-09-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

If you are 5 and a BOY and like Legos you just may be invited to the Lego Boys' Club. You can play with lots of legos, have fun conversations, chase Julia around the house and yard and run around like a chicken with its head cut off.

How did Blake get so old all of the sudden?

I really love it when his little friends come play at our house. It's so amusing to watch them all interact. I hope that our house will always be a fun little hangout. I love making little treats for the kids. Well in all honesty I just love making treats period! This way I can justify doing it without feeling too guilty because half of it goes to the kids right??????

FINALLY!!!!

2010-08-31T21:51:00.000-07:00

Mix the following ingredients:

-One bachelor's degree in accounting

-4 LONG exams on various accounting subjects

-2,000 hours of supervised labor

-One torturous ethics exam

-One dedicated man

Mix well for 5 years and out will pop

ONE CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT

Congratulations Michael Adams, CPA

The real question is how long will it take the state of CA to process the paperwork and send him his license number.

Today is a great day for the whole family. Good job Honey!!!! I'm so proud of all the hard work, the hours and hours and hours of studying, and the diligence towards meeting this goal.

One last beach day before school

2010-08-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

We decided to go to the beach one last time before school started. The kids had a blast as always. I can't believe how tan Blake's body is and how white his hair has gotten from all of the sun exposure. Every time I see him get dressed I have to laugh at his tan lines. Blake loves nothing more than spending time with his BFF Lucas. Julia had a ball playing in the sand and dipping her feet in the water and then running away. Cole enjoys trying to get sand into every crevice of his entire body. This time I thought I would see if leaving him fully clothed helped. Nope.

The best part of the day was the GIANT dead jellyfish that washed up on shore. IT was huge and so beautiful. I spotted it just a few feet away from us when Cole and I were wading in the water. We also saw the lifeguards spring into action to rescue some kids that got caught way out in the ocean and couldn't get back.

Exciting day.

First Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-25T14:02:00.001-07:00

Today one big boy went to kindergarten, excited and happy to start a new chapter in his life. Today one Mommy cried (behind her sunglasses so the big boy wouldn't see) as she sent her child off to begin the day.
I didn't think I would be very emotional about today but I was wrong. I certainly think he is more than ready for this new adventure. I knew this day was coming for a long time. I have been counting down the days. :) But there was something about sending my firstborn child to the big scary world that just made me cry this morning. All the way there I was questioning whether I have done enough to teach him correct principles. Have I taught him how to protect himself, stand up for himself, be kind and do the right thing regardless of the situation????? I guess we'll find out soon enough. I've got to end this post because it's pick up time now.

He's come a long way.

Outsmarted by a 3 year old

2010-08-20T16:03:00.000-07:00

Every day I wake up and wonder what Julia will do to outsmart me. Let's give a brief rundown of some of her antics from the last 2-3 weeks. Lipstick all over the wall

Lipstick all over the face

Paint all over the hands and legs and floor

(no pictures for the following)

Nail polish all over the closet door

Nail polish on her toe nails, belly button and chest

Sharpie marker drawn all over several pages of the English/Portuguese Dictionary

Attempted murder of Cole by pushing/shoving him into the hot tub while Mommy was in the pool.

Mascara all over the bathroom mirror

Petals off the majority of flowers in the front yard

Crayon drawn all over the carpet. (we have a low pill carpet that shows everything)

Ballpoint pen all over my Bible

I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

"Relocation" of various earrings and sewing supplies. New location of many of these items still to be determined.

It's a good thing she is so cute!!! I don't remember Blake being this "clever" at 3. And here she is asleep after another day of "work".

Cousin Mania

2010-08-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we went to Legoland. We traded Cole for Jonathon and brought Jeffrey down with us because we knew he would have fun with Jonathon. Then we traded Lucy for Blake. It was rather comical to me that our minivan was full of kids that weren't mine. Here I am with 3 nieces and nephews from 3 different siblings and one child of my own. It is really important for me to have a good relationship with all of my siblings' children so it has been especially fun having Andy and Amy in town this summer and having the opportunity to get to know their kids better. Digging for bones. The "cool" cousin boys who pretended that they weren't having fun at such a kiddy place.

The cousins who exclaimed 50 million times how much fun they were having. Blake loves Ethan.

Julia driving. Please note how awesome her mullet is getting.

The train

Bob the Builder and Blake.

It's a good thing Carol's friend is a plastic surgeon

2010-08-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

No that's not a caterpillar crawling on his head.

This weekend we went down to San Diego to visit my sister Carol and her family and to go to Legoland. Cole was going to stay home with Carol while the rest of us enjoyed Legoland. Literally 5 minutes before we walked out the door, Cole tripped and fell right on the marble step leading from her family room to her kitchen. Carol took one look at the gash in his head and realized that he was going to need stitches. 20 minutes later Cole was laying on the kitchen table of a very kind plastic surgeon getting all fixed up. In no time at all Cole was back at the house again and we were off to Legoland. It could have been a horrible 8 hour wait in the ER which would have ruined the whole day but instead it took just a few minutes. Thanks Carol for knowing a great plastic surgeon.

Just call him Scarface. The girls will love it!!!!!

Angry

2010-08-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

A little gem from the judge who today overruled the voice of the people in my state.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker. "Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage; marriage under law is a union of equals."

Really? Seriously? Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage????

Here's a thought. Why don't we all just become genderless? Since marriage forms the bedrock of society and apparently gender no longer fits in this equation then gender should also not fit into the equation of society as a whole. So let's just chop off all differing body parts and become one great big genderless people who all dress, think, talk, and look the same. We can all be genderless drones.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Birthing Blake finally met its match.

2010-07-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

Strong Man Mike showing off his giant arms.

One of many lakes

We finally made it!!!! Tired Mike and Tiffany

The view from the top
The end. Happy, dirty and tired campers.

This week we were supposed to accompany our friend Tiffany on a trip to Havasupai in the grand canyon. We were packed and ready to go for our 3 day adventure when we got the news that our reservation had been cancelled due to flooding. This was very upsetting because we had spent hours packing and preparing and had a place for our kids to go. So Mike suggested that we hike Mt. Whitney instead. He had just gone 2 weeks before with some friends and loved it so we thought we would give it a try. We were hoping to be lucky enough to get a permit at the visitor's center from the unclaimed pile. Luckily we got a permit and I was so happy that I literally jumped for joy.

We spent the first day hiking up 4 miles with our heavy backpacks on. (ok so Mike's was heavy, mine not so much) We set up camp and spent the night next to a huge waterfall. On Wednesday morning we arose bright and early and by 7:30am we were off with our little day packs. We hiked up 7 more miles to the summit and by the time we arrived I nearly cried because I had such a mixed set of emotions....excitement, exhaustion, satisfaction, fatigue.......etc etc. There is a little log book that you sign at the summit and people write comments such as "wow I did it". The only thing I could think of writing was "that was harder than giving birth to my 10lb baby with no drugs." And that's what I wrote. Seriously. Ever since Blake's extremely difficult labor and delivery, when I am doing something physically challenging such as running a half marathon (or beating those stupid boys in my leg of the Ragnar relay race) I always repeat silently, "you can do this Amy, if you birthed Blake you can do anything." So from now on when I am doing something hard I will remember Mt. Whitney (the highest mountain in the continental united states 14,497 ft.) and remind myself that if I can do that I can do anything. Apparently I am as awesome as a 12 year old boy scout now since this seems to be a favorite hike amongst that crew.

Oh we had fun. It was so much fun. It was hard but fun. I really could not have done it without Mike's encouragement and support. I know this is so cheesy but I feel like I can do anything with him at my side. He just makes everything easy. He was positive the entire time. And we were so glad that Tiffany came too. What could be better than being out in nature with 2 of my favorite people on earth.

One more note. I was amazed by the sheer beauty of it all. There were several breathtaking lakes, meadows, flowers, pine trees and waterfalls along the way.

I did it Mom!!!!

2010-07-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

Target Dress

I have 2 distinct memories of shopping with my mom for clothes as a child.
1) She always wanted to buy me clothes that were "my color". She determined I was an "autumn" which meant I looked good in golden yellows, greens, browns, you know fall type colors. To this day I stay away from anything black because she used to tell me that black did NOT look good on me. (I buy every other color though- sorry mom)

2) Many times I would hold an item of clothing up to show her and she would say something like, "$20!!! We can make that for a lot cheaper than that." I found that especially irritating as a child because I wasn't particularly interested in sewing and didn't want to invest the time or energy in imitating something.
Well fast forward several years. Now I am the mother shopping for my daughter. I don't allow myself to buy Julia any dresses because she has a TON that i make for her. I don't care about buying things in her "color". But Mom won on the sewing thing. She successfully indoctrinated me with it. Every time I pull something out at the store I always think, hmmmmm I could make that for a lot cheaper. But then I put the item back and forget about it. Well a few weeks ago I was shopping at Target and ran across a darling dress for Julia. I knew I couldn't break the no dress buying rule but I really wanted the dress. There was also no way I was going to plunk down $10 for it. Too cheap for that. So I devised a plan. I bought the dress. I took it home. I studied out the style. I laid it out on newspaper and traced it. I took this pattern and made a knock off. I did it. I sewed something without using a store bought pattern. I don't have good spatial-visual skills so this was a very scary project for me. Figuring out how to sew it was the easy part. Creating the pattern was the more difficult part. If only I would have taken some pattern drafting classes in college.

And then I took the dress back to Target and got my 10 bucks back. (did I commit design theft?) Thanks for inspiring me Target.

My version-(sorry it's a little wrinkled)

Dodger's Game

2010-07-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed an evening of baseball and fireworks the day after Independence Day with the family. Cole sat still the whole time (an amazing feat for a toddler who cannot stop moving) and loved being passed around to his cousins.
The funniest part of the whole evening was when a security guard came up to me wanting to know if my husband was "off duty". Really? Does Mike look like a cop to you? Watch out for my "off duty" accountant husband next time you go to a game.

Cheesecake Factory-Again

2010-07-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

Oh Cheesecake Factory with good friends. Does it get much better than this? About once a year my good friends Lisa who lives in faraway Michigan, Kelli who lives nearby and I go out to grab a bite and talk for hours. We lived in the same apartment complex while all attending UCLA and stayed there for a few years afterward as well. The three of us traveled to Brasil in 2002 for one of my favorite vacations of all time. They are both such amazing and accomplished women who I admire and respect. Here's to great friends and yummy cheesecake.

3 one year olds

2010-07-07T23:25:00.000-07:00

Last week 4 of us siblings met down at Mom's house. Robert was on his way to his new job in AZ and so he was passing through. It was the oldest with the "three little kids" as we were always called growing up. The most amusing part of the evening was attempting to photograph Cole and his 2 twin cousins who just turned 1. 3 one year olds. Focus. Look at the camera. Sit down Cole.

Cole, don't hide behind your cousin.

Come one everyone, can you just please smile at the camera.

Better luck next year.

Deal of the Century

2010-06-26T23:10:00.000-07:00

I love garage sale shopping because there is nothing better than finding a great deal. The hunt and the adventure is so fun. This morning I found the deal of the century. I bought a huge box of Legos for $2. Anyone who has ever been in the market for Legos knows that they are not cheap and they retain their value so even used Legos sell for a ton of money. I almost felt guilty giving the cute little boy only $2, but that's the price he told me. (I guess the kid didn't know he could sell them on Craig's List for 10-20 times that amount) Blake about died when I brought them home.

I also got several other great deals on clothes, a wet suit for Mike, golf clubs for Blake, etc etc, but the Lego deal trumps all.

Thank you little boy for making my little boy the happiest guy around.

Facebook Overwhelms Me, but I like making jam.

2010-06-24T16:01:00.000-07:00

Facebook is a bit overwhelming to me. I fall into the category of "lame friend" who doesn't keep in touch with my friends as much as I should and so going on facebook only reminds me of my inadequacies. Like...oh she had a baby and I should send her something, or ohhhh she got married and I need to send her a card, or oh she is coming to town and I need to schedule a time to meet her, or oh she is off for the summer so we should go to lunch....etc etc. This is why I don't really "facebook" much. I love people and I love friends but i really am lame. Please know that if you are my friend i really do love you, I'm just lame, very very lame.

Now onto other things. I have only ever made strawberry freezer jam. But even strawberry jam gets kind of boring right? My friend told me that you can make cooked jam without having to can it by simply turning the containers upside down after you fill them. So last night we made our first ever cooked blackberry jam. Yum. I also want to try mango jam.

Dads

2010-06-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

Today I feel very blessed.

I am grateful for a good father who was wise, loving, pragmatic, smart, talented with his hands, and who always had his priorities in the right place. I am grateful for all he taught me in the 21 years I was able to spend with him. I owe so much of who I am to him. He always expected each of us to do and be our best.

I am grateful that my children also have such a wonderful father. He is soooooo good with them. They really are lucky to have such an amazing father, and I'm thankful too. He never feels put out by them and loves to make them laugh.

Happy Father's Day (a day late)

Can I help it??

2010-06-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

Can I help it that I find this oh so hilarious? Sometimes my cute little boy has to "try on" various projects that I am sewing for friends and family to ensure proper fit. I promise that I will try to not blackmail him with these pictures when he is a teenager. Hey at least I left him topless rather than completing the look with a pink shirt.

Children

2010-06-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

Motherhood is the best AND hardest job I've ever had. When it has been an especially long day I think of my sister's mantra about how it is "long days and short years". I can't help but smile when I look at these pictures because they remind me what it's all about.
Run and be free

Have a picnic on top of the trash cans

Steal all your sibling's toys

Dance around in your "pretty dress"

Don't be afraid to be messy!!!

The only thing worse

2010-06-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

A while back I confessed my library issue. Well the only thing worse than the humiliation of writing the library a check for over $30 for overdue books last week was going to the library today and having the man tell me that I could not check out books because I still owed them $39. Ummmmm I don't think so. I very firmly told him that I did not owe the library ANY money because I had already paid them. HE then asked me to provide a receipt of the transaction. I'm the crazy lady with 3 unruly kids, do you really think I save my receipts. He was very flustered because I'm not sure he really believed me but he eventually let me check out my books. I told him that I didn't ever want to see that charge show up again because I had already paid for it. After I left I called Mike and he looked up the check online. Sure enough they had not yet cashed the check, but you can bet that when they do I will be taking a copy of the cancelled check back to them.
hmmmmm it's like serving jail time and then being sent back to jail for the same crime.

The perfect date

2010-06-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

oh mountain biking how I enjoy thee so.

oh mountain biking with Mike how I enjoy thee so.

Oh mountain biking in early summer when all the wildflowers are in full bloom how I enjoy thee so.

Mountain biking is one of my favorite things to do with Mike. It is fun, challenging, beautiful, technical, exhilirating, free and a great workout. We both really like it. It's a shame that we don't go more often...but alas 3 children make it hard to escape. :)

Apparently I didn't get the memo

2010-06-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

Last week we walked into Blake's preschool "graduation" and Blake was wearing a typical Blake outfit, Batman shirt and camo shorts. Apparently I didn't get the memo that said that preschool graduation was a "special event". All of his little friends were wearing very nice clothes, suits, ties, frilly dresses, hair all done up. Some parents brought bouquets of flowers for their "grad". And then there was my child in all of his batman glory. Nice. I was a little mortified that my child was ghetto fabulously dressed but it was funny. Come on what are we really celebrating with preschool graduation anyway? I think the whole concept is kind of ridiculous, but alas my child can now proudly put on his resume that he "graduated" from preschool.

Baby Back Ribs for my Baby

2010-06-03T10:13:00.001-07:00

Just because no one thinks we actually eat meat, here are some pictures from Mike's birthday dinner last week. Of course I must confess that I didn't actually touch the ribs. Mike put them in the oven early in the morning and I had my mother's helper baste them after they were done. But I did make homemade rolls and a yummy german chocolate cake. I just think that eating ribs is so barbaric, all the gnawing,tearing, and nibbling off the bone.

Happy Birthday Baby. :)

p.s. why does my stamp date on my pictures say that it is the year 2048? How do I fix this?

The Superhero Party

2010-05-26T15:54:00.000-07:00

We finally had Blake's 5th birthday party (a month late) last weekend. It was our first "friends" birthday party and Blake loved spending a few hours with 10 other superheroes.

They participated in a superhero obstacle course

Diffused bombs (balloons):
Got tangled up in spiderwebs:

Whacked a pinata(and unfortunately me as well):

And ate lots of cake:

Cole especially liked the cake....and doing artwork on the walls.

Fat Burger

2010-05-23T23:23:00.000-07:00

I have always resisted going to "FATBURGER" because let's be honest, the name in and of itself kind of repulses me. Oh yeah and I am not a huge red meat fan. But I also must admit that I have heard so many good things about it and I was kind of curious. Last night Mike and I were in Westwood walking to another restaurant when I spied a FatBurger out of the corner of my eye. When I suggested we go to FatBurger instead Mike almost dropped dead in disbelief. Of course he gladly agreed to change restaurant plans. Afterall what man would choose Mr. Noodle over FatBurger. Happy Birthday a few days early:) The most amazing thing was that I REALLY LIKED MY FATBURGER. It was SOOOOO good. Delicious in fact. And the greasy onion rings were also good. Sorry FatBurger that I let your name turn me off for so long. You really are "that good". (of course if you want the best hamburger in the world you've got to go about 3 miles south of there to the Apple Pan)

The Field Trip

2010-05-21T13:08:00.001-07:00

Nice version-Today Blake's preschool went on a fieldtrip to the fish hatchery. They got to ride a train and when we arrived at the hatchery they were able to buy some pellets to feed the fish. They loved riding the train and feeding the fish.

True Version- Today I took Blake, Julia, Cole and Blake's friend Lucas to the fish hatchery. Cole was not going to join us originally because I was appalled at paying an extra $8 for a one year old toddler to come. Unfortunately my friend who was going to watch him got sick and so I took him too. The teacher told us to be there promptly at 9am. I arrived at 9am (amazing because I never arrive on time) at which point we waited around doing nothing for 1 hour. Remember I have 4 small children with me and we are next to train tracks. We finally board the train at 10am and proceed to wait another 15-20 minutes. Finally the train ride started and the kids loved the 10 minute ride to the hatchery. Once at the hatchery the kids had fun feeding the fish while Julia tried to get lost amongst the very crowded facility. When it was time to go Julia decided she would rather throw herself on the ground and scream. Are you with me here? Remember 4 kids are with me and everyone is staring at me. A few people ask, "are they all yours?" Luckily for all of us one of the other moms took over stroller duty with Cole while I picked up the screaming Julia and walked back to the train with the flailing crying child. Good thing I was wearing sunglasses because I was on the verge of tears. We board the train and Julia continues to cry all the way back to the station. The teacher then asks me if I am going to join them for a picnic at the park. ummmmm....NO. And that was the very unfortunate morning I had where I thought at least one hundered times...I'M CRAZY!!!!!!!!

p.s. a big shout out to Blake and Lucas for being such good obedient boys.......because afterall it could have been a lot worse right?

Don't let the smiling Julia deceive you...that was the train ride there.

Beautiful Course

2010-05-17T09:34:00.001-07:00

This weekend I ran the Palos Verdes Half marathon. I have a love/hate relationship with this race. This was the 5th time I've run it and everytime I am blown away by the amazing ocean views and bright yellow wildflowers all along the course. I am also blown away by the constant rolling hills of the course. It seems like it is one continuous up down up down. But alas it was fun and the weather could not have been better. It was overcast and cool. And I loved the cheering section at the end made up of my cute little children, Mike and my Mom.

My friend Tiffany is always great about getting suckered into signing up to run it with me. Thanks Tiffany for the good times.

Check out that ocean view and those wildflowers. Tiffany is such a photogenic runner. Me on the other hand, not so much. I always wear my lucky outfit, hand me down shorts from Alyssa and a t-shirt from Andrea in Brasil. All those runner chicks with their fancy running gear really intimidate me.

Confession Time

2010-05-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

I have a little problem. I don't have very good follow through skills. I like to do things all at once and then be done with them because anything that requires mulitiple steps done at different times usually does not get completed. Take for example birthday cards. Sitting in my drawer right now are birthday cards for 3 of my brothers who had birthdays in April. I bought the cards with good intentions but those other steps are what kill me. ie:writing in it, stamping it and addressing it and then actually mailing it. SO if you don't get a card on your birthday from me please know that I probably have one in the drawer for you that you may get sometime or I may throw away when I find it 3 months later.
Right now my issue is the library. I currently owe $31 to my city library. I am prohibited from checking anything out until I pay that fine. That's horrible and I have no good excuse except for my poor follow through skills. Getting them back on time requires 1)I remember when they are due 2)I can find them all and 3)getting to the library on the due date. It is rather embarrassing to me that I can't seem to get my books back on time. From now on Mike is going to put a reminder on his blackberry about the due date. Hopefully this will help. I'm lame, really really lame.

COLE turns one

2010-05-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

Somebody turned ONE. Cole had his birthday a few weeks back. Seriously, what do we do about Julia's thin shaggy mullet?

Don't you just want to kiss him??????

We LOVE LOVE LOVE this little boy with giant blue eyes and a bald head. I can't get over how much babies change. Here's a look at Cole one year ago.

Should've taken the VAN

2010-05-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Mike and I loaded up our mountain bikes on our trusty Civic, dropped the kids off at my sister's house and headed off to Southern Utah for the wedding of Mike's youngest brother. We were excited about our long weekend without kids, the wedding and especially excited to go mountain biking in Moab which we have done several times and absolutely love.

About 2 hours into the 12 hour drive my little Civic which I bought before we got married and have NEVER had a problem with started having issues. I could go into a lot of detail here but suffice it to say that the head gasket needed to be fixed WHICH IS A MAJOR REPAIR, and we did not end up going biking in Moab due to timing issues.

The wedding was great.

We hiked "Delicate Arch"

Note that in the top picture the sky is grey and MIke's shirt is wet from the rain. 5 minutes later it was sunny above the arch. Weird.

We rappelled. Mike's aunt and uncle love rappelling and brought down all of their supplies. They are great teachers and we had a blast. Stepping off of that ledge always freaks me out though.

I biked along a beautiful bike path in St. George as Mike spent the day under the hood of the car helping our brother in law fix it.

Utah is beautiful. Utah is freezing. Utah has crazy weather. Can anyone explain a May snowstorm?

Thanks to the "trusty civic" we are now $700 poorer. At least we have some good memories. :)

One more day......

2010-04-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

It is April 14th. Tomorrow is a very exciting day for me because it signals an end to the dreaded tax season. I can do this.....I can last another day........ I think I can I think I can I think I can:)

I want my husband back. I'm sure he wants to be "back" home instead of spending 12-15 hours a day at the office. At least he loves his profession. Just like my Dad always reminded us growing up, "make sure you choose a profession you really like because you will be working for over 3o years and it would be horrible to do something each day that you hated".

And I want all my single mom friends out there to know that I think you are awesome for surviving each day doing all the many tasks required of you. You amaze me!!! I don't know how you do it.

p.s. the best part about having an accountant for a husband is that they only thing I have to do about the whole dreaded tax issue is sign my name. Mike thinks it is really funny that when I was single I paid someone to prepare my taxes rather than do the simple form myself. (considering I'm the cheapest person in the world)

ok enough complaining...on a positive note, I wore my new "real strait" jeans the other day and I really liked them. :)

Real Strait

2010-04-07T20:32:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I was shopping at the Gap for a new pair of jeans. All of my pants are purchased from that store because 1)they carry good tall pants and 2)i'm a creature of habit when it comes to clothes. I own 3 pairs of jeans all "long and lean" style from the Gap. The cute little sales lady informed me when I questioned her about them that they were indeed kind of considered "mom jeans". They are flared at the bottom and yes flare is "out". Oh dear, I have now entered the group of "mom jeans" wearers. Mercy!!!!
I knew this was not a task for such a fashion reject as myself to conquer alone. I enlisted some help in the form of my 17 year old fashion conscious niece Alyssa. Today her mission was to help me find some new jeans that had 2 requirements 1)they couldn't be "mom" jeans, and 2)they couldn't make me look like I am trying to be 15. I walked out of the Gap with a new pair of "real strait" jeans (pictured below-not my body)
Mission accomplished.:)

I ate meat and I liked it

2010-04-04T22:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter Everyone. Yes it's true, for Easter dinner Mike grilled up some Filet Mignon wrapped in bacon and I actually liked it. He came home the other night with several trays of filet mignon that he couldn't resist buying because it was on sale for a steal. We decided to forgo the traditional Easter dinner of ham and opted for this tasty treat instead. I made these, per Mike's request. I do not excel at yeast things but I am getting a little better with more practice.

Tiffany cut up about 6 pounds of strawberries for a fruit salad and trifle, and several pounds of various types of potatoes for roasted potatoes.

The kids had fun coloring easter eggs a few days ago.

And I love this little video from lds.org He Lives

Julie and Julia update

2010-03-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

So here's a little update on my cooking challenge.
5 recipes down about 60 to go. (obviously I need to pick up the pace) So far so good.
Unfortunately I haven't taken pictures of everything but it has been fun to make some different things.

Chilaquiles pictured below. I have eaten this before but never made it until "the challenge". Basically you fry corn tortillas and make a tomatillo egg sauce in which you submerge the tortilla chips for a gooey mess.
Mediterranean Pizza: this was pretty good. The pizza dough was full of fennel, garlic and other spices and was topped with goat cheese, spinach, fresh tomatoes, artichoke hearts and kalamata olives.

Cole eating Mee Goreng (fried noodles-from singapore) Noodles with eggs, potatoes, soy sauce, bean sprouts, fried shallots and lime juice. Kind of good but not as flavorful or spicey as I like my food. Cole sure liked it.

Not pictured: Tuna sambal (weird warm tuna creation from a singapore restaurant)

Also not pictured: huevos rancheros. This was soooo good:) Fried eggs with homemade black beans, mashed potatoes and fried tortilla served with a yummy tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes.

I can't believe I eventually have to make duck. Yikes

Me and Mini Me

2010-03-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

First let me just say that one of the greatest joys in my life is aunthood. I LOVE being an aunt. I was fortunate to become an aunt for the first time at age 10 and it's been fun ever since. Now for the story.
About 3 months ago I got a bright idea. I wanted to run a 10K race but knew that due to tax season Mike would be unable to come and watch me (and take care of the kids). So I schemed up a little plan. I somehow convinced my 13 year old niece Andi to run it with me and my sister to watch the kids. Andi likes to run but was a little nervous about running a 6.2 mile race. We went on a few long runs together and we both ran on our own as well.
Race day came and we dressed in matching t-shirts. (hence me and mini me) I am proud to say that Andi did awesome!!!!!! She came in FIRST for her age division and even more awesome is that she BEAT me. IN the final push she found her extra gas tank and beat me by five seconds. Whoa this kid has some talent. She showed her old lady aunt how it's done. :)

She said it was the hardest thing she has ever done. Just wait til I convince her to run a half marathon with me:)

Coxinhas- FINALMENTE

2010-03-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

In the almost 12 years I have been home from my mission I have made many types of Brasilian cuisine but have always been fearful of the deliciously bad for you deep fried goodness of Coxinhas (pronounced co-SHEEN-yas). It's basically shredded chicken and cheese deep fried in dough that is shaped like a "coxinha" which literally means "little drumstick" in Portuguese.

Last night we went to a little Brasilian dinner party with Brasilian culinary contributions from some friends who also served missions in Brasil.

And now I can say that I am no longer afraid of the Coxinha. Although I am usually not a fan of deep fried things, I have to admit that when I sunk my teeth into these I was back in Brasil. yum:)))

We had so much leftover chicken that we had round 2 for dinner tonight. I'm all deep fried out for the next 6 months or so.

The best part of being a baby

2010-03-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

Thoughts from Cole:

Besides the fact that everyone does EVERYTHING for me, the best part about being a baby is that for every meal, I get to eat twice. First I eat what my momma puts on my tray. Then about 30 minutes later, she takes off my tray and I get to eat meal number 2 consisting of all the food that I dropped in my lap during meal number 1. It's awesome, you should all try it. :)

And then after my momma takes me out I get to watch her clean up my mess for the next 10 minutes:)

My Pretty Things

2010-03-12T17:09:00.000-08:00

Julia is always talking about her "pretty things" and at all times must be holding something "pretty".
These are my favorite "pretty things" right now in my house.

Oh how I love my new Jasmine plant. I had a really hard day a few days ago and the next day Mike brought this home to cheer me up. (so thoughtful that guy) The smell is absolutely divine and it brings a smile to my face every time I walk into my house.

I love love love daffodils. Yellow is my favorite color because it is just so happy:) I can never resist buying a couple of bunches when I shop at Trader Joes in the spring. (they only cost about a buck per bunch)

Who doesn't love the sight and taste of clementines!!!!!

Oh yes, my very most favorite pretty things. (I don't think Mike will appreciate being called pretty, but you get the idea)

and finally, one very messy thing:)

My beautiful baby

2010-03-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

Hopefully Cole won't hate me later in life for this, but sometimes he has to "try on" something I am making to make sure the neck/ sleeves fit right. MIke was really hoping he would spit up all over it but like the good little boy that he is, he just smiled, pink dress and all.

Karma

2010-03-02T20:57:00.001-08:00

When you don't see or hear Julia for longer than 3 minutes, be scared....very scared.
What can I say, I had it coming. As a little girl I was attracted to my sisters' makeup like an ant to sugar. I loved getting into it when they were at school. Well apparently what goes around comes around. I was impressed that she actually did get her lashes as well as 30% of her face :)

Oh Julia, you definitely keep me on my toes.

I survived

2010-02-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

Well I survived my 4 sessions of cake decorating 1. When the teacher told us the first week that we needed to return the following week with a frosted cake to decorate I nearly died. I really needed the pre-beginner class, you know the one that teaches you how to FROST the cake not just decorate it.

But I tried and tried and tried. And although I don't have any natural ability it was still fun...kind of. (is feeling like the weakest link in the class really fun?)

So for your amusement I present my creations. Boy those roses are hard to do.

You must know that my master plan is just to teach Mike everything I learned because I guarentee he will be able to do a much better job than me on the myriads of birthday cakes that will come our way. :) (actually I tried to get him to take the class with me but he refused)

BTW- that mark in the rainbow is from a knife that fell into the cake when I got home.

Sometimes traveling with the circus pays

2010-02-26T15:01:00.001-08:00

There are not a lot of things I like LESS than going grocery shopping with 3 small children. I actually really like grocery shopping when I can take the time to compare prices, look at new products and decide how to use certain ingredients. I can accomplish none of the above when I have my "traveling circus" with me. Today I had to "run into the store" with my 3 in tow because I needed 2 random ingredients for something I am making tonight. As I neared the checkout I noticed that the Valentine candy was 50% off. Always a sucker for a good deal, I picked up 2 bags of Hershey Kisses to make some peanut kiss cookies and headed to the checkout. For whatever reason they would not ring up on the clearance price. The cashier tried and tried to override the price but could not. After more than 5 minutes of trying to wait patiently with 3 hungry children, my patience was running out and I just told him it wasn't worth the hassle and I didn't need them anyway. I think he felt sorry for me because he handed me both bags and said, "here take them for free since I can't get them to ring up". So yes, sometimes it does pay to have 3 small children with you.(although 95% of the time it does not:))

Old (school) Friends are the Best Friends

2010-02-22T21:08:00.000-08:00

I had the great treat of being able to spend a long weekend with my wonderful friends that I met in my freshman year dorm hall at BYU. I flew up to Salt Lake City(with Cole) and the 13 of us spent a few nights at a snowy cabin in beautiful in Midway, UT. We laughed, reminesced, went out to eat, had a "favorite things" gift exchange, shopped, stayed up late and ate lots and lots of treats. It was so much fun. I love these wonderful women so much and am so grateful for their influence on my life. That freshman year when we all met so long ago was truly a magical time in my life. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I went to bed before 1 am that year because we were always too busy laughing, studying (ha ha), talking or concocting some crazy scheme. It really was a once in a lifetime experience and those girls became my closest friends.
Each one of them is so amazing and wonderful.
We started out as 13 college freshmen. As of April 2010 we will have 49 children between us. Everyone graduated from BYU (except for the one of us that defected to the OTHER university which shall not be named), studying varying things such as speech pathology, English, Art, Social Work, Anthropology, Health Sciences, Biology etc etc. 5 of us served missions. 3 of us went to graduate school. We now live in 4 different states and don't get together very much. But when we do it is just like old times.
Thanks for the good times Alyssa, Catherine, Cori, Cynthia, Emily, Heidi, Julianne, Kari, Kristen, Michelle, Pepper and Sarah. You guys are the best. :)

Michelle made a delicious Sunday brunch.

4 little men joined the party.

These cupcakes were so delicious.