Feeling a teensy bit overwhelmed with stuff right now. I feel like I really need to tell you all about Kauai and not just show pictures. It really was an awesome trip...but see everyone is hungry, and someone has a stinky diaper, and there are two circle journals sitting on my table that need to be done, and I just got 300 pictures developed at Costco, and I just commited myself to a family project that I need to get done before Christmas. AND I still need to go get cought up on everyone's blogs. Oh yeah, and I need to do a layout for Unpubbed. And why am I still sitting here? It stinks! P-U!
I'll be back.

Home again, home again

jigity jig.
We had a blast! SOOOO much fun. Here is a slide show. More later!

*Aloha*

I'm sure this will be my last post before heading out Friday night. Just wanted it rub it in a teensy bit. tee hee!! We are so excited! Jake is really excited to go on a plane. He thinks it's going to come land at our house and let us get on and take us to "da beach". Crazy hectic around here figuring out what to do with 2 dogs, one cat, 5 gupies, and one lizzard named Fatty. I need a vacation to get ready for vacation. And then I'll need another vacation to recover from vacation. I think this is why they give Europeans the whole summer off. Pete told me I look pretty today. *glowing* He told me he can really see how much weight I've lost, especially in my face. Awww, he's so sweet. Then 20 minutes later "uh so, like when we get back from Hawaii, are you gonna like completely fore go what you've been working on? uhh you know, like with your weight?" Men. :p No, by the way, I don't plan to fore go it....but I do plan to eat what ever I want while on vacation. And you just can't help that the holidays are around the corner. Or, "Eat-Fest 2007". I don't plan on endulging quite as much in the eat fest as I did last year. We'll see.
Well, I had a bunch more to talk about, but alas, someone is crying and I've already been asked once to go help fold clothes. uhhhh. Well might not be here for a while. Have a great week...or 2.
Aloha!!

Pools, paper, movies and moose

September....is it the end of summer already? Can't be. It just can't be. It's just now getting hot around here! We've had a really mild summer for the Central Valley. It's been over 100 for about a week now though. Though it will stay warm through October, this is probably the last heat wave we'll have. Summer is definitely my favorite season, but I do also look forward to fall....The food in pots, warm baked goods, that slight crispness in the air. Love all of it. I'll even take the first rain. But after that, I can't wait for flip flops and tank tops again. September for some reason also seems like a time for new beginnings. I think it must be the kid in me that remembers the new year starts in September, not January. I feel the desperate need to organize and reorganize. I've got a list going already....organize pantry and pots and pan cupboard, clean out the junk drawer and cupboard below...go through Jake's clothes and bag up the ones for donation. Stuff like that. I've had 3 days to get started on this...do you think I've done a single thing? Nope. But hey! I've made the list...the list is better than nothing, right? Right. I will get it done though, it all needs to get done.
Pete is still gone in Idaho/Wyoming (he's right on the border of both states). He's been hunting for moose. (what the heck am I supposed to do with moose?!) He called Friday night and he'd found one to pounce on the next morning. So Sunday he calls and he got it. So you'd think he'd be on his way home, right? Well, no. He's got two other guys there he's got to guide. uhggg. He'll be home by Wednesday or Thursday. And then one more week until we go to Hawaii!!! Woo hooo!
Does anyone know of any good movies to rent? Whenever Pete is gone I take the kids to the video store to pick out a couple to watch and of course I get me one or two too. I was walking around there though and nothing really looked good. Do you have any recommendations? Seriously, I probably haven't seen 1/2 of the movies that have come out in the last year. And I'm sick of watching Air Buddies. I mean they're cute pups and all...but good lord if I see it one more time I might go nuts! I did rent Bridge to Tarabithia...and if you haven't seen it yet, it's a really great story. I remember reading the book as a kid and the movie is just great. Totally reminds me of being a kid...missing having that unstoppable imagination. Where did those days go, huh?
That's all we've really been doing this weekend. Hanging out at the pool and watching movies...Jake has learned if he plays in his room, Megan won't bug him. So I've had a few quiet afternoons with him upstairs playing by himself. It's kind of cool! Saturday we met my friend Kathleen and her son and went over to Berkeley to the Paper Source. Kind of a wasted trip. I mean, it's a cool store I guess....I guess if you have lots of money. Cuz it's pretty darn expensive. It's more geared towards stationary and card making but they had some BEAUTIFUL hand made papers that were hard to resist. Except for the price. uggg! Some of them were 12 dollars a piece! 12 dollars! They are pretty big...maybe 14x18 but still. The 2 I got were 8 dollars a piece. I still can't believe I bought two pieces of paper for 16 bucks. Crazy.
Well, I'm getting bugged for Air Buddies again.....help me!

about stuff

*I'm warning you now..this post has no real point..just another one of my random ramblings about stuff*
Funny thing I just noticed....Just put Jake to bed a second ago. I swear, he really is more like me every day. Little things I notice here and there. I have this kind of funny thing where I can not stand if the sheets and blankets are messed up on the bed when I get in. Pete could sleep with half the comforter falling on the floor and the top sheet balled up in the middle of the bed. Me? No. Can't stand it. The sheet and blanket have to be all strait and neat when I get in. No mother, I don't make the bed when I get up in the morning. You'd think I would...but who has time for that? So anyways, back to Jake...last night his comforter had fallen off the bed so when I got him up this morning I just threw it on top of the bed and we got dressed and left the house as always. (I'm a great house keeper as you can plainly see) Tonight I'm tucking him in and he says "make sure you fix my blanket first mommy" he gets in and I cover him up and tuck him in all nice...He says "oh! it's so nice and strait!" and lets out a little happy giggle. He was so happy about it! I just chuckled to myself and smiled. He truly is my kid. 100%. No doubt about it.
Little miss Megan had her 12 month check up today. That girl is 33 inches tall! Think about that for a second and let it sink in...she's 12 months old and 3 inches short of 3 feet. Yeah, she's totally off the charts in height.I'm growing a giant. She's so funny, she holds anything she can find up to her ear and "talks" like it's a phone. For instance tonight I see her toddling around with one of my flip-flops up to her head and she's babbling "ma-ma, ba ba ba! Hi!" So funny!
Haven't talked about my job in a while...If you've been following along, most of you know I took a new job earlier this year after working for another company for the last 6 years. Well I'm going to go ahead and write it out loud....It quite possibly was one of the worst decisions. hmm. yeah. Aside the fact that I'm completely bored every day, fight to stay awake at my desk and probably within the near future will need medication to stabilize my mental health, I'm working for a company that very well might be going under. Some of you know I'm in the mortgage industry and well....if you watch any news or own a home or are trying to sell a home, you can probably guess that the real estate market is pretty much in the crapper right now. And so is the mortgage industry. And, I just happen to work for the one company that is ALL over the financial news these days. Yeah, the one where the CEO of the company looks like he sleeps in a tanning bed? Yeah, that one. I don't really have anything else to say about it, but I do wonder if my days are numbered there. I mean how long can they afford to pay me to do nothing? Not really sure what I plan to do, if anything, about it. Just ridding it out for now, but lord have mercy, it's dread full.
Our office likes to take up charitable collections for certain things all the time. Not that I'm against charity, NOT AT ALL....but sometimes we really struggle just to make it to the next paycheck. I feel so pressured to donate stuff to these things. This month being back to school and all, we set up to donate backpacks and school supplies to a local elementary school in Concord. Michelle and I went and delivered them yesterday. Wow, this school could not have been in more need for this stuff. Most of the students there are very low income Hispanics or Asian and a lot of them barely even speak English. There were parents in the office that didn't speak English at all. We walk into the office and it's sweltering in there. It was 100* in Concord yesterday and there was no air conditioning...NO AIR CONDITIONING!...and there was about 20 kids sitting in the office at 2:30 because their parents "forgot" that it was an early day. For some reason here in CA the kids get out early one day a week. And their parents FORGOT they were there! How sad is that? There were 4 ladies working as office staff...besides the fact that there was no air in there...they had desks in places that weren't supposed to have desks...one of them stuck out into a doorway. The "staff room" was about as big as my bathroom with a refrigerator that had to have been about 40 years old. It was just sad. Why is education not held to a higher standard in this state? I've been out of the education scene for about 6 years now and I guess I just forgot what crap these kids and teachers have to deal with. I saw signs posted in the same school district on one of the major streets in town saying 350 teachers left the district because of benefits. 350!! And do you think they were replaced with quality staff? I doubt it. They were probably replaced with "teachers" that are still in school and haven't even finished the credential program. It's sad. It's becoming more of a real issue to me now that I have kids going into a public school system here next year. I could go on and on I suppose but I better quit here.
Pete is gone to Idaho for the week so you know what that means....chips and salsa for dinner, staying up way too late etc...
Guess I better get my butt upstairs.
See ya :)

*Birthday Girl*

Seriously, just yesterday I finally realized just how cool it is to have a girl. Not that I haven't enjoyed Megan this whole time, but oh my gosh....After dressing her up yesterday and doing her hair...Well, I just can't stop gushing over her and how cute she is! And how fun it is to dress her up. Tomorrow she turns one. I can hardly believe it. The year has FLOWN by so fast. But at the same time, I can hardly remember her as a newborn. It seems like just yesterday, but because it's all been so fast, it's like...where did my baby go? She started walking last week...and this week she's saying stuff. She screams when she wants more food...so we tell her "say 'more please'" so she says "mo-mo". Today we were at the Dr.'s office and she dropped the sticker they gave her. I said "uh-oh!" she repeated and said "oh-oh, oh-oh!" It was cute, but it's crazy how once they hit 12 months it's like their brain development just takes off. Crazy. Crazy good and crazy bad all at the same time.
Here are some more pics from the weekend and the cake-eating:




This last one just cracks me up. She's like, "what is this stuff all over me?
Ok, now I'm going to talk about Jake. Well, Jake and me really. Do you ever feel like you're holding your kid back? Like you're holding them back from experiencing things, or being who they want to be? Ok example: Me? For some reason I've got social issues. I'm really shy. At first anyways. I've always been shy, but it just takes me a few minutes to warm up. Sometimes I make plans and then I end up "flaking" because I just feel like hanging out in my jammies all day. Or I want to do something, but I don't call because I feel like I'm intruding or something. Or sometimes, if for some reason I feel like I can completely control the environment or situation, then I can be completely outgoing. (there really is a point to all this...i think) Anyways, so we're at my best friends house on Saturday. Her little girl is turning 4. (Jake and Emily are only 10 days apart!) Kari and I have known each other since we were 3, but we haven't lived near each other since we were 7, nor did we ever go to the same school except for one year...she was in first grade and me in 2nd. So we've never really had the same group of friends. She and I have remained friends all these years, but we don't really have any mutual friends together. SOOO me, Jake and Megan are at this party, but we don't really know anyone there or any of the kids. So me, being my shy self, just kind of meander through the back yard...Keeping close tabs on Megan as she crawls around, and there's Jake....He's practically glued to me. He followed me everywhere. I said, "why don't you go play with the other kids?" Jake: oh, they said I couldn't play. So not true. All he wanted to do was go inside and watch Sponge Bob. (he doesn't get to watch that at home cuz we don't have cable) Then it was time to play games. Jake really wanted to play, I could tell he did. But I could also tell that he was nervous about the whole thing...and I could sense that he thought everyone was looking at him...and he didn't like it. But he LOVED playing the games. The thing that got me was this is SOOOOO EXACTLY what I would have done..and basically DID do and DO now. I kept looking at him and saying to myself "oh. my. gosh. He is ME." He is SO me. Did I do this? Did I make him anti-social? Have I showed him to hold back? I feel like I need to be a better example to him. I already know he's WAY more outgoing than I EVER was. I need to encourage THAT behavior. It's so hard being a parent sometimes. You just want your kids to have the best life and be good people. Jake is good people, that I know for sure. He's very well behaved and a really nice kid. I can see it when we're around other kids. Chrissy was talking about it on her blog...She has good kids too.
The good thing about the whole party was after the games, Jake really opened up. He found a buddy and they played tag and ran around together and I could see he was really having fun. Whew, that made me happy. I opened up a little too. I just dug in and helped Kari with the party. Took pictures for her, helped serve up cake and ice cream...that sort of thing. I had fun too :)
Ok,this has been a long one! See ya :)
P.S. Mom, or anyone else that's interested, there are more pictures here.

Dude, where is everyone?

My email box is empty, there's little to no updates in my Google reader, and there's nothing going on in scrapworld it seems. I guess these really are the lazy days of summer. I have felt like doing nothing lately. Last week was crazy so I just feel like I needed to chill this week.
One HUGE thing to talk about this week is this:

This is Megan taking her very first steps on her own last Saturday! I set her on the grass out front (which I know, desparately needed to me mowed!)and she just decided to go for it! She stood up all by herself and took about 2 steps and then fell back down. She didn't give up, she just kept trying. It was so cute! She's of course still mostly crawling, but tonight she just walked across the room to me. So exciting! She'll be ready to run by the time we go on vacation next month!
I just finished a new miniBook this week too. It was my first attempt at a "clear" one. You can see it here
I don't have much else to report...Back to chillin for now.
See ya :)

Sinfully Delicious

Just look at it! Oh it's so good. And I don't even like chocolate that much. I know, I'm strange. This is a piece of the cake I made the other night. Thought I'd post the recipe just in case you were interested. Grab a glass of milk, or whatever sweet diluting beverage you prefer! The recipe comes from our church cookbook, but I think it's pretty common..I've seen it online a few times. In fact, while making this I referred to another version of it just so I could be sure my cookbook was right. It's LOADED with sugar. So, if your diabetic or watching your carbs, I don't recommend you even look at this cake!
It's very, very easy to make so don't let the whole "from scratch" thing scare you. Easy Peasy! If I can do it, certainly anyone else could.
Cake:
2 cups sugar (yes, 2 whole cups!)
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
Mix the sugar, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Set aside. In a small saucepan, bring butter, water and cocoa to a boil. Beat cocoa mixture into the flower mixture until well blended. Beat in egg/buttermilk mixture. Poor into a 9x13 inch greased pan and bake at 350* for 30 minutes.
Mine took a bit longer than 30 minutes. Just do the toothpick trick to make sure it's done in the middle. You can also make this as a sheet cake in a cookie sheet/jelly roll pan, and reduce the cooking time to about 20 minutes.

The last 5 minutes of cooking time, start making the sinful frosting:
Frosting:
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
2 Tbsp cocoa
3 Tbsp milk
2 to 2 and half cups of powdered sugar (plan on using about a hole 16oz box) *yikes*
1/2 tsp. vanilla
In a small saucepan, stirring constantly, bring butter, cocoa and milk to a boil. Add vanilla and then beat in the powdered sugar until smooth. If it's too stiff, add a little milk. You can also mix in some chopped nuts, but me personally...I don't think nuts and chocolate should me mixed. I know, I'm strange.
Now, take that frosting and poor it over the hot cake! YUMMM. This cake is best eaten warm, right out of the oven. But if you make it in advance, you could certainly zap it in the microwave for (seriously) only 5 or 6 seconds.
Delicious! Let me know if you try it. Back to normal posts tomorrow!

uhhh, yeah....I've got another mess to clean up. As you can see. Yesterday's recipe: Dunkin Hines baby! All you need is a Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator, and you can make anything look delicious! Today's recipe is from SCRATCH and it is OH SO DE-Licious and FATening! I will post it tomorrow maybe or over the weekend.
Pictures: yep, all the recent uploads, including today, yesterday and the banner were taken with the new Canon. The banner was taken strait out of the box. Gotta love it.
Ok, clean up time! see ya :)

I have a huge mess to clean up now. See ya :)

Dessert week in the Wilcox house

MMMMMM blackberry cobbler. Made this on Sunday just to be nice to Pete and I got "this is really good". Which is saying a lot. He usually doesn't complement food too often. I'm calling this week "dessert week" because dang if I'm not making 3 desserts this week....maybe even more. I made the blackberry cobbler on Sunday. (you can find the recipe here...this is a totally awesome blog by the way...oh and her regular blog is pretty cool too..) Anyways, tomorrow night I'm making cupcakes for Jake to take to Grandma's Wednesday...it's his birthday :) THEN Wednesday night I'm making a chocolate cake to take to work for someone elses birthday. Dessert week for sure. Saturday I'm thinking of making homemade ice cream...it's what we always did for birthdays when I was little and I'd like to make it a tradition for my kids too...since both their b-days are in August.
I hope I don't gain all my weight back before I go to Hawaii!...This is why I'm eating Lien Cuisine for lunch all week.
This is very interesting and kind of really sad. I saw it on someone elses blog. I've heard of this website before, but I guess I didn't really think it was real?? I don't know I never gave it much thought, but this video kinda makes you step back and think a bout the world.
That's all I got. I will be practicing with the new camera this week....which I have another story about but will have to wait...I need to get to bed.

Hey there Gorgeous...

Look at her...isn't she beautiful? Her battery is being charged right now. I can't wait to play with her! Ok, I'll stop refering to it as "her".
Thanks so much for the bit of advice...I really took all of it into consideration. I really don't think I could have gone wrong with either one..the Canon or the Nikon. I chose the Canon because it just felt right when I held it...and man that shutter speed blew me away! Oh, yeah and I got a really good deal. I told the guy at Best Buy that Fry's had this same camera for 649 including a 2G memory card and he believed me....when I went back and looked at the add..it really didn't included the memory card. oopsie. His bad for not checking. I so wish I can get to know this camera and get to know it's full potential.
Thanks Mom!!! You have no idea how awesome this is!! :)

little bit of randomness

Thought I'd better post while I have the chance...Pete is still up at the ranch and won't be home for another 1/2 hour or so...Kids are sleeping soundly so I'm taking advantage.
I'm totally rested up from the time off work and camping trip. Seriously it was just SO needed. I actually had some work to do today. It felt good to have something to do! I actually only cruised SIS maybe like 3 or 4 times. That's totally sayin' something! Cuz dudes, if I'm not careful, they're like totally going to kick me off that site too.
Sunday I got home from camping, uploaded all my pics to Costco and picked them up Monday afternoon. I am SO loving Costco right now. One hour photo, totally awesome quality. Only, I swear I picked matte finish and they gave me glossy. I really don't like glossy, but oh well. Every time I get pics back I think I have to scrap them like RIGHT NOW. The only thing is....is that without some thoughtful preparation...the pages turn out kind of so-so. So I haven't posted any to any galleries or anything. I'm just kinda holding on to them for now to see if they maybe grow on me or something. I'm totally feeling the need to refurbish my stash. I have to admit, I'm one that totally gets inspired by NEW stuff. I LOVE having new stuff. I'm also really content to use what I got, too....because I'm totally cheap. If I think I can "make-do" with something else, I will. Maybe it's all the CHA stuff that is plastered on all the scrap sites...total overload with all the coolest new stuff. Makes me want it. Seriously, scrapbook companies hardly need to pay for marketing. They can practically get it for free. It's like: "Paper? Someone said paper?...oooohhhh paaaaperrr....Must have new paaappperr." Ok, I'm getting weird. But I know you girls know what I'm talking about. It's a serious addiction. Where is the 12 step program? I need rub-ons....and chipboard...
Ok, wow...that was a tangent!
Cameras! So yeah, mom graciously donated to the "Corey needs camera fund" and I get to get a DSLR! Whooo Hooo! Problem: I still don't know which one to get! I totally thought I knew. I was all stoked up for the Nikon D40...which is Nikon's newest DSLR/comparable to the D50 (which is what Melissa has) It's really reasonably priced, has AWESOME reviews on EVERY site I've looked at. I even went to Flicker camera finder, and guess what, the thing takes freakin radical pics. Ok so why the debate then, right? Well, Monday I head over to Best Buy (seriously, why they call themselves Best Buy, I will never know. They are freaking expensive!!) Anyways, I felt I really needed to HOLD the camera....and of course they had the Canon Rebel sitting there too. So I feel I really need to hold BOTH of the cameras. Uhhh. They are really both awesome. First-the Canon....LIGHTNING fast shutter speed. I mean it almost was scary how fast that thing shoots. AWESOME. Nikon-still pretty fast, but NOTICEABLY slower. How much does this matter? I don't know. The LCD screen on the Nikon was very noticeably larger than the Canon, and the menu seemed slightly more user friendly. Also, ALL the reviews of the Canon are awesome too. So I'm just torn. I don't want to spend all this money and find out I bought the wrong camera. But it kind of seems like I can't go wrong with either of these. I'm not a professional, nor do I ever expect to be. This is my first SLR and honestly, I'm not really going to know what to do with it! I'm really looking forward to learning a LOT more about photography. So with all that said...I'm going to pose this question one more time just to get a consensus....Canon? Or Nikon? Which would you rather have. I know Chrissy and Melissa both have either and both are happy so any opinions, pros or cons would be greatly appreciated!
Ok, off to bed!

I *heart* camping

Hi there! Been gone a long time from here! Now that I can't blog at work, I really have no time. But I'm not going to dwell on that anymore. It is what it is. I made this bed, now I've got to lie in it.

Ok back to stuff.....We went camping this weekend. Camping is probably one of my favorite things to do...besides scrapbooking and going to Disneyland. We didn't go camping last year because by summer, I was just about ready to pop with Megan. We almost didn't even make it this time. We were supposed to leave Thursday night after Pete got home from work. But he had some ranch stuff to take care of and didn't get home till 7:30. There was no way we were going to go up at that point. Anyways, we got up early Friday morning and got to the campground around 11:30 and stayed until Sunday afternoon. I love camping, but you know, I never realized until I got older, how much work it is! The planning, the gathering of stuff, the cooking and the cleaning. I never realized how hard my mom worked every time we went camping when I was growing up. But despite all that, I still had a great time. I still love it and want to go again. It was nice just to get away and relax. We both, but especially Pete, really needed it. It was hard pulling him away from work and the ranch. I know he kept thinking of all the other stuff he could be and should be doing. But I knew if I could just get him up there, he'd enjoy himself. I was totally right. He really kicked back and enjoyed the nothingness of the weekend. It was just what he needed. For reals.

This time we met friends, Mike and Erin, up at Spicer Reservior. It's about 2-2 1/2 hours from here in the Sierra mountains. Spicer is a beautiful lake surrounded by granite rocks and pine trees. Mike and Erin got up there on Thursday and got us a spot. They've got 3 kids. Matt-5, Amanda 3, and Ryan-9 months. The kids had such a great time. I was a little worried because Matt and Jake don't usually get along all that well. But they did great this weekend. They played HARD and were good to eachother. Amanda did pretty good too....she tries real hard to keep up with those boys. She likes to boss Jake around but he will have nothing of it. No little girl is going to tell him what to do! The babies were great. Really, they were. Some people would probably think we're crazy taking little babies into the woods for the weekend...but really it was pretty easy. Erin and I just tagged teamed them when ever we could. I would feed them both and she would be cooking or cleaning up. OR the other way around. It worked out great and the babies really seemed to enjoy each others company. Yep, they got dirty, but so what. Pete brought our solar shower. He bought it years ago and has never used it. What a great thing! It's basically a little tent and you hang a big 10 gallon water bag from it and it has a shower head on it. It's not like the shower at home, but it will get you clean in a pinch. We used it both days to get the boys cleaned up as they were the dirtiest. Oh yeah! I almost forgot...Saturday was my birthday. Yep, I'm the big 3-0 now. Jeeze. Anyways, my dad came up to the campground Saturday afternoon. It was great. I haven't seen him in a really long time. He brought up a cake, a really pretty necklace for me and a big gawdy beach bag for when we go to Hawaii! So nice! They stayed all afternoon and took the kids for walks and just hung out with us all. Good times. :)

One more thing.....Thanks to my mom, I get to get the best birthday present ever! I'm all giggly over it! I finally get to get the camera I've been obsessing about! woo hoo!!!! THANKS MOM! You rock!!

Ok here is a slide show of the weekend. Enjoy!

Letting go

So Jake has found himself a new friend in the neighborhood. He's a little older than Jake...I think he starts Kindergarten this year. His name is Cody and he is a really great kid. Doesn't mind at all that Jake is a little less sophisticated than he is. Extremely well mannered. He's very generous and shares. Jake says "hey Cody, look at my new shoes!" Cody says "hey buddy, those are super!" He's just a real cool little kid. Jake saw him outside last night and I let him go out front and play for a little while. It was late though, already 8 o'clock so I only let him stay out for about 20 minutes. Cody promised Jake he'd come over tomorrow and knock on his door so they could play again. So he came knocking about 11:30 this morning.
So, why am I over here pacing the floor, peeking out the windows to make sure Jake is alright? I keep thinking to myself...Maybe I should go get him. (he's only been over there for 45 minutes) Every time I hear a car coming, my heart races just a bit, hoping he's not standing in the middle of the street. I told Jake he had to stay outside and could not go in their house. I'm paranoid for what reason, I have no idea. I met Cody's dad last night. Nice guy. So what the heck am I worried about? My kid is so good, he's not stepped one foot in the house over there.
So anyways, what the heck is wrong with me? When did I turn into this crazy protective hovering mother bird? When I was a kid, even as young as Jake, me and the kids in my neighborhood ran all over the place. My best friend (she's still my best friend today) Kari and I met each other when we were 3. We were constantly at each others houses, walking in unannounced...So why can't I let go of Jake like my mother did with me? I know times are different then they were in the 80's. But still. Did my mother have little panic attacks like this too? He's turning 4 in 2 weeks, certainly I can let off the leash a tiny bit? It just freaks me out that he's growing up. And that obviously, I'm not good enough entertainment anymore! LOL!
Really, I'm so happy he has someone to play with. I know how bored I used to get growing up.
Anyways, so I better go check on him, right? Right.

*Scrap-a-licious*

Been doing a lot of scrappin this week. Most of them are just kind of git-er-done type. But hey, they're done and they're in the book. The last one is my favorite.

Trouble, trouble, toil and bubble...

Or however that goes...
Not a whole bunch to talk about but I feel like I better post now or ya'll won't hear from me for days. I got in Blog Trouble. Apparently, I've been spending just a tad too much time on the 'ol internet at work. Yeah. Came in to work Thursday, there was no emails and no files...the start of another boring day. So what do I do...I start pulling up my favorite blogs, of course. And then *BAM!* "ACCESS DENIED DUE TO SOCIAL NETWORKING". What?? WTH?? Every single blogger site I tried, I got the same stinkin message. Freakin heck. What do they expect me to do now? They made my every day hell just that much worse. Funny, I can access Typepad accounts and Yahoo groups, but no Blogger. It's really making me hate my job! LOL!! I say LOL, because really, you almost just have to laugh. It's like....uggggg!!!! I don't even know!
The thing is, there is just nothing to do at work. Nothing. I maybe work on one or two files a day. That's it. It's so bad, that I even went out and bought puzzle books. I've been sitting at my desk desperately trying to figure out how to play Sudoku (does anyone have a trick? Sudoku is Su-dinkin' hard!!!) You'd think they'd lay me off by now, you know? I mean this is not just a phase, it's been like this for months and months. Since April. (that's when I started this job btw) I seriously don't' know how much more I can take. I'd call in sick, but I haven't accrued any sick time yet...and I really need the money. The worst part of everything is that you know, I sit there all day and twiddle my thumbs...My 2 beautiful children are practically being raised by their grandmother (at least it is her...I have that to be thankful for) But I'm gone for 12 hours a day and do nothing. I've got an hour and a half ~ 2 hours every evening to get in the door, get dinner going, eat, clean up, get baths, put jammies on and get them back in bed. Oh yeah, then after that we do laundry, pick up, take our own showers and then try and get in bed ourselves at a decent hour; so I'm not late to work; so I can twiddle my thumbs for 9 hours...AGAIN. That's the worst part. Sitting there with my thumb up my @$$ (please excuse the vulgarity--just keepin real, you know) knowing there is so much more important stuff I could be doing. And then they go and take away Blogger! So, could you guys all switch over to Typepad for me? LOL!! Just kidding. I'm going to try bloglines to see if that will work, but they block all kinds of stuff out of my email too. buggers.
That's all I got. Pete is at the ranch the rest of the weekend. I think they're stringin' fence today. My mom was here this morning for a while..we had a good little visit. That's it. Nothin else new.

I *heart* cowboys

Good Lord. Isn't he the cutest?! Oh, I just want to squeeze him! This is Jake when he was about 18 months old. He got himself in Pete's boots all by himself. I topped him off with daddy's hat . I dug up this picture last night because I just thought it fit so appropriately!
I just have a thing for cowboys. Every time I see a man in cowboy hat and Wranglers, I get a little tingle. Maybe it's the fact that cowboys are real men. They work hard and they sweat. Maybe it's that they can wrassle a cow to the ground! We live in a pretty suburban area...but Tracy is surrounded by dairy farms, creameries, cattle ranches and alfalfa fields. It's not uncommon to see a stray cow on the road. Or to see a cowboy in Safeway. Which I did last night. This man was so good looking! Good lord. He was dirty, and had leathery tanned skin and a mustache. If he had a southern accent, I might have melted right there. He was way older than me, but men just seem to get more handsome as they get older, you know? Why is that? Do not get me wrong people, I love Pete. And he is HOT. I don't now how I snagged me such a good looking man. But I still have quite an affection for cowboys. Like some women have a thing for guys in uniform (which I like too!). Maybe it was growing up listening to country music. Or the fact that my Pa-Pa had every single John Wayne movie on video. Or maybe that my Pa-Pa himself was a born and raised Texan and he didn't leave the house without his cowboy hat. My dad is a little rough around the edges himself. Really, I think even though I try and deny it, I am a country girl at heart.

Just Because...

Here are some pictures just because :o)

I like the lighting on this one...


Jake took this one:
Nothing really to report. Been a lazy, lazy weekend. I was going to go to my dad's but I was just lazy. I didn't want to drive all the way up there by myself. Pete was at the ranch all weekend. (They now have all the post holes dug for the fence.) I did go to the GAP outlet yesterday and scored some capri pants for $6.99. They're Army green, but hello! $6.99. You can not pass a deal like that up. Do you ever have those days where you have some cash burning a hole in your pocket but you just can't find anything to spend it on? Yesterday was kind of like that. I was really going shopping looking for stuff for Megan. She's really growing out of stuff fast. And I haven't gotten my supply of hand-me-downs from my best friend up in Sacramento for a while. But I swear...every baby in Tracy must be her same size. Cuz there was nothing. So I was going for her and ended up with pants for me and flip flops for Jake. Couldn't pass those up either because they had the strap around the back (cuz he just won't wear regular ones) and they were only $3 dollars. Walked out of the GAP with 2 cool things for less than 12 bucks.
We also made the weekly round to Target. Actually, now that I think about it...since I've started my new job I think I go Target 3 or 4 times a week now cuz it's so close to my office. But anyway, I went there for a purpose...to get Jake a new car seat. Megan is still cruising in her infant seat (because I'm lazy and cheap) But she is really, really growing out of that. And, in another month she'll be able to sit front-ways. She needs Jake's seat. And he too, is growing out of his seat. So anyways I've been doing light research...found a good deal on a Graco booster at Target for $50 bucks. So I head strait back to the baby/kids/car seat isle...and wouldn't you know it....They are out of just about every car seat on the isle. Out of the 20 different car seats they had on display...they only had like 2 boxes down below. And both of those were infant seats. So there went that idea. (yes, i did ask someone if they had any in the back...but of course, they did not have the one I wanted)
So, there ya have it. I got nothin! Boring weekend. Hope yours is supercalifradulousticexpialidosious. Not sure how you really spell that. But you know what I mean. :)

Not myself yesterday

Do you ever feel like someone or something else has taken over your mind and body? No really. I'm serious. Yesterday I was just not myself. Something else was controlling my brain.
Example 1:
Wednesday night I got my CK magazine in the mail. I flip through it briefly and see an add for the Nikon D40. I think to myself...hmm, I think that's the camera Melissa says she uses. I see they have a special website for this particular camera...they gave it out in a town in SC to 200 people and let them use it. Huh, I think, maybe I'll check that out tomorrow at work. I shut the magazine, put it by my purse so I remember to take it with me the next day, and I go about my evening as usual. So, I get here to work yesterday and of course I've finished my daily duties within the first 20 minutes of my day. So I pull out my mag and start flipping through....And there I see that add once again for the Nikon. So, I pull up the website and start browsing. Then all of a sudden, it was like my brain went, "click", and that extra terrestrial possession took over. All of a sudden my brain was telling me I had to have this camera. No. I NEEEEEDED to have this camera. Now. OCD clicked in and I started completely obsessing over it. I went to every website I could find with reviews, like Consumer Reports and Best Buy and all kinds of other ones. I considered going down to Wolfe Camera on my lunch break to check it out. I started plotting how I was going to obtain said camera. Where could I get the money? Maybe I could apply for a credit card and get it! Yeah!
Ok, wait...let me back up a second.....You might think this is normal behavior. But for me it is SO not. This camera is like $600. I do not spend money. For essentials, yes. Scrapbook stuff, yes, but I haven't bought one SB thing in 2 months. *gasp* I freak out when I go to Target and spend over $100 bucks. I. do. not. spend. money. Especially on frivialise things for myself. I also have this thing were if I can't pay cash for it, then I don't need it. (except for, of course, a house, a car, etc...) I don't have credit cards. So thinking of applying for a credit card just to get something I think I need is just completely out of character for me. fast forward...
So, I'm sitting at my desk and I just can't stop thinking about the camera. I call Pete. He's at work:
Me: Hi. Can I spend $600 dollars?
Pete: Huh?....What? What??! No! I gotta go.
Me: dang it.
We hang up. He didn't even ask me what I wanted to buy. More internet browsing..... Then my mom calls on my work phone:
Me: (in the spirit of every good only child) Mom, could I borrow $600 dollars?
Mom: What for?
Me: a new camera.
Mom: No.
Me: Please?
Mom: No.
Me: But I said please!
Dang it!.........Dang it, dang it! Why does no one understand that i MUST have this camera now?
Well, I still kept thinking about it all day. I talked to Pete about it again when he got home. He actually said I could have it. Just not yet. So now, I've stopped obsessing. He said we could probably get it before we go to Hawaii. *yeah!* We'll see. I might have a panic attack in the store and put it back. ( I do that sort of thing all the time)

Example 2 of brain take over:
Again, this happened yesterday. I'm on my way home (still thinking about the Nikon) and I stop at a red light. The car next to me goes right on through the red light. hey, that guy just ran a red light. I watch the cross traffic go....I watch pedestrians cross the street. The light is still red. And I'm looking right at it. All of a sudden my right foot lifts off the break, moves over to the accelerator and I move forward. I'm in the middle of the intersection when I look up and the light is still blaring red. WTH?!!! I just full on ran that red light after sitting there for like at least 60 seconds. What in the heck possessed me to go? It was so strange. I gasped out loud and looked around. And everyone is staring at me. What was I to do but keep going? Luckily, there was no cross traffic, and there were no pedestrians and about 5 or 6 seconds later the light actually did turn green.
Has this ever happened to you? It was just crazy!
*sigh* That's all I got I guess. Hoping for a good weekend. I think I'm going to go see my dad tomorrow. :)

Too.Much.Coffee.

Blagh. Why do I do this to myself? I've only in the past maybe 2 years or so decided that I like coffee. I am a coffee wimp. For those of you that go to Starbucks and order a Vente anything I say wow. If I order a Grande, that is pushing it. Mostly I can only handle a Tall. Anyways today I got here to work and for some reason I decided I needed 2 cups of coffee. I dont' know. Maybe it's the fact that I think I'm mildly lactose intolerant or just coffee in general is just too harsh for my system. But I'm practically bent over typing this. My tummy is just in knots right now! Note to self: ONE CUP IS ENOUGH. Blagh, blagh, blahg!
I digress...
I almost forgot my friend Ronda tagged me the other day. So here goes. 7 random things about me. (I don't know why, but this was kind of hard!)

1. I have never, ever, ever dyed my hair. Not even highlights. And I'm paranoid to do it. My hair is my one thing. People pay lots of money trying to get this color. Mine is natural so I figure why mess with it?
2. I sound like a little girl. Solicitors call my house and ask if my parents are home. If I'm in a particularly good mood, I'll tell them No, they left three days ago for the store and I haven't seen them since...I'm all alone and really scared. And then I quickly hang up. I'm sure I'll be punished somehow for that one, huh? I know, I'm evil aren't I? Bad Corey!
3. When I was in grade school and Jr. High I played the clarinet. In 7th grade I switched to the bass clarinet. They are huge. I was a nerd. I loved it.
4. I am scared of heights. Like if I'm on a ride at an amusement park, that's ok...But if I'm in a tall building I can't get near a window without feeling dizzy. (and I just happen to work on the 10th floor of this building!) Same thing if I'm in the mall on the 2nd story. Total freak out.
5. I'm also freaked out about escalators. I hate them. I'll ride them, but I have to really concentrate when getting on and off. I'm scared that my shoe lace will get stuck, or I'll trip getting on or off. And then there's the heights factor again. And the dizziness sets in.
6. i love scrapbooking. but you probably already knew that.
7. I had braces for about 4 years. Got them right about the time I started playing the bass clarinet. Great mix...red hair, freckles, braces and a band geek.

Well, that's all I got. I tag anyone who hasn't done this one yet. I know it's been going around for quite a while now. So if you haven't done it yet, DO IT! Cuz I said so. ;o)

Where, oh where have I been?

Settle in, get a snack...this might be a long one....
So, where have I been? Well, nowhere interesting. Why did I take a break? Well, I thought if I posted one more time about how boring my job is...you all might just think I was crazy. I went back and read some of my older posts and I just thought, wow...I sound so negative. I sound like I'm not a happy person. It just wasn't good. Because really, I AM a happy person. I really am. I was digging through some old stuff and found my journal from 12th grade English class. Dude, seriously, I was like Dang, do I EVER have anything positive to say? I remember my senior year being one of the best of my life...yet there in the journal it sounded like it was horrible. I talked about how bored I was all the time. (Sound familiar!?? ha ha ha!) But I realized something...that's just how I am. I've always used writing as a way of venting. I'm so afraid of confrontation that I tend to bottle up everything inside and let it out here. So anyways, I just needed a break. I needed to just hang out and enjoy life. I needed to relish in the positive and good. I spent time thinking, thinking, thinking. I'm an only child. Only children are great thinkers! I spent time reading, and scouring the Internet for creative inspiration, cuz that's kind of been a no-go lately too. I tried my hand at some art cards. I really liked my first one, but uh after that one I just couldn't do any more. We had BBQ last weekend and hung out with good friends. (here's Pete with his mouth wide open and a farmers tan. And Megan center stage on the table) We haven't done that in forever. It was really fun. On Wednesday (4th of July) it was just us. Just me and Pete and the kids. And that was really fun too. We just hung out and enjoyed the company of each other. It took some coaxing, but I finally got Pete to go up to the pool. (There's Jake with his silly floatation device that does absolutely nothing....especially since he will hardly get in the water!)We just had fun. Together.

And then there's me... (not bad, eh? I've lost about 15 pounds since January. Yeah for me!)

I've been thinking of my upcoming birthday. Yes it's the big 3-0. Dude, I have no idea what my problem is, but I can't even say it out loud. I can't even write it. One of my good friends had her birthday in January and it was like I could barley wish her a happy birthday. That is horrible isn't it? How selfish am I? Jeez. But in my mind it was like if I acknowledged that SHE was 30 then I had to accept the fact that I too was going to be 30. I certainly don't want to be 20 again. That is for sure. It was a fun time then, but I'm over it. I'd take 25 in a heart beat I suppose, or 26 because I was a mommy by then. And surely, I wouldn't give that up for anything. I've been married for 7 years. I've owned 2 houses, and I have a good job. I've been an adult for quite a while. But for some reason 30 seems like the point of no return. It's like once you hit 30 that's it. You have to be responsible and be a real grown up. At least that's what my head thinks. I know in my heart it doesn't really matter. I'm a firm believer in "you're only as old as you feel". And I don't feel much older than say...... 26 :o) I've been thinking of what's to come in the next 10 years. And I've decided that my 30's are really going to be great. I have 2 little kids that are going to grow up to be teenagers in the next 10 years. I remember how much I loved being a kid and I totally have that to look forward to with my kids. I've got little league, and soccer and ballet and piano lessons; summer vacations, kindergarten, and school plays all to look forward to. The last few years have been tough. You know, car seats and strollers and bottles and diapers. That's all about to go away. Yes, I've enjoyed it all but I feel like there's a whole new beginning out there waiting. So, I've accepted it. 25 days from now I will celebrate happily, the first anniversary of my 29th birthday!

Anyways, I need to get to bed. So more later I suppose.

Here's to enjoying life!

tick,tock...

30 days till the 1st anniversary of my 29th birthday. *sigh*
Still officially on my blog break as I don't have anything inspiring to talk about. I've been working on a few things though...
Happy 4th of July everyone!! Today is my favorite holiday and I plan on making a good day out of it. Even if someone (a.k.a. PETE) is being a party pooper right now.

taking a bloging break

be back soon
*hugs*
-Corey

Tagged...

I've been tagged! Thanks Melissa for keeping me occupied at work!
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?My great grandma was named Cora.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?mmmmmm...I don't remember but it was probably yesterday.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?Most of the time.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yep 2. Jake and Megan
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?Totally yes because I'm really cool
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? see #6 but honestly, not a whole lot.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yep
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Never ever, ever. Not in a million years
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I don't really like cereal but if I have to...something boring like Special K
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? heck no. Does anyone?
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Not at all.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Vanilla. boring huh?
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Teeth
15. RED OR PINK? Today? Pink. Tomorrow maybe red
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I'm too sensitive
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My Grandma
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Sure, why not!
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? No pants. I'm wearing a black skirt and black shoes.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Southwest Chicken Salad from McDonalds. Not bad. But that was yesterday at lunch. Yeah, I'm kinda hungry now.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? People in my office talking...Keybords clicking.
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Orange
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Pete's face after he shaves. My kids fresh out of the tub.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Somebody from L.A...work related
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Totally, she rocks!
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Basketball
27. HAIR COLOR? Red
28. EYE COLOR? Brown
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope
30. FAVORITE FOOD? Mexican.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Scarry movies with happy endings. I totally like both
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Flicka
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? White
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? 100% SUMMER. I HATE to be cold
35. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ummm I don't know. Who ever is bored like me.
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Jude. Because she takes forever between posts! :o)
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? ummm I think it's called Vanished. I can't remember who wrote it. But it's really good! I'm almost done with it.
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Apparently, my company is too cheap for mouse pads. 41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Nothing. :o)
42. FAVORITE SOUND? my kids laughing at eachother
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Totally Beatles. But like before Srgt. Pepper. "Yesterday" will always be one of my favorite songs
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Washington DC
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? ummm I don't know. My thumbs are double jointed. 46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? North Hollywood, CA.
47. WHAT SUPERPOWER WOULD YOU LIKE? me and Jake both would like to be able to fling webs at eachother like Spiderman.

I tag............BEM and Carla

So, I've really been trying to persevere through the boredom today and not post. Not because I didn't want to post, but because I don't want to bore you all or make you all think I'm a boring or unhappy person. Sometimes it's so much easier to see negative things. Why IS that? It should totally be opposite. There are so many good things right in front of us. I've been searching online all day. I've been looking at container gardens. Gardens in general are just inspirational. It's living art, really. I've been looking at container gardens because I live in a very small space. My house is large enough....but the space IT dwells in is not. We don't have too much yard, it's really just a small patio. I've really been wanting to spruce it up. It's dusty and dirty out there. And the plants I do have look a little bleak. I am no green thumb. That would be my mother. But I think gardening in containers...such as terra cotta pots and things like that might be something I could tackle. I have been able to keep my african violet alive for 2 years now...and it blooms profusely all the time. Everyone I know always says their african violets never bloom. I figure I must be doing something right. Right? So anyways, that's on my list of to-do's. That list, by the way, seems to grow bigger everyday. I have a list for so many things. List of scrapbook pages, list of new artsy things I want to try, list of things to buy, list of places to go, and looky here....here's a list of lists. See how easily lists are created? My list of creative things to do has just been growing and growing. Partly from this nothing to do all day and then combined with the power of the internet. So much coolness out there. Like this. Most of you crafty ones have probably been to this blog before. But if you haven't...its pretty neat. These two ladies live on different coasts and every day they post a picture of their morning. Just pictures. No words. In all my boredom today, I browsed through all 150 (or something like that) days. It's amazing how something so mundane can be so visually beautiful and inspiring. And then there is this. Daily art cards. Really, really cool. And my friend Kim has been doing some of her own. This last one is super cute! Sitting here all day with nothing to do, sure makes me dream about all things I could be doing! I keep thinking I could tackle these art cards, but so far I have yet to start any. And of course there is Kal. My goodness. Nuff said. Right now as I type this, I've got 10 different things going through my head about different projects I want to do. I'm meant for more than this. I just know it. If I think lightly about the first 6 months of 2007, I'd probably not have very many positive things to say about this year. But truly, when I really think about, this year has really been a lot about self discovery for me. I'm really learning about who I want to be and what I really want to do. (when I grow up! ha ha ha!)
Well, I guess I better be off. I just got a call from my MIL. Jake just threw up. *ugh* i don't get it. I don't know what it is wrong.

there's no such thing

Did you know....there really is no such thing as the stomach flu. Really. It's true. I just Googled it.
I stayed home the last to days with sick kids that did not have the stomach flu. They were throwing up and had diarrhea...but they did not have the stomach flu. All Google searches came up with a clear answer that there is no such thing. That the "flu" is a respiratory condition caused by a virus. Stomach "flu" is also caused by a virus....but not the same virus. Ok jeeze! But come on....don't we all still call it the flu? A bug is a bug, is a bug...know what I mean? So what if we call it the flu? Why do we have to be so technical all the time? I came back to work this morning and miss know it all had to clearly point out that there was no such thing as the stomach flu. So what. Whatever. Yeah, she's right and I'm ok with that. But seriously why do we have to be so technical? I worked with a guy once that was like that. I was talking about ice cream and how I've always loved rainbow sherbert. I wasn't even talking to him...but he had to turn around and butt in and let me know that sherbert is not ice cream, it's sherbert and that it's not sherBERT it's really sherBET. Then he turned around to his computer, brought up Microsoft Word and typed in both and did spell check. He was right it really is sherBET. He even went to Baskin and Robins website to prove it to me. But don't we all call it sherBERT? Everyone I know (except him) calls it sherbert. Who cares anyway?! If you're right, you're right...and I'm ok with that. But like I said...do you really care that much?
So yeah, both kids have been sick all weekend. It started with Megan on Friday. When I woke her up she had thrown up in her bed. I just thought it was random....it had been pretty hot so I thought maybe she'd gotten over heated or something. But later that night she had gotten diarrhea. And she's had it ever since. And Sunday Jake threw up. And then again last night. And I was sick Sunday too. I took them to the doctor yesterday and was told that Megan's issues were due to teething. Ummmm...I know that teething can cause the diarrhea, but like this?? (I won't go into details...i'm sure you can imagine....it's bad, really bad.) Come on people. I know there's nothing they could do anyways. A virus just has to run it's course. I know it.
So I'm back to work today...even though the I don't think they are all better. Is it horrible to admit that I needed a break from the poo and vomit and whining and crying? Does that make me a bad mother? If it's really bad my MIL will call me and I of course will come running.
Before the sickies started on Sunday, my MIL and I took the kids and 2 of my nieces up to the pool. Jake actually got in and had a good time! Before the afternoon was over, he actually was jumping off the side if one of us was there to catch him! Such an improvement from the day before. Well, a complete 180* to be honest! I knew it would just be a matter of time. It was so good to see him actually having fun. He even practiced his kicking and blowing bubbles. So we're getting there! Baby steps.
I have nothing else interesting to report! I hope everyone is better by this weekend so we can go to the pool again.

The boy and his red shoes...

Do you see these silly things? Yes, that would be my son, Jake and his new red Salt Water sandals. So, he and Megan and cousin Blake were hanging out with Grandma Ruth (Pete's mom) on Friday. I bought Jake 2 pairs of really cute flip-flops in the beginning of summer and he refuses to wear them. SO he's been wearing his old tennies with out socks. Yeah he's not into socks right now either. What is a mother to do?! Anyways, Friday he, Blake and Megan all go to the park with Grandma...he gets in the car and takes his shoes off. "eeeww" he says. "My feet TINK!" Well, duh...sweaty feet in tennies with no socks equal tinky feet! So Grandma takes them all to the shoe store and this is what they come home with. Red shoes. I guess it was Blake who picked them out...because of course, he had to have new shoes too. Oh, they had other colors...navy blue, brown, tan. But no, they had to have red. And they both think these are the best shoes any boy could ever have! Grandma took them to the pool and they wouldn't even take them off to get in the water. I'm not saying they're horrible or anything. But why red? Red just doesn't go with everything like blue or brown would! *sigh* Oh well. My cute boy and his red shoes! Whatcha gonna do?

And this little girl...She's on the move! She's been crawling around like crazy for the last 3 weeks or so. I swear, she's just turned into a big girl over night. She's into everything. Of course. I found her in the bathroom the other day chewing on a q-tip. Nice. How is it that I've forgotten about all the baby things, babies do? Not only is she crawling, but she's pulling up on everything. I found her standing in her crib the other day. How could this be? She is my sweet baby! She's still in the infant seat in the car (because I'm too cheap to by a new car seat) but she's been sitting up in the shopping cart now....and pulling everything she can reach off the shelf at Safeway. Seriously, when did she become a baby, baby? A grown up baby? THEN, I go in her room the other night...just to peek in on her before I go to bed. I peek over the crib and there she is sleeping on her tummy! I'm that parent who does just what the doctor tells you and puts her babies on their backs to sleep. I know we all slept on our tummies, but those Dr's and nurses can really scare the crap out of a first time mom. So Jake and Meg both were put to sleep on their backs. BUT they both really liked to sleep that way. Anyways, she's been able to roll over since she was 3 months old. But it just shocked me to see her sleeping on her tummy. She's never done that before. And she looked so wonderfully content. I just can not believe she's going to be one in two and a half months.

I'll leave you with this pic...this is Jake at the pool today. And consequently, this is what he looks like every time I've taken him to the pool. What a grouch. But the funniest thing is, every time we get home, he tells me how much fun the pool was. Tell me, how is moping around and not getting wet fun? Who knows. But I'm just going to keep taking him there. One day he will get in! LOL!!

P.S. I took Megan in the big pool with me today and she absolutely loved it!

I should know better than to eat.

Seriously. I need to remember that certain things like cream cheese and sweet coffee and ice cream tear up my tummy! I can't help it though. When someone brings fresh bagels into the office are you not supposed to partake in the eating of said bagel? How can you possibly pass by without snagging a bite?

Yes, this would be more ramblings of my bored brain. I'm warning you now! First, note to Jude: I laughed so hard when I read your comment yesterday! I so wish I could do that! She said to make my job more interesting, I should enter things wrong in the computer just so I could go back and fix them! Dude, if I had something to actually input into the computer, I would be all over that! I've had a tiny bit more to do today than yesterday. And it's almost 2:30 so that's a good thing.

2 oddly funny things...#1: I went to Baja Fresh for lunch today. I love mexican food. I could eat it every day. Anyway, so yeah, there was this pretty little Latina girl at the counter taking my order. I was looking at her make up. She had sparkly brown and white eye shadow in like perfect triangles and then painted on black eye liner that went way past her actual eye. But that wasn't what got me. I'm standing there looking at her going "what is so odd about this girl??" I couldn't quite figure it out. I gave her my money, stepped back and then all of a sudden it hit me. She was completely eyebrow-less! She had NO eye brows. Not even painted on ones. All I could think about was the last episode of Greys Anatomy...Where Christina turns around and says something like "Mother got me" to Meridith. I can't remember the exact quote, but if you watch the show, you know exactly what I'm talking about. She turns around and her eye brows are gone, just like Burkes mother. So funny. So that's all I could think of when I looked at this girl and I couldn't help but snicker just a bit.

Oddly funny thing #2: Well, maybe this isn't really funny. But it is odd. And forgive me for the crudeness of it. I'm talking about bathrooms....public bathrooms. Do you ever wonder what the heck people do in there? So we share a bathroom with about 5 other suites on this floor of our building. I go in there to do my business, and one stall is currently occupied. I give the girl in there the courtesy of the "one stall in-between rule". Does anyone else do that besides me? If there is clearly room for an open stall in between me and the other person i'll go to the next stall over just so we both have a little more privacy. Anyways I'm sitting there and I hear a muffled sound of the toilet flushing. She's still sitting. Ok. Whatever. Then I hear the unrolling of the toilet paper holder. some more muffled sounds....then here we go with the paper again. I'm done by this point, I flush and get ready to exit the stall. Then I hear more unrolling of toilet paper. What in the heck is she doing with all that TP? Do I really want to know? No, I decide. I do not. But I stood there, washed my hands, I even lingered there a bit messing with my hair to see if she'd come out, or at least flush. Nope, just more unrolling of the TP again. Ok, have I lost you all now? You all think I'm crazy don't you? I DID warn you, didn't I? I know there are certain circumstances where a little extra TP might be necessary, but I don't think there was any left on the roll when she was done. Am I the only one that thinks these things? I'm a total bathroom snob aren't I? I'm sorry if you're the girl with all the TP.

I've run out of things

to Google. Is that even possible?! LOL! Super boring week here at work. Michelle is even on vacation. She is my counterpart so I have to do her work too. And she obviously has none to do either. Could you imagine if she were here? I'm sure we'd be arguing about something! LOL!!

Yep, I have totally nothing new to report...so forgive me for the random ramblings of my brain. A few of you asked about the ranch stuff being stolen and insurance...Well, I'm not entirely sure, but I would assume it's all covered by insurance. But I know it takes a while to get the claim in and the money back. And who knows if we'll get all that it was worth, you know? I don't really know too much about it. But we're moving on...there's not much else to do. Pete as taken a real positive attitude about it and is just going to keep going. He really would like to know who did it though. He's one to easily trust people, but I think we've learned the hard way that you can't always be that way.

Today I'm inspired by this. Really good stuff here. I'm going to the dollar store at lunch to see if I can find me a notebook to start. I've been thinking about it for a while now, just never did it The first thing I want to put in it is a copy of that newsletter and who knows what kind of treasures I can find at the dollar store!

Jake and I are going to attempt the pool again tonight. I think he thought that is was HIS pool and maybe he didn't expect other people to be there? I don't know. He's also like me though, he does NOT like to be cold. The wind was blowing pretty good on Sunday so maybe he thought he'd be cold when he got out. And for sure he would have been! It's supposed to be warmer today and I think (hopefully) the wind will die down. We'll see what happens.

See, I told ya, nothing new here!

I'm starving...going to go see what I can dig up for lunch!

Monday, Monday...

Back to the grind. I'm ready for a vacation...or a weekend something. Like camping. I love camping. Didn't go last year because of the baby in the belly. Funny thing about starting a new job. You lose all seniority and you can't use any vacation till you've been there for 6 months. Poop. That means all summer I got nothin! 3 more months until Hawaii!!! But, I'm hoping to plan maybe a little weekend get away sometime soon.
I had high hopes for this weekend. You know, a little family time, good food, sunshine...that sort of thing. Well, it didn't turn out exactly like I planned. It wasn't really a bad weekend....But it could have been better. Our community pool opened on Saturday. They were having a big grand opening with a BBQ and prizes and all kinds of fun stuff. We were all anticipating it all week. So Saturday came and Pete and Jake got up to go to the ranch. The plan was, go up there, feed the animals, and come right back in time to go up to the pool by 1 o'clock. So Megan and I hung out all morning. I felt a slight head ache coming on, but decided to ignore it. I got her to take a nap so she'd be refreshed for the afternoon. Then right about 1...the phone rings. It's Pete. He says they're not going to be able to make it. "Why? What happened??" Well, someone broke into the ranch. Someone stole about 10-15 thousand dollars worth of tools, equipment, the ranch truck and a motorcycle. I could not freaking believe it. I felt so bad for him. The last 8 months of blood, sweat and tears....all for what? For some one to come and take it all away? Talk about being kicked in the gut. The worst thing is, it was probably someone we know. It had to have been. They new what they were coming for. They knew what was there. I mean this ranch is SO far out in the middle of no where. The house and barn sit at least a half mile off the road. This wasn't some random burglary. It's just such a sinking feeling. But we're not going to let it get us down. What can you do, right? So, we'll just keep moving on.
The slight head ache I mentioned earlier, quickly turned into a massive migraine. The kind where you feel kind of sick to your stomach. But Megan wouldn't allow mommy to be sick, so I took her for a walk up to the pool. I got our keys and talked to a few neighbors and then just headed back home. Jake and Pete didn't get home until after 9....exhausted and dirty from head to toe.
Sunday was church and that was about it. In the afternoon I took Jake up to the pool. We get up there, walk in the gate and the little bugger decides he doesn't want to go. Man, that ticked me off! I don't know why, but he'd been talking about it all day, then we get there and he wouldn't even put one toe in. I'm going to try again this weekend. I think he might have been overwhelmed with how big it is and all the people. So we'll see what happens with that. I want him to learn how to swim!
Anyway, so that's about all that's going on around here. Not too exciting, huh?
Wishing you all a happy day.

Layouts to share

Just a quick post to show these two new pages. I really love them both. The first is of mothers day in San Francisco. Check it out...14 pictures on one page. Cool. Took journaling strait from the blog here and it's on that little tag behind the main picture.

This one is just a fun one of Megan in January at about 5 months old. I love the way it turned out. Thanks Carla, for the inspiration for tearing! :D

That's about it for now. I seem to be in a better mood. Feeling really creative lately and I love that thanks to all my girls I get tons of inspiration every day. Feeling better about work too. I'm thinking maybe I caused enough scruff the other day that she's kind of backed off. It's a good thing. Going to lunch with some of the girls from my old office tomorrow. I haven't seen them since I left so I'm really looking forward to it. I miss them. Anyways, I better go help Pete fold laundry before he comes looking for me! Thanks for all the happy vibes about all my stress. It seriously made me feel loads better!

Note to self

Do not talk about kids, politics or religion or pets at work. She makes me want to quit. I about came undone today. Yes, I am sensitive but this time she hit me in the gut. You know, what has the world come to when you have to be so careful about what you say everywhere you go. I feel like I can't even say it here because you never know who is going to read it and take it the wrong way. But I think you all know I'd never do anything to hurt my kids. I'm just shocked right now. I guess I'm shocked at my own naivete. I should know better...especially by now and all the other issues I've had with her. Hmmm and now as I'm typing this, she's threatening someone else that she's going to call the SPCA on them. SHUT UP. Jeeze she thinks she holier than tho.

I just need to vent. I hate that you guys have all this negitive stuff to read from me. If you want to know exactly what I'm talking about let me know and I'll email you directly. If not, thanks for listening. I need to do Kal's 1+1+1 and write myself a better future than this.

It's just so hard to be a boy

That's what Jake said to me tonight when I was putting him to bed. He was standing up on the bed getting ready to hug me like usual...he asked if we were going to Grandma Ruth's tomorrow. I said no, tomorrow is another "stay at home day" and that we'll probably go to church. I can't remember now exactly what he said, but it was some sort of back talk. He's been doing that a lot lately...and a lot today. So I gave him a little slap on the back of his leg and told him he better straighten up...his daddy is going to be home in a couple of days and we don't want to give him a bad report. That's when he leaned over, put his head on my shoulder and his arms around me and said, "oh momma...It's just so hard to be a boy". He melts my heart! I wish he'd stay this way forever.

Explanation...

To yesterday's "bit-o-fit" I had.....Well, I realize now that I may have just been kind of ticked in the heat of the moment. I can't help it. I'm a red head. We're known for our hot tempers! So ....This guy in the office was talking about how his little 1 year old daughter loves the show "Boo-Ba". Ok, I have no idea what the heck Boo-Ba is, but apparently it's like some Teletubby type show. So Michelle (miss know it all) says, "your kids don't watch Boo ba?!" Ummm No. "oh yeah, you guys don't really watch TV". Nope. (I watch most of my TV online after kiddies have gone to bed) "Oh" and then as she give me that "you're such a fool" look....and in her best know it all, condescending voice,"You're not going to be able to get away with that for very much longer...Once Jake goes to school all the other kids are going to think he's weird"...... And, so you think that's going to make me go run out and get a TV in his room or something? Wrong. What about reading books? What about actually playing? You know what? Yeah, my kids are going to want to watch TV. So what. Hello, didn't your mom teach you...Just because you want something doesn't mean you get it. Michelle just thinks I'm Soooooo conservative and my kids are going to resent me when they're older. Well you know what? They probably will. Who doesn't blame their parents for something, you know? I have nothing against TV. I LOVE TV! My kids see plenty of TV. We watch movies all the time, we go to movies. Pete and I just didn't want TV to be what we did every night...and for a while it was. So we've cut way back and I don't allow Jake to sit in front of it all day. (cuz he totally would if I let him!) And why in the HECK would I need to justify this to anyone? You know what I mean?
Anyways, so that's what I was all irritated about yesterday. I just get frustrated with people. I get frustrated with myself because I don't like confrontation and I sometimes just back down or walk away. I'm very sensitive and I don't like when people, anybody, acts like they know everything. It totally bugs me. (cuz..uhhh I already know everything! duh!) I came to a conclusion today...Michelle is like Rosie O'Donnell. A very sweet person, who has a kind heart and does some very nice things for people. But if you don't believe her same ideas, then you're stupid. Come on...isn't that exactly how Rosie is?
I hope no one is offended by anything I've said here. This is a lesson for myself ...I need to remember to not get so bothered by other people so much. But I think that is exactly my point to this whole entry...It's ok to have a difference of opinion. That's what makes the world interesting. And if your going to be honestly passionate about your opinion...respect the others who are passionate about theirs. (rewind...note to self!) Passion about what you believe in is not cowardly.