a, r, g & h

2010-06-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

i hear this at least once a day

2010-03-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

"mama, you are beautiful like I am beautiful."

thanks, h.

february

2010-03-05T14:24:00.000-08:00

january

2010-02-11T22:04:00.000-08:00

snippits

2009-11-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

just a few things that i want to write down before i forget....

on thursdays, gavin has P.E. a few thursdays ago, he came up to me and said "mama, do i have p.m.s. today?"
we don't even say that around here, so i'm not sure where he got it.

hayden was mad at me for telling him no about something and he looked at me and said, in anger, "i'm not your cousin!"

i was reading a book to g, and there was a drawing of a cat. he told me how it looked "soft and cute and fugly." after worrying a little, i found out that he meant to say "snuggly". thank goodness.

hayden has been getting alot of dirt in his eyes lately. he was rubbing them, and in a very whiny voice asked me "can you go get me some allergies?"

one of the teachers at school told me that gavin came up to her and said "Mrs. Candaleria, you look beautiful today. And Edie is eating all my goldfish."
way to downplay it g.

i'm a mean mom, and i'm ok with that

2009-11-03T10:40:00.000-08:00

oh man.
hi, my name is Rose and i'm a mean mom.
halloween was a busy day. we had a birthday party at 10, soccer at 11, then back to the party after that, then trick-or-treating/harvest festival later that night. well, the boys were awful from the minute they woke up. running around the house bonkers, lots of loud noise, lots of "roughhousing", making messes, back talking and general sassy-ness. i know they are boys and they are going to be like this, but it was way worse than normal.
since i couldn't take away the party, or the soccer game, i took halloween away. that's right. no dressing up, no candy, nothing.
total win win for me- i didn't have to figure out the costumes and no candy in the house, that i'll just throw away most of it anyway. they were upset about it, so hopefully it worked somehow.
so unfortunately i don't have any pictures to post since they didn't dress up.

last weekend i did get to do something exciting- i got to go to see U2 at the Rose Bowl. my super-awesome aunt gave me the tickets to the sold out show. i took my step-mom, claudi since they are one of her favorite bands. it was good as expected, although i've never been to a concert where i was so far away from the stage, or where there was so many people- like 95,000 people. black eyed peas opened- they were perfect for an opener- lots of high energy. for one of their last songs, slash from guns-n-roses came out and played sweet child of mine, while Fergie sang it. that girl can REALLY sing. then U2 played for two and a half hours. amazing. they played lots of stuff from the new album, and tons of the old favorites. i guess they are going to have a summer '10 tour, so if you get the chance go see it. the stage alone is bonkers- huge, and cool lights, and a crazy video screen.totally worth it.

other than that, it's been pretty monotonous around here. school, preschool, soccer, church, laundry, cooking, cleaning. then start it all over again.

soccer

2009-10-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

so this is our saturday mornings until the end of november. we have aleady had 4 games. so far, gavin is loving it. i think maybe even more than t-ball. his team is "the glowing bananas". so silly- which is just perfect for a little kids team. more than half the time, the kids just kinda run around and kick the ball where ever so there are some pretty funny moments in every game. but they get a little better every time. i'm thinking this sport will be on the regular schedule for the next um-teen years. hayden can't wait to play. he's actually really good too! g and h kick the ball back and forth to eachother without going nuts. they totally work together and help eachother- it's awesome. hopefully next year i can sign him up.

birthdays

2009-09-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

on wednesday, gavin turned 5.
on friday, hayden turned 3.
so we took full advantage and went to disneyland on wednesday. g was free because it was his birthday, and h was free as well because he was 2 still. awesome huh?
unfortunately aaron was in new orleans for work, so he wasn't able to go. but my dad went, thank goodness, because i could not have done it by myself. (THANK YOU DAD FOR EVERYTHING!!!)
i kept it a total secret from them- even when we were parking they had no idea where we were. but of course they were excited once they figured it out.
we got there at 9:30 (they opened at 9), and the both boys got a first visit button, and a birthday button. so all day the workers and other visitors were wishing them happy birthday. that was pretty cool. the weather was perfect and barely anyone was there. we went on 16 rides, and the longest we had to wait the whole day was 30 minutes. i've never been there when that happens. most of the rides we had to wait 5 minutes or so. some of the rides scared them- pirates and haunted mansion, and some hayden wasn't big enough to go on. but all in all it really was such an amazing day. they both got mouse ears with their name on the back, and i got their silhouette done as well- both super classic things from disneyland.

showing off their buttons....

dumbo

teacups and matterhorn

getting DIZZZZZZY on the teacups.

they LOVED small world. good grief it's annoying though.

h zonked out in the middle of the day for about 20 minutes.

shooting aliens on the Toy Story ride.

g my little race car driver. (good thing the cars are on a track, and go 6 miles an hour)

h is ready to go--- a little wiped out maybe?

pre-school

2009-09-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

not only did gav start kindergarten, but hayden started preschool!

he is going to the same place that g went to for the last two years, which is great because he knows the teachers and the building and everything already. he goes tuesday and thursday from 9:15-12:15, so i get 6 hours a week to myself!!!!! how nice is that?
there are 3 siblings of kids that g was in school with- so he already has friends. i guess hayden and jadyn were inseperable last week, which is so super cute.
when did my kids grow up? i guess it had to happen sooner or later....

kindergarten

2009-09-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

holy cow. gavin started kindergarten two weeks ago. how did he get so big all of a sudden? we got him a transformers backpack (which is as big as he is) and lunch bag. i'm not crazy about it, but he enjoys that stuff now, so i'm not going to fight it. and thank goodness no other kid in his classes have the same one.

of course he had to have his hair "up".
the first day was great, but day number two was awful. he acted up and got in trouble with the teacher. ugh.
but then day three and so forth have been just fine. he doesn't really tell me what goes on, except that he eats lunch, plays on the playground and has a new friend (but doesn't know the new friends name). his teacher, Mrs. Friedman is super cute and i really like her. she doesn't take any crap from the kids, but isn't mean. the other kindergarten class and gav's class do a lot of things together. there are 54 kids in all (yikes!). i plan on volunteering in a few months. we have homework to do every day which consists of reading a book and having him tell me what it was about and i get to write it down. there is usually a paper to do as well- writing numbers or letters. he also has p.e. on thursdays where he says they do push-ups and ride a bike. who knows what really goes on.
it's definitely a new routine to get into.
he also started soccer. so twice a week he has practice. so far he's doing quite well, and really likes it. he can dribble the ball and pass and everything. his first game is next saturday, so that should be pretty funny. they basically just run around and try to kick the ball.

so between school and soccer, he is wiped out by thursday. he has been going to bed earlier, but still not sleeping in much. i think i have to wait until he is in jr. high for that.

thirty

2009-09-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

i am now officially in my thirties. and so far- it's been way better than my twenties. i am not upset about it because apparently i still look young- 2 days before my birthday a woman thought i was 21, so that's not too bad.
aaron was gone for work on the actual day, but he took me out to my favorite restaurant a few days later. it was so good, especially since we haven't been there in about three years. he also got me a new chair. i have been looking at it for quite a while, but figured it was a far-off purchase. well, i came home from oregon to find it sitting in our living room. quite a nice surprise. i love it.

so now i need to re-do the ottoman in new fabric. good thing it was easy-peasy!

the night of my birthday, my wonderful friends Lyndsey and Jen twisted my arm and came over for dessert and card playing. Jen made a super yummy cheesecake (no i'm NOT just saying that) and Lyndsey brought over chocolate fondue. so no complaining about that!

cheers to thirty!

NW trip highlights

2009-09-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

i know i know. i should have done this post a long time ago, but we have not stopped going since we got home.
we had a wonderful time up north. it's already on the books for next year- but aaron will go with us, thank goodness.
so here is a rundown of the awesomeness that we had.
- the first day we drove to ashland where we stayed with our wonderful friend Lari. she lives here, but has a home up there too, so it worked out perfectly.
-the boys were AMAZING during the twelve and a half hour drive. i can't stress enough how great they were. and no dvd player either. so proud of them.
-day 2, we drove another 8 hours to North Bend in washington- 45 minutes east of seattle, and stayed with my aunt diane and her family. i really wish we could've stayed longer than the 4 days we were there. we had such a great time. we went and picked blueberries at a farm (10 lbs for $11.80!!!) played card games and walked around the property with my cousins (they have 5 acres) picking and eating wild blueberries, blackberries, salmonberries and huckleberries. the boys loved being in the woods and were very excited to see deer and elk around. gavin thinks that deer are moose for some reason, and that cracked up my uncle scott. we went to the 100 years of north bend festival thingy and the kids had tons of fun at the parade and at the small carnival. although the Seattle SeaFair Pirates scared the hockey-sticks out of the boys with their cannons going off. good times. hopefully we will be able to stay up there longer next year. scott and the boys had so much fun with each other- scott tickled hayden so much one night that h peed all over him. and i love hanging out with ashley and kaitlyn. they are such awesome girls.
-we then went back down to springfield. i am SO SUPER grateful to have been able to stay with my friend Brenley and her family. it was so convienent- down the street from the Jolley's and down the street from Brynne too. i think it was a little overwhelming for her son McCoy having the boys around, but for the most part they got along fine and had some fun. brenley took us to see her new house and we were able to pick blackberries, which i used to make a pie for her later that week. hopefully she hasn't forgotten how to make crust yet. brenley was also super sweet to take some pictures of me and the boys (which i will post later). she is so talented and really captures the personality of whoever she is taking the picture of. when we got back to her house, brynne and emily were there and surprised me with a birthday party. i really miss these girls, and wish we lived closer. we haden't all been together like that for 7 years, so that was awesome. plus it was funny to have all 7 of our kids in the house under 5. we also got to go to saturday market. it's so nice that it hasn't changed one tiny bit. i got to get my favorite phad thai. oh man..... it had been way too long since i had that. and of course i bought some killer berries to bring home to aaron at the farmers market. they actually made it all the way home without me eating all of them! during the time in springfield, i also got to visit with another great friend- Nate. and i got to meet his adorable wife Lindsey. i'm thinking that we could be great friends-- if only we lived closer. i hadn't seen nate in about 8 or 9 years, and it was so wonderful that it was like no time had passed at all. we were the same old friends- just a bit older, and maybe a teeny-tiny bit more mature. the boys totally got along with him- so he is officially "uncle nate" now. i also was able to see a friend from way back, Joy. she looks great, and we had a good, although quick visit, and had some good laughs about things that happened 15 years ago. and the main reason i went up there in the first place was for jenni and michael's wedding. she was gorgeous- think of a princess- and that's what she looked like. everything at the reception looked amazing, and there were many people i hadn't seen in many years. i wish we were able to stay a few days after the wedding so i could see some of those people a little more, but i'll make sure to set some good time apart for them next summer.
-we drove back down to ashland and stayed with Lari again, then made the treck back home. it was so nice to see aaron after 2 weeks apart. i came home to a spotless house and a surprise that i will have to post about later.
it was a great trip. if the weather weren't so horrible the next 8 months, i would go up again. but i'd rather just wait until it's super hot here, and super nice there to go visit.

2009-07-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

i have been sewing a ton lately. 1 dress, 4 skirts (just 1 for me so far), and i'm finishing 2 more skirts today (not for me). and i made some super cute "ruffle butt onesies" for emily that turned out great. and how awesome that i got to give them to her in person. and see 3 day old Carly. that was a treat. and spend time with spring too........
so just fyi i guess, the boys and i are going to the NW (the "granola belt" as aaron calls it) to see friends and family and to go to a wedding. we are leaving on thursday the 6th, and will be home around the 19th because gavin has kindergarden orientation on the 21! i can't believe it. so if anyone needs my cell phone # so i can come see you while i'm up there, let me know.

oh and how ironic is it that it's 100+ up there when i'm coming to visit? i thought i'd get a break!

easy peasy

2009-07-19T18:33:00.001-07:00

so i made a super yummy, super easy dinner tonight and i had to share.
i get the Martha Stewart magazine called "everyday food", so it's from there. (which if you haven't heard of it or have never seen it, BUY IT NOW! it's really cheap for a subscription and totally worth it- i use the recipes a ton, and change them because they are so easy)
but it's online too- so here's the link. i followed the basic ingredient directions, but of course i totally changed it.
i added-------
1/2 tsp of tarragon
1/8 tsp of nutmeg
chopped smoked turkey- from the deli
i only used 1/2 a package of spinach
small diced red onion
cut up grape tomatoes
smoked fontina cheese
colby/jack cheese (instead of the cheddar)

all of that- i did to taste- meaning, put as much or as little as you want!
all though i'm not crazy about turning on the oven, it is a great, quick dinner. you can throw in pretty much anything- sausage, mushrooms, ham, bacon, bell pepper.... whatever!
hope some of you try it!

4th of july

2009-07-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

gavin became free of the oppressing tyranny of training wheels on independence day.

pretty stinking awesome!!!

mini-vacay

2009-07-06T07:26:00.000-07:00

here are some pictures from the beach 2 weeks ago. it was perfect both days and we had a GREAT time.

am i really putting a picture of me in a bathing suit up here?

all the kids down at the water. they barely came up all day!

there were many sailboats sailing by which made it all the more relaxing.

chloe fell asleep on the first day. i love this picture!

and how could i bring Lyndsey down there and not take her to Balboa to have some famous chocolate covered frozen bananas? the kids didn't complain about that!

goodness

2009-06-29T09:01:00.001-07:00

wow. we have been going non-stop for the last few weeks. i feel like we are never home. we are at the park, or at a friends house, and there has been lots of family stuff these last few weeks too, which we have to travel at least 2 hours to. and we have been at the beach. aaron has to stay the night out there, so we totally take advantage of the free hotel room and go out too. we have gone for the last two weeks and stayed in Dana Point, but then spend all day in Newport Beach. this last week, i dragged along my friend and her kids (she doesn't mind ;) ) and we had a few wonderful days at the beach. it's so nice to get out of the desert heat. hopefully we can do these mini-trips all summer. and they won't just be to orange county now because aaron got a promotion!!!
he is now the southern california district manager. it goes from santa barbara to bakersfield to the mexico border and everything in between. he is in charge of 10 people now, which means alot more work, but that's ok. he is totally capable of it. he will be gone probably 2 nights a week now too, which i'm not crazy about, but some of those we can go stay with him which makes it easier on everyone. i am so proud of him, he has deserved this for so long. he is finally getting the recgonition he deserves. good job sweetie!

craftiness

2009-06-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

it has officially been summer for 2 weeks now, and for some reason, i am feeling very crafty lately. i think it's because i am tired of my house looking blah, and it's finally time to do something about it.
the first project that i did was an ottoman. we have plenty of seating in the living room, but one couch has the coffee table, and the other one has nothing. it's nice to put your feet up, right? so i went searching at our local thrift stores and found an ottoman with a good frame, good feet good size and awful fabric. perfect. and it was only 5 bucks. perfect! so i brought it home and stripped it down to just the wooden frame. then i went and bought fabric and new padding and all that. i decided that instead of my original plan to just re-upholster it, i would make a slipcover instead, so i could wash it when the boys get little boy grime all over it. our couches are leather, and i am used to just being able to wipe off gunk, and i didn't want the ottoman to get all gross. so i made a slipcover. i have never done it before, i didn't have a pattern, i didn't look on the internet for instructions- i just did it. and i am very happy with how it turned out. i bought some other matching fabric to make new pillows, but i am still deciding on the trim and style.
here is before (gross)

down to the frame....

and covered......

and with the slipcover on.

the next project i did was a baby shower cake for a friend. she is having her 4th child, and has NEVER had a shower before! so i wanted to make it fancy and special. since i wasn't getting paid for it, i tried out a new recipe for fondant. i have my recipe from school, but it's a pain to make, and i won't buy the Wilton stuff in the tub because it tastes gross. so i made it and it turned out pretty good. i know what to change for next time though, so that's good. she loved it, and that's all that matters.

the current project is for a certain someone, so i can't really post any pictures. but lets just say that it is super cute and super easy.
and when that is done, i will be doing a frame project. i'm thinking about going to the thrift store and getting a bunch of different shape and size frames, painting them the same color and putting them on the wall. no pictures inside- just the frame. not sure yet though. it's one of those things that looks awesome in someone elses' house, but not sure if it's for mine.
so in the mean time, we are enjoying this unusually cool weather (it feels like late october) and playing outside alot before we start to boil. oh yes, and i'm trying to not go insane.....

last day of preschool

2009-05-30T16:18:00.000-07:00

i can't sleep because there is one of these bugs in the living room, and they just gross me out and give me chills and i just can't go to sleep now and aaron is asleep and he wouldn't be very happy if i woke him up to get it. so lame, right? (they are seriously gross though!)
soooooo i decided to do a post on gavin's preschool graduation. it was last friday, and it was awesome. they sang some songs which i will have to upload later because they are halairous. here are some super cute pictures of the "ceremony". g got to sit next to his best buddy Jake who will be going to a different school for kindergarden, but his little sister Jadyn (who has a little crush on g!) will start preschool with hayden in september. so luckly we will see him in the future. i am so grateful for his preschool. the teachers are great, and gavin has grown SO much in going there. i can't wait to see what hayden does there.

there is always time for a funny face...

his "diploma" and one of his awesome teachers Ms. Tami

gavin and his buddy Jake.

g getting ready to lead a song

this one is my favorites- gavin and his buddies Christopher and Jake.

i can't believe gavin is done with preschool. it seems like he was just in diapers. and now all of a sudden he is writing, reading (a tiny bit), riding a bike and being a big boy. time is flying by. i am totally enjoying this time with them, even if my patience is completely tested every day. there is nothing like little arms wrapped around you giving "big snugs". hopefully they won't ever get to big for sweet moments. i sure hope they last forever.

memorial day

2009-05-25T18:07:00.001-07:00

sooo i know there are a TON on pictures, but we are just having too much fun with the new camera. we went up to arrowhead for the day, and went on a great walk and then had lunch by the lake and played a bit at the playground.
i signed g up for kindergarden on friday, and soccer on saturday. they both start in august. so i have a few months of "downtime", yeah right.

it's popsicle season

2009-05-20T14:01:00.001-07:00

it's hot once again. it felt like a long winter, thank goodness it's over.
so aarons' birthday was last week. he is now the big 35. we decided to take the plunge and finally get something we both have wanted for a long time. it's his birthday present, my birthday present and some christmas thrown in too. he found a GREAT deal on a Nikon D40. it's super nice. and super different to get used to. it's going to take a while. but luckly we have some great subjects to practice on. i'm pretty good at taking pictures of landscapes, flowers and stuff like that, but not so good at people. so i'm going to have to practice on my cute boys. spring, if you have ANY tips for me, let me know.
aaron also got his birthday dinner- beef wellington and lobster newberg- i make it for him every year. it only cost about $28 for a dinner that would cost at least $80 of we went out for it. and he says he likes mine better anyway. (such a sweet husband).
i'm signing gavin up for kindergarden on friday. is he really that old already??? and i've got to sign hayden up for pre-school soon too. and soccer sign ups are in the next few weeks.
in the mean time we will be hanging out all summer (probably with these people) and trying to stay cool. anyone want to come visit???

4 years, 7 months and 21 days... but who's counting

2009-05-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

that is how long i have changed diapers. and guess what? NO MORE!!!! that's right. hayden is officially POTTY TRAINED! how awesome is that? we are so proud of you little bug!

i pledge allegiance......

2009-05-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

the people have spoken

2009-05-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

thank you for all the nice comments. it makes me want to keep it going. so i will.

2009-05-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

so i'm thinking of stopping the blog. there is only like 3 people that read it, and it's hard for me to do it with 2 bonkers boys in the house. i don't know.
so if you want me to continue it, please let me know that you read- even if you are a lurker....
maybe i'm just in a rut right now and don't feel like doing it. my feelings may change in a week or two, so we will see.......

bysibole race (according to hayden)

2009-04-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

spring break was last week. we went to Scottsdale for two great reasons.
#1- aaron did the Tour de Phoenix. he did a great job and shaved off about 20 minutes of his time from last year. he got a gold medal, which is awesome, and he came in around 230-ith out of 1,500 racers. it was only 72 miles (i say only because he has done a few 100 milers). i'm sure that next year he will do even better. it was the very first time i got to go to one of his races. they are either too far away, or things with the kids has kept us from going. it was really fun, and was exciting getting up before dark and taking him to the start and seeing alllll the other racers getting ready. it's pretty funny though- everybody sizes up each others bikes. it's like a fashion show. we had a great time and will be sure to go again next year.
the #2 great reason is we got to see my granny. we haven't seen her in about a year in a half (way too long) and it was SO good to see her. i will have to go through all the pictures and blog about that another time. we have a t-ball game today......

watch out X Games 2021

2009-03-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

many faces of hayden

2009-03-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

garden

2009-03-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

i think i get an F in pictures lately. i just haven't taken any in a while, and that is not so good. but it's that time of year where it is beautiful, gorgeous, warm weather every day, and that makes me want to get the camera out again.
i am excited about my garden this year. i am trying a few new things, and hopefully they will work out here. last year i did 2 kinds of tomatoes, and bell pepper. this year i'm doing 2 types of tomatoes, snap peas, zucchini, crook-neck squash, strawberries, carrots and pumpkin. i had to start the peas, carrots and pumpkin from seed, and they are going NUTS right now. the peas grow an inch a day, so i've got to get them in pots really soon. i do pots because our dirt (we don't have soil) is just too harsh. it worked well last year, so i'm hoping to have a great harvest this year too. in the next few days i will have it all finished, and take some pictures.

2009-03-12T07:25:00.000-07:00

aaron has one sister- Starr. she and her husband Dave have 3 boys- Jordan is 14, Dalin is 12 and Harrison is 7.

their house burned down last night.

2 of the bedrooms are not burned, but have smoke and water damage- so pretty much everything is gone. they lived in that house for 13 years. the fireman said last night that it probably started in the garage- maybe from the dryer. i'm sure it will take a while until we know for sure.
they are staying at Dave's parents house right now, and we might take Dalin for a while- there is alot to sort out. i guess insurance will pay for a hotel for a while.
i'm writing this because they need some prayers of comfort and that everything will happen smoothly and quickly to get them back in a home.

UPDATE-----
the entire house is burned up. we were able to pick out a few things, but every room in the house is gone. i am going over with a friend to pick through more and see what we can find. it is very very shocking to see. starr is still in shock- dave is starting to get things done. while we were there this morning, the firemen came to check on things and had to use the garden hose on some stuff that was still smoldering. i will take a few pictures tomorrow. it is so sad, but there are alot of people that are rallying around them to help out in whatever way possible. and the fireman said it was from the dryer. he said that if you don't clean out all the lint every time from the trap, and UNDER the dryer, little pieces can catch fire. her house had propane, the fireman said that electric dryers don't really catch, but gas dryers do.

busy busy busy

2009-03-06T07:20:00.000-08:00

so my life as a "soccer mom" (actually t-ball) has started. gavin started t-ball last week, and it is definitely a new schedule to get used to. it's from 5-6 on tuesday and thursday, and in a few weeks, there will be a game every saturday. don't get me wrong- i love it- i think it's awesome that he's doing t-ball, it's just that practice is right in the middle of our dinnertime. so i'm trying to figure out what to make because #1, we don't do fast food, and #2, eating at 6:30 is just a bit toooooo late. i've made lasagna and chicken, so when we leave i put it in the oven, and when we get home it's done. but i feel that stuff like that is going to get old very quickly. so do you guys have any ideas? there is always the crock-pot too, and soup, but since it's going to get hot here very soon, that will be appealing only for a little while longer. seriously- ANY suggestions would be very much appreciated.
other than that, we are still busy. between housework, school, church stuff, gym and t-ball, i have been sleeping very well lately. hayden is quite the patience pusher. he has terrible-two nonsense, which gavin never ever had. the climbing and the screaming and the fighting..... ugh. 6 more months and then hopefully they will be over. but there is one VERY good thing- he is soooooooooo close to being done potty-training. it's just one more little hump to get over and that's it. i will be free of diapers forever!
i also was very busy last week making 120 cupcakes for my friend's 30th birthday party. she had a mad-hatter theme, and i think they turned out pretty fun. i did 5 different frosting colors, and there was chocolate and vanilla cake. the things on top are colored chocolate lollypops. she loved them, so that's all that matters.

i will have to take some pictures of the boys to post. they are in a total growth spurt right now.
i am planning on planting my garden in the next few days too, so i'll have to update on that as well.

lots of good

2009-02-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

1. aaron worked really hard the last 3 months of 08, and ended the year as being #2 in his company! and his district team ended #1 in the company. so that means we get to go on a trip with his district (for being #1) AND we get to take another trip with the top reps of his company. don't know where yet, but a free trip anywhere is good! i am so grateful for his job and his hard work, especially in this economy. we really feel like we are being taken care of right now.
2. because of his awesome ranking, aaron was able to get the biggest bonus in the whole company. so we are going to use a tiny bit, and take a family trip in april to the grand canyon. and thanks to his parents, we get to use a little timeshare time, so that means we don't have to pay for a hotel which = cheap vacation!
3. this last saturday, my dad, stepmom, and her parents from germany came over. we had a GREAT visit, and it was so nice to see them after so long. i made this special super-german cake called "beesting" cake, and it turned out kinda funny, but passed the taste test (phew!).
4. aaron and i had our first date on this day, and 10 years later, through the many ups and downs, we are still together, strong and loving eachother.

cool tricks cool tricks!

2009-02-03T07:25:00.000-08:00

out of nowhere the other day, hayden got a spoon out of the drawer, and started doing this:

good job h!

it was pretty cool, so gavin wanted to get in on the action too...

and after a few tries....
TA-DA!

never a dull moment around here.

totally gross

2009-01-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

the boys have scrambled eggs with some cheese on top almost every morning for breakfast. a few days ago, gavin asked for green eggs. -i have made pancakes and i put food coloring in them to make them weird colors. so i did it with the eggs. but i didn't have green, only blue.
let me tell you, DON'T color scrambled eggs. it's COMPLETELY WRONG!!!
they looked soooooooooooo gross that i was wincing when i was making them. but the boys loved them (of course).
and i have not adjusted the color of the picture. that's what they looked like.

seriously disgusting, right?
but i will do it again because the boys got a kick out of it, and it made things not so boring....

but i will not eat them.
but i did have to share, because i'm sure all of your kids will love it too.

new family member

2009-01-25T07:26:00.000-08:00

the aunt of one of our friends has a BIG ranch down in la quinta, with lots of horses and some chickens, dogs and some cats. well, one of the cats had kittens, and we decided to get one. we already have a cat- Mamakitty, but she is getting older and i thought it would be good for the boys to have a kitten. so we went down yesterday and picked one out. it was a hard decision. there were 5 to choose from, but some were not very social, and there was one that we just really liked. last week, Gavin came up with the name "Fuzzwell". don't ask where that came from, i have no idea.
so welcome to the family little Fuzzwell!

gavin has been SO gentle with him. i think it's really going to help the boys be a little more gentle and calm sometimes. and kitten playtime is always good for some laughs!

ok. i can do this.

2009-01-17T09:32:00.000-08:00

finally an update------------
the night before christmas, the boys made their cookies for santa. they were pretty excited about the whole thing. we also wrote letters to santa. i'm thinking next year, gavin can write some of it on his own, other than "santa" and his name. we finally got The Polar Express dvd and book, and that is going to be a new tradition- to read it on christmas eve. they actually went to bed without any problems. i stayed up and put ALL the presents under the tree because i didn't want to risk having them opened before the 25th. it finally really felt like christmas with all those presents under there.
christmas was great (with the exception of the 70 mile-per-hour winds). my dad and stepmom came up early in the morning. we had an AWESOME breakfast and just hung out. it was a nice, quiet day. gavin got a new spiderman toy from santa, and hayden got a new monster truck toy.
(just what they asked for, wink wink) we didn't take many pictures of opening presents. but the were all pretty good.
lets see what else....
new years was nothing exciting. i was in bed at 8:30. it's just not a big deal anymore, and that makes me feel old. oh well.
and now we are back to our normal routine. g at school monday, wednesday, friday, and i go to the gym those days (which was REALLY needed.)
oh and we signed gavin up for t-ball. i'm SO excited. well, he is too, but i'm really excited. he is very good at batting and throwing and catching in the backyard, so i can't wait to see what he will do with other kids. the games start in march. so this will probably be the first year of about 12 that we will be doing baseball.
so is that a good update? i will try and keep it up a little more, i've really really been slacking. obviously.

so here are some christmas pictures for your viewing pleasure.

some sunggs with Claudi

but H snuggled with his g-pa alllllllll day.

ready to "fix"

spiderman!

yeah i know

2009-01-10T06:44:00.000-08:00

it's been toooooooo long since i've updated.
it's coming soon. i promise.

santa claus is coming to town

2008-12-23T14:35:00.001-08:00

see when he'll be at your house...
http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.html

thanks for the help boys!

2008-12-23T10:57:00.000-08:00

at least they are staying out of trouble...

mr. popular is always on his phone. (thanks dad)

white winter

2008-12-18T07:31:00.000-08:00

last week we went up north to aarons' parents house. but i will have to post about that later, because we got a TON of snow, and that's just too exciting not to share right now.
we got a little bit of snow on monday, but on tuesday it all melted away. but yesterday..... WOW!
it was already totally white when we got up around 6:30, and it snowed non-stop, all day. so i am looking out the window at 1 FOOT OF SNOW!

it is so beautiful. the last time this area got this much snow was 1979, so it's been a while. we bundled up and braved the elements yesterday, and went out and played in it. today we will play some more because it is nice and sunny again.
it is fun to have this weather for right now but there is no way i would want to live in it. it's just tooooooo much of a hassle. but it sure is pretty!
finally a chance to use their winter coats!

hayden didn't get why he couldn't ride his bike.

showing the boys how to make a snow angel. they were cracking up!

our snowman. it's up to my waist.

once they found out that they could eat the snow, that's all they did.

the aftermath...

so simple

2008-12-01T17:46:00.000-08:00

gavin "mama, chirstmas is wonderful."
me "yes gavin it is."
g "we get lots of presents."
me "yes we do, and it's also jesus' birthday"
g "yeah, but jesus doesn't get any of our presents. he just gets sky presents and we get down presents."

the joys of a 2 year old

2008-11-14T13:33:00.000-08:00

gavin has been in an awful mood lately. he hasn't been feeling very well, and on top of that he is growing. he always gets grumpy when he grows.
so today he woke up in a really good, sweet mood. it was a normal morning, and he went to school. we played a bit at the playground after school, but when it was time to go home, ohhhhh boy. mr. hyde came out in full force. he has never had a public breakdown like that. ever.
so he cried and yelled the whole 12 minutes home. i just ignored him and let him get it out. then it continued for 10 more minutes at home. he calmed down enough to eat a banana and have some water. i sat with him for about 10 minutes on his bed, and a few minutes later, he's out like a light. i'm guessing he'll sleep through until tomorrow.
so what was hayden doing during all this you ask? oh, not much. just ALL THIS:
the foil and the wax paper in the living room. there is no saran wrap because last week both of them got into it and wrapped themselves and the whole backyard.
all the baggies (2 sizes) and paper bags. and notice how the chairs are on the counter? no i'm not getting ready to mop. h likes to drag them allllllll over the house and get into anything and everything. so to save me the frustration i just put them up on the counter in the morning.
i know it could be alot worse. but i though that it's still good enough to share.

gavin's prayer

2008-11-04T17:59:00.001-08:00

Gavin always says the prayer at dinner. tonight it was especially... um, interesting. but it definately comes from his heart. so for the records, here it is:

"Heavenly Father, thank you for this day, thank you for mama and daddy and gavin and hayden, thank you for this food, please help everyones' dreams come true, and help someone drop a deuce on the toilet. in Jesus name, amen."

and in his defence, we have been talking to hayden alot and trying to get him to go #2 on the toilet.

halloween

2008-11-03T11:51:00.001-08:00

halloween is SO much more fun when you have kids. and unlike last year, we actually celebrated it. last year the boys were super worn out for some reason, and were in bed asleep by around 7. but not this year! it was so fun! we went to the harvest festival that one of the churches here does every year. there are lots of fun little carnival games that the boys just loved. and they saw some friends there too, which made it even better. then we came home and went around the neighboorhood a little. it wasn't too late, so we still got some trick-or-treaters, which was fun for the boys to see. they just sat in front of the door and couldn't really figure out what was going on and why we were giving away candy. it was funny.

g & mimi

so i have to give a big thanks to my friend Erica for the pirate costume hand-me-downs. her son Liam was a pirate for 3 years in a row, and she finally said enough. so we got pieces of 3 different costumes to put together an awesome pirate outfit for gavin. i just had to buy the patch/earring combo at the store, and we were set!

pumpkin patch

2008-10-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

ok. i'm a week behind. so lets go back to last friday...
we went to the pumpkin patch. this has become one of my favorite family traditions. but we were a bit too late this year (we usually go the first week of october) and the pumpkins in the field were already half rotten. it doesn't help that it's been warm (mid 80's), and we just waited toooooooo long to go. oh well. so we chose some from the tables of already picked pumpkins. not as much fun, but still good.

after the pumpkin patch, we went up to this cool tiny town called Oak Glen. it has a bunch of apple orchards and some cute little shops. we usually go up there on a saturday and hike around. i decided to let the boys (and myself) have their first caramel apple. it was funny to see them try and eat through the caramel to get to the apple. it was a little overwhelming for hayden, so i did quite a bit of helping. it was a great family outing.

abc's

2008-10-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

good job hayden!!!

hair today gone tomorrow

2008-10-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

TEN INCH donation. yikes. my head is so light now. i feel like a bobble-head.

dinnertime giggles

2008-10-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

sometimes you just have to let them be silly....

seriously

2008-10-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

aaron is a fan of neil diamond. no joke. i think it's halairous. but to each his own, right?
so back in may, i was listening to one of the local LA radio station morning shows, Mark & Brian, and found out that they were giving away tickets to Neil Diamond at the Hollywood Bowl. now you couldn't just get them, you had to do something to win them. soooooo i called in, got through and totally played a joke on aaron. i had them call him and help me tell aaron that i wanted to get off birth control and try for a girl. *now this is TOTALLY untrue, and i am very happy with our 2 boys, and have never wanted a girl, so it was quite a surprise.
so aaron bought it, and had a great response to the whole thing, and was a great sport about it all. and it went so well that i won the tickets!
the concert was last wednesday. it was quite a change from the concerts that we normally go to, like foo fighters a few months ago, for instance. there were SO MANY older people. it was super funny. like with portable oxygen tanks. seriously.

but we had fun, got to see a living legend in an amazing place and it was all for free.

accident

2008-10-04T21:29:00.000-07:00

gavin's finger got smashed in the car door today. hayden accidentally closed it on his thumb, like it was all the way shut. i ran over there and opened the door and it was already turning blue. it was super scary. so even though he could move it, we went to the ER just in case. he got some x-rays and THANK GOODNESS nothing was broken. the doctor was actually surprised that his thumb was ok. so he has to wear a little splint for a few days because there is going to be some major brusing, and so he doesn't smash it any more.
he was really brave at the hospital with the x-rays and everything, and he has actually kept the splint on. considering what could've happened, we had a pretty close call. phew!

getaway

2008-09-30T13:14:00.001-07:00

what a great weekend! aaron had meetings in san diego this week, so we took advantage of that and went down there too. we had an amazing time at the san diego zoo with my grandma, my aunt, and 2 cousins. the weather was perfect, and the boys were perfect too. we saw SO many animals. gavin was really excited to finally see some hippos, elephants and flamingos. then we went to the hotel which was on Coronado island, which is an amazing place that i would move to in a millisecond (if only the house prices weren't in the 3 millions). we walked to the park and played and had lunch and had a great time. my grandma was brave enough to watch the kids for us (THANK YOU GRANDMA!) and we went out to dinner with all the people in aarons' district. it was great to finally meet his boss and the president of the company was there too. we went to a super fancy private club/restaurant which is at the top of one of the buildings in downtown san diego and had a fun time. and now we are back in the boring desert. oh well.

that neck does NOT look right.

it's pretty funny. the pandas just lounge on the ground and eat. like some fat guy on the couch watching tv. the zoo has some web cams so you can check them out.
my aunt Janice playing with H
OH! and the BEST part! we just happened to be by the giraffe's when you can feed them. they only do it for an hour on sat and sun, and so of course we did it. seriously one of the coolest things i have ever done. but that 2 foot long purple tongue is sure slimy. thank goodness they have a hand washing station right there.
to quote gavin, "wow. that's a big dog." i guess we need to work on animals some more?

the view from our hotel room.

R.I.P.

2008-09-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

this is my mixer. it has died. i am so sad.
aaron bought it for me for my birthday after i had graduated from culinary school in 2004. it was pretty special. it was a refurbished one because we didn't have any money for a new one, and even the refurbished one was expensive for us. so it was already on it's last leg, and having it on for an hour straight, like i do sometimes, isn't exactly easy on the machine.
a few months ago i could tell it was dying because the motor sounded horrible. then within the last month, i would have it on the first speed, and it would kick itself up to the third speed, which was a little annoying.
so last week i was making the icing for gavins' cupcakes for school, and it just wouldn't turn on any more. thank goodness i made enough extra for haydens' birthday too, because i now had no mixer.

sooooooo.......
last night i was taking care of the boys, giving them a shower, and i walked into the kitchen to find a big box on the counter with a big red bow on the top. and look what i got...

isn't it beautiful??? (i am so lame, i know)
aaron TOTALLY surprised me with it. i was thinking i would have to wait until christmas for a new one, and turn down cake orders in the mean time because i had no mixer, and there is NO WAY i can do buttercream by hand.
so it's brand-spanking new with a bigger motor than my last one. and now i have 2 bowls too (which are like $60 to buy seperate) which is awesome.

thank you so much my thoughtful husband!

birthday week

2008-09-15T07:18:00.000-07:00

take me out to the ball game

2008-09-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

so we also went to an angels game this last weekend. as usual, it was totally fun, but we got to do something extra special this time. throughout the season after a few of the games they let kids under 12 run the bases. it was SO awesome! i mean, i didn't get to run the bases, but i have been going to games there my whole life, and i was super excited just to be down there on the field. the stadium looks so small from down there, which was surprising. they line the kids up like cattle, and it's just first base to home, so it goes pretty quickly, but i got a few good pictures. gavin kept saying how he was going to be in the baseball game, and so he brought his glove (we made him leave it in the car). i am so grateful that we live close enough that we can do this kind of stuff. hopefully we can fit one more game in before the season is over and they win the world series... well, i'll just count on one more game.

the dugout! HOW COOL IS THAT?

manual labor day weekend

2008-08-31T08:41:00.000-07:00

oh man am i sore! i finally finished the patio. my dad and i started it a few months ago, laying down about 1/2 of it. then i did the rest of it by myself. it's a lot of work, first prepping the ground, then putting down sand, then leveling it, then laying the bricks, then sweeping sand around the top of it to get in the cracks so nothing moves around. i know it's crazy, but i actually enjoy this kind of hard work. just drink lots of gatorade and strap on the i-pod and bust it out. it's like we have another room to the house now- it's 12' x 26'. we are out everyday playing on it and the boys can ride their bikes and play in the sprinkler. now all we have to do is put up the shade covering, which will have to wait a while until my dad gets back from europe. but the hard part is done. phew!
here is the area before we started. boring.

here i am working on it.

and the finished product.

we also went to a very special angels game. i'll have to post about that later. off to take more motrin....

fishy

2008-08-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

a good friend got a fish for the boys. g decided to name it "dorothy" like elmos' fish, although he is upset that it is not orange like elmos'. i think it's a nice choice of a name, since he named our last fish "bird". he would say "hi bird. my name is gavin." a few times a day. bonkers. it's a pretty cool beta fish, and has lasted 2 days so far. i am keeping my fingers crossed on this guy, as i don't have much luck with fish. at least they are cheap to replace at walmart.

and i am LOVING this stuff.

i got 2 plates and 2 bowls for the boys at the Crate & Barrel outlet, and had to restrain myself from getting more. it's made by Zak Designs and it's like melamine, and so fun! we got green and orange. and bonus is that it's made from 100% recycled materials. and now that i see how expensive it is everywhere else, i just might have to go get a little bit more....

it's that time of year

2008-08-27T10:29:00.000-07:00

gavin went back to school today. i have been waiting for this! i totally understand when the moms are going nuts in summer, and can't wait for their kids to go back to school. he has just been too bored at home, no matter what we do to keep busy.
he was so happy to see his friends again, and went right in and started playing without any clinging to me.
i can't believe how quickly he is growing up. he will be 4 in a few weeks. we are SO proud of him!

don't eat pete!

2008-08-19T07:28:00.001-07:00

h doesn't quite get it yet. he just wants to eat all of them. oh well.

the 2nd annual beyer/jones campout

2008-08-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

we are making a tradition of camping with aarons' best friend from high school, Mike and his wife and their two little girls. last may, we went to Pismo beach, and this year we drove 6 1/2 hours and went to the high sierras to a place called Shaver lake. it was so nice to be up in the woods at 7,500 feet, with some trees for a change. mike has this spot on a logging road that has a little campsite. it's awesome- there is a stream with fish in it about 20 yards from the site. there were about 17 people camping, so it was a lot of fun, and a few of the guys caught some fish. i tried, and there was a big one that got away from me, but i did learn how to clean and gut a fish. it really wasn't as bad as i thought it would be. we had a great time just hanging out for 4 days. although 4 days with no bathrooms or shower isn't the greatest, i know it could've been worse. we had good food (some fresh fish) and lots of smores made with reeses peanut butter cups instead of chocolate. the boys did great, and gavin cried yesterday morning when we told him we were going home. so i guess we are going to do a lot more camping, even if we go just up the street.

DANGIT!

2008-07-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

surprise surprise!

2008-07-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

first off, my eye surgery went GREAT, and i am now seeing 20/20 in my right eye and 20/15 in my left (which is better than perfect!)! it is totally worth every penny, and for those of you out there with glasses, go do it, or start saving now! the technology is amazing, and i didn't have ANY pain whatsoever. it's pretty stinking awesome.

and now the surprise. (NO i'm NOT prego.)

hayden is 22 months old. i figured we would start potty training in 4 months or so, which is when i started g. well, to my surprise, he went to the bathroom door today and said "pee pee." i asked him if he had to go and he said yes, so we went in there, got him up on the seat and he went! amazing! he has gone 4 times today and kept his diaper dry in between. so i guess we are potty training hayden, or is he potty training himself? i think it helps that he sees g going by himself all the time. i'm not sure, but lets keep it going!

*jeez! check out that belly!!!

adios glasses!

2008-07-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

not long enough

2008-07-17T09:23:00.001-07:00

we just got back from a few days out at the beach. it was so nice to have a break from this heat, but MAN! we are not used to the ocean air. the humidity just stays on you like a blanket and we are not used to being sticky (right emil?). we played at my dad's all day on tuesday, and had tons of fun there. then we got to go out to dinner and have great sushi, which is a rare treat for us. thanks to aarons' job, we were able to stay at a hotel on the beach in Laguna Beach. yesterday morning g, h and i went for a nice little morning walk in the sand. then we went here, which i have been going to since i was born. i don't get why it says "since 1986", because they've been around a lot longer than that. it's one of my favorite things ever, so it's a real treat to get some. and i got a bunch to bring back home too. then we went to my dad's house and we all went to the OC fair. that was really fun. it's cool that the boys' first fair, was my first fair too. we got to see all the farm animals, and g even went on a few rides. he was SUPER brave considering it was his first time on any ride. we are really proud of him, he's such a big boy now! i got a few pictures, brynne style (on my cell phone), so they aren't the best. but it's better than nothing. and of course they got to have an ice cream cone. i think more went down g's arm than in his mouth. no cotton candy or fried twinkies (although i really wanted to try one just once). we were planning on staying down there one more day, but all the hotels were either booked up, or wanted $500 for a night, and aarons' company would freak out about that. so now we are back home in the dry heat of the desert. i do love the desert, but my heart is really in the OC. if we could afford to live out there, we totally would (right brynne?). but a million dollar house isn't in our budget. oh well. at least it's close enough to visit.
so here's some pics of g going on the "roloposters".

oh and only 8 MORE DAYS until i get lasik. not that i'm excited or anything...

isn't it ironic.... don'tcha think?

2008-07-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

i mark on the calendar when it rains, because it's not often, and the last time i marked it, the date was february 3. after talking with a friend, we think it rained sometime in march too, but i forgot to write it down. so it has been at least 4 months since we have had any water fall from the sky.
we have had a very humid week. it was up to 40% yesterday, which is outrageously high for here. and since last thursday, there has been some nice puffy thunderhead clouds off in the distance, but of course they don't come here.
so i decided to hose off the patio yesterday. it was super dirty from the boys playing and because i'm building a patio. and our bbq's were super dirty. i spent over an hour scrubbing the bbq's, sweeping, hosing, spraying, and organizing. the bbq's were nice and shiny, and the patio was free from dirt, and i was happy. my good friend Lari stopped by while i was cleaning, and we were chatting how it hasn't rained in forever, and how nice it would be if we just got a little downpour to wash everything off. things get a coating of dirt around here. but she and i agreed that it was unlikely that we would get any rain, because we just don't.
BUT OF COURSE at about 10:15 last night, the thunder started. then around 11, the rain started. and IT POURED! at least for a half an hour. it was AWESOME!!!!
so it's already marked on the calendar that it rained, and i need to clean again, because everything is covered in spots. and the patio is filthy again.
but at least we got some rain.

never ending imagination

2008-07-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

gavin and his "banana eyes".

mmmmmmmmmmmmm

2008-07-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

i picked 21 tomatoes on sunday, and there are plenty more. i made sauce for pasta and it was AMAZING! i also picked one of the bell peppers. it had a really different flavor- not bad, just different. at least something is enjoying this heat, the tomatoes are loving it and are going nuts.

finally!

2008-07-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

if you missed it, too bad for you. one of the BEST matches EVER!!!! although we love Federer too, it was awesome to see Nadal finally de-throne him. such great athletes in every way.

gavin "can" spell

2008-06-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

at least he knows those are all the letters in his name. you've got to start somewhere, right?

and it's been a while since i posted pictures of hayden. so here are some just for the records...

salad

2008-06-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

sooooooo i guess i have to put down some salad ideas since there are requests....

1. i don't ever use iceberg. it doesn't have very much nutritional value, and it's mostly water. i use mesclin mix, baby greens mix, butter lettuce and any other dark green lettuce. usually a combination of 2 of those.
2. as for dressing, we use 3 different ones. balsamic vinegar and olive oil is the standard. it tastes good on pretty much any salad. we also use bleu cheese, and i love Brianna's poppy seed dressing.
3. pretty much 100% of the time i put chopped nuts in. usually walnuts, but pecans and slivered almonds are great too. and they are always toasted. we never use croutons.
4. fruit is often in our salads too. it gives a nice little sweet flavor. usually halved grapes, but strawberries, nectarine, peaches and mandarin work also. i also use craisns alot.
5. i usually have either bleu cheese crumbles or feta crumbles in the fridge. i do both, but aaron only likes the bleu cheese.
6. as for veggies, the usual celery, carrots and tomato are standards. aaron loves alfalfa sprouts in his, and i often use bell peppers (no green- usually red)
7. sometimes i put in hard boiled egg (like for a cobb), chicken or bacon.

ok, so there are some ideas, right? i guess i have to put some combos together too though...
our standard is: craisns, walnuts, tomato, celery and carrots.
-celery, carrots, tomato, bell pepper, garbanzo beans, egg
-strawberries, feta, bacon, almonds or pecans, avocado (the poppyseed dressing is awesome on this)
-grapes, bleu cheese, pecans, celery
-mandarin, almonds, celery, bell pepper, chicken

that's all i can think of right now. but there are endless combinations. be creative! don't be afraid to put something together. if it doesn't work, just don't make it again! there are things i don't do, like i don't put craisns and grapes in the same salad or carrots and strawbrries, it's just wierd flavors together. think of different textures and throw in what sounds good to you. so is that good? are you all satisfied? ;)

3 cheers for salad season

2008-06-17T17:24:00.000-07:00

it's SUPER hot which in this house means bi-weekly salad for dinner. i'm not talking a little side salad, i mean 9 ingredient salads (not including the 5 types of lettuce in there). and i didn't have bowls big enough, so i got serving bowls from target for our individual salads. so good. and no i don't have any trouble getting my hubby to eat it. he says "real men eat salads."

happy father's day

2008-06-15T06:06:00.000-07:00

ugh

2008-06-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

oh how i hate being sick. gavin has had a bad cough since right before his program. hayden has croup again, and i'm sick too. we haven't been on a hike or a walk in forever, and we are all going stir crazy. is there a procedure that just removes part of your sinuses so you don't have to deal with them ever again? that would be nice. just remove the right half of my face. and why is it that nyquil dries you up a little too well, so when you breathe through your nose it burns? then you have to breathe through your mouth so your lips get super chapped. i really hate being sick. when you are well and your kids are sick, it's manageable, but you get sick, and it's rough. thank goodness for tivo and netflix right now. such life savers. sorry for being so whiny, i just REALLY HATE BEING SICK!!!

satisfying

2008-06-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

so i ate the first "fruit of my labor" last night. sooooo amazing. it is seriously awesome to eat something that you have babied and watched grow from nothing. i have organic grape tomatoes, romas, red bell peppers, and pumpkins going, all of which are doing really well. perfect timing for them to start being ripe since there is an e-coli outbreak for tomatoes. i just wish i lived somewhere more conducive to having a garden. i could grow things in the ground, instead of in pots. sigh. maybe someday....

preschool program

2008-05-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

gavin had his lat day of school on friday, so they had a presentation/graduation ceremony. it was SO cute! the kids were pretty funny, but they all did really well. g knew all the words to the songs and did a tiny bit of dancing.
here are a couple of pictures...
his self portrait. i LOVE how he colored his hair yellow.

oh and my toe was hurting so bad that i went to the doctor on thursday. they took an x-ray to make sure the top bone wasn't broken, and he drilled 2 holes in my toenail to drain the blood. i can't believe how much better it feels. i can actually walk on it now. so for the last few days it's been draining stuff. lovely.

OUCH!!!

2008-05-28T12:04:00.001-07:00

so i really hurt my toe. i got gavin's car seat out of the truck, and set it on the ground. one of the boys bumped into it, and it fell down on my toe- right at the bottom of my toenail. it hurt SO BAD! it is not a light or small carseat either. it immediately turned black, and has just gotten worse and worse. i've been taking lots of motrin, but MAN IT HURTS! i don't know why, but stuff like contractions, and kidney stone pain i can handle, but i'm totally a baby about this. so i've been elevating it and keeping it iced so it doesn't throb. i hope my toenail doesn't fall off. nice huh? i guess i'll put some nice nail polish on it to cover it up in a few days....

hayden giggles

2008-05-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

hayden has discovered the "piggy noise". it cracks him up every time. and there is nothing better than little baby giggles...

goodness

2008-05-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

we need more youth like this in the world. read the history page to see the story.
too bad they don't take donations yet...
Skate 4 Cancer

i really wish i could meet some old very rich person and help them give away all their money. i would LOVE to be an honorary philanthropist. i would get gift cards from the grocery store and give it to the homeless. and buy tons of new underwear and socks and give it to the shelters (it is their #1 need sometimes.) and set up college trust funds to underprivileged kids that get good grades. and pay off medical bills for people. and pay for childcare for single moms. and give them a day at a spa to be pampered. and a million other things.
i can do a few of those things all by myself. i can "pay it forward" and hopefully it can start small chain reactions. so i challenge you all to go do something every week that helps someone you don't know. paying for the person behind you in the drive thru. or buying a $10 gift card at the grocery store and give it to someone that is begging for money. or donating canned food and clothing to a women's shelter. there is alot that can be done without much effort.
sounds good, doesn't it?

huh?

2008-05-13T08:29:00.000-07:00

conversation heard many times throughout the day:

"mama, you have to say what time is it to me."
"what time is it gavin?"
"it's 9:30, 22, 13, 9, 5."

and the numbers he says never change.

movie catch-up

2008-05-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

we don't go to the movies. we don't even rent movies. if there is one on TBS or something, i'll record it, but those are usually old ones that we have seen already.
well, my super-awesome sis-in-law gave me a month free at netflix. it's got unlimited rentals, so i'm trying to get all the ones we've wanted to see over the past few years. and we are in big-time saving mode right now, so it's perfect to just stay home and watch movies. we watched Enchanted yesterday (SO CUTE!), and i've got Transformers, and the last National Treasure coming. now i'm stuck. i can't remember what else i haven't seen (everything), that i wanted to see. so give me some suggestions of movies that you've seen over the last few years that were "can't misses". when everyone talks about them, maybe i'll have something else to say other than "oh, i haven't seen that." and we really haven't seen anything, so all suggestions are totally appreciated! gracias!

my little monster

2008-05-06T19:52:00.001-07:00

good read, good cause

2008-04-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

i started reading a new book last night, and as usual, i can't stop reading. it is called Three Cups of Tea. instead of me trying to explain it please check out the website: www.threecupsoftea.com

if you want to buy it, please do so through amazon so the proceeds will help build more schools.

so proud

2008-04-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

for the last month, i've been teaching gavin how to dial 911. i figured he should know this since aaron is gone on overnights a lot. i explain to him that if i get hurt or the house is on fire that he needs to dial "9, 1, 1, green button" (which is to dial the phone) and the firemen, police and ambulance will come and help us. i also say that you NEVER push the green button unless something is really wrong, and he is really good about pushing 911 and that's it. well........ this morning he decided to show me that he can do it, and he actually dialed it, and pushed the green button. i saw it was ringing, and hung up (dumb thing to do). it took about 30 seconds for them to call back and find out what was going on. i told her that he was 3 & 1/2, and i was teaching him how to do it and nothing was wrong. 10 minutes later, a sheriff knocks on the door to make sure everything was ok, and i wasn't lying to the operator. he said it happens occasionally with kids playing on the phone. but old people with the big button phones accidentally push the emergency button a lot.
on one hand i was totally embarrassed, and the other hand, SO proud that my three-and-a-half year old knows how to dial 911. you never know when something is going to happen...

no bueno

2008-04-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

aaron didn't get to go to mexico. bummer. one buddy's mother-in-law died so he had to go to the funeral, and the other buddy got tied down with work. hopefully he'll get to go in october instead. i know he was really looking forward to it, and he would've done really well. at least he still got to do a ride this weekend.

take me out to the ballgame

2008-04-11T13:44:00.000-07:00

we (the boys and i, and my dad) went to an Angels game on wednesday. it was a GREAT game. they beat the indians 9 to 5. and the boys were SO good. every time the angels hit a home run, they have a few fireworks go off. so every time there was a lot of clapping, g and h were looking for the fireworks. pretty funny. and gavin was especially happy because he was able to get a new baseball hat. he has grown out of his and passed it on to hayden. the game was at 12:30, and there were something like 32,000 people there. i am a stay at home mom, and my dad has retired, but what do all those other people do that they can go to a ball game in the middle of the day on a wednesday? i guess most of them just play hooky. but i guess i would totally play hooky at least once to go to an angels game too...

florida

2008-04-08T18:48:00.000-07:00

no swimming???? come on! there isn't a "swimming with the alligators" activity?

aaron sent me this picture from his hotel this afternoon. why on earth would they put/have alligators in the hotel lake? crazy.

cycling widow

2008-04-07T17:41:00.000-07:00

aaron is putting in some serious cycling lately. above and beyond his usual saturday morning rides, he is doing some races. last friday he rode 50 miles, and 40 on saturday just for fun. then this saturday he rode in the tour de phoenix, which is in mesa, arizona. he did really well. he was 15 minutes off of platinum time, which he probably could've gotten if he didn't have some seat issues early in the ride. but he still got gold time. 75 miles in just over 3 hours. pretty awesome. i don't have pictures because we didn't go. it's too much driving for the kids right now (5 hour drive). but i'm sure he'll find his picture and post it for you all.
this week is no riding because he is in florida for work. so he will get in a little golf instead.
then the weekend of the 18th, he is doing the race in mexico again. rosarito to ensenada. we are not going to that either, that is a "boys weekend" thing for him. he will be going with 2 buddies, and that's alot safer than us going. i know he'll kick some serious butt in that race. he did really well last time, and this year he is doing the "pro" start. a small group starts before everyone else so you don't have to work hard to get through the pack. i'm sure he'll finish top 100 in that one. he is just made for that sport.

in other news, hayden is finally started to pickup a tiny bit in his words. he's a little late, but i hear that's normal because the older sibling talks for the younger. but it worries me anyways. so the list of words right now is: mama, dada, hi, baby, kitty, owie, mimi, byebye, more, fishies, nana (banana), bike, shoes and probably at least one more that i can't think of right now. he talks NON STOP, but it's just not words yet. everyone keeps saying that one day he will just say "so mother, what shall we have for supper?" and that kind of thing. well, maybe not, but definitely more words than he's saying right now.
and g got a haircut. it's short. it was his first haircut in a "salon" (supercuts). i have always cut it. he did REALLY well and didn't move at all. then he got a lollypop after (not carnation instant breakfast) for doing such a good job. it looks SO good. we hadn't cut it because it was starting to curl a bit at the ends, but not enough, so it was time to chop it. i'll have to fix it up with gel, and get a picture. plus he was complaining that it was tickling his ears. so he is much happier now.
also, since the first week of february, g grew 1/2 an inch, and h grew 1.5 inches. little weeds....
that's about it. we're doing something fun on wednesday, and i'll for sure have some pictures from that.

it had to be the pink one

2008-04-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

these are from a few weeks ago. i keep forgetting to post them. i guess he's just really into coloring everything right now. at least it's the washable markers.

next month

2008-03-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

apparently g doesn't like april.....

muddy fun

2008-03-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

this is a strange concept to most people, but here in the desert, we don't get mud. i'm talking about wet soil. we have dirty sand and clay stuff that filters water pretty quickly. so the boys have played in dirt but have never played in mud. but that has changed. we went to my dads the other day and the boys had some fun. i think the pictures say it all...

where are you from?

2008-03-17T08:02:00.001-07:00

i saw this on someone else's blog. i thought it would be interesting. i actually sound like i'm from where i'm from. when i went to germany, i remember speaking with another American, and he thought i was from ohio. i thought that was funny since my dad and his family are from ohio and northern kentucky. so maybe a little of that rubbed off on me. and it's always nice to be called "the lowest common denominator." that's a real booster...
so where do all of you sound like???

and how the heck did i score so high on Boston??????? i don't paahk the kahhh... (if you say that out loud, you'll get it)

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

F6E91250

oh and Happy St. Patrick's Day! wear some green so you don't get pinched! (unless you want to!)

no more "sharing"

2008-03-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

the time has come where we are outside for a good part of the day. which means the boys are riding bikes. well, gavin is riding his bike and hayden is trying to take it from him. that is the source of the scratches on h's knees.
walmart to the rescue. they have all their summer stuff in, and that means bikes. and only $20 brings SO much happiness! so i got h his own bike the other night. g has the same one, but different colors that he got for his first birthday. so no more sharing. what a relief for ALL of us! and hayden is pretty excited as you can see from the pictures.

spring ahead, fall back

2008-03-06T07:03:00.000-08:00

just a reminder to everyone,
TURN YOUR CLOCK FORWARD THIS SATURDAY NIGHT!!

i'm a big boy now

2008-02-28T16:31:00.000-08:00

awesome news to report.
first: gavin has been going to school for a month now.

this was taken on the first day.
how cool is that!?! it's the cutest little pre-school, like a one room old school house abut 10 minutes away. he is LOVING it and can't wait to go. it's for 3 hours (9-12) every tuesday and thursday. i'm not sure if he has made any friends yet, but he does tell me that "the girls were just chasing me." so whatever that means...

second: gavin officially has a "big boy" bed. we got him a twin bed last week. it looks great and he's been so excited to have it. so we had to completely change around his room. it's looks SO BIG in there. it's weird how small his crib actually was.

so annoying

2008-02-25T08:02:00.001-08:00

is anyone else getting spammy type of messages under their comments?
and how the heck do i stop them from coming?

***THANK YOU KIM!!!

long overdue

2008-02-22T09:32:00.000-08:00

it had to be done sooner or later. i cut hayden's hair for the first time. he had this big chunk of hair that just kept getting all tangled, and i was tired of trying to comb it out. no matter how much conditioner or no-more-tangles spray i used, it kept coming back. so now it's gone. he looks like a totally different kid. i think there was more hair on his head when he was born than there is now. but he's still cute!

this is before the cut. last week on a hike.

and the dreadlock/rats nest

he's so clean-cut now!

Question for Gavin

2008-02-21T06:07:00.000-08:00

Gavin and I were watching The Amgen cycling race on tv this morning. Gavin saw a Mini cooper and yelled, MINI!
So I had to ask, "G" which car do you like better? A Mini, or a Porsche?
I like mini's, porsches, jeeps and mercedes.

*this post is from aaron, but i would like to add that this is a very important question because my dad just switched from having a porsche to a mini. g loves both cars, so he will be excited with the new mini. at least he got to drive the porsche...

Tour de Palm Springs 2007 and 2008-Finish Line

2008-02-14T19:44:00.001-08:00

2008 finish, 5:42:18, 106 miles
my second "century" ride. I'm getting faster. My butt really hurt from this one

2007 finish, 5:59:27, 103 miles

This was my first 100 mile ride last year

The next big race is next month in Anza Borrego on March 15, then Mexico in April, then on to San Diego in May. Time to train some more...

pretty awesome, huh! i'm really proud of aaron, skinny bird legs and all! he does so well in this sport, but there are wheels involved, so of course he loves it. he and his buddys usually ride at least 30 miles every saturday morning. i would love for him to get into triathlons, but there isn't much water around here.

Aaron's Recent Races

2008-02-14T19:19:00.001-08:00

Rosarito To Ensanada Sept.2007

52 miles. 2hrs 32 min. 48th ish out of 5000+. I will be officially timed this year. Keep your fingers crossed...

a thought

2008-02-14T13:25:00.001-08:00

a very close friend was looking at a friend-of-a-friend's blog and commented on how perfect her life looked.

i just want you all to know how un-perfect my life is. don't get me wrong, it's awesome and i have A LOT to be grateful for. i have a very hard working husband that provides so much for his family and wants nothing but for us to be happy and to give us everything. and that same amazing husband and i can have some pretty good fights over really dumb stuff. i have two crazy boys that are healthy (thanks to our pediatrician Allison for knowing what was wrong with g) and can run and jump and play and make me smile every day. those same boys drive me nuts with the pulling hair, screaming, messes and "boy/brother stuff" that i don't quite understand yet.

the point is, why do we think everyone else's lives are better than ours? we all have our trials. we all have nonsense with our husbands. we all have points where we just want to duct-tape our kids up and have some "me" time. we ALL want a vacation. we all want what someone else has. we all don't realize what we have.
we all have more love than we know around us.
more people care about us than we realize. so on this day of love, look around you and be grateful for everyone that loves you, because stuff is just stuff. when it comes down to what matters, it's the ones that you love, whether it's family, friends or an animal.

so, to all my family and friends that read this blog, i am grateful for you. i may not e-mail you, or call as often as i should, but i do care. i know that you are there for me if i need you, and i want you all to know that i am here for you if you need me.
i love you all.
happy valentine's day!

hair

2008-02-13T12:58:00.000-08:00

before and after
what do you guys think?
i haven't colored my hair in about 3 or 4 years. aaron loves dark hair, so i decided to do it. it's the wash out kind and will probably last about 2 months or less.