It's Sophias world we're all just living in it!

This Old House

2011-08-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

I wish that i had taken some before and after pictures just so you could really get the full effect of how far this house has come but alas i did not. But for those of you who have been to my house before you know how BAD it truly was!! Lets just say i basically did not like my house for the first 7 years i lived here but now that its done i LOVE it. Its so pretty and inviting now and of course now that its done...im leaving it:( All i have to say is whoever rents it better love it and treat her well!

So there she is (minus a few of the rooms). I still have a couple of minor things to fix but its pretty much done. We've come a long way baby;)

makeover

2011-07-31T10:18:00.000-07:00

before:
observe the long luxurious locks which almost reached her chubby tooshie

after:
the devastation:(

this is what i found on her floor

she keeps telling me she looks ugly and her hair looks like a boys so heres to hoping she never tries to give herself another haircut!!

Dancing Queens

2011-07-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

Its that time of year again...the Del Mar Fair! My girls performed again this year and both did such a good job. Charlie danced to the song from Sleeping Beauty and Zippity Doo Dah and Sophia danced to Under the Sea from the Little Mermaid. Their favorite part of the whole thing? I let them wear a little bit of makeup and they feel so grown up and pretty;) I think their pretty cute if i do say so myself!

Rats with wings!

2011-04-28T16:03:00.000-07:00

I HATE seagulls! While at the beach yesterday one of them nasty creatures swooped down and grabbed my half eaten sandwich right out of my hand and flew off with it! I felt a little silly when i jumped up and started chasing it because really like i was going to eat the thing now. But if i couldn't have my sandwich then neither could he! So next time your at the beach guard your food with your life!!

family pictures

2011-04-25T13:33:00.000-07:00

We recently went and took pictures with the whole fam bamly and i'm SO happy with how they turned out:) I LOVE the color combination! If anyone is in need of some family pictures i would HIGHLY recommend giving Heidi Robbins a call. She was AWESOME! She did a great job and was very patient with our crazy group;) Thanks Heidi!!

These were just a few of them there were SO many to choose from!

cheesy;)

2011-04-18T12:25:00.000-07:00

Isn't that just the cutest face ever?!? Oh how i love this boy;)

my kids play on the freeway

2011-03-22T22:05:00.001-07:00

This past weekend they had a grand opening for the 52 freeway where it connects to the 67 which i know sounds kind of cheesy but we decided to go check it out. They had free shirts, food, entertainment, and activities for the kiddos. It was crazy crowded! Apparently no one in east county has anything better to do than to go hang out on the freeway. We got some fun pictures and I cant wait for the freeway to finally open since it will make my twice daily drive out to Sophia's school SO much faster!

were you scared?..no..do you want to ride again?..NO!..

2011-03-03T22:37:00.000-08:00

I took Sophia on the tower of terror at Disneyland. She claimed she wasn't scared but i think this picture shows otherwise;)

well maybe not as scared as the kid in the corner!!!

Fancy Charlie

2011-03-03T12:09:00.000-08:00

Charlotte is pretty into the Fancy Nancy books right now so we decided to throw a Fancy Nancy birthday party for her this year. It was crazy but i think the kids had fun so that's all that matters, right?? We had super cute decorations thanks to my mother and sister Michal. There were sunglasses, bead necklaces, and feather boas because you just can't be fancy without those. We had TONS of candy and tasty cupcakes so what better way to work off all that sugar than with a jumper in the back room. It was perfect! All in all i think everyone had fun but note to self DO NOT schedule to do a wedding the morning of a birthday party EVER again. I was pooped! Charlotte had a blast with all her little friends and it really was fun planning a Fancy Nancy party:) Thanks to everyone who came and helped Fancy Charlie celebrate her birthday this year!

charlotte paige

2011-02-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

three years ago today you came into this world. you were so eager to be here that you came out all on your own. even though the nurse told me not to push and wait for the doctor you had plans of your own and without any pushing you popped right out. you've been happy just to be here ever since. i love your smile, your cute freckles, and how your always trying to make me laugh and smile. i love how you always take mommy's side when daddy's teasing me, and how you try to make funny faces and be silly to make me laugh if you think you've hurt my feelings. it makes my day when you tell me "mommy your my best friend." your a sweet, happy, fearless, spunky, and fun little girl and i can't imagine my life or our family without you! happy birthday charlie paige i love you with all my heart baby girl!

Bulletin Board

2011-01-21T10:10:00.000-08:00

I was recently called to be the primary secretary and as the secretary part of my calling is to decorate the bulletin board. There's a website i got the basic idea from but of course i had to embellish! Thanks to my sister Michal who helped me out with her nifty cricut (i seriously need to get one of those!) and my sister Whitney who spent most of her day off helping me put it together. I was skeptical on how it was going to turn out but i think it turned out pretty cute if i do say so myself! See for yourself;)

Bbrrrrrr!!!

2010-12-01T21:44:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving my family and myself and my girls all decided to go to Utah. We enjoyed visiting with family and friends, playing in the snow, playing with cousins,and seeing the sights. While i enjoyed my visit to the snow there is no way i could ever live in it, man is it cold!! This California girl can't handle temperatures in the 20s! My aunt Jeri or aunt "Jeri Fairy" as my girls call her, was kind enough to open her beautiful home to us and make us feel welcome and at home. We had a lot of fun but there is no way i will be making that drive with my girlies by myself again any time soon! But it was definitely worth it to get to spend time with my dear family i love so much and don't get to see often enough:)

On a random side note one of my favorite moments of the trip was when we were on a tour of the beehive house and the sister missionary giving the tour asks "does anyone here play an instrument?" and Charlotte says "I do." She asks her "what instrument do you play?" Without hesitating Charlotte says "the banjo!" The child doesn't even know what a banjo is! I know its probably one of those you had to be there moments but it was stinkin hilarious!

Happy Birthday Anna!

2010-12-01T21:18:00.000-08:00

Last month myself and some girlfriends all went up to Pasadena for my friend Anna's 30th birthday. It was fun to spend the day with some of my favorite girls, do some shopping, eat way to much food, and best of all do this with NO kids! We also were in the studio audience for the Jay Leno show. It was fun to see how much work goes in to putting on a show like that. The guests were Garth Brooks and Mike "the situation" from Jersey Shore. We went to the melting pot afterwards and it was delicious. Thanks Michelle for planning such a fun day and Happy Birthday Anna, love you girl!!

Halloween

2010-11-07T22:19:00.000-08:00

So can i just say i LOVED Halloween this year?!? The girls are both at such a fun age now and totally get into all the festivities. Between dressing up for school parties, trunk or treats, and trick or treating these costumes definitely saw some action. I have to say i was kind of disappointed this year that Sophia wouldn't let me talk her into what i wanted her to be and REFUSED to dress up in a theme with her sister. It made me a bit sad because i had it all planned out but she wanted to do her own thing this year :( But that's ok because i think her costume was PERFECT for her, and thank goodness she didn't pick something like Hannah Montana or something as equally obnoxious!! (sorry if that's what anyone's kid was!!) She sure made one cute Cleopatra! So Charlotte dressed up with her cousin Noah instead. They were the cutest Superman and Supergirl out there! If you asked Charlotte what she was for Halloween she says "A SUPERHERO!!" We had a blast this year and can't wait til next year! Sophia already has her costumes planned for the next 3 years;)

You ARE Mine!

2010-10-10T21:03:00.000-07:00

So can i tell you how much i love this little girls freckles?!? I pretty much think their the cutest thing ever. And you know what i think it's funny that as a child i HATED my freckles with a passion. So i think its interesting that the thing i hated about myself as a child i adore on my daughter. Maybe it's because my girls pretty much look nothing like me and this is the one thing i can look at and think, "oh man there is a little of me in there!" :)

Baby Boy

2010-10-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

Grant Thomas Brashear
Born October 6, 2010
8Lbs 9Ozs
He's just perfect and we are going to be best friends, we've already had a talk;) I'm so happy for my sister and her little family and I'm excited to get to love on a brand new baby!

My "new" bathroom

2010-10-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

so for those of you who have had the unfortunate opportunity to witness the nastiness that was my downstairs bathroom let me take this moment to apologize and hope you have not been scarred for life. and for those of you who have not experienced it for yourselves count yourself lucky. all i can say is it was BAD. you can tell because there is no way in you know what i was going to post the before pics! now im not saying its perfect by any means but dang does it look better! im VERY proud of myself. i did most of it by myself including the peel and stick flooring. (ok rick helped me a bit but i did most of it!!) now im sure your thinking peel and stick is flooring for dummies erin! yes it is but this girl is definitely a dummy when it comes to home projects! but i must say i think it turned out fairly decent. so im very happy with my new bathroom and no longer do i close my eyes when i go in there and get out as fast as i can. now i look around with a sense of accomplishment and ponder what my next project shall be :)

adams ave

2010-09-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

Its been awhile since i posted and since nothing too exciting comes to mind and the most interesting thing we've done lately was the Adams Ave street fair i thought I'd post about that. I've decided this is now my favorite street fair. So fun! Its pretty decent in size with lots of neat treasures to be found. And my favorite part is its not too crazy crowded (trying to maneuver a stroller has made me detest crowds!!) I didn't really get many pictures because the girls were not really into posing because of the heat but i did get a picture of each of them with their umbrellas they got. It was the best $3 i ever spent, kept them happy! Its also fun to people watch there for sure. Lots of interesting characters. Such as the guy who used the port-o-potty right before me and dropped his stash of weed on the floor. I chucked that thing all the way to the back of the tank!! He was standing out there waiting to get in when i was done. Good luck with that one buddy;) Hahaha! The girls loved it. They both got balloon animals and their faces painted. I bought a really cute necklace and found so many other things i wanted but alas i restrained myself. Oh well, there's always next year, right?!?

Charlotte showing me her booger. Why is my kid so gross?!?

Sophia posin it up!
Crazy Charlie!

First Day

2010-09-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

Today was Sophia's first day if school and dang did she look cute;) This year she was actually excited for school which was nice. I sure love this girl and i'm so excited to see what this year has in store for her!

bring on the walker!

2010-09-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

So today im feeling OLD! A couple days ago Sophia found my prom dress in my closet and asked if she could wear it for dress up. I told her it was all hers. She says to me, " yeah you dont need it anymore because your not a teenager anymore your just a mom." Ouch. Your right Sophia im not a teenager anymore and im feeling very far from it now. So ive somewhat recovered from this statement and today she says to me "mommy did you watch Dora the Explorer when you were a little girl?" I told her that they didn't have Dora the Explorer when i was young. Her reply? "Mommy, when you were little did they just have radio?" Wow, not only am i NOT a teenager but apparently now i was alive during the horse and carriage era ;) This child will definitely keep me humble...

Mommy and Sophie Day!

2010-09-02T08:09:00.000-07:00

I've decided that every year the week before school, Sophia (and Charlotte when shes old enough!) and I will have what she calls "mommy and Sophie day." We go shopping for the things she needs for school, go to lunch, and do whatever girly stuff we want to do. I do this in the hope that it will get her excited to start school;) So far its working, she got new boots and she cant wear them until school starts so shes counting down the days! Im sad but excited for school to start. I'll miss her but I'm so ready to be back on a schedule!! This year we went to Barnes and Noble to pick out a book, got pedicures, went shopping for shoes, played with puppies, went to lunch at Souplantation, and Soph even got to go to work with me to do one client which she loved! Of course i didn't get as many pictures as i wanted but whats new! We had lots of fun and can i just say that i LOVE having girls!

Collage

2010-09-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

So I've wanted to do this for awhile but just NOW finally got around to it. I have this huge wall and I finally hung some pictures on it. Now this is just the start since the wall is HUGE but eventually i want to have pictures going quite a ways up it. I love what I've got going on (thanks to my wonderfully talented and patient mother; and dad helped too!!) but i can't wait to add more pictures of my little family!

obviously i need to put some pictures of US in this!!
my birdy boxes are my favorite!

check it

2010-08-19T11:44:00.001-07:00

so i have a new blog addiction. as if i need anymore! but i came across this blog and i LOVE it! if you want to check it out go here http://newdressaday.wordpress.com/ . you wont regret it!!

beach campin babes

2010-08-15T23:53:00.000-07:00

every year since i was a little girl my family has gone camping at carlsbad beach for a week. its some of my fondest memories from my youth camping at the beach with all my cousins. i still look forward to it every summer and now that i have kids it fun to take them and watch them experience this as well. sometimes those experiences with the girls this year were less than pleasant, but overall i think a good time was had by all! note to self: next year take a friend for sophia and she will be much happier and occupied;) anyone wanna give up their kid for a week next summer to play with and keep sophia busy at the beach?! you got a whole year so give it some thought:) here are some pictures of our fun in the sun. unfortunately i didn't get many because my camera battery died but hey that's pretty much how i roll!!

new wheels

2010-08-10T23:54:00.000-07:00

I've been talking about getting a new car forever and guess what..i finally did! I'm so excited and i LOVE it! I got the Toyota Venza. Sophia says to me "Mom, i dont like your car....I love it!!!" Me too Soph!!! Whitney's comment to me was "Well, it doesn't look like a mom car!" Sweeetttt! Mission accomplished!!

Charlie Buckets

2010-08-05T11:04:00.000-07:00

Today Charlotte is cracking me up (well, honestly when isn't she?!). She keeps asking me for strawberries (pronounced stah-bay-ees). She's obsessed with them. I told her to wait a minute, to which she replies "oh barnacle!" This is her response to everything which doesn't go her way today. Obviously my child watches too much Spongebob Squarepants!

I am Spartacus!!!

2010-07-23T23:08:00.000-07:00

Today i worked downtown with the cast of the show Spartacus doing makeup for them for comic con. I was incredibly nervous but it turned out to be a lot of fun! The cast was great and super nice. The person i mainly worked with was named Viva Bianca. She was really sweet and incredibly beautiful which made my job that much easier! It was a crazy long day (from 7am to 945 pm!!) but A LOT of just sitting around and waiting. Lucy Lawless was one of the cast members we were working with and she was super nice as well. John Hannah is also on the show and he was in the mummy movies. His accent was AWESOME! Andy Whittfield plays Spartacus and dang can i just say HOT! Hahaha! Super nice also. It was a long day but all in all it turned out great, was a great experience, and i would love to do it again sometime!
Here are some pictures of the cast-

Good food good friends

2010-07-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

Last week was also my good friend Jessa's birthday. We surprised her and met her and some other friends down at Beni Hana for dinner. This was my first time going to Beni Hana and i loved it! The food was delicious and its entertaining also! And of course the best part of the whole night was just getting to be with good friends and, wait for it...NO KIDS!!! Woo hoo!!! Happy birthday Jessa i'm so grateful for our friendship and i love you girl!!!

sassy sophia turns six!!

2010-07-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

Sophia had her birthday last week and for her party she decided to have a "polka dot" party. It turned out really cute if i do say so myself, largely in part to my sister Michal. She made the endless amounts of polka dots, the banner, and the cutest crowns you've ever seen! Thanks again Michal your awesome! When i asked Sophia what she wanted to eat at her party she told me pepperoni pizza because it looks like polka dots! Clever girl! Sophia loved her party and is already planning what she wants to do next year. Thanks to everyone who came (especially those who showed up in their polka dots!!) and celebrated my baby girls birthday with her! Happy 6th birthday Soph i sure love you my cute girl!

Whits wedding

2010-06-07T23:58:00.000-07:00

My youngest sister Whitney and her fiance Graham just got married this past weekend and i couldnt be happier for them. She had to be one of the most beautiful brides ive ever seen (and no im not just saying this because i did her hair and makeup! hahaha!). Everything turned out amazing and was elegant and beautiful. My girls had a blast and i could not keep them off the dance floor! We even had a reception to go to the next night and they were partying it up there also! These girls are dancing fools! I cant believe we're all married now! Whitney used to drive me crazy when she was younger because her dang mouth never quit! But now i must say she's one of my very closest friends and i love her so very much. Congratulations Whit and Graham i wish you all the best in your marriage! Love you!!

Dance Dance Dance!

2010-06-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

Both Charlotte and Sophia have been taking dance the past couple of months and their classes both got to perform at the Santee street faire. Sophia did great! And she was by far the prettiest little thing up there;) even if i do say so myself! Charlie pretty much stood there with one hand on her hip shaking her hips back and forth looking all sassy the whole time! but hey atleast she wasnt standing on the stage crying the whole time like some of the other girls! I was so proud of them and cant wait to go and watch them perform at the San Diego fair. They were both so dang cute. Oh how i love having girls!

Partay!

2010-03-31T23:47:00.001-07:00

This is a little past due but we had Charlotte's birthday party last month. After seeing these adorable rainbow cupcakes i decided to have a rainbow themed party. I think it turned out so cute! I had planned on having it at the park but it decided to rain that day, lucky us! But in the end it turned out for the better. We decided last minute to move the party to the house and had a jumper set up inside in the back room and it was perfect! The guy said that was definitely the first time they had ever done it in a house. the kids had a blast. I have to give a shout out to my amazingly talented sister Michal who made the happy birthday banner and the cupcake toppers. Thanks again Michal they were awesome! It was a fun but definitely stressful day!

faves

2010-03-31T23:42:00.000-07:00

favorite Sophia moment of the week: she says to her dinner "hello chili dog you have a date with my mouth!!"
favorite Charlotte moment of the week:

yes that's my thong and yes she put it on all by herself! (ricks gonna kill me!!!)

the mad hatter

2010-03-31T23:17:00.000-07:00

gotta love the hat store at seaport village!

demanding little sucker

2010-03-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

this morning i woke up to "mommy i want eggo, toast, and a sippy." good morning and i love you too Charlotte.

say bye bye to mufin top! hahaha!

2010-03-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

i found this little gem at wal-mart and it has become my best friend! hahaha! now you know my secret shame....

should i be proud or scared?

2010-02-28T22:39:00.000-08:00

today sophia says to me "mommy callete tu boca ahora mismo!" when i asked her what she said she said nothing with a little giggle and a smirk. come to find out my child told me to shut my mouth right now. well, her spanish is definitely coming along! im beginning to rethink this whole spanish school thing...

tough as nails!

2010-02-24T15:59:00.000-08:00

i took charlotte to her 2 year check-up today. shes perfect perfect perfect! but the poor girl did get 3 shots. she's so tough she didnt even cry! the nurse was amazed. as we were walking out the nurse says to charlie "you did awesome!" charlie raises her fist to the air and says "AWESOME!" gotta love this girl!

happy happy birthday Charlotte dear!

2010-02-23T21:45:00.000-08:00

Happy 2nd birthday Charlie we sure love you baby girl!!!

TLC to the rescue!

2010-02-19T12:01:00.000-08:00

to add insult to injury not only can i not drop sophia off in front of school but apparently i dont know how to dress either! the other night sophia and i were watching what not to wear and sophia says, "mommy you should go on this show." the next day my sister asked her if she didnt like how i dressed and she says, "yeah sometimes." whitney then asks her what it is i wear that she doesnt like and she says, "i dont like when she wears her workout clothes. she wears them in public and its embarrassing!" did i miss something? is my child actually 15 and not 5?? so maybe thats why im not allowed to drop her off in front of school, i always go straight to the gym after i drop her off so of course im in my workout clothes. well, i guess that mystery is solved!

monkey see monkey do...

2010-02-18T13:12:00.001-08:00

Charlotte wants to be just like her big sister. everything she sees sophia do she has to imitate. of course this drives soph crazy sometimes, until i tell her that she only does this because she think sophia is the coolest person she knows and wants to be just like her. charlotte has definitely turned into sophias mini me!!

already???

2010-02-16T21:10:00.000-08:00

so i guess im now "that mom." the one your so embarrassed of you have to walk 10 feet in front of so no one realizes your together! at the beginning of the school year sophia clung to me and cried every morning when i dropped her off. eventually the crying and clinging stopped but i did still have to give her about 20 hugs and kisses. then we even got over that. much to my surprise she even got to the point where i was allowed to drop her off right in front of her class and she would walk herself to class...best day ever!! so i was fine stopping there but no little miss sophia tells me after a couple weeks of this that she wants me to drop her off and not sit there and watch her walk to class, she just wants me to leave. ugh...ok stab to the heart but i can handle this. so after a couple weeks of this she tells me she wants me to drop her off at the front of the school on the sidewalk and not to even pull into the school parking lot anymore! what?! yeah i dont think so kiddo! so we have compromised and i can pull in but i have to drop her off as far away as i can so she can walk herself and i am NOT allowed to sit there and watch her walk to class! how did this kid who wouldnt let go of my leg the first day of school and ran out of the room back to the car end up being so independent?? i hated that she cried every morning and had such a hard time but now i hate that she doesnt miss me AT ALL!! hahaha! and am i really THAT bad that i cant even drop her off in front of the school?? do i have warts and smell really bad?? is she already that embarrassed of me? what will this child be like as a teenager?? im scared....

wow this took awhile!

2010-02-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the 2010 edition of getting to know your Friends. Copy & paste, change all the answers so they apply to you, and then TAG your friends including the person who tagged you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

1.What time did you get up this morning?

6:40. dang charlotte!

2.Diamonds or pearls? :

diamonds. im not 70!!

3.What was the last film you saw at the cinema?

edge of darkness

4.What is your favorite TV show?

the office or 30 rock . pretty much the only tv i watch!

5.What do you usually have for breakfast?

protein bar

6.What is your middle name?

michelle

7.What foods do you dislike?

raw veggies. i wish i liked them!

8.What is your favorite CD at the moment?

julian plenti

9.What kind of car do you drive?

hyundai santa fe. i need a new one!!

10.Favorite sandwich?

one i didnt have to make!

11.What characteristics do you despise?

dishonesty, & arrogance. (im with ya on this one anna!)

12.Favorite items of clothing?

anything with stripes. i have a serious addiction to stripes!

13.If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?

well, i hate flying so if i could magicly be transported anywhere it would be greece. or europe? the countries are all so close together i could see so much more!

14.Favorite brand of clothing?

jeans-hudson. once again anything that is striped and cute! not too big on brand names

15. Where would you retire to?

by the ocean!

16.What was your most memorable birthday?

obviously none of them because nothings jumping out at me!

17.Favorite sport to watch?

football

18.Furthest place you are sending this?

19.Person you expect to send it back first?

ok guys who loves me most??

20.When is your birthday?

july 25. ill be 29!!...again!

21.Are you a morning person or a night person?

neither. i get tired late at night and hate getting up early in the morning!

22.What is your shoe size?

9 1/2 or 10. big feet yikes!

23.Pets?

a cat i'm trying to get rid of!

24.Any new and exciting news you 'd like to share with us?

not yet....

25.What did you want to be when you were little?

a teacher. what kid dint??

26.How are you today?

its been one of my better days :)

27.What is your favorite candy?

reeses peanut butter cups

28.What is your favorite flower?

ill take any if it means my husbands bringing me flowers!

29.What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?

june 4th whits wedding!

30.What's your full name?

erin michelle ford marin

31.What are you listening to right now?

commercial for honey night cheerios

32.What was the last thing you ate?

i made quesadillas for dinner

33.Do you wish on stars?

every once in awhile:)

34.If you were a crayon, what color would you be?

gold

35.How is the weather right now?

kinda chilly. its night time

36. What is your natural hair color?

medium brown.its been years since ive seen it!!

37.Favorite soft drink?

root beer

38.Favorite restaurant?

too many to choose from! we just recently went to niban and it was most tasty!

39.Favorite color of nail polish?

dark red so dark it looks black. i know it looks goth but i love it!!

40.What was your favorite toy as a child?

my barbies. i think i played with them until jr high!!

41.Summer or winter?

summer

42.Hugs or kisses

hugs

43.Chocolate or Vanilla?

vanilla

44.Coffee or tea?

neither. yuck!!

45.Do you want your friends to tell you when they complete this?

that would be nice!

46.When was the last time you cried?

last week. sunday?

47.What is under your bed?

a ton of junk and dust

48.What did you do last night?

had friends over for a super bowl party and ate WAY too much food!

49.What are you afraid of?

death:( missing seeing my girls grow up

50.Salty or sweet

oohh thats a tie! i love em both!

51.How many keys on your key ring?

52.How many years at your current job?

12 years. ive been doing hair that long but ive only been at my current salon 7 months

53.Favorite day of the week?

saturday (when rick and i are both off of work)

54.How many towns have you lived in?

55.Do you make friends easily?

probably not.

56.How many people will you tag?

a few...

57.How many will respond?

probably none!

I TAG:

justyn, emmie, allie, augustina, jessa, anna, anyone who may read my blog and wants to!!

charlie the hero!

2010-01-27T15:04:00.001-08:00

today my sister and i had a mother of the year moment. we took the babies to kohls and after we were done she was loading the stroller into the trunk and the bambinos were in the car and somehow the car got locked with the 2 of them inside. (im pretty sure charlotte stepped on the keys in the front seat and hit the lock button!!) so we're both standing outside the car pointing at the unlock button telling charlotte to push it. after pushing every other button and then the lock button TWICE we were starting to get a little worried. so i told charlie to grab the keys and push the unlock button on there. then she tries putting the keys in the ignition! so then i start to panick! i showed her my keys and said "push the button charlie like on mommys keys" so then she pushes the panic button and the alarm goes off! now im feeling like everyone in the parking lot is looking at us and now know we've locked our kids in the car! finally she pushes the unlock button and i yank the door open before she can hit the lock button again. then justyn opens the back door and noah is leaning against the door and just about falls out and face plants! of course these two thought it was the funnest game and weren't concerned for even a second! these kids are tight as can be and i have a feeling they are going to put more than a few gray hairs on our heads by the time their all grown up!

ps. i think the funniest part of the whole thing was us pointing at the unlock button and charlotte pointing at every button EXCEPT that one and looking at me saying "this one?"... "no charlie" next button, "this one?"... "no charlie."... next button " this one?"...."NO charlie!".....

paparrazzi

2010-01-21T11:56:00.000-08:00

charlotte is obsessed with the camera. every time i get it out she turns into a crazy person and tries to grab it and starts yelling "i wannee!!" (pronounced wah-knee and means "i want it!!!")
so this is charlotte before, trying to grab my camera-

see the craziness??

and this is charlotte after i give her my old camera-
the beast is tamed again...

p.s. this is charlotte "taking" my picture!

a little R&R

2010-01-10T21:09:00.000-08:00

rick and i recently took a trip up to northern california. we drove up to san jose and visited the winchester mansion. very interesting but that lady was crazy! then we drove up to san francisco and spent a few days up there. while there we ate a lot, stayed up WAY too late, got my window smashed in and my makeup stolen (an for those of you who know me you know this was very traumatizing AND expensive!!), saw lot of the city, took lots of pictures, and basicly enjoyed being kid free and doing whatever we felt like for the day! our first day we took SO many pictures and for some reason they got erased:( im pretty bummed but what are you gonna do? rick and i went to san francisco for our honeymoon so it was fun to go back. unfortunately i didnt get to see alcatraz AGAIN because the tour was sold out. but it was still fun. i love that city!! after a few days we headed over to san simeon to check out hearst castle. this was my favorite part of the trip!! ive wanted to to there ever since i learned about hearst and his amazing castle in high school and rick finally took me! it was GEORGEOUS!!! not to mention it was fascinating with the rich history there. we ended the trip by driving home down the 101. i never knew how beautiful northern california was and thought san diego was the place to be but i could totally do northern california. love it!! even though i came home to a sick baby, it was such a fun getaway and loved going away with my cute hubby and having some alone time. now im ready for our next vacation!!

kids are gross

2009-12-27T03:47:00.001-08:00

today i look over at charlotte and shes picking her nose. "charlotte dont pick your nose thats gross." holding her finger out to me, "no its not. its yummy!!! taste?" then she decides to do just that! "mmmm...yummy!" its a good thing shes cute!

sassy girl!

2009-12-16T22:14:00.000-08:00

i thought it was about time to give an update on sophias progress with her spanish at school, so i decided to share a funny story from the other day. sophia was being a little sassy (lets be real when isnt she?!) with her uncle dan who was speaking to her in spanish. dan says something to her and she says "YOU dont exist!!" i told her it was rude to speak to her uncle like that and she tells me that dan said something rude to her. i told her no he didnt and thats not how she should talk and my sister whitney starts laughing and tells me that dan did say something rude to her. i ask her what he said to her and she tells me "he told her she doesnt exist." i have to admit in spite of her sassy mouth i was so proud of her! hahaha! she totally understood what dan had said to her! shes picking up and understands SO much already and its been so fun to watch her progress. im scared for the day when she can speak it fluently with all her school friends and i'll have no idea what their saying! hahaha! but for now its just amazing to watch this girl learn and grow!

a day with my girls...

2009-12-12T13:34:00.000-08:00

life with my girls is never dull thats for sure. the other morning charlotte came in our room and rick yells to me to come look at her hand because its about 3 times its normal size and he thinks she got bitten by something during the night. well, it turns out she didnt get bitten. she put a clear little plastic hair band around her wrist before she went to sleep and it must have cut off her circulation during the night and caused her hand to blow up like a ballon. the crazy thing is it wasnt even bothering her! nothing this girl does surprises me anymore! well, that same day my sister picks sophia up from school and sophia calls me near tears because apparently a little girl in her class cut her hair. of all the kids to pick to cut their hair sophia was definitely the wrong one! hahaha! im obviously the only who has ever cut her hair so she was a little traumatized. charlottes hand eventually went down and is just fine and sophia got over it after a little drama so. hahaha! theres definitely always SOMETHING going on in our house!

2009-11-16T22:32:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

2009-11-16T20:01:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

halloween

2009-11-04T23:35:00.000-08:00

this year halloween was so much fun! charlotte was old enough to really get into it. she spent the whole night running from house to house and refused to let anyone carry her bucket even when it was full and weighing her down. she was a trooper! unfortunately sophia pretty much spent the majority of the evening in the back of the stroller not feeling well at all. poor girl:( this year sophia was dorthy and charlie was glinda the good witch, even though sophia wanted her to be her toto! my mom made sophias costume, so a big thank you to mom! and i did charlottes. ok well, i bought the tutu but i put the finishing touches on everything! this year was alot of fun and i cant wait until next year!

halloween par-tay!!

2009-11-03T21:08:00.001-08:00

my sisters and i planned a halloween party this year at my parents house and, in my opinion, it was a hit! rick was a sport and wore his tinman costume to go with my witch costume even though he didnt want to! and i must say he was one cute tinman! (the girls were dorthy and glinda the good witch so i wanted our costumes to go along with theirs). michal was in charge of the decorations and recruited whitneys help and it looked amazing!! justyn was in charge of the entertainment and she decided to do fear factor. between mouse traps, nasty food, and shooting partners with a paintball gun it was very entertaining to watch! i had a lot of fun and i hope everyone else did too. thanks so much everyone that came and made it such a fun evening! and i BIG thanks to my parents for giving up their house for the evening AND watching the babies for us while we were gettin our party on!

the haps

2009-11-01T15:00:00.000-08:00

i havent been able to find the cord that goes to my camera so i havent been able to post any pictures but...wootwoot...i found it!! so how lucky are all of you you get to see pictures of our lovely faces! hahaha! i love this time of year so i have definitely been taking advantage of the lovely weather and getting out as much as possible. we went to the ranch to ride ponies, the zoo with jessa and maddie, 2 pumpkin patches this year, and so much more! so fun!

ever had one of those days?

2009-10-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

today is not one of my best days. well, to be honest its probably not been one of my best months. nothing specific has happened to make it particularly bad, i just find myself in a funk that i cant seem to get out of. i find myself dwelling too much on what im not happy with and feeling sorry for myself. i hate this. what i think i hate the most about my little episodes of unhapiness is that sometimes i dont WANT to pull myself out of it. well, i guess i want to but i just dont know how and its easier not to. and so there i am. in a funk having a hard time and not willing to or knowing how to get myself on a different path. i hate feeling this way. i hate feeling sorry for myself and just want to be susie sunshine and be happy with everything life has to offer all the time. i find myself reading my favorite blog (the nienie dialogue) and i feel very ungrateful and ridiculous that i cant just be happy with my life and what i have been blessed with when there are others who suffer and struggle with trials so much more than my own. so thats my day, or days i guess, in a funk and mad at myself that i am! maybe im just feeling particularly bad for myself because my house is a DISASTER and i have NO motivation to do anything about it! hahaha! so i guess i better stop wasting time on the computer and go do something about it. hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!!

best bedhead ever!!

2009-10-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

this is what charlotte woke up with the other day...perfection...

i did it!!

2009-09-25T10:17:00.001-07:00

so ive been talking about cutting my hair off and going back to dark for forever and i finally did it! i love it! i dont think ill ever do blond again. too much upkeep and it fried my hair! so im happily a redhead for the moment but we'll see how long this one lasts!

no hablo!!

2009-09-20T23:05:00.000-07:00

sophia started school about 3 weeks ago and the school we chose to send her to is a spanish immersion school. this means her teacher only speaks spanish to her which had me a bit nervous at first but its amazing to see how quickly she is picking things up already. the other day rick was teasing her and after only 2 weeks in school she said to rick "daddy you being muy mal (very bad)! your in timeout no hablo(talking)!!" her little accent is perfect and she sounds so cute! its been so neat to watch how much shes learned already and im excited to see the progress shes going to make!

street scene

2009-09-08T12:20:00.000-07:00

rick and i went to street scene again this year. besides being HOT we had a lot of fun and saw some GREAT bands. some of my favorites were band of horses, awesome!! they sound as good live as they do on the cd. silversun pickups, they sound so good live and i love the girl in the band, shes so cute! ra ra riot, i only caught their last few songs but they were fun to watch. rick liked public enemy, it brought back memories since he said it was his first tape. no, not cd, tape. old school! i didnt listen to them back in the day so wasnt really too into their music but they were entertaining to watch. flava flav is a nut job!! but he did touch my hand! flava flav!! modest mouse was a lot of fun also minus the stupid drunk chick that i was about ready to take down. especially after she accidently bumped me in the face. so then i "accidently" jabbed her with my elbow! she was pretty drunk so i think i could have taken her. there were alot of good bands but those are the ones that stood out the most. i have a few clips if your want to have a little listen. cant wait for next year!!

band of horses...

matt and kim

ra ra riot

i have a kindergartener?!?

2009-09-03T21:31:00.000-07:00

so i have to admit that i was DREADING sophias first day of school. i was expecting her to become hysterical and pitch a major fit when it came time for me to leave and to my pleasent surprise she did neither of these things....until the second day. hahaha! i didnt get as many pictures of the first day as i would have liked because i took her in, showed her to her seat, said i loved her would see her after school and i left. i knew the longer i stayed the worse off she would be. so she looked at me, her eyes welled up, and she just gave me a hug and said goodbye. i was shocked! i, of course was in tears right after i left! i was so proud of her. then the second day came around and it was a completely different story. she knew what to expect this time! she just kept saying to me, "mommy its just too long! i just want to stay for a little while!" i tried the same tecnique from the first day and this time she grabbed my leg, sat on the floor, and wrapped her arms and legs around it and started crying hyterically that she didnt want me to go. i then walked her over to the carpet to sit with all her classmates and as soon as i went to stand up and leave she jumped up, ran for the door, ripped it open and took off running down the hall to the parking lot. now this is the sophia i know!! unfortunately no pictures of this! i had to try my hardest to keep from laughing because it was kind of funny. but my heart does break a little each morning watching what a hard time she is having to this adjustment. i know it will just take her awhile but its very hard to watch in the meantime. i find myself missing her so much during the day and i just wish so badly that i could be a fly on the wall to see how shes doing. i know she'll make all kinds of friends soon and do well and im excited for her, even if she isnt just yet!

the night before i drew this on her hand and told her she could look at it throughout the day and think of me and how much i loved her. her eyes filled with tears and she gave me the biggest hug ever. of course i started bawling like a baby!!
at her desk. my big girl!!!
outside her classroom (looking a little less excited!)
walking up to school
ready to go!!

mommy and sophie day

2009-09-01T22:55:00.000-07:00

sophia has not been looking forward to starting school so ive been trying to come up with something to get her to not dread starting school. so i came up with mommy and sophie day. the week before school started we ditched charlotte with nana and sophie and mommy hit the town. we went shoppping to buy her first day of school outfit, went and got pedicures (where she talked the poor girls ear off!!), met daddy for lunch, shopped a little more (even though she was over shopping at this point!), and then went and saw a movie. we had a great time and she loved the undivided attention she got on her special day. afterwards we went to pick up charlotte from nanas and she wanted to try on her new outfit for everyone. i couldnt get a single smile out of her only her serious "model pose"! we had a lot of fun doing "big girl" stuff all day!a>

memories...

2009-08-26T22:36:00.001-07:00

when i was a little girl my grandma jesperson used to watch me while my mom worked in my grandpas chiropractic office. one of my favorite memories from that time was when we used to make cookies together. my grandma didnt make cookies to eat the cookies, we made cookies just to eat the dough (my grandma was diabetic so this was a real treat)! my grandma has passed this love of cookie dough (unfortunately for my waistline!) down to all of us in my family. it has become somewhat of a sunday tradition for sophia and nana to make cookies together and for us all to eat half of the dough before it can even be made into cookies. i couldnt help but think of my grandma this past sunday. its coming up on a year now since she passed away and it made me sad but brought a smile to my face as i watched my girls hubbled around my mom "helping" her make our sunday cookies and then devouring the dough! i miss my grandma but i cherish the memories i have of her. like our cookies (of course!), snapping greenbeans together while we watched her favorite soaps, singing man in the moon (my girls favorite!!), her face lighting up whenever she saw charlotte, and doing her hair every week (she was always so grateful!). i love and miss you grandma and will always be a fellow "doughhead" as grandpa used to call us!!

silly girl...

2009-08-24T08:25:00.001-07:00

my conversation with sophia yesterday after she was being mean to her little sister that went a little something like this~
me: "sophia your sister loves you so much you need to be nice to her."
sophia: "no she doesnt. shes making up a plan to get rid of me."
me: "sophia what are you talking about? shes just a baby."
sophia: "yeah but she's coming up with a plan now so she can get rid of me when shes older!"
me: "what?! where did you get this from???"
sophia: "from the internet."

crazy child!!!!

swings

2009-08-19T22:06:00.000-07:00

my little charlotte LOVES the swings. everytime we go to the park thats where she would like to spend the majority of her time. we went to la jolla shores this past week and of course charlotte suckered rick into pushing her on the swing. the next thing we know we look down and shes fallen asleep! she was out cold! this girl DOES NOT sleep unless shes in her room with a bottle in her own bed with the lights out and the fan going. so it was pretty surprising to see her fall asleep in the middle of a crowded park in the swing. the funny thing is we went again 2 days later and whitney was pushing her in the swing and she did she fell asleep again! what can i say the girl loves her swings!

kayaking adventure

2009-08-02T14:14:00.000-07:00

well i dont have any pictures for this post but let me tell you i really wish i did! this past weekend one of our favorite comedians jim gaffigan came to town and performed at humphreys by the bay. we really wanted to see him and we have heard that you can actually go around the back on a boat or kayak and sit there on the water right to the side of the stage. so we borrowed a couple of kayaks (thanks brad and allie!!) and decided to give it a try. rick had wanted to take them out and practice beforehand but we never got a chance. so right before we were about to leave (now comes the part where i wish i had pics to post!!) rick decides to try it out in the pool really quickly. so hes paddling around is headed into the side of the pool, overcorrects, and flips the thing over! it was so funny! i was trying my hardest not to laugh too much because i knew he would retaliate by either throwing me in or splashing me. but i must say it was pretty funny watching him come out of the pool fully dressed dripping from head to toe! but after watching him do this i must admit it did make me a little hesitant to be paddling around on the ocean. we almost didnt do it because i almost wussed out but i decided to be brave and just take it slow. it actually ended up being really fun (ok i freaked out a bit at the thought of how deep it was and started to imagine fins coming at me through the water but i talked myself through it!). after it was over we paddled back and i went to grab my shoes i had left on the shore right next to ricks and 1, yes only 1, of my flipflops was gone. who takes only 1 flip flop?!? come on now! so i had to go to dennys afterwards to grab some dinner with just 1 shoe! can we say ghetto?? so overall we had a really fun date night doing something different, something active, and jim gaffigan was his usual hilarious self. so we had a blast and now rick is wanting to buy some kayaks REALLY BAD! hahaha!

5?!? what?!?

2009-07-20T22:29:00.000-07:00

so i cant hardly believe it but sophia is now 5 years old. when did this happen?! she starts kindergarten this year and while i am looking forward to some free time (wow when did having 1 kid instead of 2 start to feel like free time??) im not sure if im ready for this step. i can remember the first time they put her in my arms and i felt like this day was forever away. and here it is, my baby is now 5 and starting school soon! ok im drying my tears and moving on! this year for her birthday party sophia decided that she wanted to have a campout( hallelujah she got over the idea of a hannah montana or jonas brothers party! yuk!) and a pool party. and while yes you may be thinking these things DO NOT really go together this is what sophia wanted and so this is what she got(hey i was willing to do anything if it meant no hannah montana or jonas brothers!!). it was one of the most stressful party planning experiences EVER! it was the first really hot week of the summer and i had to clean my house and backyard top to bottom with no ac, i was moving salons this week, and i had a wedding to do at the del the afternoon of the party! busy week! even though this was probably the worst time to be planning a party, i think it turned out really well. i actually really liked the whole "campout" theme and thought it was a cute idea. we had a lot of fun and sophia told me this was her favorite party EVER! of course she has only had 5 and maybe only remembers 2 of them! shes already planning what she wants to do for her party NEXT year and is already starting her guest list. looks like we'll have this well planned out in advance for next year!!

catch up....

2009-07-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

so here are some pictures of what we've been up to lately. there was the del mar fair, fathers day, some beach trips, the ob chili cookoff, a padres game, and just some other fun, random things and some pictures i thought were cute!

so sad

2009-07-06T07:59:00.000-07:00

so i am not the kind of person who is overly fond of change. in fact i hate it. i get comfterable and its hard for me to step into new situations. so ive been in denial because im not too happy about it but the salon that ive worked at for the past 4 1/2 years will be closing next month. this will be my last week working at paradise. ive really enjoyed working there and will miss all my girls i work with. im going to be moving to a new shop up in la mesa area. as much as im sad to be leaving my old shop and all of my friends there im excited for this new oppurtunity and the chance to make changes that will hopefully be good for me. (im trying to convince myself that im excited for a change! hahaha!) so wish me luck!! oh and come visit me at the new shop!!

time to par-tay!

2009-06-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

this wed evening my sister justyn and i are hosting a modbe party at her house. modbe is modest clothing thats REALLY cute! or if you dont need any clothes just come for the goodies and the company! so for anyone whos interested just let me know and ill give you all the specifics. hope to see you there!

haircut

2009-06-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

sophia has been asking me for months now to cut her hair like the little girl in the movie Coraline. ive been trying to talk her out of it or i had hoped she would forget but it just wasnt happening! so today she asked me "mommy PLEASE will you cut my hair!" so i decided to make my life easier and chopped it off. shes been telling me all day "mommy i love it thank you so much!" we're going to be donating her hair to beautiful lengths. im sad and miss her hair already but it does look REALLY cute and she LOVES it!!

memorial day weekend (monday)

2009-05-28T00:07:00.001-07:00

on monday we went to legoland with mike, roxane, joshua, and jaiden. they had guest passes and were nice enough to let us have them. thanks again guys we had so much fun spending the day with youguys! sophia and charlotte love their cousins! by the end of the day charlie could say both josh and jaidens names. once again the weather was perfect and it was so nice to be outside. afterwards we went over to my parents house for a bbq and some quality time with the fam. mom really outdid herself on the menu, with the help of my aunt jeri. it was delicious! it was such a nice 3 day weekend and since rick is in school and doesnt get any breaks its about the closest we'll get to a vacation in awhile! but hey we live in one of the best vacation destinations so why go somewhere else when we can just take advantage of beautiful sunny san diego! i really do love it here. i hope everyone else enjoyed their weekend as much as we did!

i see you!

she loved this ride!

mike and rick getting flung like ragdolls!

she loved the waterpark!

funny girl

charlie and her faces!

sophia loves her joshy

the fam!!

memorial day weekend (saturday)

2009-05-27T23:52:00.000-07:00

saturday we went over to coronado with justyn, dan, and mr noah and brad, and allie and rode our bikes around the island, got lunch, and then hungout on the beach. the girls (and myself!) love being outside and the weather was perfect. i have recently discovered a love for coronado! it is my new favorite beach! it was a fun day, when can you ever go wrong being outside and especially at the beach!!

soph

charlie

rick and brad

the girls

rick and mr noah

they were pooped!!

memorial day weekend (friday)

2009-05-27T23:16:00.001-07:00

so we had a pretty fun and full memorial day weekend. friday we went to to the padres game which was SO much fun!! we sat in the beach seats so the kids were able to play in the sand the whole time, which they loved. we won which was also a bonus. and after the game was over we got to go sit on the field, which was so cool, to watch the fireworks. it was probably the most fun ive had at a game and definitely a nice start to our weekend!

mike and joshua

watching the fireworks on the field

we won!!

charlotte

sophia

brad, allie, whitney, and graham

rick and i

FOCUS!!

2009-05-16T16:11:00.000-07:00

my child is such a mini-adult it scares me! yesterday i was at wal-mart with the girls to buy them both padres shirts and as i was walking by the baby clothes they had the cutest little skirt which i stopped to admire and sophia says to me, "mommy focus! we're here to buy padres shirts not skirts! so focus!" i started laughing so hard! is this kid really 4 years old or 16???

cinco de mayo

2009-05-06T08:43:00.001-07:00

this past weekend rick and i went down to old town for the cinco de mayo celebration with the kiddos and my sister justyn and noah. i have to say this is probably my favorite street fair ive been to now. they had the whole main street closed off with booths set up, stages with musical performers, traditional mexican dancers, a horse riding drill team, all the exhibits were open, a whole kiddie area with free games, facepainting, and crafts, and of course all the delicious mexican food you could eat!!! sophia was fascinated by all the old buildings, especially the whaley house which is supposedly haunted. she wanted to go in SO bad. but it cost money and we didnt have time. i told her "sophia you dont want to go in there, theres ghosts. wouldnt you be scared?" she says "no mommy i wont be scared i'll be brave!" i think in her mind she thinks a haunted house will be like the haunted house at disneyland! charlotte loved the horses, she wouldnt take her eyes off of them. that girl loves animals. one of the guys there let the girls sit up on his horse with him. i think that was both of the girls favorite part. sophia is obsessed with horses right now!! ricks favorite part were the fresh tortillas they make right there in front of you. he was still craving them the next day! my boy and his mexican food! we definitely had a lot of fun and i cant wait to take the girls back again next year!

the whaley house

me and my cute boy

sophia and mommy

justyn and mr noah

she wanted to go in SO bad!

i told her if she was naughty wed put her in the old jail!

the girls loved the horse!

daddy and his girls

sophia and mommys garden

2009-04-27T22:26:00.000-07:00

so it all started when my grandpa gave sophia a potato that was sprouting roots and told her to plant it in our backyard. well, i figured whats the point in planting and watering just one potato? ive been wanting to plant a garden so i figured now would be the perfect time. well, its not quite a garden, its really just some buckets with plants in them. so sophia, charlotte, and i went to home depot and picked out some squash, cucumber, and tomatoes. i have absolutely NO clue what im doing but sophia and i had a blast planing it and cant wait until (or if!) we get some vegetables from our very own plants. we decided to plant some flowers also so we'll see how that goes. i'll keep you updated on how things go with my little "garden". wish us luck!!

so excited to plant her plants!

cute girl!

all finished!

charlie napped the whole time (woohoo!!) and this is what she woke up with!!

a day at the bay

2009-04-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

a couple weekends ago we went to the bay with brad and allie for brad to do a test run on his jetskis. it was beautiful and the girls LOVE the beach. i cant wait for summer we'll be at the beach as much as possible thats for sure!!

CHARLIE

CHARLIE AND ALLIE

A BURIED SOPHIA!

SOPHIA

DADDY AND CHARLIE

CHILLAXIN BY THE WATER!

duckies

2009-04-18T23:44:00.000-07:00

the other day as i was about to leave for work a mommy duck with her ducklings came walking thru my front yard and right up to my front door. they then went into my backyard and made themselves right at home in my pool. sophia was beyond excited to see all the baby ducks and i will say they were adorable. that duck has my respect, she had 15 ducklings!! crazy! but here are some pictures of the cute little buggers.

easter

2009-04-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

we had a fun easter this year. charlotte kind of got into the whole easter egg hunt thing. she did find a few eggs before she got distracted by other things. sophia was all over it and was running around like a wild woman grabbing every egg in sight. i unfortunately ate probably every jellybean in their baskets and am now regretting it immensely everytime i step on the scale! hahaha! this year we went over to ricks uncle alexs to hang out with his family and had a good time. the girls love being around their cousins! i love holidays and the older the girls get the more fun they are! i love reliving holidays like easter thru my girls. their a good excuse to do things like dye eggs, eat candy, and have a full fledged easter egg hunt. i love hunting for easter eggs and im guessing a full grown woman running around collecting eggs by herself and knocking toddlers down to get as many as i can would look a little weird. so luckily i have my girls to drag around with me so i dont look so insane on my own!! kids make holidays fun all over again!

michals wedding!

2009-04-06T09:08:00.000-07:00

this past weekend was my sister michals wedding which, despite being windy and FREEZING, turned out just beautiful! they were married in the la jolla temple and the reception was at mount woodson which was an amazing location which i would have enjoyed even more had i not been freezing my booty off! the week started out pretty crappy when charlotte came down with the flu on monday but i figured atleast it was the beginning of the week so surely she would be over it by friday...WRONG! the morning of the wedding charlotte was still throwing up and sophia now had it and i was feeling it also. so as you can guess they were both pretty unpleasant to be around. but despite all of this they were troopers and did a great job. so this is the part of my blog where i publicly apologize to all of my family for getting them all sick (including michal 2 day after her wedding!). sorry guys!! especially little noah, sorry baby boy! i didnt take nearly as many pictures as i had wanted to since i was feeling crappy and chasing my kids around the whole day but i did get a few so here they are, and yes i took them with my new camera, yeah!!

me and charlie (sophia refused to be in any pictures!!)

we all wore a broach in our updos that belonged to my grandma who passed this last summer. can you see mine? it was my favorite!!

justyn, whit, and i doin our bridesmaids thang!

charlie and sidney

i had to bribe her with a slurpee to get this picture!

grandpa takin the bride for a spin around the dance floor

the fam

sleepy charlie

it was a long day!!

new camera!

2009-03-30T20:16:00.000-07:00

woohoo i got a new camera!! im so excited and i love the color, its so cute! so stay tuned new pics to come!!!

lame!

2009-03-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

so im pretty bummed because i lost my camera AGAIN and i think that this time its officially gone. the worst part (well besides that im going to have to buy a new camera!) is that the pictures from charlottes first birthday were on there so now i dont have any pictures of the day. and here i was so proud of myself that i remembered to even bring the camera since i forgot it at sophias first birthday. so in the meantime i wont be able to post any pictures anytime soon either. lucky you i guess, no pictures of my ugly mug! im hoping it turns up but im not counting on it. oh well, cross your fingers for me!

best morning ever

2009-03-05T21:49:00.000-08:00

ok, so for those of you who know my little charlotte, you know that this child is a wild child and WILL NOT be still! well, this morning i went and got her out of bed and i turned on her baby einstein video and then went and layed down in sophias bed (who was asleep in my bed!) with charlotte. usually shes immediately squirming away from me but by some miracle she just layed there snuggling and watching her video with me until she eventually fell back to sleep! she layed there snuggled up to me for about a half an hour! the longest that child has ever let me snuggle her before that was for about 2.5 seconds! i loved every second of it and of course didnt move a muscle so i wouldnt wake the beast! she finally woke up when sophia woke up and came in the room and hopped up to snuggle with us also. so needless to say it was a nice morning spent with my baby girl! i love these girls!

valentines day and our night on the town

2009-02-26T08:04:00.000-08:00

so ive pretty much decided that valentines day is NOT my holiday! it seems like SOMETHING happens every year. rick did get me some beautiful flowers that he arranged all by himself which makes me love them all the more! and sophia and i made him some goodies. and i made the girls a fancy valentines breakfast. but it does seem like every other year one of us is sick, or one of the kids, and one year rick even had his work truck broken into and all his tools stolen! well, this year was pretty much the same as all the previous years. ricks teeth were killing him so he had to work and then go to the dentist all day. by the time he got home from all that he was tired and not feeling well and i had been cleaning house all day and was pooped. so we decided to wait until the following weekend when we werent tired and it wasnt going to be insanely busy anywhere we went and go out then instead. so we went out the next weekend with our friends brad and allie and my sister justyn and dan to ruths chris. i insisted that everyone get dressed up because i love to get dressed up and never really get the chance (sorry brad!)! dinner was great and we had a lot of fun. we walked around downtown after dinner and then went and got dessert at a place called heavenly desserts which was very tasty! it was nice because everywhere we went wasnt too busy so we all decided this was the way to do it, go out the weekend AFTER valetines! so we had fun and i cant wait to do it again!

me and my hunky hubby!

the ladies!

the boys being silly

the gang

me and my hot date!

ricks valentines treat from me and the girls

breakfast i made for the girls

sophia with her flowers from daddy

my beautiful flowers!

im a nerd!

2009-02-25T08:14:00.000-08:00

ok so i asked for everyone to leave their opinion about my hair and then there was no way to leave a comment. smart one, huh? i have fixed this so comment away!!

your opinion please...

2009-02-23T22:26:00.000-08:00

ok so i need your opinion. ive pretty much always had dark hair but recently i went blonde. i cant decide if i should go back to dark or leave it blonde for a little while. so what is your opinion? dark or light???

charlie paige!

2009-02-23T21:14:00.000-08:00

so i cant hardly believe it but today is my baby girl charlottes first birthday. how did this happen?? i just barely had her didnt I?? shes such a sweet little baby and i enjoy her so very much. shes walking (well, more like running!), has 8 teeth, and is starting to say some words. shes seriously the funniest baby ever. shes starting to get a bit of an attitude but its pretty funny. i love this little girl so very much! happy birthday my sweet baby girl!!

mimic

2009-02-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

good or bad our kids watch EVERYTHING we do! ive known for awhile but really realized after today that i really need to censor myself and watch everything that leaves ny mouth because sophia hears and imitates or repeats it all! she has that wonderful habit of asking me a thousand questions on a daily basis and i must say at times it drives me CRAZY! so today after question 692 for the day i decided to turn it around on her. i started asking her question after question. "sophia whats your favorite color?" "sophia whats your favorite animal?" "sophia why is it cold today?" "sophia whos your best friend?" as you can guess she didnt appreciate this at all! about the third time i did this to her today she says to me "ok your driving me crazy here kiddo!" i tried my best not to laugh out loud. she then says "i think its time to give your mouth a rest." hahaha! i told her "yes i think do."i know i say this to her on a regular basis. so i will be watching everything i say because this kid imitates me so well its scary!!

2009-02-18T08:43:00.000-08:00

so for awhile my camera was lost, which happens often! and then i couldnt get the dang pictures to upload to the computer but today was my lucky day, i had the camera and figured out how to get the pictures on the computer so i figured id post some new pics. i know youve all been waiting eagerly to hear from me, right??? here are some recent pics of a day we spent at seaport village!

ice cream truck

2009-01-19T10:54:00.000-08:00

so yesterday we're sitting in the family room watching tv and all of a sudden we hear music coming from outside and it took me right back to my childhood. the music was actually some pretty cheesy christmas elevator sounding music but it still took me right back. do you remember when you were a kid and would hear that music, stop whatever it was that you were doing, and run to your mom as fast as your feet could carry you to beg for a dollar because the ice cream man was here! it was a good day when my mom would actually give in and let me have that dollar and off i was to buy candy right out in front of my very own home. well, its been years since i have heard that music or even seen an ice cream truck but yesterday i heard that music and we couldnt resist taking sophia outside to experience her first ice cream truck experience. rick grabbed his wallet and ran! hahaha! i remember if you werent super fast that truck was GONE! sophia thought it was the best thing in the world! she got herself a HUGE ice cream sandwich and was in heaven. she was in such a good mood that she was even willing to share with her sister believe it or not! it was fun to watch how excited she got over it and remember how much i enjoyed getting to pick out my favorite treat from the ice cream man. who knows if we'll ever see him again, the elusive ice cream man, but we sure enjoyed it!

new years resolutions...

2009-01-07T08:03:00.000-08:00

for my resolutions this year i am doing the generic loose weight, get more organized, be busier at work, blah blah blah... but this year my biggest goal and most challenging is to find forgivness. there are times in our lives when we feel we have been so wronged by another that we can actually justify to ourselves the harsh feelings we have towards them. i have found myself in just such a situation. i have been deeply wronged and therefore felt that in my situation there was no place for forgiveness. i felt that surely heavenly father would understand and not expect that of me. but in my stubborness and shortsightedness i did not realize that when holding onto such harsh feelings, and i would even go so far as to say such feelings of hate, the only person we are truly hurting is our ourselves. i have heard all of this before from other people and in church lessons. ive heard it but never really felt its truthfullness for myself or experienced it in my own life. but i have found that it IS true. such feelings are all consuming. they do not allow us to move on from hurts we experience and im done with it. im done being consumed and continually hurt with my feelings whenever reminded of the situation. the person i have these feelings towards is not suffering from how i feel, I am. so im doing this for myself. in reading i have learned much. there is the scripture “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men” (D&C 64:10). i also desire to recieve the lords forgiveness for my own sins. but how can i expect to have this forgiveness if i cannot do the same for those in my life? this is perfectly illustrated in a parable told by our savior jesus christ. "The Savior then told His disciples a parable so that they might more fully appreciate, remember, and apply the lesson that we must forgive everyone (see Matt. 18:23–32). He described a king who wanted to settle his accounts with his servants who owed him money. The first servant owed him 10,000 talents, which would probably be the modern equivalent of millions of U.S. dollars. The servant was not able to repay the debt, so the king ordered him and his family to be sold into slavery. The desperate servant petitioned for time and patience, promising to pay all. Touched by his sincerity, the king was moved with compassion and forgave his very large debt. The servant, therefore, fell down and worshiped him.
This same servant, who had just been the recipient of the king’s wonderful act of mercy and forgiveness, immediately went in search of a fellow servant who owed him 100 pence, the probable equivalent of a few U.S. dollars. He rudely demanded immediate payment. When the fellow servant pleaded for time and patience, the first servant was not willing to extend what he had just freely received from the king. He had his fellow servant cast into prison until he could pay the debt. This callous act was observed by other servants and duly reported to the king. “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.” Jesus then added this postscript, “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses” (Matt. 18:34–35)."
how can we not forgive those who offend us when it is put in such a way? i know that the only way to find true peace and healing in our lives is to let go of those offenses against us and to not harbor such ill feelings. and so for this new year that is what i want. peace and healing in my life. i want to be more christlike in my life and i know that this is where i need to start. i dont mean to preach or sound holier than though because i know it will not be easy and i will have moments where i feel that anger again but i will continually remind myself of our saviors example and strive to be better. so if any of you out there have someone in your life that you have resentments or harsh feelings towards i would challenge you to take up my new years resolution. follow our saviors example and find forgiveness for that person and therefore find peace in your own life as i am hoping it will bring to mine. i hope everyone has a wonderful 2009 and wish everyone luck in whatever new years resolutions they have taken up for themselves this year!

tis the season!

2008-12-12T23:53:00.000-08:00

its officially christmas!! today i finished decorating my tree completely (it took me a couple of days this year with two little ones!) and tonight we went to the temple to hear our stake choir perform. its so beautiful with all the decorations and lights. i would have taken some pictures but someone is keeping my camera hostage!! (you know who you are!) i love listening to and singing christmas songs. this year is charlottes first christmas and shes old enough to enjoy opening presents and what not. i realize she'll like the wrapping paper more than the gift but thats ok! now all i have to do is finish (or start rather!!) my christmas shopping so i can relax and enjoy the holiday without stressing. rick has asked me not to buy him anything this year and im sorely tempted to take him up on that since hes such a pain in the butt to shop for. whats everyone opinion on that? do i take him for his word and not get him anything or do i ignore him and buy him some presents? what would you do?? oh i love christmas! i hope everyone is enjoying their holiday as much as i am!! merry christmas!!

my babies

2008-12-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

this past weekend my sister justyn and i took our kids to get their pictures taken so we could get a nice frame and give our mom a picture of the grandbabies for christmas. (so sshhh dont tell her!) sophia is reliably difficult and noah can be hit and miss with his moods but my little charlotte is generally our dependably happy girl. well, obviously she forgot this that day! after sophia having a minor meltdown she finally calmed down and was ready for her closeup and after noah getting his tummy full he was a happy camper also. but my dear little charlotte was not having it. she was so sick with a fever and a cold and WOULD NOT smile. these are the best we could get with the group as it was. not too bad i must say but we never did get a very good group shot thanks to charlotte the stinker!

a little late

2008-11-30T18:47:00.000-08:00

so i realize halloween was a little while ago but i wanted to post some pictures from our fun halloween party. we all got together at brad and allies house and it was a blast!! we had a pretty wicked golf course thanks to brad and an awesome dance party with jessa showing off her killer dance moves! thanks to everyone who came and brought goodies. so fun!!

my house....aaahhhh!!!

2008-11-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

ok so anybody want to trade me houses?!? why is it this house attracts every kind of critter imaginable? in this house i have had the typical ants, spiders, pincherbugs, cockraoches, which in itself is bad enough. but besides those lovely insects i have also had an infestation of fleas (i hate anything that can bite and draw blood in particular!), mice(not just one but a whole family i had to get rid of!) a bee hive in my roof which made its way into the house so for awhile i had a swarm of bees in my upstairs! (no exagerating here!) the other day we came downstairs to make breakfast before church and there was a bird sitting there on the ground (yes it was alive)! and then yesterday i get home from church and theres a lizard sitting there in my entry way! its a good thing im not the typical girl when it comes to bugs and rodents. although i did freak out over the ants (ok there were thousands!)and the fleas and the bees, i hate bees they freak me out! but everything else i simply scooped up and put outside. ill keep you posted on the next unwanted guest i find in my house! if i find a snake im definitely moving!!!

so this picture has nothing to do with my post but i thought id post this for graham. oh graham see what you have waiting here at home for you?? i bet you just cant wait to get home now!! isnt she lovely? hahaha! im kidding. we all miss you bunches and i cant wait for you to get home and also to meet the newest addition to our little family! we love you!

so very random!

2008-11-02T21:06:00.000-08:00

ive decided i think my daughter sophia has got to be one of the funniest people i know! today was my nephew noahs blessing and when i told sophia we were going to their ward to see him be blessed she said to me, "like simba in the lion king when they hold him up in the air? are we all going to bow down before him like in the movie?" she cracks me up. the other day she was sitting on the toilet going to the bathroom when she reaches behind her and pulls the toilet seat forward to rest on her back and i say to her "sophia what are you doing?" she says to me "im pretending im a turtle!" i love this girls sense of imagination and how clever she is. after church today rick and i were organizing a bit and decided to take apart charlottes bouncy seat and baby swing and put them up in the attic. i also went thru her clothes and pulled out all of her clothes which have gotten to be too small. it was making me so sad i wanted to cry! shes 8 months now and i cant believe how fast its all going by. shes crawling, pulling herself up to everything and cruisin around, and she already has 5 teeth! shes such a sweet baby girl and i enjoy her so much. im so excited to see all of the changes she is making but on the other hand i just want her to stay my little baby! i love both of these girls so much and am grateful to have been blessed to have them in my life. i love my little family!

disneyland

2008-10-31T23:09:00.000-07:00

so we actually went to disneyland a couple of weeks ago with brad and allie and justyn, dan, and baby noah but im just getting around to posting some pictures now. we had a blast! it was a really fun group to go with and i cant wait to go back again! ps allie i want a copy of the pictures we took at the front of the park with everyone!!

pumpkins

2008-10-31T22:12:00.000-07:00

so every year one of the reasons i look forward to halloween is just to see what rick will come up with for carving his pumpkins. hes so creative and does such an awesome job. im a big cheater and use the stencils but if i didnt it would look like a 2 year old did it! so im always impressed with how good ricks come out and he completely free hands them. hes amazing! the girls even got into it this year! well charlotte crawled around the whole time but sophia actually helped out this year and picked the smiley face for her pumpkin. i thought for sure we were going to have ours smashed in the street this year but surprisingly we didnt. here are some pictures for your enjoyment!!

my sweet little charlotte

sophia helping with her smiley face pumpkin

rick gettin into his pumpkins

the finished product!

so this is the pumpkin that had me thinking we would get our pumpkins smashed!!

my weekend

2008-10-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

this weekend i went up to the disney hotel with my mom and sisters to a craftshow and luncheon. its nice to get a day away with my girls and not my LITTLE girls! thank you to my hubby for making this possible! we had a good time shopping, eating too much, and laughing our butts off over some funny memories (like my moms ugly pink flowered skort outfit i had to wear for 8th grade graduation. can we say hideous!!). my sisters are some funny girls and a good time was had by all! later that day rick, me, and the girls went to chuck-e-cheese with brad and allie. i think we had a bag of about 300 tokens, thanks to our good friend allie,and we used them all! thanks allie! we were there until 10, who knew they were even open that late. but we had a good time and the girls both slept in until 7:30 (thank goodness!!)since they were up so late. so all in all i had a pretty fun weekend. i cant wait until next weekend. between halloween on friday and our party on saturday it should be a blast!! here are a couple pics from my day with the ladies!!

hes so dreamy!!

2008-10-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

i burnt a disc of some songs im liking for the moment and one of the songs on the cd is by a band called fiction plane. well, sophia has decided out of all the songs on this cd that she LOVES this song. so whenever we get in the car i have to listen to this song about half a dozen times. believe me im not complaining because its definitely better then listening to "hey hey you you i dont like your girlfriend" (which is what she calls it!) on her kids bop cd! she has no idea what the song is called or the bands name so whenever we get in the car she says to me "hey mom can we listen to that song with the guy with the dreamy voice?" dreamy?! where did this come from?! i have never in my life said the word dreamy! i love this girl! she definitely gives me something to smile at (or laugh hystericaly in most cases!). so i put the song on my page for your listening enjoyment. i hope you enjoy the song and his "dreamy" voice!