Randoms this week...

The Baptism turned out great. More then great. The day was special. The spirit was strong and I felt so lucky to be Jacob's. We are so lucky to have so many people who love Jacob and support us. I felt so blessed.

A good long nap on Sunday was very deserved and needed.

Alan spent the week out of town.

We celebrated Lindsey's 11th birthday! She wanted clothes and loved what I picked (woo hoo). She also got a jewelry box and live butterfly garden (I will report).

We re pierced her ears today while listening to Hailey sob. She sobbed for an hour before and during. She wanted hers so badly. I am not completely against this but this was Lindsey's birthday and that was bad bad behavior. Sydney tried the I am going to be so good and Mommy will let me do it route which almost worked. If I pierced hers I don't know what I would have done with Hailey. Luckily Sydney was having a mellow day.

Saw The Loser's. I liked it and while violent I think most would enjoy it.

Tried Spin at the gym. It's just what I needed to get out of my rut. I highly recommend and your butt will get used to it-mark my words.

Picture posts soon. I'm on my laptop.

Have a great weekend. Happy Mother's Day!

Things that make me happy...

Today the sun is shining and its feeling warm. We hit 60 for the first time in way too long today. This makes me happy. So I thought I would share a few of my new favorite things today.

*Make up wipes. I am so in love with these. Such a nice and easy way to remove make up. I still wash my face after but it cuts the time in half and if your in a rush or lazy you don't have too. Mac makes great ones- though I don't have those. Garnier Fructis, and neutrogena also makes a good product and I have tried both.

*Colgate Wisps. This might have more to do with me having braces but brushing my teeth on the run with a minty brush is totally awesome!

*My reuseable water bottle at the gym. Totally love it. Don't know what I was doing refilling bottled water.

*Mac mineralized skin finish. This stuff is so wonderful. I just absolutely love it for it fresh, natural finish that does not settle in the places I don't want it too!

*Viva glam V lipstick from mac and lip glass. It's rare I find a new lipstick I love but this one is great!

*Nars orgasm blush. Pricey but worth it. This is the best blush I have ever found. It came highly recommended and did not disappoint.

In other news we are finally getting a Sephora in my area. Seeing that made me soooo happy. Most of the above items were recommended by someone else. I love the bloggy world!

Have a great week! Enjoy the sunshine. I know I will. Do you have any favorite products you can't live without.

This week...

Saw the Young Victoria. Which was an excellent movie. Like 4 stars! Unfortanetely my viewing experience was ruined by rude people. Grown adults. Talking outloud. Slurping drinks, crinkling candy. The entire time. At one one point the cell phone rang. No they did not rush to silence. They actually said Hello and began talking out loud! Miserable really. At the best part (the end) they talked even louder. It was truly unbelieveable.

If you go to the movies...
* Do not bring babies.
*Loud Cell phones not silenced.
* Text with your flashlight of a phone. Ever at all. Your phone is distracting.
*Talk loudly or talk at all.
*Make noise with various other noise making things, ie candy or straws. If it exists I have seen it done.

Please remember it is not your living room. You are not alone! Uncontrolled children are my biggest pet peeve. Primarily because I have left mine at home. It is usually past 10pm when I go to the movies. So why are any decent parents bringing their children at this time? To a non kid movie? Oh yes... to torture me. I have had babies cry through an entire movie (patron did not leave). I have experienced a child running through the entire movie with light up shoes! You read that right. LIGHT UP SHOES in a dark theatre.

Some of my favorite movies I have seen recently are:
The Blind side (saw it twice- took Alan)
Young Victoria
Avatar

I hated
Nine. It was terrible!

This week was catch up mode. We got the house scrubbed and not much else. Next week Ebay for the girls clothing. Wish me luck its a big job!

New Moon..

1-New Moon midnight tonight! To say I am excited is an understatement.

I love the books and the movie. I love having fun.

Just leaving all the stresses of life behind. Being silly.

I highly recommend all people, especially women and mothers (as I relate to that most). Find ways to express themselves and find joy for themselves. Both inside the home and for themselves.

I think it makes you a happier person. I think it makes you more fun. I think it makes you more likeable -even to yourself.

So if New Moon isn't your thing. Find something that is. Take time to do it. Leave the laundry that is mounting, the stress at work... behind and do it.

Read a book.
Go to the gym.
Go to lunch (alone).
Listen to music.
Talk to a friend.
Get a treat.
Leave kids at home (with Dad or sitter) and be alone for a bit.

We all need balance.

We all have time for that :)

I'll be at New Moon at midnight. It will be worth waking up tired Friday morning and getting kids off to school and playing Mom half dead. Have a great day! It's a great one for me.

Wordful Wednesday- motherhood

Being a mother has made me conquer many of my fears and find out I had ones I never knew I had. Like the fear of your child being sad, sick or hurt, or left out from a friend ,and many more but I digress. One of the fears I have always had was of surgery. I was terrified of the thought. The cutting. The recovery. You get the idea. You can imagine that 6 hrs into a difficult labor that being told you would need a emergency c-section was not easy for me to take. My reaction was so strong my doctor actually thought I was refusing the c-section. Which I wasn't because I am a mother and mothers would do anything for their babies. So I cried and then I did it. I was terrified. For my baby. For myself.

In labor (before the bad news)

Here I am with my newborn baby. He was safe. He was beautiful. It hurt worse than I imagined and the recovery was harder than I would have ever wished but oh was he worth it. Staples, Scars and pain invaded our first weeks together.

Little did I know that later I would have to give birth to high risk twins. Who couldn't be born any other way but c-section. That a surgery that once terrified me was the least of my worries and a day I prayed I could make it too, with two live babies. That surgery seemed easy to me then.

Yes, for me Motherhood is learning that I am stronger than I thought. I can do things I never imagined possible and that I would know love greater than I could have dreamed. Sometimes the thing or things you are most scared of bring the greatest blessings. While walking that road is often difficult getting to the other side is sweet indeed.


For more wordful Wednesday's on Motherhood look here...

I'm home...

I'm home...
First off my mother in law came home from the hospital while I was away! Hooray. She has a lot to recover from but her confusion is much better and I see a light at the end of this tunnel, its dim but it is there. Hooray.
Me
I jumped right back into life. Which included soccer practice, soccer game, four days of kids out of school (hmm), The croup, a trip the Corn Belly's (a local corn maze), my birthday and more. My kids have done lot's of crying this weekend too.

My trip was Amazing. Relaxing. Wonderful. Can't wait to share that and my weekend but first I got to unpack, clean, and snuggle my sick one. Tomorrow.

Hanging on...

I'm long over due on an update. Sorry. Life is crazy. I won't go into details but suffice it to say I have been feeling a little challenged.

Top five reasons why I know I haven't been functioning well...
1-The other night I was on the way to the hospital to stay with my mother in law. I pulled in to McDonalds to get a diet coke (a big one as it was a all nighter). I get on the freeway and arrive then taste it and its regular coke. Bleck. I can't drink that. So I had nothing. Come morning, imagine me a lot more tired and way more cranky. I drove home, the said non diet coke is in my car still from the night before. I actually drove to the McDonalds and balled them out and got a free diet coke. The look on the ladies face made me realize how crazy I was. Hanging my head in shame.
2- I tried to put the toaster away in the freezer and later my sister found rice in my fridge.
3-I got so tired after driving home the other day that when the twins fell asleep in the car I pulled in the garage and napped with them in the car for a good long time.
4- The twins who are usually well groomed, have looked quite a mess these days.
5-I actually told a stranger who told me about a croc sale, I hated crocs.

There's more but take it from me. You don't need to hear it. Ha ha.

I'll end with a few blessing and reasons why I am still sane today.

Great friends calling me and offering help.
Friends and family offering babysitting and babysitting when I have needed it.
Meals being delivered (totaling 5 now).
A full nights sleep as its been decided that staying nights wasn't helping my mother in law.
my sister, my mom, and my sister in law.
Answered prayers.

There's more. I have such a huge amount of gratitude for the many people who have been praying and offering service at this time. All of my blog friends too. It just makes me cry. Thank you thank you, all of you!

As this challenge is least about me (but this is my blog and I blog about me) and more about my mother in law so here is an update.

She is still in the ICU. We are on week 5 of this hospital stay but it's actually been two months since her initial problem. She seems to recovered from the surgery but progress is slow and she still has a lot of improvement to make. She had endured so very much and has a lot of fighting to still do. In this time I have learned so much more deeply how much I love her and appreciate her. It's been agony watching her suffer like this. She is a special woman.

Summer break...

Lot's of running around. Lot's of mess and no down time.

Be back soon with all my posts just waiting for that elusive downtime.

Until then run out and see 500 days of summer. I absolutely loved it. I even want to go again :) Great movie. Funny, well written, and nostalgic.

Just dreaming...

Every year I love to go to the home shows in my area. It's a fun place to get decorating ideas... and to dream.

I got my bottom braces on this very morning. It's been so painful. Amazingly I had forgotten how much it hurts from January.






Did I tell you I am getting a craft room in my basement? Not so fancy as this...
A dreamy kitchen...
This is the color I made Alan paint one of our basement rooms. He has been unsure of the color so when I saw it all over my favorite house I was sure to take pictures to show him how great it is. It's from restoration hardware and its called silver sage.
The girls came along and did remarkable well considering. I guess its a little like playing house. This was in a huge shower. Bigger than their whole bathroom.

Last week was the last week of school for the big kids. We made everyday count. Lot's of errands, and lunch. We were gone everyday all day. In the end I have piles of laundry and tons of cleaning waiting for me this week...

Wordful Wednesday- A confession...

I am in love with my cell phone. I love texting, receiving texts is even better.

But who doesn't love that?


That's not my confession though ... what I am confessing is really more humiliating. What I love most is picture mail. Not because I take important pictures because I don't. I mean I don't with my camera phone that is.

When I am out alone and need an opinion I can take pictures of myself in the said items and send them out for opinions. I admit to being in fitting rooms and other mirrors doing just this. I even crashed my whole cell phone doing this. They actually had to redownload the software at verizon (not enough memory for my antics apparently). So inspired by that fiasco, I bought a memory card for my phone. Because this new technology and me we're here to stay. Thank you to my girlfriends who dutifully sit by their cell phones and respond. Oh and they send me picture mail too, for opinions, on their sunglasses, jeans, and other important purchases. It's almost like being with people when your shopping, never alone.

I needed to exchange my sunglasses...
The above sunglasses were left behind...
I did exchange my glasses for these ones...

I also like to use picture mail to send funny texts like this on... because the girls in granny glasses seemed funny at the time.
Then you might recognize this one (its been posted before)... I don't own a pair of crocs and needed to show an example of them on. I happened to see these at the rack. Yep that's me in my jeans and green crocs! I have tried them on and felt the comfort (must have to walk in them to feel it though and they were tied together). I sent that picture text out to my sisters too. They were shocked.

I sent this one to get a laugh out of my sister in law. I knew she would be missing this view at the gym. I think I must have been delirous from too much gym time. Although those walls and those views are something I spend a lot of time staring at.


Oh and thus far I have resisted adding email to my phone. I spend way too much time checking my email as it is. I just don't trust myself.
For more Wordy Wednesdays go here... Seven Clown Circus

Glitter toes.......

I haven't done a lot of pedicures in my life but we were celebrating two very important birthdays and wanted to do something different. So we tried out Glitter Toes. Totally different. Totally fun. Glitter toes are applied with Gel so they last longer and look better (in my opinion).




If you live in the area and have to have them too (email me)... My cousin is wonderful!

A lesson in shopping...

A new Nordstrom Rack opened just down the street. Dangerous I tell you! Grandpa came along and gave the little girls a lesson in shopping.










The girls each ended up with a new dress and new pink shoes! It was a great day!

Spring fever.........

I had spring fever. You know where its warm and all the windows are open and all you want to do is play? Then it snowed. All last week was cold, wet, even snowy! I am over it!

I slept with the wind howling and woke up to more snow flying. It doesn't look like its leaving soon either. BOO!

Mama's loosing it...

Yesterday was one of those days. It started out amazing. Went out to breakfast with my little sister for her birthday. My Mom even took the girls home so we could do some birthday shopping. She even let me go to Costco alone. Bliss.

Then everything started going bad. After spending 2 hrs at the doctors with three children I was rushing home to pick Jacob up from a play date. I was tired and stressed and everyone was hungry. Sheesh the Costco was still in the back of the car (not to worry its been freezing and snowing around here). So I pulled up to get Jacob. Go to the door wait while the little guy screams "Mom someone is at the door". She is slow and isn't coming. I wait and I wait and then my mind turns on. Jacob's friend doesn't have a older brother. His house doesn't look like this. Still no Mom. So what do I do. I tell the kid I have the wrong house and hurry to escape further humiliation. My kids are confused, "where is Jacob". I admit the truth. Drive three courts up and pick up my kid. Yeah I am loosing my mind.

My rental car....

If you were given these to drive car would you know what to do with them? Would you know to find a hole down by your foot for them to go in? Would you know what to do when the car did not start? Would you know that you could take them out, lock the car and it would still be on? Would you know that the car could be started without those pictured keys and just by pushing the button? High tech devices are very confusing.

By the way I tested the key only needs to be near the car for you to be able to start it, not in the provided hole. Oh and the on and off button is the master. You can actually get out of the car, lock the doors and go away and it will stay on. If you don't hit the off button or notice there even is one. Oh and the car itself... so quiet you can't hear its on even when you try. Craziness.

Girls weekend getaway....

Last weekend we headed "home" (where I grew up is always home) for a quick weekend getaway...

It was my mother in laws birthday so it was the perfect excuse to celebrate.

We went to the spa. A real treat and something I have never done. I loved every minute. Not sure how some women are comfortable enough to go naked everywhere but to each her own.

We ate at all my favorite spots. Shopped all my favorite stores. You may notice I already cheated on my first hand bag and got another (the deal was WAY too good to pass up). Isn't she cute?

We saw two movies and really enjoyed warm weather.


My favorite vacations end with there being another one planned (remember my upcoming cruise). Somehow it helps to know its not the end. Not to mention I was DYING to so my cute kiddies. I can't wait to take my kids to Mexico. I have to give Alan a lot of credit (and Grandpa) without him I wouldn't get the chance to play like this. It really renews me to get a little break.