.:The K Family:.

My car

2011-08-13T18:44:00.007-07:00

I was involved in a car accident last week. Obviously I am alive and ok to type to type about it, but I am still in quite a bit of pain.

It was awful.

It was my first.

I was stopped in traffic on the freeway when I heard a slight screech and saw a car hit the car behind me. I braced myself because I knew, he was going to hit me. I wish I had a way of escaping that one, but I was trapped and fearful of hitting the guy in front me. Thankfully, that didn't happen.

My car was a wreck.

Unfortunately, my car is a total loss.

Two days ago, I was told to come to the collision center to clean it out. I started thinking, "This is it. This is literally the end of the life of my car. And I am suppose to collect my belongings and call it a day?"

I brought a large plastic bin to the center and was greeted by an 18-year old car lackey who showed me to my car. He was there to open it for me, remove my license plate and watch. Still don't know why he needed to monitor me. I cleared out the obvious areas.....glove compartment, small storage areas in the middle console, change drawer, etc.... I pulled back the seats and collected my hubsand's golf balls, some pens and old receipts. In the back seat, I found a small car and some lollipop sticks....for all those times I was trying to get the kids to be quiet.

When I was done, I went back up to the front seat and I sat there. I know the kid was secretly saying "Hurry up lady! I don't have time for this sappy bs." But I didn't care. I wrapped my hands around the steering wheel one last time, and I closed my eyes.....briefly. I wanted to remember everything I could about that car.....the feel of it....the smells...

I received it as a gift from my parents during my last year of college, I dated my husband when I had it, Pig (our dog) rode in the front seat all buckled in when I did errands, and we took Little A around in it when he was a newborn.

There was a small red stain on the front passenger seat floor after Big A spilled Mountain Dew Code Red in our earlier days. I remember being SO incredibly mad at him because no matter how much seltzer and cleaning we did, we just couldnt get the red out.

There was lipgloss and lipstick on the ceiling area above the driver's seat for all those times I ran through a yellow light, kissed my fingers and then tapped the ceiling for good luck and safety.

I was in tears when I sat there. But luckily it was so darn hot that I could easily pass off my tears as sweat. I put my head down on the steering wheel and remembered all the kick-ass things I added to pimp my car out. My BFF gave me some dice and I remember hanging them from my rear-view mirror. I rememebered the Hawaiian seats covers that I bought at a Swap Meet, but then later removed them because the side-airbags were trapped.

I seriously loved that car. So many great memories.

I asked the kid there if he would take a picture of me one last time in my car. Here it is:

R.I.P. Honda Civic. I will miss you.

What was I thinking?

2011-08-01T23:03:00.006-07:00

Ok, I thought I would be able to fanagal some time each day to devote to this blog. I thought FOR SURE that I would be posting a picture every day and do the 365 project just like I always wanted....meh....that just didn't happen.

Between countless emails, facebooks pages, photo sessions, edits, family time and a full-time job---this MOMMA is BUSY!!

I had not one, but two family members remind me today that they were disappointed in my blog. They would check each day in hopes that I would post some new pics of the family. Until they finally gave up, but then by chance they checked it today to see if I had written since March--no luck.

I decided to give my little hot bloggity-blog some attention. So here it is.... and here are some recent pics of my ever so fabulous family JUST for you special family members out there asking for some--you know who you are! :D

Oh and PLEASE excuse the lack of pictures of the D man. He's 2 and doesn't stick close to us, so he ran away from my camera for a majority of these pics.

88/365 The Boys

2011-03-29T00:23:00.002-07:00

How did I get to be SO lucky?

87/365 Sick

2011-03-28T00:21:00.001-07:00

It's just not fun when your kids are sick. :(

86/365 The House

2011-03-27T00:18:00.002-07:00

We are painting our house now. Giving it a bit of an update. Not sure when it was last painted, but it was flaking off and I hated the colors to begin with anyway. The hubs and his friends came over to help. It's funny how pizza and beer can always bribe people into helping you paint.

85/365 Opening Day

2011-03-26T00:11:00.003-07:00

Little A is playing Coach Pitch this year for Little League. He is absolutely in love with it. He plays SO much better than last year. His swinging is smooth, he hits far, and he is throwing really well. He had an opening day game this weekend where they introduce the teams and coaches and then have a smal scrimmage game. It was so damn hot outside that I thought I was going to melt.

With his friends before the opening ceremonies.

His cousin K was there playing for another team. I can't wait for their games against each other.

The Coach giving his pep talk and placements.

84/365 My Boy

2011-03-25T00:09:00.001-07:00

I love this little guy. Messy chocolate mouth and all.

83/365 Peace

2011-03-24T00:08:00.001-07:00

82/365 The Smile

2011-03-23T00:05:00.001-07:00

For as beautiful a smile as the D man has, he sure know how to work the system. Do something bad, and then flash a smile like this one. That's his M.O. for sure!

81/365 The Frown

2011-03-22T00:02:00.002-07:00

Sometimes, he is just not in the mood to smile. I don't blame him. I must ask him to pose for me almost every day--several times a day.

80/365 This is what happens....

2011-03-21T12:24:00.003-07:00

...when you tinker around with your camera and miss a moment like this. Totally out of focus, but I love it!

79/365

2011-03-20T11:59:00.002-07:00

A peek at another maternity session that I had the pleasure of doing. Bloom Photography Website

78/365

2011-03-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

A peek at a maternity session I did.

Bloom Photography Website

77/365 Baseball

2011-03-18T15:07:00.002-07:00

76/365 St. Patty's Day

2011-03-17T14:41:00.007-07:00

My friend Rick came into town for a few days. He had no clue what was in store for him on St.Patty's day when 10 of his closest friends got together for a surprise dinner at our favorite sushi place in AZ.

The master plan was amazing because everyone arrived on time and Rick had absolutely no clue (not even a smidgen) that we were awaiting his arrival at the restaurant. He was SO suprised and we had such a terrific evening.

Still in shock

We always do this there.

The group.

Me and the Rickster.

Our night was complete with some green beer.

75/365 Little Giggles

2011-03-16T22:50:00.004-07:00

Apparently I NEVER flinch in photos.

D thought it was quite funny.

74/365 The Lego Master

2011-03-15T22:42:00.003-07:00

If there is one thing that Little A really enjoys--it's putting together legos. He found a box of them in his room that weren't opened yet and decided to put the trucks together on his own. I love how organized he is with separating the legos by color. He must get that from someone he knows. :)

73/365 Birthday Lunch

2011-03-14T22:37:00.002-07:00

Lunch with some friends for a very special birthday.

72/365 Photo Session

2011-03-13T22:32:00.003-07:00

A couple pics from my latest photo session. Aren't these kiddos just adorable?

http://www.hellobloom.com/

71/365 Dreamy Eyes

2011-03-12T22:28:00.003-07:00

70/365 A Bit Wormy

2011-03-11T22:22:00.003-07:00

This is what Little A likes to find in the yard when he's digging through the dirt:
And this is what he likes to do with it once he's caught several of them:

Just kidding.

69/365 A Smile

2011-03-10T22:19:00.003-07:00

68/365 Sand Silhouette

2011-03-09T22:15:00.003-07:00

67/365 Windy

2011-03-08T14:26:00.003-07:00

Surprisingly enough, this trip to Tempe Town Lake warranted a couple thick jackets, a windbreaker and a scarf.

me and mom

66/365 The Tree

2011-03-07T14:21:00.001-07:00

65/365 The Sky

2011-03-06T14:23:00.001-07:00

Does it resemble the wallpaper in Toy Story or the intro to The Simpsons?

64/365 Box-house

2011-03-05T13:34:00.002-07:00

63/365 Photo Session

2011-03-04T13:29:00.002-07:00

A sample of what I was working on with my clients:

http://www.hellobloom.com

62/365 Toothy

2011-03-03T13:25:00.001-07:00

He was working on his front tooth ALL night. The darn thing was still attached. This was taken a few minutes before he finally ripped it out. He was so excited.

61/365 Charlie Sheen

2011-03-02T13:23:00.001-07:00

60/365 Shark-Man

2011-03-01T13:20:00.003-07:00

59/365 He Sat On A Wall

2011-02-28T12:20:00.002-07:00

58/365 Photo Session

2011-02-27T18:25:00.003-07:00

Shameless plug......but I've been busy and I have to explain why there is a random couple on this post.

I own my photography business called Bloom Photography. Feel free to click on the link to head on over to my website. And if you are a facebook member, click on the facebook link on my website to become a fan.

This was my picture for the day. This beautiful couple is tying the knot this year and wanted some engagement pics. What a blast they were to photograph, plus we found some of the most amazing backdrops ever during this session. Head on over to my site to view their other session as well.
Oh, and if you are interested in my work, drop me a line. I would love to hear from you. :)

57/365 Chocolate Milk Man

2011-02-26T18:22:00.002-07:00

This kid loves chocolate milk like you wouldn't believe.

56/365 The Lonely Hamburger

2011-02-25T18:17:00.002-07:00

This is the result of what happens when Little A begs and begs and pleads for Big A to bbq a hamburger for him because he is SO hungry. When the hamburger eventually makes its way to the table, 2 bites are taken and the meal ends.

55/365 The Rocket-House

2011-02-24T12:50:00.001-07:00

54/365 Goofballs

2011-02-23T12:45:00.002-07:00

13 pictures total and not one of them taking this picture seriously.

53/365 Bike Ride

2011-02-22T12:42:00.003-07:00

He's so happy when he's on his bike.

52/365 Sitting

2011-02-22T12:35:00.003-07:00

51/365 Smarty Pants

2011-02-21T12:28:00.001-07:00

This is what a smart 31-year old looks like:

Pardon my lack of makeup....please.

50/365 Blanket Head

2011-02-19T15:50:00.003-07:00

I was going in to wake D from his nap, and this is how I found him:

Apparently, his head was a bit chilly.

49/365 Noggin Hat

2011-02-18T20:43:00.004-07:00

Little A is a brainiac.....

all because of this hat that he made.

48/365

2011-02-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

Friends

47/365

2011-02-16T04:52:00.001-07:00

46/365

2011-02-15T16:49:00.002-07:00

Art Class

45/365

2011-02-14T14:28:00.003-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

From a kid who is goofy.....

and another who is messy.

44/365

2011-02-13T13:23:00.004-07:00

Big A grilled one of the BEST meals I have ever had. Lemon-Curry Chicken with coconut rice--yum yum!! He even busted out with a mortar and pestle to grind all the ingredients together for the marinade. It was DE-LICIOUS!

He threw it on the grill after several hours of letting the chicken soak up all the curried goodness. The best part is making sure that the chicken is pretty darn thin before you slap it on a mesquite grill. There is nothing worse than having a big chunk of chicken with seasoning on the outside and having the inside taste like a bird--blech. All those ingredients need to be tasted all the way through.
It was our preliminary Valentines Day meal. Thanks Big A!

43/365

2011-02-12T12:18:00.002-07:00

Today is my BFF's birthday.

I was trying to dig deep in my computer to try and find a recent pic of us, but unfortunately the last time I saw her was almost 2 years ago. She lives in Arkansas now. Too far from me.

We talk to each other often. And even if it takes months to get in touch with each other, we are always able to pick up right where we left off.

She knows everything about me--EVERYTHING. Too much perhaps, but isn't that what your BFF is for?

Her and I go wayyyy back. Like, I think we met when we were 7. We were at school and she kept telling me that her middle name was the same name as my first name. Over and over again. She thought it was cool, and so did I.

24 years later, we are still like the little girls we were when we met. We still can talk for hours on end until our husbands are telling us to get off the phone, we still laugh at things that no one else would find funny, we still have fun no matter what we are doing, and we still (somehow) are not sick of each other.

2012 marks our "Quarter of a Century Anniversary" as friends. We plan on doing something, although we don't know yet what that something is. It will be big, it will be fun, but most importantly, it will be us.

Happy Birthday L!

42/365

2011-02-11T12:16:00.001-07:00

41/365

2011-02-10T11:54:00.002-07:00

40/365

2011-02-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

39/365

2011-02-08T12:52:00.003-07:00

We don't drink that many things in our house. Milk, water and seltzer and on occasion we'll have juice around. I know we probably sound like the most boring family around, but we really stay clear of softdrinks and sportsdrinks and kid juices. For the most part, we stay clear from sugary drinks. Recently, I started adding coconut water to my list. A friend of mine introduced me to it last year and I would buy it here and there only because there weren't that many places carrying the drink at the time. Now I seem to find them everywhere.

Coconut water (not to be confused with the SUPER fatty coconut milk) is really good for you. It's 99% fat free, low in carbs and sugar, raises your metabolism, promotes weight loss, boosts your immune system, packed with tons of potassium, carries more electrolytes than a sports drinks (think SUPER hydration), has more nutrients than whole milk, and is naturally sterile.

Best of all? It's really good. Different, than what most people may be used to, but it has a gentle sweet taste to it.

Yesterday, I decided to try Coconut Water with Acai and Pomegranate. It sounded pretty darn good. Little A thought so too. I gave him a sip first and he made the most horrible face I have ever seen. He spit it out in the sink.

"That bad?" I said

"Yuck" was his reply. "I don't want any more."

Then it was my turn. I took a small sip just in case it was SUPER bad and swallowed. Then I took another one, and had a hard time swallowing it. It was pretty damn bad. I think I was mentally trying to make it taste good, but it just wasn't working.

The point of this blog entry? Don't buy this.

38/365

2011-02-07T22:29:00.001-07:00

Little A had TONS of homework to do tonight. I'm talking about 8 pages worth of math, phonics and word problems! It was crazy. On top of that, he also had his spelling words to practice for this week. Their bonus words? "epidermis" and "digestion." Yowza!Their unit this month focuses on the Human Body, and they are going over EVERYTHING. I'm not talking about "Hey kids this is where your heart is located, and your stomach sits over and here and your brain is up there..." Nooooo, I'm talking about every week they are going over a different organ or aspect about the body. This week, they are learning about the kidneys, bladder, heart and lungs. They will learn how kidneys clean our blood, why food doesn't go into our lungs and what the difference is between an artery and a vein.

They will be going on a field trip next week to the Halle Heart Museum here in Tempe. What a great treat! It just recently opened, but I am super excited his class is going. Oh and did I mention that he's only in 1st grade? Yeah, I probably learned about Anatamy and Physiology when I was in college, but certainly not at the tender age of 7.

37/365

2011-02-06T11:36:00.003-07:00

When he tries to read his book, he always looks so serious.

36/365

2011-02-05T12:23:00.002-07:00

Sometimes at night, Little A gets really silly. I mean REAALLLY silly. Everything is funny to him, and when you stop to ask him a question, he tries to answer in the middle of a laugh.

It happens every now and then. And when it does, I can't help myself but laugh with him. The other night was his night. And while I tried to tell him to brush his teeth and go to bed, he kept laughing and rolling on the floor. I told him to go put on his pajamas and this is how he came out.

It was pretty funny to see him hopping around and giggling the entire time. Actually it was quite entertaining, because he seemed so drunk on laughter that you couldn't even look at him without him bursting out laughing.

Oh how he cracks me up.

Life is fleeting.....

2011-02-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

...and we sometimes forget.

My life has been one big mess lately. It was bound to happen, because every time I quietly muster to myself how great life is....it always takes a turn and something always happens. I also blame it in an odd number year--2011. If you know me well, you know how much I hate odd numbers. It has put a hex on me since I was born on an odd year and continues to this very day. I won't put a timeline out for you of all the shitty things that have happened to me on an odd numbered year, but just know that I hate it. I really do.

I've been griping about work lately. Doesn't everybody have one of those days? Nothing important that I care to dish out on this blog, but it's just been hectic and I am trying to deal with it and stay positive.

I've also found myself griping about registering my son up for little league. For some reason, we aren't able to this year because we are "out of boundaries." I honestly thought this whole "boundary" crap was over and done with years ago. Like, I remember when I was going to school we had to be in "district" to go to that specific school. And if you weren't--too bad. But this is Little League, and while I pushed and complained, and spoke to the President--no one budged. We are probably 500 feet away from the boundary lines, and while I joked if they wanted me to go outside and stick my foot over the boundary line--no one found it funny.

I griped about an old friend of mine who I haven't spoken to in months. Our relationship died off somewhere and I am still trying to wrap my head around what happened. If you know me, you know that I need closure. Having unanswered questions and reasons just drives me absolutely bonkers.

My "Aunt Flo" came in the midst of all my griping and she added more stress to what I was already encountering.

***********************************************

And then I hopped online to Facebook. One of my co-workers just lost her mother to cancer. I read the posts every day hoping for a good update, but it wasn't good this time. She fought a STRONG fight for 2 years and lost her battle the other day. Though I didn't know her, I followed her blog and always received updates from my co-worker. It always felt like I knew her. And so when I would hear about her struggling in the hospital, I almost felt like I struggled there with her. And I prayed....for her....her family....for everyone around her because she was just too young and life is just so unfair.

One of my really good friends from High School also lost her mother this week, and while I thought I could fight off the tears from my co-worker's mother passing away, I found myself in a constant pool of tears. Her death was sudden as well, and although she was in and out of the hospital, I never thought "death" would be coming her way anytime soon.

This morning I read about a Physician at my hospital whose grandmother just passed away one week prior to her 90th birthday celebration. I stared at the photo that the Physician posted on his facebook page. She was beautiful. Her caption stated that her "90th Birthday party would just become a celebration of her life."

And so while I was reading these posts and crying a couple rivers over here. My gripes were so damn trivial. Just when you think that your life is bad, or something doesn't go your way, you have to stop and think about all those other people you know who are privately struggling with their own battles and their family.

Knowing that these 3 people lost a loved one this week, just puts a lot of things in perspective for me. Things could always be worse, and we really need to take advantage each day of all the good things that do come our way. We need to stay positive, because all the work crap, the friend I no longer speak to or a stupid Little League system that is corrupted--just doesn't matter in the long scheme of things.

Life is fleeting. We need to take a deep breath and live for each beautiful moment that we have.

35/365

2011-02-04T04:31:00.001-07:00

Before I even slide the plate over, he digs in.

34/365

2011-02-03T16:09:00.002-07:00

Each semester, Little A has an elective to choose from at school. Last semester he had a choice of doing Cultural Dance, Kickball, Frogs and Art. He ended up choosing kickball, and so every Wednesday his class would head over to the park and play kickball. Most of the boys ended up picking that elective, and most of the girls ended up choosing Cultural Dance. Of course.

This semester offered a new range of choices, from Dodgeball to Painting to Cooking to Studying a book. While I thought for sure he was going to choose Dodgeball, his first choice was cooking.

Every week he has come home with something new he has cooked in class that week. He started out cooking pasta and a homemade sauce on the first week, followed by hummus on week 2. This week he came home with some sort of a curried hummus with peas and pita bread. It was delicious.
This is what was left over after he ate some when we got home. I ended up eating the rest because it was so darn tasty.

Luckily at the end of his class, he'll be bringing home a recipe book of all the food that they had cooked. I'm so glad he's a part of this class.

33/365

2011-02-02T12:34:00.004-07:00

Little A is taking an art class through the City of Tempe. He loves it. It's a class he takes 1 day a week right after school. He's painted, made pictures, and this past week he had to make a sculpture. This is what he made:

Can you guess what it is?

Go on, guess.

Nope.

Nope, it's not that.

Nope it's not that either.

Give up?

It's a telescope.

Their Anniversary

2011-02-01T13:13:00.002-07:00

"I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you.” --unknown

Wishing my amazing mom and dad the best anniversary ever!

I love you both so much, and I only wish you many more years of happiness together.

32/365

2011-02-01T12:30:00.001-07:00

Littla A made this at school, and I love it.

31/365

2011-01-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

When you have a 2-year old who is picky about their clothes, this is the kind of attitude that ensues every morning:

30/365

2011-01-30T12:19:00.000-07:00

[my bro]

29/365

2011-01-29T12:02:00.001-07:00

On Friday, we headed over to Little A's school for their annual book fair. There is something about books that I just love, because every time I am at the library or at my favorite bookstore (Changing Hands), I always find myself grabbing every book to check out like it was going out of stock.

I left his book fair with about 5 books in hand, a clip-on pen and a 3-way highlighter that smells. Trust me, I had to put some books and other miscellaneous items away because the cost was just adding up too quickly.

Their fair held games and activities for the kids. Little A played this floating duck game and won the "Grand Prize"--a poster. He picked out a Cardinals football poster with a Cardinals player that I know absolutely nothing about. I can't even remember his name right now either. But I guess anything was better than the posters that I saw some of the kids leaving with......a puppy with a pearl necklace, a horse galloping in the fields, a car....blah.
The best part about these school gathering is the fact that I get to chat with some of my favorite moms there. Nothing beats a few minutes of girl time while your kids are running around and playing games. It was great! I look forward to more of these fairs.

28/365

2011-01-28T20:44:00.004-07:00

27/365

2011-01-27T13:33:00.003-07:00

Little A's class focused on the 50 states this month, and their lesson was titled "Nifty Fifty." Each child drew a state out of a hat at the beginning of the month. I was SO excited when Little A brought home Massachusetts because we are SO familiar with that state and there is so much history there.

He had to present a board full of 12 facts that he found out about his state. He dressed up as Paul Revere and he even brought in Boston Cream Pie donuts for his class. It was a big hit....but isn't having food around, always a hit?

26/365

2011-01-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

25/365

2011-01-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

Deep down, I know he wants to have a girl some day.

24/365

2011-01-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

23/365

2011-01-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

22/365

2011-01-22T13:02:00.002-07:00

21/365

2011-01-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

20/365

2011-01-20T12:55:00.002-07:00

19/365

2011-01-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

18/365

2011-01-18T12:53:00.002-07:00

17/365

2011-01-17T12:45:00.001-07:00

16/365

2011-01-16T12:44:00.001-07:00

15/365

2011-01-15T12:48:00.001-07:00

14/365

2011-01-14T12:54:00.002-07:00

13/365

2011-01-13T10:49:00.001-07:00

Take me and multiply by 100. This is what you get...

12/365

2011-01-12T08:41:00.002-07:00

Getting a little help off the pecan tree.

11/365

2011-01-11T21:00:00.002-07:00

Phoenix Children's Museum

10/365

2011-01-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

The whole crew on his birthday.

9/365

2011-01-09T19:11:00.003-07:00

My oldest turned 7 today.It makes me feel old to write that.

Seven years ago, I experienced the greatest memory of my life....giving birth to my first child.

It was a long labor.

A difficult one.

And from the moment I saw him, I was instantly in love. I can hear his first cry right now...loud and high-pitched. His arms and legs shivering because he was taken from his warm "home." I held him tightly in my arms and cried. He was beautiful and everything I could have ever wanted. I had hoped that time would freeze for me, and in some ways it felt like that. The doctor was stitching me up, my mom was taking pictures, Big A was shedding tears and making phone calls.....and there I was, in bed with my baby.

Time has certainly flown by. I hate writing that, but it's true.

He's in 1st grade now.

He writes on his own, draws up his own characters, reads and plays in sports. He has friends....several of them who just adore him. He eats some interesting foods, and dives into veggies at every chance he gets--raw ones at that.

He's goofy, and is always trying to make everyone else around him, laugh.

He is the sweetest boy I have ever met. He has the biggest heart and believes that everyone in the world should be his friend.

I love him dearly.

He's my baby.

He's my boy.

And he turned 7 today.

8/365

2011-01-08T21:19:00.002-07:00

Sportin' that ASU spirit.

My bro and my hubs.

7/365

2011-01-07T16:25:00.004-07:00

i promised myself that one day i would do a photo-shoot in this field

this was as close as i got to doing one

every time i wanted to do a session the cotton had already been picked

and on a day like the one above where i just happened to not have a client to photograph the cotton was in full bloom

enter my son who wanted to go into the field

he posed for me

and it was just what i needed

6/365

2011-01-06T12:45:00.002-07:00

Playdate

Angel (7), Little A (6), Thomas (5), Alyssa (4), D (2)

5/365

2011-01-05T15:58:00.002-07:00

At one of our favorite restaurants in Scottsdale, Los Olivos.

4/365

2011-01-04T05:46:00.000-07:00

Me.

3/365

2011-01-03T07:29:00.000-07:00

Drinks with the girls.

2/365

2011-01-02T05:07:00.000-07:00

Candles at Cathedral Rock.

1/365 The 365 Project

2011-01-01T21:00:00.003-07:00

I am starting the 365 Project with this post. It's something I have wanted to do, but just never got around to starting it on the day I wanted to...the first of the year.

So here we are January 1st, 2011. What a perfect day to start this project. Every day for the next year, I will be posting a photo. It could be me, the hubs, the kids, the dog, my shoe, some flowers, a stranger, the sunset....you name it. It's the little things that are going on (or not going on) that you will be finding on here this coming year. And don't worry, I will still be posting some stories here and there in a separate post. Happy New Year everyone, and if you are up for it, you should join in too!!

DMS Winter Performance 2010

2010-12-17T16:50:00.011-07:00

Today is Little A's last day before winter break. I am excited....mainly because I'll get to sleep-in for the next couple weeks. We headed over to his school for his huge winter performance.

Unfortunately, most of my family was unable to make it, but my bro was able to come. We had SUCH a great time, and I'm not saying that because my son was in it or because his school was performing, but it really was THAT good.

I was either in tears from laughter or tears because it was just so tender and sweet. He goes to a very small private Montessori school, so he's in a class with 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders. The upper division classes are the same as well with 4-6th graders grouped together and 7th-9th together as well. You'll see just how small when you look at the group photos down below.

The kids performed skits, songs, dance and music and it was just amazing. These kids are so talented. My bro had a great time and was glad he was able to make it.

With his square-dancing partner, Abby. Yes, she had a couple shiners on her eyes. Heard it was from a fall at school.

Brothers, Sydney and Simon.

The kids were waiting for a long time to perform.

Rhiannon and Nan.

My sweet boy.
Principal Suzanne with her opening remarks.

At first, I was wondering why the screen was down while the kids were on stage, but they actually turned the lights off and ran a slideshow of all the kids while the kids sang "You got a friend in me" in the background. I love that song so much. Such a great children's song.

Found Little A in the slideshow.

1st-3rd graders getting ready to perform.

Playing on their recorders all off of memorization.

Singing the "Lollipop" song.

Busting a square-dance move on stage.

Little A promenading home with Abby.

I love some of their faces here.

Taegan promenading with her partner.

The 4th-6th graders on their guitars.

I LOVED this skit. This kid is so talented.

This poor little guy had a stain on his shirt and was hiking up his pants during the song, just so he could cover up his stain.

I love Journey, but I think I loved these kids singing "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey even more.

The upper division 7th-9th graders singing a song to their parents. This skit was performed by the upper division students, and it reminded me of the group STOMP. They were banging, pounding, scraping and hitting all the things in front of them.

The kids came out for their finale. Vikram (in the middle) wasn't feeling so well.

Little A was on the sidelines during the song. It was SO incredibly dark in there and flash wasn't allowed, so this was the best I could do.

With his pals Taegan and Zane after the performance. Gearing up for 2 weeks off of school. Yippee!

I vote for more "Ch" in Chanukah.

2010-12-03T22:03:00.001-07:00

Today we celebrated Chanukah with my family. With my crazy work schedule and the fact that Chanukah came sooner than I had imagined, we didn't have time to go to my mom's house and enjoy her cooking. Instead, we headed over to Chompies for some delicious latkes and I helped myself to a nice bowl of matzo ball soup...yum!

Afterward, we went to my house to open up gifts. Every year I am reminded of a family video of my brother and I at Chanukah 1988 at my parents home. In the video, I am literally counting all of my gifts and trying to see if I have more than my brother. In that particular video, I did.

My kids aren't at that age yet, where the amount of gifts they get really matter, nor does it matter if they received clothes rather than toys. In fact, Little A is still in love with a shirt that my mom got for him. I don't think I took a picture of him holding it up, but he definitely exclaimed "Cool!" when he opened it, and he even refers to it as his "cool" shirt now.

The D man received much of the same things that Little A received, but in a smaller version of it.

It was nice to be able to spend the night with my family and enjoy our special night of Chanukah.

My mom and bro waiting for the kids to open their gifts.

The D man showing Big A one of his gifts.

Little A holding up a new shirt. Not his "cool" shirt though.

More gifts....

A new winter hat.

My dad pointing to whose gift is whose.

Transformers.....of course.

My bro helping D man open his present.

Googly eyes

2010-12-02T14:09:00.005-07:00

See these?

These are googly eyes. And they are supposed to be used for crafts.

Like this:

and this

and also these

and these too.

They are NOT, however, suppose to be shoved in your ear.

You got that D man?

Brrrrrr

2010-12-01T13:58:00.001-07:00

I know it's getting cold here when the D man is sporting his puffy jacket.

Turkey Bowl 2010

2010-11-26T13:17:00.012-07:00

Every year Big A gets some of his buddies together for Turkey Bowl at the park down our street. Here are some of the pics from that day.

2

2010-11-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

D turned 2 yesterday.

I cringe thinking about it.

I don't know if his crazyness will get any better.

We decided to keep his birthday party small. I mean REAL small.

When Little A was this age, I invited all of his playmates that he had at the time and it was chaotic. Cupcakes in my carpet, frosting on his new toys, screaming, running....the whole bit.

But this party was nice and calm. We had one of his friends over, and the rest were family.

We went with a Monster theme. I call D my little monster anyway so I only deemed it appropriate to have a party named after him.

I went online to my favorite online store Etsy. I found this shirt design

and had it personalized with the D man's name on it. (Ignore "Evan" on there).

I received my shirt within a week, and took it over to Sugarlips Cakery. I gave them the t-shirt and they were able to come up with this:

It was a rainbow cake inside and it was delicious. That place never ceases to amaze me. I hosted a baby shower earlier this summer for a friend of mine and they converted a jungle bedsheet (theme of the nursery) into this:

It was oh-so-yummy!

At any rate, enjoy the pics of the D man's bday.

Playing with his friend Elliot

My sweet little troublemaker.

Digging into his cake. With Little A and his cousin Kaitlyn.

Opening up his gifts with some help from Elliot.

Taking a ride in the wagon.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-02T13:35:00.011-07:00

I need to give myself a couple slaps across the wrist. I have been terrible about keeping this blog up-to-date lately. I have another blog I am working on so it's kind of been eating away at the time I would normally spend on here. I am not certain how others are able to manage so many other blogs on a daily basis, so kudos to them.

Little A had his annual Halloween carnival at his school. I always enjoy seeing what the other kids are dressing up like. There weren't as many princesses this year, and I can tell its a sign that these kids are growing up. Little A was Buzz Lightyear and the D man was Woody. I would have sent D to school with his costume, EXCEPT for the fact that D is probably the messiest kid I know and there would have been absolutely no costume for him to wear by the time I picked him up.

Little A with his buddy Zane

With some of the other girls from his class.

And some more girls.

The class was gearing up for the carnival outside.

With his friend, Taegan.

The Kindergarten campus always makes a visit to the Elementary school campus for the Halloween carnival. Little A was so excited to see some of his old buddies.

With Trey and Xavier.

I wasn't able to spend a whole ton of time at the carnival because I had a photoshoot I was doing that day. Yeah you heard right, a "photoshoot." I have started the beginning process of having my own photography business and it is going AMAZINGLY well. I am currently working on my blog for the site and I have a very dear friend of mine whose husband is a site developer, working on my photo site. I have been busy every single week on photoshoots and it's been very overwhelming. Which is probably why I am having such a difficult time blogging on here. I'll explain more about this in a separate blog. For now, let's talk about the weekend.....

I purchased a pumpkin during the week with hopes of being able to carve it for Little A's carnival at school. They were having a pumpkin contest, but I just couldn't squeeze in the time to do it. On Saturday, I finally cut into it and created this masterpiece:
OK, well it's not quite the masterpiece and certainly not as elaborate as the other pumpkins I have done in the past, but just when I thought my 6 year old was going to help me with this, he booked it outside just as soon as he caught a whiff of the inside of the pumpkin. Yeah I don't find it to be a pleasant odor either kid, but unfortunately I got stuck making my own design this year for his pumpkin.

The boys got dressed pretty early, which was great for me because I was able to take some decent pics of them outside.

This year I decided to go as Snooki from Jersey Shore......as did every other girl in the world did. If you've been living in a cave and have no idea who she is, here is a pic of her:

Here is a pic of me, dressed as her:

Snooki and Buzz

Big A decided to be a hot dog again and made a promise to himself that he's going to be a hot dog every year from here on out.

We went trick-or-treating with my neighbor and her two kids. They had such a great time and we didn't return home until our bags were full of candy.

The D man received some super points from me because of how amazingly well he behaved when we were going door to door. He never ran away, threw a tantrum--nothing. He was perfect.

The kids were tired but excited to dig into their candy.

We had a great weekend, and the kids slept so well. I am thinking it was in part to their sugar-induced comas. :)

Dean and Loretta

2010-09-27T12:57:00.006-07:00

"Kindness is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back”

It always amazes me when I run into "nice" people.

Actually, it's kind of sad when you think about it. Because how often do we encounter truly genuine good people in our lives? Now, I'm not talking about the cashier at the grocery store that asks you if you found everything ok, or the mom at your kid's school that told you how much she loved your necklace. No, I am talking about sincere people who brightened your day because they were truly-from-the-bottom-of-their-hearts nice.

I work in a very busy hospital when I am not playing Mrs. stay-at-home-mommy. I also work in a department where I can either see people leave with a prescription in one hand, or see people with their relative's donor paperwork in the other and hurting because they lost a member of their family that day. Each day comes with a new batch of stories of luck, miracles or tragic accidents. You never know what to expect.

My department closed at 3:30pm on Saturday. The doors were locked, most of the lights were out, and the only people there were myself and another co-worker pounding diligently at our enormous stack of work to do. Someone opened the door because apparently it wasn't truly locked and the alarm never went off, and in walks a very old couple with a piece of paper in their hands and panting sort of heavily not out of sickness, but frustration. They told me they were lost. They were suppose to find the information desk and stumbled upon my area instead. I told them to have a seat and they thanked me for wanting to help them.

With sweat coming from the man's face, he told me they were from out-of-state visiting a family member here and were driving around in circles trying to find their hotel before they ran out of gas. Now they needed a gas station nearby and directions to their hotel. They had no idea how to get there, which direction they were going, or what gas station was nearby.

You could tell that the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders. They were only here for 3 days to visit a family member, so I am sure that with all the traveling, the confusion with driving and visiting a sick family member were making him eager to just settle into their hotel room once and for all.

I printed out several maps for them and devised a way for them to get their gas right away while also making the directions to their hotel as simple as possible. I also took them outside and explained all the names of the streets that surrounded us and explained the grid system. They thanked me over and over again, and I sent them on their way.

The following day, I heard someone walk inside my department again. This time the alarm went off and immediately my co-worker went to go see who was trying to come in. She told the people that we were closed, and they apologized. But then handed her a flower and said "We are sorry. This nice young lady helped us out yesterday. She was sitting over here in this office and we brought this for her." My co-worker grabbed me because she remembered seeing them the day before. The old man handed me a vase with a rose and a card. Both of them thanked me for my kindness and said that they got to the gas station and hotel so quickly yesterday and that I made everything so easy for them.

I swear I could have cried. They were so sweet! I gave them both a hug, but not without them thanking me about 10 more times. I have to be honest with you--it made my day.

Thank you Dean and Loretta for making me realize that their are so many good people out there like yourselves.