A New Favorite

So... this is what Mr. J has been up to this past week.  During a trip to Borders to buy Sophia a birthday gift for one of her friends.... we came across a Cars BARGAIN book.  But even better than the cost...was what came inside... a large map of the town in the Cars movie with all of the Cars characters in mini form.  These cars are tiny and plastic and don't even have moveable wheels...but Joe can't keep his hands off of them!!!  They have taken up permanent residence on my coffee table I think, and I'm not sure if there is any going back.

It is quite a sight to watch him manipulate these tiny cars and a bit scary to see how neatly he meticulously lines up the cars in perfect form.  The concentration on his face is truly remarkable.

I have other pictures to post tonight but frankly.... I am pretty frustrated with my blog.  I am trying desperately to "better" my blog so the pictures are bigger....but I am NO computer smartie....and having to change "outer" "main" and "sidebar" html codes is pretty much beyond my realm of capabilities.  I have had to change my template...which I'm not sure I can ever do again right now because my layout (page elements) page is NOT a pretty sight.  A HUGE thank you to Nance for walking me through the improvements I have made.  She has answered all of my "begging for help" emails and taken the time to figure out nit-picky numbers.  THANK YOU THANK YOU NANCE!!!!!   I hope we can schedule a "date" with ourselves and my computer to clear up my page elements page.  Maybe we should invite our expertise photographer as well....I'll bake some yummies for us...any requests???

Valentines and Princesses

The last few days have been filled with Valentine's fun. On Friday, I got to attend Sophia's Valentine's Party at school,and plan the craft. I think the kids had fun making their "You're Unforgettable" Elephants. Next they played Valentine's BINGO, followed by a game where each table had a few minutes to search for as many "hidden" hearts as they could find. Sophia's table found the most!!! Wow!!! And every good party has to end with a cupcake with LOTS of sprinkles and frosting!

I made heart shaped cinnamon rolls for our Valentine's breakfast, and we decorated the table with our love bug presents and lots of hearts. Joseph was pretty thrilled about his musical valentines and Sophia seemed to enjoy her Ruby doll and Fancy Nancy book.

Sophia enjoyed her day off today (President's Day) with a few games of hide and seek and Conversation Hearts BINGO. Joseph occupied himself by sorting all of the extra hearts into their appropriate color pile ( I was pretty proud of him) while trying to sneak as many as he could into his mouth. (Of course just to lick them only....he didn't really want to eat them). Sophia spent the afternoon at a princess fashion show/ dress up party for a friend's birthday. When I picked her up... I hardly recognized her....her hair was styled and her nails were painted....oh my.....5 years old going on 25. She really did look like a princess.

Both of these babies are growing up way too fast for me. I can't even stand it...that I catch the little Missy reading Junie B books in her bed at night with her flashlight on. I can't stand that she will be a FIRST GRADER before I know it. I can't stand that Mr. J has decided to tell me he is not a baby anymore...

Just the other day when I was putting him down for his nap... I commented that he was still my baby and he said... " I not baby.... I JOE!!!!!!!" So today I asked him.... well are you still my baby sweet? He said, "no, big boy." I asked well can you be my big boy baby sweet, to which he responded.... "no...just boy!!!"

He's hilarious.... He's all about letting everyone know that he is a boy these days. Sophia's party this afternoon was at Shear Madness....and Joseph remembered that this is where he gets his hair cut. He was extremely disappointed to find out that he was not getting his haircut today. He also informed me (when I asked if I should get my hair cut) that only boys get hair cuts. HA! So funny that I can have these cute little conversations with him now!

So.... I just grouped all my pics together tonight..... I am trying using Flickr as my host to see if I see a difference in my pictures. Thanks, Nance, for the tip!

One at a time...

I was running around like my usual crazy self tonight and the hubby said....okay...from now on...only ONE new project a night. I can't understand why he thinks I can't juggle 4 or 5 at one time....life would just be way too boring... So...okay...maybe I would be a little more calm at times and maybe I would feel a little less frazzled, and maybe I would learn to sit down while I was typing this instead of standing up,....and maybe I wouldn't overlook some of those important little details (more on that later) if I adopted his way of thinking.... but I'm not sure I'm quite ready to be "that" person....so the "frazzled" me is probably what you will get.

Some of the little projects I've been juggling:

1. A little valentine's surprise for my own little love bugs....


Since it's just Valentine's day... I didn't go crazy with gifts....just a few little "Max and Ruby" dolls, a book ( of course...always something educational) and. without a doubt, a box of chocolates... all wrapped up in a cute "love bug" themed box. The only problem... I made them both the same and before I attached the initials... I realized I didn't remember which box contained Max and which contained Ruby....oops....one of those times where I overlooked the important details... (Note to self: NEED TO SLOW DOWN!) So I guess we will see if I got the initials on the correct box when the kids open them on Sunday.

2. COOKIES... OF Course...

Couldn't decide between x's and o's or letters to spell LOVE. I chose the latter....and tried to make them look a bit like scrabble squares.






3. I found this darling idea at www.twigandthistle.com....and even found some wonderful wax lined cookie bags online for a pretty good deal. Was so excited to download this valentine template for the label on the bags to house my LOVE cookies. As I was printing... I realized the label was for home-made chocolate brownies...oops....another example of me missing the minor details. Oh well... the label is too cute to pass up....and the bags will definitely keep my cookies fresh!!



4. The valentines we sent to our family members...





I was a little disappointed with my pictures of the kids.....that's why I just stick with the best photographer around....www.blog.jcooperphotography.com!

5. I signed up to head up the valentine's craft for Sophia's school Valentine's Day party. This is the craft I chose to make with the kids....we'll see how it goes tomorrow... (the boys are making blue elephants and the girls?....PINK, of course!



6. These are for an idea I have for my next project....hmmmm....wonder what it will be??



And because I have written all of this without mentioning the real LOVES of my life...I have to post a picture!! I guess I didn't get too many of Sophia this week because she is back in school. But this little guy will surely put a smile on your face. He is getting so big.....and oh my is he exhausting! He's decided to play during naptimes and bedtimes this week (or maybe it is his antibiotic behind all of this). While I really enjoy the work I can get done when he actually sleeps.....I must admit.... I do enjoy listening to him sing ...." I see you... I see you....tra la la la la la" (Thanks Miss Trilla :)) on the monitor!!!

Pinkalicious

I'm supposed to be looking for a new sofa.....but instead I have been searching for this....





I saw a little pink chair a few months back for Sophia's desk....but too bad for me (as Junie says) I lost out, because I didn't act quick enough. I ponder EVERYTHING. I am not a very good impulse shopper....so I have learned my lessons the hard way. When I finally decided to make the purchase, when I went back....it was gone! So today... I found this pinkalicious chair (yes....I actually got out of the house to go buy some socks, not sure how I ended up furniture shopping....) It was not exactly what I was hoping for, but along the same lines and such a good price, I couldn't leave without it. Of course now that it is home.... I am questioning my decision...pretty typical of me... I guess I'll give it a few days....

Well, the honey has been given and the vicks has been rubbed from head to toe (literally.... I've had lots of home remedies offered to me these past few days including vicks vapor rub on the feet, (and hey I'm desperate here!!!!) So, hopefully the little munchkins will be able to get some good rest in tonight.

Snow, snow and more snow...

Being cooped up all week has forced us to get pretty creative with our games. Memory and Candyland just don't seem to be cutting it anymore. So, we bought some conversation hearts and created matching BINGO cards (even laminated them with Brett's new Christmas gift to me). Pretty fun....and a great way to practice reading the messages on the hearts. Sophia also learned how to play war (the card game) with me today....she thought this was pretty fun!




After 5 days of staying home... I had to give in and let Sophia play on my computer for a while today....educational stuff of course! I think she was growing a little weary of my picture taking....but I couldn't resist capturing those baby blues. Her eyes look so blue to me when she wears green! And I love watching her little hands that already know how to manipulate every button on my computer!






J normally likes to watch out his windows for cars and buses. But today... he was entertained for quite some time by the snow falling from the trees. He even put his bunny to the window to show his bunny how pretty the snow was. By the way... I do attempt to put socks on this little guy....but they don't last more than a few minutes. Fine by me... I guess...because I love to see his cute little toes curled up...as long as they don't get too chilly!




Last on our agenda today, our beaded heart turned out so cute... we decided to frame it!

Not a pretty sight

December 25, 2009.

That is it. Yes. That, I believe, is the last day that I remember everyone in our house being healthy. That's right.... it has been over a month....of sickness. And unfortunately the kids have taken the brunt of it. It is true, Mr. Germ has taken permanent residence here. I think I even dream of nasty coughs, runny noses, and ookey diapers. I have made one too many trips to the doctor, given one too many doses of motrin, and filled one too many vaporizers. Yes... I am having a pity party moment....I know things could be a lot worse...I know I shouldn't complain....but maybe just for a moment... Whew! Poor Sophia and Joseph... I hope they will be on the mend soon.

Just when I thought J was getting better....he gave us quite a scare. He woke up in the middle of the night really fighting for air....after a little bit of panicking and paranoia on my part of course, we determined it was a case of croup. I remembered one of the remedies was cold air, so we bundled him up and took him outside. He's such a trooper. He was more concerned about not being able to find the moon amidst all of the clouds in the night sky than the fact that he was struggling for every breath. Poor little boy. Thankfully, the cold air gave him some relief for the rest of the night. I already hear him moving around up there tonight.... I hope he can get some rest and that we don't have a repeat of last night.

Since Miss Sophia has been home ALL week (And missed ALL of Catholic Schools Week...I know, I know... here I go complaining again) I was positively sure that I could easily get a few snapshots of the kids for some valentines I am making. Oh my....I am having some major camera/lighting issues. I am not happy with any of the shots....not because my subjects aren't adorable....but because mommy needs much much more practice with her slr. I'll be hitting the books as soon as I find the time. Between decisions about flash or no flash, ISO's, lenses, and shutter speed...I am almost beginning to miss my old faithful digital.... Almost..... It also doesn't help that my littlest subject can't possibly sit in the same spot for more than 1/2 of a second!

Anyhow... I will keep on truckin....I will keep reading, keep practicing and probably keep trying to figure out the whole idea of layers in photoshop ( I would need an entire post on photoshop alone to discuss my frustration with this !) I will share some of the pictures that I captured when I was TRYING to get that valentine's pic!






Besides making these to house the valentines we will be receiving:



We have also been having cake walks,




making valentine's crafts,



and just being plain silly.... (can you tell how yummy that spaghetti was?)




And last but not least, I have been working hard at teaching Joseph to say " I would like...." before he requests things, because his way of requesting was.... well, let's just say... not what you would find in the etiquette books. A normal request would sound something like this "Elmo juice NOW" or "NACK!!!!" (for snack) or "DOWN Mama!" And he has made EXCELLENT progress. When I remind him... he will actually say.... " I would like milk please," or " would like nother book please!"

As for me tonight.... "I would like some REST, please!"