Christmas Tree 2009..

I don't think I have ever enjoyed decorating a Christmas Tree as much as I did last night. This year Abigail is really getting into the Christmas spirit. She is enjoying all the lights on the houses and everyday asks if it is "Christmas Time" and that she wants "Christmas Stuff, Lot's of lights, and a deer!" I have been telling her that Christmas is Jesus' birthday, to which she replies "Mason's too". His birthday is December 31, so she knows it is close.

My color theme is Brown & Gold. We bought a few boxes from Walmart and Abigail was the official person to place the hooks on the ornaments and she did it with such diligence. Mason just took all the ball ornaments spread them out, shoved them in the tree, picked them up from here and put them over there, let's just say I am thankful for Shatterproof ornaments!! Noelle put ornaments on the tree and we bought this glitter swirly sticks that she placed all around the tree. Once the colored themed ornaments and ribbon were on the tree, we continued to adorn it with our sentimental ornaments collected over the years. I have realized I have many or Noelle but I am lacking them for Abigail and Mason.

Our tree is huge!! I think it is about 8 feet tall. It really was a wonderful family moment for me!!

Kissing Santa!!

This just happened!!
We are listening to Christmas songs.... Abigail: "Mommy do you want to kiss Santa Clause" Mommy: "No, I only want to kiss your daddy"... Abigail: "Well, the song said you were kissing Santa Clause".. haha!!!

Catching up...getting stuck, Homecoming, and Snow White..

My poor little man, I can't imagine what he is going to think when he grows up and looks at all his baby, toddler pictures. He may in fact disown me!! Why you ask? Let's start off with these first pictures...Abigail is always dressing up in her pretty dress-up dresses and Mason usually brings me a dress so he can play too.. I am not worried, he is a baby and this makes for great stories for his future girlfriends. So instead of worry I do what any good mother would do.. I dress him up and take pictures!!!

I also don't know how, but Mason managed to get himself stuck in this doll's baby carriage. I again did what any good mother would do when their child is in distress..I took pictures!!!

Some how some way I need to get Noelle to take pictures with out tilting her head!! This is the best picture I got of her and her friend Marcus the night of the homecoming dance.. my girl is growing up..

Halloween, so cute!!

What a fun Halloween we had! We went to a church carnival, trick-or-treated, and were home by 7:30. The kids looked adorable and Mason actually kept his hat on. From what I hear next year might be a challenge with doing the themed costumes (kids being independant and all) I am hoping for Minnie and Mickey, we shall see!

Family Moo Update..

Although I don't live in an area that experiences a noticeable season change, I still get the feeling of fall. This is my most favorite time of year. For the last 6 or so years my good friends hosts a yearly pumpkin carving party. I have attended all of them but 1 and this year will be another year I will have to miss. My little man has the flu and although he was not swabbed for H1N1, that is what the doctor's are say he has. He has been with fever since Monday and I have been house bound. It has been a tough week. Mason is only 21 months and is basically a walking germ!! His hands are constantly in his mouth and of course he wants to be held all the time. I am walking around with hand sanitizer and spraying Lysol on all the toys. I need to remember to buy a nicer scented Lysol this one just is stinky!! It goes without out saying but I am a bit overwhelmed and my house is a mess.

Through all this I have gleaned a cute moment. We got a Barbie Catalog in the mail which has some pretty amazing collector Barbies with some pretty hefty price tags. I gave the catalog over to Abigail figuring she would enjoy looking at it. Well, she was dress up in her pretty dress, carrying her handbag and catalog. She turned to Mason, showed him the catalog and said" Let's talk about hairstyles".. I have no idea where she got that from, but it brought a smile to my face and it was exactly what I needed.

Now I am just hoping and praying the rest of us don't get sick..

Vroom, Vroom!!

I don't know what it is about kids but they sure bring a tremendous feeling of joy. Of course along with that they bring a tremendous feeling of " I want to pull my hair out!!" but let's not focus on that.
Today we went to Target, Kohl's, JcPennys, and.....(seriously there was a lack of selection and sizes) to pick up some new clothes for the kids. They both needed warm (can't say winter, cause it's California!!) clothing. My little guy REALLY was in need, he has been wearing 3/4 sleeved tee's that weren't meant to be so and capri's, for goodness sakes!
While I shopped around John took the kids over to the toy department. Of course, the kids both ended up with a new toy. Abigail's was Princess and Mason's had 4 wheels. Mason started to play with his car right way. At first he didn't like the sound it made so I turned that off and eventually turned it back on. That is when we really saw what this toy can do. You basically shake the car, set it on the ground, it revs up and takes off. Mason did this all the way up the walk way to Kohl's and back to the car. He then did it all the way up the walk way to the house and inside the house, and outside the house. Noelle had a hair appointment so I left John home with the kids. Noelle and I were gone for a little over an hour and we both wondered if Mason was still at home chasing the car. Sure enough we walk in and there he was, running after the car. So fun to watch. He was completely entertained and getting exercise, what more could I ask for?? Here is a link to this toy: http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Disney-Pixar-Shake-Chick/dp/B001MK2NR0/ref=pd_sim_t_2

Abigail has turned into such a Princess loving, pink, loving little girl. Everything she wants has to do with Princesses. She loves to watch Cinderella and the ending brings her so much joy, she jumps up and down, and then she exclaims (every single time) " Mama, she got married!!!" The Princess toy John bought her was a very tiny ( 3 inches or so) Cinderella with all three of Cinderella's dresses. Abigail spent the day dressing Cinderella. The first dress she put on her was the wedding dress to which she exclaimed "Mama, she got married!!" Priceless, these children, these moments are absolutely priceless!!!

Okay so these bottom pictures have nothing to do with my post, I just haven't had a chance to post them on there own. This is basically what happens when you feed your 21 month old son cereal and then go take a shower. It becomes a stylishly messy hat. Of course I had 10 minutes to go before we had to leave, so Mason went to school with crusty cereal hair. The plus, by the time we got to school it had dried and looked more like it had been sculpted with mousse.. (okay that is just what I told myself). I tell ya, this little guy is going to keep me on my toes!!! Oh but how I love him, and Abigail, and Noelle, and my wonderful love, John!!!

Did someone say Mustache??

We all enjoyed a berry smoothie yesterday, although I think Mason enjoyed it a little bit more.

Abigail seemed to have an off day yesterday and would cry over pretty much everything. This is here pouty face and eventually I was able to get her to show me her beautiful smile.

You can still see the tears in her eyes...

All teary eyed!!

I would not consider myself an emotional, cry at the drop of a hat kind of person. It takes a lot for me to shed a tear and no that wasn't me in the mini-van on the side of the road crying to that new country song!!! Seriously, some of those songs are sad!!! Okay confession moment over, moving on...
Abigail is 3 years old and this age is just fascinating with how quickly they pick things up, and then repeat them to you. For example while driving in the car today Abigail said "mommy I'm your treasure". I tell her this and I guess she gets it. Well Abigail brought tears to my eyes this past Sunday. I shocked myself but I just couldn't help it. It was one of those overwhelming moments where felt completely blessed and honored to be her mommy. John and I got tickets to the Charger game and Noelle was going to watch the kids for us. I had no food in the house, so I headed to the grocery store (the kids have to eat!) and John took the kids on a walk. On my way back from the store Abigail, Mason and John were coming up the corner of our street. I stopped the car to say hi and then continued on to our driveway. Our house is at the end of the cul-da-sac. As I got out of the car I heard this very faint "mommy" and I turn to see Abigail running down the sidewalk. She continued to do this running and saying mommy with a huge smile on her face. She ran past at least 15 houses ( huge feat for a 3 year old) to get to me, she did not stop until she reached me and hugged me. The whole time I just stood there in awe of this "treasure" that God has given to me. I knelt down to receive your little blessing of love and just thank my God above.
This truly is an amazing age! Even today I was awed by her. John played golf today and was getting home a little later then expected. The kids have a timer in their head and somehow know when it is about time for daddy to get home. I had just given Mason and Abigail dinner (daddy is usually home well before dinner) and walked to the other room to get their pj's ready. I walked back in and Abigail had a sad look on her face. I asked her what was wrong and she said " we were talking about daddy" I said " oh because he isn't home yet?" she nodded and said yes. I then got them down from their seats and they played in the living room. Abigail ran to the window checking for her daddy about 6 times. She would go to the window, scan the street and then come back and continue to play. I am sure if John was a fly on the wall he would have teared up too. He does tend to be a bit more teary eyed then me, but sshhh! Don't tell him I told you!
Today is the only "today" you have with your little treasures, so cherish them and when those tough days hit, just pray and do your best because even those tough moments are to be treasured.
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.(Psalms 127:3-5 ESV)

My Little Moos Preschool Days!!

Just a few pictures of the kids having fun at school!

Seeing Pink!!!

My husband is the greatest! For our anniversary my honey gave me some spending money. This allowed me to get two really fun toys that I have been wanting. The first purchase was a Babylock Imagine Serger. This is a pretty expensive serger but the sewing store I went to happened to have an out of the box one. A customer had it for a couple of days and decided she wanted the 8 thread (mine is a 4 thread) instead. The store couldn't sell it as new again, so I ended up getting an unbelievable price on it. I am very exited about having this machine, but I am also intimidated and haven't taken the plunge and used it. I just ordered a bunch of books on sergering from the library, so once I pick those up I should be good to go.

Now!! The second toy, (and boy is this a toy) is the Cricut Expression made by Provocraft. I couldn't have had better timing as far as being able to purchase the Cricut. Why, you ask? Well, Michael's Craft Store and Provocraft teamed up to put out a Pink Cricut Expression. This is the Pink Journey bundle and fifty dollars will be sent to the Susan B. Komen Foundation for every one that is sold. I couldn't resist getting the pink expression, especially since it was on sale. Pink really is my favorite color and I really don't have enough pink in my life. I have done a few things with it but nothing post worthy. There is so much inspiration out there so I know I will create something in no time. I just wanted to share my excitement with you all...

New Provocraft Gypsy Giveway..

I love to enter blog giveways. I have entered a few and have had good luck with some and well not so good luck with others, but that doesn't sway me. I keep on entering just in case my streak of luck will return. So my latest entry is for the new Provocraft Gypsy, this is the hottest thing in scrapbooking and it hasn't even been released yet!
Cutting Above is a brand new scrapbooking blog. Their goal is to update the scrapbooking community on all things Scrapbooking and die-cut machines. They will have tips, techniques, and ideas.
I would really love to win one of these, one because it is fun to win stuff and two, I just bought my Cricut Expression. This is the "lastest and greatest" to me an buying another scrapbook anything will be out of the question for quite some time, so I am wishing me luck, and since they are giving away 2, I am wishing you luck too!
Be sure to check out The Home Shopping Network on September 24th for an exclusive on the Gypsy..

A Blog Neglected...

If there was a Child Protective Service (CPS) equivalent for blogs (BPS) I would be on the watch list. It is no joking matter, this poor little blog of mine has been neglected pure and simple. It sits here waiting, hoping, wishing that I will give it some words of joy, happiness, love, creativity, something, anything! Day in and day out, it waits and waits. Then I pay it a visit but I am just teasing it, taunting it if you will. I just sit there, watching it, tapping my fingers at it, staring with a blank expression on my face, and glazed over eyes. I have nothing, I can type nothing, I can leave nothing and so without a second glance back I close the computer and go on my merry way. I don't think about my little blog, I forget it is even there until I hear it's faint call to me, begging me to come back. I do come back and to the disappointment of my blog, nothing is achieved there is just an awkward silence and I leave again. Then there is a break through and hope is in my little blogs future. It is just false hope because I do not leave those precious words it so desperately wants and needs. No on that day I have tell my little blog that, after all those endless days of staring at it I realized I was tired of the way it looked, that it bored me, and it must changed. It did just that, I mean after all it is trying to earn my attention back. It changed into such a cute background with polka dots and my favorite colors. My interested was sparked but only for a moment and then I left it to sit another week, with the same old stories, same old pictures, and same old blank-glazed eyed stare..
Oh my poor little blog, I didn't start out with the intention to neglect you, you must know that. I wanted to be creative with you. Just remember it isn't you, it's me, and I will try to do better.
So don't be so sad, tomorrow is another day, with more adventures, crafts, and backgrounds, there is so much in the future, so maybe just maybe I shall visit once again, and leave you with more then my tapping fingers and my blank stare, maybe just maybe....

The Best Four Years of My Life!!

Four years ago today I married my best friend and the love of my life. It was the day Noelle, John and I became a family. Since that day we added Abigail and Mason to our family and we are truly complete. I never imagined how incredibly happy I could be and have been. The years before meeting John were difficult and sometimes dark years. Being a struggling single mom brought with it some tremendous challenges. John brought so much light and love into my world. I am so much better of a person since meeting and falling in love with him. It is hard to imagine that at one point in my life, I didn't believe I deserved this kind of love. I didn't think it existed for me or was even possible. It is possible first and foremost because I am loved greatly my my Heavenly Father. He has wanted me to fully understand the extent of his love and the way he has shown me (plus many other ways) is allowing me these earthly blessings of love.
I have been blessed greatly and I thank my Lord everyday for my husband and my family...

Happy Anniversary My Love!

Terrific Three's!!

Abigail almost 2 weeks old!

I posted earlier today and it dawned on me why it was such a long time since I have posted. It is because my home computer is in computer heaven and I have been using a laptop. For whatever reason this laptop does weird things when I post pictures to my blog posts and I end up spending most of my time messing with pictures, then writing... anyways on to the real topic of this post and that is my little girls 3rd birthday.... I must say Abigail must think a birthday lasts all month long because, well the celebrations have been non stop. My birthday is also in June and when we went out for my birthday Abigail, kept say it was HER birthday. Her celebration started on Monday with her preschool class. I made a giant cupcake cake using Wilton's Giant Cupcake Pan, to share with her friends. Her teacher made her a birthday crown which she wore for 2 days. Everywhere we went people told her Happy Birthday. On Friday, her actual birthday we went to the zoo and when we got home there was a wonderful box of presents sent to her by Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Nancy.. I got an amazing picture of her with total excitement on her face while her daddy opened the box for her. However once I posted it I noticed that our address was on the box, blurry but still didn't want to risk that so just imagine her face all lit up with a beautiful smile.. do you see it? Okay, well this next picture is of her wearing one of her presents from her Grandparents. The present opening was a lot of fun but she had no idea what was next..

John had the great idea to take her to Chuck E. Cheese, and oh my goodness Abigail and Mason couldn't believe their eyes. I have to say I didn't remember Chuck E. Cheese the way this one was. It was so clean and had so much more to do. I had a blast just observing my children try to figure out what to do. Abigail's favorite thing was a huge play structure with tubes and slide. She did get lost in it a few times and I would have to holler up to her to help her out. Mason had fun to but the games scared him, so he mainly just ran around while we chased him. Abigail is still talking about how much fun she had at Chuck E. Cheese's. We have one more celebration and that is her birthday party. Her friends and family are coming over to have fun.. I will post pictures for that next week...

Princess Abigail!

Having fun at Chuck E. Cheese

Happy Birthday Abigail you have brought so much joy to your all of your family!
WE LOVE YOU!

Mason's 1st Haircut...

I have written before about my son's beautiful curls and how obsessed I have been regarding his hair. I was determined to never cut his hair for fear he would lose all his curls. Well as you can see from the above picture, his hair has gotten a little bit out of control. Somedays his curls are perfectly formed and other days he looks like a mad scientist who stuck his finger in a socket. His hair when wet is to the middle of his back and he has a few dreadlock tangles in the back of his head. This caused me to breakdown and say that it was time to give him a little trim. I took both my camera and video camera to the salon. With my camera I only captured the before and after of the haircut, but with my video I captured it all. Mason sat on his daddy's lap while the hair stylist got to work. She had to brush his tangles out first, which he did not like. He moved around so much, I am not sure how Amy didn't cut off her fingers!!! Some how she was able to actually accomplish a decent cut. We decided to cut 1" off and after all was done we could have gone a little bit shorter.. Here is his after where he is enjoying his bribe, and I am happy to say he still has his curls!

My Baby IsWearing Heels!!!

Noelle's friend is having a Sweet Sixteen Party tonight and the required attire was black & white semi-formal. Noelle really wanted to wear a bubble skirt and commissioned me to make her one. Unfortunately she had more confidence in my sewing skills then was warranted. The skirt was a disaster, instead of a bubble skirt it was a hot air balloon.. I used too much fabric, burned a hole in the fabric when I ironed it, sliced not one but two holes in it as I was trimming threads, but that didn't stop me!! The burned hole was on the seam so I just made a new seam, the two holes I patched from the inside of the skirt with a small piece of fabic and glue... Yes, I said glue!! This of cours still didn't solve the fact that I had used too much fabric. So I continued to work on it until the skirt was so small my 2 year old could even wear it... I worked way to hard and should have given up as soon as she had asked me.. oh well!
This of course meant we still had to find her something to wear and it was left until the night before the party. Except it too ended up a disaster. She had an idea of what she wanted her outfit to be and it just couldn't get pulled together. She was very discouraged about it and felt down on herself. Noelle is a beautiful young lady who stands 5' 9" and unfortunately a lot of the stores out there for teens are not made for girls of her stature.
Never fear, I was determined to find a great outfit for her to wear. I had plans in the morning, but took her to the mall as soon as I got home. I told her she had to be open to other ideas. We started looking at dresses, which we had not done the day before. She doesn't like wearing dresses and was not open to it. She tried on a gazillion dresses, but the search was all over the minute she put this one on.
The dress was more money then I had planned on spending but she informed me she will also wear it to her end of school year event. I hadn't even remember about that but once she mentioned that it was decided. We ran to payless to buy her some shoes and she chose heels. This put a huge smile on my face because Noelle doesn't ever look at heels, she feels she is too tall already. Dress and shoes in hand we rushed home giving her only 1 hour to get ready, yes, just 1 hour. If you are a teenager you are most likely gasping right now! Not to mention the fact she needed some practice walking in her shoes. I don't know how but we pulled it off and actually walked out the door at the exact time we wanted too. She also looked like a pro walking in her heels. As you can see, the dress we chose is a strapless, zebra print, pick-up skirted dress so she got her bubble look after all (minus the glue!). The dress is so flattering on her and although she looks grown up, I didn't feel it was too grown up. I am just wondering where in the world the time has gone... She is 15, all dressed up, and wearing heels!!!

YCMT.. Tutorial Giveaway!!!

I love tutorials, so when I found youcanmakethis.com I was thrilled. YCMT is filled with all different types of tutorials for clothing, crocheting, knitting, felt food and many more. I am pleased to be able to offer 2 of my readers a chance to win the Personalized Name Pillow Tutorial. This tutorial has very clear, easy to understand directions. The pictures are a big help in illustrating each step. The best part is you can be a beginner at sewing and still be able to create this adorable pillow.

If you would like to participate in this giveaway please visit youcanmakethis.com, then come back and tell me what other tutorials you would love to make. Also if you sign up for the newsletter, they will send you 8 e-books tutorials for free.

This e-book will be emailed to the 2 winners in a PDF format..

Good Luck!

Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap 3

Hurray, it is time for Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap 3!! I had so much fun participating in her last favorite thing swap. Look here to see my great package from my last partner. If you would like to participate just click on the button to get all the details.. It was a ton of fun, not only getting a great gift in the mail but also to send one!

How many candles fit on a cupcake??

15!!

Even though I haven't blogged since March 20th, life still continued and once again I find myself with way to much to post. So I went through and chose my daughter's birthday as the re-entry post to my blog. Noelle turned 15 on March 4th, which is something I still can't believe.. I have a 15 year old!!! We had a backyard party for her a few weeks later and it was so much fun. Not only did my family come but she had a bunch of her friends show up as well. I had a house full of teenagers and a ton of food. Of course none of the teens ate the food because they couldn't possibly eat in front of each other... teenagers!! Noelle had such a great time, she felt so special with all her friends surrounding her..

Here are the girls, Noelle is the one in the flannel shirt, which by the way is a big fashion thing with the girls, and yes I was in high school during the grunge phase of fashion.. full circle!!

and the boys!

My house full of teenagers!!

"Look at those CURLS!!!"

My son is cute! I am totally and utterly convinced of this. What makes him cute you ask? Well just about everything, his expressions, his smile, his little dimples, how he says "mama" his....okay, okay I will stop now! Oh but I must add one other thing to this abbreviated list and that is his curls. His curls draw so much attention and will stop the average shopper in there tracks. I will hear "Look at those CURLS!!" about 10 to 15 times while running errands. This doesn't surprise me, I love his curls too, and I run my fingers through his little head often. I was so loving his curls last night that I had to take about a dozen pictures of them. Yes, of his curls and just of his curls!! I did get a few of his adorable face by default...I am obsessed with his little curls and I want to enjoy them for as long as he has them. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will last, however both Noelle and Abigail lost their curls with their first haircut. There is a little bit of a difference between his curls and that is when his hair is wet is stays curly, theirs didn't.. well enough about me talking about his beautiful curls..

Loving Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap....

I participated in the Mamarazzis Favorite Things Swap (click on the button above to see all the great participates) and was partnered up with Holly from I Heart Bowheads blog. You can see what I sent to Holly here. I had so much picking out some of my favorite things for Holly and I really hope she enjoys them. Today was my turn to see what Holly sent me. I got home and the mailman was right at my driveway ready to deliver my goodies. I couldn't open it right away since I had to feed my two little ones and put Mason down for a nap, but then the fun began. I went outside to open it to provide better lighting for the pictures. When I first opened the box this is what I saw:

I should have taken a picture of Abigail playing with it but I was having to much fun unwrapping my gifts. Ones I removed the packing I got to these fun little packages, each one was labeled to explain why they were her favorites.

The labels were awesome and I had fun trying to guess what would be revealed.

Here is what I got: Blue is what was on the label....

My Favorite thing to have a lot of around the house: a pair of scissors- This is perfect because I am always needing scissors, I really don't know how those things always disappear.

My Favorite Candy Bar: A KIT-KAT- this lasted about 2 seconds, yummy!

My Favorite Lotion: Bath and Body Works Cotton Blossom- This is a lovely scent and is perfect for spring.

My Favorite Stationary: A really cute "all about me" note pad set- So cute and the colors of pink and black were perfect!

My Favorite Goop: Covergirl Liptint- The shade is actually my shade and I will be wearing it tomorrow. I love that she called it goop too!

My Favorite thing to have when I look tired: Covergirl concealer-I have been needing one of these for the longest time. My Must Have make-up: waterproof mascara- It is amazing how a little thing like mascara and just mascara can make you look complete!

My favorite Hard Candy: Werther's Originals- I have to say I absolutely love this candy, I don't ever treat myself to it other then when it is offered in a candy dish. I am hiding these babies!! and last was a wonderfully fragrant candle in Cinnamon Spice. Which is one of my favorite scents in a candle. I have to say Holly you completely spoiled me. So much thought was put into each item and these truly are some of my own favorite things, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I do have to say the best part of this whole swap was making a new friend. Holly I hope we stay in contact because I have enjoyed our little chats over the last few days!! Thank you again to Mamarazzi for hosting such a fun and unique event!!

Moving through Life....

Life happens quickly, one minute you are posting a picture of your son eating spaghetti the next you are packing up your house to move in less then 3 days. We were very blessed to have our house sell. Typically when a house sells you have at least a month or so to pack and find a place to live. We however sold our house in a short-sale transaction. Our house was on the market with an offer since October, but the bank approval didn't come through until just after I posted last. Once the approval is in you have until the end of the month which at that point was less then 10 days to complete paper work and everything else. It was very stressful there for a while because as we were packing up our house needing to vacate in 3 days we didn't have a place to live. My husband and I looked at several houses to rent and found one that we both liked. At the last minute there seemed to be an issue with the house and we checked in to a hotel. We were fully prepared to live there until we found a suitable house, but luckily everything got resolved and we moved into our new house on March 1st.

Things could have been much worse but we had my mother-in-law, Marianne. She is an amazing mom, grandma, and person. She lives in NY and when I was pregnant she came out for the birth of both little moos and each time stayed to take care our family for 3 weeks...WOW!! I talk to my Marianne several times a week, sometimes I think I talk her ear off, no we don't have the typical in-law stories and I am so glad. So it shouldn't surprise me that the minute she found out we were moving she booked a flight from NY to come and help set up our new home. Not many people would drop everything and do that, but she did. We were able to enjoy her company for a week. Each time she has come out to visit us, I get a little down for a few days after she leaves. She is so great with the kids and I love having someone around to talk to. I don't know how she did it but she was able to get Abigail to bed every night in her own bed. She went home on Monday and Abigail has been in our bed since.... that will be left for another post!
Anyways if it wasn't for her I am certain we would still be living out of boxes.

Things were chaotic and although everything is unpacked my life still feels a little off kilter. I haven't found my routine and I am still feeling uprooted. 8 miles is not much but that is how much further we moved from my old house. Getting Noelle to school really hasn't added to much more to my commute since it is mostly freeway. Abigail's preschool was 2 minutes from my old house now it is over 15. I checked for preschools close to my house but they are almost $500 more, yes, $500 more. I rarely go on Facebook, not reading my blogs much, haven't done much socialzing and as I type this I am realizing that I am feeling a little more then just down. I know it will pass but geez.....

On another note kind of relating to my Stepping out of my Shell post I felt very loved by two of my friends. The day of the move Jennifer who lives 2 hours away, had left a message for me saying she would come down and watch the kids, and my friend Michelle (who is a new friend of 6 months) did take in both my little ones for over 8 hours. It was a last minute call and she accepted with such an open heart. She was really there for me. To top it off, Noelle had a friends birthday party that night and when Noelle and I arrived to pick up the kids, Michelle dropped Noelle off at party. I know I need a kick in the butt sometimes but that really openned my eyes to what friendship truly means and is. I need to really get my act together and start nurturing these a bit more!!! Well my little man is sleeping and I have a shower to take and phone call to make.... I will post again soon!

Spaghetti and A One Year Old.....

Stepping out of my shell... one day at a time!

I want to start my post off by saying thank you to Marla at http://stolenbonbon.blogspot.com/ . I entered a few giveaways during the Blog Carnival Giveaway. Marla was hosting 5 days of giveaways and I had entered her second day giveaway (also the very first day I entered a giveaway!) and I won this great package. I originally won the Fireproof movie and book but Marla also through in the soundtrack. I plan for my husband and I to watch the movie tonight. Thank you, Marla!

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I have been needing to sit down and write a post for a few days, but I have been busy. Of course this is nothing new moms are busy all the time. The busy that I have been has been fun busy. Now I should probably preface this with the fact that I don't like to leave my house and I really need a lot of motivation to do so. I will also state for the record that I am not a creepy recluse that peeks out the window of her darkened house either! It's just I am perfectly content at home or at least that is what I have convinced myself of. You see I don't exactly like this about myself, generally because once I actually do leave the house, I enjoy myself so much. I sometimes wonder if it is the way I grew up. My parents are wonderful, but we didn't do much.. no playgroups, not too many outdoor activities. I have a sister who is 5 1/2 years older, a sister who is 9 years younger and a brother who is 11 years younger. Quite an age gap to be my playmates, so I was always at home left to play by myself. I also didn't have many, if any friends. I was pretty lonely as a child growing up. Lonely is what I became familiar with and how I went through a good portion of my life. Lonely became my comfort zone and I find myself constantly battling this within me because no matter who you are or how you grew up lonely doesn't work. Reading this back to myself I must also state that I am married to a wonderful man, I have 3 beautiful children. The lonely I speak of is that of the companionship of friendship, of motherhood, of wifedom.. the girlfriend bond. I have Jennifer who is my dear friend but we live far enough away that we don't meet up as much as we would like. I sometimes find myself thinking about my childhood and I wonder what was wrong with me to not have had friends or even that special friend. I get saddened by it and it carries over to me even today. I am no longer 9 years old, 15 years old, I am a grown married women who can control certain aspects of her life. I have lived here for 3 1/2 years and my friendships are at a distance. I have friends. I have not nurtured those friendships possibly out of fear, or of insecurities of my childhood, or of insecurities of today. In all honesty I really don't know why, but I know at this point right now something needs to change, I want it to change, I want to change. I know I have digressed here and I am kind of scratching my head over it, but I suppose it was to say I got out of the house, I socialized, I am starting, and I want to continue.. I also want a different childhood for my children. I want them to have those friendships, those moments of joy, those moments they can look back on and say, I was never lonely as a child. I need to do that for my children, for myself......

The month of February has been a good month and here are a few things I have done with my children and by myself..

First up was a playgroup date with my MOPS group. We went to the library where Steve from the Hullabaloo band put on a concert: http://www.hullabalooband.com/ It was the first time I had seen this band and I ended up buying two of their CD's. Abigail couldn't stop dancing, she loved it so much. I stayed and chatted with a few of the moms and then headed home for lunch and naps.

On February 5th I went to our first MOPS book club night. I had a wonderful time discussing the book "The Shack" and getting to know my MOPS moms a little better.

Then on Tuesday February 10th I hosted a Valentine's Day party for my MOPS moms and kids. It was a blast and I realized I love hosting playgroup parties. We did crafts ate some great food and once again enjoyed good conversation. It was my Martha Stewart moment. This wasn't the last party for the week either. Yesterday I offered my house for another Valentine's party (someone else was actually the hostess) so two days in one week my house was filled with mom conversation and a ton of kids playing. I love every moment of it. This is a full month for me with a few more activities on the calendar. I know like anything it requires baby steps. I will get out more and I know I will love it when I do. I just need those reminders that I am someone special, I am someone worth knowing, I am fearfully and wonderfully made and because of that I can......

My Eyes and Heart in the Blogging World...

Not too long ago I had no clue what blogging meant or what a blog was. I would hear on my talk-radio shows about someones political blog post and of course the many postings of Rosie O'Donnell. I just figured it was just another political outlet. My friend Jennifer started her blog a few years back which I have really enjoyed, especially when my family was a part of her post. Late last year I decided to start "Little Moos and Mommy Too" which has truly opened the blogging world to me. I shared with a few people in my playgroups that I had a blog and was encouraged but also warned that it is addicting (and yes it is!!). Tonya, one of the ladies who I have yet to meet and hope to soon, also has blogs and yes I said blogs, plural! Now if you are a bit more savvy in the blog world then to have more then one blog would not surprise you. It did me and I checked out her blogs: http://thestaabfamily.blogspot.com/, http://www.currentlycrafting.com/, http://www.munchkinsandmayhem.com/

I was awed and those blogs peaked my curiosity. I wanted to find out what the whole blog thing really was all about? So I set off to discover this new world and have been touched in many ways. I really had no idea the community behind the blog world was so big, so wide, so vivid, so creative, so loving, warriors for their fellow blogging friends, I could go on with BIG things about it, but in the end the this community as big as it is it is also as equally small. Not small as in simple, unimportant , but small as in you become friends with strangers near, far, and really far. You cry for, hope for, dream for, wish for, laugh with, and I think the biggest is you pray, pray, pray for these new found friends. It has become an endless curiosity for me and each time I come to the pages of different blogs I go away a better person. What I have just read could be a simple thing like learning a new craft, entering a blog giveaway, learning how to make a tasty treat, tips on organizing OR it is something that made me get on my knees and talk to God. I have needed to go to the Lord much this week. I thank God that I can bring to him these sorrows and I am not alone in my prayers for those who desperately need it.
I am writing this blog because of two stories that I have learned about in the past week. They have broken the hearts of many but none more then the parents. One story is of Tuesday Fiona Whitt, who at the age of two lost her battle with cancer, and then the second is about Cynthiaa of Confessions of a Yummy Mummy who just had a c-section giving birth to her son Aiden. He was still-born due to an umbilical cord strangulation. The blog community is strong in there prayers for these families, and that is pretty amazing...

On a lighter note there are many heartaches that I have come across but there are many more that bring a smile to my face. I wanted to share a few of these with you. Enjoy!

*** WOW!! as I was compiling the list below I went to get a few more blog address and just saw this: I am the winner of a blog giveaway worth $800+.00!! I can't believe it! Check it out, I won twice this week whoohoo!! http://shakethesalt.com/2009/02/woot-800-mega-prize-pack-winner/#comment-15464 ***
Okay continuing the rest of my post!!

I entered a giveaway on this blog and I won!! Whoohoo..
http://stolenbonbon.blogspot.com/

This is the cutest Valentines Day countdown idea
http://katiesnestingspot.blogspot.com/2009/02/valentine-countdown.html

This is the site where I got the proverbs 31 buttons. I was so amazed at the the abundant faith, knowledge, and wisdom in this 17 year old girl. It truly makes me want to model a stronger faith to my children.
http://aponderingheart.com/blog/

Printable paper crafts..
http://tangarangblog.blogspot.com/

I think giving shout outs to blogs that have touched me in some way will be a weekly post, plus it keeps a better record of those special blogs!!
So last for tonight is yummy food recipes , I am going to try the baked oatmeal next week!
http://newlywedcooking.blogspot.com/

Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap!!

I am so exited to join in on the Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swam. Just click on the button above to check it out and join! Okay I am off to make a list of my favorite things....