September 29, 2008

This little light of mine

Here we are, Charlotte, Lucas and I, sitting at my desk. The kids got to singing "This Little Light of Mine" and we all broke out into song as a family. So I decided to download that song from Itunes and they are DIGGING it! And now the kids are coloring cool pictures while listening to it over and over. Never considered myself a gospel person, but this is good stuff.

Good times.

September 27, 2008

A funny conversation

Charlotte: Daddy do you want to play the doll game with me? Yes or no?
Daddy: Umm, no.
Charlotte: DADDY, do you want to play the doll game, YES OR NO?
Daddy: I am going to go with no right now.
Charlotte: DADDY! DO YOU WANT TO PLAY THE DOLL GAME WITH ME?
Daddy:I thought I was being given a choice here, but I guess not. I guess I am picking yes.

I was laughing in the background, because she is so clearly a women even at 3 years old. Of course we will always give you the appearancy of a choice, but really, there isn't one. :)

September 24, 2008

Hello heartstrings

Well hello sweet memory I had forgotten about! This picture just pulls on all heart strings available. I am mighty grateful I happened to bring the camera while picking up Lucas from preschool that day. This picture was meant to be because John hardly ever came to pick up Lucas and I just happened to have my nice camera with a zoom lens on with me?? Riiiight. Divine intervention I call it! :) Oh my - I must frame this.
Picture taken May 12 2006

Oldies but goodies from 2006

My sisters and I, from left. Jessica, moi, and Sara
Cowboy cutie, I loved this picture so much I think I created mugs for
Christmas that year for everyone of this photo. :)

The common thread to most of Charlotte's pictures in '06 is that face! Hysterical!
My mohawk toddler
Charlotte is playing with Luke's way-too-big skateboard helmut. I forgot how much they used to kiss eachother. Thank goodness for pictures to remind us of what was.

September 21, 2008

Dance like no one is lookin'






We often have dance parties around here. Nothing fancy, just good tunes and lots of laughing. Often it's well, in our underwear. Luke, may you always dance like no one's lookin'......but hopefully with more clothing.

A few favs

Finally got my computer up and running (OMG that is what I forgot to include on the "what I did today rant") and here are a few favorite pics from last year I came across. Seriously, I am so lucky. They should be in some sort of order but they aren't. Your just gonna have to deal with my randomness.


Charlotte rocks a binky. What's funny is she never used one


when she was an actual baby...go figure.




I just love this one, it's so yummy.




Okay this is just too much, I can't get enough of this one. It gives me a "ahhhh" moment, a melt all the bad stuff moment if you will.




This is a pic from Luke's 4th b-day part at a farm. Here's all our guests


It was SO much fun.


This is my friend's son. I love him and want to keep him.


He reminds me of Luke in so many ways.

Get 'er done

Today was a magical day. The kids were at their godmother's house (since last night at 6pm!!!) and John and I organized the threw out TONS of computer stuff and office "things." Amazing how I always feel lighter when we throw stuff away (actually we Goodwilled most of it, yes that's a verb).

We corralled the 10,000 wire jungle under my desk into something, I dare say, pretty. Not only are they ziptied together in nice bundles, I labeled each cord at each end so I know what it goes to when I am studying the back of my computer or deciding what I can unplug at the power source. It's glorious.

We reworked the office selves to provide efficiency, I vacuumed and wiped down everything, and we just plain had fun in each other's company.

Oh and I watched THREE movies this weekend. You know me, I watch maaaybe 2 movies a month. It was sort of fun jump between vegging out and running around organizing.

I can't tell you what that does for my psyche (everything neat and clean). Seriously.....I was the happiest women alive today. AND the house is still squeaky from the housekeeper.....life is blissful.

Oh and last night I stayed up until 2am watching video clips of the Dugger Family. Seriously, that women is an inspiration.

P.S. I was officially initiated into the "I have bandaged a gnarly kid wound" club today. Luke pulled a speaker down on himself. I am told he was brave and hardly cried (happened at godmother's house). But I did clean, disinfect, and rebandage a pretty gnarly head wound. AND I explained about blood clots. Luke found that absolutely fascinating and was pretty excited about his 'soldiers of cells teaming up to stop the blood from getting past their line.' I feel "aged" my the experience, wizened, seasoned, slightly stronger somehow. I wasn't even there for the accident, and I'm not trying to be dramatic, but knowing that he went through that and then having to play nurse did something to me. I suppose it's training; I suppose there's more of that to come from an active boy.

The Adventures of John & Jack



I'm not quite sure why or how it started but one night a few weeks ago I started telling Luke a yarn about twin boys named John and Jack who always got into funny shenanigans. One time they brought a frog to the Doctors office "by accident," another time they "accidentally" went to the off-limits but totally cool part of a dinosaur museum, etc., etc.

I've always been a bit embarrassed to create make believe stories on the spot for the kids but these I am really getting into. It's fun to let your imagination go crazy in a way you know your kids will love. At least once each time Luke will bust out laughing. It's a magical moment I tell you.

Oh a cool blast from the past! I found this fantastic craft project at Ikea a few months ago, one I had been searching for a while. It's the one from summer camp, you'll know the one, where you have a plastic template shape thing, like a star or heart or circle, with all these little shoots coming out of it about an 1/8 of an inch and they are just the right size to fit little plastic beads over. Then you cover the tiny, poky shoots with colorful beads, cover with wax paper and melt it with an iron. Anyway......we did that tonight and it's SUPER fun. I think it's perfect for preschool and up because it makes for a fun hand-eye coordination exercise (I got a mighty fine workout myself) you must have patience, you have to plan it out, and it supplies relatively instant gratification. Anyway, for about $6, a trip to Ikea and a few minor burns on your hands, you too can put hundreds of colorful beads together and melt them into a masterpiece....just for the FUN of it. :) Here's a pic of Charlotte's (and my) creation.

September 20, 2008

My Cec

Where would I be without her? You name it she's done it, or can talk about it, or can give you advice on it, or it's been said to her. She's a "been there done that (twice)" kind of girl, but always looking to get your opinion...always. And she really takes into account what you said and it shapes her decision.

She's totally awesome. Did I mention I love her?

Yah.....that's Cec. And she rocks. And she's my sister-in-law but as close as they come.

We are so sooooooo different but I am pretty sure she is one of the only people I can be 100% myself around. Which means a far amount of swearing...sorry, it's the truth.

Thank you Cec for being there to save me when I get in those deep, dark places. You rock.

ME: what I know for sure

So, here's what I know for sure. If you know me well, you know I am not the "surest" person on everything. I tend to hem and haw, asking everyone's opinion before I create my own and still I might change. I have nothing on eating crow and chaning my mind! But here is what I DO know for sure...

Disclaimer: Okay so they are NOT in order of what I love most, just slapped down lickity-split. (Cec, that is a word I don’t say enough, lickity-split! LOL!) This is besides anything truly important like my family or my religion, etc. Those are a mother-flippin given for darn sake).

I love Oprah (especially for inventing the phrase “What I know for sure”). I love her because she cares and it shows. She’s genuine – how do I know? – my gut tells me so, and he’s never wrong! She’s real, she struggles with weight (even more real), she’s funny. She has class. Yes friends – I LOVE OPRAH and proud to say so. I don’t watch her show very often but when I do I love her.

I love scrapbooking. Correction………I love reading scrapbook magazines/books and buying scrapbook stuff, and organizing scrapbook stuff, etc. And some day I may just love scrapbooking! But I do know I love, love LOVE getting my 6 issues of Simple Scrapbooks Magazine every year. That makes me so superduper happy it’s borderline embarrassing! But….scrapbooking or being part of the world of it has made me a better photographer and person. The first one is simple to understand but HOW you ask for the latter? Because being a scrapbooker is actually a lifestyle really – if you think about it. The basic drive is to STOP, take a picture, tell the story about the picture and preserve all of that artistically (the last part not being a given but a hopeful). It has made me never, ever take anything for granted. From the way my little guy smells to the reason I know my husband was the best and the first right decision I made. It’s a beautiful thing. I have learned to slow down to take the pictures and breathe in the good moments…to slow down and say “Hey this is good stuff, I am a lucky duck!”……ahh yes. It’s a lifestyle alright and I love it. I am a better person for it and that’s something to love.

I love punctuation marks, especially these babies ( ) and these !!!!!!! Capital letters are always good. Yep those make me happy and I am proud I overuse them. It's me. Oh and by the way.....I don't care if I use them correctly - I use them for me and how I want...so there!!!!!!

When I was a full time stay at home mama I loved NAP TIME Why?? Because even though the house always needed to be cleaned at this time, it was Charlotte’s nap time therefore mommy free time (confined to the house of course!). But still I could nap, be my true internet junkie self, read, watch a movie (okay don’t get the wrong idea because that’s really rare, but I liked to know I could!) talk on the phone and (gasp!) have a full sentence!!!!!!!!! I swear I will need “communications interrupted” therapy after my kids learn some communications manners and not to interrupt all the time. Sheesh!

I love fresh strawberries, Straus Family Organic plain whole milk yogurt, and honey in one of John’s big frosted glass cup/mug things – for breakfast that is. Oh yah, it’s been “my thing” for years and for a while there I ate it every morning for a year straight. I don’t know how it started but my day is better when it’s started that way. Okay so actually I don’t “start” my day that way per say, I eat it in the car while I drive the chickens to school. Because I can’t seem to afford the 5 seconds to sit down and eat it like a normal person. And I kind of like it that way! I can totally see me doing that until the day I die, eating the concoction that is, not the kid driving thing. Although……

I love BOB strollers. I have purchase literally 5 different stroller and the BOB double stroller was the one and only one that made me smile every time I pushed it. I swear it made me a better mom. I WANTED to go out vs. not really wanting to push a bus-of-a-stroller while chasing two small children who refused to sit in thing. Sorry, I started to rant. But seriously - if you are shopping for a stroller, go BOB.

I love having my family so close to me. Close in love and close in actual proximity. I am so friggin, flippin, gosh darn lucky! I have everyone I could need (except Johanna) right around me. Cereza could stand to move a little closer and Jen Babbitt too, but other than those two – I am a happy camper-e-no.

I love Johanna. Like a mad dog. I just am in love her. She said this one thing about 10 or more years ago and I will NEVER forget it because it was one of the nicest compliments, she said "Allie, the reason I love you is that you are like home to me. You just feel like home." That is the way I feel about her too, she brings back my childhood in all the right ways (I know I wasn’t supposed to touch on actual people – but I couldn’t help myself. She popped into my mind and I went with it. This is not to say I don’t have a long list of people, and don’t worry – I am sure you are on it, but I just had to…..)

I love my energy surges. (like the one I am having right now) If you know me well enough, you know I have energy surges every 2-4 weeks where I stay up all into the wee hours of the morning. Perfectly chipper and raring to go. Why? Why? Why? You might ask. Donno. But what I do know is I relish them. For someone who battles exhaustion at 8pm on the average day the energy I have at 12:30 in the morning once in a while is my hope that some day I will be able to regularly stay up past 9:30 like a normal adult.

I love Ipods. Because they are just plain COOL! Imagine…….you posses the power to play the music you want, just the songs YOU want to hear, categorize, organize and play them where ever. And have these songs be stored on some small, portable thing the size of your cell phone that can literally go anywhere with you. The shower, for a jog, in you car, in your house. It’s a beautiful thing.

I love emailing, and writing about my life and then sharing it with others. Not because I am obsessed with me. No actually, quite the opposite. I love to share my life because I am so interested in yours. I want to know everything about you. What you think about, your problems, your pleasures, the funny things your kids say, your secrets, your dreams, all about your childhood, your favorite flavor of ice cream. IT ALL. I want to know all about you, therefore I figure you are the same as me and want to know all about me! Okay and so, even though I know people are not weird and obsessed with others like I am – I guess I figure one day you WILL come around (you’re bound to) and then you will be so happy I have documented all of that data for you in an easy to read format with tabs and chapters and categories!! LOL

Which brings me to my next point….I LOVE ORGANIZATION!!! In all it’s glory, shapes and forms. Anything that promotes it or helps you achieve this goal is a friend of mine. From the shop “The Containter Store” to “get organized” books. I want to know all about it, how others do it, and be the beacon and epitome of it. I am not all these things, but this not about reality – this is about what I would like right?

I love a good font!!!!!!!!! It makes me sort of giddy. Let's leave it at that.

I love a put-together women. I will give you a break – this one is easy to miss because I don’t spend money on my clothes nor the time to fix myself up. But I love nothing more than seeing a women with her hair done, make-up on (as long as it's natural-ish looking) cute clothes and shoes, nails done, cute purse, and a happy disposition. I really admire people that have a knack for it and make the time. I always think "hats off to you!"

Cool paper clips. Lame I know, but I love them all the same.

Pottery Barn. If you don’t know what I am talking about – GET WITH IT! Pottery Barn is a work of perfection. A furniture catalog that is it’s own style, has a large following, is expensive, but just down right inspires and moves my soul. When someone says, “I want a Pottery Barn House” if you speak that language you totally get it. It’s clean, it’s simple but not sterile (yuck!), not modern or traditional per say, it’s elegant but not snotty or pretentious, it’s warm but not cluttered, it’s classic, it’s hip but not trendy. IT'S PERFECT and it’s totally me. The house of my dreams would be filled with Pottery Barn furniture. ( Oh and lots of pitter-pattering of a large gaggle of children ((I mean lots and lots)), lots of amazing pictures of my amazing family and friends, lots of good warm food, lots of talking, and lots of love.)

I love my Ford Expedition. Yep it guzzles gas by the gallons, it’s huge and loves to hide old rotting bottles under its seats, yep it can be hard to park (at least for lame people like me). But I LOVE MY TRUCK. John and I bought it when I found out I was pregnant with Charlotte and it is one of the handful of things that I did not encounter buyers remorse with. I am plagued by that.

I love my camera and lens. Sweet, sweet dear, lovely camera and heavenly lens. John got me started cuz a client was selling one brand new - my orignial Canon 10D. We got a smokin' deal, and then I recently upgraded. I love it almost as much as life itself. Okay so not really – but almost! Especially after John bought me my first good lens Christmas of ‘04, and then made me actually use it spring of ‘06. I can honestly say I take pictures I am proud of now and it makes my life SO much happier and better. It is amazing how much it has improved my quality of life. That is hands down the best money we ever spent. And would be one of the first things I grabbed (besides the kids of course) if the house were to catch on fire.

I love to write. From recommendations on baby gear, to my kids journals, to an email, to this. I love to write. Who knew!!!!!!!

I love a good quote. I have a lot of favorites but my most recent fav is Stacy Juilian’s “I scrapbook because it makes me a better person, and I want to leave better than I came.” From Cathy Zielske’s book “Clean & Simple the sequel.

I love scrapbook books. I know, I know, you are saying "Yah we know, you had a whole section on it remember?" But know - this one actually deserves it's own section. I love idea books. But especially anything that Cathy Zielske writes. I have read her first book, Clean and Simple scrapbooking like 10 times cover-to-cover. I actually get great, great pleasure just from reading it and dreaming about all the cool stuff I will some day do. And I am not bothered at all about the "some day" part. One of many things Cathy taught me. Little does she know...
I love my bed. Covers, mattress and stupid throw pillows that make me feel better than everybody else (ha!). I love it all…….and speaking of which. It’s time to hit the hay.

I love my bed. Covers, mattress and pillows. It's so comfty…….and speaking of which. It’s time to hit the hay.

Changing over....

Thought I might change over to this new blog hoster and give 'im a try. It's free! So why not?!?