happy saturday!   September 6, 2008

last night, after a wonderful night of suzy and i getting our groove on, i will have some shares soon…i am almost finished with one of seven projects for this month, our gg DT assignments. okie dokie that was a HUGE run on sentence!!! homeschooling- not in my immediate future LOL!
this morning, we spent about 2 hours in the pool at our new family gym and we all had such an awesome time! mari kept yelling MOA [which means more] when daddy would take her out and have her blow bubbles! she would end up getting her whole head wet, each and every time and then shake like a dog when she came up for air. so fun to watch! emi continued to do her swim walking and simply get used to being more comfortable in the water. their swim lessons start next week, totally looking forward to that! our goal: to have them know how to fully swim. and of course have fun and hopefully LOVE the water like their mommy does!
after pool time and lunch, i fixed a yummy fruit salad and headed to my parents for an aloha bbq for our friends in town from hawaii. our extended family was there, and i have a few pictures to share later…but didn’t get a chance to take more, as mari was just all over the place. everyone had such fun watching the girls play in the water in my parents’ backyard.
on another note, suzy and helen booked our tickets for OCTOBER, here! can’t wait!
and i just came across this site, who is having a sweet rak!

LOVED today, just us family…hanging out!

blessings,
erin

seriously…   September 4, 2008

how in the blink of an eye…did she get to be 6 yrs+ in what seems like 6 months??!!!
some of our recent conversations:

m: how was your day at school?
e: i’m a grader now mommy, and i’ve got, so please stop asking me questions!
m: i like to find out about your day, can you tell me anything?
e: yes, mommy. i’m a grader now!
m: okie dokie, what do graders do?
e: big girl stuff, like: pause- puts her hand up, “oh, mommy, i just need a break right now. can i tell you later please?”

and other days, i hear everything from morning prayers, to what her math partner had for snack, to whose card was yellow at the end of the day, etc etc etc. and i LOVE and cherish each and every moment she shares with me, because that is just HER absorbing and learning and growing.

i am so proud of her, in so many ways! love you miss emi girl!

in other news, i finally joined a gym today!!! finally found one that i totally trust leaving miss mari during my workout time, one that dh can workout in, my girls can use the pool, take kids classes, and their summer activities and camps were rated NO. 1 in our local magazines. very very excited about that! i’ve been to 4 gyms/facilities in the past two weeks, and this morning, i just knew. when we were touring with my friend and mari in tow, and we stopped at the childcare area, mari was very intrigued for the first time. our tour guide asked permission for mari to stay and check it out for 5 minutes as long as they weren’t at max capacity and they weren’t, so we could finish our tour. the child walks in, watches the preschool aged kids creating at the arts and crafts table, and then walks over and starts playing in the kitchen. NEVER once during the more than 5 minutes that we were gone did she LOOK up and wonder where i was!!! omgosh, and the facility has so many perks, i can’t stand it! we’re going tomorrow- already booked mari for her playcare time, while i either take the aqua fit or spin/sculpt class and then hit the treadmill! wish me luck.

after shopping for lots of baby shower goodies, and such, and finally making a decision on a gym…i can get my behind into scrappin gear! here’s what i’ve got goin on for this month:

PMP DT
MLS DT
finish my layout class for NOV
special project to be raffled off during the crazy hat anni crop at suzy’s
hb card swap
a special assignment to be revealed in OCT

just mailed off my dear sister in Christ’s assignments…watch for her, she is amazing!!!

oh, yeah…and get to help create a project for here with HER next month. ok, so so excited about that trip with my sweet lil kumquat dino!!!

catching up after a long weekend…   September 1, 2008

no pictures yet either. somehow just hasn’t happened yet.
miss emi had a GREAT first week of school! she loves her teachers this year, and seeing her smiling face everyday at pick up says it all! it is funny hearing tidbits between her and her friends during playdates. we moms piece together most of their days:) they have 3 new students to their class this year. all boys. and apparently they are just CRAZY! LOL. i ask her, like suzy crazy, and she laughs, snorts, and says, OH YEAH mommy! just like crazy miss suzy! gotta love that!
friday night, we all hung out at home, had a picnic dinner, watched videos and i kitted for the garage sale at suzy’s saturday. while i missed cropping, it was nice to just hang at home, and get it all done:) and having been out both wed and thurs nights, my dh wouldn’t have it any other way. love our dream dinners lately and thurs had a back to school night:)
saturday, dh was a trooper and had a great time hanging out and playing with the girls! somehow, i ended up working both shifts at the garage sale, so thank you dh for understanding! i sold a ton of kits, so now have more monies to spend feeding my addiction…of this hobby we all love, all about paper and glue! after i got home, we cleaned up some, hung out trying to stay cool, had dinner, and my dh and i watched a movie:) cannot remember what it was though. sad, but true! LOL.
sunday, after church, the girls and i headed to my parents, so that my dh could continue with the relandscaping project and work on the backyard, and do other misc. cleaning tasks that simply are easier when uninterrupted. the girls and i had a wonderful time at my folks! playing on their swingset and water play area, making bubbles and following amai in the backyard were true highlights! that night, after mari went to sleep, emi watched a video while my mom and i planned these two girls‘ baby showers!!! cannot wait, they will be so much fun!
today, after breakfast, my parents and i took the girls over to pixieland. it is a small amusement park with a pretty lake where you can have a picnic and feed the ducks and geese. emi’s fave was the dragon roller coaster, and mari enjoyed all the rides…her fave being the carousel again:)
this month, we’ve got:
bbq for uncle dennis
girls’ swim lessons
mari’s speech and mommy and me class
finding a gym, working out a schedule to commit
angel’s baby shower
bible study
sunday school
anniversary crop- pajama party
1st grade basketball
DT assignments galore!
finish up my next class at PMP
plan and organize a fundraiser for my dear friend’s son, tanner
memorial service for my sweet friend, j’s d.
organize first fieldtrip for 1st grade [all new room moms this year, asked for my help]
plan and organize daisy meetings for upcoming year
start planning miss mari’s 2nd birthday bash
oh yeah…and it is only sept 1st today…
this month is gonna F-L-Y by. let me charge my SLR’s battery!

sahm.- con’t.   August 29, 2008

one more thing i neglected to mention. the other night, my dh and i are talking, and he pauses, then says to me, “you know honey, when you do go back to work, that will be the equivalent of adding a 3rd job to our house. in other words, it takes alot to just run the day to day upkeep around here. we’re going to have to take evenings and 1/2 days on the weekends to get it all done. that’s when the girls stay up later, since we’ve not seen them all day.”
so so thankful he GETS it.
love you, dh.

sahm.   

my role. my life. my love.
this was a big week for our family. the sisters have been much more appreciative and understanding and loving towards eachother, now that big sister has started school again. my heart literally sank when i dropped her off on monday. she walked in, so tall, so proud, so confident. sure, there have been moments of insecurity, doubt, and frustration, and i’m so happy i am HERE at home to help her work out any and all of those feelings she has! rather, than having her be at some daycare where they truly wouldn’t have the capacity to try and spend the 10 minutes one my child and help her the way either myself or my dh could. and there have been signs all week that we’ve made the right decision, to choose the school she is at and keep her there. signs i will share, some i will not. some come in the form of hearing from experienced parents at our school, at back to school night last night, some come in the form of knowing at the end of the day, when i say my prayers, i thank God for giving me the peace of mind that my child is loved, cared for, and appreciated at her school. a place that she LOVES and is so excited to go to, even after a horrific incident last spring.
we’ve had back to school walks, lunches, parents’ night, and a playdate. for some, it seems like alot in one week. when you’re at a school that is built on strengthening its community, and giving back to it, it really isn’t. thank you to those who reminded me to lead by example in giving back, you show your kids what it is all about, in helping eachother out. after filling out a pile of paperwork, ironing uniforms, getting settled into our routine again, i am fatigued, but so happy all at the same time. fatigue comes from adjusting to a new routine. happiness comes from being able to let her go, in a place that isn’t perfect, but offers what we have at home, in an enriching, supportive, and structured environment. and i couldn’t be happier with the reinforcement of the strong set of values and morals that are present each and every day at school, on and off campus.

we have families from literally all walks of life. and i can truly appreciate us all coming together, to make a difference in all of our children’s lives.

and i’m very very happy to NOT be room mom this year, and simply a MOM. this frees me up to simply help when it comes from a good place, not forced.

school in session also allows me to give extra time for miss mari. she has grown tremendously and i couldn’t be prouder of that lil girl! she keeps me grounded, focused, and not so lonely with emi being in school all day. she has gotten so much more independent, and will allow me to clean or start the laundry for up to 20 minute stretches, and then we will simply play whatever she wishes. i LOVE being able to just drop everything i’m doing at that moment for her, since she is that independent most of the time. she is a constant reminder, it truly is all about life’s little moments that matter!

on that note, she is screaming for me now…

off to enjoy some moments with her, before we start one of our chores. and tonight, i’ll be kitting for the garage sale…coming up tomorrow, overhere. hope to see you there!

prayer request, celebrations, 1sts, and is it tuesday already?   August 26, 2008

omgosh, i feel so behind, yet school just started! LOL. story of my life. but, we take each day as it comes, take nothing for granted, and count our blessings every time we pray.
if you could please take a moment from your day, as you’re reading this and please pray for my dear friend’s little boy, tanner. i shared last month, how he was diagnosed with Juvenile Xanthrogranuloma (JXG). it’s a skin disease that manifests itself as lesions and can occur on various areas of the body. it is a rare condition, in and of itself, however, tanner’s condition is critical because his granulomas are in his airways, causing his lungs to partially collapse. normally, this condition where the lesions are found on the skin, goes away in 3-5 years on its own. today, i received this email in my inbox from his heartbroken mamma:

Tanner’s big day for surgery is tomorrow, Wed at 4:30pm. He will get a port in his chest, a feeding tube that goes directly into his stomach and a trach. He will then get a CT scan from his head to his hips to make sure there are no other nasty cells hanging around and then a bronchoscopy to make sure his lungs are clear. Poor Tanner is going to wake up sore and scared and probably very confused about the trach for sure. He will need to learn to eat and talk with it. After about 5-7 days of recovery (it may take longer because all the mega does steroids he’s been on inhibit healing), he will start chemo.

please keep him in your prayers. he will surely need as many as he can get!

on a much happier note, we have officially now a *grader* in our home, and the same day she embraced her new role in school, her daddy celebrated his birthday! miss emi and i had gotten big girl haircuts just a few days before, and here’s the photos to prove just how grown up we are! LOL.

here they are… my two puffs on a roller coaster ride called go daddy! he just adores them, and vice versa. we celebrated sunday night, after the girls and i spent the weekend with my parents, so daddy could finish relandscaping the front yard, and do a thorough garage cleaning, along with a honey to do list inside the house. at least he took my advice and got a nap in! we went to our fave restaurant that night, along with my parents and my brother and his gf. and monday, we celebrated just the four of us.
this one was quite the entertainer! this is the face i get when she sees the flash on the camera come out. and the second photo is the face you get right before she decides to spit out her milk and then try to catch it and use it like lotion all over her face. quite special one might say, LOL. that’s our baby for ya!
i literally have to catch my breath, when i look at how grown my baby has become! just cannot stand it sometimes. she was very excited to see all of her classmates, esp the ones we hadn’t had playdates with during the summer. she has her own desk now, and she chose to carry a book bag this year, not a backpack. big decision for my grader girl! of course all of us parents and siblings were crowded around the front door and the kids are like…ok, you can go now. with tears in our eyes and cameras flashing like they are famous, we got our last hugs and kisses in, before we headed out to linger and chit chat in the parking lots. LOL. will we ever grow up?
in other fun news, my fellow DT member over at MLS, miss emily jones was just added to this DT. go emily, you know i love your work, and melody has great taste, too! big hugs and congratulations to you!

my sweet and amazingly talented girl, karla just tagged me with this fun award…

The Rules:
1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girl’s you nominated.

so, here are my nominations [drum roll please LOL]…

suzy
rocio
kristin
emily
kerry lynn
gigi
norma
i’m off to work on kitting some ultra yummy goodies for the upcoming garage sale, here this weekend. DO NOT MISS out! from what i hear, there’s tons and i mean tons of goodies we mechanics are saying bye bye to!

happy [omgosh i cannot believe it is] tuesday tuesday!!!

happy thursday!   August 21, 2008

today, after heading to the post office to send out some goodies to friends, we ran some errands, and then headed out to have a swim playdate, with her and her super sweet son, tanner! i wish i had brought my camera! emi and tanner liked splashing eachother, and mari was just all about being in the water! i loved hearing her giggles from the splashes, the kicks while on her back, trying to have her float and saying *mOaa* which means more when she wanted to put her head back into the water and keep on dipping it! she tried to figure out how to move alongside the edge of the pool with her little feet and hands, scooting along. so so cute to watch her enjoy being in the water, nearly as much as i do! and her not having fear, totally helped her big sis be more brave.
while we were out running errands, helen’s spot was finally aired on scrapbook memories tv! she did awesome, and big toots to rocio, pattie, michelle, krista, and nichole as well! it was so fun to see all of our work come together to highlight my little shoebox, and as we’re watching tonight, i’m like look honey [to my dh- that's my layout, the one with angel, titled amazing you!], and he’s like wow, you had to cut all those pieces out? and you know it is hard to scan all the poppy stuff, i think he meant pop up stuff. LOL! thank goodness for tivo! if you get a chance, you can watch it again, this saturday at 1:30pm on pbs.
mari actually transferred and got a real nap in, well sort of this afternoon. at least for a lil over an hour. starting next week, it is back to routines, and hopefully she can resume her normal nap schedule. i think she is over tired at this point. having a ball this week, but definitely over tired. we’re cancelling playdate plans tomorrow, and just play at home. we’ll also be creating daddy’s birthday gift and wrapping it!
after we fixed a dream dinners, miss emi and i went out and got our hair trimmed:) it is super cute for her first day as a grader, photos to come later on. after the girls settled down, dh and i caught up on some of the olympics…and he scanned my latest assignments for me, for PMP.
thank you, dh!

our first assignment, highlighted the new thickers from AC. love them!
for our second assignment, we got to play with sonburn designs latest goodness. YUM.
and our last assignment, was to be titled…*when i was little, i wanted to be* my layout reads…*a mom and a wise lil owl just like you 2*. i figure one out of two isn’t bad! no one told me my brain would spill out while giving birth. LOL. and i would have complete short term memory loss for who knows how long. if you happen to see mine, please put a return to sender on it and get it to the post office asap! LOL.
in other news, fellow DT MLS member, gretchen mcelveen, was just named a memory maker 09!!! big congratulations girl!

and finally, i chatted with my dear friend, nicole, who is at one of her 10 yr reunions, and her dear hubby, is today’s captain for the 49ers, and they WON!!! go niners! mari and emi will give uncle tony a big high FIVE next time we hang.

and last but certainly not least…i am proud to have this:

with my amazing friend, suzy! so, does that come with that perky set as well? LOL.
happy thursday! thanks for reading this long post.
blessings,
erin

our last week of summer FUN!   August 20, 2008

started on sunday! after church and lunch, emi and i headed out to her 1st grade picnic! we saw most of her old k class, and met some new friends as well. it was really nice to catch up with everyone and hear about their summers and vacas, esp the ones we haven’t had playdates with during the summer. after that, we joined daddy and mari over at miss addie’s 2nd birthday party…
addie celebrated her birthday with her daddy’s 49er friends’ family, as their sons turned three and one. it was all about the cake after we all ran around the jumping houses for almost 2 hours!
we all had a great sunday, tired but good!
monday, we did a bunch of errands and got those out of the way, after mari’s speech therapy session so we could just focus on playing the rest of the week!
yesterday, we hit the zoo with my parents. how sweet is that, on my dad’s day off, he wanted to come along with my mom and play with the girls for 1/2 the day. this time, we hiked up the hills to see the giraffes, zebras, and elephants. they are just wonderful to watch. hanging out. doing their thing. very peaceful creatures. the girls had a ball on the rides, after we visited the children’s zoo and had a picnic lunch.
today, after mari’s mommy and me class, we headed here with her and her beautiful daughter! she took the day off, and we had lots of fun! emi’s fave was the roller coaster with miss sierra!
and my favorite is simply running through the amazing waterfall they have! mari had fun on all the lil rides, her fave still being the carousel.
happy last week of summer…stay tuned for the rest of our week’s adventures!

blessings,
erin

recent MLS goodness.   August 18, 2008

i’ve only been designing for helen chu, for a few months, but i have to say that her products are hands down my fave right now! you know, as you collect, take a class here or there, collect some more, and then actually start creating your own style…it can change, evolve, etc. i finally feel that after 4 years of having scrapbooking as more than a hobby, but as a way of life now, that i’m more comfortable than ever in my own style. whatever that is! i can remember a time when i couldn’t sit down and start until i had sketched something out. and now, when i sit down to create, sketching is the furthest thing from my mind. i wouldn’t know how to! LOL.

anyways, i hope you enjoy the my little shoebox products as much as i do!

helen will appear this thursday, on the PBS show, scrapbook memories at 9:30am. tune in, and see her in action. she is such a sweet, caring spirit. and get ahold of her stuff asap, you too will fall in LOVE!

some of my faves…

tfl!

happy saturday!   August 17, 2008

i truly LOVE our family time. the days when it is just the FOUR of us. with emi starting school in just over a week, i want to hang onto the carefree feel of the summer, for as long as i can.
this morning, we spent a few hours at a local park. this past may, right before school got out, we were at the park, just mari and i with some of her little friends. one of my friends’ daughters, who was mari’s age [21 months] at that time, got up to the slide by herself and would just whoosh down! i thought to myself, wow…that will take mari a long time to GET. boy, was i wrong? what was i thinking? we’ve spent about one day a week at the parks this summer, and until today, the swing and teeter totter have been her favorites, with the slide coming in second, only if assisted. . . going up the stairs using the rail, and then on my lap going down the slide. well, today, emi and i were on the swings together, and i look over and see miss mari flipping over and tumbling off the end of the slide with this AMAZING look of PRIDE on her face! oh, how i wish i had my SLR! yet, a moment like that i’m glad in a way that i got to just take it in, because then i would have been all about the camera and not in those few precious moments! she then proceeded to walk/crawl up those stairs and literally F-L-Y down that slide for the next 20 minutes!!! my dh and i just looked at eachother and smiled with pride. so excited for her! after lunch, we caught up on some of the olympics we had missed from friday night [ since i got my scrap on... here] once it is scanned, there’s some i can show you, and some you’ll have to wait for:) suzy will be teaching in brazil for MLS, so excited for her!!! her classes are goin to be rockin!!! and did some drawing with miss emi. after naps, we headed out to see the circus! ringling bros. didn’t disappoint! mari actually sat through almost the full 2 1/2 hours! highlights included the super fast tiny dogs, super silva, the tigers, fireworks, and the girl’s faces watching and taking it all in! after dinner, i ran some errands, and then we settled on the olympics again. since we were caught up on tivo, we watched this mornings’ episode of scrapbook memories tv show, on PBS. they announced it was their first episode of their new season, and i noticed the products wendy smedley was using were recent from american craft’s new release from CHA. it was episode 1301. next week’s episode will be 1302, which will be featuring helen chu, our amazing friend and owner of MLS. one of my layouts will be featured as a step out, so i’m looking forward to seeing helen shine! the episode will air, saturday august 23rd at 9:30am on PBS. add it to your tivo, it should be good fun!

and last but not least, here’s some photos i stole from suzy’s blog. they are from our girl’s night last week, enjoying the tunes of mamma mia! these girls just bring me such joy. suzy, angel, janice, pattie, wei, and steph- so thankful you are in my life!!! and po- we missed you!

happy saturday!
happy weekend!
happy last days of summer!
blessings,
erin