Wednesday, October 31, 2007

For Michelle & her sweet family

I attended Michelle's bridal shower last Sunday and I thought it would cool to show off the photos using a slide show! I like the latest slide show program (Slideroll) I found online (not to mention, it actually works...).
Thanks for letting me take pictures; silly faces and all :) If you would like any of these as prints, let me know!
ENJOY!


P.S. I'll be bringing my camera to the bachlorette party as well :P

Happy Halloween!

It's finally here... The day of treats and costumes :) Jamie wasn't in a mood to do much posing with his costume so I may update the blog tonight if I can get more pictures. Here's his costume!

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Have a safe Halloween everyone!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Frosty Morning

Woke up this morning with Jamie staring at me with is big brown eyes and a silly grin. "Time to WAKE UP!" After I made him his eggo waffle I ended up staring outside at the frosty tips of my trees and decided to brave the bitter cold for some pictures. I think that's how you know something's become a passion... when you're willing to sacrifice your comfort zone and brave your worse fear or extreme dislike. Personally, I HATE being cold. I don't even like snow that much. I hate getting up early even more. But you know, nobody's consistent and there's no law that says we need to stay that way. So I'm learning to like getting up earlier and I think snow is pretty (I've always thought it was pretty except when I'm stuck in it).

Anyway, hope today finds everyone happy and healthy, full of hot cocoa. Enjoy the slide show...


I hope this one finally works

Friday, October 26, 2007

TGIF

I hope everyone likes this new layout :)

Today's been rather uneventful. I went shopping for my bestfriend's wedding and for another bestfriend's birthday... spent too much I think but I'm sure they'll love it. Brought Jamie home from preschool and decided to let him help me bake pumpkin cupcakes. :)

As of right now, Jamie's playing with his light-up pumpkin necklace and I'm sort of watching You've Got Mail and looking at flickr.

Tonight we've got the in-laws over to play some games with us :)

Have a good weekend!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Another Fine Mess Photography

Yippee! See how much I can get done with Jamie in preschool?? haha No, I don't mean housework silly people. sheesh.

Check it out...
calling cards!

I made the entire thing myself. All I did was buy double-sided scrapbook paper, do my logo/name/number stuff on photoshop and print it all up. None of the cards are exactly the same size, much to my chagrin- but hey, isn't that what I'm all about nowadays? Embracing imperfections?

Anyway, I haven't offically gone into business but I like to imagine that I might someday. I made these to give to my friends who have friends that want their photos taken :) I'm not currently charging anything but I would love to be considered for donations so I can save for lenses and schooling.

I'm feeling pretty darn good right now!

Encourage

To all of my family and friends living in southern California... I hope everyone is safe and well protected from the raging fires there. You'll be in our thoughts and prayers :)

I'm always encouraged by your guys' comments and how you go out of your way to read my blog as often as you do. Thanks, it means the world, truly.

I consider this blog very therapedic and a great way to get things off my chest or just to share with someone. It helps to re-read some of the things I write and of course, I do regret sounding selfish or stubborn. Being a parent, wife, friend in this day and age is not as simple as it seemed long ago. In maintaining my relationships I've learned a lot about myself and the expectations I have. Remembering to take one day at a time and not worry so much about the extra stuff is harder than I ever imagined. I'm learning it all slowly. Perhaps slowly because I'm so stubborn to let go of habits.
I know I don't use my time as well as people think I should. I'm not as responsible as I should be and I'm probably seemingly lazy. There's a lot that goes inside my mind that it makes life exhusting. I'm doing my best to work them out and take one thing at a time. And to stop placing so much focus on myself.

Thanks for bearing with me :)

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Pure Joy

Apparently last night Jamie discovered that Timber goes bonkers over the flash light. This morning (me forgetting about what Mike informed me last night) he wanted to play with his flash light. A soft giggle erupted he quickly took it from my hand and sought out Timber. Ohhh I remember now...

I heard barking & giggling all over the house! It was actually pretty cute so it didn't bother me. After about 15 minutes of hyper barking and laughing I decided that Timber probably needed a breather.

"I'll give you fruit snacks if you let me put the flash light up?" Yeah, 9 am and I'm offering him fruit snacks hehe Well, the break didn't last long and he's out and about making the dog bark again! lol

Monday, October 22, 2007

Some Spare Time

I drop Jamie off at preschool and what do I do with the spare time? Clean my messy house? Nope! Go grocery shopping? Nope!

I took pictures all morning. ALL morning. Of Timber, Zoe and a few of me. It's all about throwing what's expected out the window. My house will get cleaned eventually. It doesn't smell of mold and the dog hair is to a minimum. My fridge needs a little love so I should probably have gone to the grocery store... but I can do that tomorrow. I'm enjoying solitary time to just relax and do what I love :)

On a separate note: I've made Jamie his skeleton mask last night! It looks freakin' awesome, if I may say so... No reveal until Halloween. I just hope he'll still want to be a skeleton when the time comes... lol If not, he'll be a skeleton-slash-something else. I'm determined not to let it go to waste! It felt good to just cut and glue things since I haven't done that in a long time.

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Hope everyone has a good week!

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Deceptively Delicious?

You know which book I'm talking about... the one featured on Oprah... the one EVERY parent has run out to grab in haste... Yeah, that one...

You know, I grew up probably the pickiest eater ever and I turned out fine. No, I didn't like vegetables much unless it was a potato (still don't actually) but I'm not sure the answer is running ourselves haggard by pureeing them and mixing them in? Sometimes these things get acquired over time. Jamie happens to LOVE tomatoes (one of those things I hate...) and I'm more than happy to purchase them and give them to him in plain sight. He doesn't like broccoli and not a huge fan of spaghetti (oddly) but I've noticed that if I read to him a funny book about silly food items or he sees it in his favorite cartoon, he'll actually give it a try! I'm not going to set myself up to fail by trying to meet impossible standards (for me at least). I'm seriously tired of doing this.

The biggest problem I'm dealing with as a mom in this day and age is trying to meet these insane standards people set! Jamie isn't in a Montessori preschool because we can't afford it and I certainly don't have enough patience to teach him at home. I don't always want to play with him because I know he'd be just fine using his own imagination. He usually just wants me to do all the work so he can just watch me build/color/dance whatever, I know him lol. We can't afford to buy him name brand clothing or those fancy boutique outfits everyone raves about. He plays dirty so I'm okay with Goodwill sweat pants and tees... he'll never know nor will he care. I am not always the most nutritious mother either but I make up for it in vitamins :P He's not enrolled in piano lessons or tap classes but he hasn't expressed interest either.

If you're a parent that does all of this COOL :) Don't be offended, I'm not trying to disrespect anyone's parenting skills. I'm trying make myself feel better :) What is most important is that I love him.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Taking a walk with Timber

I think I live on the wild side because I decided that it would be a good idea to take a walk today. Yes, in the extreme windy weather. Timber needed to go for a walk and Jamie wanted to be entertained. I bundled him up in his thickest and armed myself with my camera, cell phone and leashed Timber and off we went!

Enjoy the pictures :)





He makes a point to walk through every puddle he sees. :)

Costumes...costumes...

It's time to start thinking about Halloween costumes for Jamie. I asked him last week what he wanted to be and he said "Pumpkin" (big surprise there, considering his current obsession with pumpkins.). The closest size costume I found was a 3T and so it was bought. It wasn't until today that I had him try it on just in case and I wasn't surprised that it came out too short. So I need to make a trip back to Target.
We might browse the thrift store... But I've got a black grease monkey outfit I bought awhile back that's a 5T... hmmm he'd be adorable in that. It'd be super easy, just get a little dirt on his face, ruff up his hair (maybe faux hawk?) and he'd be set! It's a little too big for him but we might make do. If only I had some sewing skills. Meh, let's not even go there... lol
Thanks to my gracious boss, I get Halloween off to take Jamie Trick or Treating :) It'll be loads of fun! I'll definitely be toting my camera!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Video Games can be good for you

Jamie's been asking to play more computer games so I've logged us into PBSkids. He really enjoys the Curious George games and they're teaching him logic skills. One especially; Feed Gnocchi, where he has to tilt the ramps in order to get the meatball to fall onto the plate has him tickled. :) Sometimes he'll tilt the ramps in the wrong direction because he likes George's reaction but usually, he can get the meatball to eventually make its way correctly to the plate. It's cute to hear him laughing along with the games.
Other games he enjoys are The Sesame Street Toddler game we bought. He's nuts about Cookie Monster's counting game. He found out that if you click Cookie Monster twice, he falls down with a Cookie Monster squeal. :D
I admit that sometimes I'll log him into the games just to catch a break. I don't know what mother doesn't occasionally need a break from the constant "Mama! I'm hungry!" "I'm thirsty!" and bouncing off the walls.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Some of my favorite pictures of Jamie

We take a quick break from the show with a word from our sponsers :)

Playing in the leaves
I love this one. Seems like forever since he was tiny and 'rolly' :)

Rug Rat
He's beginning to show his goofy nature...

Chubby fingers and toes!
*sigh* those cute chubby rolls...

:) Thank you and hopefully tomorrow I'll have more to post

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Sick Day part Deux

I should've paid attention when my voice was cracking and sputtering like a adolescent boy's this morning... It was terrible. I could barely talk but yet, I felt fine- besides the occasional cough. So, to work I went.
I rang the door bell to be let in at my usual early arrival time of 8:25am. I was scheduled to be there at 8:45 since we now open at 9am. Old John answered and let me in the door with a friendly greeting and immediately gave me a scowl as soon as he heard how horrible my voice was. "You should've stayed home girlie." But I felt fine.
We had our morning meeting just before opening the doors to the public and the rest of the morning crew laughed at my barely there voice and questioned my sanity. I felt fine!
I was scheduled at the registers for the first 3 hours of my day and during my first hour (the first hour is generally slow on Sundays) my first customer advised me to 'take care of that cough'. I feel fine. Really.
Noon finally rolled around it was time for lunch. I headed to Top Foods and bought myself some chicken teriyaki and an egg roll and headed back to work to eat in the break room. Allison and Angela shared break at the same time and both felt within their rights to share their assessment on my current health situation. "You sound like a dying dog when you laugh." Great... I felt fine except for the growing pressure between my eyes.
The rest of my day was spent at Customer Service trying to avoid answering the phone (I only answered it twice!) and helping people. Lindy, one of the managers kept telling me how awful I sounded. I was starting to feel a little iffy by this point and missed my bed. "I'd send you home but we're a little short handed at 4... sorry Christine..." Its ok. I'll be fine.
It's officially 9pm and I feel like crap! Ugh. I will probably call out tomorrow and everyone will sigh with relief. Including me. :)

Saturday, October 13, 2007

The Pumpkin Patch!

Finally!
After days of promising Jamie we would take him to the pumpkin patch, we finally went! It turned out to be a warm, sunny day: perfect for picking pumpkins. Mike pushed along the wheel barrel as Jamie treked out ahead of us to explore. The farm had the patch start at the top of a hill. Mike concentrated on getting down the hill without tipping the wheel barrel as I adjusted settings on my camera. I happened to look up just as Jamie ran downhill, full speed... right on top of his head into the mud! We froze as we waited for his reaction but he jumped right back up and ran towards us. "My hat's dirty- here, take it" He yanked it off his head and threw it towards me and continued back in the direction he came. We started cracking up! I wish my camera had be ready...what a funny picture that would've been :P It was a fun day at the pumpkin patch and I hope you enjoy the pictures :)

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Pumpkin Patch!

Friday, October 12, 2007

Target & Arithmetic

Seriously. Ever since they put a Target down the street from our house we've been supporting their business. Let's face it... Even though there's a newly built Super Wal-Mart directly across the street; Target's just better. Prettier.
We decided to head to Target tonight after our Friday ritual of grabbing coffee at Big Foot Java. I needed more ink for my printer and Jamie needed pants. High-waters just aren't practical in the PNW this time of year. We followed our usual route (I KNOW other Target goers have routes... c'mon, admit it) and cut through girls to get to infant/toddlers' clothing. Immediately I start gushing over the little baby girl outfits (as usual) and Mike heads to the funny boy shirts with silly sayings such as "I Still Live With My Parents" or "Hello, My Name Is Trouble" (the second is the one Jamie owns that Mike proudly bought all by himself). I choose a few practical sweatpants and one nicer outfit for Jamie to wear and then we head towards toys. Generally, we avoid Toys like the plague... but somehow, it was like gravity pulled us because we didn't even discuss it, we just went. Huh. Anyway, Mike gets distracted by PS3 games and Jamie's shouting at me to go down the aisle with Playdoh and like toys. We head down the Playdoh aisle and Mike wonders out loud if Jamie needs more Playdoh. Shaking my head I pointed to the moon sand display next to him.
"I'm sure he'll be plenty busy with the sand... lets look at board games,"
We've been discussing having family game nights with Mike's parents maybe twice a month where we can play games that Jamie can be involved in. Eventually teach him harder, thought-provoking games as he gets bored with the easy ones. It's a tradition that Mike is familiar with as a child and he swears its where he honed his amazing math skills. Not wanting Jamie to suffer arithmetic depression like I did, I think this is the way to go. There's no way I'll ever be able to help him with his math homework... It's sad but true.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

"Grandma-Grandpa-trains-and-trucks"

Yes, this is their official title as deemed appropriate by the little guy. I suppose if you're four years old and both your grandmas' have rhyming names (Marilyn and Carolyn) you'd want to separate them as much as possible?

Of course, we didn't make the trip empty handed. I brought along Marilyn's book by James Patterson that she requested and my camera.

Grandpa has a garage full of boyhood treasures... TRAINS! A complete set with houses, roads, cars, bridges ... you name it.

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When it came time to leave, I had to carry him out, kicking and screaming. -.- All the way home it was, "I want to stay! I dont wanna go home! Mama!!" like a broken record. Eventually I had to shout, "One more word from you and you're going to take a nap when we get home!". The rest of the ride home was peaceful and quiet.

Moon Sand!

This morning Jamie asked to play with his Moon Sand kit at the table. I'm always more than happy to let him keep busy. It's a lot like brown sugar because you can pack it into shapes and create things. In the pictures below, I took a round pillar block and rolled the sand flat so he could run his little cars and trucks over it to create tracks. He got quite a kick out of that.



I hate that it's so messy but it vacuums better than playdoh... and it never dries up! I've already tossed out all of our playdoh because they were too dry for molding and creating. That's okay, moon sand rocks.


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Love his morning hair lol!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Sick Day

Falling into bed last night, I think I knew that I wouldn't be getting up feeling like a spring chicken.

"Mama! Time to GET up!" Small hands shook my shoulders and I could feel him bouncing around my head. Oh my head... it was like someone was trying to blow up a balloon INSIDE my head over and over. The pounding... then my throat felt like it was on fire. Each swallow was accompanied by a prayer. I was a trooper. I knew that today was Jamie's long day at preschool so up I went and pulled on some clothes.
My memory of this morning is still a bit foggy. I seem to remember dressing Jamie in nearly matching clothes but I'm sure I didn't care. With my eyelids semi closed most of the time, I surveyed the clock constantly, counting down the minutes until I could drop him off at preschool and come directly home and back to bed.
My lovely soft bed with plushy pillows. Well, plushy is pushing it but I didn't care. My head was being jackhammered mercilessly.

After dropping him off I contemplated going to the grocery store for medicine and decided against it. My bed was calling and who was I to ignore it? Jeans yanked off and sweatpants back on, I crawled back under the covers and tried to sleep off the monster migraine.

A few hours later, I gave in and took some Excedrin and fell back to sleep. I was so tired that I didn't even care if the kitten was playing all over me, chasing her tail and attacking my feet. Yeah, THAT tired. 2pm rolled around and I felt like new!

Thank you God for inventing Excedrin and Preschool!

A Clear Epiphany
I even felt good enough to shoot a bit. :)

Dive into the foray

I've decided to join ranks with the other mamas who choose to brag about their children online! :) I warn you though... things are NOT as perfect as they appear. I will do my best to portray us honestly, complete with faults, typos and bad days. Because that's what it means to be a mom I supppose, to let mistakes happen. They're bound to. No sense in hiding it from others. It's nice to know you're not alone out there, making bad choices in parenting and occasionally letting your child have string cheese for breakfast. Who cares? If that's all he'll eat for breakfast, let him have string cheese! There are no rules that imply he must eat pancakes or cereal each and every morning.

Yes, I feel better now.

If anyone chooses to read this on a daily basis I must warn you... My moods go up and down. Oh, so does yours? Okay, then this should be like home for you then. Keep reading if you dare.

:)